JP2009282895A - Telemeter system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily enable handset re-setting etc., in such a telemeter system as for collecting measurement data with a plurality of handsets capable of measuring data through connection to a base unit by radio communication. <P>SOLUTION: The telemeter system with a communication network formed by making connection by radio communication between a base unit and handsets capable of measuring data is characterized in that each of the handsets includes an input unit for inputting measured data, a radio communication module unit for performing signal processing for radio communication with the base unit, and a control unit for controlling the data input unit and the radio communication module unit, and the control unit can reset the setting of the handset according to a signal from an input connection terminal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a telemeter system that centrally manages data collected by measuring various data in a wide range such as a factory or a management area with a measuring instrument, and in particular collects data by a predetermined communication from a portion that requires continuous monitoring. It relates to such a telemeter system.

  Many water treatment facilities and various product production sites need to be manufactured while maintaining water quality, water flow, temperature, humidity, etc. within a specified range. In that case, to monitor these environmental conditions A sensor, equipment for transmitting and receiving information from the sensor, and equipment for centralized monitoring are provided, and a telemeter system for remote monitoring may be constructed by these equipment.

  For example, in order to be able to monitor these data to be monitored for existing equipment, it is usually necessary to make some changes or additions, for example, by wired communication such as a LAN (Local Area Network) cable. When connecting a slave unit and a master unit to which a measuring instrument is connected, the routing of the LAN cable may become a new problem in equipment. For example, the location of the centralized management and the sensor position may be separated from each other at a distance of 100 m or 200 m in the factory, and when connecting with such a length using a LAN cable, there is a problem with signal attenuation. Therefore, the installation cost of the LAN cable itself is large.

  Therefore, a system that builds a network by wireless communication is attracting attention as a telemeter system for remote monitoring, and an observation device for performing predetermined measurement and a CPU that performs analog-digital conversion and generates a predetermined data signal A sensor network system including a wireless unit for wirelessly transmitting the data signal is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-122550 A

  By using such a system that can send and receive data via wireless communication, restrictions due to the location of sensor terminals, etc. will be greatly removed, and wiring work and wiring costs necessary for wired LAN can be saved. It is. However, for measurements that perform sensitive sensing such as temperature, water volume, and water quality, the measurement conditions may change over time due to long-term use or environmental changes, and the settings of the slave units are changed via the master unit. Although a method is conceivable, it is necessary to reinforce the software on the base unit side even though it is not normally used, which increases the size and production cost. In addition, among the plurality of slave units in the same wireless PAN (Personal Area Network) or wireless LAN, some slave units may fail in wireless communication, and it is necessary to set the slave units again. When connecting with a wired LAN cable for communication with the parent device side, it is necessary to remove the installed child device, and the resetting operation is not easy.

  Therefore, in view of the above technical problem, the present invention is a telemeter system that collects measurement data by connecting a slave unit capable of measuring a plurality of data to a master unit by predetermined wireless communication, It is an object of the present invention to provide a telemeter system that easily realizes resetting of a slave unit.

  In order to solve the above technical problem, a telemeter system according to the present invention is a telemeter system in which a base unit and a slave unit capable of measuring data are connected by wireless communication to form a communication network. The slave unit includes a data input unit that inputs measurement data, a wireless communication module unit that performs signal processing for wireless communication with the master unit, and a control unit that controls the data input unit and the wireless communication module unit The control unit can customize the setting of the slave unit in accordance with a signal from the input connection terminal.

  The data input unit of the slave unit may include a measurement probe or sensor, or may include a digital converter provided with a 4-20 mA input terminal. By using the 4-20 mA input terminal, various measuring devices can be connected with good compatibility. As a wireless communication module unit that performs signal processing for wireless communication with a base unit, there are various wireless LAN modules, for example, IEEE802.11 and IEEE802.11a by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). IEEE802.11b, IEEE802.11g, IEEE802.11n, IEEE802.15.1 (Bluetooth (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.15.3 (UWB (Ultra-WideBand)), IEEE802.15.4 (ZigBee (registered trademark)), IEEE802.11 16 It is composed of chips for realizing wireless communication of various standards such as (WiMAX (registered trademark)), and predetermined wireless communication according to the distance between the master unit and the slave unit and the type of data to be processed A method is selected.

