JP5543290B2 - Radio station and radio communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a radio communication system including a radio station and a plurality of radio stations.

  Examples of conventional wireless stations and wireless communication systems include a fire alarm and a fire alarm system described in Patent Document 1. In this conventional system, whether or not each radio station (fire alarm device) can intermittently activate the receiving circuit and receive the desired radio wave (radio signal transmitted by another radio station <other fire alarm device>). If the radio wave is not detected and the radio wave is not captured, the receiving circuit is immediately stopped to shift to the standby state, thereby greatly reducing the average power consumption.

  However, when the intermittent reception operation is performed as described above, the timing of receiving the radio signal that should be received is delayed by the intermittent reception interval of the reception circuit. Therefore, the intermittent reception interval cannot be simply extended for the purpose of reducing power consumption.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, the timing at which the receiving circuit of each radio station is activated by receiving the synchronization signal is aligned, and the timing at which the radio station where the event has occurred is activated at the timing at which the receiving circuits of other radio stations are activated. A radio station and a radio communication system are described in which radio signals transmitted from one radio station can be received by all other radio stations by transmitting radio signals together.

JP 2010-55626 A JP 2010-147868 A

  By the way, in the conventional system described in Patent Document 1 (hereinafter referred to as “old system”) or the conventional system described in Patent Document 2 (hereinafter referred to as “new system”), a failed radio station is replaced. In this case, or when a radio station is added, if the radio stations exchanged or added are limited to radio stations dedicated to the respective systems, it is inconvenient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to improve usability.

The radio station of the present invention is a radio station that attempts to receive a radio signal at a constant intermittent reception interval and pauses until the next intermittent reception interval elapses if the radio signal cannot be received, and the elapse of the intermittent reception interval. A radio station that selectively switches between an operation of transmitting the radio signal in synchronization with a time point and an operation of transmitting the radio signal regardless of an elapse time of the intermittent reception interval, Transmitting means for transmitting a signal, receiving means for receiving the wireless signal, and starting the transmitting means when a predetermined event occurs, and transmitting a wireless signal including a message corresponding to the event during a predetermined transmission period And a transmission control means for alternately stopping the transmission of the radio signal during a predetermined pause period and stopping the transmission means when the event has not occurred, and Timer means for repeatedly counting the intermittent reception interval, and the reception means is stopped during the counting of the intermittent reception interval by the timer means, and the reception means is turned on every time the intermittent reception interval is counted by the timer means. A reception control unit that is activated, and a power supply unit that supplies a battery as a power source to supply operation power to each of the units. In the first transmission / reception control mode, the reception control unit stops counting the intermittent reception interval by the timer unit when the reception unit receives a synchronization signal. At the same time, the timer means restarts counting the intermittent reception interval when a certain waiting time has elapsed from the end of the synchronization signal. And when the event occurs, the transmission control unit causes the transmission unit to transmit a radio signal during the transmission period that overlaps with the time point when the counting of the intermittent reception interval by the timer unit is completed, and the second transmission / reception control In the mode, the reception control unit does not stop counting the intermittent reception interval by the timer unit, and the transmission control unit is not related to the completion of counting the intermittent reception interval by the timer unit when the event occurs. The transmission means transmits a radio signal, and the reception control means and the transmission control means are configured so that at least one of the other radio stations belonging to the same radio communication system is in the second transmission / reception control mode only. The second transmission / reception control mode is executed in the case of a radio station having

  In this radio station, the transmission control means has only a radio signal including a first registration message addressed to another radio station corresponding to the first transmission / reception control mode, and the second transmission / reception control mode. A radio signal including a second registration message addressed to the radio station is sequentially transmitted from the transmission unit, or a radio signal including a response message corresponding to the first registration message or the second registration message is transmitted. Transmitting from the transmission means, the reception control means and the transmission control means receive only the wireless signal including the first registration message or the wireless signal including the response message to the first registration message by the reception means. If so, execute the first transmission / reception control mode, and the radio signal including the second registration message, or the second If the radio signal including a response message to record a message has been received by the receiving unit is preferably configured to execute the second reception control mode.

  The radio station further comprises operation input receiving means for receiving an operation input for permitting transmission of the registration message to the reception control means and the transmission control means and reception of the registration message or the response message. The means causes the transmission means to transmit a radio signal including the first and second registration messages or the response message only while the operation input is accepted, and the reception control means and the transmission control means The two types of transmission / reception control modes may be selected only when the reception unit receives a radio signal including the first and second registration messages or the response message while an operation input is being accepted. preferable.

  In this wireless station, transmission of the registration message to the reception control means and the transmission control means and registration after the operation input is not accepted by the operation input acceptance means until a predetermined duration elapses. It is preferable that reception of the message or the response message is permitted.

  In this radio station, the reception control unit and the transmission control unit may be configured such that when the operation input for erasing the selection result of the two types of transmission / reception control modes is received by the operation input receiving unit, It is preferable that the transmission / reception operation is stopped until a radio signal including the second registration message or the response message is received by the receiving unit.

The wireless communication system of the present invention is a wireless communication system that includes a plurality of wireless stations, and transmits and receives a wireless signal using a radio wave as a medium between the plurality of wireless stations, and at least one of the plurality of wireless stations includes The wireless station according to any one of claims 1 to 5 .

