JP2014187464A - Communication system, relay device, transmission device and communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To retransmit data in a short time to a transmission destination radio terminal to which data transmission has failed.SOLUTION: On receiving a connection notification, indicative of the radio connection of a radio terminal 4a to which the transmission device 10 has failed to transmit data, a relay device 20 instantly transfers the connection notification to the transmission device 10. On receiving a connection notification indicative of radio connection of a radio terminal 4b other than the radio terminal 4a to which data transmission has failed, each relay device 20 temporarily stores the connection notification. Each relay device 20 transmits the temporarily stored connection notification to the transmission device 10 in each predetermined period. On receiving the connection notification indicative of the radio connection of the radio terminal 4a to which data transmission has failed, the transmission device 10 retransmits the data to the radio terminal 4a.

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system, a relay device, a transmission device, and a communication method.

  In recent years, systems in which a server and a client transmit and receive data have become widespread. For example, in a facility such as a hospital, a communication system in which a transmission device (server) transmits data such as guidance information to a wireless terminal (client) carried by a user present at a predetermined location in the facility via a relay device There is.

  In this communication system, when a wireless terminal is wirelessly connected to any of a plurality of wireless access points, the transmitting apparatus receives a connection notification from the wireless terminal via the wireless access point and the relay device. As a result, the transmission device can grasp the position of the wireless terminal and transmit data to the wireless terminal. In addition, when transmission of data to a wireless terminal fails, the transmission apparatus retransmits data to the wireless terminal when a connection notification is received from a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data.

  Further, techniques for transmitting and receiving data between a server and a client include the following. For example, a technology has been proposed in which a server requests a client to access when a target client and a modem line are connected, and the client disconnects the modem line after receiving the request and then accesses the server again. Yes.

JP 1999-136308 A

  In the above system in which the transmission device transmits data to the wireless terminal, the number of connection notifications transmitted from the wireless terminal increases as the number of users increases, and the network load between the relay device and the transmission device, The processing load on the transmission device increases. Therefore, the network load and the processing load of the transmission device can be reduced by temporarily storing the movement notification received by the relay device and transmitting a plurality of connection notifications temporarily stored every predetermined period.

  However, in this method, a delay occurs between the time when the relay device receives the connection notification and the time when the connection notification is transmitted to the transmission device. For this reason, when transmission of data fails, there is a problem that the transmission apparatus cannot retransmit data immediately after the wireless terminal of the transmission destination is wirelessly connected.

  In one aspect, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system, a relay device, a transmission device, and a communication method that enable data to be retransmitted in a short time to a destination wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data.

  In one proposal, a transmitting device that transmits data to a wireless terminal and one or more wireless access points are connected to each other, relay data transmitted from the transmitting device to the wireless terminal, and connected wireless access There is provided a communication system including one or a plurality of relay devices that receive a connection notification indicating that a wireless terminal is wirelessly connected from a point and transfer the notification to a transmitting device. When the relay apparatus receives a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data, the relay apparatus immediately transfers the connection notification to the transmission apparatus. When the relay device receives a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal other than the wireless terminal that failed to transmit data, the relay device temporarily stores the connection notification and transmits the connection notification temporarily stored every predetermined period. Forward to. When receiving a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data, the transmitting device retransmits the data to the wireless terminal.

In one scheme, a relay device included in the communication system is provided.
Further, in one proposal, a transmission device having a data transmission unit and a list distribution unit is provided. The data transmission unit transmits data addressed to the wireless terminal via one or more relay devices. When the data transmission unit receives a connection notification indicating that the wireless terminal is wirelessly connected from any of the relay devices, if the received connection notification indicates a wireless connection of the wireless terminal that failed to transmit data, the data transmission unit Resend data addressed to the terminal. The list distribution unit distributes a terminal list including identification information of wireless terminals that have failed to transmit data to each relay device.

  Furthermore, in one proposal, a communication method for executing the same processing as that of the communication system is provided.

  According to one aspect, data can be retransmitted in a short time to a destination wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data.

It is a figure which shows the structural example and processing example of a communication system of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the communication system of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of a relay server. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of a portable terminal. It is a figure which shows the function example of a management server and a relay server. It is a figure which shows the example of a patient table. It is a figure which shows the example of an importance table. It is a figure which shows the example of a patient list waiting for resending, and an immediate transfer patient list. It is a figure which shows the example of a load condition determination table. It is a figure which shows the example of a relay server table. It is a figure which shows the example of an immediate transfer determination table. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process which transmits guidance information. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process at the time of movement notification reception. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process which calculates a load state. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process which transfers a movement notification. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process which transfers the stored movement notification. It is a figure which shows the example of the communication system of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the modification of the patient table of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the medical department table of 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of the process which correct | amends the importance of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of calculation of the load state of 4th Embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example and a processing example of the communication system according to the first embodiment. The communication system according to the first embodiment is a communication system that transmits data from the transmission device 10 to a wireless terminal that is wirelessly connected to any one of the wireless access points 3a to 3c. The communication system includes wireless access points 3a to 3c, a transmission device 10, and a relay device 20. The relay device 20 is connected to the wireless access points 3 a to 3 c and the transmission device 10.

  Note that a plurality of relay apparatuses 20 may be connected to the transmission apparatus 10. Also, a plurality of wireless access points may be provided for the entire communication system. When a plurality of relay apparatuses 20 are provided, one or more wireless access points are connected to each relay apparatus 20. 1 illustrates two wireless terminals 4a and 4b, the number of wireless terminals is not limited.

  When each of the wireless access points 3 a to 3 c is wirelessly connected to a wireless terminal, the wireless access points 3 a to 3 c transmit a connection notification indicating that the wireless terminal is wirelessly connected to the transmitting device 10 via the relay device 20.

  The transmission device 10 transmits data to the wireless terminal via the relay device 20. In addition, when receiving a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data, the transmission device 10 retransmits the data to the wireless terminal. As a cause of the failure of the transmission apparatus 10 to transmit data, there is a case where the wireless terminal of the transmission destination is not wirelessly connected to any wireless access point.

  Data is transmitted and received between the wireless access points 3 a to 3 c and the transmission device 10 via the relay device 20. Thereby, for example, compared with the case where the transmission device 10 establishes a direct connection with each wireless access point and communicates, the number of counterpart devices with which the transmission device 10 establishes a connection is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the process of establishing a connection in the transmission device 10, and the processing load due to communication is suppressed.

  The relay device 20 includes a storage unit 21 and a transfer unit 22. The storage unit 21 is realized by, for example, a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a nonvolatile storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. The transfer unit 22 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or another electronic circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a processor. Realized by combination with other electronic circuits.

The storage unit 21 temporarily stores connection notifications received from the wireless access points 3a to 3c.
The transfer unit 22 relays data transmitted from the transmission device 10 to the wireless terminal. In addition, the transfer unit 22 receives a connection notification indicating that the wireless terminal is wirelessly connected from the connected wireless access point, and transfers the connection notification to the transmission device 10.

  Furthermore, when the transmission device 10 receives a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data, the transfer unit 22 immediately transfers the connection notification to the transmission device 10. On the other hand, when the transmission device 10 receives a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal other than the wireless terminal that failed to transmit data, the transfer unit 22 temporarily stores the connection notification in the storage unit 21. The transfer unit 22 transfers the connection notification temporarily stored in the storage unit 21 to the transmission device 10 every predetermined period.

  Here, a case will be described in which any of the wireless access points 3a to 3c and the wireless terminals 4a and 4b are wirelessly connected after the transmission device 10 fails to transmit data to the wireless terminal 4a. Hereinafter, identification information of the wireless terminals 4a and 4b is assumed to be # 1 and # 2, respectively.

  The terminal list 23 is a list of wireless terminals including identification information of wireless terminals that have failed to transmit data by the transmission device 10. Therefore, the terminal list 23 includes the identification information “# 1” of the wireless terminal 4a. The terminal list 23 is stored in the storage unit 21, for example.

  In this state, it is assumed that the wireless access point 3b is wirelessly connected to the wireless terminal 4a. In this case, the wireless access point 3b transmits a connection notification indicating the wireless connection of the wireless terminal 4a to the transmission device 10 via the relay device 20 (step S1). Hereinafter, the connection notification indicating the wireless connection of the wireless terminal 4a having the identification information “# 1” is referred to as “connection notification (# 1)”.