  The control unit is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs processing for sending measurement data obtained from the data input unit to a wireless communication module unit, and continuously transmits various measurement data such as a factory and a management area. To control. The control unit is provided with an input connection terminal, and a predetermined signal input is possible. As an example, the input connection terminal connected to the control unit is a serial connection terminal such as RS232C, and the control unit of the slave unit can be directly connected to a terminal such as a notebook personal computer via this serial connection terminal. .

  According to the telemeter system of the present invention, each slave unit constituting the network has an input connection terminal connected to the control unit, and the user reconfigures a specific slave unit using the input connection terminal. Can be set. For this reason, it is not necessary to increase the program on the master unit side in the telemeter system for resetting the slave unit, and system maintenance and recovery work can be easily performed.

  A preferred embodiment of a telemeter system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The telemeter system according to the present embodiment is a system used in factories, farms, condominiums, buildings, and the like that produce various products such as foods, medicines, chemical products, and semiconductors, and is referred to as a predetermined site (hereinafter referred to as a management area). It is suitable for use in relatively large-scale manufacturing facilities that are automatically operated unattended.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the telemeter system according to the present embodiment, in which slave units 12 to 14 are installed in a range of several tens of meters to 2,300 meters from the base unit 11, and constantly transmit measurement data. It is set to be. In the present embodiment, the parent device 11 and the child devices 12 to 14 are equipped with a communication module compliant with the ZigBee (registered trademark) communication standard, and can perform wireless communication using the 2.4 GHz band. In particular, by complying with the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard, it becomes possible to operate with low power consumption that cannot be achieved by other wireless communication standards, and power supply such as the solar battery 25 can be applied even to a handset that is difficult to supply sufficiently. It can also be operated without difficulty by means.

  The configuration of the base unit 11 will be described. The base unit 11 is connected to a personal computer 15 for centrally monitoring predetermined measurement data, and the measurement data from the slave units 12 to 14 is stored in the personal computer 15. In addition to being stored in the hard disk, the monitor 17 connected to the personal computer 15 displays the measurement data from the slave units 12 to 14, and when an abnormality occurs, the alarm is displayed with a warning sound or warning message. The situation can be communicated to the observer. The personal computer 15 is also connected with a keyboard 18 for input, and is also connected with a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown). The master unit 11 and the personal computer 15 are installed in a place where a supervisor is present, such as a factory monitoring room or an office of a business office, for example. Further, the data received by the personal computer 15 is transmitted to the Internet as a communication network. For example, data can be transmitted to the monitoring center of the headquarters or the terminal 16 for maintenance or monitoring of the security company.

  An application for monitoring measurement data from the slave units 12 to 14 is installed in the personal computer 15 connected to the master unit 11, and by this application, basic settings, communication settings, and various slave unit function settings are set. Etc., and a warning screen or fault information display in a monitoring screen or abnormal situation is also executed. As will be described later, in the telemeter system according to the present embodiment, images captured by the cameras 19 and 22 connected to the slave units 12 and 14 can be transmitted to the personal computer 15 and viewed on the monitor 17. When displaying the failure information, the image captured by the cameras 19 and 22 is displayed by clicking a predetermined button.

  The telemeter system of the present embodiment is configured such that the slave units 12 to 14 transmit different measurement data to the configuration on the base unit 11 side. In addition, the installation example of these subunit | mobile_units 12-14 is only an illustration, and can also install many more subunit | mobile_units, for example, can also install detectors, such as a water quality sensor, in several places. In the example shown in the figure, the topology is a star network, but the telemeter system of this embodiment can be a tree type or mesh type network by utilizing the features of the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard. is there.

