JP6236968B2 - Wireless information acquisition system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a two-way communication type wireless information acquisition system in which a slave unit receives an interrogation signal transmitted from a master unit and the slave unit returns a response signal to the master unit to acquire information from the slave unit. .

  Conventionally, various wireless information acquisition systems have been devised that acquire information such as movement of an information acquisition target by attaching a slave unit to the information acquisition target and transmitting information from the slave unit to the base unit. In such a wireless information acquisition system, the slave unit is provided with a sensor for detecting the movement of the information acquisition target and the RFIC. For example, as shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the child device transmits child device information from the RFIC to an external parent device, triggered by the detection of the movement of the sensor. The parent device acquires information of the information acquisition target by acquiring and demodulating the child device information.

  Since such a wireless information acquisition system is of a unidirectional communication type in which information is transmitted from the slave unit to the master unit, the slave unit uniquely determines the transmission timing of the slave unit information. In this case, when information of a plurality of slave units is received by a common master unit, each slave unit may determine the transmission timing individually, so that the master unit may not be able to acquire information on all the slave units.

  There is a bidirectional communication type as a wireless communication system including a plurality of slave units and a master unit common to the plurality of slave units. In the bidirectional communication type, when the parent device transmits an interrogation signal to each child device, each child device determines the transmission timing of the response signal based on the timing of the inquiry signal.

  The information on each child device acquired by the parent device is sent to, for example, a database of a system control unit installed separately from the parent device and used in various applications.

JP 2012-237102 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-74855

  However, when a wireless communication system that transmits information detected by the above-described sensor to a parent device is realized in a bidirectional communication type, the following problems occur.

  The base unit alternately repeats the transmission period for transmitting the inquiry signal and the reception period for receiving the response signal. When the transmission system and the reception system use the same frequency as a carrier wave, the master unit cannot receive a response signal during the transmission period in which the interrogation signal is transmitted. Therefore, even if the slave unit transmits a response signal to the master unit during the transmission period of the master unit, the master unit cannot receive the response signal.

  Therefore, even if the slave unit acquires the detection information of the sensor, the master unit cannot acquire the information, and the system control unit determines that the slave unit does not acquire the detection information.

  An object of the present invention is to realize a wireless information acquisition system that can provide detection information of a slave unit to a system control unit more reliably without interruption even when a bidirectional communication type is used.

  The present invention relates to a wireless information acquisition system including a parent device, a child device, and a system control unit. The system control unit and the parent device are connected wirelessly or by wire. The base unit alternately provides a transmission period and a reception period, transmits an inquiry signal during the transmission period, and receives a response signal during the reception period. The slave unit receives the interrogation signal and transmits a response signal on which the slave unit information is superimposed. Furthermore, the wireless information acquisition system of the present invention has the following features. The master unit uploads the slave unit information included in the response signal to the system control unit when receiving the response signal during the reception period, and sets the slave unit based on the transmission interval of the slave unit that transmitted the response signal during the transmission period. Interpolate machine information and upload to system controller.

  In this configuration, even if the response signal from the slave unit cannot be received during the transmission period, the slave unit information is interpolated and uploaded according to the reception state of the response signal in the reception period prior to the transmission period. The Thereby, it is possible to upload without losing the slave unit information in the transmission period in which there is a high possibility that the slave unit information exists.

  The present invention also relates to a wireless information acquisition system including a parent device, a child device, and a system control unit. The system control unit and the parent device are connected wirelessly or by wire. The base unit alternately provides a transmission period and a reception period, transmits an inquiry signal during the transmission period, and receives a response signal during the reception period. The slave unit receives the interrogation signal and transmits a response signal on which the slave unit information is superimposed. Furthermore, the wireless information acquisition system of the present invention has the following features. In the reception period, the master unit uploads the slave unit information included in the response signal to the system control unit when receiving the response signal. The system control unit interpolates the child device information during the transmission period of the parent device based on the child device information uploaded during the reception period of the parent device.

  In this configuration, even if the response signal is transmitted during the transmission period of the parent device, the system controller can interpolate the loss of the child device information.

In the wireless information acquisition system of the present invention, the following configuration is preferable. The slave unit includes a sensor that detects the movement of the information acquisition target. When the child detection information is obtained from the sensor, the child device transmits a response signal so that the child device information includes the sensor detection information. When detecting that the sensor detection information is included, the parent device interpolates and uploads the child device information during the transmission period.

  In this configuration, uploading is performed only when sensor detection information is obtained, so that the power of the parent device can be saved.

  In the wireless information acquisition system of the present invention, the slave unit may shorten the transmission interval of the response signal as the number of sensor detections included in the sensor detection information indicating that the sensor has detected an operation or a physical quantity increases. preferable.

  In this configuration, the slave unit can transmit a response signal including the sensor ON information to the master unit according to the occurrence frequency of the sensor ON information. Thereby, the detection information with respect to information acquisition object can be appropriately grasped according to the state of information acquisition object. For example, if sensor ON information frequently occurs, the sensor ON information can be transmitted to the parent device more quickly. Thereby, the detection information with respect to the information acquisition target can be grasped in detail.

