JP5943638B2 - Wireless relay system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless relay system in which a plurality of wireless communication devices arranged to form a predetermined communication route relay information.

  As an example of the wireless relay system, there is a power transmission line maintenance monitoring device described in Patent Document 1. This monitoring device arranges a slave unit that can communicate with specific low-power radio on each tower that supports the transmission line, and information on the transmission line collected by each slave unit (wire temperature, coconut snow, ground fault, (Such as a flashlight) is relayed (relayed) in turn between adjacent slave units and transmitted to the base unit.

  In order to extend the battery life of the wireless communication device of such a system, it is known to operate the wireless communication device in an intermittent operation that repeats a wake-up period and a sleep period. In order to transmit information by relay communication (multi-hop wireless), it is necessary to operate all wireless communication devices in synchronization and intermittently. For example, Patent Document 2 describes a multi-hop wireless communication system in which each wireless terminal is intermittently operated in synchronization with the base station by taking into account a time lag between the base station and each wireless terminal. Has been.

JP-A-7-107634 JP 2007-116408 A

  In the multi-hop wireless communication system of Patent Document 2, the battery life can be extended by performing the intermittent operation. However, since the information is not transmitted during the sleep period, the information transmission time becomes long. Therefore, there is a problem that it is desired to shorten the information transmission time as much as possible.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. In a wireless relay system in which a plurality of unrelated communication devices operate intermittently and relay information, the transmission time of information is made as long as possible according to the power state. An object of the present invention is to provide a wireless relay system that can be shortened.

The wireless relay system according to claim 1, which has been made to achieve the above object, is a wireless relay system in which a plurality of wireless communication devices can relay information,
The wireless communication device has a solar cell and a power storage unit for storing the power generated by the solar cell in a power supply unit that supplies electric power for operation, and the wireless communication device performs wake-up to transmit and receive Intermittent operation that alternately repeats the period and the sleep period in which no transmission / reception is performed, and the wake-up period is started by time synchronization, and the power generation voltage of the solar cell, the voltage of the power storage unit, and / or The length of the wake-up period is autonomously changed based on a time zone within one day, and the wireless communication device does not respond from the other wireless communication device to which the information is relayed. The retransmission of information is repeated up to a predetermined number of retransmissions, and when the retransmission cannot be performed up to the number of retransmissions during the wakeup period, the remaining number of retransmissions during the next wakeup period It has been to perform, retransmission count, during the period of the difference between the variable to the shortest period and the longest duration of the wake-up period, it is set to the number of times at least retransmission number of times of retransmission is not completed Features.

A wireless relay system according to a second aspect is the one according to the first aspect , wherein the wireless communication device stops the intermittent operation when a voltage of the power storage unit becomes less than a predetermined voltage, It is always in a sleep period, and only the operation of transmitting predetermined emergency information is performed.

A wireless relay system according to a third aspect is the one according to the first or second aspect , wherein the power storage unit is a lithium ion capacitor.

A wireless relay system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the wireless relay system according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the wireless communication device has a detector for detecting a detection target phenomenon, and the detection is performed. The information is transmitted when the detector detects the detection target phenomenon.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wireless relay system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless communication devices is a master station connectable to an external communication line. Features.

A wireless relay system according to a sixth aspect is the one according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the plurality of wireless communication devices are arranged in a tower row on which a transmission line is installed. To do.

  According to the present invention, the solar cell and the power storage unit are provided, and the length of the wake-up period of the intermittent operation is further reduced based on the power generation voltage of the solar cell, the voltage of the power storage unit, and / or the time zone within one day. By autonomously changing, for example, the wake-up period is lengthened when there is a margin in the power source, and the wake-up period is shortened when there is no margin in the power source. Can be shortened. Since each wireless communication device autonomously changes the length of the wakeup period, for example, it is not necessary to instruct each wireless communication device of the length of the wakeup period from the master station, and the system is simple.

  When the wireless communication device sets the number of retransmissions of information to be retransmitted, the wireless communication device sets each of the wireless communications when the number of retransmissions at least for the number of retransmissions is not completed during the difference between the shortest period and the longest period of the variable wakeup period. Even if there is a difference in length between the wake-up periods of the devices, information can be transmitted reliably.

  When the wireless communication device stops the intermittent operation when the voltage of the power storage unit becomes lower than the predetermined voltage, and is always in the sleep period and performs only the operation of transmitting predetermined emergency information, the power storage unit By keeping the power of the station, it is possible to make sure that the information is particularly urgent.

  In the case where the power storage unit is a lithium ion capacitor, since the energy density is high, the operable period can be extended, and the device can be further downsized.

  When the wireless communication device includes a detector, it can be used as a monitoring system. When at least one of the wireless communication apparatuses is a master station that can be connected to an external communication line, information can be communicated to an external host station, for example, and can be used as various remote monitoring systems. In particular, when a wireless communication device is arranged in a tower row on which a transmission line is installed to form a transmission line monitoring system, the operation period is long, so that maintenance of the wireless communication apparatus installed at a high position of the steel tower becomes simple. For example, the occurrence of a power transmission failure such as a ground fault can be transmitted as soon as possible.

It is a schematic diagram of a power transmission line monitoring system which is an example of a radio relay system to which the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram of the radio | wireless communication apparatus 1 used for the power transmission line monitoring system of FIG. 2 is a communication path from a master station to a terminal station in the transmission line monitoring system of FIG. 2 is a communication path from a terminal station to a master station in the transmission line monitoring system of FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the jump communication in event communication. It is a schematic diagram explaining the jump communication in event communication. It is a schematic diagram explaining the jump communication in event communication. It is a schematic diagram explaining the jumping communication in periodical communication. It is a communication sequence diagram explaining regular communication in intermittent operation. It is a communication sequence diagram explaining the branch process in intermittent operation. It is a communication sequence diagram explaining event communication in intermittent operation. It is a communication sequence diagram explaining the skip communication of the periodic communication in intermittent operation. It is a communication sequence diagram explaining the case where the wake-up period in intermittent operation is varied.

  Hereinafter, although the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these forms.

  As an example of a wireless relay system to which the present invention is applied, a schematic diagram of a power transmission line monitoring system is shown in FIG. The power transmission line monitoring system includes a plurality of wireless communication devices 1 that are respectively disposed on a plurality of steel towers 50 that construct (support) power transmission lines 51. Each wireless communication device 1 is fixedly installed near the top of the steel tower 50 where the line-of-sight distance becomes long so that the communication range is widened. The plurality of wireless communication devices 1 form a tree-type (tree-shaped) communication route (network route) as an example along the route of the power transmission line 51 (illustrated by one in the figure).

  The wireless communication device 1 is a master station, a terminal station, a relay station, a branch station, or a branch auxiliary station according to each role.

