Communication system

Abstract

A communication system includes a variable device, which is one of a management device (2) and a terminal device (4), has an antenna determination unit (61) and a transmission instruction unit (62). State information is information indicating a state of a housing accommodating the communication system. The antenna determination unit is configured to determine a transmission antenna as an applicable antenna for wireless communication with a target device to achieve a predetermined communication quality when it is determined based on the state information that the state of the housing has changed. The target device is the other of the management device and the terminal device is a device that communicates with the variable device. The transmission instruction unit instructs the wireless communication device in the variable device to perform wireless communication with the target device by using the applicable antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] In summary, this disclosure relates to a communication system comprising at least one terminal device for acquiring information about a battery and at least one management device for communicating with the terminal device. Background Technology

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a battery system that includes an intermediate management device and a terminal management device provided in each battery. The terminal management device acquires information about the battery.

[0003] (Patent Document 1) Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP 2016-12954

[0004] In the conventional technology described in Patent Document 1, an intermediate management device and a terminal management device are installed in a housing and perform wireless communication. However, as a result of the applicant's detailed research, in the conventional technology described in Patent Document 1, when the state of the housing changes, the distribution of radio waves used for wireless communication within the housing changes accordingly, thereby degrading the communication quality within the housing. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In one respect, the purpose of this disclosure is to provide a technique for suppressing the degradation of communication quality in a communication system.

[0006] In one embodiment of this disclosure, a communication system includes at least one management device and multiple terminal devices. The management device performs wireless communication. The terminal devices obtain information about at least one battery and perform wireless communication with at least one management device. A variable device, which is one of the management device and terminal devices, includes an antenna determination unit and a transmission indication unit. The antenna determination unit obtains at least one state information and determines whether the state of the housing has changed based on the obtained state information. The antenna determination unit is configured to determine one of the multiple antennas in the variable device as the applicable antenna when it is determined that the state of the housing has changed. The applicable antenna is an antenna used to communicate with a target device to achieve a predetermined communication quality. The target device is another of the management device and terminal devices and is the device that serves as the communication target of the variable device. The transmission indication unit is configured to enable the wireless communication device included in the variable device to perform wireless communication to the target device by using the applicable antenna.

[0007] One aspect of this disclosure is as follows: when the state of the housing changes, an antenna for wireless communication from at least one of the management device and the terminal device to the other of the two is determined as the applicable antenna, and the applicable antenna is used to perform wireless communication. Therefore, communication quality degradation caused by changes in the state of the housing can be suppressed. Attached Figure Description

[0008] The objects, features, and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0009] Figure 1 It is a block diagram of the communication system configuration;

[0010] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the communication system configuration;

[0011] Figure 3 This is a block diagram of the wireless communication unit in the management device of the first embodiment;

[0012] Figure 4 This is a functional block diagram of the management equipment;

[0013] Figure 5 This is a functional block diagram of the terminal device;

[0014] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of the determination process executed by the management control unit and the response process executed by the terminal control unit in the first embodiment;

[0015] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of the management process executed by the management control unit and the information transmission process executed by the terminal control unit in the first variation example;

[0016] Figure 8 This is a block diagram of wireless communication in the terminal device of the first variation;

[0017] Figure 9 This is a flowchart of the response process executed by the management device and the determination process executed by the terminal device in the first variation;

[0018] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of the determination process executed by the management control unit and the response process executed by the terminal control unit in the second variation;

[0019] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of the response process executed by the management control unit and the determination process executed by the terminal control unit in the second variation;

[0020] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of the determination process executed by the management control unit and the response process executed by the terminal control unit in the second embodiment;

[0021] Figure 13 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the corresponding information based on the second embodiment;

[0022] Figure 14This is a flowchart of the response process executed by the management control unit and the determination process executed by the terminal control unit in the fourth variation;

[0023] Figure 15 This is a flowchart of the determination process executed by the management control unit and the response process executed by the terminal control unit in the fifth variation;

[0024] Figure 16 This is a flowchart of the response process executed by the management control unit and the determination process executed by the terminal control unit in the fifth variation;

[0025] Figure 17 This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the corresponding information in the third embodiment;

[0026] Figure 18 This is a flowchart of the response process executed by the management control unit and the determination process executed by the terminal control unit in the seventh variation;

[0027] Figure 19 This is a flowchart of the determination process executed by the management control unit and the response process executed by the terminal control unit in the eighth variation;

[0028] Figure 20 It is a flowchart of the response process executed by the management control unit and the determination process executed by the terminal control unit according to the eighth variation;

[0029] Figure 21 This is a graph showing the correspondence between received strength and BER in other embodiments.

