JP2024049629A - Wireless communication system and wireless communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a wireless communication system and wireless communication method that can facilitate communication with a large number of terminal devices. [Solution] The wireless communication system includes a plurality of terminal devices 20 that transmit information, a relay device 30 that wirelessly communicates with the terminal devices 20 to collect information, and a management device that receives the collected information from the terminal devices 20 via the relay device 30 as management data. The relay device 30 transmits advertisements by simultaneous transmission at predetermined time intervals and waits for a connection request from the terminal devices 20. The terminal devices 20 receive advertisements at intervals that are at least a scan period during which wireless signals from the relay device 30 can be received, and that are at least a scan period set to the advertisement transmission interval and that is equal to the time obtained by multiplying the number of connected devices by the time of the scan period. [Selected Figure] Figure 6

Description

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system and a wireless communication method that includes multiple terminal devices that transmit information and an information communication device that collects information by wirelessly communicating with the terminal devices.

A system is known in which multiple terminal devices are attached to managed objects, and information from the managed objects is received via wireless communication to monitor the managed objects (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The communication system, communication device, and communication system setting change method described in Patent Document 1 include a slave unit that collects data from various sensors such as a real-time clock (RTC) that acquires time information, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that acquires position information from artificial satellites, an acceleration sensor, a temperature and humidity sensor, an air pressure sensor, and an illuminance sensor, a master unit that collects data from the slave unit, and a server that collects data from the master unit.

Patent Document 1 describes that the communication between the handset and the parent unit has the function of wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), specific low-power radio or mobile phone line, or other wireless communication, and is preferably Bluetooth (including Bluetooth Low Energy) or specific low-power radio (IEEE802.15.4 compliant), and can be a low-speed wireless communication unit that communicates with the parent unit.

In addition, the technology described in Patent Document 2 is known for communicating with multiple terminal devices simultaneously when connecting via BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy).

The communication device, communication device control method, and program described in Patent Document 2 are such that, after an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) establishes a BLE connection with any mobile terminal, it operates by switching between peripheral, central, and advertiser operating modes in a time-division manner, and when the MFP establishes a BLE connection with any mobile terminal and then establishes a BLE connection with another mobile terminal, the MFP establishes a BLE connection as a central, thereby enabling multiple mobile terminals and the MFP to establish BLE connections simultaneously.

JP 2020-198461 A JP 2019-103001 A

In the communication system, communication device, and communication system setting change method described in Patent Document 1, when sensor data is received from the child device, the processor of the parent device returns response (ACK) data to the child device via the first wireless communication unit. For example, in BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), when communication starts, the child device acting as a peripheral transmits a broadcast, and the broadcast continues until the parent device acting as a central receives and replies.

As a result, the child devices will continue to transmit until they connect to the parent device, so if there are a large number of child devices, the number of channels for transmitting will be limited, causing the transmissions to overlap and making it difficult to connect.

In addition, the method for changing the settings of a communication device and a communication system described in Patent Document 2 takes into consideration simultaneous connection to multiple mobile terminals, but does not take into consideration the connection of more than several hundred devices.

The present invention aims to provide a wireless communication system and a wireless communication method that can facilitate communication with multiple terminal devices.

The wireless communication system of the present invention comprises a plurality of terminal devices that transmit information, and an information communication device that wirelessly communicates with the terminal devices to collect information, and the information communication device transmits a connection waiting notification by simultaneous transmission at a predetermined time interval and waits for a connection request notification from the terminal devices, and the terminal device is capable of receiving wireless signals from the information communication device, receives the connection waiting notification at an interval that is at least a scan period set as an interval for transmitting the connection waiting notification, and connects to the information communication device and transmits information, at least at an interval that is the time obtained by multiplying the time of the scan period by the number of connected devices.

The wireless communication method of the wireless communication system of the present invention includes a plurality of terminal devices that transmit information, and an information communication device that wirelessly communicates with the terminal devices to collect information, and the information communication device transmits a connection waiting notification by simultaneous transmission at a predetermined time interval and waits for a connection request notification from the terminal devices, and the terminal device receives the connection waiting notification at an interval when the terminal device can receive a wireless signal from the information communication device and at least a scan period set as an interval for transmitting the connection waiting notification, which is at least a time obtained by multiplying the time of the scan period by the number of connected devices, connects to the information communication device, and transmits information.

