JPH11355867A - Communication system and its transmitter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system, in which a master machine collecting/ accumulating information of the other transmitter is selected automatically as the representation of the radio communication system, when the communication system is newly installed by transferring information showing priority between the transmitters and automatically setting the transmitter of the highest priority as the master machine. SOLUTION: A master machine deciding means for transferring information showing priority between transmitters and executing a processing for automatically setting the transmitter of the highest priority to be a master machine is installed. Namely, a data processor 10 contains a master machine deciding means 11 in the system. The master machine deciding means 11 transmits an ID of a self-machine to the other transmitter when an ID transmission interrupt signal is inputted from an ID transmission timer 21. A processing for setting the transmitter, which continuously transmits ID to the end as the master machine and setting the other machines to be the slave machines is executed by a method for stopping the ID transmission later, when an ID which is younger than the self-machine is received, until a master machine deciding interrupt signal is inputted from a master machine deciding timer 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication system having a plurality of data transmitters for receiving a communication signal and returning response data by communication in response to the communication signal, and a transmitter mainly used for the communication system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a system for collecting various information using a communication system for exchanging data by communication has been developed. As a conventional technology of this system,
JP-A-8-161609 and JP-A-9-23279
The technology described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-264 is known. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-161609 describes an information collection system for a vending machine using a wireless communication system.
A wireless communication system used for automatic meter reading of electricity or the like is described.

[0003] The communication systems for collecting information in these prior arts include a vending machine and a wireless data transmitter (hereinafter, referred to as a meter) for measuring the usage of gas, water, electricity or the like.
(Called a transmitter) to collect inventory information of a vending machine and a pointer value of a meter at a remote place by wireless communication and wired communication or a combination of wireless communication and wired communication.

In collecting information, communication with each transmitter when information is needed requires a considerable amount of time to complete collection of information, especially when the number of transmitters is large. It costs. In addition, if all transmitters transmit data at the same time, interference may occur. Therefore, it is expected that extra work and time will be required because data must be collected while avoiding interference. However, since these information collection requests do not occur so frequently, communication is not performed most of the time. Therefore, in order to make effective use of the available time, a representative transmitter (hereinafter referred to as a parent device) is selected from a group of transmitters, and another transmitter (hereinafter referred to as a child device) is selected as the parent device. The above-mentioned conventional technique employs a method in which the information collected by the master unit is collected at regular intervals, and when the information transmission request is made, the information collected by the master unit is transmitted collectively.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the master unit is determined artificially, and when the master unit is absent due to a change in the configuration of the transmitter group or a failure, etc. Is no longer collected. Furthermore, in order to recover from such a state, it is necessary to manually set the master unit again.

[0006] The present invention is to solve such a problem of the prior art, and when the transmitter is newly installed or when the parent device is no longer present due to a change in the configuration of the transmitter group, etc., the present invention will be described. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication system in which a master unit is automatically selected without a need to set (or reset) a master unit, and a transmitter used in the communication system.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a base unit determining means for performing processing for automatically setting a transmitter having the highest priority as a base unit by exchanging information indicating priority between the transmitters. Was provided. More specifically, each transmitter continuously transmits information indicating the priority at random intervals, and in the meantime,
When it receives information indicating a higher priority than its own priority, it becomes a child device, stops transmitting priority information thereafter, and detects that all transmitters other than itself have stopped transmitting priority information Will be the parent machine. Further, when the mobile device becomes a child device, an information request periodically transmitted from the parent device to the child device is monitored, and if there is no information request for a predetermined time, the parent device determining means is driven again.

Further, according to the present invention, immediately after the start-up, if there is no information request from the master unit in the state of the slave unit for a certain period of time, or if there are no slave units under the master unit state, both the master unit and the slave unit can be used. In addition, a peripheral monitoring means for searching for a base unit or a transmitter in a similar non-belonging state approaching while notifying that the state is not belonging to any group at random intervals is provided.

Therefore, in the present invention, by providing such a configuration, even when the parent device does not exist due to a new installation of the transmitter, or a change in the configuration of the transmitter group, etc., an artificial parent device is not provided. The above problem is solved by automatically selecting the parent device without requiring setting (or resetting) of the master device.

[0010]

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Further, in the present embodiment, the communication is described as wireless communication, but the same effect can be obtained even in the case of wired communication. Further, in the present embodiment, an identification number (hereinafter, referred to as ID) unique to a transmitter is used as information indicating a priority, and
Younger transmitters have higher priority.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. The data processor 10 operates under program control, and a timer device 2 counts a designated time.
0, a storage device 30 for storing information, a wireless communication unit 50 for performing wireless data communication, and an interface unit 40 for converting a data format between the data processing device 10 and the wireless communication unit 50.

The storage device 30 stores a device information storage unit 31 that stores information unique to the transmitter such as an ID and information of an object to which the device is attached, and collects information when the device is selected as a master device. A child device information storage unit 32 for storing information about the child device.

The timer device 20 sets a transmission interval for notifying the ID of the own device to another transmitter, and when the set transmission interval is reached, a command signal for outputting the ID of the own device to the other transmitter. Output an ID transmission interrupt signal
The D transmission timer 21 measures this time interval in order to determine that the own device is the master device if the ID is not transmitted from another transmitter within a certain time interval. Base unit determination timer 22 that outputs an interrupt signal for
And a slave unit information update timer 23 that outputs a slave unit information update interrupt signal for notifying the timing of collecting and updating slave unit information when the own unit is selected as the master unit according to the set transmission interval. And a base unit absence determination timer 24 that notifies the own device information transmitting unit 13 of the absence of an information transmission request from the base unit during the set time interval by outputting a base unit absence determination interrupt signal. Including.

The data processing device 10 includes a base unit determining unit 11
And slave unit information collecting / accumulating unit 12 and own unit information transmitting unit 1
3 inclusive.

The master unit determining means 11 includes an ID transmission timer 2
When the ID transmission interrupt signal is input from the device 1, the ID of the own device is transmitted to the other transmitters. When a younger ID is received, ID transmission is stopped thereafter, and processing is performed in which the transmitter that has continued transmitting the ID until the end is set as the master unit and the other units are set as slave units.

The slave unit information collecting / accumulating means 12 collects and accumulates slave unit information in accordance with a slave unit information update interrupt signal output from the slave unit information update timer 23 when the slave unit is selected as a master unit. .

