JP5342891B2 - Information processing device and battery life management method for wireless communication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology in which a host information processing device manages the battery life of a wireless communication device that transmits data via a wireless line such as a wireless sensor.

  Sensor devices such as flow meters and temperature / humidity meters should use radio communication functions that use radio waves instead of conventional wired connections in order to reduce costs and reduce monitoring and control from remote locations. (See, for example, Patent Document 1). FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional wireless measurement system using such a wireless communication function. The wireless measurement system generally includes an information processing device 1 that is a parent node such as a relay node or a gateway node, and a wireless communication device 2 that is a terminal leaf node. Data transmitted wirelessly from the wireless communication device 2 is stored in the database 3 through the information processing device 1.

  The wireless communication device 2 is a node at the end of the network, and the number of times of communication is smaller than that of the information processing device 1. Therefore, the power consumption is smaller than that of the information processing device 1. In addition, it is desired to eliminate the power supply line at the same time as the signal line for the wireless measuring device. Therefore, the wireless communication device 2 is often configured to use a battery as a power source. FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are diagrams illustrating specific examples of the wireless communication device 2. In the example of FIG. 7A, the sensor 4 and the battery type wireless communication device 2a are separate. In the example of FIG. 7B, the wireless communication device is a sensor-integrated battery-type wireless communication device 2b having a sensor inside.

  Thus, the wireless communication device 2 often uses a battery as a power source. For this reason, there is a restriction on the operable time. Therefore, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the operation cycle of the wireless communication device 2 can be changed from the information processing device 1 to realize flexible operation, thereby suppressing the power consumption of the wireless communication device 2. I was doing.

JP 2007-132577 A

  However, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the battery life of the wireless communication device may be shortened against the will of the system operator or the like, for example, because an excessively short operation cycle is set. It was. When the battery life is shortened unexpectedly, it is often difficult to carry out maintenance work only for wireless use, and the practicality is significantly reduced.

  In a large-scale control system, there are a plurality of measurement objects. Therefore, since the operation cycle of the wireless communication device may be changed depending on the measurement target, the operation cycles of the plurality of wireless communication devices are not necessarily the same operation cycle. An individual wireless communication device does not always have a constant operation cycle. Due to the actual situation of operation, the battery life of multiple wireless communication devices varies from device to device, so it is usually necessary to replace the batteries at different times, or to perform all maintenance operations once, including devices that do not reach the battery life. The battery will be replaced. When replacing batteries at different timings, there is a problem that the replacement work increases. When replacing all wireless communication devices with a single maintenance operation, replace the batteries of devices that do not reach the end of their battery life. Therefore, there is a problem that energy loss occurs.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable an operator to be notified when the battery life of a wireless communication device becomes shorter than expected.
Another object of the present invention is to bring the battery life of the wireless communication device closer to the expected battery life when the battery life of the wireless communication device becomes shorter than expected.
Another object of the present invention is to enable battery replacement of a plurality of wireless communication devices at the same timing and in a situation where it can be determined that the replacement timing is generally appropriate.

The information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a first communication unit that acquires measurement data from the sensor for each operation cycle and transmits the measurement data to the information processing device, and an operation cycle of the first communication unit according to an operation cycle setting instruction value. A second communication means for receiving the measurement data via a wireless line from a lower-level wireless communication device having a first operation cycle setting means for setting the operation cycle, and an instruction value for setting the operation cycle received from an operator. Means for transmitting to the wireless communication device; first measurement means for measuring the cumulative operation frequency or cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device based on the reception status of the second communication device; and the first measurement device. Comparative hand but which compares the cumulative operating time or the cumulative operating time was measured, the wireless communication apparatus of the cumulative operation times of the scheduled determined from assumed battery life or expected cumulative operation time of the If, when the cumulative operating time or the cumulative operation time first measuring means has measured is greater than the cumulative operation time of the cumulative operating time or the scheduled the appointment, by increasing the duty cycle lower limit of the wireless communication device, A second operation cycle lower limit value of the wireless communication device is decreased when the cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time measured by the first measurement means is less than the planned cumulative operation count or the planned cumulative operation time. And an operation cycle setting means.

In addition, one configuration example of the information processing device of the present invention further includes a second measuring unit that measures an elapsed time from a battery replacement time of the wireless communication device, and the comparing unit is configured to respond to the elapsed time. The scheduled cumulative operation count or the scheduled cumulative operation time is determined .