  In the wireless information acquisition system according to the present invention, when the slave unit detects that the sensor detection information indicating that the sensor has detected an operation or a physical quantity cannot be obtained for a certain period of time, the slave unit increases the transmission interval of the response signal. Is preferred.

  In this configuration, if the sensor ON information can no longer be obtained, the transmission interval of the response signal becomes long, so that it is possible to suppress unnecessary transmission of the response signal. Thereby, the power saving of a subunit | mobile_unit is realizable.

  In the wireless information acquisition system of the present invention, it is preferable that the parent device shortens the upload interval of the child device information as the response signal transmission interval becomes shorter.

  In this configuration, the child device information can be uploaded at intervals corresponding to the acquisition frequency of the child device information.

  In the wireless information acquisition system of the present invention, the following configuration is preferable. The master unit forms the interrogation signal as a pulse burst wave composed of a continuous wave of a plurality of pulse waves, and superimposes unique pulse identification information on each pulse wave. The slave unit acquires the pulse identification information of the reception timing of the inquiry signal, and determines the transmission timing of the response signal from the pulse identification information.

  In this configuration, when transmitting the response signal after receiving the interrogation signal for the first time, the slave unit can prevent transmission of the response signal during the transmission period in which the interrogation signal is received. Also, it is possible to set the transmission timing of the response signal that leads to effective use of the reception period, such as being able to select a timing as close as possible to the transmission period within the reception period.

  In the wireless information acquisition system of the present invention, it is preferable that there are a plurality of master units, and the plurality of master units match the transmission timings of the question signals.

  In this configuration, since there are a plurality of master units, the slave unit information can be acquired in a wide range by arranging them in a wide range.

  In the wireless information acquisition system of the present invention, there are a plurality of slave units, and the plurality of slave units detect the transmission status of other slave units before transmitting their own response signals, and the other slave units transmit. If it is determined that it is not, it is preferable to transmit a response signal.

  In this configuration, since response signals transmitted from a plurality of slave units do not collide, the master unit can reliably receive the response signals of each slave unit. Thereby, the sensor detection information obtained by each child device can be uploaded reliably.

  According to the present invention, even if the bidirectional communication type is used, the detection information acquired by the slave unit can be more reliably provided to the system without interruption.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless information acquisition system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the transmission / reception concept of the wireless information acquisition system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the specific waveform example of the pulse burst wave which the main | base station which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention transmits to a subunit | mobile_unit. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the main | base station which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the subunit | mobile_unit which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the application application to which the wireless information acquisition system of this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the transmission / reception concept of the wireless information acquisition system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the main | base station which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the subunit | mobile_unit which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  A wireless information acquisition system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless information acquisition system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a transmission / reception concept of the wireless information acquisition system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a specific waveform example of a pulse burst wave transmitted from the parent device to the child device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, an example is shown in which there is one master unit and one slave unit. However, there are multiple master units, multiple slave units, and multiple master units and slave units. The configuration of this embodiment can be applied.

  First, the functional configuration of the information acquisition system 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the information acquisition system 10 includes a parent device 20, a child device 31, and a system control device 40. Note that there may be a plurality of master units and slave units, and each master unit and slave unit basically has the configuration of the master unit 20 and the slave unit 31 shown in FIG.

  Base unit 20 includes power source 200, base unit control unit 201, question signal generation unit 202, transmission / reception switching unit 203, antenna 204, base unit reception unit 205, system side transmission / reception unit 206, and system side antenna 207. Base device 20 is, for example, a wireless access point. The power source 200 supplies power to each unit of the parent device 20.

  The base unit control unit 201 controls the entire base unit 20 and sets, for example, a transmission period and a reception period, and sets a transmission condition for the question signal Spb. Moreover, the main | base station control part 201 acquires the subunit | mobile_unit information containing sensor detection information from the demodulated response signals Srep and Sre.

  The parent device control unit 201 generates upload data Drep and Dre from the acquired child device information and supplies the upload data Drep and Dre to the system side transmission / reception unit 206. At this time, although specific processing will be described later, the parent device control unit 201 interpolates the upload data Dre as necessary and supplies the data to the system side transmission / reception unit 206. Base unit control section 201 gives transmission timing of upload data Drep and Dre to system side transmission / reception section 206 according to the reception timing of demodulated response signals Srep and Sre.

  The interrogation signal generator 202 generates an interrogation signal Spb composed of pulse burst waves formed by a plurality of continuous pulse waves based on a given transmission condition (time length of pulse burst waves (burst time length) Ttxp). To the transmission / reception switching unit 203. At this time, the question signal generation unit 202 superimposes the pulse number B on each pulse wave.

  The transmission / reception switching unit 203 is, for example, a switch circuit, and connects the interrogation signal generation unit 202 and the antenna 204 during the transmission period, and connects the base unit reception unit 205 and the antenna 204 during the reception period. Thereby, in the transmission period, the question signal Spb output from the question signal generation unit 202 is supplied to the antenna 204 via the transmission / reception switching unit 203 and transmitted from the antenna 204 to the outside. On the other hand, in the reception period, an external signal (including the response signal Sre) received by the antenna 204 is output to the parent device reception unit 205.

