JP2016189092A - Communication device, communication method, communication system, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow determination of a sleep time according to communication states to further lower power consumption.SOLUTION: A communication device comprises a radio unit, a control unit, time counting means, and power control supply means. The control unit comprises first means, second means, and third means. The first means creates a table in which communication states acquired by the radio unit are recorded chronologically. The second means counts the number of times an open search is performed to search for a base station. The third means selects a start time on the basis of the communication states recorded in the table, sets the selected start time in the time counting means, and controls the power control supply means so as to stop power supply in the communication device except the time counting means when the number of times an open search was performed has reached a predetermined value within a predetermined time. When the start time is reached in the time counting means, at least the control unit is activated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication method, a communication system, and a program.

  In battery-driven communication terminals (for example, PHS (Personal Handyphone System) communication terminals) used for remote meter reading services such as electricity, gas, and water, for example, control signals sent from base stations to extend battery life A standby method (hereinafter, referred to as “intermittent standby”) for performing control so as to receive intermittently is widely known. Note that a PHS communication terminal used for meter-reading work or the like transmits a usage amount to a meter-reading center connected via a PHS base station, PHS network, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), etc. .

  In communication terminals used for meter-reading work, the communication status with the base station changes over time, even if the radio wave status (wireless communication status with the base station) is good when the communication terminal is installed. , The radio wave condition at the time of installation may not be maintained.

  Moreover, since the communication terminal used for meter-reading work etc. is not a mobile terminal, once it is installed, it is not easy to move to another location. Even in such a situation, it is required to extend the battery life of a communication terminal driven by a battery.

  As a related technique for extending the battery life of a battery-driven communication terminal, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses the following technique.

  In this technology, the control unit of the PHS communication terminal searches for a predetermined bit arrangement portion (unique word) from the electric signal converted by the radio unit, and when a unique word is found, it synchronizes with the PHS base station. Is established, and the PHS communication terminal enters a standby state. When the number of failed searches reaches the specified number, the state shifts to a state where an open search operation for searching for a base station is executed, and the number of times the transition to the execution state of the open search operation reaches the specified number of times. In this case, the period interval of the standby state for performing the incoming / outgoing call presence / absence confirmation operation is changed to be longer, and the mode is shifted to a power saving mode in which power supply to unused circuits inside the terminal is stopped.

JP2013-172302A

  The analysis of related technology is given below.

  When the communication terminal performs intermittent standby, when a communication error occurs due to some cause and the communication terminal loses sight of the base station, the communication terminal performs a base station search operation called open search. For example, due to a temporary communication abnormality due to fading or the like, the communication terminal frequently loses sight of the base station and repeats the open search, whereby the consumption of the battery driving the communication terminal may be accelerated.

  In addition, when the communication abnormality is extended for a long time due to maintenance or failure of the base station, for example, the power used in the open search is wasted in the communication terminal, leading to unnecessary consumption of the battery driving the communication terminal.

  The technique of Patent Document 1 is effective for temporary deterioration of the communication state, but does not provide an effective means for deterioration of the radio wave state over a long period of time.

  Furthermore, in a user of an installation-type communication terminal used for meter-reading work (for example, a business operator that performs meter-reading work such as electricity, gas, and water using a communication terminal), the customer of the user (the communication terminal is installed) (For example, individuals or corporations that own buildings, etc.) For example, monthly communication such as monthly meter reading is performed only once a month, so the communication terminal runs out of battery without notice and operates It may be stopped. Many of the factors are thought to be due to an unintended increase in open search due to the deterioration of the communication environment.

  In this case, the communication environment between the communication terminal and the base station is bad even if it is intended to notify the user of the battery consumption in the communication terminal, and it is difficult to notify the base station from the communication terminal. Notification to the user is difficult.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device, a communication method, a communication system, and a program that solve at least one of the above problems.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a radio unit, a control unit, a time measuring unit, and a power source control / supply unit are provided, and the control unit records the communication status acquired by the radio unit in time series. A first means for creating the table, a second means for counting the number of open searches for searching for a base station, and when the number of open searches reaches a predetermined value within a predetermined time, Based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the start time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and at least the power supply in the communication device excluding the time measuring means is supplied to the power control / supply means. A communication device that activates at least the control unit when the activation time reaches the activation time.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the control unit of the communication device records the communication status acquired by the radio unit of the communication device in a time series in a table,
Counting the number of open searches that the communication device searches for a base station;
When the number of open searches within a predetermined time reaches a predetermined value, based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the start time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and at least the time counting Control to stop the power supply in the communication device except the means,
When the activation time is reached by the time measuring means, a communication method for activating at least the control unit is provided.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system including a communication terminal and a base station, wherein the communication terminal includes a radio unit, a control unit, a timing unit, a power control / supply unit, The control unit includes: a first unit that creates a table in which the communication status acquired by the radio unit is recorded in time series; a second unit that counts the number of open searches for searching for a base station; When the number of open searches within a predetermined time reaches a predetermined value, based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the activation time is selected and set in the time measuring means, Third means for controlling power supply control / supply means to stop power supply in the communication device except at least the time measurement means, and when the start time is reached by the time measurement means, at least the Control unit To start, the communication system is provided.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a first process for creating a table in which the communication status acquired by the wireless unit is recorded in time series;
A second process for counting the number of open searches for searching for a base station;
When the number of open searches within a predetermined time reaches a predetermined value, based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the start time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and at least the time counting There is provided a program for causing a computer constituting the communication apparatus to execute a third process for controlling to stop power supply in the communication apparatus excluding the means. According to the present invention, a computer-readable recording medium (semiconductor storage, non-transitory computer-readable recording medium) on which the program is recorded is provided.

