JP2019012972A - Path control device, path control method, computer program and radio communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a path control device, a path control method, a computer program and a radio communication system that are capable of suppressing deterioration in communication quality between radio communication devices.SOLUTION: A path control device according to an embodiment controls a radio path on which transmission data is transmitted, in a radio communication system in which the transmission data is transmitted to a destination via a plurality of radio relay devices. The path control device has a detection information acquisition unit and a path control unit. The detection information acquisition unit acquires detection information on an object that may impede radio propagation, from an installed sensor. The path control unit switches the radio path to the other alternative path that is less likely to be affected by impediment of radio propagation due to the object, on the basis of acquired detection information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a route control device, a route control method, a computer program, and a wireless communication system.

  In recent years, in equipment management systems in various facilities such as office buildings, hotels, factories, and commercial facilities, control of equipment such as lighting and air conditioning is performed based on various types of information related to the state of a room. For example, in a room of a building, in addition to various sensors that measure temperature, humidity, illuminance, etc., various setting devices that receive input of operations related to equipment such as lighting and air conditioning are installed. Control values of equipment such as lighting and air conditioning are determined based on information acquired from the above. Therefore, an information communication network that enables communication between these devices is indispensable for such an equipment management system. Conventionally, this type of information communication network is generally configured as a wired network using a communication method such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or LonWorks (registered trademark).

  However, a large number of devices are often installed in facilities, and the communication wiring for connecting these large numbers of devices becomes complicated, and much labor is required for wiring work and wiring management. There was a problem of ending up. In order to solve such a problem, a method of performing inter-device communication via a wireless network that does not require communication wiring has been studied. However, in wireless communication, if there is an obstacle in the wireless communication path between devices, the communication becomes unstable or impossible, and as a result, there is a possibility that the device to be controlled cannot be controlled appropriately.

JP 2008-15837 A JP 7-273770 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-307740

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a path control device, a path control method, a computer program, and a radio communication system that can suppress deterioration in communication quality between radio communication devices.

  The route control device according to the embodiment controls a wireless route through which transmission data is transmitted in a wireless communication system in which transmission data is transmitted to a destination via a plurality of wireless relay devices. The path control device includes a detection information acquisition unit and a path control unit. The detection information acquisition unit acquires detection information of an object that may interfere with radio propagation from a sensor installed. Based on the acquired detection information, the path control unit switches the radio path to another alternative path that is not easily affected by radio propagation inhibition by the object.

Schematic which shows the specific example of the system configuration | structure of the apparatus control system 100 in 1st Embodiment. The schematic diagram which showed a mode that the radio | wireless communication between each control apparatus 1 in 1st Embodiment was obstructed by various obstacles. The block diagram which shows the specific example of a function structure of the route control apparatus 5 of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the specific example of the setting information in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the specific example of the setting information in 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the operation example of the route control apparatus 5 of 1st Embodiment. The figure which shows the operation example of the route control apparatus 5 of 1st Embodiment. The schematic diagram which showed a mode that the radio | wireless communication between each control apparatus 1a in 2nd Embodiment was inhibited by various obstruction factors. The block diagram which shows the specific example of a function structure of the route control apparatus 5a of 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a route control device, a route control method, a computer program, and a wireless communication system according to embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a specific example of the system configuration of the device control system 100 according to the first embodiment. For example, the device control system 100 is a system that realizes operation and control of various devices installed in a facility such as a building. The device control system 100 includes one or more control devices 1, one or more terminal devices 2, a host control device 3, and a host communication network 4. FIG. 1 shows control devices 1-1 to 1-4 as specific examples of one or more control devices 1, and shows terminal devices 2-1 and 2-2 as specific examples of one or more terminal devices 2. Each control device 1 and each terminal device 2 have a wireless communication function, and each control device 1 is configured to be able to perform wireless communication with other control devices 1 and each terminal device 2.

  The control device 1 has a function of controlling various control target devices (not shown) installed in the facility, such as lighting devices and air conditioning devices, and is configured to be communicable with each control target device. Communication between the control device 1 and the control target device may be realized by wired communication or wireless communication.

