JP7065429B2 - Monitoring systems, monitoring methods, and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates generally to monitoring systems, monitoring methods, and programs, and more particularly to monitoring systems, monitoring methods, and programs that monitor the communication status of stationary communication terminals.

Patent Document 1 discloses a remote meter reading system in which a plurality of power measuring devices are arranged in one building such as an apartment house. The power measuring device is installed in the dwelling unit and measures the amount of power consumed in the dwelling unit. This system includes a terminal station that acquires measurement data from a power measuring device and a master station that collects measurement data obtained by the terminal station by power line carrier communication. The master station communicates with a server managed by an electric power company through a network such as the Internet. As a result, the server individually acquires the amount of power used in each dwelling unit.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-157983

In a communication system including a master station and a plurality of terminal stations such as the system described in Patent Document 1, the communication quality of the terminal station and the master station, which are communication terminals, is changed so that the communication quality of the communication system can be maintained at a certain level. It is important to monitor whether or not the quality is maintained at a certain level. However, in an actual environment, wireless communication is affected by interference with other radio waves, and power line communication is affected by noise interference due to the use of other devices, so that the time zone is fixed at regular intervals. There may be situations where communication quality deteriorates. In such a case, if the system administrator (user) monitors the communication terminal every time the communication quality of the communication terminal deteriorates, the burden of the user's monitoring work of the communication terminal increases, and the communication that should be monitored originally. There was a problem that it was difficult to efficiently monitor the deterioration of quality.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring system, a monitoring method, and a program capable of reducing the burden of monitoring work of a communication terminal by a user.

The monitoring system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit and a monitoring unit. The acquisition unit acquires communication parameters representing the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with the stationary communication terminal. When the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, the monitoring unit notifies an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal. The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in the past at the communication terminal.
The monitoring system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit and a monitoring unit. The acquisition unit acquires communication parameters representing the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with the stationary communication terminal. When the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, the monitoring unit notifies an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal. The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a first communication terminal different from the communication terminal. The first communication terminal belongs to the same network as the communication terminal, and is in the same communication path as the communication terminal.
The monitoring system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit and a monitoring unit. The acquisition unit acquires communication parameters representing the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with the stationary communication terminal. When the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, the monitoring unit notifies an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal. The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a second communication terminal different from the communication terminal. The second communication terminal belongs to the same network as the communication terminal, and the distance between the second communication terminal and the communication terminal is within a predetermined range.
The monitoring system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit and a monitoring unit. The acquisition unit acquires communication parameters representing the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with the stationary communication terminal. When the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, the monitoring unit notifies an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal. The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a third communication terminal different from the communication terminal. The third communication terminal belongs to a network different from the network to which the communication terminal belongs, and the distance between the third communication terminal and the communication terminal is within a predetermined range.

The monitoring method according to one aspect of the present disclosure acquires a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with the stationary communication terminal. In this monitoring method, when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal is notified. The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in the past at the communication terminal.
The monitoring method according to one aspect of the present disclosure acquires a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with the stationary communication terminal. In this monitoring method, when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal is notified. The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a first communication terminal different from the communication terminal. The first communication terminal belongs to the same network as the communication terminal, and is in the same communication path as the communication terminal.
The monitoring method according to one aspect of the present disclosure acquires a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with the stationary communication terminal. In this monitoring method, when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal is notified. The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a second communication terminal different from the communication terminal. The second communication terminal belongs to the same network as the communication terminal, and the distance between the second communication terminal and the communication terminal is within a predetermined range.
The monitoring method according to one aspect of the present disclosure acquires a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with the stationary communication terminal. In this monitoring method, when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal is notified. The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a third communication terminal different from the communication terminal. The third communication terminal belongs to a network different from the network to which the communication terminal belongs, and the distance between the third communication terminal and the communication terminal is within a predetermined range.

The program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing one or more processors to execute the monitoring method .

The present disclosure has an advantage that the burden of monitoring work of a communication terminal by a user can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the same monitoring system. 3A and 3B are explanatory views of a first operation example of the same monitoring system, respectively. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a second operation example of the same monitoring system. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a third operation example of the same monitoring system. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a fourth operation example of the same monitoring system.

(1) Overview As shown in FIG. 1, the monitoring system 1 according to the present embodiment communicates with one or more communication terminals 2 (here, a repeater 20) among a plurality of communication terminals 2 via a network 51. It is configured to be possible. Each of the plurality of communication terminals 2 is configured to be able to communicate with another communication terminal 2, and constructs a network 52 different from the network 51. There are one or more networks 52 (here, a plurality of networks 52). That is, the monitoring system 1 is configured to be able to communicate with the communication terminals 2 belonging to each of the one or more networks 52.

Hereinafter, the relationship between the communication terminal 2 belonging to one of the one or more networks 52 and the monitoring system 1 will be described. Since the relationship between the communication terminal 2 belonging to the remaining network 52 and the monitoring system 1 is the same as the above relationship, the description thereof will be omitted.

The monitoring system 1 includes a communication unit (acquisition unit) 11 and a monitoring unit 12.

The communication unit 11 acquires a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal 2 by communicating with the stationary communication terminal 2. That is, in the present embodiment, unlike the portable communication terminal owned by the user such as a smartphone, the communication terminal 2 cannot move from the installed place unless there is a circumstance such as changing the installation place. not. The "communication quality" referred to in the present disclosure indicates the quality of communication between the communication terminal 2 and another communication device (here, the communication unit 11 of the monitoring system 1 or the other communication terminal 2). For example, if the communication speed between the communication terminal 2 and another communication device is at least a certain value, it can be said that the communication quality is good, and if it is below a certain value, it can be said that the communication quality is poor.