The own device information transmitting means 13 returns the information of the own device in response to the inquiry from the master device when the slave device becomes a slave device, and determines whether or not the master device absence determination timer 24 outputs the master device absence determination timer. When it is determined that there is no inquiry from the master unit for a certain period of time from the interrupt signal for use, the process of transferring control to the master unit determination means 11 is performed again.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the operation of the base unit determining means 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the operation of the base unit determining means 11.

First, in step 60, as an initialization process, an "ID transmission interrupt signal" of the ID transmission timer 21 of the timer device 2 and a "parent device determination interrupt signal" of the parent device determination timer 22 are output. Set the timer.

In step 61 and subsequent steps, the above two interrupt signals and the ID output from the other transmitter are used.
Keep waiting.

First, the operation when an ID transmission interrupt signal is input from the ID transmission timer 21 is as follows.

When the ID transmission interrupt signal is input (YES in step 61), the ID added to the own device is obtained from the own device information storage unit 31, and this ID is transmitted to the interface unit 40 and the wireless communication unit. The information is transmitted to another transmitter via the unit 50 (step 62). Next, in order for the base unit determination means 11 to transmit the next ID, the transmission interval for outputting the ID transmission interrupt signal held by the ID transmission timer 21 is set (step 63). Also, in this example,
It is assumed that the time set by the base unit determination means 11 is randomly determined within a certain range. Further, the ID transmission timer 21 outputs a transmission interrupt signal in accordance with the transmission interval set by the base unit determining means 21.

The operation when an ID is received from another transmitter is as follows.

When an ID from another transmitter is received via the radio communication unit 50 and the interface unit 40 (YES in step 64), the master unit determination timer 22 holds the master unit determination interrupt signal. The timer for outputting is reset (step 65). For example, if the specified value of the transmission interval at which the base unit determination timer 22 outputs the base unit determination interrupt signal is t [time], the base unit determination timer 22 measures this t [time], At time t [time], a base unit determination interrupt signal is output to the base unit determination unit 11. When the reset signal is input from the base unit determination unit 11 in step 65 in the base unit determination timer 22, the timer of the timer is reset. The value is set to 0 and t [time] is measured again. The ID of the ID transmission timer 21 set by the base unit determination means 11
The transmission interval for outputting the transmission interruption signal needs to be shorter than the specified value t [time] of the transmission interval of the master unit determination timer.

Next, it is determined whether or not the received data is an ID having a number smaller than its own ID (step 6).
6). If the condition is satisfied, at least the user cannot be the master unit, and thereafter, the transmission of the ID is stopped and the operation as the slave unit is performed (step 67). on the other hand,
If the received ID is larger than your ID, or if the ID cannot be received correctly due to interference,
The state returns to a state of waiting for reception of any interrupt signal or ID.

The operation when a master unit determination interrupt signal is input from the master unit determination timer 22 is as follows.

If the master unit determination interrupt signal is received (YES in step 68), it indicates that nothing has been received for a certain period of time, that is, that no other transmitter has transmitted the ID. Is determined to be the parent device, and the control is transferred to the child device information collecting / accumulating means 12 (step 69), and thereafter, the device operates as the parent device.

For example, when there are five transmitters (transmitters A to E), the master is determined through the exchange of IDs as shown in FIG. 3 and a change in the value of the timer for determining the master. You. It is also assumed that the prescribed value of the transmission interval held by the master unit determination timer of each transmitter is t, and that IDs of ID1 to ID5 are assigned to the respective transmitters.

First, when the transmitter D transmits its ID at time T1, the other transmitters receive the ID almost simultaneously.
Since the transmitter E receives an ID with a number lower than its own ID, the transmitter E stops transmitting IDs thereafter and becomes a slave. Transmitter A ~
The transmitter C continues its operation because its own ID is younger than the received ID, but the value of the master determination timer of these transmitters is reset. Next, at time T2, when the transmitters A and C transmit IDs, the transmitters B and D cannot receive the IDs properly due to interference. The transmission of is continued. However, when the value of the master unit determination timer can be set to a sufficiently large value (that is, when it takes some time to determine the master unit), the timer value is reset when the ID cannot be received correctly. It is also possible to do without.

Similarly, when transmitter B transmits an ID at time T3, transmitter C and transmitter D stop transmitting the ID and become slaves. Since the transmitter A has a younger ID, the transmitter A continues to transmit the ID, but the value of the master determination timer is reset again. At the time T4, when the transmitter A transmits the ID, the transmitter B also stops transmitting the ID, and thereafter, only the transmitter A continues transmitting the ID. If this state continues, the master unit determination timer of the transmitter A is not reset, so that at some point, the value set at the time of initialization is counted, and a master unit determination interrupt signal is output ( Time T6). By generating the master unit determination interrupt signal, the transmitter A understands that it has been selected as the master unit.

Next, the operation of the slave unit information collection / accumulation means 12 (that is, when the slave unit is selected as the master unit in step 69 in FIG. 2) will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the slave unit information collection / accumulation means 12.

First, at step 70, a "child device information update interrupt signal" using the child device information update timer 23 is set as initialization processing. At step 71 and subsequent steps, this child device information update interrupt signal is kept waiting. .

When the slave unit information update interrupt signal is input (YES in step 71), the slave unit is sequentially ordered via the interface unit 40 and the wireless communication unit 50 regardless of whether the slave unit exists. Sends a self-device information transmission request to.
If a reply to the own device information transmission request is received from the slave unit (that is, it is present in the vicinity), the received information is stored or updated in the slave unit information storage unit 32. On the other hand, the information of the slave unit that has not returned a response to the information transmission request (that is, does not exist in the vicinity) is deleted from the slave unit information storage unit 32 (if there is information previously accumulated). The above processing can be executed by, for example, the procedure of step 72 and subsequent steps in FIG. Note that the initial value of the ID for transmitting the information request (in FIG. 4, as an example, the variable is referred to as N) may be started from 0. However, since the transmitter with the youngest ID is the master unit, and there is no slave unit having a younger ID than the master unit ID, as shown in FIG. Is more desirable in terms of shortening the processing speed.

Finally, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, the operation of the own device information transmitting means 13 (that is, when the own device becomes the child device in step 67 of FIG. 2) will be described. FIG.
5 is a flowchart of the operation of the own device information transmitting means 13.

First, in step 80, a "base unit absence determination interrupt signal" using the base unit absence determination timer 24 is set as an initialization process. Continue waiting for a transmission request.

At this time, the time set in the base unit absence determination timer 24 is longer than the interval at which an information transmission request is sent from the base unit (the interval at which a slave unit information update interrupt signal is output).

