JP2008028499A - Remote monitoring communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote monitoring communication system that adaptively controls items associated with intermittent operations such as a period of operating state of a wireless terminal and an intermittent temporal period by judging whether or not data transmission/reception for control of a sensor device or the like attached to the wireless terminal and for data collection is finished on the basis of a communication traffic amount, a data communication time zone, sensor information, and control information stored in a monitoring section attendant on data transmission/reception between the wireless terminal and a base station or the monitoring section and broadcasting the control information and time synchronizing information. <P>SOLUTION: The base station or the monitoring section is provided with a means that broadcasts the control information and the time synchronizing information for instructing the wireless terminal to transit from the operating state into a pause standby state when the base station or the monitoring section judges that the transmission/reception to be carried out at its time zone on the basis of the amount of communication traffic attendant on the data transmission/reception after start of the intermittent operation and the presence/absence of the control information stored in the monitoring section. Thus, the remote monitoring communication system can quickly reconstruct the network and achieve low power consumption and improved reliability at the same time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication system between a plurality of wireless terminals and a base station, or a monitoring unit via the Internet, which form an ad hoc network in which wireless terminals that do not directly receive wireless communication can communicate with each other via other wireless terminals. In particular, the present invention relates to a communication system using control information transmitted from a base station or a monitoring unit to the wireless terminal.

In general, in the case of an ad hoc network, even if wireless terminals that do not reach the radio directly can communicate with each other via other wireless terminals, when performing intermittent operation, multiple wireless terminals operate intermittently within the network. Need to be synchronized.
In addition, in many cases, wireless terminals with sensors typified by sensor networks are premised on battery activation and solar cell activation, and low power consumption is an essential technology. Therefore, intermittent operation is often performed as a means for reducing power consumption. An example of a wireless device that performs intermittent transmission is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

JP-A 61-33027

However, when the period of the operation state and the intermittent time period are fixed, if the amount of communication traffic is small, the wireless terminal is unnecessarily kept in the reception state, which hinders low power consumption. On the other hand, when the amount of communication traffic is large, there is a possibility that the time for transition from the operating state to the sleeping state may be reached before all communication is completed.
In addition, when intermittent operation is performed in an ad hoc network, power consumption increases due to delays in the reconfiguration time of the ad hoc network due to variations in the activation time of the wireless terminals, and wireless terminal activation failure due to out of synchronization of the wireless terminals due to accumulation of these activation time variations There is a risk that the reliability of the remote monitoring communication system such as the control of the sensor device or the like and the data collection failure due to the decrease in reliability.

  It is also conceivable to remotely operate the wireless terminal from a base station or a monitoring unit by connecting an opening / closing device, a lighting device, etc. to the wireless terminal. At this time, the transmission time of the control information transmitted from the base station or the monitoring unit to the wireless terminal depends on the intermittent time period. In other words, the longer the intermittent time period, the more advantageous in terms of power consumption, but the longer the transmission time of control information, and the shorter the intermittent time period, the more disadvantageous in terms of power consumption, but the transmission time of control information is shortened. The

  The object of the present invention is to determine whether the base station or monitoring unit has completed data transmission / reception for control and data collection of a wireless terminal-attached sensor device and the like between the base station or monitoring unit and the wireless terminal. By determining the amount of communication traffic associated with transmission / reception, data communication time zone, sensor information, and control information stored in the monitoring unit, and simultaneously reporting control information and time synchronization information to the wireless terminal, the wireless terminal It is intended to provide a remote monitoring communication system that achieves a low data transmission time while achieving low power consumption and synchronization of intermittent operations between wireless terminals.

  In order to achieve the above object, the remote supervisory line communication system of the present invention is based on whether the base station or the monitoring unit has completed transmission / reception of data for the control and data collection of the sensor device attached to the wireless terminal from the wireless terminal. Judgment is based on the amount of communication traffic, data communication time zone, sensor information, and control information stored in the monitoring unit associated with data transmission / reception between the station or monitoring unit and the wireless terminal, It is characterized by adaptively controlling items related to intermittent operation such as the period of operation of the wireless terminal and the intermittent time period by simultaneously reporting the time synchronization information.

