JPH0213025A - Transmission method for paging system and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute a transmission in a short time even when calls to plural different slave equipments are overlapped by preparing transmission data having an identification code to contain a master equipment identification code for causing a specific master equipment to execute a transmitting action. CONSTITUTION:When an operator executes a prescribed operation to a keyboard 1 for an input order to call pagers P1 and P2, a transmission data preparing device 5 draws out master equipment identification codes [Q7, Q9, Q19 and Q21] related to the master equipment at a place where the pager P1 stops with a high frequency and master equipments identification codes [Q9, Q13, Q15 and Q17] related to the master equipment at the place where the pager P2 stops with a high frequency from a designation place memory 23 for an individual. The transmission data preparing device 5 sends two transmission data having identification codes to contain the master equipment identification codes through a sending circuit 6 to 25 sets of master equipments. Thus, 4 sets of master equipments execute the transmission actions of the transmission data having the identification codes of the pager P1 destination, and other 3 sets of master equipments execute the transmission actions of the transmission data having the identification codes of the pager P2 destination.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a transmission method and apparatus for a paging system that enables transmission data from a plurality of master units to slave units.

(Prior art) Recently, in specific places such as hospitals or factories,
In order to improve work efficiency, a paging system using on-premises wireless paging has been introduced. As a paging system, for example, when a person carrying a child device (hereinafter referred to as a pager) moves within a certain area, a plurality of main devices that can be controlled by an operator are installed within this certain area, and the main device and Some devices use slave devices to transmit data from an operator to a pager.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing such a paging system. This paging system consists of an input keyboard 1 used by an operator to call a pager or input data to be sent, and a control terminal 2 to which operation signals from the input keyboard 1 are sent, installed within a certain area. , n parent devices 3A1., connected to this control terminal 2.・
...3A and m pagers P moving within a certain area
1, ..., Po (not shown) carry child devices 4B1. ..., 4B0.

Next, the operation of the above paging system will be explained.

m pagers P1. ..., when the operator attempts to call pager P1 from PIIl and transmit a message, the operator presses input keyboard 1.
is operated to output an operation signal to the transmission data generator (transmission data generation means) 5 of the control terminal 2.

The transmission data generator 5 generates transmission data consisting of a personal identification code for identifying the pager P1 and message data, and applies it to the transmission circuit 6. The sending circuit 6 transmits the transmission data to n parent devices 3A1. ..., to all 3 Ao at high speed (about 48 bits/second or 96 bits/second).

The sent transmission data is sent to the master device 3A1. . . 3 A is transmitted from each of the radio transmission circuits 7 at a low speed (approximately 2 or 4 bits/second or 4.8 bits/second) suitable for transmitting radio waves. Then, slave units 4B of pagers P,..., P scattered at arbitrary locations within a certain area
1. . . , 4B□ receives transmission data from the nearest master device at the receiving circuit 8.

Each child device 4B1. ..., 4Bo, the wireless signal of the transmission data received by the receiving circuit 8 is converted into an electrical signal and then output to the data demodulating circuit 9. At the same time, a "received signal present" signal is also output from the receiving circuit 8 to the signal detecting circuit 10.

When the signal detection circuit 10 detects this "received signal present" signal, it turns on the power supply switch 11, which had been off until then, and turns on the data demodulation circuit 9 and the buzzer drive circuit 1.
2 and the identification determination circuit 13, etc., the battery power supply 14
supply power from the plant to make it operational. Thereby, the data demodulation circuit 9 demodulates the output signal from the reception circuit 8 and outputs the demodulated signal to the identification determination circuit 13.

When the demodulated transmission data from the data demodulation circuit 9 is input, the identification determination circuit 13 determines whether the personal identification code included in this transmission data matches the registered code for the pager registered in advance. judge. Now, since the identification code is for the pager P1 as described above, only the identification judgment circuit 13 of the slave device 4B1 judges that there is a match, outputs a drive signal to the buzzer drive circuit 12, and turns on the buzzer 15. Make it ring. In other words, in the case of this explanation, there are m child devices 4B1. ..., out of 4BIll,
Only slave unit 4B1 works, other slave units 4B2 to 4B
doesn't work.