  Base unit receiving section 205 detects the received signal. If the received signals are response signals Srep and Sre, base unit receiving section 205 demodulates the response signals Srep and Sre, and outputs them to base unit control section 201.

  The system-side transmitting / receiving unit 206 transmits the upload data Drep, Dre given from the parent device control unit 201 from the system-side antenna 207 at the same transmission timing for upload given from the parent device control unit 201. Note that data transmission / reception between the base unit 20 and the system control apparatus 40 may be performed by other means such as a wired network instead of communication between the antenna 207 and the antenna 403 as in the present embodiment.

  The subunit | mobile_unit 31 is provided with the battery 310, the subunit | mobile_unit control part 311, the subunit | mobile_unit receiving part 312, the transmission / reception switching part 313, the antenna 314, the response signal generation part 315, and the sensor 316. The part excluding the sensor 316 of the slave unit 31 is an active RFID tag attached to an information acquisition target.

  The sensor 316 is attached to the information acquisition target, and generates sensor ON information when detecting the movement of the information acquisition target. The sensor 316 is a sensor capable of detecting the movement of the information acquisition target, and for example, a motion sensor such as a tilt switch (tilt switch), an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity (gyro) sensor, or a geomagnetic sensor is used.

  The battery 310 supplies power to each part of the child device 31. The battery 310 may be a primary battery or a secondary battery.

  The subunit | mobile_unit control part 311 controls the subunit | mobile_unit 31 whole. The handset controller 311 detects whether the demodulated interrogation signal Spb is an interrogation signal to be answered, or detects the pulse number B of the demodulated interrogation signal Spb, The transmission timing of the response signal Srep is determined.

  The slave unit control unit 311 generates sensor detection information including the sensor ON information if the sensor ON information is acquired from the sensor 316, and the sensor ON information is acquired if the sensor ON information is not acquired from the sensor 316. Sensor detection information not included is generated. The subunit | mobile_unit control part 311 produces | generates the subunit | mobile_unit information containing sensor detection information and subunit | mobile_unit identification information. More specifically, handset controller 311 counts how many times sensor ON information is included within the time corresponding to the handset information generation interval (corresponding to the response signal transmission interval). The subunit | mobile_unit control part 311 produces | generates the frequency | count of sensor ON information as sensor detection information as information which shows whether there exists sensor ON information. That is, if the sensor ON information can be detected, sensor detection information (sensor count MC ≠ 0) indicating the number of times is generated. If the sensor ON information cannot be detected, the sensor detection information of the number “0” (sensor count MC = 0). ) Is generated.

  Further, the slave unit control unit 311 selects response signal transmission intervals Trep1 and Trep2 based on the sensor ON information. Specifically, the slave unit control unit 311 selects the transmission interval Trep1 when the number is “0”, and selects the transmission interval Trep2 (<Trep1) when the number is not “0”.

  The subunit | mobile_unit receiver 312 detects the received signal, detects the inquiry signal Spb, and demodulates it. The transmission / reception switching unit 313 is, for example, a switch circuit, and the reception period of the master unit 20 connects the antenna 314 and the response signal generation unit 315, and the other period (transmission period of the master unit 20) is the same as that of the antenna 314. The slave receiver 312 is connected.

  The response signal generation unit 315 generates response signals Srep and Sre based on the transmission timing and transmission intervals Trep1 and Trep2 of the first response signal Srep given from the child device control unit 311. The response signal generation unit 315 generates slave unit information from the slave unit identification information (slave unit identification ID) unique to the slave unit 31 and the sensor detection information. The response signal generation unit 315 superimposes the handset information on the response signals Srep and Sre, and transmits them via the transmission / reception switching unit 313 and the antenna 314.

  The system control apparatus 40 includes a control unit 401, a reception unit 402, an antenna 403, and a recording device 410. The control unit 401 controls the entire system control device 40. The control unit 401 executes an application such as storing and saving the upload data Drep and Dre in the recording device 410 and observing the operation of the information acquisition target based on the upload data Drep and Dre. Note that this application may be stored in the recording device 410, for example, and read and executed by the control unit 401.

  The receiving unit 402 demodulates the upload data Drep and Dre from the radio signal received via the antenna 403. The receiving unit 402 outputs upload data Drep and Dre to the control unit 401.

  In the present embodiment, the system control device 40 is configured only to receive a radio signal from the parent device 20, but may be configured to transmit control data or the like to the parent device 20. For example, when there are a plurality of parent devices 20, the system control device 40 transmits a synchronization reference signal to each parent device 20. Each parent device 20 transmits a question signal Spb in synchronization with the synchronization reference signal. By using such a configuration, the timings of the inquiry signals Spb of the plurality of parent devices 20 match, so that the child device 31 moves from the communication range of the first parent device 20 to the communication range of the second parent device 20. However, there is no need to reset the transmission timing of the response signal Sre.

