JP2012074896A - Multi-stage relay system and report route deletion method in the same system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily delete an unnecessary report route in a multi-stage relay system including a master unit and a slave unit.SOLUTION: According to this multi-stage relay system, when a repeater receives wireless data from a slave unit 10 (S101, YES), the repeater determines whether the slave unit 10 is housed in its own terminal or not (S102). When the slave unit is housed in its own terminal (S102, YES), the repeater further determines whether the wireless data is addressed to its own terminal or not (S103). When the wireless data is not addressed to its own terminal (S103, NO), the repeater determines whether pairing information of the slave unit exists in its own terminal or not (S105) and when it exists in its own terminal (S105, YES), the repeater deletes the pairing information of the slave unit from pairing information stored in its own terminal (S106).

Description

  The present invention relates to a multistage relay system comprising a radio base terminal (master unit) and a radio terminal (slave unit, relay unit), a method for deleting a notification route in the system, a program for executing the method, and a recording of the program The recording medium.

  Conventionally, systems such as automatic meter reading of gas and water meters or remote monitoring of fires and abnormalities are known (refer to Patent Document 1). The master unit transmits a request signal from the center unit to each slave unit accommodated in the master unit, and the slave unit is connected to the gas, water meter or sensor, In response, the detection signal is wirelessly transmitted to the parent device, and the parent device transmits, for example, to the center device via the telephone line network. The center device performs tasks such as issuing an invoice for the amount used based on the transmitted meter reading data. In these systems, a multistage relay system in which slave units are arranged in multiple stages is used.

In a remote monitoring system using a multistage relay system, a parent device and a plurality of child devices accommodated by the parent device communicate with each other according to a predetermined notification route. In this case, since communication between the master unit and the slave unit is normally performed by short-range communication means such as a specific low-power radio, for example, the slave units are arranged in multiple stages so that the slave unit separated from the master unit is another slave unit. Relay the machine to communicate with the parent machine.
For this reason, in this multi-stage relay system, between the slave units and between the slave units and the master unit, so-called framing that selects and sets the optimum communication destinations from the viewpoint of the communication environment, etc. is performed, and the framing information (that is, route information) is transmitted to the own terminal. Is stored (registered with a group). As a result, a route (report route) for connecting the terminals that are framed together is determined, and so-called framing processing is performed using the route as the gang information.
This framing is performed as appropriate in connection with, for example, the construction of a new remote monitoring system, a change in the communication environment, or the addition of slave units (relay units).

  In a system using such a multi-stage relay system, terminals such as slave units are generally placed outdoors, so that communication such as building can be made as time elapses from the initial position setting. The report route may need to be changed due to environmental deterioration. In such a case, the slave unit (relay unit) is re-engaged with another slave unit, etc., and the pair (route) information is reset. The edge assembly can be performed by a known method described in Patent Document 2, for example.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating a known edge assembling method.
In FIG. 6, the transmitting side slave unit A21 that is trying to assemble transmits a test signal to the other slave units A11 to A13, and the other slave units A11 to A13 that have received the test signal send the reply signal to the It transmits to transmitting side cordless handset A21. At this time, the other slave units A11 to A13 detect the electric field strength of the test signal, and perform a process of delaying the transmission timing of the return signal according to the detected electric field strength. The transmission side slave unit A21 stores the delay information of the reply signal, determines the electric field strength of the test signal in the reply signal source slave units A11 to A13 based on the delay information, and among them, the electric field strength (reply The one with the largest level (here, the receiving side slave unit A11: reply level 7) is registered as the main receiving partner slave unit. Further, the margin information (electric field strength, terminal ID, etc.) is notified to the center device (not shown) via the parent device, and the center device determines the route of the child device A21 as the optimum route, and according to this determination, the child device A A route is set for the machine A21.

By the way, in the general route setting method, in order to set the optimal communication destination from among the communication destination candidates once stored in the slave unit, select the combination of “master unit, relay unit, slave unit” that is the optimal report route However, other marriage information will inevitably remain in the handset, and even if the report route is changed due to changes in the communication environment, the original match information and therefore the report route (route) will remain unchanged. It will remain.
If the edge information of a route that is not actually used remains, the child machine information that should be canceled is actually stored in the child machine (relay machine) that relays communication of other child machines. Therefore, not only the number of slave units that can be associated with the relay device is reduced, but also when the slave device transmits a route registration request to the master device after registering the marriage information, the original wireless data is received. The relay unit (destination unit) forwards the wireless data to the base unit, so that the association information of the above-mentioned sub unit changed based on the route registration request that arrived at the base unit for a moment is rewritten, and the original notification route There is a risk of being returned to.

