CN113196082B

CN113196082B - Communication system and communication method

Info

Publication number: CN113196082B
Application number: CN202080006902.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 平松胜彦
Original assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
Current assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-01-29
Filing date: 2020-01-09
Publication date: 2024-02-27
Anticipated expiration: 2040-01-09
Also published as: CN113196082A; JP7129663B2; TWI766226B; WO2020158329A1; JPWO2020158329A1; TW202029703A

Abstract

A communication system (10) is provided with a setting device (20), a master (14) and a plurality of slaves (16) that form a predetermined communication network. The setting device (20) transmits position data indicating the position of the setting device (20). Each of the plurality of slave units (16) transmits the received power value of the position data to the master unit (14). A master (14) associates a specific slave (16) of a plurality of slaves (16) with the position of a setting device (20) indicated by position data, based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slaves (16).

Description

Communication system and communication method

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a data communication technology, and more particularly, to a communication system and a communication method.

Background

The control of residential devices and household appliances installed in a house from the cloud side is becoming popular. For example, a user can switch the operation state of home appliances from the home by operating an application program of a smart phone.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent application laid-open No. 2018-14213

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In order to control devices in a house from the cloud side, a complicated operation of registering in which room in the house the device is installed needs to be performed for each device in the house.

The present disclosure has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique for reducing labor and time when registering the location of an apparatus.

Solution for solving the problem

In order to solve the above-described problem, a communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a parent device (parent device), a processing device, and a plurality of child devices (child devices). The processing device transmits position data indicating the position of the processing device, and the plurality of slave units each transmit the position data and a received power value of the position data to the master unit.

Another communication system according to another aspect of the present invention includes a master, a processing device, and a plurality of slaves. The processing device transmits the 1 st signal, the plurality of slave units each transmit the received power value of the 1 st signal to the master unit, the master unit causes one of the plurality of slave units to transmit the 2 nd signal to the processing device based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slave units, and the processing device associates the slave unit, which is the transmission source of the 2 nd signal, with the position of the processing device.

Still another aspect of the present invention provides a communication system including a master, a processing device, and a plurality of slaves. The master device causes the plurality of slave devices to transmit signals to the processing device, and the processing device associates a specific slave device among the plurality of slave devices with a position of the processing device based on a received power value of the signals transmitted from the respective plurality of slave devices.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a communication method. The method comprises the following steps: the processing device transmits position data representing a position of the processing device; each of the plurality of sub-machines transmits the received power value of the position data to the master machine; and the master device associates a specific slave device among the plurality of slave devices with the position of the processing device indicated by the position data based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slave devices.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a communication method. The method comprises the following steps: the processing device sends a 1 st signal; each of the plurality of sub-units transmits the received power value of the 1 st signal to the master unit; the master causes a certain one of the plurality of child machines to transmit a 2 nd signal to the processing device based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of child machines; and the processing device associates the slave unit serving as the transmission source of the 2 nd signal with the position of the processing device.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is a communication method. The method comprises the following steps: the master machine enables the plurality of sub machines to send signals to the processing device; and the processing device associates a specific one of the plurality of sub-machines with a position of the processing device based on a received power value of a signal transmitted from each of the plurality of sub-machines.

Further, any combination of the above-described components, and a form in which the expression of the present disclosure is converted between an apparatus, a computer program, a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, and the like are also effective as a form of the present invention.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present disclosure, the labor and time at the time of registering the location of the apparatus can be reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 (a) is a diagram showing an example of information set by a user (e.g., a resident of a house), and fig. 1 (b) is a diagram showing an example of information managed on the cloud side.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the communication system according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the communication system according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the communication system according to the modification of embodiment 1.

Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the communication system according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the communication system according to the modification of embodiment 2.

Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the communication system according to embodiment 3.

Fig. 8 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the communication system according to the modification of embodiment 3.

Detailed Description

The main body of the device, the method and the system in the invention is provided with a computer. The functions of the main body of the apparatus or method in the present disclosure are realized by the execution of the program by the computer. The computer has a processor that operates according to a program as a main hardware configuration. The processor may be any processor capable of realizing a function by executing a program, and the kind of the processor is not limited. The processor is constituted by 1 or more electronic circuits including a semiconductor Integrated Circuit (IC) or LSI (large scale integration, large scale integrated circuit). Herein referred to as IC or LSI, the manner of reference is changed depending on the degree of integration, and may also be referred to as system LSI, VLSI (very large scale integration, very large scale integrated circuit) or USLI (ultra large scale integration, very large scale integrated circuit). A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) programmed after LSI manufacturing, or a reconfigurable logic device capable of performing reconfiguration of a bonding relationship inside an LSI or capable of performing setting (set-up) of circuit division inside an LSI can also be used for the same purpose. The plurality of electronic circuits may be integrated on 1 chip or may be provided on a plurality of chips. The plurality of chips may be integrated into 1 device or may be provided in a plurality of devices. The program is recorded on a non-transitory recording medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), an optical disk, and a hard disk drive, which are readable by a computer. The program may be stored in advance in a recording medium, or may be supplied to the recording medium via a wide area communication network including the internet or the like.

First, a prior art related to the embodiment is explained.

Prior art 1. Ecannet Lite (trademark or registered trademark):

as an example of a protocol for registering the location of a device in a house, an echo Lite (https:// echo. Jp/spec_v112_lite /) has been proposed. In the echo Lite, the kind of space where the device is set (i.e., the kind of room) is associated in advance with a code (i.e., a bit string) indicating the setting place.

