Patent Publication Number: US-2022224556-A1

Title: Connection management device, connection management system, connection management method, and program

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a connection management device, a connection management system, a method of managing connection, and a program. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Recent prevalence of cloud computing offers easier data transfer to and storage in various countries, regions, and the like. However, different countries, regions, and so on have different laws and regulations on data processing that are to be complied with. For example, Europe has the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The EU GDPR is a regulation designed to improve personal data protections and prohibits transfer of the personal data outside the European Economic Area. 
     In view of such circumstances, techniques of processing data while avoiding risks of non-compliance with the laws and regulations are proposed. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of determining whether or not there is a possibility that uploading of data to a server device specified by a user is non-compliant with the laws and regulations, and presenting a result of the determination. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     Patent Literature 1: International Publication No. WO 2013/065161 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     Such a technique as described above can provide knowledge of whether or not uploading to the specified server fails to comply with the laws and regulations, but does not guarantee connection to a secure server device that avoids the risk of non-compliance with the laws and regulations. If the user at the time of data uploading specifies the server device, the user may specify, by erroneous operation or intentionally, a server device that is non-compliant with the laws and regulations. 
     In view of the above circumstances, an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a connection management device, connection management system, a connection management method, and a program capable of automatic connection of a terminal device to a secure server device that avoids the risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations. 
     Solution to Problem 
     To achieve the above objective, a connection management device according to the present disclosure is included in a terminal device communicable with server devices, and includes: location information acquisition means for acquiring location information indicating a location where the terminal device exists; region determination means for determining, based on the location information acquired by the location information acquisition means, a region where the terminal device exists; connection destination determination means for determining, based on the region determined by the region determination means, which of the plurality of server devices is the server device to which the terminal device is to connect; and transmission means for transmitting, to the server device determined by the connection destination determination means, a request for connection to connect to the server device. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     The present disclosure enables automatic connection of a terminal device to a secure server device to be connected to, based on a region where the terminal device exists. This can ensure an administrator of the server device complies with the laws and regulations on processing of data to be acquired from the terminal device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a connection management system according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a connection management device and a terminal device according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a server device according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a connection topology of terminal devices and server devices according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the connection management device according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates regional information data according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates another regional information data according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates connection destination information data according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the terminal device according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the server device according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  is a diagram illustrating personal information data according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of process steps executed between the terminal devices and the server devices according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  is a flowchart illustrating a connection management process executed by the connection management device according to the embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a connection management system according to a modified example; and 
         FIG. 15  is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a connection management system according to a modified example. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiment 
     A connection management system according to the embodiment is a system capable of connecting a terminal device to a secure server device that avoids a risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations on processing of data of the terminal device. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a connection management system  1  includes connection management devices  100 - 1 ,  100 - 2 , . . . , and  100 - m  (m represents natural number not less than 2) to determine server devices to which terminal devices are to connect, terminal devices  200 - 1 ,  200 - 2 , . . . , and  200 - m  including the connection management devices, and server devices  300 - 1 ,  300 - 2 , . . . , and  300 - n  (n represents natural number not less than 2) that establish connection to the terminal devices to transmit and receive data. The connection management devices  100 - 1 ,  100 - 2 , . . . , and  100 - m  are collectively referred to as a connection management device  100 , the terminal devices  200 - 1 ,  200 - 2 , . . . , and  200 - m  are collectively referred to as a terminal device  200 , and the server devices  300 - 1 ,  300 - 2 , . . . , and  300 - n  are collectively referred to as a server device  300 . 
     Relationships among the connection management device  100 , the terminal device  200 , and the server devices  300  are described with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     Each of the connection management devices  100  is included in each of the terminal devices  200 , which communicates with a plurality of server devices  300  via a network  400 . The connection management device  100  determines the server device  300  to which the terminal device  200  is to connect, and transmits to the determined server device  300  a request for connection. 
     The terminal device  200  is a device used by a user who receives services provided by the server device  300 . Examples of the terminal device  200  include a personal computer, a smartphone, and a tablet terminal. The terminal device  200  may be a device that is owned by the user or is lent out by a provider of the service. The terminal device  200  communicates with the server device  300  determined by the connection management device  100 . 