According to the present invention, since the connection waiting notification is not sent from multiple terminal devices, but rather by the information communication device, multiple terminal devices do not send connection waiting notifications one after another. Furthermore, multiple terminal devices receive connection waiting notifications sent simultaneously from the information communication device during a scan period set to at least the transmission interval of the connection waiting notification. By setting this scan period to an interval of at least the time obtained by multiplying the scan period time by the number of connected devices, even if there are many terminal devices, it is possible to receive connection waiting notifications from the information communication device in order.

The terminal device is powered by a battery and comprises a communication means for wireless communication with the information and communication device, and a control means for controlling the communication means, wherein the communication means comprises a transmission means for transmitting a wireless signal to the information and communication device, a receiving means for receiving a wireless signal from the information and communication device, and a switch means for switching the power supply paths from the battery to the transmission means and the receiving means into a conductive or non-conductive state, and the control means can control the switch means to switch the receiving means into a conductive state and the transmitting means into a non-conductive state during the scanning period.
During the scanning period, the control means controls the switch means to bring the receiving means into a conductive state and the transmitting means into a non-conductive state, thereby reducing current consumption in the transmitting means and thereby lengthening the battery life.

The control means can control the switch means to place the receiving means in a non-conductive state and the transmitting means in a non-conductive state between the scanning periods.
During the period from the end of the scan period to the start of the next scan period, power supply to the receiving means and transmitting means is stopped, so that the power consumption of the terminal device during this period can be further reduced, thereby further extending the life of the battery.

After establishing communication with the information communication device, the terminal device transmits the collected information to the information communication device, and the information communication device transmits a sleep instruction to the terminal device, and the control means of the terminal device can, in response to the sleep instruction, put the receiving means into a non-powered state and the transmitting means into a non-powered state for a time based on the transmission interval of the information transmitted by the terminal device.
In this way, once the terminal device transmits the collected information to the information communication device, the receiving means and transmitting means are kept in a non-powered state during the transmission interval of the information transmitted by the terminal device, thereby reducing power consumption according to the transmission interval.

When the control means receives a first connection waiting notification via the receiving means during the scanning period, it continues to wait to receive a second connection waiting notification, and when the control means receives a second connection waiting notification during this scanning period, it is able to end the scanning period even during the scanning period.
By doing so, the scan period can be shortened ahead of schedule, which allows an increase in the number of connected terminal devices. Also, the scan period can be ended early even for reception, which consumes less power than transmission, which allows power consumption to be reduced.

When the control means receives a first connection waiting notification via the receiving means during the scanning period, it continues to wait to receive a second connection waiting notification, and when the control means is unable to receive the second connection waiting notification during this scanning period, it ends the scanning period and waits to receive the second connection waiting notification during the next scanning period.
By doing so, the probability that the scanning periods of other terminal devices will overlap can be reduced, so that each terminal device can be given an equal probability of receiving.

When the control means receives a first connection waiting notification via the receiving means during the scanning period, it continues to wait to receive a second connection waiting notification, and when the control means cannot receive the second connection waiting notification during this scanning period, it extends the scanning period and waits to receive the second connection waiting notification.
Since two connection waiting notifications can be received in one scan period, it is possible to reliably receive two connection waiting notifications. Also, since extending one scan period can be probabilistically shorter than the sum of two scan periods, the scan period can be shortened, so that the number of connected terminal devices can be increased and power consumption can be reduced.

The present invention can receive connection waiting notifications from information and communication devices in sequence even if there are many terminal devices, making it easier to establish communication with multiple terminal devices.

1 is a diagram showing a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 . 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a terminal device of the wireless communication system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a relay device of the wireless communication system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a management device of the wireless communication system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a communication operation between a terminal device and a relay device in the wireless communication system shown in FIG. 1 . 11 is a diagram for explaining a communication operation between a terminal device and a relay device in a wireless communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

(Embodiment 1)
A wireless communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The wireless communication system 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2 functions as a logistics management system that manages the location and route of luggage P that is transported by vehicle T between logistics centers DC (base locations) and delivered to a distribution warehouse (not shown), which is the final base location.

