JP2022074941A - Sensor unit and radio communication evaluation system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sensor unit and a radio communication evaluation system enabling a radio communication test of a sensor unit provided in a metal cabinet.SOLUTION: A sensor unit has a normal mode for transmitting the physical amount detected by a sensor, which is configured to detect a predetermined physical amount, as detected data to a higher device provided outside a metal cabinet, and a test mode for evaluating the radio communication function of the sensor unit. On the basis of an external control command received by radio communication, the normal mode is switched to the test mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

The present invention relates to a sensor unit and a wireless communication evaluation system.

To monitor the status of a rotating machine, it is common to attach a sensor such as an acceleration pickup to the surface layer (housing surface) of the rotating machine to detect vibration, but the sensor is located away from the vibration source such as bearings. Since it is provided, it is easily affected by the transmission system from the vibration source to the sensor installation position and disturbance. For example, a bearing with a wireless sensor that incorporates various sensors such as a vibration sensor, an acceleration sensor, a rotation sensor, and a temperature sensor and outputs data acquired by the various sensors by wireless communication has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1). Such a bearing with a wireless sensor is generally configured to eliminate the need for external power supply by supplying electric power generated by utilizing the rotation of a rotating machine.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-66433

In a configuration in which a sensor unit for wireless communication is incorporated in a metal housing of a rotating machine, it is necessary to efficiently extract radio waves from the inside of the metal housing of the rotating machine. However, inside the metal housing, so-called multipath fading occurs in which the radio wave intensity fluctuates drastically due to interference of radio waves passing through a plurality of different paths due to reflection, refraction, and scattering of radio waves. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange a hole for passing radio waves and a repeater at a position where radio waves can be efficiently transmitted and received. In addition, rotating machines incorporating a sensor unit comply with wireless communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and are certified by the certification system stipulated in radio wave-related laws and regulations. There is a need.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sensor unit and a wireless communication evaluation system that enable a wireless communication test of a sensor unit provided in a metal housing. ..

In order to achieve the above object, the sensor unit according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a sensor unit provided inside the metal housing and wirelessly communicating with a device provided outside the metal housing. A sensor for detecting a predetermined physical quantity, an antenna for performing wireless communication, and a control unit for transmitting the physical quantity detected by the sensor as detection data via the antenna are provided, and the detection data is transmitted to the metal. It has a normal mode for transmitting to a host device provided outside the housing and a test mode for evaluating the wireless communication function of the sensor unit, and the control unit receives a control command from the outside by wireless communication. Based on this, the normal mode is switched to the test mode.

According to the above configuration, a wireless communication test of a sensor unit provided in a metal housing becomes possible.

As a desirable embodiment of the sensor unit, it is preferable that the control unit switches to the normal mode after a predetermined time has elapsed from the transition to the test mode.

As a result, the test mode can be automatically returned to the normal mode.

In order to achieve the above object, the wireless communication evaluation system according to one aspect of the present invention is a wireless communication evaluation system of a device in which a sensor unit for performing wireless communication is provided inside a metal housing, and the sensor unit. Has a normal mode for transmitting detection data to a host device provided outside the metal housing and a test mode for evaluating the wireless communication function of the sensor unit, and the sensor unit has wireless communication from the outside. The mode is switched from the normal mode to the test mode based on the control command received by.

According to the above configuration, a wireless communication test of a sensor unit provided in a metal housing becomes possible.

As a desirable embodiment of the wireless communication evaluation system, it is preferable that the sensor unit is switched to the normal mode after a predetermined time has elapsed from the transition to the test mode.

As a result, the sensor unit can automatically return from the test mode to the normal mode.

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a sensor unit and a wireless communication evaluation system that enable a wireless communication test of a sensor unit provided in a metal housing.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bearing with a sensor unit. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the bearing with the sensor unit. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the bearing with the sensor unit. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration example of the cover and the coil substrate. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a rotary shaft, a bearing with a sensor, and a housing. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit of the sensor unit according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a motor including a bearing with a sensor unit. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a speed reducer provided with a bearing with a sensor unit. FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an example in which a slit is provided in a metal housing as a first example of a radio wave passing means. FIG. 10 is a front view of the slit shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing an example in which a repeater is provided as a second example of the radio wave passing means. FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing an example of a configuration of a repeater. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an outline of the mode switching process in the sensor unit and the wireless communication evaluation system according to the embodiment.

