JPH0750871B2 - Wireless data relay system - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a wireless data relay system for performing optical wireless communication between a center terminal and a data terminal.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of cards such as prepaid cards and vending machines for selling goods and providing services by using currency are known. When, for example, the card payment information from the vending machine or the payment information is sent to the control device (collection / distribution device) having a so-called aggregation function at a predetermined time interval or when there is a request from the control device. Is transmitted. When the transmission is performed by wire communication, there are the following problems.

(1) In vending machines for game machines and the like, the installation position is frequently changed and the vending machine itself is changed. It is necessary to redo the wiring for wired communication every time such a change or replacement is made, and the work for that is troublesome.

(2) In order to install wiring for wired communication, it may be necessary to make a hole in a wall on which a vending machine or a control device is mounted.

(3) When the vending machine is a floor-standing type, wiring for communication may be exposed on the floor surface, which may cause a disconnection accident.

In order to solve such a problem, there is a system in which data transmission is performed by optical wireless communication. Figure 4 shows
It is an external view of an actual usage state of such a system.
In FIG. 4, a plurality of automatic vending machines (automatic ticket vending machines) 5, 5, ... Are fitted on the wall 3 between the floor 1 and the ceiling 2.

Each vending machine 5 is provided with a coin slot 6, a card slot 7 and an article outlet 8. Further, each vending machine 5 has a light receiver 11 and a light emitter 12 for performing optical wireless communication with a collecting and delivering device (control device) 13 attached to the ceiling 2. Then, for example, communication between the vending machines 5, 5, ... And the collection and distribution device 13 is performed as follows.

That is, the collection / delivery device 13 transmits a transmission command including an address code designating one of the plurality of vending machines 5, 5, ... To the vending machines 5, 5 ,. Each vending machine 5,5, ...
Receives the transmission command at the light receivers 11, 11 ... Of the vending machines 5, 5, ..., The vending machine 5 that determines that the received signal is addressed to itself sends data such as sales from the light emitting device 12 to the collecting and distributing device 12. The above operation is repeated for all vending machines 5, 5, ....

However, even in the optical wireless data communication shown in FIG. 4, the purchaser stands between the vending machines 5, 5, ... It was sometimes interrupted. In order to avoid this, it is conceivable to dispose a large number of light receivers 11 and light emitters 12 on the outer peripheral surface of the vending machine 5, for example, the entire surface. However, it is difficult to reliably prevent the above interruption.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

As described above, the wired communication system has a problem associated with wiring, and the optical wireless system has a problem that communication is interrupted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless data relay system in which communication is less likely to be interrupted.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

A first wireless data relay system of the present invention performs optical wireless communication between at least one center terminal and a plurality of data terminals, wherein each of the data terminals comprises:
A first light receiver for receiving the transmission light of the center terminal and converting it into an electric signal, an optical transmission device for converting the output signal of the first light receiver into an optical signal and outputting it to space, and other data. A second photoreceiver that receives the optical signal output to the space by the terminal and its own optical transmitter and converts it into an electric signal, and a second photoreceiver based on the output signal of the second photoreceiver from the center terminal. An information processing circuit for obtaining information is provided, and the center terminal is configured to transmit the same data to the plurality of data terminals via a plurality of different paths by optical wireless communication.

In the second wireless data relay system of the present invention, the optical transmitter converts the carrier of the output signal of the first light receiver, and the converter converts the output signal of the converter into an optical signal for transmission. And a light emitter.

[Work]

In the first and second wireless data relay systems of the present invention, each data terminal has two light receivers, the first and second light receivers, and the transmission light from the center terminal is the first light in all data terminals. The light is received by the light receiver, converted into an optical signal again, and sent to itself and other data terminals.
Each data terminal receives the retransmitted light by the second light receiver to obtain information from the center terminal.

That is, the transmission information from the center terminal is sent to each data terminal through the interaction between the plurality of data terminals.

Therefore, even if, for example, one path from the center terminal to the data terminal is shielded for some reason and the transmission light from the center terminal does not reach a certain data terminal, that data terminal cannot be transmitted to another data terminal. Since the information included in the received light is transmitted from the device, the communication is surely performed.

Further, in the second wireless data relay system of the present invention, when the data terminal receives and retransmits the transmission light from the center terminal, the carrier is converted, that is, the frequency or the like is changed. It is possible to eliminate the risk of oscillating development by forming a feedback loop between the optical transmitter and the optical transmitter.