  Next, transmission / reception using the question signal Spb and the response signal Sre and the transmission concept of the upload data according to the present embodiment will be described (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

  The base unit 20 transmits the interrogation signal Spb to the handset 31 with the period (transmission period) in which the amplitude level is Hi and the period (reception period) in which the amplitude level is Low as one transmission / reception cycle (cycle time Ttrp). The reception of the response signal Sre from the slave unit 31 is repeated. The transmission period in which the amplitude level is Hi, that is, the time length (burst time length) Ttxp of the pulse burst wave is determined based on, for example, the transmission distance transmitted by the parent device 20. The reception period in which the amplitude level is Low is set according to the communication frequency with respect to the child device 31 and the like. For example, when the communication frequency is increased, the reception period is shortened, and when there is no need to increase the communication frequency, the reception period is set longer.

  For example, specific examples include the following combinations of transmission period and reception period. As a first combination, the transmission / reception cycle time Ttrp is 60 seconds, the transmission period (= burst time length Ttxp) is 10 seconds, and the reception period is 50 seconds. As a second combination, the transmission / reception cycle time Ttrp is 20 seconds, the transmission period (= burst time length Ttxp) is 5 seconds, and the reception period is 15 seconds. As a third combination, the transmission / reception cycle time Ttrp is 6 seconds, the transmission period (= burst time length Ttxp) is 2 seconds, the reception period is 2 seconds, the pulse burst wave repetition period (question signal repetition period) ) Is 4 seconds. In addition, the said combination is arbitrary and can be suitably changed according to a use condition or a use purpose.

  When detecting the interrogation signal Spb during the sensing period Tsen, the slave unit 31 generates and transmits a response signal Srep after a wait time Twat from this detection timing. Note that the wait time Twat is appropriately set so that the transmission timing of the response signal Srep is within the reception period of the parent device 20. This wait time Twat can be set more accurately by a method described later.

  The subunit | mobile_unit 31 acquires the sensor ON information from the sensor 316, superimposes the subunit | mobile_unit information including sensor detection information on the response signal Srep, and transmits the response signal Srep. At this time, the slave unit 31 performs a pre-sensation on whether another device (another slave unit or the like) is not transmitting a response signal or the like, and if the other device is not transmitting a response signal or the like, Send Srep. In the example of FIG. 2, since sensor ON information is not acquired at the generation timing of the first response signal Srep, sensor detection information (sensor count MC = 0) of the number of times “0” is generated.

  Moreover, the subunit | mobile_unit 31 sets the transmission interval to the next response signal to Trep1 based on the sensor detection information of the frequency | count "0".

  The response signal Srep transmitted from the child device 31 is received by the parent device 20. Master device 20 demodulates the slave device information from response signal Srep, generates upload data Drep, and transmits it to system control device 40. At this time, the master unit 20 transmits the upload data Drep using the reception timing of the response signal Srep from the slave unit 31 as a reference timing.

  Next, the subunit | mobile_unit 31 transmits response signal Sre after the time of transmission interval Trep1 from the transmission timing of response signal Srep. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the slave unit 31 acquires sensor ON information. Therefore, the subunit | mobile_unit 31 transmits the response signal Sre which superimposed the subunit | mobile_unit information including the sensor detection information (sensor count MC ≠ 0) which is not the number of times "0". At this time, the slave unit 31 performs a pre-sensation on whether another device (another slave unit or the like) is not transmitting a response signal or the like, and if the other device is not transmitting a response signal or the like, Send Sre. This pre-sense is thereafter performed every time the handset 31 transmits a response signal.

  Furthermore, the subunit | mobile_unit 31 sets next transmission interval Trep2 (<Trep1) based on having detected the sensor detection information which is not the frequency | count "0". That is, when detecting the sensor detection information that is not the number of times “0”, the slave unit 31 shortens the transmission interval compared to the case of detecting the sensor detection information that is the number of times “0”. By switching the transmission interval in this manner, sensor detection information can be transmitted to the parent device 20 more frequently when there is movement in the information acquisition target, that is, when it is more effective to shorten the observation interval.

  The response signal Sre transmitted from the child device 31 is received by the parent device 20. Master device 20 demodulates the slave device information from response signal Sre, generates upload data Dre, and transmits it to system control device 40. In addition, base unit 20 turns on the interpolation flag based on detecting response signal Sre including sensor detection information that is not the number of times “0”. At this time, the parent device 20 transmits the upload data Dre with the reception timing of the response signal Sre from the child device 31 as a reference timing.

  Here, as described above, when the transmission interval of the response signal from the slave unit 31 is switched, the transmission interval of the upload data based on the reception timing of the response signal is also switched. Therefore, when there is a movement in the information acquisition target, that is, when it is more effective to shorten the observation interval, the sensor detection information can be uploaded to the system control device 40 more frequently.

  After such processing is repeated during the reception period, base unit 20 switches to the transmission period. Here, depending on the transmission interval of the response signal, the response signal may be transmitted within the transmission period of base unit 20. In this case, base unit 20 cannot receive a response signal.

