JP2012132746A - Data logger, measurement processing method of data logger and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data logger that can make a highly reliable calculation of the time during which an object is placed in an improper environment.SOLUTION: A data logger comprises: threshold comparison means that compares a measurement value obtained by measuring an object to be measured at a predetermined timing with a threshold and outputs comparison data as the comparison result; previous comparison data storage means that stores previous comparison data being comparison data obtained in the measurement immediately previous to the ongoing measurement of the measurement value; control means that generates an execution request for calculating an improper time according to the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data and updates the storage contents of the previous comparison data storage means by setting the comparison data as the previous comparison data; and improper time calculation means that calculates, according to the execution request, the sum of improper times that are the time during which the object to be measured was placed out of a proper environment.

Description

  The present invention relates to a data logger, a data logger measurement processing method, and a program, and more particularly to a data logger capable of calculating highly reliable data, a data logger data measurement processing method, and a program.

  Data loggers are used in environmental measurement and quality control of goods. The data logger is a measuring device that measures data related to a monitoring target with a sensor or the like and stores the data. The data logger is, for example, RFID.

  For example, a data logger (temperature logger) for acquiring temperature is used when checking whether fresh food or frozen food is being transported at a predetermined management temperature.

  When the object is managed by such a data logger, it is necessary to obtain the time spent in an environment outside a predetermined management temperature in order to quantify the transport quality.

  Although it is easy to transfer the data acquired by the data logger to the PC for analysis, it takes time to transfer all the measurement data stored in the data logger. Some very small RFID tags do not have enough storage.

  In actual operation, data transfer from the data logger to the PC is performed by a reading gate on the belt conveyor that conveys the measurement target. For this reason, the transfer of data must be completed shortly after passing through the read gate. It is very difficult to transfer all measurement data during this time. For this reason, it is considered that a summary of measurement data is created in advance by a data logger and only the summary is transferred.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a data logger that can detect that the user is placed in an environment outside the control temperature and create a summary.

  This data logger stores a value and time when a predetermined set value is exceeded in a predetermined storage area. By using such a data logger, it is possible to acquire the time during which the measurement object has been placed in an environment outside the control temperature.

JP 03-131722 JP 2006-052928 A JP2008-227711

  However, the data logger described in Patent Literature 1 lacks accuracy in calculating the time during which the measurement target is placed in an environment outside the proper environment, and cannot be said to be able to perform calculation with high reliability.

  This is because the data logger described in Patent Document 1 performs the process for each measurement performed for calculating the time spent in the environment outside the proper environment using only the measurement value at the temporary point.

  As described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a data logger capable of calculating with high reliability with respect to a time when an object is placed in an environment outside a proper environment.

  In order to achieve the above object, the data logger of the present invention compares a measurement value acquired by measuring a measurement target at a predetermined timing with a threshold value, and outputs a comparison data as a comparison result, The previous comparison data storage unit that stores the previous comparison data, which is the comparison data at the time of the previous measurement at the time of measurement value measurement, and the execution for calculating the appropriate overtime according to the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data A control unit that generates a request and uses the comparison data as the previous comparison data to update the storage contents of the previous comparison data storage unit, and the time that the measurement target has been placed in an inappropriate environment based on the execution request. And a non-appropriate overtime calculator that calculates the total time.

  In order to achieve the above object, the data logger measurement processing method of the present invention compares a measurement value obtained by measuring a measurement target at a predetermined timing with a threshold value, and outputs comparison data as a comparison result. Stores the previous comparison data, which is the comparison data of the previous measurement at the time of measurement value measurement, and generates an execution request to calculate the appropriate overtime according to the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data. The contents of the storage are updated using the data as the previous comparison data, and the total appropriate outside time, which is the time during which the measurement target has been placed in the inappropriate environment, is calculated based on the execution request.

  In order to achieve the above object, the program of the present invention compares a measured value acquired by measuring a measurement target at a predetermined timing with a threshold value, outputs comparison data as a comparison result, and measures the measured value. The previous comparison data, which is the comparison data of the previous measurement at the time of the previous measurement, is stored, an execution request is generated to calculate an inappropriate time according to the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data, and the comparison data is The content of the storage is updated as the previous comparison data, and a process of calculating the total of the proper outside time, which is the time during which the measurement target has been placed in the outside environment, is executed based on the execution request.

  According to the data logger, the data logger measurement processing method, and the program of the present invention, it is possible to perform highly reliable calculation regarding the time when the object is placed in an appropriate environment.

  The reason is that not only the comparison data of the current measurement but also the process to be executed using the previous comparison data that is the comparison data of the previous measurement can be selected.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the data logger 100 which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the measurement data which the measurement part 101 outputs. It is a figure which shows an example of the threshold value memorize | stored in the threshold value memory | storage part. It is the figure which showed the example of the comparison data which the threshold value comparison part 103 outputs. It is the figure which showed the example of the last comparison data memorize | stored in the last comparison data memory | storage part. It is the figure which showed the selection method of the process in the control part 105 in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the reason for performing a measurement interval addition process in this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the operation | movement which the data logger 100 which concerns on 1st Embodiment performs for every measurement. It is a flowchart figure which shows the example of the process which calculates | requires comparison data in a comparison data acquisition step. It is a flowchart figure which shows the detail of operation | movement of a selection step and an execution step. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the data logger 200 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of comparison data output by a threshold comparison unit 201. FIG. It is the figure which showed the selection method of the process in the control part 203 in 2nd Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the example of measurement data. It is a figure for demonstrating the reason for performing time addition processing more than an upper limit. It is a flowchart figure which shows the example of the process which calculates | requires comparison data in the comparison data acquisition step of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the detail of operation | movement of the selection step and execution step in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the data logger 300 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a hardware block diagram of the data logger which concerns on each embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the temperature history of the target object measured with the data logger. It is the figure which graphed the example of the temperature history of the target object measured with the data logger.