The user needs to associate the kind of setting place defined by the protocol of echo Lite or the like with the actual layout of the house. For example, for a living room of a home, a user may associate the category "living room, living room" of a setting place with the allocation bit "00001" according to the specification of the echo Lite. In addition, for a study room of the home, the user can associate the category "room" of the setting place with the allocation bit "01000". The user here is, for example, a setup worker or an occupant of a house.

After associating the kind of the setting place with the actual layout of the house, the user performs registration of the devices in the house. In other words, the user makes an association between the device in the house and the place (room) where the device is set. For example, a user starts a registration application on a PC (Personal Computer ) or the like, selects a device on a setting screen thereof, and inputs a setting location of the device. Fig. 1 (a) shows an example of information set by a user (e.g., an occupant of a house). Fig. 1 (b) shows an example of information managed on the cloud side. As shown in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the device is managed in association with the installation location (e.g., room ID) of the device on the cloud side in accordance with the input by the user.

By registering such an association to the cloud (server of the cloud), the user can control the actions of the devices of his own from the outgoing location. For example, by transmitting an extinction instruction of illumination of a living room (room ID 00001) to a server in the cloud by a smart phone of a user, the server can be caused to transmit an extinction instruction to a HEMS (Home Energy Management System ) controller of the user's home, thereby extinguishing the illumination of the living room of the user.

Prior art 2.Lldp (Link Layer Discovery Protocol ):

as a protocol for collecting information of the neighboring devices, there is LLDP (http:// www.ieee802.org/3/frame_student/0409/redundancy_1_0409. Pdf). The information-providing device periodically transmits the LLDP packet to the multicast address. The device on the side of collecting information collects information of other devices by receiving the LLDP packet. The collected information includes, for example, an interface number, a host name, a device name, and a serial number. By using LLDP, it is possible to detect what information is connected to the network.

State of the art htip (Home-network Topology Identifying Protocol, home network topology identification protocol):

currently, the global IP address of IPv6 is used in broadband networks (global IP address), while the private IP address of IPv4 is used in-home networks (private IP address). In this case, in order to control devices inside the home from outside the home, it is necessary to associate a global IP address with a private IP address in a home gateway (home gateway), and one of the implementation methods is UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) (https:// openconnectivity.org /).

HTIP is a protocol (http:// www.ttc.or.jp/jp/document_list/pdf/j/STD/JJ-300.00v2a. Pdf) that combines UPnP with LLDP so that device information and a MAC (Media Access Control, medium access control) address table can be acquired from a terminal to determine a home network map. For example, a Manager (Manager) mounted on the HTIP terminal receives device information from a Layer 3Agent (Layer 2 Agent), and receives device information and connection structure information from a Layer 3Agent (Layer 2 Agent). The manager analyzes the information collected by all agents in the home network and determines the connection structure of the home network. The device information includes a category, a manufacturer code, a model name, and a model number. The connection structure information includes channel use state information, radio wave intensity information, communication error rate information, and state information.

Prior art 4.HD-PLC (High Definition Power Line Communication, high resolution Power line communication):

as a technology for using a power line as a communication line, there is HD-PLC. The HD-PLC network is composed of a master (also referred to as a master) and a slave (also referred to as a terminal), and can also perform communication via a plurality of slaves. In addition, the following techniques are also disclosed: by connecting a PC to a master and operating dedicated software, the network topology of the HD-PLC and the MAC addresses of the master and slave are detected.

Summarizing the above prior art, a protocol for managing the location of a device installed in a house is defined as the echo Lite. In addition, as a protocol for detecting information of a network device after the network device is set, LLDP is specified in a case where an IP address is not converted without a home gateway or the like. On the other hand, HTIP is defined for converting an IP address by a home gateway or the like. Besides, the following techniques are disclosed: as a network using a power line, there is an HD-PLC, and MAC addresses of a master and a slave are examined in the HD-PLC.

However, heretofore, it has been necessary to register the location of each device installed in a building by a manual operation by a setter (resident of a house or the like) in advance, so that the setter is burdened with a troublesome operation. Based on this, in embodiments 1 to 3 of the present disclosure, a technique for automatically registering the location of a device in a building using HD-PLC is proposed. This reduces the labor and time required to register the location of the device. The "equipment" in the following description includes residential machines, household appliances, including, for example, power storage devices, air conditioners, refrigerators, and the like.

(example 1)

In the communication system according to embodiment 1, the slave setting device transmits a room ID to the plurality of HD-PLC slave units, and each slave unit measures the received power and transmits the received power to the master unit together with the room ID. The master device compares the received power of each slave device, and associates the ID of the slave device having the largest received power with the room ID.

Fig. 2 shows the structure of the communication system 10 of embodiment 1. Communication system 10 is a data communication system built into building 12. The communication system 10 includes a master unit 14, a slave unit 16a, and a slave unit 16b (collectively referred to as "slave units 16") and a setting device 20. The master unit 14, the slave unit 16a, and the slave unit 16b are connected to the power line 18 to form an HD-PLC network, and transmit and receive data via the power line 18.

The parent machine 14 is connected to a server 22 on the cloud end via the internet 24. The server 22 is an information processing device that manages the location of the equipment in the building 12. The server 22 stores a plurality of devices (not shown) such as home appliances installed in the building 12 in association with the positions of the respective devices.