The wireless terminal is assumed to be used in a place where commercial power cannot be taken, and it is assumed that the wireless terminal is activated using a battery or a solar battery. In addition, since the wireless terminal can be used by being attached to a human body, for example, it is better to be as small as possible. However, the volume occupied by the battery or the solar battery becomes an important problem. Therefore, in order to realize low power consumption and downsizing, the wireless terminal employs means for periodically starting, transmitting and receiving data between base stations, and then repeating an intermittent operation of transitioning to a standby state again. .
In general, in the case of an ad hoc network, wireless terminals that cannot communicate directly with each other can communicate with each other via other wireless terminals. Increased power consumption due to delays in ad hoc network reconfiguration, and reliability as a remote monitoring communication system such as sensor device control and data collection failure due to wireless terminal activation failure due to synchronization failure of wireless terminals due to accumulation of activation time variations Causes a drop.

During the time period in which the wireless terminal is in the standby state, communication between the base station or the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal is completely impossible. Therefore, the control information transmitted from the base station or the monitoring unit to the wireless terminal and the sensor information transmitted from the wireless terminal to the base station or the monitoring unit are transmitted. You have to wait until you get up. Therefore, when the standby state is set to a long time in order to reduce the power consumption and size of the wireless terminal, data transmission / reception between the base station or the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal is proportional to the standby state time. Takes time.
Therefore, the intermittent time interval is set to be short, and the base station or the monitoring unit determines whether the transmission / reception of data for the control and data collection of the sensor device attached to the wireless terminal from each wireless terminal is completed. Judgment is made based on the amount of communication traffic, data communication time zone, sensor information, and control information stored in the monitoring unit accompanying data transmission / reception between the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal, and the control information and time for the wireless terminal are determined. The wireless terminal is notified of the synchronization information, and after the wireless terminal performs time synchronization based on the time synchronization information, the wireless terminal immediately transitions to a standby state.
As a result, a wireless communication system having better communication reliability that combines low power consumption and downsizing of the wireless terminal is realized.

  According to the present invention, the base station or the monitoring unit determines whether data transmission / reception for control and data collection of the sensor device attached to the wireless terminal from each wireless terminal is completed or not between the base station or the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal. Based on the amount of communication traffic, data communication time zone, sensor information, and control information accumulated in the monitoring unit, the base station or monitoring unit flexibly sets the operating state period and intermittent time period of the wireless terminal. By controlling, it is possible to simultaneously reduce the power consumption of the wireless terminal and shorten the reaction time of control information for the wireless terminal.

Hereinafter, a communication system and a wireless terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a radio communication system comprising a plurality of radio terminals 4 to 8 for realizing a remote monitoring radio communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a base station 3 that supervises these radio terminals, and the above-mentioned radio communication system. An example of the monitoring unit 1 that performs control and data collection of a sensor device connected to a wireless terminal via an interface with a base station is shown. Here, a plurality of wireless terminals and the base station are connected by a wireless network in a mesh shape as shown by a dotted line, and an ad hoc network in which wireless terminals that do not directly receive wireless communication can communicate with each other via other wireless terminals. Forming. Here, FIG. 1 shows four wireless terminals and one base station, but the number of wireless terminals may actually be one or more.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the wireless terminal. The wireless terminal includes a storage means for temporarily storing sensor information until the wireless terminal transitions to an operating state, a counter or timing means for synchronizing the wireless terminal with respect to intermittent operation, control information and time synchronization Means for receiving information and synchronizing the time are provided.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the base station. The configuration of the base station or the monitoring unit includes a storage means for temporarily storing control information until the wireless terminal transitions to an operating state, a counter or timing means for synchronizing the wireless terminal with respect to intermittent operation, and a wireless Whether the data transmission and reception for control and data collection of the sensor device attached to the wireless terminal from the terminal has been completed, the amount of communication traffic and the data communication time zone accompanying the data transmission and reception between the base station or the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal Means for determining based on sensor information and control information stored in the monitoring unit, and means for reporting control information and time synchronization information to the wireless terminal, and transmitting the time synchronization information in the wireless terminal ing.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the monitoring unit. The configuration of the base station or the monitoring unit includes a storage means for temporarily storing control information until the wireless terminal transitions to an operating state, a counter or timing means for synchronizing the wireless terminal with respect to intermittent operation, and a wireless Whether the data transmission and reception for control and data collection of the sensor device attached to the wireless terminal from the terminal has been completed, the amount of communication traffic and the data communication time zone accompanying the data transmission and reception between the base station or the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal Means for determining based on sensor information and control information stored in the monitoring unit, and means for reporting control information and time synchronization information to the wireless terminal, and transmitting the time synchronization information in the wireless terminal The wireless terminal periodically monitors the measurement results obtained by sensor devices connected to the wireless terminal via the ad hoc network or monitors it. Send to part. At this time, if the wireless terminal is in a standby state, it is stored in a storage unit that temporarily stores it, and when the wireless terminal transitions to an operating state, the measurement result is read from the storage unit and transmitted to the base station or the monitoring unit.

