METHOD OF CONTROLLING SEGREGATION OF TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE DATA WITHIN A SHARED DATA NETWORK

Abstract

A method of controlling segregation of transportation infrastructure control data within a shared data network is disclosed. According to the disclosed method, the data network used for carrying the transportation infrastructure control network may be shared with devices that are not contributing to the elevator functionality. This is achieved using a particular arrangement that allows the use of generic peripheral devices in a transportation infrastructure network without disturbing elevator operations.

Claims

1. A method for connecting a generic peripheral device to a transportation infrastructure control network, wherein the generic peripheral device is connected to the transportation infrastructure control network controller through a network element, which method comprises: receiving an indication of attaching of a peripheral device; selecting a profile from a set of predetermined profiles for the attached peripheral device; and instructing the network element to assign the selected profile to the generic peripheral device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: sending an authentication request to the peripheral device; and receiving a response to the authentication request.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network element is one of the following: a switch, a router and a wireless access point.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises determining the set of predetermined profiles.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises generating a set of communication rules in accordance with the set of predetermined profiles.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the method further comprises transmitting a set of communication rules to one or more network elements in the transportation infrastructure control network.

7. A computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer executable computer program code, wherein the computer program code is configured to perform the method according to claim 1 when the computer program is executed in a computing device.

8. A transportation infrastructure control network controller comprising: at least one processor) configured to execute computer program code; at least one memory configured to store computer programs and related data; and at least one network interface configured to connect the transportation infrastructure control network controller with at least one network element, wherein the transportation infrastructure control network controller is configured to perform the method according to claim 1.

9. An elevator and escalator arrangement comprising a transportation infrastructure control network comprising the transportation infrastructure control network controller according to claim 8.

10. The elevator and escalator arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the arrangement further comprises at least one network element and at least one generic peripheral device.

11. The method according to claim 2, wherein the network element is one of the following: a switch, a router and a wireless access point.

12. The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises determining the set of predetermined profiles.

13. The method according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises determining the set of predetermined profiles.

14. The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises generating a set of communication rules in accordance with the set of predetermined profiles.

15. The method according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises generating a set of communication rules in accordance with the set of predetermined profiles.

16. The method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises generating a set of communication rules in accordance with the set of predetermined profiles.

17. The method according to claim 2, wherein in the method further comprises transmitting a set of communication rules to one or more network elements in the transportation infrastructure control network.

18. The method according to claim 3, wherein in the method further comprises transmitting a set of communication rules to one or more network elements in the transportation infrastructure control network.

19. The method according to claim 4, wherein in the method further comprises transmitting a set of communication rules to one or more network elements in the transportation infrastructure control network.

20. The method according to claim 5, wherein in the method further comprises transmitting a set of communication rules to one or more network elements in the transportation infrastructure control network.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the method of controlling segregation of elevator/escalator control data within a shared data network and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate example embodiments and together with the description help to explain the principles of the method of controlling segregation of elevator/escalator control data within a shared data network. In the drawings:

[0026] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example network used in an elevator and escalator environment;

[0027] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an example method; and

[0028] FIG. 3 is a signaling chart according to an example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0030] In the following description, an elevator is used as an example. The arrangement is also suitable for escalators and systems comprising both elevators and escalators.

[0031] In FIG. 1 a block diagram of an example network arrangement that can be used in an elevator and escalator environment is shown. FIG. 1 is used for providing a better understanding of how the method explained below can be implemented. FIG. 1 shows a network controller 100, a network element 110 and a peripheral device 120. The network controller 100 is a controller device that is configured to control the elevator and/or escalator network. The controller is responsible for providing access rights, configuration settings and the like. The network controller may be one device, or it may be divided into a plurality of devices.

[0032] The network element 110 may be a switch to which a peripheral device 120 is attached. The network element 110 is configured to route data communication between a peripheral device and a network controller. In FIG. 1, only one network element is shown; however, commonly a plurality of network elements are connected to one network controller. Accordingly, it is common that a plurality of peripheral devices are connected to network elements. The peripheral device 120 connected to the network controller 100 in this example is a generic peripheral device. A generic peripheral device is a device that is connected to a TICN, but it does not have a functionality directly related to the elevator/escalator control. An example of such generic peripheral devices is an additional display. It is also possible that the generic peripheral device may be used for connecting further devices. In such a case the generic peripheral device may be, for example, a wireless local area network base station that is configured to provide limited or full internet access to devices in the vicinity of the base station.

[0033] The network controller 100 comprises at least one processor 101, at least one memory 102 and at least one network connection interface 103. The at least one processor 101 is configured to execute computer programs that are used to implement the method described below. The at least one memory 102 may comprise volatile and non-volatile portions, and is configured to store computer programs and related data. The network connection interface 103 is used to connect network elements to the controller, and also possibly to connect the controller to the internet.