The setting device 20 is an information processing device to which an Application program (hereinafter also referred to as "device registration assistance App") for assisting automatic registration of the location of the device in the building 12 is installed. The setting device 20 of the embodiment is a smart phone, and may be a PC, a tablet terminal, or the like. The setting device 20 and the slave unit 16a, and the setting device 20 and the slave unit 16b are connected by known wireless communication. For example, the connection may be made by WiFi (registered trademark) or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The operation of the communication system 10 configured as described above will be described. The processing (in other words, functions) of the setting device 20, the master device 14, and the slave device 16 described below may be implemented in a computer program for each device (the above-described equipment registration auxiliary App in the case of the setting device 20). The storage areas of the setting device 20, the parent device 14, and the child device 16 may store computer programs for the respective devices. The following operations may be realized by reading out the computer program from the main memory by the respective processors of the setting device 20, the master device 14, and the slave device 16, and executing the computer program.

Fig. 3 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the communication system 10 according to embodiment 1. Here, as shown in fig. 2, an example is shown in which a specific slave unit is associated with position data (room ID in embodiment 1) indicating the position of the setting device 20 using the setting device 20 in the room 1. An occupant of the building 12 (hereinafter referred to as "user") activates the device registration assistance App in the setting device 20. The device registration assisting App displays an input screen of the room ID on the setting device 20. The user inputs a room ID indicating the position of the setting device 20 (here, "room 1") on the input screen.

The setting apparatus 20 (device registration assisting App) transmits a request signal containing position data (i.e., a room ID) indicating the position of the setting apparatus 20 by wireless communication (S10). The slave unit 16a measures the received power of the request signal, and transmits the measured received power value and the room ID to the master unit 14 via the power line 18 (S12). In parallel with this, the slave unit 16b also measures the received power of the request signal, and transmits the measured received power value and the room ID to the master unit 14 via the power line 18 (S14).

The master device 14 receives the received power values and the room IDs transmitted from the slave devices 16a and 16b, respectively. The master device 14 associates a specific slave device 16 among the plurality of slave devices 16 with a room ID (i.e., the position of the setting device 20) based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slave devices 16, and stores the association in a predetermined storage device.

In embodiment 1, the master device 14 associates the slave device 16 having the largest received power value among the plurality of slave devices 16 with the room ID (S16). In this example, the master device 14 compares the received power value of the slave device 16a with the received power value of the slave device 16b, and associates the slave device 16a having a larger received power with the room ID. The master 14 transmits information (hereinafter also referred to as "association information") obtained by associating the ID of the slave 16 having the largest received power value (e.g., the MAC address of the slave 16 a) with the room ID to the server 22, so that the server 22 stores the association information (S18). That is, the correspondence between the slave unit 16a and the room 1 is stored in the server 22.

Next, the user places the setting device 20 in the room 2, and inputs the room ID of the room 2 in the device registration auxiliary App of the setting device 20. The processing of fig. 3 is repeated later, and the correspondence between the slave unit 16b and the room 2 is stored in the server 22.

Thereafter, in the case where a device is connected to 1 of the plurality of child machines 16, the 1 child machine 16 transmits data of the connected device to the parent machine 14. The parent machine 14 will establish a corresponding location with the 1 child machine 16 described above to newly establish a correspondence with the device. The slave unit 16 and the device may be connected by WiFi, bluetooth (registered trademark) or a wire.

For example, when the 1 st air conditioner installed in the room 1 is connected to the slave unit 16a, the slave unit 16a transmits the ID of the 1 st air conditioner and the ID (e.g., MAC address) of the slave unit 16a to the master unit 14. The master 14 transmits the ID of the 1 st air conditioner and the ID of the slave 16a to the server 22, and thereby stores the room ID associated with the slave 16a in the server 22 in association with the 1 st air conditioner. That is, the server 22 stores the room ID, which has been previously associated with the slave unit 16a, in association with the ID of the 1 st air conditioner, based on the information transmitted from the master unit 14.

When the 2 nd air conditioner installed in the room 2 is connected to the slave unit 16b, the slave unit 16b transmits the ID of the 2 nd air conditioner and the ID of the slave unit 16b to the master unit 14. The master 14 transmits the ID of the 2 nd air conditioner and the ID of the slave 16b to the server 22. The server 22 stores the room ID which has been previously associated with the slave unit 16b in association with the ID of the 2 nd air conditioner.

According to the communication system 10 of embodiment 1, by constructing the correspondence between the slave units of the HD-PLC and the setting positions of the slave units, it is possible to automatically realize the construction of the correspondence between the devices connected to the slave units and the setting positions of the slave units and manage the correspondence with the server 22. In addition, the work load of the user can be reduced.

The present disclosure is explained above based on embodiment 1. This embodiment is an example, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications are possible for each component or each combination of processing procedures, and such modifications are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

A modification of embodiment 1 will be described. In embodiment 1, the received power value at each slave unit 16 is used, but a propagation loss (propagation loss) between the setting device 20 and each slave unit 16 may be used. That is, the master device 14 may calculate the propagation loss at each slave device 16 based on the received power values of the plurality of slave devices 16, and associate the slave device 16 having the smallest propagation loss among the plurality of slave devices 16 with the position of the setting device 20.

Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of communication system 10 according to the modification of embodiment 1. Here, as also shown in fig. 2, an example is shown in which the setting device 20 is used in the room 1 to associate a specific slave unit with a room ID indicating the position of the setting device 20. The user inputs a room ID indicating "room 1" in the input screen of the device registration auxiliary App in the setting apparatus 20.