ω The identification determination circuit 13, which has determined that the personal identification codes match, further outputs a display signal to the display circuit 16. The display circuit 16 causes the display 17 to display the content of the transmission data from the data demodulation circuit 9 on the condition that this display signal is input.

Then, the pager P1 carrying the child device 4B1 confirms the content of the transmitted data on the display 17, and then turns on the ACK switch 18.

Then, an ACK signal is transmitted from the transmitting circuit 19 by radio waves, and the receiver 20 of the nearest parent device (for example, the parent device 3A1) among the n parent devices receives the ACK signal. The receiving circuit 20 converts the ACK signal by radio waves into an electrical signal and outputs it to the ACK determination circuit 21 . The ACK determination circuit 21 sends a transmission operation stop command signal to the control terminal 2 on the condition that both the output signal from the reception circuit 21 and the transmission end signal from the wireless transmission circuit 7 are input. The data is output to the transmission data generator 5. As a result, the transmission operation of the transmission data generator 5 is stopped, and the transmission operation from the operator to the pager P1 is completed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the paging system implemented as described above has the following problems.

That is, when an operator calls one pager P1, n parent devices 3A1..., 3
All of A transmit radio waves, and the slave device 4B1 carried by the pager P that receives the call can immediately begin receiving operation. Therefore, messages can be transmitted quickly and no particular problems arise.

However, there is a problem when the operator consecutively calls pagers with a diameter of 2 Å or more, that is, when calls to pagers with a diameter of 2 Å or more overlap. In the above-described system, the configuration is such that all n master devices 3AI, . . . , 3An simultaneously perform a transmission operation to the same pager. Therefore, the second and subsequent pagers cannot be called unless the transmission/reception operation for the first pager is completed. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to quickly transmit messages to all pagers.

That is, for example, pager P1. with two operators. P2
When trying to call, as shown in Figure 7(a),
Two consecutive pulse signals, ie, call signals C1□C2, are sent out from the control terminal 2. Then, as shown in FIG.
, message data D i based on C2, respectively.
, D2. After confirming the contents of the respective message data D, D2 on the display, the pagers p, , p2 send the ACK signal 1. as shown in FIG. 2 to the nearest parent device. Therefore, regarding the pager P2, even if the calling signal C2 is sent, the contents of the message data D2 cannot be checked immediately, and the pager must wait until the transmission of the message data D1 is completed. Such waiting time is short and has little impact when a relatively small number of pagers attempt to make a call. However, if messages are to be continuously transmitted to a large number of pagers, the waiting time will be long and the impact will be significant. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
The object of the present invention is to provide a paging system transmission method and apparatus that can quickly transmit messages in a short period of time even when calls to multiple child devices overlap.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As a means for solving the above problems, the transmission method of the paging system of the present invention transmits the transmission data generated by the transmission data generation means to a master device installed at each of a plurality of locations. In the transmission method of the paging system that enables transmission to a parent device, the transmission data generation means includes an identification code including a sharps identification code for causing a transmission operation only to a specific parent device as the transmission data. Transmission data is generated, each of the plurality of parent devices is configured to determine the sharps identification code of the identification code-attached transmission data, and only the parent device corresponding to the sharps identification code is caused to perform a transmission operation. It is.

Furthermore, the transmitting device of the paging system of the present invention is capable of transmitting the transmitting data generated by the transmitting data generating means to the slave devices via the master devices installed at a plurality of locations, respectively. The transmission data generating means generates transmission data with an identification code including a sharps identification code for causing only a specific master unit among the plurality of master units to perform a transmission operation, and the master unit is configured to The configuration includes a determining means for determining the sharps identification code of the identification code-attached transmission data.

(Function) The transmission data generation means generates transmission data with an identification code including a sharps identification code for causing only a specific master device to perform a transmission operation. The sharps identification code in the identification code-attached transmission data is determined in each of the plurality of parent devices. Based on the result of the determination, only the specific master unit performs the transmission operation.