  The relay device 20 that has received the connection notification (# 1) immediately transfers the connection notification (# 1) to the transmission device 10 because the identification number “# 1” of the wireless terminal 4a is included in the terminal list 23. (Step S2). The transmission apparatus 10 that has received the connection notification (# 1) retransmits data addressed to the wireless terminal 4a that has failed to be transmitted.

  Similarly, it is assumed that the wireless access point 3c is wirelessly connected to the wireless terminal 4b. In this case, the wireless access point 3c transmits a connection notification (# 2) indicating the wireless connection of the wireless terminal 4b to the transmitting device 10 via the relay device 20 (step S3). The relay device 20 that has received the connection notification (# 2) temporarily stores the connection notification (# 2) in the storage unit 21 because the terminal list 23 does not include the identification information “# 2” of the wireless terminal 4b. (Step S4).

  And the relay apparatus 20 transfers the connection notification temporarily stored for every predetermined period to the transmission apparatus 10 (step S5). For example, when a plurality of connection notifications are stored in the storage unit 21 during a predetermined period, the relay device 20 collectively transfers them to the transmission device 10.

  According to the communication system according to the first embodiment, the relay device 20 indicates the wireless connection of wireless terminals other than the wireless terminal in which the transmission device 10 failed to transmit data, as in the example of the wireless terminal 4b described above. When the connection notification is received, the received connection notification is temporarily stored in the storage unit 21. Then, the transfer unit 22 collectively transfers the connection notification temporarily stored in the storage unit 21 to the transmission device 10 during a predetermined period. As a result, even when the relay device 20 receives connection notifications from a plurality of wireless terminals in a predetermined period, the relay device 20 can transmit the plurality of connection notifications by establishing a connection less than the number of connection notifications (for example, once). . Therefore, the transmission device 10 and the relay device 20 can reduce the number of connection establishments, and can suppress the processing load for transmitting and receiving a plurality of connection notifications. Further, the overhead for establishing a connection is reduced, and the transmission load between the transmission device 10 and the relay device 20 is also suppressed.

  However, if the relay device 20 transfers all the connection notifications collectively at predetermined intervals, after the relay device 20 receives the connection notification from the wireless access point 3b, the relay device 20 transmits this connection notification to the transmission device 10. Delay will occur.

  Therefore, when the relay device 20 receives the connection notification (# 1) indicating the wireless connection of the wireless terminal 4a that has failed to transmit data, the relay device 20 immediately transfers the connection notification (# 1) to the transmission device 10. . Thereby, the delay until the relay apparatus 20 receives the connection notification (# 1) and transmits it can be suppressed. Therefore, the transmission apparatus 10 can retransmit data to the wireless terminal 4a in a short time after the wireless terminal 4a of the transmission destination that failed to transmit data is wirelessly connected to any wireless access point.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, an example of a communication system in which each of a plurality of patients who see a hospital has a wireless terminal and notifies each patient of guidance through the wireless terminal will be described.

  For example, in such a communication system used in a hospital, it is preferable that the position of a patient can be grasped so that detailed services can be provided. Therefore, multiple wireless access points are arranged so that the range that can be connected to the wireless terminal does not overlap each other, and the sending device on the guide acquires the identification information of the wireless access point connected to the wireless terminal that the patient has To do. Thereby, the range in which the wireless access point corresponding to the identification information acquired last by the transmitting device can be connected to the wireless terminal can be estimated as the range where the patient exists.

Furthermore, the communication system can grasp the position of the patient in more detail by arranging more wireless access points in the hospital that have a narrower range that can be connected to the wireless terminal possessed by the patient.
Here, the range in which the wireless access point can be connected to the wireless terminal can be reduced by reducing the radio wave intensity of the wireless access point. However, in this case, since the radio wave intensity at the wireless access point is weak, there is a higher possibility that data transmission from the transmitting device to the wireless terminal will fail. For this reason, the number of wireless terminals that failed to transmit data increases, and the number of times that the transmission apparatus retransmits data increases. As a result, the load on the transmission apparatus increases.

Therefore, an example will be described in which the presence / absence of immediate transfer is determined for the connection notification of the retransmission destination wireless terminal based on the importance of data and the load state of the transmission apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication system according to the second embodiment. The communication system 5 is a system for notifying guidance information to a plurality of patients who are examined at a hospital. The guide information is information for notifying a patient who receives a medical examination of a medical examination or a hospital situation. Examples of the content of the guidance information include a notification of a patient call and a notification of the number of waiting patients. The patient has a portable terminal to receive guidance information from the hospital. For example, when a patient applies for a medical examination at a hospital, the portable terminal is lent out from the hospital and returned after the examination is completed.

  The communication system 5 is connected to the electronic medical record system 31 via the network 50. The electronic medical record system 31 is a system that manages an electronic medical record that records the progress of medical treatment of a patient. In addition, the electronic medical record system 31 manages information such as the number of patients waiting for the examination and the examination room for each patient to be examined, and generates guidance information based on these information. The electronic medical record system 31 requests the communication system 5 to distribute the generated guidance information to the patient.

  The communication system 5 is a system that distributes guide information to a portable terminal possessed by a patient of a distribution destination requested for distribution from the electronic medical record system 31. The communication system 5 includes a plurality of APs (Access Points) 40, a management server 100, a plurality of relay servers 200, and a plurality of portable terminals 300.

  The management server 100 is connected to a plurality of relay servers 200 via a network 51. In the present embodiment, three relay servers 200 are connected to the management server 100 as an example. Each of the plurality of relay servers 200 is connected to the AP 40 via an individual network 52. In the present embodiment, three APs 40 are connected to each relay server 200 as an example. Each of the plurality of mobile terminals 300 is wirelessly connected to any one of the APs 40.

  The AP 40 is a wireless access point that performs wireless communication with the mobile terminal 300. Each of the APs 40 is arranged such that the range that can be connected to the mobile terminal 300 does not overlap with other APs 40. Thereby, since there is one AP 40 that can be connected to each mobile terminal 300, the management server 100 can grasp the position of the patient carrying the mobile terminal 300 by grasping the AP 40 to which the mobile terminal 300 is connected. . In addition, the management server 100 can grasp | ascertain the position of the patient who has the portable terminal 300 accurately by narrowing the range which can connect each AP40 with the portable terminal 300, and increasing the number of AP40.

  The portable terminal 300 is a terminal device possessed by a patient who receives a medical examination. The portable terminal 300 has a function of performing wireless communication. When the mobile terminal 300 is wirelessly connected to a new AP 40, the mobile terminal 300 transmits a movement notification to the AP 40. The movement notification includes identification information of the mobile terminal 300 wirelessly connected and identification information of the AP 40 wirelessly connected. The AP 40 that has received the movement notification transmits the received movement notification to the management server 100 via the relay server 200 connected to the own device.

  The relay server 200 is a server that relays data transmitted and received between the management server 100 and the AP 40. In addition, the relay server 200 receives from the management server 100 a list of patients who are notified about the guidance information that the management server 100 has failed to transmit and information indicating the load state of the management server 100. The load state indicates a load state applied to the server by communication processing, for example.

  Further, the relay server 200 transfers the movement notification received from the AP 40 connected to the own device to the management server 100. At this time, it is determined whether to immediately transfer the movement notification based on the received list of patients and the load state of the management server 100. Furthermore, the relay server 200 transfers the guide information received from the management server 100 to the mobile terminal 300 that is the notification destination.

  The management server 100 is a server that manages the location of a patient and the distribution of guidance information to the patient. The management server 100 receives the guide information issued by the electronic medical record system 31 and transmits the received guide information to the mobile terminal 300 that is the notification destination.

  In addition, the management server 100 receives a movement notification from the mobile terminal 300. Based on the received movement notification, the management server 100 associates and stores the identification information of the portable terminal 300 possessed by the patient and the identification information of the AP 40 that is wirelessly connected. When the management server 100 receives the guidance information from the electronic medical record system 31, the management server 100 determines a notification information notification destination based on the stored identification information of the mobile terminal 300 and the AP 40.

