JP2012128002A - Device map display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device map display device capable of changing a display of icons of devices according to a change in a reduction scale of an electronic map to be displayed on a display.SOLUTION: The device map display device includes: a display for displaying an electronic map, a reduction scale changing unit for changing the display reduction scale of the electronic map; an icon display unit for superposedly displaying device icons indicating the respective devices on the electronic map; a storage unit for storing a plurality of types of device icons of the respective devices; and an icon changing unit for changing the divice icons to be displayed on the display unit. The icon changing unit changes the device icons to be displayed according to the reduction scale of the electronic map to be displayed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a device map display device that displays an installation position of a wireless device for collecting meter reading information such as a gas meter on an electronic map.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, automatic meter reading systems that measure the usage of water or gas using a wireless communication line have been used. For example, in an automatic gas meter reading system, a center that collects and manages usage, a master unit connected to the center via a wireless communication line, and a gas meter (meter reading target device) attached to a gas supply source such as a gas cylinder And a relay device that relays between the master device and the slave device as necessary. Then, the slave unit acquires (receives) data indicating the amount of gas used from the meter reader at a predetermined timing, and transmits this data to the master unit directly or via a relay unit. The master unit transmits this data to the center. doing.

  By the way, in such an automatic meter-reading system, these main | base station, the relay machine, and the subunit | mobile_unit connected by radio | wireless are installed in the area of a predetermined range. There is a possibility that a plurality of relay devices are installed corresponding to one parent device in the same area, and a plurality of child devices are also installed for one relay device. As described above, a technique for displaying an electronic map on a display of a personal computer or the like and displaying an icon indicating each device on the electronic map in order to grasp the installation status of each device within a predetermined range is disclosed. (See Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-99651 A

  However, if the scale when displaying the electronic map on the display is small (that is, in the case of wide area display), it is necessary to display a large number of icons, which increases the processing load on the processor. On the other hand, when the display scale of the electronic map is large (that is, in the case of narrow-area display), the number of icons is small, which is preferable in that the processing load of the processor is small. The possibility that it will end up is relatively high.

  Therefore, in view of the circumstances as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a device map display device that can change the display of a device icon in accordance with a change in the scale of an electronic map displayed on a display. .

  The device map device according to the present invention includes a slave unit connected to a meter-reading target device, a master unit connected to the slave unit directly or via a relay unit via a wireless line, and the relay unit. An apparatus map display device for displaying an installation position of an apparatus on an electronic map, a display unit for displaying the electronic map, a map scale changing unit for changing a display scale of the electronic map, and an apparatus icon indicating each of the apparatuses An icon display unit that displays the electronic map in an overlapping manner, a storage unit that stores a plurality of types of the device icons for each device, and an icon change unit that changes the device icon displayed on the display unit. The icon changing unit is configured to change the device icon to be displayed according to the scale of the electronic map to be displayed.

  By adopting such a configuration, the display processing load of the processor is reduced even when the scale is relatively small, and it is less likely to be overlooked even when the scale is relatively large. You can switch to icon display.

  In addition, when the scale is larger than a predetermined value, the icon changing unit selects an illustration imitating the external shape of the device as the device icon to be displayed on the display unit, while the scale is less than the predetermined value. In some cases, a graphic simplified than the illustration may be selected as the device icon to be displayed on the display unit.

  In addition, the device icon displayed as an illustration when the scale is larger than the predetermined value is formed so that the child device, the relay device, and the parent device can be distinguished from each other by the shape, and the state of each device Different coloring may be given according to.

  Further, the device icon displayed as an illustration when the scale is larger than the predetermined value may be an illustration in which the external shape of each device is outlined.

  In addition, the device icon displayed as an illustration when the scale is larger than the predetermined value may have a square background colored with a color other than white around the outlined appearance. .

  Moreover, the corner | angular part of the said square-shaped background may be chamfered.

  The device icon may be formed so that the state of the corresponding device can be identified by overlapping display of a status illustration indicating the state, or by the background color indicating the state.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the apparatus map display apparatus which can change the display of the icon of an apparatus according to the change of the reduced scale of the electronic map displayed on a display can be provided.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the automatic meter-reading system assumed to use the apparatus map display apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the functional structure of an apparatus map display apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which illustrates the variation of an apparatus icon. It is a typical screen image which illustrates the electronic map and device icon which are displayed on the display of an apparatus map display device, (a) is a screen image when the display scale is displayed in a wide area below a predetermined value, ( b) shows a screen image when a part thereof is enlarged and displayed at a scale larger than a predetermined value. It is another example of a screen image when the display scale is displayed wide area below a predetermined value.