  First, in order to facilitate understanding of the embodiment of the present invention, the background of the present invention and the outline of the embodiment will be described.

  In order to use the data logger for quantification of transport quality, the worst value expected from the measured data is required during the period when the measurement result of the measurement object changes between the outside environment and the inside environment. Alternatively, it is desirable that the error value between the time actually put in the environment outside the proper time and the time measured by the data logger is as small as possible. However, for example, the numerical values obtained by the data logger calculation method described in Patent Document 1 are not satisfied, and thus cannot be said to be highly reliable values.

  In the data logger described in Patent Document 1, the reason why it is not possible to calculate a reliable value for the time when the measurement target (hereinafter also referred to as an object) is placed in the proper outside environment is that This is because the process for each measurement performed for the calculation is performed using only the measurement value at the temporary point (or the measurement value at the timing of the predetermined interval). This will become clear from FIGS. 20 and 21 described next.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of temperature history data of an object measured by a data logger.

  In the temperature history data shown in FIG. 20, the row of elapsed time indicates the elapsed time since the start of measurement of the object. Further, the temperature row indicates data on the temperature of the object at the time corresponding to the elapsed time. The temperature history data is data when measurement is performed at a timing of 5 minutes. If the threshold value that is the proper transport temperature of the object is 21 ° C., the temperature history data indicates that the measured temperature at the time of 15 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, and 40 minutes exceeds the threshold value.

  A data logger that uses only a measurement value at a single time point compares a measurement value with a threshold value for each measurement, and counts up if the value is outside the threshold value. When the measurement is completed, the data logger multiplies the value of the counter by the measurement interval to calculate the time during which the object is placed in an environment outside the proper range. For example, in the case of the data shown in FIG. 20, the data logger counts up the counter when measuring 15 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, and 40 minutes, so the value of the counter is 4. The time in the proper outside environment is calculated to be 20 minutes by multiplying the counter value 4 at the time when the measurement is completed and the measurement interval 5 minutes.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of graphing the temperature history data of the object shown in FIG. 20 measured by the data logger.

  In FIG. 21, the vertical axis of the graph indicates the temperature that is the measured value. The horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time from the start of measurement. A curve connecting the measured values indicates an actual temperature change not recorded in the data logger.

  “Time of temperature outside threshold value” at the top of the graph indicates the time outside the threshold value in the actual temperature change represented by a curve. “Total time of temperature outside threshold value” is obtained by adding the time of temperature outside threshold value. Referring to this graph, it can be seen that the time during which the subject is actually placed in the proper outside environment is about 27 minutes. This value is greatly different from the value of 20 minutes calculated by the data logger calculation method using only the measured values at four times of 15 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, and 40 minutes. The value of 20 minutes is not highly reliable in that it is much less than the actual time.

  According to the data logger, the data logger measurement processing method and the program according to the embodiment of the present invention described below, by considering not only the measurement value at the temporary point but also the measurement value at the previous measurement time point, A highly reliable value can be calculated for the time that the subject is placed in an environment outside the proper range.

  In addition, there exist patent document 2 and patent document 3 as a technique relevant to this invention. Patent Document 2 (for example, [0045], [0046] paragraphs, etc.) and Patent Document 3 (for example, [0023] paragraphs, etc.) perform different processing depending on whether the value measured by the sensor is within or outside the threshold value. The technique to be performed is described.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a data logger 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a data logger 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a measurement unit 101, a threshold storage unit 102, a threshold comparison unit 103, a previous comparison data storage unit 104, a control unit 105, and an appropriate outside time calculation. Part 106 is included. The appropriate outside time calculation unit 106 includes a measurement interval addition unit 111, an appropriate outside time storage unit 112, and a measurement interval storage unit 113.

  The data logger 100 according to the first embodiment performs selection execution of the measurement interval addition process performed by the measurement interval addition unit 111 for each measurement.

  The measurement unit 101 periodically measures specific data and sequentially outputs the measurement data to the control unit 105. Specific data includes, for example, temperature, humidity, impact, acceleration, illuminance, inclination, vibration, and the like. In the present embodiment, the measurement data output from the measurement unit 101 is data including at least a measurement value.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of measurement data output from the measurement unit 101. As shown in FIG. 2, the measurement data is composed of a time and a measurement value. The measurement data in FIG. 2 means that the measurement value at 15:00 on the time 2010/06/10 was 21.5. In the present embodiment, it is only necessary to include measurement values as measurement data, and time is not necessarily required.

  Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described using an example in which measurement unit 101 is realized by a temperature sensor. However, the following description does not limit the technical scope of the present invention to the example of the temperature sensor.

  The threshold value storage unit 102 stores a threshold value indicating an environmental value that is determined to be appropriate for placing an object to be measured.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of threshold values stored in the threshold value storage unit 102. As shown in FIG. 3, the types of threshold values include at least an upper threshold value and a lower threshold value. The threshold storage unit 102 stores values corresponding to the upper limit threshold and the lower limit threshold as thresholds. Here, when the measured value is a temperature, an environment in which the measured value is lower than the upper limit threshold and higher than the lower limit threshold is appropriate as an environment where the measurement target is placed. The threshold shown in FIG. 3 means that it is appropriate to place the object in an environment having a temperature higher than 0 ° C. and lower than 21 ° C.

