JP2012230780A - Sensor system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sensor system that reduces power consumption.SOLUTION: Operation modes of human sensors 240A-240G include a low power consumption mode with a suppressed electrical energy consumption, and a non-low power consumption mode. Each human sensor transmits a detection signal by a sensing operation to a home controller 100, and switches between the operation modes according to a control command received from the home controller 100. The home controller 100 transmits the control command based on the received detection signal to human sensors located in the vicinity of the human sensor as the source of the detection signal. The human sensors located in the vicinity of each human sensor are determined in accordance with the strength of signals received by each human sensor from the other human sensors.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sensor system, and more particularly to a sensor system including a plurality of human sensors.

  From the viewpoint of reducing energy consumption, a system that collectively manages the amount of power consumed by electrical equipment is provided. In such a system, a sensor for detecting a moving body such as a person is installed in the house, and operation control of lighting, air-conditioning equipment, etc. is performed (when there is no person, the equipment is turned off or the brightness is changed). As a result, power consumption is reduced. An example of such a system has been proposed as an illumination control system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-33837 or an illumination device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-164367.

JP 2010-33837 A JP 2000-164367 A

  In order to reduce the power consumption related to the system, it is also required to reduce the power consumption of the human sensor itself. However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 are difficult to meet the demand.

  That is, each sensor of the lighting control system of Patent Document 1 is activated based on the opening / closing of the door or the brightness of the space, that is, even if there is no change in the presence of a person, such as the door opening / closing due to wind or the brightness change due to sunlight. There is a problem that power is consumed due to useless activation such as activation.

  In addition, the lighting device of Patent Document 2 is based on a detection result that each of a plurality of lighting units that integrally incorporate a lighting fixture and a human sensor is transferred from the human sensor of another lighting unit. Although the built-in lighting fixture is controlled to be turned on / off, since the human sensor is constantly supplied with power so that the presence or absence of a person can be detected, it is difficult to reduce the power consumption of the human sensor itself. .

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sensor system that can reduce power consumption.

  A sensor system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of human sensors having different operation modes and wirelessly communicating with each other, and a controller communicating with each human sensor.

  The different operation modes include a low power consumption mode in which power consumption of the human sensor is suppressed and a non-low power consumption mode.

  Each human sensor includes a communication unit for communicating with an external device, a sensor unit for performing a sensing operation, and a mode switching unit for switching an operation mode. The communication unit transmits a detection signal based on the sensing operation to the controller.

  The controller includes a command transmission unit that transmits a control command for switching the operation mode based on the received detection signal to the human sensor in the vicinity of the human sensor that is the transmission source of the detection signal, A human sensor in the vicinity of each human sensor is determined based on the intensity of a signal received by each human sensor from another human sensor.

  Preferably, each human sensor includes an intensity calculator that calculates the intensity of a signal received from another human sensor. The controller receives, from each human sensor, intensity data representing the intensity of a signal received by the human sensor from another human sensor, and is in the vicinity of each human sensor using the received intensity data. A proximity determination unit that determines a human sensor is included.

  The command transmission unit transmits a control command based on a detection signal received from each human sensor to the human sensor determined to be in the vicinity of each human sensor.

  Preferably, the proximity determining unit determines a human sensor in the vicinity of each human sensor based on intensity data received from each human sensor and a threshold value.

Preferably, the threshold value is set to be variable.
Preferably, the threshold value is set based on intensity data acquired for a predetermined human sensor among other human sensors.

  Preferably, the controller transmits an operation control signal to the plurality of devices based on the received detection signal. An area where a plurality of devices are installed overlaps with an area where a plurality of human sensors are installed.

  Preferably, the low power consumption mode includes a startup mode in which the sensor unit is capable of sensing operation, and the non-low power consumption mode is a mode in which the sensor unit is incapable of sensing operation and is compared with the startup mode. A sleep mode with low power consumption is included. The mode switching unit switches the operation mode to the start mode or the sleep mode according to the control command.

  Preferably, when the command transmission unit determines that a change from the absence of the person to the presence is detected based on the detection signal, the command transmission unit activates the operation mode as a control command for the human sensor determined to be in the vicinity. Send a start command to change to the mode.

  Preferably, when the command transmission unit determines that a change from the absence of the person to the presence is detected based on the detection signal, the command transmission unit transmits a start command to the human sensor in the vicinity, and then transmits the detection signal. A pause command for changing the operation mode to the pause mode is transmitted as a control command to the original human sensor.

  Preferably, the low power consumption mode includes an active mode in which the communication unit is capable of communication operation, and the non-low power consumption mode is a mode in which the communication unit is incapable of communication operation and is compared with the active mode. Includes sleep mode with low power consumption. The mode switching unit intermittently switches the operation mode to the active mode or the sleep mode.

  A controller according to another aspect of the present invention is a controller that communicates with a plurality of human sensors, and each human sensor has a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is suppressed and a non-low power consumption mode. With different modes of operation.

  Each human sensor includes a mode switching unit for switching the operation mode, and transmits a detection signal by the sensing operation to the controller.

  The controller receives, from each human sensor, intensity data representing the intensity of a signal received by the human sensor from another human sensor, and is in the vicinity of each human sensor using the received intensity data. A proximity sensor that determines a human sensor, and a human sensor that determines that a control command for operation mode switching based on a received detection signal is in the vicinity of the human sensor that is the transmission source of the detection signal And a command transmission unit that transmits the command.

  A sensor control method according to another aspect of the present invention is a controller including a communication interface for communicating with a plurality of human sensors having different operation modes, and a processor for controlling a sensing operation of each human sensor. This is a sensor control method.

  The different operation modes include a low power consumption mode and a non-low power consumption mode in which the power consumption of the human sensor is suppressed.