Therefore, even if calls to a plurality of different child devices overlap, transmission is performed in a short time. That is, for example, the transmission data generating means may transmit the first sharps identification code including the first sharps identification code.
It is assumed that transmission data with an identification code and second transmission data with a sharps identification code including a second sharps identification code are sequentially generated. The first and second sharps identification code-attached transmission data are transmitted by different first and second master devices in separate transmission operations. Therefore, the second master device transmits the second transmission data with the sharps identification code without waiting for the first master device to finish transmitting the first transmission data with the sharps identification code. Therefore, assuming a case where such calls overlap, multiple pieces of transmission data can be sent quickly and in a short time.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. However, in FIGS. 1 to 5, the same components as in FIGS. 6 and 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In Figure 1, 22 is a control terminal, 23
is an individual designated location memory. This individual designated place memory 23 is stored in each pager P1. . . , Po stores the sharps identification codes related to the master devices installed at locations that are frequently visited by each of the sharps. 24A...
・, 24An is the parent device installed at each of the above locations,
25 and 25 are their parent devices 24A1. ..., 24A
o, and a parent device identification code match/mismatch detection circuit as a discrimination means.

Next, the operation of such a paging system will be explained. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that 25 master devices (1 to 25) are installed in a certain area. In addition, in FIG. 2, the main units 24A to 24A2. For convenience, the numbers are shown in parentheses (1 to 25). The master unit installed in the place where the pager P1 carrying the slave unit 4B frequently stops at is (7, 9, 19°21), and the location where the pager P2 carrying the slave unit 4B2 frequently stops by is (7, 9, 19°21). The master devices installed at the places to stop by are (9, 13, 15, 17), and the numbers of the above master devices are stored in the individual designated place memory 2.
3.

First, a case will be described in which the operator sends a message only to the pager P1. First, an operator performs a predetermined operation on the input keyboard 1 in order to call only the pager P1. Then, the transmission data generator 5, as shown in FIG.
21) sharps identification code (Q7.Q9.Ql., Q2□
] from the individual designated place memory 23, and further,
This sharps identification code CQ7. Q9. Q19. Q2□] and a personal identification code C1 that functions as a calling signal,
Transmission data with an identification code is generated, including message data D1 in which the content to be transmitted is written. Then, the sending circuit 6 in FIG.
5 main units 24A1. . . 24 A to all 25, it is transmitted at a high speed of about 48 bits/second or 96 bits/second, as in the conventional case.

The transmission data with the identification code sent out from the sending circuit 6 is sent to the master device 24A1. . . , 24 A 25 and are temporarily stored in the respective memory circuits 25, and are also input to the parent device identification code match/mismatch detection circuit 26, which is a determining means. Then, the parent device identification code match/mismatch detection circuit 2
6 is the master device identification code (Q
7. Q9. Ql. .

Q2□] is detected to see if it matches its own registration code, and if they match, it outputs a control signal to the wireless transmission circuit 7. When the wireless transmission circuit 7 receives this control signal, it immediately transmits the memory circuit 25.
The transmission data with the identification code stored in the is pulled out, and this is sent to the peripheral slave devices using wireless radio waves, as in the past.
．． It is transmitted at a low speed of about 4 or 4.8 bits/second.

That is, in the case of this embodiment, 25 master units 24A,
..., 4 master units 24A 2 among 24A25
4A 24A 24A21 only is 7'
9'19' Radio waves will be transmitted, that is, a transmission operation will be performed.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, if the pager P1 is currently visiting the location where the master unit (7) is installed, the receiving circuit 8 of the slave unit 4B carried by the pager P1 is The transmission data with the identification code sent from (7) will be received.

Note that at this time, other pagers P 2 , ..., Pm
Considering that these pagers have parent devices (7, 9
, 19, 21) are not even in the place where they are installed, those child devices 4B2. . . , 4B0, each receiving circuit 8 does not receive the 1-coded transmission data destined for the pager P1. Therefore, child device 4B2. ...
, 48m does not operate, and it is possible to prevent the battery power source 14 from wasting power due to receiving transmission data with an identification code for another person (pager P,).

For example, assume that the slave device 4B1 receives transmission data with an identification code sent from the master device (7) in FIG. 2. The receiving circuit 8 of the slave device 4B1 then sends the signal detecting circuit 10 to “
Outputs the signal “Received signal present” and turns on the power on switch 11.
to drive on.

The subsequent operation is similar to that of the conventional example, so its explanation will be omitted.

