JPH10285126A - Transmission system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain power supply by a primary battery or a secondary battery by saving power of a terminal equipment that detects a state of a monitor object equipment and transmits a signal to a master station equipment. SOLUTION: A wake-up circuit 7 of a terminal equipment usually inactivates an alarm code generating circuit 8 and a modulation circuit 12 or the like to set the mode to a standby mode. When an alarm detection circuit 6 detects an abnormality in a monitor object device with a detection element 5 and provides an output of an alarm signal AR, the circuit 7 activates the alarm code generating circuit 8 and the modulation circuit 12 or the like. Thus, the alarm code generating circuit 8 generates an alarm code, a time code from a clock circuit 10 and an ID code from an ID code generating circuit 15 or the like are added to the alarm code and the resulting code is modulated by the modulation circuit 12 and the modulated code is transmitted from an IR emitting element 14 as an infrared ray signal. When the monitor object device is normal, the time code and the ID code are transmitted similarly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transmission system using infrared light emission, and more particularly to a transmission system for centrally monitoring the maintenance and use of a plurality of devices installed in a premises or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The advantages of a wireless transmission system using infrared light emission are that a relatively inexpensive transmission system can be constructed and that the system is less affected by disturbance. The drawback to this is that signal transmission is only possible with a short, straight line of sight.

[0003] As means for compensating for such a defect, conventionally, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 4-175020 and 4-345 have been proposed.
Various signal transmission systems using infrared rays via relay devices have been devised, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 220, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-141376, and the like.

[0004]

The most significant feature of the wireless signal transmission system is that it does not require signal cables to be routed or routed, and a cleaner system can be constructed. It is necessary to eliminate a power supply cable for the power supply and the relay device, and to use a primary battery or a secondary battery as a power source for the power supply. For this purpose, further power saving is required.

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transmission system capable of realizing complete wireless communication without a power supply cable.

[0006]

In order to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device and the relay device, it is necessary to first reduce the power consumption of the devices used. There is also a need for power saving measures.

Therefore, the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, constantly monitors a device to be monitored and, if there is an abnormality in the device to be monitored, detects it and sends it to a master station device via a relay device. In the transmission system configured to notify, the terminal device that monitors the monitoring target device detects the state of the monitoring target device and sets the operation mode when transmitting the detection result, and enters the standby mode during other periods. The relay device is set to the operation mode when the transmission signal from the terminal device is relayed, and to the standby mode during the other period.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a transmission system according to the present invention.
_mn is a monitoring target device (when these are collectively referred to as a monitoring target device 1. Also, n and _mn are integers of 1 or more), and 2-1-1 to 2-n- _mn are terminal devices ( When these are collectively referred to as a terminal device 2), 3-1 to 3-
n is a relay device (when these are collectively referred to, the relay device 3
4) is a master station device.

In FIG. ₁ , a predetermined number (m ₁ + m ₂ +... + M _n ) of monitoring target devices 1 are installed in a certain facility or the like, and a terminal device 2 that constantly monitors the state of each device is provided. Is provided. These terminal devices 2 transmit an alarm signal when detecting that the monitoring target device 1 is in an abnormal state. The transmission signal is transmitted to the relay device 3 by infrared rays, and the relay device 3 performs a predetermined process on the received transmission signal and transmits the received transmission signal to the master station device 4 by infrared rays or a wire. Master station device 4 determines an alarm signal from the received signal and issues an alarm.

By the way, from all of these terminal devices 2, 1
When signals cannot be transmitted to the master station device 4 via one relay device 3, that is, when one relay device 3 cannot be installed at a position where it can receive infrared rays from all terminal devices 2, When the number of installed relay devices is large and one relay device 3 is not capable of relaying signals from all terminal devices 2, for example, as illustrated, two or more relay devices 3-1 to 3-n And one or more terminal devices 2 are allocated to each of them.

[0012] Here, m ₁ pieces of terminal equipment 2-1-1~2-1-m ₁ is assigned to the relay device 3-1, these terminal devices 2-1-1~2-1-m ₁ The transmission signal is relayed by the relay device 3-1 and transmitted to the master station device 4. Similarly, the relay device 3-2 has m ₂ terminal devices 2-2-1 and 2-2-2.
−1-m ₂ are assigned, and these terminal devices 2-1-1
Oscillation signal of ~2-1-m ₂ is transmitted by being relayed to the master station apparatus 4 by the relay station 3-2, ..., to the relay device 3-n m _n
Terminal devices 2-n-1 to 2-n- _mn are assigned, and transmission signals of these terminal devices 2-n-1 to 2-n- _mn are relayed by the relay device 3-n to be a master station. It is transmitted to the device 4.

