JP2002291019A - Data communication unit for mobile body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data communication unit for mobile body that can contain a positioning device, an information communication unit and a control circuit in a common enclosure. SOLUTION: The data communication unit of this invention contains a GPS module 18A being the positioning device, a PDC-P(Personal Digital Cellular- Packet) module 20A being the information communication unit, and a control module 22A being a control circuit altogether into the common enclosure 34. A multiple shield structure comprising shields 26, 28, 30, 32 is placed in the common enclosure 34 so as to interpose a plurality of electromagnetic shield faces among the adjacent modules. Timing control by the control module 22A suppresses duplication of a signal reception period between the GPS module 18A and the PDC-P module 20A. A noise suppression means 58 suppresses a signal line noise leaked from the control module 22A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data communication device for a moving object mounted on a moving object such as a vehicle or a human (in the present application, including "portable").

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, NTT DoCoMo's P
A packet communication service using wireless communication, such as a packet communication service DoPa using DC (Personal Digital Cellular), has already been put into operation. for that reason,
There has been a movement to construct and start up a data communication system for transmitting data from a mobile unit to a specific center or the like at low cost by using an existing packet communication network and packet communication service as a so-called platform. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, a packet communication network 1 such as NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
Reference numeral 4 includes a fixed station (base station) 12 for wireless connection with the mobile station 10, a transmission line, a switch, a router, and the like (not shown). The initial cost required for performing packet communication between the mobile station 10 and the facility 16 such as a center using the packet communication network 14 is PDC-P (PDC-Packet).
t) The cost is relatively low because the cost for equipping each mobile unit with the mobile station 10 having the terminal function and the cost for establishing a dedicated line for connecting the equipment 16 to the packet communication network 14 are sufficient.

One of the important things in a data communication system is that the cost required for its operation is low. In particular, in DoPa (registered trademark), a service usage fee is charged not according to the connection time with the communication network but according to the amount of packet transmission. Therefore, a center or the like is always connected to the packet communication network and information from each mobile unit is transmitted. By operating the system in such a way that it can be received as needed, a stable data communication system can be realized while suppressing service usage charges during operation. Therefore, DoPa
Use of wireless (mobile phone etc.) and other packet communication services to collect sales and inventory information from vending machines, automatic remote meter reading of electricity / gas / water meters,
Established various data communication systems at low cost, such as collecting location information and status information of sales vehicles, grasping the positions of salesmen, maintainers, and care recipients, searching for pets, and transmitting control signals to digital home appliances from remote locations. It is expected to operate.

[0004]

As one form of a data communication system for mobile units, there is a system form in which data relating to the location and behavior of each mobile unit is transmitted from a mobile station mounted on the mobile unit. For example, in order to build a system for monitoring and grasping the location of sales vehicles at the center and for detecting theft and taking early measures, an information communication device such as a PDC-P terminal must be installed in each vehicle to be monitored. Control that automatically calculates the position, speed, moving direction, acceleration, etc. of the vehicle by performing positioning calculation, and automatically transmits a packet containing the result of positioning calculation in the positioning device wirelessly from the information communication device. It is desirable to mount a circuit. In particular, GPS (Global Positioning Sy
stem) The receiver is a small and inexpensive positioning device,
It is suitable for mounting on mobiles in terms of installation / spreading costs and installation space. Accordingly, in realizing a system for transmitting data obtained by positioning, that is, data relating to the location and behavior of a mobile unit from the mobile unit using an existing packet communication network or the like, the GPS receiver is used as a positioning device and the mobile unit is used. It is desirable to mount it on