  Hereinafter, a device map display device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an automatic meter reading system that is assumed to use the device map display device according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, an automatic meter reading system that collects and manages the amount of gas used will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic meter reading system 1 includes a gas meter 2, a slave unit 3, a relay unit 4, a master unit 5, and a management center 6, which are meter reading target devices attached to a gas cylinder or the like. A device map display device 10 for displaying the positions of the devices 3 to 5 so as to be visible to the operator is also included.

  The subunit | mobile_unit 3 is connected with the gas meter 2 by wire or radio | wireless, and is data (meter-reading data or original data for calculating meter-reading data in the subunit | mobile_unit 3) which shows the usage-amount of gas regularly. Pulse signal). The handset 3 is connected to the base unit 5 directly or via the relay unit 4 via a wireless communication line, and the meter reading data acquired by the handset 3 is directly or via the relay unit 4. 5 is transmitted. The master unit 5 transmits the meter reading data received from the slave unit 3 or the relay unit 4 to the management center 6 via the wireless communication line. Note that communication between the base unit 5 and the management center 6 can use communication via the Internet (for example, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)), or is not limited to wireless communication, for example, PLC. Wired communication such as (Power Line Communications) may be used. On the other hand, for communication among the slave unit 3, the relay unit 4, and the master unit 5, for example, a specific low power radio can be used.

  Note that a predetermined number of channels is set in the relay device 4, and one relay device 4 can relay the meter reading data from the handset 3 for the set number of channels to the base device 5. Similarly, a predetermined number of channels is set for the master unit 5, and one master unit 5 relays the meter reading data from the slave unit 3 and the relay unit 4 for the set number of channels to the management center 6. Can do. The device map display device 10 is connected to the management center 6 via a wireless communication line so that device icons indicating the devices 3 to 5 can be displayed on the electronic map as will be described later. It has become.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the device map display device 10. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the device map display device 10 includes a display 11, a communication unit 12, an operation unit 13, a control unit 14, and a storage unit 15. Among these, the display 11 is a display unit composed of a liquid crystal display device or the like, and can display an electronic map. The communication unit 12 has a wireless communication function for communicating with the management center 6 via, for example, the Internet. The operation unit 13 is a device for accepting an operator's operation input, and various forms such as a keyboard and a touch panel can be employed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 14 has functions as a map display unit 14a, a scale change unit 14b, an icon display unit 14c, and an icon change unit 14d. The map display unit 14a displays (outputs) an electronic map, such as a city or a suburban residential area, stored in advance in the storage unit 15 on the display 11 in accordance with an operation performed by the operator on the operation unit 13. . The scale changing unit 14b changes the scale of the electronic map displayed on the display 11 according to the operation of the operator on the operation unit 13, and enlarges the scale to display a part of the scale. The scale can be reduced to display a wider area.

  The icon display unit 14 c displays icons (device icons) corresponding to the respective devices 3 to 5 stored in the storage unit 15 so as to be superimposed on the electronic map displayed on the display 11. In addition, the icon changing unit 14d appropriately selects a device icon to be displayed on the electronic map according to the scale of the electronic map displayed on the display 11, from among those stored in the storage unit 15, and electronically It is displayed on the map. Such device icons will be described later.

[Device icon]
FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating variations of the above-described device icons. As shown in FIG. 3, various devices icons corresponding to the states and display scales are set in the devices 3 to 5, and data indicating these device icons is stored in the storage unit 15 in advance. Yes. In addition, the device map display device 10 can acquire information on the installation locations and the states of the devices 3 to 5 that are actually installed (or planned to be installed) by communication with the management center 6. . However, information regarding installed devices may be acquired from each device itself by communication.

  Each device icon will be specifically described. First, “Not Installed” and “Installed” are displayed as device icons to be displayed when the scale when displayed on the display 11 is larger than a predetermined value R. Different display modes are set in accordance with the four types of states, “Active” and “Alarm”. In FIG. 3, “gray”, “blue”, and “red” are notated, but these notations themselves do not constitute device icons, but explain the color of the part indicated by the instruction line. To do.

  Among these, the “uninstalled” state of the slave unit 3 means a state in which the slave unit 3 is not installed at a place where the slave unit 3 is scheduled to be installed. The device icon indicating the “not installed” state has a background 100 which is a substantially square shape with four corners chamfered in an R shape and colored in gray, and the gas meter 2 to which the handset 3 is attached is provided in the background. A white illustration 101 simulating the external shape is arranged. Note that a device icon indicating “not installed” is also set for the relay device 4 and the parent device 5, and the difference from the device icon of the child device 3 is that the illustration displayed in a gray background is a child device. 3 is an illustration simulating the gas meter 2, whereas the repeater 4 or the master unit 5 is only an illustration simulating the external shape of the own device.