  In the sensor control method, the processor receives, via the communication interface, intensity data representing the intensity of a signal received from each human sensor from another human sensor, and the processor receives the data. Using the intensity data, determining a human sensor in the vicinity of each human sensor, a step in which the processor receives a detection signal from the sensing operation via the communication interface, and an operation mode based on the detection signal. Transmitting a control command for switching to a human sensor determined to be in the vicinity of the human sensor that is the transmission source of the detection signal via a communication interface.

  According to the present invention, the power consumption of the entire sensor system can be reduced.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the example of arrangement | positioning of the human sensitive sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the structure and operation | movement of a human sensitive sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the structure of the home controller which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the threshold value table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the vicinity table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the reception table which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the flame | frame which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structural example of the flame | frame which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the neighborhood table creation mode which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the operation mode which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the further another structural example of the flame | frame which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation mode of the human sensitive sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a whole block diagram of the other network system which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and description thereof will not be repeated.

  In this embodiment, an electric device refers to an electric device that is used in a house and is driven by electric power supplied from the outside. A house refers to a house, an office, a factory, a warehouse, a store, etc., for example.

  Terms used in the present embodiment will be described. In order to detect a change in the presence of a person, the “human sensor” receives, for example, infrared rays emitted from the surface of the human body and detects the presence of the person based on the received signal. The detection method is not limited to this, and another method, for example, an infrared beam may be emitted and reflected light of the beam may be received.

  The human sensor includes a sensor and a communication unit, and has a plurality of different “operation modes”. The different operation modes include a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is suppressed and a non-low power consumption mode. Specifically, a “start-up mode” that is a non-low power consumption mode and a “sleep mode” that is a low power consumption mode are included. “Activation mode” refers to an operation mode in which a change in the presence of a person can be sensed, and “pause mode” refers to an operation mode in which the sensing operation is not possible and consumes less power than the activation mode. The different operation modes further include an “active mode” that is a non-low power consumption mode and a “sleep mode” that is a low power consumption mode for the communication unit. “Active mode” refers to a mode in which communication with an external device is possible, and “Sleep mode” refers to an operation mode in which communication with an external device is not possible and consumes less power than the active mode. .

[Embodiment 1]
<Overall configuration of network system>
First, the overall configuration of the network system according to the present embodiment will be described. Referring to FIG. 1, network system 1 laid in a house according to the present embodiment includes electric devices 200A to 200G. The illustrated electrical equipment is a television, an air conditioner, an electric curtain, a lighting equipment, or the like, but these are examples and are not limited.

  The network system 1 includes a solar power generation device 200X, a battery 200Y, and a power conditioner 200Z for controlling them. The battery 200Y may be installed in a house or the like, or may be an automobile battery that is also used as a house battery. The network system 1 includes human sensors 240A to 240G separately from the electrical equipment.

  The network system 1 includes a home controller 100 for controlling the electric devices 200A to 200G, the power conditioner 200Z, the human sensors 240A to 240G, and the like. The home controller 100 communicates with the electric devices 200A to 200G, the solar power generation device 200X, the battery 200Y, the power conditioner 200Z, the human sensors 240A to 240G, and the like via a wired or wireless network 401.

  As the network 401, for example, a wireless local area network (LAN), ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), wired LAN, or PLC (Power Line Communications) can be used. The home controller 100 may be portable, may be detachable from a base (not shown) placed on a table, or may be fixed to a wall of a room. Good.

  In the network system 1 according to the present embodiment, the power conditioner 200Z supplies power to the battery 200Y, the system, the electric devices 200A to 200G, and the human sensors 240A to 240G via the power line 402. And the power conditioner 200Z acquires electric power from the solar power generation device 200X, the battery 200Y, and a system (such as an electric power system provided by an electric power company) via the power line 402.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the network system 1 includes a sensor system in which the home controller 100 controls the human sensors 240A to 240G. Here, for the sake of explanation, human sensors 240A to 240G may be collectively referred to as human sensor 240.

  In the present embodiment, human sensor 240 communicates with other human sensors 240 wirelessly and communicates with home controller 100 via network 401. As wireless communication, a communication procedure according to ZigBee (registered trademark) is adopted. Therefore, the installation position of the human sensor 240 can be variably changed within a range where radio signals can be transmitted and received.

  Each human sensor 240 and home controller 100 may perform wireless communication instead of wired communication. In that case, in order to avoid interference, each human sensor 240 is configured to make the frequency band used for communication with the home controller 100 different from the frequency band used for communication with other human sensors 240. .

<Overview of network system operation>
In the network system 1, when the home controller 100 receives a detection signal based on a sensing operation from the human sensors 240 </ b> A to 240 </ b> G, the home controller 100 transmits an operation control signal based on the detection signal, thereby operating each of the plurality of electric devices 200 </ b> A to 200 </ b> G. Control.

  Here, a part or all of the area where electric devices 200A to 200G are installed and the area where human sensors 240A to 240G are installed overlap. Therefore, by storing information in which each electric device is associated with the human sensor 240 installed in the vicinity of the electric device, according to the stored information, the detection signal of the human sensor 240 is used. Based on this, it is possible to control the operation of the electric device near the human sensor 240.

  Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the network system 1 for realizing such a function will be described in detail.

<Installation example of human sensor 240>
With reference to FIG. 2, an example of indoor arrangement of the human sensor 240 will be described. Each of the human sensors 240A to 240G is arranged so as to be scattered at an appropriate interval on an indoor wall surface, more preferably on a ceiling surface. Although not shown, electric devices 200A to 200G are installed inside the room.

  A human sensor 240A is installed in the vicinity of an indoor entrance door. It is assumed that the operation mode of the human sensor 240A is always the activation mode. In addition, when a person moves indoors, it is assumed that the person first enters through the entrance door and then moves indoors.