     The server device  300  is typically a cloud server and is a device that provides services to the terminal device  200  with the connection established. The server device  300  establishes the connection to the terminal device  200  in response to the request for connection transmitted by the connection management device  100  in the terminal device  200 . After the connection is established, the connection is by direct communication between the server device  300  and the terminal device  200  without interposition of the connection management device  100 . The server device  300  performs transmission and reception, to and from the terminal device  200 , of data necessary for providing services. 
     The network  400  is a wireless or wired communication network, and examples of the network  400  include the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a local area network (LAN), a virtual private network (VPN), and a telephone network. 
     In the present embodiment, the server device  300  is assumed to provide services for automatic control of an air conditioner. The terminal device  200  is a device used by a user who operates the air conditioner, and has an installed application for operation of the air conditioner. Upon the user initially starting this application in the terminal device  200  after installing the application, a request for connection is transmitted from the connection management device  100  in the terminal device  200  to the server device  300 . After the request for connection achieves establishment of the connection between the terminal device  200  and the server device  300 , the server device  300  automatically controls the air conditioner operated by the user of the terminal device  200 . The user can receive services such as power reception condition-based automatic control, automatic inspection, and the like. 
     Next, hardware configurations of the connection management device  100  and the terminal device  200  are described with reference to  FIG. 2 . The connection management device  100  is included in the terminal device  200 . The connection management device  100  is achieved by means of the hardware configuration of the terminal device  200 . 
     The connection management device  100  and the terminal device  200  include a processor  11  that controls an operation of a devices, a read only memory (ROM)  12  that stores a program, a random access memory (RAM)  13  that is a work area, a memory  14  that can read and write data, a network interface  15  for connecting to a network, and a global positioning system (GPS) module  16  that finds a location of the terminal device  200 . The components are connected to one another via buses. 
     The processor  11  includes a central processing unit (CPU). The processor  11  implements functions of the connection management device  100  and the terminal device  200  by executing a program stored in the ROM  12 . 
     The ROM  12  stores the program and the data for controlling the whole operations of the connection management device  100  and the terminal device  200 . 
     The RAM  13  serves as a work area for the processor  11 . The processor  11  temporarily writes the program and data to the RAM  13  and refers to the program and the data as appropriate. 
     The memory  14  is a readable/writable non-volatile memory, such as an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or the like. 
     The network interface  15  is an interface for connection of the connection management device  100  and the terminal device  200  to the network  400 . The network interface  15  includes a local area network (LAN) interface such as a network interface card (NIC). 
     The GPS module  16  determines latitude and longitude of a place where the terminal device  200  exists using information received from a GPS satellite. 
     A hardware configuration of the server device  300  is described with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
     The server device  300  includes a processor  21  that controls an operation of a device, a ROM  22  that stores a program, a RAM  23  that is a work area, a memory  24  that can read and write data, and a network interface  25  for connection to the network. The components are connected to one another via buses. 
     The processor  21  includes a CPU. The processor  21  implements functions of the sever device  300  by executing a program stored in the ROM  22 . 
     The ROM  22  stores the program and the data for controlling the whole operation of the server device  300 . 
     The RAM  23  serves as a work area for the processor  21 . The processor  21  temporarily writes the program and the data to the RAM  23  and refers to the program and data as appropriate. 
     The memory  24  is a readable/writable non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM, a flash memory, or the like. 
     The network interface  25  is an interface for connection of the server device  300  to the network  400 . The network interface  25  includes a LAN interface such as an NIC. 
     A connection topology of the terminal devices  200  including the connection management devices  100  and the server devices  300  upon initial start of an application after installation in the terminal device  200  is described with reference to  FIG. 4 . The following description assumes that the connection management devices  100 - 1  and  100 - 2  are achieved by execution of the application for operation of air conditioners  500 - 1  and  500 - 2  that have been installed in the terminal devices  200 - 1  and  200 - 2 . The connection topology is described focusing on an example in which the connection management devices  100 - 1  and  100 - 2  transmit requests for connection. 
     In  FIG. 4 , the terminal device  200 - 1  including the connection management device  100 - 1 , the server device  300 - 1 , and the air conditioner  500 - 1  exist in a region A, and the terminal device  200 - 2  including the connection management device  100 - 2 , the server device  300 - 2 , and the air conditioner  500 - 2  exist in a region B. The region indicates a country, a state, a municipality, or the like. In  FIG. 4 , a solid line indicates connection between the devices made upon request for connection from the connection management device  100 - 1  and a dashed line indicates connection between the devices made upon request for connection from the connection management device  100 - 2 . 