  The threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 102 is referred to by the threshold value comparison unit 103.

  The threshold comparison unit 103 receives a comparison request including a measurement value from the control unit 105. The threshold value comparison unit 103 refers to or acquires the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 102 and compares the measurement value included in the comparison request from the control unit 105 with the threshold value. The threshold comparison unit 103 obtains comparison data that is a result of the comparison and outputs the comparison data to the control unit 105.

  That is, the threshold value comparison unit 103 compares the measurement value acquired from the measurement unit 101 with the threshold value, and outputs comparison data.

  In the comparison of this embodiment, the upper threshold value and the measured value, the lower threshold value and the measured value are respectively determined, and when the measured value is smaller than the upper threshold and larger than the lower threshold, “within threshold”, otherwise In this process, data indicating “outside threshold” is used as comparison data as a result. The threshold comparison unit 103 outputs the obtained comparison data to the control unit 105.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the comparison data output by the threshold value comparison unit 103 and the measurement value and the threshold value comparison determination. According to FIG. 4, if the result of the above determination by the threshold comparison unit 103 is lower limit threshold <measured value <upper limit threshold, comparison data indicating “within threshold”, measured value <= lower limit threshold, upper limit threshold <= measurement In this case, comparison data indicating “outside threshold” is output to the control unit 105.

  The previous comparison data storage unit 104 stores previous comparison data that is comparison data at the time of measurement of the measurement value that is the target of the process selected by the control unit 105, that is, previous measurement data. The previous comparison data stored in the previous comparison data storage unit 104 is referred to and updated by the control unit 105.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the previous comparison data stored in the previous comparison data storage unit 104. FIG. 5 means that the comparison data at the previous measurement was “within threshold”.

  The previous comparison data stored in the previous comparison data storage unit 104 is referred to in order to select a process to be executed by the control unit 105. In addition, the previous comparison data is overwritten and updated with the comparison data of the control unit 105 at that time after selecting the process to be executed by the control unit 105.

  Measurement data is supplied from the measurement unit 101 to the control unit 105. The control unit 105 sends a comparison request including a measurement value to the threshold value comparison unit 103 and receives comparison data. Further, the control unit 105 refers to the previous comparison data stored in the previous comparison data storage unit 104. Furthermore, the control unit 105 selects a process using the received comparison data and the previous comparison data. The control unit 105 determines the transmission destination of the execution request based on the selected process. In addition, the control unit 105 overwrites and updates the previous comparison data stored in the previous comparison data storage unit 104 with the comparison data.

  The control unit 105 determines the transmission destination of the execution request based on the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data, and updates the storage content of the previous comparison data storage unit using the comparison data as the previous comparison data.

  Specifically, when measurement data is supplied from the measurement unit 101, the control unit 105 operates as follows. That is, the control unit 105 extracts a measurement value from the measurement data, sends a comparison request including the measurement value to the threshold value comparison unit 103, and receives comparison data as a response. Next, the control unit 105 refers to the previous comparison data stored in the previous comparison data storage unit 104. The control unit 105 selects a process to be executed from one or more processes prepared in advance based on the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data. Next, the control unit 105 determines a configuration unit that transmits an execution request among the configuration units included in the inappropriate outside time calculation unit 106 based on the selected process. In the data logger 100 according to the present embodiment, since the comparison data and the previous comparison data have two values “inside threshold” and “outside threshold”, processing to be executed from among four types of processing that is the number of combinations thereof. Can be selected.

  In the present embodiment, the appropriate outside time calculation unit 106 includes a measurement interval addition unit 111 that executes a measurement interval addition process for calculating an appropriate outside time, and the control unit 105 executes this measurement interval addition process. Select whether or not.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a selection method of execution processing in the control unit 105 in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 105 selects the measurement interval addition process when the comparison data and the previous comparison data are both “within threshold”. In this case, the control unit 105 determines the transmission destination of the execution request to the measurement interval addition unit 111 and transmits it.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the reason for executing the measurement interval addition process in the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is an example of graphing data obtained by measuring the temperature of an object with an upper limit threshold of 21 ° C. using a data logger. A vertical axis | shaft shows the temperature which is a measured value. The horizontal axis indicates the number of times of measurement representing the number of times of measurement.

  As an example, consider the processing at the time of the third measurement. As shown in FIG. 7, the comparison data obtained from the third measurement value is “within threshold”. Only with this comparison data, it is only possible to know that the object was in the proper internal environment only at one point of time at the time of the third measurement. However, if it is found that the second comparison data that is the previous comparison data is “outside threshold value”, the temperature of the object is changed from outside the threshold value to the threshold value at a certain time between the second measurement time and the third measurement time. You can see that it has changed. Thereby, the comparison data obtained from the third measurement value is “within threshold”, but it can be determined that the object was placed in an environment outside the proper range between the second measurement and the third measurement. Here, the period from the second measurement to the third measurement is a period during which the measurement result changes between the appropriate outside environment and the appropriate inside environment.

  In the present embodiment, in order to take into account the time that has been placed in an environment outside the proper interval between measurements, the control unit 105 performs an execution process based on a combination of comparison data and previous comparison data, as shown in FIG. Select.

  The appropriate outside time calculation unit 106 executes processing based on the comparison data and the previous comparison data for each measurement. The appropriate outside time calculation unit 106 calculates an appropriate outside time using the result of the processing. The appropriate outside time calculation unit 106 according to the present embodiment includes a measurement interval addition unit 111, an appropriate outside time storage unit 112, and a measurement interval storage unit 113.