  In addition, when the management server 100 receives the movement notification from the mobile terminal 300 that failed to transmit the guide information, the management server 100 retransmits the guide information to the mobile terminal 300 based on the identification information of the AP 40 included in the received movement notification.

In addition, the management server 100 determines the load state of the management server 100 for each predetermined period, and transmits the determined load of the management server 100 to each relay server 200.
Further, the management server 100 determines the importance level for each notification destination patient regarding the guidance information that has failed to be transmitted, and generates a list of patients whose guidance notification has failed to be transmitted based on the determined importance level. Then, the management server 100 transmits the generated patient list to each relay server 200.

The movement notification may be transmitted to the management server 100 when the AP 40 is wirelessly connected to the mobile terminal 300.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the relay server. The relay server 200 includes a processor 201, a RAM 202, an HDD 203, an image signal processing unit 204, an input signal processing unit 205, a disk drive 206, and a communication interface 207. These units are connected to the bus 208 in the relay server 200.

  The processor 201 is a processor including an arithmetic unit that executes program instructions. The processor 201 loads at least a part of the program and data stored in the HDD 203 into the RAM 202 and executes the program. The processor 201 may include a plurality of processor cores. Further, the relay server 200 may include a plurality of processors. Further, the relay server 200 may perform parallel processing using a plurality of processors or a plurality of processor cores. A set of two or more processors, a dedicated circuit such as an FPGA or an ASIC, a set of two or more dedicated circuits, a combination of a processor and a dedicated circuit, and the like may be referred to as a “processor”.

  The RAM 202 is a volatile memory that temporarily stores a program executed by the processor 201 and data referred to by the program. The relay server 200 may include a type of memory other than the RAM, or may include a plurality of volatile memories.

  The HDD 203 is a non-volatile storage device that stores software programs and data such as an OS (Operating System), firmware, and application software. Note that the relay server 200 may include another type of storage device such as a flash memory, or may include a plurality of nonvolatile storage devices.

  The image signal processing unit 204 outputs an image to the display 61 connected to the relay server 200 in accordance with an instruction from the processor 201. As the display 61, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, a liquid crystal display, or the like can be used.

  The input signal processing unit 205 acquires an input signal from the input device 62 connected to the relay server 200 and notifies the processor 201 of the input signal. As the input device 62, a pointing device such as a mouse or a touch panel, a keyboard, or the like can be used.

  The disk drive 206 is a drive device that reads programs and data recorded on the recording medium 63. As the recording medium 63, for example, a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk (FD) or HDD, an optical disk such as a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or a magneto-optical disk (MO) is used. Can be used. The disk drive 206 stores the program and data read from the recording medium 63 in the RAM 202 or the HDD 203 in accordance with an instruction from the processor 201.

The communication interface 207 communicates with other information processing apparatuses (for example, the management server 100) via a network such as the network 51.
The relay server 200 may not include the disk drive 206, and may not include the image signal processing unit 204 or the input signal processing unit 205 when accessed exclusively from another information processing apparatus. Further, the display 61 and the input device 62 may be formed integrally with the casing of the relay server 200.

The management server 100 can also be realized using the same hardware as the relay server 200.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the mobile terminal. The portable terminal 300 includes a processor 301, a RAM 302, a flash memory 303, a display 304, a touch panel 305, and a wireless interface 306. These units are connected to the bus 307 in the portable terminal 300.

  The processor 301 is a processor including an arithmetic unit that executes program instructions, like the processor 201 described above. The RAM 302 is a volatile memory that temporarily stores programs executed by the processor 301 and data, like the RAM 202 described above.

  The flash memory 303 is a non-volatile storage device that stores programs and data such as an OS, firmware, and application software. Note that the mobile terminal 300 may include another type of storage device such as an HDD, or may include a plurality of nonvolatile storage devices.

  The display 304 displays an image according to a command from the processor 301. As the display 304, a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like can be used.

  The touch panel 305 is provided so as to overlap the display 304, detects a user's touch operation on the display 304, and notifies the processor 301 of the touch position as an input signal. For the touch operation, a pointing device such as a touch pen or a user's finger is used. There are various detection methods such as a matrix switch method, a resistive film method, a surface acoustic wave method, an infrared method, an electromagnetic induction method, a capacitance method, etc. Good. Note that the mobile terminal 300 may include other types of input devices such as a keypad having a plurality of input keys.

  The wireless interface 306 is a communication interface that performs wireless communication. The wireless interface 306 performs demodulation / decoding of a received signal, encoding / modulation of a transmission signal, and the like. For example, the wireless interface 306 is connected to the network 52 or the like via the access point 40. The mobile terminal 300 may include a plurality of wireless interfaces.

  Note that the program executed by the processor 301 may be copied from another storage device to the flash memory 303. The program executed by the processor 301 may be downloaded from the network 52 or the like by the wireless interface 306.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating exemplary functions of the management server and the relay server.
The management server 100 includes a patient information storage unit 110, a retransmission information storage unit 120, a relay server information storage unit 130, a guidance information transmission unit 140, a movement notification reception unit 150, and a guidance information retransmission unit 160. The patient information storage unit 110, the retransmission information storage unit 120, and the relay server information storage unit 130 are realized by a storage device (for example, the RAM 202) included in the management server 100. The processing of the guidance information transmission unit 140, the movement notification reception unit 150, and the guidance information retransmission unit 160 is realized by the processor 301 of the management server 100 executing a predetermined program.

  The patient information storage unit 110 stores a patient table that stores information related to a patient to be examined. The retransmission information storage unit 120 is configured so that the management server 100 stores guidance information such as a list of patients waiting for retransmission in which the portable terminal 300 of the guidance information that the management server 100 has failed to transmit and a load status indicating the load status of the management server 100 are stored. Information used when retransmitting is stored. The relay server information storage unit 130 stores a relay server table that stores the connection relationship between the relay server 200 and the AP 40.

  The guidance information transmission unit 140 receives guidance information from the electronic medical chart system 31. The guidance information includes the ID (Identifier) of the patient who has the mobile terminal 300 as the transmission destination. The guide information transmission unit 140 transmits the received guide information to the mobile terminal 300 via the relay server 200. The relay server 200 to be routed is selected based on information stored in the patient table and the relay server table.

  In addition, the guide information transmission unit 140 updates the patient list waiting for retransmission based on the transmission result of the guide information. In addition, the guide information transmission unit 140 determines the importance of the guide information for each patient stored in the patient list waiting for retransmission. And the guidance information transmission part 140 produces | generates the immediate transfer patient list mentioned later based on the determined importance and the resending waiting patient list.

  Furthermore, the guidance information transmission unit 140 measures the number of times the guidance information is transmitted to the relay device every predetermined period (for example, every hour), and the management server 100 per predetermined period based on the measured number of transmissions. Determine the load status. Then, the generated immediate transfer patient list and the determined load state are transmitted to each relay server 200.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the number of times the guide information is measured includes the case where the transmission fails. However, as another example, the number of transmissions may be the same as the number of guidance information to be transmitted (that is, the number of guidance information received from the electronic medical chart system 31). Furthermore, the determination of the load state of the management server 100 is not limited to the transmission of guidance information, and may be performed based on the processing load of the entire management server 100.

The movement notification receiving unit 150 receives a movement notification from the mobile terminal 300. The movement notification receiving unit 150 updates the patient table based on information included in the received movement notification.
The guide information retransmission unit 160 determines whether the mobile terminal 300 that is the transmission source of the received movement notification is included in the patient list waiting for retransmission. When the mobile terminal 300 that is the transmission source of the received movement notification is included in the patient list waiting for retransmission, the guide information retransmission unit 160 retransmits the guide information to the mobile terminal 300. At the time of retransmission, the relay server 200 to be routed is selected based on the identification information of the AP 40 included in the received movement notification.

  The relay server 200 includes an immediate transfer information storage unit 210, a movement notification storage unit 220, a guide information transfer unit 230, an immediate transfer information reception unit 240, and a movement notification transfer unit 250. The immediate transfer information storage unit 210 and the movement notification storage unit 220 are realized by a storage device (for example, a RAM) included in the relay server 200. The processing of the guide information transfer unit 230, the immediate transfer information reception unit 240, and the movement notification transfer unit 250 is realized by a processor included in the relay server 200 executing a predetermined program.