  The wireless communication device 1 serving as a master station can be connected to an external communication line such as a mobile phone line, a fixed telephone line, an Internet line, or an optical cable line, and a host host station (not shown) outside this transmission line monitoring system. ). The communication path is formed in a tree shape based on this parent station. In the figure, a tree-type contact route is formed on the right side of the master station, but a tree-type contact route may also be formed on the left side. The communication path may be a single line type without branching. At least one master station is arranged in the communication route, but a plurality of master stations may be arranged. Further, a master station may be arranged at the base of one tower 50 and another station such as a relay station may be arranged at the top of the tower 50. The master station is a source of periodic communication to the terminal station or a destination of periodic communication from the terminal station. Further, when receiving the periodic communication from the terminal station and the event transmission generated in each station, the master station notifies the host station as necessary. Further, the master station transmits data (information) to a designated station when an instruction is sent from the host station to each station.

  The wireless communication device 1 serving as a terminal station is arranged at the end of the communication path and becomes a source of regular communication. Further, the terminal station terminates the regular communication from the master station and discards the received regular communication data. When the terminal station receives other data, the terminal station discards it unless it is addressed to itself.

  The wireless communication device 1 serving as a relay station transmits the received data to the opposite side of the communication path. That is, data sent from the master station side is relayed to the terminal station side, and data sent from the terminal station side is relayed to the master station side.

  The wireless communication device 1 serving as a branch station is arranged at a branch point of the communication route, branches data from the parent station side, and relays it to each terminal station side of the branch destination. The branch station relays data sent from the terminal station side in the direction of the master station without branching.

  The wireless communication device 1 serving as a branching auxiliary station is arranged next to the branching station on the communication path before branching (the master station side relative to the branching station), and normally operates as a relay station. When the relay to the network fails, the data is relayed to each branch destination by taking over the branch station.

  FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the wireless communication apparatus 1.

  The wireless communication device 1 includes a CPU (central processing unit) 2, a wireless unit 3, a standard radio wave receiver 4, an RTC (real time clock) 5, an internal memory 6, a ground fault detector 7, a ground fault indicator 8, a mobile phone. A module 9, an external analog signal input terminal 12, an external contact signal input terminal 13, a power supply unit 30, and the like are provided.

  The CPU 2 operates according to a program stored in the internal memory 6 and controls the wireless communication apparatus 1 in an integrated manner. The CPU 2 functions mainly as a wireless communication control unit that controls wireless communication and a power supply monitoring unit that monitors the power supply unit 30. The programs of the wireless communication devices 1 that are the master station, the branch auxiliary station, the branch station, the relay station, and the terminal station are all common, and the operation is performed by determining which station is the own station based on the contents of the transfer table described later. It is supposed to be.

  As an example, the radio unit 3 is a 2.4 GHz band low-power radio capable of data communication in accordance with the standard ARIB STD-T66. The low-power radio can be preferably used because it does not require a license for use. The wireless unit 3 includes a modulator 21, a demodulator 22, a transmission high-frequency circuit 23, a reception high-frequency circuit 24, a reception electric field strength measurement circuit 24a, a high-frequency switch 25, an antenna 26, and the like. In the wireless unit 3, the transmission data output from the CPU 2 is modulated by the modulator 21, for example, FSK (Frequency-shift keying), and the transmission high-frequency circuit 23 amplifies and filters the data, and wirelessly transmits it from the antenna 26. The transmission frequency is a predetermined frequency of 2400 MHz or more and 2483.5 MHz or less, and the transmission output is 10 mW. The line speed is 125 kbps as an example. As the antenna 26, for example, an antenna in which a 1/2 wavelength antenna (gain 2.14 dBi) is formed on a substrate is used. As the antenna 26, an external antenna may be connected. In the radio unit 3, the radio signal input from the antenna 26 is orthogonally demodulated to the intermediate frequency by the reception high-frequency circuit 24, and the demodulator 22 performs FSK demodulation to output the received data to the CPU 2. Transmission / reception of the wireless unit 3 such as the high-frequency switch 25 is switched by the CPU 2 to enable half-duplex communication. The reception field strength measurement circuit 24a measures the reception field strength (carrier level) and outputs it to the CPU 2. As such a wireless unit 3, various known devices such as commercially available modules for low-power wireless and ICs can be used. The wireless unit 3 performs transmission / reception, for example, by turning on / off the power source or by controlling the module or IC used for the wireless unit 3 in the operation mode / operation stop mode (power saving mode) under the control of the CPU 2. An intermittent operation in which a wake-up period to be performed and a sleep period in which transmission / reception is not performed is alternately repeated is possible. Note that the CPU 2 itself may also operate in the normal operation mode and the low power mode with high power consumption so as to be linked with the wake-up period and the sleep period.

  When the distance at which data communication is possible was measured with the 2.4 GHz band low-power radio (radio unit 3), communication was possible at a distance of at least 1200 m and a maximum of 2000 m when the antenna height was 10 m in an outdoor line of sight. When the line speed is decreased, the communicable distance can be further increased. For example, if the line speed is set to 1 / n, the sensitivity increases by √ (n) times. The interval between the steel towers 50 in which the wireless communication device 1 is installed is not uniform and is approximately 50 m to 500 m although it depends on the location and the type of the steel tower. Therefore, there are many cases in which a plurality of steel towers exist within a distance where low-power wireless data communication is possible. For example, when the distance between towers is set to 300 m and the data communication possible distance is set to 1200 m, the wireless communication device 1 can perform data communication with a plurality of other wireless communication devices 1 arranged on the steel towers 1 to 4 ahead. is there. Thus, the wireless communication device 1 is arranged so that the communication range is overreached.

  Note that there is a specific low-power radio that uses a 400 MHz band, a 900 MHz band, and a 1200 MHz band as a radio device that does not require a license. Such a specific low-power radio may be used in the present invention. However, if a 2.4 GHz-band low-power radio is used, the frequency is high, so that circuit elements, antennas, and the like can be downsized, and thus the entire apparatus can be downsized. This is preferable. Moreover, you may use the radio | wireless machine of other standards other than a low power radio | wireless or a specific low power radio | wireless from which a transmission / reception frequency, transmission output, etc. differ as needed.

  The standard radio wave receiver 4 demodulates the standard radio wave received by the long wave bar antenna 28 and outputs time information included in the standard radio wave to the CPU 2. As the standard radio wave receiver 4, a known standard radio wave receiving module or IC can be used. Standard radio waves are radio broadcasts containing accurate time information and accurate frequency information. In Japan, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology operates at 40 kHz and 60 kHz. The standard radio wave includes information such as hour, minute, date of total, and year as time information.

  The RTC 5 is a clock, and outputs the time of year, month, day, hour, minute, and second to the CPU 2. The RTC 5 is controlled by the CPU 2 to update and set the clock time.

  The internal memory 6 includes a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, a flash ROM that stores a program for operating the CPU 2, and a RAM that serves as a work area for the CPU 2. The rewritable nonvolatile memory is controlled by the CPU 2 and stores various setting information such as a transfer table, a radio communication frequency, and the number of retransmissions described later.

  The ground fault detector 7 is an example of a detector according to the present invention, and is used by being attached to a steel tower (not shown). When a ground fault that is an example of a power transmission failure is detected as a detection target phenomenon, detection information is obtained. Output. The ground fault detector 7 is connected to the CPU 2 via a ground fault detector interface 11a that is electrically insulated by a photocoupler and passes detection information. In addition, you may provide the other detector which detects the power transmission failure other than a ground fault with the ground fault detector 7 instead of the ground fault detector 7. FIG. As the detection target phenomenon detected by the detector, for example, a flashlight caused by a lightning strike may be detected. When detecting a flash, a flash detector is used.