An embodiment (embodiment) for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiments. In addition, the components described below include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art and those that are substantially the same. Furthermore, the components described below can be combined as appropriate.

First, a bearing with a sensor unit will be described as an example to which the sensor unit according to the embodiment is applied.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bearing with a sensor unit. 2 and 3 are exploded perspective views of the bearing with the sensor unit. FIG. 2 is a view of the bearing 100 with a sensor unit as viewed from the cover 10 side, and FIG. 3 is a view of the bearing 100 with a sensor unit as viewed from the bearing 120 side. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the bearing 100 with a sensor unit includes a sensor unit 110 and a bearing 120. A sensor unit 110 is attached to one side surface of the bearing 120. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the sensor unit 110 includes a cover 10, a coil board 20 (power generation coil, parts), a magnet 31, a spacer 33, a circuit board 40, a sealing material 60, and will be described later. A retainer 50 (see FIG. 5) is provided.

The cover 10 has a ring-shaped top plate 12 and a tubular side plate 11 provided on the outer periphery of the top plate 12. The cover 10 is made of a magnetic material such as silicon steel plate, carbon steel (JIS standard SS400 or S45C), martensitic stainless steel (JIS standard SUS420) or ferritic stainless steel (JIS standard SUS430).

As shown in FIG. 3, the circuit board 40 and the coil board 20 are attached to the back surface 12a of the top plate 12. Here, the back surface 12a is the second surface on the side facing the bearing 120. The surface 12d of the top plate 12 described with reference to FIG. 5 to be described later is the first surface. The circuit board 40 has a power supply board 41 and a sensor board 42. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a bolt 19B made of a non-magnetic material such as brass is fastened to a female screw hole formed in the top plate 12, so that the power supply board 41 and the sensor board 42 are attached to the top plate 12. It is fixed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bolt 19B has a length that does not protrude from the cover 10 when attached to the cover 10.

Further, the cover 10 is provided with a through hole. The through hole is sealed with a non-magnetic lid 17 made of a non-magnetic material such as resin. As will be described later, the antenna 47 (see FIG. 4) is mounted on the sensor substrate 42.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration example of the cover and the coil substrate. As shown in FIG. 4, a power supply board 41 and a sensor board 42 are attached to the back surface 12a of the top plate 12. The power supply board 41 and the sensor board 42 are located between the side plate 11 and the coil board 20 in a plan view. A power supply unit 43 is mounted on the power supply board 41. A power generation unit is composed of a coil substrate 20 and a magnet 31. The power supply unit 43 converts the single-phase AC power supplied from the power generation unit into a DC voltage and supplies it to the sensor board 42.

A sensor 44, a control unit 45, and an antenna 47 are mounted on the sensor board 42. The DC power from the power supply unit 43 is supplied to the sensor 44 and the control unit 45. The sensor 44, the control unit 45, and the antenna 47 may be composed of separate IC (Integrated Circuit) chips, or a part or all of them may be composed of one IC chip. Further, the sensor 44 has, for example, an acceleration sensor 441, a temperature sensor 442, and an angle sensor 443.

As shown in FIG. 4, the coil substrate 20 has a flexible substrate 21, a coil pattern 23 provided on the flexible substrate 21, and a plurality of yokes 25 provided on the flexible substrate 21. The shape of the flexible substrate 21 in a plan view is a perfect circular ring centered on the axis Ax. The coil pattern 23 has a plurality of planar coils laminated in the thickness direction of the flexible substrate 21. The flat coil is a pattern of a conductor provided by patterning on a predetermined surface of an insulator. In this embodiment, the conductor pattern is formed on a plurality of surfaces of the insulator. Not limited to this, a pattern of the conductor may be formed on one surface of the insulator.