  In the immediate transfer information storage unit 210, the relay server 200 immediately notifies the movement notification such as the immediate transfer patient list storing the identification information of the mobile terminal 300 for which the management server 100 has failed to transmit the guide information and the load state of the management server 100. Information used to determine whether to transfer is stored. The movement notification storage unit 220 temporarily stores a movement notification that the relay server 200 transfers every predetermined period.

The guide information transfer unit 230 receives the guide information from the management server 100 and transfers the received guide information to the destination mobile terminal 300 via the AP 40.
The immediate transfer information receiving unit 240 receives the immediate transfer patient list and information indicating the load state of the management server 100 from the management server 100, and receives the received immediate transfer patient list and information indicating the load state of the management server 100 as the immediate transfer information. Store in the storage unit 210.

  The movement notification transfer unit 250 receives a movement notification from the mobile terminal 300 via the AP 40. The movement notification transfer unit 250 determines whether to immediately transfer the received movement notification based on the immediate transfer patient list and the load information. The movement notification transfer unit 250 immediately transfers the received movement notification when it is determined to transfer immediately, and temporarily stores the received movement notification in the movement notification storage unit 220 when it is determined not to transfer immediately. Furthermore, the movement notification transfer unit 250 transfers the movement notification temporarily stored in the movement notification storage unit 220 every predetermined period.

Next, an example of table information used in the processing of the communication system 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a patient table. The patient table 111 is a table that stores information related to a patient to be examined. The patient table 111 is stored in the patient information storage unit 110.

  The patient table 111 has items of patient ID and access point ID. An identifier for identifying a patient is set in the item of patient ID. The patient ID is used as information for identifying the mobile terminal 300 in the communication processing in the communication system 5. In the item of access point ID, an identifier for identifying the AP 40 wirelessly connected to the portable terminal 300 owned by the patient is set.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the importance level table. The importance level table 121 is a table used for determining the importance level based on the guidance type included in the guidance information. The importance level table 121 is stored in advance in the retransmission information storage unit 120.

  The importance level table 121 includes items of importance level and guidance type list. In the importance level item, information indicating the importance level of the guidance information determined by the guidance information transmission unit 140 is set. In the communication system 5, the importance levels are “A”, “B”, and “C” in descending order. In the items of the guidance type list, a list of guidance types corresponding to the importance is set.

  For example, in FIG. 7, when the guidance type included in the guidance information is “call” or “emergency notification”, the importance of the guidance information is determined to be “A”. When the guidance type included in the guidance information is “Waiting number (1)”, the importance is determined as “B”. Similarly, when the guidance type included in the guidance information is “waiting number of persons (2 or more)” or “consultation room status change”, the importance is determined as “C”.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the guidance type is included in the guidance information received from the electronic medical record system 31 in advance. However, as another example, the guidance type may be determined by analyzing the content of the guidance by the guidance information transmitting unit 140 that has received the guidance information.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating examples of a patient list waiting for retransmission and an immediate transfer patient list. The patient list 122 waiting for retransmission and the immediate transfer patient list 211 are tables that store information related to the notified patient regarding the guidance information that failed to be transmitted.

  The retransmission wait patient list 122 is stored in the retransmission information storage unit 120. The patient list 122 waiting for retransmission has items of patient ID and guidance information. An identifier for identifying a patient is set in the item of patient ID. In the item of guidance information, information related to the content of guidance information to be retransmitted to the patient is set. The information set in the guidance information item includes a guidance type and guidance data, and can be represented, for example, as “guidance type: guidance data”. The guidance type is set as the guidance type. For example, the type of “call” indicates a call notification for calling a patient. The type of “waiting number” is a waiting number notification for notifying the patient of the waiting number until calling, and the number in parentheses indicates the waiting number of patients. For example, the guidance information whose guidance type is “Waiting number (1)” indicates that the waiting number of patients is one. In the guidance data, information indicating the content of guidance confirmed by the patient who has received the guidance information is set.

  The immediate transfer patient list 211 is generated by the management server 100 based on the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission and distributed to each relay server 200. The immediate transfer patient list 211 is received by the immediate transfer information receiving unit 240 in each relay server 200 and is overwritten and stored in the immediate transfer information storage unit 210.

  The immediate transfer patient list 211 has items of patient ID and importance. An identifier for identifying a patient is set in the item of patient ID. In the importance level item, information indicating the importance level of patient guidance information waiting for retransmission is set. The importance is set by the management server 100 as follows for each patient included in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission. The management server 100 extracts the guidance type from the guidance information column associated with the patient in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission. The management server 100 determines the importance corresponding to the extracted guidance type based on the importance table 121 and registers the determined importance in the immediate transfer patient list 211 in association with the patient.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a load state determination table. The load state determination table 123 is a table that stores information for determining the load state of the management server 100. The load state determination table 123 is stored in advance in the retransmission information storage unit 120.

  The load state determination table 123 includes items of load state and determination condition. In the item of load state, information indicating the load state of the management server 100 determined by the guide information transmission unit 140 is set. The load states are, for example, “high”, “medium”, and “low” in descending order. The condition of the number of transmissions for determining the load state is set in the determination condition item. The number of transmissions is the number of times guide information is transmitted from the management server 100 to the relay device every predetermined period. In FIG. 9, thresholds M and N are thresholds for the number of transmissions for the management server 100 to determine the load state. For example, the threshold value M is set such that the range of the number of times the guidance information is determined to be determined to be “medium” is not less than the threshold value N and less than the threshold value M.

  For example, in FIG. 9, when “number of transmissions ≧ threshold M”, the load state is “high”, and when “threshold N ≦ number of transmissions <threshold M”, the load state is “medium” and “number of transmissions <threshold value”. In the case of N, the load state is “low”.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relay server table. The relay server table 131 is a table that stores the connection relationship between the relay server 200 and the AP 40. The relay server table 131 is stored in advance in the relay server information storage unit 130.

  The relay server table 131 includes items of a relay server ID and an AP list. In the item of relay server ID, an identifier for identifying the relay server 200 is set. In the AP list item, a list of IDs of APs 40 connected to the relay server 200 is set.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the immediate transfer determination table. The immediate transfer determination table 212 is a table used for determining whether to immediately transfer a movement notification from the portable terminal 300 of a patient included in the immediate transfer patient list 211. The immediate transfer determination table 212 is stored in advance in the immediate transfer information storage unit 210.

  The immediate transfer determination table 212 has items of load status and importance list. In the item of load state, a load state determined by the management server 100 is set. In the importance list item, a list of importance levels associated with the patient to be immediately transferred is set.

  For example, in FIG. 11, when the load state of the management server 100 is “high”, among the notification destination patients for the guidance information that failed to be transmitted, the notification destination patients for the guidance information with the importance “A” Are determined to be subject to immediate transfer. Similarly, when the load state of the management server 100 is “medium”, the notification destination of the guidance information having the importance “A” or “B” among the notification destination patients about the guidance information that failed to be transmitted. The patient is determined for immediate transfer. Similarly, when the load state of the management server 100 is “low”, among the notification destination patients about the guidance information that failed to be transmitted, the guidance information having the importance “A”, “B”, or “C”. The notification destination patient is determined to be subject to immediate transfer.

  Next, in FIG. 12 to FIG. 14, processing of the management server 100 will be described using a flowchart. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the address of the portable terminal 300 possessed by the patient can be specified by the patient ID of the patient, and the address of the relay server 200 can be specified by the relay server ID.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for transmitting guidance information. The guidance information received from the electronic medical record system 31 includes the ID of the patient who is the notification destination for the guidance information. In the following, the process illustrated in FIG. 12 will be described in order of step number.

  (Step S <b> 11) The guidance information transmission unit 140 determines whether guidance information has been received from the electronic medical record system 31. If the guidance information is received, the process proceeds to step S12. If the guidance information has not been received, the process proceeds to step S11.

  (Step S <b> 12) The guidance information transmission unit 140 determines whether the ID of the patient who is the notification destination for the guidance information is included in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission. When the ID of the patient who is the notification destination for the guidance information is included in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission, the process proceeds to step S13. If the ID of the patient to whom the notification information is notified is not included in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission, the process proceeds to step S14.