However, the GPS transmits a positioning signal by radio from a positioning satellite in an orbit around the earth, and receives and demodulates this positioning signal from a predetermined number or more of the positioning satellites by a receiver on a mobile body to execute a positioning operation. In this system, the position and the like of the mounting destination moving body are obtained. The positioning signal received by the GPS receiver is generally not strong because the transmission source is far from the mobile. Also, taking the PDC of NTT Docomo as an example, the frequency of the carrier used in the PDC-P is in the 800 MHz band, which is not so far from the frequency of the 1.6 GHz band used in the GPS. Therefore, when the GPS receiver 18 and the PDC-P terminal 20 are mounted on the same moving body (and therefore in a close place), as shown as (1) in FIG. 5, the PDC-P
Since the radio wave radiated from the antenna of the terminal 20 is stronger than the radio wave from the positioning satellite received by the antenna of the GPS receiver 18, the operation of receiving the positioning signal by the GPS receiver 18 may be hindered. In addition, from the control circuit 22 connected to the GPS receiver 18 or the PDC-P terminal 20, via a wiring connected to the control circuit 22, for example, a wiring for connection to an external control device (not shown), Leakage of signal noise or radiation that cannot be ignored
As shown in (2), the GPS receiver 18 and the PDC-
The P terminal 20 may be disturbed or adversely affected.

[0006] These circumstances, GPS receiver 18, PD
It is a hindrance to accommodate the CP terminal 20 and the control circuit 22 in a common housing for miniaturization and integration, that is, to achieve improvement in handling and operability by one-unit integration. I have. For example, part of the radio wave transmitted by the PDC-P terminal 20 remains inside the housing. This radio wave remaining inside the housing has a great effect on the operation of the GPS receiver 18 and the like. Therefore, conventionally, housing the PDC-P terminal 20 in the same housing as the GPS
Nothing could be done without sacrificing the correct operation of the PS receiver 18.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is a positioning device represented by a GPS receiver; an information communication device represented by a PDC-P terminal; By modularizing the connected control devices and storing them in a common housing,
It is a first object of the present invention to realize a mobile data communication device having excellent handleability and operability. Further, the present invention enables each module to operate without interference / disturbance from other modules even though the positioning device, the information communication device, and the control circuit are each modularized and housed in a common housing. In other words, to take measures for preventing and suppressing interference and interference from other modules so that the positioning device, the information communication device, and the control circuit can be housed in a common housing is a second issue. It has two purposes.

[0008]

According to the present invention, at least the positioning device, the information communication device, and the control circuit are modularized, and they are collectively housed in a common housing. A modularized positioning device, that is, a positioning module, is a module that wirelessly receives a positioning signal from a transmission source such as a positioning satellite and executes a positioning operation based on the positioning signal. If there is a wireless signal source, it is affected by the signal from that signal source. A modularized information communication device, that is, an information communication module, is a module for wirelessly connecting to an information network, and thus has a function as a wireless signal source. Further, the modularized control circuit, that is, the control module, is a module connected to the positioning module and the information communication module. When a predetermined transmission event occurs, the control module connects to the information network using the information communication module, and causes the information network reflecting information obtained from the positioning module to be transmitted to the information network.

One of the features of the present invention is that each device / circuit is modularized as described above and is collectively housed in a common housing. In the present invention, by this collective storage,
An integrated compact mobile data communication device, that is, a mobile data communication device with excellent handling and operability,
Has been realized. However, if these modules are simply housed in a common housing, for example, radio radiation from the information communication module may have an adverse effect on the positioning module, such as interference with positioning signal reception, or a signal line related to the control module. It is not possible to sufficiently prevent or suppress noise superimposed on other modules from adversely affecting other modules. In other words, performance with no practical problems
It cannot be said that a mobile data communication device having reliability and stability has been realized. Therefore, in the present invention, the following characteristic configuration is adopted in order to prevent and eliminate interference / interference between modules.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first
In addition, between the adjacent modules in the common housing, so that the electromagnetic radiation into the common housing by each module housed in the common housing does not act as a significant interference or interference with other modules in the common housing. A multiple shield structure interposing a plurality of electromagnetic shield surfaces is provided in the common housing. Second, the control module is configured to control the positioning module and the signal so that a signal transmitted in the common housing among signals wirelessly transmitted from the information communication module does not act as a noticeable obstruction or interference with a positioning signal reception operation by the positioning module. The operation timing of at least one of the information communication modules is controlled, thereby suppressing the time overlap of the wireless transmission period by the information communication module with the wireless reception period by the positioning module. Third, the control module removes noise from the signal on the signal line so that noise generated in the control module does not leak out of the control module via a signal line for connection to an external device, or A circuit or member for suppressing is provided.