     Since the laws and regulations about processing of data are generally defined for each region, the connection management device  100  of the present embodiment manages the connections between the terminal device  200  and the server device  300  so that data transfer and storage are performed in the same region. 
     For example, upon initial start of an application after installation in the terminal device  200 - 1  existing in the region A, the connection management device  100 - 1  included in the terminal device  200 - 1  determines the server device  300 - 1  located in the same region A as the terminal device  200 - 1  to be the server device  300  to which the terminal device  200 - 1  is to connect. The connection management device  100 - 1  then transmits a request for connection including identification information for identifying the terminal device  200 - 1 , to the server device  300 - 1 . The server device  300 - 1  transmits to the terminal device  200 - 1  a response indicating connection admission with the identification information. The terminal device  200 - 1  having received the response communicates directly with the server device  300 - 1  and establishes connection with the server device  300 - 1 . 
     After establishment of the connection, the terminal device  200 - 1  receives from the server device  300 - 1  control information for automatic control of the air conditioner  500 - 1 , and transmits the control information to the air conditioner  500 - 1 . A setting temperature, a setting air volume, and the like of the air conditioner  500 - 1  are set based on the control information. The air conditioner  500 - 1  transmits to the terminal device  200 - 1  a setting completion notification, an operation change notification, a notification of power consumption of the air conditioner  500 - 1 , and the like. The terminal device  200 - 1  transmits to the server device  300 - 1  the notification received from the air conditioner  500 - 1 . 
     Upon initial start of an application after installation in the terminal device  200 - 2  existing in the region B, the connection management device  100 - 2  included in the terminal device  200 - 2  determines the server device  300 - 2  located in the same region B as the terminal device  200 - 2  to be the server device  300  to which the terminal device  200 - 2  is to connect. The connection management device  100 - 2  then transmits a request for connection including identification information for identifying the terminal device  200 - 2 , to the server device  300 - 2 . The server device  300 - 2  transmits to the terminal device  200 - 2 a response indicating connection admission with the identification information. The terminal device  200 - 2  having received the response communicates directly with the server device  300 - 2  and establishes connection with the server device  300 - 2 . 
     After establishment of the connection, the terminal device  200 - 2  receives from the server device  300 - 2  control information for automatic control of the air conditioner  500 - 2 , and transmits the control information to the air conditioner  500 - 2 . A setting temperature, a setting air volume, and the like of the air conditioner  500 - 2  are set based on the control information. The air conditioner  500 - 2  transmits to the terminal device  200 - 2  a setting completion notification, an operation change notification, a notification of power consumption of the air conditioner  500 - 2 , and the like. The terminal device  200 - 2  transmits to the server device  300 - 2  the notification received from the air conditioner  500 - 2 . 
     Next, functions of the connection management device  100  are described with reference to  FIG. 5 . The connection management device  100  includes a location information acquirer  101  that acquires location information of the terminal device  200 , a region determiner  102  that determines a region of the terminal device  200  based on the acquired location information, a storage  103  that stores data that is the location information and the regional information associated with each other, a connection destination determiner  104  that determines, based on the determined region, a server device  300  to be connected to, and a transmitter  105  that transmits to the determined server device  300  a request for connection. The functions of the connection management device  100  described below are achieved by execution of the application installed in the terminal device  200 . 
     The location information acquirer  101  acquires location information indicating a location where the terminal device  200  exists. The location information acquirer  101  is implemented by cooperation of the processor  11  with the network interface  15  and the GPS module  16 . Here, the location information acquirer  101  is an example of location information acquisition means. 
     The location information is information indicating a location of the terminal device  200 , such as latitude and longitude, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, or the like. 
     The latitude and longitude are latitude and longitude of the terminal device  200  determined by the GPS module  16  of the terminal device  200  or latitude and longitude indicating a location of a base station to which the terminal device  200  is connected. 
     The IP address is a global IP address used by the terminal device  200 . The country-by-country allocation of global IP addresses is publicly known, and the country where the terminal device  200  exists can be known by reference to the global IP address. 
     Upon initial start of the application for operation of the air conditioner after installation in the terminal device  200 , the location information acquirer  101  acquires the latitude and longitude indicating a location of the terminal device  200 . For example, upon receiving a sentence “$GPRMC,085120.307,A,3541.1493,N,13945.3994,E,000.0,240.3,181211,A*6A” from the GPS module  16 , the location information acquirer  101  acquires the latitude “3541.1493, N” and the longitude “13945.3994, E” from the sentence. 
