JP2019016917A - Control arrangement, control method, control program - Google Patents

Abstract

To facilitate identification of air conditioner when installing multiple air conditioners.SOLUTION: A control arrangement in a system including multiple beacons built-in multiple air conditioners, and a controller includes a communication unit transmitting a signal including an instruction for transmitting identification information identifying the beacons toward the controller, receiving a signal including the identification information of the beacon therefrom, transmitting a signal including an instruction for making the beacon transmit a notification signal including the identification information toward the beacon, and receiving the identification information of the beacon included in the notification signal received by a terminal from a terminal, and positional information of the position where the notification signal is received, and an operation unit for mapping the identification information of an air conditioner and the identification information of a beacon included in the notification signal received at a position closest to the installation position of the air conditioner, for each air conditioner, based on the positional information of the position where the notification signal is received, and the positional information of the position where the air conditioner is installed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device, a control method, and a control program.

There is a beacon (radio beacon) that notifies the receiver of various information such as position by emitting electromagnetic waves or the like. Some beacons send information to mobile terminals. For example, some beacons for mobile terminals use Bluetooth (registered trademark). By receiving identification information from a plurality of transmitters, the receiving mobile terminal can know its own position.

  There is also a technique for forming a beacon mesh with a plurality of beacons. Beacons constituting a beacon mesh (also referred to as mesh-type beacons) have a function of communicating with other beacons installed within the reach of radio waves and form a multi-hop wireless network as a whole. The mesh type beacon transmits a radio beacon including its own identification information to other beacons. The beacon mesh can be connected to other networks via a gateway. The gateway can individually send a setting change command to the beacons in the beacon mesh.

JP2015-149526A

  When installing an air conditioner in an office building or the like, it is required to associate each installed air conditioner with identification information for identifying each air conditioner registered in a control device that centrally controls the air conditioner. However, it takes a lot of labor and time to accurately associate each installed air conditioner with the identification information.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique that facilitates identification of an air conditioner when a plurality of air conditioners are installed.

In order to solve the above problems, the following means are adopted.
That is, the first aspect is
A plurality of beacons installed in each of a plurality of air conditioners installed in a predetermined space, capable of communicating with each other within a predetermined radio wave reach, and transmitting / receiving a predetermined signal, each of the plurality of beacons Is a control device in a system including a plurality of beacons arranged within the radio wave reach of at least one other beacon and a control device capable of communicating with at least one beacon of the plurality of beacons. And
A signal including an instruction to transmit identification information for identifying the beacon to the control device is transmitted to the beacon, a signal including the identification information of the beacon from the beacon is received, and the identification is performed on the beacon. A signal including an instruction to transmit a notification signal including information is transmitted toward the beacon, and the identification information and the notification signal of the beacon included in the notification signal received by the terminal from the terminal existing in the space are received. A communication unit that receives position information that is
Based on the position information that is the position where the notification signal is received and the position information that is the position where the air conditioner is installed, the identification information of the air conditioner and the air conditioner are installed for each air conditioner. A calculation unit that associates the identification information of the beacon included in the notification signal received at a position closest to the position;
It is set as the control apparatus provided with.

  An aspect of the disclosure may be realized by executing a program by an information processing device. That is, the disclosed configuration can be specified as a program for causing the information processing apparatus to execute the processing executed by each unit in the above-described aspect, or a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded. Further, the disclosed configuration may be specified by a method in which the information processing apparatus executes the process executed by each of the above-described units. The configuration of the disclosure may be specified as a system including an information processing apparatus that performs the processing executed by each of the above-described units.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when installing several air conditioner, identification of an air conditioner can be made easy.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a system according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the beacon 10. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the control device 20. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the terminal 30. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the server 40. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the terminal 50. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the information processing apparatus. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation flow for associating a position of an air conditioner and identification information of a beacon built in the air conditioner in the system according to the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The configuration of the embodiment is an exemplification, and the configuration of the invention is not limited to the specific configuration of the disclosed embodiment. In carrying out the invention, a specific configuration according to the embodiment may be adopted as appropriate.

Embodiment
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a system according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, in addition to the radio beacon transmitted and received for positioning or the like, the radio beacon transmission device is referred to as a beacon. The system according to this embodiment includes a beacon 10 (in FIG. 1, beacon 10A to beacon 10E), control device 20, terminal 30, server 40, terminal 50, and air conditioner 60 (in FIG. 1, air conditioner 60A to air conditioner 60E). ), Including the sensor 70. Each beacon 10 is built in one of the air conditioners 60. Each of the air conditioners 60 is connected to and controlled by the control device 20. The terminal 30 exists at a position where a signal from any one of the beacons 10 can be received. For example, the terminal 30 is carried by a user or attached to a predetermined object. The sensor 70 is present at a position where a signal from any one of the beacons 10 can be received. The sensor 70 is, for example, a temperature sensor or a humidity sensor. The control device 20, the server 40, and the terminal 50 are connected via a network 100 such as the Internet. The terminal 30 is connected to the network 100. The sensor 70 may be connected to the network 100. The beacons 10A to 10E built in the air conditioner 60E from the air conditioner 60A form a multi-hop wireless network.

