JP2002290266A - Reception level information collection method, channel state discrimination method and wireless system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reception level information collection method that can collect reception level information between wireless units without the need for an operator to move between the wireless units even when only one operator carries out the collection. SOLUTION: A couple of wireless units 7, 8 mutually transmit/receive a radio wave to measure the reception level with each other, the one wireless unit 8 transmits information about the measured reception level to the other wireless unit 7 to collect the information as to both reception levels between a couple of the wireless units 7, 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a receiving level information collecting method for collecting information on a receiving level between wireless devices, a line state determining method for determining a line condition between wireless devices based on this information, And a wireless system configured to be able to collect information on reception levels between wireless devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, an automatic meter reading system using a specific low-power radio apparatus is provided with a plurality of slave station radios, a master station radio, and a transmission device. The slave station wireless device is attached to a meter device installed in a house or a factory where gas, water, electric power, etc. are consumed, and meter reading request data is transmitted by the master station wireless device via a wireless line. Gas, water,
Transmits meter reading value data such as power to the master station radio. Further, the master station radio is connected to the transmission device via a wired line, and outputs the meter reading value data transmitted by the slave station radio to the transmission device. On the other hand, the transmission device is connected to a host computer of a gas management company, a water management company or a power management company via a wired communication line, and transmits the meter reading value data transmitted by the master station side wireless device to the host computer. In this case, in order to reliably transmit the meter-reading value data to the host computer, the reception level between the slave station radio and the master station radio must be considered even when the external noise and the fluctuation of the reception level itself are considered. Sufficient reference levels must always be exceeded. In other words, it is necessary that the line state between the slave station radio and the master station radio is always maintained in a good condition. Therefore, it is important to determine the installation positions of the slave station radio device and the master station radio device so that the reception state is as good as possible. For this reason, when installing the slave station radio and the master station radio, the best installation location is determined by collecting the reception level information between the slave station radio and the master station radio. You.

In this case, as a method of collecting information on the reception level between the wireless devices (the “information” includes a concept including the reception level itself and information indicating whether or not the reception level exceeds the allowable reception level). 2. Description of the Related Art A method of transmitting and receiving transmission radio waves between wireless devices and measuring reception levels of the transmission radio waves has been conventionally employed. In other words, in this reception level information collection method, a pseudo radio wave is continuously transmitted by one radio, the reception level is measured by the other radio, and then the transmission / reception relationship is switched and both radios are exchanged. carry out.

[0004] More specifically, for example, when fixing the installation position of the master station radio (which is one of the radios), and then determining the installation position of the slave station radio (the other radio), 1
When collecting reception level information by one worker,
The worker moves to the installation location of the master station radio and operates the master station radio to continuously transmit the pseudo radio wave. Next, the worker moves to the installation location of the slave station radio, and operates the slave station radio to measure the reception level of the pseudo radio wave transmitted by the master station radio.
Next, when the measured reception level is insufficient, the operator determines a location where the reception level is sufficient by changing the installation location of the slave station radio, and places the slave station radio in the determined location. Is installed. Subsequently, the operator operates the slave station-side wireless device to continuously transmit the pseudo radio wave. Next, the worker moves again to the installation location of the master station side wireless device, and measures the reception level of the pseudo radio wave in the same manner. At this time, if the reception level at the master station radio is sufficient, the worker again moves to the installation location of the slave station radio and stops transmission of the pseudo radio wave by operating the radio. Then, the operation of collecting the reception level information and the operation of installing each wireless device are completed. On the other hand, when the reception level of the pseudo radio wave at the master station side radio device is insufficient, the worker performs the above-described reception level information collection work and the installation work of the slave station side radio device between the two radio devices. Repeat until the reception level is sufficient.

[0005] When two workers collect reception level information, each worker moves to each installation location of the master station radio and the slave station radio, and communicates with each other using a communication radio or the like. Simultaneously, the master station side radio transmits a pseudo radio wave, the slave station side radio measures its reception level, the slave station side radio transmits a pseudo radio wave, and the master station side radio receives it. The operation of collecting the reception level information of measuring the level is repeatedly performed, and the installation position of the slave station radio is determined so that the reception level between the two radios is sufficient.

