Patent Application
20080233922
The field of the disclosure is that of the remote monitoring of equipment and particularly equipment limited in data processing resources. The disclosure thus applies to remote data logging systems, for example on water, gas or electricity meters, and more generally to telemetry, command tracking, and more generally machine to machine control systems.
There are already miscellaneous solutions for implementing such operations. They have generally been developed specifically for a given application. In other words, they are “proprietary” solutions, which are difficult to adapt to other applications.
Furthermore a protocol is known, developed by the IBM and ARCOM Control Systems companies (trademarks), known under the technological name “MQIsdp Messaging”. This technique proposes a communication protocol between one or more equipment of limited resource, and one or more servers or “brokers”, using a TCP/IP link.
However, even with this specific protocol, it is necessary to add specific processing means (microprocessors, memories, etc.) to the equipment, which allows a dialogue to be established with these remote servers, using the requisite MQIsdp format. The connection between the equipment and the server may use a telephone-type connection, via a modem.
In many applications, it would however be desirable to be able to do without a wire telephone connection. It may then be conceivable to employ radio-communication means in accordance with the GSM or GPRS standard for example.
The Orange Company (trademark) has thus offered a service, known as <<M2M Connect >> (trademark), defined particularly in the specification documents “Orange M2M Protocol Definition”. This service is offered in the form of a ready-to-use solution, offering communication, monitoring and service level functions.
In this case, a wireless telephony equipment will be used to provide the modem function. However, it remains necessary, in accordance with the prior art, to associate with the equipment specific and proprietary data-processing means to establish and implement the data exchange with the server.
Thus, in the case of the “M2M Connect” service, the remote terminals must have significant means at their disposal to manage a communication (for example in GPRS), so as to construct messages in a format that can be accepted by the remote servers, and where appropriate to manage the compression of these messages. A specific application must therefore be developed and associated with each terminal, which is generally incompatible with any requirement to reduce the cost of the latter or to simplify them (for example when electric meters, distributed in very great quantities, are involved).
This aspect constitutes a very significant limitation on the development of the aforementioned applications, and many other applications that are conceivable under this technique.
An embodiment of the present disclosures is directed to a system for the remote monitoring of equipment, allowing interconnection between at least one server and at least one remote equipment according to a given protocol.
According to an embodiment of the invention, this system associates with at least one of said remote equipment radiocommunication means able to send and receive AT type commands sent by and/or intended an external application implemented by said remote equipment, and said radiocommunication means are endowed with a set of specific AT commands allowing data exchanges to be managed between said remote equipment and at least one server implementing said given protocol, at least one of said AT commands allowing said radio-communication means to create, modify and/or send pages in the XML format, so as to allow interconnection between said server(s) and the remote equipment(s) via said radio-communication means by transmitting pages in the XML format, without requiring any knowledge of said given protocol nor the XML format in said remote equipment(s).
Thus, it is possible to manage data exchanges easily and straightforwardly, without it being necessary to develop specific applications or associate significant means (microprocessor and memory particularly) with a terminal.
Neither the latter, nor the associated application, needs to know the protocol used by the server, or the XML format. It is the radio-communication means which manage these aspects. The only knowledge required, from the point of view of the application and therefore of the terminal, is the new AT commands of an embodiment of the invention (which can, as will be seen subsequently, be relatively small in number).
According to one advantageous characteristic of an embodiment of the invention, at least one of said AT commands allows transmission data to be compressed. Said compression may in particular implement the WBXML compression format.
To advantage, at least in a first transmission mode, said data is transmitted on a channel dedicated to short messages (SMS). Preferentially, at least in a second transmission mode, said data is transmitted on a GPRS channel.
In said second operating mode, the system of an embodiment of the invention employs to advantage a “peer-to-peer” protocol, using the TCP protocol, and for example the BEEP protocol.
To advantage, the system of an embodiment of the invention includes means for the implementation, in a first operating mode, of a service for the automatic sending and/or receipt of at least one XML message stored in said radiocommunication means, on receipt of a wake-up message.