  One beacon 10 is arranged for one air conditioner 60. The beacon 10 transmits a wireless sign including identification information for identifying the beacon 10 and a transmission date and time. In addition, the beacon 10 according to the present embodiment has a function of communicating with other beacons 10 installed within the reach of radio waves, and forms a multi-hop wireless network as a whole. In addition, each of the plurality of beacons is arranged within the radio wave reach of at least one other beacon. When there is no beacon 10 built into another air conditioner 60 within the radio wave reach distance of a beacon 10 built into a certain air conditioner 60, one or more new beacons 10 are arranged within the radio wave reach distance. Thus, all the beacons 10 can be arranged within the radio wave reach of at least one other beacon. The beacon 10 receives the identification information of the terminal 30 from the terminal 30. The beacon 10 transmits the identification information of the beacon 10 itself, the reception intensity of the signal from the terminal 30, information indicating the state of the beacon 10 and the like to the other beacons 10 together with the identification information from the terminal 30. Information indicating the state of the beacon 10 and the like may include information received from another beacon 10. A plurality of beacons that can communicate with each other are collectively referred to as a beacon mesh.

In FIG. 1, five sets of the air conditioner 60 and the beacon 10 are illustrated, but the set of the air conditioner 60 and the beacon 10 is not limited to five sets. Further, the beacon 10 includes, for example, a microcontroller and an antenna, and realizes various functions through the cooperation thereof. The beacon 10 can include various sensors as internal sensors. The various sensors are, for example, a camera, a microphone, a thermometer, a hygrometer, an optical sensor, an infrared sensor, an electric meter, a gas meter, a water meter, a measuring instrument, and the like. Images, images, sounds, values, etc. are detected by various sensors. Various sensors may be connected to the beacon 10 as external sensors. The beacon 10 can measure the remaining amount of the battery built in itself. The external sensor may have a wireless communication function using Bluetooth or the like. At this time, the external sensor can transmit a detection result or the like on a Bluetooth packet.

  The control device 20 is a device that centrally controls the operations of the plurality of beacons 10 and the operations of the plurality of air conditioners 60. For example, the control device 20 transmits specific information including identification information for specifying any of the plurality of beacons 10 and predetermined information to the surrounding beacons 10. The control device 20 adjusts the temperature, humidity, and the like of the space in which the air conditioner 60 is installed by controlling the operating state of each air conditioner 60. On the other hand, when the beacon 10 relays the received specific information to the surrounding beacons 10 and receives specific information including identification information indicating itself, the beacon 10 performs a predetermined process based on the specific information. The specific information may include information for controlling the operation of the beacon 10, for example. The control device 20 operates as a gateway that connects the beacon mesh and the network 100.

  The terminal 30 receives the wireless sign from the beacon 10. The terminal 30 transmits identification information for identifying the terminal 30 itself to the beacon 10. 1 shows one terminal 30, the number of terminals 30 is not limited to one. The terminal 30 may have a function as the beacon 10. For example, the terminal 30 may function as one beacon 10 in the beacon mesh. Similarly to the beacon 10, the terminal 30 may include an internal sensor or be connected to an external sensor. The terminal 30 may be carried by the user or attached to a movable object.

  For example, the server 40 transmits a set of data such as identification information and transmission date / time of the beacon 10 included in the radio beacon from the terminal 30, reception date / time of the radio beacon at the terminal 30, and identification information of the terminal 30 via the beacon mesh. get. The server 40 can acquire information indicating the state of the beacon 10 and the like. Further, the server 40 outputs the acquired information to the terminal 50 or the like via the network 100. The server 40 may output information or the like according to the terminal 30.

  The terminal 50 is connected to the network 100 and receives information on the terminal 30 from the server 40. 1 shows one terminal 50, the number of terminals 50 is not limited to one.

  The air conditioner 60 is installed in a ceiling or wall of an office building or the like, in a station such as a subway, an underground mall, or the like. The air conditioner 60 adjusts the temperature and humidity of a room such as an office building. Each air conditioner 60 incorporates a beacon 10. Each beacon 10 built in the air conditioner 60 has unique identification information, and each air conditioner 60 is identified by the identification information. However, when the air conditioner 60 is installed in an office building or the like, the identification information of the beacon 10 and the air conditioner 60 are not associated with each other. Therefore, at this stage, it is unclear which beacon 10 having which identification information is installed at which position of the air conditioner 60.

