JP2003141661A - Central controller, sensor network system, sensor controller, program for processing information, and computer-readable recording medium recorded with the program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sensor network usable for a purpose different from an installed purpose, using sensor information from a plurality of sensors in the plurality of sensor networks. SOLUTION: This central controller 2 for conducting data communication with the plurality of sensor networks 3 provided respectively with the plurality of sensors 5 is provided with an indication information generating part 212 for generating selection-indicating information for indicating the received sensor information to the sensor networks 3 based on the prescribed purpose, and for generating control indication information for instructing the sensor networks 3 to control some of the sensors 5, so as to be transmitted to the sensor networks 3, and a sensor information processing part 211 for processing the sensor information based on the purpose when the sensor information is received from the sensor networks 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plurality of sensors, each of which includes a plurality of sensors and a sensor management device which receives sensor information from the sensors and controls some of the sensors based on a predetermined purpose. Central management device for performing data communication with the sensor network, a sensor network system including a plurality of the sensor networks and the central management device, the sensor management device, an information processing program relating to the system, and the information processing program The present invention relates to a computer-readable recording medium. Specifically, the present invention is
The present invention relates to a sensor network system that receives the sensor information and controls some sensors based on a purpose different from the above purpose.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various types of living spaces, etc. have been installed in accordance with purposes such as vehicle theft monitoring, indoor intrusion monitoring, and fire monitoring.
Many diverse sensors are installed. These sensors usually form a sensor network for each purpose of installation. We can achieve the intended purpose based on the sensor information in the sensor network.

[0003]

However, recently,
There is a demand for effective use of sensors by utilizing sensor information from a plurality of sensors in a plurality of sensor networks and using the sensor information for purposes other than the installation purpose.

For example, consider a sensor network provided in each of a plurality of robots. Each sensor network is provided with a sensor that detects the position of the robot, a sensor that detects the moving speed of the robot, and the like. By utilizing the position information and speed information by the sensors of each sensor network, it becomes possible to control the walking state so as not to collide with each other.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sensor network that can be used for purposes other than the purpose of installation by utilizing sensor information from a plurality of sensors in a plurality of sensor networks.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a central management device of the present invention is a central management device for performing data communication with a plurality of sensor networks each having a plurality of sensors. Based on the sensor information to be received, selection instruction information for instructing the sensor network and / or control instruction information for instructing the sensor network to control some sensors are generated and transmitted to the sensor network as instruction information. And a sensor information processing unit that processes the sensor information based on the purpose when the sensor information is received from the sensor network.

In the central management device having the above-mentioned configuration, the instruction information generating section receives the sensor information from the sensor network by transmitting the selection instruction information to the sensor network based on a predetermined purpose. Processing the sensor information based on the purpose. From the processing result, the central management device causes the instruction information generation unit to transmit the control instruction information to the sensor network based on a predetermined purpose. This controls several sensors.

Therefore, the central management device of the present invention can receive a plurality of sensor information from a plurality of sensor networks and control some sensors of the plurality of sensor networks. As a result, the sensor can be used for a purpose other than the purpose of installing the sensor network, and a plurality of sensors belonging to different sensor networks can be used.

The sensor network system of the present invention is characterized by comprising a plurality of the sensor networks, and the central management unit having the above-mentioned configuration for performing data communication with the sensor networks.

In the sensor network system having the above-mentioned configuration, the sensor can be used for a purpose other than the purpose of installing the sensor network, and the sensors belonging to different sensor networks can be used as in the above case. .

Further, in the sensor network system of the present invention, in the above configuration, the sensor network is
A sensor management device that receives sensor information from a plurality of sensors and controls some of the sensors is provided, and the sensor management device determines the sensors based on the instruction information sent from the central management device. An external information processing unit that generates control information for controlling and / or selection information for selecting sensor information to be transmitted to the central management device, and a sensor based on the control information sent from the external information processing unit. And a sensor information processing unit that processes the selected sensor information based on the selection information sent from the external information processing unit and transmits the processed sensor information to the central management device. There is.

According to the above configuration, the sensor management device provided in each sensor network has the same configuration as the other sensor management devices, so that the central management device that performs data communication with the sensor management device sends the instruction information. This can be shared, and the processing in the instruction information generation unit of the central management device can be reduced.

Further, the sensor management device of the present invention is a sensor management device that receives sensor information from a plurality of sensors and controls several sensors. And an external information processing unit for generating control information for controlling the sensor and / or selection information for selecting sensor information to be transmitted to the information processing device, and the external information processing unit. A sensor control unit that controls a sensor based on control information, and a sensor information processing that processes the selected sensor information based on selection information sent from the external information processing unit and transmits the processed sensor information to the information processing device. And a section.