(Explanation of the configuration of a wireless communication system)
The wireless communication system 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2 includes a terminal device 20 that is transported together with the luggage P, a relay device 30 (information and communication device) installed at the logistics center DC and the distribution warehouse, a management device 40 installed at the management center C, an inquiry terminal 50 that is installed at the management center C or the company (not shown) that operates the management center C or is operated by the person requesting the transportation of the luggage P, and a management terminal 60 that is operated by an administrator who manages the management device 40.

The terminal device 20 and the relay device 30 communicate with each other using a wireless communication standard such as BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), which is an example of short-range communication.

The relay device 30 is connected to a communication network N so as to be able to communicate with the network, for example, using LTE (Long Term Evolution), a communication standard set by a telecommunications carrier, which is an example of long-distance communication, or 5G to 3G. The communication network N may be, for example, the Internet.

Next, the configuration of the terminal device 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
The terminal device 20 is a mobile device that is attached to the luggage P. As shown in Fig. 3, the terminal device 20 is provided with a battery B as a power source, and can be operated for a long period of time by the power supply from the battery B to each means.
The terminal device 20 includes a communication means 21 , a remaining amount measuring means 22 , a control means 23 , and a storage means 24 .

The communication means 21 can receive information from the relay device 30 via wireless communication and output it to the control means 23 , and can also input information from the control means 23 and transmit it to the relay device 30 .
The communication means 21 includes a transmitting means 21t for transmitting a wireless signal to the relay device 30, a receiving means 21r for receiving a wireless signal from the relay device 30, and switch means S1, S2 for switching the power supply paths from the battery B to the transmitting means 21t and the receiving means 21r between a powered state and a non-powered state.
The transmitting means 21t and the receiving means 21r are set by the control means 23 to an operating state in which they consume power when in a communication state, and to a non-operating state in which they do not consume power when in a non-communication state.

The remaining charge measuring means 22 has the function of measuring the remaining charge of battery B. The remaining charge of battery B can be measured using the voltage measurement method, the coulomb counter method, the battery cell modeling method, the impedance track method, etc.

The control means 23 has a function of controlling the communication means 21 to communicate with the relay device 30 according to the BLE procedure. The control means 23 transmits information from the remaining capacity measuring means 22 by the transmission means 21t. The control means 23 can switch the terminal device 20 between a "reception mode", a "transmission mode" and a "pause mode" by controlling the switch means S1, S2 that energize or de-energize the supply path from the battery B to the transmission means 21t and the reception means 21r.
Various data are stored in the storage means 24. For example, the storage means 24 stores identification information (hereinafter referred to as a center ID) of the relay device 30 with which communication has been previously performed, identification information (hereinafter referred to as a terminal ID) for identifying the terminal device 20, remaining amount information indicating the remaining battery amount, version information of the firmware operated by the control means 23, and the like.

Next, the configuration of the relay device 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
The relay device 30 is a fixed device that receives power from the electric light line of the logistics center DC (see FIG. 1). The relay device 30 collects information from the terminal devices 20 and transmits it to the management device 40. The relay device 30 is assumed to be connected to approximately 600 or more terminal devices 20.
The relay device 30 includes a first communication unit 31, a second communication unit 32, a communication control unit 33, and a storage unit .

The first communication means 31 has a function of communicating with the management device 40 via the base station or relay station and the network N under the control of the communication control means 33. The second communication means 32 has a function of communicating with the terminal device 20 under the control of the communication control means 33.

The communication control means 33 has a function of relaying information received from the terminal device 20 by the first communication means 31 to the management device 40 by the second communication means 32 .
Various data are stored in the storage unit 34. For example, the storage unit 34 stores management data from the terminal device 20, reception date and time data of the management data, and a center ID.

Next, the configuration of the management device 40 will be described with reference to FIG.
The management device 40 receives the information collected from the terminal devices 20 via the relay device 30 as management data.
The management device 40 includes a communication unit 41 , a control unit 42 , and a storage unit 43 .
The communication means 41 has a function of communicating with a communication network N via a router device (not shown). The communication means 41 may be, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) for communicating with the router device.

