JP2001285365A - Interconnection system for electronic mail/ communication system and interconnection method for electronic mail/communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform installing operation effectively and surely when newly installing or moving a handset in a radio system (network). SOLUTION: To connect a data collection center apparatus that controls a base to a gateway and further to a mail server on the LAN. A function of gateway is constructed such that it reads an electronic mail message from the outside to edit an operation telegraphic message that operates the radio system from the contents read from the electronic mail message and then to transmit it to the data collection center apparatus. Therefore, it becomes possible to transmit an electronic mail message that operates the wireless system from a portable terminal, thus making it possible to check the communication conditions between the base and the handset by the portable terminal while changing the installing position of the handset and the like at a site where the handset to be installed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication system for performing data collection and remote control of a terminal (monitored control terminal) installed in a field. The present invention relates to an e-mail / communication system interconnection system that can efficiently and reliably arrange slave units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows a conventional fixed radio system 2.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG. This wireless system
As shown in the figure, a data collection center device 101 provided in a data collection center 100 and a target area 2
A master wireless device (hereinafter, referred to as a master device) 1 provided in 00.
0 is the telephone line 300, the first modem 201 and the second
Connected via a modem 102. In addition,
In some cases, the communication is performed using a wired line such as a dedicated line or a wireless line such as a PHS wireless line instead of the telephone line 300. In this case, data communication is performed using a modem device for each line.

[0003] The master device 10 is a data collection center device 10.
1 to 20-N connected to field terminals 21-1 to 21-N to be monitored and controlled (collectively denoted by the reference numeral 21).
When a data collection instruction message signal including a slave ID (collectively denoted by reference numeral 20) is received, the data collection instruction message signal is modulated by a wireless modulation method such as FSK, and is transmitted from the antenna 10a to the slave device. Radio transmission is performed to the 20 antennas 20a-1 to 20a-N (collectively denoted by reference numeral 20a). In response to this, after receiving the wireless signal, handset 20 demodulates the data collection instruction message signal to determine whether or not itself is the corresponding handset. A data collection response message signal including various types of monitoring data is modulated by a wireless modulation method such as FSK, and wirelessly transmitted from the antenna 20a to the antenna 10a of the master unit 10. In response, master device 10 receives the wireless signal, demodulates the data collection response message signal, and then modulates the demodulated data collection response message signal with a modulation scheme used in a predetermined telephone line. A first modem 201,
The data is transmitted to the data collection center device 101 via the telephone line 300 and the second modem 102. Then, the data collection center device 101 extracts various types of monitoring data from the received data collection response message signal, stores them in the storage device, and then performs predetermined data processing.

In the fixed wireless system 2, there are various types of data exchanged between the data collection center device 101, the master unit 10 and the slave unit 20 by communication.
For example, when a new slave unit is installed, communication between the master unit 10 and the slave unit 20 for confirming the communication status may be performed, or the master unit 10 and the slave unit 20 may each perform their own operations. It is indispensable to perform communication for grasping the specific configuration of the communication topology and recording it in the storage means (that is, communication for initial setting). In addition, there is a case where communication is started from the child device 20. For example, when an abnormality occurs in the field terminal 21, the child device 20 connected thereto transmits an “alarm” to the parent device 10.

By the way, the assumed field terminal 21
Is, for example, a microcomputer gas meter. Therefore, the field terminals 21 and the slaves 20 connected to the field terminals 21
It is arranged in a place within a limited range inside or at the extreme vicinity of each dwelling unit (etc.). When the slave 20 is newly set in a situation where the master 10 has already been set, a position having the highest communication success rate is searched for in the above range.
For example, a building 30 shown in FIG. 2 is an example of such a dwelling unit, and housings A, B, C, and D shown by dotted lines are slave units 20.
It is an example of an installation position candidate.

To determine the best position as the setting position of the slave unit 20, a new slave unit 20 is actually installed and the master unit 1 is set.
0, and whether the communication is actually being performed or if it is being performed is of good quality.
Or by the data collection center device 101. Usually, the distance between the installation position of the child device 20 and the installation position of the parent device 10 and the distance between the installation position of the child device 20 and the point of the meter-reading data collection center device 101 are usually large. Therefore, in order to determine in which location the slave unit 20 is installed to obtain the best communication state between the slave unit 20 and the master unit 10, for example, a plurality of workers stick to each point, The worker who checks the communication status at the base unit 10 or the data collection center apparatus 101 uses the communication device 20 (for example, a mobile phone) to check the communication status.
The operator must be able to work while frequently exchanging information on the communication status with the worker who installs the system. These tend to be cumbersome and inefficient.