  The radio station and the radio communication system of the present invention include a radio communication system that includes only radio stations that transmit radio signals in synchronization with the elapse of the intermittent reception interval, and a radio signal that is independent of the elapse of the intermittent reception interval. It can be used for any radio communication system including a radio station to transmit, and there is an effect that usability is improved.

It is a block diagram which shows the radio station (fire alarm device) of this embodiment. It is a frame format of the radio signal in the same as above. It is a time chart for demonstrating the operation | movement which changes to a fire interlocking state from a standby state same as the above. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the registration mode and deletion mode in a prior art example. It is a time chart for demonstrating operation | movement of the registration mode in this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the technical idea of the present invention to a radio communication system (fire alarm system) using a fire alarm device as a radio station, which detects a fire and sounds an alarm sound and transmits a radio signal including a fire detection message using a radio wave as a medium. An embodiment to which is applied will be described. However, in the following description, the conventional system described in Patent Document 1 is referred to as an “old system”, and the conventional system described in Patent Document 2 is referred to as a “new system”.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present embodiment, and a fire alarm system is configured by a plurality (only two in the drawing) of fire alarms TR. In the following description, when the fire alarms TR are individually indicated, they are indicated as fire alarms TR1, TR2,..., TRn, and when collectively indicated, they are indicated as fire alarms TR.

  The fire alarm TR includes a control unit 1, a wireless transmission / reception unit 2, an antenna 3, a fire detection unit 4, an alarm unit 5, an operation input reception unit 6, and a battery power supply unit 7. The radio transmission / reception unit 2 transmits a radio signal using radio waves as a medium from the antenna 3 and receives a radio signal transmitted from another fire alarm device TR via the antenna 3. The alarm unit 5 notifies (fires from a speaker) a fire alarm (hereinafter referred to as “alarm sound”) by sound (such as a buzzer sound or a voice message). The control unit 1 includes a memory unit 1a including a microcomputer, a rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and the like as a main component. The control unit 1 causes the alarm unit 5 to sound an alarm sound when a fire is detected by the fire detection unit 4 and includes a radio signal including a fire alarm message for notifying other fire alarms TR of the fire alarm. Is transmitted from the wireless transmission / reception unit 2. The operation input receiving unit 6 has one or more switches (for example, push button switches). When the switch is operated, an operation input corresponding to each switch is received and an operation signal corresponding to the operation input is controlled. Output to part 1. The battery power supply unit 7 supplies operation power to each unit using a battery such as a dry battery as a power source. Each fire alarm device TRi (i = 1, 2,..., N) is assigned a unique identification code in the manufacturing stage and stored in the memory unit 1a.

  The radio transmission / reception unit 2 transmits / receives a radio signal using radio waves as a medium in accordance with “radio station of low power security system” defined in Article 6, Paragraph 4, Item 3 of the Radio Law Enforcement Regulations. In addition, the fire detection unit 4 detects a fire by detecting smoke, heat, flame, or the like generated with the fire, for example. However, since the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 and the fire detection unit 4 are well known in the art, a detailed description of the configuration and operation thereof will be omitted.

  The control unit 1 realizes various functions described later by executing a program stored in a memory (ROM or EEPROM) (not shown) by a microcomputer. When the fire detection unit 4 detects the occurrence of a fire, the control unit 1 drives a buzzer included in the alarm unit 5 to sound an alarm sound, or an alarm stored in the memory (or the memory unit 1a) in advance. A fire alarm is notified by sounding a voice message (for example, “This is a fire”) on the speaker. Further, the control unit 1 causes the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 to transmit a radio signal including a fire alarm message in order to notify the fire alarm also in the other fire alarm devices TR. Also, when the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 receives a wireless signal transmitted from another fire alarm device TR, the control unit 1 controls the alarm unit 5 to sound an alarm sound. That is, in the control unit 1, when the fire detection unit 4 detects a fire, the alarm unit 5 sounds an alarm sound to notify the fire alarm, and the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 transmits a radio signal including the fire alarm message. Have.

  Here, according to Article 49-17 of the Radio Equipment Regulations of the Radio Law Enforcement Regulations, “the radio equipment of the radio station of the low-power security system”, the period during which radio signals may be continuously transmitted (transmission period) is 3 seconds or less. In addition, it is stipulated that a period during which a radio signal should not be transmitted (pause period) provided between the transmission period and the transmission period is 2 seconds or more (see No. 5 of the same article). For this reason, in the control unit 1 in the present embodiment, the wireless signal is transmitted during the transmission period that complies with the wireless facility rules, and the transmission is stopped and received during the suspension period.

  In order to extend the battery life of the battery power supply unit 7 as much as possible, the control unit 1 uses a timer (timer means) built in the microcomputer to set a predetermined intermittent reception interval (however, the intermittent reception interval is longer than the transmission period). Is counted repeatedly. Then, every time the intermittent reception interval is counted, the control unit 1 activates the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 to check whether a desired radio wave (a radio signal transmitted by another fire alarm TR) can be received. If the radio waves are not captured, the average power consumption is greatly reduced by immediately stopping the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 and shifting to the standby state. The radio wave reception check is performed based on a received signal strength indication signal (RSSI signal) that is a DC voltage signal output from the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 and proportional to the magnitude of the received signal strength. The details are well known in the art and will be omitted.