  When the detector 7 detects a phenomenon to be detected (in this case, a ground fault is detected), the ground fault indicator (indicator) 8 releases, for example, a conspicuous colored cloth streamer to the outside, By changing the appearance so as to change the color, patrolmen and the like can visually detect the steel tower with the ground fault. The ground fault indicator 8 is connected to the CPU 2 via a ground fault indicator interface 11b that is electrically insulated and delivers a display start signal and delivers operating power.

  The mobile phone module 9 can be connected to a mobile phone network and is disposed only in the wireless communication device 1 serving as a master station. The mobile phone module 9 communicates with the CPU 2 by serial communication via the mobile phone interface 11c, and the operation is controlled by the CPU 2. As a result, the master station can connect to the mobile phone network and perform data communication with, for example, a host host station.

  As an example, the external analog signal input terminal 12 can input four analog signals, and a detector that outputs an analog signal as a detection signal when a detection target phenomenon is detected can be connected. The signal input from the external analog signal input terminal 12 is digitally converted by the A / D converter 12 a and input to the CPU 2. As an example, the external contact signal input terminal 13 can input three contact signals, and a detector that outputs a high level / low level (or open / closed) contact signal as a detection signal can be connected. ing. You may connect a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a snow cover sensor, a lightning strike current sensor, etc. to these input terminals 12 and 13 as a detector.

  The power supply unit 30 includes a solar cell 31, a lithium ion capacitor 32, a charging circuit 33, a regulator 34, an overdischarge protection circuit 35, and A / D converters 36 a and 36 b, and supplies operating power to each unit of the wireless communication device 1. Supply.

  As the solar cell 31, various known types such as a silicon solar cell and a dye-sensitized solar cell can be used. The electric power generated by the solar cell 31 is stored in the lithium ion capacitor 32 by the charging circuit 33, stabilized to the operating voltage by the regulator 34, and supplied to each part. The lithium ion capacitor 32 is an example of a power storage unit, and is a capacitor whose energy density is increased by using a carbon-based material in which lithium ions are occluded in a negative electrode while using the principle of an electric double layer capacitor. Various types of commercially available lithium ion capacitors can be used. The lithium ion capacitor 32 preferably has a power capacity capable of operating the wireless communication device 1 for at least 4 days, more desirably 8 days without sunshine when fully charged. Further, it is preferable that the solar cell 31 and the lithium ion capacitor 32 can be added as necessary. Further, since the lithium ion capacitor 32 is vulnerable to overdischarge, as shown in the figure, when the voltage drops, the power is output via the overdischarge protection circuit 35 controlled by the CPU 2 to cut off the output. It is preferable. The generated voltage of the solar cell 31 is analog / digital converted by an A / D converter 36a (another example of a detector) and input to the CPU 2 (power supply monitoring unit). The voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 is analog / digital converted by an A / D converter 36b (another example of a detector) and input to the CPU 2 (power supply monitoring unit).

  As described above, when the solar battery 31 is used, the radio communication device 1 can be operated semipermanently without power supply from the outside as long as there is sunlight. Thereby, there are many places where installation is inconvenient, and maintenance of an apparatus installed at a high place such as the top of a steel tower is simplified, which is preferable.

  The use of the lithium ion capacitor 32 is preferable because the energy density is higher and the capacitance is larger than that of the electric double layer capacitor, so that the operable period can be extended while reducing the size and weight of the device. In addition, when the electric power capacity, weight, shape size, etc. to be stored are acceptable, various known types such as an electric double layer capacitor, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery, a nickel cadmium secondary battery, a lead storage battery, etc. A power storage unit may be used.

  The information communication route of this transmission line monitoring system is shown in FIGS.

  Each wireless communication device 1 is assigned an identification number (ID number) that can individually identify the wireless communication device 1 as indicated by an ID in FIG. By using this identification number as the address of the wireless communication device 1, the wireless communication device 1 and another wireless communication device 1 can perform wireless communication (selective calling) on a one-to-one basis. In the following, each wireless communication device 1 may be called by its station type and identification number (ID number).

  FIG. 3 shows a communication path from the master station ID1 to the terminal stations ID14, ID24, and ID34, and FIG. 4 shows a communication path from the terminal stations ID14, ID24, and ID34 to the master station ID1. In the contact direction of FIG. 3, the information is branched into three branches and relayed. However, in the contact direction of FIG. 4, the information is relayed toward the master station side without being branched.

  Each wireless communication device 1 is associated with an order in which the wireless communication device 1 is arranged in order from the position of its own station along the communication route, and identification numbers of a plurality of other wireless communication devices 1 capable of communication are stored in the internal memory 6 ( (See FIG. 2). In order to record the transfer table, first, the installer causes the wireless communication device 1 and the other wireless communication device 1 to perform data communication so that they can communicate with each other at a predetermined electric field strength and / or a predetermined value. The identification numbers of other wireless communication apparatuses 1 that can communicate with each other at a code error rate or lower are confirmed in order from the nearest station. When communication becomes impossible, the wireless communication device 1 prior to that communication is not confirmed as being incapable of communication. At this time, the maximum value of the plurality of units to be recorded is defined by checking whether or not communication with other wireless communication devices 1 separated to a predetermined number of units (for example, four units) at the maximum along the communication path is possible. May be. The adjacent wireless communication device 1 is counted as one unit ahead, and the next adjacent wireless communication device 1 is counted as two units ahead. A plurality of wireless communication devices 1 ahead means a wireless communication device 1 two or more devices ahead.

  Next, the installer wirelessly transmits to the wireless communication apparatus 1 a transfer table to be recorded with a recording command from a maintenance / setting wireless communication apparatus (not shown). As a result, the CPU 2 (see FIG. 2) of the wireless communication apparatus 1 that has received this wireless communication records a transfer table addressed to itself in the internal memory 6 (see FIG. 2). The transfer table may be recorded by operating a setting computer (not shown in FIG. 1) connected to the wireless communication apparatus 1.

  As described above, it is preferable to record the identification number of the other wireless communication device 1 that has become communicable in the transfer table. However, without confirming the other wireless communication device 1 that is able to communicate, All the identification numbers of the wireless communication devices 1 may be recorded in the transfer table up to a predetermined number of destinations (for example, four destinations). In this case, there may be a case where the time required for data relay becomes longer in the case of detection information skipping communication described later.

  Examples of transfer tables are shown in Tables 1-6. In the “right registration” in the transfer table, the identification numbers of other wireless communication devices 1 that can communicate in the direction of transmission by the local station are registered in order through the communication path of FIG. The identification numbers of the other wireless communication apparatuses 1 that can communicate in the direction of transmission by the local station through the four communication paths are registered in order. Here, an example is shown in which the maximum value of a plurality of destinations to be recorded is defined as four. Basically, the wireless communication device 1 relays information coming from the “right registration” side of its own station to the “left registration” side based on the transfer table, and information coming from its “left registration” side. To the right registration side. From the registered contents of the transfer table, the wireless communication device 1 (CPU 2) determines whether the own station is a master station, a terminal station, a relay station, a branch station, or a branch auxiliary station.