[0007]

When the slave unit 20 is newly installed or the like, the operation of installing the slave unit 20 without leaving the operator who operates them in the master unit 10 or the data collection center apparatus 101 is performed. The employee himself operates the wireless system 2 including the master device 10 and the data collection center device 101,
It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to grasp the operation result, for example, the communication status immediately, and to make the installation work efficient and reliable.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to achieve the above object. An electronic mail communication system interconnection system according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a communication system including a plurality of communication devices, one or a plurality of electronic mail transceivers, and a management center device of the communication system. In the electronic mail / communication system interconnection system, the management center device receives a first electronic mail from the electronic mail transceiver via a communication line, and the communication system receives the first electronic mail. A first message is edited to obtain the first message, the first message is transmitted to the communication system via a communication line, and the second message is received from the communication system via a communication line. Edits the second message so that the e-mail transceiver can receive it, creates a second e-mail, and converts the second e-mail into the e-mail transceiver. And transmitting through a communication line.

The electronic mail according to claim 2 of the present invention.
A method for interconnecting a communication system comprises: a communication system comprising a plurality of communication devices; one or more e-mail transceivers;
An e-mail / communication system interconnection system including a management center device for the communication system, wherein the e-mail transceiver transmits a first e-mail to the management center device via a communication line; A center device editing the first electronic mail so that the communication system can receive the first electronic mail to create a first message; and the management center device transmits the first message to the communication system via a communication line. Transmitting the second message via the communication line to the management center device, and the management center device receiving the second message via the e-mail transceiver. Compiling a second e-mail so as to obtain the second e-mail, and transmitting the second e-mail to the e-mail transceiver by the management center device. And a step of transmitting through the line.

[0010] The electronic mail according to claim 3 of the present invention.
The communication system interconnection system according to claim 1, wherein the first e-mail or the second e-mail is transmitted or received in whole or in part by the Internet.

[0011] The electronic mail according to claim 4 of the present invention.
3. The method for interconnecting electronic mail and communication systems according to claim 2, wherein the method for interconnecting communication systems includes a step of transmitting or receiving all or part of the first electronic mail or the second electronic mail over the Internet.

[0012] The electronic mail according to claim 5 of the present invention.
A communication system interconnect system comprises:
The electronic mail communication system interconnection system according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the electronic mail communication system is a wireless system including one or a plurality of first wireless devices and one or a plurality of second wireless devices.

[0013] The electronic mail according to claim 6 of the present invention.
The electronic communication system according to claim 2, wherein the communication system interconnecting method is a wireless system in which the communication system includes one or more first wireless devices and one or more second wireless devices. This is a mail / communication system interconnection method.

[0014]

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic mail / communication system interconnection system 4 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. When installing a new slave unit 20-N in the fixed wireless system 2 shown in the conventional example, an e-mail 24 issued from various portable electronic devices 6
Is used to improve the efficiency of the setting work of the slave unit 20-N. Therefore, the e-mail / communication system interconnection system 4 has three general systems: (1) Internet network 8, (2) LAN system 12, (3) Fixed wireless system (hereinafter, referred to as wireless system) 2. Consists of existing systems. In particular, wireless system 2
Uses the above-described fixed wireless system of the conventional example, and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

First, in the present invention, transmission and reception of electronic mail 24 from various portable electronic devices 6 are performed. In this embodiment, the transmission and reception are performed via the Internet network 8. Therefore, the various portable electronic devices 6 may be any terminals having a function capable of connecting to the Internet 8.
For example, a mobile phone, a PHS, and the like can be given.

The above-mentioned instruction from the portable electronic device 6 by the electronic mail 24 is transmitted to the wireless system 2. This transmission is performed by the mail server 14, which constructs the LAN system 12,
Gateway 16 and data collection center device 101
Is executed. The mail server 14 is connected to the Internet network 8 described above. There is no restriction on the connection configuration (network topology) of the LAN 12, and a bus type may be used as shown in FIG.

The contents of the instruction transmitted to the data collection center device 101 are implemented and executed in the wireless system 2. In the conventional fixed wireless system, the operator instructs (inputs) various operations to the input device provided in the data collection center device 101. In the present embodiment, however, as will be described later, the LAN 12 Is instructed from the gateway 16 connected by.

The execution result of the above-mentioned instruction executed and executed by the wireless system 2 is transmitted to the LAN system 1 if necessary.
2. The reply is sent to the portable electronic device 6 of the transmission source via the Internet network 8.

Next, a more detailed operation of this embodiment will be described together with a specific example of transmitting the mail contents shown in FIG. 3 from the portable electronic device 6.