As described above, when a plurality of terminal devices 2 are provided, each terminal device 2 is provided with its own ID (identification) code for identifying each terminal device.
A code is added to the above alarm signal and transmitted.
When receiving the transmission signal from the relay device 3, the master station device 4 identifies the terminal device 2 which has transmitted the alarm signal by the ID code, activates the alarm device corresponding to the terminal device 2, and activates the terminal device. The monitoring device 2 notifies the monitoring person that the monitoring target device 1 is abnormal.

Here, each terminal device 2 is configured to be able to input and change its ID code. When a new terminal device 2 is installed, the ID code can be newly set. When changing the installation position of the terminal device 2 being used, the ID code can be changed as necessary.

Further, each terminal device 2 is provided with a clock circuit for generating a time code, and when detecting no abnormality of the monitored device 1, generates a time code at a predetermined constant time interval. The ID code is added and infrared rays are transmitted. The transmission signal including the time code and the ID code is transmitted via the relay device 3 to the master station device 4.
Is transmitted to When the master station device 4 receives the transmission signal, the monitoring target device 1 of the terminal device 2 having this ID code
Indicates that is normal.

Each terminal device 2 can also add a time code to the transmitted signal together with the ID code when transmitting the alarm signal.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the terminal device 2 in FIG. 1, wherein 5 is a detecting element, 6 is an alarm detecting circuit, 7 is a wake-up circuit, 7a is a switch, and 8 is an alarm code. Generating circuit, 9 is a reference oscillator, 1
0 is a clock circuit, 11 is an addition circuit, 12 is a modulation circuit, 13
Is an output circuit, 14 is an IR (infrared) light emitting element, 15 is I
A D code generation circuit, 16 is an ID storage circuit, and 17 is an ID setting input terminal.

In FIG. 1, a detecting element 5 constantly monitors and detects the state of the monitored device 1. The detection target is based on vibration, impact, sound, heat, opening / closing of the lid, or a combination thereof, and an appropriate sensor is used according to the detection target. The detection output signal of the detection element 5 is supplied to an alarm detection circuit 6. This alarm detection circuit 6
Performs processing such as amplification and band limitation on the detection output signal of the detection element 5, and furthermore, when the level of the signal processed in this way exceeds a predetermined reference threshold, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the monitoring target device 1. An alarm signal AR is generated and supplied to a wake-up circuit 7, an alarm code generation circuit 8, a clock circuit 10, and an ID code generation circuit 15. Note that the alarm detection circuit 6 continues to generate the alarm signal AR as long as an abnormality of the monitored device 1 is detected.

The wake-up circuit 7 normally includes an alarm code generation circuit 8, an addition circuit 11, an ID code generation circuit 15, an ID storage circuit 16, a modulation circuit 12, and an output circuit 1.
The terminal device 2 is kept in the standby mode by turning off the terminal 3 and the like. When the alarm signal AR is supplied from the alarm detection circuit 6, the trigger signal TR2 is supplied from the clock circuit 10 as described later. And an alarm code generator 8, an adder 11, and an ID code generator 1.
5, turn on the ID storage circuit 16, the modulation circuit 12, the output circuit 13, and the like, and set the terminal device 2 to the operation mode. The operation mode is set for a predetermined period of time, and when this time elapses, the wake-up circuit 7 switches the terminal device 2 to the standby mode again. For this purpose, the wake-up circuit 7 has a timer circuit.

On the other hand, the clock circuit 10 counts the clock from the reference oscillator 9 and generates a time code TC in a format for infrared transmission and trigger signals TR1 and TR2. When the alarm signal AR is not supplied from the alarm detection circuit 6, the trigger signal TR2, and immediately thereafter, the trigger signal TR1, followed by the time code T
C is generated and output at a rate of k times (where k is a positive number) per hour (for example, once per hour when k = 1) and at a constant cycle. On the other hand, when the alarm signal AR is supplied from the alarm detection circuit 6, the time code TC and the trigger signals TR1, TR1
2 are immediately generated and output in the above order. The generated and output time code TC is supplied to the adding circuit 11, the trigger signal TR1 is supplied to the alarm code generating circuit 8 and the ID code generating circuit 15, and the trigger signal TR2 is supplied to the wake-up circuit 7. Note that this clock circuit 1
0 also has a function of setting the current time.