The control means 42 stores information received from the terminal device 20 via the relay device 30 in association with information stored in the storage means 43, and reads information from the storage means 43 and replies to inquiries.
The storage means 43 accumulates the management data collected from the terminal device 20 in association with identification information (hereinafter referred to as a parcel ID) for identifying the parcel P. The storage means 43 also stores the names of logistics centers corresponding to the center IDs.

Next, the inquiry terminal 50 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG.
The inquiry terminal 50 is communicatively connected to the communication network N. The inquiry terminal 50 has a function of obtaining confirmation of the delivery status of the package P from the management device 40.
The inquiry terminal 50 may be a desktop or notebook personal computer installed in a management center or a company that operates the management center. The inquiry terminal 50 may also be a smartphone operated by a person requesting transportation of the package P.

The inquiry terminal 50 has a function to operate a browser (browsing software) for browsing a site where the management device 40 provides delivery information, and a function to operate application software for inquiring the management device 40 about delivery information.
The management terminal 60 can be a desktop or notebook personal computer.
When an administrator operates a computer serving as the management terminal 60 to access the management device 40 and logs in to the management device 40, the administrator logs in using an ID with administrator authority, so that the computer functions as the management terminal 60. The management terminal 60 is capable of running a browser and application software in the same manner as the inquiry terminal 50.

(Explanation of the operation and use of the wireless communication system)
The operation and usage of the wireless communication system according to the first embodiment of the present invention configured as above will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the state before a connection is established in BLE, one device that is a parent device functions as a central, and multiple child devices located around this parent device function as peripherals. However, in the present embodiment 1, the parent device (relay device 30) arranged in the logistics center DC functions as a peripheral, and multiple terminal devices 20 delivered to this logistics center DC function as a central.

1, the terminal device 20 is attached to a package P, which is transported by a vehicle T. The package P is transported by the vehicle T through the logistics center DC.
In the distribution center DC, the relay device 30 is fixedly installed and operates as a peripheral. The communication control means 33 always transmits an advertisement, which is a connection waiting notification by broadcasting, via the second communication means 32.

Therefore, when the baggage P equipped with the terminal device 20 is being transported by the vehicle T, the baggage P is away from the relay device 30, and therefore the wireless signal from the relay device 30 does not reach the terminal device 20 (see step S10).
In order to receive a wireless signal (advertisement) from the relay device 30 at predetermined time intervals, the terminal device 20 waits for reception in a “reception mode” in which the transmitting means 21t is in an inoperative state and the receiving means 21r is in an operative state, as shown in FIG. 3.
In the "reception mode", the control means 23 sets the switch means S1 to a conducting state to enable power supply to the reception means 21r, and sets the switch means S2 to a non-conducting state to disable power supply to the transmission means 21t.
Therefore, the period during which the "reception mode" is in effect becomes the scanning period during which reception is possible (see step S20).

The basic time of the "receive mode" can be at least the transmission interval, which is the interval at which advertisements are transmitted, but can be, for example, the transmission interval + α. Therefore, it can be 0.020 seconds ≦ "receive mode" time ≦ 0.020 seconds + α.
A larger α increases the probability of receiving an advertisement, but if it is too large, there is a higher probability of overlapping with the “reception mode” of another terminal device 20, so it can be set to, for example, ¼ or less of the transmission interval.
In this embodiment 1, the interval at which advertisements are transmitted is 0.02 seconds, and α is 1/4 of the transmission interval, so that 0.020 seconds≦the time in “receiving mode”≦0.025 seconds (0.02 seconds + 0.02 seconds x 1/4).

Then, when the time has passed and the "receiving mode" has ended, the control means 23 switches the switch means S1 to a non-energized state to stop the supply of power to the receiving means 21r, thereby switching to a "pause mode" in which the supply of power to both the receiving means 21r and the transmitting means 21t is stopped (see step S30).
The time for the “sleep mode” (scan interval time) can be set based on the number of terminal devices 20 .
For example, when the number of terminal devices 20 connected to the relay device 30 is 300, the interval at which advertisements are transmitted is 0.025 seconds, so that the interval can be set to 600 devices x 0.025 seconds = 15 seconds. In the first embodiment, the scan interval time is set to 16 seconds by allowing for a margin of the number of connected devices, that is, 640 devices.