In addition, the information processing device according to the present invention includes a first communication unit that acquires measurement data from the sensor for each operation cycle and transmits the measurement data to the information processing device, and the first communication unit according to the setting instruction value for the operation cycle. Second communication means for receiving the measurement data via a wireless line from a lower-level wireless communication device having first operation period setting means for setting an operation period, and an instruction for setting the operation period received from an operator Means for transmitting a value to the wireless communication device ; measurement means for measuring the cumulative operation frequency or cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device based on the reception status of the second communication device; and the accumulation measured by the measurement device from the value of the operating time or the cumulative operation time, when it is determined that it is in the battery replacement time prediction timing defined in advance, based on the accumulated operating time or the cumulative operation time Battery life calculation means for estimating the battery replacement timing of the wireless communication device, and operation cycle setting means for correcting the operation cycle of each wireless communication device so that the battery replacement timing matches based on the estimation result of the battery life calculation means The operation cycle setting means includes T2 as the operation cycle of the wireless communication device with the slowest battery replacement timing, T1 as the operation cycle of the other wireless communication device, and the cumulative number of operations of the wireless communication device with the slowest battery replacement timing. Alternatively, when the cumulative operation time is Nr2, the cumulative operation number or cumulative operation time of another wireless communication device is Nr1, and the predetermined maximum cumulative operation number or maximum cumulative operation time is NL, the operation of the other wireless communication device The cycle is T1, T1 ← T2 (1.0−Nr2 / NL) / (1.0−Nr1 / NL Is characterized in that to correct the operation period T1 of the other wireless communication device is calculated by.
Further, in one configuration example of the information processing device of the present invention, the operation cycle setting unit corrects the operation cycle only for a wireless communication device whose correction amount of the operation cycle is within a predetermined allowable range, A wireless communication device whose operation cycle correction amount is outside an allowable range is excluded from the operation cycle correction target.

Further, the battery life management method for a wireless communication device of the present invention sets the operation cycle of the communication means according to the communication means for acquiring and transmitting measurement data from the sensor for each operation cycle and the setting instruction value for the operation cycle. An information processing device that receives the measurement data via a wireless line from a lower-level wireless communication device having an operation cycle setting unit calculates the accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time of the wireless communication device based on the reception status. A first measurement procedure for measuring, a procedure for transmitting the operation cycle setting instruction value received by the information processing device from an operator to the wireless communication device, and the information processing device performing a measurement in the first measurement procedure the cumulative operating time or the cumulative operation time, the time accumulation operation of the accumulated operating time or the scheduled appointment determined from an expected battery life of wireless communication devices When a comparison procedure for comparing, greater than the cumulative operation time of the cumulative operating time or the scheduled first said predetermined cumulative operating time or the cumulative operation time measured by the measurement procedure and the information processing device is the wireless communication When the operation cycle lower limit value of the device is increased and the cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time measured in the first measurement procedure is less than the planned cumulative operation count or the planned cumulative operation time, the wireless communication device those characterized by comprising an operation cycle setting procedure to reduce the duty cycle limit values.

In addition, one configuration example of the battery life management method for a wireless communication device of the present invention further includes a second measurement procedure in which the information processing device measures an elapsed time from a battery replacement time of the wireless communication device, The scheduled accumulated operation count or the scheduled accumulated operation time is determined according to the elapsed time .

Further, the battery life management method for a wireless communication device of the present invention sets the operation cycle of the communication means according to the communication means for acquiring and transmitting measurement data from the sensor for each operation cycle and the setting instruction value for the operation cycle. An information processing device that receives the measurement data via a wireless line from a lower-level wireless communication device having an operation cycle setting unit calculates the accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time of the wireless communication device based on the reception status. A measurement procedure for measuring, a procedure for transmitting the operation cycle setting instruction value received by the information processing device from an operator to the wireless communication device, and a cumulative operation count or cumulative operation measured by the information processing device in the measurement procedure from the time value at the time it is determined that it is in the battery replacement time prediction timing defined in advance, the accumulated operating time or the cumulative operation And battery life algorithm for estimating the battery replacement timing of each wireless communication device based on while the information processing device based on the estimation result of the battery life algorithm, each wireless communication device as battery replacement timing matches An operation cycle setting procedure for correcting an operation cycle , wherein the operation cycle setting procedure includes T2 as the operation cycle of the wireless communication device with the slowest battery replacement timing, T1 as the operation cycle of the other wireless communication device, and the battery replacement timing as When Nr2 is the accumulated number of operations or accumulated operation time of the slowest wireless communication device, Nr1 is the accumulated number of operations or accumulated operation time of other wireless communication devices, and NL is the predetermined maximum accumulated operation number or accumulated operation time. , The operation period of the other wireless communication device is set as T1, T1 ← T2 (1.0−Nr2 / Is characterized in that L) / (1.0-Nr1 / NL) is calculated by correcting the operation period T1 of the other wireless communication devices.
In one configuration example of the battery life management method for a wireless communication device of the present invention, the operation cycle setting procedure is performed only for a wireless communication device in which the correction amount of the operation cycle is within a predetermined allowable range. The wireless communication device whose correction amount of the operation cycle is out of the allowable range is excluded from the correction target of the operation cycle.

  According to the present invention, the cumulative operation number or cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device is measured, and the measured cumulative operation number or cumulative operation time is determined as the planned cumulative operation number or cumulative time determined from the assumed battery life of the wireless communication device. Compared to the operation time, when the measured accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time is longer than the planned accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time, the operator indicates that the wireless communication device accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time is longer than planned. By notifying, the operator can recognize that the battery life of the wireless communication device is shorter than expected.

  Further, in the present invention, the cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device is measured, and the measured cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time is determined as the planned cumulative operation count or cumulative time determined from the assumed battery life of the wireless communication device. When the measured cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time is greater than the planned cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time compared to the operation time, the wireless communication device operation is increased by increasing the lower limit value of the operation cycle of the wireless communication device. Limitation can be applied so that the cycle does not become too short, and the battery life of the wireless communication device can be brought closer to the expected battery life.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the measured accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time is less than the scheduled accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time, the operator indicates that the accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time of the wireless communication device is less than planned. By notifying to the operator, the operator can recognize that the battery life of the wireless communication device is longer than expected.

