JP2016192751A - Radio equipment nad radio network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide radio equipment and a radio equipment system that can suppress data division processing and shorten communication time when packet communication is performed.SOLUTION: Radio equipment 1 is used for a radio network and performs packet communication in the radio network. The radio equipment 1 comprises a radio transceiver 10, and a maximum packet size setting unit 14 for changing and setting the maximum packet size of data to be transmitted via the radio transceiver 10 in the packet communication according to the purpose of the packet communication or the scale of the radio network.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless device and a wireless network system, and more particularly to a wireless device that performs packet communication in a wireless network.

  Conventionally, for example, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known as this type of wireless device. Patent Document 1 compares the packet size of a received packet with the maximum transfer unit size (maximum packet size), and shows a technique for transferring a received packet when the received packet size is equal to or smaller than the maximum packet size. Has been. On the other hand, when the received packet size is larger than the maximum packet size, a technique for discarding the received packet or transferring the divided packet is shown.

JP 2010-239293 A

  However, in the wireless device, regardless of the size of the wireless network, the maximum packet size is determined to be a predetermined size that can be divided and transmitted / received assuming a large-scale system. Therefore, even if it is not necessary to divide and transmit in a small network, if you try to send data larger than the predetermined maximum packet size, it will be divided even in a system that requires immediacy. There was a need to send. In this case, the division process takes time, and there is a disadvantage that the desired immediacy cannot be obtained.

  Therefore, the present specification provides a wireless device and a wireless network system that can suppress data division processing and reduce communication time when performing packet communication.

A wireless device disclosed in this specification is used in a wireless network, and in a wireless device that performs packet communication in the wireless network, a wireless transmission / reception unit, and data transmitted via the wireless transmission / reception unit in the packet communication A maximum packet size setting unit configured to change a maximum packet size according to the use of the packet communication or according to the scale of the wireless network.
According to this configuration, the maximum packet size setting unit that can change the maximum packet size to be transmitted is provided, so that in a network system that requires immediacy, the maximum packet can be transmitted in a single transmission. The size can be set. Therefore, when performing packet communication, data division processing can be suppressed and communication time can be shortened.

The wireless device includes a use determination unit that determines whether the use of the packet communication is a use of transmitting information data or a use of transmitting program data, and the maximum packet size setting unit is determined by the use determination unit. The maximum packet size may be changed according to the result.
According to this configuration, by providing means for automatically changing the setting of the maximum packet size according to the application to be used, optimal transmission is possible without the user setting.

The wireless device may further include a scale determining unit that determines whether the scale of the wireless network is large or small, and the maximum packet size setting unit includes the maximum packet according to a determination result of the scale determining unit. The size may be changed.
According to this configuration, an optimum responsive network can be constructed by providing means for automatically changing the maximum packet size according to the size of the wireless network.

In the wireless device, the maximum packet size setting unit may be configured by a switch that changes a setting of the maximum packet size by a user.
According to this configuration, the maximum packet size can be set and changed by the user according to the use of communication data for packet communication or according to the scale of the wireless network.

Further, a wireless network system disclosed in the present specification includes a parent device constituted by any one of the wireless devices described above, and at least one child device having the same configuration as the parent device.
According to this configuration, when packet communication is performed in a wireless network system, data division processing can be suppressed and communication time can be shortened.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when performing packet communication, a data division | segmentation process can be suppressed and communication time can be shortened.

1 is a block diagram of a wireless network system according to an embodiment. Schematic block diagram of each part constituting the wireless network system Schematic configuration diagram of communication data Schematic flowchart showing maximum packet size setting change processing Schematic flowchart showing another setting change process for maximum packet size

  Hereinafter, a wireless network system 100 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

1. Configuration of Radio Network System As shown in FIG. 1, the radio network system 100 includes, for example, one master unit, one slave unit 2, one monitoring device 3, and five terminal devices 4. Including. In addition, the number of the subunit | mobile_unit 2 and the terminal device 4 is not restricted to this, but is arbitrary. In the following description, in order to distinguish between the plurality of slave units 2 and the terminal device 4, the slave unit 2 is denoted by reference numerals 2A and 2B, the terminal device 4 is denoted by reference numerals 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, and 4E as necessary. It shall be expressed as

2. Configuration of the parent device and the child device The parent device 1 and the child device 2 include a wireless transmission / reception unit 10 that transmits and receives wireless signals, a storage unit 11, and external devices (for example, a monitoring device 3 and a terminal device 4 described later). It consists of a wireless device including a communication unit 12 that is an external interface used for communication and a control unit 13 that controls each unit. That is, the parent device 1 and the child device 2 are examples of “wireless devices”.

  Examples of external interfaces include RS485, RS232C port, and USB port. In addition, although the respective configurations of the parent device 1 and the child device 2 are the same, the character “A” is appended to the reference numeral of the child device 2 such as 10A. The communication method between the parent device 1 and the child device 2 is a half-duplex method.