The communication parameter determines the communication quality of the communication terminal 2, such as the communication success rate, which is the success rate of communication between the communication terminal 2 and another communication device, and the communication speed between the communication terminal 2 and the other communication device. Contains one or more parameters to represent. In the present embodiment, the communication success rate is the ratio of the number of times data is received by another communication device to the number of trials of data transmission by the communication terminal 2.

When the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, the monitoring unit 12 causes an abnormality in the communication terminal 2 (for example, a failure of the communication terminal 2 or deterioration of the communication terminal 2). ) Is generated. The threshold value is set to, for example, the above-mentioned constant value. The "temporal change in communication parameters" as used in the present disclosure means a time change in communication parameters that appears only once in a certain period or is repeated a plurality of times at intervals in a certain period. Further, the "exception pattern" referred to in the present disclosure is a temporal change in the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 (or other communication device), and is in the environment where the communication terminal 2 (or other communication device) is installed. Therefore, it is a pattern that can occur even when the communication terminal 2 (or other communication device) is normal.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 notifies an alarm when the temporal change of the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 does not match the exception pattern, that is, when the temporal change of the communication parameter is irregular. do. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the alarm is not notified for the deterioration of the communication quality of the communication terminal 2 that may occur when the communication terminal 2 is normal, so that the number of communication terminals 2 to be notified of the alarm is reduced. Can be done. As a result, the present embodiment has an advantage that the burden of the monitoring work of the communication terminal 2 by the user (here, the operator of the monitoring system 1) can be reduced.

(2) Configuration Hereinafter, the configuration of the monitoring system 1 of the present embodiment and the communication terminal 2 that communicates with the monitoring system 1 will be described. Here, in the present embodiment, the monitoring system 1 is configured to be communicable with the management device 4 including the display unit 41. The display unit 41 is a thin display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. In the present embodiment, the management device 4 is a personal computer (desktop type, laptop type, etc.). The management device 4 is not limited to a personal computer, and may be, for example, a mobile information terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, or a device such as a smart TV.

(2.1) Monitoring system First, the monitoring system 1 will be described. In the present embodiment, the monitoring system 1 is a server, and is a facility owned by a place away from the building where the communication terminal 2 is installed, for example, a provider of the communication terminal 2 or a service provider using the communication terminal 2. It is provided in. The monitoring system 1 further includes a storage unit 13 in addition to the communication unit (acquisition unit) 11 and the monitoring unit 12 described above.

The communication unit 11 is a communication interface for communicating with the communication terminal 2. The communication unit 11 is configured to be able to communicate with the first communication unit 21 (described later) of the communication terminal 2 via a network 51 such as a WAN (Wide Area Network) or a LAN (Local Area Network). The network 51 may be a wired communication system network or a wireless communication system network. Further, the network 51 may be a network in which a wired communication system network and a wireless communication system network are combined. The communication unit 11 acquires the state information (described later) stored in the communication terminal 2 by communicating with the first communication unit 21 of the communication terminal 2 (here, the repeater 20) via the network 51. .. The acquired state information is stored in the storage unit 13 in association with the identifier of the communication terminal 2 that is the transmission source of the communication parameter.

The monitoring unit 12 is composed of, for example, a computer system having a processor and a memory. Then, the processor executes the program stored in the memory, so that the computer system functions as the monitoring unit 12. The program executed by the processor is recorded in advance in the memory of the computer system here, but may be recorded in a non-temporary recording medium such as a memory card and provided, or provided through a telecommunications line such as the Internet. May be done.

The monitoring unit 12 executes a determination process for determining whether the communication terminal 2 is normal or abnormal based on the state information (communication parameters) acquired by the communication unit 11. In the determination process, first, a process of comparing the communication parameter and the threshold value is executed. When the communication parameter is below the threshold value, the determination process secondly executes a process of comparing the temporal change of the communication parameter with the exception pattern. The determination process will be described in detail in "(3) Operation" described later.

When it is determined in the determination process that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal 2, the monitoring unit 12 notifies an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal 2. Specifically, the monitoring unit 12 of the monitoring system 1 transmits an alarm signal including warning image or message data indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal 2 to the management device 4. Then, the management device 4 that has received the warning signal displays the warning image or message on the display unit 41. As a result, the user (operator of the monitoring system 1) can grasp the communication terminal 2 in which the abnormality has occurred. On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process that the communication terminal 2 is normal, the monitoring unit 12 does not notify the alarm.

The storage unit 13 includes a rewritable non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). The storage unit 13 stores the state information of the communication terminal 2 in a form associated with the identifier of the communication terminal 2. The state information includes one or more parameters representing the communication state of the communication terminal 2, such as an identifier of another adjacent communication terminal 2 and the number of hops. Further, the status information is one or more communications representing the communication quality of the communication terminal 2, such as the communication success rate between the communication terminal 2 and another communication device, and the communication speed between the communication terminal 2 and the other communication device. Contains parameters. Regarding the communication success rate between the repeater 20 and the monitoring system 1, for example, the monitoring unit 12 determines the number of trials of communication from the repeater 20 in a certain period and the number of times the state information is acquired from the repeater 20. calculate. The storage unit 13 may be the built-in memory of the monitoring unit 12.