  When receiving an execution request from the control unit 105, the measurement interval adding unit 111 refers to the measurement interval stored in the measurement interval storage unit 113, and adds the measurement interval to the appropriate outside time stored in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112. The measurement interval addition process to be executed is executed. The measurement interval addition unit 111 may output an appropriate outside time after the addition to an output unit (not shown) such as a display.

  The appropriate outside time storage unit 112 stores an appropriate outside time that is a time when the measurement target is not placed in a predetermined environment, that is, an environment within a threshold. The appropriate outside time storage unit 112 adds the appropriate outside time by the measurement interval adding unit 111.

  The measurement interval storage unit 113 stores the measurement interval.

  For example, consider the case where the data logger is set to measure every 300 seconds. In this case, the measurement interval storage unit 113 stores a measurement interval represented by a numerical value of 300. It is assumed that the measurement interval addition process is performed five times based on the contents of FIG. At this time, the measurement interval adding unit 111 adds a total of 1500 seconds (= 300 × 5) to the appropriate outside time stored in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112.

  Next, the overall operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation performed by the data logger 100 according to the first embodiment for each measurement.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment, the operation steps executed by the data logger 100 for each measurement are the data measurement step, the comparison data acquisition step, the previous comparison data acquisition step, the selection step, the execution step, and the previous comparison data. An update step.

Hereinafter, each step will be described.
S100 (data measurement step): The measurement unit 101 periodically performs measurement, and outputs the acquired measurement data to the control unit 105. The control unit 105 is supplied with measurement data from the measurement unit 101.
S200 (comparison data acquisition step): The control unit 105 sends a comparison request including a measurement value to the threshold value comparison unit 103 and receives comparison data.
S300 (previous comparison data acquisition step): The control unit 105 acquires the previous comparison data from the previous comparison data storage unit 104.
S400 (selection step): The control unit 105 selects a process to be executed based on the comparison data and the previous comparison data, and determines a transmission destination of the execution request based on the process when executing the process. If the process is not executed, the process proceeds to the previous comparison data update step.
S500 (execution step): When the measurement interval adding unit 111 receives an execution request from the control unit 105, the measurement interval adding unit 111 adds the measurement interval to the appropriate outside time stored in the outside proper time storage unit 112, and the added outside appropriate time is outside the proper time. Store in the time storage unit 112.
S600 (previous comparison data update step): The control unit 105 overwrites and updates the previous comparison data stored in the previous comparison data storage unit 104 with the comparison data acquired in the comparison data acquisition step (S200), and ends the process.

  The data logger 100 of this embodiment performs the above operation for each measurement.

  Hereinafter, the comparison data acquisition step, the selection step, and the execution step will be specifically described.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for obtaining comparison data in the comparison data acquisition step. Steps S201 to S206 are as follows.
S201: The control unit 105 sends a comparison request including a measurement value to the threshold value comparison unit 103. The threshold comparison unit 103 receives the comparison request and proceeds to S202.
S202: The threshold value comparison unit 103 acquires a threshold value from the threshold value storage unit 102, and proceeds to S203. The threshold value includes an upper threshold value and a lower threshold value.
S203: The threshold value comparing unit 103 compares the measured value with the upper limit threshold value acquired in S202. When upper limit threshold> = measured value, the process proceeds to S205, and when upper limit threshold <measured value, the process proceeds to S204.
S204: The threshold comparison unit 103 sends “outside threshold” as comparison data to the control unit 105. The control unit 105 receives “outside threshold” and ends the process.
S205: The threshold comparison unit 103 compares the measured value with the lower limit threshold acquired in S202. When the lower limit threshold <= measured value, the process proceeds to S206, and when the lower limit threshold> measured value, the process proceeds to S204.
S206: The threshold value comparison unit 103 sends “within threshold value” to the control unit 105 as comparison data. The control unit 105 receives “within threshold” and ends the process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of operations of the selection step and the execution step. Steps S401 to S502 are as follows.
S401: The control unit 105 determines whether the comparison data acquired in S200 is “within threshold”. When the comparison data is “within threshold”, the process proceeds to S402, and when the comparison data is “outside threshold”, the process proceeds to S501.
S402: The control unit 105 determines whether the previous comparison data acquired in S300 is “within threshold”. If the previous comparison data was “within threshold”, the process is terminated without performing the execution step. When the previous comparison data is “outside threshold value”, the control unit 105 transmits an execution request to the measurement interval addition unit 111 and proceeds to S501.
S501: The measurement interval adding unit 111 refers to or acquires the measurement interval stored in the measurement interval storage unit 113, and proceeds to S502.
S502: The measurement interval adding unit 111 adds the measurement interval referred to or acquired in S501 to the appropriate outside time stored in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112, and stores the added outside time in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112. The process ends.

  As described above, according to the data logger 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to calculate with high reliability with respect to the time when the object is placed in the environment outside the proper environment. This is because the previous comparison data stored in the previous comparison data storage unit 104 is acquired and updated. In addition, the control unit 105 generates an execution request for calculating an appropriate outside time corresponding to the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data, and the appropriate outside time calculation unit 106 based on the execution request It is because it calculates. Specifically, the control unit 105 can select the process of adding the measurement interval to the appropriate outside time when both the comparison data and the previous comparison data are not within the threshold value.

  By doing so, when the time between the previous measurement and the current measurement includes a measurement value outside the threshold, the worst of the proper outside time is judged that the section is not in the appropriate environment. The value can be recorded in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112 for each measurement. That is, when the data logger 100 calculates the appropriate outside time, the worst value is calculated for the period in which the measurement result changes between the appropriate outside environment and the appropriate inside environment, so it can be said that the value is highly reliable. .

