JP6643180B2 - Communication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that performs communication connection processing by advertising with a communication terminal.

  Conventionally, Bluetooth (registered trademark) has been widely used as a communication standard for performing short-range wireless communication between a communication terminal and a communication device, and BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) has been used to further reduce power consumption. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

  In BLE, a wireless communication connection between a communication terminal and a communication device is performed by advertising. When the communication device is in a connection standby state, the communication device transmits an advertising packet at a fixed period. Then, the communication terminal receiving the advertising packet makes a connection request to the communication device, whereby the communication connection between the communication terminal and the communication device is completed.

  Further, a configuration has been proposed in which communication between a communication terminal and a communication device is stopped in accordance with a user's selection operation, thereby saving power in the communication device (for example, Patent Document 2). reference).

JP-T-2012-533958A JP 2002-101037 A

  The communication device described in Patent Literature 2 saves power of the communication device by stopping communication with the communication terminal, but consumes the communication device while enabling communication with the communication terminal. There is also a need to reduce power.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that reduces power consumption when preparing for communication connection with a communication terminal by advertising.

A communication device of the present invention, a communication circuit for transmitting and receiving signals to and from a communication terminal,
Transmitting an advertising signal from the communication circuit at a predetermined event occurrence period in preparation for a communication connection with a communication terminal, and when the communication circuit receives a connection request signal transmitted from the communication terminal that has received the advertising signal, A communication device comprising: a communication control unit that performs communication connection processing with the communication terminal that has transmitted the connection request signal and performs communication with the communication terminal.
An event generation cycle setting unit that sets a length of the event generation cycle according to an execution state of the communication connection processing by the communication control unit ,
The event generation period setting unit sets the event generation period to a second period when use, which is a process different from the communication connection process of the communication device, is started, and the communication control unit performs the communication connection process. After the processing is executed, the event generation cycle is set to a first cycle shorter than the second cycle .

  According to the present invention, the communication control unit transmits the advertising signal at the event occurrence cycle and waits for a response from a communication terminal present in the vicinity, but the shorter the event occurrence cycle, the higher the frequency of transmitting the advertising signal. As a result, the power consumption of the communication device increases. Therefore, the event generation cycle setting unit sets the length of the event generation cycle in accordance with the execution status of the communication connection process by the communication control unit, so that the power consumption of the transmitting device is smaller than when the event generation cycle is set to be constant. Can be reduced.

In addition, when the use of the communication device is started, which is a process different from the communication connection process, for example, when the communication device is a gas stove, the gas stove is installed in the kitchen and the use of the gas stove is started. It is time. According to this configuration, the event occurrence cycle is maintained at the second cycle longer than the first cycle until the user uses the communication function. Therefore, when the user does not use the communication function, the frequency of transmitting the advertising signal by the communication control unit can be reduced, and the power consumption of the transmitting device can be reduced.

  Further, the event occurrence cycle setting unit sets the event occurrence cycle in a predetermined time slot of one day shorter than the event occurrence cycle in another time slot.

  According to this configuration, for example, when the transmission device is mounted on the cooking device and the time period during which communication is used (meal time period or the like) is limited, the event occurrence cycle in this time period is set to be shorter than that in other time periods. By setting the time to be short, it is possible to quickly enable communication connection in this time zone and reduce power consumption for communication connection in other time zones.

A communication status holding unit that holds communication connection status data indicating a past execution status of the communication connection process by the communication control unit in a predetermined time zone of one day;
The event occurrence cycle setting unit sets a length of the event occurrence cycle in the future predetermined time zone based on a past execution status of the communication connection process in the predetermined time zone indicated by the communication connection status data. It is characterized by doing.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to set an appropriate length of a future event occurrence cycle for a predetermined time zone of the day based on the actual use status of the past communication.

  The event occurrence cycle setting unit sets the event occurrence cycle in the future predetermined time period to be shorter as the number of times of performing the communication connection process in the past predetermined time period indicated by the communication connection status data is larger. It is characterized by doing.