  Further, the control unit 1 of a specific fire alarm device TR1 (hereinafter referred to as a master station) activates the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 periodically (for example, every 24 hours) to establish other fire alarm devices TR2, TR3,. A radio signal including a periodic monitoring message is transmitted in order to confirm (periodic monitoring) whether or not (hereinafter referred to as a slave station) is operating normally. In the slave station TRj (j = 2, 3,..., N), the control unit 1 determines whether or not the fire detection unit 4 has failed and whether or not the battery power supply unit 7 has run out of battery at regular intervals (for example, every hour). ) And monitoring results (whether there is a failure and whether the battery has run out) are stored in the memory unit 1a. Then, when the control unit 1 of the slave station TRj receives a regular monitoring message from the master station TR1, it sends a radio signal including a notification message for notifying the monitoring result stored in the memory unit 1a to the master station TR1. Send back. After transmitting the radio signal including the notification message, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 switches the radio transmission / reception unit 2 to the reception state and receives the radio signal transmitted from each slave station TRj. Then, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 has a slave station TRj that does not transmit a radio signal including a notification message within a predetermined time after transmitting a radio signal including a periodic monitoring message, or any one of the slave stations When the notification message sent by TRj is to notify the monitoring result that there is a failure or the battery has run out, the slave station TRj has an abnormality (for example, by driving a buzzer provided in the alarm unit 5 to sound a notification sound) Notify that there was a communication failure, malfunction, battery exhaustion, etc.). When the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj determines that a failure or a battery has run out, a warning sound (buzzer) is immediately sent from the alarm unit 5 to notify the occurrence of an abnormality (failure or battery run-out). Sound or voice message) from the speaker of the alarm unit 5.

  In addition, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 detects that the fire detection unit 4 has detected a fire and causes the alarm unit 5 to sound an alarm sound and transmits a fire alarm message to each slave station TRj, or fires from any slave station TRj. After receiving the alarm message, the wireless transmission unit 2 is caused to transmit a synchronous beacon at a constant period. The synchronous beacon is a signal that defines a time slot necessary for performing TDMA (time division multiple access) wireless communication (hereinafter referred to as “synchronous communication”) between a plurality of fire alarms TR. One period (cycle) of the synchronous beacon is divided into a plurality of time slots, and one different time slot is allocated to each of the slave stations TRj. The message from the master station TR1 to the slave station TRj is transmitted in the synchronization beacon, and the radio signal containing the message from the slave station TRj to the master station TR1 is stored in the time slot assigned to each slave station TRj. To be sent. Therefore, collision of radio signals transmitted from a plurality of fire alarm devices TR (master station TR1 and slave station TRj) can be reliably avoided. The time slot assignment for each fire alarm device TR may be fixed, but the time slot assignment information may be notified to each slave station TRj by a synchronous beacon transmitted from the master station TR1.

  Fig. 2 shows the frame format of the radio signal transmitted and received by the fire alarm TR. One frame consists of the synchronization bit (preamble: PA), frame synchronization pattern (unique word: UW), header HD, data Data, and CRC code. It is configured. The header HD includes an identification code of the master station TR1 (hereinafter referred to as “master station ID”), a count value RC of a registration counter, which will be described later, a source address SA, and a destination address DA.

  Here, if the device number (described later) assigned to each fire alarm device TR is specified as the destination address DA, only the fire alarm device TR of that device number receives the radio signal and acquires data (message). become. On the other hand, by setting a special bit string (for example, a bit string with all bits set to 1) different from any device number as the destination address DA, the wireless signal is broadcast (multicast) to all the fire alarms TR You can get a message. For example, a radio signal including a fire alarm message is broadcast from the master station TR1 to all the slave stations TRj.

  By the way, in the old system, the timing at which each fire alarm device TR (the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj) starts to operate (the timer starts counting the intermittent reception interval) does not normally match. For this reason, the timing at which the control unit 1 activates the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 to receive radio waves (see the downward arrow in FIG. 3) is also uneven. Therefore, the fire alarm device TR (the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj) of the old system intermittently transmits a radio signal having the same content several times (2 to 3 times) when transmitting the radio signal.

  On the other hand, in the fire alarm system of the new system and this embodiment, the timing at which the timer completes the counting of the intermittent reception interval Tx in each fire alarm TR (master station TR1 and slave station TRj) is aligned, and the intermittent reception interval Tx The wireless signal is transmitted in synchronization with the completion of counting. That is, when the synchronization signal transmitted periodically (for example, every several hours) from the radio transmission / reception unit 2 of the master station TR1 is received by the radio transmission / reception unit 2 of the slave station TRj, the control unit 1 of the slave station TRj The counting of the intermittent reception interval Tx by the timer is stopped and the counting of the intermittent reception interval Tx by the timer is resumed when a certain waiting time Tw has elapsed from the end point of the synchronization signal (t = t0). Therefore, after receiving the synchronization signal, the timings at which the timer completes counting the intermittent reception interval Tx in each fire alarm device TR (master station TR1 and slave station TRj) are aligned (see FIG. 3).