  Further, in the present invention, when the measured cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time is less than the scheduled cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time, the wireless communication device operation is reduced by reducing the operation cycle lower limit value of the wireless communication device. The restriction of shortening the period can be relaxed.

  Further, in the present invention, the cumulative operation number or cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device is measured, the battery replacement timing of each wireless communication device is estimated based on the measured cumulative operation number or cumulative operation time, and based on this estimation result By changing the operation cycle of each wireless communication device so that the battery replacement timings match, it is possible to replace the batteries of multiple wireless communication devices at the same timing and in a situation where it can be determined that the replacement time is generally reasonable. Can be. As a result, according to the present invention, maintenance work of the wireless communication device can be easily performed, and the number of maintenance work can be reduced.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the wireless communication apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation frequency management process of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the battery replacement time management process of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional wireless measurement system. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the wireless communication apparatus of the wireless measurement system of FIG.

[Principle of Invention 1]
The inventor measures the past cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device, and compares this measurement result with the cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time progress corresponding to the battery life assumed in advance of the wireless communication device. It was noted that it was possible to estimate whether the battery life as expected by the operator could be obtained. It is realistic to execute a series of processes related to this estimation by the information processing device on the parent node side. In addition, if an estimation result is obtained that the battery life as expected by the operator cannot be obtained along with the above point of view, if any countermeasure is automatically taken for the operation cycle of the wireless communication device, the battery life as expected The inventor has also conceived that it is possible to approach the above.

[Principle of Invention 2]
Further, the inventor measures the past cumulative number of operations or the accumulated operation time of the wireless communication device, and predicts the battery replacement time of the wireless communication device when the wireless communication device is used at the same progress as the measurement result. It was noticed that it was possible to search for communication devices that match the battery replacement timing (maintenance work timing). In addition, with this focus, if any measures are automatically taken for the operation cycle of the wireless communication device, the battery replacement timing (maintenance work timing) can be adjusted with higher probability. The person came up with the idea. It is realistic that these series of processes are executed by an information processing device on the parent node side that manages a plurality of wireless communication devices.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication device. This embodiment is based on the first principle of the invention. Also in the present embodiment, the overall configuration of the wireless measurement system is the same as that of the prior art, and will be described using the reference numerals in FIG.

  The information processing device 1 includes a communication unit 10 that communicates with the wireless communication device 2 via a wireless line, and an operation frequency measurement that measures the cumulative operation frequency of each wireless communication device 2 from the time of battery replacement for each wireless communication device 2. Unit 11, an elapsed time measurement unit 12 that measures the elapsed time from the time of battery replacement of each wireless communication device 2 for each wireless communication device 2, and wireless communication of measurement results of the operation count measurement unit 11 and the elapsed time measurement unit 12 A battery life serving as a comparison means for comparing the storage unit 13 for each device 2 and the cumulative number of operations measured by the number-of-operations measurement unit 11 with the planned cumulative number of operations determined from the assumed battery life of the wireless communication device 2. An operator notifying unit 15 for notifying the operator of the comparison result between the cumulative number of operations measured by the calculation unit 14 and the number of operations measuring unit 11 and the scheduled cumulative number of operations. , Composed of the operation cycle setting unit 16 for setting the operation period lower limit value of the wireless communication device 2 on the basis of a result of comparison between the accumulated number of operations of events and cumulative operation times the operation count measuring unit 11 has measured.

  When the communication unit 10 receives measurement data from the wireless communication device 2 via a wireless line, the communication unit 10 stores the measurement data in the database 3. Further, when the notification unit 10 receives the setting instruction value of the operation cycle of the wireless communication device 2 from the operator, the notification unit 10 transmits the setting instruction value to the wireless communication device 2.

  When the communication unit 10 receives measurement data from the wireless communication device 2, the operation frequency measurement unit 11 increases the cumulative operation frequency of the wireless communication device 2 by one. The cumulative number of operations is measured from the time when the wireless communication device 2 is replaced with a battery. When the battery of the wireless communication device 2 is replaced in the maintenance work, the operator notifies the information processing device 1 that the battery has been replaced. The operation frequency measurement unit 11 starts measuring the cumulative operation frequency of the wireless communication device 2 from the notification time. The elapsed time measuring unit 12 starts measuring the elapsed time of the wireless communication device 2 from the notification time.

  The accumulated operation count and elapsed time stored in the storage unit 13 for each wireless communication device 2 are updated as needed according to the measurement results of the operation count measurement unit 11 and the elapsed time measurement unit 12, respectively. Since the cumulative number of operations and the elapsed time need to be stored regardless of whether the information processing device 1 is powered on or off, the storage unit 13 is preferably a nonvolatile memory.

  The wireless communication device 2 includes a communication unit 20 that communicates with the information processing device 1 via a wireless line, an operation cycle setting unit 21 that sets an operation cycle of a main processing unit of the wireless communication device 2, and a lower limit value of the operation cycle. Etc., and a battery 23 for supplying power to each component of the wireless communication device 2.