  The terminal device 2 and the host control device 3 have a function of transmitting information necessary for controlling each control target device to each control device 1. For example, the terminal device 2 may be a setting device (for example, a remote controller) for the device to be controlled. In this case, the control device 1 controls the control target device based on the setting information transmitted from the setting device. Further, for example, the terminal device 2 may be a sensor that acquires information (for example, room temperature, humidity, brightness, etc.) necessary for controlling the control target device. In this case, the control device 1 controls the control target device based on the measurement information of the sensor.

  The host control device 3 is a device that is positioned as a control device that performs higher-level control than the control device 1 with respect to control of the control target device. For example, the host control device 3 collects information from the terminal device 2 via the control device 1 and generates control information indicating a control instruction for each control device 1 based on the collected information. As an example of such a high-order control apparatus 3, systems, such as BAS (Building Automation System) and BEMS (Building Energy Management System), are mentioned, for example. In this case, the control device 1 transmits setting information, measurement information, and the like received from the terminal device 2 to the host control device 3 and controls the control target device based on the control information transmitted from the host control device 3.

  In the device control system 100, each control device 1 has a relay function for transferring received data to a destination control device 1 through a predetermined transfer path. This relay function may be realized by a routing protocol that transfers received data with reference to preset transfer route information (for example, a routing table), or a mesh network protocol (hereinafter referred to as a mesh network protocol) that dynamically determines a transfer route. It may be realized by “mesh protocol”.

  Note that, in a facility such as a building, the control device 1 that does not need to be directly operated by a user of the building is generally installed behind the ceiling. In addition, a setting device such as a remote controller that may be directly operated by a building user, or a terminal device 2 such as a sensor that senses the room is generally installed in the room. . The example of FIG. 1 shows an example of such a general installation location, and does not limit the installation locations of the control device 1 and the terminal device 2.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating how wireless communication between the control devices 1 in the first embodiment is inhibited by various obstacles. In general, various control devices 1 such as air conditioners and lighting are often installed behind the ceiling of a living room. Therefore, depending on the condition of the back of the ceiling, wireless signals may pass through the ceiling, and the wireless communication path may be a path that passes through the room. The present embodiment pays particular attention to such a situation, and avoids obstructing wireless communication by an obstacle in the room. FIG. 2 shows a situation in which the remote controller B as an example of the terminal device 2 transmits information related to the control of the control target device to the control device 1-1 that can communicate with the host control device 3. Here, S <b> 1 to S <b> 9 in the figure represent sensors installed in association with the respective control devices 1. R1 in the figure represents a transfer path through which the transmission data of the remote controller B is transferred to the destination control device 1-1. The transfer route R1 is determined in advance by a routing protocol or a mesh protocol.

  Also, T1 to T5 in the figure represent obstacles that can be an obstacle to radio wave propagation (hereinafter referred to as “radio propagation”) in the space A in which the control devices 1-1 to 1-9 are installed. For example, T1 to T4 are human bodies. Solid arrows in the figure represent the movement paths of the human bodies T1 to T4. For example, T5 represents a device that is fixedly installed at a predetermined position such as a power supply device. These human bodies T1 to T4 may inhibit the propagation of radio waves transmitted from the control devices 1-1 to 1-9. Further, the electromagnetic wave emitted by the device T5 may interfere with the radio wave transmitted by the control device 1. A broken circle in the drawing represents a range in which the device T5 can interfere with a radio wave transmitted by the control device 1.

  In this case, the data transmitted from the remote controller B is first received by the control device 1-9. The control device 1-9 transfers the data received from the remote controller B to the control device 1-5 based on a predetermined transfer path R1. Similarly, the control device 1-5 transfers the data received from the control device 1-9 to the control device 1-1. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, when the human body T3 moves on the wireless propagation path between the control device 1-9 and the control device 1-5, the human body T3 sends out the control device 1-9. There is a possibility that wireless radio wave propagation is hindered and communication on the transfer path R1 becomes unstable or impossible.