  Whether the base station or the monitoring unit has completed the data transmission / reception for control and data collection of the sensor device attached to the wireless terminal from the individual wireless terminal, according to the data transmission / reception between the base station or the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal. Judgment is made based on the amount of communication traffic, data communication time zone, sensor information, and control information stored in the monitoring unit, and the control information and time synchronization information are reported to the wireless terminal.

  FIG. 5 shows a series of flows when the base station or the monitoring unit reports control information and time synchronization information to the wireless terminal. When transmitting control information and time synchronization information from the base station or monitoring unit to the wireless terminal, the base station or monitoring unit controls and collects data from the sensor devices connected to the wireless terminal via the interface. In order to shorten the execution time, the intermittent period of the wireless terminal is set in small increments.

  Due to the characteristics of the ad hoc network, the wireless terminals start up all at once, but the base station or monitoring unit determines whether the transmission and reception of data for the control and data collection of the sensor devices attached to the wireless terminals from the individual wireless terminals has been completed. When judging based on the amount of communication traffic, data communication time zone, sensor information, and control information stored in the monitoring unit accompanying data transmission / reception between the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal, control information is transmitted to the wireless terminal. By notifying the wireless terminal, the wireless terminal immediately transitions to the standby state, so that the operating state of the wireless terminal can be shortened to the maximum.

  Furthermore, the base station or the monitoring unit can transmit the time synchronization information together with the control information to the wireless terminal, thereby enabling time synchronization of the wireless terminal, increasing power consumption due to ad hoc network reconstruction time delay due to start-up time variation, Further, it is possible to prevent a decrease in reliability as a remote monitoring communication system such as control of a sensor device or the like due to wireless terminal activation failure due to out-of-synchronization of wireless terminals due to accumulation of variations in activation time, and data collection failure.

  Further, the base station or the monitoring unit determines the operation state time and the intermittent time interval of the wireless terminal based on the communication traffic volume, the data communication time zone, the sensor information, and the control information stored in the monitoring unit, and By reporting the operation state time information and the intermittent time interval information together with the control information and the time synchronization information, it is possible to adjust the intermittent time interval and the standby time according to the network status.

  During the time period in which the wireless terminal is in the standby state, communication between the base station or the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal is completely impossible. Therefore, the control information transmitted from the base station or the monitoring unit to the wireless terminal and the sensor information transmitted from the wireless terminal to the base station or the monitoring unit are transmitted. You have to wait until you get up. In order to solve the above problem, setting the intermittent time interval (intermittent cycle) in small increments is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of power saving.

  Therefore, the base station or the monitoring unit is based on the communication traffic volume, the data communication time zone, the sensor information, and the control information accumulated in the visual unit associated with the data transmission / reception between the base station or the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal. By flexibly controlling the period of operation state and the intermittent time period, it is possible to simultaneously reduce the power consumption of the wireless terminal and shorten the reaction time of control information for the wireless terminal.