In FIG. 2, the sensor unit that measures state quantities such as temperature, humidity, and flow rate is not clearly shown, but the sensor unit may be inside the wireless communication device 2 or outside.
The communication unit 20 acquires measurement data from the sensor unit for each operation cycle, and transmits the acquired measurement data to the information processing device 1 via a wireless line. The main processing unit of the wireless communication device 2 means means for performing processing that is important for the wireless communication device 2 and consumes a large amount of power. In the example of FIG. 2, the communication unit 20 is the main processing unit.

  The operation cycle setting unit 21 sets the operation cycle of the communication unit 20 as will be described later. As a specific method for setting the operation cycle, a drive signal (clock) having the set operation cycle may be generated. The communication unit 20 operates for each operation cycle according to the clock. Instead of supplying the clock, the power supply voltage supplied from the battery 23 to the communication unit 20 may be turned on / off according to the drive signal, and the communication unit 20 may be operated every operation cycle.

  Next, the operation frequency management process of the wireless communication device 2 performed by the information processing device 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation count management process. Here, the parameter that defines the operation cycle of the wireless communication device 2 is T, the setting instruction value given as the value of the parameter T from the information processing device 1 is TX, and the lower limit value of the parameter T given from the information processing device 1 is TL.

  When the communication unit 10 receives measurement data from the wireless communication device 2 (step S100 in FIG. 3), the operation count measurement unit 11 of the information processing device 1 accumulates the operation of the wireless communication device 2 stored in the storage unit 13. The number of times Nr is increased by 1 (step S101).

  Next, in the battery life calculation unit 14 of the information processing device 1, the cumulative operation number Ni (Y) assumed by the operator is set in advance corresponding to the elapsed time Y from the time of battery replacement of the wireless communication device 2. . The cumulative number of operations Ni (Y) is a desirable number of cumulative operations of the wireless communication device 2 at the time point of the elapsed time Y, which is determined for the purpose of ensuring that the battery life of the wireless communication device 2 is as expected by the operator. . The cumulative number of operations Ni (Y) increases as the elapsed time Y increases. Therefore, for example, a calculation formula for calculating the cumulative operation number Ni (Y) corresponding to the elapsed time Y may be set in the battery life calculation unit 14 in advance.

  The battery life calculation unit 14 acquires the accumulated operation count Nr and elapsed time Y values of the wireless communication device 2 from the current time from the storage unit 13, and uses the acquired accumulated operation count Nr as a desired accumulated operation at the time of the elapsed time Y. The number of times Ni (Y) is compared (step S102 in FIG. 3). When the cumulative operation number Nr is greater than the desired cumulative operation number Ni (Y) (Yes in step S102), the battery life calculation unit 14 needs to notify that the cumulative operation number Nr of the wireless communication device 2 is greater than planned. judge. In response to the determination result of the battery life calculation unit 14, the operator notification unit 15 notifies the operator of the information processing device 1 that the cumulative number of operations of the wireless communication device 2 is greater than planned (step S103).

The operation cycle setting unit 16 of the information processing device 1 determines that the operation cycle lower limit TL has been set to be too small when it is determined that the cumulative number of operations Nr of the wireless communication device 2 is greater than planned, and this wireless Processing to increase the operation cycle lower limit TL of the communication device 2 by a predetermined change width ΔT is performed. That is, the operation cycle setting unit 16 performs processing such as the following equation.
if Nr> Ni (Y) then TL ← TL + ΔT (1)

The communication unit 10 transmits the operation cycle lower limit value TL newly set by the operation cycle setting unit 16 to the wireless communication device 2 that is the determination target in Step S102 (Step S104).
When the operation cycle setting unit 21 of the wireless communication device 2 receives the operation cycle lower limit value TL from the information processing device 1 through the communication unit 20, the operation cycle lower limit value TL is stored in the storage unit 22. Then, the operation cycle setting unit 21 compares the current operation cycle T of the wireless communication device 2 with the operation cycle lower limit value TL. If the current operation cycle T is smaller than the operation cycle lower limit value TL, the operation cycle T is set to TL. And That is, the operation cycle setting unit 21 performs a lower limit process such as the following equation.
if T <TL then T ← TL (2)

Further, when the operation cycle setting unit 21 receives the setting instruction value TX of the operation cycle T from the information processing device 1 through the communication unit 20, the operation cycle T is set to the operation cycle T when the setting instruction value TX is equal to or greater than the operation cycle lower limit value TL. When the setting instruction value TX is smaller than the operation cycle lower limit value TL, the operation cycle T is set to TL. That is, the operation cycle setting unit 21 performs a lower limit process such as the following equation.
if TX <TL then T ← TL else T ← TX (3)

  The operation cycle setting unit 21 sets the operation cycle T, which has been subjected to the lower limit processing such as Equation (2) or Equation (3), for the communication unit 20. As described above, in the present embodiment, by transmitting the operation cycle lower limit value TL from the information processing device 1 to the wireless communication device 2, a short operation cycle T that is less than the operation cycle lower limit value TL is not set. The wireless communication device itself limits the operation cycle T.

