JP2020162070A - Radio communication device, radio communication system and radio communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress the increase of header information used for radio communication, in a radio communication system in which a radio network is provided user-by-user.SOLUTION: A radio communication unit communicates with a first radio terminal in a first radio network through the first radio network, and communicates with a second radio terminal in a second radio network through the second radio network having a narrower radio area than the first radio network. The radio communication unit communicates with the first radio terminal, using first network identification information which indicates the first radio network and first device identification information which indicates a device in the first radio network. The radio communication unit communicates with the second radio terminal, using second network identification information which indicates the second radio network and second device identification information which indicates a device in the second radio network. The number of bits of the second network identification information is larger than that of the first network identification information, and the number of bits of the second device identification information is smaller than the first device identification information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to wireless communication devices, wireless communication systems, and wireless communication methods.

In recent gas smart meter systems, a wireless terminal connected to a gas meter reports the gas usage measured by the gas meter to the monitoring center by communicating with the wireless terminal installed in the monitoring center via a wireless network. can do. Further, the wireless terminal connected to the gas meter can also communicate with various devices such as a gas leak alarm installed in the customer's house.

In connection with such a gas smart meter system, a wireless communication network system including a battery-powered wireless terminal is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). In a wireless terminal driven by a battery, it is desired to reduce battery consumption and reduce the frequency of battery replacement.

Japanese Patent No. 5097633 Japanese Patent No. 5571008

There are many wireless communication standards that make devices such as household electric appliances and HEMS (Home Energy Management System) controllers wireless in customers' homes, but these wireless communication standards are external power supplies that supply power to the devices. Is premised on the existence of. Therefore, little is known about communication methods for battery-powered wireless terminals, such as wireless terminals connected to gas meters.

On the other hand, it is desirable to separate the wireless network in the customer's house for each customer. However, when a wireless network is provided for each customer, the total number of wireless networks becomes enormous, so that the number of bits of the network identifier for identifying each wireless network increases.

As the number of bits of the network identifier increases, the header information of the packet in data communication becomes bloated and the packet transmission / reception time increases, so that the battery tends to be consumed. Furthermore, as the number of bits increases, the network identifier may be wasted.

It should be noted that such a problem occurs not only in the gas smart meter system but also in various wireless communication systems in which a wireless network is provided for each user such as a consumer.

In one aspect, it is an object of the present invention to suppress an increase in header information used for wireless communication in a wireless communication system in which a wireless network is provided for each user.

According to one embodiment, the wireless communication device includes a wireless communication unit and a control unit. The wireless communication unit communicates with the first wireless terminal in the first wireless network via the first wireless network, and the second wireless communication unit has a wireless area narrower than the wireless area of the first wireless network. Communicates with a second wireless terminal in the wireless network.

The control unit causes the wireless communication unit to communicate with the first wireless terminal by using the first network identification information indicating the first wireless network and the first device identification information indicating the device in the first wireless network. , Control the wireless communication unit. Then, the control unit communicates with the second wireless terminal by the wireless communication unit using the second network identification information indicating the second wireless network and the second device identification information indicating the device in the second wireless network. The wireless communication unit is controlled so as to.

The number of bits of the second network identification information is larger than the number of bits of the first network identification information, and the number of bits of the second device identification information is smaller than the number of bits of the first device identification information.

In one aspect, in a wireless communication system in which a wireless network is provided for each user, it is possible to suppress an increase in header information used for wireless communication.

It is a block diagram of a wireless communication device. It is a block diagram of a wireless communication system. It is a figure which shows the format of the wireless communication packet in a wireless network. It is a figure which shows the format of the wireless communication packet in a home wireless network. It is a block diagram of a wireless handset. It is a block diagram of a home-based master unit. It is a figure which shows the network construction sequence. It is a figure which shows the 1st event report sequence. It is a figure which shows the 2nd event report sequence. It is a figure which shows the instruction issuing sequence. It is a block diagram of an information processing apparatus.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the wireless communication device of the embodiment. The wireless communication device 101 of FIG. 1 includes a wireless communication unit 111 and a control unit 112.