     Alternatively, the location information acquirer  101  may acquire the latitude and longitude of the base station to which the terminal device  200  is connected. In a case where the terminal device  200  exists in a cell covered by the base station, the base station notifies the latitude and longitude of the base station to the terminal device  200 , and thus the location information acquirer  101  acquires the notified latitude and longitude of the base station. 
     The location information acquirer  101  may acquire the global IP address used by the terminal device  200 . 
     The location information acquirer  101  may calculate, based on information from the GPS satellite and information from the base station, the latitude and longitude where the terminal device  200  exists. 
     In a case where the user allows finding of the location information from his or her address registered in the terminal device  200 , the location information acquirer  101  may find the location information of the terminal device  200  from the user&#39;s address registered in the terminal device  200 . The location information acquirer  101  may find the location information about the location where the terminal device  200  exists by the connection management device  100  communicating with a device other than the terminal device  200 . 
     An administrator of the connection management device  100  can freely select, as the location information, any of the aforementioned location information such as the latitude and longitude, the global IP address, and the like or a combination thereof. 
     The region determiner  102  determines, based on the acquired location information, a region where the terminal device  200  exists. The region determiner  102  determines the region by reference to the data stored in the storage  103 . The region determiner  102  is implemented by the processor  11 . The region determiner  102  is an example of region determination means. 
     The storage  103  stores, in association with each other, regional information indicating a region and location information. For example, the storage  103  stores, in association with each other, regional information data that is data of the regional information and the latitude and longitude.  FIG. 6  illustrates an example of the regional information data that is data of the regional information and the latitude and longitude associated with each other. The regional information data illustrated in  FIG. 6  is stored in the memory  14 . The storage  103  is an example of storage means. 
     In the table in  FIG. 6 , the region is associated with the latitudes and longitudes of the easternmost point, the westernmost point, the southernmost point, and northernmost point of the region. The data in the first row of the table in  FIG. 6  indicates that the latitudes of the region “A” are “2416.5993, N” at the easternmost point, “2426.5812, N” at the westernmost point, “2025.3101, N” at the southernmost point, and “4533.2622, N” at the northernmost point. 
     The storage  103  stores regional information data that are data of the regional information and the global IP address associated with each other.  FIG. 7  illustrates an example of the regional information data of the regional information and the global IP address associated with each other. The regional information data illustrated in  FIG. 7  is also stored in the memory  14 . 
     In the table in  FIG. 7 , the region is associated with the global IP address. The data in the first row of the table in  FIG. 7  indicates that the region “A” is assigned addresses, “1.0.16.0-1.0.31.255, 1.0.64.0-1.0.127.255” and the like. 
     For example, when the acquired location information has a latitude “3541.1493, N” and a longitude “13945.3994, E”, the region determiner  102  identifies a region that includes the latitude “3541.1493, N” and the longitude “13945.3994, E” by reference to the table in  FIG. 6 . Since the latitude “3541.1493, N” and the longitude “13945.3994, E” are values included in the “region A”, the region determiner  102  determines that the “region A” is the region where the terminal device  200  exists. 
     When the acquired location information has an IP address “1.0.16.1”, the region determiner  102  determines, by reference to the table in  FIG. 7 , that the “region A” assigned the IP address “1.0.16.1” is the region where the terminal device  200  exists. 
     When multiple types of location information are included, the region determiner  102  determines the region based on each type of location information. When different regions are determined, the region determiner  102  may determine the region based on a predetermined adoption priority of location information. 
     The connection destination determiner  104  determines, based on the determined region, the server device  300  to which the terminal device  200  is to connect. The connection destination determiner  104  is implemented by the processor  11 . The connection destination determiner  104  is an example of connection destination determination means. 
     Here, the server device  300  to which the terminal device  200  is to connect refers to a secure server device  300  that can avoid a risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations on processing of data acquired from the terminal device  200 . Since the laws and regulations are generally defined for each region, the data acquired from the terminal device  200  can be considered to be secure in a situation where the server device  300  in the same region processes the data. Thus, in the present embodiment, the connection destination determiner  104  recognizes that the server device  300  existing in the same region as the terminal device  200  is the server device  300  that avoids a risk of non-compliance with the laws and regulations on processing of data acquired from the terminal device  200 , and determines that the server device  300  existing in the same region as the terminal device  200  is the server device  300  to which the terminal device  200  is to connect. 