In the present embodiment, the storage unit 13 further stores position information indicating the position of the communication terminal 2. The "position information" referred to in the present disclosure is information representing the position of the communication terminal 2 represented by coordinates in real space such as latitude, longitude, and altitude. The position information of the communication terminal 2 is used, for example, when the distance between the communication terminal 2 and another communication terminal 2 is calculated in the determination process by the monitoring unit 12. In the present embodiment, the position information of the communication terminal 2 is stored in advance in the storage unit 13 by being input by the user (operator of the monitoring system 1).

(2.2) Communication terminal Next, the communication terminal 2 will be described. In this embodiment, a plurality of communication terminals 2 are electrically connected to one power line 3. Here, if the power distribution system is a single-phase three-wire system, a set of power lines composed of three lines (three electric wires) of L1, L2, and N is referred to as one power line 3. Similarly, if the distribution method is a single-phase two-wire system, one set of power lines composed of two wires (two wires) is regarded as one power line 3, and if the distribution system is a three-phase four-wire system, the power line is one. A set of power lines composed of four wires (four electric wires) is referred to as one power line 3. The plurality of communication terminals 2 use the power line 3 as a transmission path for communication signals to perform power line carrier communication (PLC) with each other. That is, in the present embodiment, the communication terminal 2 has a function of communicating with another communication terminal 2 by power line carrier communication.

Here, as an example, the communication terminal 2 adopts high-speed power line communication (HD-PLC: High Definition Power Line Communication) as a method of power line carrier communication. However, the power line carrier communication method of the communication terminal 2 is not limited to high-speed power line communication, and may be, for example, G3-PLC (see ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector) G.9903) or the like.

Each of the plurality of communication terminals 2 includes a second communication unit 22, a control unit 23, and a storage unit 24, respectively. Further, the communication terminal 2 of the plurality of communication terminals 2 functions as a repeater 20 that relays the other communication terminal 2 and the monitoring system 1. The communication terminal 2 which is the repeater 20 further includes a first communication unit 21.

The first communication unit 21 is a communication interface for communicating with the monitoring system 1. The first communication unit 21 is configured to be able to communicate with the communication unit 11 of the monitoring system 1 via the network 51. The first communication unit 21 transmits the status information of each of the plurality of communication terminals 2 (including the repeater 20) belonging to the same network 52 to the monitoring system 1. In the present embodiment, the first communication unit 21 periodically transmits the status information of each of the plurality of communication terminals 2 to the monitoring system 1. That is, the repeater 20 periodically acquires its own status information and the status information of the other communication terminal 2, and transmits the acquired status information of each of the plurality of communication terminals 2 to the monitoring system 1. Further, when the status information of any communication terminal 2 is updated, the first communication unit 21 may transmit the updated status information of the communication terminal 2 to the monitoring system 1. In this case, the repeater 20 acquires the status information from the communication terminal 2 whose status information has been updated, and transmits the acquired status information to the monitoring system 1.

The second communication unit 22 is a communication interface for communicating with another communication terminal 2 belonging to the same network 52. The second communication unit 22 is configured to be able to communicate with the second communication unit 22 of another communication terminal 2 by the power line carrier communication method. In the present embodiment, the second communication unit 22 is configured to be able to communicate with the second communication unit 22 of the other communication terminal 2 by a single hop method or a multi-hop method. The second communication unit 22 may be configured to be able to communicate with the second communication unit 22 of another communication terminal 2 by a wired communication method other than the power line carrier communication method or a wireless communication method.

The control unit 23 is composed of, for example, a computer system having a processor and a memory. Then, the processor executes the program stored in the memory, so that the computer system functions as the control unit 23. The program executed by the processor is recorded in advance in the memory of the computer system here, but may be recorded in a non-temporary recording medium such as a memory card and provided, or provided through a telecommunications line such as the Internet. May be done.

The control unit 23 has a function of transmitting / receiving data to / from another communication terminal 2 belonging to the same network 52 via the second communication unit 22. Further, the control unit 23 may use another adjacent communication terminal 2 (here, another communication of the data transmission source) based on the size of the data acquired by the second communication unit 22 and the time required to acquire the data. Calculate the communication speed with the terminal 2). The control unit 23 stores the calculated communication speed in the storage unit 24 as state information. Further, the control unit 23, for example, is based on the number of trials of communication from another adjacent communication terminal 2 in a certain period and the number of times data is acquired from the other communication terminal 2, and the control unit 23 is adjacent to the other communication terminal 2. Calculate the communication success rate with. The control unit 23 stores the calculated communication success rate in the storage unit 24 as state information.

The storage unit 24 includes a rewritable non-volatile memory such as EEPROM. The storage unit 24 stores the state information of the communication terminal 2. The state information includes one or more parameters representing the communication state of the communication terminal 2, such as an identifier of another adjacent communication terminal 2 and the number of hops. Further, the state information includes one or more communication parameters representing the communication quality of the communication terminal 2, such as the communication success rate with another adjacent communication terminal 2 and the communication speed with the other adjacent communication terminal 2. Includes. The storage unit 24 may be the built-in memory of the control unit 23.

(3) Operation Hereinafter, an example of the operation of the monitoring system 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The operation of the monitoring system 1 shown below is performed for each of all the communication terminals 2 belonging to one or more networks 52.