  For example, when the fire detection unit 4 detects a fire in the slave station TR2, the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 sounds an alarm sound from the alarm unit 5. Further, the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 activates the radio transmission / reception unit 2 before the completion of the intermittent reception interval Tx by the timer, and transmits all other radio signals including the fire alarm message within the transmission period including the count completion time point. To the fire alarm device TR (master station TR1 and other slave stations TR3,...). At this time, the control unit 1 of the transmission source slave station TR2 continuously transmits the radio signal by the number of frames that can be transmitted within the transmission period, and the radio transmission / reception unit 2 during the idle period (reception period) after the transmission period. To the receiving state. Since each fire alarm device TR has the timing to complete the intermittent reception interval Tx, it is possible to receive a radio signal including a fire alarm message in one transmission period.

  Here, if low-power radio is used, the wireless communication distance can be sufficiently covered within one area of a normal house, so that the fire source child station TR2 is connected to another fire alarm TR (master station TR1 and It is usually possible to send a message to other slave stations TR3,. As described above, the master station TR1 regularly monitors the slave stations TR2 to TR4, and the normality of the communication path is confirmed between the master station TR1 and each of the slave stations TR2 to TR4. However, since the communication path between the slave stations TR2 to TR4 has not been confirmed, there is a possibility that a message does not reach a certain slave station due to the influence of an obstacle, for example.

  Therefore, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 that has received the fire alarm message sends a radio signal including the fire alarm message to the other slave stations TR3 and TR4 other than the source slave station TR2 and transmits an intermittent reception interval Tx by the timer. It is transmitted in the transmission period including the time point of completion of counting. When the control unit 1 of the other slave stations TR3 and TR4 receives the fire alarm message transmitted from the slave station TR2 or the master station TR1, it immediately sounds an alarm sound from the alarm unit 5 and transmits a fire alarm message from the radio transceiver unit 2. A response message (ACK) for confirming reception is returned by a radio signal. In addition, when all the fire alarms TR notify the fire alarm (sound an alarm sound) when a fire is detected by at least one fire alarm TR in this way, it is hereinafter referred to as “fire interlocking”. . Here, in the fire alarm system of the present embodiment, the control units 1 of the other slave stations TR3 and TR4 receive the fire alarm message and notify the fire alarm almost simultaneously, so the same from the speakers of the plurality of slave stations TR3 and TR4. An alarm sound (for example, a voice message such as “There is a fire in another room”) is sounded at the same time. Therefore, there is an advantage that the sound pressure (sound volume) of the alarm sound that can be heard by a person increases, and the fire alarm is easily noticed.

  When the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 receives ACKs from all the other slave stations TR3 and TR4, the control unit 1 transmits a synchronization beacon for defining a time slot from the radio transmission / reception unit 2 at a constant period. In the present embodiment, the first time slot TS1 is assigned to the child station TR2, the second time slot TS2 is assigned to the child station TR3, and the third time slot TS3 is assigned to the child station TR4.

  Here, the master station TR1 regularly monitors each of the slave stations TR2 to TR4, and the normality of the communication path is confirmed between the master station TR1 and each of the slave stations TR2 to TR4. The communication path between the stations TR2 to TR4 has not been confirmed. Therefore, when a large number of slave stations TRj are arranged, the number of communication paths between the slave stations TRj becomes very large. Therefore, when the normality of the communication paths between the slave stations TRj is confirmed, battery consumption becomes severe. However, as described above, by sending a fire alarm message and other messages (described later) from the master station TR1 to each slave station TRj, even if there are slave stations that cannot establish a communication path with each other, it is ensured that a fire link is established. Can be made.

  When all the fire alarms TR start to sound by sounding an alarm sound, as described above, a synchronous beacon is transmitted from the master station TR1 at a constant period, and a transition to TDMA synchronous communication is made. In this synchronous communication, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 repeatedly transmits a fire alarm message to all the slave stations TRj at a constant cycle by including it in the synchronous beacon. The control unit 1 of each slave station TRj confirms the state of the alarm unit 5 every time it receives a fire alarm message transmitted from the master station TR1, and if the alarm unit 5 is stopped, the control unit 1 again checks the alarm unit 5 again. Sound an alarm sound. Therefore, after fire alarms are started to be notified by all fire alarms TR, all other fire alarms (children) are assigned to multiple time slots defined by the synchronized beacon transmitted by a specific fire alarm (master station) TR1. Station) By assigning TRj and performing wireless communication by time division multiple access (TDMA), collision can be avoided. In addition, the fire alarm message is included in the synchronous beacon periodically and sent to all other fire alarms (slave stations) TRj from the specific fire alarm (master station) TR1. can do. As a result, a plurality of fire alarms TR can be effectively linked while avoiding radio signal collision.

  By the way, the fire alarm system of this embodiment is in a state where no fire is detected in any of the fire alarms TR (standby state) and in a state where all the fire alarms TR are sounding an alarm sound (linked sounding). Status), as described later, only the fire alarm TR that detects the fire (fire source) sounds the alarm sound, and the fire alarm TR other than the fire source stops the alarm sound (linked) The operation state is transited between the (stop state). That is, when a fire is detected by at least one of the fire alarm devices TR (for example, the slave station TR2) in the standby state, as described above, all the other slaves from the fire source slave station TR2 and the master station TR1. When the fire alarm message is transmitted to the stations TR3,..., An alarm sound is generated in all the fire alarm devices TR including the master station TR1 and the slave stations TR2,.