In the sensor management device having the above configuration, the external information processing unit sends the control information to the sensor control unit and the selection information to the sensor information processing unit based on the instruction information sent from the information processing device. Send to. The sensor control unit controls the sensor based on the control information, and the sensor information processing unit processes the selected sensor information based on the selection information and transmits it to the information processing device.

Therefore, the sensor management device of the present invention controls the sensor based on the instruction information from any information processing device and / or processes the selected sensor information and transmits it to the information processing device. To do. Accordingly, the information processing apparatus can use the sensor for a purpose different from the purpose of installing the sensor network, and can also use the sensors belonging to different sensor networks.

Further, the sensor management apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above configuration, it further comprises an instruction information generation unit for generating instruction information and transmitting it to another sensor management apparatus.

Since the sensor management device having the above configuration can transmit the instruction information to another sensor management device as in the case of the information processing device, the sensor information from the sensor belonging to another sensor network is used for the sensor management device. Can be controlled.

Therefore, the sensor networks provided with the sensor management device of the present invention can operate in cooperation with each other by utilizing the sensor information.

Further, the sensor network system of the present invention includes a plurality of sensors, at least one sensor management device having an instruction information generation unit, and a plurality of sensor management devices having the above-mentioned configurations each of which may have an instruction information generation unit. , A central management device for performing data communication with the sensor management device.

In the sensor network system having the above-described configuration, similarly to the above, the sensor can be used for a purpose different from the purpose of installing the sensor network, and the sensors belonging to different sensor networks can be used. .

Further, in the sensor network system of the present invention, the central management unit stores a plurality of instruction information generation programs for generating instruction information based on a predetermined purpose, and a plurality of storage units for various purposes. The external information processing unit in the sensor management device includes a transmission unit that extracts the program from the storage unit and transmits the program to the sensor management device that includes an instruction information generation unit. It is characterized in that the processing content of the instruction information generation unit is updated based on the method generation program.

According to the above configuration, the central management device transmits the instruction information generation program to the instruction information generation unit of the sensor management device, so that the sensor management device operates in cooperation with another sensor management device. Can be made.

Therefore, in the sensor network system of the present invention, the central management device can cause the sensor management devices to cooperate with each other according to a desired purpose. At this time, the processing in the central management device can be reduced as compared to the case where the central management device collects the sensor information and controls the sensor. In addition, the sensor management device often has a physical distance from the central management device or a distance on the communication network that is significantly longer than that of the sensor management device to be operated cooperatively. However, the processing speed can be increased as compared with the case where the central management device collects the sensor information and controls the sensor.

In the sensor management device and / or the central management device, the operation of each part can be realized on a computer by an information processing program.
Further, by storing the information program in a computer-readable recording medium, the operation of each unit in the sensor management device and / or the central management device can be realized on any computer.

[0025]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION [Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the sensor network system according to this embodiment. The sensor network system 1 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of sensor networks 3a to 3a each including a plurality of sensors 5.
3d and a central management device 2 that manages the sensor networks 3a to 3d. The sensor networks 3a to 3d and the central management device 2 are capable of data communication via a communication network 6. In the following, the sensor networks 3a to 3d will be referred to as "sensor network 3" unless otherwise distinguished.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the sensor network system 1 transmits to the system 1 a server 7 provided with various programs and data to be transmitted to the system 1 and a request from a user. At the same time, a user terminal device 8 for providing the user with the information from the system 1 is connected via the communication network 6.

The sensor network 3 includes a plurality of sensors 5
And a sensor management device 4 that manages the sensor 5. The number of sensors 5 managed by one sensor management device 4 can be several to several hundreds, but in the sensor network 3 for security management, it is usually about 10. The sensor networks 3 may overlap each other as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example in which a plurality of sensor networks 3 overlap each other. In the example of FIG.
For example, one sensor 5 belongs to a plurality of sensor networks 3 or two sensor management devices (sensor network controllers) 4 exist in one sensor network 3. In this way, when the sensor 5 is managed by the plurality of sensor management devices 4, the sensor 5
Even if one sensor management device 4 fails, another sensor management device 4 can operate normally. Therefore,
It is desirable that the sensor 5 requiring high reliability be managed by the plurality of sensor management devices 4 as described above.

A plurality of sensor management devices 4 have individual sensors 5
In order to identify each sensor 5, a unique sensor ID is assigned to each sensor 5. In the system of FIG. 2, a large number of sensors 5
It is possible to more accurately respond to the user's request by using the sensor ID.
4 bits or more). The sensor ID is, for example, TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / In).
ternet Protocol) IP address (32-bit width) can be used. In order to increase the sensor ID bit, the IPv4 IP address is expanded to 128-bit width.
6 can be used.