First, when the monitoring unit 12 of the monitoring system 1 acquires the state information (communication parameter) of the communication terminal 2 in the communication unit 11, the acquired state information (communication parameter) is associated with the identifier of the communication terminal 2 and stored in the storage unit. Store in 13 (S1). In the present embodiment, as described above, the repeater 20 periodically transmits the status information of each of the plurality of communication terminals 2 (including the repeater 20) to the monitoring system 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 periodically updates the state information of the communication terminal 2 stored in the storage unit 13.

Next, the monitoring unit 12 compares the communication parameter with the threshold value as the first process of the determination process (S2). In the present embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 compares the communication success rate (or communication speed) with the threshold value as communication parameters. The threshold values are different between the case where the communication success rate is used as the communication parameter and the case where the communication speed is used. As a result of the comparison, if the communication parameter is equal to or higher than the threshold value (S3: No), the monitoring unit 12 does not notify the alarm (S7). On the other hand, if the communication parameter falls below the threshold value as a result of the comparison (S3: Yes), the monitoring unit 12 compares the temporal change of the communication parameter with the exception pattern as the second process of the determination process (S4). ..

Here, the monitoring unit 12 determines the temporal change of the communication parameter and the exception pattern in any of the following operation examples of the first operation example to the fourth operation example according to the environment in which the communication terminal 2 is placed. Compare. The only difference between the first operation example and the second operation example to the fourth operation example is the exception pattern used by the monitoring unit 12, so that the second operation example to the fourth operation example are common to the first operation example. The description of the points to be performed will be omitted.

(3.1) First Operation Example In the first operation example, the monitoring unit 12 uses the temporal change of the past communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 stored in the storage unit 13 as an exception pattern. The first operation example is effective when the communication terminal 2 is an existing communication terminal and past data of communication parameters exists due to operation for a certain period or longer.

An example of the exception pattern will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. In the example shown in FIG. 3A, the communication success rate of the communication terminal 2 decreases from m1 [%] to near zero in each specific period T1 one day before and two days before. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 3A, the temporal change of the communication parameter (communication success rate) in the past specific period T1 is an exception pattern. In the example shown in FIG. 3B, the communication speed of the communication terminal 2 decreases from n1 [Mbps] to n2 [Mbps] in each specific period T2 one day before and two days before. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 3B, the temporal change of the communication parameter (communication speed) in the past specific period T2 becomes an exception pattern.

Such an exception pattern may occur depending on the environment in which the communication terminal is placed, for example, when a noise source exists around the installation location of the communication terminal 2. As an example, when there is a factory around the place where the communication terminal 2 is installed, noise is likely to occur during the operating hours of the factory (for example, in the daytime), and even if the communication terminal 2 is normal, the communication parameters are likely to decrease.

The monitoring unit 12 determines whether or not the temporal change of the communication parameter from the time when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value to the elapse of the specific period T1 (or the specific period T2) matches the above exception pattern. .. In the example shown in FIG. 3A (or FIG. 3B), the temporal change of the communication parameter coincides with the exception pattern. Therefore, when the temporal change of the communication parameter and the exception pattern match (S5: No), the monitoring unit 12 does not notify the alarm (S7). On the other hand, when the temporal change of the communication parameter and the exception pattern do not match (S5: Yes), the monitoring unit 12 notifies the alarm (S6).

(3.2) Second Operation Example In the second operation example, the monitoring unit 12 makes an exception pattern of the temporal change of the past communication parameter of the first communication terminal 2A (see FIG. 4) stored in the storage unit 13. It differs from the first operation example in that it is used as. In other words, in the second operation example, the exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in the first communication terminal 2A different from the communication terminal 2. The second operation example is effective when the communication terminal 2 is a newly installed communication terminal 2N (see FIG. 4) and there is no past data of communication parameters.

The first communication terminal 2A is a communication terminal 2 that belongs to the same network 52 as the communication terminal 2N and is in the same communication path as the communication terminal 2N. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the first communication terminal 2A is an existing communication terminal belonging to the network 52, and is located above the newly installed communication terminal 2N. That is, the environment in which the communication terminal 2N is placed is similar to the environment in which the first communication terminal 2A is placed. Therefore, the monitoring unit 12 can use the temporal change of the communication parameter in the first communication terminal 2A as an exception pattern.

In the second operation example, when the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2N falls below the threshold value, the monitoring unit 12 uses the temporal change of the past communication parameter of the first communication terminal 2A stored in the storage unit 13 as an exception pattern. Step S4 is executed.

(3.3) Third Operation Example In the third operation example, the monitoring unit 12 makes an exception pattern of the temporal change of the past communication parameter of the second communication terminal 2B (see FIG. 5) stored in the storage unit 13. It differs from the first operation example in that it is used as. In other words, in the third operation example, the exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter of the second communication terminal 2B different from the communication terminal 2. The third operation example is effective when the communication terminal 2 is a newly installed communication terminal 2N (see FIG. 5) and there is no past data of communication parameters.

The second communication terminal 2B is a communication terminal 2 that belongs to the same network 52 as the communication terminal 2N and the distance between the second communication terminal 2B and the communication terminal 2N is within a predetermined range. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the second communication terminal 2B is on a communication path different from that of the communication terminal 2N, but the communication terminal 2 located above each is common. In other words, the number of hops starting from the upper communication terminal 2 is the same for the communication terminal 2N and the second communication terminal 2B. If the number of hops is the same, the distance between the communication terminal 2N and the second communication terminal 2B is almost the same between the common upper communication terminal 2 and the communication terminal 2N and the second communication terminal 2B. It can be considered that the distance between them is also within a predetermined range. That is, the environment in which the communication terminal 2N is placed is similar to the environment in which the second communication terminal 2B is placed. Therefore, the monitoring unit 12 can use the temporal change of the communication parameter in the second communication terminal 2B as an exception pattern.