  When an operation input for stopping the alarm sound is received by the operation input receiving unit 6 of any fire alarm device TR in the interlocking sounding state, if the fire alarm device TR is the master station TR1, The station TR1 transmits a message (alarm stop message) requesting stop of the alarm sound to all the slave stations TRj. Alternatively, if the fire alarm device TR is the slave station TRj, the master station TR1 that has received the alarm stop message from the slave station TRj transmits an alarm stop message to the other slave stations TRj. Then, when the alarm stop message is received, the alarm sound is stopped by the fire alarm device TR other than the fire source, and a transition is made to the interlock stop state. However, when an operation input for stopping the alarm sound is received by the operation input receiving unit 6 of the fire alarm device TR of the fire source, the alarm sound is also stopped in the fire alarm device TR of the fire source. Here, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 holds the fire detection status of the master station TR1 and each slave station TRj in the memory unit 1a while updating it as needed, and no fire is detected by all the fire alarms TR. Transitions from a fire-linked state to a standby state.

  Further, when the interlocking sounding state is changed to the interlocking stop state, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 starts a predetermined alarm sound stop time (for example, 5 minutes). Then, after the warning sound stop time has elapsed, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 refers to the fire detection status held in the memory unit 1a, and if all the fire alarms TR have not detected a fire, they are synchronized. Transition from the fire-linked state to the standby state by sending a recovery notification message using a beacon. If a fire is detected by at least one fire alarm device TR, a fire alarm message is transmitted by a synchronous beacon to make a transition from the interlock stop state to the interlock ringing state. Even if any fire alarm TR detects a new fire in the interlock stop state, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 transmits the fire alarm message by the synchronous beacon to change from the interlock stop state to the interlock ringing state. Transition.

  By the way, as described above, in the standby state where no event (fire) has occurred, each radio station (fire alarm) asynchronously counts the intermittent reception interval in the old system, and each radio station (fire alarm) in the new system. Device TR) is counting the intermittent reception interval. That is, the control content (control mode) of the transmission / reception control in the standby state is different between the radio station of the new system and the radio station of the old system.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 1 of each radio station (fire alarm device TR) changes the control contents of the transmission / reception control in the standby state to the first transmission / reception control mode corresponding to the new system and the second corresponding to the old system. The transmission / reception control mode is selectively selected and executed. That is, when the wireless communication system (fire alarm system) is configured only by the wireless station (fire alarm device TR) of the present embodiment, the control units 1 of all the wireless stations (fire alarm device TR) perform the first transmission / reception. Select and execute the control mode. On the other hand, when one wireless station (fire alarm device) of the old system is included, the control unit 1 of the wireless station (fire alarm device TR) of this embodiment selects and executes the second transmission / reception control mode. To do. Specifically, both the first transmission / reception control mode program and the second transmission / reception control mode program are stored in the memory unit 1a of the master station TR1, and the radio station (slave station TRj) of the old system is the same. Depending on whether or not it exists in the system, the microcomputer of the control unit 1 selectively selects and executes two types of transmission / reception control mode programs stored in the memory unit 1a. The first transmission / reception control mode and the second transmission / reception control mode are different in the following points. First, the master station TR1 transmits a synchronization signal in the first transmission / reception control mode and does not transmit a synchronization signal in the second transmission / reception control mode. In addition, in the first transmission / reception control mode, the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj transmit radio signals at the timing at which the intermittent reception interval count is completed, whereas in the second transmission / reception control mode, regardless of the timing. The same wireless signal is transmitted several times.

  Therefore, the radio station (fire alarm device TR) of the present embodiment can be used not only for a radio communication system (fire alarm system) composed only of the radio station (fire alarm device TR) of the present embodiment, but also of another type. It can also be used for a wireless communication system (fire alarm system) where wireless stations (old system wireless stations) are mixed. However, when mixed with the radio station of the old system, the control unit 1 of the radio station (fire alarm device TR) of this embodiment apparently operates as the radio station (fire alarm device) of the old system. Thus, in the fire alarm device TR (wireless station) and the fire alarm system (wireless communication system) of the present embodiment, the usability can be improved.

  By the way, as described above, a unique (unique) identification code is assigned to the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj without distinction between the master station and the slave station in the manufacturing stage and stored in the memory unit 1a. However, when identification codes are specified as the source address SA and destination address DA of the radio signal, the bit length of the header HD becomes relatively long, so that the radio signal transmission / reception time increases, resulting in faster battery consumption. End up. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as in the old system described in Patent Document 1, the identification code of the master station TR1 is used to identify one fire alarm system comprising one master station TR1 and one or more slave stations TRj. (Master station ID) is included in the header HD. Furthermore, a unique device number is assigned to each slave station TRj, and each fire alarm TR in the same system is identified by the combination of the device number specified in the source address SA and destination address DA and the master station ID. Thus, wireless signals can be transmitted and received. In this embodiment, slot numbers 1, 2,... Corresponding to the time slot order are used as device numbers, and device numbers (slot numbers) “1” to “3” are assigned to the slave stations TR2 to TR4, respectively. Is assigned, and a device number of “0” is assigned to the master station TR1.

  Here, in both the old system and the new system, the slave station TR1 stores the identification code of the slave station TRj (hereinafter referred to as “slave station ID”) in the master station TR1 and before each system start operation. A process of assigning device numbers so as to avoid duplication (hereinafter referred to as “registration”) is performed. The registration procedure in the old system will be described below with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG. However, in the following description, for the sake of convenience, it is assumed that the registration procedure of the old system is executed in the radio station (fire alarm device TR) of the present embodiment.