  For this reason, base unit 20 stores the reception timing of the response signal, and acquires the reception interval of the response signal in base unit 20. That is, the master unit 20 stores the transmission timing of the response signal at the slave unit 31 and acquires the transmission interval of the response signal with respect to the slave unit 31.

  When the master unit 20 switches to the transmission period and detects that the reception interval time has elapsed from the reception timing of the response signal immediately before switching to the transmission period and that the interpolation flag is ON, the upload for interpolation is performed. Data Dre is generated and transmitted to the system controller 40. At this time, the master unit 20 generates upload data Drec for interpolation using the slave unit information included in the immediately preceding response signal.

By performing such processing, even when the parent device 20 is in the transmission period to the child device 31, the child device information is uploaded to the system control device 40 based on a response signal that is highly likely to be received. Can do. As a result, it is possible to more reliably interpolate the loss of the slave unit information due to the fact that the response signal cannot be received during the transmission period of the master unit 20, and the movement of the information acquisition target is continuously performed by the upload data Dre and the upload data Drep for interpolation. It can be observed. In this embodiment, the example in which the transmission interval is switched according to the sensor detection information has been described. However, even when the transmission interval is not switched, the transmission / reception timing of the response signal is within the transmission period of the master unit 20. The above processing can be applied to transmit the upload data for interpolation to the system control device 40. Further, regardless of the presence or absence of sensor detection information, that is, even if the slave unit 31 is not equipped with the sensor 316, if the transmission / reception timing of the response signal is within the transmission period of the master unit 20, the above processing is performed. By applying, the upload data for interpolation can be transmitted to the system controller 40.

  In addition, by using the question signal Spb as the signal shown below, the transmission timing of the response signal Srep after the slave unit 31 first receives the question signal Spb can be set more accurately. As shown in FIG. 3, the pulse burst wave corresponding to the transmission period in the interrogation signal Spb is formed by a plurality of pulse waves that are continuously generated at the pulse repetition period Tb.

  Each pulse wave is individually modulated, and a unique pulse number is superimposed on each pulse. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when the number of pulses (the number of pulse waves included in the pulse burst wave) is n + 1, the pulse number is the pulse burst wave (period in which the amplitude level is Hi). The rising pulse number is set to B (0), B (1),..., B (n−1) in this order along the rising direction of the pulse burst wave with reference to the falling side. n). The pulse number is an integer.

  The subunit | mobile_unit 31 senses the inquiry signal Spb from the main | base station 20 with a predetermined period. At this time, the handset controller 311 of the handset 31 turns on the power of the handset receiver 312 only during the sensing period (sensing period Tsen in FIG. 2) until the question signal Spb is first received. The signal received by the antenna 314 is detected. The slave unit control unit 311 turns off the power of the slave unit reception unit 312 during a period other than the sensing period. Moreover, the subunit | mobile_unit control part 311 turns off the power supply of the response signal production | generation part 315 until it receives the question signal Spb for the first time. Thereby, the power consumption of the subunit | mobile_unit 31 can be reduced and the lifetime of the battery 310 can be extended. The sensing interval until the first inquiry signal Spb is detected, that is, the response repetition period Trep is set to be equal to or shorter than the burst time length Ttxp (Trep ≦ Ttxp). Thereby, the subunit | mobile_unit 31 can detect the question signal Spb reliably.

  In addition, the sensing period Tsen of the subunit | mobile_unit 31 is set longer than the repetition period Tb of a pulse wave. The sensing period Tsen is preferably as short as possible as long as it is longer than the pulse wave repetition period Tb. Thus, one pulse wave can be reliably received by the sensing period Tsen, and the pulse number B can be reliably detected. Furthermore, since the sensing period Tsen does not become longer than necessary, power can be saved.

  When detecting the interrogation signal Spb during the sensing period, the slave unit 31 detects the pulse number B at the sensing timing from the demodulated interrogation signal Spb. The subunit | mobile_unit 31 calculates wait time Twat until it transmits response signal Sre from following Formula using the pulse number B. FIG.

Twat = A * B * Tb + Trw
Here, A is a coefficient of 1 or more, and Trw is a random value set by the slave unit 31. The random value Trw may be a fixed value or may be omitted.

  By setting the wait time Twat like this, the wait time Twat is a time difference between the falling timing of the pulse burst wave, that is, the timing at which the transmission period is switched to the reception period and the timing at which the slave unit 31 detects the interrogation signal Spb. It becomes a value according to (time length). For example, if the slave unit 31 detects the interrogation signal Spb near the rise of the pulse burst wave, the wait time Twat becomes long, and if the slave unit 31 detects the interrogation signal Spb near the fall of the pulse burst wave, the wait time Twat is shortened.

  Thereby, the transmission timing of the response signal Srep is surely within the reception period of the base unit 20. Further, since the wait time Twat is set according to the detection timing of the inquiry signal Spb, the wait time Twat does not become unnecessarily long, and the response signal Srep can be transmitted at an appropriate timing.

  Further, by using a random number, even when there are a plurality of slave units to be described later, even if the detection timings of the inquiry signal Spb coincide with each other, the wait time Twat is likely to be different for each slave unit due to the random number. . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the response signals Srep of the slave units collide.