In the third operation example, when the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2N falls below the threshold value, the monitoring unit 12 uses the temporal change of the past communication parameter of the second communication terminal 2B stored in the storage unit 13 as an exception pattern. Step S4 is executed.

(3.4) Fourth Operation Example In the fourth operation example, the monitoring unit 12 makes an exception pattern of the temporal change of the past communication parameter of the third communication terminal 2C (see FIG. 6) stored in the storage unit 13. It differs from the first operation example in that it is used as. In other words, in the fourth operation example, the exception pattern is a temporal change in the communication parameter of the third communication terminal 2C, which is different from the communication terminal 2. In the fourth operation example, the communication terminal 2 is newly installed in another network 52B (see the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 6) different from the existing network 52A (see the broken line in FIG. 6) (see FIG. 6). It is effective when it is.

The third communication terminal 2C belongs to a network 52A different from the network 52B to which the communication terminal 2N belongs, and the distance between the third communication terminal 2C and the communication terminal 2N is within a predetermined range (for example, several hundred [m] to 1 [km]). It is a communication terminal 2 inside. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the third communication terminal 2C is located at the position closest to the communication terminal 2N among the plurality of communication terminals 2 belonging to the network 52A. Further, both the third communication terminal 2C and the communication terminal 2N are installed around the specific area B1 (for example, a factory) which is a noise generation source. That is, the environment in which the communication terminal 2N is placed is similar to the environment in which the third communication terminal 2C is placed. Therefore, the monitoring unit 12 can use the temporal change of the communication parameter in the third communication terminal 2C as an exception pattern.

In the fourth operation example, when the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2N falls below the threshold value, the monitoring unit 12 uses the temporal change of the past communication parameter of the third communication terminal 2C stored in the storage unit 13 as an exception pattern. Step S4 is executed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 notifies an alarm when the temporal change of the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 does not match the exception pattern, that is, when the temporal change of the communication parameter is irregular. do. In other words, even if the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 is below the threshold value, the monitoring unit 12 determines that the temporal change of the communication parameter matches the exception pattern, that is, if the temporal change of the communication parameter is regular. Do not notify the alarm.

That is, in the present embodiment, the alarm is not notified for the deterioration of the communication quality of the communication terminal 2 due to the environment in which the communication terminal 2 is placed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the number of communication terminals 2 to be notified of the alarm can be reduced as compared with the case where the alarm is notified only by the deterioration of the communication quality as a trigger. As a result, the present embodiment has an advantage that the burden of the monitoring work of the communication terminal 2 by the user can be reduced, and it becomes easy to efficiently monitor the deterioration of the communication quality that should be originally monitored. This embodiment is particularly effective because the number of communication terminals 2 to be notified of an alarm can be reduced when there are a large number of communication terminals 2 to be monitored, for example, tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. be.

In this embodiment, since the network 52 of the plurality of communication terminals 2 is constructed by the power line carrier communication method, it is particularly effective. This is because the power line carrier communication method is easily affected by noise from the surroundings of the installation location of the communication terminal 2, and there is a relatively high possibility that the communication quality is deteriorated even when the communication terminal 2 is normal.

(4) Modifications The above embodiment is only one of the various embodiments of the present disclosure. The above-described embodiment can be variously modified depending on the design and the like as long as the object of the present disclosure can be achieved. Further, the same function as that of the monitoring system 1 may be realized by a control method, a computer program, a non-temporary recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, or the like.

The monitoring method according to one aspect acquires a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal 2 by communicating with the stationary communication terminal 2. In this monitoring method, when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal 2 is notified.

The program according to one aspect is a program for causing a computer system to execute a first step and a second step. The first step is a step of acquiring a communication parameter representing the communication quality of the communication terminal 2 by communicating with the stationary communication terminal 2. The second step is a step of notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal 2 when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern.

Hereinafter, modified examples of the above-described embodiment will be listed. The modifications described below can be applied in combination as appropriate.

The monitoring system 1 in the present disclosure includes, for example, a computer system in the monitoring unit 12 and the like. The computer system mainly consists of a processor and a memory as hardware. When the processor executes the program recorded in the memory of the computer system, the functions of the monitoring unit 12 and the like in the present disclosure are realized. The program may be pre-recorded in the memory of the computer system, may be provided through a telecommunication line, and may be recorded on a non-temporary recording medium such as a memory card, optical disk, hard disk drive, etc. that can be read by the computer system. May be provided. The processor of a computer system is composed of one or more electronic circuits including a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) or a large scale integrated circuit (LSI). A plurality of electronic circuits may be integrated on one chip, or may be distributed on a plurality of chips. A plurality of chips may be integrated in one device, or may be distributed in a plurality of devices.

In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 may determine whether or not to notify the alarm according to the correlation between the distance and the communication speed. The distance is the distance between the communication terminal 2 and another communication terminal 2. The communication speed is the communication speed between the communication terminal 2 and another communication terminal 2. For example, when the communication speed as a communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 falls below the threshold value, the monitoring unit 12 determines that the communication speed between the communication terminal 2 and another communication terminal 2 adjacent to the communication terminal 2 is increased. , It is determined whether or not the speed is commensurate with the distance between these terminals. That is, the longer the distance between the terminals, the lower the communication speed. Therefore, it may be difficult to determine whether the communication terminal 2 is normal or abnormal simply by the communication speed falling below the threshold value. In such a case, in this aspect, the monitoring unit 12 does not notify the alarm if the communication speed is a speed commensurate with the distance between the terminals.