  The path control device 5 of the present embodiment avoids information becoming unstable or impossible due to such obstacles, and information on obstacles existing in the space A (hereinafter referred to as “obstacle information”). It has a function of acquiring and selecting a transfer route (hereinafter referred to as “alternative route”) that is difficult to prevent radio propagation based on the acquired obstacle information. The path control device 5 is configured to be able to communicate with each sensor (for example, S1 to S9 in the figure) capable of detecting an obstacle in order to acquire obstacle information. Note that communication between each sensor and the path control device 5 may be realized by wired communication or wireless communication. Moreover, acquisition of obstacle information may be realized by direct communication with each sensor, or may be realized by indirect communication. For example, when the obstacle information acquired by the sensor S9 is transferred to the control device 1-1 through the same transfer route R1 as that of the remote controller B, the route control device 5 acquires the obstacle information from the control device 1-1. Also good.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a specific example of a functional configuration of the path control device 5 according to the first embodiment. The path control device 5 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, an auxiliary storage device, and the like connected by a bus, and executes a program. The route control device 5 functions as a device including a communication unit 501, an obstacle information storage unit 502, a setting information storage unit 503, an obstacle information acquisition unit 504, and a route control unit 505 by executing a program. Note that all or part of each function of the path control device 5 may be realized by using hardware such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). . The program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, or a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. The program may be transmitted via a telecommunication line.

  The communication unit 501 includes a communication interface that enables communication with each control device 1 and each sensor. For example, the communication unit 501 connects its own device to the upper communication network 4 and communicates with each control device 1 and each sensor via the upper communication network 4.

  The obstacle information storage unit 502 and the setting information storage unit 503 are configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The obstacle information storage unit 502 stores obstacle information. The setting information storage unit 503 stores information necessary for switching to an alternative route (hereinafter referred to as “setting information”). The setting information includes at least information indicating a correspondence relationship between each control device 1 and each sensor and an area to be sensed by each sensor (hereinafter referred to as “sensing area”).

  4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating specific examples of the setting information in the first embodiment. 4 shows each control device 1 (C1 to C6 in the figure) and each sensor (S1 to S9 in the figure) arranged as shown in FIG. 5, and sensing areas (areas A1 to A9 in the figure) of each sensor. ) Shows a specific example of setting information indicating the corresponding relationship. For example, the setting information is stored in the setting information storage unit 503 as a first setting information table illustrated in FIG. 4A and a second setting information table illustrated in FIG. The first setting information table is a table representing the correspondence between each sensor and the sensing area of each sensor. The first setting information table has a record for each sensor ID, and each record has a value of a sensor ID and an area ID. The sensor ID is identification information of each sensor, and the area ID is identification information of a sensing area of the sensor identified by the sensor ID. Note that the number of area IDs associated with one sensor ID is not necessarily one, and a plurality of area IDs may be associated with one sensor ID.

  The second setting information table is a table representing a correspondence relationship between each sensor and each control device 1. The 2nd setting information table has a record for every control device ID, and each record has each value of control device ID and sensor ID. The control device ID is identification information of each control device 1. Note that there is not necessarily a plurality of area IDs associated with one control device ID, and one area ID may be associated with one control device ID.

  By storing the setting information indicating such correspondence in advance, the route control device 5 can identify which transfer route wireless communication of the detected obstacle affects.

  Returning to the description of FIG. The obstacle information acquisition unit 504 acquires obstacle information from each sensor. The obstacle information acquisition unit 504 causes the obstacle information storage unit 502 to store the acquired obstacle information in association with the acquisition source sensor and the acquired timing.

  Based on the obstacle information collected from each sensor by the obstacle information acquisition unit 504, the path control unit 505 transfers a transfer path (hereinafter referred to as “inhibited” in which wireless transmission may be inhibited by any obstacle. The route is referred to as a “path”, and the identified inhibited path is switched to another alternative path that is not easily affected by the inhibition of radio propagation by an obstacle.