As described above, by adopting the multiple shield structure in the common housing, mutual interference by electromagnetic radiation can be reduced.
Mutual effects are prevented or mitigated, and the positioning module generally operates normally despite being housed in the same housing as the information communication module. Further, since the time overlap between the wireless reception period by the positioning module and the wireless transmission period by the information communication module is suppressed by operation timing control, the influence of the transmission wave from the information communication module on the reception operation of the positioning module is small. Become. Since a circuit or a member for removing noise or suppressing the noise from the signal line relating to the control module is provided, noise leakage from the control module hardly causes a problem.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a mobile locator 24 as a mobile data communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
This mobile locator 24 is a modularized GP
GPS module 18A as S receiver, PDC-P module 20 as modularized PDC-P terminal
A and a control module 22A that is a modularized control circuit are housed in a common housing 34. The modules 18A, 20A, and 22A are electromagnetically shielded from the outside by shields 26, 28, and 30, respectively. In addition, shields 26 and 2
Each module 18 electromagnetically shielded by 8, 30
A, 20A and 22A are further electromagnetically shielded from each other by a shield 32. That is, in the present embodiment, a multiple shield structure is formed by the shields 26, 28, 30, and 32 such that a plurality of electromagnetic shield surfaces intervene between adjacent modules. The shield 32 shown in this figure has a portion surrounding the whole and a portion corresponding to a partition wall between modules. By forming the common housing 34 from a metal or the like, a portion surrounding the entire shield 32 can be omitted (in other words, the common housing 34 can have a shielding function). Also, radio frequency signals that are prone to interference are mainly handled by G
PS module 18A and PDC-P module 20A
Therefore, the inner shield 30 may be omitted for the control module 22A.

Each module 18A, 20A, 22A is
Connected to each other or to other members / devices. First, G
The PS module 18A is connected to a coaxial connector 42 provided on the common housing 34. This connector 4
Reference numeral 2 denotes a terminal for connecting the GPS antenna 40.
The GPS antenna 40 is provided on the upper outer surface of the common housing 34.
The present invention may be implemented in a form in which is fixed. The GPS module 18A receives a positioning signal from a positioning satellite by the GPS antenna 40, collects information necessary for positioning by demodulating the received signal, executes predetermined positioning calculation, executes the current positioning,
Find time, speed, etc. The GPS module 18A gives a positioning result to the control module 22A via the connector 36.

When a predetermined transmission event occurs, the control module 22A transmits data including or reflecting the positioning result by the GPS module 18A to the connector 38.
Through the PDC-P module 20A. PDC
The −P module 20 </ b> A is connected to a TNC connector 46 provided in the common housing 34. The connector 46 is a terminal for connecting the PDC antenna 44. Note that the present invention may be implemented in a form in which the PDC antenna 44 is incorporated or incorporated in the upper part of the common housing 34. The PDC-P module 20A is the control module 22
A packet is generated to transmit the data given from A, and the packetized data is wirelessly transmitted using the PDC antenna 44.

