JP2010223536A - Radio system, method of controlling communication of radio system, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm a level of field intensity in transmitting and receiving of radio communication with a simple constitution by a directionality switching antenna and a direction detecting means, in installing an electric appliance and heating appliance. <P>SOLUTION: The antenna disposed on an air supply louver of an air conditioner is directed to the direction of high level of field intensity, thus it becomes unnecessary to adjust the direction of the antenna when the level of field intensity in transmitting and receiving becomes lower than a specific value, and convenience can be improved while minimizing increase of costs by using the air supply louver which is originally movable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless device that communicates with a wireless base station, and particularly relates to a function that ensures the communication quality of wireless communication.

In recent years, when important troubles such as electrical appliances and heating appliances occur, prompt reporting is required and early response is required. For products that have been used for a long period of time, it takes a lot of time and money to confirm the location of the product and confirmation of disposal to confirm that it is the product, and the construction of a notification system for the product using radio waves is being considered. ing.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-146991

  In the conventional method, it is necessary to check the electric field strength level for transmission and reception of wireless communication when installing electrical appliances and heating appliances. In addition, it is necessary to check the electric field strength level not only at the time of relocation but also every time the surrounding trees and houses change.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and by directing the antenna provided on the air blower louver of the air conditioner in a direction where the electric field strength level is strong, not only at the time of installation, relocation, but also around The wireless communication quality is ensured in response to changes in the situation of trees and houses.

  This eliminates the need to adjust the direction of the antenna when the field strength level of radio communication transmission / reception falls below a certain value, and improves the convenience while minimizing the cost increase by using the air blower louver that is originally movable. Can be realized.

  Therefore, in order to solve the conventional problem, a wireless system including a wireless base station and a wireless device that performs wireless communication with the wireless base station, wherein the wireless base station includes the mounted wireless device. A first receiving means for receiving a request signal from, a measuring means for measuring the electric field strength level of the request signal, and a first transmitting means for returning an answer signal including a measurement value of the measuring means, The on-board wireless device mounted on the wireless device includes antenna means used for radio wave transmission / reception, louver position control means for controlling the position of a movable louver for blowing air incorporating the antenna means, and the request signal for the antenna means. Second transmission means for transmitting from, second reception means for receiving an answer signal returned from the radio base station, and a measurement value included in the answer signal Based on so that and an antenna position control means for controlling the louver position control means.

  This eliminates the need to adjust the direction of the antenna when the field strength level of radio communication transmission / reception falls below a certain value, and is highly convenient while minimizing the cost increase by using the originally movable air blower louver. It can be controlled.

  In this way, the notification system for the corresponding product using radio waves eliminates the need to adjust the direction of the antenna when the field strength level of radio communication transmission / reception falls below a certain value, and by using the originally movable air blowing louver A wireless device capable of highly convenient control while minimizing cost increase can be provided.

  A first aspect of the present invention is a wireless system including a wireless base station and a wireless device that performs wireless communication between the wireless base station, and the wireless base station receives a request signal from the on-board wireless device. And a first transmission unit that returns an answer signal including a measurement value of the measurement unit, and is mounted on the wireless device. The mounted wireless device includes antenna means used for radio wave transmission / reception, louver position control means for controlling the position of a movable louver for blowing air incorporating the antenna means, and second request for transmitting the request signal from the antenna means. A transmitting unit; a second receiving unit configured to receive an answer signal returned from the radio base station; and the louver position based on a measurement value included in the answer signal. So that and an antenna position control means for controlling the control means.

  This eliminates the need to adjust the direction of the antenna when the field strength level of wireless communication transmission / reception falls below a certain value, and is highly convenient while minimizing the cost increase by using the originally movable air louver. Control becomes possible.

  According to a second invention, in addition to the first invention, when the air conditioner is not in operation, the antenna position control means receives a measured value of the electric field strength level, and the measured electric field strength level exceeds a threshold value. Communication with the radio base station is started.

  This eliminates the need to adjust the direction of the antenna when the field strength level of radio communication transmission / reception falls below a certain value, and is highly convenient while minimizing the cost increase by using the originally movable air blower louver. Control can be realized.

  According to a third invention, in addition to the first invention, the measurement value of the electric field strength level is received by the antenna position control means by the user's operation of the measurement start button, and the measured value of the electric field strength level has a threshold value. When it exceeds, communication with the radio base station is started.

  This eliminates the need to adjust the direction of the antenna when the field strength level of radio communication transmission / reception falls below a certain value, and is highly convenient while minimizing the cost increase by using the originally movable air blower louver. Control can be realized.