The sensor management device 4 converts the sensor information from the sensor 5 so as to match the transmission system of the communication network 6, and outputs it to the central management device 2 via the communication network 6. Examples of the communication network 6 include the Internet and a telephone line (ISD
N (Comprehensive Service / Digital Communication Network), PHS (Person
al Handyphone System) line, including mobile phone line)
And public lines, LAN (Local Area Network), and combinations thereof.

The sensor management device 4 and the sensor 5 in the sensor network 3 each include a communication device, and the communication device of the sensor management device 4 is the master device and the communication device of the sensor 5 is the slave device. Then, communication is performed between the master unit and the slave unit.

The communication between the master unit and the slave unit may be wireless communication or wire communication. As wireless communication, for example,
Weak radio waves of the wireless LAN standard and the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard, those using short-range wireless such as specific low power wireless, those using optical wireless, and short-range infrared communication can be considered. As the wired communication, one using a LAN or one using a dedicated wiring can be considered.

The communication system between the master unit and the slave unit includes bidirectional communication or unidirectional communication, which differs depending on the type of the sensor 5. The sensor management device 4 in this embodiment is
The sensor information from the sensor 5 is converted into a transmission method suitable for the communication network 6 and is transmitted to the central management device 2 via the communication network 6, and has a function as a gateway and a function as a controller for controlling the sensor 5. Have. Therefore, when the sensor 5 is controlled by receiving a control signal or the like from the sensor management device 4, the communication method is bidirectional communication. On the other hand, when the sensor 5 unilaterally sends a signal to the sensor management device 4, the communication method is one-way communication from the slave unit to the master unit.

The sensor 5 is provided with a detecting section for detecting, and the interface between the detecting section and the communication device (slave unit) is, for example, RS-232C, RS-48.
5, DeviceNET or the like can be used. Through this interface and the communication device (child device), the sensor 5 sends an analog current, an analog voltage, a pulse signal or the like as a detection result by the detection unit to the sensor management device 4.

Various sensors are used as the sensor 5 of the sensor network 3, and an example thereof will be given below.

There are photoelectric sensors, beam sensors, ultrasonic sensors, infrared sensors and the like for detecting the human body and the like. A vibration sensor, an acceleration sensor (3D sensor, ball semiconductor type sensor), or the like is used as a sensor for detecting movement or destruction of an object. For detecting sound,
There are microphones, sound sensors, acoustic sensors, and the like. A video camera or the like is one that detects an image. There are a temperature sensor, a smoke sensor, a humidity sensor, and the like for detecting a fire or the like. As to be mounted on a vehicle,
There are GPS (Global Positioning System), acceleration sensor, wiper ON / OFF sensor, vibration sensor, tilt sensor and the like. Lighting to be installed in the room
/ OFF sensor, water leak sensor, etc. There are rain gauges, anemometers, thermometers, etc. installed outdoors.
In addition to these, there are various types such as a capacitance level sensor, a capacitance penetration sensor, a current sensor, a voltage sensor, a reed switch that detects opening and closing of a door, and a timepiece that detects time.

As described above, the sensor 5 of the sensor network 3 is not limited to what is generally called a "sensor", but the sensor management device 4 can detect a phenomenon and convert the detection result into an electric signal. Includes any equipment that can be sent to.

Further, the sensors 5 of the sensor network 3 may include active sensors. The active sensor is, for example, a video camera, and has a CCD (Charge Coupled Devic) as a detection unit that performs detection.
In addition to e), a function having a zoom function, an autofocus function, a direction switching function for switching the shooting direction, and the like, which can be operated automatically or by a control signal from the sensor management device 4, is referred to. With such an active sensor, more accurate detection can be performed according to the phenomenon.
For example, in the example of the video camera described above, a moving object (smoke or the like) is detected within the shooting range and the shooting direction is changed to that direction, so that the moving object can be shot more accurately.

Further, the sensor 5 of the sensor network 3
May include an autonomous sensor. Here, the autonomous sensor refers to, for example, a sensor that periodically notifies the sensor management device 4 or the central management device 2 of information about the sensor itself. The information on the sensor itself is, for example, information on the type of the sensor (including the content that can be detected) and the arrangement (position, installation location). In the present application, “sensor information” is used as a term indicating one or both of the information detected by the sensor and the information about the sensor itself.

The sensor may be attached to a moving body such as a vehicle. When the sensor moves, the information obtained by the detection result of the sensor may change. For example, considering a thermometer attached to a vehicle as a sensor, when the temperature is detected by the sensor, it depends on the position of the vehicle, that is, the position of the sensor, at which point the detection result represents the temperature. . In such a case, by using the autonomous sensor, it is possible to always recognize at which point the temperature is detected.

Further, by using the sensor management device 4 corresponding to the autonomous type sensor, when adding a new autonomous type sensor, it is possible to easily add the new type of sensor by so-called plug-and-play.