The control module 22A is further connected to connectors 48, 52, HMI 56 and the like. The connector 48 is a terminal for connection with the external control device 50,
For example, it conforms to RS-232C. The connector 52 is a terminal for connection with the sensor 54 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the software installed and installed in the control module 30 has a hierarchical structure of at least two or three layers. The lowermost layer 100 in the figure is a layer that constitutes a physical or electrical interface. The layer 100 belongs to a communication adapter or the like for packet transmission using the PDC-P module 20A. , GPS module 18
It is an I / O that controls the input of the positioning result using A and the input from the sensor 54. A layer 102 located above the layer 100 has a communication protocol TCP / IP / PPP (Transmission Control) used for packet communication.
l Protocol / Internet Protocol / Point-to-Point Protoc
ol) has been implemented. Some application software 106 is installed in the external control device 50, and an AT command is generated by executing the software 106.
/ PPP transmission can be controlled. Also, as shown in the uppermost layer 104 in the figure,
Application software is installed in the control module 22A, and T
It is possible to manage and control CP / IP / PPP and I / O.

The HMI 56 in FIG. 1 is an interface with the user, and includes, for example, a switch for a power supply, a manual transmission command and the like, and an output means such as a display lamp and a buzzer. The control module 22A operates in accordance with the operation of the switch, and turns on a display lamp, a buzzer, and the like, makes a sound, and the like as necessary.

Although a plurality of connectors 48 and 50 are shown in FIG. 1, the number can be determined by design as appropriate. Although not shown, each mobile locator 24
Means for setting a unique identification code to the module, means for connecting to a power supply, and modules 18A, 20A, 2 in the common housing 34.
A power supply circuit or battery for supplying power to the 2A directly or via the control module 22A is also provided.

In this embodiment, the GPS module 18A, the PDC-P module 20A, and the control module 22A are housed in the common housing 34 as described above. Usually PD
If the CP terminal is placed close to the GPS receiver or housed in the same housing, the radiation from the antenna of the PDC-P terminal and the radiation into the housing will interfere with the operation of the GPS receiver, and the normal reception operation And so on. In addition, signal line noise may leak from the control circuit via a wiring connected to the control circuit, and may adversely affect devices and circuits in the same housing as the control circuit. In the present embodiment, even though the GPS module 18A, the PDC-P module 20A, and the control module 22A are housed in the common housing 34, such interference, interference, and adverse effects hardly occur. That is, as described above, the multi-shield structure is adopted, the noise suppression means 58 is attached to the control module 22A, and the control module 22A
According to the novel characteristic configuration adopted in the present embodiment, for example, the operation timing of the S module 18A and the PDC-P terminal 20A is controlled to suppress interference from the latter to the former. According to the present embodiment, the mobile locator 24 having not only excellent handling properties and operability but also performance, reliability, and stability without practical problems is realized.

First, in the present embodiment, the shields 26, 2
A multiple shield structure including 8, 30, 32 is provided. Therefore, the module 18 in the common housing 34
A, 20A, and 22A, even if electromagnetic radiation is generated in the common housing 34 in the PDC-P module 20A, in particular, the radiation is generated by the PDC-P module 20A and the GDC.
Since the electromagnetic wave is shielded by the plurality of electromagnetic shield surfaces between the PS module 18A and other modules in the common housing 34, for example, the GPS module 18A, the reception of the positioning signal does not become remarkable. Further, since the control module 22A is connected to a signal line and a power supply line for connection with the connectors 48 and 52, signal noise is transmitted from the control module 22A via these (without the noise suppression means 58). It may leak into or out of the common housing 34. In the present embodiment, in order to prevent noise from leaking through a signal line or the like, as a noise suppressing means 58, for example, a device for removing noise from a signal line connected to the connector 48, or a signal or power supply A line filter is provided for filtering and blocking noise from the line. This can prevent and reduce operational problems caused by the control module 22A.

