JP2001076280A - Method, system and terminal for radio communications - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make correctable time data at a communicating destination by recognizing the time data of its own terminal and another terminal in before data communications and adjusting the time data of one terminal to that of the other when the difference of the time data exceeds an allowable time difference. SOLUTION: Before data communications between a data collecting unit U and a terminal radio unit Ua, in order to secure the reliability of data, timers for timing are incorporated in the CPUs21 and 31 of the respective units U and Ua. Thus, the respective flash memories 22 and 32 of the unit U and the unit Ua are provided for correcting time data to collate time data between both of the units U and Ua. When the difference between the time data of both of the units exceeds an allowable time difference as communication data, the CPU21 of the unit U on a host side sets time data timed by the timer to be a reference time to adjust the time of the timer of the CPU31 of the unit Ua on a slave side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless communication method for collecting data by wirelessly connecting meter readings of meters such as electricity, gas, and water from a remote location, and more particularly, to a wireless communication method between terminals during data communication. The present invention relates to a wireless communication method, a wireless communication system, and a wireless communication terminal that perform data processing by adjusting time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, when data is collected by this type of wireless communication, one data collection unit and a plurality of terminal wireless units that are wirelessly connected to the data collection unit are provided so as to allow communication. Each terminal wireless unit is sequentially polled to collect measurement data such as a meter reading value (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-1).
No. 88190).

As a method of adjusting the time of each unit, a method of initializing the time of a clock which each unit has independently, and using the initialized time throughout,
Alternatively, a method is known in which a reference time is set to each terminal wireless unit from a center side or a data collection unit at regular intervals.

[0004]

However, in such a method of performing time adjustment, the following problems have occurred because the time is adjusted independently of data transmission to each unit.

(1) Even if the time is out of order at the time of data transmission, correction cannot be performed, and the data is treated as meter reading data at the wrong time, and accurate meter reading data cannot be collected in the data collection unit.

(2) When a failure occurs in the clock of the data collection unit, the presence or absence of the failure cannot be detected, so that time data cannot be managed and appropriate measures cannot be taken.

(3) In particular, if the time of the clock is greatly deviated, there is a problem that the meter reading data collected from each unit becomes unreliable.

Accordingly, the present invention checks the time data of a communication destination at the time of data transmission, corrects the time data of the communication destination when an error occurs in the time data, and secures appropriate time data before communication. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication method, a wireless communication system, and a wireless communication terminal for processing.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A wireless communication method for establishing a wireless communication path between the own terminal and another terminal to perform data communication, and when performing data communication by connecting the terminals, prior to the data communication,
Recognize the time data of own terminal and the time data of other terminals,
When the difference between the time data exceeds the allowable time difference, the time data of one terminal is matched with the time data of the other terminal.

A second aspect of the present invention is a wireless communication method for establishing a wireless communication path between an upper terminal and a lower terminal to perform data communication, wherein the data communication is performed by connecting the terminals. Prior to the data communication, the time data of both terminals is recognized, and when the difference between the time data exceeds the allowable time difference, the time data of the lower terminal is matched with the time data of the upper terminal.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless communication system for performing data communication by determining a wireless communication path between a terminal itself and another terminal provided with both a wireless communication unit and a timing unit. When performing data communication by connecting the own terminal and the other terminal, prior to the data communication, the matching means for checking the time data of the own terminal and the time data of the other terminal, and the matching means When the difference between the time data of the two terminals exceeds the allowable time difference as the communication data, control means for setting the time data engraved by the clock means of the own terminal as the reference time and adjusting the time of the other terminal And

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless communication terminal for performing data communication by determining a wireless communication path between the own terminal and another terminal provided with both wireless communication means and time measuring means. When performing data communication by connecting to the other terminal, prior to the data communication, control means is provided for controlling transmission of the time data engraved by the timer means of the own terminal to the other terminal. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless communication terminal which includes both wireless communication means and timekeeping means and determines a wireless communication path between the own terminal and another terminal to perform data communication. When data communication is performed by connecting to the other terminal, prior to the data communication, time data is received from the other terminal of the communication destination and compared with the time data of the clock means of the own terminal. When the allowable time difference as the communication data is exceeded, a control means is provided for adjusting the time data of the clock means of the own terminal to the time data engraved by the clock means of the other terminal.