[0030] Figure 22 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication system in other embodiments using multiple frequency bands for communication.

[0031] Figure 23 It is a diagram showing the antenna directivity of a plurality of antennas in another embodiment; and

[0032] Figure 24 This is a diagram showing the antenna directivity of multiple antennas in yet another embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0033] In the following description, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] [First Embodiment]

[0035] [1-1. Configuration]

[0036] <Overall Structure>

[0037] refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2The configuration of the communication system 100 according to this embodiment is described. The communication system 100 is installed on a vehicle V1. The communication system 100 includes at least one management device 2 and at least one terminal device 4. The communication system 100 may include a vehicle information unit 6.

[0038] The vehicle information unit 6 includes multiple onboard sensors and onboard devices for detecting the state of the vehicle V1. More specifically, the vehicle information unit 6 may include wheel speed sensors, acceleration sensors, etc. Additionally, the vehicle information unit 6 may include electronic control devices for detecting the rotational speed of the inverter included in the vehicle V1.

[0039] exist Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the embodiment shown, the communication system 100 includes a management device 2 and multiple battery modules 3. For example, the multiple battery modules 3 are battery modules 3_1 to 3_5.

[0040] Battery modules 3_1 to 3_5 are similarly configured. Each battery module 3 includes a terminal device 4 and at least one battery cell 5. That is, Figure 1 and Figure 2 The communication system 100 shown includes a management device 2 and multiple (e.g., Figure 2 The five terminal devices 4_1 to 4_5 included in the communication system 100 are not limited to the number of management devices 2 and terminal devices 4 mentioned above.

[0041] Management device 2 performs wireless communication with terminal device 4. Terminal device 4 obtains battery information from battery cell 5 and communicates wirelessly with management device 2. The battery information includes information about the state of battery cell 5. For example, the voltage of battery cell 5 can be battery information.

[0042] In the following text, individual components among the multiple components included in the communication system 100 can be represented by adding subscripts to the symbols, such as battery module 3_1 and terminal device 4_1. Additionally, when describing components collectively, for example, suffixes can be abbreviated / omitted, and only numerical designations can be described, such as battery module 3 and terminal device 4.

[0043] The communication system 100 includes a management device 2 and multiple battery modules 3, for example... Figure 2 The device is arranged in a metal housing 200 installed in vehicle V1. The management device 2 and multiple battery modules 3 can be arbitrarily arranged in the housing 200.

[0044] exist Figure 1 and Figure 2In this configuration, battery module 3 includes multiple battery units 5, but battery module 3 may also include only one battery unit 5. For each battery module 3, the number of battery units 5 included in each of the multiple battery modules 3 may be different. When battery module 3 includes multiple battery units 5, these multiple battery units 5 can be arranged as follows: Figure 1 They can be connected in series, or in parallel (although not shown), or in both series and parallel.

[0045] Furthermore, the housing 200 is not limited to being made of metal. For example, the housing 200 may be made of resin, may be made of both metal and resin, or may be made of materials other than metal and resin. Although the housing 200 is in Figure 2 The housing 200 is shown as having a box shape, but its shape is not limited to this. For example, the housing 200 may have a shape that allows the communication system 100 to be arranged inside it, and may have any shape other than a box shape. Furthermore, for example, the housing 200 may or may not have radio wave shielding. For example, the housing 200 may be the outer shell of the vehicle V1 itself. The housing 200 may not be hermetically sealed.

[0046] <Management Equipment 2>

[0047] return Figure 1 Continuing with the explanation, management device 2 includes antenna 21, wireless communication device 22, and management control unit 23.

[0048] <Wireless Communication Device 21>

[0049] Antenna 21 may be an antenna for transmitting / receiving wireless communication signals in a first frequency band F1 used in the communication system 100. Wireless communication signals refer to signals used for wireless communication (i.e., radio waves). The first frequency band F1 may be, for example, a high UHF band (i.e., several GHz).

[0050] Antenna 21 includes a plurality of antennas, including at least one first antenna 211 and at least one second antenna 212. In this embodiment, antenna 21 includes one first antenna 211 and one second antenna 212. Figure 2 As shown, the directivity of the first antenna 211 is different from that of the second antenna 212. In this embodiment, the directivity of the first antenna 211 is sharper than that of the second antenna 212.

[0051] Now, the direction of the first antenna 211 can be narrowly pointed, for example, to at least one of the plurality of terminal devices 4 (i.e., a battery module 3) in the communication system 100. In this embodiment, the direction of the first antenna 211 is narrowly pointed to the terminal device 4 away from the management device 2 (i.e., the target device).