  The radio transmission / reception unit 10 includes a transmission circuit unit (not shown) that transmits a radio signal from the antenna 15 and a reception circuit unit (not shown) that receives a radio signal from the antenna 15. In addition, since this kind of radio | wireless transmission / reception part 10 is conventionally well-known, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted here.

  The storage unit 11 is composed of, for example, a rewritable nonvolatile memory (for example, a flash memory). For example, a program executed by the control unit 13 is stored in the storage unit 11. In the present embodiment, a unique address (MAC address and network address) is set for each of the wireless devices (master device 1 and each slave device 2), and the transmission destination and the transmission source of the wireless signal are determined by the MAC address and network address. Can be specified. Therefore, the storage unit 11 also stores the MAC address and network address of each wireless device.

  Here, the storage unit 11 of the parent device 1 is a wireless device configured by a communication path between the parent device 1 and the child device 2 that is necessary for wireless communication between the parent device 1 and the child device 2. Network data is stored. The data of the wireless network includes information on communication paths between the parent device 1 and all the child devices 2 under the parent device 1 (see FIG. 3). That is, information on the communication path between the slave unit 2 and the master unit 1 that performs direct wireless communication with the master unit 1 and communication between the slave unit 2 and the master unit 1 using the other slave units 2 as relay units. This is route information. Here, in the information of the communication path between the slave unit 2 and the master unit 1 using the other slave unit 2 as a relay unit, the slave unit 2 that relays a radio signal (when there are a plurality of slave units 2 to relay) Includes the order of relaying).

  Specifically, the format of packet data for wireless communication between the parent device 1 and the child device 2 is, for example, “header”, “transmission source”, “transmission destination”, “ It consists of “destination”, “partition presence / absence”, “data length”, “data”, and “checksum”. “Header” stores information indicating the head of data. “Transmission source”, “transmission destination”, and “destination” indicate information on the communication path between the parent device 1 and the child device 2. For example, the MAC address of the parent device 1 is stored in “transmission source”, and the MAC address of the child device 2 is stored in “transmission destination”. The “destination” stores the MAC address of the final destination slave unit 2 when there are a plurality of slave units 2.

The “presence / absence of division” stores the presence / absence of division of transmission data. For example, when there is a division, the division number (hexadecimal number) is stored, and when there is no division, “0” is stored. The “data length” stores the entire data size (bytes: hexadecimal) of the actually transmitted data, and “data” stores the actually transmitted data. “Checksum” stores data for error detection.
The data stored in the storage unit 11 of the parent device 1 includes the serial number and communication protocol of the parent device 1, the serial number of the child device 2, and the like. In this embodiment, the serial number of each wireless device is used as a network address. These data are stored in a rewritable storage area in the storage unit 11 of the parent device 1 and can be updated even after registration.

  The control unit 13 includes, for example, a microcomputer and implements various functions by executing programs stored in the memory.

  As will be described in detail later, the maximum packet size setting unit 14 determines the maximum packet size of data to be transmitted via the wireless transmission / reception unit 10 in packet communication according to the use of packet communication or the size of the wireless network. To change the setting.

3. Monitoring Device and Terminal Device In this embodiment, in addition to the above-described parent device 1 and a plurality of child devices 2, a monitoring device 3 for confirming a wireless network and a plurality of (5 in this embodiment) that collect various data. ) Terminal device 4.

  The monitoring device 3 is configured by, for example, a personal computer (PC), and includes an arithmetic processing unit 30, an image display unit 31, and an operation input receiving unit 32. The arithmetic processing unit 30 includes, for example, a CPU, a memory having a storage area where a program executed by the CPU is stored and a storage area serving as a work area of the CPU, an external interface connected to the communication unit 12 of the parent device 1, and the like. Prepare. The arithmetic processing unit 30 includes an image display unit 31 that is an image display device such as a liquid crystal display that displays an arbitrary image, and an operation input reception unit that is used to input various data including a user interface such as a keyboard and a mouse. 32 is connected. The arithmetic processing unit 30 includes a rewritable non-volatile memory, and includes a storage unit 33 that stores wireless network data and the like.

  The terminal device 4 is a measuring device that measures a predetermined physical quantity (temperature, power consumption, flow rate) such as a thermometer, a wattmeter, and a gas meter. In the present embodiment, the terminal device 4 is connected to the communication unit 12A of the slave unit 2. The terminal device 4 transmits measurement data to the child device 2 in response to a request from the child device 2. Since this kind of terminal device 4 can adopt a conventionally well-known device, detailed description is omitted. In the present embodiment, a measurement device is used as an example of the terminal device 4, but a communication terminal device (for example, a communication terminal device for PLC) or the like can be used as the terminal device 4.