  Further, the “installed” state of the slave unit 3 means that the slave unit 3 is installed at a planned location, but the corresponding relay unit 4 or the master unit 5 is not installed, so that information is sent to the management center 6. In other words, it means a state in which communication with the management center 6 is impossible. In the device icon indicating the “installed” state, the illustration 102 indicating “communication impossible” is displayed in duplicate with the above-described “not installed” device icon. In the example shown in FIG. 3, an illustration 102 is shown in which a check mark (so-called “check point”) is displayed inside a substantially circular green background. The device icon indicating the “installed” state of the handset 3 is made such an illustration so that it can be clearly distinguished from the “not installed” state.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the “installed” device icon is set only for the child device 3, and is not set for the relay device 4 and the parent device 5. As described above, the “installed” state indicates that the slave unit 3 is installed but the communication with the management center 6 is “not possible to communicate”. This is because there is almost no possibility of such a situation with respect to 5. That is, since the relay device 4 and the master device 5 are in a state where communication with the management center 6 is possible almost at the same time as the installation is completed, the relay device 4 and the parent device 5 can be in the “installed” state shown in FIG. There is almost no sex. Therefore, no device icons indicating the “installed” state are set for the relay device 4 and the parent device 5.

  Next, the “operating” state of the slave unit 3 means that the slave unit 3 is installed at a predetermined location, and information regarding the flow rate acquired from the gas meter 2 is directly or via the relay unit 4. This means that transmission to 5 is possible. That is, it means a normal use state. The device icon indicating the “in operation” state is the above-described device icon indicating the “not installed” state in which the background 100 is colored in blue instead of gray. The relay device 4 and the parent device 5 are also set with device icons indicating “in operation”. The difference from the device icon of the child device is that the illustration displayed in the blue background is the child device 3. In the illustration, the illustration represents the gas meter 2, whereas the relay device 4 or the parent device 5 is only an illustration simulating the external shape of the own device.

  In addition, the “alarming” state of the slave unit 3 means a state in which a failure has occurred within the device itself or other detectable range. In the device icon indicating the “alarming” state, the background 100 is colored in red instead of gray in the device icon indicating the “not installed” state, and the illustration 103 indicating “problem occurrence” is displayed in duplicate. It has become a thing. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the illustration 106 displays a state in which sound is emitted inside a gray background having a substantially circular shape. Note that a device icon indicating an “alarming” state is also set for the relay device 4 and the parent device 5, and the difference from the device icon of the child device 3 is that the illustration displayed in a red background is a child device. 3 is an illustration simulating the gas meter 2, whereas the repeater 4 or the master unit 5 is only an illustration simulating the external shape of the own device.

  Furthermore, for the devices 3 to 5 in the “in operation” state and the devices 3 to 5 in the “alarming” state, when a plurality of devices (no matter what kind) are arranged on the map, The display is made with a device icon slightly different from that described above. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when a plurality of “in operation” devices are overlapped, a white “M” is displayed in place of the illustration corresponding to each device 3 to 5 in a blue background. "(Acronym for Multiple) is displayed with a substantially square frame. Even when multiple devices in the “alarming” state are overlapped, a white background “M” is displayed with a substantially square frame in the red background with an illustration 103 indicating “defect”. To do. As an overlapping state of devices in which this device icon is used, for example, in a housing complex such as an apartment, a state in which a plurality of devices are present at substantially the same location is assumed. In addition, as a device which exists in the same location, it is not restricted to a single kind of apparatus (for example, only the subunit | mobile_unit 3), A different kind of apparatus (for example, the subunit | mobile_unit 3 and the relay machine 4) may be sufficient.

  By using the device icons as described above, the types of the devices 3 to 5 and their states can be identified.

  On the other hand, as a device icon to be displayed when the scale when displayed on the display 11 is equal to or less than the predetermined value R, the device icon is displayed with one common basic figure regardless of the types and states of the devices 3 to 5. To do. In the example shown in FIG. 3, such a device icon has a simple square shape. However, the figure may be changed according to the type of the devices 3 to 5 and the coloring may be changed according to the state. For example, the slave unit 3 may be a square, the relay unit may be a triangle, and the master unit may be a circle. In addition, the “not installed” state may be colored gray, the “installed” state green, the “in operation” state blue, and the “alarming” state red.

[Display icon on map]
FIG. 4 is a schematic screen image illustrating an electronic map and a device icon displayed on the display 11 of the device map display device 10. FIG. 4A shows a case where the display scale is wide-area displayed with a predetermined value R or less. (B) shows a screen image when a part thereof is enlarged and displayed at a scale larger than a predetermined value R. Note that the notations “gray”, “blue”, and “red” in FIG. 4 do not constitute device icons as in the case of FIG. It explains the color. In addition, such display of the electronic map on the display 11 is executed by the control unit 14 functioning as the map display unit 14 a by the operator's operation on the operation unit 13.

