JP4492607B2 - Multiple communication stand for information processing terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a multiple communication stand for an information processing terminal that communicates with an information processing terminal placed on a placement unit having a communication port.

As a communication table having a communication function, portable information reading is performed by performing infrared communication (IrDA) with a portable information reading terminal mounted on a mounting unit through a communication port including a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Some obtain information from terminals.
JP 2004-31535 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-192085

  In optical communication using a communication port, as shown in Patent Document 1, the light transmitting / receiving elements constituting the communication port (channel) are electrically integrated and cannot be received during transmission and cannot be transmitted during reception. Communication is performed by communication. For this reason, for example, in a multiple communication table where a plurality of portable reading information terminals can be placed, in order to communicate with a plurality of portable reading information terminals, a communication port including a plurality of light emitting elements and light receiving elements and It is necessary to prepare a modulation / demodulation circuit corresponding to the communication port (see Patent Document 2). Also, in the method of performing transmission and reception in a time-sharing manner, after waiting for a response from the portable reading information terminal, when communicating with a plurality of portable reading information terminals, the influence of the slow-response portable reading information terminal is affected. There is a problem that communication performance deteriorates.

  FIG. 8 shows communication processing in one communication port. As shown in FIG. 8, when the link has not been established (A1: NO), a link confirmation message is transmitted (A2). When the link has been confirmed and there is transmission data (A1: YES), a data message is transmitted. Then, after waiting for the completion of transmission (A4), the process shifts to transmission / reception switching wait (A5). Next, the process shifts to waiting for received data (A6), determines whether the reception is completed (A7) or times out (A8). When the reception is completed (A7: YES), the received data processing is executed (A11), When a time-out occurs (A8: YES), it is determined that there is no response (A9), and then the process proceeds to the next channel (A10), and the above-described operation is repeated.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of transmission / reception timings in the case of four channels that can communicate with four portable information reading terminals. As shown in FIG. 9, after transmission on channel 1, the system waits for reception, then transmits on channel 2, waits for reception, and similarly transmits on channel 3, channel 4 and waits for reception. Such transmission and reception operations from channel 1 to channel 4 are repeatedly executed. In this case, the response time of the entire four channels is (transmission time for one channel + transmission / reception switching time + 1 reception time for one channel) × 4, resulting in redundant operation and poor communication efficiency.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a multiple communication pedestal for information processing terminals capable of enhancing communication efficiency with an information processing terminal placed on a placement unit. There is.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the transmission channel selection means selects one of the transmission channels included in the plurality of communication ports provided corresponding to the placement unit as the transmission channel, and the reception channel selection means One of the reception channels included in the plurality of communication ports is selected by the transmission channel selection means as a reception channel. The communication control means executes in parallel transmission on the transmission channel selected by the transmission channel selection means and reception on the reception channel selected by the reception channel selection means. Thereby, since transmission and reception with respect to the information processing terminal are executed in parallel in different communication ports selected as the transmission channel and the reception channel, the communication efficiency can be improved.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the next transmission channel is selected after the transmission of the transmission data is completed, the transmission data is transmitted to the information processing terminal even when the transmission time of the transmission data is long. It can be transmitted reliably.

  According to the invention of claim 3, when transmission of transmission data to the information processing terminal is completed in the selected transmission channel, the reception channel of the communication port that has completed transmission of the transmission data is selected as a reception channel for next reception. As a result, the data received from the information processing terminal can be received quickly.

When transmission to the information processing terminal is completed, the reception channel of the communication port of the placement unit on which the information processing terminal is placed may not be selected at the time when a response to the completed transmission is returned In such a case, the reply that has been returned cannot be received and a failure occurs. In such a case, according to the invention of claim 4, the transmission channel selection means reselects the transmission channel of the communication port that has completed transmission of transmission data as the transmission channel after completion of reception of the other communication port. Since reception is performed subsequent to transmission on the reception channel that failed to receive the data, the reception data from the information processing terminal can be quickly received.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a four-station table will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a four-unit table, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a four-unit table showing a part thereof. 2 and 3, a four-station table (corresponding to a multiple communication table) 1 is formed of a non-translucent resin, and four portable information reading terminals (corresponding to information processing terminals) 2 are provided. Four mounting portions 3 that can be respectively mounted are formed in a state of being optically separated by the light shielding portion 4.

  The four-station table 1 performs infrared communication (IrDA) with the portable information reading terminal 2 in a state where the portable information reading terminal 2 is placed on the placement unit 3. The built-in battery is charged. In this case, data communication with the portable information reading terminal 2 is performed in a state in which the portable information reading terminal 2 is placed on the placement unit 3 and a communication window 3a (see FIG. 3). The portable information reading terminal 2 is charged through a charging terminal.