  6 and 7 are diagrams illustrating an operation example of the path control device 5 according to the first embodiment. First, the flow of processing of the route control device 5 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. First, the obstacle information acquisition unit 504 acquires obstacle information from each sensor (step S101). The obstacle information acquisition unit 504 stores the acquired obstacle information in the obstacle information storage unit 502. Based on the acquired obstacle information, the route control unit 505 identifies a transfer route that is a blocked route among the current transfer routes (step S102). The route control unit 505 switches the transfer route identified as the inhibited route to the alternative route (step S103).

  For example, when the relay function of the control device 1 is realized by a routing protocol, the transfer route is switched by changing the transfer route identified by the route control unit 505 as the inhibited route and the alternative route of the inhibited route to each control device. 1, and each control device 1 is realized by rewriting the entry of the routing table related to the blocked route notified to the entry of the alternative route notified together.

  In this case, the alternative route may be determined as any route as long as the route is not affected by any obstacle. Further, when there are a plurality of transfer routes (hereinafter referred to as “candidate routes”) as alternative route candidates, the route control unit 505 can select any one alternative route from a plurality of candidate routes. Good.

  For example, the route control unit 505 may determine a candidate route having the smallest number (number of hops) of the control devices 1 constituting the transfer route as an alternative route. By determining such a candidate route as an alternative route, it is possible to suppress a decrease in throughput that may be caused by switching to the alternative route. Conversely, the route control unit 505 may determine a candidate route having the largest number (number of hops) of the control devices 1 constituting the transfer route as an alternative route. By determining such a candidate route as an alternative route, the alternative route becomes a transfer route that bypasses the detected obstacle as much as possible, and the influence of wireless transmission by the detected obstacle can be minimized. It becomes.

  Further, for example, the route control unit 505 may determine, as an alternative route, a candidate route that does not have a route that overlaps with the current transfer route or has few overlapping routes. By determining such a candidate route as an alternative route, it is possible to determine a transfer route from which other obstacles to wireless communication that are latent in the current transfer route are eliminated as an alternative route. On the other hand, the route control unit 505 may determine a candidate route having many routes overlapping with the current transfer route as an alternative route. By determining such a candidate route as an alternative route, it is possible to attach importance to the communication performance up to now and reduce the risk caused by the route change.

  On the other hand, when the relay function of the control device 1 is realized by the mesh protocol, the transfer route is switched by notifying each control device 1 of the transfer route identified by the route control unit 505 as the obstructed route. Is realized by weighting the metric related to the inhibited path notified. Thereby, the path control unit 505 can prevent the control device 1 on the inhibited path from being selected or difficult to select as the transfer path.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 2, the path control unit 505 detects that an obstacle (T3) is present in the sensing area of the sensor S5 based on the obstacle information acquired by the sensor S5. In this case, for example, the obstacle information acquisition unit 504 acquires information indicating the presence or absence of a human body in each sensing area as the obstacle information. Such obstacle information can be acquired by, for example, a human sensor or an image sensor. The route control unit 505 identifies the inhibited route based on the presence or absence of a human body in each sensing region. The obstacle detection method described above is merely an example, and the obstacle may be detected by any other method.

  Also, for example, the obstacle information is acquired as information including a sensor ID and information indicating the presence or absence of a human body in the sensing area of the sensor indicated by the sensor ID. In this case, the route control unit 505 identifies the sensing region where the human body is detected based on the acquired obstacle information and setting information (for example, the first setting information table). Furthermore, the path control unit 505 identifies the control device 1 corresponding to the identified sensing area based on the setting information (for example, the second setting information table). The path control unit 505 identifies the transfer path including the control device 1 corresponding to the sensing area where the human body is detected as the inhibited path.

  Here, information indicating the current transfer route (hereinafter referred to as “current route information”) is required to identify the inhibited route. Therefore, the route control unit 505 collects current route information from each control device 1 in advance. In addition, the acquisition method of the present route information is not limited to the method of collecting from each control device 1, and may be acquired by any other method. For example, when the transfer path of each control device 1 is managed by a specific node on the network, the path control unit 505 may acquire current path information from such a management node.