  According to the present invention, the sleep time can be dynamically determined according to the communication status, and further reduction in power consumption can be realized.

It is a figure which shows typically an example of a structure of the communication terminal of exemplary embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of exemplary embodiment. (A), (B) is a figure which illustrates the electric field strength time table in exemplary embodiment. It is the figure which illustrated electric field strength time information with the graph. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the system configuration | structure of exemplary embodiment. It is a figure explaining the time change and operation | movement of the electrolysis intensity | strength in exemplary embodiment. It is a figure explaining an example of the form of a communication apparatus.

  In the following, first, the outline of the present invention will be described, and then exemplary embodiments will be described.

  In one of the modes of the present invention, referring to FIG. 8, the communication device 100 includes a wireless unit 20, a control unit 30, a time measuring unit 40, and a power supply control / supply unit 50. The control unit 30 is a table in which the communication status acquired by the radio unit 20 is recorded in time series (for example, the time (time stamp) when the communication status is acquired and the communication status array, or the time zone and the time zone. Communication status time series table creation means 301 for creating a processed communication status array), open search frequency count means 302 for counting the number of open searches for searching for a base station, and open within a predetermined time. When the number of searches reaches a predetermined value, a time zone with a good communication state is selected based on the communication status recorded in the table created by the time series table creation means 301, and the time of the time zone is selected. Is set as the starting time (starting time) in the timing means 40, and the power control / supply means 50 is at least excluded from the timing means 40. And control means 303 for controlling the power supply to stop (entering the power saving mode), and a. The time measuring means 40 operates even during the power saving mode (performs a time measuring operation), and when the set start time is reached, at least the control unit 30 is started.

  According to the above aspect, by recording the communication status in the table in time series, when the number of open searches reaches a predetermined value within a predetermined time, the control unit reads the radio wave from the table. It can be judged whether the deterioration of the state is temporary or continues for a while. For example, if it is determined that the deterioration of the radio wave state continues for a while, the battery life can be further extended by giving up communication during that period and setting the sleep state.

  Note that at least a part or all of the time series table creation unit 301 of the communication status of the communication device 100, the open search number counting unit 302, and the control unit 303 is executed by a computer constituting the communication device 100. You may make it implement | achieve the function with a program.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, when the control unit 30 is activated by the timing unit 40, the control unit 30 notifies the user of the communication device of the communication status of the communication device via the wireless unit 20. It is good also as a structure.

  According to the above embodiment, it is possible for the communication device itself to grasp whether the communication quality is good or bad in the time zone, and the communication status of the communication device can be grasped with high quality by the user (the business of performing remote meter reading work using the communication terminal) Notification to a person etc.). As a result, the meter reading center or the like that manages the remote meter reading of the meter reading equipment selects a time zone in which the communication status of the communication device is good from the notified communication status of the communication device, and uses the communication status of the customer ( For example, daily, monthly, etc. consumption of electricity, gas, water, etc.) can be efficiently and automatically collected.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the power control / supply unit 50 supplies power from a battery to the device and monitors the remaining battery level (for example, the remaining battery level monitor of FIG. 1). Section 60), and when activated by the time measuring means 40, the control section 30 determines the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detecting means by the user (user using the communication device: for example, meter reading service). It is good also as a structure which notifies to a provider etc. to perform, a maintenance person, etc.).

  In one embodiment of the present invention, when the radio unit 20 succeeds in receiving a control signal from the base station in an intermittent standby state where the control signal from the base station is intermittently received, the time series table of the communication status is created. The means 301 may record the communication status in the table and enter the intermittent standby state again.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 30 includes a communication quality flag (33 in FIG. 1) for storing good / bad communication quality, and fails to receive a control signal from the base station in an intermittent standby state. Then, an open search for searching for a base station is performed. If the open search fails, the number of open searches is incremented by one to determine whether the communication state is good. If the communication state is determined to be good, the open search is performed. When the search is performed and the communication state is not good, the communication quality flag may be set to a bad state.

  In one form of the present invention, the control unit 30 performs an open search for searching for a base station after failure in receiving the control signal from the base station or after being activated by the time measuring means 40. If the open search is successful, location registration is performed with respect to the searched base station, and if the communication quality flag is good, transition is made to intermittent standby, and if the communication quality flag is not good, the state of the terminal May be configured to notify the user.

  The time measuring means 40 may be composed of a real-time clock that is always battery-driven. Although not particularly limited, the communication device 100 may be configured with, for example, a PHS communication terminal.