[0006]

However, this method of collecting reception level information has the following problems. In other words, in the case where the operation is performed by one worker, it is necessary to go back and forth between the installation locations of both wireless devices many times, and there is a problem that it takes a long time to install the wireless device on the slave station side. On the other hand, when the operation is performed by two workers, although the time required for installing the slave station side radio device can be shortened, there is a problem that the labor cost increases by the amount of the operation performed by the two workers.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and even when the present invention is carried out by one worker,
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a reception level information collecting method capable of collecting reception level information between wireless devices without moving between the wireless devices. It is another object of the present invention to provide a line state determining method for determining a line state between wireless devices based on this information and a wireless system for collecting information on a reception level between wireless devices.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reception level information collecting method for transmitting and receiving a transmission radio wave between a pair of radios and measuring the reception levels of the transmission radio waves. The information on the received levels is transmitted from one of the wireless devices to the other wireless device to collect the information on the two received levels between the pair of wireless devices.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reception level information collecting method according to the first aspect.
The information on the two reception levels between the pair of wireless devices collected by the other wireless device is transmitted to an information collecting wireless device and collected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a line state determination method based on information on the two reception levels between the pair of wireless devices collected according to the reception level information collection method according to the first or second aspect. It is characterized in that the state of the line between the wireless devices is determined.

A wireless system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes a pair of wireless devices, the pair of wireless devices transmit and receive transmission radio waves between each other, and measure the reception levels of each other,
The one wireless device transmits information about the measured reception level to the other wireless device, and the other wireless device receives the information transmitted by the one wireless device, and the other wireless device receives the information. The information on the reception level measured by the wireless device and the received information are collected.

The wireless system according to the fifth aspect is the fourth aspect.
The wireless system according to claim 1, further comprising an information collection radio, wherein the other radio transmits the collected information to the information collection radio, and the information collection radio transmits the transmitted information. It is characterized by receiving and collecting both information.

[0013] The wireless system according to the sixth aspect is the fourth aspect.
In the wireless system described above, the other wireless device is provided with a display unit that displays the collected information.

[0014] The wireless system according to the seventh aspect is the fifth aspect.
In the wireless system described above, the information collection wireless device includes a display unit that displays the collected information.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the accompanying drawings, a receiving level information collecting method, a line state determining method,
A preferred embodiment of the wireless system will be described. As an example, an example will be described in which an installation location of a slave station side wireless device in an automatic meter reading system using a specific low power wireless device is determined.

An automatic meter reading system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a system for automatically reading, for example, gas usage and the like. Conceptually, a head office 2 having a central collection device composed of a host computer or the like is provided. And the headquarters 2 provided in a condominium, for example, via a public line network such as a telephone line.
And a plurality of slave stations 4a to 4c arranged in an apartment house and connected to the master station 3 via a wireless line.
(Hereinafter, also referred to as "slave station 4" when not distinguished)
It is configured to include an information collection wireless device 5.

The master station 3 includes a control device 6 for communicating various communication data with the head office 2, and a master station side radio for transmitting and receiving various communication data between the slave station 4 and the control device 6. 7 (one or the other radio). On the other hand, child station 4
Is a meter device Ma provided for each house in the apartment house.
To Mc (hereinafter, also referred to as “meter device M” when not distinguished) and a slave station-side wireless device 8 connected to the meter device M via a wired line and transmitting and receiving various communication data with the master station 3 (The other or one of the wireless devices).