  According to this configuration, by setting the future event occurrence cycle shorter as the number of times of use of the past communication increases with respect to the predetermined time period of the day, the communication connection in the time period where the communication frequency is high is established. It is possible to quickly perform the operation, and to reduce power consumption in a time zone where communication is not frequently used.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a gas stove (communication device of the present invention) and a smartphone (communication terminal of the present invention). 9 is a flowchart of a process of setting an event occurrence cycle in the first embodiment. 9 is a flowchart of an event generation cycle setting process according to the second embodiment. 15 is a flowchart of an event generation cycle setting process according to the third embodiment. 15 is a flowchart of an event generation cycle setting process according to the fourth embodiment.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[1. Configuration of gas stove and smartphone]
Referring to FIG. 1, a gas stove 1 (corresponding to a communication device of the present invention) of the present embodiment is close to a smartphone 50 (corresponding to a communication terminal of the present invention) by a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). It has a function of performing distance wireless communication.

  The gas stove 1 is provided with a left stove 10a, a right stove 10b, a rear stove 10c, and a grill 20 as a heating unit for heating the food. Each of the stoves 10a, 10b, 10c is provided with a temperature sensor 15a, 15b, 15c for detecting the temperature of the bottom of the cooking vessel on which the stove is placed.

  On the front surface of the gas stove 1, an operation button 11a for the left stove for performing ignition / extinguishing of the left stove 10a and changing the heating power, an operation button 11b for the right stove for performing the ignition / extinguishing and the heating power change of the right stove 10b, A rear stove operation button 11c for performing ignition / extinguishing and changing the heating power of the stove 10c, and a grill operation button 21 for performing ignition / extinguishing and changing the heating power of the grill 20 are provided. Further, on the front surface of the gas stove 1, a stove operation panel 13 and a grill operation panel 23 are provided.

  In addition, the gas stove 1 is provided with a stove controller 30 that controls the overall operation of the gas stove 1, a speaker 26, and a communication circuit 27. The stove controller 30 is an electronic circuit unit composed of a CPU, a memory, various interface circuits, and the like, and executes a control program of the gas stove 1 held in the memory by the CPU to thereby control the communication control unit 31 and the event generation cycle setting. It functions as the unit 32, the communication status holding unit 33, and the heating and cooking control unit 34.

  On the stove controller 30, the detection signals of the temperature sensors 15a, 15b, 15c and the operation of the operation buttons (the left stove operation button 11a, the right stove operation button 11b, the rear stove operation button 11c, and the grill operation button 21) are provided. A signal, an operation signal of an operation panel (the stove operation panel 13, the grill operation panel 23), and a signal received by the communication circuit 27 are input.

  In addition, according to the control signal output from the stove controller 30, the display of the left cooker 10a, the right cooker 10b, the rear cooker 10c, the grill 20, the operation panel (the cooker operation panel 13, the grill operation panel 23), and the sound output from the speaker 26 , And transmission of signals by the communication circuit 27 are controlled.

  The smartphone 50 includes a smartphone controller 60 that controls the overall operation of the smartphone 50. The smartphone controller 60 is an electronic circuit unit including a CPU, a memory, various interface circuits, and the like. The smartphone controller 60 executes a control program for the smartphone 50 held in the memory by the CPU, thereby causing the communication control unit 61 to execute the recipe selection. It functions as the unit 62 and the cooking condition data transmitting unit 63.

  In addition, the smartphone 50 includes a touch panel 51 on which various screens are displayed while being touched by a user, a speaker 52 for outputting sound and the like, and a communication circuit 53 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the gas stove 1. Is provided.

  A touch operation signal on the touch panel 51 and a signal received by the communication circuit 53 are input to the smartphone controller 60. The control signal transmitted from the smartphone controller 60 controls the screen display of the touch panel 51, the output of the speaker 52, and the transmission of the signal by the communication circuit 53.