These sensors 5 are usually used for a specific purpose,
For example, it is selected according to the purpose of vehicle theft monitoring, indoor intrusion monitoring, fire monitoring, etc., and is installed in an appropriate place according to the purpose. Further, usually, the sensor network 3 is configured for each purpose, and processing such as monitoring and reporting for achieving the purpose is performed by the central management device 2, for example. The system 1 of FIG. 2 enables the sensor thus installed according to a specific purpose to be used for other purposes.

The sensor 5 is a method of informing the detection result,
That is, it can be roughly classified into three types of a periodic type, an event type, and a polling type, depending on how the detection result is sent to the sensor management device 4. Here, the periodic sensor notifies the detection result in a predetermined time period. The event-type sensor notifies the detection result when the sensor 5 detects a predetermined phenomenon, for example, a physical quantity equal to or more than a threshold value. The polling type sensor notifies the detection result when receiving a detection result notification command from the sensor management device 4 side.

Next, the configuration of the sensor management device 4 in the sensor network 3 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the sensor management device 4.

The sensor management device 4 receives sensor information such as analog currents, analog voltages, and pulse signals sent from the plurality of sensors 5 and controls the controllable sensor 5 based on a predetermined installation purpose. It is something to do. Further, the sensor management device 4 stores the sensor information in
The data is converted into digital data suitable for the transmission system of the communication network 6 and transmitted to the central management unit 2.

The sensor management device 4 is a CP for performing various processes.
A U (Central Processing Unit) 41, a storage unit 42 that stores various data and various programs, and a communication network 6
The communication I / F unit 43 that interfaces with the sensor 5 and the sensor I / F unit 44 that interfaces with the sensor 5 are provided.

The sensor I / F section 44 converts the sensor information from the sensor 5 into a predetermined digital format and converts it into the CPU 4
Send to 1. At this time, the sensor I / F unit 44 needs to specify from which sensor 5 the sensor information is sent.

The sensor I / F unit 44 does not need to specify the sensor type or sensor ID when the sensor information includes the sensor type, but when the sensor information does not include the sensor type or sensor ID, for example, the sensor information is input. The sensor type or sensor ID is specified by the type or number of the input port, the specified sensor type or sensor ID is added to the sensor information, and the sensor information is transmitted to the CPU 41.

Further, the sensor I / F section 44 includes the CPU 41
The sensor control signal from is converted into an appropriate transmission format and transmitted to a specific sensor 5.

The communication I / F unit 43 converts the sensor information data transmitted from the CPU 41 so as to match the transmission system of the communication network 6, and transmits the sensor information data to the central management unit 2 via the communication network 6. In addition, the communication I / F unit 43 includes the central management device 2
The instruction information data transmitted from the computer via the communication network 6 is converted into a predetermined digital format and transmitted to the CPU 41.

The instruction information data includes the central management unit 2
The sensor information includes instruction information such as sensor information instruction data for instructing sensor information to be transmitted and processing contents thereof, and sensor control instruction data for instructing sensor control.

The CPU 41 performs various data processing and gives instructions to various control circuits, and thereby controls the entire sensor management device 4. In addition, the CPU 41
Functions as the functional blocks of the external information processing unit 45, the sensor information processing unit 46, and the sensor control unit 47.

The external information processing unit 45 processes the sensor information performed by the sensor information processing unit 46 based on the instruction information data transmitted from the central management unit 2 via the communication network 6 and the communication I / F unit 43. , Instructing a process for controlling the sensor 5 performed by the sensor control unit 47.

The sensor information processing unit 46 receives sensor information (1) sent from the sensor 5 via the sensor I / F unit 44.
Next data) is subjected to a predetermined process, and based on the processed sensor information data (secondary data), a signal indicating the sensor 5 to be controlled and its control content is transmitted to the sensor control unit 47. To do. In addition, the sensor information processing unit 46
Transmits the sensor information data to the central management unit 2 via the communication I / F unit 43 and the communication network 6. The sensor information processing unit 46 may store the sensor information data in the storage unit 42 and send the sensor information data to the central management device 2 in response to a request from the central management device 2. In addition to the sensor information, additional information such as the type of sensor and the amount of data is added to the sensor information data.

The sensor information processing section 46 may process the sensor information based on an instruction from the external information processing section 45. In this case, of the sensor information data sent from the sensor 5, only the useful sensor information data is sent to the central management unit 2
By sending the data to the central management unit 2, the amount of data sent to the central management unit 2 can be reduced.

For example, as the primary data from the video camera as the sensor 5, that is, as image data, data of about 20 to 30 kilobits per screen may be constantly sent for three screens per second. In the sensor information processing unit 46, the primary data is subjected to processing such as thinning out images with small changes to generate useful secondary data with a small amount of data.