  According to a fourth invention, in addition to the first invention, the antenna position control means receives a measurement value of the electric field strength level and notifies when the measurement value of the electric field strength level does not exceed a threshold value. ing.

  Thereby, it is possible to realize that it is necessary to adjust the direction of the antenna when the electric field intensity level of radio communication transmission / reception falls below a certain value.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication control method for a wireless system including a wireless base station and a wireless device that performs wireless communication between the wireless base station, and a request signal from an on-board wireless device mounted on the wireless device. Receiving, a step of measuring a field strength level of the request signal, a step of returning an answer signal including a measurement value of the measuring means, a step of transmitting the request signal from the antenna means, It is a control method of a radio apparatus that performs a step of receiving an answer signal returned from a radio base station and a step of controlling the louver position control means based on a measurement value included in the answer signal.

This eliminates the need to adjust the direction of the antenna when the field strength level of wireless communication transmission / reception falls below a certain value, and is highly convenient while minimizing the cost increase by using the originally movable air louver. A control method is possible.

  A sixth invention is a program for executing at least a part of the radio system according to the first to fourth inventions.

  Since it is a program, it is possible to easily realize at least a part of the wireless key system of the present invention by cooperating hardware resources such as an electric / information device, a computer, and a server. In addition, the program can be distributed / updated and installed easily by recording on a recording medium or distributing the program using a communication line.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram in the case of configuring as an air conditioner-equipped radio as an example of a radio apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an air conditioner 2, and schematically shows only the arrangement of each part of the mounted radio in the louver 3 and the air conditioner indoor unit 2 except for structures such as an outdoor unit and an infrared remote controller.

  In FIG. 1, the antenna 4 is installed in the louver 3 as an example, and is connected to an on-board wireless device 8 that is an electric control unit that performs electric control of the wireless device so that the position of the louver 3 can be adjusted.

  For example, a typical example of a method for realizing an antenna capable of switching directivity is a low-profile antenna using a capacity-loaded monopole antenna. These can be configured as planar antennas that can be mounted on the louver 3 as well.

  The on-board wireless device 8 has a function as a receiver of the notification system, receives radio waves from the base station 1, determines the received content, and controls the notification means such as the display unit 32.

  In FIG. 1, the air conditioner indoor unit 2 includes a measurement start button 6 that allows the user to arbitrarily receive a measurement value of the electric field strength level.

  In the first embodiment, when communicating between the base station 1 and the on-board wireless device 8, the directivity of the antenna 4 is particularly switched, and the electric field strength level (hereinafter, RSSI) of the radio wave with each directivity is changed. Measure and determine the direction of the base station 1 based on the RSSI magnitude relationship and orientation relationship in each directivity.

  Thereby, the on-board wireless device 8 can determine the direction of the base station 1 and can realize a wireless device that can automatically obtain the best reception state.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of each wireless device. The base station 1 has a control unit 15 that controls the entire wireless device, a transmission unit 16 that is a first transmission unit, and reception that is a first reception unit. A unit 18, an authentication unit 17 that determines whether the message is from a partner to be communicated from an identification code (hereinafter referred to as ID) included in the received message, and performs decryption of the encrypted message, and a measurement unit that measures the RSSI of the received message A certain electric field intensity level measurement unit 14 and an antenna unit 13 are provided. The control unit 15 may be configured by a microcomputer, a memory, and its peripheral circuits, and the authentication unit 17 may be executed as part of the processing of the microcomputer that configures the control unit 15 according to a program stored in advance.

Similarly, the on-board wireless device 8 includes a control unit 20, a field strength level measurement unit 19, an authentication unit 22,
A transmission unit 21 serving as a second transmission unit, a reception unit 23 serving as a second reception unit, and an antenna unit 25 are provided. Furthermore, the on-board wireless device 8 includes a louver control unit 24. The louver control unit 24 constitutes directional antenna means together with the antenna unit 25, and switches the directivity by controlling the position of the antenna unit 25 based on a signal from the control unit 20. The louver control unit 24 is configured to include a phase circuit that advances and delays the phase of the radio signal as required.

  In general, when the influence of multipath such as reflection or diffraction of radio waves is not large, the RSSI of the received radio waves is attenuated along with the distance from the transmission source due to propagation attenuation. Also, the radio wave from the direction of directivity has a larger RSSI than the radio wave from the other direction. Therefore, the relative relationship between the on-board wireless device 8 and the base station 1 can be substantially determined based on the direction of directivity and RSSI. Furthermore, in order to accurately perform this direction determination, a reference table is created based on data obtained by measuring RSSI in advance in an initially installed state, and stored in the control unit 20, and a direction error calculation with respect to the reference table is performed. The method of performing is also effective.