As shown in FIG. 4, both ends of the coil pattern 23 are connected to the power supply board 41 via the lead wire 16. In this embodiment, the connection between the coil pattern 23 and the power supply board 41 may be made via an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit) connector instead of the lead wire 16. Alternatively, the coil board 20 may be extended and directly connected to the power supply board 41. In the connection using the FPC connector, soldering is not required, so that the productivity of the sensor unit 110 can be further improved.

As shown in FIG. 4, the coil pattern 23 has a plurality of first conductive portions 231 and a plurality of second conductive portions 232. The first conductive portion 231 extends in the circumferential direction of a circle centered on the axial center Ax. The second conductive portion 232 extends in the radial direction of the circle centered on the axial center Ax. The first conductive portion 231 and the second conductive portion 232 are alternately connected in series.

The yoke 25 has a first yoke 25A located on one side of the first conductive portion 231 and a second yoke 25B located on the other side of the first conductive portion 231 in a plan view. For example, the first yoke 25A is located on the side farther from the axis Ax than the first conductive portion 231. The second yoke 25B is located closer to the axis Ax than the first conductive portion 231. However, the distance between the first yoke 25A and the axial center Ax and the distance between the second yoke 25B and the axial center Ax are the same length as each other.

For example, the coil pattern 23 is extended so that irregularities are alternately arranged along the circumferential direction of a circle centered on the axis Ax in a plan view. One yoke 25 is arranged in each of the concave portions 233 of the unevenness.

The magnet 31 is an encoder magnet in which a magnetic track and a base material are integrated. For example, an encoder magnet is formed by forming a plastic magnet on one surface of a metal base material and alternately magnetizing N poles and S poles on the surface of the formed plastic magnet.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a rotary shaft, a bearing with a sensor unit, and a housing.

The bearing unit 1 includes a rotary shaft 70 and a bearing 100 with a sensor unit (see FIGS. 1 to 3). The bearing 100 with a sensor unit has a bearing 120 and a sensor unit 110. Further, the sensor unit 110 is provided between the bearing 120 and the large diameter portion 71. The bearing 120 supports the small diameter portion 72 of the rotary shaft 70.

The rotary shaft 70 can rotate about the axis Ax. The rotary shaft 70 has a large diameter portion 71 and a small diameter portion 72. The small diameter portion 72 has a smaller outer diameter than the large diameter portion 71. Therefore, the outer peripheral surface 72a of the small diameter portion 72 is located radially inside the outer peripheral surface 71a of the large diameter portion 71. A first wall 71b is provided at the boundary between the outer peripheral surface 71a of the large diameter portion 71 and the outer peripheral surface 72a of the small diameter portion 72. The first wall 71b connects the edge on the outer peripheral surface 71a of the large diameter portion 71 on the small diameter portion 72 side and the edge on the outer peripheral surface 72a of the small diameter portion 72 on the large diameter portion 71 side. The first wall 71b is a flat wall extending in the radial direction.

The housing 80 is arranged radially outside the rotary shaft 70 so as to be separated from the rotary shaft 70. The housing 80 has an inner peripheral surface 80a and a vertical wall surface 80b. The inner peripheral surface 80a extends in the circumferential direction about the axial center Ax. The vertical wall surface 80b extends in the radial direction. The housing 80 is a case (housing) provided in various equipment such as a machine tool.

The bearing 120 has an outer ring 122, an inner ring 121, and a rolling element 123.

The outer ring 122 has an outer peripheral surface 122a, an inner peripheral surface 122b, an outer wall 122c, and an inner side wall 122d. The outer peripheral surface 122a and the inner peripheral surface 122b extend in the circumferential direction about the axial center Ax. The outer side wall 122c and the inner side wall 122d are flat walls extending in the radial direction. A notch 122e is provided at a corner between the outer side wall 122c and the inner peripheral surface 122b. A notch 122f is provided at the corner of the inner side wall 122d and the inner peripheral surface 122b.