表１は、図３，４に示す親局ＩＤ１に登録された転送テーブルである。「右登録」には、自局よりも末端局側方向（図の右側方向）の１台先（「＋１」欄）に、中継局ＩＤ２の識別番号が記録され、２台先（「＋２」欄）に分岐補助局ＩＤ３の識別番号が記録され、３台先（「＋３」欄）に分岐局ＩＤ１０の識別番号が記録されている。４台先（「＋４」欄）からは、分岐しているので、分岐先の各系統の中継局ＩＤ１１，ＩＤ２１，ＩＤ３１の識別番号が記録されている。親局ＩＤ１よりも左側には連絡経路が無いので、「左登録」に何も記録されていない。又、「自局ＩＤ」欄には、自局の識別番号[ＩＤ１]が記録されている。さらに、これらの登録された識別番号の中に親局があるときは「親局ＩＤ」欄に親局の識別番号が記録されている。この場合、自局が親局であるので、「親局ＩＤ」欄に自局の識別番号[ＩＤ１]が記録されている。無線通信装置１は、自局ＩＤと親局ＩＤとが一致している場合、自局が親局であると認識する。なお、親局は、分岐局、分岐補助局、中継局、末端局の条件にも当て嵌まるときは、それらとしても機能する。

Table 1 is a transfer table registered in the master station ID 1 shown in FIGS. In the “right registration”, the identification number of the relay station ID 2 is recorded in one station (in the “+1” column) in the terminal station direction (right direction in the figure) from the own station, and two stations (“+2”) Column), the identification number of branch auxiliary station ID3 is recorded, and the identification number of branch station ID10 is recorded three units ahead ("+3" column). Since it is branched from the four units ahead ("+4" column), the identification numbers of the relay stations ID11, ID21, and ID31 of each branch destination system are recorded. Since there is no communication route on the left side of the master station ID1, nothing is recorded in the “left registration”. In the “own station ID” column, the identification number [ID1] of the own station is recorded. Further, when there is a master station among these registered identification numbers, the master station identification number is recorded in the “master station ID” column. In this case, since the own station is the parent station, the identification number [ID1] of the own station is recorded in the “parent station ID” column. When the own station ID and the parent station ID match, the wireless communication device 1 recognizes that the own station is the parent station. Note that the master station also functions as a branch station, a branch auxiliary station, a relay station, and a terminal station when they apply to the conditions.

表２は、分岐局ＩＤ１０に登録された転送テーブルの例である。分岐局から末端局側に向かい連絡経路が３系統に分岐しているので、「右登録」には、３系統分（３枝分）の識別番号が、各系統に対応するように行を分けて記録されている。「左登録」には、自局より親局側に１台先の（「＋１」欄）に分岐補助局の[ＩＤ３]が記録され、２台先（「＋２」欄）に中継局の［ＩＤ２］が記録され、３台先（「＋３」欄）に親局の［ＩＤ１］が記録されている。４台先（「＋４」欄）の連絡経路は存在しないので空欄である。「自局ＩＤ」欄には、自局の識別番号[ＩＤ１０]が記録されている。又、これらの登録された識別番号の中に親局ＩＤ１があるので、「親局ＩＤ」欄に[ＩＤ１]が記録されている。無線通信装置１（ＣＰＵ２）は、「右登録」（「左登録」）の「＋１」欄に複数の識別番号が記録されているときに、自局が分岐局であると認識する。

Table 2 is an example of a transfer table registered in the branch station ID 10. Since the communication path branches from the branch station to the terminal station side into 3 systems, the line is divided so that the identification number for 3 systems (3 branches) corresponds to each system in "Right registration". Are recorded. In “Left registration”, the [ID3] of the branch auxiliary station is recorded in the “1” field ahead of the master station from the own station, and the relay station [ID3] is recorded in the second station (“+2” field). ID2] is recorded, and [ID1] of the master station is recorded three units ahead ("+3" column). Since there is no connection route for four cars ahead ("+4" field), this field is blank. In the “own station ID” column, the identification number [ID10] of the own station is recorded. Further, since there is a master station ID1 among these registered identification numbers, [ID1] is recorded in the “master station ID” column. The wireless communication device 1 (CPU 2) recognizes that its own station is a branch station when a plurality of identification numbers are recorded in the “+1” column of “right registration” (“left registration”).

表３は、分岐補助局ＩＤ３に登録された転送テーブルの例である。無線通信装置１は、「右登録」（「左登録」）の「＋２」欄に複数の識別番号が記録され、それらが「＋１」欄の共通の識別番号から分岐しているとき（「＋１」欄に一つのＩＤだけが記録されているとき）は、自局が分岐補助局であると認識する。つまり分岐前側（親局側）で、分岐局の一つ隣りの無線通信装置１が分岐補助局になる。

Table 3 is an example of a transfer table registered in the branch auxiliary station ID3. The wireless communication apparatus 1 records a plurality of identification numbers in the “+2” column of “right registration” (“left registration”), and branches from the common identification number in the “+1” column (“+1”). When only one ID is recorded in the "" column), the own station is recognized as a branch auxiliary station. That is, on the branch front side (master station side), the wireless communication device 1 adjacent to the branch station becomes a branch auxiliary station.

表４は、末端局ＩＤ１４に登録された転送テーブルの例である。自局よりも右側方向には連絡経路が無いので、「右登録」には何も登録されていない。「左登録」には、「＋１」〜「＋４」欄まで順番に、[ＩＤ１３]〜[ＩＤ１０]が記録されている。転送テーブル中に親局は無いので、「親局ＩＤ」欄には、親局が無いことを示す、一例として「２５５」が記録されている。無線通信装置１は、表４のように「右登録」に何も記録されていないとき、又は、「左登録」に何も記録されていないときに、自局が親局でなければ、末端局であると認識する。

Table 4 is an example of the transfer table registered in the terminal station ID 14. Since there is no communication route on the right side of the station, nothing is registered in “Right Registration”. In “left registration”, [ID13] to [ID10] are recorded in order from the “+1” to “+4” columns. Since there is no parent station in the transfer table, “255” is recorded in the “parent station ID” column as an example indicating that there is no parent station. When nothing is recorded in the “right registration” as shown in Table 4 or when nothing is recorded in the “left registration” as shown in Table 4, the wireless communication device 1 Recognize as a station.

表５は、中継局ＩＤ２に登録された転送テーブルの例である。

Table 5 is an example of a transfer table registered in relay station ID2.

表６は、中継局ＩＤ２２に登録された転送テーブルの例である。無線通信装置１は、親局、分岐局、分岐補助局、末端局以外のときに中継局であると認識する。

Table 6 is an example of a transfer table registered in the relay station ID 22. The wireless communication device 1 recognizes that it is a relay station when it is other than the master station, branch station, branch auxiliary station, and terminal station.

  When the number of branches is large so that the connection route further branches at the branch destination, the number of matrixes in the transfer table is increased corresponding to the number of branches as appropriate.

  Next, the operation of the transmission line monitoring system will be described.

