JP2014155424A - Terminal device, metering device, and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress useless consumption of power, when a second communication unit is not required to be used in a configuration having a first communication unit and the second communication unit.SOLUTION: A metering device 10 comprises a meter 11 and a terminal device 12. The terminal device 12 comprises a first communication unit 121 and a second communication unit 122. The second communication unit 122 selects a standby mode or an initial processing mode. In the initial processing mode, a beacon request is transmitted to wait for a beacon when receiving a start signal in the standby mode. When receiving a beacon in the initial processing mode, the second communication unit 122 starts communication with a subordinate device 30 which has returned the beacon. When not receiving a beacon in the initial processing mode, the second communication unit 122 determines that the subordinate device 30 is not present in a communicable range and selects the standby mode.

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal device that communicates with a first communication device that collects a usage amount of a resource measured by a measuring device installed in a consumer, a measuring device that adds this terminal device to a measuring device, and a terminal device The present invention relates to a communication system including:

  Conventionally, a measuring device in which a communication function is added to a measuring instrument installed in a consumer has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). The configuration described in Patent Document 1 includes a main power line that supplies commercial power to the home, and a home power line that supplies the commercial power supplied via the main power line to the electrical equipment connected to the home distribution board. A metering device (watt hour meter) connected between the two. The metering device measures the first communication unit that performs power line carrier communication via the trunk power line, the second communication unit that performs power line carrier communication via the home power line, and the amount of power used as a resource. A power meter unit. In other words, the power meter unit as a meter and the first communication unit and the second communication unit as terminal devices are provided. Moreover, in the structure described in patent document 1, the 2nd communication part (in-home system communication part) is comprised so that it may communicate with a terminal via an in-home system power line.

JP 2010-4389 A

  As described in Patent Document 1, a metering device including a terminal device can perform remote meter reading by communicating with a host device through a trunk power line using a first communication unit (trunk communication unit). On the other hand, even if this type of weighing device is installed in a consumer, if the consumer does not have a terminal, the second communication unit will not be used, so that the second communication unit is driven. In other words, power may be wasted.

  The present invention includes a first communication unit that communicates with the first communication device and a second communication unit that communicates with the second communication device, and it is not necessary to use the second communication unit. An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal device capable of suppressing wasteful consumption of electric power, and further to provide a measuring device in which this terminal device is added to a measuring instrument, and a communication system including the terminal device. With the goal.

  A terminal device according to the present invention is arranged in a first communication unit that communicates with a first communication device that collects a usage amount of a resource measured by a measuring instrument installed in a consumer, and the consumer. A second communication unit that communicates with a second communication device that constructs the HEMS, wherein the second communication unit stops the instruction execution and is canceled when receiving an interrupt from the activation signal; In the standby mode, an initial processing mode that transmits a beacon request upon receiving an interruption by the activation signal and waits for a beacon from the second communication device in a predetermined standby period can be selected, and the initial If the beacon is received in the processing mode, communication is started with the second communication device that has returned the beacon, and the beacon is transmitted in the initial processing mode. If no signal, it is determined that the second communication device in the communication possible range is not present and selects the standby mode.

  In this terminal device, it is preferable that the resource is power, and the meter measures the amount of power.

  The terminal device further includes a third communication unit that communicates with a maintenance terminal carried by a meter reader, and the third communication unit is configured to receive the second communication when activation is requested from the maintenance terminal. It is preferable to give the activation signal to the communication unit.

  In this terminal device, it is preferable that the first communication unit gives the activation signal to the second communication unit when activation is requested from the first communication device.

  In this terminal device, it is preferable that the first communication unit gives the activation signal to the second communication unit when detecting a valid packet in a communication network shared by the first communication device.

  The terminal device further includes a storage unit that stores identification information about the customer, and the second communication unit transmits the beacon when receiving the beacon transmitted by the second communication device in the initial processing mode. The identification information related to the customer to which the second communication device belongs is stored in the storage unit, and when the beacon is transmitted from the second communication device of another family, this is referred to as the first communication. The first communication unit causes the storage unit to store the identification information of the other family, and the first communication unit stores the identification information included in the packet received thereafter. It is preferable to invalidate the packet when the identification information included in the packet is not the identification information related to the home as compared with the identification information stored in the unit. There.