The wireless communication unit 111 communicates with the first wireless terminal in the first wireless network via the first wireless network, and has a second wireless network having a wireless area narrower than the wireless area of the first wireless network. 2 Communicate with the second wireless terminal in the wireless network.

In the control unit 112, the wireless communication unit 111 communicates with the first wireless terminal by using the first network identification information indicating the first wireless network and the first device identification information indicating a device in the first wireless network. As a result, the wireless communication unit 111 is controlled. Then, in the control unit 112, the wireless communication unit 111 uses the second network identification information indicating the second wireless network and the second device identification information indicating the device in the second wireless network to and the second wireless terminal. The wireless communication unit 111 is controlled so as to communicate.

The number of bits of the second network identification information is larger than the number of bits of the first network identification information, and the number of bits of the second device identification information is smaller than the number of bits of the first device identification information.

According to the wireless communication device 101 of FIG. 1, in a wireless communication system in which a wireless network is provided for each user, it is possible to suppress an increase in header information used for wireless communication.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a wireless communication system including the wireless communication device 101 of FIG. The wireless communication system of FIG. 2 includes an NCU (Network Control Unit) 201, a wireless master unit 202, measuring instruments 211-1 to measuring instruments 211-3, wireless slave units 212-1 to wireless slave units 212-3, and a home parent. Includes machines 221-1 to home master unit 223-1. The wireless communication system further includes a device 222-1 to a device 222-3 and a home slave unit 223-1 to a home slave unit 223-3.

The wireless master unit 202 and the wireless slave unit 212-1 to the wireless slave unit 212-3 are wireless terminals in the wireless network 231. The home master unit 221-i (i = 1-3) is a wireless terminal in the home wireless network 232-i, and the home slave unit 223-1 to the home slave unit 223-3 is in the home wireless network 234-2. It is a wireless terminal of.

For example, the wireless network 231 is a wide area network including a plurality of consumer homes. On the other hand, the home wireless network 232-i is provided for each consumer home and has a wireless area narrower than the wireless area of the wireless network 231.

The wireless slave unit 212-1 to the wireless slave unit 212-3 communicate with the wireless master unit 202 via the wireless network 231 and the home master unit 221-2 is the home slave unit 223 via the home wireless network 232-2. -1 to communicate with the home slave unit 223-3.

The measuring instrument 211-i is installed in a consumer's house, for example, and measures predetermined data. The measuring instrument 211-i may be a gas meter, a water meter, an electric meter, or the like. A gas meter measures the amount of gas used, a water meter measures the amount of water used, and an electric meter measures the amount of electricity used. The wireless slave unit 212-i and the home master unit 221-i correspond to the wireless communication device 101 of FIG. 1 and are connected to the measuring instrument 211-i. The home master unit 221-i is connected to the wireless slave unit 212-i.

The wireless network 231 is a wireless meter reading network that collects measurement data measured by each measuring instrument 211-i. The NCU 201 and the wireless master unit 202 are installed in, for example, a monitoring center, the wireless master unit 202 is connected to the NCU 201, and the NCU 201 is connected to a server (not shown) of the monitoring center. The NCU 201 controls the communication by the wireless master unit 202 according to the instruction from the server of the monitoring center.

The wireless slave unit 212-i acquires measurement data from the measuring instrument 211-i, and transmits a measurement data packet, which is a wireless communication packet including the acquired measurement data, to the wireless master unit 202 via the wireless network 231.

The device 222-j (j = 1-3) is installed in the consumer's house, for example, and the home slave unit 223-j is connected to the device 222-j. The device 222-j may be a gas leak alarm, a fire alarm, a carbon monoxide alarm, a home controller, a HEMS controller, a household electric appliance, or the like.

When the device 222-j detects a predetermined event, the home slave unit 223-j sends a wireless communication packet including event information indicating the event to the home master unit 221-2 via the home wireless network 232-2. Send. The predetermined event may be a gas leak, a fire, the generation of carbon monoxide, or the like, and the event information may be a telegram indicating the occurrence of the event.