  The portable information reading terminal 2 is configured so that an operator can perform a reading operation such as a two-dimensional code or a barcode that is attached to a reading object by hand. The portable information reading terminal 2 can collect desired information such as inventory information or shipping information by reading a code, and the collected information is placed on the placement unit 3 of the four-column table 1. In this state, the data is transmitted to the 4-serial table 1 side through the communication window 2a.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the four-column table 1. In FIG. 1, a four-station table 1 includes a CPU (corresponding to communication control means) 5, a modulation / demodulation circuit 6, a transmission channel selection circuit (corresponding to transmission channel selection means) 7, and a reception channel selection circuit (corresponding to reception channel selection means). ) 8, a communication port 9, and a communication circuit 10.

  The modulation / demodulation circuit 6 has a full-duplex communication function capable of simultaneously executing the modulation operation and the demodulation operation, and is connected to the data terminal Dn of the CPU 5. The CPU 5 can transmit transmission data to the modulation / demodulation circuit 6 and can receive and process reception data from the modulation / demodulation circuit 6. The modem circuit 6 modulates the transmission data received from the CPU 5 and outputs it as a transmission signal to the transmission channel selection circuit 7, and demodulates the reception signal received from the reception channel selection circuit 8 and outputs it to the CPU 5 as reception data.

  The transmission channel selection circuit 7 is for selecting one of a plurality of transmission channels corresponding to the plurality of communication ports 9, and is composed of four AND circuits 7a to 7d. The AND circuits 7a to 7d correspond to channels 1 to 4, respectively, one input terminal is connected to the output terminal of the modem circuit 6, and the other input terminal is connected to the output ports T1 to T4 of the CPU 5, respectively. Yes.

  The reception channel selection circuit 8 is for selecting one of a plurality of reception channels corresponding to the plurality of communication ports 9 and is composed of four AND circuits 8a to 8d. The AND circuits 8a to 8d correspond to channels 1 to 4, respectively, one input terminal is connected to the output ports R1 to R4 of the CPU 5, and the output terminal is connected to the input terminal of the modem circuit 6.

  The communication port 9 is provided in the mounting part 3 corresponding to each of the 1st to 4th channels, and an infrared LED (corresponding to a light emitting element) 11 constituting a transmission channel and a photodiode (for a light receiving element) constituting a reception channel. Equivalent) 12. The infrared LED 11 and the photodiode 12 are electrically separated. A transmission channel selection circuit 7 is connected to each infrared LED 11 and a reception channel selection circuit 8 is connected to each photodiode 12. That is, the anode of the infrared LED 11 of each channel is connected to the output terminals of the AND circuits 7a to 7d constituting the transmission channel selection circuit 7, and the cathode of the infrared LED 11 is connected to the ground line. The anode of each photodiode 12 is connected to the other input terminal of each AND circuit 8a to 8d constituting the reception channel selection circuit 8, and the cathode is connected to the ground line.

The communication circuit 10 is connected to the CPU 5 and is connected to the host computer 14 on the higher level through the LAN 13, and performs data communication between the CPU 5 and the host computer 14.
As will be described later, the CPU 5 selects one transmission channel by the transmission channel selection circuit 7 and acquires from the portable information reading terminal 2 through the communication port 9 in a state where one reception channel is selected by the reception channel selection circuit 8. The transmitted data is transmitted to the host computer 14.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 5 of the four-station table 1. In FIG. 4, when the CPU 5 is driven by turning on the power, the CPU 5 sets the transmission channel and the reception channel to be different by executing initialization (B1).
FIG. 5 shows an example of the setting order of the transmission channel and the reception channel. As shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 5 sets 1 channel as a transmission channel and 4 channels as reception channels. That is, the CPU 5 sets the output port T1 corresponding to one channel set as the transmission channel to the high level and sets the output port R4 corresponding to the four channels set to the reception channel to the high level. Accordingly, only one input terminal of the AND circuit 7a corresponding to one channel among the AND circuits 7a to 7d constituting the transmission channel selection circuit 7 is set to the high level. Further, only one input terminal of the AND circuit 8d corresponding to four channels among the AND circuits 8a to 8d constituting the reception channel selection circuit 8 is set to the high level.

  Next, it is determined whether a link of one channel, which is a transmission channel, has been established and there is transmission data (B3). If the portable information reading terminal 2 is not placed on the placement unit 3 or if the portable information reading terminal 2 is placed but is preparing for communication, the link is not established. From (B3: NO), after transmitting the link confirmation message from the data port Dn (B4), the transmission is awaited for transmission completion on one channel as a transmission channel and the reception data is awaited on four channels as a reception channel ( B6).