<Exemplary Embodiment>
Next, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, the communication apparatus 100 described with reference to FIG. 8 will be described based on an example in which a communication terminal driven by a battery using PHS is used. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to PHS.

  As an operation of the PHS communication terminal, an open search for searching for neighboring base stations is performed, and location registration for transmitting and registering information on the PHS communication terminal to the base station searched by the open search is performed. In the PHS communication terminal, after the location registration, the control information from the base station is monitored to recognize whether the PHS communication terminal has a paging.

  Here, if all the control information from the base station is received in the PHS communication terminal, a large power consumption occurs due to the operation of the radio circuit. In order to suppress this, an operation called intermittent waiting is performed in the PHS communication terminal. In this operation, in the PHS communication terminal, for example, control information from the base station is received only at intervals of 1.2 seconds, and the power supply to the radio circuit and the like is stopped at other times to reduce power consumption. Is to do.

  In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the PHS communication terminal records, for example, the electric field strength during the intermittent standby, and creates an electric field strength time table.

  When the PHS communication terminal cannot receive the control information of the base station, the PHS communication terminal needs to execute open search again, register the position of the base station, and establish synchronization with the base station.

  If the abnormal state in which control information cannot be received is temporary, the PHS communication terminal establishes synchronization with the base station again, shifts to intermittent standby, and suppresses expansion of power consumption. it can.

  When a communication error cannot be received continuously for a long time due to deterioration of the communication environment, base station failure or maintenance, the PHS communication terminal repeats open search, and the battery is exhausted significantly. For example, the user does not notice Sometime, the operation of the communication terminal stops.

  According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in order to avoid such a situation, the communication terminal is provided with a real time clock (RTC) as a time measuring means, and is defined within a predetermined time. When the open search is repeated a number of times, the power supply to locations other than the RTC is stopped, and the mode shifts to the sleep mode. A time zone with good communication quality is selected from the information recorded in the electric field strength time table. When the selected time zone is reached, the power supply to the entire communication terminal is resumed by an activation signal from the RTC. Then, open search and location registration are executed, and the user is notified that the installation environment (communication status, etc.) of the communication terminal has changed, the communication quality has deteriorated, and the battery consumption due to open search has been significant. After that, it returns to the intermittent standby state.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a communication terminal 100 includes an antenna 10 for transmitting / receiving a signal to / from a base station 200, a radio unit 20, a control unit 30, an RTC 40, a power control / supply unit 50, and a battery remaining amount monitoring unit 60. A battery 70 and a nonvolatile memory 80. The non-volatile memory 80 is a writable non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory).

  The control unit 30 includes an open search counter 31, an electrolytic strength time table 32, and a communication quality flag 33. It is assumed that the control unit 30 includes the communication status time series table creation unit 301, the open search number counting unit 302, and the control unit 303 described with reference to FIG.

  When the communication terminal 100 has not captured the base station, the communication terminal 100 activates the control unit 3 and the radio unit 20 and performs an open search for searching for radio waves of the surrounding base stations via the antenna 10.

  Thereafter, when the control information of the base station 200 can be received, the control unit 30 activates the radio unit 20 and transmits the registration information to the base station 200 via the antenna 10.

  With this operation, the communication terminal 100 completes location registration with the base station 200. Thereafter, in order to reduce the power consumption of the communication terminal 100, the control unit 30 sets the reception period of control information from the base station 200, for example, every 1.2 seconds, and controls the radio unit 20 to perform intermittent standby. By such control, consumption of the battery 70 is suppressed while synchronizing with the base station 200.

  The control unit 30 records the electric field strength during intermittent standby and creates the electric field strength time table 32. For example, the electric field strength is sampled at intervals of one minute, and the electric field strength time table 32 for each hour is created by, for example, averaging and recording the electric field strength every hour.

  The controller 30 repeatedly performs this operation (operation for creating the electric field strength time table 32 at regular intervals) during intermittent standby, so that the electric field strength time table 32 for the latest several days is always stored in the nonvolatile memory. 80 may be stored.

  From the electric field strength time table 32 stored in the non-volatile memory 80, the control unit 30 determines which time zone of the day the communication quality is good and, conversely, which time zone of the communication quality is bad. can do.

  Thereafter, when the control information from the base station 200 cannot be received for some reason, the control unit 30 activates the radio unit 20 and performs an open search again via the antenna 10.

  If the open search is successful, the communication terminal 100 performs location registration with the base station 200 and returns to the intermittent standby operation.

  When the open search fails, the control unit 30 increases the count of the open search counter 31.

  The control unit 30 determines whether or not the number of failures per unit time has exceeded a preset number of failures when the open search counter 31 is counted up.

  For example, when determining whether or not the number of failures per 10 minutes exceeds 5 times, the control unit 30 clears the open search counter 31 once every 10 minutes. When the count value of the open search counter 31 exceeds 5, the control unit 30 determines that there is a problem with the wireless communication quality.