(Step S <b> 13) The guidance information transmission unit 140 deletes the record in which the ID of the patient to be notified about the guidance information is set from the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission.
(Step S14) The guide information transmitting unit 140 searches for an AP 40 connected to the portable terminal 300 possessed by the patient who is the notification destination of the guide information. Specifically, the guidance information transmission unit 140 searches the patient table 111 for a record in which the ID of the patient to whom the notification information is notified is set, and sets the access point ID set in the searched record. read out.

  (Step S15) The guidance information transmission unit 140 searches for the relay server 200 connected to the searched AP 40. Specifically, the guide information transmission unit 140 searches the relay server table 131 for a record in which an AP list including the ID of the searched AP 40 is set, and sets the relay server set in the searched record. Read the ID.

  (Step S16) The guidance information transmission unit 140 transmits the guidance information to the portable terminal 300 owned by the patient who is the notification destination of the guidance information via the searched relay server 200. At this time, the guide information transmitting unit 140 adds the access point ID searched in step S14 to the guide information and transmits it.

  The guide information transfer unit 230 of the relay server 200 that has received the guide information sends the received guide information to the mobile terminal 300 possessed by the destination patient via the AP 40 indicated by the access point ID added to the guide information. Send. Then, the transmission result is transmitted to the management server 100.

  (Step S17) The guide information transmitting unit 140 increments the number of times the guide information is transmitted. The number of times guide information is transmitted is temporarily stored in retransmission information storage section 120, for example. The number of times the guide information is transmitted is used to determine the load state.

  (Step S18) The guide information transmitting unit 140 determines whether or not the guide information has been successfully transmitted. Whether or not the guidance information has been successfully transmitted can be determined from the transmission result received from the relay server 200. If the guidance information has been successfully transmitted, the process proceeds to step S11. If transmission of guidance information fails, the process proceeds to step S19.

  (Step S <b> 19) The guidance information transmission unit 140 registers information related to the notification destination patient regarding the guidance information that has failed to be transmitted in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission. Specifically, the guidance information transmission unit 140 sets the notification destination patient ID of the guidance information that has failed to be transmitted in the item of patient ID, and the guidance type and guidance data included in the guidance information that has failed to be transmitted. A record set in the guidance information item is registered in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission. When the guidance type received from the electronic medical record system 31 does not include the guidance type, the guidance type may be determined based on the guidance data included in the received guidance information.

  (Step S20) The guidance information transmission unit 140 generates an immediate transfer patient list 211. Specifically, the guidance information transmission unit 140 selects one record from the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission, and extracts the guidance type of the guidance information from the selected record. The guidance information transmitting unit 140 determines the importance corresponding to the extracted guidance type from the importance table 121. The guide information transmitting unit 140 generates one record of the immediate transfer patient list 211 by associating the patient ID included in the selected record with the determined importance. The guide information transmission unit 140 generates the immediate transfer patient list 211 by executing the above process for all the records in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission. Then, the guide information transmission unit 140 transmits the generated immediate transfer patient list 211 to each relay server 200.

  The immediate transfer information receiving unit 240 of each relay server 200 that has received the immediate transfer patient list 211 stores the immediate transfer patient list 211 in the immediate transfer information storage unit 210. The immediate transfer information storage unit 210 of each relay server 200 stores the latest immediate transfer patient list 211.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing when a movement notification is received. In the following, the process illustrated in FIG. 13 will be described in order of step number.
(Step S <b> 21) The movement notification receiving unit 150 determines whether a movement notification is received from the mobile terminal 300. If a movement notification is received from the portable terminal 300, the process proceeds to step S22. If a movement notification has not been received from the portable terminal 300, the process proceeds to step S21.

  (Step S22) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 determines whether the patient who has the mobile terminal 300 that is the transmission source of the received movement notification is a patient waiting for retransmission. Whether the patient is waiting for retransmission is determined based on whether the patient ID included in the movement notification received from the waiting patient list 122 is searched. If the patient is waiting for retransmission, the process proceeds to step S23. If the patient is not waiting for retransmission, the process proceeds to step S21.

(Step S23) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 searches for the relay server 200 connected to the AP 40 corresponding to the access point ID included in the received movement notification.
(Step S24) The guide information retransmission unit 160 transmits the guide information to the mobile terminal 300 that is the transmission source of the received movement notification via the searched relay server 200. In this process, the guidance information retransmission unit 160 searches the retransmission waiting patient list 122 for a record in which the patient ID included in the received movement notification is set, and from the guidance information item set in the retrieved record. The guidance information to be transmitted is read out. In addition, the guide information retransmission unit 160 adds the access point ID included in the received movement notification to the guide information and transmits it.

  The guide information transfer unit 230 of the relay server 200 that has received the guide information sends the received guide information to the mobile terminal 300 possessed by the destination patient via the AP 40 indicated by the access point ID added to the guide information. Send. Then, the transmission result is transmitted to the management server 100.

(Step S25) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 increments the number of times the guidance information is transmitted, as in step S17 of FIG.
(Step S26) The movement notification receiving unit 150 updates the patient table 111 based on the received movement notification. Specifically, the movement notification receiving unit 150 updates the access point ID item corresponding to the patient ID included in the received movement notification in the patient table 111 to the ID of the AP 40 included in the received movement notification.

  (Step S27) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 determines whether or not the guidance information has been successfully transmitted, as in step S18. If the guidance information has been successfully transmitted, the process proceeds to step S28. If transmission of guidance information fails, the process proceeds to step S21.

(Step S28) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 deletes the record in which the patient ID included in the guidance information successfully transmitted is set from the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission.
(Step S29) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 generates the immediate transfer patient list 211 as in step S20. Then, the guide information retransmission unit 160 transmits the generated immediate transfer patient list 211 to each relay server 200. Thereafter, the immediate transfer information receiving unit 240 of each relay server 200 receives the immediate transfer patient list 211 and stores it in the immediate transfer information storage unit 210.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for calculating a load state. In FIG. 14, threshold values M and N are threshold values for the number of times guide information is transmitted for management server 100 to determine the load state, and M> N. In the following, the process illustrated in FIG. 14 will be described in order of step number.

  (Step S31) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 determines whether a predetermined time (for example, 1 hour) has elapsed. If it is the predetermined cycle, the process proceeds to step S32. If it is not the predetermined cycle, the process proceeds to step S31.

  (Step S32) The guide information retransmission unit 160 determines whether or not the number of times guide information transmitted in steps S17 and S26 has been transmitted is greater than or equal to a threshold value M. If the number of times guide information is transmitted is greater than or equal to threshold M, the process proceeds to step S33. If the number of times guide information is transmitted is less than threshold M, the process proceeds to step S34.

(Step S33) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 determines that the load state is “high”.
(Step S34) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 determines whether the number of times of transmission of the guidance information incremented in steps S17 and S26 is less than the threshold value N. If the number of times guide information is transmitted is less than the threshold value N, the process proceeds to step S35. If the number of times guide information is transmitted is greater than or equal to threshold N, the process proceeds to step S36.

(Step S35) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 determines that the load state is “low”.
(Step S36) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 determines that the load state is “medium”.
(Step S <b> 37) The guidance information retransmission unit 160 transmits load information indicating the determined load state to each relay server 200. The immediate transfer information receiving unit 240 of each relay server 200 receives the load information and stores it in the immediate transfer information storage unit 210. The immediate transfer information storage unit 210 of each relay server 200 stores the latest load information.

(Step S38) The guide information retransmission unit 160 clears the number of times the guide information is transmitted that has been incremented in steps S17 and S26.
Next, in FIG. 15 to FIG. 16, processing of the relay server 200 will be described using flowcharts.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for transferring a movement notification. In the following, the process illustrated in FIG. 15 will be described in order of step number.
(Step S41) The movement notification transfer unit 250 determines whether a movement notification has been received from the mobile terminal 300. If a movement notification is received, the process proceeds to step S42. If no movement notification has been received, the process proceeds to step S41.

  (Step S42) The movement notification transfer unit 250 determines whether the patient ID included in the movement notification is included in the immediate transfer patient list 211. If the patient ID included in the movement notification is included in the immediate transfer patient list 211, the process proceeds to step S43. If the patient ID included in the movement notification is not included in the immediate transfer patient list 211, the process proceeds to step S46.