  The gas stove 1 has a function of receiving cooking condition data corresponding to the recipe selected by the smartphone 50 from the smartphone 50 and performing automatic heating cooking based on the cooking condition data. In order to use this function, the user accesses a recipe selection site and installs a recipe selection application (hereinafter, referred to as a recipe selection application) on the smartphone 50.

  When the user installs the recipe selection application, the user performs an operation of registering the model name of the gas stove 1 as an initial setting. By this registration, cooking condition data corresponding to the specifications of the gas stove 1 (such as the heating capacity of the stoves 10a, 10b, 10c, and the grill 20) can be obtained from the recipe selection site. Further, the user performs pairing between the smartphone 50 and the gas stove 1 using the recipe selection application to enable wireless communication between the smartphone 50 and the gas stove 1.

  In the smartphone 50, the recipe selection unit 62 selects a recipe in response to a recipe selection operation by the user, and the cooking condition data for the recipe selected by the recipe selection unit 62 is communicated by the cooking condition data transmission unit 63. It is transmitted from the circuit 53.

  Then, in the gas stove 1, the heating and cooking control unit 34 of the stove controller 30 that has received the cooking condition data via the communication circuit 27 performs automatic cooking according to the cooking condition data.

[2. First Embodiment of Event Generation Period Setting Process]
Next, a first embodiment of an event generation cycle setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The communication control unit 31 of the gas stove 1 prepares an advertising packet Adv_pkt (an advertising signal of the present invention) at a predetermined event occurrence period as shown in FIG. 1 in preparation for a wireless communication connection with the smartphone 50 that has already been paired. Is repeatedly transmitted.

  Then, when receiving the advertising packet Adv_pkt, the smartphone 50 existing around the gas stove 1 transmits a connect request Con_req (corresponding to a connection request signal of the present invention). The connect request Con_req includes the address of the gas stove 1 and the address of the smartphone 50 included in the advertising packet Adv_pkt. By recognizing these addresses, the communication control unit 31 of the gas stove 1 identifies the communication partner smartphone 50 and executes a wireless communication connection process with the smartphone 50.

  The flowchart of FIG. 2 is executed by the event generation cycle setting unit 32. When the gas stove 1 is installed in the kitchen and the use of the gas stove 1 is started, the event generation cycle setting unit 32 sets the event generation cycle in STEP1. Set to the second cycle (the initial value of the event occurrence cycle).

  In the following STEP2, the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 determines whether the communication control unit 31 has executed the communication connection process between the gas stove 1 and the smartphone 50. Then, when the communication connection process between the gas stove 1 and the smartphone 50 is executed, the process proceeds to STEP 3 and the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 sets (changes) the event occurrence cycle to the first cycle shorter than the second cycle. I do.

  Accordingly, when the user does not perform the operation of the automatic cooking using the smartphone 50, the event generation cycle is maintained at the second cycle, so that the communication control unit 31 lowers the transmission frequency of the advertising packet Adv_pkt to reduce the gas frequency. 1 can be reduced. In addition, when the user performs an operation of automatic cooking using the smartphone 50, the event occurrence cycle is changed to the first cycle shorter than the second cycle, and thus the communication connection between the gas stove 1 and the smartphone 50 is performed. Processing can be performed more quickly.

[3. Second Embodiment of Setting Process of Event Occurrence Cycle]
Next, a second embodiment of the process of setting the event occurrence cycle will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The event generation cycle setting unit 32 sets the event generation cycle to the second cycle in STEP 10 of FIG. In the following STEP 11, the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 determines that the current time (recognized by the timekeeping function of the stove controller 30) is set to a predetermined time range for use of the gas stove (for example, a cooking time period in the morning, noon, and evening). (Corresponding to a predetermined time period of the invention).

  Then, when the current time reaches the start time of the use time zone, the process proceeds to STEP 12, the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 sets (changes) the event occurrence cycle to the first cycle shorter than the second cycle, and proceeds to STEP 13. move on.