〔Example〕

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

First, FIG. 1 is an overall external plan view showing the concept of a wireless data relay system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, two wall plates 21 and 22 are standing in parallel on a floor 20 at regular intervals. A plurality of vending machines 23, 23, ... Are supported in a fitted state on the front wall plate 21. Each vending machine 24 sells and rents tickets and goods by using various cards and coins. Each vending machine
On the front surface of 24, a light receiving device 26 and a light emitting device 27 for performing optical wireless communication with the light emitting device 28 and the light receiving device 29 of the collecting and delivering device (control device) 24 are provided in an exposed state. Further, a light emitter 31 and a light receiver 32 are provided in an exposed state on the back surface of each vending machine 23. The light emitter 31 and the light receiver 32 on this back surface
Is for communication between the vending machines 23.

The system thus arranged operates simply as follows.

That is, the collection / distribution device 24 outputs the transmission command signal to all the vending machines 23, 23, ... In a non-directional manner. This signal includes address information of the vending machine that desires to collect various types of data such as card payment information and inventory information.

The transmitted light from this collection and distribution device 24 is transmitted to each vending machine 23, 23,
, Is received by the light receivers 26, 26, and after being subjected to processing such as frequency conversion as will be described later, it is retransmitted from the light emitters 31, 31, on the back side of each vending machine 23, 23 ,. Will be done.

This retransmitted light is received by the light receivers 32 of all the vending machines 23, 23, ... Including the sender, either directly or by reflection on the wall surface.

Each vending machine 23 decodes the transmission command from the concentrator / distributor 24 based on the output of the light receiver 32 on the back side to obtain necessary information,
When the transmission command is for itself, various data is transmitted from the light emitting device 27 to the collecting and distributing device 24.

Therefore, for example, of the vending machines 23, 23, ..., A transmission command to the vending machine 23 (1) located at the left end of the vending machines 23, 23, ...
There is a shield 34 such as a person in front of 23 (1), and the collection / delivery device 24
Even if the light transmitted from does not reach the receiver 26,
By receiving the retransmitted light emitted from the light emitting device 31 of the other vending machine 23 that can receive the transmitted light with the light receiving device 32 on the back surface, the transmission command can be received, and thus the collection and distribution device 24 can receive the transmitted light. It will be possible to reliably respond to this.

Further, when receiving and retransmitting the transmission light from the collection and distribution device 24 in each vending machine 23, since the carrier frequency is converted, a feedback loop between the light receiver 26 on the front surface and the light emitter 31 on the rear surface. There is no risk that oscillating development will occur due to the formation of defects.

Next, FIG. 2 shows the details of the internal circuit of each vending machine 23.

In this figure, the transmission light S1 from the collection / distribution device 24 is transmitted, for example, as an FSK modulated wave having a carrier frequency f1. The transmitted light is received by the front light receiver 26 in the vending machine 23 and applied to the mixer 42. A single frequency of f1 + 455 kHz is applied from the local oscillator 3 to the mixer 42, and an FSK modulated wave in which the carrier frequency is converted to 455 kHz is obtained from the mixer 2. The output of mixer 42 is a 455kHz bandpass filter
After passing through 44 to remove the unwanted band, it is added to the light emitter 31. The output of the bandpass filter 44 is the carrier sensor circuit.
It is also applied to 46, and the carrier sensor 46 determines whether the reception level of the reception signal is higher than or equal to a level within a good signal quality range, and when it is determined to be higher than that level, the light emitter
Allow 31 flashes.

That is, an optical signal having a relatively good signal quality is retransmitted from the rear surface of the vending machine 23 without any time delay. Since this retransmitted light is transmitted from all the vending machines 23 that were able to receive the transmitted light S1, a large number of retransmitted light S2 arrives at the light receiver 32 installed on the rear surface of the vending machine 23. , A sufficient reception level can be obtained.

Therefore, even if the optical path to the surface light receiver 26 of the vending machine 23 that is the transmission partner of the collection and distribution device 24 is blocked by the shield 34, the transmission light S1 is blocked even if the transmission light S1 is interrupted. No interruption occurs.

The signal received by the back surface light receiver 32 is demodulated by the FSK demodulator 8 through the 455 kHz band pass filter 47, and then the data is reproduced by the compounder 9 and input to the terminal unit 10. When this terminal unit 10 decodes the input data, detects its own address, and confirms the transmission request, the data such as sales information stored in the memory in the terminal unit 10 is converted to the FSK modulator 11
Send to. The FSK modulator 11 generates an FSK modulated wave of the carrier f2, sends a reply optical signal to the collection and distribution device 24 via the light emitter 27, and ends the operation. Note that S3 is the transmitted light.

Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, in the above embodiment, the light emitting device 31 and the light receiving device 32 for communication between the vending machines 23 are provided on the selling surface of each vending machine 23, but the same effect can be obtained even if they are provided on the entire surface. .