  The sensor 70 is a sensor that measures physical quantities, such as a camera, a microphone, a thermometer, a hygrometer, and an optical sensor. Sensors for measuring these physical quantities may also be incorporated in the air conditioner 60. The sensor 70 has a function as the beacon 10. The sensor 70 transmits identification information for identifying the sensor 70 itself to the beacon 10. 1 shows one sensor 70, the number of sensors 70 is not limited to one. For example, the sensor 70 may function as one beacon 10 in the beacon mesh. For example, the sensor 70 is disposed in a space where the air conditioner 60 is installed.

<Functional configuration of beacon>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the beacon 10 according to the embodiment. A plurality of beacons 10 are installed in an office building room, in a station such as a subway, an underground shopping center, and the like at intervals equal to or shorter than a predetermined radio wave reachable distance. All or some of the beacons 10 are incorporated in the air conditioner 60. For example, it shall be installed at intervals of about 10 m depending on the installation location. The beacon 10 includes a sign information transmission unit 11, a mutual communication unit 12, and a storage unit 13.

  Based on the information held in the storage unit 13, the sign information transmission unit 11 transmits a radio sign including identification information for identifying the beacon 10 and notifies the reception side device of proximity. The wireless sign may include date and time information indicating a transmission time. Specifically, a technique such as BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) can be used, and wireless sign broadcast communication may be performed.

  The mutual communication unit 12 transmits and receives information to and from the other beacons 10, the terminals 30, and the control device 20. For example, mutual communication may be performed based on a profile such as GATT in BLE. The mutual communication unit 12 may perform connection-type communication. In addition, when the mutual communication unit 12 receives specific information including identification information of another beacon 10, the mutual communication unit 12 relays the specific information to surrounding beacons 10. On the other hand, when specific information including identification information indicating itself is received, the specific information is stored in the storage unit 13 and a predetermined process is performed based on the specific information. The mutual communication unit 12 receives a signal including the terminal ID of the terminal 30 from the terminal 30. The mutual communication unit 12 measures the reception strength of the received signal. The mutual communication unit 12 stores the information included in the received signal in association with the reception intensity of the signal in the storage unit 13.

Further, the mutual communication unit 12 may respond to the control device 20 via the beacon mesh network with information held in the storage unit 13 in response to a request from the control device 20. Information stored in the storage unit 13 may include information acquired by an internal sensor or an external sensor of the beacon 10. In addition, unique identification information may be assigned in advance to information such as specific information transmitted and received between the beacons 10. At this time, the mutual communication unit 12 stores the identification information of the transferred information once in the storage unit 13, and when the information is transferred, the identification information of the information transferred to the storage unit 13 in the past. If it is information transferred in the past, it is not necessary to transfer the information. Thereby, it can be avoided that the same information continues to be transferred in the beacon mesh.

  Further, the mutual communication unit 12 may communicate with the air conditioner 60 including the beacon 10 to instruct control (operation start, stop, etc.) for the air conditioner 60. The control instruction for the air conditioner 60 is issued from the control device 20 via a beacon mesh, for example.

The storage unit 13 is a nonvolatile memory, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) such as a flash memory included in a microprocessor.
) Etc. In addition, the storage unit 13 stores predetermined identification information of the beacon 10, a set value of the radio wave intensity when the sign information transmission unit 11 transmits a wireless sign, and the like. The storage unit 13 stores information included in the received signal, reception intensity of the signal, and the like.

<Functional configuration of control device>
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the control device 20 according to the embodiment. The control device 20 is, for example, a general computer, and includes a beacon communication unit 21, an information acquisition unit 22, and a storage unit 23. The beacon communication unit 21 performs bidirectional communication with the beacon 10. That is, the specific information mentioned above is transmitted, or life / death information or information held by the beacon 10 is received from the beacon 10. The control device 20 may be connected to one beacon 10 by wire or the like so as to be communicable.

  The information acquisition unit 22 acquires predetermined information from a device (not shown) via the network 100 such as the Internet or a dedicated line. In addition, the information acquisition unit 22 causes the beacon communication unit 21 to transmit specific information and change the setting of the beacon 10 based on an input from a user who operates the control device 20 or the like. Further, the information acquisition unit 22 may acquire information from each beacon 10. Further, identification information corresponding to all the beacons 10 may be included in the specific information, and the beacon 10 may broadcast the same specific information only once. In addition, the beacon 10 increments the number of hops every time the setting change information is transferred so that the specific information includes the number of hops indicating the number of times that the beacon mesh is transferred on the beacon mesh network. The specific information may be deleted from the beacon mesh.

  The storage unit 23 is realized by, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, or the like. The memory | storage part 23 memorize | stores the positional information which shows the installation place of the some beacon 10, an operation | movement setting, etc. in association with the identification information (beacon ID) of each beacon.

  The air conditioner control unit 24 controls the operation of each air conditioner 60 that is communicably connected to the control device 20.