  The slave unit 12 is a device that can transmit an image of the surveillance camera 19 in the management area. The slave unit 12 is connected to the RS232C terminal of the slave unit 12 and, for example, a stationary frame of about one frame is set every second. Image data can be transmitted from the slave unit 12 to the master unit 11. The surveillance camera 19 is assumed to be installed in a portion where it is necessary to ensure security such as entry prohibition other than those involved. For example, an image of a person entering or exiting a room or hallway from the ceiling or the like is transmitted to the main unit 11, It functions to execute programs such as prompting a warning if there is an abnormality by image analysis.

  The subunit | mobile_unit 13 is connected to the measuring device 20, The temperature sensor 21 is attached to the measuring device 20, The temperature detection in the manufacturing process of a product is performed by these subunit | mobile_unit 13, the measuring device 20, and the temperature sensor 21. The temperature can be monitored. As the power source of the slave unit 13, a solar battery 25 is used in particular, and power can be supplied by sunlight even in places where it is not easy to route the power line. In particular, in a system compliant with the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard Since the operation with low power consumption is guaranteed, the degree of freedom of the installation location is increased. The measuring device 20 is a device that functions as an amplifier that converts measurement data from the temperature sensor 21 into a 4-20 mA current signal, and wirelessly transmits the data to the parent device 11 at every time interval set in the child device 13. .

  The subunit | mobile_unit 14 is an apparatus for sending water quality data, the water quality probe 23 is attached to the peripheral part of the water supply pipe 26, and the subunit | mobile_unit 14 takes in the data of the 4-20mA electric current signal from this water quality probe 23 Can do. The slave unit 14 is connected to the camera 22 in addition to the connection to the water quality probe 23, and the camera 22 continuously sends an image of a portion of the water supply pipe 26 that can be transmitted and monitored through, for example, a glass material. It functions so as to notify the master unit 11 to the personal computer 15 of an abnormal situation such as the passage of a foreign object in the form of an image via the slave unit 14.

  The slave unit has been described in the system of FIG. 1 to monitor water quality and temperature, but the data that can be measured is not limited to these, and can be configured to obtain various measurement data. Further, the power source is not limited to the solar battery 25, and a dry battery, a storage battery, a fuel cell, or another uninterruptible power source can also be used. Further, in the above-described slave units 12 and 14, the cameras 19 and 22 are connected to send images, but it is also possible to collect sound with a microphone or the like and transmit the voice data to the master unit 11. .

  Next, the circuit configuration of the slave units 12 to 14 will be described with reference to FIG. Centered on the CPU 31 that functions as a control unit, a 4-20 mA digital conversion unit 32 and an RS232C interface unit 33 that functions as a serial input unit are provided on the input side. The 4-20 mA digital converter 32 is a circuit for receiving a standard 4-20 mA DC signal as an output signal of a measuring instrument or the like and converting it into digital data, and a sensor 41 that outputs the 4-20 mA DC signal. It is also possible to connect directly to an external device 42 such as various measuring devices to acquire data. The input terminal for the 4-20 mA DC signal may be singular or plural. The RS232C interface unit 33 functions as a signal input / output terminal for inputting / outputting data, and it is possible to perform communication settings and function settings in an ad hoc mode by connecting a slave unit setting PC 45 or the like only to the slave unit. is there. For example, in a factory that requires strict temperature management, temperature data from a temperature sensor is received by a 4-20 mA digital conversion unit 32 and a data signal about temperature is wirelessly transmitted to the master unit 11 and the personal computer 15 via the CPU 31. In the case of automatic control, the slave unit wirelessly receives control data from the personal computer 15 and sends a control signal from the CPU 31 to an external device 44 such as an air conditioner connected to the RS232C interface unit 33 to control the temperature. You may make it plan. Also, a commercially available camera 43 capable of RS232C serial connection is connected to the RS232C interface unit 33 to distribute still images and moving images, and to remotely control camera operations such as panning and zooming to a personal computer. It is also possible to carry out from the 15 side.