  On the other hand, when the count value of the open search counter 31 is less than 5, that is, when the number of open search failures per 10 minutes is less than 5, the control unit 30 assumes that there is no problem with the wireless communication quality. to decide. Therefore, the control unit 30 activates the radio unit 20, performs open search again, searches for a base station, and tries to connect.

  When the count value of the open search counter 31 exceeds 5, this is a case where the contents of the open search counter 31 five times before are within 10 minutes from the current time.

  The operation when this condition is satisfied is as follows.

  When the control unit 30 determines that there is a problem with the wireless communication quality, it is determined that the number of open searches increases and the battery 70 is consumed. Therefore, the control unit 30 makes a power supply stop request to the power supply control / supply unit 50 in order to stop the power supply of the communication terminal 100 for a predetermined time (fixed time). The power supply control / supply unit 50 is connected to the battery 70 and includes a stabilized DC power supply circuit (not shown) such as a DC-DC converter, and supplies an output power supply voltage as an in-device power supply. The power control / supply unit 50 receives control from the control unit 30 and stops the supply of power in the apparatus. In this case, power supply to the wireless unit 20, the control unit 30, the battery remaining amount monitoring unit 60, and the nonvolatile memory 80 is stopped. The RTC 40 is directly supplied with power from the battery 70.

  When the power control / supply unit 50 stops the supply of the internal power of the apparatus, the communication terminal 100 enters the sleep mode. However, before making a power supply stop request, the control unit 30 sets an activation time in the RTC 40 and supplies power directly to the RTC 40 from the battery 70. That is, even when the communication terminal 100 is in the sleep mode, the RTC 40 does not stop, and when the activation time set by the control unit 30 is reached, the RTC 40 makes an activation request to the control unit 30 and the power supply control / supply unit 50. To be able to. This makes it possible to recover from the sleep mode. That is, at the set start time, the RTC 40 instructs the power supply control / supply unit 50 to resume the power supply in the apparatus, and the power supply control / supply unit 50 receives the radio unit 20, the control unit 30, Power is supplied to the battery remaining amount monitoring unit 60, the nonvolatile memory 80, and the like.

  Before entering the sleep mode, the control unit 30 sets a time in the time zone with good communication quality among the times recorded in the electric field strength time table 32 as the activation time to be set in the RTC 40.

  When the sleep mode ends and the activation time comes, the RTC 40 activates the control unit 30 and records information on the remaining amount of the battery 70 from the battery remaining amount monitoring unit 60.

  Then, the control unit 30 performs open search, performs position registration, and notifies the user of the communication terminal 100 (such as a business operator who performs remote meter reading using the communication terminal) of the remaining amount of the battery 70 and the communication quality. Notify by radio communication that there was a bad time zone.

  Thus, it is possible to avoid wasteful battery consumption and to notify the user of the communication quality of the communication terminal 100 and the degree of battery consumption with high reliability, and the user can grasp the status of the communication terminal 100. It becomes possible. Note that the communication terminal 100 may contact the PHS communication terminal or the like of the person in charge of maintenance who replaces the battery of the customer's communication terminal, for example, with a short message service (SMS) or the like for battery replacement.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the exemplary embodiment. In the communication terminal 100 of FIG. 1, the control unit 30 performs control so as to perform the operation shown in FIG. S501 to S517 in FIG. 2 represent step numbers. In the following, the correspondence with the steps in FIG. 2 is indicated by the step numbers appended in parentheses. A circle 1 in FIG. 2 represents a terminal. If the result of determination in step S604 in FIG.

  In the communication terminal 100, after the normal operation from activation to location registration (S501), the control unit 30 performs intermittent waiting (S502) and shifts to reception of control information (S503).

  The control unit 30 determines whether the reception of the control information (S503) is successful or unsuccessful (S504). If the control information is successful, the control unit 30 returns to intermittent waiting (S502).

  When the control information is successfully received in step S503 and the process returns to the intermittent standby in step S502, the control unit 30 creates the electric field strength time table 32 (S516).

  Further, the electric field strength sampled by the wireless unit 20 in the step (S517) of returning from the position registration (S512) described later to the intermittent waiting of the step S502 is also used to create the electric field strength time table 32 by the control unit 30.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the creation of the electric field strength time table 32 of FIG. In FIG. 3A, T101 to T160 show a table of electric field strength at each time, Y is year, M is month, D is day, H is hour, m is minute, s is second, and x is electric field strength. Show.

  For example, when the electric field strength is sampled at an interval of 1 minute from 10:00 on December 18, 2014, the electric field strength time table 32 is a table of the electric field strength at each time from T201 to T260 as shown in FIG. including.

  The electric field strength in the table of FIG. 3 (B) is averaged to obtain the electric field strength from 10:00 to 11:00 on December 18, 2014, and the same processing is performed for 24 hours. The electric field strength time table 32 for one day as shown can be created.

  Further, the same processing is repeated, and the electric field strength time table 32 for the latest several days is always stored in the nonvolatile memory 80 (the stored contents are retained even when the power is turned off).

  Referring to FIG. 2 again, if reception of control information fails in step S504, the control unit 30 performs an open search (S505) and determines the result of the open search (S506).