In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 determines that the communication parameter continuously falls below the threshold value for a certain period of time (for example, several hours to several days) even when the temporal change of the communication parameter matches the exception pattern. , The alarm may be notified. The above-mentioned fixed time is longer than the time (for example, specific periods T1 and T2) in which a change in communication quality is expected to occur periodically. For example, when the temporal change of the communication parameter matches the exception pattern, it is considered that the communication terminal 2 is normal in principle, but it is not preferable as the environment in which the communication terminal 2 is placed. In this aspect, when the event that the communication quality of the communication terminal 2 deteriorates continues, the user is notified of the installation location of the communication terminal 2 by notifying the alarm or by notifying the alarm in a mode different from the normal alarm. It has the advantage that it can be encouraged to reconsider.

In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 does not have to notify the alarm when the time during which the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 changes with time is shorter than the predetermined time. For example, when a communication failure occurs accidentally, the monitoring unit 12 may notify an alarm because the temporal change of the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 does not match the exception pattern. In this case, even if the communication terminal 2 is normal, an alarm may be notified every time an accidental communication failure occurs. In this aspect, it is possible to prevent the alarm from being notified every time an accidental communication failure occurs by not notifying the alarm when the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 is temporarily lowered. , Has the advantage.

In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 may determine whether or not to notify the alarm according to a predetermined condition different from the communication quality of the communication terminal 2. For example, the monitoring unit 12 notifies an alarm when a predetermined condition (communication quality deteriorates in a preset time zone) is satisfied even if the temporal change of the communication parameter matches the exception pattern. Further, for example, the monitoring unit 12 gives an alarm when a predetermined condition (a noise source such as a factory is present around the communication terminal 2) is satisfied even if the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern. Is not notified. The predetermined conditions can be appropriately set by the user. This aspect has the advantage that the user can flexibly change the operation method of the monitoring system 1.

In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 may change the alarm notification mode according to the magnitude of the decrease in the communication parameter. For example, when the communication speed drops to 0 [Mbps], the monitoring unit 12 may display a warning image or message on the display unit 41 that strongly recommends repair or replacement of the communication terminal 2. ..

In the above-described embodiment, when the monitoring unit 12 acquires the event information from the communication terminal 2, the monitoring unit 12 may notify the alarm without performing the determination process. The event information is information such as, for example, the performance of the communication terminal 2 is deteriorated, or the communication terminal 2 is out of order. The event information can be acquired by the communication terminal 2 by, for example, self-diagnosing by the communication terminal 2.

In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 waits for the specific period T1 (or the specific period T2) to elapse after the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 falls below the threshold value, and determines whether the communication terminal 2 is normal or not. However, it is not limited to this. For example, when the time when the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 falls below the threshold value almost coincides with the start time of the specific period T1 (or the specific period T2), the monitoring unit 12 determines that the temporal change of the communication parameter matches the exception pattern. It may be deemed that the communication terminal 2 is normal. In this case, the monitoring unit 12 can determine that the communication terminal 2 is normal when the communication parameter of the communication terminal 2 falls below the threshold value.

In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring system 1 notifies the alarm by displaying a warning image or a warning message on the display unit 41 of the management device 4, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the monitoring system 1 may notify the alarm by outputting a warning voice from the speaker included in the management device 4. Further, for example, the monitoring system 1 may notify an alarm by lighting a light emitting element such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) included in the management device 4. In these embodiments, the management device 4 may not include the display unit 41.

In the above-described embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 of the monitoring system 1 may display the map information indicating the position of the communication terminal 2 in which the abnormality has occurred on the display unit 41 when notifying the alarm. In the present embodiment, the map information may be, for example, an electronic map created by a geographic information system (GIS), or may be used for a fee or free of charge provided via a network such as the Internet. It may be a possible electronic map. In the former case, the map information is preferably stored in advance by the management device 4. In the latter case, it is preferable that the management device 4 appropriately acquires the map information via a network such as the Internet according to the operation of the user, for example. In addition, the map information may be stored in advance in the storage unit 13 of the monitoring system 1. In this case, the monitoring unit 12 may transmit an alarm signal including map information to the management device 4.

In the above-described embodiment, the position information of the communication terminal 2 is stored in advance in the storage unit 13 of the monitoring system 1 by being input by the user, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the communication terminal 2 further includes a positioning unit, the positioning result of the positioning unit may be stored in the storage unit 13 of the monitoring system 1 as the position information of the communication terminal 2. The positioning unit is configured to measure the position (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the communication terminal 2 by using a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System). The positioning result of the positioning unit is transmitted from the first communication unit 21 to the communication unit 11 of the monitoring system 1 via, for example, the network 51. Then, the monitoring unit 12 of the monitoring system 1 stores the received positioning result of the positioning unit in the storage unit 13 as the position information of the communication terminal 2.

Here, when the communication terminal 2 has a positioning unit, the communication terminal 2 may measure its own position periodically or irregularly. In this case, for example, even if the position of the communication terminal 2 is changed for some reason, the position information of the communication terminal 2 is automatically set by the monitoring system 1 by transmitting the positioning result of the changed communication terminal 2 to the monitoring system 1. It is possible to update the system.