The inner ring 121 has an outer peripheral surface 121b (diameter outer end), an inner peripheral surface 121a, an outer wall 121c, and an inner side wall 121d. The corner portion between the inner peripheral surface 121a and the outer wall 121c has the shape of a curved portion 121g curved in an arc shape. The outer peripheral surface 121b and the inner peripheral surface 121a extend in the circumferential direction about the axial center Ax. The outer side wall 121c and the inner side wall 121d are flat walls extending in the radial direction. A notch 121e is provided at the corner of the outer side wall 121c and the outer peripheral surface 121b. A notch 121f is provided at the corner of the inner side wall 121d and the outer peripheral surface 121b. The rolling element 123 is provided between the outer ring 122 and the inner ring 121. Further, the outer peripheral end portion of the sealing material 60 is inserted into the notch portion 122e and fixed to the outer ring 122 via an adhesive. The outer peripheral end portion of the sealing material 61 is inserted into the notch portion 122f and fixed to the outer ring 122 via an adhesive.

As described above, the cover 10 has a top plate 12 and a side plate 11. The coil board 20 and the circuit board 40 are fixed to the back surface 12a of the top plate 12. Specifically, on the back surface 12a, the coil board 20 is located at the end on the inner side in the radial direction, and the circuit board 40 is located on the outer side in the radial direction from the coil board 20. Further, the radial inner end portion of the top plate 12 is a thick portion having a larger plate thickness than the radial outer portion. That is, the back surface 12a of the radial inner end portion protrudes toward the bearing 120 side from the back surface 12a of the radial outer portion. The coil substrate 20 is fixed to the back surface 12a of the thick portion provided at the inner end in the radial direction. The coil substrate 20 is fixed, for example, via an adhesive. In the present disclosure, the inner end portion in the radial direction may be a thinner portion than the outer portion in the radial direction. That is, the back surface 12a of the radial inner end portion may be recessed on the opposite side of the bearing 120 from the back surface 12a of the radial outer portion to form a recess. In this case, the coil substrate 20 is positioned with respect to the top plate 12 by being fitted into the recess, and the back surface 12a of the top plate 12 and the front surface of the coil substrate 20 are substantially flush with each other. Further, the radial inner end 12b of the cover 10 is located radially inside the outer peripheral surface 71a of the large diameter portion 71. The radially inner end edge of the radially inner end 10a of the cover 10 is the radially inner end 12b. The surface 12d of the radial inner end 10a of the cover 10 and the first wall 71b are separated along the axial direction. The cover 10 is also referred to as an outer ring spacer.

The retainer 50, the magnet 31 and the spacer 33 are sandwiched and fixed in the axial direction by the inner ring 121 of the bearing 120 and the rotating shaft 70. The retainer 50 is also referred to as an inner ring spacer.

The side plate 11 of the cover 10 and the outer ring 122 are axially sandwiched between the vertical wall surface 80b of the housing 80 and the fixing member 81. The upper end portion 12c of the surface 12d of the top plate 12 is pressed in the axial direction by the fixing member 81. That is, the outer ring 122 is axially pressed by the vertical wall surface 80b, the fixing member 81, and the side plate 11, and is fixed to the housing 80. As a result, the rolling element 123 rolls, so that the outer ring 122 and the inner ring 121 rotate relatively.

Since the outer ring 122 and the cover 10 are fixed to the housing 80, the outer ring 122 does not rotate, and the inner ring 121, the retainer 50, the magnet 31 and the spacer 33 rotate integrally with the rotating shaft 70. Further, since the coil board 20 and the magnet 31 are arranged so as to face each other in the axial direction, power generation is performed by the relative rotation of the coil board 20 and the magnet 31.

Hereinafter, the sensor unit 110 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit of the sensor unit according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 45 includes a processing unit 451, a storage unit 452, and a communication circuit 453. The control unit 45 operates using the DC power supplied from the power supply unit 43.

The processing unit 451 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The storage unit 452 is composed of, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory). The processing unit 451 realizes various functions by executing a program stored in the ROM while using the RAM as a work area.