  The power transmission line monitoring system performs three types of communication: event communication, regular communication, and command communication.

  The event communication is performed by the wireless communication device 1 (relay station, branch station, branch auxiliary station, terminal) that detects the occurrence of a predetermined event (an example of a predetermined condition) such as the occurrence of a power transmission failure (in this example, a ground fault). This is communication in which special information indicating that the event has occurred is relay-transmitted by relay communication (relay communication) from the station) to the master station. Here, the jumping communication is a communication in which the wireless communication device 1 wirelessly communicates with other wireless communication devices 1 ahead of a plurality of devices along a communication path to relay information. In event communication, the wireless communication device 1 performs jumping communication to another wireless communication device 1 that is farthest from its own station recorded in the transfer table. When the wireless communication device 1 cannot wirelessly communicate with another wireless communication device 1 to which the interlaced communication is performed, the wireless communication device 1 tries wireless communication with other wireless communication devices 1 that are close to each other one after another, and the wireless communication becomes possible. It is preferable to relay information to the wireless communication device 1.

  In the event communication, the wireless communication device 1 shown in FIG. 2 is preset from the external analog signal input terminal 12 or the external contact signal input terminal 13 when the ground fault detection information is output from the ground fault detector 7. When a signal satisfying the condition is input, or when a predetermined event occurs such as when the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 drops, the CPU 2 causes the wireless unit 3 to transmit special information indicating the occurrence of the event. .

  FIG. 5 shows an overview of event communication.

  For example, when a ground fault is detected at the relay station ID 22, the relay station ID 22 is the most from the own station during “left registration” toward the parent station side from the transfer table (see Table 6) stored in the internal memory 6. The remote identification number ([ID2] in the “+4” column) is confirmed, and as shown in FIG. 5A, ground fault detection information is transmitted to the relay station ID2. Receiving this detection information, the relay station ID2 confirms the transfer table (see Table 5) and relays the detection information to the master station ID1 in the “left registration”. The master station ID1 communicates the detection information to the upper host station via a mobile phone line. By performing interlaced communication in this way, the number of relays can be reduced, so that information can be relayed and transmitted in a short time. Note that if the master station is not recorded in the transfer table of the relay station ID2, the relay station ID2 is special information, so information is stored in the station with the identification number farthest in the “left registration” of the transfer table. Is relayed by jumping communication.

  Here, when the wireless communication between the relay station ID 22 and the relay station ID 2 is impossible, as shown in FIG. 5B, the relay station ID 22 confirms the transfer table (see Table 6), The ground fault detection information is transmitted to the nearby branching auxiliary station ID3. Since the branch auxiliary station ID3 that has received the detection information is special information, the transfer table (see Table 3) is confirmed, and the detection information is relayed to the master station ID1 in the “left registration” by interlaced communication.

  When wireless communication between the relay station ID 22 and the branch auxiliary station ID 3 is impossible, the relay station ID 22 performs wireless communication with the branch station ID 10 that is closer to one as shown in FIG. Relay transmission is performed to the master station ID1 by jump communication. If communication is still impossible, the relay station ID 22 performs wireless communication with the adjacent relay station ID 21 as shown in FIG. In this way, when wireless communication is impossible, information can be reliably transmitted by performing communication close to each other.

  In event communication, the wireless communication device 1 that is the source of the special information sends the special information not only in one direction along the contact route (left direction) but also in the opposite direction (right direction) along the contact route. It is preferable to relay to 1. In this case, the wireless communication device 1 (relay station) that has received the special information from the left registration side relays the special information to the right registration side by means of jumping communication. As shown in FIG. 6, there are cases in which a plurality of master stations (master station ID 1 and master station ID 60) are arranged in the communication route, and the relay station ID 22 This is because if the detection information is transmitted in both directions, even if the master station ID1 is in an inoperable state, the detection information is relayed and transmitted to the other master station ID 60 by interlaced communication and can be contacted to the host station. That is, it is possible to improve the connectivity of the special information to the upper host station. In addition, if the wireless communication device 1 that is the source of the special information transmits the special information in both directions, a rule that the master station is arranged on the right registration side is provided, or the master station is arranged in any direction It is not necessary to determine whether it has been performed, and it is preferable because it is excellent in network expandability. The terminal station that has received the special information discards the information.

  When information is transmitted in both directions of the communication route, branching may occur in the route toward the terminal station. In that case, when there are multiple wireless communication devices 1 ahead of each other that perform interlaced communication at each branch destination, the transmitting-side wireless communication device 1 directly transmits information to each branch destination wireless communication device 1. Relay. For example, FIG. 7 shows an example in which the relay station ID 2 transmits special information in both directions of the communication route. As shown in FIG. 7A, the relay station ID 2 transmits special information to the master station ID 1 on the “left registration” side. Subsequently, the relay station ID2 transmits special information to each of the relay stations ID12, ID22, and ID32 at the farthest branch recorded in the “right registration” in the transfer table (see Table 5). Here, for example, when wireless communication between the relay station ID2 and the relay station ID22 is impossible, the relay is relayed to the relay station ID21 as shown in FIG. 7B, and further, when communication with the relay station ID21 is impossible, Relay to the branch station ID 10 as shown in FIG.

  Next, regular communication will be described.

  In periodic communication, the wireless communication device 1 at the end of the communication path periodically transmits periodic communication information that is sequentially relayed to the wireless communication device 1 ahead.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the periodic communication is periodically (for example, every day) from the master station ID1 (terminal wireless communication device) toward the terminal station ID14, ID24, ID34 side. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, information is periodically relayed sequentially by the adjacent wireless communication devices 1 from each terminal station ID 14, ID 24, ID 34 (terminal wireless communication device) toward the master station ID 1 side. Periodic communication information for performing sequential communication is transmitted. Each wireless communication device 1 confirms the transfer table and relays the periodic communication information to the wireless communication device 1 ahead.

  The reason why the master station ID1 transmits the regular communication information as shown in FIG. 3 is that there may be other master stations as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is preferable that the wireless communication devices 1 at all ends transmit regular communication information. A master station that is not arranged at the end does not transmit regular communication. As shown in FIG. 4, when the master station ID1 is at the end and only the master station ID1 exists, the master station ID1 may not transmit the regular communication information. When information is relayed only in one direction along the communication path, only the wireless communication device 1 at the upstream end in one direction may transmit the periodic communication information.

  It is preferable that the time at which the master station ID1, the terminal station ID14, ID24, and ID34 each transmit the regular communication is appropriately shifted. The transmission time is recorded in the internal memory 6 in advance.

  In the regular communication, when the wireless communication device 1 cannot wirelessly communicate with the one-way wireless communication device 1 (another example of the predetermined condition), the wireless communication device 1 performs the skip communication with the plurality of destination wireless communication devices 1. In the jumping communication at the time of regular communication, the wireless communication device 1 on the transmission side is connected to other wireless communication devices one by one from the two wireless communication devices 1 in order, such as two devices, three devices, and so on. It is preferable to attempt wireless communication with the device 1 and relay information to the wireless communication device 1 that is capable of wireless communication.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of jumping communication during regular communication. The figure shows an example in which the terminal station ID 24 transmits regular communication information. As shown in FIG. 8 (a), for example, when wireless communication between the relay station ID 22 and the relay station ID 21 is impossible, the relay station ID 22 is obtained from the transfer table (see Table 6) by two units in “left registration”. The identification number ([ID10] in the “+2” column) is confirmed, and the periodic communication information is relayed to the relay station ID10.