In addition, when the worker who installs the communication terminal 2 has a mobile terminal having a positioning unit equivalent to the above-mentioned positioning unit, the positioning result of this positioning unit is used as the position information of the communication terminal 2 to monitor the system. It may be stored in the storage unit 13 of 1. For example, after the installation work of the communication terminal 2, the worker operates the mobile terminal to have the positioning unit measure the position of the installed communication terminal 2. After that, when the worker operates the mobile terminal, the positioning result of the positioning unit is transmitted from the mobile terminal to the communication unit 11 of the monitoring system 1 via the network 51. Then, the monitoring unit 12 of the monitoring system 1 stores the received positioning result of the positioning unit in the storage unit 13 as the position information of the communication terminal 2.

In the above-described embodiment, the storage unit 13 of the monitoring system 1 stores the position information of the communication terminal 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the monitoring unit 12 of the monitoring system 1 executes the determination process in any of the operation examples of the first operation example to the third operation example, the position information of the communication terminal 2 may not be present.

In the above-described embodiment, one communication terminal 2 (repeater 20) among the plurality of communication terminals 2 includes the first communication unit 21, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each of the plurality of communication terminals 2 may include the first communication unit 21. In this case, the state information may be transmitted to the monitoring system 1 by each of the plurality of communication terminals 2 communicating with the communication unit 11 of the monitoring system 1 via the network 51.

In the above-described embodiment, the communication terminal 2 has a function of transmitting status information to the monitoring system 1, but may have other functions. For example, the communication terminal 2 may have a function of cooperating with a measuring device for measuring the amount of electric power used by a customer's facility. In this case, the communication terminal 2 is installed in the vicinity of the measuring device, receives the data of the electric energy measured by the measuring device, and is installed in the monitoring system 1 or a system different from the monitoring system 1 (for example, a data collection system). It may have a function of transmitting. Further, for example, the communication terminal 2 may have a function of cooperating with the sensor. In this case, the communication terminal 2 may be installed in the vicinity of the sensor and may have a function of receiving the detection result detected by the sensor and transmitting the detection result to the monitoring system 1 or a system different from the monitoring system 1. That is, the communication terminal 2 may have a function of cooperating with other devices.

When the communication terminal 2 is linked with another device as described above, the position information in which the other device is installed may be used as the position information of the communication terminal 2. This is because the communication terminal 2 is basically installed in the vicinity of the place where the other device is installed.

(summary)
As described above, the monitoring system (1) according to the first aspect includes an acquisition unit (communication unit) (11) and a monitoring unit (12). The acquisition unit (11) acquires a communication parameter representing the communication quality of the communication terminal (2) by communicating with the stationary communication terminal (2). The monitoring unit (12) notifies an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal (2) when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern. ..

According to this aspect, there is an advantage that the burden of the monitoring work of the communication terminal (2) by the user can be reduced.

In the monitoring system (1) according to the second aspect, in the first aspect, the communication terminal (2) has a function of communicating with another communication terminal (2) by power line carrier communication.

According to this aspect, there is an advantage that the burden of the monitoring work of the communication terminal (2) by the user can be reduced.

In the monitoring system (1) according to the third aspect, in the first or second aspect, the exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in the first communication terminal (2A) different from the communication terminal (2). be. The first communication terminal (2A) belongs to the same network (52) as the communication terminal (2,2N), and is in the same communication path as the communication terminal (2,2N).

According to this aspect, even when the communication terminal (2) is a newly installed communication terminal (2N) and the past data of the communication parameters does not exist, it is possible to execute the processing using the exception pattern. There is an advantage that it is.

In the monitoring system (1) according to the fourth aspect, in any one of the first to third aspects, the exception pattern is the time of the communication parameter in the second communication terminal (2B) different from the communication terminal (2). It is a change. The second communication terminal (2B) belongs to the same network (52) as the communication terminal (2,2N), and the distance between the second communication terminal (2B) and the communication terminal (2,2N) is within a predetermined range.

According to this aspect, even when the communication terminal (2) is a newly installed communication terminal (2N) and the past data of the communication parameters does not exist, it is possible to execute the processing using the exception pattern. There is an advantage that it is.

In the monitoring system (1) according to the fifth aspect, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the exception pattern is the time of the communication parameter in the third communication terminal (2C) different from the communication terminal (2). It is a change. The third communication terminal (2C) belongs to a network (52A) different from the network (52B) to which the communication terminal (2,2N) belongs, and the distance between the third communication terminal (2C) and the communication terminal (2,2N) is within a predetermined range. Within.

According to this aspect, even when the communication terminal (2) is a communication terminal (2N) newly installed in another network (52B) different from the existing network (52A), the processing using the exception pattern is used. Has the advantage of being able to run.

In the monitoring system (1) according to the sixth aspect, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the monitoring unit (12) determines whether or not to notify an alarm according to the correlation between the distance and the communication speed. decide. The distance is the distance between the communication terminal (2) and another communication terminal (2). The communication speed is the communication speed between the communication terminal (2) and another communication terminal (2).

According to this aspect, there is an advantage that it is easy to determine whether the communication terminal (2) is normal or abnormal by taking into consideration whether or not the communication speed is a speed commensurate with the distance.