  In the description of the present embodiment, an example in which temperature is handled as a sensor has been presented, but the present invention can also be applied to a logger using another sensor.

  For example, in the case of a logger that uses an acceleration sensor to detect whether there has been vibration, the threshold value comparison unit 103 in which the upper and lower threshold values are set for acceleration is such that the measured acceleration value is not more than the upper limit and not less than the lower limit, respectively. If it is, “within threshold” may be output as the comparison data. And the control part 105 should just add a measurement space | interval to an appropriate outside time, when both the comparison data of the last comparison data and this time measured value are not "inside threshold value".

Second Embodiment
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the data logger 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 11, a data logger 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a measurement unit 101, a threshold storage unit 102, a threshold comparison unit 201, a previous comparison data storage unit 202, a control unit 203, and a previous measurement value storage unit. 204, and an inappropriate outside time calculation unit 205. The appropriate outside time calculation unit 205 includes an upper limit time addition unit 211, a lower limit time addition unit 212, a measurement interval addition unit 111, an appropriate outside time storage unit 112, and a measurement interval storage unit 113.

  The data logger 200 according to the second embodiment includes a measurement interval addition process performed by the measurement interval addition unit 111 for each measurement, an upper limit or more time addition process performed by the upper limit or more time addition unit 211, and a lower limit or less time addition unit 212. The lower limit lower time addition process performed at is selected and executed.

  The measurement unit 101 and the threshold storage unit 102 have the same functions as those in the first embodiment.

  The threshold value comparison unit 201 has the same function as the threshold value comparison unit 103 according to the first embodiment, but the comparison data is different from the comparison processing method. The threshold value comparison unit 201 acquires an upper limit threshold value and a lower limit threshold value as threshold values, and outputs three values indicating “within threshold value”, “above upper limit value”, or “lower limit value” as comparison data.

  That is, the comparison of the present embodiment determines the upper threshold value and the measured value, the lower threshold value and the measured value, respectively, and when the measured value is smaller than the upper threshold value and larger than the lower threshold value, This is a process of outputting “more than the upper limit” when the value is equal to or greater than the upper limit threshold value, and “less than the lower limit” as the comparison data as the comparison result when the measured value is equal to or less than the lower limit threshold value.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the comparison data output by the threshold value comparison unit 103 and the measurement value and the threshold value comparison determination. According to FIG. 12, the threshold value comparison unit 103 determines that “within threshold value” when lower limit threshold value <measurement value <upper limit threshold value, “lower than lower limit value” when measurement value <= lower limit threshold value, and upper limit threshold value == measurement value. At this time, “over the upper limit” is output to the control unit 105.

  The previous comparison data storage unit 202 has the same function as the previous comparison data storage unit 104 according to the first embodiment, but the previous comparison data handled is different. In the present embodiment, three comparison data “within threshold”, “above upper limit”, and “below lower limit” obtained by the threshold comparison unit 201 are handled.

  The control unit 203 has a function of updating the previous measurement value stored in the previous measurement value storage unit 204 in addition to the same function as the control unit 105 according to the first embodiment. Moreover, the selection method of the process to perform differs. In the data logger 200 according to the present embodiment, the comparison data and the previous comparison data take three values of “within threshold”, “above the upper limit”, and “below the lower limit”. It is possible to select a process to be executed from among them.

  In the present embodiment, the appropriate outside time calculation unit 205 includes three components, that is, an upper limit or more time addition unit 211, a lower limit or less time addition unit 212, and a measurement interval addition unit 111. The control unit 203 selects a measurement interval addition process, an upper-limit upper time addition process, and a lower-lower limit time addition process performed by each component.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a process selection method in the control unit 203 in the second embodiment. According to FIG. 13, the data logger 200 executes the measurement interval addition process when both the previous comparison data and the comparison data are “above the upper limit” or “below the lower limit”. When the comparison data is different from the previous comparison data and one of them is “above the upper limit”, the data logger 200 executes the time addition process over the upper limit. The data logger 200 executes the lower limit lower time addition process when the comparison data is different from the previous comparison data and either one is “lower limit or lower”.

  Each process is executed when each component receives an execution request. That is, when both the previous comparison data and the comparison data are “above the upper limit” or “below the lower limit”, the control unit 203 determines the transmission destination of the execution request to the measurement interval addition unit 111 and transmits it. Further, when the comparison data is different from the previous comparison data and one of them is “lower than the lower limit”, the control unit 203 determines the transmission destination of the execution request to the lower limit lower time addition unit 212 and transmits it. In addition, when the comparison data is different from the previous comparison data and one of them is “above the upper limit”, the control unit 203 determines the destination of the execution request and transmits it to the upper limit or more time addition unit 211.

  The previous measurement value storage unit 204 stores the previous measurement value that is the previous measurement value at the time of measurement of the measurement value currently being processed by the control unit 203, that is, the measurement value at the previous measurement. The previous measurement value stored in the previous measurement value storage unit 204 is referred to or acquired by the upper limit time or more time addition unit 211 and the lower limit or less time addition unit 212 and is updated by the control unit 203.

  The previous measurement value stored in the previous measurement value storage unit 204 is used by the upper limit time addition unit 211 and the lower limit lower time addition unit 212 to calculate a value to be added to the appropriate outside time. Further, the previous measurement value stored in the previous measurement value storage unit 204 is overwritten and updated with the measurement value of the control unit 203 at that time after selecting the process to be executed by the control unit 203.