  When the wireless terminal receives control information instructing to transition from the operating state to the suspension standby state from the base station or the monitoring unit, the wireless terminal can immediately transition to the suspension standby state, but the terminal that has received the control information When transitioning to the idle standby state, the control information may not be transmitted to other wireless terminals. Therefore, even when the wireless terminal receives the control information, the wireless terminal waits for a certain time (time lag) and then shifts to a standby state.

When the wireless terminal receives control information instructing to transition from the operating state to the suspension standby state from the base station or the monitoring unit, the wireless terminal can immediately transition to the suspension standby state, but the terminal that has received the control information When transitioning to the idle standby state, the control information may not be transmitted to other wireless terminals. In order to avoid the above situation, it is possible to record the time for transitioning to the suspension standby state in the control information, and the wireless terminals can transition to the suspension standby state all at once.
When the wireless terminal receives the time synchronization information from the base station or the monitoring unit, the wireless terminal adjusts the time of a counter or time measuring means for synchronizing the wireless terminal with the intermittent operation.

  When the wireless terminal receives the time synchronization information from the base station or the monitoring unit, the wireless terminal adjusts the time of a counter or time measuring means for synchronizing the wireless terminal with the intermittent operation. As a result, power consumption increases due to delays in reconfiguration time due to ad hoc network reconstruction due to variations in activation time, and sensor device control and data collection failures due to radio terminal activation failure due to the accumulation of these activation time variations. It is possible to prevent a decrease in reliability as a remote monitoring communication system.

It is a communication system block diagram for demonstrating the remote monitoring which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the radio | wireless terminal used by one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the base station used by one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the monitoring part used by one Example of this invention. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Monitoring unit
2 ... Internet
3 ... Base station
4-8 ... Wireless terminal
9 ... Wireless line
11 ... Recording means
12 ... Sensor
13 ... Counter or clock means
14 ... Radio part
21 ... Data transmission / reception completion judging means
22 ... Storage means
23 ... Counter or clock means
24 ・ ・ ・ Radio part
26 ... Microcomputer
27 ... Power supply unit
31 ... Data transmission / reception completion judging means
32 ... Storage means
33 ... Counter or clock means
34 ... Communication means
35 ... Internet
36 ... Microcomputer
37 ... Power supply unit

Claims (13)