[0052] On the other hand, such as Figure 2 As shown, the second antenna 212 can have a wider directivity than the first antenna 211. In other words, the directivity of the second antenna 212 can cover all the battery modules 3 in the communication system 100.

[0053] However, this disclosure is not limited to this configuration. The directivity of the first antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 may differ from that described above; that is, they may be arbitrarily defined.

[0054] <Wireless Communication Device 22>

[0055] The wireless communication device 22 transmits wireless communication signals to and receives wireless communication signals from terminal devices 4 provided in multiple battery modules 3 via antenna 21 in the first frequency band F1. Figure 3 As shown, the wireless communication device 22 includes a transceiver 221 and a switching device 222.

[0056] Transceiver 221 transmits / receives wireless communication signals according to a predetermined communication standard. Examples of predetermined communication standards include WiFi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and Bluetooth Low Energy. Furthermore, wireless communication device 22 can be a device using a standard employing UWB (Ultra-Wideband). Additionally, transceiver 221 can be a device using a standard employing another frequency band. Note that, although not shown, transceiver 221 may have a detector that detects the signal strength of the received signal and outputs the detection result.

[0057] The switching device 222 switches (i.e., connects and disconnects) the connection between transceiver 221 and one of the first antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 according to a switching signal. The switching signal may be a signal output from the management control unit 23 described below, used to switch the connection of transceiver 221 to the first antenna 211 or the second antenna 212.

[0058] <Management and Control Unit 23>

[0059] The management control unit 23 includes a microcomputer or microcontroller 25, which includes a CPU 26, ROM, RAM, and semiconductor memory such as flash memory (hereinafter referred to as memory 27). The management control unit 23 executes programs stored in a non-transitory tangible recording medium via the CPU 26. Figure 4 Each function is shown. Memory 27 can be a non-transitory tangible recording medium for storing computer programs. Furthermore, by executing the computer program, methods corresponding to the computer program are performed.

[0060] like Figure 4As shown, the management control unit 23 has the functions of an antenna determination unit 61, a battery management unit 62, and an information output unit 63. Note that the variable device described below is one of the management device 2 and the terminal device 4 in the communication system 100, and in this embodiment, the management device 2 is the variable device. Furthermore, when one of the management device 2 and the terminal device 4 is the variable device, the target device is located in the other of the management device 2 and the terminal device 4, and the variable device communicates with it. That is, in other words, in this embodiment where the variable device is the management device 2, each of the terminal devices 4_1 to 4_5 can be used as the target device in turn in sequence.

[0061] Antenna determination unit 61 obtains at least one state information and determines whether the state of housing 200 has changed based on the obtained state information. Then, when it is determined that the state of housing 200 has changed, antenna determination unit 61 determines one of a plurality of antennas in the variable device (i.e., management device 2) as the applicable antenna. In this embodiment, the plurality of antennas are first antenna 211 and second antenna 212. The applicable antenna is an antenna used for wireless communication from the variable device to / with the target device (i.e., terminal device 4 in this embodiment) to achieve a certain communication quality.

[0062] Status information is information indicating the status of housing 200. As described above, housing 200 includes communication system 100 inside it. The status of housing 200 may include (i) the shape of housing 200, (ii) the operation of housing 200, (iii) the environment in which housing 200 is placed, and (iv) the context in which housing 200 is placed (e.g., time, timing, etc.).

[0063] For example, status information may include information indicating a specific state. The specific state is a predetermined state. The specific state may include / indicate a predetermined timing. In this embodiment where housing 200 is mounted on vehicle V1, for example, the state in which the ignition switch of vehicle V1 is turned on may be included as a specific state.

[0064] The status information can be information that quantitatively indicates the status of the housing 200. "Quantitatively indicates" means indicated by a numerical value. For example, the status information can be information that quantitatively indicates the vibration of the housing 200. In this embodiment where the housing 200 is mounted on the vehicle V1, for example, the status information can be the acceleration of the vehicle V1. Furthermore, the status information can be the rotational speed of the inverter included in the vehicle V1.

[0065] Furthermore, the status information can be information indicating that the housing 200 has changed over time. For example, the status information can be the elapsed time after a certain timing. More specifically, the status information can be the elapsed time after determination. The elapsed time after determination is the elapsed time after the most recent determination of the applicable antenna. "Most recent" means the past just before the current moment.