Here, the operation when the base unit absence determination interrupt signal is input or when the information transmission request from the base unit is received is as follows.

When the own device information transmitting means 13 receives a request for transmitting own device information from the master device via the wireless communication unit 50 and the interface unit 40 (YES in step 81), the information in the own device information storage unit 32 Is transmitted to the base unit (step 82), and the timer of the base unit absence determination interrupt signal is reset (step 83). Here, the base unit absence determination timer 24 is set longer than the interval at which the information transmission request is sent from the base unit as described above, so that if the information transmission request is sent periodically, Each time it is reset in step 83, no parent machine absence determination interrupt is generated. Therefore, when the base unit absence determination interrupt signal is output (YES in step 84), it indicates that the base unit is no longer present due to some cause (for example, failure or being taken away somewhere). Therefore, control returns to the parent machine determination means 11 again (step 85).

In this way, when the transmitter is newly installed, or when the parent device no longer exists due to a change in the configuration of the transmitter group, etc., artificial setting (or resetting) of the parent device is required. Instead, the parent device is automatically selected.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the method of determining a master unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the master unit can be determined most efficiently if the ID transmission from the transmitter having the youngest ID can be received first. Even if the youngest ID is not received first, as many transmitters stop transmitting the ID as the youngest ID is received as soon as possible,
D becomes easier to receive, and as a result, the time required to determine the master unit is reduced.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the ID transmission interval in the first embodiment is improved in order to determine the parent device as efficiently as possible. The configuration of the second embodiment and the basic processing flow of each unit included in the data processing device 10 are the same as those of the first embodiment. However, in the process of setting the next transmission interrupt in step 63 of FIG. 2, in the first embodiment, the time until the next ID transmission is determined randomly within a certain range. In the embodiment, the setting is made so that the transmitter having a smaller ID transmits the ID at shorter intervals. For example, the transmission interval of ID is set to C1 + C2 × ID (C
1, C2 is a constant), the transmission timing as described above can be realized. Of course, if a transmitter with a lower ID transmits an ID at shorter intervals, an expression other than the above may be used for calculating the transmission interval.

Here, referring to FIG. 6, a case where there are five transmitters (transmitters A to E) as in the description of the first embodiment will be taken as an example, and the parent in this embodiment will be described. The process of machine determination will be described. As described above, since the interval of ID transmission is set shorter for a transmitter with a lower ID,
If the control is transferred to the base unit determination means 11 all at once, the transmitter A should transmit the ID first, and the other transmitters should be silent once. However, as shown in FIG.
At the time T1, the transmitter A and the transmitter B
Even if the D call is hit, the next timing (time T
In 2), transmitter C with the third highest ID with high probability
Performs ID transmission, and transmitter D and transmitter E stop ID transmission. In this state, the transmitters A to C continue to transmit IDs, but since the transmitter C has just transmitted the ID, the next ID transmission is for the time being, and the transmitter B is the previous transmitter A. At the same time, since the ID transmission is performed, the ID transmission is performed after the next transmitter A transmits the ID. Therefore, at the next timing (time T3), the transmitter A transmits the ID again, and all the transmitters stop transmitting the ID. Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, if a state in which only the transmitter A performs ID transmission continues for a certain period, a master unit determination interrupt occurs, and the transmitter A becomes the master unit. Recognize that.

Here, it is necessary to set the time until the occurrence of the parent device determination interrupt sufficiently longer than the ID transmission interval of the transmitter having the largest ID. As a specific setting example, assuming that the ID is composed of 16 bits and the communication speed is 9600 bps, the ID transmission is completed sufficiently if 10 ms is expected. That is, C2 in the above equation
If it is set to = 10 ms, it can be expected that the ID transmissions of the respective transmitters do not overlap so much. Since C1 can be appropriately determined, if it is set to 0 second, the ID transmission interval of the transmitter having the maximum ID (65535) is about 11 minutes, and the time until the base unit determination interrupt occurs is, for example, 12 minutes. Should be set as follows. Note that, as described in the related art, the present invention is a system that utilizes the majority of available communication time, so that it takes no more than several tens of minutes to determine the parent device.

As described above, the time required for determining the master unit is shortened by making an improvement such that the transmission interval of the ID becomes shorter as the transmitter ID is smaller.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The third embodiment is an improvement in which the processing of the slave unit information collecting / accumulating means 12 in the first or second embodiment is performed at high speed.

Referring to FIG. 7, according to a third embodiment of the present invention, a data processing device 10 operated by program control and a timer device 20 for counting a designated time are provided.
And a storage device 30 for storing information, a wireless communication unit 50 for performing wireless data communication, and an interface unit 40 for converting a data format between the data processing device 10 and the wireless communication unit 50.

As compared with the configurations of the first and second embodiments, the difference is that a slave unit checking means 14 is added in the data processing device 10. The child device checking means 14 checks in advance what kind of ID the child device has around the parent device, and creates a list in the child device information storage unit 32. The investigation of the slave unit checking means 14 may be performed at any time, and the timer device 20 may set a trigger for the inspection of the slave unit checking means 14 (not shown).

Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the operation of the slave unit checking means 14.

In step 90, 0 is substituted for a variable (in FIG. 8, a variable N is used as an example) for referring to the ID of the slave unit whose existence is to be confirmed, and initialization is performed. In a succeeding step 91, an own device information transmission request is sent to the child device having the ID N, and there is a reply (in the case of YES in the step 92).
Only in step 93, the value of N is stored in the slave unit information storage unit 32. In step 94, the value of N is incremented by 1 to confirm the presence of the next slave unit. Thereafter, the processing from step 91 to step 94 is repeated until the value of N exceeds the range that the ID can take. It is determined in step 95 whether the value of N is within the range of the ID. On the other hand, with the addition of the slave unit confirmation unit 14, the slave unit information collection / storage unit 12 sends the own unit information transmission request and information only to the slave unit having the ID in the list generated in the slave unit information storage unit 32. Update will be performed. The operation at this time is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

First, at step 100, a "child device information update interrupt signal" using the child device information update timer 23 is set as initialization processing, and at step 101 and thereafter, the slave device information update interrupt signal is kept waiting. When a slave unit information update interrupt signal is generated (YES in step 101), one ID is read from the ID list in the slave unit information storage unit 32 in step 102. This ID list is created by the slave unit checking means 14 as described above.