This allows the processing to be effectively simplified.
In this way, the system is able to provide four operating modes:
Preferentially, an embodiment of the invention uses simplified XML pages XML, comprising only:
According to one preferential aspect of an embodiment of the invention, said given protocol is a protocol implemented in the frame of a service that implements an XML data description language, an algorithm for the compression of said WBXML data, a first method of access to at least one server via GPRS and a second method of access to a second server via SMS. This may in particular be the “M2M Connect” service developed by the Orange Company (trademark).
To advantage, said radiocommunication means integrate said protocol in the form of an “Open-AT” application, specifying said set of specific AT commands.
Said set of specific AT commands preferentially includes commands allowing:
Preferentially, at least some of said specific AT commands are organised so as to be able to provide at least two functions and/or to act on at least two different aspects, as a function of a pre-set parameterisation.
This makes it possible to significantly reduce the number of necessary commands, while providing all the necessary operations and allowing any future developments to be taken into account.
Thus, in a preferential embodiment, said set of commands comprises only 8 commands.
To advantage, said set of specific AT commands includes at least one configuration command allowing the parameters of the communication to be defined with one of said servers.
Preferentially, it implements a single configuration command (+M2MGSET) for the general configuration of aspects related to said protocol and/or said service.
Said consideration command is able particularly to allow a transmission mode to be selected from at least two (SMS and GPRS).
To advantage, said configuration command also allows an operating mode to be selected from at least two, an automatic operating mode and a manual operating mode.
In this case, said configuration command may further be used to set a deadline for the handling of a message, in said automatic operating mode.
According to another aspect of an embodiment of the invention, at least three configurations commands are employed:
According to one advantageous characteristic of an embodiment of the invention, provision is made for:
To advantage, in this case, characterised in that the size of said buffer memory or memories can be parameterised. Provision is made to advantage for the system to operate in said first mode when the size of said buffer memory or memories has the value 0, and in said second mode otherwise.
A straightforward and effective means is thus obtained to fulfill two functions (choice of mode and queue dimensioning for example) with a single command.
Preferentially, at least one general communication command is used, allowing messages to be sent and/or received according to said given protocol.
In particular, at least five general communication commands may be provided:
An embodiment of the invention includes, to advantage, an XML message creation and/or modification command (+M2MCMSG) allowing at least some of the following operations to be performed:
According to another advantageous aspect, at least one interrogation command is implemented by an external application, and preferentially four interrogation commands by an external application in one of said remote equipment, in relation respectively to:
An embodiment of the invention also relates to a process for the remote monitoring of equipment, allowing interconnection between at least one server and at least one remote equipment according to a given protocol, in a system as described above.
An embodiment of the invention further relates to radiocommunication devices and radiocommunication modules that include radiocommunication means employed in such a system for the remote monitoring of equipment.
An embodiment of the invention also relates to computer programs that include programming instructions allowing AT type commands to be employed in a remote equipment and/or in radiocommunication means in a system for the remote monitoring of equipment as described above.
Other characteristics and advantages will emerge more clearly from reading the following description of one embodiment of the invention, given as a straightforward illustrative and non-restrictive example.
The disclosure therefore relates to an new approach to the remote monitoring of equipment, based particularly on implementing a set of specific AT commands that allow an external application to manage data exchanges between a remote terminal and a server, via radiocommunication means (for example a Wismo (trademark) module distributed by the applicant of the present patent application), without the application knowing the protocol used by the server or the XML format. It is the radiocommunication means which manage this aspect, and for example the verification operations, the formatting of the messages and any compression thereof.
According to an embodiment of the invention, radiocommunication means 14 are associated with the remote terminals (or machines) 11, for example in the form of a Wismo (trademark) module, having on board in particular development tools distributed by the applicant under the “Muse platform” mark.
In the embodiment described hereinafter, the system of the embodiment is provided for the “Orange M2M Connect” (trademark) service.
The “Orange M2M Connect” product is a ready-to-use solution offering communication, monitoring and service level functions. This product is supplied in the form of a telemetry cabinet.