The sensor control unit 47 includes a sensor I / F unit 44.
The sensor 5 is controlled by sending a control signal to the sensor 5 via. Control of the sensor 5 includes control of a transmission cycle of detection information in a periodic sensor, control of a threshold of an event sensor, polling control for a polling sensor, operation control of an active sensor, and the like. The external information processing unit 45 or the sensor information processing unit 4 determines which sensor 5 is controlled by the sensor control unit 47.
Based on the command from 6.

Next, the configuration of the central management unit 2 in the sensor network 3 will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the central management device 2. In this embodiment, the central management device 2 generates instruction information corresponding to a desired purpose and transmits it to the sensor management device 4.

The central management unit 2 is a CPU for performing various processes.
21, a storage unit 22 that stores various data and various programs, and a communication I / F unit 23 that interfaces with the communication network 6.

The communication I / F unit 23 converts the instruction information data transmitted from the CPU 21 so as to match the transmission system of the communication network 6, and transmits it to the sensor management device 4 via the communication network 6. Further, the communication I / F unit 23 converts the sensor information data transmitted from the sensor management device 4 via the communication network 6 into a predetermined digital format and transmits it to the CPU 21.

The storage unit 22 stores various programs and data for performing various processes in the CPU 21. Further, the storage unit 22 stores a plurality of instruction information generation programs 221 corresponding to various purposes. Each instruction information generation program stores the content for generating instruction information to be transmitted to the sensor management device 4 based on each purpose.

The instruction information includes selection instruction information for selecting sensor information to be transmitted from the sensor management device 4 to the central management device 2 and control instruction information for controlling the sensor 5.
The instruction information may be either one of the selection instruction information and the control instruction information, or may be information including both.

The CPU 21 performs various data processing and gives instructions to various control circuits, and thereby controls the central management device 2 as a whole. Further, the CPU 21
It functions as each functional block of the sensor information processing unit 211 and the update information transmission unit 212.

The sensor information processing unit 211 performs various processes on the sensor information data transmitted from the sensor management device 4 via the communication network 6 and the communication I / F unit 23.
Also, user request data indicating a user request is transmitted from the user terminal device 8 to the sensor information processing unit 211 via the communication network 6 and the communication I / F unit 23, and the sensor information processing unit 211 transmits the transmitted user information. Various processes are performed based on the request data.

The instruction information generating section 212 generates instruction information data based on a predetermined purpose, and the communication I / F section 23.
And to the sensor management device 4 via the communication network 6.
The instruction information generation unit 212 performs processing based on one of the plurality of instruction information generation programs 221 stored in the storage unit 22.

In the sensor network system 1 having the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to acquire sensor information and / or control the sensor 5 from a user terminal device 8 or the like for a plurality of sensor networks 3 based on a predetermined purpose. When requested, the central management unit 2 reads the instruction information generation program 221 corresponding to the above purpose from the storage unit 22 and transfers it to the instruction information generation unit 212.

The instruction information generating section 212 generates instruction information data based on the program 221, selects the sensor management device 4 to be transmitted, and generates the generated instruction information data from the selected sensor management device 4. To transmit.

When the instruction of the instruction information data is the selection instruction, the sensor management device 4 to which the instruction information data is transmitted transmits the data from the external information processing section 45 to the sensor information processing section 46, and the sensor information is transmitted. The processing unit 46 transmits the sensor information data obtained by processing the sensor information based on the instruction information data to the central management device 2. When the instruction of the instruction information data is a control instruction, the sensor management device 4
From the external information processing unit 45 to the sensor control unit 4
7, and the sensor control unit 47 controls the sensor 5 based on the instruction information data.

When sensor information data is transmitted from the sensor management device 4 to the central management device 2, the central management device 2 processes the sensor information in the sensor information processing section 211.
The processed sensor information is transmitted, for example, as result information to the user terminal device 8 or to the instruction information generation unit 212 in order to give a further instruction to the sensor management device 4.

Therefore, the sensor network system 1 of the present invention receives a plurality of sensor information from a plurality of sensors 5 of a plurality of sensor networks 3 and controls some sensors 5 of the plurality of sensor networks 3. You can As a result, the sensor can be used for a purpose different from the purpose of installing the sensor network 3, and a plurality of sensors belonging to different sensor networks 3 can be used.

Further, since the sensor management device 4 provided in each sensor network 3 has the same structure as the other sensor management devices 4, the format of the instruction information data transmitted from the central management device 2 is set to the sensor management device 4. There is no need to change each. As a result, the processing load on the instruction information generation unit 212 of the central management device 2 can be reduced.

[Second Embodiment] Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
Note that configurations having the same functions as the configurations described in the above-described embodiments are given the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the central management unit 2 in the sensor network system 1 according to this embodiment. This central management device 2 is different from the central management device 2 shown in FIG.
The difference is that an input information processing unit 213 is provided instead of the above, and a program transmission unit 214 is provided instead of the instruction information generation unit 212, and the other configurations are similar.