If the end of the list has been reached and the ID could not be read (NO in step 103), the process returns to waiting for the generation of a slave unit information update interrupt signal. On the other hand, if the ID can be read (YES in step 103), a self-device information transmission request is transmitted to the child device having the ID read in step 104.

If the information is returned in response to the own device information transmission request (YES in step 104), the slave device information in the slave device information storage unit 32 is updated to new information (or only when determined as the master device). Is newly stored at the time of information collection (step 106). Conversely, if there is no reply to the own device information transmission request, it means that the slave device has moved away from the vicinity of the master device, and the slave device information that has been stored in the slave device information storage unit 32 is stored. It is deleted (step 107), and the ID of the slave unit is set to I so that the information transmission request is not sent from the next time
It is deleted from the D list (step 108).

By adopting such a configuration, the master unit requests information only to the slave units existing in the surrounding area, so that the master unit requests information from the slave units of all possible IDs. Thus, information can be efficiently collected and stored.

Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the above-described embodiments, once the master unit has been operated, it continues to be the master unit during operation. It becomes the parent machine without a machine. Also, if one of the slave units is taken out of the transmitter group while operating, it will recognize the absence of the master unit and try to determine the master unit. However, since only one transmitter transmits the ID, Eventually, you become a parent and also a parent device that does not have a subordinate device under it. A parent device that does not have a subordinate device does not have a subordinate device even if it is added to a transmitter group for which a parent device has already been selected. Does not change the parent machine). Such a phenomenon also occurs when the transmitter is newly started. Therefore, if the application is applied to applications that frequently change the transmitter in operation (for example, electronic tags for product management), the number of parent tags without subordinate units increases, and the parent unit collects information on subunits. Reporting may make it impossible to achieve the fundamental purpose of collecting information quickly.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to more flexibly cope with a change in the configuration while the operation state is maintained or the addition of a new transmitter. Also, for convenience of explanation, the third embodiment will be described as being improved, but the same can be applied to the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. The data processing device 10 operates under program control, a timer device 20 for counting a designated time, and a storage device 30 for storing information. , A wireless communication unit 50 that performs wireless data communication, and a data processing device 10
And an interface unit 40 for converting a data format between the wireless communication unit 50 and the wireless communication unit 50.

The storage device 30 stores a device information storage unit 31 storing information unique to the transmitter such as an ID and information of an object to which the device is attached, and collects information when the device is selected as a master device. A child device information storage unit 32 for storing information about the child device.

The timer device 20 includes an ID transmission timer 21 for outputting an ID transmission interrupt signal, which is an instruction signal for outputting the ID of the own device to another transmitter, and the other transmitter within a certain time interval. A base unit determination timer 22 that measures this time interval to determine that the own device is the base unit, and outputs a base unit determination interrupt signal after the time interval has passed;
A slave unit information update timer 23 that outputs a slave unit information update interrupt signal informing the timing of collecting and updating slave unit information when the own unit is selected as the master unit according to a set transmission interval; A timer 24 for determining absence of a base unit which notifies the own device information transmitting means 13 of an absence of an information transmission request from the base unit during a set time interval by outputting an interrupt signal for determination of base unit absence. A single state determination timer 25 for notifying the peripheral monitoring means 15 that no communication has been received from another transmitter during the specified time interval by outputting a single state determination interrupt signal; In the case where there is no non-affiliation notification, an unaffiliation notification timer 26 that outputs an unaffiliation notification interrupt signal that is an instruction signal for transmitting the unaffiliation notification is included.

The data processing device 10 includes a master unit determining unit 11
And a slave unit information collecting / accumulating unit 12, a self unit information transmitting unit 14, and a peripheral monitoring unit 15.

The base unit determining means 11 is provided with an ID transmission timer 2
1 when the ID transmission interrupt signal is input from I.
D is transmitted, and if an ID younger than itself is received before the base unit determination timer signal is input from the base unit determination timer 22, the transmission of the ID is stopped thereafter. A process is performed in which the continued transmitter is set as a parent and the other transmitters are set as slaves.

The slave unit information collection / accumulation means 12 collects and accumulates slave unit information in accordance with a slave unit information update interrupt signal output from the slave unit information update timer 23 when the slave unit is selected as the master unit. .

The own device information transmitting means 13 returns the information of the own device in response to the inquiry from the master device when the slave device becomes the slave device, and determines whether the master device absence timer 24 is output by the master device absence determination timer 24. When it is determined that there is no inquiry from the master unit for a certain period of time from the interrupt signal for use, a process of transferring control to the peripheral monitoring unit 15 is performed.

The handset confirmation means 14 checks in advance what kind of ID of the handset exists around the master, and stores the list in the handset information storage unit 32 (hereinafter referred to as an ID list).
Is created. In the present embodiment, it is sufficient to call the transmitter only once immediately after the transmitter is selected as the parent device (since the ID list is updated by the child device information collecting / accumulating means 13).

When the own device is neither a master device nor a slave device and does not belong to any group, the peripheral monitoring means 15 sets a random time interval in accordance with the interrupt signal for notifying notification from the timer 26 for notifying notification. Means for monitoring changes in the surrounding conditions while continuing to transmit the non-affiliation notification. When a transmitter which has already been selected as the master unit is encountered, the control is transferred to the own device information transmission unit 13 to become the slave unit. If a certain number of non-affiliation notifications are received from another transmitter before the single state determination interrupt signal is input from the determination timer 25, the parent (or those transmitters) and the parent are selected to select the transmitter. The control is transferred to the machine determining means 11.

Next, the operation of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the operation of the base unit determination unit 11 and the sub unit confirmation unit 14 is the same as that of the above-described embodiments, and thus the description is omitted.

First, with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the operation of the periphery monitoring means 15, which is a point in the present embodiment, will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the periphery monitoring means 15.

In step 120, an interrupt of the timer 26 for the notification of non-affiliation and the timer 25 for determination of the single status are set so as to output an "inheritance notification interrupt signal" and an "individual state determination interrupt signal" as initialization processing. I do.
Steps 121 and subsequent steps have a loop structure in which the above two interrupt signals and data from another transmitter are kept waiting.

When an unassigned notification interrupt signal is input from the unassigned notification timer 26 (YE in step 121)
In the case of S), the non-affiliation notification is first sent to the interface unit 4
0, transmission via the wireless communication unit 50 (step 12
2). Further, in step 123, in preparation for the next transmission of the non-affiliation notification, the time until the non-affiliation notification timer 26 generates the non-affiliation notification interrupt signal is reset.