<Configuration of the human sensor 240>
The human sensors 240A to 240G have the same configuration. Here, it is assumed that the human sensors 240 perform frame communication according to ZigBee (registered trademark), which is a wireless communication standard particularly for power saving, but the applicable communication standard is not limited to this.

  With reference to FIG. 3A, a circuit configuration of the human sensor 240 will be described. The human sensor 240 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 241, a sensor 242, a power supply circuit 300 for supplying electric power from the power line 402 to each part in the human sensor 240, the home controller 100, and other human sensors 240. A communication I / F (abbreviation of interface) 244 having a modulation / demodulation circuit for communication, a memory 245 and a timer 250 are included. The power supply circuit 300 includes a SW (abbreviation of switch) circuit 243 for switching supply or interruption of power to the sensor 242.

  For the sensing operation, the sensor 242 includes a photodiode that receives infrared rays emitted from a moving body (here, a human) and outputs a detection signal, which is an electric signal having a level corresponding to the received light level, to the CPU 241. The photodiode operates with, for example, a 5V rated power supply. The SW circuit 243 switches ON / OFF (supply / cutoff) of the power supply voltage (5 V) signal supplied to the sensor 242 by controlling the power supply circuit 300 according to the signal from the CPU 241. In the start mode, the rated power (5 V) is supplied to the sensor 242 and is shut off in the sleep mode. Therefore, although the sensing operation is impossible in the sleep mode, the power consumption in the human sensor 240 can be reduced compared to the activation mode.

  The communication I / F 244 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) and a communication circuit unit (a modulation circuit, a demodulation circuit, an error correction circuit, etc.) for communicating with an external device (the home controller 100 or the human sensor 240). The MPU switches the operation mode of the communication I / F 244 to an active mode or a sleep mode according to a control signal from the CPU 241. The MPU supplies power from the power supply circuit 300 to the communication circuit unit in the active mode, but cuts off the power in the sleep mode. Therefore, in the sleep mode, communication operation with an external device is impossible, but the power consumption in the human sensor 240 can be reduced compared to the active mode.

  The CPU 241 transmits a detection signal from the sensor 242 to the home controller 100 via the communication I / F 244. Further, the CPU 241 determines whether or not a change from the absence of the person to the presence is detected based on the detection signal. FIG. 3B shows functions realized by the CPU 241 executing the program in the memory 245. The CPU 241 functions as a detection transmission unit for transmitting a detection signal generated by the sensing operation of the sensor 242 to the home controller 100, a mode switching unit 251 for switching the operation mode, and reception intensity from other human sensors 240. An intensity acquisition unit 252 that acquires data representing the intensity and an intensity calculation unit 253 that calculates the reception intensity of itself.

  The memory 245 indicates a self address 246 assigned to identify the human sensor 240, a controller address 247 for identifying the home controller 100 for communication, a reception strength table 248, and a current operation mode. Data 249 is stored.

  In the reception intensity table 248, the intensity acquisition unit 252 associates the reception intensity from the other human sensor 240 (LQI (Link Quality Indicator) described later) with an address that is an identifier of the other human sensor 240. Stored.

  The data 249 of the human sensor 240A always indicates “start-up mode”, but the data 249 of the other human sensors 240B to 240G is rewritten by the mode switching unit 251.

<Calculation and acquisition of received intensity>
Here, in order to simplify the explanation, the radio wave intensity of the transmission signal by each human sensor 240 is the same, and the transmission signal is not subjected to noise interference or the like (without being attenuated), and other human sensors 240. Is assumed to be received.

  When the strength calculation unit 253 receives a signal from another human sensor 240, the strength calculation unit 253 calculates the signal strength of the received signal. Specifically, when a frame is received from another human sensor 240, the LQI is calculated using the intensity of the signal itself demodulated by the communication I / F 244, that is, the radio wave intensity of the received signal. The unit of LQI is represented by “dBm”. Then, the calculated LQI is transmitted to another human sensor 240 that is the transmission source of the received frame. As a procedure for calculating the LQI, a known procedure is adopted.

  When the strength acquisition unit 252 of another human sensor 240 receives the LQI, it generates a reception table 101C for storing the received LQI. Details of the generation procedure of the reception table 101C will be described later.

  In this embodiment, LQI, which is an index of reception strength of ZigBee (registered trademark), is used as data representing reception strength. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when using a wireless communication standard different from ZigBee (registered trademark), for example, RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) may be used instead of LQI.

<Configuration of home controller 100>
One aspect of the configuration of the home controller 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  Referring to FIG. 4A, the home controller 100 includes a memory 101, a display 102, a tablet 103, a button 104, a communication interface 105, a speaker 107 for outputting audio, a clock 108 for measuring time, and A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110 is included.

  The memory 101 is realized by various types of RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read-Only Memory), a hard disk, and the like. For example, the memory 101 is a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory), which is used via a reading interface. USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, memory card, FD (Flexible Disk), hard disk, magnetic tape, cassette tape, MO (Magnetic Optical Disc), MD (Mini Disc), IC (Integrated Circuit) card (excluding memory cards) It is also realized by a medium for storing a program in a nonvolatile manner such as an optical card, a mask ROM, an EPROM, and an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

  The memory 101 stores a control program executed by the CPU 110 and data for the control program. The data includes a threshold table 101A, a proximity table 101B, a reception table 101C corresponding to each human sensor 240, a self address 101D for identifying itself for communication, and each human sensor connected to the network system 1. An address group 101E for identifying the sensor 240 is included. Details of each table will be described later.