  Here, the control device 20 controls the beacon 10 and the air conditioner 60. However, the control device that controls the beacon 10 and the control device that controls the air conditioner 60 are provided separately, and these control devices are provided. May communicate predetermined information.

<Functional configuration of terminal>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the terminal 30 according to the embodiment. The terminal 30 is a computer such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, for example, and the sign information transmitting unit 31;
The mutual communication part 32, the memory | storage part 33, the display part 34, and the position detection part 35 are provided. Note that the sign information transmission unit 31 and the mutual communication unit 32 are realized by, for example, application software (also called a program) installed in the terminal 30 using the communication function of the terminal 30.

  The beacon information transmission unit 31 transmits a radio beacon including identification information for identifying the terminal 30 as the beacon 10 based on the information held in the storage unit 33, and notifies the reception side device of proximity. I do. The wireless sign may include date and time information indicating a transmission time. Specifically, a technique such as BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) can be used, and wireless sign broadcast communication may be performed. The radio beacon (information) including the identification information of the terminal 30 transmitted by the terminal 30 can be received by a plurality of beacons.

  The mutual communication unit 32 transmits and receives information to and from the other beacons 10, the terminals 30, and the control device 20. For example, mutual communication may be performed based on a profile such as GATT in BLE. The mutual communication unit 32 may perform connection-type communication. In addition, when the mutual communication unit 32 receives specific information including identification information of another beacon 10, the mutual communication unit 32 relays the specific information to surrounding beacons 10. On the other hand, when specific information including identification information indicating itself is received, the specific information is stored in the storage unit 33 and predetermined processing is performed based on the specific information. Further, the mutual communication unit 32 may respond to the control device 20 via the beacon mesh network with information held in the storage unit 33 in response to a request from the control device 20.

  The mutual communication unit 32 receives the radio marker transmitted by the beacon 10 and stores it in the storage unit 33. The storage unit 33 is a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory. For example, it is realized by a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), an EEPROM such as a flash memory, or the like.

  The storage unit 33 is realized by, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, or the like. The storage unit 33 stores identification information for identifying the terminal 30 from the terminal 30. The identification information for specifying the terminal 30 may use an ID provided by an OS (Operating System) such as a smartphone, or the server 40 may provide unique identification information for the application software of the terminal 30. May be issued. The memory | storage part 33 memorize | stores the positional information etc. which show the installation place of the some beacon 10 in association with the identification information (beacon ID) of each beacon 10. Further, the storage unit 33 stores the position information of the position where the identification information of the beacon 10 is received in association with the identification information of the beacon 10.

  The display unit 34 displays position information and other information stored in the storage unit 33 on a monitor included in the terminal 30.

The position detection unit 35 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna, an acceleration sensor,
This is realized by an angular velocity sensor or the like. The position detection unit 35 detects the absolute position of the terminal 30 or the relative position from a predetermined position by each sensor or the like.

<Functional configuration of server>
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the server 40 according to the embodiment. The server 40 is, for example, a stationary computer, and includes a communication unit 41, a calculation unit 42, and a storage unit 43. The control device 20 and the server 40 may be integrated to operate as one control device.

The communication unit 41 is connected to the control device 20 and the terminal 3 via the network 100 such as the Internet.
0, send / receive information to / from the terminal 50.

  The calculation unit 42 performs a predetermined calculation based on information from the beacon 10 and the terminal 30. For example, the calculation unit 42 calculates the position where the terminal 30 is present.

  The storage unit 43 includes, for example, an HDD, an SSD, a flash memory, and the like, and receives information from the terminal 30 via the beacon mesh and the control device 20, and information indicating the position of the terminal 30 calculated based on the information. In addition, information related to the vicinity of the position where the beacon 10 is installed may be stored in advance. The memory | storage part 43 matches and stores the identification information (beacon ID) of each beacon 10 of a beacon mesh, and the positional information which shows the presence position of each beacon.

<Functional configuration of terminal>
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the terminal 50 according to the embodiment. The terminal 50 is a computer, for example, and includes a communication unit 51, a storage unit 52, and a display unit 53.

  The communication unit 51 transmits / receives information to / from the server 40 via the network 100 such as the Internet. As described above, for example, the communication unit 51 receives information including the position information of the terminal 30 from the server 40 and stores the information in the storage unit 52.

  The storage unit 52 includes, for example, an HDD, an SSD, a flash memory, and the like, and stores information received from the server 40. The storage unit 52 stores the position information of the terminal 30 received from the server 40. The memory | storage part 52 may store the map containing the area (underground shopping mall etc.) where the beacon 10 of a beacon mesh is installed.

  The display unit 53 displays the position information of the terminal 30 and other information stored in the storage unit 52 on a monitor provided in the terminal 50.