Next, when the non-affiliation notification transmitted by another transmitter is received (YES in step 124), the number of receptions of the non-affiliation notification is counted (step 125). Then, it is determined that there is a transmitter in another single state around and the process proceeds to the process of the base unit determining means 11 (YES in step 126).

On the other hand, when the single state determination interrupt signal is input from the single state determination timer 25 (YES in step 127), the number of receptions of the non-affiliation notification performed in step 125 is reset to 0 (step 125). Step 128). As a result, the process proceeds to the base unit determining means 11 only when a certain number of non-affiliation notifications are received within the input interval of the single state determination interrupt signal. Can be excluded when a non-affiliation notification is received.

If there is a transmitter which has already been selected as the base unit, if the base unit receives the non-affiliation notification transmitted in step 122, the registration unit notifies that it has been registered under its own. Is sent. When the registration notification is received (YES in step 129),
After sending a reply to the registration notification at 30, the control is transferred to the own device information transmitting means 13 (that is, it becomes a child device). Here, the registration notification is an example (an example that operates most efficiently), and any information may be used as long as the information indicates that a master unit is present near a transmitter that is neither a master unit nor a slave unit. .

Next, the operation of the slave unit information collecting / accumulating means 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the slave unit information collecting / accumulating means 12.

In step 150, an interrupt of the slave unit information update timer 22 is set so as to output a "slave unit information update interrupt signal" as initialization processing. In step 151 and subsequent steps, a loop configuration is configured to wait for a slave unit information update interrupt signal or a non-affiliation notification command from another transmitter.

First, when a non-affiliation notification is received from another transmitter (YES in step 151), the number of receptions of the non-affiliation notification is counted for each transmitter. That is, a correspondence table between the ID of the transmitter (assuming that the non-affiliation notification includes the ID of the transmitter at the transmission source) and the number of receptions of the non-affiliation notification is created.

When an interrupt signal for updating the slave unit information is input from the timer 22 for updating the slave unit information, first, in step 154, the operation of adding the transmitter that has come near the user to the ID list as a subordinate is performed. Do. More specifically, a search is made for a transmitter that has received the non-affiliation notification command a certain number of times or more from the correspondence table created in step 152, a registration notification is transmitted to the corresponding transmitter, and the ID of the transmitter that has returned is identified. ID
Add to list. After the addition work is completed, the correspondence table is temporarily deleted. This is because a certain period of time is created by using the slave unit information update timer 22 in order to consider that only a transmitter that has received the non-affiliation notification a certain number of times or more within a certain period of time has newly joined the group. That is.
Naturally, it is within the scope of the present invention to provide another timer for judging the new subscription in the timer device 20 (when the update interval of the slave unit information is long, the use of another timer increases the real-time property). As described above, the transmission of the registration notification is an example, and any information may be used as long as the information indicates that there is a parent device nearby to the transmitter that is neither the parent device nor the child device. .

When the above operation is completed, the own device information transmission request is sent to the slave units in order according to the ID list, and if there is a reply, the slave unit information storage unit 32 is updated. The information of the child device is deleted from the child information storage unit 32, and the ID of the child device is also deleted from the ID list (step 155). After performing all the processes, if the ID list is empty (YES in step 156), the control is transferred to the peripheral monitoring means 15 because there is no subordinate device under the control, that is, the child device is in an independent state.

Finally, the operation of the own-device information transmitting means 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing the operation of the own device information transmitting means.
This is the same as the third embodiment (see FIG. 5). The difference is that when a base unit absence determination interrupt signal is input from the base unit absence determination timer 24 (YES in step 84),
The point is that the control is not immediately transferred to the base unit determining means 11 but is transferred to the peripheral monitoring means 15 on the assumption that the state has once become unaffiliated.

[Fifth Embodiment] A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

When the master unit collects information on the slave unit, it is inefficient if the information is requested from a non-existing slave unit. Therefore, it is necessary that the master unit has the ID list of the slave unit as accurate as possible. It becomes important. In the fourth embodiment, a transmitter newly added to the group can be immediately registered in the ID list.
A transmitter that has left the group is not recognized until the slave unit information is collected (that is, it is inefficient because it recognizes that there is no response to a request for information from an absent slave unit). Usually, the transmitter leaves the flock when it is removed,
In the present embodiment, an improvement is made so that deletion from the ID list can be performed immediately by following only the moving transmitter.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment. A movement detecting section 110 for outputting a signal when movement is detected is added to the fourth embodiment. The movement detection unit 110 may use an acceleration sensor or the like, and includes an amplifier, an AD converter, and the like so that the data processing device 10 can process the data as needed. It is assumed that the signal from the movement detection unit 110 can be referred to from each unit in the data processing device 10.

Next, with reference to the drawings, the slave unit information collection / accumulation means 12 and the own apparatus information transmission means 13 are connected to
The operation in the case of using the input from the server will be described. However,
The operations other than the slave unit information collecting / accumulating unit 12 and the own unit information transmitting unit 13 are the same as those in the above-described embodiments, and thus description thereof is omitted.

First, the operation of the own device information transmitting means 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the own device information transmitting means 13.

In step 80, an interrupt of the base unit absence determination timer 24 is set so as to output a "base unit absence determination interrupt signal" as initialization processing. In step 81 and subsequent steps, the loop configuration is configured to wait for any of the base unit absence determination interrupt signal, the own device information transmission request from the base unit, and the signal from the movement detection unit 110. At this time,
It is assumed that the time set in the parent device absence determination timer 24 is longer than the interval at which the own device information transmission request is sent from the master device (the time set in the slave device information update timer 23).

When the own device information transmission request is received from the master unit (YES in step 81), and when a base unit absence determination interrupt signal is input from master unit absence determination timer 24 (YES in step 84). Is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, and the description is omitted here.

If a signal indicating that the transmitter has been moved has been input from movement detecting section 110, the process proceeds to a process of notifying the parent machine of the movement (step 88). The detailed operation of the movement notification processing will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the start of movement is notified to the master unit (step 160). Subsequently, it is notified that the user is moving (step 161), and if there is no reply from the master (NO in step 162), it is determined that the user has moved away from the surroundings of the master and the single state determination unit 15 is determined. Pass control to Thereafter, as long as the signal input from movement detection section 110 continues (YES in step 163), steps 161 and 162 are repeated, and when the signal from movement detection section 110 is interrupted, the parent machine is notified that the movement has been completed ( Step 164).

On the other hand, the operation of the slave unit information collecting / accumulating means 12 has a flow as shown in FIG.