  The terminal device further includes a storage unit that stores identification information related to the consumer, and the second communication unit is configured such that the first communication unit of the terminal device installed in another consumer in the initial processing mode. When the transmitted beacon is received, the identification information for identifying the consumer to which the terminal device that transmitted the beacon belongs is stored in the storage unit, and the beacon is transmitted from the first communication unit of another house In this case, by notifying the first communication unit of this, the first communication unit stores the identification information of another family in the storage unit, and the first communication unit receives the received information thereafter. The identification information included in the packet is compared with the identification information stored in the storage unit, and when the identification information included in the packet is not the identification information related to the home, It is preferable that the disabled.

  The terminal device further includes a storage unit that stores identification information related to the consumer, and the second communication unit is configured such that the second communication unit of the terminal device installed in another consumer in the initial processing mode. When the transmitted beacon is received, the identification information for identifying the consumer to which the terminal device that transmitted the beacon belongs is stored in the storage unit, and the beacon is transmitted from the second communication unit of another house In this case, by notifying the first communication unit of this, the first communication unit stores the identification information of another family in the storage unit, and the first communication unit receives the received information thereafter. The identification information included in the packet is compared with the identification information stored in the storage unit, and when the identification information included in the packet is not the identification information related to the home, It is preferable that the disabled.

  In this terminal device, when the second communication unit selects the standby mode after receiving the activation signal and transmitting the beacon request, the second communication unit is activated intermittently and automatically, and the initial processing mode is set at the time of activation. It is preferable to have an intermittent activation mode to select.

  In this terminal device, the second communication unit, if the intermittent activation mode is selected, does not receive the beacon until a predetermined time limit elapses from when the activation signal is received. It is preferable to end the mode.

  A measuring device according to the present invention includes a measuring device that is installed in a consumer and measures the amount of resources used by the consumer, and a terminal device that communicates with other devices. A first communication unit that notifies the first communication device of the usage amount of the resource and a second communication unit that communicates with a second communication device that is arranged in the consumer and constructs the HEMS. And the second communication unit transmits a beacon request when receiving an interrupt due to the activation signal in the standby mode, and a standby mode that is canceled when the instruction execution is stopped and an interruption due to the activation signal is received. The initial processing mode for waiting for a beacon from the communication device in a predetermined standby period can be selected and the beacon is received in the initial processing mode. If communication is started with the second communication device that has returned the message, and the beacon is not received in the initial processing mode, it is determined that the second communication device does not exist within a communicable range. The standby mode is selected.

  A communication system according to the present invention includes a plurality of any of the terminal devices described above, and further communicates with the first communication device that communicates with a plurality of the terminal devices and with at least one of the terminal devices. Whether the beacon request transmitted in the communication network including the second communication device and the first communication device is common is communication between the first communication unit and the first communication device. The terminal device, the first communication device, and the second communication device include classification information indicating a classification as to whether the communication is between the second communication unit and the second communication device. When the beacon request is received, the beacon is not transmitted if the section is different from the section information included in the beacon request.

  According to the configuration of the present invention, the configuration includes a first communication unit that communicates with the first communication device and a second communication unit that communicates with the second communication device, and uses the second communication unit. When there is no need, selecting the standby mode has an advantage that wasteful consumption of power is suppressed.

It is a block diagram which shows embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the low-order apparatus used for the same as the above. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows an operation | movement same as the above with a flowchart.

  The present embodiment will be described assuming that the resource used by the consumer is electric power. In addition to electric power, the resource may be gas, water (water supply), or heat. This type of resource is supplied to the consumer by the supplier, and the amount used by the consumer is measured by a measuring instrument (meter) installed in the consumer. The supplier receives compensation from the customer based on the usage amount of the resource measured by the measuring instrument.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the amount of power used by a consumer (the amount of power used) is measured by a weighing device 10 installed in the consumer. The measuring device 10 includes a measuring device 11 that measures the amount of power used by a consumer, and a terminal device 12 for communicating with other devices. The measuring instrument 11 is preferably an electronic type that calculates power by measuring a current passing through the power line L1 that supplies power to a consumer and a voltage applied to the power line L1. The measuring instrument 11 is configured to measure a power amount by measuring a short amount of power such as 1 second as instantaneous power and integrating the instantaneous power.