In this embodiment, the control module 22A executes timing control according to the principle shown in FIG. In this figure, the control module 22A first inputs signals from the GPS module 18A, the sensor 54, the external control device 50, the HMI 56, a real-time clock (RTC) (not shown) and the like (200), and based on the result, a transmission event is generated. It is determined whether or not it has occurred (202). Examples of the transmission event include “a predetermined transmission time has arrived as viewed from GPS time or RTC”, “arrived at a predetermined transmission position based on a positioning result by GPS”, “sensor output has a predetermined transmission (report) condition. "The user has operated the manual transmission switch."
Etc. When the control module 22A determines that a transmission event has occurred, the control module 22A
OA is used to perform wireless transmission of packets (20
4). The information to be transmitted includes identification information set in advance,
The time obtained from the GPS or the RTC, the current position obtained from the GPS, the type of the transmission event, data related to the transmission event (for example, a sensor output value, command data for the equipment 16), and the like. When performing transmission by the PDC-P module 20A, the control module 22A
Is the GPS module 18A and PDC-P module 2
The operation timing of 0A is adjusted (206, 208).
For example, it waits until the GPS module 18A once ends the reception of the positioning signal, and causes the PDC-P module 20A to transmit. Alternatively, the reception of the positioning signal by the GPS module 18A is suspended when the PDC-P module 20A performs the transmission. Thereby, the wireless reception period by the GPS module 18A and the PDC-P module 2
Since the time overlap of the wireless transmission period due to 0A can be suppressed, the PDC-
The reception interference effect of the P module 20A can be minimized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a mobile data communication device (mobile locator) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a functional hierarchical configuration of a control module according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a principle of GPS / PDC-P operation timing control in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a usage form of a packet communication network.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing problems such as interference and integration.

[Explanation of symbols]

18A GPS module, 20A PDC-P module, 22A control module, 24 mobile locator (mobile data communication device), 26, 28, 30, 3
2 shield, 34 common housing, 58 noise suppression means.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 4, 2001 (2001.4.4)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All figures

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

FIG. 2

FIG. 4

FIG. 3

FIG. 5

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5J062 AA08 BB01 BB05 CC07 DD11 5K067 AA03 AA06 BB04 BB21 DD20 EE02 GG01 GG11 HH05 JJ52 JJ56

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A positioning module for wirelessly receiving a positioning signal from a transmission source such as a positioning satellite and executing a positioning operation based on the positioning signal, an information communication module for wirelessly connecting to an information network, and connected to these modules. The control module connects to the information network using the information communication module when a predetermined transmission event occurs, and causes the information network reflecting information obtained from the positioning module to be transmitted to the information network. A mobile data communication device, wherein each of the modules is collectively housed in a common housing, and further, electromagnetic radiation by the modules into the common housing is remarkable with respect to other modules in the common housing. Between adjacent modules in the above common enclosure so that they do not act as A plurality of multi-shield structure of interposing the electromagnetic shielding surface, moving body communication device, characterized in that provided in the common housing. 2. A positioning module for wirelessly receiving a positioning signal from a transmission source such as a positioning satellite and executing a positioning operation based on the positioning signal, an information communication module for wireless connection to an information network, and connected to these modules. The control module connects to the information network using the information communication module when a predetermined transmission event occurs, and causes the information network reflecting information obtained from the positioning module to be transmitted to the information network. A data communication device for a mobile object, wherein each of the modules is collectively housed in a common housing, and a signal transmitted in the common housing among signals wirelessly transmitted from the information communication module is the positioning module. Does not act as noticeable interference or interference with the positioning signal reception operation due to That is, the control module controls operation timing of at least one of the positioning module and the information communication module, thereby suppressing a time overlap of a wireless transmission period by the information communication module with a wireless reception period by the positioning module. A data communication device for a mobile object, characterized in that: 3. A positioning module for wirelessly receiving a positioning signal from a transmission source such as a positioning satellite and executing a positioning operation based on the positioning signal, an information communication module for wirelessly connecting to an information network, and connected to these modules. The control module connects to the information network using the information communication module when a predetermined transmission event occurs, and causes the information network reflecting information obtained from the positioning module to be transmitted to the information network. A data communication device for a mobile object, wherein each of the modules is collectively housed in a common housing, and noise generated by the control module is transmitted via a signal line for connection to an external device. To prevent the signal from leaking out of the control module, the control module Removing or moving body communication device, characterized in that annexed the circuit or member suppresses.