  Next, the battery life calculation unit 14 of the information processing device 1 determines that the wireless communication device 2 has the cumulative operation frequency Nr less than the desirable cumulative operation frequency Ni (Y) (Yes in step S105 in FIG. 3). It is determined that it is necessary to notify that the cumulative number of operations Nr is less than planned. In response to the determination result of the battery life calculation unit 14, the operator notification unit 15 notifies the operator of the information processing device 1 that the cumulative number of operations of the wireless communication device 2 is less than planned (step S106).

When it is determined that the cumulative operation frequency Nr of the wireless communication device 2 is less than planned, the operation cycle setting unit 16 determines that the operation cycle lower limit value TL is operated with a setting that is too large, and the operation of the wireless communication device 2 is performed. A process of reducing the cycle lower limit value TL by a predetermined change width ΔT is performed. That is, the operation cycle setting unit 16 performs processing such as the following equation.
if Nr <Ni (Y) then TL ← TL−ΔT (4)

The communication unit 10 transmits the operation cycle lower limit value TL newly set by the operation cycle setting unit 16 to the wireless communication device 2 that is the determination target in step S105 (step S107).
The operation of the wireless communication device 2 that has received the operation cycle lower limit value TL is as described above.

The battery life calculation unit 14, the operator notification unit 15, and the operation cycle setting unit 16 of the information processing device 1 perform the processes of steps S <b> 102 to S <b> 107 for each wireless communication device 2.
In addition, the processes in steps S102, S103, S105, and S106 may be performed constantly as shown in FIG. 3, but are always performed in consideration of the normal battery life of the wireless communication device 2. There is no need to do this, and it is realistic to execute the battery life assumed in advance of the wireless communication device 2 at intervals of, for example, 50 divisions. For example, if the presumed battery life of the wireless communication device 2 is one year, the processes of steps S102, S103, S105, and S106 are executed every week. At this time, it is needless to say that the desired cumulative number of operations Ni (Y) of the wireless communication device 2 is determined according to the elapsed time Y up to the processing execution time.

  Further, in the notification processing in steps S103 and S106, the operator may or may not be notified of the name, identification number, etc. of the wireless communication device 2 determined in steps S102 and S105. As a notification method in steps S103 and S106, there are methods such as display on a liquid crystal display and lighting of an LED.

  In addition, the operator must be notified when the cumulative number of operations of the wireless communication device 2 is greater than planned, and step S106 is not an essential process. As a notification method when only step S103 is executed without executing step S106, for example, there is a method of turning on an LED for alarm notification.

  In addition, if the processes of steps S104 and S107 are always executed, the operation cycle lower limit value TL immediately reaches an abnormal value, and must be executed at an appropriate interval. Specifically, it is realistic to execute the battery life assumed in advance of the wireless communication device 2 at intervals of, for example, 50 divisions, similarly to the processing of steps S103 and S106.

  Further, in order to prevent the operation cycle lower limit value TL from becoming an abnormal value, the changeable width of the operation cycle lower limit value TL is also a changeable upper limit value TL_H for safety, and a changeable lower limit value TL_L (TL_H> 0, TL_L < 0) should be given. That is, when the operation cycle setting unit 16 determines that the change width from the initial value of the operation cycle lower limit value TL due to the multiple executions of step S104 is greater than the changeable width upper limit value TL_H by the current execution, step S104 Do not execute. In addition, the operation cycle setting unit 16 determines that the change width (negative value) from the initial value of the operation cycle lower limit value TL due to the multiple executions of step S107 is smaller than the changeable width lower limit value TL_L by this execution. In this case, step S107 is not executed.

  According to the present embodiment, the operator can recognize that the battery life of the wireless communication device 2 is shorter than expected. Moreover, in this Embodiment, it can restrict | limit so that the operation period of the wireless communication apparatus 2 may not become short too much, and can make the battery life of the wireless communication apparatus 2 approach the battery life as expected. .

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is based on Principle 2 of the invention described above. Also in the present embodiment, the overall configuration of the wireless measurement system is the same as that of the prior art, and will be described using the reference numerals in FIG. Further, since the configuration of the wireless communication device 2 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the reference numerals in FIG. 2 are used.

The information processing device 1 according to the present embodiment is configured so that each communication unit 10, the operation count measurement unit 11, the elapsed time measurement unit 12, the storage unit 13, and the cumulative operation count measured by the operation count measurement unit 11 The battery life calculation unit 14a that estimates the battery replacement timing of the communication device 2, the operator notification unit 15a that notifies the operator based on the estimation result of the battery life calculation unit 14a, and the estimation result of the battery life calculation unit 14a The operation period setting unit 16a corrects the operation period of each wireless communication device 2 so that the battery replacement timings coincide with each other.
The operations of the communication unit 10, the operation count measurement unit 11, the elapsed time measurement unit 12, and the storage unit 13 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  Next, a battery replacement time management process for the wireless communication device 2 performed by the information processing device 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the battery replacement time management process. Here, it is assumed that the information processing device 1 on the parent node side manages three wireless communication devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3. In order to simplify the description, it is assumed that the amount of power consumed by each wireless communication device 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 in one operation is exactly the same. That is, it is possible to compare the battery life only by the number of times of operation, and correction regarding the operation time and power consumption is unnecessary. Each wireless communication device 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 changes the operation cycle by receiving, for example, the operation cycle setting instruction value TX from the information processing device 1, so that it always has a fixed operation cycle. It's not working. However, here, it is assumed that the wireless communication devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 operate in standard operation periods T 1, T 2, and T 3 in many time zones, respectively.