  As described above, when the interrogation signal Spb shown in the present embodiment is used, the first response signal Srep can be reliably transmitted within the reception period of the parent device 20.

  Next, the processing flow of the master unit 20 and the slave unit 31 will be described. Note that the description overlapping with the above-described configuration and the description of the transmission / reception concept is simplified. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the parent device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of the slave unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Processing flow of base unit 20 (see FIG. 4)]
First, base unit 20 starts measuring transmission / reception cycle time Ttrp (S101). Base unit 20 starts transmission of question signal Spb together with this measurement start processing (S102).

  If the interpolation flag is in the ON state (S103: YES), the parent device 20 uploads the child device information (S131). If the interpolation flag is not ON (S103: NO), the parent device 20 does not upload the child device information.

  The base unit 20 repeats the upload process according to the situation shown in steps S103 and S131 until the question signal transmission period ends (S104: NO). When the question signal transmission period ends (S104: YES), base unit 20 switches to the reception period.

  When receiving the response signal Sre (S105), the master unit 20 acquires the slave unit information and analyzes the sensor ON information. When the master unit 20 detects the sensor ON information that is sensor ON information, that is, the number of times is not “0” (S106: YES), the base unit 20 sets the interpolation flag to the ON state (S161), and performs system control on the upload data including the slave unit information. It transmits to the apparatus 40 (S107). When the master unit 20 detects no sensor ON information, that is, sensor ON information of the number of times “0” (S106: NO), the base unit 20 does not set the interpolation flag to the ON state, and uploads data including the slave unit information to the system control device 40. Transmit (S107). When it is detected that there is no sensor ON information for a certain period or longer when the interpolation flag is in the ON state, the interpolation flag is switched to OFF.

  Master unit 20 repeats the processes of steps S105, S106, S107, and S161 until the transmission / reception cycle time Ttrp is reached (S108: NO). When the base unit 20 reaches the transmission / reception cycle time Ttrp (S108: YES), the base unit 20 switches to the transmission period and returns to the process starting from step S101 described above.

[Processing flow of slave unit 31 (see FIG. 5)]
When the child device 31 is activated, the child device 31 pre-senses the question signal Spb (S201). If the slave unit 31 cannot detect the question signal Spb (S202: NO), the slave unit 31 repeats pre-sense for the question signal Spb (S201).

  When detecting the interrogation signal Spb (S202: YES), the slave unit 31 calculates a sleep time from the burst wave number (S203), and performs a sleep process based on the sleep time (S204).

  The subunit | mobile_unit 31 performs presense with respect to another response signal after a sleep process (S205). When another response signal is detected, that is, when it is detected that another slave unit is transmitting (S206: YES), transmission wait processing is executed (S221), and pre-sense is performed again after a predetermined time (S205). .

  When the slave unit 31 detects that another slave unit is not transmitting (S206: NO), the slave unit 31 reads the sensor count MC that is the number of times the sensor ON information is transmitted.

  If the sensor count MC is not “0” (S206: YES), the slave unit 31 generates slave unit information including the value of the sensor count MC (number of times of sensor ON information) and includes the slave unit information. A response signal Sre is transmitted (S208). And the subunit | mobile_unit 31 performs a sleep process during transmission interval Trep2 of sensor ON information presence (sensor count MC ≠ 0) (S209), and returns to step S205.

  If the sensor count MC is “0” (S206: NO), the slave unit 31 generates slave unit information including the value of the sensor count MC = “0” (number of times sensor ON information is “0”). Then, a response signal Sre including the child device information is transmitted (S231). Furthermore, the subunit | mobile_unit 31 starts the timer count for measuring the period when sensor count MC is "0" (S232).

  If the timer count process does not expire (S233: NO), the slave unit 31 performs a sleep process during the transmission interval Trep2 with sensor ON information (S209), and returns to step S205. If the timer count process has timed up (S233: YES), the slave unit 31 performs a sleep process (S234) during the transmission interval Trep1 (> Trep2) without sensor ON information, and returns to step S205.

  In addition, the subunit | mobile_unit 31 performs the next interruption process based on the sensor ON information from the sensor 316 during the period of the transmission interval of a response signal. When acquiring the sensor ON information from the sensor 316, the slave unit 31 increments the sensor count MC (S291) and resets the timer count process to the initial value (“0”) (S292).

  When the master unit 20 and the slave unit 31 perform such processing, the operational effects of the present embodiment as described above can be obtained. Also, as shown in FIG. 4, uploading to the system control device 40 is minimized to observation of the information acquisition target by not uploading the slave unit information unless the interpolation flag is ON. It is possible to reduce the power consumption of the master unit 20. Note that the slave unit information may be uploaded to the system control device 40 even if the interpolation flag is not in the ON state. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the sensor count MC = 0, the transmission interval is switched after waiting for a predetermined time. However, the transmission interval may be switched at the timing when the sensor count MC = 0 is detected. However, by switching the transmission interval after waiting for a predetermined time, even if a sudden transmission / reception error or the like between the slave unit 31 and the master unit 20 occurs, the upload can be performed while suppressing the influence of the transmission / reception error. Can improve the robustness to observations.