  Further, when communication between the relay station ID 22 and the branch station ID 10 is impossible, as shown in FIG. 8B, the relay station ID 22 is identified from the forwarding table by the identification number of the three units in the “left registration”. ([ID3] in the “+3” column) is confirmed, and the periodic communication information is relayed to the branch auxiliary station ID3. If it still fails, it is relayed to the relay station ID 2 ahead.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 3, when the master station ID1 sends regular communication, although not shown, for example, when communication between the branch auxiliary station ID3 and the branch station ID10 is impossible, the branch auxiliary station ID3 is The transfer table (see Table 3) is confirmed, the branch station ID10 is skipped, and the periodic communication information is directly relayed to the relay stations ID11, ID21, and ID31 that are two units ahead. Although not shown, when the master station ID1 transmits regular communication, for example, if the relay station ID2 cannot communicate with the branch auxiliary station ID3 and cannot communicate with the branch station ID10, the relay station ID2 is The transfer table (refer to Table 5) is confirmed, and the periodic communication information is directly relayed to the relay stations ID11, ID21, and ID31 that are three units ahead by skipping the branch auxiliary station ID3 and the branch station ID10. In this case, the relay station ID2 performs a branch process. Normally, it is often sufficient that the branch auxiliary station ID3 performs the branching process, so here, only the adjacent station of the branch station ID10 is called a branch auxiliary station.

  Thus, even when some wireless communication devices 1 fail due to, for example, lightning, by relaying information to the next wireless communication device 1 one by one when communication is impossible by sequential communication, the information Can be transmitted reliably.

  Also, by performing regular communication, for example, when the master station ID1 does not receive periodic communication information regularly, it is determined that some kind of failure has occurred in the system and that the failure has been reported to the external host station. can do.

  The command communication is a communication route shown in FIG. 3, in which the master station ID1 inquires a specific station about the state of the station by sequential communication, and the station that received the inquiry does not relay the information. In response to the inquiry, it responds to the master station ID1 by sequential communication through the communication route shown in FIG. Also in this case, like the regular communication, when the communication between the wireless communication apparatuses 1 is impossible, the interlaced communication is performed. Also, command communication may be relayed by jump communication.

  When the master station is located in the middle of the communication route, the master station sends both event communication and command communication information in both the right and left directions, as well as regular communication, event communication, and command communication. When any of the above information is received, it is preferable to relay (transmit) in the direction opposite to the direction in which the information is sent. Further, when the master station is arranged in the middle of the communication route, it is preferable that the master station communicates the received and relayed information to the host host station via the mobile phone line.

  When there is a need for the wireless communication apparatus 1 to perform any two or three of the event communication, the regular communication, and the command communication, the priority order is 1: event communication, 2: command communication, 3 : Send in the order of regular communication. Among event communications, ground fault detection information is transmitted with the highest priority. In any communication, the wireless communication apparatus 1 performs carrier detection by the reception electric field strength measurement circuit 24a (see FIG. 2) before transmission, and performs transmission when no carrier is detected. When a carrier is detected, transmission is waited until it is not detected.

  In event communication, regular communication, and command communication, each wireless communication device 1 that relayed information preferably relays by adding an identification flag that can identify that the own station has intervened in relay transmission of the information. By adding the identification flag in this way, it is possible to confirm the presence / absence of the wireless communication device 1 incapable of communication. In particular, it is preferable to add an identification flag during regular communication. Furthermore, the wireless communication device 1 that has performed interlaced communication during regular communication may add an interlaced communication occurrence flag indicating that interlaced communication has been performed to the information.

  As the identification flag added to the information, the identification number itself such as ID2 may be used. However, if the identification number of each relayed station is represented by data, the amount of data increases. Therefore, as shown in Table 7, an area in which each station is associated with 1 bit is prepared in advance in the data sequence of information to be relayed, and the relaying station uses the position of its own identification number as an identification flag. Is preferably changed from “0” to “1” from the viewpoint of reducing the amount of data. Table 7 is an example in which identification flags can be added from ID1 to ID103.

  Next, the intermittent operation will be described.

  Each wireless communication device 1 can reduce power consumption and extend an operable period by relaying information in an intermittent operation that alternately repeats a wake-up period in which transmission / reception is performed and a sleep period in which transmission / reception is not performed. .

  FIG. 9 shows an outline of the intermittent operation. The thick line in the figure indicates the wake-up period W, and the broken line indicates the sleep period S. The sum of the wakeup period W and the sleep period S is the repetition period T. The length of the repetition period T is fixed. Each wireless communication device 1 starts the wake-up period W all at once by time synchronization based on the time of each RTC 5 (see FIG. 2). The repetition period T operates as an example at 180 seconds. In this case, each wireless communication device 1 starts the wake-up period W at the time stored in advance in the internal memory 6, for example, every hour 0 minutes, 3 minutes, 6 minutes... 57 minutes.

  Since the wireless communication device 1 corrects the time of the RTC 5 (see FIG. 2) based on the time information received by the standard radio wave receiver 4 (see FIG. 2), accurate time synchronization is possible. The wireless communication device 1 acquires time information from the standard radio wave receiver 4 and corrects the time of the RTC 5 twice a day, for example, at 0:00 and 12:00. When the standard radio wave receiver 4 cannot receive the standard radio wave, the radio communication device 1 executes command communication requesting another adjacent radio communication device 1 to return time information, for example. It is preferable to acquire time information from the wireless communication device 1 by wireless communication. More preferably, the wireless communication device 1 acquires time information from the further wireless communication device 1 by means of jumping communication when wireless communication with the adjacent wireless communication device 1 is impossible.

  As shown in the figure, as an example, when the terminal station ID 24 transmits periodic communication, the terminal station ID 24 transmits periodic communication information to the relay station ID 23 during the wake-up period. When this is normally received by the relay station ID 23, the relay station ID 23 transmits an ACK (ACKnowledgement) indicating that the data transfer has been normally completed to the terminal station ID 24. The terminal station ID 24 determines that the wireless communication has been performed normally when the ACK transmitted from the relay station ID 23 can be received. The relay station ID 23 transmits information to the relay station ID 22 after transmitting ACK to the relay station ID 24, and determines that the wireless communication has been successfully performed when receiving ACK from the relay station ID 22. Similarly, information is wirelessly relayed up to ID21.

  In the example shown in the figure, the wake-up period W ends when the relay station ID 21 transmits information to the branch station ID 10. Thus, when the wakeup period W has passed, the relay station ID 21 backs up data that could not be transmitted in the internal memory 6 and transmits information to the branch station ID 10 in the next wakeup period W. Similarly, information is relayed to the master station ID1.