When the alarm signal AR is not supplied from the alarm detection circuit 6, the wake-up circuit 7
Trigger signal TR from clock circuit 10 at a rate of k times per hour
2 is supplied, the alarm code generation circuit 8, the addition circuit 11, the ID code generation circuit 15, the ID storage circuit 1
6, the modulation circuit 12, the output circuit 13, and the like are turned on for a certain period of time (for example, 5 to 6 seconds), and the terminal device 2 is set to the operation mode. During this operation mode, the clock circuit 1
0 outputs the trigger signal TR1 and the time code TC,
The time code TC is supplied to the adding circuit 11. Also,
In response to the trigger signal TR1, the alarm code generation circuit 8 generates a wake-up signal WA and a stop bit SB in a format for infrared transmission, and supplies them to the addition circuit 11 as a signal AD. Further, the trigger signal TR
1, the ID code generation circuit 15 causes the ID storage circuit 1
6 is read, and the unique ID set for the terminal device 2 based on the ID data is read.
The code is generated in a format for infrared transmission and supplied to the adding circuit 11. The addition circuit 11 outputs these addition signals SD.

The alarm signal AR from the alarm detection circuit 6
Is output, the time code TC and the trigger signals TR1 and TR2 are generated and output in the order described above from the clock circuit 10. In this case, the alarm code generation circuit 8 generates and outputs an infrared transmission format alarm code AC in response to the alarm signal AR in addition to the wake-up signal WA and the stop bit SB. Therefore, the addition signal SD output from the addition circuit 11 includes the alarm code AC.

As described above, regardless of the presence or absence of the alarm signal AR, the wake-up circuit 7 operates the clock circuit 8
When the terminal device 2 is set to the operation mode as described above by the trigger signal TR2 from the
Need not be supplied to the wake-up circuit 7.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing the generation timing of each signal in the alarm code generation circuit 8, the clock circuit 10, and the ID code generation circuit 15, and the signals corresponding to those in FIG. .

2 and 3, the generation timing of each signal will be described assuming that the alarm signal AR is output from the alarm detection circuit 6.

Now, the trigger signal TR1 is output from the clock circuit 10.
Occurs, first, the alarm code generation circuit 8 outputs a wake-up signal WA having a constant pulse width, and after a predetermined time interval, the trigger signal TR1 outputs the ID signal.
The code generation circuit 15 outputs an ID code. Subsequently, the clock circuit 10 outputs the time code TC, and then the alarm code generation circuit 8 outputs the alarm code AC and the stop bit SB. The addition circuit 11 outputs an addition signal SD obtained by adding these signals. In the addition signal SD, the wake-up signal WA sets the start end of the addition signal SD to a stop bit S
B represents the respective ends. When the alarm signal AR is not output from the alarm detection circuit 6, the output signal AD of the alarm code generation circuit 8 does not include the alarm code AC.

In the modulation circuit 12, for example, the carrier having a frequency of 38 kHz is pulse-modulated with the addition signal SD. The modulation signal output from the modulation circuit 12 is
After the power is amplified by the output circuit 13, the IR light emitting element 14 is driven and transmitted to the relay device 3 as an infrared signal. When the transmission is completed, the wake-up circuit 7 includes an alarm code generation circuit 8, an addition circuit 11, an ID code generation circuit 15, an ID storage circuit 16, a modulation circuit 12, and an output circuit 13.
Are turned off, and the terminal device 2 is set in the standby mode.

As described above, in this specific example, when the monitored device 1 is not abnormal, the time code AC and the ID code are transmitted at a fixed period, and no operation is required during a period other than the transmission period. The terminal device 2 is in the standby mode by turning off the alarm code generation circuit 8, the addition circuit 11, the ID code generation circuit 15, the ID storage circuit 16, the modulation circuit 12, the output circuit 13 and the like. Therefore, the power consumption can be greatly reduced as compared with the case where the operation mode is set to keep these circuits on at all times, and a primary battery or a secondary battery can be used as a power supply. As a result, the terminal device 2 does not require a power supply cable.

For example, it is now assumed that an AA lithium battery is used as a power source, and that the time for transmitting the time code and the ID code described above when the monitored device 1 is not abnormal is 5 seconds, and the consumption during the transmission is 5 seconds. Assuming that the current is 20 mA, the current consumption in the standby mode is 0.1 mA, and the transmission is performed at a rate of k times per hour, the life Th (hour) of the dry battery is that the capacity of the AA lithium battery is 230
Since it is 0 mAh, {0.1 × (3600−5k) + 5k × 20} × Th = 2300 × 3600 (1) holds (however, the inside of {} corresponds to the power consumed in one hour). When 5k / 3600≪1, the above equation (1) becomes (0.1 + 5k × 20/3600) × Th = 2300 (2).