  The CPU 31 is connected to a memory 35 for storing programs, data, and the like, and temporarily storing measurement data, image data, and the like. The CPU 31 is connected to a serial conversion unit 34 that is a signal conversion unit. To the wireless communication module 36. In this embodiment, the wireless communication module 36 is a chip that creates a signal that conforms to the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard, and can transmit and receive data via the antenna 38. In the wireless communication module 36, a DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) modulation method using a predetermined frequency (for example, 2.4 GHz) is adopted, and the band is divided into, for example, 16 channels to perform wireless communication. The ZigBee standard adopted by the wireless communication module 36 is compliant with IEEE 802.15.4, and encryption is also performed by the common key encryption algorithm AES (Advanced Encryption Standard).

  A power source 37 is connected to the CPU 31 and the like. The power source 37 may be a power supply means such as a power line, or a power supply means such as a solar battery, a dry battery, a storage battery, a fuel cell, or other uninterruptible power supply. Since the slave unit in the telemeter system of the present embodiment adopts the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard as described above, it is possible to reduce power consumption even during long-time operation, and independent solar cells, dry cells, etc. Even the power supply means will function.

  The slave unit setting PC 45 connected to the RS232C interface unit 33 may be a notebook personal computer as described below or a dedicated electronic device.

  The wireless communication module 36 has been described as a single chip with reference to FIG. 2, but a circuit configuration including a CPU and a memory is also possible, and an interface unit with an external device is used as an RS232C. Alternatively, a wired LAN cable such as Ethernet (registered trademark), USB, or another connection method may be used.

  In the slave unit in the telemeter system of the present embodiment having such a configuration, as described above, the slave units 12 to 14 are individually connected to a computer without being wirelessly connected to the master unit 11 in the ad hoc mode. You can reset the settings. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing that the slave unit 13 is reset as a representative of the slave units 12 to 14. By connecting the notebook personal computer 50 for setting via the RS232C interface unit 33, FIG. Various functions of the slave unit 13 can be reset. When connecting the handset 13 and the notebook personal computer 50 for setting, data transmission / reception by wireless communication with the base unit 11 is not necessary, and in the case where there is a problem in the communication setting of the handset 13 or the like. Thus, there is no need to reset all the slave units via the master unit 11, and it is possible to quickly correct only the communication settings of the slave unit 13 in which a problem has occurred.

  4 to 6 are diagrams showing a monitor screen on the personal computer 50 side when re-setting is performed by connecting to the slave unit 13, FIG. 4 shows a basic setting screen of the slave unit, and FIG. FIG. 6 shows an analog setting screen. First, on the basic setting screen 51 of the slave unit shown in FIG. 4, a data transmission interval can be set, and units such as minutes, hours, and days are selected from the pull-down menu 53 and set in the box 52 before that. Enter a number. Each check box 54 is provided in order to set use or non-use of the four analog signal lines, and the analog signal lines checked in the check box 54 are set to be usable. Each check box 55 is provided in order to set use or non-use of the eight contact signal lines, and the contact signal lines whose check boxes 55 are checked are set to be usable. A check box 56 located in the lower part of the screen is for setting whether or not to immediately transmit the changed signal when the contact signal changes. When the check box 56 is checked, the contact signal is changed. Sometimes it can be sent immediately. An OK button 57 for confirming the setting and a cancel button 58 for canceling the setting are also provided.

  Next, in the communication setting screen 61 of the slave unit shown in FIG. 5, an input field 62 for inputting the ID of the PAN network, an input field 63 for inputting the channel number, and an input field 64 for the encryption key are provided. In addition, an OK button 65 for confirming the setting and a cancel button 66 for canceling the setting are also provided. By inputting these numerical values, the network is set as a predetermined network, and the telemeter system of this embodiment can be made into a tree type or mesh type network by utilizing the features of the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard.