In order to solve this problem, when an unnecessary or abolished notification route is generated, it is necessary to quickly delete the association information related to it. In this regard, for example, Patent Document 2 describes that in a telemeter system, measures are taken to detect invalid association information and delete it.
In other words, in this telemeter system, when relocating one of the wireless terminals that have been assembled, when the new route is established by re-engaging with another wireless terminal, the master unit relays When new marriage information is received from the machine, it is confirmed whether or not the reporting route is a change in the reporting route currently held (that is, before re-matching). Confirm that the slave unit on that route belonged to another report route before re-engagement, and then determine that the pre-re-join of the slave unit was an invalid report route. Is registered, and the old registration information registered in duplicate is deleted.

  Even in this conventional telemeter system, it is of course possible to delete the association information of the handset that has become invalid due to re-association. However, in this telemeter system, once the center device is notified, the center device notifies the relay device of the deletion process. For this reason, this method is inefficient because it is necessary to wait until the deletion process is completed when the relay station newly performs an association during the deletion process (notifying).

JP 2006-339762 A JP 2010-134860 A

  An object of the present invention is to enable a multi-stage relay system to efficiently delete a route that has become unnecessary between a parent device and a child device with simpler processing than conventional processing. .

(1) A multistage relay system according to the present invention is configured to be connected by a report route based on the relationship information, and is composed of a slave unit composed of a plurality of radio terminals and a repeater and a master unit composed of a radio base terminal. The repeater is a multistage relay system having the following means. When receiving wireless data from the slave unit, means for determining whether the slave unit is a slave unit accommodated in the own terminal, and when the slave unit is a slave unit accommodated in the own terminal, Means for determining whether or not the destination of the wireless data is the own terminal; means for determining whether or not the association information of the slave unit is held in the own terminal when the destination is not the own terminal; and Means for deleting the held edge information when the edge information is held in the own terminal;
(2) The report route deleting method of the present invention is a multi-stage comprising a slave unit and a repeater unit composed of a plurality of radio terminals and a master unit composed of a radio base terminal, connected by a report route based on the match information. A method for deleting a notification route in a relay system, which is a method for deleting a notification route in a multistage relay system having the following steps executed in the relay unit. When receiving wireless data from the slave unit, determining whether or not the slave unit is a slave unit accommodated in the own terminal; and when the slave unit is a slave unit accommodated in the terminal, A step of determining whether or not the destination of the wireless data is the own terminal; a step of determining whether or not the association information of the child device is held in the own terminal when the destination is not the own terminal; and A step of deleting the held edge information when the edge information is held in the own terminal;
(3) The program of this invention is for performing each process of the deletion method of the report route described in said (2) with the computer of a relay machine.
(4) The recording medium of the present invention is a computer-readable medium on which the program described in (3) above is recorded.

  According to the present invention, in a multistage relay system, an unnecessary route can be efficiently deleted with a simpler process than the conventional one.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a multistage relay system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of a subunit | mobile_unit. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of a main | base station. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of a center apparatus. It is the flowchart which put together the procedure for deleting marriage information. It is a figure which illustrates an edge assembly method roughly.

An embodiment of a multistage relay system according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the multistage relay system of the present embodiment. This multistage relay system is used for, for example, automatic meter reading of gas and water meters, or remote monitoring systems such as fire and abnormality monitoring, and is a wireless terminal provided in each monitoring device (meter, etc.). It consists of a slave unit 10 (10 (1)...) And a master unit 20 that manages a plurality of slave units 10 and receives monitoring data from the slave unit 10.
In the present embodiment, the parent device 20 is further connected to the center device 30, and the center device 30 is connected to the plurality of parent devices 20 via a commercial communication network (communication network) 40 such as a telephone line. Monitoring data from the machine 20 is centrally managed.