     For example, the storage  103  stores connection destination information data that is data of the regional information indicating a region and identification information for identifying the server devices  300  located in the regions indicated by the regional information, in association with each other. The identification information is information, such as IP address, for designating a communication partner.  FIG. 8  illustrates an example of the connection destination information data. The connection destination information data illustrated in  FIG. 8  is stored in the memory  14 . 
     In the table in  FIG. 8 , the region is associated with the server device name of the server device  300  located in the region and the identification information on the server device  300 . The data in the first row of the table in  FIG. 8  indicates that the server device  300  located in the region “A” has the server device name “server device  300 - 1 ” and is identified by the identification information “aaa.aaa.aaa.aaa”. 
     For example, the connection destination determiner  104  of the connection management device  100 - 1  included in the terminal device  200 - 1  refers to the connection destination information data illustrated in  FIG. 8 , and thereby determines that, among the server devices  300 - 1 ,  300 - 2 , . . . , and  300 - n,  the server device  300 - 1  associated with the same region A as the terminal device  200 - 1  is the server device  300  to which the terminal device  200 - 1  is to connect. 
     The transmitter  105  transmits, to the determined server device  300 , the request for connection. The transmitter  105  is implemented by cooperation of the processor  11  with the network interface  15 . The transmitter  105  is an example of transmission means and a first transmission means. 
     For example, the transmitter  105  refers to the connection destination information data in  FIG. 8 , thereby specifies identification information on the server device  300 - 1  determined to be the destination server device  300  to be connected to, and transmits a request for connection to the server device  300 - 1  using the specified identification information. 
     The request for connection includes identification information for identifying the terminal device  200 , which is necessary for reception of a response from the server device  300 . The request for connection may also include information with which the user of the terminal device  200  can be identified, because the determined server device  300  is determined to be a secure server device  300  that can avoid the risk of non-compliance with the laws and regulations on processing of the data acquired from the terminal device  200 . 
     For example, the request for connection transmitted to the server device  300 - 1  includes the IP address of the terminal device  200 - 1  and personal information on the user of the terminal device  200 - 1 . Here, the personal information is information with which, alone or in combination, an individual can be identified. Examples of the personal information include a name, address, email address, phone number, sex, and age. 
     Next, functions of the terminal device  200  are described with reference to  FIG. 9 . The terminal device  200  includes the connection management device  100 , a receiver  201  that receives a response from the server device  300 , and a transmitter  202  that transmits data to the server device  300 . 
     The receiver  201  receives from the server device  300  the response to the request for connection. The receiver  201  is implemented by cooperation of the processor  11  and the network interface  15 . The receiver  201  is an example of first reception means. 
     The response includes a message of connection admission or successful reception of the request for connection. The reception of the response to the request for connection is deemed as successful establishment of connection between the terminal device  200  and the server device  300 . After establishment of the connection, sending and receiving of data necessary for the user of the terminal device  200  to receive services is started between the terminal device  200  and the server device  300 . 
     For example, the receiver  201  of the terminal device  200 - 1  receives, from the server device  300 - 1  determined by the connection management device  100 - 1  as a connection destination of the terminal device  200 - 1 , a response indicating connection admission. After establishment of the connection to the server device  300 - 1 , the receiver  201  of the terminal device  200 - 1  receives from the server device  300 - 1  control information for automatic control of the air conditioner  500 - 1 . 
     The response to the request for connection may include the control information related to services. That is, the automatic control of the air conditioner may be started at the same time as the establishment of the connection between the terminal device  200  and the server device. 
     The transmitter  202  transmits personal information on the user and data related to operations of the air conditioner after the establishment of the connection between the terminal device  200  and the server device  300 ,. The transmitter  202  is implemented by cooperation of the processor  11  and the network interface  15 . 
     For example, the transmitter  202  transmits personal information data, including personal information and an operation history of the air conditioner, which is described below, to the server device  300 . 
     Next, functions of the server device  300  are described with reference to  FIG. 10 . The server device  300  includes a receiver  301  that receives a request for connection, a processing unit  302  that performs processing for providing services, a storage  303  that stores information associated with the user of the terminal device  200 , and a transmitter  304  that transmits to the terminal device  200  a response. 