  The terminal device 12 communicates with the first communication unit 121 that communicates with the first communication device 20 that collects the amount of power measured by the measuring instrument 11, and with the second communication device 30 that is used by consumers. And a communication unit 122. The first communication device 20 communicates with a plurality of terminal devices 12. Hereinafter, the first communication device 20 is referred to as a “high-order device”, and the second communication device 30 is referred to as a “low-order device”. In the illustrated example, the first communication unit 121 and the second communication unit 122 are configured to perform communication by power line carrier communication that also uses the power line L1 as a communication path. In other words, both the first communication unit 121 and the second communication unit 122 are connected to the power line L1. The power line L1 is electrically one system before and after the measuring instrument 11, but the power line L11 including the host apparatus 20 and the measuring instrument 11 and the power line to which the lower apparatus 30 is connected without including the measuring instrument 11. A responsibility demarcation point between the supplier and the customer is set between L12.

  The host device 20 is a communication device operated by an electric power company or a service provider that provides services related to electric power, and is determined by the measuring device 11 through the terminal device 12 in order to determine a price for the amount of electric power used by a consumer. Get the amount of power per time (weighing time). The measuring time is selected from, for example, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, and the like. The host device 20 has a function of turning on / off the power supply to the consumer through the terminal device 12, a function of requesting the controller 300 (to be described later) to limit the amount of power used by the customer through the terminal device 12, and the like. .

  The terminal device 12 may include a third communication unit 123 that communicates with the maintenance terminal 40 carried by the meter reader. It is desirable to use a wireless communication path using radio waves as a transmission medium between the maintenance terminal 40 and the third communication unit 123. The terminal device 12 includes communication devices that constitute the first communication unit 121, the second communication unit 122, and the third communication unit 123 as main hardware elements.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lower-level device 30 includes a load device 301 that operates using power in a consumer, a measurement device 302 that measures power that has passed through a distribution board 31 installed in the consumer, a load And a controller 300 that manages the operation of the device 301. The terminal device 12 may employ either a configuration that communicates only with the controller 300 of the lower level devices 30 or a configuration that communicates with any of the controller 300, the load device 301, and the measurement device 302. In a configuration in which the terminal device 12 communicates only with the controller 300, a hierarchical communication network is constructed so that the controller 300 communicates with the load device 301 and the measurement device 302.

  As with the measuring instrument 11, the measuring device 302 measures the amount of power for a short time such as 1 second as the instantaneous power, and measures the amount of power by integrating the instantaneous power. The controller 300 acquires the electric energy for every predetermined time (measurement time) measured by the measuring device 302. This measurement time is selected from, for example, 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minutes.

  For example, the controller 300 is built in the distribution board 31 or is arranged in parallel with the distribution board 31. The load device 301 has a function of communicating with the controller 300 or the terminal device 12. The controller 300 monitors the operation of the load device 301 through communication with the load device 301 and instructs the load device 301 to operate. Furthermore, the controller 300 also has a function of acquiring power measured by the measuring device 302 provided on the distribution board 31. Although it is desirable that the controller 300 and the measuring device 302 communicate with each other, when both are housed in the distribution board 31, the controller 300 may directly acquire power from the measuring device 302 without communication. The controller 300 functions as a so-called HEMS (Home Energy Management System) controller.

  The measuring device 302 has a function of measuring the power passing through a branch breaker (not shown) stored in the distribution board 31 for each branch breaker. The measuring device 302 may have a function of measuring power passing through a main breaker (not shown) housed in the distribution board 31. The controller 300 acquires power from the measuring device 302 at a relatively short time interval. This time interval is selected from, for example, 30 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minutes. Therefore, the power acquired by the controller 300 is actually the amount of power in the time interval acquired from the measuring device 302.