The setting apparatus 20 (device registration assisting App) transmits a request signal including the room ID by wireless communication (S20). The setting device 20 also includes the transmission power value of the request signal in the request signal. The slave unit 16a measures the received power of the request signal, and transmits the measured received power value, room ID, and transmission power value to the master unit 14 (S22). The slave unit 16b also measures the received power of the request signal in parallel, and transmits the measured received power value, room ID, and transmission power value to the master unit 14 (S24).

The master unit 14 calculates propagation loss from the setting device 20 to each slave unit 16 (S26). For example, the master device 14 subtracts the received power value (in decibels) transmitted from the slave device 16a from the transmitted power value transmitted from the slave device 16a, and calculates the propagation loss from the setting device 20 to the slave device 16 a. Similarly, the master device 14 subtracts the received power value (in decibels) transmitted from the slave device 16b from the transmitted power value transmitted from the slave device 16b, and calculates the propagation loss from the setting device 20 to the slave device 16 b.

The master device 14 compares the propagation loss from the setting device 20 to the slave device 16a with the propagation loss from the setting device 20 to the slave device 16b, and associates the slave device 16 (in this example, the slave device 16 a) having the smaller propagation loss with the room ID (S28). The parent device 14 transmits the association information obtained by associating the ID of the child device 16a with the room ID to the server 22, so that the server 22 stores the association information (S30). That is, the correspondence between the slave unit 16a and the room 1 is stored in the server 22.

Next, the user places the setting device 20 in the room 2, and inputs the room ID of the room 2 in the device registration auxiliary App of the setting device 20. The processing of fig. 4 is repeated later, and the correspondence between the slave unit 16b and the room 2 is stored in the server 22.

The following operations are the same as those of embodiment 1. That is, when 1 slave unit 16 of the plurality of slave units 16 is connected to a device, the 1 slave unit 16 transmits data of the connected device to the master unit 14. The master unit 14 associates the device with the 1 slave unit 16, so that the association is stored in a predetermined storage area (e.g., the server 22). The communication system 10 of the present modification also exhibits the same effects as those of the communication system 10 of embodiment 1.

Another modification of embodiment 1 will be described. In embodiment 1, both the correspondence between the slave unit 16 and the room ID and the correspondence between the devices connected to the slave unit 16 and the room ID are managed by the server 22. As a modification, the master 14 (a storage device of the master 14) may be used to manage the correspondence between the slave 16 and the room ID, and the server 22 may be used to manage the correspondence between the devices connected to the slave 16 and the room ID.

In this modification, in S18 of fig. 3, the master 14 may store the association information between the ID of the slave 16 and the room ID in the local memory. When a device is connected to 1 of the plurality of slave units 16, the master unit 14 may transmit, to the server 22, association information obtained by associating the room ID associated with the 1 slave unit 16 with the device ID, and store the association information in the server 22.

(example 2)

The configuration of the communication system 10 of embodiment 2 is the same as that of embodiment 1 shown in fig. 2. The following description is given of the different aspects from embodiment 1, and duplicate matters are omitted appropriately.

In embodiment 2, the setting device 20 transmits the 1 st signal to the plurality of slaves 16. The plurality of slave units 16 each measure the received power of the 1 st signal and transmit the measured received power to the master unit. The master unit 14 compares the received power at each slave unit 16, and selects the slave unit 16 having the largest received power. The master 14 sends a 2 nd signal to the setting means 20 via the selected slave 16. The setting device 20 associates the slave unit 16, which is the transmission source of the 2 nd signal, with the room ID.

Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of communication system 10 according to embodiment 2. Here, as also shown in fig. 2, an example is shown in which the setting device 20 is used in the room 1 to associate a specific slave unit with position data (room ID) indicating the position of the setting device 20. The user starts the device registration auxiliary App in the setting means 20. The device registration assisting App displays an input screen of the room ID on the setting device 20. The user inputs a room ID indicating the position of the setting device 20 (here, "room 1") on the input screen.

The setting device 20 (device registration auxiliary App) transmits a predetermined 1 st signal by wireless communication (S40). The 1 st signal is different from the request signal of the 1 st embodiment, and does not need to include a message such as a room ID, and may be a signal of a predetermined frequency. The slave unit 16a measures the received power of the 1 st signal, and transmits the measured received power value to the master unit 14 (S42). In parallel with this, the slave unit 16b also measures the received power of the 1 st signal, and transmits the measured received power value to the master unit 14 (S44).

The master device 14 receives the received power values and the room IDs transmitted from the slave devices 16a and 16b, respectively. The master 14 causes one of the plurality of slaves 16 to transmit a predetermined 2 nd signal to the setting device 20 based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slaves 16. In embodiment 2, the master device 14 compares the received power value of the slave device 16a with the received power value of the slave device 16b, and selects the slave device 16 (in this example, the slave device 16 a) having a larger received power.

The master 14 transmits the 2 nd signal to the setting device 20 via the selected slave 16 (in this example, the slave 16 a) (S46). In other words, the master unit 14 causes the selected slave unit 16 to transmit the 2 nd signal to the setting device 20. The 2 nd signal does not need to contain a specific message as in the 1 st signal. The 2 nd signal is a signal of a predetermined frequency for each slave unit 16, and may be a signal of a different frequency for each slave unit 16. As a modification, the 2 nd signal may include identification information of the slave unit 16 as the transmission source.