  When the open search is successful (“success” branch in S506), the control unit 30 performs location registration for the searched base station (S512).

  When the open search fails (“failure” branch of S506), the control unit 30 counts up the open search counter 31 (S507), and determines whether the communication quality is good or bad (S508).

  The determination in step S508 is based on whether the failure in receiving the control information (control information reception from the base station in step S503) is temporary, or the open search is repeated without receiving control information in the future. It is determined whether or not the occurrence of significant wear is expected. The operation when the open search is successful in step S506 is also related to the operation when the open search fails, and details will be described later.

  The determination in step S508 performed by the control unit 30 depends on the count value information of the open search counter 31. For example, the clear time of the open search counter 31 is set to 10 minutes (the count value is automatically cleared each time 10 minutes elapses), and the threshold value for the quality of communication is set to count value = 5 (5 failures). Is set.

  In this case, when the count value of the open search counter 31 is 4 or less in step S507, the control unit 30 determines that the communication quality is good, returns to step S505, and executes the open search again.

  When the count value of the open search counter 31 reaches 5 in step S507, the control unit 30 determines that the communication quality is poor and sets the communication quality flag 33 to 1 (S509).

  The control unit 30 makes a power supply stop request to the power supply control / supply unit 50 in order to stop the power supply of the communication terminal 100 for a predetermined time (fixed time). As a result, the communication terminal 100 enters the sleep mode (S510).

  Before making a power supply stop request to the power supply control / supply unit 50, the control unit 30 sends time-series field strength information (measurement time and measured communication quality time) to the RTC 40. Referring to (series data), a start time with good communication quality is set. Here, the start time with good communication quality corresponds to the time when the electric field strength in the electric field strength time table 32 is strong.

  Further, the RTC 40 is directly supplied with power from the battery 70. When the activation time is reached during the sleep mode, the RTC 40 makes an activation request to the control unit 30 and the power supply control / supply unit 50.

  In addition, before creating the electric field strength time table 32, the operation when step S508 is reached will be described later with reference to FIG. This is the case where the communication quality is poor and the field strength time table 32 cannot be created, and the control information reception in step S504 in FIG. 2 fails, and the open search in step S506 fails.

  When the activation time designated by the control unit 30 is reached (Yes branch of S511), the process returns to the open search of step S505.

  If it is determined in step S506 that the open search in step S505 has failed again, the open search counter in step S507 is recorded.

  If it is determined in step S506 that the open search in step S505 is successful, the control unit 30 proceeds to location registration in step S512 for the base station searched in the open search.

  Next, the control unit 30 determines whether the communication quality flag 33 registered for the location of the base station is 0 or 1 (S513).

  When the communication quality flag 33 is 0, the control by the control unit 30 returns to the intermittent standby in step S502. This is because that the communication quality flag 33 is 0 indicates that it is not determined that the communication quality is bad in step S508.

  On the other hand, when the communication quality communication flag is 1, the control by the control unit 30 proceeds to step S514 and notifies the user of information (communication status) of the communication terminal 100. This is because the communication quality flag 33 is 1 because it is determined in step S508 that the communication quality is poor (the communication quality communication flag is set to 1 in step S509).

Information notified to the user in step S514 is, for example,
-The communication quality in the installation environment of the communication terminal 100 has deteriorated,
・ The surrounding base station may have failed or maintained,
-Open search will become frequent in the future, and there is a concern that the battery of the communication terminal 100 will be significantly consumed,
・ Current battery level,
It is.

  By notifying the user of these pieces of information, the user can grasp the battery replacement time and the communication quality status of the communication terminal 100 and improve the ease of maintenance, maintenance, and management.

  The terminal information notification from the communication terminal 100 is wirelessly transmitted from the communication terminal 100 to the base station 200 (PHS base station), and the base station 200 transmits a PHS network (not shown), PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). It may be transferred to a meter reading center (monitoring center) (not shown) of a business operator who performs meter reading work via a network or the like. In the meter reading center, an optimal time zone for collecting meter reading data from the communication terminal 100 is selected based on the notification received from the communication terminal 100 (including the communication status of the communication terminal 100). Also good. In addition, in the meter reading center that has received a notification from the communication terminal 100 (for example, the remaining battery level is low), the maintenance person in charge of the meter reading equipment in which the communication terminal 100 is installed contacts the maintenance terminal. You may make it perform exchange. Alternatively, the battery terminal of the communication terminal 100 is notified to the maintenance staff of the meter-reading facility by notifying the PHS communication terminal of the staff in charge of the meter-reading facility via the PHS network from the communication terminal 100 via the SMS message or the like. An exchange may be requested.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation when step S508 is reached before the electric field strength time table 32 is created in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, when it is determined in step S508 that the communication quality is poor and the field strength time table 32 is not completed (S601), the field strength in the current time zone is determined to be 0 dBμV (decibel microvolt: 1 μV is set to 0 dBμV). Then, in order to stop the power supply of the communication terminal 100 for a certain time, the control unit 30 makes a power supply stop request to the power supply control / supply unit 50, and the communication terminal 100 enters the sleep mode (S603). ).