In step 150, an interrupt of the slave unit information update timer 23 is set so as to output a "slave unit information update interrupt signal" as initialization processing. In step 151 and subsequent steps, a loop is configured to wait for one of a slave unit information update interrupt signal, an unaffiliated notification from another transmitter, and a movement start notification from a slave unit.

When a notification of non-affiliation from another transmitter is received (YES in step 151), and when an interrupt signal for updating slave unit information is input from timer 23 for updating slave unit information (YES in step 153). Is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, and the description is omitted here.

When a movement start notification is received from the child device (YES in step 157), the process proceeds to a process of monitoring the child device that has notified the movement (step 158). The detailed operation of the mobile unit monitoring process will be described with reference to FIG.

When a moving notice is received following the movement start notification (YES in step 170), the notification is returned. If the notification that the mobile device is moving for a certain period of time cannot be received (YES in step 172), it is determined that the mobile device has moved far, and the information stored in the mobile device information storage unit 32 is deleted. The ID is also deleted from the ID list (step 173), and the process ends. Step 17
0 and step 172 are repeated until a movement end notification is received from the slave unit (YES in step 174).

As described above, by exchanging information with the master unit (in this example, a moving notice and a reply thereto) while the input from the movement detection unit 110 continues, the slave unit can be moved far away. It is possible to immediately recognize that it has moved, and it is possible to always store the latest information in the child device information storage unit 32.

Here, an example in which the transmitter may move away from the group when it starts moving has been described. However, if there is a possibility that the transmitter will move away from the group when the transmitter is unpacked,
Various applications are possible, such as providing a means for detecting light instead of the movement detection unit 110. That is, it is all within the scope of the present invention to provide means for detecting the state of the transmitter itself or the situation where the transmitter is placed, regardless of movement, to help recognize the group configuration.

In addition to always keeping the ID list up-to-date, the operation of the transmitter can be made more efficient by using the input from the movement detector 110 in the surroundings monitor 15. FIG. 19 shows the flow of processing in that case (operations other than the periphery monitoring means 15 are the same as in the previous embodiments). The processing of step 121 and subsequent steps is the same as that of the fourth embodiment. However, when there is an input of a signal indicating that the transmitter has been moved from the movement detecting unit 110 (step 131)
YES), the processing prior to the initialization processing in step 120 is not performed.

[0098] While the transmitter is being operated, it is considered to be in a transitional state, and it is often meaningless to determine the parent and child at that time. In other words, there is a high possibility that even if it becomes a child device, it immediately separates from its parent, and even if it becomes a parent device, it immediately loses its subordinate transmitters and eventually returns to the periphery monitoring means 15. However, by providing the movement detection unit 110, an efficient operation without unnecessary state transition can be realized.

As described above, it is within the scope of the present invention to eliminate useless state transitions by using means for detecting the state of the transmitter itself or the state where the transmitter is placed.

[0100]

According to the first effect, when a transmitter is newly installed, the base unit is automatically determined from the transmitter group, so that it is not necessary to perform manual setting of the base unit. is there.

The master unit periodically requests information from the slave unit, and the absence of the master unit can be detected by monitoring the presence / absence of the request. When the absence of the master unit is detected, the master unit is returned to the master unit determination state, so that even if the configuration of the transmitter group changes after installation, a new master unit is automatically selected from the remaining transmitter groups. Is the second effect.

Immediately after the start, when the absence of the master unit is detected in the state of the slave unit, and when the slave unit under the master unit disappears in the state of the master unit, it is notified at random intervals that the slave unit does not belong. While the peripheral monitoring means for monitoring the communication of the other transmitters once takes control, and shifts to the process of determining a slave unit or a master unit according to the surrounding situation, the transmitter may move while operating. A third effect is that an appropriate master unit is automatically selected without increasing the number of master units that do not have subordinate units under control.

That is, regardless of whether the transmitter is newly installed or re-installed, it is not necessary to manually set the master unit.
Even in applications where the configuration of the transmitter group is fluid to some extent, the user need not be conscious of the parent device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of a master unit determining unit in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an operation example up to determination of a base unit when five transmitters exist in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the slave unit information collection / accumulation means in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the own device information transmitting means in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows an operation example up to determination of a base unit when five transmitters exist in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the slave unit checking means in the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the slave unit information collecting / accumulating means in the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the periphery monitoring means according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the slave unit information collecting / accumulating means in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the own device information transmitting means in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the own device information transmitting means in the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an operation of a movement notification process.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation of the slave unit information collection / accumulation means according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mobile terminal monitoring process.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the periphery monitoring means according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 data processing device 11 base unit determination unit 12 slave unit information collection / storage unit 13 own unit information transmission unit 14 slave unit confirmation unit 15 peripheral monitoring unit 20 timer device 21 ID transmission timer 22 master unit determination timer 23 slave unit information Update timer 24 Base unit absence determination timer 25 Single state determination timer 26 Non-affiliation notification timer 30 Storage device 31 Own device information storage unit 32 Remote unit information storage unit 40 Interface unit 50 Wireless communication unit 110 Movement detection unit

Claims (35)