<Device configuration>
The control device 20, the terminal 30, and the terminal 50 include a dedicated or general-purpose computer such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a car navigation device, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and a PC (Personal Computer), or a computer. This can be realized by using the electronic equipment. The server 40 can be realized using a dedicated or general-purpose computer such as a PC or a work station (WS), or an electronic device equipped with the computer.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus 90 shown in FIG. 7 has a general computer configuration. The control device 20, the terminal 30, the server 40, and the terminal 50 are realized by an information processing device 90 as shown in FIG. The information processing apparatus 90 includes a processor 91, a memory 92, a storage unit 93, an input unit 94, an output unit 95, and a communication control unit 96. These are connected to each other by a bus. The memory 92 and the storage unit 93 are computer-readable recording media. The hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 7, and components may be omitted, replaced, or added as appropriate.

  In the information processing apparatus 90, a processor 91 loads a program stored in a recording medium into a work area of the memory 92 and executes the program, and each component is controlled through execution of the program, thereby meeting a predetermined purpose. Function can be realized.

  The processor 91 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor).

  The memory 92 includes, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory). The memory 92 is also called a main storage device.

The storage unit 93 is, for example, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD, Hard Disk Drive), or a solid state drive (SSD, Solid State Drive). The storage unit 93 can include a removable medium, that is, a portable recording medium. The removable media is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a disc recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc). The storage unit 93 is also called a secondary storage device.

  The storage unit 93 stores various programs, various data, and various tables in a recording medium in a readable and writable manner. The storage unit 93 stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, and the like. Information stored in the storage unit 93 may be stored in the memory 92. In addition, information stored in the memory 92 may be stored in the storage unit 93.

  The operating system is software that mediates software and hardware, manages memory space, manages files, manages processes and tasks, and the like. The operating system includes a communication interface. The communication interface is a program for exchanging data with other external devices connected via the communication control unit 96. Examples of the external device include other information processing devices and external storage devices.

  The input unit 94 includes a keyboard, a pointing device, a wireless remote controller, a touch panel, and the like. The input unit 94 may include a video / image input device such as a camera, and an audio input device such as a microphone.

The output unit 95 includes a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), and an EL (Electroluminescence) panel, and an output device such as a printer. The output unit 95 can include an audio output device such as a speaker.

The communication control unit 96 is connected to another device and controls communication between the information processing device 90 and the other device. The communication control unit 96 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board, a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), or a communication circuit for telephone communication. The LAN interface board and the wireless communication circuit are connected to a network such as the Internet.

  The computer that implements the control device 20, the terminal 30, the server 40, and the terminal 50 implements each function by the processor loading and executing the program stored in the secondary storage device into the main storage device. In addition, the storage unit of each device is provided in a storage area of the main storage device or the secondary storage device.

<Operation example>
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation flow for associating the position of the air conditioner with the identification information of the beacon built in the air conditioner in the system according to the present embodiment. Here, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of air conditioners 60 are installed on the ceiling or the like of an office building, and each air conditioner 60 has a beacon 10 built therein. The beacon 10 may be installed where there is no air conditioner 60. Each beacon 10 has unique identification information. Form a beacon mesh. All beacons 10 are installed at positions where they can communicate with any other beacon 10. Further, at least one beacon 10 is installed at a position where it can communicate with the control device 20.

In S101, the control device 20 transmits a signal including an instruction (command or command) for transmitting the identification information of the beacon 10 to the control device 20 toward the beacon 10 of the beacon mesh. The signal is, for example, an advertisement signal (notification signal). Further, the signal transmitted from the control device 20 may be a predetermined data signal of about 10 bytes used in mesh communication by Bluetooth. The signal used in mesh communication may be smaller than the advertise signal. A signal from the control device 20 may be received by a plurality of beacons 10. Here, it is assumed that the signal from the control device 20 is received by the beacon 10E. The control device 20 may transmit the signal as a beacon radio indicator.

  The beacon 10 that has received the signal from the control device 20 confirms the content of the signal. The beacon 10 confirms whether or not a predetermined instruction is included in the information included in the received signal. The predetermined instruction is an instruction to transmit the identification information of the beacon 10 to the control device 20, an instruction to transmit an advertisement signal, or the like. Here, it is assumed that the signal includes an instruction to transmit the identification information of the beacon 10 to the control device 20. The beacon 10 stores information included in the received signal in the storage unit 13.

  Further, the beacon 10 transmits a signal from the control device 20 to the surrounding beacons 10 and the like. Moreover, when the signal from the control apparatus 20 is the same signal as the signal transmitted previously, the beacon 10 does not transmit the signal. Here, it is assumed that the signal is received by another beacon 10.