  These determination methods are examples when the number of antennas is set to one as shown in FIG. 1 for simplification, but the number of antenna units 25 is increased to increase the switching area, or other antennas. It is possible to improve the accuracy of the direction determination of the base station 1 by a method such as calculating a ratio with the RSSI value and limiting a numerical range of the RSSI value by providing a threshold value.

  Finally, an example of a flow showing the operation of each wireless device when determining in which direction the base station 1 is located will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

  First, in the operation flow diagram of FIG. 3, the air conditioner having the on-board wireless device 8 switches the antenna directivity to the areas 10, 11, and 12 by pressing the measurement start button at regular intervals or arbitrarily by the user, Wireless radio waves RF42, 43, and 44 that are sequentially requested signals are transmitted.

  On the other hand, the base station 1 performs carrier sense for checking whether or not radio waves are transmitted at regular intervals (step S35). If no radio waves are transmitted, step S35 is repeated at regular intervals.

  The radio wave RF42 transmits a synchronization signal corresponding to an interval time during which the base station 1 performs carrier sense to the header portion, and the portable radio device 5 receives the RFs 42, 43, and 44 in synchronization with this synchronization signal. At this time, each of the RFs 42, 43, and 44 may be provided with a synchronization signal, but may be transmitted as a part of each continuous message.

  When it is detected in step S35 that a radio wave is transmitted by carrier sense, the base station 1 measures and stores RSSI in each directionality of the areas 10, 11, and 12. In this case, the directivity switching on the on-board wireless device 8 can be performed if a communication protocol is determined in advance so as to switch to RF 43 and RF 44 every time a fixed time or constant length message is transmitted after the synchronization portion of the radio wave RF 42. The station 1 can detect any directivity switching timing, and can determine the RSSI for each directivity.

  Although not shown, the radio waves RF42, RF43, and RF44 include an ID for authenticating that the on-board wireless device 8 and the base station 1 are a valid combination, and the ID is authenticated by the base station 1. If not, the measured RSSI is discarded. The RSSI value is also discarded when the radio wave with any directivity is too weak to be received or when the radio wave is smaller than a predetermined threshold.

  When the RSSI values and directions in the directivities of the areas 10, 11, and 12 are measured in step S 36, the telegram RF 45 that is an answer signal including these values is transmitted to the on-board wireless device 8. The on-board wireless device 8 that has received the electronic message RF45 inputs this to the control unit 20 (step S37). When the measurement value and direction of RSSI for each directivity are obtained, the control unit 20 determines the presence direction of the base station 1 from these values (step S38), and determines the communication state between the base station 1 and the on-board wireless device 8. Keep the directional area to optimize.

  Also, instead of determining the direction of the mounted wireless device 8 by the control unit 20 in the telegram RF45 for returning RSSI or the step S38, the position determination is performed on the base station 1 or the mounted wireless device 8 side, and the determination result is indicated. A configuration in which a code or the like is transmitted as an RF46 message may also be used.

  Next, FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration in which a radio wave for RSSI measurement is transmitted from the on-board wireless device 8 side as another sequence. Compared to FIG. 3, since it is not necessary to transmit the measured RSSI, it is effective in enhancing security against sophisticated fraud such as wiretapping.

  In FIG. 4, when the user presses a measurement start button at regular intervals or arbitrarily, the on-board wireless device 8 sends a request for sending the RSSI and the direction measurement message from the base station 1 to determine the direction of the base station 1. A telegram (RF52) is transmitted (step S44).

  On the other hand, the base station 1 performs carrier sense to check whether there is a transmission radio wave at a certain interval (step S45). If there is a radio wave, the base station 1 receives this request message (RF52) and receives an answer for RSSI measurement. The process shifts to a process for sending a message (RF53). If there is no radio wave, the carrier sense process in step S45 is continued.

  The mounted wireless device 8 sequentially switches the directivity to areas 10, 11, and 12 to measure the RSSI of the answer message RF52 (steps S47 to S49), and is input from the mounted wireless device 8 to the control unit 20. Subsequently, the control unit 20 determines the direction of the base station 1 from the input RSSI and direction (step S50).