  (Step S43) The movement notification transfer unit 250 reads the importance associated with the patient ID included in the movement notification from the immediate transfer patient list 211. Further, the movement notification transfer unit 250 reads information indicating the load state from the immediate transfer information storage unit 210.

  (Step S44) The movement notification transfer unit 250 determines whether or not the searched patient is a target of immediate transfer based on the read importance level and load state. Whether the patient is an object of immediate transfer, for example, the movement notification transfer unit 250 searches the immediate transfer determination table 212 for a record in which the read load state is registered, and includes the item in the importance list of the searched record. It can be determined by whether the read importance is included. If the patient is a subject for immediate transfer, the process proceeds to step S45. If the patient is not subject to immediate transfer, the process proceeds to step S46.

(Step S45) The movement notification transfer unit 250 transfers the received movement notification to the management server 100.
(Step S46) The movement notification transfer unit 250 temporarily stores the received movement notification in the movement notification storage unit 220.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for transferring a stored movement notification. In the following, the process illustrated in FIG. 16 will be described in order of step number.
(Step S51) The movement notification transfer unit 250 determines whether a predetermined period (for example, 10 seconds) has elapsed. If the predetermined period has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S52. If the predetermined period has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S51.

  (Step S52) The movement notification transfer unit 250 transfers the movement notification stored in Step S46 to the management server 100. Then, the movement notification transfer unit 250 deletes all the movement notifications stored in the movement notification storage unit 220.

  The patient list 122 waiting for retransmission may include an item of importance. In this case, in the process of step S19, the management server 100 determines the importance only for the notified patient about the guidance information that failed to be transmitted, and registers the record including the determined importance in the patient list 122 for retransmission. To do. Further, in the processing of step S19 and step S29, the management server 100 generates the immediate transfer patient list 211 by removing the guidance information item from the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission. As a result, the management server 100 does not have to determine the importance for every patient registered in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission every time the immediate transfer list is generated. The load is reduced.

  According to the communication system of the second embodiment, when the management server 100 receives a movement notification from the mobile terminal 300 that is the destination of transmission of the guide information, the relay server 200 transmits the received movement notification to the management server. Immediate transfer to 100. When the management server 100 receives the movement notification from the mobile terminal 300 that is the destination of transmission of the guidance information, the management server 100 retransmits the data to the mobile terminal 300.

  Thereby, after the relay server 200 receives the movement notification from the portable terminal 300 possessed by the patient (that is, after the mobile terminal 300 is detected to be wirelessly connected by any AP 40), the received movement notification is received. Is transmitted to the management server 100. As a result, a delay in data retransmission to the patient having the mobile terminal 300 wirelessly connected from the management server 100 is suppressed by the shortened time. Therefore, the management server 100 can retransmit the guide information in a short time to the mobile terminal 300 of the transmission destination that failed to transmit data.

  In addition, when the management server 100 receives a movement notification from a portable terminal 300 other than the portable terminal 300 that has failed to transmit guidance information, the relay server 200 temporarily stores the received movement notification in the movement notification storage unit 220. And the relay server 200 transfers the movement notification stored for every progress of the predetermined period to the management server 100. Thereby, the establishment of the connection for transmitting / receiving a plurality of movement notifications to / from the management server 100 between the management server 100 and the relay server 200 can be collected at one time. Therefore, the management server 100 and the relay server 200 can reduce the process of establishing a connection, and can suppress the processing load for transmitting and receiving a plurality of movement notifications.

  However, as the number of patients and the movement of patients increase, the number of times the guidance information transmission fails increases, and the number of portable terminals 300 waiting for retransmission of the guidance information increases. In this case, since the number of movement notifications that are immediately transferred increases, the management server 100 and the relay server 200 increase the number of connection establishments for transmitting and receiving movement notifications, and reduce the processing load for transmitting and receiving a plurality of movement notifications. Becomes lower.

  On the other hand, when the relay server 200 receives a movement notification from the destination mobile terminal 300 that failed to transmit the guidance information, the relay server 200 immediately transfers the movement notification based on the importance of the guidance information that failed to be transmitted. judge. Accordingly, since the number of movement notifications that are immediately transferred decreases, the management server 100 and the relay server 200 can reduce the number of connection establishments, and can suppress the processing load for transmitting and receiving a plurality of movement notifications.

  Further, the relay server 200 immediately transfers the movement notification based on the load state of the management server 100. At this time, when the load on the management server 100 is high, the relay server 200 preferentially transfers a movement notification corresponding to guidance information with high importance. As a result, while preventing an increase in the load on the management server 100, it is possible to retransmit guide information with higher importance among guide information that has failed to be transmitted in a shorter time.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a communication system according to a third embodiment will be described. In the communication system of the third embodiment, the communication system 5 of the second embodiment is preferentially notified of the guidance information to a patient who is far away from the examination place or a patient who has a large number of times of guidance information transmission failure. This is a modified version.

  For example, when notifying the patient of the number of waiting persons using the guide information, it takes time for the patient away from the examination location to arrive at the examination room. Therefore, it is desirable to preferentially notify the number of waiting persons to a patient away from the examination location so that the patient can move to the examination room in advance before calling for the examination. In addition, many patients who fail to transmit guidance information are likely to be in places where wireless communication is difficult, and they can move to places where wireless communication is not possible between the time when the relay server receives the movement notification and the time it transmits it. High nature. Therefore, it is desirable to notify the guide information more preferentially to the patient in such a case.

  Therefore, in FIGS. 17 to 20, the importance level registered in the immediate transfer patient list 211 to be distributed to each relay server 200 is corrected based on the distance from the patient to the examination location, the number of failed transmissions of guidance information to the patient, and the like. An example will be described. 17 to 20, points that are different from the second embodiment will be described, and description of the same configuration and processing as those of the second embodiment will be omitted.

  FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a communication system according to the third embodiment. In the patient information storage unit 110a, information related to a department that a patient consults and a failure in transmission of guidance information are added to the patient table. The re-transmission information storage unit 120a is added with a medical department table storing information related to a medical department where a patient consults. In the guide information transmitting unit 140a and the guide information retransmitting unit 160a, a process for correcting the importance of the notification destination patient regarding the guide information that failed to be transmitted is added.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the patient table according to the third embodiment. In the patient table 111a, items of clinical department ID, previous failure flag, and number of transmission failures are added.
An identifier for identifying a medical department received by the patient is set in the item of the medical department ID.

  Information indicating whether transmission of the previous guidance information to the patient has failed is set in the item of the previous failure flag. For example, when transmission of the previous guidance information has failed, “TRUE” is set in the item of the previous failure flag, and when transmission of the previous guidance information has succeeded, “FALSE” is displayed in the item of the previous failure flag. Is set.

The number of failed transmission of guidance information to a patient is set in the item of the number of failed transmissions.
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a medical department table according to the third embodiment. The medical department table 124 is stored in the retransmission information storage unit 120a. The medical department table 124 includes items of a medical department ID and a long-distance AP list.

An identifier for identifying the clinical department is set in the item of the clinical department ID.
In the item of the long-distance AP list, a list of IDs of the APs 40 arranged at a predetermined distance or more to the medical department is set.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing for correcting the importance according to the third embodiment. This process is performed between the process of determining the importance of the guidance information that failed to be transmitted for each recipient patient in step S20 of FIG. 12 or step S29 of FIG. 13 and the process of generating the immediate transfer patient list 211. Executed. This process is executed for each patient registered in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission. In the following, the process illustrated in FIG. 20 will be described along with step numbers. In FIG. 20, the process is described by the guide information transmission unit 140a, but the same applies to the guide information retransmission unit 160a.

  (Step S61) The guidance information transmitting unit 140a determines whether the importance of the guidance information determined for the patient to be processed is “A”. If the importance is “A”, the importance cannot be increased any more, and the process proceeds to step S71. If the importance is other than “A”, the process proceeds to step S62.

  (Step S62) The guide information transmitting unit 140a determines whether the guide type of the guide information that has failed to be transmitted is “waiting number of people”. The guidance type of the guidance information can be read from the item of guidance information associated with the ID of the patient to whom the guidance information is notified in the patient list 122 waiting for retransmission. If the guidance type is “waiting number of people”, the process proceeds to step S63. If the guidance type is not “waiting number”, the process proceeds to step S66.