[0014]

According to the present invention, when data communication is performed between the own terminal and the other terminal whose wireless communication path has been determined, when data communication is performed by connecting the terminals, the data communication is performed. Prior to this, the time data of the own terminal and the time data of the other terminal are recognized, and when the difference between the two time data exceeds the allowable time difference, the time adjustment of one terminal to the time data of the other terminal is performed. This is a wireless communication method having a function. Therefore, if it is recognized that there is a time error that may interfere with communication data between terminals, the time is adjusted to correct this and the time is reset to correct time data to secure the reference time. And then perform communication processing.

Therefore, if a time error occurs between terminals during data transmission, communication is performed after correcting the time, so that communication can be performed under appropriate time management, and highly reliable data collection can be performed. it can. In particular, since the time data is checked for each data communication, the communication data may be disturbed due to an error in the time data, and even if a failure occurs in the clock, the occurrence of the failure in the clock can be immediately detected.

When performing data communication between an upper terminal and a lower terminal for which a wireless communication path has been determined, when performing data communication by connecting the terminals, prior to the data communication, the time of both terminals must be set. Recognize the data, and when the difference in the time data exceeds the allowable time difference, if a wireless communication method with a time adjustment function of matching the time data of the lower terminal with the time data of the upper terminal is used, the communication data between the terminals can be used. If it is recognized that there is a time error that causes a problem, the time is adjusted to correct the time error, the time is reset to appropriate time data, the reference time is secured, and communication processing is performed. Therefore, in this case, the time adjustment from the upper terminal to many lower terminals can be performed simultaneously.

Further, when a wireless communication path is determined and data communication is performed between the own terminal and the other terminal provided with both the wireless communication means and the timer means, the own terminal and the other terminal are connected. Before performing data communication, the matching means checks the time data of the own terminal and the time data of the other terminal prior to the data communication, and the difference between the time data of both terminals at that time indicates the allowable time difference as communication data. If it exceeds, the control means sets the time data engraved by the time measurement means of the own terminal as a reference time, and when using a wireless communication system that synchronizes the time of another terminal, the control means collates the time data of the own terminal with the other terminal Confirmed,
If the collation results at this time are significantly different, the time is automatically adjusted. Therefore, the time is appropriately adjusted according to the suitability of the collation time data, and the data communication is performed while checking the time for each communication. For this reason, a clock shift as a wireless communication system is unlikely to occur, and highly reliable data can be stably obtained.

Further, when data communication is performed by establishing a wireless communication path between the own terminal provided with both the wireless communication means and the timing means and performing data communication, the other terminal is connected. When performing the data communication, prior to the data communication, if there is a control means for controlling the transmission of the time data ticked by the clock means of the own terminal to another terminal, the transmitting side has a time adjustment control function. If the time data of the other terminal is not correct, the terminal can immediately transmit the reference time and automatically adjust the time.

Similarly, when data communication is performed by establishing a wireless communication path between the own terminal provided with both the wireless communication means and the timing means and the other terminal, the data communication is performed by connecting the other terminal. Before performing the data communication, the time data is received from the other terminal of the communication destination and compared with the time data of the time measuring means of the own terminal, and when the time difference exceeds the allowable time difference as the communication data, the own terminal If there is a control means for adjusting the time data of the time measuring means of the other terminal to the time data engraved by the time measuring means of the other terminal, the receiving side receiving the reference time receives the reference time data and automatically adjusts the time. .

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a wireless communication system 11 for automatically measuring the power consumption of a house. This wireless communication system 11 has one data collection unit U as a master station and houses 12.
, Ub..., Uc... As wireless stations (terminal stations) installed for each of the mobile stations. Connected in transceiver mode.

The houses 12 to be communicated with each other are communicatively connected at a communication electric field strength of 20 db or more, which is communicable, for example, about 25 db to 55 db, which is determined by the location conditions.

The data collection unit U of the master station is installed as a main controller on a telephone pole, for example, and collects meter reading data such as a meter reading value, a unit call number, and a call time based on a command signal from a center (base station) 13. The collected meter reading data is returned to the return center 13. The data collection unit U is connected to the lower terminal wireless unit Uc... To the upper terminal wireless unit Ua. I have.

Terminal radio units Ua to
Uc is installed in each power meter 14 that measures the power consumption of each house 12... And wirelessly communicates with the data collection unit U.

In this case, on the communication route L between one data collection unit U and the distributed terminal radio units Ua to Uc, terminal radio units Ua... Each terminal wireless unit Ub ..., U wirelessly connected to the tree structure
c ...