     The receiver  301  receives a request for connection transmitted by the connection management device  100 . The receiver  301  is implemented by cooperation of the processor  21  and the network interface  25 . The receiver  301  is an example of second reception means. 
     For example, the receiver  301  of the server device  300 - 1  receives a request for connection transmitted by the connection management device  100 - 1 . 
     After establishment of connection between the terminal device  200  and the server device  300 , or at the time of reception of the request for connection, the receiver  301  receives from the terminal device  200  data necessary for providing services. For example, the receiver  301  receives the personal information data including personal information and an operation history of the air conditioner, from the terminal device  200 . 
     The processing unit  302  performs, by reference to the data stored in the storage  303 , various types of processing for the server device  300  to provide services. The processing unit  302  is implemented by the processor  21 . 
     Specifically, the processing unit  302  generates control information of the air conditioner based on the data stored in the storage  303 . 
     The storage  303  stores the data transmitted by the terminal device  200 . 
       FIG. 11  illustrates an example of data stored in the storage  303 . The personal information data illustrated in  FIG. 11  is stored in the memory  24 . The personal information data is data generated for the user of the terminal device  200  after establishment of secure connection between the terminal device  200  and the server device  300 , or at the time of reception of the request for connection. 
     The table in  FIG. 11  includes an identification (ID) assigned to the user of the terminal device  200 , name, address, email address, sex, and age of the user, and operation history of the air conditioner. The operation history includes an operation time that is a time when the user operates the air conditioner and a set temperature. The operation history is transmitted by the terminal device  200  every time the user operates the air conditioner using the application or is transmitted periodically. 
     After establishment of the connection to the terminal device  200 , or at the time of reception of the request for connection, the processing unit  302  generates, by reference to the personal information data of  FIG. 11 , control information for automatic control of the air conditioner. 
     The transmitter  304  transmits a response indicating admission of connection with the server device  300 , to the terminal device  200  including the connection management device  100  that has transmitted the request for connection. The transmitter  304  is implemented by cooperation of the processor  21  and the network interface  25 . The transmitter  304  is an example of second transmission means. 
     For example, the transmitter  304  of the server device  300 - 1 , which has received the request for connection including the identification information on the terminal device  200 - 1 , transmits a response indicating admission of connection with the server device  300 - 1  to the terminal device  200 - 1 , using the identification information. 
     The transmitter  304  transmits to the terminal device  200  the data necessary for providing services, after establishment of connection between the terminal device  200  and the server device  300 , or at the time of transmission of a response to the request for connection. 
     For example, the transmitter  304  of the server device  300 - 1  transmits the control information for the air conditioner  500 - 1  to the terminal device  200 - 1  after establishment of connection to the terminal device  200 - 1 . Alternatively, the transmitter  304  of the server device  300 - 1  may transmit the response to the request for connection, to which the control information for the air conditioner  500 - 1  is added, to the terminal device  200 - 1 . 
     Next, an operation of the connection management system  1  according to the present embodiment is described.  FIG. 12  is a sequence diagram illustrating a flow of process steps executed between the terminal devices  200  including the connection management devices  100  and the server devices  300 . The sequence diagram in  FIG. 12  indicates a flow of process steps in a case of the connection topology in  FIG. 4 . 
     Upon initial start of an application after installation in the terminal device  200 - 1  in the region A, the connection management device  100 - 1  included in the terminal device  200 - 1  executes a connection management process, which is described below, and transmits a request for connection to the server device  300 - 1  (Step S 101 ). The server device  300 - 1  transmits a response indicating successful reception of the request for connection to the terminal device  200 - 1  (Step S 102 ), and the terminal device  200 - 1  then transmits the personal information data to the server device  300 - 1  (Step S 103 ). The server device  300 - 1  generates control information based on the personal information data stored in the storage  303  and transmits the control information to the terminal device  200 - 1  (Step S 104 ). 
     Upon initial start of an application after installation in the terminal device  200 - 2  in the region B, the connection management device  100 - 2  included in the terminal device  200 - 2  executes the connection management process, which is described below, and transmits a request for connection to the server device  300 - 2  (Step S 105 ). The server device  300 - 2  transmits a response indicating successful reception of the request for connection to the terminal device  200 - 2  (Step S 106 ), and the terminal device  200 - 2  then transmits the personal information data to the server device  300 - 2  (Step S 107 ). The server device  300 - 2  then generates control information based on the personal information data stored in the storage  303 , and transmits the control information to the terminal device  200 - 2  (Step S 108 ). 