  In the above description, an example in which the upload data for interpolation is determined according to the reception status of the response signal in the reception period immediately before the transmission period in which the upload data is interpolated in the parent device 20 is shown. However, by delaying the upload from the master unit 20 to the system control device 40 from the reception timing of the response signal from the slave unit 31, the response in the reception period before and after the transmission period for performing interpolation of the upload data in the master unit 20 The upload data for interpolation can also be determined according to the signal reception status. In this case, for example, when similar sensor ON information is obtained in the preceding and following reception periods, the slave unit information including the sensor ON information is generated, and the upload data including the slave unit information is generated and transmitted. Good.

  The wireless information acquisition system shown in the present embodiment can be applied to the following application applications. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an application application to which the wireless information acquisition system of the present invention is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 6, an application application to which the information acquisition system 10A is applied is a location management system. The parent devices 21 and 22, the child device 31, and the system control device 40 belong to the information acquisition system 10A. Base units 21 and 22 have the same configuration as base unit 20 described above. Base units 21 and 22 are connected to system control device 40 through a network. The base unit 21 is arranged in the area 901, and the base unit 22 is arranged in the area 902. The subunit | mobile_unit 31 is mounted | worn with the person 90 who is information acquisition object.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, when the person 90 is stationary in the area 901, the slave unit 31 transmits a response signal without the sensor ON information (response signal of sensor count MC = 0). The base unit 21 receives this response signal and uploads it to the system control device 40 as necessary. In the case of uploading, the system control device 40 detects that the person 90 is stationary in the area 901 or the handset 31 is placed in the area 901 based on the upload data.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, when the person 90 is moving in the area 901, the sensor ON information is sequentially acquired by the slave unit 31. The subunit | mobile_unit 31 transmits the response signal with sensor ON information (response signal of sensor count MC <> 0). The base unit 21 receives this response signal and uploads it to the system control device 40. The system control device 40 detects that the person 90 is moving in the area 901 based on the upload data.

  At this time, if the movement time is long, the response signal may not be received from the slave unit 31 during the transmission period of the master unit 21. However, by using the configuration of the present embodiment, the system controller 40 continues to Upload data is input. Thereby, the system control apparatus 40 can continuously observe the movement of the person 90.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the person 90 moves from the area 901 to the area 902, a response signal with sensor ON information transmitted from the child device 31 is received by the parent device 22. Master device 22 receives this response signal and uploads it to system control device 40. The system control device 40 detects that the person 90 has moved from the area 901 to the area 902 based on the upload data. As described above, when a plurality of parent devices are used, the movement of the person 90 can be continuously observed over a wider range than when a single parent device is used. At this time, since the parent devices 21 and 22 transmit the question signal in synchronization, upload processing based on the response signal can be continuously performed even if the child device 31 does not change the transmission timing of the response signal. .

  Next, a wireless information acquisition system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a transmission / reception concept of the wireless information acquisition system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing of the master unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing of the slave unit according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The wireless information acquisition system of this embodiment is different from the wireless information acquisition system shown in the first embodiment in the setting method of the transmission interval and the upload interval of response signals, and other configurations and processes Is the same as the wireless information acquisition system shown in the first embodiment.

  In the wireless information acquisition system of this embodiment, when the number of sensor ON information, that is, the value of the sensor count MC is not 0, the transmission interval and the upload interval are switched according to the value of the sensor count MC.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, when the sensor count MC is “3” within the transmission interval, the transmission interval Trep22 is set. At this time, the transmission interval Trep22 is set shorter than the transmission interval Trep2 shown in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment. That is, the transmission interval Trep22 when the sensor count MC is “3” is shorter than the transmission interval Trep2 when the sensor count MC is “1”.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the sensor count MC is “1”, the transmission interval Trep2 is also used in the wireless information acquisition system of this embodiment.

  At this time, the base unit 20 generates upload data Drec for interpolation according to the set transmission interval and uploads it to the system control device 40 during the transmission period.

  Thus, in the process of this embodiment, since the transmission interval is switched according to the value of the sensor count MC, it is possible to transmit and upload a response signal with a frequency according to the movement of the information acquisition target. And even if it is the transmission period of the main | base station 20, since an upload process is performed at the space | interval according to the detection condition of a sensor, the motion of information acquisition object can be observed more correctly.

  In order to realize such processing, the parent device and the child device execute the following processing flow. Note that the basic processing of both the parent device 20 and the child device 31 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore only the features characteristic of this embodiment will be specifically described.

[Processing flow of base unit 20 (see FIG. 8)]
During the reception period, when the master device 20 acquires the sensor ON information (S106: YES), the master device 20 counts the sensor ON information and acquires the sensor count MC (S160). When the master unit 20 acquires the sensor count MC, the base unit 20 sets the interpolation flag to the ON state (S161), generates slave unit information including the sensor count MC, and transmits upload data including the slave unit information to the system control device 40. To do.

  During the transmission period, when detecting that the interpolation flag is ON (S103: YES), master device 20 uploads slave device information at intervals according to sensor count MC (S132).