When a parcel P equipped with a terminal device 20 is brought into the logistics center DC, the wireless signal from the relay device 30 reaches the terminal device 20. As a result, the advertisement transmitted from the relay device 30 can be received by the terminal device 20.

During the scan period in "reception mode", the control means 23 receives an advertisement from the relay device 30 via the reception means 21r (see step S40). Then, the control means 23 prepares to send a connection request and continues to wait for the next advertisement from the relay device 30.

6, during one scan period, the second advertisement is received from the relay device 30. Then, the control means 23 switches the switch means S1 to a non-energized state and the switch means S2 to a power-on state, thereby changing to a "transmission mode" in which power supply to the receiving means 21r is disabled and power supply to the transmitting means 21t is enabled.
Therefore, when a second advertisement is received during this scan period, the scan period is ended even during the scan period, and by ending the scan period shorter than the basic time, the "receiving mode" ends and the "transmitting mode" begins (see step S50).
In this way, when the second advertisement is received, the scanning period ends even if it is still in the scanning period. Therefore, the scanning period can be shortened ahead of schedule, so that it is possible to increase the number of terminal devices 20 that can be connected and communicate with the relay device 30. Also, even if the power consumed by the receiving means 21r is less than that consumed by the transmitting means 21t, power consumption can be reduced by disabling power supply early.

Then, the control means 23 of the terminal device 20 transmits a connection request to the relay device 30 via the transmission means 21t (see step S60).

When the communication control means 33 of the relay device 30 receives a connection request from the terminal device 20 via the second communication means 32, a BLE connection is established, and data is sent and received with the terminal device 20 as the master and the relay device 30 as the slave (see step S70).

The management data transmitted from the terminal device 20 includes identification information of the relay device 30 with which communication was last performed (center ID identifying the logistics center passed through last time), the terminal ID, remaining battery charge information indicating the remaining battery charge as measured by the remaining battery charge measuring means 22, firmware version information, etc.
In the relay device 30 , the communication control means 33 stores the received management data in the storage means 34 .

When data transmission and reception between the terminal device 20 and the relay device 30 is completed, a notification indicating a sleep instruction is transmitted from the relay device 30 to the terminal device 20 (see step S80).
Sleep is a notification that instructs the terminal device 20 to be in "sleep mode". The sleep time is determined depending on the time interval at which the terminal device 20 transmits data. In the first embodiment, the "sleep mode" is set to eight minutes, but if the terminal device senses the surrounding conditions using a sensor and the surrounding conditions change from moment to moment, for example, it may be set to several minutes or tens of seconds. Therefore, the time for this sleep mode can be determined based on the transmission interval of the information transmitted by the terminal device 20.

In this way, once the terminal device 20 transmits the collected information to the relay device 30, the terminal device 20 can reduce power consumption according to the transmission interval by setting the receiving means 21r and the transmitting means 21t in a non-powered "pause mode" during the transmission interval of the information transmitted by the terminal device 20.

In the relay device 30 shown in FIG. 1, the communication control means 33 shown in FIG. 4 reads the management data stored in the storage means 34 and transmits it to the management device 40 via the first communication means 31.
In the management device 40 , when the control means 42 receives the management data from the relay devices 30 installed in each distribution center DC shown in FIG.
When the data is accumulated in the memory means 43, the management data collected from the terminal device 20 is stored in association with the baggage ID of the baggage P to which the terminal device 20 is attached.

In steps S40 and S50 shown in FIG. 6, two advertisements are received in one scanning period (reception mode). However, if the scanning period of the terminal device 20 has ended when the second advertisement is transmitted from the relay device 30 (see step S90), the second advertisement cannot be received, and the terminal device 20 will wait for the advertisement in the next scanning period (reception mode) after entering "pause mode" (see step S100).