(Step S63) The guidance information transmission unit 140a determines whether the location of the department of the patient who is notified about the guidance information that has failed to be transmitted exists in a location away from the patient.
Specifically, first, the guidance information transmission unit 140a reads out from the patient table 111a the medical department ID and the access point ID associated with the ID of the patient to whom the guidance information is notified. Then, a record in which the department ID read from the patient table 111a is set is searched from the department table 124, and the access point ID read from the patient table 111a is displayed in the long-distance AP list set in the searched record. Is included. When the access point ID read from the patient table 111a is included in the long-distance AP list, it is determined that the location of the medical department exists at a location away from the patient.

If the location of the medical department exists at a location away from the patient, the process proceeds to step S64. If the medical department exists in a place not away from the patient, the process proceeds to step S66.
(Step S64) The guide information transmitting unit 140a corrects the importance of the guide information that has failed to be increased by one. For example, when the importance of the guidance information is determined as “B”, the determination of the importance is corrected to “A”.

  When the patient is far away from the location of the medical department as in steps S62 to S64 (for example, when the patient is in a different ward from the location of the medical department), the importance of the guidance information notified to the patient Raise. As a result, the present system can determine whether or not the guide information is immediately retransmitted in consideration of the time for the patient to move to the medical department.

  (Step S65) The guidance information transmitting unit 140a determines whether the importance after correction is “A”. If the importance is “A”, the process proceeds to step S71. If the importance is other than “A”, the process proceeds to step S66.

  (Step S66) In the patient table 111a, the guidance information transmission unit 140a determines whether or not the previous failure flag corresponding to the notification destination patient regarding the guidance information that failed to be transmitted is “TRUE”. If the previous failure flag is “TRUE”, the process proceeds to step S67. If the previous failure flag is “FALSE”, the process proceeds to step S69.

(Step S67) As with step S64, the guidance information transmission unit 140a corrects the importance of the guidance information that failed to be transmitted by one.
Here, there is a high possibility that a patient who has failed to transmit guidance information continuously exists in a place where radio waves are unstable. Therefore, as in steps S66 to S67, the importance of the guidance information for patients who have continuously failed to transmit guidance information is increased. As a result, this system shortens the time from when the portable terminal 300 owned by a patient in a place where radio waves are unstable is wirelessly connected to any AP 40 until the guidance information is retransmitted to the portable terminal 300. it can. Therefore, there is a high probability that the portable terminal 300 possessed by the patient who is present in a place where radio waves are unstable can receive the guidance notification before moving to a place where wireless communication is not possible after wireless connection. Therefore, it becomes easier for the guide information to reach patients who are present in places where radio waves are unstable.

  (Step S68) The guidance information transmission unit 140a determines whether the importance after correction is “A”. If the importance is “A”, the process proceeds to step S71. If the importance is other than “A”, the process proceeds to step S69.

  (Step S69) In the patient table 111a, the guidance information transmission unit 140a determines whether or not the number of transmission failures corresponding to the notification destination patient regarding the guidance information failed to be transmitted is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If the number of transmission failures is greater than or equal to the threshold, the process proceeds to step S70. If the number of transmission failures is less than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S71.

(Step S70) The guide information transmitting unit 140a corrects the importance of the guide information that has failed to be transmitted to “A”.
Here, a patient who frequently fails to transmit guidance information is likely to exist in a place where radio waves are difficult to reach. Such a patient is highly likely to move to a place where wireless communication is not possible after the relay server 200 receives the movement notification and before a predetermined period elapses. Therefore, as in steps S69 to S70, the degree of importance is set to “A” for the guidance information to the patient whose transmission failure count is equal to or greater than the threshold regardless of the content of the guidance information. As a result, the present system can shorten the time from when the portable terminal 300 owned by a patient in a place where radio waves are unstable is wirelessly connected to when the guidance information is retransmitted to the portable terminal 300. Therefore, there is a high probability that the portable terminal 300 possessed by the patient who is present in a place where radio waves are unstable can receive the guidance notification before moving to a place where wireless communication is not possible after wireless connection. Therefore, it becomes easy for guidance information to reach patients who are likely to exist in places where radio waves are difficult to reach.

  (Step S71) The guidance information transmission unit 140a increments the number of transmission failures in the record of the patient table 111a in which the ID of the patient who is the notification destination for the guidance information that failed to be transmitted, and sets the previous failure flag to “TRUE”. Update to

  Through the processing of FIG. 20, the importance set in the immediate transfer patient list 211 is corrected. In step S20 of FIG. 12 or step S29 of FIG. 13, the corrected immediate transfer patient list 211 is transferred to each relay server 200. Sent.

  Although not shown, when it is determined in step S18 in FIG. 12 and step S27 in FIG. 13 that the guidance information has been successfully transmitted, the guidance information transmission unit 140a guides the patient table 111a in which the transmission has failed. The previous failure flag set in the record in which the ID of the patient who is notified about the information is registered is updated to “FALSE”.

  According to the system of the third embodiment, the management server 100 determines the importance of the guidance information to be retransmitted to the patient based on the notification destination patient about the guidance information that failed to be transmitted and the location of the patient's examination department. Determine whether to increase the degree. Accordingly, it is possible to determine whether or not the guide information is immediately retransmitted in consideration of the time for the patient to move to the place to receive medical examination.

  In addition, the management server 100 increases the importance of the guidance information that is retransmitted to the patient who has continuously failed to transmit the guidance information. As a result, it is possible to increase the chances of retransmission of the guidance information even for a patient present in a place where radio waves are unstable, and thus it is possible to suppress such a notification leakage of guidance information to the patient.

  In addition, the management server 100 gives the highest degree of importance for guidance information to patients whose number of transmission failures is equal to or greater than a threshold regardless of the content of the guidance information. As a result, it is possible to increase the chances of retransmission of the guidance information even for a patient who is present in a place where radio waves are difficult to reach, and thus it is possible to suppress such a notification leakage of the guidance information to the patient.

  The patient table 111a may have an item of the number of consecutive failures indicating the number of consecutive failures instead of the item of the previous failure flag. In that case, in step S65, it is determined whether the number of consecutive failures is greater than or equal to a threshold value. If it is determined in step S18 and step S27 that the transmission of guidance information has been successful, the number of consecutive failures is cleared. If it is determined that the transmission of guidance information has failed, the number of continuous failures is incremented in step S69. .

  Further, the management server 100 may correct the importance based on the failure rate of the transmission of the guide information to the patient instead of the number of times of the failure of the transmission of the guide information to the patient. In that case, an item of the number of times of transmission in which the number of times of transmission of the guidance information to the patient is set is added to the patient table 111a. In addition, a process of incrementing the value of the transmission count item is added before the processes of step S18 and step S27. In step S67, it is determined whether the transmission failure rate obtained by dividing the number of transmission failures by the number of transmissions is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a communication system according to a fourth embodiment will be described. The communication system according to the fourth embodiment is a modification of the communication system according to the second or third embodiment so that each relay server determines the load state in synchronization. In FIG. 21, each relay server determines the load state of the management server based on the total number of guidance information transmitted by the own device and the number of guidance information transmitted by other relay servers. This prevents the management server from being subjected to processing load for determining the load state.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a calculation example of the load state according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 21, points different from the second embodiment will be described, and description of the same configuration and processing as those of the second embodiment will be omitted. In FIG. 21, the description of the AP 40 and the mobile terminal 300 is omitted.

  In the system according to the fourth embodiment, the number of guidance information relayed by a relay server 200a per predetermined period is out of a predetermined range (here, the threshold value J is greater than or equal to the threshold value K and less than the threshold value K). In response to this, the number of guidance information relayed by each relay server 200a per predetermined period is transmitted to all other relay servers 200a. Next, each relay server 200a calculates the total of the number of guidance information relayed by its own relay server 200a and the number of guidance information received from each other relay server 200a. Then, the relay server 200a determines the load state of the management server 100 based on the calculated total.

