US-12621655-B2 - Communication device, management device, communication method, management method, and computer program

US12621655B2US 12621655 B2US12621655 B2US 12621655B2US-12621655-B2

Abstract

A communication device including: a drive device communication unit that communicates with a drive device to which an own device is connected; an external communication unit that communicates with another device via a network; an identification information acquisitor that acquires type identification information indicating a type of a drive device from the drive device connected to the drive device communication unit; a setting information acquisitor that acquires, from another device, setting information corresponding to the type identification information by transmitting information including the type identification information to the another device via the external communication unit; and a communication controller that acquires information from the drive device on the basis of the setting information and transmits the information to a predetermined device.

Inventors

Takumi Hatada
Tetsuya Matsuhisa

Assignees

HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230228
Priority Date: 20220316

Claims (13)

1 . A communication device comprising: a drive device communication unit that communicates with a drive device to which the communication device is connected, the drive device including a drive machine such as an engine or a motor, wherein the drive device is driven to move by the drive machine, or the drive device includes the drive machine but does not move by itself; an external communication unit that communicates with another device via a network; an identification information acquisitor that acquires type identification information indicating a type of a drive device from the drive device connected to the drive device communication unit; a setting information acquisitor that acquires, from another device, setting information corresponding to the type identification information by transmitting information including the type identification information to the another device via the external communication unit; and a communication controller that acquires information from the drive device on a basis of the setting information and transmits the information to a predetermined device.
2 . The communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the identification information acquisitor acquires the type identification information from the drive device when the communication device is activated.
3 . The communication device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a storage that stores the setting information, wherein the setting information acquisitor does not acquire the setting information from the another device when the storage stores setting information corresponding to type identification information acquired by the identification information acquisitor.
4 . The communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the setting information includes information indicating a state determination condition that is a condition for determining a state of the drive device.
5 . The communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the setting information includes information regarding information acquired by the communication controller from the drive device.
6 . The communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the setting information includes information indicating a timing at which the communication controller transmits the information to the predetermined device via the external communication unit.
7 . The communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the identification information acquisitor further acquires, from the drive device, drive device identification information uniquely indicating the drive device, and the communication controller transmits, to the predetermined device, the drive device identification information and communication device identification information that is identification information of the communication device.
8 . A management device comprising a controller that receives the device identification information and the communication device identification information from the communication device according to claim 7 , and records, into a storage in association with each other, the device identification information and the communication device identification information that have been received.
9 . The management device according to claim 8 , wherein the controller receives auxiliary setting information that is a part of the setting information in association with the drive device identification information from a user terminal, and records, into the storage, the drive device identification information and the auxiliary setting information in association with each other.
10 . A management method, comprising: a step in which a management device receives the device identification information and the communication device identification information from the communication device according to claim 7 , and a recording step in which the management device records, into a storage in association with each other, the device identification information and the communication device identification information that have been received.
11 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium comprising a computer program for causing a computer to function as a management device including a controller that receives the device identification information and the communication device identification information from the communication device according to claim 7 , and records, into a storage in association with each other, the device identification information and the communication device identification information that have been received.
12 . A communication method, wherein a communication device including a drive device communication unit that communicates with a drive device that includes a drive machine such as an engine or a motor to which the communication device is connected, and an external communication unit that communicates with another device via a network, wherein the drive device is driven to move by the drive machine, or the drive device includes the drive machine but does not move by itself, and performs an identification information acquisition step of acquiring type identification information indicating a type of a drive device from the drive device connected to the drive device communication unit, a setting information acquisition step of acquiring, from another device, setting information corresponding to the type identification information by transmitting information including the type identification information to the another device via the external communication unit, and a communication control step of acquiring information from the drive device on a basis of the setting information and transmitting the information to a predetermined device.
13 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium comprising a computer program for causing a computer including a drive device communication unit that communicates with a drive device that includes a drive machine such as an engine or a motor to which a communication device is connected, and an external communication unit that communicates with another device via a network, wherein the drive device is driven to move by the drive machine, or the drive device includes the drive machine but does not move by itself, to function as a communication device including an identification information acquisitor that acquires type identification information indicating a type of a drive device from the drive device connected to the drive device communication unit, a setting information acquisitor that acquires, from another device, setting information corresponding to the type identification information by transmitting information including the type identification information to the another device via the external communication unit, and a communication controller that acquires information from the drive device on a basis of the setting information and transmits the information to a predetermined device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-041222, filed on Mar. 16, 2022, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication device, a management device, a communication method, a management method, and a computer program. Description of Related Art In recent years, communication equipment called telematics control unit (TCU) has been proposed. The TCU is attached to various types of drive devices for an automobile and an agricultural work vehicle, and achieves communication with an external network (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 6084128). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, in order to perform control different depending on the type of the drive device, it is necessary to design and develop a dedicated TCU for each drive device. In this case, there is a risk of an increase in cost required for design, development, and manufacturing of the TCU. Such a problem is not limited only to the TCU, but is a problem common to any communication device connected to a drive device for an automobile and the like and performs communication with an external network. An aspect according to the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device, a management device, a communication method, a management method, and a computer program that are capable of reducing the cost required up to manufacture a communication device that is connected to a drive device for an automobile and the like and communicates with an external network. In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention adopts the following aspect. A communication device of an aspect according to the present invention includes: a drive device communication unit that communicates with a drive device to which an own device is connected;an external communication unit that communicates with another device via a network;an identification information acquisitor that acquires type identification information indicating a type of a drive device from the drive device connected to the drive device communication unit;a setting information acquisitor that acquires, from another device, setting information corresponding to the type identification information by transmitting information including the type identification information to the another device via the external communication unit; anda communication controller that acquires information from the drive device on the basis of the setting information and transmits the information to a predetermined device. According to the aspect according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the cost required up to manufacture a communication device that is connected to a drive device for an automobile and the like and communicates with an external network. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a system constitution of a drive device communication system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a specific example of a functional constitution of a communication device; FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a specific example of a functional constitution of a management device; FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a specific example of an identification information table stored in an identification information storage; FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a specific example of a setting information table stored in a setting information storage; FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a specific example of a device information table stored in a device information storage; and FIG. 7 is a sequence chart illustrating a specific example of a flow of an initial operation when a power source of the communication device is turned on in the drive device communication system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiment does not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiment are not necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more features of a plurality of features described in the embodiment may be optionally combined. Identical or similar constitutions are denoted by identical reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions will be omitted. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the system constitution of a drive device communication system 100 according to an embodiment. First, an outline of the drive device communication system 100 will be described. The drive device communication system 100 includes a communication device 10, a drive device 20, and a management device 30. The communication device 10 is communicably connected to the drive device 20. The communication device 10 communicates with the management device 30 via a network 90. The