According to an embodiment of the invention, Wavecom (trademark) products (modules in particular) offer options that can be used with the “Orange M2M Connect” protocol:
This protocol defines the communication between remote terminals (“terminals”) and the “M2M Telemetry” system (“the system”). The messages may then be reassembled by the host systems (or “servers”) using an HTTP protocol via an M2M gateway.
Schematically, the remote terminals communicate with the host system, through the GPRS network, and the system, which acts as a storage and routing system. The system also provides the protocol monitoring aspect.
The SmartBeep protocol is an application protocol, which defines a communication between an application run on a remote terminal and the system application. SmartBeep is based on Beep integrated software. The SmartBeep protocol uses “API BeepCore” which supports the TCP protocol at a lower level, but most of these operations are hidden for the applications developer.
The general communication process takes the form of an exchange transaction, the different stages of which are defined as follows:
Under an embodiment of the invention, these operations are performed by the radiocommunication means (module) and not directly by the remote terminal.
The “Orange M2M Connect” solution uses properly adapted XML documents to send, receive and manage data.
To handle these XML documents easily, the AT command interface according to an embodiment of the invention proposes a number of commands for analyzing the documents received and facilitating the creation and modification of XML documents to be sent.
An XML document, in the present embodiment, is very straightforward. It can only contain tag names, attribute names, attribute values and data. It cannot contain comments, or DTD, or a Schema validation part.
The example, an XML document may have the following form:
For the record, it should be remembered that most radiocommunication devices include, conventionally, a set of electronic components implanted on a printed circuit. The purpose of these different components is to provide the different necessary functions, from reception of an RF signal to the generation of an audible signal (in the case of a radio telephone), and vice versa. Some of these functions are analogue, and others digital.
The manufacture of these radiocommunication devices is a major research topic. Indeed, there are at least three target objectives which are difficult to reconcile: miniaturising the devices, increasing the functionalities and simplifying the assembly. It is known in particular that implanting different components on the printed circuit is a relatively complex operation, since many components have to be installed on an increasingly restricted surface area, given the requirements of miniaturisation.
The design of these systems is therefore complex, since it additionally means that miscellaneous components, often multiple sources, have to be associated which have to be made to operate together, while respecting the specificities of each. Furthermore, when all the components are assembled, calibration and test phases, which are often long and complex, are required in order to ensure that the device operates smoothly.
Finally, despite the reduction in the size of some components, the assembly takes up a certain surface area, which it is difficult to reduce.
The holder of the present patent application has proposed an approach that overcomes a certain number of these drawbacks, consisting in collecting into a single module, all, or at least most, of the functions of a digital radio communication device.
A module of this kind comes in the form of a single, compact and preferably armour-clad housing, which the manufacturers of devices can implant directly, without having to take account of a multitude of components. In other embodiments, the module can be split, for example over two elements preferentially interconnected by digital connections.
This module (still sometimes known as a “macro-component”) is indeed formed of a collection of several components on a substrate, so as to be implanted in the form of a single element. It includes the components and basic software necessary for the operation of a telecommunications terminal using radio frequencies. There are therefore no further complex stages in the design and validation thereof. All that needs to be done is to reserve the necessary space for the module.
A module of this kind therefore makes it possible to integrate all the components into wireless terminals (mobile telephones, modems, or any other application using a wireless standard) easily, rapidly and in an optimised way.
Furthermore, since it brings together all the essential functions which have been designed as a whole, problems of calibration and testing are no longer raised in the same way, or are at the very least greatly simplified.
Thus, the modules disseminated by the holder of the present patent application are fully tested as regards both hardware and software on most of the networks on which they may subsequently be used. Furthermore, the module encompasses to advantage the aspects of industrial property (with all the functions being collected together, it is the module manufacturer who manages the corresponding industrial property rights) and technical support.
The principle of implementing AT commands is already known. It is for example described in patent document FR-99 13645, and in the various specifications issued by the applicant, to which reference may be made for more detailed information, if necessary.