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the master station-side radio 7 includes a receiving section 7a, a transmitting section 7b, and a control section 7c. The receiving unit 7a outputs the received communication data to the control unit 7c, detects the reception level of the received radio wave, and outputs, for example, an RSSI signal or the like to the control unit 7c as reception level information DLE. The transmitting unit 7b
Send the input communication data. The control unit 7c includes a CPU
And an internal memory, and operates according to a command included in the communication data received via the receiving unit 7a. Further, the control unit 7c has a function of outputting the received communication data to the control device 6, a function of outputting the reception level information DLE and a command for the slave station side radio device 8 as communication data to the transmission unit 7b, and measuring the electric field strength. And a function of causing the transmission unit 7b to continuously transmit a pseudo radio wave (for example, a dummy electronic message) for performing the transmission. Also, as shown in the figure, the slave station-side wireless device 8 has a receiving unit 8 similar to the master station-side wireless device 7.
a, a transmission unit 8b and a control unit 8c. The receiving unit 8a outputs the received communication data to the control unit 8c, detects the reception level of the received radio wave,
For example, an RSSI signal or the like is output to the control unit 8c as reception level information DLE. The transmitting unit 8b transmits the input communication data. The control unit 8c includes a CPU and an internal memory, and operates according to a command included in communication data received via the receiving unit 8a. Also, the control unit 8c has a function of outputting the meter reading value data detected by the meter device M and the reception level information DLE output from the reception unit 7a as communication data to the transmission unit 7b, and a dummy for measuring the electric field strength. A function is provided for causing the transmission unit 7b to continuously transmit electronic messages.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information collecting radio 5 communicates with any one of the master station radio 7 and the slave station radio 8 via a radio line. Is configured to be able to transmit and receive communication data. Further, the information collecting radio device 5 includes a display unit 5a for displaying the collected information,
Like the master station wireless device 7 and the slave station wireless device 8, it is configured by a specific low-power wireless device.

In the automatic meter reading system 1, the slave station side radio 8 collects the meter reading data read by each meter device M in the normal operation state after the system construction, and The wireless device 7 collects the meter reading value data collected by each slave station-side wireless device 8 and transmits it to the head office 2, whereby the head office 2 collects the meter reading data of all the meter devices M.

In order to always operate the automatic meter reading system 1 in a stable state, the reception level between the master station side radio 7 and the slave station side radio 8 is sufficiently ensured, and the line state is maintained. It must be kept in good condition at all times.
For this reason, when installing the master station radio 7 and the slave station radio 8, a position where the reception level is as good as possible is determined, and the respective radios 7, 8 are installed at those positions. .

Next, the operation of the master station radio 7 and the slave station radio 8 in determining the installation location of the master station radio 7 and the slave station radio 8 and constructing the automatic meter reading system 1 will be described. Will be described with reference to FIG. As an example, the master station radio 7 is previously installed at a predetermined position, and the slave station radio 8 transmits and receives communication data to and from the master station radio 7.
An example of determining the installation position of the server will be described.

First, the operator places the master station radio 7 at a predetermined position, and places each slave station radio 8 at a temporary position. Thereafter, by operating the information collection radio device 5, the information collection radio device 5 transmits a master station activation message to the effect that the electric field strength measurement is performed to the master station side radio device 7. The master station radio 7 that has received the master station activation message transmits a connection designation message to any one of the plurality of slave station radios 8. Each slave station-side radio device 8 determines whether the message is a connection designation message addressed to its own station, and when the connection designation message is addressed to its own station, switches the reception standby mode to the electric field strength measurement mode, and after the switching is completed, sets the parent device. A reception standby mode switching response indicating that mode switching has been completed is transmitted to the station side wireless device 7. As a result, one slave station-side wireless device 8 that has received the connection designation message addressed to the own station maintains the state switched to the electric field strength measurement mode. Then
After receiving the reception standby mode switching response, the master station radio 7
For example, after maintaining a non-communication state for 2 seconds, a pseudo radio wave (dummy message) is continuously transmitted for a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds). After transmitting the reception standby mode switching response, one slave station side wireless device 8 waits for 2 seconds and then collects the reception level information of the received radio wave for 3 seconds. Thus, one slave station radio 8 collects the reception level information of the dummy message transmitted by the master station radio 7. Specifically, the control unit 8c of the slave station side wireless device 8 samples the reception level information DLE during the pseudo radio wave reception at, for example, 0.5 second intervals, and calculates the maximum value, the minimum value, and the average value. , Stored in the internal memory.