Therefore, when the terminal device 2 is kept in the always-on mode, the life Th of the dry battery is 2300/20 = 115 hours according to the above equation (1) with 5k = 3600. Times
Assuming that k = 1, according to the above equation (2), Th = 17968 hours =
This is 748 days, which is more than 150 times longer than in the always-on mode. Therefore, a primary battery or a secondary battery can be used as a power supply.

In the specific example shown in FIG. 2, the ID code and the time code TC are transmitted at a predetermined cycle even when the monitoring target device 1 is not abnormal. FIG. 1) is for notifying that the monitoring target device 1 is normal, and indicates that the alarm code AC is not sent, indicating that the monitoring target device 1 is normal. However, even when the monitoring target device 1 is normal, the alarm code AC is set to a bit pattern different from that when the monitoring target device 1 is abnormal.
It may be sent together with the ID code and the time code TC. In this case, the alarm code generation circuit 8 in FIG. 2 naturally generates an alarm code AC having a different bit pattern when the alarm signal AR is supplied from the alarm detection circuit 6 and when the alarm signal AR is not supplied.

As described above, when the monitoring target device 1 is not abnormal, even if the terminal device 2 is set to the operation mode at regular intervals, the terminal device 2 is always kept in the standby mode, and the operation mode is switched to the operation mode only when an abnormality occurs. The power consumption does not increase as far as the left. In the case where the standby mode is always maintained, k = 0 may be set in the above equations (1) and (2). At this time, the life Th of the dry battery is 2300 / 0.1 = 23000.
Time (= 958 days), and the above 17968 hours (= 748 days)
There is not much difference.

By the way, if each terminal device 2 transmits a time code once per hour (k = 1) and the transmission time is 5 seconds, a maximum of 3600 ÷ 5 = 720 terminal devices 2 are installed. Will be able to do that. However, when all the terminal devices 2 do not detect the abnormality of the monitoring target device 1, the terminal devices 2 transmit the time code TC and the ID code at a rate of k times per hour. However, it is necessary to control the transmission timing of each terminal device 2 so that the transmission periods do not overlap between these terminal devices 2.

Therefore, as one of the methods, means for manually presetting the clock circuit 10 of each terminal device 2 is provided, and when starting use of the system or when inputting ID data from the ID setting input terminal 17, The clock circuits 10 may be manually preset so that the timing of the transmission signal at each terminal device 2 is shifted by a predetermined time.

As another method, in FIG.
There is a method in which the master station device 4 allocates a transmission period for each relay device 3, and each relay device 3 allocates a transmission period of each terminal device 2 to which the relay device 3 relays within the allocated period. For this purpose, when the entire system is started or every certain period, a signal such as a preset signal is transmitted to each relay device 3 by wire or infrared, and each relay device 3 transmits a signal to the terminal device 2 related thereto. Are sequentially transmitted by infrared rays, so that the transmission timing of each terminal device 2 can be set.

In the terminal device 2 shown in FIG. 2, when the preset signal from the relay device 3 is received, a microprocessor (not shown) presets the clock circuit 10, and the time code TC or the time code TC is specified by the master station device 4. I
Send a D code. Here, the wake-up circuit 7 may be configured by a microprocessor or the like, and the wake-up circuit 7 may cause the clock circuit 10 to perform the presetting.

In this method, a separate light receiving means is required for the terminal device 2, and a receiving device and a light emitting means are also required for the relay device 3, so that the scale of these devices is increased and the power consumption is increased. However, this means is turned on only when the preset signal is supplied, and the preset signal is not always supplied, so that an increase in power consumption can be suppressed.

Although not shown, the wake-up circuit 7 turns on / off a power supply composed of, for example, a dry battery, and outputs an alarm code generation circuit 8 and an addition circuit 1 therefrom.
1, a switch for supplying power to the ID code generation circuit 15, the ID storage circuit 16, the modulation circuit 12, the output circuit 13 and the like to turn them on (start mode) and to cut them off. , And is controlled by the microprocessor in response to a trigger signal TR2 from the clock circuit 10, and the like.