This module 14 is able to manage a small number of simple AT commands allowing a straightforward and effective dialogue with an external application associated with a terminal. It converts data into the XML format and compresses it, and manages the sending and receiving of data 15 according to this protocol, in a transparent way for the application.
Data can therefore be exchanged by microwave 16, in accordance with the GPRS standard for example, or in the form of short messages (SMS). From the point of view of the server 12, the information is in the XML format. For the terminals 11, it is not necessary to know this protocol, but only a few AT commands. It is thus possible to implement an external application easily and inexpensively into (or next to) a terminal, without it being necessary to provide a microprocessor and memories, and a dedicated application.
As will be seen subsequently, the AT commands proposed can be limited in number to 8, while remaining expandable.
Two data transfer modes are proposed:
The first scenario may represent the most frequent scenario for small size messages, and the second for the transfer of large files. It is thus possible to manage everything through the module, without adding any external memory and intelligence, while allowing data to be transferred that is higher in volume than the storage capacity of the module.
To advantage, a single command makes it possible to size the buffers and to move from one mode to the other (the second mode corresponding to a nil value)
Such a module 14 generally comprises:
According to an embodiment of the invention, further provision is therefore made for a library 26 of specific commands to communicate according to the given protocol, which is placed above the TCP/IP library 24.
The AT commands 27 are addressed, according to circumstances, to the Wavecom core 21, to the TCP/IP library 24 or to the specific library 26.
The interface by AT commands proposed includes in this library 26 includes only 8 commands, making it possible to fully use the protocol, and in particular to:
A description will be given hereinafter of AT commands that can be used to drive the given protocol 26.
If the need arises, reference may be made in particular to the following documents:
[1] The “Orange M2M Protocol Definition”, and particularly:
[2] Guide to the interface of reference Wavecom AT commands:
The following abbreviations are used hereinafter:
The terms MS or ME are used for mobile terminals that handle GSM services.
The word “product” denotes any Wavecom product (in particular module) handling the AT command interface.
A description is given hereinafter of the format of AT commands, and of the default value mechanisms in respect of the parameters thereof.
The commands always start with the standard “AT+M2M” prefix and end with the character <CR>.
The optional parameters are put between square brackets [ ].
Example: AT+M2MCmd=<Param1>[,<Param2>]
Here, <Param2> is optional. When the command AT+M2MCmd is executed without <param2>, the default value of <param2> is used.
The responses start and end with <CR><LF> (except for the response format ATV0 DCE) and the commands ATQ1 (deletion of result code). (See document [2]).
Reference will be made to the attached appendix, which gives a detailed description of the commands implemented according to the present embodiment. This appendix contains the following elements:
Configuration Commands:
General Commands:
M2M Indications:
Error Codes.
In this figure, the information is presented in accordance with a formality which is customary for the man skilled in the art, giving an accurate picture of the data exchanges between the different entities (server, or broker, module and external application). The fourth column shows the commands used, and where necessary their significance.
It does not appear necessary to make any additional comment about these figures, which will be understood straightaway by the man skilled in the art.
Different parameters are required to give the Wavecom product all the information about the initial connection:
This command makes it possible to configure all the parameters used to select the Wavecom Orange M2M protocol support and function mode.
This command is used to configure all the parameters associated with connection to the Wavecom Orange M2M protocol.
The following parameters are used for the two SMS and GPRS supports.
The following parameters are used when the GPRS support is selected. See also the “other parameters” section.
This command allows the known symbol table to be configured for the WBXML syntactic analyser. This operation can only be performed if the service is not connected.
To reinitialise each list, simply enter the type without any list. So, to reinitialise the symbol table, merely enter the following commands:
This command makes it possible to manage the connection to a M2M gateway.
This command allows XML messages or a No More To Send message to be sent or the status of these messages to be obtained.
This command is used in “manual mode” or “automatic mode” if no “stored page” is specified (see 3.1) and after an M2M connection.
Observation: It is possible to quit a command <strl-P> in the text by <ctrl-P><ctrl-P>.