  In STEP 13, the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 determines whether or not the current time is the end time of the usage time zone. Then, when the current time reaches the end time of the use time zone, the process proceeds to STEP10.

  By the processing according to the flowchart in FIG. 3, the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 sets the event occurrence cycle to a relatively short first cycle in a usage time period in which there is a high possibility that the operation of the automatic cooking using the smartphone 50 is performed. . Thereby, the communication connection process between the gas stove 1 and the smartphone 50 can be quickly performed, and the usability of the user can be improved.

  On the other hand, in a time zone other than the usage time zone in which the possibility of performing the automatic cooking operation using the smartphone 50 is low, the communication control unit 31 sets the event generation cycle to a relatively long second cycle. The power consumption of the gas stove 1 can be reduced by lowering the transmission frequency of the advertising packet Adv_pkt.

[4. Third Embodiment of Event Generation Period Setting Process]
Next, a third embodiment of the event generation cycle setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the third embodiment, the length of the event occurrence cycle is set by the time level. The time level is set so that the level 1 becomes the shortest and the time becomes longer as the level increases.

  The event generation cycle setting unit 32 sets the event generation cycle to the time level 1 (shortest setting) and resets (sets 0) an unused counter described later in STEP 30 of FIG. Then, the loop of the next STEP 31 to STEP 34 is repeatedly executed.

  In STEP 31, the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 determines whether or not the current time has reached the start time of the use time zone. Then, when the current time reaches the disclosure time of the usage time zone, the process proceeds to STEP 32, and in STEP 40, while monitoring whether or not the communication control unit 31 executes the communication connection process between the gas cooker 1 and the smartphone 50, the current time is monitored. Is determined to be the end time of the usage time zone.

  The communication status holding unit 33 holds communication connection status data indicating whether or not the communication connection process is executed during the use time period (corresponding to the execution status of the communication connection process of the present invention) in a memory provided in the stove controller 30. I do.

  When the current time reaches the end time of the usage time zone, the process proceeds to STEP 33, and the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 refers to the communication connection status data and determines whether the communication connection process has been executed within the usage time zone. Judge. Then, when the communication connection process is executed within the use time zone, the process proceeds to STEP34. On the other hand, when the communication connection process is not executed within the use time zone, the process branches to STEP50, and the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 counts up (+1) the non-use counter and proceeds to STEP34.

  In STEP 34, the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 sets the time level of the event occurrence cycle according to the count value of the unused counter. In other words, the larger the count value (the greater the number of past days in which the communication connection process has not been executed during the use time period), the greater the time level of the event occurrence period in the future use time period and the longer the event occurrence period. I do.

  Thereby, the event occurrence cycle in the use time zone can be appropriately set according to the actual use condition of the gas stove 1 using the smartphone 50.

[5. Fourth Embodiment of Setting Process of Event Occurrence Cycle]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the event generation cycle setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the fourth embodiment, as in the above-described third embodiment, the length of the event occurrence cycle is set by the time level.

  The event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 determines whether or not the current time is the start time of the use time zone in STEP 60 of FIG. Then, when the current time reaches the start time of the use time zone, the process proceeds to STEP 61, and in STEP 70, while monitoring whether or not the communication control unit 31 executes the communication connection process between the gas cooker 1 and the smartphone 50, the current time is monitored. Is determined to be the end time of the usage time zone.

  When the current time reaches the end time of the usage time zone, the process proceeds to STEP 62, and the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 determines whether the communication connection process has been executed within the usage time zone. Then, when the communication connection process is executed within the usage time zone, the process proceeds to STEP 63, where the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 counts up (+1) the weight variable, and proceeds to STEP 64. On the other hand, when the communication connection process is not executed within the use time zone, the process branches to STEP 80, where the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 counts down (−1) the weight variable, and proceeds to STEP 64.

