Patent Publication Number: US-2005144620-A1

Title: Software download system for controller

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a software download system for downloading software to a controller.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      As software for controlling a controller such as a numerical control apparatus, there are basic software and option software optionally added by an user. This option software may be added when the controller or a machine provided for the controller is sold, or may additionally be purchased after the controller is once purchased.  
      When option software is added to a controller which has already purchased, a salesman of the option software goes to an place where the controller is actually installed, and downloads the option software into the controller. In this case, the salesman who goes to the place can confirm the purchaser of the controller, and confirmwhether or not selling of the software is against an export restriction, whereby there is no problem.  
      By the way, though a salesman does not directly go to a place where the controller is actually installed, option software can be sold via communication means such as Internet. However, in the case where a controller is illegally exported from the proper export place to the export restricted area, option software cannot be sold for the controller because of export restriction regulation. When selling option software using communication means, it is not possible to determine whether or not the destination of selling the controller is outside the export restricted area. Therefore, conventionally, no software is sold via the communication means such as Internet.  
      In some instances, the controller itself is not subject to the export restriction, but the software to be added to the controller may be subject to the export restriction. In those instances, the software can not be sold unless the destination of sale is identified, thus option software cannot be sold via communication means.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates to a software download system for downloading the software for a controller from a management apparatus via communication means into the controller.  
      According to a first aspect of the invention, the controller comprises a GPS receiver for receiving the positional information of the controller from a GPS, and a transmitter for transmitting the information including the positional information of the controller to the management apparatus. Also, the management apparatus comprises receiving means for receiving the information transmitted from the transmitter of the controller, storage means for storing the export restricted area information, determination means for determining whether or not the controller is in an export restricted area based on the export restricted area information stored in the storage means and the received positional information of the controller, and transmitting means for transmitting the software of the controller to the controller, when the determination means determines that the controller is outside the export restricted area.  
      In this software download system, the storage means stores advisability of selling each software to the export restricted area, and the determination means determines whether or not it is permitted to sell the desired software, transmitted from the controller, to the export restricted area, and if it is determined that selling of the software is not permitted, the determination means determines whether or not the controller resides in the export restricted area.  
      In the software download system, the information transmitted from the controller includes the ID information of the controller, and the storage means of the management apparatus includes the ID information of the controller and the customer information.  
      According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a software download system, wherein a controller comprises a GPS receiver for receiving the positional information of the controller from a GPS, and a transmitter for transmitting the information including the positional information of the controller and the ID information specifying the controller to the management apparatus. Also, a management apparatus comprises receiving means for receiving the information transmitted from the transmitter of the controller, storage means for storing the ID information of the controller and the position where the controller is installed, determination means for determining whether or not the received ID information and positional information coincide with the ID information and positional information stored in the storage means, and transmitting means for transmitting the software of the controller via the communication means to the controller, when a determination result by the determination means is affirmative.  
      The software download system according to the present invention having the above configuration allows option software for a controller, subject to export restriction, to be sold only outside an export restriction area via a communication line so that the software can be directly downloaded into the controller installed there, and the system does not allow the software to be transmitted the export restriction area. Therefore, the option software of the controller is sold to the owner of the controller via the communication line without causing any problem such as violation of export restriction. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram schematically showing a software download system according to one embodiment of the invention.  
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
      Referring to a block diagram of  FIG. 1 , a software download system according to one embodiment of the invention will be described below. In this embodiment, a controller into which the software is downloaded is a numerical control apparatus.  
      The controller (numerical control apparatus)  1  comprises a processor  10 , a display card  13 , to which a display unit is connected, for controlling the display unit, and a memory such as a RAM  14 , and these components are interconnected via a bus  15 . Moreover, in this invention, an Ethernet board  11  and a GPS receiver  12  for a GPS (Global Positioning System) are connected via the bus  15 . The Ethernet board  11  is connected to communication means such as Internet to constitute transmitting and receiving means  2 .  
      Also, a management apparatus  3  connected to the communication means  2  is provided on the maker side of the controller  1 . In this management apparatus  3 , a processor  30  is connected to an Ethernet board  31  constituting transmitting and receiving means, a memory such as a RAM  32 , and a display card  33 , to which a display unit is connected, for controlling the display unit. Moreover, storage means  34  such as a hard disk storing a database for a customer to which the controller  1  is sold is connected to a bus  35 .  
      This storage means  34  stores, for each ID information identifying the sold controller (numerical control apparatus), information of apparatus configuration, customer on delivered side, export restricted area and advisability of exporting of each software to the export restricted area, as database.  
      When a customer of the controller  1  purchases an option software, the controller  1  is connected to the communication means  2 , the information specifying the option software to be purchased such as option software name is transmitted to the management apparatus  3  on the maker side. Also, the controller  1  encrypts the ID information inherent to its own and the positional information received by the GPS receiver  12 , and transmits the encrypted information via the communication means  2  to the management apparatus  3 .  
      The management apparatus  3  decrypts the ordered option software name, and the received encrypted information and acquires the ID information and positional information of the controller  1 . Thus, the determination means composed by software determines whether or not it is permitted to sell the option software by comparing the obtained information with the database stored in the storage device  34 .  
      As a method for confirming whether or not it is permitted to sell an option software, if the received ID and positional information of the controller on the customer side coincide with the information stored in the database of the management apparatus  3 , then it is considered that there is no problem with the destination of sale, and the ordered option software is transmitted to the controller  1  on the customer side via the communication means  2 . Also, if the received ID and positional information do not coincide with the information stored in the database, a confirmation message for confirming the purchase of software is transmitted to the customer who wants to purchase the software, and only when there is no problem, the ordered option software is transmitted to the customer. Particularly, an option software is not sold if the destination of sale is within an export restricted area.  
      Also, another method for confirming whether or not it is permitted to sell an option software involves determining whether or not the received installation location (positional information) of the controller  1  is within the export restricted area stored in the database, and if it is outside the export restricted area, determining that there is no problem with the destination of sale, whereby the ordered option software is transmitted to the controller  1  on the customer side via the communication means  2  so that the option software is sold. On the other hand, if the received positional information is within the export restricted area, the ordered option software is not transmitted and sold.  
      Moreover, in the case where some option software is permitted to be sold in an export restricted area, the information indicating advisability of selling each option software to an export restricted area is stored in the database, and it is determined whether or not it is permitted to sell the ordered option software to the export restricted area, based on this database. And when it is permitted to sell it, the option software is transmitted and sold to the customer of the controller installed in the export restricted area.  
      Also, an option software not permitted to be sold to the export restricted area can be sold only outside the export restricted area.