The input information processing unit 213 performs various processes on the sensor information data transmitted from the sensor management device 4 via the communication network 6 and the communication I / F unit 23. When user request data indicating a user request is transmitted from the user terminal device 8 to the input information processing unit 213 via the communication network 6 and the communication I / F unit 23, the input information processing unit 211 is transmitted. Various processes are performed based on the user-requested data.

Although not shown in the figure, the input information processing unit 213 performs a process of creating process result data based on the sensor information data and transmitting the process result data to the user terminal device 8.

In the present embodiment, the input information processing unit 213
When the data requesting the cooperative operation between the sensor networks 3 is transmitted from the information processing device such as the sensor management device 4 and the user terminal device 8, the data is transmitted to the program transmission unit 214.

The program transmission unit 214 selects the program 221 corresponding to the desired purpose from the plurality of instruction information generation programs 221 stored in the storage unit 22 based on the data, and the communication I / F It is transmitted to the sensor management device 4 via the unit 23 and the communication network 6.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the sensor management device 4 in this embodiment. The sensor management device 4 is C, as compared with the sensor management device 4 shown in FIG.
The instruction information generation unit 48 is added to the PU 41, the instruction information generation program 421 is stored in the storage unit 42, the processing content of the external information processing unit 45 is different, and the other configurations are the same.

The instruction information generating unit 48, like the instruction information generating unit 212 shown in FIG. 1, generates instruction information data based on a predetermined purpose, and transmits it via the communication I / F unit 43 and the communication network 6. And transmits it to another sensor management device 4. The instruction information generation unit 48 performs processing based on the instruction information generation program 421 stored in the storage unit 42.

The external information processing unit 45 stores the program in the storage unit 42 when the instruction information generation program is transmitted from the central management unit 2 in addition to the processing contents of the external information processing unit 45 shown in FIG. Perform the process.

Further, when the sensor information data is transmitted from the other sensor management device 4, the external information processing section 45 processes the sensor information data and sends it to the instruction information generating section 48. The instruction information generation unit 48 may transmit further instruction information data to the sensor management device 4 or another sensor management device 4 based on the sensor information processed by the external information processing unit 45.

Sensor network system 1 having the above configuration
In accordance with the predetermined purpose, the sensor network 3
When data requesting mutual cooperation is transmitted from the information processing devices such as the sensor management device 4 and the user terminal device 8 to the central management device 2, the central management device 2
In the program transmission unit 214, the instruction information generation program 221 corresponding to the above purpose is read and transmitted to one or both of the sensor management devices 4 of the sensor network 3 that performs cooperative operation.

The sensor management device 4 to which the program 221 is transmitted is stored in the storage unit 42 by the external information processing unit 45.
Is stored as the instruction information generation program 421, the instruction information generation unit 48 generates instruction information based on the instruction information generation program 421, and transmits the instruction information to another sensor management device 4 that performs a cooperative operation.

Therefore, in the sensor network system 1 according to the present embodiment, a certain sensor network 3 receives sensor information from the sensor 5 of another sensor network 3 and also the sensor 5 of another sensor network 3.
Can be controlled. This allows the sensor networks 3 to cooperate with each other.

At this time, the processing in the central management device 2 can be reduced as compared with the case of the first embodiment in which the central management device 2 collects sensor information and controls the sensor 5. Further, in many cases, the sensor management device 4 has a physical distance from the central management device 2 or a distance on the communication network 6 that is significantly longer than that of the sensor management device 4 to operate cooperatively. To operate the
The processing speed can be increased as compared with the case where the central management device 2 collects sensor information and controls the sensor 5.

Next, specific application examples of the above embodiment will be listed.

[Application Example 1] Consider a case where the sensor network 3 is formed for each passenger vehicle by utilizing a plurality of sensors 5 provided in the passenger vehicle. Using the above embodiment, from the sensor network 3a of the preceding passenger car,
For example, by acquiring the sensor information related to the slip on the snowy road, the sensor network 3b of the subsequent passenger car is obtained.
However, it is possible to set the detection condition and the detection timing of the road surface condition and perform various controls such as slip prevention.

[Application Example 2] Consider a case where the sensor network 3 is formed for each robot by using the plurality of sensors 5 provided in the robot. Using the above embodiment, the sensor network 3a of a robot is
From the sensor network 3b of another robot, for example,
By acquiring the sensor information of the position and the moving speed, the walking state can be controlled so as not to collide with other robots.