The processing unit 451 has a function of converting various data detected by the sensor 44 from analog data to digital data (for example, A / D conversion) and storing the data in the storage unit 452. Further, the control unit 45 has a communication circuit 453 that transmits digital data stored in the storage unit 452 to the outside via the antenna 47.

In the present disclosure, the storage unit 452 has a function of storing setting items and programs in the test mode described later. As will be described later, the processing unit 451 has a function of reading out setting items and programs for the test mode based on a control command from the outside and operating the sensor unit 110 in the test mode.

The digital data transmitted from the sensor unit 110 is received by the communication unit 151 of the host device 150 shown in FIG. The digital data received by the communication unit 151 is processed by the computer 152. As described above, the bearing 100 with the sensor unit can transmit digital data wirelessly, so that the size can be reduced.

Hereinafter, a specific structural example of a rotating device using the bearing 100 with a sensor unit described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a motor including a bearing with a sensor unit.

As shown in FIG. 7, the motor 500 provided with the bearing 100 with a sensor unit includes a housing (metal housing) 510, a rotor 520, a stator 530, and an output shaft 540 as a basic configuration.

The rotor 520 and the output shaft 540 are rotatably held relative to the housing 510 and the stator 530 of the motor 500. The bearing 100 with a sensor unit is provided on the load side of the output shaft 540 to which the rotation control target 200 (hereinafter, also referred to as “load”) of the motor 500 is mechanically connected. In the present embodiment, the rotation control target 200 of the motor 500 is, for example, a rotating machine such as a pump or a speed reducer.

The sensor unit 110 is provided inside the rotation axis Ax direction of the bearing 120 on the load side. The antenna 47 of the sensor unit 110 is arranged so that the radiation direction of the radio wave is directed inward in the Ax direction of the rotation axis. The antenna 47 of the sensor unit 110 is composed of, for example, any one of a pattern antenna, a microstrip patch antenna, and a chip antenna.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a speed reducer provided with a bearing with a sensor unit.

As shown in FIG. 8, the speed reducer 700 provided with the bearing 100 with a sensor unit includes a housing (metal housing) 710, an output shaft 740, and a gear 750 as a basic configuration. In FIG. 8, one gear 750 provided on the output shaft 740 is shown among the plurality of gears constituting the speed reducer 700, but the number of gears is not limited to this.

The gear 750 and the output shaft 740 are rotatably held relative to the housing 710 of the reducer 700. The bearing 100 with a sensor unit is provided on the load side of the output shaft 740 to which the rotation control target 300 (hereinafter, also referred to as “load”) of the speed reducer 700 is mechanically connected.

The sensor unit 110 is provided inside the rotation axis Ax direction of the bearing 120. The antenna 47 of the sensor unit 110 is arranged so that the radiation direction of the radio wave is directed inward in the Ax direction of the rotation axis.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the arrangement of the sensor unit 110 inside the metal housing of the rotary machine is limited by the structure inside the metal housing. In addition, it is necessary to efficiently extract radio waves from the inside of the metal housing of such a rotating machine. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a radio wave passing means such as a hole for passing radio waves and a repeater in the metal housing.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an example in which a slit is provided in a metal housing as a first example of a radio wave passing means. FIG. 10 is a front view of the slit shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the normal mode, the communication circuit 453 of the sensor unit 110 provided inside the metal housing 1002 of the rotary machine 1001 (for example, the motor 500 or the speed reducer 700) and the outside of the metal housing 1002. Wireless communication is performed with the communication unit 151 provided via the slit 1005 that functions as a slot antenna. In the test mode, wireless communication is performed between the communication unit 1004 of the external device 1003 and the communication circuit of the sensor unit 110 via the slit 1005.

As the sensor 44 of the sensor unit 110, for example, at least one of the above-mentioned acceleration sensor 441, temperature sensor 442, angle sensor 443, and other various sensors for measuring physical quantities is exemplified. The present disclosure is not limited by the configuration of the sensor 44.

Examples of the communication standard between the communication circuit 453 and the communication unit 151 or the communication standard between the communication circuit 453 and the communication unit 1004 include Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi (registered trademark). ..