  Hereinafter, as illustrated in FIG. 21, these processes will be described by taking three relay servers 200 a to which “SV11”, “SV12”, and “SV13” are assigned as IDs as an example. Here, the relay server 200a whose ID is “SV11” is referred to as “relay server 200a (SV11)”.

For example, it is assumed that the number of guidance information relayed per predetermined period in the relay server 200a (SV11) is equal to or greater than the threshold value K.
In this case, first, the relay server 200a (SV11) transmits the number of guidance information relayed by itself to the relay server 200a (SV12, SV13) (step S111). When the relay server 200a (SV12) receives the number of guide information from the relay server 200a (SV11), the relay server 200a (SV12) transmits the number of guide information relayed by itself to the relay server 200a (SV11, SV13) (step S112). Similarly, when the relay server 200a (SV13) receives the number of guide information from the relay server 200a (SV11), the relay server 200a (SV11) transmits the number of guide information relayed by itself to the relay server 200a (SV11, SV12) (step S113). Each relay server 200a (SV11, SV12, SV13) calculates the total number of pieces of guidance information received from its own relay server 200a and each other relay server 200a, and manages based on the calculated total. The load state of the server 100 is determined (step S114).

Here, when the number of patients existing in the hospital increases, the process of receiving the movement notification and transmitting the guidance information increases, and as a result, the load on the management server 100 may increase.
On the other hand, according to the communication system according to the fourth embodiment, each relay server 200a transmits and receives the number of guide information relayed by its relay server 200a per predetermined period between the relay servers 200a. . Each relay server 200a calculates the total of the number of guidance information relayed by its own relay server 200a and the number of guidance information received from each other relay server 200a, and based on the calculated total, Determine the load status. Thereby, the management server 100 can suppress the load on the management server 100 because the load of the load state determination process that is periodically executed is eliminated.

  As an example of another processing method, a process in which each relay server 200a periodically determines a load state and transmits to the other relay server 200a is also possible. However, in this method, the load determination process may be executed even when the total number of relayed guidance information by each relay server 200a has not changed. In this case, an extra load is applied to the relay server 200a. Conversely, there is a case where the load determination process is not executed until a predetermined time elapses even though the total number of relayed guidance information by each relay server 200a has changed. In this case, there is a high possibility that the actual load state of the management server 100 will not be reflected, and the accuracy of the determination as to whether or not this system will immediately retransmit is reduced.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, the process in which each relay server 200a determines the load state is that the number of pieces of guide information relayed by a relay server 200a per predetermined period is outside the predetermined range. It is executed when it becomes. Thereby, the process which each relay server 200a determines a load state can be performed efficiently. Also, the load state determination accuracy is improved.

  Note that the processing of the transmission device 10 and the relay device 20 shown in the first embodiment and the management server 100 and the relay servers 200 and 200a shown in the second and third embodiments are programmed in each device. It can be realized by executing. Such a program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (for example, the recording medium 63). As the recording medium, for example, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like can be used. Magnetic disks include FD and HDD. Optical discs include CD, CD-R (Recordable) / RW (Rewritable), DVD, and DVD-R / RW.

  When distributing the program, for example, a portable recording medium in which the program is recorded is provided. It is also possible to store the program in a storage device of another computer and distribute the program via the network 50. The computer stores, for example, a program recorded on a portable recording medium or a program received from another computer in a storage device (for example, the HDD 203), and reads and executes the program from the storage device. However, a program read from a portable recording medium may be directly executed, or a program received from another computer via the network 50 may be directly executed. In addition, at least a part of the information processing described above can be realized by an electronic circuit such as a DSP, ASIC, or PLD (Programmable Logic Device).

3a, 3b, 3c Wireless access point 4a, 4b Wireless terminal 10 Transmitter 20 Relay device 21 Storage unit 22 Transfer unit 23 Terminal list S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 Step

Claims (13)

A transmission device that transmits data to a wireless terminal and one or a plurality of wireless access points, respectively, relay data transmitted from the transmission device to the wireless terminal, and from the connected wireless access point to the wireless terminal In a communication system having one or a plurality of relay devices that receive a connection notification indicating that is connected wirelessly and transfer the notification to the transmission device,
When the relay device receives a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data, the relay device immediately transfers the connection notification to the transmitting device and is not a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data. When the connection notification indicating the wireless connection of the wireless terminal is received, the connection notification is temporarily stored, and the connection notification temporarily stored every predetermined period is transferred to the transmission device,
When the transmission device receives a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data, it retransmits the data to the wireless terminal.
A communication system characterized by the above. The transmitting device distributes a terminal list including identification information of wireless terminals that failed to transmit data to the relay devices,
The relay device determines, based on the distributed terminal list, whether the received connection notification indicates a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data;
The communication system according to claim 1. The transmission device includes information indicating the importance of data that failed to be transmitted in the terminal list and distributes the information,
When the received connection notification indicates the wireless connection of the wireless terminal that failed to transmit data based on the distributed terminal list, the relay device receives the received connection according to the importance of the data addressed to the wireless terminal. Determining whether the notification is to be transferred immediately or temporarily stored and transferred every predetermined period;
The communication system according to claim 2.   The relay device stores a load value indicating the load of the transmission device, and when the received connection notification indicates a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that failed to transmit data, the importance of the data addressed to the wireless terminal and the load 4. The communication system according to claim 3, wherein whether the received connection notification is immediately transferred or stored temporarily and transferred every predetermined period is determined according to the value.   The communication system according to claim 4, wherein the transmission device calculates the load value based on the number of times data is transmitted to a wireless terminal, and transmits the calculated load value to each of the relay devices. When a plurality of relay devices are connected to the transmission device,
The relay device receives the number of data relays from the transmission device to the wireless terminal from another relay device, and receives the number of times that the relay device relays data from the transmission device to the wireless terminal and the other relay device. 5. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein a total with the number of relays performed is calculated, and the load value is calculated based on the calculated total. The transmitting device stores location information included in a movement notification last received for each wireless terminal,
The communication system according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the importance included in the terminal list is corrected for each wireless terminal based on the stored position information.   8. The communication according to claim 3, wherein the transmission device corrects the importance included in the terminal list based on the number of times data transmission has failed for each wireless terminal. 9. system.   The communication system according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the transmission device corrects the importance included in the terminal list based on a data transmission failure rate for each wireless terminal. .   The said transmission apparatus correct | amends the said importance included in the said terminal list based on the frequency | count that it failed in transmission of data continuously for every radio | wireless terminal. The communication system described. Connected to a transmitting device that transmits data to the wireless terminal and one or more wireless access points, respectively, relays data transmitted from the transmitting device to the wireless terminal, and wirelessly transmits from the connected wireless access point. In the relay device that receives the connection notification indicating that the terminal is wirelessly connected and transfers the notification to the transmission device,
A storage unit for temporarily storing the received connection notification;
When the transmission device receives a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data, the connection notification is immediately transferred to the transmission device, and the wireless terminal other than the wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data When a connection notification indicating connection is received, the transfer notification is temporarily stored in the storage unit, and the connection notification stored in the storage unit is read and transferred to the transmission device every predetermined period; and
A relay apparatus comprising: When data addressed to a wireless terminal is transmitted via one or more relay devices and a connection notification indicating that the wireless terminal is wirelessly connected is received from any of the relay devices, the received connection notification is transmitted as data. Indicates a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed, a data transmission unit that retransmits data addressed to the wireless terminal;
A list distribution unit that distributes a terminal list including identification information of wireless terminals that failed to transmit data to each of the relay devices;
A transmission device comprising: Connected to a transmitting device that transmits data to the wireless terminal and one or more wireless access points, respectively, relays data transmitted from the transmitting device to the wireless terminal, and wirelessly transmits from the connected wireless access point. A communication method in a communication system including one or a plurality of relay devices that receive a connection notification indicating that a terminal is wirelessly connected and transfer the notification to the transmission device,
When the relay device receives a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data, the relay device immediately transfers the connection notification to the transmitting device and is not a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data. When the connection notification indicating the wireless connection of the wireless terminal is received, the connection notification is temporarily stored, and the connection notification temporarily stored every predetermined period is transferred to the transmission device,
When the transmission device receives a connection notification indicating a wireless connection of a wireless terminal that has failed to transmit data, it retransmits the data to the wireless terminal.
A communication method characterized by the above.

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