  The display 102 displays the states of the electric devices 200A to 200G and the power conditioner 200Z by being controlled by the CPU 110. The tablet 103 detects a touch operation with a user's finger and outputs a user instruction based on the detected operation to the CPU 110. The user can also give a user instruction to the CPU 110 by operating the button 104.

  In the present embodiment, a tablet 103 is laid on the surface of the display 102. That is, in the present embodiment, display 102 and tablet 103 constitute touch panel 106. However, the home controller 100 may not have the tablet 103.

  The communication interface 105 is controlled by the CPU 110 to communicate with the electrical devices 200A to 200G and the human sensors 240A to 240G via the network 401.

  FIG. 4B shows functions realized by the CPU 110 executing the program in the memory 101. The CPU 110 includes a table creation unit 111 and a command transmission unit 114 for transmitting a control command generated by generating a control command via the communication I / F 105 as the functions. The table creation unit 111 sets a threshold value setting unit 112 that sets a value in the threshold value table 101 </ b> A, and the human sensor 240 in the vicinity (exists) of each human sensor 240. A neighborhood determining unit 113 for determining (extracting) from the above is included.

  For each human sensor 240, the proximity determination unit 113 determines the person based on the LQI of the reception table 101C corresponding to the human sensor and the threshold value 501 corresponding to the human sensor in the threshold table 101A. The human sensor in the vicinity of the sensor is determined, and the determined result is stored in the vicinity table 101B. The reception table 101 </ b> C of each human sensor 240 is created using the reception intensity table 248 received from the human sensor 240.

Neighbor determination according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4C shows the relationship between the LQI and the distance x (unit: m) between the transmission source and the reception source. If the value of LQI representing the received radio wave intensity is “y”, the relationship with the distance x using the coefficient a can be expressed as an inversely proportional relationship of y = 1 / (ax ² ). Therefore, since the index of the distance x can be obtained from the LQI, the human sensor 240 that is close to the distance, that is, in the vicinity, can be determined (identified) by comparing the LQI and the threshold value 501 for proximity determination. )can do.

  Here, each function in FIG. 4B is configured by a program, but may be configured by a combination of a program and a circuit module.

(Table structure)
In each table, “A” to “G” are used as addresses that are identifiers of the human sensors 240A to 240G.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the threshold value table 101 </ b> A stores an identifier 500 indicating the address of the human sensor 240 and a threshold value 501 corresponding to each of the human sensors 240 </ b> A to 240 </ b> G. The threshold setting unit 112 converts the LQI for each human sensor 240 according to the above inverse proportionality formula for a predetermined distance (unit: m) (see FIG. 4C). The converted LQI is stored as a threshold value 501 in the threshold value table 101A in association with the input identifier 500. Here, the threshold value 501 is LQI, but it may be a predetermined distance (unit: m). In that case, the neighborhood determining unit 113 converts the distance of the threshold value 501 into LQI when determining the neighborhood.

  It should be noted that the predetermined distance for designating the vicinity of each human sensor 240 can be variably changed based on information input by the user operating the touch panel 106. Therefore, the predetermined distance, that is, the threshold value 501 may be changed in accordance with addition / deletion / movement of the human sensor 240 (movement accompanying a change in the indoor layout).

  As described above, the threshold value setting unit 112 can change another human sensor 240 to be determined to exist in the vicinity by changing the threshold value 501 for each human sensor 240. That is, the sensing area of each human sensor 240 can be changed variably. Therefore, even if the layout and layout of equipment including electrical equipment are changed, it can be dealt with by changing the threshold value 501.

  Referring to FIG. 6, in proximity table 101 </ b> B, corresponding to each of human sensors 240 </ b> A to 240 </ b> G, identifier 502 indicating the address of human sensor 240 and the vicinity of human sensor 240 by proximity determination unit 113. The identifier 503 indicating the address of the other human sensor 240 determined to be in is stored.

  Referring to FIG. 7, each reception table 101C is generated using reception intensity table 248 received from human sensor 240 corresponding to reception table 101C. When receiving the reception intensity table 248, the CPU 110 generates a reception table 101C using the reception intensity table 248 and stores it in the memory 101. Specifically, the reception table 101C includes an identifier 504 indicating the address of the human sensor 240 that is the transmission source of the reception intensity table 248, and the contents of the reception intensity table 248 (the corresponding human sensor corresponding to each other human sensor 240). Source identifier 505 and LQI 506) pointing to the address of sensor 240.

<About communication frames>
With reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the structure of the frame used for communication between the human sensors 240 and between the human sensor 240 and the home controller 100 will be described.

  The frame includes a header portion HE including frame type data, a data portion DB, and a termination portion ST including a stop bit indicating the termination of the frame. The home controller 100 and the human sensor 240 can determine the type of the received frame based on the type data of the header portion HE of the received frame.

  A frame F1 in FIG. 8A includes a header portion HE, a data portion DB having a destination address, a source address, and a request code, and a termination portion ST.

  A frame F2 in FIG. 8B includes a header portion HE, a data portion DB having a destination address, a transmission source address, and an inquiry code, and a termination portion ST. The destination address of the frame F2 is assigned “ALL” indicating all the human sensors 240 as destinations.

  A frame F3 in FIG. 8C includes a header portion HE, a data portion DB including a destination address, a transmission source address, and an LQI, and a termination portion ST.

  A frame F4 in FIG. 8D includes a header portion HE, a data portion DB having a destination address, a transmission source address, and an LQI corresponding to each human sensor 240, and a termination portion ST. The LQI corresponding to each human sensor 240 in the data part DB indicates information in the reception intensity table 248.

  A frame F5 in FIG. 9A is a frame for the human sensor 240 to transmit a detection signal of the sensor 242, and is a data portion DB having a header portion HE, a destination address, a transmission source address, and a detection code. , And a terminal part ST. The detection code refers to a code based on a detection signal output from the sensor 242.