[Application Example 3] In the field of FA (Factory Automation), consider a case where sensor networks 3a and 3b are respectively formed on the upstream side and the downstream side of a production line. Using the above embodiment,
The downstream-side sensor network 3b can adjust the downstream-side production amount or the production speed by acquiring sensor information of the production amount or the production speed from the upstream-side sensor network 3a, for example.

[Example 4 of application] In the field of FA, sensors are provided on a first production line (for example, a PET bottle production line) and a second production line (for example, a lid production line) for producing related products. Consider a case where the networks 3a and 3b are formed. If the above-described embodiment is used, the sensor network 3b of the second production line has a shape in which, for example, the number of PET bottles produced from the sensor network 3a of the first production line and the shape in which the tip portion thereof is screwed into the lid. By acquiring the sensor information, the second
It is possible to determine the number of lids to be produced and their shapes in the production line.

It should be noted that C of the central management unit 2 described above
Each unit of the CPU 21 of the PU 21 or the sensor management device 4 may be realized by a program (information processing program) executed by each of the CPUs 21 and 41.

The information processing program is stored in the storage unit 22 of the central management unit 2 and the storage unit 42 of the sensor management unit 4.
And the like are stored in a computer-readable recording medium. The above information processing program is
In addition to the storage units 22 and 42, the program may be supplied by a program medium read by a drive device provided in the central management device 2 or the sensor management device 4 as an external storage device.

The program medium is a recording medium which can be separated from the main body, and is a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a hard disk, or a CD-ROM /
Disc system of optical disc such as MO / MD / DVD, IC
Card (including memory card) / card system such as optical card, mask ROM, EPROM, EEPRO
It may be a medium that fixedly holds the program, including a semiconductor memory such as M and a flash ROM.

The information processing program may be downloaded to the central management device 2 or the sensor management device 4 via a communication network including the Internet. When the information processing program is downloaded from the communication network, the download program may be stored in the central management device 2 or the sensor management device 4 in advance, or may be installed from another recording medium. The content stored in the recording medium is not limited to the program and may be data.

[0096]

As described above, the central management device of the present invention is a central management device for performing data communication with a plurality of sensor networks each having a plurality of sensors, and the sensors to be received based on a predetermined purpose. A selection instruction information for instructing the sensor network of information, and / or an instruction information generation unit for generating control instruction information for instructing the sensor network to control some sensors and transmitting it as instruction information to the sensor network. A sensor information processing unit that processes the sensor information based on the purpose when the sensor information is received from the sensor network.

As a result, the sensor can be used for a purpose different from the purpose of installing the sensor network, and a plurality of sensors belonging to different sensor networks can be used.

As described above, the sensor network system of the present invention has a plurality of the sensor networks and the central management unit having the above-mentioned configuration for performing data communication with the sensor network.

As a result, even in the sensor network system, the sensor can be used for a purpose different from the purpose of installing the sensor network, and the sensors belonging to different sensor networks can be used.

Further, as described above, the sensor network system of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, in which the sensor network receives sensor information from a plurality of sensors and controls several sensors. The sensor management device selects control information for controlling the sensor and / or sensor information to be transmitted to the central management device based on the instruction information transmitted from the central management device. An external information processing unit that generates selection information, based on control information sent from the external information processing unit, a sensor control unit that controls a sensor, and based on selection information sent from the external information processing unit, The sensor information processing unit processes the selected sensor information and transmits it to the central management device.

As a result, the sensor management device provided in each sensor network has the same structure as the other sensor management devices, so that the central management device that performs data communication with the sensor management device can share the instruction information. Thus, it is possible to reduce the processing in the instruction information generating unit of the central management device.

As described above, the sensor management device of the present invention is a sensor management device which receives sensor information from a plurality of sensors and controls several sensors, and which is sent from the information processing device. An external information processing unit for generating control information for controlling the sensor and / or selection information for selecting sensor information to be transmitted to the information processing device based on the received instruction information; and the external information processing unit. A sensor control unit that controls the sensor based on the control information sent from the external information processing unit, and the selected sensor information is processed based on the selection information sent from the external information processing unit and transmitted to the information processing device. And a sensor information processing unit that operates.

As a result, the information processing apparatus can use the sensor for a purpose different from the purpose of installing the sensor network, and can also use the sensors belonging to different sensor networks.

Further, as described above, the sensor management apparatus of the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration to generate the instruction information,
The configuration further includes an instruction information generation unit that transmits the information to another sensor management device.

As a result, the sensor networks equipped with the sensor management device of the present invention can cooperate with each other by utilizing the sensor information.

Further, as described above, the sensor network system of the present invention may include a plurality of sensors, at least one sensor management device having an instruction information generating unit, and an instruction information generating unit. And a central management device that performs data communication with the sensor management device.

As a result, even in the sensor network system, the sensor can be used for a purpose different from the purpose of installing the sensor network, and the sensors belonging to different sensor networks can be used.