  First, when an operation input for switching to a mode for registration (registration mode) is received by the operation input reception unit 6 of the master station TR1, an operation signal for switching from the operation input reception unit 6 to the registration mode is sent to the control unit 1. In response to the operation signal, the control unit 1 shifts to the registration mode. On the other hand, when an operation input for transmitting a registration message is received by the operation input reception unit 6 of the slave station (for example, TR2) to be registered, an operation signal instructing transmission of the registration message from the operation input reception unit 6 is controlled. Is output to section 1. The control unit 1 that has received the operation signal causes the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 to transmit a wireless signal having its own slave station ID as the transmission source address SA, the multicast address as the transmission destination address DA, and the registration message as data Data. .

  When receiving the registration message from the slave station TR2, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 assigns a device number (for example, “1” of the slot number) to the slave station ID specified in the source address SA and The slave station ID and the device number are associated with each other and stored in the memory unit 1a. Here, as will be described later, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 has a registration counter that is incremented every time the registration contents (slave station ID and device number stored in the memory unit 1a) are deleted, and the source address The registration message consisting of the assigned device number and the count value of the registration counter (initial value is 0), with SA as the master station ID, the destination address DA as the slave station ID of the slave station TR2 that is the source of the registration message, and data A radio signal used as data is transmitted from the radio transmission / reception unit 2 to the slave station TR2. However, information indicating that the device number is allocated (hereinafter referred to as “registration mode information”) is included in the head portion of the data Data.

  If the registration mode information is included in the head portion of the data Data of the radio signal received by the radio transmission / reception unit 2, the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 includes the master station ID that is the transmission source address SA of the radio signal, The device number and the count value of the registration counter included in the registration message received by the wireless signal are stored in the memory unit 1a in association with each other. As a result, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 stores the slave station ID and device number of the slave station TR2 and the count value of the registration counter in the memory unit 1a, and the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 stores the master station ID of the master station TR1. The device number and the count value of the registration counter are stored in the memory unit 1a, whereby the registration of the slave station TR2 with the master station TR1 is completed. The other slave stations TR3,... Are registered in the same procedure. If the operation input receiving unit 6 of the master station TR1 receives an operation input for returning from the registration mode to the normal operation mode and an operation signal is output from the operation input receiving unit 6 to the control unit 1, the control unit 1 ends the registration mode and switches to the normal operation mode. However, the registration procedure and processing contents in the new system are almost the same as those in the old system.

  Here, when transmitting / receiving a radio signal between the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj in the registration mode, the identification code (slave station ID) of the slave station TRj is specified for the source address SA and the destination address DA. Therefore, for example, even when registration messages are transmitted almost simultaneously from a plurality of slave stations TRj, it is possible to prevent the same device number from being assigned to the plurality of slave stations TRj.

  By the way, once registered, the master station ID, slave station ID, device number, and count value can be deleted from the memory unit 1a. As shown in FIG. 4, when an operation input for switching to a mode (erase mode) for deleting registered contents is accepted in the operation input accepting unit 6 of the master station TR1, the operation input accepting unit 6 switches to the erase mode. An operation signal is output to the control unit 1. The control unit 1 that has received the operation signal shifts to the erase mode. In this erasure mode, when an operation input for confirming erasure is accepted by the operation input accepting unit 6 of the master station TR1, an operation signal for confirming erasure is output from the operation input accepting unit 6 to the control unit 1. Receiving the operation signal, the control unit 1 erases the slave station ID and device number stored in the memory unit 1a and increments the count value of the registration counter. When the operation input receiving unit 6 of the master station TR1 receives an operation input for returning from the erasure mode to the normal operation mode and an operation signal is output from the operation input receiving unit 6 to the control unit 1, the control unit 1 ends the erase mode and switches to the normal operation mode.

  On the other hand, when the operation input receiving unit 6 of the slave station TRj receives an erasing operation input, an operation signal for erasing is output from the operation input receiving unit 6 to the control unit 1, and the control unit 1 responds to the operation signal. The master station ID, device number, and count value stored in the memory unit 1a are deleted.

  Thus, even if the registered contents of the registered slave station TRj are not deleted even though the registered contents of the master station TR1 are deleted, the newly registered slave station TRj Since the count value of the registration counter is incremented and changed, even if the same device number is assigned to different slave stations TRj, the currently valid device number is identified by the count value of the registration counter of the master station TR1. can do. Therefore, since the slave station TRj that has not been deleted from the registered contents does not receive the radio signal because the count value included in the header HD of the radio signal transmitted from the master station TR1 does not match, It is possible to avoid such a problem that a plurality of slave stations TRj return wireless signals including response messages at the same time to cause a collision.

  Thus, in the normal operation mode already described, as shown in FIG. 2, the master station ID of the master station TR1 is designated as the master station ID of the header HD, and the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj are set in the count value RC. A count value stored in the memory unit 1a is designated, and a radio signal designating a device number assigned to each of the transmission source address SA and the transmission destination address DA is transmitted and received. Therefore, the amount of information may be sufficiently smaller than the identification code as compared with the case where the source and destination addresses are specified using only the unique identification code assigned in advance to each fire alarm TR. By using a device number (for example, the identification code is usually 48 bits, but the device number may be 4 to 8 bits), the length of one frame becomes relatively short. Transmission time can be shortened and battery consumption can be reduced.