[Claims] A plurality of transmitters for storing information relating to the own device and transmitting the stored information to another device; and setting a master device and a slave device from the plurality of the sender devices. Is a communication system that sends a request for transmission of information stored in the transmitter to a transmitter set as a slave and collects information stored in the transmitter group. By exchanging information indicating the priority of the transmitter between the transmitters, the transmitter having the highest priority is designated as the master, and the transmitters other than the master are designated as the slaves, and A communication system comprising setting a handset and a handset. 2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter continuously transmits the information indicating the priority at random intervals, and has a higher priority than the own device in the meantime. When information indicating the priority is received from another transmitter, it is determined that the own device is a slave device, and thereafter transmission of the information indicating the priority is stopped. If the information indicating the priority cannot be received, the communication device determines that the own device is the master device. 3. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the transmitter serving as the slave monitors a transmission request of the information transmitted from the master to the slave, and A communication system characterized in that if a transmission request is not transmitted for a certain period of time, information indicating the priority of the own device is transmitted, and a master device is set again from the transmitter group. 4. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein when the transmitter serving as the slave unit cannot receive the information transmission request from the master unit for a certain period, the communication unit monitors a surrounding communication state. A communication system which is set as a child device of the parent device when a parent device exists around the communication device. 5. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein, when the transmitter serving as the slave unit cannot receive the information transmission request from the master unit for a certain period, the transmitter unit may determine whether the transmitter is the master unit. Sending an unaffiliated notification indicating that it is not a slave, and when approaching a transmitter or a group of transmitters transmitting the unassigned notification, performs transmission of information indicating the priority, and the transmitter or A communication system, wherein a master unit and a slave unit are set with a transmitter group. 6. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein, when the transmitter serving as the master unit has no slave unit responding to the information transmission request, the transmitter unit is also used as the master unit. Sending an unaffiliated notification indicating that it is not a slave, and when approaching a transmitter or a group of transmitters transmitting the unassigned notification, performs transmission of information indicating the priority, and the transmitter or A communication system, wherein a master unit and a slave unit are set with a transmitter group. 7. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein, when the transmitter serving as the master device has no slave device responding to the information transmission request, the transmitter device is also used as the master device. When a non-affiliation notification indicating that there is no slave unit is transmitted, and when approaching a transmitter set as a parent unit around, it is set as a slave unit of the transmitter set as a parent unit around the vicinity. A communication system characterized by the above-mentioned. 8. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein, when the transmitter is activated, an unaffiliated notification indicating that the transmitter is neither a master unit nor a slave unit is transmitted. When approaching a transmitter or a group of transmitters that are transmitting the notification of the affiliation, information indicating the priority is transmitted, and a master unit and a slave unit are set between the transmitter and the group of transmitters. A communication system, comprising: 9. The communication system according to claim 5, wherein when the transmitter cannot receive the information transmission request from the parent device for a certain period, the surrounding communication state is changed. A communication system characterized in that when a parent device is present in the vicinity, it is set as a child device of the parent device. 10. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the transmitter serving as the master unit periodically transmits the information to all possible slave units. Make a request, if there is a reply to the information transmission request, accumulate the received information of the slave unit, if there is no reply to the information transmission request,
A communication system characterized in that if there is information on the slave unit that has been stored so far, it is deleted. 11. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the transmitter serving as the master checks an identification number for uniquely identifying the slave present in the vicinity. And transmitting the information transmission request to the slave having the identification number registered in the list. 12. The communication system according to claim 11, wherein when there is a reply to the information transmission request, the received information of the slave unit is stored, and the information is transmitted to the information transmission request. If there is no reply to
A communication system characterized by deleting information of a slave unit that has not received a reply and deleting an identification number of the slave unit from the list. 13. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein when the transmitter transmits the information indicating the priority, the higher the priority of the transmitter, the shorter the interval. Wherein the information indicating the priority is transmitted. 14. The method of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 1.
The communication system according to any one of claims 2 and 13, wherein the transmitter includes a movement detection unit that detects movement of the own device, and the transmitter serving as a slave unit is automatically controlled by the movement detection unit. When it is determined that the mobile device is moving, a notification that the mobile device is moving is provided to the master device.When it is determined that the mobile device is completed, a notification of the completion of the mobile device is provided. The communication system, wherein the received master unit deletes information on the slave unit when the master unit does not receive the notification of the movement end. 15. The communication system according to claim 5, wherein the transmitter includes a movement detection unit that detects a movement of the own device, and the transmitter serving as a slave device includes: When the movement detection unit can determine that the own device is moving, the mobile device notifies the master device that the device is moving, and when it is determined that the movement is completed, notifies the master device of the completion of the movement. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the master unit that has received the notification of the movement from the base unit does not receive the notification of the end of the movement, and deletes information on the slave unit. 16. The communication system according to claim 15, wherein the notification during movement notified from the slave unit is transmitted at regular or random intervals during movement, and the notification during movement is performed. The received base unit returns a response to the moving notification, and the slave unit receives the response from the base unit,
A communication system, wherein, when the response to the transmitted notification of moving is not received, either or both of the transmission of the non-affiliation notification and the monitoring of the surrounding communication status are performed. 17. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein said transmitter, which is neither a master unit nor a slave unit, monitors its own movement by said movement detecting unit, and detects the movement during said movement. A communication system wherein neither transmission of the non-affiliation notification nor monitoring of surrounding communication status is performed. 18. A plurality of transmitters each comprising at least an own information storage unit storing information about the own device and own information transmitting means for transmitting the information stored by the own information storage unit via a communication unit. The master unit and the slave unit are set from among the plurality of transmitters, and the master unit and the set transmitter unit collect the information accumulated by the slave unit and the master unit. The transmitter includes: a slave unit information collection / accumulation unit that requests the own device information transmission unit of another transmitter to transmit information stored in the transmitter; And a slave unit information storage unit for storing the information of the slave unit returned as a response, wherein the own device information storage unit stores at least information indicating the priority of each transmitter. Transmitting and receiving information indicating the priority among the plurality of transmitters. Having a base unit determining means for determining the transmitter with the highest priority as the base unit, wherein, for the transmitter determined as the base unit by the base unit determining means, the slave unit information collecting / accumulating means includes: A transmission request for the information is transmitted to another transmitter, and when information corresponding to the transmission request is obtained, the information is stored in the child device information storage unit, and the child device other than the parent device is stored. In the transmitter corresponding to the above, when the own device information transmitting unit receives the information transmission request from the master device, the own device information transmitting unit transmits the own device information stored in the own device information storage unit. A communication system characterized by the above-mentioned. 19. The ID transmission timer according to claim 18, wherein the transmitter measures a timing for transmitting the information indicating the priority at random intervals within a certain range. And a master unit determination timer that measures a time longer than at least the ID transmission timer, wherein the master unit determination unit responds to a timing measured by the ID transmission timer. Continue transmitting the priority to the other transmitters, and receive information indicating a higher priority than the own device from the other transmitters in the meantime, determine that the own device is a slave device, and thereafter When the transmission of the information indicating the priority of the own device is stopped, and when the information indicating the priority cannot be received from another transmitter during the time held by the master determination timer, If your aircraft is the parent machine A communication system characterized by determining. 