[Processing flow of handset 31 (see FIG. 9)]
When detecting the sensor count MC ≠ 0 (S207: YES), the slave unit 31 transmits a response signal including sensor ON information, that is, a response signal including the actually measured sensor count MC other than “0” (S208). A transmission interval corresponding to the count MC is set (S209).

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the transmission interval when the sensor count MC ≠ 0 is set in two stages has been described. In this case, a threshold value may be provided for the sensor count MC, and a relatively short transmission interval may be set if it is equal to or greater than the threshold value, and a relatively long transmission interval if it is less than the threshold value. Further, the transmission interval may be set in more stages.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where there is one slave unit is shown. However, when there are two or more slave units, the above-described configuration and processing may be applied to each slave unit. At this time, the parent device may determine the upload interval for each child device, or may determine one upload interval based on the transmission intervals of a plurality of child devices that receive response signals. In this case, for example, the upload interval may be adjusted to the shortest transmission interval, and the sensor count MC for the slave unit having a transmission interval different from the upload interval may be corrected according to the upload interval.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, an example has been shown in which the base unit 20 interpolates the response signal of the handset 31 that cannot be received during the transmission period, and uploads the response signal from the base unit 20 to the system control device 40. Interpolation can also be performed in the system controller 40. In other words, even if the response signal from the slave unit 31 cannot be received during the transmission period of the master unit 20, the response signal between them is not uploaded to the system control device 40. Instead, the response signal issued by the slave unit during the transmission period of the master unit 20 in the system control unit 40 based on the upload signal Dre from the master unit 20 to the system control unit 40 in the reception period of the master unit 20 immediately before. Is interpolated, the system control apparatus can continuously grasp the state of the slave unit 31 as in the above-described embodiment.

10, 10A: Information acquisition system 20, 21, 22: Base unit 200: Power source 201: Base unit control unit 202: Question signal generation unit 203: Transmission / reception switching unit 204: Antenna 205: Base unit reception unit 206: System side transmission / reception unit 207: System side antenna 31: Slave unit 310: Battery 311: Slave unit control unit 312: Slave unit reception unit 313: Transmission / reception switching unit 314: Antenna 315: Response signal generation unit 316: Sensor 40: System control device 401: Control unit 402: Receiver 403: Antenna 410: Recording device

Claims (9)

A master unit that alternately provides a transmission period and a reception period, transmits a question signal during the transmission period, and receives a response signal during the reception period;
A slave unit that receives the interrogation signal and transmits the response signal on which slave unit information is superimposed;
A system control unit that connects to the parent device wirelessly or by wire;
A wireless information acquisition system comprising:
The base unit is
In the reception period, when the response signal is received, the slave unit information included in the response signal is uploaded to the system control unit,
During the transmission period, based on the transmission interval of the slave unit that transmitted the response signal, the slave unit information is interpolated and uploaded to the system control unit,
Wireless information acquisition system. A master unit that alternately provides a transmission period and a reception period, transmits a question signal during the transmission period, and receives a response signal during the reception period;
A slave unit that receives the interrogation signal and transmits the response signal on which slave unit information is superimposed;
A system control unit that connects to the parent device wirelessly or by wire;
A wireless information acquisition system comprising:
The base unit is
In the reception period, when the response signal is received, the slave unit information included in the response signal is uploaded to the system control unit,
The system controller is
Interpolating the slave unit information during the transmission period of the master unit based on the slave unit information uploaded during the reception period of the master unit,
Wireless information acquisition system. The slave unit includes a sensor that detects a movement of an information acquisition target,
When the sensor detection information is obtained from the sensor, the response signal is transmitted so that the child device information includes the sensor detection information,
When the parent device detects that the sensor detection information is included, the parent device information is interpolated and uploaded to the system control unit during the transmission period.
The wireless information acquisition system according to claim 1. The slave is
The transmission interval of the response signal is shortened as the number of sensor detections included in the sensor detection information indicating that the sensor has detected an operation or a physical quantity increases.
The wireless information acquisition system according to claim 3. The slave is
When detecting that the sensor detection information indicating that the sensor has detected an operation or a physical quantity cannot be obtained for a certain period of time, the transmission interval of the response signal is increased.
The wireless information acquisition system according to claim 3 or 4. The base unit is
The shorter the transmission interval of the response signal, the shorter the upload interval of the slave information,
The wireless information acquisition system according to claim 1 or claim 3 . The base unit is
The interrogation signal is formed by a pulse burst wave composed of a continuous wave of a plurality of pulse waves,
Superimposing unique pulse identification information on each pulse wave,
The slave is
Obtaining the pulse identification information of the reception timing of the interrogation signal;
Determining the transmission timing of the response signal from the pulse identification information;
The wireless information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. There are a plurality of the master units,
The plurality of master units match the transmission timing of the interrogation signal;
The wireless information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. There are a plurality of the slave units,
The plurality of slave units detect the transmission status of other slave units before transmission of the response signal of their own, and determine that the other slave units are not transmitting, transmit the response signal.
The wireless information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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