In the above description, each terminal device 2 operates for one hour and one hour.
If the time code is transmitted at a rate of k times (k = 1) and the transmission time is 5 seconds, a maximum of 360035 = 720 terminal devices 2 can be installed. When the terminal devices 2 are installed up to this number, the time codes TC and ID codes can be transmitted so that all the terminal devices 2 do not sequentially overlap in a time-sharing manner. There is almost no time gap between the transmission period of the next terminal device 2. Therefore, as described above, a certain terminal device 2
When the terminal device 2 detects an abnormality in the monitoring target device 1, the terminal device 2 immediately transmits the addition signal SD including the alarm code AC as shown in FIG. This overlaps with the period for transmitting the TC and the ID code.

In order to solve this, as shown in FIG. 4, the sequential transmission periods D1, D2, D3,
.., And at least an addition signal SD as shown in FIG.
Is provided, and the addition signal S including the alarm code AC is provided within the time interval ts.
What is necessary is just to determine the transmission period E of D. (Thus,
In the case of the above conditions, the maximum installation number of the terminal device 2 is
It should be less than 1/2 of 720).

The setting of the transmission period of each terminal device 2 can be performed manually or the like as described above. When the transmission period of each terminal device 2 is set as described above, the timing of the time interval ts is determined. For example, when the transmission period of the addition signal SD of the time code TC and the ID code is set to 5 seconds, and the transmission period of each terminal device 2 is set at an interval of 10 seconds, the transmission period of each terminal device 2 expires. Therefore, the above time interval ts exists every 10 seconds at a cycle of 15 seconds. Thus, since the timing of the time interval ts is determined, the transmission period E of the addition signal SD including the alarm code AC can be determined.

Therefore, the time code T at each terminal device 2
If the transmission period and the timing of the addition signal SD of the C and the ID code and the interval between the transmission periods of these terminal devices 2 are determined in advance, the time code TC and the ID When the transmission period of the addition signal SD with the code is determined by the preset, the addition signal SD including the alarm code can be transmitted within the time interval ts determined by the preset.

By configuring the clock circuit 10 in this manner, an addition signal SD of the time code TC and the ID code is obtained.
When the alarm signal AR is supplied from the detecting circuit 6, the clock circuit 10 automatically sets the time interval ts as shown in FIG.
The time code TC and the trigger signals TR1 and TR2 are generated such that the addition signal SD including the alarm code AC is transmitted in the transmission period E within the period.

When transmitting the addition signal SD including the alarm code AC indicating an abnormality within the time interval ts, the transmission is always repeated as long as it does not overlap with the transmission period of the other terminal device 2. You may make it.

When the monitoring target device 1 is returned to the normal state and the alarm detection circuit 6 does not output the alarm signal AR, the clock circuit 10 sets the time at the original timing according to the preset. A code TC and trigger signals TR1 and TR2 are generated.

As described above, the transmission periods of the terminal devices 2 can be prevented from overlapping each other, including the case of transmitting the alarm code AC.

As described above, when the terminal device 2 is newly attached, the ID code can be set, or the ID code can be changed by changing the installation location. . For this reason, in the terminal device 2, as shown in FIG.
Is provided so that ID data can be inputted and written into the ID storage circuit 16 from now on.

However, the terminal device 2 is normally in the standby mode, and the ID storage circuit 16 is off. Therefore, a switch 7a is provided in the wake-up circuit 7, and by turning on the switch 7a, at least the ID storage circuit 16 is turned on. Therefore, when inputting ID data from the ID setting input terminal 17 and newly setting an ID code, the switch 7a may be turned on.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the relay device 3 in FIG.
Is a demodulation circuit, 20 is an alarm / ID signal transmission circuit, 21
Is a wake-up circuit.

In this specific example, the signal transmission to the master station device 4 is performed by wire transmission.
The infrared signal output from the IR light emitting element 14 is received by an IR light receiving circuit 18 and converted into an electric signal. The electric signal is subjected to processing such as amplification and band limitation, and is subjected to a demodulation circuit 1 processing.
9 and the wake-up circuit 21. Here, the wake-up circuit 21 normally sets the relay device 3 to the standby mode by turning off the demodulation circuit 19 and the alarm / ID signal transmission circuit 20, and the IR light receiving circuit 18
Is supplied, the carrier signal of 38 kHz of the wake-up signal WA (FIG. 3) at the head of the output signal is detected to determine that an infrared signal has been received, and these are demodulated by a demodulation circuit. 19 and alarm ID
The signal transmission circuit 20 is turned on to put the relay device 3 into the operation mode.