Further, the beacon 10 that has received the signal from the control device 20 extracts the identification information of the beacon 10 stored in the storage unit 13 and transmits a signal including the identification information to the control device 20. The signal is, for example, an advertisement signal (notification signal). The signal may be, for example, a small data signal of about 10 bytes used in Bluetooth mesh communication. The signal may include identification information for identifying the control device 20 as information indicating that the control device 20 is addressed. When the signal is received by another beacon 10, the other beacon 10 transmits the signal to the control device 20. Here, it is assumed that the signal is received by another beacon 10.

  The other beacon 10 that has received the signal including the identification information from the beacon 10 confirms the content of the signal. The beacon 10 confirms whether or not a predetermined instruction is included. The beacon 10 stores information included in the received signal in the storage unit 13.

  The beacon 10 that has received the signal including the identification information transmits the signal to the surrounding beacons 10 and the like. Further, the beacon 10 does not transmit the signal when the signal is the same signal as the signal transmitted previously. Here, it is assumed that the signal is received by the control device 20.

  The control device 20 that has received the signal including the identification information confirms the content of the signal. The control device 20 confirms whether the information included in the received signal includes its own identification information or the like. Here, it is assumed that the signal includes identification information of the control device 20. The control device 20 stores information included in the received signal in the storage unit 23.

The control device 20 confirms the identification information included in the signal received from the beacon 10. The control apparatus 20 can acquire the identification information of each beacon 10 included in the beacon mesh based on the identification information. Here, since the data signal used in the mesh communication by Bluetooth is used in the beacon mesh, the control device 20 can acquire the identification information of the beacon 10 while suppressing an increase in the amount of the signal.

In S <b> 102, the control device 20 transmits a signal including an instruction (command or command) that causes each beacon 10 to transmit an advertisement signal (notification signal) toward the beacon 10 of the beacon mesh. The signal may be an advertisement signal, for example. Further, the signal transmitted from the control device 20 may be a predetermined data signal of about 10 bytes used in mesh communication by Bluetooth. The signal used in mesh communication may be smaller than the advertise signal. A signal from the control device 20 may be received by a plurality of beacons 10. The control device 20 may transmit the signal as a beacon radio indicator.

  The beacon 10 that has received the signal from the control device 20 confirms the content of the signal. The beacon 10 confirms whether or not a predetermined instruction is included in the information included in the received signal. Here, it is assumed that the signal includes an instruction to transmit an advertisement signal to beacon 10. The beacon 10 stores information included in the received signal in the storage unit 13.

  Further, the beacon 10 transmits a signal from the control device 20 to the surrounding beacons 10 and the like. Moreover, when the signal from the control apparatus 20 is the same signal as the signal transmitted previously, the beacon 10 does not transmit the signal. Here, it is assumed that the signal is received by another beacon 10.

  The beacon 10 that has received the signal from the control device 20 extracts the identification information of the beacon 10 stored in the storage unit 13 according to the instruction, and transmits an advertisement signal including the identification information. The advertisement signal is received by the terminals 30 and the like existing around the beacon 10. Thereby, the advertisement signal containing each identification information is transmitted from each beacon 10 existing in the beacon mesh.

  In S <b> 103, the control device 20 notifies the server 40 that it has instructed to transmit an advertisement signal toward the beacon 10 of the beacon mesh. The server 40 transmits to the terminal 30 a signal including an instruction to go around the space where the air conditioner 60 is installed via the network 100. The signal may include position information indicating a position where each air conditioner 60 is installed in the space. In addition, the signal may include identification information of the beacon 10 of the beacon mesh collected by the control device 20. At this time, the server 40 has received the collected identification information of the beacon 10 from the control device 20 in advance. Position information indicating the position where the air conditioner 60 is installed is stored in the storage unit 43 of the server 40 in advance. When the terminal 30 receives the signal, the terminal 30 displays, on the display unit 34, a message indicating that the space where the air conditioner 60 is installed is directed to the user of the terminal 30. The user of the terminal 30 who sees the display goes around the space where the air conditioner 60 is installed with the terminal 30. At this time, each beacon 10 built in the air conditioner 60 transmits an advertisement signal including identification information of the beacon 10.

When the user carrying the terminal 30 circulates the space where the air conditioner 60 is installed, the terminal 30 receives the advertisement signal from the beacon 10. When receiving the advertisement signal, the terminal 30 extracts identification information (identification information of the beacon 10) included in the advertisement signal. The terminal 30 stores the identification information included in the advertisement signal in association with the position information indicating the current position of the terminal 30 in the storage unit 33. Further, the terminal 30 may store the advertisement signal reception intensity in association with each other in the storage unit 33. If the terminal 30 receives the same identification information a plurality of times, the terminal 30 may store only the position information when the advertisement signal having the highest reception strength is received in the storage unit 33. When the patrol of the space where the air conditioner 60 is installed is completed, the terminal 30 extracts the identification information stored in the storage unit 33 and information (position information, reception intensity, etc.) associated with the identification information, and the server 40. For example, the terminal 30 determines that the patrol is completed when the vehicle passes the vicinity of the position where all the air conditioners 60 are installed (within a predetermined distance from the air conditioner 60) during the patrol. Further, the terminal 30 may determine that the patrol end when all the identification information of the beacon 10 of the beacon mesh received from the server 40 is extracted from the received advertisement signal. Further, the terminal 30 creates a route that passes through the vicinity of all the air conditioners 60 based on the position information of the air conditioner 60, displays the route on the display unit 34, and makes the user go around the route. The end of the tour may be determined by passing from the start point to the end point of the route.