  Before making a power supply stop request to the power supply control / supply unit 50, the control unit 30 sets an activation time in the RTC 40 and supplies power directly from the battery 70 to the RTC 40.

  When the RTC 40 reaches the activation time, it makes an activation request to the control unit 30 and the power supply control / supply unit 50. At this time, the activation time set in the RTC 40 is set to the next hour (example), and when the activation time is reached (Yes branch in S604), the process returns to the open search in step S505 in FIG.

  When the open search in step S506 is successful and the location registration (S512) is completed, the communication quality flag 33 remains set to 0. For this reason, the determination result of 0/1 of the communication quality flag 33 in step S513 is 0, and the control of the control unit 30 returns to the intermittent standby in step S502.

  As a result of the determination of the communication quality flag 33 in step S513, the control unit 30 samples (measures) the electric field strength via the wireless unit 20 when returning to the intermittent standby in step S502 (S517). It may be reflected in the creation.

  According to the present embodiment, the following operational effects are obtained (but not limited to the following).

<Operation effect 1>
When receiving control information from the base station fails, the sleep time can be dynamically determined by referring to the continuity of the failure times, and the power consumption can be reduced.

<Operation effect 2>
As shown in FIG. 6, when the base station 200 is the only base station within the communicable range of the communication terminal 100, and there is a road with a large amount of traffic nearby, for example, a large amount of fading occurs and the electric field strength is high. There is a time zone in which the communication terminal 100 cannot perform communication without being stable.

  By notifying the user (for example, a business operator or a meter reading center) of the electric field strength time table 32, it is possible to grasp which time is easy to communicate and which time is difficult to communicate. A good meter reading service is possible.

<Operation effect 3>
By selecting a time with a strong electric field strength estimated in advance and notifying the user, even in a communication terminal installed in an unstable place of the radio wave environment, It is possible to notify the user that the consumption is remarkably increased and the current remaining battery level. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation where the battery of the communication terminal runs out before the user notices.

<Modification>
In the above embodiment, the communication mode is described as PHS. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other wireless communication protocols that perform an intermittent standby operation in order to reduce power consumption.

  Of course, the values shown in FIG. 4 and the like shown as examples of statistics are not limited to the illustrated values.

  Using the electric field strength time table 32 shown in FIG. 4, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a function of setting the sleep mode in a time zone where the electric field strength is weak may be added to the communication terminal 100.

  In addition to judging communication quality based on electric field strength, it has a function to judge by frame error rate (frame error rate) and bit error rate (bit error rate), and these values can be used to judge communication quality. good.

  In the above embodiment, application to a remote meter reading device (telemetering device) represented by meter reading such as electricity, gas, and water has been described as an example. However, the communication terminal of the present invention is limited to such application. The present invention can be applied to various M2M (Machine to Machine) devices, various remote sensing devices, and the like.

  Although the above-described embodiment is not particularly limited, it is appended as follows.

(Appendix 1)
A radio unit;
A control unit;
Timekeeping means,
Power control and supply means;
With
The control unit is configured to create a table in which the communication status acquired by the wireless unit is recorded in time series;
A second means for counting the number of open searches for searching for a base station;
When the number of open searches within a predetermined time reaches a predetermined value, based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the activation time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and the power supply A third means for controlling the control / supply means to stop power supply in the communication device excluding at least the time measuring means;
With
A communication device, wherein at least the control unit is activated when the activation time reaches the activation time.

(Appendix 2)
The control unit according to claim 1, further comprising means for notifying a user of the communication device of a communication status of the communication device via the wireless unit when the control unit is activated by the timing unit. Communication device.

(Appendix 3)
The power control / supply means supplies power from the battery into the device,
A battery remaining amount detecting means for monitoring the remaining amount of the battery;
The communication apparatus according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein when activated by the time measuring unit, the control unit notifies the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detecting unit.

(Appendix 4)
In the intermittent standby state where the control signal from the base station is intermittently received, when the radio unit succeeds in receiving the control signal from the base station, the first means records the communication status in the table, The communication apparatus according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein the communication apparatus is again in an intermittent standby state.

(Appendix 5)
The controller is
A communication quality flag is stored to store the quality of communication quality.
If reception of a control signal from the base station fails in the intermittent standby state, an open search for searching for a base station is performed. If the open search fails, the second means increments the number of open searches by one. And
Determine the quality of the communication state, and if the communication state is determined to be good, perform an open search,
The communication device according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, wherein when the communication state is not good, the communication quality flag is set to a bad state.

(Appendix 6)
When the control unit succeeds in an open search for searching for a base station after failure of receiving the control signal from the base station or after being started by the time measuring means, the control unit Position registration,
If the communication quality flag is good, transition to intermittent standby,
6. The communication apparatus according to appendix 5, wherein when the communication quality flag is not good, the state of the communication apparatus is notified to a user, and the communication quality flag is reset and then the process proceeds to the intermittent standby.