  The link confirmation message transmitted from the data port Dn of the CPU 5 is output as a transmission signal to one input terminal of each of the AND circuits 7a to 7d after being modulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit 6, but an AND circuit corresponding to one channel. Since only the other input terminal of 7a is at the high level, a transmission signal is output from the output terminal of the AND circuit 7a only to the infrared LED 11 of the communication port 9 of the one channel, and the infrared LED 11 responds to the transmission signal. Lights on and off. Thereby, a transmission signal is transmitted to the portable information reading terminal 2 by infrared rays from the infrared LED 11 of the communication port provided in the placement unit 3 for one channel.

  At this time, if the portable information reading terminal 2 is not placed on the four-channel placement unit 3 or the portable information reading terminal 2 is preparing for communication, a timeout occurs without completing the reception ( B8: YES). In this case, since there is no reception data (B9: NO), one channel which is a transmission channel is selected as a reception channel and two channels are selected as the next transmission channel (B10), and then the process returns to step B2. The above operation is repeated.

  As described above, when the portable information reading terminal 2 is not placed on the placement unit 3, or even when the portable information reading terminal 2 is placed on the placement unit 3, communication preparation is in progress. If there is, the transmission channel is selected in order, and the channel selected as the transmission channel is selected as the reception channel. That is, at the same time as transmission is performed on the transmission channel, reception is performed in parallel on a reception channel different from the transmission channel.

  Now, in a state where the portable information reading terminal 2 placed on the placement unit 3 has completed communication preparation, the infrared LED 11 of the communication port 9 of the placement unit 3 is selected as a transmission channel, and the portable information reading terminal When the link confirmation message is transmitted to 2, the portable information reading terminal 2 transmits the data for establishing the link by infrared in response to the link confirmation message. Then, the photodiode 12 of the communication port 9 of the placement unit 3 is turned on / off in response to reception of received data from the portable information reading terminal 2, and the AND circuit corresponding to the reception channel among the AND circuits 8a to 8d. Output the received signal. At this time, since one input terminal of the AND circuit corresponding to the reception channel among the AND circuits 8a to 8d in the reception channel selection circuit 8 is at the high level, the reception signal is output from the AND circuit to the modulation / demodulation circuit 6. The signal is demodulated by the modem circuit 6 and output to the CPU 5 as received data. Therefore, the CPU 5 acquires and processes the reception data from the portable information reading terminal 2 placed on the placement unit 3 having the photodiode 12 selected as the receiving channel, and thereby processes with the portable information reading terminal 2. A link can be established between them.

  When there is transmission data to the portable information reading terminal 2 that has established a link as described above (B3: YES), the CPU 5 transmits a data message including the transmission data (B5). When transmission of the data telegram is completed (B6) and reception is completed in the reception channel (B7: YES), after processing the received data (B14), it is determined whether the retransmission flag is set. The retransmission flag is a flag that is set when reception from the portable information reading terminal 2 fails as will be described later. In this case, since the retransmission flag is not set (B15: NO), the transmission channel is selected as the reception channel and the next transmission channel is selected (B10), so that the portable information reading terminal 2 with which the link has been established is selected. In the case where there are a plurality of data, data communication with the portable information reading terminals 2 can be performed in order. Also in this case, since the data message is transmitted on the transmission channel and the reception data can be received on the reception channel, transmission and reception can be executed in parallel, and communication efficiency can be improved. .

If the transmission data to be transmitted to the portable information reading terminal 2 is long, the CPU 5 is in a standby state until the transmission of the data message is completed on the transmission channel in step B6. Transmission to the reading terminal 2 can be ensured.
In the example shown in FIG. 6, since the transmission channel is not changed as long as there is transmission data in the two channels set as the transmission channels, it is possible to reliably transmit a long data message to the portable information reading terminal 2. it can.

  If the received data from the portable information reading terminal 2 is long, the received data is present (B9: YES) even if a time-out occurs in step B8, so the retransmission flag is set and the reception is continued (B11). When the reception is completed (B12: YES), the received data is processed (B14). In addition, when time-out occurs without completing reception (B13: YES), an error occurs.