  When the relay function of the control device 1 is realized by the mesh protocol and the route control device 5 has the same relay function as the control device 1, the route control device 5 is configured as one node that forms a mesh network with each control device 1. It may be configured. In this case, the route control unit 505 may acquire current route information in the mesh network by performing communication based on the mesh protocol with each control device 1.

  In the case of the example in FIG. 2, the path control unit 505 identifies the transfer path R1 that passes through the sensing area of the sensor S5 in which the presence of the obstacle T3 is detected as an inhibited path. Then, the route control unit 505 switches the transfer route R1 identified as the inhibited route to, for example, the transfer route R2 illustrated in FIG.

  The path control device 5 according to the first embodiment configured as described above is based on the obstacle information acquired by the plurality of sensors, and indicates the obstructed path in which radio propagation may be inhibited by the obstacle. By including a configuration for identifying and switching the identified inhibited path to an alternative path, it is possible to suppress deterioration in communication quality between the control devices 1.

  In recent years, the number of people carrying wireless terminals is increasing due to the spread of wireless terminals, and wireless communication between the devices may be affected by radio waves emitted by the wireless terminals. As a result, communication between devices becomes more unstable or impossible, and there is a possibility that the control target device cannot be properly controlled. Therefore, when a person is detected, the control device 1 in the vicinity thereof is excluded from the communication path, so that the quality of wireless communication can be maintained and the control target equipment such as an air conditioner can be controlled more reliably. It is very useful for building operation.

(Modification)
The path control unit 505 may determine the presence / absence of an interference source based on the presence / absence of a person (human body), based on the action or behavior of the person whose presence is detected. For example, the path control unit 505 may switch the transfer path when a person whose presence is detected operates a terminal (such as a mobile phone or a notebook computer) that can be an interference source. In this case, the interference source information acquisition unit 504 acquires, as interference source information, information indicating whether or not there is a person operating a terminal that can be an interference source in the sensing area of each sensor. For example, such interference source information can be acquired using an image sensor capable of detecting a person who performs a predetermined operation or action. In addition, when the image sensor does not have a function of identifying a person's action or action, the path control unit 505 performs processing for identifying the action or action of the person detected from the image acquired by the image sensor. May be. The process of identifying a person's action or action based on the image is performed by, for example, determining the correspondence between the action or action performed by the person and the feature amount of the image captured by the person performing such action or action. It may be realized by learning in advance.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating how wireless communication between the control devices 1a in the second embodiment is inhibited by various inhibition factors. FIG. 8 shows a situation in which the remote controller B as an example of the terminal device 2 transmits information related to control of the control target device to the control device 1-1 that can communicate with the host control device 3, as in FIG. . 8 differs from FIG. 2 in that, in addition to obstacles such as a human body, other devices that emit electromagnetic waves are also factors that inhibit radio propagation. This is because electromagnetic waves emitted by other devices may interfere with radio waves emitted by the control device 1. Hereinafter, an electromagnetic wave that interferes with a radio wave transmitted by the control device 1 is referred to as an interference wave, and a device that emits the interference wave is referred to as an interference source.

  FIG. 8 shows a situation where obstacles T1 and T4 similar to FIG. 2 and interference sources T5 to T7 exist in the space A in which the control devices 1-1 to 1-9 are installed. For example, T5 and T6 are portable wireless terminals such as mobile phones, smartphones, and tablets. Interference sources T5 and T6 move along the path indicated by the solid line arrow with the person carrying them. For example, T7 represents a device that is fixedly installed at a predetermined position, such as a power supply device. Dashed circles in the figure represent ranges in which electromagnetic waves emitted from these interference sources T5 to T7 can interfere with communication radio waves of the control device 1. In this case, similarly to the first embodiment, the electromagnetic wave emitted by the interference source T5 may interfere with the radio wave emitted by the control device 1-9, and communication on the transfer path R1 may become unstable or impossible.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a specific example of a functional configuration of the path control device 5a of the second embodiment. The route control device 5a is different from the route control device 5 of the first embodiment in that the route control unit 505 includes a route control unit 505a, and further includes an interference source information storage unit 506 and an interference source information acquisition unit 507. Different. Since the other functional units are the same as those of the route control device 5 of the first embodiment, the same functional units as those in FIG.