  As described above, the appropriate outside time calculation unit 205 executes processing based on the comparison data and the previous comparison data for each measurement. Furthermore, the appropriate outside time calculation unit 205 calculates the appropriate outside time using the result of the processing.

  In the appropriate outside time calculation unit 205, the measurement interval addition unit 111, the appropriate outside time storage unit 112, and the measurement interval storage unit 113 have the same functions as those in the first embodiment.

  Next, the upper limit time addition unit 211 and the lower limit time addition unit 212 will be described.

  When an execution request is received from the control unit 203, the upper-above upper limit time adding unit 211 refers to or acquires the previous measurement value stored in the previous measurement value storage unit 204, and determines whether the measurement value or the previous measurement value is greater. Then, a value to be added to the appropriate outside time is calculated using the threshold value, and the addition is performed.

  When receiving the execution request from the control unit 203, the lower limit lower time addition unit 212 refers to or acquires the previous measurement value stored in the previous measurement value storage unit 204, and determines whether the measurement value or the previous measurement value is smaller. Then, a value to be added to the appropriate outside time is calculated using the threshold value, and the addition is performed.

また、下限以下時間加算部２１２および制御部２０３は、計測値又は前回計測値のいずれか小さい値を、以下の式で定義する。

この場合において、上限以上時間加算部２１１は、適正外時間記憶部１１２が記憶する適正外時間に対して、次の式で計算される値Ｘを加算する。

例えば上限閾値を２１とする図１４に示す計測データの場合、３回目のデータ計測時には、Ｘは以下のように計算される。

以上より、上限以上時間加算部２１１は、適正外時間記憶部１１２が記憶する適正外時間に、０．６６６・・・を加算する。実際には、０．６６６・・・を適当な所で四捨五入する等すればよい。 In order to describe a specific example, the upper-limit time addition unit 211 and the control unit 203 define a larger value of the measured value or the previous measured value by the following equation.

Also, the lower limit lower time adding unit 212 and the control unit 203 define a smaller value of the measured value or the previous measured value by the following equation.

In this case, the upper limit time or more time adding unit 211 adds the value X calculated by the following expression to the appropriate outside time stored in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112.

For example, in the case of the measurement data shown in FIG. 14 where the upper limit threshold is 21, X is calculated as follows at the time of the third data measurement.

As described above, the upper limit time addition unit 211 adds 0.666... To the appropriate outside time stored in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112. Actually, 0.666... May be rounded off at an appropriate place.

上記の式によれば、上限以上時間加算部２１１は、加算する値Ｘを、計測値又は前回計測値のいずれか大きい値から閾値を減じて得た値を、計測値又は前回計測値のいずれか大きい値から他方の値を減じて得た値で除して算出する。 The lower limit lower time adding unit 212 adds the value Y calculated by the following expression to the appropriate outside time stored in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112.

According to the above formula, the upper limit time or more time adding unit 211 calculates the value X to be added by subtracting the threshold value from the larger value of either the measured value or the previous measured value. It is calculated by dividing by the value obtained by subtracting the other value from the larger value.

  The lower limit lower time adding unit 212 obtains the value Y to be added by subtracting the smaller one of the measured value or the previous measured value from the threshold value, and the other value from the larger value of the measured value or the previous measured value. Calculated by dividing by the value obtained by subtracting.

  The above formula is merely an example for calculating the value to be added.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the reason for performing the time addition processing above the upper limit. FIG. 15 is an example of graphing data obtained by measuring the temperature of an object with an upper limit threshold of 21 ° C. using a data logger. The vertical axis represents the temperature that is the measured value. The horizontal axis is the number of times of measurement representing the number of times of measurement. Referring to FIG. 15, the measured value changes from the threshold value to the upper limit or more from the first time to the second time for the number of times of measurement.

  At this time, in FIG. 15, the points that become MH (the measured value defined above or the previous measured value, whichever is larger) are A and ML (the smaller measured value defined above or the previous measured value). Let B be the point. Also, the intersection of a line passing through A and perpendicular to the horizontal axis and a line passing through B and parallel to the horizontal axis is C, the intersection of straight line AB and the threshold line is D, and the intersection of the line passing through A and the vertical axis is the threshold line. If E is E, it can be estimated from two similar triangles ABC and ADE that only X calculated by the above formula for the measurement interval 1 is placed in the proper outside environment. In the example described with reference to FIG. 14, it can be estimated that 0.666... When the measured value changes below the lower limit, it is possible to similarly estimate the time spent in the environment outside the proper amount by Y calculated by the above formula for the measurement interval 1.

  Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described in detail.