  In this remote monitoring system, each slave unit 10, the master unit 20, and the center device 30 are connected so as to be able to perform data communication in both directions, and each slave unit 10 and the master unit 20 are directly connected to each other by an edge. Alternatively, it is connected via another slave unit 10.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the slave unit. The slave unit 10 (10 (1)...) Transmits / receives to perform wireless communication with the control unit 11 that performs control of the entire slave unit 10 and arithmetic processing, and other slave units 10 and the master unit 20. Unit 12, a storage unit 13 for storing setting data, an I / F unit 14 to which an external device such as a gas or a water meter is connected, a display unit 15 including an LED for displaying the operation state of the slave unit, for example, , An operation input unit 16 for performing a position registration operation, and an antenna 17 are provided.

  The control unit 11 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and generates a test signal to determine a parent device 20 or a child device 10 that can communicate with each other. A terminal information ID, an electric field strength, etc.) are stored in the storage unit 13, and a message analysis unit 113 that analyzes transmission messages of other slave units is provided.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of base unit 20.
The parent device 20 communicates with the center device 30 by an arbitrary communication method such as a circuit switching method or a packet communication method, for example, a control unit 21 that controls the entire device, a storage unit 22 that stores data necessary for control processing, and the like. The network control unit 23, a transmission / reception unit 24 that transmits and receives signals to and from the slave unit 10, an operation input unit 25 that performs setting operations and data input, and an antenna 26 that is connected to the transmission / reception unit 24 are provided. .
The control unit 21 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, and includes an update registration unit 211 that newly registers or updates registration of the group information in the storage unit 22 based on the group information transmitted from the handset 10 side.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the center device 30.
The center device 30 includes a control unit 31 including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, a network control unit 32 that communicates with the parent device 20, an operation input unit 35, a display unit 33, a storage unit 34, and the like.
The control unit 31 performs control of the center device 30 as a whole, registration processing of the terminal ID (identification information) of each of the parent device 20 and the child device 10 and the child device ID, etc., and the association information transmitted from the child device 10 side. The update registration unit 311 newly registers or updates the association information in the storage unit 34 based on the information.

The operation input unit 35 has input means such as a keyboard and a mouse for inputting various data and commands to the center device 30 from the outside.
The display unit 33 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), and displays information about the system, information about an external device (not shown) to which the monitored slave unit 10 is attached, an operation screen at the time of input to the center device 30, and the like. indicate.
The storage unit 34 includes, for example, a nonvolatile memory, a hard disk drive, etc., and a management data table including terminal IDs and slave unit IDs of the registered slave units 10 and information about external devices to which the slave units 10 are connected, In addition to the terminal ID of the parent device 20 and information related to the system necessary for communication, data of an external device transmitted from the parent device 20 is stored.

  The association information represents information in which the terminal ID of the child device (relay device) 10 or the parent device 20 as the communication destination, the terminal ID of the child device (relay device) as the communication source, and the electric field strength are recorded. When the slave unit (relay unit) 10 receives a message from the registered source slave unit (relay unit) 10 based on the association information, the slave unit (relay unit) 10 adds the identification code of its own terminal and transmits the transmission signal as a communication partner. The data is transmitted to the relay device (slave device) 10 or the parent device 20 in the higher structure.

  Here, in FIG. 1 again, for example, when the partner of the slave unit 10 (5) is changed from the slave unit 10 (7) to the slave unit 10 (8) and a new notification route is set, for example, The association information is created by the method, and is stored (registered) in the storage unit 13 of the own terminal (slave device 10 (5)). At the same time, the slave 10 (5) creates a route registration request (message; a message with its own terminal ID added), and creates a new communication destination based on the route registration request based on the new association information. It transmits to the child machine (relay machine) 10 (8). When the relay device (slave device) 10 (8) receives the registration request message, it adds its own match information (terminal ID, electric field strength, etc.) and transmits it to the communication destination based on the already registered match information. To do.

  In this case, since the child device 10 (8) is directly connected to the parent device 20, the communication destination is the parent device 20. Here, when the master unit 20 receives the registration request message, it extracts the match information (data related to the communication path of the registered slave unit 10 (5) → the slave unit 10 (8)) contained therein, and newly extracts it. It registers as a route of the registered slave 10 (5) installed. At the same time, the parent device 20 transmits a route registration request of the registered child device 10 (5) to the center device 30 via the communication network 40.

When the center device 30 receives the registration request message transmitted from the parent device 20, the terminal device IDs of the child devices 10 (5), 10 (8) and the parent device 20 are registered together with the terminal ID of the registered child device 10 (5) to be registered. Update registration of a route that has already been registered in association with.
When the center device 30 finishes updating the marriage information, the registration completion notification is transmitted by the above route, that is, the center device 30-the master device 20-the slave device 10 (8) -the slave device 10 (5), and the route registration is completed. To do.