When the relay device 3 enters the operation mode, I
The output signal of the infrared transmission format of the R light receiving circuit 18 is demodulated by the demodulation circuit 19 to obtain the addition signal SD shown in FIG. 3 and is supplied to the alarm / ID signal transmission circuit 20. In the alarm / ID signal transmission circuit 20, the added signal SD undergoes processing such as waveform shaping and level shift, and is transmitted to the master station device 4 (FIG. 1) with low impedance by wire.

The processing from the reception of the infrared signal to the completion of the wired transmission of the addition signal SD to the master station device 4 is performed within a predetermined time, and when this time elapses, the wake-up circuit 21 sets the demodulation circuit 19 and The alarm / ID signal transmission circuit 20 is turned off, and the relay device 3 is set in the standby mode to prepare for receiving the next infrared signal.

The signal transmitted from the alarm / ID signal transmission circuit 20 to the master station device 4 by wire is the same signal as the addition signal SD shown in FIG. 3, and a wake-up signal WA is provided at the end thereof. Contains. The wake-up signal WA is used by the master station device 4 to determine that a signal from the relay device 3 has been received.

By the way, the wake-up circuit 21
By detecting the frequency 38 kHz of the wake-up signal WA modulated from the IR light receiving circuit 18, it is determined that the IR light receiving circuit 18 has received the infrared signal from the terminal device 2. It costs. For this reason, the wake-up signal WA demodulated by the demodulation circuit 19 and transmitted from the alarm / ID signal transmission circuit 20
Is, of course, narrower in pulse width than when it is received by the IR receiver 18. For this reason, even if the pulse width is narrowed in this manner, the terminal device 2 (see FIG. 3) so that the wake-up signal WA is transmitted to the master station device 4 with a pulse width that can be sufficiently recognized by the master station device 4. The pulse width of the wake-up signal WA is set by the alarm code generation circuit 8 in 2).

When a plurality of relay devices 3 are used, the number of terminal devices 2 per one device is reduced, so that the standby time for the operation time becomes longer. In addition, since a low-wire wired transmission path is used as the transmission path to the master station device 4, the power consumption is small. Therefore, in the relay device 3 as well, the power consumption can be sufficiently reduced, a primary battery or a secondary battery can be used as a power source, and a power supply cable can be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the master station device 4 in FIG. 1 with respect to the relay device 3 shown in FIG. 5, where 22 is an alarm / ID signal receiving circuit, 23 is a discriminating circuit, and 24 is It is an alarm display device.

In the figure, a signal transmitted by wire from the alarm / ID signal transmitting circuit 20 of the relay device 3 shown in FIG. 5 is received by the alarm / ID signal receiving circuit 22, and processing such as waveform shaping and level shifting is performed. After that, it is supplied to the determination circuit 23. The determination circuit 23 analyzes the ID code and the time code TC of the received signal, and determines which terminal device 2 transmitted the signal and at what time. Also, the presence or absence of the alarm code AC (or whether the alarm code AC indicates normal or abnormal depending on the bit pattern) is determined, and when the alarm code is present (or when the alarm code AC indicates abnormal). ), The alarm display device 24 displays that the monitored device 1 of the determined terminal device 2 is abnormal,
When there is no alarm code (or when the alarm code AC indicates normal), the alarm display device 24 indicates that the monitored device 1 is normal.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another specific example of the relay device 3 in FIG. 1, wherein 25 is an amplifier circuit, 26 is an output circuit, and 27 is an IR light emitting element. Are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

In this specific example, the signal transmission to the master station device 4 is performed by infrared transmission. In the same figure, the infrared signal output from the IR light emitting element 14 of the terminal device 2 is an IR signal.
When light is received by the light receiving circuit 18 and the wake-up circuit 21 determines this light reception, the amplifier circuit 25 and the output circuit 26 are turned on, and the relay device 3 is set to the operation mode.

In this operation mode, the IR light receiving circuit 18
Is amplified by the amplifier circuit 25, power-amplified by the output circuit 26, and transmitted to the master station device 4 as an infrared signal by the IR light emitting element 27.

Also in this specific example, the wake-up circuit 21 detects the 38 kHz carrier frequency of the modulated wake-up signal from the IR light receiving circuit 18 and then turns on the amplifying circuit 25 and the like. The wake-up signal transmitted from the light-emitting element 27 has a shorter pulse width than when the light is received by the IR light-receiving circuit 18. Therefore, in this case, as in the description of the specific example shown in FIG. The pulse width of the wake-up signal may be slightly longer in the terminal device 2.