The number of wireless slave units in the wireless network 231 is not limited to three, and may be N (N is an integer of 1 or more). In this case, the number of measuring instruments and the number of home wireless networks are also N. Further, the number of home slave units in the home wireless network 234-2 is not limited to three, and may be M (M is an integer of 1 or more). Each of the home wireless network 232-1 and the home wireless network 232-3 also includes M devices and M home slave units.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the format of the wireless communication packet transmitted / received within the wireless network 231 of FIG. The format of FIG. 3 corresponds to physical layer data and includes a MAC (Media Access Control) header, MAC data, and a check code. The size of the MAC header (number of bits) is 7 bytes, the size of the MAC data is 0 to 113 bytes, and the size of the check code is 2 bytes. In this example, 1 byte = 8 bits.

The MAC header includes Sq-No, Di-RNO, Sy-RNO, So-RNO, and L-Con. Sq-No represents the sequence number, and Di-RNO represents the device identification information (wireless terminal identifier) of the destination wireless terminal. Sy-RNO represents the network identification information (network identifier) of the wireless network 231 and So-RNO represents the device identification information of the source wireless terminal. Di-RNO and So-RNO are device identification information indicating a device in the wireless network 231. L-Con represents a link control command, and the link control command indicates the meaning of MAC data.

The size of Sq-No, Di-RNO, So-RNO, and L-Con is 1 byte, and the size of Sy-RNO is 3 bytes. Therefore, the sizes of Di-RNO and So-RNO are equal. In this case, a maximum of 256 wireless terminals can be identified by a 1-byte (8-bit) wireless terminal identifier, and about 16.77 million wireless networks can be identified by a 3-byte (24-bit) network identifier. Can be done.

In the example of FIG. 2, the network identifier and the wireless terminal identifier are shown in hexadecimal numbers. The network identifier indicating the wireless network 231 is "AAAAAA", and the wireless terminal identifier indicating the wireless master unit 202 is "FD". The wireless terminal identifiers indicating the wireless slave unit 212-1, the wireless slave unit 212-2, and the wireless slave unit 212-3 are "01", "02", and "03", respectively.

When the format of the MAC header shown in FIG. 3 is applied to the home wireless network 232-i as it is, if the total number of the home wireless networks 232-i becomes enormous, the network identifier is wasted and exhausted.

Therefore, by limiting the maximum number of devices in the home wireless network 232-i to 16, the size of the wireless terminal identifier is reduced from 8 bits to 4 bits. As a result, the size of each of Di-RNO and So-RNO is shortened by 4 bits. Then, by allocating the reduced 8 bits to the network identifier, the number of home wireless networks that can be identified by the network identifier can be increased 256 times.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the format of wireless communication packets transmitted / received within the home wireless network 232-i of FIG. The sizes of the MAC header, MAC data, and check code in FIG. 4 are the same as in the format shown in FIG.

The MAC header includes Sq-No, Di-RNO, Sy-RNO, So-RNO, and L-Con. Di-RNO and So-RNO are device identification information indicating a device in the home wireless network 232-i, and Sy-RNO is network identification information of the home wireless network 232-i.

The size of Sq-No and L-Con is 1 byte, the size of Di-RNO and So-RNO is 0.5 bytes, and the size of Sy-RNO is 4 bytes. Therefore, the sizes of Di-RNO and So-RNO are equal.

The number of bits of Di-RNO and So-RNO is 4 bits less than the number of bits of Di-RNO and So-RNO in FIG. 3, and the number of bits of Sy-RNO is smaller than the number of bits of Sy-RNO in FIG. Is also 8 bits more. The sum of the bit numbers of Di-RNO, Sy-RNO, and So-RNO is equal to the sum of the bit numbers of Di-RNO, Sy-RNO, and So-RNO in FIG.