The setting device 20 receives the 2 nd signal and determines the slave unit 16 (in this example, the slave unit 16 a) as the transmission source of the 2 nd signal based on the frequency of the 2 nd signal. The setting device 20 associates the slave unit 16, which is the transmission source of the 2 nd signal, with the position of the setting device 20 (in this example, the room ID input by the user) (S48). The setting device 20 transmits, to the server 22, the association information obtained by associating the ID of the slave unit 16, which is the transmission source of the 2 nd signal, with the room ID, so that the server 22 stores the association information (S50). Thus, the correspondence between the slave unit 16a and the room 1 is stored in the server 22. The setting device 20 may transmit the association information to the parent device 14, and the parent device 14 may transmit the association information to the server 22.

Next, the user places the setting device 20 in the room 2, and inputs the room ID of the room 2 in the device registration auxiliary App of the setting device 20. The processing of fig. 5 is repeated later, and the correspondence between the slave unit 16b and the room 2 is stored in the server 22.

The subsequent operations are the same as those of embodiment 1. That is, when 1 slave unit 16 of the plurality of slave units 16 is connected to a device, the 1 slave unit 16 transmits data of the connected device to the master unit 14. The parent machine 14 will establish a corresponding location with the 1 child machine 16 described above to newly establish a correspondence with the device.

For example, when the 1 st air conditioner provided in the room 1 and the slave unit 16a are connected, the master unit 14 transmits the ID of the 1 st air conditioner and the ID of the slave unit 16a to the server 22, and thereby stores the room ID associated with the slave unit 16a in association with the 1 st air conditioner in the server 22. When the 2 nd air conditioner installed in the room 2 and the slave unit 16b are connected, the master unit 14 transmits the ID of the 2 nd air conditioner and the ID of the slave unit 16b to the server 22, and the server 22 stores the room ID associated with the slave unit 16b in association with the 2 nd air conditioner.

In the communication system 10 according to embodiment 2, it is also possible to automatically realize the establishment of the correspondence relationship between the devices connected to the slave unit and the installation positions of the slave unit by establishing the correspondence relationship between the slave unit of the HD-PLC and the installation positions of the slave unit, and manage the correspondence relationship by the server 22. In addition, the work load of the user can be reduced. In addition, in embodiment 2, there is no need to send and receive messages between the setting device 20 and the slave unit 16, that is, a case where communication is not established is allowed. Accordingly, the throughput of the entire communication system 10 can be reduced.

The present disclosure is explained above based on embodiment 2. This embodiment is an example, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications are possible for each component or each combination of processing procedures, and such modifications are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

A modification of embodiment 2 will be described. In embodiment 2, the received power value at each slave unit 16 is used, but the propagation loss between the setting device 20 and each slave unit 16 can also be used. That is, the master device 14 may determine the propagation loss at each of the slave devices 16 based on the received power values of the plurality of slave devices 16, and transmit the 2 nd signal to the setting device 20 from the slave device 16 having the smallest propagation loss among the plurality of slave devices 16.

Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of communication system 10 according to a modification of embodiment 2. Here, as also shown in fig. 2, an example is shown in which the setting device 20 is used in the room 1 to associate a specific slave unit with a room ID indicating the position of the setting device 20. The user inputs a room ID indicating "room 1" in the input screen of the device registration auxiliary App in the setting apparatus 20.

The setting device 20 (device registration auxiliary App) transmits a 1 st signal including the transmission power value by wireless communication (S60). The slave unit 16a measures the received power of the 1 st signal, and transmits the transmission power value and the received power value of the 1 st signal to the master unit 14 (S62). Similarly, the slave unit 16b also measures the received power of the 1 st signal, and transmits the transmission power value and the received power value of the 1 st signal to the master unit 14 (S64).

The master unit 14 calculates propagation loss from the setting device 20 to each slave unit 16 (S66). For example, the master device 14 subtracts the received power value (in decibels) transmitted from the slave device 16a from the transmitted power value transmitted from the slave device 16a, and calculates the propagation loss from the setting device 20 to the slave device 16 a. Similarly, the master device 14 subtracts the received power value (in decibels) transmitted from the slave device 16b from the transmitted power value transmitted from the slave device 16b, and calculates the propagation loss from the setting device 20 to the slave device 16 b.

The master device 14 compares the propagation loss from the setting device 20 to the slave device 16a with the propagation loss from the setting device 20 to the slave device 16b, and selects the slave device 16 (in this example, the slave device 16 a) having a smaller propagation loss. The master 14 transmits the 2 nd signal to the setting device 20 via the selected slave 16 (S68). The setting device 20 associates the slave unit 16, which is the transmission source of the 2 nd signal, with the position of the setting device 20 (in this example, the room ID input by the user) (S70). The setting device 20 transmits the association information obtained by associating the slave unit 16, which is the transmission source of the 2 nd signal, with the room ID to the server 22, so that the server 22 stores the association information (S72). Thus, the correspondence between the slave unit 16a and the room 1 is stored in the server 22.

Next, the user places the setting device 20 in the room 2, and inputs the room ID of the room 2 in the device registration auxiliary App of the setting device 20. Thus, the correspondence between the slave unit 16b and the room 2 is stored in the server 22. The following operations are the same as those of embodiment 2. That is, when 1 slave unit 16 of the plurality of slave units 16 is connected to a device, the 1 slave unit 16 transmits data of the connected device to the master unit 14. The master unit 14 associates the device with the 1 slave unit 16, so that the association is stored in a predetermined storage area (e.g., the server 22). In this modification, the same effect as in embodiment 2 is also achieved.

Another modification of embodiment 2 will be described. In embodiment 2, both the correspondence between the slave unit 16 and the room ID and the correspondence between the devices connected to the slave unit 16 and the room ID are managed by the server 22. As a modification, the master 14 (a storage device of the master 14) may be used to manage the correspondence between the slave 16 and the room ID, and the server 22 may be used to manage the correspondence between the devices connected to the slave 16 and the room ID.