By the way, even if the pager P1 normally only stops at the place where the parent device (7, 9, 19, 21) is installed in FIG. 2, it is conceivable that it sometimes stops at other places. In such a case, the slave unit 4B1 of the pager P cannot receive the transmission data with the identification code sent from the master unit (7°■9.19.21). Therefore, the transmission data generator 5 of the control terminal 22 cannot receive the ACK signal forever, and therefore cannot stop its operation based on the ACK signal.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, assuming such a case, after a certain period of time has elapsed, the output signal from any of the ACK determination circuits 21 of the parent device (7, 9, 19° 21) becomes the transmission data shown in FIG. When not input to the generator 5, all parent devices 24
A..., 24A251' are made to perform the transmission operation. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the transmission data generator 5 transmits the transmission data with the all-sharp instrument operation mode code, which includes the all-friendly operation mode code Z, the personal identification code C1, and the message data D1, to the 25 units. Master device 24 A 1. ..., 24 A 25
Send to all.

As a result, as long as the pager P1 is located within a certain area, its child device 4B can receive the transmission data with the all-sharp device operation mode code from any parent device.

Next, the operator uses the two pagers P 1 in FIG.
The case of continuous transmission for P2 will now be explained. First, the operator performs a predetermined operation on the input keyboard 1 in order to call up the pagers P1 and P2. Then, the transmission data generator 5 retrieves from the individual designated place memory 23 the parent unit identification code [Q7 ” 9 ” 19
” 2□] and the parent device identification code related to the parent device in the place where pager P2 frequently visits [Q9 ” 13” 15”
17]. Then, the transmission data generator 5
The transmission data with two identification codes similar to those shown in FIG.
Base unit 24A,..., 24A2. Send to.

■ As a result, four master units (7, 9, 19, 21) out of the 25 master units (1 to 25) in Fig. 2 perform the operation of transmitting transmission data with an identification code addressed to pager P1. ,Also,
Another three master units (1, 3, 15°17) are pager P2
Performs an operation to send transmission data with an identification code to the destination. However, the parent device (9) is the pager P1. Regarding both P2,
It is stored in the individual designated place memory 23 in duplicate.

Therefore, in the parent device 24A, after the transmission data with the identification code addressed to the pager P1 is transmitted, the transmission data with the identification code addressed to the pager P2 is transmitted.

Continuing the explanation further, pager P1. It is assumed that P2 is currently visiting a location where the parent device (7, 19) is installed, as shown in FIG. Then,
The receiving circuits 8 of the slave devices 4B and 4B2 carried by the pagers P, P2 receive mutually separate radio waves transmitted from the wireless transmitting circuits 7 of the master devices (7, 9). be able to. And pagers Pl and P2 are child units 4B and 4B2.
After confirming the contents of the transmission data with identification code on each display 17, the ACK switch 18 is turned on to notify the operator that reception has been completed. This results in
From the operator, pager P1. Transmission to P2 is completed.

FIGS. 5(a) to 5(e) show the above-mentioned operator and two pagers P1. It is a time chart showing the timing of main operations in transmission and reception with P2. That is,
First, from the control terminal 2, pager P1. P
Call signal (personal identification code) C1, C2 for 2
is emitted (Fig. 5(a)). Then, at the same time as the calling signal C1 is issued, the master units 24A7 and 24A9゜2
4A and 24A21 send out a signal of message data D1 (Fig. 5(b)), and when the sending is completed, slave unit 4B issues an ACK signal of 1 (Fig. 5(C)).
). Furthermore, at the same time as the calling signal C2 is issued, the master units 24A and 24A15°24A also transmit a signal of message data D2 (FIG. 5(d)), and when this transmission is completed, the slave unit 4B2 issues an ACK signal ( Figure 5(e)).

As is clear from FIGS. 5(a), (b), and (d), transmission of the message data D2 is started at the same time as the calling signal C2 is issued, and the waiting time for the calling signal C2 is zero. It has become. Therefore, although the transmission start time of message data D2 is slightly delayed from the transmission start time of message data D1, this delay corresponds to the delay between call signals CI and 02. In other words, as is clear from the comparison with the time charts of FIGS. 7(a), (b), and (C), this embodiment allows the operator to connect to the pager P1 much more quickly than the conventional example. ．． Transmission and reception to and from P2 can be completed.