In this case, a maximum of 16 wireless terminals can be identified by the 0.5-byte (4-bit) wireless terminal identifier, and about 4.2 billion home wireless networks can be identified by the 4-byte (32-bit) network identifier. Can be identified.

In the example of FIG. 2, the network identifiers indicating the home wireless network 232-1, the home wireless network 232-2, and the home wireless network 232-3 are "AAAAAA01", "AAAAAA02", and "AAAAAA03", respectively. Further, the wireless terminal identifier indicating the home master unit 221-1, the home master unit 221-2, and the home master unit 221-3 is "0". The wireless terminal identifiers indicating the home handset 223-1, the home handset 223-2, and the home handset 223-3 are "1", "2", and "3", respectively.

The network identifier indicating each home wireless network 232-i is generated by concatenating the network identifier indicating the wireless network 231 and the wireless terminal identifier indicating the wireless slave unit 212-i. As a result, a unique network identifier indicating each home wireless network 232-i can be easily generated by using the network identifier of the wireless network 231 already constructed.

According to the format of FIG. 4, since the size of the MAC header does not increase as compared with the format of FIG. 3, the packet transmission / reception time does not increase either. Therefore, even when the wireless terminal in the home wireless network 232-i is operated by a battery, the consumption of the battery can be suppressed.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the wireless slave unit 212-i of FIG. The wireless slave unit 212-i of FIG. 5 includes an antenna 511, a wireless communication circuit 512, and a control unit 513, and the wireless communication circuit 512 and the control unit 513 are operated by electric power supplied from a battery (not shown). The wireless communication circuit 512 and the control unit 513 correspond to the wireless communication unit 111 and the control unit 112 of FIG. 1, respectively.

In the reception operation, the antenna 511 receives the wireless signal from the wireless master unit 202, and the wireless communication circuit 512 restores the wireless communication packet by performing demodulation processing on the received wireless signal and outputs it to the control unit 513. To do.

In the transmission operation, the control unit 513 generates a wireless communication packet and outputs it to the wireless communication circuit 512, the wireless communication circuit 512 performs modulation processing on the wireless communication packet to generate a wireless signal, and the antenna 511 generates a wireless signal. , The radio signal is transmitted to the wireless master unit 202.

For example, the control unit 513 acquires measurement data from the measuring instrument 211-i, and Di-RNO indicating the wireless master unit 202, Sy-RNO indicating the wireless network 231 and So-RNO indicating the wireless slave unit 212-i. And generate a measurement data packet containing the measurement data. Then, the wireless communication circuit 512 generates a wireless signal from the measurement data packet and transmits it to the wireless master unit 202.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of the home master unit 221-i of FIG. The home master unit 221-i of FIG. 6 includes an antenna 611, a wireless communication circuit 612, and a control unit 613, and the wireless communication circuit 612 and the control unit 613 are operated by electric power supplied from a battery (not shown). The wireless communication circuit 612 and the control unit 613 correspond to the wireless communication unit 111 and the control unit 112 of FIG. 1, respectively. The transmission / reception operation of the home master unit 221-2 will be described below.

In the reception operation, the antenna 611 receives a wireless signal from the home slave unit 223-j, and the wireless communication circuit 612 restores the wireless communication packet by performing demodulation processing on the received wireless signal, and the control unit 613. Output to.

For example, the wireless communication packet received from the home slave unit 223-j is Di-RNO indicating the home master unit 221-2, Sy-RNO indicating the home wireless network 232-2, and So- indicating the home slave unit 223-j. Includes RNO and event information.

In the transmission operation, the control unit 613 generates a wireless communication packet and outputs it to the wireless communication circuit 612, the wireless communication circuit 612 generates a wireless signal by performing modulation processing on the wireless communication packet, and the antenna 611 generates a wireless signal. , The radio signal is transmitted to the home slave unit 223-j.