  As described above, the wireless network system 100 according to the present embodiment includes the parent device 1, the plurality of child devices 2 that perform wireless communication with the parent device 1, the monitoring device 3 connected to the parent device 1, and the child devices. 2 and the terminal device 4 connected to 2. The wireless network system 100 is mainly used for collecting measurement data held by the terminal device 4 by the monitoring device 3.

  The arithmetic processing unit 30 of the monitoring device 3 transmits a control signal for causing the base unit 1 to perform predetermined processing according to the input content of the operation input receiving unit 32. For example, the arithmetic processing unit 30 transmits a control signal (data acquisition signal) for acquiring measurement data from the terminal device 4 to the parent device 1. When the base unit 1 receives the data acquisition signal, the base unit 1 transmits a data request signal requesting to send the measurement data to the base unit 1 to the handset 2. And the subunit | mobile_unit 2 which received the said data request signal acquires measurement data from the terminal device 4 by communicating with the terminal device 4, and transmits the radio | wireless signal containing the said measurement data toward the main | base station 1. FIG. In this way, the monitoring device 3 can collect and monitor measurement data from all the terminal devices 4.

4). Transmission Data Creation Processing Next, transmission data creation processing including maximum packet size setting change processing by the control unit 13 and the maximum packet size setting unit 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The transmission data creation process is executed by the control unit 13 and the maximum packet size setting unit 14, for example, according to a predetermined program.

Example 1
With reference to FIG. 4, Embodiment 1 of transmission data creation processing will be described.
First, the control unit 13 determines whether the packet communication is used for transmitting information data such as measurement designation or for transmitting program data for updating a program (step S10). Here, the control unit 13 is an example of a usage determining unit. For example, when the transmission data size exceeds 130 bytes, the control unit 13 determines that the program data is used for transmission, and when the transmission data size does not exceed 130 bytes, the control unit 13 determines that the information data is used for transmission. Or the control part 13 determines whether it is the use which transmits information data, or the use which transmits program data by seeing the header information of the data actually transmitted.

  Next, the maximum packet size setting unit 14 changes the setting of the maximum packet size according to the determination result by the control unit 13. If the control unit 13 determines that the purpose of packet communication is the purpose of transmitting program data (step S20: YES), transmission data (contents of “data”) is created from step S30 to step S35.

  Specifically, when the application is an application for transmitting program data, the wireless network system 100 is determined to be large-scale (on the program, not the actual system scale) (step S30). "Is determined to be" 2 "(step S31). Next, the data size (maximum packet size) is determined to be 130 bytes, for example (step S32). Next, the maximum packet size setting unit 14 sets the “division number” of the data format of the transmission data to “2” (step S33), and sets the “data length” of the data format to “0082H” (hexadecimal number of 130). (Step S34). Next, the transmission data is divided by “number of divisions” to create the contents of “data” in the data format (step S35). Thus, the transmission data creation process ends. The maximum packet size setting value “130 bytes” is set as an initial value. This initial value may be set by a user by providing a setting switch or the like.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 13 determines that the use of packet communication is a use for transmitting information data such as measurement designation (step S20: NO), the maximum packet size setting unit 14 performs steps S40 to S45. Create transmission data (contents of "data").

  Specifically, when the use is a use for transmitting information data, the wireless network system 100 is determined to be small (on the program) (step S40), and the “number of divisions” is determined to be “0”. (Step S41). Next, the data size (maximum packet size) is determined to be, for example, 129 bytes obtained by subtracting “1” from the initial value (step S42). Here, the change of the maximum packet size is not limited to subtraction, and may be added. Next, the maximum packet size setting unit 14 sets “number of divisions” of the data format of the transmission data to “0” (step S43) and sets the “data length” of the data format to “0081H” (step S44). ). Next, the content of “data” in the data format is created (step S45). Thus, the transmission data creation process ends.

  Here, the processing of steps S32, S34, S42, and S44 corresponds to the maximum packet size setting change processing. As described above, in the first embodiment, by providing the maximum packet size setting unit 14 that automatically sets and changes the maximum packet size in accordance with the usage to be used, optimal transmission is possible without the user setting. It becomes.

(Example 2)
Next, a second embodiment of transmission data creation processing will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the same steps as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same step numbers, and the description thereof is omitted.

  First, the control unit 13 automatically measures the number of handset 2 constituting the wireless network system 100 (step S10A). In other words, the control unit 13 determines whether the scale of the wireless network system 100 is large or small depending on the number of the slave units 2. Here, the control unit 13 is an example of a scale determination unit. The automatic measurement of the number of slave units 2 is performed as follows, for example. At the time of establishing a wireless network, the base unit 1 (control unit 13) transmits to all the handset units 2 by broadcast transmission. Then, a wireless network is constructed for each slave unit 2 that has responded. At this time, the master unit 1 grasps the number of slave units 2 based on the number of slave units 2 that have responded.