  If the received data is processed with the retransmission flag set as described above, since the retransmission flag is set (B15: YES), the current reception channel is reselected as the transmission channel ( B16) The operation described above is repeated by moving to step B2.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, since reception of received data has failed in two channels, channel 2 is reselected as a transmission channel, the data message is retransmitted, and when the data message re-transmission ends, 2 The channel is set as a reception channel and waits for reception. Therefore, since reception in the two channels is not extended until the next timing, data from the portable information reading terminal 2 placed on the placement unit 3 for two channels is quickly received and processed. be able to.
The four-station table 1 can manage the inventory or ordering of goods in the host computer 14 by transmitting the data acquired from the portable information reading terminal 2 to the host computer 14 as described above.

According to such an embodiment, the four-station table 1 selects one of the plurality of transmission channels constituting the communication port 9 included in the plurality of placement units 3 as a transmission channel, and a plurality of reception channels. Since one different from the transmission channel is selected as the reception channel, transmission and reception can be executed in parallel for the plurality of portable information reading terminals 2. Therefore, the communication efficiency with the portable information reading terminal 2 can be improved as compared with the conventional example in which transmission and reception are sequentially performed for each of a plurality of portable information reading terminals for each channel. .
Further, since the next transmission channel is selected after the transmission of the transmission data is completed, the transmission data is reliably transmitted to the portable information reading terminal 2 even when transmitting the long transmission data. be able to.

Further, when transmission of transmission data is completed in the selected transmission channel, the reception channel of the communication port 9 that has completed transmission of transmission data is selected as the reception channel for next reception. Data received from the terminal 2 can be received quickly, and communication efficiency can be improved.
In addition, when reception fails in the reception channel, since the transmission channel of the communication port with the reception channel is reselected as the transmission channel for retransmitting the transmission data next, the portable information reading terminal 2 Can be received and processed quickly.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows.
The number of placement units 3 included in the four-stage mounting table 1 is not limited to four.
The selection of the transmission channel is not limited to the embodiment.
The transmission channel selection circuit 7 and the reception channel selection circuit 8 do not need to be configured by AND circuits, and may be configured by shift registers, for example.
The charging function of the four-station table 1 may be omitted.
You may make it apply not only to the portable information reading terminal 2, but to the multiple communication mounting base which mounts various information processing terminals.

The figure which shows schematically the electric constitution of the 4-unit stand in one Example of this invention Perspective view of 4 stations 4 is a perspective view of a 4-station table. The flowchart which shows the communication processing of 4 consecutive stands Timing chart showing normal communication status FIG. 5 equivalent diagram showing a case of transmitting long transmission data FIG. 5 equivalent diagram showing a case where reception fails FIG. 4 equivalent diagram showing a conventional example Diagram showing communication order

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a four-station table (multiple communication table), 2 denotes a portable information reading terminal (information processing terminal), 3 denotes a placement unit, 5 denotes a CPU (communication control means), 7 denotes a transmission channel selection circuit ( (Transmission channel selection means), 8 is a reception channel selection circuit (reception channel selection means), 11 is an infrared LED (light emitting element), and 12 is a photodiode (light receiving element).

Claims (4)

A plurality of mounting units each capable of mounting a plurality of information processing terminals optically separated by a light shielding unit;
Provided in each of the above-mentioned mounting parts, comprising a light emitting element constituting a transmission channel and a communication port comprising a light receiving element constituting a reception channel,
For an information processing terminal that communicates with an information processing terminal mounted on the above-mentioned placement unit having a communication port selected as a transmission channel or a reception channel by selecting either the transmission channel or the reception channel In a multiple communication stand,
Transmission channel selection means for selecting one of the transmission channels included in the plurality of communication ports as a transmission channel;
Receiving channel selecting means for selecting one of the receiving channels included in the plurality of communication ports as a receiving channel, which is not selected by the transmitting channel selecting means;
A communication control means for executing parallel transmission on the transmission channel selected by the transmission channel selection means and reception on the reception channel selected by the reception channel selection means, in parallel. Communication stand.   The transmission channel selection means, when there is transmission data for the selected transmission channel, executes transmission of the transmission data and then selects another transmission channel as a transmission channel to be transmitted next. The multiple communication stand for information processing terminals according to claim 1.   When transmission of transmission data is completed on the transmission channel selected by the transmission channel selection means, the reception channel selection means selects a reception channel of a communication port that has completed transmission of transmission data as a reception channel for next reception. The multiple communication stand for an information processing terminal according to claim 1 or 2. When the reception channel selection means cannot select the reception channel of the communication port that has completed transmission of transmission data as the reception channel to be next received , the transmission channel selection means is the communication that has completed transmission of the transmission data. 4. The multiple communication station for an information processing terminal according to claim 3, wherein a transmission channel of the port is reselected as a transmission channel after completion of reception of another communication port .

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