  When the detection signal is input from the sensor 242, the CPU 241 of the human sensor 240 generates a frame F5 that stores a detection code based on the detection signal, and transmits the frame F5 via the communication I / F 244. In the frame F5, a controller address 246 and a self address 247 read from the memory 245 by the CPU 241 are stored as a destination address and a transmission source address, respectively.

  A frame F6 in FIG. 9B is a frame for transmitting a control command from the home controller 100, and includes a header portion HE, a destination address, a source address, a data portion DB having a start / pause command, and a termination. Part ST is included. The start / stop command indicates a start command for changing the operation mode to the start mode or a stop command for changing the operation mode to the stop mode.

  When the CPU 110 of the home controller 100 receives the frame F5 via the communication I / F 105, the CPU 101 searches the table 101B based on the transmission source address of the received frame F5, and reads the identifier 503 of the nearby human sensor 240. The command transmission unit 114 generates a frame F6 that stores a start command and transmits the frame F6 via the communication I / F 105. In the frame F6, the identifier 503 and the self address 101D of the nearby human sensor 240 read from the table 101B are stored as the destination address and the source address, respectively.

  In the human sensor 240 that has received the frame F6, the destination address of the frame F6 and the self-address 246 are compared and collated. As a result, in the human sensor 240 that has determined that the frame F6 is self-addressed, the mode switching unit 251 Based on the start / stop command of the reception frame F6, the operation mode is switched to the start mode if it is a start command, and is switched to the stop mode if it is a stop command.

<Neighboring table creation mode>
When the human sensor 240 is arranged in the network system 1 or when the arrangement is changed, the home controller 100 and each human sensor 240 are in the neighborhood table creation mode in order to create the neighborhood table 101B. Operate. That is, when the user operates the touch panel 106 to instruct the neighborhood table creation, the CPU 110 switches the operation mode of the home controller 100 to the neighborhood table creation mode and switches the human sensor 240 to the neighborhood table creation mode. Notice. Thereby, the operation mode of the home controller 100 and each human sensor 240 is switched to the neighborhood table creation mode. It is assumed that data excluding the neighborhood table 101B and the reception table 101C is stored in the memory 101 of the home controller 100 in advance.

A procedure for creating a neighborhood table will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the table creation unit 111 of the controller 100 generates and transmits a frame F1 (step S1). The header type HE of the frame F1 stores the frame type requesting transmission of the reception strength table 248, and the data unit DB stores one address read from the sensor address group 101E as the destination address. Further, the self address 101D of the memory 101 is stored as a transmission source address, and the transmission request code of the reception strength table 248 is stored as a request code.

  Each human sensor 240 receives the frame F1 and determines whether the frame is addressed to itself (step T1). If it is determined that it is not addressed to itself (NO in step T1), the frame F1 is discarded and the processing in step T1 is repeated.

  If it is determined that the frame F1 is addressed to itself (YES in step T1), the intensity acquisition unit 252 generates the frame F2 and transmits it to the other human sensors 240 (step T3). The header type HE of the frame F2 stores the frame type for which the reception strength is inquired. The data part DB has “ALL” as the destination address, the self address 246 of the memory 245 as the source address, and the inquiry code. A code for inquiring the reception strength is stored.

  Each other human sensor 240 waits until it receives frame F2 (NO in step R1). When the frame F2 is received (YES in step R1), the strength calculator 253 calculates an LQI for the received frame F2 in accordance with the inquiry code of the received frame (step R3). The CPU 241 generates a frame F3 storing the calculated LQI and transmits it to the transmission source (transmission source of the frame F2) human sensor 240 (step R5). In the header part HE of the frame F3, the reply frame type for the inquiry is stored. In the data part DB, the transmission source address read from the reception frame F2 is stored as the destination address, and the self address 246 of the memory 245 is used as the transmission source address. And the obtained LQI is stored.

  The strength acquisition unit 252 of the human sensor 240 that has transmitted the LQI inquiry frame F2 determines whether or not to receive a reply frame F3 (step T5). If it is determined that the frame F3 has been received (YES in step T5), the received frame F3 is analyzed, and the transmission source address read from the frame F3 and the LQI are stored in association in the reception intensity table 248 based on the analysis result. (Step T7). It is determined whether or not reception of the reply frame F3 from all the other human sensors 240 has been completed, that is, whether or not LQI has been acquired from all the other human sensors 240 (step T9). For example, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the transmission of the frame F2 in Step T3. When it is determined that the frame has elapsed, it is determined that the reception of the return frame F3 from all other human sensors 240 has been completed. . Therefore, while the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in step T9), the process returns to step T5, and the strength acquisition unit 252 waits for a reply.

  When it is determined that reception of the LQI reply frame F3 from all the other human sensors 240 has been completed (YES in step T9), the reception intensity table 248 associates the addresses of the other human sensors 240 with the LQI. Is stored. Thereafter, the intensity acquisition unit 252 generates a frame F4 and transmits it to the controller 100 (step T11). In the frame F4, the response frame type for the request code of the frame F1 is stored in the header part HE, and the data part DB is read from the received frame F1 as the destination address (or the controller address of the memory 245) is transmitted. A self address 246 of the memory 245 and a reception intensity table 248 of the memory 245 are stored as original addresses.

  The table creation unit 111 of the controller 100 waits until the response frame F4 is received after transmitting the frame F1 in step S1 (NO in step S3).

  If it is determined that the response frame F4 from the human sensor 240 that is the destination of the frame F1 has been received (YES in step S3), the received frame F4 is analyzed (step S5), and a reception table 101C is created based on the analysis result. And stored in the memory 101 (step S7). In the reception table 101C, the transmission source address of the reception frame F4 is stored as the sensor identifier 504, and the LQI corresponding to each sensor (that is, the reception intensity table 248) of the reception frame F4 is stored as the LQI 506 corresponding to the identifier 505.