  Next, the maximum packet size setting unit 14 changes the setting of the maximum packet size according to the determination result by the control unit 13. That is, when the control unit 13 determines that the number of slave units 2 is greater than the predetermined number (step S20A: YES), the wireless network system 100 is set to a large scale (step S30 to step S35) as in the first embodiment. Create transmission data (contents of "data") in the case of actual system scale). Here, the predetermined number is, for example, “10” or “15”.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 13 determines that the number of slave units 2 is equal to or less than the predetermined number (step S20A: NO), the maximum packet size setting unit 14 performs wireless communication from step S40 to step S45 as in the first embodiment. Transmission data (contents of “data”) when the network system 100 is a small scale (actual system scale) is created. Create transmission data (contents of "data").

  Here, similarly, the processes of steps S32, S34, S42, and S44 correspond to the maximum packet size setting change process. As described above, in the second embodiment, by providing means for automatically changing the maximum packet size according to the actual scale of the wireless network system 100, it is possible to construct an optimal responsive network.

5. Advantages of the present embodiment In the present embodiment, a maximum packet size setting unit 14 is provided for changing the setting of the maximum packet size to be transmitted according to the purpose of packet communication or according to the scale of the wireless network. Therefore, in a network system that requires immediacy, the maximum packet size can be set so that all information can be transmitted by one transmission. Therefore, for example, when attempting to transmit data having a size larger than a predetermined (initial setting) maximum packet size in a small network, immediacy can be obtained without dividing the data. That is, when performing packet communication, data division processing can be suppressed and communication time can be shortened.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  (1) Although the maximum packet size setting change is automatically performed according to the program by the maximum packet size setting unit 14 in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the maximum packet size setting unit 14 may be configured by the switch 14 (see FIG. 2) that changes the setting of the maximum packet size by the user. At this time, for example, the switch 14 that can set the communication use in step S10 of FIG. 4 of the first embodiment is provided as the maximum packet size setting unit. Or the switch 14 which can set the number of the subunit | mobile_units 2 in FIG.5 S10A of Example 2 is provided as a maximum packet size setting part.

  Then, the user uses a switch operation to input the communication use or the number of slave units 2. Then, each process of step S20 and subsequent steps may be executed by the control unit 13 and the maximum packet size setting unit 14 as in the second embodiment, for example. Alternatively, in each process of step S20 and subsequent steps, all the switches related to the setting of communication data may be provided, and the communication data may be set by operating the switch by the user.

  Even with such a configuration, the maximum packet size can be set and changed by the user according to the communication application of packet communication or according to the scale of the wireless network. Note that the setting change of the maximum packet size by the user is not limited to the switch 14. For example, the wireless devices (1, 2) may include a display device (for example, a liquid crystal display) and may be performed by touching the display device.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the control unit 13 and the maximum packet size setting unit 14 are provided separately has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the maximum packet size setting unit 14 may be omitted, and the control unit 13 may also serve as the maximum packet size setting unit. Also, the individual configurations in the master unit 1 and the slave unit 2 shown in FIG. 2 may be configured to be integrated by, for example, an ASIC (specific application IC).

  (3) In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the maximum packet size of data transmitted via the wireless transmission / reception unit is changed according to the use of packet communication or according to the size of the wireless network. Not limited to. For example, the maximum packet size may be changed according to the transmission data length (the length of “transmission data contents”).

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Master unit (wireless device), 2 ... Slave unit (wireless device), 3 ... PC (monitoring device), 4 ... Monitoring terminal (terminal device), 13 ... Control unit (use determination unit, scale determination unit), 14 ... Maximum packet size setting unit, 100 ... Wireless network system

Claims (5)

In a wireless device used for a wireless network and performing packet communication in the wireless network,
A wireless transceiver,
In the packet communication, the maximum packet size setting unit for changing the setting of the maximum packet size of data transmitted through the wireless transmission / reception unit according to the use of the packet communication or according to the scale of the wireless network;
Wireless equipment equipped with. The wireless device according to claim 1,
A use determining unit that determines whether the use of packet communication is an application for transmitting information data or an application for transmitting program data,
The maximum packet size setting unit is a wireless device that changes the setting of the maximum packet size according to a determination result by the use determination unit. The wireless device according to claim 1,
A scale determination unit for determining whether the size of the wireless network is large or small;
The maximum packet size setting unit is a wireless device that changes the setting of the maximum packet size according to a determination result by the size determination unit. The wireless device according to claim 1,
The maximum packet size setting unit is a wireless device configured by a switch that changes a setting of the maximum packet size by a user. A master unit constituted by the wireless device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A wireless network system comprising at least one slave unit having the same configuration as the master unit.

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