In the present embodiment, the metal housing 1002 is provided with a slit 1005 (groove hole) surrounded by the metal housing 1002 as a means for passing radio waves. The opening of the slit 1005 is preferably in a mode in which a resin such as engineering plastic is embedded in order to prevent foreign matter from entering the inside of the metal housing 1002.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing an example in which a repeater is provided as a second example of the radio wave passing means. FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing an example of a configuration of a repeater.

FIG. 11 illustrates a configuration in which wireless communication is relayed by a repeater 1006 instead of the slit 1005 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, in the normal mode, wireless communication is performed between the communication circuit 453 of the sensor unit 110 and the communication unit 151 via the repeater 1006. In the test mode, wireless communication is performed between the communication unit 1004 of the external device 1003 and the communication circuit of the sensor unit 110 via the repeater 1006.

As shown in FIG. 12, the repeater 1006 has an antenna 1062 provided inside the metal housing 1002a (left side in the figure) and an antenna 1063 provided outside the metal housing 1002a (right side in the figure). And have. The antenna 1062 and the antenna 1063 are electrically connected by a coaxial cable 1061 via a hole provided in the metal housing 1002a. FIG. 12 shows an example in which the coaxial cable 1061 is used as a component for electrically connecting the antenna 1062 and the antenna 1063, but the present invention is not limited to this. The component that electrically connects the antenna 1062 and the antenna 1063 may be, for example, a connector such as a coaxial connector that is inserted into a hole provided in the metal housing 1002a.

The coaxial cable 1061 includes a terminal 1061a provided on the inner side of the metal housing 1002a and a terminal 1061b provided on the outer side of the metal housing 1002a. The antenna 1062 is connected to the terminal 1061a. The antenna 1063 is connected to the terminal 1061b.

When the radio wave radiated from the communication circuit 453 of the sensor unit 110 of the rotary machine 1001a reaches the antenna 1062 of the repeater 1006, it is re-radiated from the antenna 1063 of the repeater 1006 via the coaxial cable 1061.

In a specific structural example of a rotating machine as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, inside the metal housing, radio waves that have passed through a plurality of different paths interfere with each other due to reflection, refraction, and scattering of radio waves, resulting in intense radio wave intensity. Fluctuating, so-called multipath fading occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to provide radio wave passing means such as a hole for passing radio waves and a repeater at a position where radio waves can be efficiently transmitted and received.

In addition, the rotating machine incorporating the sensor unit must comply with wireless communication standards such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and must be certified by the certification system stipulated in the radio wave-related regulations.

Here, for example, in BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), DTM (Direct Test Mode) is defined as a test mode for performing an RF (Radio Frequency) test. The DTM includes, for example, a transmission packet type, a transmission payload, a packet transmission frequency, a transmission frequency channel, a transmission PHY, a transmission power, and the like as setting items of the device under test on the transmission side (corresponding to the communication circuit 453 in the present embodiment). ..

In DTM, it is generally necessary to connect the setting device and the device under test by wire with a serial cable, USB cable, etc. to make settings for DTM, and give instructions to start and stop DTM data transmission / reception. In the specific structural example of the rotating machine as shown in 7 and 8, it is difficult to provide wiring for connecting the setting device and the signal generator by wire in the configuration in which the sensor unit is provided inside the metal housing. Is. In addition, the wiring functions as an antenna, which may affect the test results.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the sensor unit 110 is provided with a test mode for evaluating the wireless communication function, and for example, a physical quantity detected by the sensor 44 based on a control command by wireless communication from an external device such as a command transmitter. Is transmitted as detection data to the host device 150 provided outside the metal housing, and the normal mode is switched to the test mode.

Hereinafter, the mode switching process of the sensor unit and the wireless communication evaluation system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an outline of the mode switching process in the sensor unit and the wireless communication evaluation system according to the embodiment. As a prerequisite for the mode switching process shown in FIG. 13, the sensor unit 110 is assumed to be operating in the normal mode. Further, in the present disclosure, the test mode is not limited to DTM in BLE.