  The interference source information storage unit 506 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk device or a semiconductor storage device. The interference source information storage unit 506 stores interference source information. The interference source information is information regarding interference sources existing in the space A.

  The interference source information acquisition unit 507 acquires the interference source information and stores the acquired interference source information in the interference source information storage unit 506. Similar to the obstacle information acquisition unit 504 in the first embodiment, the interference source information acquisition unit 507 acquires interference source information from each sensor (for example, S1 to S9 in the figure) that can acquire interference source information. The sensor that can acquire the interference source information may be a sensor different from the sensor that can acquire the obstacle information, or the same sensor. Here, it is assumed that interference source information and obstacle information are acquired by the same sensors S1 to S9.

  Further, any acquisition method may be used by each sensor to acquire the interference source information. For example, the interference source information may be acquired by detecting an electromagnetic wave emitted from the interference source, or the interference source is determined from an image obtained by capturing the space A based on information indicating characteristics of the interference source stored in advance. It may be acquired by detecting. In addition, when a device that can be an interference source is a device that is fixedly installed at a predetermined position, such as the interference source T7 in FIG. 8, the interference source information is previously stored in the path control device 5 as the position information of the devices. It may be stored.

  The path control unit 505a may have the radio propagation blocked by any obstacle or interference source based on the obstacle information or interference source information collected from each sensor by the interference source information acquisition unit 507. The inhibited path is identified, and the identified inhibited path is switched to an alternative path. Note that the path control unit 505a may perform path switching in the same manner as in the first embodiment. However, when there is an interference source, the path control unit 505a does not overlap the influence range of the electromagnetic wave emitted from the interference source as much as possible. It is desirable to switch to an alternative route.

  In the path control device 5a of the second embodiment configured as described above, radio propagation may be hindered by the obstacle or the interference source based on the obstacle information or the interference source information acquired by the plurality of sensors. It is possible to further suppress deterioration in communication quality between the control devices 1 by identifying a specific inhibited path and switching the identified inhibited path to an alternative path.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, for simplicity, it is determined whether or not the transfer path is an obstructed path based on whether or not it passes through the sensing region where the presence of the interference source is detected. May also propagate around the sensing area where the presence of the is detected. In consideration of this point, the path control unit 505 determines whether or not the transfer path is an obstructed path based on whether or not it passes through the sensing area where the presence of the interference source is detected and the surrounding sensing area. May be.

  The path control device 505 may identify the inhibited path and switch to the alternative path based on both the obstacle information and the interference source information, or may perform based on either one of the information.

(Modification common to each embodiment)
Here, in order to avoid a complicated description, it will be described as a modification of the first embodiment, but the modification described below can be applied as appropriate to the second embodiment.

  The path control unit 505 may determine an alternative path in advance based on the timing at which transfer path switching occurs and history information that is switched at that timing and indicates the alternative path. For example, the path control unit 505 may refer to the history information and determine the transfer path that has been used for the longest time period for each transfer path as an alternative path. The usage time may be determined by the total time of the same transfer path used in each time zone, or may be determined by the time until a certain transfer path is switched to another transfer path. The path control unit 505 switches the transfer paths of the plurality of wireless relay devices to predetermined transfer paths according to the transition of the time zone.

  By performing such transfer path switching, each control device 1 can communicate using a transfer path that is not affected by the radio interference of an obstacle (or interference source) that occurs in correlation with the time zone. it can. When the relay function of the control device 1 is realized by the mesh protocol, the path control unit 505 may use the history information of the transfer path switched by the mesh protocol.

  In the above embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, the transfer path is indicated by a straight line connecting the control devices 1, but the radio is not necessarily propagated linearly. In consideration of this point, the transfer path may be represented by a range of a space serving as a wireless transmission path. In this case, the path control unit 505 determines, for a certain transfer path, the degree of overlap between the range of the space serving as the transmission path and the sensing area where the presence of the obstacle (or interference source) is detected, You may determine whether it is a to-be-inhibited path | route based on the positional relationship with an obstruction, etc.