  In the screen image shown in FIG. 4A, a large number of device icons I are displayed on the electronic map. These device icons I are simple square device icons (see FIG. 3) because the map display scale is a predetermined value R or less, and the devices 3 to 5 and the state cannot be identified. Since the display is simple, the processing load on the control unit 14 of the device map display device 10 can be reduced. In the device map display device 10 according to the present embodiment, when the device icon I is simply displayed as shown in FIG. 4A (scale ≦ R), the device icon displayed on the upper right and lower sides of the screen. The total number of I is displayed.

  On the other hand, the screen image shown in FIG. 4B is obtained by enlarging and displaying only the portion indicated by the broken line in the screen image of FIG. The switching from the wide-area display screen image of FIG. 4A to the enlarged screen image of FIG. 4B is performed by the control unit 14 as the scale changing unit 14b according to the operation of the operator to the operation unit 13. Performed by functioning. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the scale ratio is larger than a predetermined value R, each device is displayed with a mutually distinguishable device icon as shown in FIG. Such a change of the device icon according to the scale ratio is executed by the control unit 14 functioning as the icon change unit 14d.

  Specifically, the screen image of FIG. 4B will be described. In this screen image, device icons Ia to Ih indicating eight devices are displayed, and the device icon Ia at the lower left of the screen is displayed from the display mode. It can be seen that the parent device 5 is “in operation”. Further, it can be seen from the display mode of the device icons Ib and Ic that two relay devices 4 that are also “in operation” are arranged in the vicinity thereof. Two slave units 3 are arranged on the opposite side of the relay unit 4 across the road extending in the vertical direction of the screen, and both of these are in the “installed” state. It can be seen from the display mode of Id and Ie. Further, three slave units 3 are arranged in the upper right of the screen. Of these, two devices are “operating” but one is “alarming” from the display mode of the device icons If to Ih. I understand.

  As described above, when the map is enlarged and displayed at a scale ratio larger than the predetermined value R, each device icon I is set to a specific display mode including an illustration in the background. It is easy to see one. Moreover, by setting it as the display mode as shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to identify the devices 3 to 5 and the type of state from the display on the map.

  When the scale ratio is equal to or less than the predetermined value R, it is possible to adopt a display mode as shown in FIG. 5A and 5B show a case where the entire region of Australia is displayed. In FIG. 5A, one device icon I is represented for each region where a plurality of devices are installed. The total number of devices in the area is displayed in the vicinity of the device icon I. Further, in (b), the device icon I is not displayed, the total number of devices is circled for each region, and the diameter of this circle is set to a size corresponding to the total number of devices. ing.

  The present invention can be applied to a device map display device that can change the display of a device icon in accordance with a change in the scale of an electronic map displayed on a display.

1 Automatic meter reading system 2 Gas meter (device for meter reading)
3 slave unit 4 relay unit 5 master unit 6 management center 10 device map display device 11 display 12 communication unit 13 operation unit 14 control unit 14a map display unit 14b scale change unit 14c icon display unit 14d icon change unit 15 storage unit

Claims (7)

For the slave unit connected to the meter-reading target device, the master unit connected to the slave unit directly or via a relay unit via a wireless line, and the relay unit, the installation position of each device on the electronic map A device map display device for displaying,
A display unit for displaying the electronic map;
A map scale changing unit for changing the display scale of the electronic map;
An icon display unit for displaying device icons indicating the respective devices on the electronic map;
For each of the devices, a storage unit that stores a plurality of types of the device icons, and an icon change unit that changes the device icons displayed on the display unit,
The device changing unit is configured to change the device icon to be displayed according to the scale of the electronic map to be displayed. The icon changing unit
When the scale is larger than a predetermined value, an illustration imitating the external shape of the device is selected as the device icon to be displayed on the display unit,
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein when the scale is equal to or less than the predetermined value, a graphic simplified than the illustration is selected as the device icon to be displayed on the display unit. Map display device.   When the scale is larger than the predetermined value, the device icon displayed as an illustration is formed so that the slave device, the relay device, and the master device can be distinguished from each other by shape, and further, according to the state of each device. The device map display device according to claim 2, wherein the device map display device is colored differently.   4. The device map display device according to claim 3, wherein the device icon displayed as an illustration when the scale is larger than the predetermined value is an illustration in which the external shape of each device is outlined. .   The device icon displayed as an illustration when the scale is larger than the predetermined value has a square background colored with a color other than white around a white outline shape. 4. The device map display device according to 4.   6. The apparatus map display device according to claim 5, wherein corners of the square background are chamfered. The device icon is formed so that the state of the corresponding device can be identified by overlapping display of status illustrations indicating the state or by the background color indicating the state. The apparatus map display apparatus in any one of thru | or 6.