As shown in FIG. 1, a sender of a package P or a recipient of a package P can inquire about the delivery status of the package P to the management device 40 by operating an inquiry terminal 50 .
When inquiring about the delivery status by operating the inquiry terminal 50, the inquiry terminal 50 transmits the parcel ID to be inquired about as an inquiry notice to the management device 40.

In the management device 40, when an inquiry notification is received via the communication means 41 shown in FIG. 5, the control means 42 reads the management data associated with the package ID from the storage means 43.
The control means 42 arranges the logistics center names corresponding to the center IDs (identification information for identifying the relay device 30) from the read management data in chronological order of the reception date and time data when the relay device 30 received the management data, and returns the order to the inquiry terminal 50 via the communication means 41.
This allows the inquiry terminal 50 to know to which logistics center DC the package P has been delivered.

In addition, the management device 40 uses the control means 42 to determine whether the remaining amount information measured by the remaining amount measuring means 22 of the terminal device 20 is less than the threshold value, and if the remaining amount is less than the threshold value, transmits the remaining amount information and center ID together with the terminal ID to the management terminal 60.

In this way, the terminal device 20 is in a scanning period during which it can receive advertisements from the relay device 30, and the scanning period is set to the advertisement transmission interval, and the terminal device 20 receives advertisements from the relay device 30 at an interval that is at least the scan period time multiplied by the number of connected devices.
For example, if a relay device is a central and a terminal device is a peripheral, many terminal devices will transmit advertisements simultaneously to the relay device, resulting in many cases of contention.
However, in this embodiment, by having relay device 30 transmit an advertisement, even though BLE allows only three channels for transmitting advertisements, a large number of terminal devices 20 do not transmit advertisements one after another, and therefore it is possible to avoid advertisement competition.
In addition, by setting the reception interval due to the scanning period set as the advertisement transmission interval of the terminal device 20 to a time obtained by multiplying the time of the scanning period by the number of connected devices, it is possible for each terminal device 20 to receive advertisements from the relay device 30 in sequence.
Therefore, the relay device 30 can easily connect communications with a large number of terminal devices 20 .

During the scanning period, power is supplied to the receiving means 21r, but power supply to the transmitting means 21t is stopped, and power supply to the receiving means 21r and the transmitting means 21t is stopped between scanning periods. This makes it possible to reduce current consumption in the transmitting means 21t, thereby extending the life of the battery, and thus making it possible to manage the route for not only one delivery of package P, but also multiple deliveries of package P.

Furthermore, when communication from the terminal device 20 to the relay device 30 is completed, the relay device 30 instructs the terminal device 20 to go to sleep, thereby stopping the supply of power to the receiving means 21r and the transmitting means 21t until the next management data is transmitted. Therefore, the power consumption of the terminal device 20 during this period can be further reduced, further extending the battery life.

In this embodiment, the scanning period of the terminal device 20 is a fixed time except for when the second advertisement is received and the device transitions to transmission mode. This reduces the probability that the scanning periods of other terminal devices 20 overlap, so that each terminal device 20 has an equal chance of receiving the advertisement.

(Embodiment 2)
Second Embodiment A wireless communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Note that the configurations of the wireless communication system 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2, the terminal device 20 shown in Figure 3, the relay device 30 shown in Figure 4, and the management device 40 shown in Figure 5 are the same as those in embodiment 1, so descriptions are omitted.

In the terminal device 20 according to embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 6, if the scanning period of the terminal device 20 has ended when the second advertisement is transmitted from the relay device 30 (see step S90), the second advertisement cannot be received, so the terminal device 20 waits for the next advertisement in "reception mode" after entering "pause mode" (see step S100).

As shown in FIG. 7, in the second embodiment, when the first advertisement is received during the scanning period (see step S110), preparation for sending a connection request is started and the scanning period is extended to wait for the second advertisement (see step S120).
By doing so, it is possible to receive two advertisements in one scan period, and therefore it is possible to reliably receive two advertisements. In addition, since it is possible to probabilistically make the period by extending one scan period shorter than the sum of two scan periods, it is possible to shorten the time in the reception mode, and therefore it is possible to increase the number of connected terminal devices and reduce power consumption.