     Next, the connection management process executed by the connection management device  100  according to the present embodiment is described using the flowchart of  FIG. 13 . The connection management process illustrated in  FIG. 13  starts upon initial start of an application after installation in the terminal device. 
     The location information acquirer  101  acquires location information of the terminal device  200  (Step S 201 ). Specifically, the location information acquirer  101  acquires the latitude and longitude or the global IP address of the terminal device  200 . 
     In step  202 , upon acquisition of the location information, the region determiner  102  determines the region associated with the location information by reference to the regional information data stored in the storage  103  (Step S 202 ). The connection destination determiner  104  determines, based on the determined region, the server device  300  to be connected to (Step S 203 ). Specifically, the connection destination determiner  104  determines that the server device  300  existing in the same region as the terminal device  200  is the server device  300  to which the terminal device  200  is to connect. 
     The transmitter  105  transmits, to the determined server device  300 , a request for connection (Step S 204 ), followed by termination of the connection management process in the connection management device  100 . 
     With the globalization of services, the same application may be used in the terminal devices in different regions across borders. In such circumstances, the server device may not be able to identify the region where the terminal device performing communication exists. However, according to the connection management device according to the present embodiment, the region of the terminal device on which the application runs can be determined automatically without user&#39;s input. The connection management device according to the present embodiment can determine, based on the determined region, the server device that can avoid a risk of non-compliance with the laws and regulations on processing of data of the terminal device and may connect the terminal device automatically to the determined secure server device. This can achieve compliance with the laws and regulations. 
     Security standards on processing of data are different for different regions. Providing the server device in each region that provides services so as to satisfy the strictest security standards in the regions is technically difficult and costly. In addition, since the laws and regulations are updated independently in each region, providing the server device in each region so as to comply with all the laws and regulations is troublesome and difficult from the management perspective. Thus the server device in each region is preferably managed by a service provider in each region, an administrator of a service providing country, or the like so as to comply with the laws and regulations in each region and satisfy the security standards in each region. According to the present embodiment, since the data stored in the server device is data acquired from the terminal device existing in the same region as the data stored in the server device, the administrator can perform management so as to satisfy the laws and regulations and the security standards in the administrator&#39;s own region without worrying about the other region&#39;s laws and regulations and security standards in the other regions. 
     According to the present embodiment, by the terminal device including the connection management device, all of the data from the terminal device is transmitted to the server device located in the region that can avoid the risk of non-compliance with the laws and regulations on processing of data . This can certainly prevent personal information from being leaked to a region having risk of non-compliance with the laws and regulations. 
     According to the present embodiment, the connection management device transmits a request for connection of the terminal device to the secure server device that can avoid the risk of non-compliance with the laws and regulations on processing of data. The terminal device can therefore start transmission of data including personal information to the server device even in the initial stage of data transmission. This can achieve rapid data transfer. 
     MODIFIED EXAMPLE 
     Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, modifications and applications in various forms can be made to implement the present disclosure. 
     Although, in the above embodiments, the server device  300  includes a function of providing services and a function of storing information associated with a user of the terminal device  200 , the configuration is not limited thereto and may be implemented by another device with each function. 
     For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 14 , the connection management system  1  includes terminal devices  200 - 1 ,  200 - 2 , . . . , and  200 - m  (m is a natural number not less than 2) including connection management devices  100 - 1 ,  100 - 2 , . . . , and  100 - m,  application server devices  600 - 1 ,  600 - 2 , . . . , and  600 - i  (i is a natural number not less than 2), and database server devices  700 - 1 ,  700 - 2 , . . . , and  700 - j  (j is a natural number not less than 2). The application server devices  600 - 1 ,  600 - 2 , . . . , and  600 - i  are collectively referred to as application server devices  600 , and the database server devices  700 - 1 ,  700 - 2 , . . . , and  700 - j  are collectively referred to as database server devices  700 . In this connection management system  1 , the application server device  600  may have the functions of the receiver  301 , the processing unit  302 , and the transmitter  304 , while the database server device  700  may have the function of the storage  303 . 