  In S <b> 104, the communication unit 41 of the server 40 receives the identification information of the beacon 10 and information (position information or the like) associated with the identification information from the terminal 30. The communication unit 41 of the server 40 stores the identification information received from the terminal 30 and information associated with the identification information in the storage unit 43. The computing unit 42 of the server 40 extracts the identification information of the beacon 10 whose position received by the terminal 30 is closest to the position where one certain air conditioner 60 exists from the storage unit 43. The position information of each air conditioner 60 is stored in the storage unit 43 in advance. The calculation unit 42 of the server 40 stores the identification information of the air conditioner 60 and the extracted identification information of the beacon 10 in the storage unit 43 in association with each other. Similarly, the server 40 stores the identification information of the beacon 10 in the storage unit 43 in association with all the air conditioners 60. The server 40 transmits information associated with the identification information of the air conditioner 60 and the identification information of the beacon 10 to the control device 20. The processing in the server 40 in S104 may be performed by the terminal 30.

  In this way, the server 40 can associate the identification information of the beacon 10 with all the air conditioners 60. Based on this association, the control device 20 can recognize which air conditioner 60 includes the beacon 10 to which which identification information is assigned.

<< Sensor information collection >>
Here, an operation when acquiring information on sensors existing in the vicinity of the air conditioner 60 will be described. The beacon 10 of the beacon mesh can transmit and receive Bluetooth packets. By utilizing this, the Bluetooth packet (detection signal) from the sensor 70 can be collected by the control device 20 via mesh communication in the beacon mesh. The Bluetooth packet from the sensor 70 includes a detection result such as some physical quantity by the sensor 70. Moreover, the detection results of the internal sensor built into the beacon 10 of the beacon mesh or the internal sensor of the air conditioner 60 may be placed on a Bluetooth packet and collected by the control device 20. The control device 20 can collect detection results (sensor information and the like) by the sensor 70 and the like in the same manner as the collection of the identification information of the beacon 10. Each beacon 10 may transfer the received Bluetooth packet from the sensor 70 to the control device 20 as it is.

  The information transmitted from the sensor 70 or the beacon 10 to the control device 20 may be a value based on the detection result in order to reduce the amount of data. By filtering the detection result, the data amount of the value based on the detection result can be reduced. The control device 20 may calculate the position of the external sensor by collecting the transmission power of the external sensor and the reception power of the signal from the external sensor in the beacon 10. Since the magnitude of the received power depends on the distance from the beacon 10, if the signals from the external sensor can be received by the plurality of beacons 10, the distance from the plurality of beacons 10 to the external sensor can be known. Can be calculated.

In addition, the beacon 10 built in the air conditioner 60 receives an advertisement signal including the identification information of the terminal 30 from the terminal 30 carried by the user present in the vicinity of the air conditioner 60,
The identification information of the terminal 30 and the identification information of the beacon 10 may be associated with each other and transmitted to the control device 20. The control device 20 can recognize that the terminal 30 exists in the vicinity of the air conditioner 60 incorporating the beacon 10 based on the identification information of the terminal 30 and the identification information of the beacon 10. The control device 20 can acquire the position information of the user carrying the terminal 30 by the beacon mesh by the beacon 10 built in the air conditioner 60.

(Operation and effect of the embodiment)
The beacon 10 built in the air conditioner 60 in the beacon mesh of the present embodiment receives a signal including an instruction to transmit the identification information of the beacon 10 from the control device 20 to the control device 20. The beacon 10 transmits a signal including the identification information of the beacon 10 to the control device 20 based on the instruction. The beacon 10 can transmit identification information using a packet of mesh communication in a beacon mesh. The control device 20 can collect identification information of the beacon 10 built in the air conditioner 60.

  The control device 20 according to the present embodiment causes each beacon 10 built in the air conditioner 60 to transmit an advertisement signal via a beacon mesh. Further, the server 40 instructs the terminal 30 to go around the space where the air conditioner 60 exists. The user of the terminal 30 travels around the space where the air conditioner 60 exists with the terminal 30. The terminal 30 receives an advertisement signal from the beacon 10 in which the air conditioner 60 is built. The terminal 30 stores the position information of the terminal 30 (position information of the position where the advertisement signal is received) and the identification information of the beacon 10 included in the advertisement signal in association with each other. When the patrol is finished, the terminal 30 transmits the identification information of the beacon 10 and the position information of the terminal 30 to the server 40. The server 40 associates the identification information of the beacon 10 with the air conditioner 60 based on the position information of the terminal 30 and the position information of the air conditioner 60 (position information of the position where the air conditioner 60 is installed). The server 40 transmits the associated information to the control device 20. Thereby, the control apparatus 20 can recognize which beacon 10 to which which identification information is assigned to which air conditioner 60 is incorporated.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be changed or combined within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention.