This command allows an uncoded XML text message to be created or easily modified (if the retaining parameter is specified; see 3.1) in the output buffer.
At the end of creation, the message is automatically sent.
This command is used in “manual mode” or in “automatic mode” if no “stored page” is specified (see 3.1) and after an M2M connection.
This command allows all actions relating to received messages to be performed: receiving, reading and analyzing.
A received message generates a +M2MRMI indication.
The peripheral requests the download of any incoming message waiting to be collected at gateway level. This AT command makes it possible to obtain messages that have reached the inbox queue.
This AT command is only available if the value 0 is not assigned to the <InboxSize> parameter (See general parameter command +M2MGSET). If the size of the inbox is set at 0, the messages will be displayed as an uncoded +M2MRMI text indication.
This AT command also allows a received message to be analysed. In this case, indicators, attributes and data are displayed as +M2MPM indications.
Finally, this AT command allows the value of an attribute or of the data in a received message to be read directly.
If a message is encoded in WBXML and cannot be decoded because of an error, the gateway acknowledges the message, and the message is then deleted from the inbox queue. In this event, +M2MRMI indication: 4 is sent.
If the size of an incoming message is greater than the maximum size of the queue and if the <ForcedAcknowledge> parameter is activated (ON), the library sends acknowledgement of receipt of such messages to the message gateway, even if they have not actually been received. In this event, +M2MRMI indication: 3 is sent.
This command makes it possible to effect a general RESET in the inbox queue and in the outbox buffer or to re-establish the default values of all parameters.
This section describes all sent message event responses.
In order to allow the external application to know the connection status, a (+M2MCONI) connection indications mechanism is put in place.
These indications are sent when the <NotifyLevel> parameter value (see the +M2MGSET command) is set at 1 or 3.
To allow the external application to know if a message has been sent, a (+M2MSMI) message indications mechanism is put in place.
These indications are sent when the <NotifyLevel> parameter value (see the +M2MGSET command) is set at 2 or 3.
If the size of the inbox is 0, the messages are displayed with the +M2MRMI indication as soon as they are received.
These indications are sent when the <NotifyLevel> parameter value (see the +M2MGSET command) is set at 2 or 3, during the receipt of messages with the AT+M2MRM command or if a message is received using the SMS support (with SMS, the gateway is able to send a message to the peripheral at any time).
Syntax: +M2MPMI: <Type>[,<Param1>,[,<Param2>]]
This section describes all the error codes returned by M2M AT commands.
One or more embodiments of the invention overcome drawbacks of the prior art.
It should be noted that the fact of identifying this problem is per se a part of an embodiment of the invention. Indeed, the person skilled in the art is convinced that it is absolutely necessary to equip terminal equipment with sufficient processing means, and is unable under any circumstances to conceive how it is possible to reduce them, or even eliminate them.
An embodiment of the invention makes it possible to simplify the required processing operations on the equipment side, and to prevent such equipment from having to have complex and expensive means such as a microprocessor.
An embodiment of the invention proposes a straightforward and generic technique that allows a dialogue to be established easily and effectively between a remote terminal of “limited intelligence” and a server using a high-level protocol, understood by this server.
An embodiment of the invention provides such a technique, allowing a connection to be established between servers and equipment by wireless telephony, in a simple, standardised and inexpensive manner.
An embodiment of the invention provides such a technique, allowing a substantial number of applications to be developed, without it being necessary to develop specific applications on each occasion.
An embodiment of the invention provides such a technique, which does not require knowledge of the protocol and/or data format used in the applications developed.
An embodiment of the invention provides such a technique, which is at once technically simple and expandable, and adaptable to different situations (for example for the size of data to be exchanged) and to any future developments.
Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0402670 | Mar 2004 | FR | national |
This Application is a Section 371 National Stage Application of International Application No. PCT/FR2005/000463, filed Feb. 25, 2005 and published as WO 2005/101739 on Oct. 27, 2005, not in English.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/FR05/00463 | 2/25/2005 | WO | 00 | 9/14/2006 |