  The table creation unit 111 determines whether or not the creation of the reception table 101C has been completed for all the human sensors 240 by determining whether or not all addresses have been read from the sensor address group 101E (step S9). . If it is determined that the creation has not ended (NO in step S9), the process returns to step S1, reads the next address from the sensor address group 101E, and transmits the frame F1 storing the read address as the destination address (step S1). S1). The subsequent processing is performed in the same manner.

  If the table creation unit 111 determines that the creation of the reception table 101C has been completed (YES in step S9), the proximity determination unit 113 includes the reception table 101C corresponding to each human sensor 240 and the threshold value table 101A. The proximity sensor identifier 505 is determined based on the threshold value 501 corresponding to the human sensor 240, the neighborhood table 101 B is generated using the determination result, and the generated neighborhood table 101 B is stored in the memory 101. (Step S11).

  Specifically, each LQI 506 in reception table 101C is compared with threshold value 510 in threshold value table 101A, and identifier 505 corresponding to LQI 506 determined to be larger than threshold value 510 based on the comparison result. Is associated with the identifier 504. By performing the same processing for each human sensor 240, the association information between the identifier 505 and the identifier 504 is obtained for each human sensor 240, and this is stored in the memory 101 in a table format with the identifier 502 and the proximity sensor. By storing as the identifier 503, the neighborhood table 101B is generated. When the neighborhood table 101B is generated, the neighborhood table creation mode in FIG. 10 ends.

<Control during operation>
When the neighborhood table 101B is stored in the memory 101, the home controller 100 controls the operation of the human sensor 240 according to the flowchart of FIG. Note that it is assumed that among the human sensors 240A to 240G, the human sensor 240A is always set to the start mode as described above, and the other human sensors 240B to 240G are set to the pause mode in advance.

  It is determined whether or not the human sensor 240 whose operation mode is the activation mode has detected a change from the absence of the person to the presence based on the detection signal of the sensor 242 (step T13). If it determines with having detected (it is YES at step T13), CPU241 will produce | generate the flame | frame F5 for notifying that it detected, and will transmit to the home controller 100 (step T19).

  The controller 100 determines whether or not to receive the frame F5 (step T21). When determining that the frame F5 has been received, the command transmission unit 114 searches the neighborhood table 101B based on the transmission source address of the reception frame F5, and based on the search result, the proximity sensor identifier 503 corresponding to the sensor identifier 502 indicating the transmission source address. Is read (step T23). Then, two types of frames F6 are generated. One is a frame F6 that stores a start command addressed to each address of the read proximity sensor identifier 503, and the other is a frame F6 that stores a pause command with the source address of the received frame F5 as a destination address. It is.

  The generated two types of frames F6 are transmitted. Specifically, first, each frame F6 storing the start command is transmitted, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the frame F6 storing the pause command is transmitted (step T25). The predetermined time is determined based on the travel time of the person. Each frame F6 that stores the activation command stores each address of the proximity sensor identifier 503 as a destination address.

  Since the frame F6 is transmitted via the network 401, all the human sensors 240 receive this. When each human sensor 240 receives the frame F6, it determines whether or not it is addressed to itself based on the comparison between the destination address and the self address 101D (step R7). If it is determined that it is not addressed to itself (NO in step R7), the received frame F6 is discarded, and the processing in step R7 is repeated.

  If it is determined that it is addressed to itself (YES in step R7), the frame F6 is analyzed, and it is determined whether or not the reception command is an activation command (step R9). If it is determined that it is an activation command (YES in step R9), the mode switching unit 251 determines whether or not the current mode is the sleep mode based on the data 249 in the memory 245 (step R11). If it is determined that the mode is not the hibernation mode, the operation mode is not switched because it is already in the start mode, and the series of processing ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the mode is the hibernation mode (YES in step R11), the mode switching unit 251 switches from the hibernation mode to the start mode, and rewrites the data 259 to indicate “start mode” (step R13).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the received control command for the frame F6 is not an activation command, that is, a pause command (NO in step R9), the mode switching unit 251 determines whether or not the current pause mode is currently based on the data 249 in the memory 245. Is determined (step R15). If it is determined that the mode is in the pause mode (YES in step R15), the operation mode is not switched because the mode is already in the pause mode, and the series of processes ends.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the mode is not the sleep mode (NO in step R15), the mode switching unit 251 switches from the start mode to the sleep mode and rewrites the data 259 to indicate the “pause mode” (step R17). The process ends here.

  In this way, the human sensor 240 that has detected a change from absence to presence due to the movement of a person can sense the operation mode of other human sensors 240 in the vicinity of the human sensor 240 via the home controller 100. It is possible to switch to another activation mode, and to selectively activate another human sensor 240 located in an area close to the distance, that is, in an area where a person is likely to move. In addition, when the nearby human sensor 240 is switched to the start mode, the home controller 100 switches itself to the sleep mode. That is, the human sensor 240 in the area where the movement of the person is no longer detected is switched from the start mode to the sleep mode, and the power consumption associated with unnecessary sensing operation can be reduced.

  In addition, the human sensor 240 is not activated in conjunction with the movement of the door or the lighting device, but is activated in response to a change in the presence of a person, and therefore has versatility.

(Modified example related to proximity determination)
In the above-described embodiment, the home controller 100 determines another human sensor 240 in the vicinity of each human sensor 240, but each human sensor 240 may determine instead of the home controller 100. That is, each human sensor 240 determines another human sensor 240 in the vicinity based on each LQI of the reception intensity table 248 and the threshold value 501, and transmits the determination result to the home controller 100. It is good.