The contents of the e-mail are displayed by the operator working at the new slave unit installation site 18 by the new slave unit 20-N.
(Child device ID; 20-N) is the parent device 10 (parent device ID; 10-
It is intended that the strength of the radio wave emitted toward 1) is measured by the base unit 10 and a specific numerical value of the strength is displayed on the portable electronic device 6 of the operator. That is, the child device 20
If this e-mail is transmitted while the installation position of -N is gradually changed, a position suitable for installation of the slave unit 20-N can be found. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing candidate installation positions (A,
B, C, and D) are examples of a building including a plurality of buildings. In the e-mail content of FIG. 3, "To: 'tttt@tttt.uuu.co.jp'" sends the e-mail to the desired mail server 14 shown in FIG. This is a mail address for giving an operation message edited from. "Subject: BC320-N" represents an operation command. This operation command is:-From the parent device 10 of the child device 20 whose ID is "20-N",
A radio wave is emitted to the slave unit 20-N whose ID is "20-N".-From the slave unit 20-N whose ID is "20-N" as the signal content of the radio wave, the ID is "20-N". Child device 20
To instruct the base unit 10 to emit a radio wave as a reply, and to instruct the base unit 10 to measure the intensity of the reply radio wave in the base unit 10. In this e-mail text, only the ID of the child device 20-N is described, and the ID of the parent device (ie,
10-1) is not described. As will be described later, in the present embodiment, the data of the correspondence between the slave unit and the master unit is stored in the storage unit 104 of the data collection center apparatus 101.
For example, it is recorded in a database, and the master unit ID is determined from the slave unit ID (20-N) based on the data.

The e-mail message shown in FIG. 3 is input to, for example, a mobile phone 22 and sent to the Internet 8 as an e-mail 24. The electronic mail 24 is received by the mail server 14 via the Internet network 8.

Upon receipt of the electronic mail 24, the gateway 16 reads the contents from the mail server 14. Therefore, first, for example, it is determined from the mail address (tttt@tttt.uuu.co.jp in FIG. 3) written in the mail text, and the data collection center device 101 to be operated and instructed for the mail 24 is determined. Identify. Further, the gateway 16 decodes the operation command in the mail message, converts it into a message that can be received and processed by the data collection center device 101, and edits the message. The operation message edited in this way is added with the slave unit ID (20-N) to be confirmed, and transmitted to the specified data collection center apparatus 101 via the LAN 12.

The data collection center apparatus 101, which has received the operation message, uses the master unit 10 of the slave unit 20-N to be confirmed based on the master unit 10 slave unit 20 correspondence data provided in its storage unit (database) 104. ID (that is, 10-1)
To identify. The content of the transmitted operation message is further transmitted to the parent device 10 (ID; 10-1) via the telephone line 300.

Master device 10 that has received the operation message further performs wireless transmission. In response to this, the slave 20-N receives the wireless signal, and then wirelessly transmits the reply to the master 10 as a reply. Master device 10 receives the radio signal and simultaneously measures the radio field intensity of the radio signal in accordance with the content specified therein. Master device 10 adds the radio wave intensity value to the reply message and transmits the message to data collection center device 101. Then, the reply message data collection center device 101
The gateway 16 reads the contents from the data collection center apparatus 101 upon arrival at the server.

The gateway 16 receives the result (reply) message, and transmits the message as a result to the first mail server 14.
It is associated with the operation instruction message from. Then, the e-mail message containing the measured radio field intensity is edited, the destination address is grasped from the first operation instruction message, added to the edited e-mail message, and a reply mail is given to the mail server 14.

The reply mail is entrusted to the Internet network 8 and is returned to the mobile phone 22 which is the transmission source. The mobile phone 22 displays the intensity value of the radio wave from the slave unit 20-N to the master unit 10 (ID; 10-1) at the position set by the operator.

In this way, by giving an operation instruction in a predetermined format to the portable electronic device 6 connected to the Internet network 8 by e-mail, the wireless system 2 is operated, and data output by the operation is transmitted. Can be grasped by the display means of the portable electronic device 6.

Therefore, the content of the instruction from the portable electronic device 6 is such that the intensity of the radio wave from the slave device 20 to the master device 10 is measured by the master device 10 and the intensity value is displayed on the portable electronic device 6 as described above. In particular, it is not limited. For example,
It is also possible to instruct monitoring data collection of a field terminal connected to a specific slave unit 20. In addition, a new slave unit 20
At the time of installation of -N, the initial setting of communication with the master device 10 (ID; 10-1) can also be performed from the portable electronic device 6. Furthermore, instructions for a communication test at the time of installation and maintenance of the slave unit 20 and the master unit 10 and the master unit 10
An instruction or the like for changing the setting of “0” can also be given. If you want to give such an instruction, set a new operation command,
It is necessary to extend the function of a program installed in the gateway 16 so that an instruction message suitable for them can be transmitted from the gateway 16 to the wireless system 101.