  In STEP 64, the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 determines whether the weight variable has become larger than the weight upper limit value. Then, when the weight variable becomes larger than the weight upper limit value, the process proceeds to STEP 65, and the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 lowers the time level of the event occurrence cycle by one level (-1). On the other hand, when the weight variable is equal to or less than the upper weight limit, the process branches to STEP 90, and the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 determines whether the weight variable has become smaller than the lower weight limit.

  When the weight variable becomes smaller than the lower weight limit, the process proceeds to STEP 91, in which the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 increases the time level of the event occurrence cycle by one level (+1), and proceeds to STEP 66. On the other hand, when the weight variable is equal to or larger than the weight lower limit value, the flow branches to STEP 66.

  As described above, the weight variable is increased or decreased according to whether or not the communication connection process is performed, and the time level of the event occurrence cycle is increased or decreased according to the value of the weight variable, thereby enabling the user to perform automatic cooking using the smartphone 50. The length of the event generation cycle can be set according to the operation status.

  In STEP 66, the event occurrence cycle setting unit 32 reads the parameters (start time, end time, time level of event occurrence time, value of weight variable) in the next time zone from the memory, and proceeds to STEP 60. As a result, the value of the weight variable is similarly updated in the next time zone, and the length of the event occurrence cycle is updated.

[6. Other Embodiments]
In the present embodiment, the gas stove 1 has been described as the communication device of the present invention. However, the present invention can be applied to any communication device that performs communication connection processing by advertising with a communication terminal.

  In the present embodiment, the smartphone 50 is shown as the communication terminal of the present invention. However, any communication terminal having a function of performing communication with the communication device may be used, and a mobile phone, a tablet, a personal computer, or the like may be used. it can.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the gas stove 1 (communication device) that performs wireless communication by BLE with the smartphone 50 (communication terminal) has been described. However, even when a communication specification other than BLE is adopted, advertising is performed. The present invention can be applied to any communication device that performs communication connection according to.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Gas stove (communication device), 27 ... Communication circuit, 30 ... Stove controller, 31 ... Communication control unit, 32 ... Event occurrence cycle setting unit, 33 ... Communication status holding unit, 34 ... Heating and cooking control unit, 50 ... Smartphone ( Communication terminal), 60: Smartphone controller, 61: Communication control unit.

Claims (4)

A communication circuit for transmitting and receiving signals to and from a communication terminal;
Transmitting an advertising signal from the communication circuit at a predetermined event occurrence period in preparation for a communication connection with a communication terminal, and when the communication circuit receives a connection request signal transmitted from the communication terminal that has received the advertising signal, A communication device comprising: a communication control unit that performs communication connection processing with the communication terminal that has transmitted the connection request signal and performs communication with the communication terminal.
An event generation cycle setting unit that sets a length of the event generation cycle according to an execution state of the communication connection processing by the communication control unit ,
The event generation period setting unit sets the event generation period to a second period when use, which is a process different from the communication connection process of the communication device, is started, and the communication control unit performs the communication connection process. After the processing is executed , the communication apparatus sets the event occurrence cycle to a first cycle shorter than the second cycle . The communication device according to claim 1 ,
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the event occurrence cycle setting unit sets the event occurrence cycle in a predetermined time slot of one day shorter than the event occurrence cycle in another time slot. The communication device according to claim 1 ,
A communication status holding unit that holds communication connection status data indicating a past execution status of the communication connection process by the communication control unit in a predetermined time zone of one day;
The event generation cycle setting unit sets a length of the event generation cycle in the future predetermined time zone based on a past execution state of the communication connection process in the predetermined time zone indicated by the communication connection status data. A communication device. The communication device according to claim 3 ,
The event occurrence cycle setting unit sets the event occurrence cycle in the future predetermined time period to be shorter as the number of times of execution of the communication connection process in the past predetermined time period indicated by the communication connection status data is larger. A communication device characterized by the above-mentioned.