A wireless communication system comprising a plurality of wireless terminals to which sensor devices and the like are attached and a base station that supervises these wireless terminals, and sensor devices connected to the wireless terminals via an interface with the base station of the wireless communication system A remote monitoring communication system comprising a monitoring unit for controlling and collecting data,
The plurality of wireless terminals constructs an ad hoc network that enables communication between wireless terminals that do not directly receive wireless signals via other wireless terminals, and the wireless terminals reduce power consumption of the wireless terminals. Is configured to perform an intermittent operation of periodically starting, transmitting and receiving data between base stations, and then transitioning to a standby state again,
When the base station or the monitoring unit determines that the data transmission and reception for the control and data collection of the sensor device attached to the wireless terminal from the individual wireless terminal is completed, the control information and the time synchronization information are transmitted to the wireless terminal. A remote monitoring communication system, wherein the radio terminal immediately transitions to a standby state after performing time synchronization based on time synchronization information.   When it is determined that the base station or the monitoring unit has completed the control and data transmission / reception for the wireless terminal-attached sensor device from the individual wireless terminals, the control information and time for the wireless terminals 2. The remote monitoring communication system according to claim 1, wherein when the synchronization information is reported, control information and time synchronization information are reported to each wireless terminal by simultaneous broadcast communication.   When simultaneously sending control information and time synchronization information to the wireless terminal, time information for transition from the next standby state to the operating state is also added, and the wireless terminals are simultaneously transitioned from the standby state to the operating state. The remote monitoring communication system according to claim 1, wherein the standby standby time is varied.   The wireless terminal includes a storage means for temporarily storing sensor information until the wireless terminal transitions to an operating state, a counter or timing means for synchronizing the wireless terminal with respect to intermittent operation, control information and time synchronization The remote monitoring communication system according to claim 1, further comprising means for receiving information and synchronizing time. Control and data collection of a plurality of wireless terminals attached with sensor devices and the like, a base station that supervises these wireless terminals, and sensor devices connected to the wireless terminals via an interface with the base station of this wireless communication system A remote monitoring communication system comprising a monitoring unit for performing an ad hoc network in which the plurality of wireless terminals can communicate with each other even when wireless signals do not reach directly via other wireless terminals; In order to reduce the power consumption of the wireless terminal, the wireless terminal is periodically activated, transmits and receives data between base stations, and then performs an intermittent operation of transitioning to a standby state again.
Whether the base station or the monitoring unit has completed data transmission / reception for control and data collection of the wireless terminal-attached sensor device or the like from the individual wireless terminal for data transmission / reception between the base station or the monitoring unit and the wireless terminal. Judgment is based on the amount of communication traffic, data communication time zone, sensor information, or control information stored in the monitoring unit, and the control information and time synchronization information are reported to the wireless terminal. A remote monitoring communication system characterized in that after performing time synchronization based on synchronization information, a transition is made immediately to a standby state.   After determining that the base station or the monitoring unit has completed control and data transmission / reception for data collection from the individual wireless terminals, control information and time synchronization are performed for the plurality of wireless terminals. 6. The remote monitoring communication system according to claim 5, wherein when the information is reported, the control information and the time synchronization information are reported to each wireless terminal by simultaneous broadcast communication.   When it is determined that the base station or the monitoring unit has completed control and data transmission / reception for data collection from the individual wireless terminal, the control information and time synchronization with the wireless terminal The information is reported, and the wireless terminal performs time synchronization based on the time synchronization information, and then transitions to a standby state after a certain time lag. Remote monitoring communication system.   When it is determined that the base station or the monitoring unit has completed control and data transmission / reception for data collection from the individual wireless terminal, the control information and time synchronization with the wireless terminal The information and the standby time are reported, and the wireless terminal performs time synchronization based on the time synchronization information, and then transitions to a standby state after the standby time has elapsed. The remote monitoring communication system according to any one of the above.   When it is determined that the base station or the monitoring unit has completed control and data transmission / reception for data collection from the individual wireless terminal, the control information and time synchronization with the wireless terminal After reporting the information and the next activation operation state time or suspension standby time, and after setting the time synchronization and operation state time or suspension standby time based on the time synchronization information in the wireless terminal, after the suspension standby time has elapsed The remote monitoring communication system according to claim 1, wherein the remote monitoring communication system transitions to a standby state.   The base station or the monitoring unit determines the operating state time or intermittent time interval of the wireless terminal based on the communication traffic volume, the data communication time zone, the sensor information, and the control information accumulated in the monitoring unit. 6. The remote monitoring communication system according to claim 5, wherein operation state time information and intermittent time interval information are reported together with control information and time synchronization information.   Based on the number of wireless terminals and the total number of sensor devices connected to the wireless terminals, the base station or monitoring unit determines the amount of communication traffic, the data communication time zone, the amount of sensor information, and the amount of control information stored in the monitoring unit in advance. Predicting and comparing the actual prediction and the communication traffic volume, the data communication time zone, the sensor information amount, and the control information amount accumulated in the monitoring unit, the sensor associated with the wireless terminal from the communication wireless terminal 6. The remote monitoring communication system according to claim 5, wherein it is determined that data transmission / reception for controlling the device and data collection has been completed.   The user sets the communication traffic volume, the data communication time zone, the sensor information amount, and the control information amount stored in the monitoring unit in advance, and the base station or the monitoring unit sets the setting and the actual communication traffic volume and the data communication time. It is determined that the transmission and reception of data for control and data collection of the sensor device attached to the wireless terminal from the wireless terminal is completed by comparing the band and sensor information amount and the control information amount accumulated in the monitoring unit 6. The remote monitoring communication system according to claim 5, wherein: When the wireless terminal cannot receive control information or time synchronization information from the monitoring unit or the base station due to quality degradation of a wireless line, etc., the wireless terminal transitions to a standby state after a certain time has elapsed after startup. The remote monitoring communication system according to claim 1.

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