(Appendix 7)
By the control unit of the communication device
Record the communication status acquired by the wireless unit of the communication device in a time series in a table,
Counting the number of open searches that the communication device searches for a base station;
When the number of open searches within a predetermined time reaches a predetermined value, based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the start time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and at least the time counting Control to stop the power supply in the communication device except the means,
A communication method, wherein at least the control unit is activated when the activation means reaches the activation time.

(Appendix 8)
The communication method according to appendix 7, wherein when the control unit is activated by the timing unit, the control unit notifies a user of the communication device of a communication status of the communication device via the wireless unit.

(Appendix 9)
The power control / supply means supplies power from the battery into the device,
9. The communication method according to appendix 7 or 8, wherein when activated by the time measuring means, the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detecting means is notified.

(Appendix 10)
When the wireless unit succeeds in receiving the control signal from the base station in the intermittent standby state where the control signal from the base station is intermittently received, the communication status is recorded in the table, and the intermittent standby state is entered again. The communication method according to any one of appendices 7 to 9, characterized in that:

(Appendix 11)
The controller is
A communication quality flag is stored to store the quality of communication quality.
In the intermittent standby state, when receiving a control signal from the base station fails, an open search for searching for a base station is performed. When the open search fails, the number of open searches is incremented by one,
Determine the quality of the communication state, and if the communication state is determined to be good, perform an open search,
The communication method according to any one of appendices 7 to 10, wherein when the communication state is not good, the communication quality flag is set to a bad state.

(Appendix 12)
When the control unit succeeds in an open search for searching for a base station after failure of receiving the control signal from the base station or after being started by the time measuring means, the control unit Position registration,
If the communication quality flag is good, transition to intermittent standby,
The communication method according to claim 11, wherein when the communication quality flag is not good, the state of the communication apparatus is notified to the user, and the communication quality flag is reset and then the process proceeds to the intermittent standby.

(Appendix 13)
A communication terminal;
A base station,
With
The communication terminal is
A radio unit;
A control unit;
Timekeeping means,
Power control and supply means;
With
The control unit is configured to create a table in which the communication status acquired by the wireless unit is recorded in time series;
A second means for counting the number of open searches for searching for a base station;
When the number of open searches within a predetermined time reaches a predetermined value, based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the activation time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and the power supply And a third means for controlling the control / supply means to stop power supply in the communication device excluding at least the time measuring means,
A communication system, wherein at least the control unit is activated when the activation time reaches the activation time.

(Appendix 14)
The supplementary note 13 according to the supplementary note 13, wherein the control unit includes means for notifying a user of the communication device of a communication status of the communication device via the wireless unit when the control unit is activated by the timing unit. Communications system.

(Appendix 15)
The power control / supply means supplies power from the battery into the device,
A battery remaining amount detecting means for monitoring the remaining amount of the battery;
15. The communication system according to appendix 13 or 14, wherein when activated by the time measuring unit, the control unit notifies the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detecting unit.

(Appendix 16)
In the intermittent standby state where the control signal from the base station is intermittently received, when the radio unit succeeds in receiving the control signal from the base station, the first means records the communication status in the table, The communication system according to any one of supplementary notes 13 to 15, wherein the communication system is again in an intermittent standby state.

(Appendix 17)
The controller is
A communication quality flag is stored to store the quality of communication quality.
If reception of a control signal from the base station fails in the intermittent standby state, an open search for searching for a base station is performed. If the open search fails, the second means increments the number of open searches by one. And
Determine the quality of the communication state, and if the communication state is determined to be good, perform an open search,
The communication system according to any one of appendices 13 to 16, wherein when the communication state is not good, the communication quality flag is set to a bad state.

(Appendix 18)
When the control unit succeeds in an open search for searching for a base station after failure of receiving the control signal from the base station or after being started by the time measuring means, the control unit Position registration,
If the communication quality flag is good, transition to intermittent standby,
18. The communication system according to appendix 17, wherein when the communication quality flag is not good, the state of the communication device is notified to the user, the communication quality flag is reset, and then the process proceeds to the intermittent standby.

(Appendix 19)
A first process for creating a table in which the communication status acquired by the wireless unit is recorded in time series;
A second process for counting the number of open searches for searching for a base station;
When the number of open searches within a predetermined time reaches a predetermined value, based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the start time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and at least the time counting A program for causing a computer constituting the communication apparatus to execute a third process for controlling to stop power supply in the communication apparatus excluding the means.

(Appendix 20)
The program according to appendix 19, which, when activated by the time measuring means, causes the computer to execute a process of notifying a user of the communication device of a communication status of the communication device via the wireless unit.

(Appendix 21)
The program according to appendix 19 or 20, which, when activated by the time measuring means, causes the computer to execute a process of notifying a remaining battery level.

(Appendix 22)
When the wireless unit succeeds in receiving the control signal from the base station in the intermittent standby state where the control signal from the base station is intermittently received, the communication status is recorded in the table, and the intermittent standby state is entered again. The program according to any one of appendices 19 to 21, which causes the computer to execute processing.