Next, one slave station side radio device 8 continuously transmits a dummy message for a predetermined time (for example, three seconds). On the other hand, after transmitting the dummy message for 3 seconds, the master station radio 7 collects the reception level information for 3 seconds in the same manner as the slave station radio 8. Next, the slave station side radio device 8
After maintaining the non-communication state for two seconds, the reception standby mode is switched to the normal standby mode, and after the completion of the switching, the reception standby mode switching response indicating the completion of the switching to the master station wireless device 7 is collected. Send with information. The master station radio 7 receives the reception standby mode switching response and the reception level information transmitted by one slave station radio 8,
It recognizes the completion of the reception level information collection operation by one slave station side radio device 8, and stores the received reception level information in the internal memory. As a result, two pieces of reception level information between the master station radio 7 and one slave station radio 8 are stored in the internal memory of the master station radio 7.

Next, the master station radio 7 measures the electric field strength with all the slave station radios 8 according to the above procedure while sequentially changing the slave station radios 8 designated by the connection designation message. , The reception level information with each of the slave station-side wireless devices 8 is sequentially stored in the internal memory. When the collection of the reception level information with all the slave station radios 8, 8,... Is completed, the master station radio 7 collects the reception levels at all the slave station radios 8 side. The information and the reception level information of the own station regarding the dummy message transmitted by each slave station side wireless device 8 are transmitted to the information collection wireless device 5 as a response message. Next, the information collecting radio device 5 receives all the reception level information between the master station radio device 7 and each of the slave station radio devices 8 transmitted by the master station radio device 7 and then measures the electric field strength. Is transmitted to the master station side wireless device 7. Master station radio 7
Recognizes the end of the electric field strength measurement by receiving the end message, and transmits the received end message to all the slave station side radio devices 8. Each slave station-side radio 8 recognizes the end of the electric field strength measurement by receiving the end message, and transmits an end message response to the effect to the master station-side radio 7. Subsequently, the master station radio 7 transmits its own end message response to the information collection radio 5 together with the end message response transmitted by each slave station radio 8.

After receiving the end message response transmitted by the master station radio 7, the information collection radio 5 receives the end message response transmitted by the master station radio 7, and then performs both receptions between the collected master station radio 7 and each slave station radio 8. The level information is displayed on the display unit 5a. At this time, based on the reception level information displayed on the display unit 5a, the operator determines whether each temporary position where each slave station side radio device 8 is installed is an appropriate installation position, and When the provisional position is determined to be a proper installation position, the provisional position is determined as the installation position of each slave station side radio 8. On the other hand, when the reception level in at least one direction is lower than the reference level between the master station radio 7 and the specific slave station radio 8,
The slave station side wireless device 8 is moved to a new temporary position, and the above-described communication procedure is repeatedly performed until the temporary position can be determined as an official installation position.

As described above, according to the automatic meter reading system 1, a worker can communicate with the master station radio 7 and the slave station radio at least at a position where communication with the master station radio 7 is possible. The reception level between the master station radio 7 and the slave station radio 8 can be measured without going back and forth between the stations 8. Therefore, the installation work of the slave station-side wireless device 8 can be performed in a short time, and can be performed by one person, so that the installation work cost of the slave station-side wireless device 8 can be sufficiently reduced. The communication destination of the information collection wireless device 5 is not limited to the master station wireless device 7, and the slave station wireless device 8 may be a communication partner. In this case, in the communication procedure described above, the master station radio 7 and the slave station radio 8 are exchanged, and the same procedure is performed between the master station radio 7 and the slave station radio 8. The information collection wireless device 5 can collect the reception level information. Also, the reception level collecting method can be applied to a case where the slave station-side wireless device 8 is installed at a predetermined position in advance and the installation position of the master station-side wireless device 7 is determined.