  As for the analog setting shown in FIG. 6, the analog setting screen 71 has a radio button 72 for current and a radio button 73 for voltage as input signal types, and these radio buttons 72 and 73 are alternatively selected. The input signal can be selected by selecting the input signal. In addition, when the input analog signal is converted into a converted value, a multiplier and a constant can be selected. A numerical value is input to the multiplier value box 75 for the multiplier, and a numerical value is input to the constant value box 76 for the constant. Then, the conversion value may be calculated. The unit is selectable from a pull-down list 77, and an OK button 78 for confirming the setting and a cancel button 79 for canceling the setting are also provided.

  In the slave unit in the telemeter system according to the present embodiment, the slave unit is not connected to the master unit wirelessly in the ad hoc mode, but is individually connected to the personal computer 50 to perform various settings as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, for example. It can be reset using the screen. For this reason, for example, even if some setting items such as communication settings and analog settings are shifted in some slave units, there is no need to re-set the entire system, and there is a problem with the slave unit that has a problem. Can be reconfigured for quick recovery. In addition, when resetting the slave unit on the master unit side, a program for that is indispensable. However, by using the telemeter system of this embodiment, operation in an ad hoc mode is possible, and the master unit It is possible to improve the efficiency of the system.

  In the above-described embodiment, the ZigBee (registered trademark) standard is described as an example of the communication standard, but another wireless standard can be used for part or all of the communication part. Connections between peripheral devices such as measuring instruments, sensors, and cameras and the slave units can also be wireless communication.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of an example of the telemeter system of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the subunit | mobile_unit in an example of the telemeter system of this invention. It is a typical perspective view which shows the example of a connection in the ad hoc mode of the subunit | mobile_unit and a personal computer in an example of the telemeter system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the basic setting screen of the subunit | mobile_unit in an example of the telemeter system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication setting screen of the subunit | mobile_unit in an example of the telemeter system of this invention. It is a figure which shows the analog setting screen of the subunit | mobile_unit in an example of the telemeter system of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

11 parent machine 12-14 child machine 15 personal computer 16 terminal 17 monitor 18 keyboard 19 monitoring camera 20 measuring instrument 21 temperature sensor 22 camera 23 water quality probe 25 solar cell 26 water supply pipe 31 CPU
32 4-20 mA digital conversion unit 33 RS232C interface unit 34 serial conversion unit 35 memory 36 wireless communication module 37 power supply 38 antenna 41 sensor 42 external device 43 camera 44 external device 45 setting PC
50 Personal computer 51 Basic setting screen 52 Box 53 Pull-down menu 54 Check box 55 Check box 56 Check box 57 OK button 58 Cancel button 61 Screen 62 to 64 Input field 65 OK button 66 Cancel button 71 Screen 72, 73 Radio button 75 Multiplier value Box 76 Constant value box 77 Pull-down list 78 OK button 79 Cancel button

Claims (6)

A telemeter system for connecting a master unit and a slave unit capable of data measurement by wireless communication to form a communication network,
The slave is
A data input unit for inputting measurement data;
A wireless communication module for performing signal processing for wireless communication with the base unit;
A control unit for controlling the data input unit and the wireless communication module unit;
The said control part can reset the setting of the said subunit | mobile_unit according to the signal from an input connection terminal, The telemeter system characterized by the above-mentioned. The telemeter system according to claim 1, wherein the data input unit of the slave unit is a digital converter having a 4-20 mA input terminal. The telemeter system according to claim 1, wherein the input connection terminal is a serial connection terminal. The setting of the slave unit that can be reset via the input connection terminal by the control unit is data transmission interval setting, input signal type setting, signal conversion processing setting, access network identifier setting, channel setting, 2. The telemeter system according to claim 1, wherein the telemeter system is one or a plurality of settings selected from among encryption key settings. The telemeter system according to claim 1, wherein a camera that transmits image data of a still image or a moving image or a microphone that transmits audio data is connected to the input connection terminal. 2. The telemeter system according to claim 1, wherein a solar battery is used as a power source for the slave unit.