  As long as the route control device 5 is a wireless relay device having a relay function, the route control device 5 can also be applied to control the transfer route of a communication device other than the control device 1.

  According to at least one embodiment described above, a sensor (interference source information acquisition) that acquires detection information (obstacle information or interference source information) of an object (obstacle or interference source) that may inhibit radio propagation. An example of a device) and a route for switching a transfer route (an example of a wireless route) of a plurality of control devices 1 to another alternative route that is not easily affected by obstruction of wireless propagation by the object based on the acquired detection information By having the control unit, it is possible to suppress deterioration in communication quality between the control devices 1.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Device control system, 1,1-1 to 1-9 ... Control apparatus, 2, 2-1, 2-2 ... Terminal apparatus, 3 ... High-order control apparatus, 4 ... High-order communication network, 5, 5a ... Path control Device, 501... Communication unit, 502... Obstacle information storage unit, 503... Setting information storage unit, 504... Obstacle information acquisition unit, 505, 505 a ... Route control unit, 506. Information acquisition unit, A ... space, B ... remote control, S1-S9 ... sensor, T1-T4 ... obstacle, T5-T7 ... interference source

Claims (9)

In a wireless communication system in which transmission data is transmitted to a destination via a plurality of wireless relay devices, a route control device that controls a wireless route through which the transmission data is transmitted,
A detection information acquisition unit for acquiring detection information of an object that may interfere with wireless propagation from a sensor installed;
Based on the acquired detection information, a path control unit that switches the radio path to another alternative path that is not easily affected by inhibition of radio propagation by the object;
A path control device comprising: The path control unit identifies a blocked path that is a wireless path that may be inhibited by radio propagation based on the detection information, and switches the identified blocked path to the alternative path.
The path control device according to claim 1. The detection information includes human body detection information,
The path control unit identifies a wireless path that passes through a predetermined range around the detected human body as the inhibition path.
The path control device according to claim 2. The detection information includes information on the detected motion or action of the human body,
The path control unit, when the movement or action of the human body is a predetermined movement or action, a wireless path that passes through a predetermined range around the human body is identified as an inhibited path;
The path control device according to claim 3. The detection information includes detection information of a device that emits electromagnetic waves,
The route control unit identifies a wireless route passing through a predetermined range around the detected device as an inhibited route,
The path control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4. The route control unit determines in advance a wireless route to be used for each predetermined time period based on history information indicating a wireless route switching timing and an alternative route switched at the timing, and the plurality of wireless relays Switch the wireless path of the device to the predetermined wireless path according to the transition of the time zone,
The path control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. In a wireless communication system in which transmission data is transmitted to a destination via a plurality of wireless relay devices, a path control method for controlling a wireless path through which the transmission data is transmitted,
A detection information acquisition step of acquiring detection information of an object that may interfere with radio propagation;
Based on the acquired detection information, a path control step of switching the radio path to another alternative path that is not easily affected by the inhibition of radio propagation by the object;
A routing method comprising: In a wireless communication system in which transmission data is transmitted to a destination via a plurality of wireless relay devices, a computer functioning as a route control device that controls a wireless route through which the transmission data is transmitted,
A detection information acquisition step of acquiring detection information of an object that may interfere with wireless propagation from a sensor installed;
Based on the acquired detection information, a path control step of switching the radio path to another alternative path that is not easily affected by the inhibition of radio propagation by the object;
A computer program for running. A wireless communication system in which transmission data is transmitted to a destination via a plurality of wireless relay devices,
A detection information acquisition device for acquiring detection information of an object that may interfere with wireless propagation from a sensor installed;
Based on the detection information acquired by the detection information acquisition device, a route control device that switches a wireless route through which the transmission data is transmitted to another alternative route that is not easily affected by inhibition of wireless propagation by the object;
A wireless communication system comprising:

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