[0034] The network element 110 comprises at least one processor 111, at least one memory 112 and at least one network connection interface 113. The at least one processor 111 is configured to execute computer programs that are used to implement the method described below. The at least one memory 112 may comprise volatile and non-volatile portions, and is configured to store computer programs and related data. The network connection interface 113 is used to connect peripheral devices to the controller through the network element 110.

[0035] The generic peripheral device 120 comprises at least one processor 121, at least one memory 122 and at least one network connection interface 123. The at least one processor 121 is configured to execute computer programs that are used to implement the method described below. The at least one memory 122 may comprise volatile and non-volatile portions, and is configured to store computer programs and related data. The network connection interface 123 is used to connect the peripheral device to the controller, and also possibly to other devices connected to the peripheral device.

[0036] In FIGS. 2 and 3, a method and signaling are shown. These figures do not include the preparatory steps that are described in the following. When a peripheral device is attached to the transportation infrastructure control network, a profile is assigned to the device. The profile may be particularly designed for the attached peripheral device, or it may be selected from a set of predetermined profiles that are generic for all peripheral devices. These profiles determine, for example, the priority of data transmissions, the maximum bandwidth associated with the peripheral device, and other quality of service related matters. In addition to the quality of service, the profile may include a data security related configuration, for example which other devices the peripheral device may communicate with. For example, if the peripheral device is an elevator/escalator peripheral device, it may be granted a high priority and access to only communicate with other elevator/escalator peripheral devices and the network controller. If the peripheral device is a generic peripheral device, such as the device of FIG. 1, the generic peripheral device may be granted a lower priority and a connection only to the internet, and possibly to other generic peripheral devices. This prevents communication with the elevator/escalator peripheral devices and increases the security.

[0037] The profiles are associated with rules determining the functionality described above. Thus, the preliminary preparations include creating a list of communication controlling rules for the network elements of the TICN. This set of rules is based on a desired communication matrix between peripherals and resources in the network. The rules define which types of connected peripherals can communicate with each other, and which network resources they can access. The rules can also implement classification and prioritization of traffic related to each type of peripheral devices. These rules are distributed to the network elements of the TICN as part of the network commissioning.

[0038] In FIG. 2 an example of a method of controlling segregation of elevator/escalator control data within a shared data network is shown. The method is initiated by receiving, at the network controller, an indication that a peripheral device, such as the generic peripheral device of FIG. 1, is attached to a network element that is further connected to a network controller, step 200. The indication is received at the network controller through a network element. Thus, the indication may already comprise additional tasks, such as an access request. The indication of attaching may be generated automatically or manually.

[0039] After receiving the indication, the network controller sends an authentication request to the peripheral device, step 201. The peripheral device responds to the authentication request, step 202. When the authentication has been received, it is possible to determine a correct profile for the attached generic peripheral device, step 203. The correct profile has been associated with an appropriate network configuration, for example routing rules that are transmitted to the network element responsible for communicating with the attached generic peripheral device, step 204.

[0040] FIG. 3 is a signaling chart providing a better understanding of the arrangement and the method discussed above. The signaling starts with an indication of an attachment signal, 300. This is generated when a generic peripheral device is connected to a network element, and the generic peripheral device wishes to gain connectivity, for example to the internet or to other peripheral devices. The network element to which the generic peripheral device is connected generates an access request signal 301 to the network controller.

[0041] The network controller receives the access request. As a response it will perform an authentication of the attached generic peripheral device, and transmits an authentication request signal, 302. Then the generic peripheral device generates a response signal 303 to the authentication request. When the authentication is successful, an acknowledgement signal of a successful authentication 304 is generated and sent to the network element, so that the generic peripheral device is connected to the network. Lastly, a profile assignment and other routing rules are sent to the network element, 305.

[0042] The above described methods may be implemented as computer software which is executed in a computing device that can be connected to a data communication network. When the software is executed in a computing device, it is configured to perform the above described inventive method. The software is embodied on a computer readable medium, so that it can be provided to the computing device, such as the transportation infrastructure control network controller of FIG. 1.

[0043] As stated above, the components of the exemplary embodiments can include a computer readable medium or memories for holding instructions programmed according to the teachings of the present embodiments and for holding data structures, tables, records, and/or other data described herein. The computer readable medium can include any suitable medium that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Common forms of computer-readable media can include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other suitable magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, CDR, CDRW, DVD, DVD-RAM, DVDRW, DVDR, HD DVD, HD DVD-R, HD DVD-RW, HD DVD-RAM, Blu-ray Disc, any other suitable optical medium, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other suitable memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave or any other suitable medium from which a computer can read.

[0044] It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that with the advancement of technology, the basic idea of the method of controlling segregation of elevator/escalator control data within a shared data network may be implemented in various ways. The method of controlling segregation of elevator/escalator control data within a shared data network and its embodiments are thus not limited to the examples described above; instead they may vary within the scope of the claims.