In this modification, in S50 of fig. 5, the setting device 20 may transmit the association information of the ID of the slave unit 16 and the room ID to the master unit 14, and the master unit 14 may store the association information in its own memory. When a device is connected to 1 of the plurality of slave units 16, the master unit 14 may transmit, to the server 22, association information obtained by associating the room ID corresponding to the 1 slave units 16 with the device ID, and store the association information in the server 22.

(example 3)

The configuration of the communication system 10 of embodiment 3 is the same as that of embodiment 1 shown in fig. 2. The following description is given of the different aspects from embodiment 1, and duplicate matters are omitted appropriately.

In embodiment 3, the master 14 transmits signals via a plurality of slaves 16. The setting device 20 measures the received power of the signals transmitted from each of the plurality of slave units 16. The setting means 20 selects the sub-machine 16 having the largest received power and associates the selected sub-machine 16 with the room ID.

Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of communication system 10 according to embodiment 3. Here, as also shown in fig. 2, an example is shown in which the setting device 20 is used in the room 1 to associate a specific slave unit with position data (room ID) indicating the position of the setting device 20. The user inputs a predetermined start operation to the master 14 via an input device provided to the master 14 or by communication from a remote distance. The user starts the device registration auxiliary App in the setting device 20, and inputs the ID of the room in which the setting device 20 is located (here, room 1) in the input screen of the device registration auxiliary App.

The master 14 receives the start operation as described above, and causes the plurality of slaves 16 to transmit a predetermined signal (referred to herein as a "test signal") to the setting device 20. Specifically, the master unit 14 transmits an instruction signal to the slave unit 16a (S80), and the slave unit 16a transmits a test signal to the setting device 20 (S82). The frequency of the test signal may be different for each slave unit 16 as the transmission source, and the test signal may contain identification information of the slave unit 16 as the transmission source. The setting device 20 (device registration auxiliary App) measures the received power of the test signal transmitted from the slave unit 16a (S84).

The master unit 14 also transmits an instruction signal to the slave unit 16b (S86), and the slave unit 16b transmits a test signal to the setting device 20 (S88). The setting device 20 measures the received power of the test signal transmitted from the slave unit 16b (S90).

The setting device 20 associates a specific one of the plurality of slave units 16 with the position of the setting device 20 based on the received power value of the test signal transmitted from each of the plurality of slave units 16. In embodiment 3, the setting device 20 associates the sub-machine 16 having the largest received power value of the test signal among the plurality of sub-machines 16 with the room ID input by the user (S92). In this example, the setting device 20 compares the received power value of the test signal transmitted from the slave unit 16a with the received power value of the test signal transmitted from the slave unit 16b, and associates the slave unit 16a having a larger received power with the room ID.

The setting device 20 transmits the association information obtained by associating the slave unit 16 (in this example, the slave unit 16 a) having the largest received power value with the room ID to the master unit 14 via the slave unit 16a (S94). At the same time, the setting device 20 transmits the above-mentioned related information to the parent device 14 via the child device 16b (S96). The parent device 14 transmits the received association information to the server 22 so that the association information is stored in the server 22 (S98). Thus, the correspondence between the slave unit 16a and the room 1 is stored in the server 22. The setting device 20 may directly transmit the association information to the server 22.

Next, the user places the setting device 20 in the room 2, and inputs the room ID of the room 2 in the device registration auxiliary App of the setting device 20. The process of fig. 7 is repeated later, and the correspondence between the slave unit 16b and the room 2 is stored in the server 22.

The subsequent operations are the same as those of embodiment 1. That is, when 1 slave unit 16 of the plurality of slave units 16 is connected to a device, the 1 slave unit 16 transmits data of the connected device to the master unit 14. The parent machine 14 will establish a corresponding location with the 1 child machine 16 to newly establish a correspondence with the device.

In the communication system 10 according to embodiment 3, it is also possible to automatically realize the establishment of the correspondence relationship between the devices connected to the slave unit and the installation positions of the slave unit by establishing the correspondence relationship between the slave unit of the HD-PLC and the installation positions of the slave unit, and manage the correspondence relationship by the server 22. In addition, the work load of the user can be reduced.

The present invention is described above based on embodiment 3. This embodiment is an example, and those skilled in the art can understand that various modifications are possible for each component or each combination of processing procedures, and such modifications are also included in the scope of the present disclosure.

A modification of embodiment 3 will be described. In embodiment 3, the received power value of the test signal transmitted from each slave unit 16 is used, but the propagation loss between the setting device 20 and each slave unit 16 may be used. That is, the setting device 20 may calculate the propagation loss of the signal transmitted from each of the plurality of slave units 16 based on the received power values of the signals transmitted from each of the plurality of slave units 16, and associate the slave unit having the smallest propagation loss among the plurality of slave units 16 with the position of the setting device 20.

Fig. 8 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of communication system 10 according to the modification of embodiment 3. Here, as also shown in fig. 2, an example is shown in which the setting device 20 is used in the room 1 to associate a specific slave unit with a room ID indicating the position of the setting device 20. The master unit 14 instructs the slave unit 16a to transmit a signal (S100), and the slave unit 16a transmits a test signal including the transmission power value to the setting device 20 (S102). The setting device 20 measures the received power of the test signal transmitted from the slave unit 16a, and subtracts the received power value (in decibels) from the transmitted power value of the test signal to calculate the propagation loss from the slave unit 16a to the setting device 20 (S104).