When the control signal for shifting from the normal mode to the test mode is received from the external device 1003 (step S101), the processing unit 451 of the control unit 45 reads out the setting items and the program in the test mode from the storage unit 452 (step S102). ), Run the program for test mode. As a result, the sensor unit 110 shifts from the normal mode to the test mode (step S103).

The processing unit 451 of the control unit 45 determines whether or not a predetermined predetermined time (for example, 10 sec) has elapsed based on the count value after shifting to the test mode (step S104). If the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S104; No), the processing unit 451 of the control unit 45 repeats the processing of step S104 until the predetermined time elapses.

When the predetermined time elapses (step S104; Yes), the processing unit 451 of the control unit 45 shifts from the test mode to the normal mode (step S105), and ends the mode switching process.

This enables a wireless communication test of the sensor unit 110 provided in the metal housing. Therefore, for example, it is possible to efficiently study the arrangement of radio wave passing means (slot antenna, repeater, etc.) provided in the metal housing of the rotating machine. In addition, the radio wave method certification test of the rotating machine incorporating the sensor unit 110 becomes easy.

In the above-described embodiment, an example of shifting from the test mode to the normal mode after a predetermined time has elapsed from the transition to the test mode has been shown, but the predetermined time from the transition to the test mode to the return to the normal mode is the predetermined time. It may be a mode specified by a control signal from the external device 1003, or a mode stored in advance as a setting item in the control unit 45. Further, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the mode may be such that after shifting to the test mode, the predetermined wireless communication function is evaluated and then the normal mode is returned.

The figures used above are conceptual diagrams for qualitatively explaining the present disclosure, and are not limited thereto. Further, the above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be carried out without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

1 Bearing unit 10 Cover 20 Coil board 31 Magnet 33 Spacer 40 Circuit board 41 Power supply board 42 Sensor board 43 Power supply unit 44 Sensor 45 Control unit 47 Antenna 50 Retainer 70 Rotating shaft 80 Housing 100 Sensor unit with bearing 110 Sensor unit 120 Bearing 121 Inner ring 122 Outer ring 123 Rolling element 150 Upper device 151 Communication unit 152 Computer 200 Rotation control target 300 Rotation control target 441 Acceleration sensor 442 Temperature sensor 443 Angle sensor 500 Motor 510 Housing (metal housing)
520 Rotor 530 Stator 540 Output shaft 700 Reducer 710 Housing (metal housing)
740 Output shaft 750 Gear 1001,1001a Rotating machine 1002,1002a Metal housing 1003 External device 1004 Communication unit 1005 Slit (slot antenna)
1006 Repeater 1061 Coaxial cable 1061a, 1061b terminal (coaxial cable)
1062 antenna 1063 antenna

Claims (4)

A sensor unit provided inside a metal housing and performing wireless communication with a device provided outside the metal housing.
A sensor that detects a predetermined physical quantity and
An antenna for wireless communication and
A control unit that transmits physical quantities detected by the sensor as detection data via the antenna.
Equipped with
A normal mode in which the detection data is transmitted to a host device provided outside the metal housing, and a normal mode.
A test mode for evaluating the wireless communication function of the sensor unit and
Have,
The control unit
Switching from the normal mode to the test mode based on a control command received from the outside by wireless communication.
Sensor unit. The control unit
After a predetermined time has elapsed from the transition to the test mode, the normal mode is switched to.
The sensor unit according to claim 1. A sensor unit that performs wireless communication is a wireless communication evaluation system for equipment provided inside a metal housing.
A normal mode in which the sensor unit transmits detection data to a host device provided outside the metal housing, and a normal mode.
A test mode for evaluating the wireless communication function of the sensor unit and
Have,
The sensor unit is
Switching from the normal mode to the test mode based on a control command received from the outside by wireless communication.
Wireless communication evaluation system. The sensor unit is
After a predetermined time has elapsed from the transition to the test mode, the normal mode is switched to.
The wireless communication evaluation system according to claim 3.

Images