  The second communication unit 122 provided in the terminal device 12 can select a standby mode, an initial processing mode, and a normal communication mode. The standby mode is an operation mode that is canceled when at least an instruction execution is stopped and an interrupt by an activation signal is received. In the standby mode, the second communication unit 122 operates with only a small amount of power necessary to accept an interrupt. The initial processing mode is an operation mode in which a beacon request is transmitted when receiving an interruption by an activation signal in the standby mode, and a beacon from the lower apparatus 30 is waited for in a predetermined standby period. The normal communication mode is an operation mode in which data is exchanged with the lower apparatus 30.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the second communication unit 122 starts operation, the second communication unit 122 enters a standby mode (S11). When the second communication unit 122 receives an interrupt from an activation signal (S12: Y), the second communication unit 122 enters an initial processing mode (S13). In the initial processing mode, the second communication unit 122 transmits a beacon request (S14), and after transmitting the beacon request, waits for a beacon until the standby period elapses (S16). When receiving the beacon within the standby period (S15: Y), the second communication unit 122 confirms that the lower device 30 that has transmitted the beacon is permitted to communicate with the terminal device 12 (S17). . When the terminal device 12 receives a beacon from the lower device 30 permitted to communicate (S17: Y), the terminal device 12 shifts to the normal communication mode and starts communication with the lower device 30 (S18).

  On the other hand, if the second communication unit 122 does not receive a beacon within the standby period even after transmitting a beacon request (S15: N and S16: Y), the lower device 30 that can communicate with the terminal device 12 Is determined to exist, and the standby mode is entered (S19).

  With the configuration described above, the second communication unit 122 is normally in the standby mode when the HEMS by the lower-level device 30 is not established in the consumer where the weighing device 10 including the terminal device 12 is installed. That is, in the consumer in which HEMS is not constructed | assembled, the terminal device 12 does not consume power wastefully, but the amount of power consumption is suppressed.

  As described above, if there is no beacon response to the beacon request, the second communication unit 122 determines that the HEMS has not been established. However, if the communication quality of the communication path between the second communication unit 122 and the lower-level device 30 is temporarily lowered in the time zone when the beacon request is transmitted, the HEMS is actually constructed. Nevertheless, there arises a problem of misidentifying that the HEMS has not been constructed.

  In order to avoid this problem, when the second communication unit 122 selects the standby mode after receiving a beacon request upon receiving an interrupt by the activation signal (S19), the second communication unit 122 is activated intermittently and automatically. An intermittent activation mode for selecting an initial processing mode is provided. As shown by a broken line in FIG. 3, the intermittent activation mode is performed every time a predetermined time (sleep period) elapses when the low-level device 30 is shifted to the standby mode without being detected in the initial processing mode (S20). It starts automatically and selects the initial processing mode (S13). The sleep time is selected from, for example, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and the like.

  The intermittent activation mode is provided for the purpose of preventing oversight when the HEMS is constructed, and the communicable lower-level device 30 is detected while the second communication unit 122 selects the intermittent activation mode. And transition to normal communication mode. On the other hand, if the HEMS is not actually constructed, continuing the operation in the intermittent activation mode consumes useless power.

  Therefore, after selecting the intermittent activation mode, the second communication unit 122 ends the intermittent activation mode if a beacon is not received before a predetermined time limit elapses from the time when the activation signal is received (S21). The time limit is selected in the range of 1 to 6 hours, for example. When the intermittent activation mode ends, the second communication unit 122 returns to step S11 and selects the standby mode until the next activation signal is received. The second communication unit 122 may not accept the next activation signal on the day when the intermittent activation mode ends.

  By the way, the activation signal described above is input from the first communication unit 121 or the third communication unit 123 to the second communication unit 122. Here, three methods for inputting an activation signal to the second communication unit 122 are shown. It is not necessary to employ all of these methods, and any one or two methods may be employed.

  The first communication unit 121 is provided to communicate with the host device 20. By utilizing this, it is possible to request the second communication unit 122 to start up from the host device 20 through the first communication unit 121. That is, the first communication unit 121 is configured to generate an activation signal and give the activation signal to the second communication unit 122 when activation is requested from the host device 20. In the “first method”, the higher-level device 20 instructs the first communication unit 121 to give an activation signal to the second communication unit 122.