  Although not shown, in the case of regular communication from the master station ID1 to each terminal station ID14, ID24, ID34, similarly, information is transferred during the wakeup period W, and when the wakeup period W ends, the information is backed up. Information is transmitted in the next wakeup period W. When the information is branched at the branch station ID10, as shown in FIG. 10, the branch station ID10 first transmits information to, for example, the relay station ID11 of one system, and then transmits information to, for example, the ID21 of another system. Then, the information is relayed to another system such as ID31.

  Similarly, when performing intercom communication, information is transmitted to the target station during the wakeup period W, and when the wakeup period W ends, the information is backed up and information is transmitted to the next wakeup period W. To do.

  The wireless communication device 1 on the transmission side determines that the wireless communication has been successfully performed when an ACK is returned from the counterpart wireless communication device 1 that transmitted the information before the predetermined timeout time F has elapsed. When ACK is not returned, it is determined that wireless communication is impossible. When the wireless communication device 1 on the transmission side does not return an ACK from the wireless communication device 1 on the other end, the information is retransmitted up to a predetermined number of retransmissions, and when an ACK is returned for any retransmission, It is preferable to determine that the wireless communication is normally performed, and to determine that the wireless communication is impossible when the ACK is not returned even if the retransmission is performed up to a predetermined number of retransmissions.

  For example, FIG. 11 shows an example in which event communication is performed from the relay station ID 22 to the master station ID 1. In this case, as already described with reference to FIG. 5, the relay station ID 22 transmits special information such as the occurrence of a ground fault to the relay station ID 2 by the interlaced communication. The relay station ID 22 retransmits to the relay station ID 2 when no ACK is returned from the relay station ID 2 even after the timeout time F has elapsed. The relay station ID 22 determines that wireless communication with the relay station ID 2 is impossible when the ACK is not returned from the relay station ID 2 even if it is retransmitted up to the number of times of retransmission, and as shown in FIG. Send special information to ID3. In this example, since the ACK is returned from the branch auxiliary station ID3, the relay station ID22 determines that the wireless communication with the branch auxiliary station ID3 has been normally performed, and the retransmission to the branch auxiliary station ID3 is not performed. Note that when the wakeup period W ends in the middle of retransmission, the relay station ID 22 backs up the number of retransmissions up to that time in the internal memory 6 and performs retransmission up to the remaining number of times in the next wakeup period W.

  FIG. 12 shows an example in which the master station ID 1 has transmitted regular communication. In this case, since ACK is not returned from the branch auxiliary station ID3 for transmission of the relay station ID2, the relay station ID2 retransmits the periodic communication information up to the number of retransmissions. Since the ACK is not returned even if the retransmission is performed up to the number of retransmissions, the relay station ID2 determines that wireless communication with the branch auxiliary station ID3 is impossible, and the periodic communication information by the jump communication with respect to the two branch station ID10 ahead. Send.

  In wireless communication, communication may become temporarily unstable due to the influence of external noise, etc., so that the probability that information can be relayed increases by retransmitting information up to a predetermined number of retransmissions. Can be transmitted more reliably.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, each wireless communication device 1 autonomously sets the length of the wake-up period W based on the power generation voltage of the solar cell 31 and / or the voltage of the power storage unit (lithium ion capacitor 32 in this example). Variable.

  The wireless communication device 1 (CPU 2) lengthens the wake-up period W when the power generation voltage of the solar cell 31 is high and shortens it when the power generation voltage is low. In addition, the wireless communication device 1 lengthens the wake-up period W when the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 is high and shortens it when the generated voltage is low. As an example, the wireless communication device 1 determines the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 when the power generation voltage (open voltage 6.8V) of the solar cell 31 is equal to or higher than a predetermined power generation voltage of 5.5V. Is 2.8 V (minimum voltage that can be normally operated) to less than 3.2 V, 8 seconds, 3.2 V to less than 3.4 V, 10 seconds, and 3.4 V or more, 12 seconds. Further, when the power generation voltage of the solar cell 31 is less than 5.5V, the wake-up period W is set to 2 seconds when the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 is 2.8V to less than 3.2V, and from 3.2V to 3.4V. Less than 4 seconds, 3.4 V or more is 6 seconds. The sleep period S is a time obtained by subtracting the wake-up period W from the repetition period T.

  If it does in this way, the wake-up period W becomes long when the solar cell 31 is generating electric power, and becomes short when it is not generating electric power. Further, the wake-up period W becomes longer when the charging voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 is high, and becomes shorter when the charging voltage is low. Note that the wake-up period W may be varied by either the power generation voltage of the solar cell 31 or the charging voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32.

  In this way, the wireless communication device 1 autonomously varies the wake-up period W in accordance with the power state of the local station so that information is transmitted quickly when there is a margin in the power capacity, and conversely, there is a margin in the power capacity. When there is no power, the power consumption is reduced and the operable period is lengthened. Therefore, the transmission time can be shortened as much as possible while extending the operable period as much as possible.

  In this case, the power generation voltage of the solar cell 31 and the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 tend to increase during the day and decrease during the night, and each wireless communication device 1 has a wake-up period W of approximately the same length. However, the wake-up period W of each wireless communication device 1 may be long or short due to a difference in installation environment of each wireless communication device 1 or the like. Therefore, in order to absorb the difference in length of the wakeup period W, the predetermined number of retransmissions is the number of times that retransmissions at least for the number of retransmissions are not completed during the difference between the shortest period and the longest period of the variable wakeup period. Set to.

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. The figure shows an example in which the wakeup period W of the relay station ID2 is longer than the wakeup period W of the branch auxiliary station ID3 that is the information relay destination. The relay station ID2 transmits information to the branch auxiliary station ID3, but the branch auxiliary station ID3 stops operating in the sleep period S. For this reason, the relay station ID2 does not receive the ACK from the branch auxiliary station ID3. Therefore, the relay station ID2 repeats retransmission to the branch auxiliary station ID3 every time the timeout time F elapses. If the number of retransmissions is set to be small, the relay station ID2 determines that wireless communication with the branch auxiliary station ID3 is impossible, and tries to perform interlaced communication with the branch station ID10. Therefore, even if the relay auxiliary station ID2 starts transmission after the branch auxiliary station ID3 enters the sleep period, all retransmissions are not completed during the wakeup period W, and retransmission is completed after the next wakeup period W. Set to the number of times to perform. In the next wakeup period W, the relay station ID2 and the branch auxiliary station ID3 start to operate simultaneously in synchronism with time, so that information can be relayed from the relay station ID2 to the branch auxiliary station ID3. In the time example of the wake-up period W described above, the wake-up period W varies from 2 seconds to 12 seconds. Therefore, at least the number of retransmissions at which retransmission is not completed in the difference period of 10 seconds is set. It is preferable to add a margin to the number of retransmissions. If the number of retransmissions is set too much, it takes a long time to determine that communication is impossible and to execute interlaced communication, and the information transmission time becomes long. Therefore, the margin is not set too much.

  By setting the number of retransmissions in this way, even when the other party's wireless communication device 1 communicating with the wake-up period W has entered the sleep period S, it is determined that communication with the other party is impossible. Information can be relayed to the other party during the next wake-up period W.