The master unit 14 also instructs the slave unit 16b to transmit a signal (S106), and the slave unit 16b transmits a test signal including the transmission power value to the setting device 20 (S108). The setting device 20 measures the received power of the test signal transmitted from the slave unit 16b, and subtracts the received power value (in decibels) from the transmitted power value of the test signal to calculate the propagation loss from the slave unit 16b to the setting device 20 (S110). The setting device 20 compares the propagation loss from the slave unit 16a to the setting device 20 with the propagation loss from the slave unit 16b to the setting device 20, and associates the slave unit 16 (in this example, the slave unit 16 a) having a smaller propagation loss with the room ID (S112).

The setting device 20 transmits the association information obtained by associating the child device 16 with the smallest propagation loss (in this example, the child device 16 a) with the room ID input by the user to the parent device 14 via the child device 16a (S114). At the same time, the setting device 20 transmits the above-mentioned related information to the parent device 14 via the child device 16b (S116). The parent machine 14 transmits the received association information to the server 22 so that the server 22 stores the association information (S118). Thus, the correspondence between the slave unit 16a and the room 1 is stored in the server 22. The setting device 20 may directly transmit the association information to the server 22.

Next, the user places the setting device 20 in the room 2, and inputs the room ID of the room 2 in the device registration auxiliary App of the setting device 20. Thus, the correspondence between the slave unit 16b and the room 2 is stored in the server 22. The following operations are the same as those of embodiment 3. That is, when 1 slave unit 16 of the plurality of slave units 16 is connected to a device, the 1 slave unit 16 transmits data of the connected device to the master unit 14. The master unit 14 associates the device with the 1 slave unit 16, so that the association is stored in a predetermined storage area (e.g., the server 22). The same effects as those of embodiment 3 are also exhibited in this modification.

Another modification of embodiment 3 will be described. In embodiment 3, both the correspondence between the slave unit 16 and the room ID and the correspondence between the devices connected to the slave unit 16 and the room ID are managed by the server 22. As a modification, the master 14 (a storage device of the master 14) may be used to manage the correspondence between the slave 16 and the room ID, and the server 22 may be used to manage the correspondence between the devices connected to the slave 16 and the room ID.

In this modification, in S98 of fig. 7, the master 14 may store the association information transmitted from the setting device 20 in the memory of the master. When a device is connected to 1 of the plurality of slave units 16, the master unit 14 may transmit, to the server 22, association information obtained by associating the room ID corresponding to the 1 slave units 16 with the device ID, and store the association information in the server 22.

A modification common to embodiments 1 to 3 will be described. In the respective embodiments, the case of using HD-PLC is exemplified, but the technical idea of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, various communication standards other than HD-PLC can be used, including communication standards of a master and a slave.

Any combination of the above-described examples and modifications is also useful as an embodiment of the present disclosure. The new embodiment produced by the combination has the effects of both the combined example and the modified example. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the functions to be performed by the respective constituent elements described in the claims are realized by the single bodies of the respective constituent elements or the cooperation thereof shown in the examples and the modifications.

The techniques described in the embodiments and modifications can be defined by the following items.

[ item 1]

A communication system includes a master unit (14), a processing device (20), and a plurality of slave units (16),

the processing means (20) transmits position data representing the position of the processing means (20),

the plurality of child machines (16) each transmit the position data and a received power value of the position data to the parent machine (14),

The master device (14) associates a specific slave device (16) among the plurality of slave devices (16) with the position of the processing device (20) indicated by the position data, based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slave devices (16).

[ item 2]

The communication system according to item 1, wherein,

the master unit (14) associates a slave unit (16) having the largest received power value among the plurality of slave units (16) with the position of the processing device (20) indicated by the position data.

[ item 3]

The communication system according to item 1, wherein,

the master device (14) obtains propagation loss at each of the plurality of slave devices (16) based on the received power values of the plurality of slave devices (16), and associates the slave device (16) having the smallest propagation loss among the plurality of slave devices (16) with the position of the processing device (20) indicated by the position data.

[ item 4]

the processing means (20) send a 1 st signal,

the plurality of child machines (16) each transmit the received power value of the 1 st signal to the parent machine (14),

the master (14) causes one of the plurality of slaves (16) to transmit a 2 nd signal to the processing device (20) based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slaves (16),

The processing device (20) associates a slave unit (16) which is the transmission source of the 2 nd signal with the position of the processing device (20).

[ item 5]

The communication system according to item 4, wherein,

the master unit (14) transmits a 2 nd signal to the processing device (20) from among the plurality of slave units (16), the slave unit (16) having the largest received power value.

[ item 6]

The communication system according to item 4, wherein,

the master unit (14) obtains propagation loss at each of the slave units (16) based on the received power values of the plurality of slave units (16), and transmits a 2 nd signal to the processing device (20) from the slave unit (16) having the smallest propagation loss among the plurality of slave units (16).

[ item 7]

the master (14) causes the plurality of slaves (16) to transmit signals to the processing device (20),

the processing device (20) associates a specific one (16) of the plurality of sub-machines (16) with the position of the processing device (20) based on the received power values of the signals transmitted from each of the plurality of sub-machines (16).

[ item 8]

The communication system according to item 7, wherein,

the processing device (20) associates a sub-machine (16) having the largest received power value among the plurality of sub-machines (16) with the position of the processing device (20).