Also, in this specific example, as in the specific example shown in FIG. 5, at least during the period from when an IR signal is received by the IR light receiving circuit 18 to when it is sent from the IR light emitting element 27, the operation mode is changed. Then, the standby mode is set for a period other than the above, whereby the power consumption can be sufficiently reduced, and the primary battery or the secondary battery can be used as the power supply.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing another specific example of the master station device 4 in FIG. 1 with respect to the relay device 3 shown in FIG. 7, wherein 28 is an IR light receiving circuit, 29 is a demodulation circuit,
Parts corresponding to those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

In the figure, an infrared signal transmitted from the IR light emitting element 27 of the relay device 3 shown in FIG. 7 is received by an IR light receiving circuit 28 and converted into an electric signal of an infrared transmission format. Bandwidth limitation processing is performed. This electric signal is demodulated by the demodulation circuit 29 into the addition signal SD shown in FIG. The subsequent operation is the same as that of the specific example shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a specific example of the panel section of the alarm display device 25, wherein 30 is a red lamp, 31 is a green lamp, 32 is a display panel such as a liquid crystal, and 33 is a buzzer.

In this specific example, three relay devices 3 are provided, and a maximum of N terminal devices 2 can be provided for each of the three relay devices. Therefore, each relay device 3 can relay a signal indicating the state of a maximum of N monitored devices 1. However, in this case, in FIG. 1, n = 3 becomes, m ₁ pieces of the terminal device 2 to the relay device 3-1, are m ₂ pieces of the terminal device 2 to the relay device 3-2, to the relay device 3-3 Although m ₃ terminal devices 2 are provided, m ₁ , m ₂ , and m ₃ are all N or less.

In FIG. 9, these relay devices 3-1 and 3
The red lamps 30 and the green lamps 31 are arranged N each for −2, 3-3 as A, B, and C groups, respectively. Each of the red lamps 30 and the green lamps 31 shown adjacent to each other in the vertical direction forms a pair, and each pair corresponds to a separate terminal device 2 and thus to the monitored device 1. The red lamp 30 indicates that the monitoring target device 1 is abnormal, and the green lamp 31 indicates that the monitoring target device 1 is normal.

When the determination circuit 23 (FIGS. 6 and 8) determines that the state of the monitoring target device 1 is abnormal based on the received alarm code AC, the monitoring target device 1 is determined from the ID code sent at the same time. Red lamp 30 for
Flashes. Further, when the determination circuit 23 determines that it is normal, the corresponding green lamp 31 is similarly turned on. Thereby, the monitor can identify which monitoring target device 1 is abnormal. Such blinking and lighting may be performed for a fixed time every time the determination circuit 23 makes a determination, or may be made to be performed continuously until the next determination is made.

The alarm code AC corresponds to the detection function (detection of vibration, shock, sound, heat, opening / closing of the lid, etc.) of the detection element 5 (FIG. 2) installed in the monitored device 1. Different bit patterns can be used. In such a case, the determination circuit 23 can also determine the type of such an abnormality and displays the type on the display panel 32 as a message. For example, assuming that the detecting element 5 also has a function of detecting heat, when the detecting element 5 detects abnormal heat generation, the display panel 32 displays a message "occurrence of abnormal heat generation". If the detecting element 5 has a function of detecting the opening and closing of the lid of the monitoring target device 1, when detecting an abnormal state in which the lid is opened, a message such as "lid open" is issued. Is displayed. Therefore, from this message and the blinking of the red lamp 30, which monitoring target device 1
The observer can know at a glance what kind of abnormal state has occurred in the monitor.

Further, a buzzer 33 is provided in this panel portion. The buzzer 33 issues an alarm when any of the red lamps 30 blinks. Thus, even if the red lamp 30 blinks, it is possible to prevent the observer from overlooking the red lamp 30.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing an IR light emitting portion of the housing of the terminal device 2 shown in FIG. 2, wherein 34 is an IR light emitting portion, 35 is a holding pin, 36 is a frame, and 37 is a holding pin. Reference numeral 38 denotes an outer case of the terminal device 2.

In the figure, the IR light emitting element 14 (FIG. 2)
Is mounted on a frame 36 by holding pins 35, and the frame 36 is mounted on an outer case 38 by holding pins 37.
The IR light emitting section 34 is rotatable about the holding pin 35 as a center axis, and the frame 36 is rotatable about the holding pin 37 as a center axis.

As described above, the IR light emitting section 34 is rotatable in two axial directions, so that the irradiation direction of the infrared light from the IR light emitting section 34 can be changed regardless of the posture of the terminal device 2. IR receiving circuit 18 of relay device 3 (FIGS. 5 and 7)
The IR light emitting section 34 can be adjusted so as to face the light receiving element.