  Next, the registration procedure of the radio station (fire alarm device TR) of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG.

  First, a registration switch (not shown) of the master station TR1 is pressed, and the operation input receiving unit 6 of the master station TR1 receives an operation input of the registration mode and outputs an operation signal (operation signal of the registration mode). The control unit 1 of the master station TR1 that has received the operation signal activates the radio transmission / reception unit 2 and enters a radio signal reception waiting state. However, when the operation of the registration switch is stopped and the operation input receiving unit 6 no longer outputs the operation signal of the registration mode, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 limits the predetermined duration with a timer, and the duration When the time limit expires, the registration mode returns to the normal mode.

  Further, a registration switch (not shown) of any of the slave stations TRj (for example, the slave station TR2) is pressed, and a registration mode operation signal is output from the operation input receiving unit 6 of the slave station TR2. Then, the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 that has received this operation signal activates the radio transmission / reception unit 2 to continuously transmit two types of radio signals R1, R2 including a registration message. These two types of radio signals R1 and R2 are common in that both have their own slave station ID as the source address SA and the multicast address as the destination address DA. However, in one radio signal R1, a registration message (first registration message) for the master station TR1 of this embodiment is data Data, and in the other radio signal R2, a registration message (second The difference is that the registration message is data.

  The control unit 1 of the master station TR1 receives the radio signal R1 or the radio signal R2 in the radio transmission / reception unit 2 while receiving the operation signal of the registration mode from the operation input reception unit 6 or while the timer is limited in duration. The registration process is performed only when it is received. However, the registration process performed by the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 is almost the same as the registration process in the master station of the old system described above. The slave station ID of the slave station TR2 is the transmission destination address DA, and the registration message is data. A wireless signal Q as data is transmitted from the wireless transmission / reception unit 2.

  The control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 switches the radio transmission / reception unit 2 to the reception state after transmitting the radio signals R1 and R2, and the radio transmission / reception unit 2 receives the radio signal Q transmitted from the master station TR1. Then, the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 associates the master station ID that is the transmission source address SA of the radio signal Q with the device number and the count value of the registration counter included in the registration message received by the radio signal Q. At the same time, it is stored in the memory unit 1a. Further, the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 causes the radio transmission / reception unit 2 to transmit to the master station TR1 a radio signal W whose data is a response message to the reception of the registration message. When the wireless signal W returned from the slave station TR2 is received by the wireless transmission / reception unit 2, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 stores the slave station ID and device number of the slave station TR2 in association with each other in the memory unit 1a. Then, the registration process for one slave station TR2 is completed. Also, if the registration switch is pushed by another slave station (for example, slave station TR3) while the wireless transceiver 2 of the master station TR1 is in a reception waiting state, the registration process of the slave station TR3 is performed according to the procedure described above. Is called. When the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 completes the registration process, the number of registered slave stations is ringed from the speaker of the alarm unit 5 to inform the operator of the number of registered slave stations. Good.

  Here, when the registration switch is pushed in the slave station of the old system, only one type of radio signal R2 is transmitted from the slave station of the old system. Therefore, when the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 receives the wireless signal R1, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 determines that it is the wireless station (slave station TRj) of this embodiment, and the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 only receives the wireless signal R2. Is received, it is determined that it is a radio station (slave station) of the old system, and the determination result (slave station type) is stored in the memory unit 1a. However, depending on the timing at which the radio transmission / reception unit 2 of the master station TR1 enters the reception state, the radio transmission / reception unit 2 of the master station TR1 transmits the radio signal after the radio signal R1, R2 transmitted from the slave station TRj. There are cases where only signal R2 can be received. In this case, there is a possibility that the slave station TRj of the present embodiment is erroneously registered as a slave station of the old system with respect to the master station TR1 of the present embodiment. Therefore, the control unit 1 of the slave station TRj of the present embodiment adds a code indicating the slave station TRj of the present embodiment to the data Data of the radio signal R2. Therefore, even if the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 receives only one type of radio signal R2, if the code is included in the data Data of the radio signal R2, the control unit 1 transmits the radio signal R2. The original slave station TRj is not registered as a slave station of the old system. As a result, the erroneous registration described above can be prevented.

  After the slave station TRj is registered as described above, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 is the first if the types of slave stations stored in the memory unit 1a are all the slave stations TRj of the present embodiment. The transmission / reception control mode is selected and executed, and the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 first transmits a synchronization signal. The control unit 1 of the slave station TRj selects and executes the first transmission / reception control mode by receiving the synchronization signal at the radio transmission / reception unit 2. As a result, the control units 1 of all the fire alarm devices TR (wireless stations) including the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj select and execute the first transmission / reception control mode.

  On the other hand, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 selects and executes the second transmission / reception control mode if the slave station of the old system is included in the types of slave stations stored in the memory unit 1a, and performs synchronization. Do not send a signal. Therefore, the control unit 1 of the slave station TRj according to the present embodiment selects and executes the second transmission / reception control mode by not receiving the synchronization signal by the wireless transmission / reception unit 2. As a result, the control unit 1 of all the fire alarm devices TR (wireless stations) including the master station TR1, the slave station TRj, and the slave station of the old system selects and executes the second transmission / reception control mode.