  When the communication unit 10 receives measurement data from the wireless communication device 2 (step S200 in FIG. 5), the operation count measurement unit 11 of the information processing device 1 accumulates the operation of the wireless communication device 2 stored in the storage unit 13. The number of times Nr is increased by 1 (step S201). Here, the cumulative operation times Nr of the wireless communication devices 2-1, 2-2 and 2-3 are Nr 1, Nr 2 and Nr 3, respectively.

  Next, the maximum cumulative number of operations NL of the wireless communication device 2 that can be executed until the battery of the wireless communication device 2 reaches the end of its life is preset in the battery life calculation unit 14a of the information processing device 1. It is assumed that the maximum cumulative number of operations NL of the wireless communication devices 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 is the same.

  The battery life calculator 14a determines whether it is time to predict the battery replacement time of the wireless communication device 2 (step S202). The timing for predicting the battery replacement time is the time when Nr / NL> 0.8 is satisfied, that is, the cumulative operation number Nr of any of the wireless communication devices 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 is the maximum cumulative operation number NL. Of 80% of the time. Here, it is assumed that the cumulative operation count Nr1 of the wireless communication device 2-1 exceeds 80% of the maximum cumulative operation count NL. At this time, it is assumed that Nr2 / NL = 0.73 and Nr3 / NL = 0.76.

  The reason for performing the determination process in step S202 is that, as long as the remaining operation time of the wireless communication device 2 is sufficient, the operation of matching the battery replacement timing of each wireless communication device 2 is not given priority as will be described later. This is because the process of matching the battery replacement timing is started after the remaining operation time of the wireless communication device 2 is reduced.

Next, the battery life calculation unit 14a estimates the remaining operation times TX1, TX2, TX3 until the expected battery life of each wireless communication device 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 (step S203). The remaining operation times TX1, TX2, and TX3 are estimated as follows.
TX1 = T1 (NL-Nr1) (5)
TX2 = T2 (NL-Nr2) (6)
TX3 = T3 (NL-Nr3) (7)

Estimating the remaining operation time in this way means estimating the battery replacement timing of each wireless communication device 2.
The operation cycle setting unit 16a of the information processing device 1 allows the wireless communication devices 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 so that the battery replacement timings of the wireless communication devices 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 match. The standard operation periods T1, T2, and T3 of 2-3 are corrected (step S204). Specifically, the wireless communication device 2 whose battery replacement timing is earlier than the latest one so that the battery replacement timing is the same as that of the wireless communication device 2 having the slowest battery replacement timing (the wireless communication device 2 having the longest remaining operation time). The standard operation cycle of the wireless communication device 2 (remaining operation time is short) may be corrected.

Here, it is assumed that the remaining operation time TX2 of the wireless communication device 2-2 is the longest. In this case, the standard operation periods T1 and T3 may be corrected as follows so that the remaining operation times TX1 and TX3 of the other wireless communication devices 2-1 and 2-3 coincide with the remaining operation time TX2.
T1 ← TX2 / (NL-Nr1)
= T2 (1.0-Nr2 / NL) / (1.0-Nr1 / NL) (8)
T3 ← TX2 / (NL-Nr3)
= T2 (1.0-Nr2 / NL) / (1.0-Nr3 / NL) (9)

When Nr1 / NL = 0.801, Nr2 / NL = 0.73, and Nr3 / NL = 0.76, specifically, the following numerical values are obtained.
T1 ← T2 (1.0−Nr2 / NL) / (1.0−Nr1 / NL) = 1.357T2
(10)
T3 ← T2 (1.0−Nr2 / NL) / (1.0−Nr3 / NL) = 1.125T2
(11)

The operation cycle setting unit 16a transmits the modified standard operation cycles T1 and T3 to the wireless communication devices 2-1 and 2-3 through the communication unit 10 (step S204).
When the operation cycle setting unit 21 of the wireless communication device 2-1 receives the value of the standard operation cycle T1 from the information processing device 1 through the communication unit 20, the operation cycle setting unit 21 stores the value of the standard operation cycle T1 in the storage unit 22 and the operation cycle. T = T1 is set for the communication unit 20. The wireless communication device 2-3 that has received the value of the standard operation cycle T3 from the information processing device 1 similarly sets the operation cycle T = T3.