Then, the lowest terminal radio unit Uc
…, A data collection function of a tree structure for collecting data to the data collection unit U through the next higher terminal wireless unit Ua after passing through the next higher terminal wireless unit Ub. With the tree-structured data collection function, the wireless data from the distributed lower terminal wireless units Ub, Uc ... are led to the upper terminal wireless units Ua, and are integrated into the data collection unit. A communication route for collecting data to U has been established.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the radio communication system 11. In the communication between the data collection unit U and the terminal radio unit Ua, for example, the CPU 21 of the data collection unit U includes a first flash memory 22. Then, the communication operation between the upper wireless unit 24 and the lower wireless unit 25 is controlled in accordance with the program stored in the second flash memory 23, and the control data is stored in the RAM 26 in a readable manner.

The upper wireless section 24 is connected for communication with the upper center 13 and is connected to a hard disk 27 installed as a server on the center 13 side.
In step 7, the update logic of the basic communication route map is activated based on the data stored and managed, and the basic route map is updated. On the other hand, the lower wireless section 25 is communicatively connected to the lower terminal wireless unit Ua capable of communication.

On the other hand, the CPU 31 of the terminal wireless unit Ua
Controls the wireless unit 34 and the meter I / F (interface) 35 in accordance with the programs stored in the first flash memory 32 and the second flash memory 33, and stores the control data in the RAM 36 in a readable manner. Further, the CPU 31 periodically reads the numerical value of the power meter 14 provided for each calling number of the terminal wireless unit via the meter I / F 35.

The CPUs 21 and 31 of each unit
Has a built-in timer for measuring the time. Prior to data communication between the two units U and Ua, the time data of the two units connected for communication is secured in order to secure the communication performance and the reliability of the data. It has a collation confirmation function for collation check.

For this reason, the first flash memories 22 and 32 of both units U and Ua are provided for correcting the time data, collate the time data between both units U and Ua, When the difference between the time data of the units exceeds the allowable time difference as the communication data, the CPU 21 of the upper data collection unit U sets the time data counted by the timer to the reference time, and the lower terminal radio unit U
Set the time of the timer of the CPU 31 in a.

Therefore, if a time error occurs between units during data transmission, communication can be performed after correcting the time error, and communication is always performed under accurate time management to ensure highly reliable data collection. Can be. In particular, since the time data can be checked every time data is collected, the error in the time data causes a problem in the collected data, and even if a failure occurs in the timer, the occurrence of the failure in the timer can be detected immediately.

Such time adjustment between units is performed between the communication connection between the upper unit and the lower unit which are directly connected by communication on the tree structure. In the above example, the data collection unit U is used. The case where the time adjustment is performed at the time of communication between the terminal and the “terminal wireless unit Ua” has been described.

In addition to the above, between the direct communication connection part between the “higher-order terminal radio unit Ua” and the “one lower-order terminal radio unit Ub”, or “the one-lower-order terminal radio unit Ub” and the “this Similarly, the time adjustment is performed from the upper side to the lower side between the direct communication connection units with the terminal wireless unit Uc which is one level lower.

Next, a communication procedure at the time of communication in the transceiver mode of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Prior to the communication connection between the units before data communication, (a) simple authentication First, it is checked whether the call number of the call destination is CS (satellite communication) -ID (user identification code), and (b) time Setting If there is a time error between both units, correct it (set to the timer time of the upper unit).

(C) Setting of basic route map The version of the basic route map is confirmed, and the one holding the new basic route map is transmitted to the one holding the old basic route map to send the basic route map. After setting, perform data communication.

The wireless communication system 1 configured as described above
The time adjustment processing operation 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Now, when data communication is performed by connecting the upper unit and the lower unit, prior to the communication, the time of each unit is adjusted. Therefore, the time is adjusted from the lower unit to the upper unit. Send a solicitation signal,
At the same time, timer measurement is started (step n1).

In response to the request signal, the upper unit transmits a reference time setting signal carved by the unit to the lower unit (steps n2 to n3).

When the reference time is received from the upper unit, the lower unit compares the time data of the upper unit with reference to the response time (step n).
4) When the time difference between the two units exceeds the allowable time difference as the communication data, for example, when there is a possibility that the time difference is generated for each specific series when collecting data in a tree structure, and the data may be handled as erroneous data (step n5
), The time data of the lower unit is matched with the time data carved by the upper unit (step n6).

When the higher-level unit confirms the response signal whose time has been set, the higher-level unit starts data communication between the units. If a response signal cannot be obtained, the reference time is again notified to the lower unit (steps n7 to n8).