(Appendix 23)
In the intermittent standby state, when receiving a control signal from the base station fails, an open search for searching for a base station is performed. When the open search fails, the number of open searches is incremented by one,
Determine the quality of the communication state, and if the communication state is determined to be good, perform an open search,
The program according to any one of supplementary notes 19 to 22, which causes the computer to execute a process of setting a communication quality flag to a bad state when the communication state is not good.

(Appendix 24)
After successful reception of the control signal from the base station, or after being activated by the time measuring means and succeeding in an open search for searching for a base station, the location registration is performed for the searched base station. ,
If the communication quality flag is good, transition to intermittent standby,
The program according to appendix 21, which causes the computer to execute a process of notifying the user of the state of the communication device when the communication quality flag is not good, resetting the communication quality flag, and then shifting to the intermittent standby.

  In addition, each disclosure of the cited patent document is incorporated herein by reference. Within the scope of the entire disclosure (including claims) of the present invention, the embodiments and examples can be changed and adjusted based on the basic technical concept. In addition, various combinations or selections of various disclosed elements (including each element of each supplementary note, each element of each embodiment or example, each element of each drawing, etc.) within the framework of the entire disclosure of the present invention. Is possible. That is, the present invention of course includes various variations and modifications that could be made by those skilled in the art according to the entire disclosure including the claims and the technical idea. In particular, with respect to the numerical ranges described in this document, any numerical value or small range included in the range should be construed as being specifically described even if there is no specific description.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Antenna 20 Radio | wireless part 30 Control part 31 Open search counter 32 Electric field strength time table 33 Communication quality flag 40 Real time clock (time measuring means)
50 Power control / supply section (Power control / supply means)
60 Battery remaining amount monitoring unit 70 Battery 80 Non-volatile memory 100 Communication terminal (communication device)
200 Base station 301 Time series table creation means 302 Open search frequency count means 303 Control means T101-105, 160 Recording information at each time T201-205, 260 Recording information at each time

Claims (10)

A radio unit;
A control unit;
Timekeeping means,
Power control and supply means;
With
The control unit is configured to create a table in which the communication status acquired by the wireless unit is recorded in time series;
A second means for counting the number of open searches for searching for a base station;
When the number of open searches reaches a predetermined value within a predetermined time,
Based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the start time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and at least the power supply in the communication device excluding the time measuring means is supplied to the power control / supply means. A third means for controlling to stop;
With
The time measuring means activates at least the control unit when the activation time is reached.   The said control part is provided with the means to notify the user of the said communication apparatus via the said radio | wireless part, if the said control part is started by the said radio | wireless part. Communication equipment. The power control / supply means supplies power from the battery into the device,
A battery remaining amount detecting means for monitoring the remaining amount of the battery;
3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, when activated by the timing unit, the control unit notifies the remaining battery level detected by the remaining battery level detection unit.   In the intermittent standby state where the control signal from the base station is intermittently received, when the radio unit succeeds in receiving the control signal from the base station, the first means records the communication status in the table, The communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication apparatus is again in an intermittent standby state. The controller is
A communication quality flag is stored to store the quality of communication quality.
If reception of a control signal from the base station fails in the intermittent standby state, an open search for searching for a base station is performed. If the open search fails, the second means increments the number of open searches by one. And
Determine the quality of the communication state, and if the communication state is determined to be good, perform an open search,
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the communication state is not good, the communication quality flag is set to a bad state. The controller is
After failure to receive the control signal from the base station, or
After being activated by the timing means,
Perform an open search to search for base stations,
If the open search is successful, perform location registration for the searched base station,
Next,
If the communication quality flag is good, transition to intermittent standby,
6. The communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the communication quality flag is not good, the state of the communication apparatus is notified to a user and the process shifts to the intermittent standby. By the control unit of the communication device
Record the communication status acquired by the wireless unit of the communication device in a time series in a table,
Counting the number of open searches that the communication device searches for a base station;
When the number of open searches reaches a predetermined value within a predetermined time,
Based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the start time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and at least the power supply in the communication device excluding the time measuring means is controlled to be stopped,
The time measuring means activates at least the control unit when the activation time is reached.   8. The communication method according to claim 7, wherein when the control unit is activated by the timing unit, the control unit notifies a user of the communication device of a communication status of the communication device via the wireless unit. A communication terminal;
A base station,
With
The communication terminal is
A radio unit;
A control unit;
Timekeeping means,
Power control and supply means;
With
The control unit is configured to create a table in which the communication status acquired by the wireless unit is recorded in time series;
A second means for counting the number of open searches for searching for a base station;
When the number of open searches reaches a predetermined value within a predetermined time,
Based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, the start time is selected and set in the time measuring means, and the power control / supply means stops at least the power supply in the communication device excluding the time measuring means. A third means for controlling,
The time measuring means starts at least the control unit when the activation time is reached. A first process for creating a table in which the communication status acquired by the wireless unit is recorded in time series;
A second process for counting the number of open searches for searching for a base station;
When the number of open searches reaches a predetermined value within a predetermined time,
Based on the communication status recorded in time series in the table, a starting time is selected and set in the timing means, and at least a third process for controlling to stop the power supply in the communication device excluding the timing means And a program that causes a computer constituting the communication device to execute.

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