In the first and second embodiments, BLE has been used as an example of wireless communication between the terminal device 20 and the relay device 30 (information communication device). However, the present invention is applicable to any wireless communication in which a connection waiting notification is transmitted from the information communication device to the terminal device at predetermined time intervals by broadcasting, and the terminal device receiving the connection waiting notification transmits a connection request notification back to the information communication device.
In addition, in the first embodiment, the terminal device 20 returns a connection request notification to the information communication device by receiving two advertisements, but the terminal device 20 may return a connection request notification by receiving one advertisement.

The present invention can collect information from multiple terminal devices through wireless communication, making it suitable for situations in which the terminal devices are equipped with various sensors or positioning means to obtain various information about the items worn by the terminal devices.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Wireless communication system 20 Terminal device 21 Communication means 21t Transmission means 21r Reception means 22 Remaining amount measuring means 23 Control means 24 Storage means 30 Relay device 31 First communication means 32 Second communication means 33 Communication control means 34 Storage means 40 Management device 41 Communication means 42 Control means 43 Storage means 50 Inquiry terminal 60 Management terminal B Battery C Management center DC Logistics center P Baggage T Vehicle N Communication network S1, S2 Switch means

Claims (8)

a plurality of terminal devices for transmitting information; and an information communication device for collecting information by wirelessly communicating with the terminal devices;
the information communication device transmits a connection waiting notification by broadcasting at a predetermined time interval and waits for a connection request notification from the terminal device;
The terminal device is capable of receiving wireless signals from the information communication device, and receives a connection waiting notification at an interval equal to at least the scan period set as the interval for sending the connection waiting notification, which is at least the time obtained by multiplying the time of the scan period by the number of connected devices, and connects to the information communication device and transmits information. the terminal device is powered by a battery and includes a communication means for wirelessly communicating with the information communication device, and a control means for controlling the communication means;
the communication means comprises a transmission means for transmitting a radio signal to the information communication device, a reception means for receiving a radio signal from the information communication device, and a switch means for switching between a power supply path from the battery to the transmission means and the reception means and a power supply path to each of the transmission means and the reception means;
2. The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls said switch means to bring said receiving means into a powered state and bring said transmitting means into a powered non-powered state during said scanning period. The wireless communication system according to claim 2, wherein the control means controls the switch means to de-energize the receiving means and the transmitting means between the scanning periods. the terminal device transmits collected information to the information communication device after establishing communication with the information communication device;
The information communication device transmits a sleep instruction to the terminal device;
3. The wireless communication system according to claim 2, wherein the control means of the terminal device, in response to a sleep instruction, puts the receiving means in a non-powered state and the transmitting means in a non-powered state for a time period based on the transmission interval of the information transmitted by the terminal device. The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the control means, when receiving a first connection waiting notification via the receiving means during the scanning period, continues to wait for a second connection waiting notification, and when receiving a second connection waiting notification during the scanning period, ends the scanning period even during the scanning period. The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the control means, when receiving a first connection waiting notification via the receiving means during the scanning period, continues to wait for a second connection waiting notification, and when the second connection waiting notification cannot be received even after the scanning period ends, ends the scanning period and waits for a second connection waiting notification during the next scanning period. The wireless communication system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the control means, when receiving a first connection waiting notification via the receiving means during the scanning period, continues to wait for a second connection waiting notification, and when the second connection waiting notification cannot be received during the scanning period, extends the scanning period and waits for a second connection waiting notification. a plurality of terminal devices for transmitting information; and an information communication device for collecting information by wirelessly communicating with the terminal devices;
the information communication device transmits a connection waiting notification by broadcasting at a predetermined time interval and waits for a connection request notification from the terminal device;
A wireless communication method for a wireless communication system in which the terminal device is capable of receiving a wireless signal from the information communication device, receives a connection waiting notification at an interval equal to at least the time obtained by multiplying the time of the scan period by the number of connected devices, connects to the information communication device, and transmits information, the terminal device being capable of receiving a wireless signal from the information communication device, and the connection waiting notification is received at an interval equal to at least the time obtained by multiplying the time of the scan period by the number of connected devices.

Images