For example, the control unit 613 refers to the device 222-j connected to the same home slave unit 223-j or another home slave unit 223-j based on the event information received from one of the home slave units 223-j. Generate a wireless communication packet containing instructions. This wireless communication packet includes a Di-RNO indicating a destination home slave unit 223-j, a Sy-RNO indicating a home wireless network 232-2, and a So-RNO indicating a home master unit 221-2. Then, the wireless communication circuit 612 generates a wireless signal from the generated wireless communication packet and transmits it to the home slave unit 223-j of the transmission destination.

The wireless slave unit 212-i and the home master unit 221-i can also share the antenna 511. In this case, the antenna 611, the wireless communication circuit 612, and the control unit 613 of FIG. 6 are omitted, the wireless communication circuit 512 of FIG. 5 also operates as the wireless communication circuit 612, and the control unit 513 also operates as the control unit 613. .. Therefore, the functions of the wireless slave unit 212-i and the home master unit 221-i are realized by a single wireless terminal.

The configuration of the wireless master unit 202 of FIG. 2 is the same as the configuration of the wireless slave unit 212-i of FIG. 5, and the configuration of the home slave unit 223-j of FIG. 2 is also the configuration of the home master unit 221-i of FIG. Similar to the configuration.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a network construction sequence for constructing a home wireless network 232-2 in the wireless communication system of FIG. First, the wireless slave unit 212-2 is activated (procedure 701), and the wireless slave unit 212-2 performs identifier issuing communication with the wireless master unit 202 (procedure 702). As a result, the wireless slave unit 212-2 uses the network identifier "AAAAAA" of the wireless network 231, the wireless terminal identifier "FD" of the wireless master unit 202, and the wireless terminal identifier "02" of the wireless slave unit 212-2. Get and store their identifiers.

Next, the home master unit 221-2 is activated (procedure 703), and the home master unit 221-2 acquires the network identifier “AAAAAA” and the wireless terminal identifier “02” from the wireless slave unit 212-2 (procedure). 704). Next, the control unit 613 of the home master unit 221-2 connects the network identifier “AAAAAA” and the wireless terminal identifier “02” to generate the network identifier “AAAAAA02” of the home wireless network 234-2. Then, the control unit 613 stores the network identifier "AAAAAAA02" and the wireless terminal identifier "0" of the home master unit 221-2.

Next, the home slave unit 223-1 is activated (procedure 705), and the home slave unit 223-1 performs identifier issuing communication with the home master unit 221-2 (procedure 706). As a result, the home slave unit 223-1 acquires the network identifier "AAAAAA02", the wireless terminal identifier "0" of the home master unit 221-2, and the wireless terminal identifier "1" of the home slave unit 223-1. , Remember those identifiers.

Next, the home slave unit 223-2 is activated (procedure 707), and the home slave unit 223-2 performs identifier issuing communication with the home master unit 221-2 (procedure 708). As a result, the home slave unit 223-2 acquires the network identifier "AAAAAA02", the wireless terminal identifier "0" of the home master unit 221-2, and the wireless terminal identifier "2" of the home slave unit 223-2. , Remember those identifiers.

Next, the home slave unit 223-3 is activated (procedure 709), and the home slave unit 223-3 performs identifier issuing communication with the home master unit 221-2 (procedure 710). As a result, the home slave unit 223-3 acquires the network identifier "AAAAAA02", the wireless terminal identifier "0" of the home master unit 221-2, and the wireless terminal identifier "3" of the home slave unit 223-3. , Remember those identifiers.

The home wireless network 234-2 is constructed by such a network construction sequence. The home wireless network 232-1 and the home wireless network 232-3 are also constructed by the same network construction sequence as in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a first event reporting sequence for notifying the monitoring center of the occurrence of an event in the wireless communication system of FIG. First, the device 222-1 detects an event such as a gas leak, a fire, or the generation of carbon monoxide, and outputs event information indicating the event to the home slave unit 223-1 (procedure 801).