In the above description made with reference to FIG. 1, the master unit 10 of the newly installed slave unit 20-N is determined in advance, and the data of the correspondence is stored in the data collection center apparatus 101. It is stored in a storage unit (database) 104 and a storage unit (not shown) of the master device 10. Here, some of the parent devices of the new child device 20-N are changed by an instruction from the portable electronic device 6 by e-mail,
The wireless system 2 can be operated, for example. In this case as well, it is necessary to extend the functions of the program mounted on the gateway 16 as described above.

In the above description of the embodiment, the communication mode in which transmission / reception is performed sequentially with respect to the individual slave units 20 is described. However, the communication mode in which transmission / reception is simultaneously performed with respect to a plurality of slave units 20 according to the present invention. It is possible to use it in the embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the mail server 14, the gateway 16, and the data collection center device 101 operate in separate housings. However, the present invention is not limited to this operation mode. Absent.

As a medium for transmitting and receiving the e-mail 24,
The Internet network 8 has been described in the above embodiment. This is not limited to the Internet network 8, but may be another mail network, for example, a company mail network owned by a company. However, in such a case, it is necessary to use various portable electronic devices 6 and a mail server 14 that can connect to and communicate with the mail network.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above-described embodiment of the invention, the worker who installs the slave unit 20 can use the electronic mail / communication system interconnection system 4 according to the present invention. It is possible to operate the wireless system 2 including the device 10 and the data collection center device 101, etc., to immediately grasp the operation result, for example, the communication status, and thus to efficiently and reliably perform the installation work. It becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an electronic mail communication system interconnection system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary building including a plurality of wireless slave unit installation candidate positions.

FIG. 3 is an example of an electronic mail content transmitted from a mobile electronic device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional fixed wireless system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 ... Fixed wireless system 4 ... E-mail / communication system interconnection system 6 ... Portable electronic device 8 ... Internet network 10 ... Wireless base unit 12 ... LAN , 14 ... mail server, 16 ... gateway, 18 ... new slave unit installation site, 20 ... wireless slave unit, 21 ... monitored control terminal (field terminal), 22 ... mobile Telephone, 24 ... Email message, 30 ... Building, 100 ... Data collection center, 101 ... Data collection center device, 102 ... Second modem, 104 ... Storage unit (database) 201: first modem 300: telephone line

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04L 12/46 H04L 11/00 310B 12/54 310C 12/58 11/20 101B H04M 11/00 301 (72 ) Inventor: Norio Hino 4-1-2, Hirano-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. F-term (for reference) 2F073 AA08 AA33 AB01 BB01 BB07 BB09 BC01 BC02 CC12 CC14 CD00 DD03 DD07 DE13 FF01 FG01 FG02 GG01 5K030 GA17 HA05 HB06 HC01 HC14 HD03 HD06 JL01 JT09 MC09 5K033 AA09 BA11 DA01 DB12 MM 001 RR05 UU08 9A001 BB04 BB06 CC02 CC05 CZ07 JJ12 JJ14 JJ25 KK56 LL09 LZ05

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electronic mail communication system interconnection system comprising: a communication system including a plurality of communication devices; one or more electronic mail transceivers; and a management center device of the communication system. A device that receives a first electronic mail from the electronic mail transceiver via a communication line, edits the first electronic mail so that the communication system can receive the first electronic mail, creates a first electronic message, The first message is transmitted to the communication system via a communication line, and the second message is received from the communication system via a communication line, and the second message is received by the e-mail transceiver. Creating a second e-mail by editing so that the second e-mail can be transmitted to the e-mail transceiver via a communication line. And communication system interconnect system. 2. An e-mail / communication system interconnection system comprising: a communication system having a plurality of communication devices; one or more e-mail transceivers; and a management center device of the communication system. A transceiver transmitting a first electronic mail to the management center device via a communication line; the management center device edits the first electronic mail so that the communication system can receive the first electronic mail; Creating the telegram, transmitting the first telegram to the communication system via the communication line, and transmitting the second telegram to the management center via the communication line. Transmitting to the device, the management center device compiling the second message so that the e-mail transceiver can receive the second message, and A step of creating includes the steps of the management center device sends its second e-mail via the communication line to the electronic mail transceiver,
A method for interconnecting e-mail and communication systems, including: 3. The electronic mail communication system interconnection system according to claim 1, wherein the first electronic mail or the second electronic mail is entirely or partially transmitted and received by the Internet. 4. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of transmitting or receiving all or part of the first electronic mail or the second electronic mail over the Internet. 5. The electronic mail system according to claim 1, wherein the communication system is a wireless system including one or more first wireless devices and one or more second wireless devices. Communication system interconnection system. 6. The electronic mail system according to claim 2, wherein the communication system is a wireless system including one or more first wireless devices and one or more second wireless devices. Communication system interconnection method.