After the construction of the automatic meter reading system 1, when the periodic inspection of the master station radio 7 and each slave station radio 8 is performed, the master station radio 7 or each slave station radio is required. By moving, for example, by car near the installation position of the device 8 and operating the information collection radio 5 in the vehicle, the information collection radio 5
, The reception level information is displayed, and the periodic inspection work can be performed. Therefore, there is no need to move to the installation positions of the master station radio device 7 and each of the slave station radio devices 8, and the periodic inspection work can be performed efficiently in a short time.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the above embodiment, but can be appropriately modified. For example, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 2, by providing a display unit 7d (or 8d) and an operation unit 7e (or 8e) on the master station radio 7 (or slave station radio 8), the worker Is
By operating the operation unit 7e (or 8e) instead of the information collection radio device 5, the master station radio device 7 (or the slave station radio device 8) is directly controlled to collect the reception level information. The received reception level information is displayed on the display unit 7d (or 8).
It can be confirmed by displaying it in d). When this configuration is adopted, the installation position of the master station wireless device 7 (or the slave station wireless device 8) can be determined without using the information collection wireless device 5. Also, by providing the function of the information collecting radio device 5 in the host computer of the head office 2, current reception level information at the master station radio device 7 and the slave station radio device 8, that is, the line status is monitored in real time. You can also. When this configuration is adopted, after the automatic meter reading system 1 is constructed, the line state can be easily monitored without dispatching the worker to the installation location of each of the wireless devices 7 and 8 during the periodic inspection. In addition, the running (inspection) cost of the automatic meter reading system 1 can be significantly reduced.

As shown in FIG. 4, each of the slave station radios 8, 8 is connected to each other in a chain via a radio line, and the master station radio 7 is connected to a plurality of slave station radios 8. Meter reading system 1 configured to be connected to one of them via a wireless line
1 can also be applied. This automatic meter reading system 1
In 1, it is necessary to collect reception level information between the slave station-side wireless devices 8 and 8. In this case, the immediately higher-level slave station radio device 8 is made to function as an information collection device with respect to the pair of slave station radio devices 8 that collect the reception level information of each other. In the automatic meter reading system 11, the higher-level (main-station-side radio 7 side) sub-station-side radios 8 sequentially collect reception level information between the respective sub-station-side radios 8, 8 and receive the reception level information. Is collected by the master station side radio 7 and further
Transmits the collected reception level information to the information collection radio device 5, so that the information collection radio device 5 finally collects all the reception level information between the slave station radios 8, 8. .

A specific description will be given with reference to FIG. In the automatic meter reading system 11, when collecting the reception level information between the slave station wireless device (the other wireless device) 8 of the slave station 4b and the slave station wireless device (the one wireless device) 8 of the slave station 4c. In addition, the slave station-side radio device 8 of the slave station 4a functions as an information collection radio device, and the slave stations 4b,
4c, the reception level information between the slave station-side wireless devices 8, 8 is collected. Next, when collecting the reception level information between the slave stations 8a and 8 of the slave stations 4a and 4b, the master station radio 7 functions as an information collection transceiver and the slave stations 4a and 4b.
a, the reception level information between the slave stations 8a and 8b of the slave stations 4a and 4b collected by the a. With the reception level information. Next, when collecting reception level information between the master station wireless device 7 and the slave station wireless device 8 of the slave station 4a, the information collecting wireless device 5 functions as an information collecting wireless device, The reception level information between the slave station wireless device 8 and the master station wireless device 7 of the slave station 4a collected by the master station wireless device 7 is compared with the already collected slave stations 4b and 4c.
And the reception level information between the slave stations 8a and 8 and the reception level information between the slave stations 8a and 8b of the slave stations 4a and 4b. In this way, the information collecting radio 5 is used to determine the reception level information between the respective radios 8, 8 and the inter-substation radio 8 and the master radio 7 between the substations 4 a. Reception level information can be collected.