  The first communication unit 121 is configured for communication with the higher-level device 20, and communication with the lower-level device 30 is prohibited. Further, the second communication unit 122 is configured for communication with the lower-level device 30 and communication with the higher-level device 20 is prohibited. However, since the first communication unit 121 and the second communication unit 122 do not distinguish between communication paths, the first communication unit 121 cannot receive the payload of the packet generated by the lower-level device 30. Part of the packet header can be detected.

  From this, the first communication unit 121 can recognize the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the lower-level device 30. Further, by knowing the MAC address, the first communication unit 121 can determine whether or not the packet is a valid packet in a communication network with which the higher-level device 20 is common. Packets that are valid in the communication network in which the host device 20 is common are packets sent out by other terminal devices 12 or the lower devices 30.

  Such a packet may be received from the terminal device 12 or the lower device 30 in another consumer, but has a high probability of being received from the own lower device 30. Therefore, when the second communication unit 122 is activated by this packet, there is a high possibility that the second communication unit 122 can communicate with the lower-level device 30 that constructs its own HEMS. In the “second method”, an activation signal is given from the first communication unit 121 to the second communication unit 122 by transmitting a valid packet within a communication network in which the host device 20 is common.

  According to the second method, when the lower-level device 30 that constructs a private HEMS is activated and transmits a packet participating in the HEMS, the first communication unit 121 of the terminal device 12 recognizes a valid packet in the communication network. To do. That is, the first communication unit 121 recognizes the MAC header portion of the packet, gives an activation signal to the second communication unit 122, and shifts from the standby mode to the initial processing mode. Thereby, the terminal device 12 transmits a beacon request to the HEMS. After that, since the lower device 30 returns a beacon in response to the beacon request, the second communication unit 122 recognizes that the lower device 30 exists and shifts to the normal communication mode. That is, the terminal device 12 can be shifted to the normal communication mode at the consumer without receiving an instruction from the host device 20.

  On the other hand, the third communication unit 123 gives an activation signal from the third communication unit 123 to the second communication unit 122 when the activation is requested from the maintenance terminal 40. In the “third method”, an activation signal is given from the third communication unit 123 to the second communication unit 122 by operating the maintenance terminal 40. Since the 3rd method uses the maintenance terminal 40 which a meter-reader carries, it is possible to give a starting signal separately and reliably for every consumer.

  By the way, in the second method, the first communication unit 121 gives an activation signal to the second communication unit 122 every time an effective packet sharing the host device 20 is generated. Therefore, the first communication unit 121 may output an activation signal for the second communication unit 122 when receiving a packet from another house. The device that generates the packet received by the first communication unit 121 is not limited to the lower device 30 of the home, but is the lower device 30 of the other home or the first communication provided in the terminal device 12 of the other home. May be the unit 121 or the second communication unit 122.

  Therefore, when employing the second method, it is desirable to employ the technology described below, and to invalidate the packet when the first communication unit 121 receives a packet from another family. . In short, if the packet is invalid, the first communication unit 121 does not give an activation signal to the second communication unit 122, so the beacon request may be transmitted wastefully without shifting to the initial processing mode. Is prevented.

  The terminal device 12 is associated with the lower device 30 that constructs the private HEMS by another technique. Therefore, the terminal device 12 includes a storage unit 124 that stores identification information for identifying a consumer. The storage unit 124 stores identification information about the house. However, depending on the type of identification information, the storage unit 124 can also store identification information related to other homes. Although one storage unit 124 is shown in the figure, this storage unit 124 is used by both the first communication unit 121 and the second storage unit 122. However, each of the first communication unit 121 and the second communication unit 122 may include a storage unit.

  When receiving a beacon in response to the beacon request transmitted in the initial processing mode, the second communication unit 122 shifts to the normal communication mode. When the second communication unit 122 shifts to the normal communication mode, the second communication unit 122 acquires identification information about the customer to which the device that transmitted the beacon belongs from the header of the packet, and stores the acquired identification information in the storage unit 124.