Next, a process for deleting an existing report route when an arbitrary slave unit changes a route and constructs a new report route will be described.
In this embodiment, in a normal communication state, when wireless communication addressed to another terminal (slave unit or base unit) is received from the other party, the terminal (slave unit) has solved the relationship with the own terminal. It is determined that the process of resolving the match is performed, and the existing report route is deleted accordingly. That is, in FIG. 1, for example, when the slave unit 10 (5) that has changed the route transmits a route registration request (or when communication data is transmitted thereafter), the slave unit (relay unit) 10 of the original mating partner When (7) receives this, the control unit 11 is the related handset information stored in the handset by the handset 10 (5) from the destination terminal ID attached to the received wireless data. Confirms that the destination is not its own terminal, thereby automatically determining that the route to the child device 10 (5) has already been abolished, and obtaining the association information of the child device 10 (5) from the storage unit 13 of the own terminal. Perform the deletion process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for deleting the edge information described above.
In the process of deleting the association information, first, when the slave unit (relay unit) 10 receives wireless data from another slave unit (relay unit) 10 (S101), the destination address attached to the wireless data is displayed. From the terminal ID, it is determined whether or not it is a slave unit that is accommodated by the own terminal (that is, the slave unit that has been associated with the association information stored in the own terminal) (S102), and is accommodated in the own terminal If it is (S102, YES), it is determined whether or not it is addressed to its own terminal (S103). If it is addressed to its own terminal (S103, YES), normal communication processing is performed (S104) and the processing is terminated.
If it is not addressed to the own terminal in step S103 (S103, NO), it is determined whether or not the received association information with the slave unit exists (is held) in the own terminal (S105). If the match information exists (S105, YES), it is determined that the report route has already been changed, and the received match information of the slave unit stored in the terminal is deleted (S106), and the process ends. To do. In step S105, if the association information does not exist in the own terminal (S105, NO), the process is terminated.

  The processing for route abandonment described above can be executed by a computer including a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM of the control unit 11 of the slave unit (relay unit) 10 by a program. Further, the program can be read by a computer by recording it on an arbitrary recording medium.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a slave unit (including a relay unit) is replaced or a notification route is changed in the multistage relay system, based on the wireless data transmitted by the slave unit that has changed the notification route. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform the abolition processing of the route that has become unnecessary. In addition, the marriage information deleted by the relay station is notified to the master unit and the center apparatus, and the marriage information related to the terminal is deleted from the marriage information managed by each of them.

  10 (10 (1)...)... Slave unit, 20... Master unit, 30.

Claims (6)

A multi-stage relay system composed of a slave unit and a repeater composed of a plurality of wireless terminals and a master unit composed of a radio base terminal, which are configured to be connected by a report route based on match information,
A multistage relay system in which the repeater has the following means.
Means for determining whether or not the slave unit is a slave unit accommodated in the terminal when wireless data is received from the slave unit;
Means for determining whether or not the destination of the wireless data is the terminal when the terminal is a terminal accommodated in the terminal;
Means for determining whether or not the association information of the child device is held in the own terminal when the destination is not the own terminal;
Means for deleting the held edge information when the edge information of the slave is held in the terminal. In the multistage relay system according to claim 1,
The relay device has a means for transmitting information to the master unit when the match information of the slave unit is deleted from the match information held in the terminal. A method of deleting a report route in a multistage relay system composed of a slave unit and a repeater composed of a plurality of wireless terminals and a master unit composed of a radio base terminal, which are configured to be connected by a report route based on the relationship information,
A method for deleting a notification route in a multistage relay system having the following steps to be executed in the repeater.
A step of determining whether or not the slave unit is a slave unit accommodated in the terminal when wireless data is received from the slave unit;
A step of determining whether or not the destination of the wireless data is the terminal when the terminal is a terminal accommodated in the terminal;
When the destination is not the own terminal, a step of determining whether or not the association information of the child device is held in the own terminal;
A step of deleting the held edge information when the edge information of the slave is held in the own terminal; In the method for deleting a notification route according to claim 3,
A method for deleting a notification route, comprising: a step of transmitting the information to the parent device when the identification information of the child device is deleted from the notification route information held in the terminal.   The program for performing each process of the deletion method of the report route described in Claim 3 or 4 with the computer of a relay machine.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 5 is recorded.

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