  Note that the length of the wake-up period W is increased in all the wireless communication devices 1 in the daytime from 7 o'clock to 17 o'clock when the power generation voltage of the solar cell 31 increases (for example, 6 seconds). The power generation voltage may be varied based on the time zone within a day so that the generated voltage is shortened all at once (for example, 3 seconds) at night from 17:00 to 7:00. This time zone may change according to the season. In this case, since the wake-up period W of all the wireless communication apparatuses 1 is the same period, the number of retransmissions may not be set for the above-described line. In such a daytime period, the wake-up period W is set to 8 seconds when the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 is 2.8V to less than 3.2V, and 10 seconds to 3 seconds or more to less than 3.4V. .4V or more is 12 seconds, and in the night time zone, the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 is 2 seconds when the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 is 2.8V or more and less than 3.2V, and 3 seconds or 3.4V when the voltage is 3.2V or more and less than 3.4V. The above may be 6 seconds. Alternatively, the length of the wake-up period W may be appropriately varied by combining any one or two or more of the time zone, the power generation voltage of the solar cell 31, and the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32.

  Further, when the voltage of the lithium ion capacitor 32 becomes lower than the lowest voltage (for example, 2.8 V, which is an example of the predetermined voltage in the present invention) at which the wireless communication device 1 can normally operate, the wireless communication device 1 wakes up. It is possible to send the detection information (emergency information) only when it detects the occurrence of the most urgent power transmission failure or lightning strike (ground fault in this example). preferable. Which event occurs when emergency information is transmitted is set in the internal memory 6 in advance.

  As described above, even when some of the wireless communication devices 1 stop operating at a low voltage, the information is relayed without any problem by the jump communication. Further, by preserving the power, emergency information such as the most important power transmission failure can be transmitted.

  Next, Tables 8 and 9 show an example of a configuration of a wireless packet transmitted by the wireless communication device 1. Table 8 shows the overall configuration of the wireless packet, and Table 9 shows the contents of the message in Table 8.

宛先アドレスは、例えば定期通信のときには隣接する無線通信装置１のＩＤ番号のように、無線通信を行う相手側の無線通信装置１のＩＤ番号である。制御コードは、送信している周波数番号や再送回数、データ区別（コマンド通信の宛先ＩＤ）などの情報である。

The destination address is, for example, the ID number of the partner wireless communication device 1 that performs wireless communication, such as the ID number of the adjacent wireless communication device 1 during regular communication. The control code is information such as the frequency number being transmitted, the number of retransmissions, and data discrimination (command communication destination ID).

  Items 1 to 5 in the table are transferred by OR (logical sum) corresponding statuses when applicable. Item 1 indicates that it is a periodical communication (periodic communication information), item 2 indicates that a station other than the terminal station has taken over the periodical communication, and item 3 indicates that an intermission communication has occurred during the periodical communication Item 4 indicates that the branch auxiliary station has performed branch processing. In the case of items 6 to 13, each packet is transmitted without being ORed. If any of items 6 to 13 is designated as special information, each wireless communication device 1 relays the event communication (jumping communication). Item 14 indicates the status of item 14 to indicate that the slave station is not event communication when the master station inquires the slave station of the status of items 6 to 13 of the wireless communication device 1 by command communication. OR and reply. When it corresponds to item 14, it relays by serial communication. The data of Table 7 already described is entered in the “relay” column.

  When such a wireless packet configuration is used, information can be transmitted with a small amount of data. The wireless packet configuration is not limited to this configuration, and any configuration may be used.

  Although the power transmission line monitoring system has been described as an example of the wireless relay system of the present invention, the present invention can be applied to various systems that wirelessly relay information. For example, the present invention is applied to a propane gas monitoring system in which the remaining amount of propane gas in each home is detected by a detector, and the information is relayed and communicated by a wireless communication device when the remaining amount falls below a predetermined value. It is also possible to arrange a detector for detecting ground displacement such as mountains and cliffs, and to detect landslides and landslides with this detector, and for the natural disaster monitoring system in which the wireless communication device relays the information. The present invention may be applied. Further, the present invention may be applied to a wireless relay system that relays information transmitted from the outside to the one end side of the communication path by wireless or wired to the other end side of the communication path.

  In addition, the example in which information can be transmitted in both directions, such as the communication route in FIG. 3 and the communication route in FIG. 4, has been described. However, the present invention is applied to a system that transmits information in only one direction according to necessity. Also good. Further, the external host station may be directly connected to the master station via a cable without using an external communication line. Alternatively, the transmission output may be reduced to the minimum necessary when communicating between adjacent wireless communication apparatuses 1, and the transmission output may be increased to a necessary level when performing interlaced communication.

  1 is a wireless communication device, 2 is a CPU, 3 is a wireless unit, 4 is a standard radio wave receiver, 5 is an RTC, 6 is an internal memory, 7 is a ground fault detector, 8 is a ground fault indicator, and 9 is a mobile phone module , 11a is a ground fault detector interface, 11b is a ground fault display interface, 11c is a cellular phone interface, 12 is an external analog signal input terminal, 12a is an A / D converter, 13 is an external contact signal input terminal, and 21 is Modulator, 22 demodulator, 23 high-frequency circuit for transmission, 24 high-frequency circuit for reception, 24a reception-field strength measuring circuit, 25 high-frequency switch, 26 antenna, 28 bar antenna, 30 power supply unit, 31 Is a solar cell, 32 is a lithium ion capacitor, 33 is a charging circuit, 34 is a regulator, 35 is an overdischarge protection circuit, 36a and 36b are A / D converters, 50 is a steel tower, 51 is Wire, F is the timeout period, W is the wake-up period, S is the sleep period, T is a repetition period.

Claims (6)

A wireless relay system in which a plurality of wireless communication devices can relay information,
The wireless communication device has a solar cell and a power storage unit that stores the power generated by the solar cell in a power supply unit that supplies electric power for operation,
The wireless communication device performs an intermittent operation that alternately repeats a wake-up period in which transmission / reception is performed and a sleep period in which transmission / reception is not performed, and the wake-up period is started by time synchronization. , Autonomously varying the length of the wake-up period based on the voltage of the power storage unit and / or the time of day.
The wireless communication apparatus repeats retransmission of the information up to a predetermined number of retransmissions when there is no response from the other wireless communication apparatus to which the information is relayed, and the number of retransmissions during the wakeup period Until the next wakeup period, the remaining number of retransmissions are performed,
The wireless relay system , wherein the number of retransmissions is set to a number at which retransmissions at least for the number of retransmissions are not completed during a difference between the shortest period and the longest period of the variable wakeup period . When the voltage of the power storage unit becomes lower than a predetermined voltage, the wireless communication device stops the intermittent operation, always enters a sleep period state, and performs only an operation for transmitting predetermined emergency information. The wireless relay system according to claim 1 . Radio relay system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electricity storage unit is a lithium ion capacitor. The wireless communication apparatus includes a detector for detecting a detection target phenomenon, and transmits the information when the detector detects the detection target phenomenon. 4. The wireless relay system according to any one of 3 . Radio relay system according to any of claims 1 4, characterized in that at least one of said plurality of wireless communication devices is a master station can be connected to an external communication line. The wireless relay system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the plurality of wireless communication devices are arranged in a tower row on which a transmission line is installed.

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