  The identification information is set in the identification information (hereinafter referred to as “NET-ID”) of the communication network constructed for each consumer, the encryption key used in the communication network constructed for each consumer, and the measuring instrument 11. Selected from the identification information. The encryption key of the other family is not stored in the storage unit 124, but if the first communication unit 121 cannot decrypt the payload of the packet with the encryption key registered in the storage unit 124, the first communication unit 121 starts from a device that is not the own subordinate device 30. Is determined as a packet. Further, the NET-ID of the other house or the identification information of the measuring instrument 11 of the other house can be stored in the storage unit 124 if it can be obtained from the header of the received packet.

  After the identification information is stored in the storage unit 124, when the first communication unit 121 receives the packet, the first communication unit 121 compares the identification information included in the header of the received packet with the identification information stored in the storage unit 124. To do. Further, the first communication unit 121 determines whether the received packet is a packet from its own lower device 30 or a packet from other devices. The first communication unit 121 is a packet transmitted from the lower device 30 of the other house and a packet transmitted from the first communication unit 121 or the second communication unit 122 provided in the terminal device 12 of the other house. In some cases, invalidate the packet.

  In the case where the storage unit 124 stores only identification information related to the home, the first communication unit 121 is not the home subordinate device 30 unless the identification information about the home is included in the header of the received packet. It is determined that the packet is from the device, and this packet is invalidated. On the other hand, when the storage unit 124 stores the identification information about the other house, the first communication unit 121 invalidates the packet when the identification information about the other house is included in the header of the received packet. And

  That is, when the second communication unit 122 receives a beacon transmitted by the lower-level device 30 in the initial processing mode, the second communication unit 122 causes the storage unit 124 to store identification information regarding the customer to which the lower-level device 30 that has transmitted the beacon belongs. Further, when the beacon is transmitted from the lower-level device 30 of the other house, the first communication unit 121 stores the identification information of the other house in the storage unit 124 by notifying the first communication unit 121 of the beacon. Let The first communication unit 121 compares the identification information included in the packet received thereafter with the identification information stored in the storage unit 124, and when the identification information included in the packet is not identification information about the home. The packet is invalidated.

  The first communication unit 121 does not output an activation signal to the second communication unit 122 when receiving an invalid packet. Therefore, the beacon request is prevented from being wastedly output from the first communication unit 122 by this packet.

  In the configuration example described above, the beacon request can be received by any of the terminal device 12, the upper device 20, and the lower device 30 as long as the device shares the upper device 20, but can receive the beacon request. Devices may be limited. That is, the beacon request transmitted in the communication network in which the higher level device 20 is shared is a beacon request used between the first communication unit 121 and the higher level device 20, or between the second communication unit 122 and the lower level device 30. It includes classification information that classifies whether the request is a beacon request used between. In this case, the device that has received the beacon request determines whether or not it is necessary to transmit a beacon to the device that has transmitted the beacon request using the classification information. That is, when each device receives a beacon request, it determines whether or not the category information included in the beacon request is the same category, and transmits a beacon only if the category is the same category, and transmits a beacon if the category is different. Configured not to.

  As described above, an increase in the amount of traffic in the communication network is suppressed by including classification information that limits the range for requesting a beacon in the beacon request. In addition, the first communication unit 121 and the lower device 30 are prevented from communicating erroneously, and the second communication unit 122 and the upper device 20 are prevented from communicating erroneously.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Measuring device 12 Terminal apparatus 20 1st communication apparatus (high-order apparatus)
30 Second communication device (lower device)
40 maintenance terminal 121 first communication unit 122 second communication unit 123 third communication unit 124 storage unit

Claims (12)