Next, the home slave unit 223-1 generates a wireless communication packet containing event information as MAC data, and sets the wireless terminal identifier "0" of the home master unit 221-2 in the Di-RNO of the wireless communication packet. To do. Further, the home slave unit 223-1 sets the network identifier "AAAAAA02" in Sy-RNO, and sets the wireless terminal identifier "1" of the home slave unit 223-1 in So-RNO. Then, the home slave unit 223-1 transmits the wireless communication packet to the home master unit 221-2 (procedure 802).

Next, the wireless communication circuit 612 of the home master unit 221-2 receives a wireless communication packet from the home slave unit 223-1, and the control unit 613 extracts event information from the received wireless communication packet and wirelessly receives the wireless communication packet. Output to the machine 212-2 (procedure 803).

Next, the control unit 513 of the wireless slave unit 212-2 generates a wireless communication packet containing the event information output from the home master unit 221-2 as MAC data, and wirelessly transmits the Di-RNO of the wireless communication packet. The wireless terminal identifier "FD" of the master unit 202 is set. Further, the control unit 513 sets the network identifier "AAAAAA" in Sy-RNO, and sets the wireless terminal identifier "02" of the wireless slave unit 212-2 in So-RNO. Then, the wireless communication circuit 512 transmits the wireless communication packet to the wireless master unit 202 (procedure 804).

Next, the wireless master unit 202 extracts event information from the received wireless communication packet and outputs it to the NCU 201 (procedure 805). The NCU 201 transfers the event information output from the wireless master unit 202 to the server of the monitoring center (procedure 806). As a result, the event detected by the device 222-1 in the customer's house is notified to the monitoring center.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a second event reporting sequence in which the occurrence of an event is notified to the measuring instrument 211-2 in the wireless communication system of FIG. Procedures 901 and 902 are similar to procedures 801 and 802 in FIG.

The wireless communication circuit 612 of the home master unit 221-2 receives a wireless communication packet from the home slave unit 223-1, and the control unit 613 extracts event information from the received wireless communication packet and measures the measuring instrument 211-2. Output to (Procedure 903).

Then, the measuring instrument 211-2 performs a predetermined operation based on the event information output from the home master unit 221-2. For example, when the measuring instrument 211-2 is a gas meter, the device 222-1 is a gas leak alarm, and the event information is a message indicating a gas leak, the measuring instrument 211-2 operates to close the gas meter. .. As a result, the gas leak can be stopped autonomously without waiting for the instruction from the monitoring center.

FIG. 10 shows an example of an instruction issuing sequence that issues an event-based instruction in the wireless communication system of FIG. Procedures 1001 and 1002 are similar to procedures 801 and 802 in FIG.

The wireless communication circuit 612 of the home master unit 221-2 receives a wireless communication packet from the home slave unit 223-1, and the control unit 613 extracts event information from the received wireless communication packet and is based on the event information. Generate a wireless communication packet containing instructions.

At this time, the control unit 613 sets the wireless terminal identifier "2" of the home slave unit 223-2 in the Di-RNO of the wireless communication packet. Further, the control unit 613 sets the network identifier "AAAAAA02" in Sy-RNO, and sets the wireless terminal identifier "0" of the home master unit 221-2 in So-RNO. Then, the wireless communication circuit 612 transmits the wireless communication packet to the home slave unit 223-2 (procedure 1003).

The home slave unit 223-2 extracts an instruction based on the event information from the received wireless communication packet, and outputs the extracted instruction to the device 222-2 (procedure 1004). Then, the device 222-2 performs a predetermined operation according to the instruction output from the home slave unit 223-2.

As an example, equipment 222-1 and equipment 222-2 are gas leak alarms, fire alarms, or carbon monoxide alarms, and the event information is an alarm indicating gas leak, fire, or carbon monoxide generation. The case of a telegram will be described. In this case, the home master unit 221-2 can instruct the device 222-2 to link the alarm by using a telegram indicating a ringing instruction as an instruction based on the event information. Then, the device 222-2 performs a ringing operation according to a telegram indicating a ringing instruction.