The overall operation in the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, FIG. 8 is also used in the description of the operation of the second embodiment. However, the operation in the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the comparison data acquisition step, the selection step, and the execution step.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for obtaining comparison data in the comparison data acquisition step of the second embodiment.
S201A: The control unit 203 sends a comparison request including a measurement value to the threshold value comparison unit 201. The threshold comparison unit 201 receives this and proceeds to S202A.
S202A: The threshold comparison unit 201 acquires the threshold stored in the threshold storage unit 102, and proceeds to S203A. The threshold value includes an upper threshold value and a lower threshold value.
S203A: The threshold comparison unit 201 compares the measured value with the upper limit threshold acquired in S202A. When upper limit threshold> = measured value, the process proceeds to S205, and when upper limit threshold <measured value, the process proceeds to S204A.
S <b> 204 </ b> A: The threshold comparison unit 201 sends “over the upper limit” as comparison data to the control unit 203. The control unit 203 receives “above the upper limit” and ends the process.
S205A: The threshold comparison unit 201 compares the measured value with the lower limit threshold acquired in S202A. When the lower limit threshold <= measured value, the process proceeds to S207A, and when the lower limit threshold> measured value, the process proceeds to S206A.
S206A: The threshold comparison unit 201 sends “below the lower limit” to the control unit 203 as comparison data. The control unit 203 receives “below the lower limit” and ends the process.
S207A: The threshold comparison unit 201 sends “within threshold” as comparison data to the control unit 203. The control unit 203 receives “within threshold” and ends the process.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing details of operations of the selection step and the execution step in the second embodiment.
S401A: The control unit 203 determines whether the comparison data acquired in S200 and the previous comparison data acquired in S300 are both “within threshold”. If both are within the threshold, the process is terminated. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S402A.
S402A: The control unit 203 determines whether the comparison data and the previous comparison data are the same. If they are the same, the control unit 203 transmits an execution request to the measurement interval adding unit 111 and proceeds to S501A, and if different, proceeds to S403A.
S403A: The control unit 203 determines whether the comparison data or the previous comparison data is “above the upper limit”. When either is “over the upper limit”, the control unit 203 transmits an execution request to the time addition unit 211 over the upper limit and proceeds to S503A. When it is not “over the upper limit”, the control unit 203 proceeds to S404A. Alternatively, if neither is “over the upper limit”, it is determined that either one of the comparison data and the previous comparison data is “below the lower limit” without determination, and the control unit 203 determines that the lower limit / lower time addition unit 212 is reached. An execution request may be transmitted to S507A.
S404A: The control unit 203 determines whether the comparison data or the previous comparison data is below the lower limit. If it is “below the lower limit”, the control unit 203 transmits an execution request to the time lower than the lower limit adding unit 212 and proceeds to S507A. If it is not “below the lower limit”, the process ends.
S501A: The measurement interval adding unit 111 refers to or acquires the measurement interval stored in the measurement interval storage unit 113, and proceeds to S502A.
S502A: The measurement interval adding unit 111 adds the measurement interval referenced or acquired in S501A to the appropriate outside time stored in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112, and stores the added outside time in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112. The process is terminated.
S503A: More than the upper limit time adding unit 211 refers to or acquires the measurement interval stored in the measurement interval storage unit 113, and proceeds to S504A.
S504A: The upper limit time addition unit 211 refers to or acquires the previous measurement value stored in the previous measurement value storage unit 204, and proceeds to S505A.
S505A: The upper limit time or more time adding unit 211 refers to or acquires the upper limit threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 102, and proceeds to S506A.
S506A: The upper limit time addition unit 211 adds the value of X calculated by, for example, the above formula to the appropriate outside time stored in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112, and adds the added outside time to the appropriate outside time storage unit. 112, and the process ends.
S507A: The lower limit lower time addition unit 212 refers to or acquires the measurement interval stored in the measurement interval storage unit 113, and proceeds to S508A.
S508A: The lower limit lower time addition unit 212 refers to or acquires the previous measurement value stored in the previous measurement value storage unit 204, and proceeds to S509A.
S509A: The lower limit lower time addition unit 212 refers to or acquires the lower limit threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 102, and proceeds to S510A.
S510A: The below-lower limit time adding unit 212 adds, for example, the value of Y calculated by the above formula to the appropriate outside time stored in the appropriate outside time storage unit 112, and adds the added outside time to the appropriate outside time storage unit. 112, and the process ends.

  As described above, according to the data logger 200 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to estimate the time spent in the appropriate outside environment in more detail. This is because the control unit 203 can select different processes for each combination of comparison data and previous comparison data. Specifically, the control unit 203 adds the measurement interval when both the comparison data and the previous comparison are “above the upper limit” or “below the lower limit”, and one of the comparison data and the previous comparison data is “ For example, a process of adding X calculated by the above-described formula when “above the threshold” or a process of adding Y calculated by the above-described formula can be selected when either one is “threshold or less”. Because.

<Third Embodiment>
FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a data logger 300 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 18, a data logger 300 according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a threshold comparison unit 103, a previous comparison data storage unit 104, and a control unit 105.

  The control unit 105 determines the transmission destination of the execution request based on the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data, and updates the storage content of the previous comparison data storage unit 104 using the comparison data as the previous comparison data.

  The threshold comparison unit 103 compares the measurement value acquired by measuring the measurement target at a predetermined timing with the threshold, and outputs comparison data as a comparison result.

  The previous comparison data storage unit 104 stores previous comparison data that is comparison data at the time of measurement immediately before measurement value measurement.

  The control unit 105 generates an execution request for calculating an inappropriate outside time according to the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data, and updates the storage content of the previous comparison data storage unit 104 using the comparison data as the previous comparison data.

  The appropriate outside time calculation unit 106 calculates an appropriate outside time based on the execution request.

  According to the data logger 300 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to calculate with high reliability with respect to the time when the object is placed in an environment outside the proper environment.

  The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a data logger according to each embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 19, each unit configuring the data logger according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1, a network connection communication IF 2 (interface 2), a memory 3, a hard disk for storing a program, and the like. This is realized by a computer device including the storage device 4. However, the configuration of the data logger according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the computer apparatus shown in FIG.

  The CPU 1 operates the operating system to control the entire data logger according to each embodiment of the present invention. Further, the CPU reads a program and data into a memory from a recording medium mounted on, for example, a drive device, and executes various processes according to the program and data.

  The recording device 4 is, for example, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a magnetic optical disk, an external hard disk, a semiconductor memory, etc., and records a computer program so that it can be read by a computer. The computer program may be downloaded from an external computer (not shown) connected to the communication network.