  Further, although the threshold value 501 corresponding to each human sensor 240 is set by the threshold value table 101A, it may be set based on the LQI 506 of the reception table 101C. That is, the threshold value setting unit 112 sets a threshold value that can determine that the desired human sensor 240 is in the vicinity based on the LQI 506 corresponding to the identifier 505 of another predetermined human sensor 240. You may do it.

(Modification related to reduction of power consumption)
In the network system 1 described above, the power consumption is reduced by switching the operation mode of each human sensor 240 between the start mode and the sleep mode with respect to the sensor 242, but the power consumption of the human sensor 240 is reduced. The method is not limited to this, and the power consumption may be reduced by switching between the active mode and the sleep mode for the communication I / F 244 as follows.

  With reference to FIG. 12, a frame configuration for communication according to a modification of the present embodiment will be described. The basic configuration of the frame according to the modified example includes a header HE, a data part DB, and a termination part ST, as described above. The home controller 100 and the human sensor 240 determine the type of the received frame based on the type data of the header HE of the received frame.

  The type of the frame F7 in FIG. 12A transmitted from each human sensor 240 indicates a frame for requesting the home controller 100 for data addressed to itself, and in the data part DB of the frame F8, A destination address, a source address, and a request code are included. The type of the frame F8 in FIG. 12B indicates a frame storing data transmitted by the home controller 100 in response to the request code of the frame F7, and the configuration of the frame F8 is the frame in FIG. Since it is the same as that of F6, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating switching between the active mode and the sleep mode related to the communication I / F 244 according to the modification of the present embodiment. The CPU 241 of each human sensor 240 according to the modified example outputs a control signal for mode switching based on the time data from the timer 250. When the control signal from the CPU 249 instructs to switch to the active mode, the MPU of the communication I / F 244 turns on (supplies) the power to the communication circuit unit and instructs to switch to the sleep mode. The power to the communication circuit unit is turned off (cut off).

  As shown in FIG. 13, the operation mode related to the communication I / F 244 is intermittently switched to the active mode or the sleep mode based on the control signal for mode switching. Here, it is assumed that the period of the active mode of each human sensor 240 and the switching period to the active mode are set to a period and a period in which the frame F8 addressed to itself can be received from the home controller 100 at an appropriate timing. It is assumed that the length and period of this period have been obtained in advance by experiments.

  As shown in the figure, it is assumed that the home controller 100 is always in a communicable mode, and the human sensor 240A is always in an active mode.

  Each human sensor 240 is synchronized between the timer 250 and the clock 108 by communicating with the controller 100. Thus, since the timer 250 operates in synchronization between the human sensors 240, it is assumed that the period of the active mode of each human sensor 240 and the switching period to the active mode are the same.

  In FIG. 13, the active mode period per unit period is set to be sufficiently shorter than the sleep mode period in order to easily reduce the power consumption. The operation mode switching pattern is not limited to the mode shown in FIG.

  In operation, the communication I / F 244 of each human sensor 240 performs the operation shown in FIG. 11 while communicating with the home controller 100 in the active mode.

  Specifically, the frame F7 is generated and transmitted to the home controller 100. When the home controller 100 receives the frame F7, if the frame F8 addressed to the requesting human sensor 240 is generated, the home controller 100 transmits the frame F8 as a response. When the CPU 241 receives the frame F8 from the home controller 100 via the communication I / F 244, the CPU 241 sets the operation mode related to the sensor 242 based on the content of the received frame F8 according to the procedure of FIG. 11 (steps R7 to R17). Or switch to hibernation mode.

  In the active mode, the communication I / F 244 transmits a frame F5 (see FIG. 9A) generated based on the detection result of the sensor 242 to the home controller 100 (see steps T13 and T19 in FIG. 11). ). Upon receiving the frame F5, the home controller 100 generates a frame F8 based on the received frame F5 and transmits the frame F8 to the human sensor 240 according to the procedure (steps T21 to T25) in FIG. The human sensor 240 receives the frame F8 from the home controller 100 via the communication I / F 244. Then, the CPU 241 switches the operation mode related to the sensor 242 to the start mode or the sleep mode based on the content of the reception frame F8 according to the procedure of FIG. 11 (steps R7 to R17).

  Thus, by intermittently switching the operation mode related to the communication I / F 244 to the active mode or the sleep mode, the power consumption of the human sensor 240 itself can be reduced.

(Modifications related to device layout)
Further, in the network system, the arrangement of the electric device and the human sensor may be freely changed as shown in FIG. FIG. 14 shows a network system 1B according to a modification. In the network system 1 according to the above-described embodiment, the electric devices 200A to 200G communicate with the home controller 100. However, in the network system 1B, each electric device except the electric device 200B is connected to the electric device. The communication device (smart tap) 400A to 400G attached to an outlet for supplying electric power communicates with the home controller 100. The electric devices 200A to 200G except the electric device 200B are detachably attached to the communication devices 400A to 400G via the outlets 250A to 250G.

  Similarly, human sensors 240A to 240G are detachably attached to communication devices 440A to 440G connected to network 401 and power line 402. The human sensors 240 </ b> A to 240 </ b> G are supplied with electric power through the attached communication devices 440 </ b> A to 440 </ b> G and can communicate with the home controller 100.

  According to the configuration of FIG. 14, the area where the human sensor 240 is installed can be freely changed, for example, in accordance with the installation area of the electric device, and is changed in accordance with changes in the resident's movement route, floor plan, etc. can do.

  Since other configurations of network system 1B are the same as those of network system 1, description thereof will not be repeated.