<Computer-readable recording medium>
A program for causing a computer or other machine or device (hereinafter, a computer or the like) to realize any of the above functions can be recorded on a recording medium that can be read by the computer or the like. The function can be provided by causing a computer or the like to read and execute the program of the recording medium.

  Here, a computer-readable recording medium is a recording medium that stores information such as data and programs by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical action and can be read from a computer or the like. Say. In such a recording medium, elements constituting a computer such as a CPU and a memory may be provided to cause the CPU to execute a program.

  Examples of such a recording medium that can be removed from a computer or the like include a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R / W, a DVD, a DAT, an 8 mm tape, and a memory card.

  Moreover, there are a hard disk, a ROM, and the like as a recording medium fixed to a computer or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Beacon 11 Marking information transmission part 12 Mutual communication part 13 Storage part 20 Control apparatus 21 Beacon communication part 22 Information acquisition part 23 Storage part 24 Air conditioner control part 30 Terminal 31 Marking information transmission part 32 Mutual communication part 33 Storage part 34 Display part 35 position detection unit 40 server 41 communication unit 42 calculation unit 43 storage unit 50 terminal 51 communication unit 52 storage unit 53 display unit 60 air conditioner 70 sensor 100 network

Claims (3)

A plurality of beacons installed in each of a plurality of air conditioners installed in a predetermined space, capable of communicating with each other within a predetermined radio wave reach, and transmitting / receiving a predetermined signal, each of the plurality of beacons Is a control device in a system including a plurality of beacons arranged within the radio wave reach of at least one other beacon and a control device capable of communicating with at least one beacon of the plurality of beacons. And
A signal including an instruction to transmit identification information for identifying the beacon to the control device is transmitted to the beacon, a signal including the identification information of the beacon from the beacon is received, and the identification is performed on the beacon. A signal including an instruction to transmit a notification signal including information is transmitted toward the beacon, and the identification information and the notification signal of the beacon included in the notification signal received by the terminal from the terminal existing in the space are received. A communication unit that receives position information that is
Based on the position information that is the position where the notification signal is received and the position information that is the position where the air conditioner is installed, the identification information of the air conditioner and the air conditioner are installed for each air conditioner. A calculation unit that associates the identification information of the beacon included in the notification signal received at a position closest to the position;
A control device comprising: A plurality of beacons installed in each of a plurality of air conditioners installed in a predetermined space, capable of communicating with each other within a predetermined radio wave reach, and transmitting / receiving a predetermined signal, each of the plurality of beacons Is a system including a plurality of beacons arranged within the radio wave reach of at least one other beacon and a control device capable of communicating with at least one beacon of the plurality of beacons,
The control device is
A signal including an instruction to transmit identification information identifying the beacon to the control device is transmitted to the beacon;
Receiving a signal including identification information of the beacon from the beacon;
A signal including an instruction to transmit a notification signal including the identification information to the beacon is transmitted toward the beacon;
Receiving the identification information of the beacon included in the notification signal received at the terminal from the terminal existing in the space and the position information that is the position at which the notification signal is received;
Based on the position information that is the position where the notification signal is received and the position information that is the position where the air conditioner is installed, the identification information of the air conditioner and the air conditioner are installed for each air conditioner. Associating with the identification information of the beacon included in the notification signal received at a position closest to the position;
Control method to do that. A plurality of beacons installed in each of a plurality of air conditioners installed in a predetermined space, capable of communicating with each other within a predetermined radio wave reach, and transmitting / receiving a predetermined signal, each of the plurality of beacons Is a system including a plurality of beacons arranged within the radio wave reach of at least one other beacon and a control device capable of communicating with at least one beacon of the plurality of beacons,
The control device is
A signal including an instruction to transmit identification information identifying the beacon to the control device is transmitted to the beacon;
Receiving a signal including identification information of the beacon from the beacon;
A signal including an instruction to transmit a notification signal including the identification information to the beacon is transmitted toward the beacon;
Receiving the identification information of the beacon included in the notification signal received at the terminal from the terminal existing in the space and the position information that is the position at which the notification signal is received;
Based on the position information that is the position where the notification signal is received and the position information that is the position where the air conditioner is installed, the identification information of the air conditioner and the air conditioner are installed for each air conditioner. Associating with the identification information of the beacon included in the notification signal received at a position closest to the position;
Control program to do that.

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