Note that the operation cycle setting unit 16a of the information processing device 1 performs the standard operation cycle correction process in step S204 only when the correction amount of the standard operation cycle of the wireless communication device 2 is within a predetermined allowable range. The standard operation cycle is not corrected for the wireless communication device 2 whose operation cycle correction amount is outside the allowable range. Practically, if the correction is within, for example, 1.5 times the initial value of the standard operation cycle, it is determined that it is within the allowable range. By defining the permissible range in this way, a large correction of the standard operation cycle is avoided. In operation, the wireless communication device 2 whose standard operation cycle correction amount is outside the allowable range is excluded from the standard operation cycle correction processing, and the timing of battery replacement with other wireless communication devices 2 is not matched. Alternatively, the standard operation cycle may be corrected to an allowable range, and then the battery replacement timing may be adjusted to the earliest one.
When there are a plurality of wireless communication devices 2 whose standard operation cycle correction amount is outside the allowable range, there is a mismatch in battery replacement timing among these wireless communication devices 2. The standard is to match the battery replacement timing to the earliest one of these wireless communication devices 2 so that the battery replacement timing is the earliest, that is, the remaining operation time is the shortest and the own remaining operation time is the same. This means shortening the operation cycle.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, based on the estimation result of the battery replacement timing of each wireless communication device 2, the operation cycle of each wireless communication device 2 is corrected so that the battery replacement timings coincide with each other. The batteries of the plurality of wireless communication devices 2 can be exchanged at the same timing and in a situation where it can be determined that the exchange timing is generally reasonable. As a result, in the present embodiment, maintenance work of the wireless communication device 2 can be easily performed, and the number of maintenance work can be reduced.

  The operator notification unit 15a may notify the operator of the information processing device 1 of the name and identification number of each wireless communication device 2 whose operation cycle setting unit 16a has matched the battery replacement timing. When the wireless communication device 2 reaches the battery replacement timing, that is, when the remaining operation time becomes zero, the operator may be notified of the name, identification number, and the like of these wireless communication devices 2. Thus, the operator can know the wireless communication device 2 whose battery can be replaced by a single maintenance operation, and can know the battery replacement timing.

  Further, the operator notification unit 15a may notify the operator of the name, identification number, and the like of the wireless communication device 2 that has been excluded from the standard operation cycle correction process. When reaching the above, the operator may be notified of the name, identification number, etc. of the wireless communication device 2. The battery replacement timing of the wireless communication device 2 that is not subject to the standard operation cycle correction process comes earlier than the battery replacement timing of other wireless communication devices 2. The operator can know the wireless communication device 2 that needs to replace the battery early, and can know the battery replacement timing.

  In the first and second embodiments, the cumulative number of operations of the wireless communication device 2 is measured and processing is performed based on the cumulative number of operations. However, the information processing device 1 determines the cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device 2. You may make it measure. The embodiment in that case corresponds to a case where the cumulative operation number in the first and second embodiments is replaced with the cumulative operation time. In the first embodiment, a desirable accumulated operation time of the wireless communication device 2 at the time of the elapsed time Y is used instead of the accumulated operation number Ni (Y). In the second embodiment, the maximum accumulated operation number NL It goes without saying that the maximum accumulated operation time until the battery of the wireless communication device 2 reaches the end of its life is used instead.

  In order to measure the accumulated operation time of the wireless communication device 2, when the communication unit 10 of the information processing device 1 receives measurement data from the wireless communication device 2, it is assumed that the wireless communication device 2 operates once. This known average operation time per operation may be added to the accumulated operation time of the wireless communication device 2 stored in the storage unit 13.

The configuration excluding the communication unit 10 of the information processing apparatus 1 according to the first and second embodiments can be realized by a computer including a CPU, a storage device, and an interface, and a program that controls these hardware resources. . The CPU of the information processing device 1 executes the processing described in the first and second embodiments in accordance with a program stored in the storage device.
Similarly, the configuration excluding the communication unit 20 and the battery 23 of the wireless communication device 2 according to the first and second embodiments is realized by a computer including a CPU and a storage device, and a program for controlling these hardware resources. can do. The CPU of the wireless communication device 2 executes the processing described in the first and second embodiments according to the program stored in the storage device.

  The present invention can be applied to a technique for managing the battery life of a wireless communication device.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing apparatus, 2 ... Wireless communication apparatus, 3 ... Database, 10 ... Communication part, 11 ... Operation | movement frequency measurement part, 12 ... Elapsed time measurement part, 13 ... Memory | storage part, 14, 14a ... Battery life calculation part, 15 , 15a ... operator notification unit, 16, 16a ... operation cycle setting unit, 20 ... communication unit, 21 ... operation cycle setting unit, 22 ... storage unit, 23 ... battery.

Claims (8)