In the monitoring system (1) according to the seventh aspect, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the monitoring unit (12) has the communication parameter set even when the temporal change of the communication parameter matches the exception pattern. If the threshold is continuously lowered for a certain period of time or longer, an alarm is notified.

According to this aspect, when the event that the communication quality of the communication terminal (2) is deteriorated continues, the communication terminal (2) is notified of the alarm by notifying the user or by notifying the user of the alarm in a mode different from the normal alarm. There is an advantage that it is possible to encourage the user to reconsider the installation location of 2).

In the monitoring system (1) according to the eighth aspect, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, the monitoring unit (12) has a time in which the temporal change of the communication parameter occurs is shorter than a predetermined time. If so, do not alert.

According to this aspect, by not notifying the alarm for the temporary decrease of the communication parameter of the communication terminal (2), the alarm is notified every time an accidental communication failure occurs. It has the advantage that it can be prevented.

In the monitoring system (1) according to the ninth aspect, in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the monitoring unit (12) responds to predetermined conditions different from the communication quality of the communication terminal (2). Decide whether to notify the alarm.

According to this aspect, there is an advantage that the user can flexibly change the operation method of the monitoring system (1).

The monitoring method according to the tenth aspect acquires a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal (2) by communicating with the stationary communication terminal (2). In this monitoring method, when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal (2) is notified.

According to this aspect, there is an advantage that the burden of the monitoring work of the communication terminal (2) by the user can be reduced.

The program according to the eleventh aspect is a program for causing a computer system to execute a first step and a second step. The first step is a step of acquiring a communication parameter representing the communication quality of the communication terminal (2) by communicating with the stationary communication terminal (2). The second step is a step of notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal (2) when the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern. be.

According to this aspect, there is an advantage that the burden of the monitoring work of the communication terminal (2) by the user can be reduced.

The configuration according to the second to ninth aspects is not an essential configuration for the monitoring system (1) and can be omitted as appropriate.

1 Monitoring system 11 Communication section (acquisition section)
12 Monitoring unit 2,2N communication terminal 2A 1st communication terminal 2B 2nd communication terminal 2C 3rd communication terminal 52, 52A, 52B Network

Claims (14)

An acquisition unit that acquires communication parameters indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with a stationary communication terminal, and an acquisition unit.
It is provided with a monitoring unit for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal when the communication parameter is below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern .
The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in the past at the communication terminal .
Monitoring system. An acquisition unit that acquires communication parameters indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with a stationary communication terminal, and an acquisition unit.
It is provided with a monitoring unit for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal when the communication parameter is below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern.
The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a first communication terminal different from the communication terminal.
The first communication terminal belongs to the same network as the communication terminal and is in the same communication path as the communication terminal.
Monitoring system. An acquisition unit that acquires communication parameters indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with a stationary communication terminal, and an acquisition unit.
It is provided with a monitoring unit for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal when the communication parameter is below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern.
The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a second communication terminal different from the communication terminal.
The second communication terminal belongs to the same network as the communication terminal, and the distance between the second communication terminal and the communication terminal is within a predetermined range.
Monitoring system. An acquisition unit that acquires communication parameters indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal by communicating with a stationary communication terminal, and an acquisition unit.
It is provided with a monitoring unit for notifying an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal when the communication parameter is below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern.
The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a third communication terminal different from the communication terminal.
The third communication terminal belongs to a network different from the network to which the communication terminal belongs, and the distance between the third communication terminal and the communication terminal is within a predetermined range.
Monitoring system. The communication terminal has a function of communicating with another communication terminal different from the communication terminal by power line carrier communication.
The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Whether or not the monitoring unit notifies the alarm according to the correlation between the distance between the communication terminal and the other communication terminal and the communication speed between the communication terminal and the other communication terminal. To decide,
The monitoring system according to claim 5 . When the communication parameter continuously falls below the threshold value for a certain period of time or longer, the monitoring unit notifies the alarm.
The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The monitoring unit does not notify the alarm when the time during which the temporal change of the communication parameter occurs is shorter than the predetermined time.
The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The monitoring unit determines whether or not to notify the alarm according to a predetermined condition different from the communication quality of the communication terminal.
The monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 8. By communicating with a stationary communication terminal, a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal is acquired, and the communication parameter is acquired.
When the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal is notified .
The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in the past at the communication terminal .
Monitoring method. By communicating with a stationary communication terminal, a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal is acquired, and the communication parameter is acquired.
When the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal is notified.
The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a first communication terminal different from the communication terminal.
The first communication terminal belongs to the same network as the communication terminal and is in the same communication path as the communication terminal.
Monitoring method. By communicating with a stationary communication terminal, a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal is acquired, and the communication parameter is acquired.
When the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal is notified.
The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a second communication terminal different from the communication terminal.
The second communication terminal belongs to the same network as the communication terminal, and the distance between the second communication terminal and the communication terminal is within a predetermined range.
Monitoring method. By communicating with a stationary communication terminal, a communication parameter indicating the communication quality of the communication terminal is acquired, and the communication parameter is acquired.
When the communication parameter falls below the threshold value and the temporal change of the communication parameter does not match the exception pattern, an alarm indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal is notified.
The exception pattern is a temporal change of the communication parameter in a third communication terminal different from the communication terminal.
The third communication terminal belongs to a network different from the network to which the communication terminal belongs, and the distance between the third communication terminal and the communication terminal is within a predetermined range.
Monitoring method. A program for causing one or more processors to execute the monitoring method according to any one of claims 10 to 13.

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