In the above embodiment, when the monitoring target device 1 in the abnormal state is restored to the normal state, the terminal device 2 outputs the alarm code AC at the original timing determined by the preset signal. A signal not containing or having an alarm code AC indicating normality is transmitted by infrared rays, but it may take a long time before the master station device 4 receives this signal.
In the case where the status display is performed continuously as described above, the fact that the monitoring target device 1 is normal, but abnormal, is displayed forever. Therefore, in the master station device 4 that performs such display, the display state can be manually switched.

As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited only to this embodiment.

For example, in the above embodiment, the terminal device 1
However, when the monitoring target device 1 is in a normal state, the time code TC and the ID code are transmitted at fixed time intervals. However, in FIG. 2, the time code TC and the ID code are not transmitted, and the alarm detection circuit 6 generates the alarm signal AR. Only when the signal is output, the wake-up circuit 7 may set the terminal device 2 to the operation mode for a certain period and transmit an infrared signal. In this case, power consumption in the terminal device 2 and the relay device 3 can be further reduced as described above. However, in this case, the alarm display device 24 (FIGS. 6 and 8) of the master station 4 displays a normal state unless the alarm code AC indicating the abnormality is supplied, and also displays the abnormality. Sometimes, when the state of the monitoring target device 1 is made normal, it is necessary to manually perform a switching operation so that the display indicates normal. In this case, the clock circuit 10 in FIG. 2 does not need to generate the trigger signal TR2. Alternatively, the trigger signal TR2 may be used in the wake-up circuit 7 to switch the terminal device 2 from the operation mode to the standby mode. In this case, the wake-up circuit 7 outputs There is no need to provide a simple timer circuit.

The time code TC does not always need to be sent to the master station device 4.

[0078]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Realizes power saving of terminal devices and relay devices, can use primary batteries and secondary batteries as power sources, and can build a completely wireless transmission system including eliminating power supply cables .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a monitoring system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific example of a terminal device in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing signals of respective units in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of transmission timing of each terminal device in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the relay device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a specific example of a master station device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another specific example of the relay device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating another specific example of the master station device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a specific example of a panel unit of the alarm display device in FIGS. 6 and 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a movable structure of an IR light emitting unit of the terminal device in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 monitoring target device 2 terminal device 3 relay device 4 master station device 5 detection element 6 alarm detection circuit 7 wake-up circuit 7a switch 8 alarm code generation circuit 9 reference oscillator 10 clock circuit 11 addition circuit 12 modulation circuit 13 output circuit 14 IR Light emitting element 15 ID code generation circuit 16 ID storage circuit 17 ID setting input terminal 18 IR light receiving circuit 19 Demodulation circuit 20 Alarm / ID signal transmission circuit 21 Wake-up circuit 22 Alarm / ID signal reception circuit 23 Judgment circuit 24 Alarm display device 25 Amplification circuit 26 Output circuit 27 IR light emitting element 28 IR light receiving circuit 29 Demodulation circuit 30 Red lamp 31 Green lamp 32 Liquid crystal panel 33 Buzzer 34 IR light emitting unit 35 Holding pin 36 Frame 37 Holding pin 38 Exterior case

Claims (6)

[Claims] In a transmission system for detecting an abnormality of a device to be monitored and notifying the master station device, when an abnormality of the device to be monitored is detected, the operation mode is changed from a standby mode to an operation mode for a predetermined period. A terminal device that wirelessly transmits an outgoing signal composed of, for example, a relay device that operates only for a predetermined period when an outgoing signal from the terminal device is received, and transmits the received signal to the master station device, A transmission system wherein the master station device receives a transmission signal from the relay device, determines the alarm signal, and displays an alarm or the like. 2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device has a built-in clock device, enters an operation mode at predetermined time intervals at predetermined time intervals, outputs an identification code as a transmission signal, and detects an abnormality of the monitored device. A transmission system, wherein when detected, the identification signal is added to the alarm signal to generate the transmission signal. 3. The transmission system according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device has a unit for setting the identification code. 4. The transmission system according to claim 1, wherein a primary battery or a secondary battery is used as a power supply source for the terminal device and the relay device. 5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission signal from the terminal device is transmitted to the relay device by infrared rays, and the transmission signal is transmitted from the relay device to the master station device by infrared rays or by wire. And transmission system. 6. The signal transmission according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device has a structure in which a radiation direction of an infrared ray from an infrared light emitting unit is arbitrarily variable. system.