Further, in the above embodiment, the frequency conversion is interposed between the reception of the transmitted light S1 and the transmission of the retransmitted light S2, and the light receiver 26 and the light emitter 31 are provided.
Although a feedback loop is prevented from being formed between and, if the optical shield between them is perfect, carrier conversion such as frequency conversion is not necessarily required.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the system in which one collecting and delivering apparatus 24 is provided has been described, but the present invention can also be applied to the case where a plurality of collecting and delivering apparatuses 24 are installed.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the entire structure.

In this figure, three collection / delivery devices 24 (1), 2 are shown here.
4 (2) and 24 (3) are arranged. It is assumed that only the collecting / delivering device 24 (2) has an optical signal transmitting function, and the other collecting / delivering devices 24 (1), 24 (3) have only a receiving function. And vending machines 23 (1) -23
(5) is located in the service area of the collection and distribution device 24 (1), and the vending machines 23 (6) to 23 (10) are the collection and distribution device 24.
Located in the service area of (2), vending machines 23 (11)
23 (12) are located in the service area of the collection / delivery device 24 (3).

Data collection from the vending machines 23 (1) to 23 (15) is performed by transmitting a transmission request signal from the collecting and distributing device 24 (2) to the vending machines 23 (6) to 23 (10) located in the service area. Is started by. Vending machine 23 (6) ~
In 23 (10), except for the vending machine in which data transmission is blocked by an entry or the like, the received transmission request signal is frequency-converted and retransmitted to the rear surface. This retransmitted light propagates in the space behind,
It will be transmitted to the vending machine outside the service area of the collecting and delivering device 24 (2). Since the back space is not shielded by a person or the like, the transmission request signal is transmitted to the fully automatic vending machine.

When each vending machine 23 confirms that the address in the transmission request signal received from the back matches its own address, it sends the infrared reply data to the concentrator / distributor in the corresponding service area. ing.

As described above, when the present invention is applied to a system in which a plurality of collecting and distributing apparatuses are arranged, the transmission request can be transmitted to the vending machines in all service areas without providing the transmission function to all of them.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the first and second wireless data relay systems of the present invention, each data terminal has the first and second wireless terminals.
One data receiver has one light receiver, and the light transmitted from the center terminal is received by the first light receiver of all data terminals, converted into an optical signal again, and sent to itself and other data terminals. Each data terminal receives the retransmitted light by the second light receiver to obtain the information from the center terminal, and the transmission information from the center terminal is obtained by exchanging data between the plurality of data terminals. Since it is designed to be sent to the terminal, even if the transmission light from the center terminal does not reach a certain data terminal, for example, one route from the center terminal to the data terminal is blocked for some reason, Since the information included in the transmitted light is sent from the other data terminal to the data terminal, it is possible to reliably perform the communication.

Further, in the second wireless data relay system of the present invention, when the data terminal receives and retransmits the transmission light from the center terminal, the carrier is converted, that is, the frequency or the like is changed. A feedback loop is formed between the optical transmitter and the optical transmitter, and the risk of oscillation development can be eliminated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a wireless data relay system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a detailed view of an internal circuit of the vending machine, and FIG. 3 is another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective overall view of the conventional wireless data relay system, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the conventional system. 23 …… Vending machine (data terminal), 24 …… Collection and distribution device (center terminal), 26,29,32 …… Receiver, 27,28,31 ……
Light emitter, 42 …… Mixer, 43 …… Local oscillator, 44 …… Band pass filter, 46 …… Carrier sensor.

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Keishi Ushijima 1-26 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo NTT Data Communications Corp. (72) Inventor Takaaki Takeda 1-26-5 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo No. NTT DATA Telecommunication Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazutoshi Hirohashi 3-12 Moriya-cho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (72) Yoshiki Iwasaki, Kanagawa Yokohama, Kanagawa 3-12 Moriyacho, Ward, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (72) Inventor, Shunichi Shichijo, 3-12-12 Moriyacho, Moriyamachi, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa (56) Reference: JP-A-1-176127 ( JP, A) JP-A-2-43889 (JP, A)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A wireless data relay system for performing optical wireless communication between at least one center terminal and a plurality of data terminals, wherein each data terminal receives light transmitted from the center terminal and receives an electrical signal. A first optical receiver for converting into an optical signal, an optical transmitting device for converting an output signal of the first optical receiver into an optical signal and outputting the optical signal to a space, another data terminal and its own optical transmitting device output to the space A second light receiver for receiving the optical signal to convert it into an electric signal, and an information processing circuit for obtaining information from the center terminal based on an output signal of the second light receiver, A wireless data relay system in which a terminal transmits the same data via a plurality of different routes to the plurality of data terminals by optical wireless communication. 2. An optical transmitter comprises a conversion means for converting the output signal of the first light receiver into a carrier, and a light emitter for converting the output signal of the conversion means into an optical signal for transmission. The wireless data relay system according to claim 1.