Note that pager P1. Regarding P2, each parent device 2
4A, 24A9, 24A19.24A2, or a parent device other than 24A 24A13.24A15°9' 24A17 may be visited at a location where a parent device is installed. In this case, after a certain period of time,
The transmission data with all master unit operation mode codes (FIG. 4) to which the aforementioned all master unit operation mode code Z has been added is sequentially transmitted from the transmission data generator 5 to all the master units 24A, . . .
24A25 is transmitted 1'.

Next, prevention of power wastage regarding the battery power source of each child device will be considered in more detail.

In the conventional system, slave devices 4B1. ...4B
When receiving the radio wave transmitted from the main device, the power-on switch 11 is turned on for all devices, regardless of whether the pager is the pager being called or not. Therefore, for the slave device of the pager that is not the object of the page call, such driving of the power-on switch 11 can be said to be an unnecessary operation, and will unnecessarily accelerate the consumption of the battery power.

On the other hand, according to the embodiment described above, it is possible to prevent the power consumption of the battery of the slave device which is not the target of the call. That is, in the description of the above embodiment, the number of master devices installed within a fixed area was 25, but in the following description, it is assumed to be 100.

Then, if the total number of pagers is 1,000, the average number of pagers stored as the main unit in places where each pager frequently visits is 10, and the pager is located at the location where the stored main unit is installed. Assume that the probability is 90% and that the number of calls (transmission/reception) per day of the operator is 100 on average.

According to the conventional method, every time the operator performs a calling operation, all 100 master units perform a transmission operation, so if the operator performs the calling operation 100 times,
The total number of transmissions of the parent device is 100x1.0O-10,00
0, that is, 10,000 times.

On the other hand, according to the present invention, when the operator performs a single call operation, first, 10 master devices always perform a transmission operation, and then, with a 10% probability, 100 full-scale devices perform a transmission operation. will be done.

In other words, the number of master devices that perform a transmission operation in response to one calling operation by the operator is 10+0.1×100−20, that is, 20 devices. Therefore, if the operator
If the calling operation is performed 0 times, the total number of transmissions by the master device is 100×20−2,000, that is, 2000 times.

As is clear from the above, the total number of transmissions by the master device according to the present invention is 115, which is the total number of transmissions by the master device according to the conventional method. As a result, unnecessary operations of the power-on switch 11 of each child device in FIG. 1 can be reduced, and the life of the battery power source 14 can be extended five times. It should be noted that the power consumption of the receiving circuit 8 and the signal detecting circuit 10 provided on the preceding stage side of the power-on switch 11 is negligible.

In the above embodiment, the transmission from the parent device to the child device is performed using radio waves, but it is also possible to use other methods such as ultrasonic waves or light.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, it is possible to selectively operate any one of a plurality of parent devices, so that when calls to a plurality of different child devices overlap, If the calls are made by different master units, it is possible for one master unit to be in the transmitting operation regardless of whether or not the other master unit is in the transmitting operation; It can be done quickly and in a short time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a paging system as an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the parent device, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are signals sent from the parent device. 5 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the paging system of FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is an overall configuration diagram of a conventional paging system,
FIG. 7 is a time chart for explaining the operation. 24A,...,24A...Main device, 4B1.・・・
-n 4B...Slave device, 5...Transmission data generation means (transmission data generator). Control terminal Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A transmission method for a paging system in which transmission data generated by a transmission data generation means can be transmitted to slave devices via master devices installed at a plurality of locations, comprising: the transmission data generation means. The transmitting data includes identification code-attached transmission data that includes a master device identification code for causing only a specific master device to perform a transmission operation, and each of the plurality of master devices transmits the identification code-attached transmission data. A transmission method for a paging system, characterized in that the parent device identification code is determined, and only the parent device corresponding to the parent device identification code is caused to perform a transmission operation. 2. A transmitting device for a paging system capable of transmitting transmission data generated by a transmission data generating means to a child device via parent devices installed at a plurality of locations, wherein the transmission data generating means The device generates transmission data with an identification code including a master device identification code for causing only a specific master device among the devices to perform a transmission operation, and the parent device generates transmission data with an identification code including a master device identification code of the transmission data with the identification code. 1. A transmitting device for a paging system, comprising a determining means for determining.