  Here, in the conventional example (the old system described in Patent Document 1), when the registration switch is pressed, the control unit shifts to the registration mode, and after that, even if the registration switch is not pressed, The registration mode is maintained, and the control unit automatically returns from the registration mode to the normal mode after a predetermined time has elapsed. In this case, it is difficult for an operator who performs registration to determine when the registration mode is finished. On the other hand, in the radio station (fire alarm device TR) of the present embodiment, as described above, since the shift to the registration mode is performed only while the registration switch is being pressed, the operator can easily determine the end of the registration mode. it can. However, even if the pressing operation of the registration switch of the master station TR1 is stopped, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 continues the registration mode for a predetermined duration, so that an operator mistakenly selects the master station TR1. Even if the finger is removed from the registration switch, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 can perform the registration work.

  Here, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj stores in the memory unit 1a when the operation input accepting unit 6 accepts the pressing operation input of the registration switch when the power is turned on. Delete all registered information and return to the initial value. In the case of the master station TR1, the registration information is the slave station ID, device number, registration counter count value, and slave station type, and in the case of the slave station TRj, the master station ID, device number, and registration counter count. Value. In this way, the registration information stored in the memory unit 1a can be deleted with a simple operation. After the registration information is deleted, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 and the slave station TRj does not transmit / receive radio signals until new registration is performed.

TR1, TR2 Fire alarm (radio station)
1 Control unit (transmission control means, reception control means, timer means)
2 Radio transceiver (transmitting means, receiving means)
3 Antenna (transmitting means, receiving means)
7 Battery power supply (power supply means)

Claims (6)

A radio station that attempts to receive a radio signal at a constant intermittent reception interval and pauses until the next intermittent reception interval elapses if the radio signal cannot be received, and is synchronized with the elapse of the intermittent reception interval. A radio station that selectively performs an operation of transmitting a signal and an operation of transmitting the radio signal regardless of an elapsed time of the intermittent reception interval ;
A transmitting means for transmitting the wireless signal; a receiving means for receiving the wireless signal; and a wireless signal that activates the transmitting means when a predetermined event occurs and includes a message corresponding to the event during a predetermined transmission period And a transmission control means for stopping the transmission means when the event does not occur, and a predetermined intermittent reception interval are repeatedly counted. Timer means for performing the reception means during the counting of the intermittent reception interval by the timer means, and a reception control means for starting the receiving means each time counting of the intermittent reception interval by the timer means is completed, Power supply means for supplying an operating power supply for each means using a battery as a power source,
The reception control means and the transmission control means selectively select and execute the first transmission / reception control mode and the second transmission / reception control mode,
In the first transmission / reception control mode, the reception control unit stops counting the intermittent reception interval by the timer unit when the reception unit receives a synchronization signal, and is constant from the end point of the synchronization signal. The intermittent reception interval counting by the timer unit is restarted when a standby time has elapsed, and the transmission control unit overlaps with the time point when the counting of the intermittent reception interval by the timer unit is completed when the event occurs. Transmitting a radio signal from the transmission means during a transmission period;
In the second transmission / reception control mode, the reception control unit does not stop counting the intermittent reception interval by the timer unit, and the transmission control unit performs the intermittent reception interval by the timer unit when the event occurs. Regardless of the completion of counting, the transmission means transmits a radio signal,
The reception control unit and the transmission control unit are configured such that when at least one of the other radio stations belonging to the same radio communication system is a radio station having only the second transmission / reception control mode, 2. A radio station that executes two transmission / reception control modes . The transmission control means is addressed to the radio station having only a radio signal including a first registration message addressed to another radio station corresponding to the first transmission / reception control mode and the second transmission / reception control mode. A radio signal including a second registration message is sequentially transmitted from the transmission unit, or a radio signal including a response message corresponding to the first registration message or the second registration message is transmitted from the transmission unit. Let
The reception control unit and the transmission control unit may be configured such that when only the radio signal including the first registration message or the radio signal including the response message to the first registration message is received by the reception unit, When the reception unit receives a radio signal including the second registration message or a response signal to the second registration message, the second transmission / reception control mode is executed. radio station according to claim 1, characterized in that the run. An operation input accepting unit for accepting an operation input for permitting transmission of the registration message and reception of the registration message or the response message to the reception control unit and the transmission control unit; The radio signal including the first and second registration messages or the response message is transmitted from the transmission means only while the input is accepted, and the reception control means and the transmission control means accept the operation input. The two types of transmission / reception control modes are selected only when the reception unit receives a radio signal including the first and second registration messages or the response message. 2. The radio station according to 2. Transmission of the registration message to the reception control unit and the transmission control unit and the registration message or the response message from when the operation input is not received by the operation input reception unit until a predetermined duration elapses. The radio station according to claim 3, wherein reception of said radio station is permitted . The reception control unit and the transmission control unit may receive the first and second registration messages when an operation input for deleting the selection result of the two types of transmission / reception control modes is received by the operation input reception unit. 5. The radio station according to claim 4 , wherein the transmission / reception operation is stopped until a radio signal including the response message is received by the receiving means . A wireless communication system comprising a plurality of wireless stations and transmitting and receiving wireless signals using radio waves as a medium between the plurality of wireless stations, wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless stations is a wireless communication system according to claims 1 to 5. A wireless communication system characterized by being a station .

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