As a result, even if the device 222-1 and the device 222-2 are installed in different rooms, the device set in the other room can be sounded based on the event that occurred in one room. Becomes possible. By the same instruction issuing sequence as in FIG. 10, three or more devices can interlock to issue an alarm.

FIG. 11 shows a configuration example of an information processing device (computer) used as the control unit 112 of FIG. 1, the control unit 513 of FIG. 5, and the control unit 613 of FIG. The information processing device of FIG. 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1101 and a memory 1102.

The memory 1102 is, for example, a semiconductor memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), or a flash memory, and stores a program and data used for processing.

For example, the memory 1102 is a network identifier of the wireless network 231 and the home wireless network 232-i, a wireless master unit 202, a wireless slave unit 212-i, a home master unit 221-i, and a wireless terminal identifier of the home slave unit 223-j. Etc. can be memorized. In addition, the memory 1102 can also store measurement data, event information, instructions based on the event information, and the like.

The CPU 1101 (processor) operates as the control unit 112 of FIG. 1, the control unit 513 of FIG. 5, or the control unit 613 of FIG. 6 by executing a program using, for example, the memory 1102.

The configuration of the wireless communication device 101 in FIG. 1 is only an example, and some components may be omitted or changed depending on the use or conditions of the wireless communication device 101.

The configuration of the wireless communication system of FIG. 2 is only an example, and some components may be omitted or changed depending on the use or conditions of the wireless communication system. For example, the measuring instrument 211-i and the device 222-j may be installed in an office, a factory, a warehouse, etc. instead of the consumer's house, and another device is installed instead of the measuring instrument 211-i. You may. Each wireless terminal may be operated by electric power supplied from an external power source other than a battery.

The format of the wireless communication packet shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is only an example, and the sizes of the MAC header, MAC data, and the check code may be different sizes. Similarly, the sizes of Sq-No, Di-RNO, Sy-RNO, So-RNO, and L-Con may be different sizes.

For example, the sizes of Di-RNO, Sy-RNO, and So-RNO in FIG. 4 can be set to 3 bits, 34 bits, and 3 bits, respectively. It is also possible to set the sizes of the Di-RNO, Sy-RNO, and So-RNO of FIG. 4 to 6 bits, 28 bits, and 6 bits, respectively.

The configuration of the wireless slave unit 212-i in FIG. 5 and the home master unit 221-i in FIG. 6 is only an example, and some components may be omitted or changed depending on the use or conditions of the wireless communication system. Good. For example, when the wireless slave unit 212-i and the home master unit 221-i share the antenna 511, the home master unit 221-i in FIG. 6 can be omitted.

The operation sequences shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 are merely examples, and some procedures may be omitted or changed depending on the configuration or conditions of the wireless communication system. For example, when the home master unit 221-i of FIG. 6 is omitted, the procedure 704 of FIG. 7 and the procedure 803 of FIG. 8 can be omitted.

The configuration of the information processing device shown in FIG. 11 is only an example, and some components may be omitted or changed depending on the use or conditions of the wireless communication device 101, the wireless slave unit 212-i, and the home master unit 221-i. You may. The control unit 112 of FIG. 1, the control unit 513 of FIG. 5, and the control unit 613 of FIG. 6 can be implemented as a hardware circuit such as an integrated circuit.

Although the embodiments of the disclosure and their advantages have been described in detail, those skilled in the art can make various changes, additions and omissions without departing from the scope of the invention clearly stated in the claims. Let's do it.

101 Wireless communication device 111 Wireless communication unit 112 Control unit 201 NCU
202 Wireless master unit 211-1 to 211-3 Measuring instrument 212-1 to 212-3 Wireless slave unit 221-1 to 221-3 Home master unit 2221-222-3 Equipment 223-1 to 223-3 Home child Machine 231 Wireless network 2321-2232-3 Home wireless network 511, 611 Antenna 512, 612 Wireless communication circuit 513, 613 Control unit 1101 CPU
1102 memory

Claims (8)