A first communication unit that communicates with a first communication device that collects a usage amount of a resource measured by a measuring instrument installed in a consumer;
A second communication unit that communicates with a second communication device that is arranged at the consumer and constructs the HEMS;
The second communication unit is
The standby mode is canceled when the instruction execution is stopped and an interrupt by the activation signal is received, and a beacon request is transmitted when an interrupt by the activation signal is received in the standby mode, and a beacon from the second communication device is waited for a predetermined time. It is possible to select the initial processing mode to wait in the reception period,
And when the beacon is received in the initial processing mode, communication is started with the second communication device that has returned the beacon,
When the beacon is not received in the initial processing mode, the terminal device determines that the second communication device does not exist within a communicable range and selects the standby mode. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the resource is electric power, and the meter measures electric energy. A third communication unit that communicates with a maintenance terminal carried by the meter reader;
The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the third communication unit gives the activation signal to the second communication unit when activation is requested from the maintenance terminal. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication unit gives the activation signal to the second communication unit when activation is requested from the first communication device. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the first communication unit gives the activation signal to the second communication unit when detecting a valid packet in a communication network in which the first communication device is common. . A storage unit for storing identification information about the consumer;
The second communication unit is
When receiving the beacon transmitted by the second communication device in the initial processing mode, the storage unit stores the identification information regarding the consumer to which the second communication device that transmitted the beacon belongs, and the beacon is When transmitted from the second communication device of another house, the first communication unit stores the identification information of the other house in the storage unit by notifying the first communication unit of this,
The first communication unit is
After that, the identification information included in the received packet is compared with the identification information stored in the storage unit, and the packet is invalidated when the identification information included in the packet is not the identification information related to the home. The terminal device according to claim 5. A storage unit for storing identification information about the consumer;
The second communication unit is
When receiving the beacon transmitted by the first communication unit of the terminal device installed in another consumer in the initial processing mode, the identification information for distinguishing the consumer to which the terminal device that transmitted the beacon belongs When the beacon is transmitted from the first communication unit of another house while being stored in the storage unit, the first communication unit is notified to the first communication unit, whereby the first communication unit is stored in the storage unit. Store the identification information of other homes,
The first communication unit is
After that, the identification information included in the received packet is compared with the identification information stored in the storage unit, and the packet is invalidated when the identification information included in the packet is not the identification information related to the home. The terminal device according to claim 5. A storage unit for storing identification information about the consumer;
The second communication unit is
When receiving the beacon transmitted by the second communication unit of the terminal device installed in another consumer in the initial processing mode, the identification information for distinguishing the consumer to which the terminal device that transmitted the beacon belongs When the beacon is transmitted from the second communication unit of another house while being stored in the storage unit, the first communication unit is notified to the first communication unit, whereby the first communication unit is stored in the storage unit. Store the identification information of other homes,
The first communication unit is
After that, the identification information included in the received packet is compared with the identification information stored in the storage unit, and the packet is invalidated when the identification information included in the packet is not the identification information related to the home. The terminal device according to claim 5. The second communication unit intermittently and automatically starts when the standby mode is selected after receiving the activation signal and transmitting the beacon request, and selects the initial processing mode at the time of activation. The terminal device according to claim 1 or 2. The second communication unit ends the intermittent activation mode if the beacon is not received before a predetermined time limit elapses after the activation signal is received after the intermittent activation mode is selected. Item 10. The terminal device according to Item 9. A measuring instrument that is installed at a consumer and measures the amount of resources used by the consumer;
A terminal device for communicating with other devices,
The terminal device
A first communication unit that notifies the first communication device of the usage amount of the resource measured by the measuring instrument;
A second communication unit that communicates with a second communication device that is arranged at the consumer and constructs the HEMS;
The second communication unit is
The standby mode is canceled when the instruction execution is stopped and an interrupt by the activation signal is received, and a beacon request is transmitted when an interrupt by the activation signal is received in the standby mode, and a beacon from the second communication device is waited for a predetermined time. It is possible to select the initial processing mode to wait in the reception period,
And when the beacon is received in the initial processing mode, communication is started with the second communication device that has returned the beacon,
When the beacon is not received in the initial processing mode, the standby mode is selected by determining that the second communication device does not exist within a communicable range. A plurality of the terminal devices according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
further,
The first communication device communicating with a plurality of the terminal devices;
The second communication device communicating with at least one of the terminal devices,
The beacon request transmitted in the communication network in which the first communication device is common is communication between the first communication unit and the first communication device, or the second communication unit and the Including classification information indicating a classification as to whether the communication is with the second communication device;
When the terminal device, the first communication device, and the second communication device receive the beacon request, the beacon is changed if the segment is different from the segment information included in the beacon request. No communication system.

Images