  In addition, the block diagram utilized in each embodiment described so far has shown the block of a functional unit instead of the structure of a hardware unit. These functional blocks are realized by any combination of hardware and software. In addition, the means for realizing the constituent parts of the data logger according to each embodiment of the present invention is not particularly limited. That is, the data logger according to each embodiment of the present invention may be realized by one physically coupled device, or two or more physically separated devices may be connected by wire or wirelessly. It may be realized by the apparatus.

  The program of the present invention may be a program that causes a computer to execute the operations described in the above embodiments.

  The present invention can be applied to a data logger used for environmental measurement and article quality control. The present invention can also be applied to an RFID tag having a data logger function. In addition, even in a measuring instrument that does not have a storage device for storing measurement results every time, such as a general data logger, by using the method of the present invention, the time spent in the environment outside the proper object of measurement And quality control can be performed.

1 CPU
2 Communication IF
3 Memory 4 Storage Device 100 Data Logger 101 Measurement Unit 102 Threshold Storage Unit 103 Threshold Comparison Unit 104 Previous Comparison Data Storage Unit 105 Control Unit 106 Appropriate Outside Time Calculation Unit 111 Measurement Interval Addition Unit 112 Appropriate Outside Time Storage Unit 113 Measurement Interval Storage Unit 200 Data logger 201 Threshold comparison unit 202 Previous comparison data storage unit 203 Control unit 204 Previous measurement value storage unit 205 Non-appropriate time calculation unit 211 Upper limit time addition unit 212 Lower limit lower time addition unit 300 Data logger

Claims (8)

A threshold value comparing means for comparing a measurement value acquired by measuring a measurement object at a predetermined timing with a threshold value and outputting comparison data as a comparison result;
Previous comparison data storage means for storing previous comparison data which is comparison data at the time of the previous measurement at the time of measurement of the measurement value;
A control unit that generates an execution request for calculating an appropriate outside time according to a combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data, and updates the storage content of the previous comparison data storage unit using the comparison data as the previous comparison data; ,
Based on the execution request, appropriate outside time calculation means for calculating the total of the appropriate outside time, which is the time during which the measurement target has been placed in an environment outside the appropriate state,
A data logger containing The appropriate outside time calculating means includes:
A proper outside time storage means for storing a proper outside time that is a time during which the measurement target has not been placed in the environment within the threshold;
When receiving the execution request from the control unit, a measurement interval addition unit that adds a measurement interval to the appropriate outside time;
The data logger of claim 1 further comprising: The threshold value comparison means is means for outputting data indicating whether the measured value is within a threshold value or outside a threshold value as the comparison data,
The control means determines and transmits the transmission destination of the execution request to the measurement interval addition means when the previous comparison data and the comparison data are both within the threshold value,
The data logger according to claim 2. The threshold comparison means is means for acquiring an upper limit threshold and a lower limit threshold as the threshold, and outputting data indicating whether the comparison data is within the threshold, above the upper limit or below the lower limit,
A previous measurement value storage means for storing a previous measurement value that is a measurement value at the time of the previous measurement at the time of measurement of the measurement value;
The appropriate outside time calculating means includes:
When the execution request is received from the control means, a value to be added to the inappropriate outside time is calculated using a smaller value of the measured value or the previous measured value and a threshold value, and the time is added below the lower limit for addition. Means,
When the execution request is received from the control means, a value to be added to the inappropriate outside time is calculated using a larger value of the measured value or the previous measured value and a threshold value, and the time is added for the time exceeding the upper limit for addition. Means further comprising:
The control means is used as a measurement interval adding means when both the previous comparison data and the comparison data are equal to or higher than the upper limit or lower than the lower limit, and is used as a lower limit lower time addition means when either of the previous comparison data and the comparison data is lower than the lower limit. , When either one is greater than or equal to the upper limit, the transmission destination of the execution request is determined and transmitted to the time addition means over the upper limit.
The data logger according to claim 2. The lower limit lower time adding means obtains the value to be added by subtracting the smaller one of the measured value or the previous measured value from the threshold value, and the other value from the larger value of the measured value or the previous measured value. Divided by the value obtained by subtracting
The above-mentioned upper limit time adding means obtains the value to be added by subtracting the threshold value from the larger value of either the measured value or the previous measured value, and the other value from the larger value of the measured value or the previous measured value. Divided by the value obtained by subtracting
The data logger according to claim 4. The measurement interval adding means outputs an appropriate outside time after addition,
The data logger according to claim 2. Compare the measured value obtained by measuring the measurement target at a predetermined timing and the threshold, and output the comparison data as the comparison result.
Storing the previous comparison data which is comparison data at the time of the previous measurement at the time of measurement of the measurement value,
An execution request for calculating an appropriate outside time according to the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data is generated, and the content of the storage is updated using the comparison data as the previous comparison data,
Based on the execution request, a total of the appropriate outside time, which is a time during which the measurement target has been placed in an inappropriate environment, is calculated.
Data logger measurement processing method. On the computer,
Compare the measured value obtained by measuring the measurement target at a predetermined timing and the threshold, and output the comparison data as the comparison result.
Storing the previous comparison data which is comparison data at the time of the previous measurement at the time of measurement of the measurement value,
An execution request for calculating an appropriate outside time according to the combination of the comparison data and the previous comparison data is generated, and the content of the storage is updated using the comparison data as the previous comparison data,
Based on the execution request, a total of the appropriate outside time, which is a time during which the measurement target has been placed in an inappropriate environment, is calculated.
A program that executes processing.

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