20. The communication system according to claim 19, further comprising: a slave unit information update timer for measuring a time for periodically making a request for transmission of the information to the slave unit. The slave unit information collection / accumulation means of the new transmitter, at the time measured by the slave unit information update timer, periodically sends a request for transmission of the information to all possible slave units, If there is a reply to the information transmission request, the received information of the child device is stored in the child device information storage unit, and if there is no response to the information transmission request, the child device is stored. A communication system characterized in that if there is information on the child device stored in the device information storage unit, the information is deleted. 21. The communication system according to claim 20, further comprising a master absence determination timer for measuring a time longer than at least a time measured by the slave information update timer, The own device information transmitting means of the transmitter monitors a transmission request of the information transmitted from the parent device to the child device, and measures a time during which the information transmission request is measured by the parent device absence determination timer. If it is not transmitted within, the parent machine determination means is instructed to determine the parent machine again, and the parent machine determination means, when instructed to determine the parent machine again from the own device information transmission means, Is a system for transmitting information indicating the priority of its own device, and determining a parent device again from the group of transmitters. 22. The communication system according to claim 19, wherein the transmitter includes: a master absence timer for measuring a time longer than a time measured by the slave information update timer; When it can be determined that neither the master unit nor the slave unit, it transmits an unaffiliated notification indicating that it is neither the master unit nor the slave unit, and when it finds another transmitter that transmits the unassigned notification, Peripheral monitoring means for instructing the base unit determination means to determine the base unit, and the own device information transmission unit of the transmitter serving as the child unit, wherein the information transmitted by the base unit to the child unit A communication request transmitted to the peripheral monitoring unit if the transmission request for the information is not transmitted within the time measured by the master absence timer. 23. The communication system according to claim 19, wherein the transmitter includes: a master absence timer for measuring a time longer than a time measured by the slave information update timer; When it can be determined that neither the master unit nor the slave unit, it transmits an unaffiliated notification indicating that it is neither the master unit nor the slave unit, and when it finds another transmitter that transmits the unassigned notification, Peripheral monitoring means for instructing the base unit determination means to determine the base unit; and A communication system for transferring control to peripheral monitoring means when there is no slave unit that returns a reply as a result of the information transmission request. 24. The communication system according to claim 22 or 23, wherein said peripheral monitoring means monitors a communication status around said transmitter, and when said own device is neither a master device nor a slave device. As a result of the monitoring of the communication status, when a base unit exists in the vicinity,
A communication system for performing a process of transferring control to said own device information transmitting means as a child device of said parent device. 25. The communication system according to claim 22, wherein the transmitter measures timing for transmitting the non-affiliation notification at an interval within a certain range. An unaffiliated notification timer, and a single state determination timer for repeatedly measuring a fixed time in order to count the number of receptions of the unaffiliated notification within a certain time. The non-affiliation notification continues to be transmitted in accordance with the timing measured by the non-affiliation notification timer, and the non-affiliation notification from the other transmitter is transmitted before the single state determination timer notifies that the certain time has elapsed. When the notification of the affiliation is received a certain number of times, the parent device is notified to the parent device determination means to determine the parent device, and when information indicating that a parent device is present nearby is received from the parent device, the parent device becomes a child device of the parent device. Characterized by Shin system. 26. The communication system according to claim 18, wherein the transmitter serving as the master checks an identification number for uniquely identifying the slave present in the vicinity. Further comprising a slave unit confirmation means stored as a list, wherein the slave unit information collection and accumulation means, for the slave unit having an identification number registered in the list stored in the slave unit confirmation means, A communication system for transmitting the information transmission request. 27. The transmitter according to claim 18, wherein, when transmitting said information indicating said priority, said transmitter having a higher priority transmits said information indicating said priority at shorter intervals. 27. The communication system according to any one of -26. 28. The communication system according to claim 18, wherein the transmitter further includes a movement detection unit for detecting movement of the own device, and The device information transmitting means notifies the parent device that the device is moving when the movement detection unit can determine that the device is moving, and notifies the movement end when it can determine that the movement has been completed. A communication system, wherein the slave unit information collecting / accumulating means in the master unit deletes information on the slave unit from the slave unit information storage unit when the notification of the movement end is not received. . 29. The communication system according to claim 28, wherein the master unit responds to the slave unit that transmitted the movement notice when receiving the movement notice from the slave unit. A communication system, wherein the own device information transmitting means in the slave unit passes control to the peripheral monitoring means when the response to the notification of moving is lost. 30. The communication system according to claim 22, wherein the transmitter further includes a movement detection unit for detecting movement of the own device, and the periphery monitoring unit includes: When the movement detection unit detects the movement of the own device, it accepts an input to that effect, waits until there is no more input from the movement detection unit, and responds to the timing measured by the non-affiliation notification timer. A notification of belonging is transmitted to the master unit determining means when the non-affiliated notification from another transmitter is received a certain number of times before being notified that a certain time has elapsed from the single state determination timer. A communication system for notifying a parent device to be determined. 31. A transmitter for storing information relating to the own device including at least information indicating the priority of the own device, wherein information indicating the priority is received from among a plurality of other transmitters, and Set whether the own transmitter is a master or a slave, and when the master is set, request transmission of information stored in the other transmitter to another transmitter, and When the device is set as the device, the transmission request of the stored information is received from the transmitter set as the master device, and the stored information about the own device is transmitted to the master device. Transmitter. 32. The transmitter continues to transmit the information indicating the priority at random intervals, and upon receiving information indicating a priority higher than the priority of the own device from another transmitter, the own device transmits the information. 32. The transmitter according to claim 31, wherein the transmitter is determined to be a slave, and thereafter, transmission of the information indicating the priority is stopped. 33. When the transmitter cannot receive information indicating a priority higher than its own priority from another transmitter for a predetermined time, the transmitter is the master. 33. The transmitter according to claim 31, wherein the transmitter is determined. 34. The transmitter as the slave unit monitors a transmission request of the information transmitted from the master unit to the slave unit,
34. The transmitter according to claim 32, wherein if the information transmission request cannot be received for a predetermined period, information indicating the priority of the own device is transmitted. 35. An own device information storage unit storing information on the own device including at least information indicating the priority of the own device, an own device information transmitting unit transmitting the information stored by the own device information storage unit, A main unit determining unit for transmitting and receiving the information indicating the priority among the plurality of transmitters via the own unit information transmitting unit, and determining a transmitter having the highest priority as a main unit; A slave unit information collection / storage unit for requesting the own device information sending unit of the unit to transmit information stored in the transmitter, and storing information of the slave unit returned in response to the transmission request. And at least a child device information storage unit to perform, and when the parent device is determined as the parent device by the parent device determination unit,
The slave unit information collection / accumulation means transmits a request for transmission of the information to another transmitter, and when information corresponding to the transmission request is obtained, the information is stored in the slave unit information storage unit. For transmitters that have been stored and are not determined to be the master unit, when the own device information transmitting unit receives the information transmission request from the master device, the own device information stored in the own device information storage unit is stored. Transmitter characterized by transmitting the information of.