  As a determination method, the same method as described in FIG. 3 can be applied. That is, as an example of a determination method with a simplified explanation, the RSSI measured by the RSSI measurement message (RF53) indicates in which area the base station 1 exists, that is, the largest RSSI is measured. It can be determined that the base station 1 exists in the area. Now, if the RSSI measured when switching to the directional area 10 is the maximum, it can be determined that the base station 1 is in the area 10.

  In the above description, the configuration in which the determination of the presence position of the base station 1 is performed by the control unit 20 has been described.

  In the description of FIG. 4 thus far, an example in which RSSI is measured by wireless communication that is transmitted / received at a predetermined interval or when a user arbitrarily presses a measurement start button is shown. However, the base station 1 periodically performs RSSI measurement. If the telegram is repeatedly transmitted and received by the on-board wireless device 8 and the presence position of the portable key 6 is determined in advance, the direction of the base station 1 can be determined in advance, and the determination is made after the user presses the measurement start button. This is effective in that the response is quicker than that performed.

  Finally, although the first embodiment has been described as a general wireless device for home air conditioners, it can be widely applied to packaged air conditioners for factories and offices, for example.

The means described in this embodiment includes a CPU (or microcomputer), a RAM, a ROM,
You may implement with the form of the program which cooperates hard resources, such as an electrical / information apparatus provided with a memory | storage / recording apparatus, I / O, etc., a computer, a server. In the form of a program, new functions can be easily distributed / updated and installed by recording them on a recording medium such as magnetic media or optical media or distributing them using a communication line such as the Internet.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the antenna provided on the air blower louver of the air conditioner is directed not only at the time of installation and relocation, but also by changing the situation of surrounding trees and houses by directing the direction of strong electric field strength. Thus, the quality of wireless communication can be ensured, and the use of a blower louver that is originally movable can improve convenience while minimizing an increase in cost.

The figure which showed an example which arrange | positions the radio | wireless apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention to an air-conditioner Schematic block diagram showing the configuration of each radio of the radio device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Flow chart showing an example of a communication sequence in Embodiment 1 of the present invention The flowchart which shows another example of the communication sequence in Embodiment 1 of this invention.

1 Base station 2 Air conditioner indoor unit 3 Louver 4 Antenna (antenna means)
5 Display (notification means)
6 Measurement start button 8 On-board wireless device 13 Antenna unit 14 Electric field strength level measurement unit (measuring means)
15 control unit 16 transmission unit (first transmission means)
17 Authentication Unit 18 Reception Unit (First Reception Unit)
20 control unit 21 transmission unit (second transmission means)
22 Authentication unit 23 Reception unit (second receiving means)
24 Louver control unit (directivity unten means)
25 Antenna part (directional antenna means)
31 Button detector (measurement start button)
32 Display control unit (notification means)

Claims (6)

A wireless system including a wireless base station and a wireless device that performs wireless communication between the wireless base station,
The radio base station is
First receiving means for receiving a request signal from the on-board wireless device;
Measuring means for measuring the electric field strength level of the request signal;
First transmission means for returning an answer signal including a measurement value of the measurement means;
With
The on-board radio mounted on the radio device is
Antenna means used for radio transmission and reception;
Louver position control means for controlling the position of a movable louver for blowing air incorporating the antenna means;
Second transmission means for transmitting the request signal from the antenna means;
Second receiving means for receiving an answer signal returned from the radio base station;
Antenna position control means for controlling the louver position control means based on the measurement value included in the answer signal;
A wireless system comprising: 2. The measured value of the electric field strength level is received by the antenna position control means when the main body is not operating, and communication with the radio base station 1 is started when the measured value of the electric field strength level exceeds a threshold value. The wireless system described. The measurement value of the electric field strength level is received by the antenna position control means by the user's operation of the measurement start button, and communication with the radio base station 1 is started when the measured value of the electric field strength level exceeds a threshold value The wireless system according to claim 1. 4. The wireless system according to claim 2, further comprising a notification unit configured to receive a measurement value of an electric field strength level by the antenna position control unit and to notify when the measurement value of the electric field strength level does not exceed a threshold value. In a communication control method of a wireless system comprising a wireless base station and a wireless device that performs wireless communication between the wireless base station,
Receiving a request signal from an onboard radio mounted on the radio device;
Measuring the field strength level of the request signal;
Returning an answer signal containing a measurement value of the measuring means;
Transmitting the request signal from the antenna means;
Receiving an answer signal returned from the radio base station;
Controlling the louver position control means based on a measurement value included in the answer signal;
A communication control method for a wireless system. The program which performs at least one part of the radio | wireless system of any one of Claims 1-4.