     For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 15 , the connection management system  1  may include terminal devices  200 - 1 ,  200 - 2 , . . . , and  200 - m  (m is a natural number not less than 2) including connection management devices  100 - 1 ,  100 - 2 , . . . , and  100 - m,  an application server device  600 - 1 , and database server devices  700 - 1 ,  700 - 2 , . . . , and  700 - j  (j is a natural number not less than 2). In this case, only the database server devices  700  are placed in mutually different regions. The application server device  600 - 1  in this modification is a secure server device that can avoid the risk of non-compliance with the laws and regulations on processing of data including personal information in all the regions. 
     Although, in the above embodiments, the connection destination determiner  104  determines that the server device  300  existing in the same region as the terminal device  200  is the server device  300  to which the terminal device is to connect, such configuration is not limiting. The connection destination determiner  104  can determine, as the server device  300  to be connected to, any server device that can avoid a risk of non-compliance with the laws and regulations. For example, in a case where the laws and regulations in the region where the terminal device  200  exits allows transfer and storage of data in a particular region that is different from the region where the terminal device  200  exists, the server device  300  existing in the particular region may be included in the server devices  300  to be connected to. The connection destination determiner  104  may determine the server device  300  to be connected to, based on not only the laws and regulations but also a contract in each region. 
     Although, in the above embodiment, the regional information data in  FIGS. 6 and 7  are assumed to be stored in the storage  103  of the connection management device  100 , such configuration is not limiting. The types of regional information data to be stored in the storage  103  may be determined in accordance with the location information acquired by the location information acquirer  101 . For example, in a case where the location information acquired by the location information acquirer  101  is only latitude and longitude, storage of only the regional information data in  FIG. 6  by the storage  103  is permissible. 
     Although the functions of the connection management device  100  are achieved by execution of the application installed in the terminal device  200  in the above embodiment, this configuration is a mere example. The functions of the connection management device  100  may also be achieved by execution of a program for the connection management process, independently from execution of the application. Alternatively, some of the functions of the connection management device  100  may be achieved by execution of the application, while the rest of the functions of the connection management device  100  may be achieved by execution of a program for the rest of the functions. 
     Although the connection management process is executed upon initial start of an application after installation in the above embodiment, this configuration is a mere example. For example, the connection management process may also be executed in response to an instruction from the user of the terminal device  200  if the user moves to another region due to relocation. Alternatively, the connection management process may be executed in response to a predetermined operation of the user. In this case, the request for connection may contain an operation history. 
     Although, in the above embodiments, the server device  300  included in the connection management system  1  is assumed to provide services of automatic control of an air conditioner, such configuration is not limiting. For example, the server device  300  may provide services for control of various devices and systems, such as an illumination device, home appliances such as a refrigerator, a hot-water supply system, a ventilation system, and the like. The server device  300  may be any server device  300  that can transmit and receive data to and from the terminal device  200 , without being a device that provides services. For example, the server device  300  may manage personal data transmitted by the terminal device  200 . 
     By applying an operation program defining an operation of the connection management device  100  according to the embodiment to an existing personal computer or an information terminal device, the personal computer or the information terminal device can be made to function as the connection management device  100  according to the embodiment. 
     Any method for distribution of such a program can be adopted. For example, the program may be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory card, or may be distributed via a communication network such as the Internet. 
     The foregoing describes some example embodiments for explanatory purposes. Although the foregoing discussion has presented specific embodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. This detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention is defined only by the included claims, along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The present disclosure can provide a connection management device, a connection management system, a connection management method, and a program that are capable of automatic connection of a terminal device to a secure server that avoids a risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
       1  Connection management system
       11 ,  21  Processor     12 ,  22  ROM     13 ,  23  RAM     14 ,  24  Memory     15 ,  25  Network interface     16  GPS module     100 ,  100 - 1 ,  100 - 2 ,  100 - m  Connection management device     101  Location information acquirer     102  Region determiner     103 ,  303  Storage     104  Connection destination determiner     105 ,  202 ,  304  Transmitter     200 ,  200 - 1 ,  200 - 2 ,  200 - m  Terminal device     201 ,  301  Receiver     300 ,  300 - 1 ,  300 - 2 ,  300 - n  Server device     302  Processing unit     400  Network     500 - 1 ,  500 - 2  Air conditioner     600 ,  600 - 1 ,  600 - 2 ,  600 - i  Application server device     700 ,  700 - 1 ,  700 - 2 ,  700 - j  Database server device