[ item 9]

The communication system according to item 7, wherein,

the processing device (20) obtains the propagation loss of the signal transmitted from each of the plurality of sub-machines (16) based on the received power value of the signal transmitted from each of the plurality of sub-machines (16), and associates the sub-machine (16) having the smallest propagation loss among the plurality of sub-machines (16) with the position of the processing device (20).

[ item 10]

The communication system according to any one of items 1 to 9, wherein,

in the case that a device is connected to 1 of the plurality of child machines (16), the 1 child machine (16) transmits data of the device to the parent machine (14),

the master (14) establishes a correspondence with the device at a location corresponding to the 1 slave (16).

[ item 11]

A method of communication comprising the steps of:

the processing device (20) transmits position data representing the position of the processing device (20);

each of the plurality of slave units (16) transmits the position data and a received power value of the position data to the master unit (14); and

[ item 12]

A method of communication comprising the steps of:

the processing device (20) transmits a 1 st signal;

each of the plurality of slave units (16) transmits the received power value of the 1 st signal to the master unit (14);

the master (14) causes one of the plurality of slaves (16) to transmit a 2 nd signal to the processing device (20) based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slaves (16); and

[ item 13]

A method of communication comprising the steps of:

the master (14) causes the plurality of slaves (16) to transmit signals to the processing device (20); and

Industrial applicability

The technology to which the present disclosure relates can utilize a communication system.

Description of the reference numerals

10: a communication system; 14: a master machine; 16a: a sub-machine; 16b: a sub-machine; 20: a setting device; 22: and a server.

Claims

1. A communication system includes a master unit, a processing device, and a plurality of slave units,

The master and the plurality of slaves are connected to a power line to form a power line communication network, i.e., a PLC network,

the plurality of sub-machines are arranged in different rooms,

the processing device causes an input screen displaying the ID of the room in which the processing device is located to transmit the ID of the room input by the user on the input screen as position data indicating the position of the processing device,

the plurality of child machines each transmit the position data and the received power value of the position data to the parent machine,

the master device associates a specific slave device among the plurality of slave devices with the ID of the room indicated by the position data, based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slave devices.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein,

and the master device associates the slave device with the largest received power value among the plurality of slave devices with the ID of the room represented by the position data.

3. The communication system of claim 1, wherein,

and the master device obtains the propagation loss of each slave device based on the received power values of the plurality of slave devices, and associates the slave device with the smallest propagation loss among the plurality of slave devices with the ID of the room represented by the position data.

4. A communication system includes a master unit, a processing device, and a plurality of slave units,

the plurality of sub-machines are arranged in different rooms,

the processing device causes an input screen of the ID of the room in which the processing device is located to be displayed, receives the ID of the room input by the user on the input screen,

the processing means send a 1 st signal,

the plurality of slaves each transmit the received power value of the 1 st signal to the master,

the master causes one of the plurality of slaves to transmit a 2 nd signal to the processing device based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slaves,

the processing device associates a slave unit, which is a transmission source of the 2 nd signal, with the room ID input on the input screen.

5. The communication system of claim 4, wherein,

and the master machine enables the slave machine with the largest received power value of the plurality of slave machines to send a 2 nd signal to the processing device.

6. The communication system of claim 4, wherein,

and the master device obtains the propagation loss at each of the plurality of slave devices based on the received power values of the plurality of slave devices, and transmits the 2 nd signal to the processing device by the slave device with the smallest propagation loss among the plurality of slave devices.

7. A communication system includes a master unit, a processing device, and a plurality of slave units,

the plurality of sub-machines are arranged in different rooms,

the master causes the plurality of slaves to send signals to the processing means,

the processing device associates a specific one of the plurality of slave units with the room ID input by the user on the input screen, based on the received power value of the signal transmitted from each of the plurality of slave units.

8. The communication system of claim 7, wherein,

and the processing device associates the sub-machine with the largest received power value among the plurality of sub-machines with the ID of the room input by the user on the input picture.

9. The communication system of claim 7, wherein,

the processing device obtains propagation loss of the signal transmitted from each of the plurality of slave units based on the received power values of the signal transmitted from each of the plurality of slave units, and associates the slave unit having the smallest propagation loss among the plurality of slave units with the ID of the room inputted by the user on the input screen.

10. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein,

in the case that 1 of the plurality of child machines is connected with a device, the 1 child machine transmits data of the device to the parent machine,

and the master establishes a correspondence between the ID of the room corresponding to the 1 slave and the equipment.

11. A communication method in a communication system including a master, a processing device, and a plurality of slave,

the plurality of sub-machines are arranged in different rooms,

the communication method comprises the following steps:

the processing device causes an input screen displaying the ID of the room in which the processing device is located to transmit the ID of the room input by the user on the input screen as position data indicating the position of the processing device;

each of the plurality of child machines transmits the position data and a received power value of the position data to the parent machine; and

12. A communication method in a communication system including a master, a processing device, and a plurality of slave,

the plurality of sub-machines are arranged in different rooms,

the communication method comprises the following steps:

the processing device causes an input screen for displaying the ID of the room in which the processing device is located to receive the ID of the room input by the user on the input screen;

the processing device sends a 1 st signal;

each of the plurality of child machines transmits the received power value of the 1 st signal to the parent machine;

the master device causing one of the plurality of slave devices to transmit a 2 nd signal to the processing device based on the received power values transmitted from the plurality of slave devices; and

13. A communication method in a communication system including a master, a processing device, and a plurality of slave,

The plurality of sub-machines are arranged in different rooms,

the communication method comprises the following steps:

the master machine enables the plurality of child machines to send signals to the processing device; and