Also, in the above-described embodiment, the automatic meter reading systems 1 and 11 in which the object monitored and controlled by the slave station radio 8 is the meter device M have been described as an example. The objects monitored and controlled by the machine 8 are:
Not limited to this. For example, by targeting a wireless device connected to a sprinkler, the present invention can be applied to a wireless watering system. Further, each wireless device constituting the system is not limited to the specific low-power wireless device, but may be a normal wireless device.

[0033]

As described above, according to the reception level information collecting method according to the first aspect and the radio system according to the fourth aspect, information on both reception levels between a pair of radios is stored in the other radio. , The worker can easily collect the reception level information between the pair of wireless devices without moving to the one wireless device side. In addition, even when one worker collects information on the reception level, the information on the reception level can be collected in the same work time as that when two workers collect the information. The cost required for collection can be reduced.

According to the reception level information collecting method of the second aspect and the radio system of the fifth aspect, the provision of the reception level collection radio makes it possible to keep away from a pair of radios to be collected. In addition, information on the reception level between a pair of wireless devices can be easily collected.

Further, according to the line state determining method of the present invention, the line state between the wireless devices can be easily determined based on the collected reception level information.

Further, according to the wireless system of the present invention, the collected reception level information can be displayed on the display unit of the other wireless device or the information collection device, so that the reception level information can be displayed on the spot. Confirmation of information and determination of the line state can be performed quickly and easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an automatic meter reading system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a master station radio 7 and a slave station radio 8 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of collecting the reception level information of the automatic meter reading system 1.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an automatic meter reading system 11 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,11 automatic meter reading system 3 master station 4a-4c slave station 5 information collecting radio 5a display unit 7 master station radio 8 slave station radio

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Akira Nakamura 1163, Shimohiplane, Inari-cho, Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture Within Nagano Japan Radio Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takuya 1163, Shimohiplane, Inaricho, Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (72) Inventor Yasuhide Tsuchida 3967-1010 Wada, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano Toyo Keiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Koizumi 3967-10, Wada, Matsumoto-shi, Nagano Toyo Keiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Fumitaka Fukushima 3967-1010 Wada, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture Toyo Keiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsutomu Yagami 3967-1010 Wada Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture Toyo Keiki Co., Ltd. CC14 CC20 DD07 DE11 FG01 FG02 GG01 GG08 5K011 EA03 FA07 JA03 KA04 LA02 5K048 BA36 DB01 DC01 EB03 EB10 HA01 HA02 5K067 AA21 BB21 BB27 DD11 DD42 DD43 DD44 EE02 EE10 FF16 FF23 HH22 KK15

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method of transmitting and receiving transmission radio waves between a pair of radios, measuring reception levels of the transmission radio waves, and transmitting information about the measured reception levels from one of the radios to the other of the radios. Collecting information on the two reception levels between the pair of wireless devices according to the following. 2. The information collection wireless device according to claim 1, wherein the information on the two reception levels between the pair of wireless devices collected by the other wireless device is transmitted to an information collection wireless device and collected. Of receiving level information collection. 3. A line state between the pair of wireless devices based on information on the two reception levels between the pair of wireless devices collected according to the reception level information collecting method according to claim 1 or 2. A line state determination method. 4. A pair of wireless devices, wherein the pair of wireless devices transmit and receive transmission radio waves between each other and measure the reception levels thereof, and the one of the wireless devices performs the measurement. Transmitting the information about the reception level to the other radio, the other radio receiving the information transmitted by the one radio, and receiving the information about the reception level measured by the other radio. A wireless system for collecting information and the received information. 5. The wireless communication device further comprises an information collecting radio, wherein the other radio transmits the collected information to the information collecting radio, and the information collecting radio transmits the transmitted information. The wireless system according to claim 4, wherein both information is received and collected. 6. The wireless system according to claim 4, wherein the other wireless device includes a display unit that displays the collected information. 7. The wireless system according to claim 5, wherein the information collecting radio includes a display unit that displays the collected information.