The second wireless network communicates with a first wireless terminal in the first wireless network via the first wireless network, and via a second wireless network having a wireless area narrower than the wireless area of the first wireless network. The wireless communication unit that communicates with the second wireless terminal in the
The wireless communication unit communicates with the first wireless terminal by using the first network identification information indicating the first wireless network and the first device identification information indicating a device in the first wireless network, and the wireless communication unit communicates with the first wireless terminal. The wireless communication unit is controlled so as to communicate with the second wireless terminal by using the second network identification information indicating the second wireless network and the second device identification information indicating the device in the second wireless network. Equipped with a control unit
The number of bits of the second network identification information is larger than the number of bits of the first network identification information, and the number of bits of the second device identification information is smaller than the number of bits of the first device identification information. Wireless communication device. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit uses the first network identification information and the first device identification information to generate the second network identification information. The number of bits of the third device identification information indicating the first wireless terminal in the first wireless network is equal to the number of bits of the first device identification information, and indicates the second wireless terminal in the second wireless network. The number of bits of the fourth device identification information is equal to the number of bits of the second device identification information, and the number of bits of the first network identification information, the number of bits of the first device identification information, and the bits of the third device identification information. Claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the sum with the number is equal to the sum of the number of bits of the second network identification information, the number of bits of the second device identification information, and the number of bits of the fourth device identification information. The described wireless communication device. When the control unit receives the first wireless communication packet including the second network identification information, the second device identification information, and event information indicating a predetermined event from the second wireless terminal, the first A second wireless communication packet including the 1 network identification information, the 1st device identification information, and the event information is generated.
The wireless communication according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless communication unit transmits the second wireless communication packet to the first wireless terminal via the first wireless network. apparatus. When the control unit receives the first wireless communication packet including the second network identification information, the second device identification information, and event information indicating a predetermined event from the second wireless terminal, the first 2 Generates a second wireless communication packet including network identification information, the second device identification information, and an instruction based on the event information.
Any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wireless communication unit transmits the second wireless communication packet to a third wireless terminal in the second wireless network via the second wireless network. The wireless communication device according to item 1. The control unit acquires measurement data from a measuring instrument that measures predetermined data, and generates a measurement data packet including the first network identification information, the first device identification information, and the measurement data.
The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the wireless communication unit transmits the measurement data packet to the first wireless terminal via the first wireless network. A wireless communication system including a wireless terminal in the first wireless network, a wireless communication device in the first wireless network, and a plurality of wireless terminals in the second wireless network.
The wireless communication device uses the first network identification information indicating the first wireless network and the first device identification information indicating a device in the first wireless network, and the first wireless communication device is used via the first wireless network. 1 Communicate with wireless terminals in the wireless network,
The wireless communication device uses the second network identification information indicating the second wireless network and the second device identification information indicating the device in the second wireless network, and uses the second device identification information indicating the second wireless network to the second wireless communication device. 2 Communicate with multiple wireless terminals in the wireless network,
The second radio network has a radio area narrower than the radio area of the first radio network.
The number of bits of the second network identification information is larger than the number of bits of the first network identification information.
A wireless communication system characterized in that the number of bits of the second device identification information is smaller than the number of bits of the first device identification information. A wireless communication method for performing wireless communication between a wireless terminal in the first wireless network, a wireless communication device in the first wireless network, and a plurality of wireless terminals in the second wireless network.
The wireless communication device uses the first network identification information indicating the first wireless network and the first device identification information indicating a device in the first wireless network, and the first wireless communication device is used via the first wireless network. 1 Communicate with wireless terminals in the wireless network,
The wireless communication device uses the second network identification information indicating the second wireless network and the second device identification information indicating the device in the second wireless network, and uses the second device identification information indicating the second wireless network to the second wireless communication device. 2 Communicate with multiple wireless terminals in the wireless network,
The second radio network has a radio area narrower than the radio area of the first radio network.
The number of bits of the second network identification information is larger than the number of bits of the first network identification information.
A wireless communication method characterized in that the number of bits of the second device identification information is smaller than the number of bits of the first device identification information.

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