A first communication unit that acquires measurement data from the sensor for each operation cycle and transmits the measurement data to the information processing device, and a first operation cycle that sets the operation cycle of the first communication unit according to the setting instruction value of the operation cycle Second communication means for receiving the measurement data via a wireless line from a lower-level wireless communication device having setting means ;
Means for transmitting the setting instruction value of the operation cycle received from an operator to the wireless communication device;
First measurement means for measuring a cumulative operation number or a cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device based on a reception status of the second communication means;
Comparing means for comparing the cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time measured by the first measurement means with the planned cumulative operation count or planned cumulative operation time determined from the assumed battery life of the wireless communication device;
When the accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time measured by the first measuring means is greater than the scheduled accumulated operation count or the scheduled accumulated operation time, an operation cycle lower limit value of the wireless communication device is increased, and the first A second operation cycle in which the lower limit value of the operation cycle of the wireless communication device is reduced when the cumulative operation frequency or cumulative operation time measured by one measuring means is less than the planned cumulative operation frequency or the planned cumulative operation time. An information processing apparatus comprising: setting means. The information processing device according to claim 1 ,
And a second measuring means for measuring an elapsed time from a battery replacement time of the wireless communication device,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the comparison unit determines the scheduled cumulative operation count or the scheduled cumulative operation time according to the elapsed time. A first communication unit that acquires measurement data from the sensor for each operation cycle and transmits the measurement data to the information processing device, and a first operation cycle that sets the operation cycle of the first communication unit according to the setting instruction value of the operation cycle Second communication means for receiving the measurement data via a wireless line from a lower-level wireless communication device having setting means ;
Means for transmitting the setting instruction value of the operation cycle received from an operator to the wireless communication device;
Measuring means for measuring the cumulative number of operations or cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device based on the reception status of the second communication means;
The battery of each wireless communication device is determined based on the accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time when it is determined from the accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time value measured by the measuring means that the predetermined battery replacement time prediction timing has been reached. Battery life calculation means for estimating the replacement timing;
Based on the estimation result of the battery life calculation means, the operation period setting means for correcting the operation period of each wireless communication device so that the battery replacement timing matches ,
The operation cycle setting means is configured such that the operation cycle of the wireless communication device with the slowest battery replacement timing is T2, the operation cycle of the other wireless communication device is T1, and the cumulative number of operations or the cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device with the latest battery replacement timing. Nr2, Nr1 as the cumulative number of operations or cumulative operation time of the other wireless communication device, and NL as the predetermined maximum cumulative number of operations or maximum cumulative operation time as NL, the operation cycle of the other wireless communication device as T1 , T1 ← T2 (1.0−Nr2 / NL) / (1.0−Nr1 / NL) and correcting the operation cycle T1 of the other wireless communication device. The information processing device according to claim 3 ,
The operation cycle setting means corrects the operation cycle only for a wireless communication device in which the correction amount of the operation cycle is within a predetermined allowable range, and wireless communication in which the correction amount of the operation cycle is out of the allowable range An information processing device characterized in that the device is not subject to correction of the operation cycle. Wireless communication from a lower-level wireless communication device having communication means for obtaining and transmitting measurement data from the sensor for each operation period and operation period setting means for setting the operation period of the communication means in accordance with an instruction value for setting the operation period. A first measurement procedure in which an information processing device that receives the measurement data via a line measures a cumulative operation number or a cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device based on the reception status;
A procedure for transmitting the setting instruction value of the operation cycle received by the information processing device from an operator to the wireless communication device;
Comparison in which the information processing device compares the cumulative number of operations or cumulative operation time measured in the first measurement procedure with the planned cumulative number of operations or planned cumulative operation time determined from the assumed battery life of the wireless communication device Procedure and
When the accumulated operation count or accumulated operation time measured in the first measurement procedure is greater than the scheduled accumulated operation count or the scheduled accumulated operation time, the information processing device sets the operation cycle lower limit value of the wireless communication device. When the cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time measured in the first measurement procedure is smaller than the scheduled cumulative operation count or the planned cumulative operation time, the operation cycle lower limit value of the wireless communication device is decreased. A battery life management method for a wireless communication device, comprising: an operation cycle setting procedure. The battery life management method for a wireless communication device according to claim 5 ,
Furthermore, the information processing device includes a second measurement procedure for measuring an elapsed time from a battery replacement time of the wireless communication device,
The method for managing the battery life of a wireless communication device, wherein the scheduled cumulative number of operations or the scheduled cumulative operation time is determined according to the elapsed time. Wireless communication from a lower-level wireless communication device having communication means for obtaining and transmitting measurement data from the sensor for each operation period and operation period setting means for setting the operation period of the communication means in accordance with an instruction value for setting the operation period. An information processing device that receives the measurement data via a line, a measurement procedure for measuring the cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device based on the reception status;
A procedure for transmitting the setting instruction value of the operation cycle received by the information processing device from an operator to the wireless communication device;
Based on the cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time , when the information processing device determines from the cumulative operation count or cumulative operation time value measured in the measurement procedure that a predetermined battery replacement time prediction timing has been reached, Battery life calculation procedure to estimate the battery replacement timing of wireless communication equipment,
An operation cycle setting procedure for correcting the operation cycle of each wireless communication device such that the information processing device is based on the estimation result of the battery life calculation procedure so that the battery replacement timings match ,
In the operation cycle setting procedure, the operation cycle of the wireless communication device with the slowest battery replacement timing is T2, the operation cycle of the other wireless communication device is T1, and the cumulative operation frequency or the cumulative operation time of the wireless communication device with the slowest battery replacement timing. Nr2, Nr1 as the cumulative number of operations or cumulative operation time of the other wireless communication device, and NL as the predetermined maximum cumulative number of operations or maximum cumulative operation time as NL, the operation cycle of the other wireless communication device as T1 , T1 ← T2 (1.0−Nr2 / NL) / (1.0−Nr1 / NL) and correcting the operation cycle T1 of the other wireless communication device Life management method. The battery life management method for a wireless communication device according to claim 7 ,
The operation cycle setting procedure includes correcting the operation cycle only for a wireless communication device in which the correction amount of the operation cycle is within a predetermined allowable range, and wireless communication in which the correction amount of the operation cycle is outside the allowable range A battery life management method for a wireless communication device, wherein the device is excluded from the correction of the operation cycle.

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