In the fourth step, when the response time from the upper unit is checked, if no response signal is obtained within the regular time, the time request signal is retried. However, if no response signal is obtained, data indicating that the time adjustment has failed is added for communication (steps n9 to n1).
0).

As described above, when data communication is performed by connecting units whose communication routes have been determined, prior to the data communication, the time data of the upper unit is compared with the time data of the lower unit. If the difference between the time data of the two units at that time exceeds the allowable time difference as the communication data, the time setting function that sets the time data counted by the timer of the upper unit as the reference time and sets the time of the lower unit If there is a time error that may interfere with communication between units, the time error is automatically corrected prior to data communication to secure the reference time before performing communication processing. Do.

Therefore, since data communication can be performed while checking the time for each communication, communication data is disturbed by a time error. Further, even if a timer fails, the occurrence of the failure of the timer can be immediately detected. . In addition, the time can be adjusted from the upper unit to a number of lower units at the same time, and the deviation of the timer of each unit can be completely eliminated.

In correspondence between the present invention and the configuration of the above-described embodiment, the own terminal, the other terminal, the upper terminal, and the lower terminal of the present invention include the data collection unit U of the embodiment and each terminal wireless unit Ua,. Ub..., Uc..., And similarly, the wireless communication path corresponds to the communication route L, and the wireless communication means corresponds to the upper wireless unit 24, the lower wireless unit 25, and the wireless unit 34. The means and control means correspond to the CPUs 21 and 31 of each unit, and the checking means corresponds to each of the first flash memories 22 and 32. However, the present invention is applied based on the technical idea described in the claims. Can be
The configuration is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment.

For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the meter reading value of the electric consumption is collected is shown, but the invention is not limited to this.
The present invention can be applied to data collection of usage of various devices such as gas and water, and sales data collection of vending machines and POS.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control circuit block diagram of the wireless communication system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a communication explanatory diagram showing a communication procedure of the wireless communication system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a time adjustment processing operation of the wireless communication system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Wireless communication system 12 ... House 13 ... Center 14 ... Power meter U ... Data collection unit Ua, Ub, Uc ... Terminal wireless unit 21, 31 ... CPU 22, 32 ... First flash memory 24 ... Upper wireless section 25 ... Lower radio section 34: Radio section

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kenichi Ono 10 Okayama Dodo-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto-shi Kyoto Prefecture In-house F term (reference) 2F073 AA07 AA08 AA09 BB01 BC02 CC09 GG01 GG08 5K048 BA36 DA07 DC01 DC07 EB10 EB11 5K067 BB27 DD30 FF05 GG01 GG11 LL01 5K101 KK12 LL01 LL11

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A wireless communication method for establishing a wireless communication path between a terminal itself and another terminal and performing data communication, wherein when performing data communication by connecting the terminals, prior to the data communication. Recognizing the time data of the own terminal and the time data of the other terminal, and, when the time data difference exceeds the allowable time difference, adjusting the time data of one terminal to the time data of the other terminal. Communication method. 2. A wireless communication method for establishing a wireless communication path between an upper terminal and a lower terminal and performing data communication, wherein when performing data communication by connecting the terminals, prior to the data communication. And recognizing time data of both terminals, and when the difference between the time data exceeds an allowable time difference, adjusting the time data of the lower terminal to the time data of the upper terminal. 3. A wireless communication system for performing data communication by determining a wireless communication path between a terminal and a terminal provided with both a wireless communication unit and a timing unit. When performing data communication by connecting to another terminal, prior to the data communication, a comparing means for comparing the time data of the own terminal with the time data of the other terminal, and a time data of the two terminals compared by the comparing means. When the difference exceeds an allowable time difference as communication data, a wireless communication system comprising: control means for setting time data engraved by the clock means of the own terminal as a reference time and adjusting the time of another terminal. 4. A wireless communication terminal for performing data communication by establishing a wireless communication path between a terminal and a terminal provided with both wireless communication means and timekeeping means, and A wireless communication terminal having control means for controlling transmission of the time data recorded by the clock means of the own terminal to another terminal prior to the data communication when the data communication is performed. 5. A wireless communication terminal for performing data communication by establishing a wireless communication path between a self-terminal and another terminal provided with both a wireless communication means and a time-measuring means. When performing data communication by connecting to the terminal, prior to the data communication, the time data is received from the other terminal of the communication destination and compared with the time data of the time measuring means of the own terminal, and the time difference is determined as an allowable time difference as communication data. A wireless communication terminal having control means for adjusting the time data of the clock means of the own terminal to the time data engraved by the clock means of the other terminal.