Further, in the sensor network system of the present invention, as described above, the central management unit stores a plurality of instruction information generation programs for generating instruction information based on a predetermined purpose, corresponding to various purposes. And a transmission unit that extracts the program from the storage unit and transmits the program to the sensor management device including an instruction information generation unit. The external information processing unit in the sensor management device is a central management device. The processing contents of the instruction information generation unit are updated based on the instruction method generation program sent from

As a result, in the sensor network system of the present invention, the central management device can cause the sensor management devices to cooperate with each other according to a desired purpose. At this time, the processing in the central management device can be reduced as compared to the case where the central management device collects the sensor information and controls the sensor. In addition, the sensor management device often has a physical distance from the central management device or a distance on the communication network that is significantly longer than that of the sensor management device to be operated cooperatively. However, the processing speed can be increased as compared with the case where the central management device collects the sensor information and controls the sensor.

In the sensor management device and / or the central management device, even if the operation of each part is realized on the computer by the information processing program, the same effect as described above can be obtained. Further, by storing the information program in a computer-readable recording medium, the operation of each part in the sensor management device and / or the central management device can be realized on any computer, and thus the same as above on any computer. Produce the effect of.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a central management device in a sensor network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sensor network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example in which a plurality of sensor networks overlap each other.

4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sensor management device in the sensor network system of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a central management device in a sensor network system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sensor management device in a sensor network system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Sensor network system 2 Central management device 3 Sensor network 4 Sensor management device 5 sensors 6 communication network 22 Memory 42 storage 45 External information processing unit 46 Sensor information processing unit 47 Sensor control unit 48 Instruction information generator 211 Sensor information processing unit 212 instruction information generation unit 214 Program Transmission Unit 221 Instruction information generation program 421 Instruction information generation program

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Masayuki Oyagi             Shiokyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Prefecture             801 Kudo-cho Omron Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yoshihiko Fukushima             Shiokyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Prefecture             801 Kudo-cho Omron Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5C087 AA02 AA03 BB11 BB18 BB46                       BB65 BB74 DD03 DD14 DD24                       EE16 FF01 FF02 FF04 FF16                       FF19 GG51 GG90

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A central management device for performing data communication with a plurality of sensor networks each having a plurality of sensors, wherein selection instruction information for instructing the sensor network to receive sensor information based on a predetermined purpose, and / or Alternatively, an instruction information generation unit that generates control instruction information for instructing the sensor network to control some sensors and transmits it as instruction information to the sensor network, and receives the sensor information from the sensor network A central management device comprising: a sensor information processing unit that processes the sensor information based on the sensor information processing unit. 2. A sensor network system comprising: a plurality of sensor networks each having a plurality of sensors; and a central management device according to claim 1, which performs data communication with the sensor networks. 3. The sensor network includes a sensor management device that receives sensor information from a plurality of sensors and controls several sensors, and the sensor management device is sent from a central management device. An external information processing unit for generating control information for controlling the sensor based on the instruction information and / or selection information for selecting the sensor information to be transmitted to the central management device; Based on the control information
A sensor control unit that controls the sensor, and based on the selection information sent from the external information processing unit,
The sensor network system according to claim 2, further comprising: a sensor information processing unit that processes the selected sensor information and transmits the processed sensor information to the central management device. 4. A sensor management device that receives sensor information from a plurality of sensors and controls some of the sensors, and controls the sensors based on instruction information sent from an information processing device. Based on the control information sent from the external information processing unit, and / or an external information processing unit that generates selection information for selecting sensor information to be transmitted to the information processing device,
A sensor control unit that controls the sensor, and based on the selection information sent from the external information processing unit,
A sensor management device, comprising: a sensor information processing unit that processes selected sensor information and transmits it to the information processing device. 5. The sensor management apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an instruction information generation unit that generates instruction information and transmits it to another sensor management apparatus. 6. A sensor network system comprising a plurality of sensors, a plurality of sensor management devices according to claim 4, and a central management device that performs data communication with the sensor management devices, wherein the plurality of sensor management devices are provided. At least one of the apparatuses is a sensor management apparatus of Claim 5, The sensor network system characterized by the above-mentioned. 7. A central management unit stores a plurality of instruction information generation programs for generating instruction information based on a predetermined purpose corresponding to various purposes, and a storage unit for generating the instruction information from the storage unit. A program transmission unit that extracts a program and transmits the program to the sensor management device according to claim 5, wherein the external information processing unit in the sensor management device is based on the instruction method generation program sent from the central management device. The sensor network system according to claim 6, wherein the processing content of the instruction information generation unit is updated. 8. An information processing program for causing a computer to realize the operation of each part of the sensor management device and / or the central management device according to claim 1. Description: 9. A computer-readable recording medium in which the information processing program according to claim 8 is recorded.