[Other embodiments]
The CPU 110 of the home controller 100 executes various types of information processing by executing various programs stored in the memory 101. Similarly, the CPU 241 of the human sensor 240 implements the above-described functions by executing a program stored in the memory 245.

  Processing in home controller 100 and human sensor 240 is realized by software executed by each hardware and CPU. Such software may be stored in advance in the memories 101 and 245. The software may be stored in a storage medium and distributed as a program product. Alternatively, the software may be provided as a program product that can be downloaded by an information provider connected to the so-called Internet.

  Such software is read from the storage medium by using a reading device (not shown) or downloaded by using the communication interfaces 105 and 244 and temporarily stored in the memories 101 and 245. The CPU reads the program from the memory and executes the program.

  As storage media, CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory), USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, memory card, FD (Flexible Disk), hard disk , Magnetic tape, cassette tape, MO (Magnetic Optical Disc), MD (Mini Disc), IC (Integrated Circuit) card (excluding memory card), optical card, mask ROM, EPROM, EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) And the like, for example, a medium for storing the program in a nonvolatile manner.

  The program here includes not only a program directly executable by the CPU but also a program in a source program format, a compressed program, an encrypted program, and the like.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  1,1B network system, 100 home controller, 101A threshold table, 101B proximity table, 101C reception table, 111 table creation unit, 112 threshold setting unit, 113 proximity determination unit, 114 command transmission unit, 200A to 200G electricity Device, 240A to 240G human sensor, 251 mode switching unit, 252 strength acquisition unit, 253 strength calculation unit.

Claims (12)

A plurality of human sensors having different operation modes and wirelessly communicating with each other;
A controller that communicates with each human sensor,
The different operation modes include a low power consumption mode in which power consumption of the human sensor is suppressed and a non-low power consumption mode.
Each human sensor is
A communication unit for communicating with an external device;
A sensor unit for sensing operation;
A mode switching unit for switching the operation mode,
The communication unit transmits a detection signal by a sensing operation to the controller,
The controller is
A command transmission unit that transmits a control command for switching the operation mode based on the received detection signal to a human sensor in the vicinity of the human sensor that is a transmission source of the detection signal;
A sensor system that determines a human sensor in the vicinity of each human sensor based on the strength of a signal received by each human sensor from another human sensor. Each human sensor is
Including an intensity calculator that calculates the intensity of a signal received from another human sensor,
The controller is
From each human sensor, intensity data representing the intensity of a signal received by the human sensor from another human sensor is received, and the human data in the vicinity of each human sensor is received using the received intensity data. Including a proximity determination unit for determining a sensor,
The command transmitter is
The sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the control command based on a detection signal received from each human sensor is transmitted to the human sensor determined to be in the vicinity of each human sensor. The proximity determination unit
The sensor system according to claim 2, wherein a human sensor in the vicinity of each human sensor is determined based on the intensity data received from each human sensor and a threshold value.   The sensor system according to claim 3, wherein the threshold value is variably set.   The sensor system according to claim 4, wherein the threshold is set based on intensity data acquired for a predetermined human sensor among other human sensors. The controller transmits an operation control signal to a plurality of devices based on the received detection signal,
The sensor system according to claim 1, wherein an area where the plurality of devices are installed overlaps with an area where the plurality of human sensors are installed. The low power consumption mode includes a start mode in which the sensor unit can perform a sensing operation, and the non-low power consumption mode includes a mode in which the sensor unit is incapable of sensing operation and enters the start mode. Includes sleep mode that consumes less power than
The sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the mode switching unit switches an operation mode to a start mode or a sleep mode in accordance with the control command.   If it is determined that a change from the absence of a person to the presence is detected based on the detection signal, the command transmission unit activates an operation mode as the control command for the human sensor determined to be in the vicinity. The sensor system according to claim 7, wherein an activation command for changing to a mode is transmitted.   When the command transmission unit determines that a change from the absence of a person to the presence is detected based on the detection signal, the command transmission unit transmits the activation command to a human sensor in the vicinity, and thereafter, the detection signal The sensor system according to claim 8, wherein a pause command for changing an operation mode to a pause mode is transmitted as the control command to a human sensor of a transmission source. The low power consumption mode includes an active mode in which the communication unit can perform communication operation, and the non-low power consumption mode includes a mode in which the communication unit is incapable of communication operation and enters the active mode. Includes sleep mode that consumes less power than
The sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the mode switching unit intermittently switches an operation mode to the active mode or the sleep mode. A controller that communicates with multiple human sensors,
Each human sensor has different operation modes including a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is suppressed and a non-low power consumption mode,
Each human sensor is
Including a switching unit for switching the operation mode,
Send a detection signal by sensing operation to the controller,
The controller is
From each human sensor, intensity data representing the intensity of a signal received by the human sensor from another human sensor is received, and the human data in the vicinity of each human sensor is received using the received intensity data. A proximity determination unit for determining a sensor;
A command transmitter for transmitting a control command for switching the operation mode based on the received detection signal to the human sensor determined to be in the vicinity of the human sensor that is a transmission source of the detection signal; Including the controller. A communication interface for communicating with a plurality of human sensors having different operation modes;
A sensor control method in a controller including a processor for controlling the sensing operation of each human sensor,
The different operation modes include a low power consumption mode in which power consumption of the human sensor is suppressed and a non-low power consumption mode.
The sensor control method includes:
The processor receives from each human sensor via the communication interface intensity data representing the intensity of a signal that the human sensor receives from another human sensor;
The processor determines a human sensor in the vicinity of each human sensor using intensity data received;
The processor receiving a detection signal from the sensing operation via the communication interface;
A control command for switching the operation mode based on the detection signal is transmitted to the human sensor determined to be in the vicinity of the human sensor that is the transmission source of the detection signal via the communication interface. And a sensor control method.

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