[0066] An applicable antenna is an antenna used for wireless communication between a variable device and a target device, achieving / achieving a predetermined communication quality. Here, communication quality refers to the quality of wireless communication between the variable device and the target device. Information indicating communication quality is, for example, designated as BER. BER is an abbreviation for Bit Error Rate, and it is an indicator of communication quality (i.e., a communication metric).

[0067] However, this disclosure is not limited to this configuration. Information indicating communication quality can be throughput, which can also be used as a communication metric. Furthermore, as described later, information indicating communication quality can be the received strength of a wireless communication signal (i.e., the test signal described later) transmitted from the management device 2, which acts as a variable device.

[0068] A change in the state of the housing 200 means that the housing 200 itself and its interior have changed / have changed due to changes in the conditions under which the housing 200 is placed, changes over time, and / or changes in other external factors, such as vibrations or impacts. When the state of the housing 200 changes, the distribution of the electromagnetic field intensity within the housing 200 changes. That is, a change in the state of the housing 200 means that some change has occurred within the housing 200 to alter the distribution of the electromagnetic field intensity.

[0069] Antenna determination unit 61 performs the power determination process described later to achieve these functions. Battery management unit 62 uses wireless communication device 22 to wirelessly communicate with terminal device 4, which is the target device, by using an appropriate antenna, causing terminal device 4 to send battery information acquired by terminal device 4 and store the battery information in memory 27. Battery management unit 62 manages the state of battery cell 5 in this way. In this embodiment, as described above, the voltage of battery cell 5 is obtained as battery information. However, battery information is not limited to this, and battery information can be various information about battery cell 5, such as the temperature of battery cell 5. Battery management unit 62 achieves these functions by performing the management process described later.

[0070] Information output unit 63 outputs battery information stored in memory 27 to an external device of communication system 100. The external device may be, for example, an electronic control device included in vehicle V1. Device information is stored in memory 27. Device information is (i) identification information used to identify each of the plurality of terminal devices 4 and (ii) correspondence / association information between the frequency band (frequency band F1 in this embodiment) used by each of the plurality of terminal devices 4 to wirelessly communicate with management device 2.

[0071] <Terminal Device 4>

[0072] continue Figure 1 The terminal device 4 is similarly configured. A terminal device 4 includes an antenna 41, a wireless communication device 42, and a terminal control unit 43.

[0073] <Wireless Communication Device 42>

[0074] Wireless communicator 42 uses a first frequency band F1 to transmit wireless communication signals to / receive wireless communication signals from the management device 2 included in the communication system 100 via antenna 41. Antenna 41 can be an antenna for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals in the first frequency band F1. Wireless communicator 42 can be an omnidirectional antenna, i.e., an antenna with non-directional characteristics, for receiving radio waves from all directions (360 degrees).

[0075] <Terminal Control Unit 43>

[0076] The terminal control unit 43 includes a microcomputer / microcontroller 45, which includes a CPU 46 and a memory 47. The terminal control unit 43 executes programs stored in a non-transitory tangible recording medium via the CPU 46. Figure 5 Each function is shown. Memory 47 can be a non-transitory tangible recording medium for storing computer programs. Furthermore, by executing the computer program, methods corresponding to the computer program are performed.

[0077] like Figure 5 As shown, the terminal control unit 43 has the functions of a response unit 71, a battery information acquirer 72, and an information transmitter 73. The terminal control unit 43 may also have the function of a receiver strength detector 74.

[0078] When a wireless communication signal (e.g., a test signal described later) is received from a variable device (i.e., management device 2 in this embodiment), response unit 71 determines the communication metrics of the received wireless communication signal. Additionally, response unit 71 sends a wireless communication signal (e.g., a test response signal described later) including received information to the variable device. The received information is information that includes at least the determined communication metrics. The communication metrics represent the communication quality of the wireless communication signal transmitted from the variable device to the target device (i.e., terminal device 4 in this embodiment).

[0079] The response unit 71 executes the power response process described later to achieve those functions. The battery information acquirer 72 acquires battery information from the battery cell 5 at predetermined intervals (hereinafter referred to as the information acquisition cycle) and stores the acquired battery information in the memory 47. Here, as described above, the voltage values ​​at both ends (i.e., terminals) of the battery cell 5 are acquired as battery information. The information acquisition cycle may be shorter than the management cycle described later.

[0080] The information transmitter 73 uses the wireless communication device 42 to wirelessly communicate at predetermined intervals (hereinafter referred to as management intervals) according to the transmission instruction signal sent from the management device 2, and sends battery information to the management device 2. The information transmitter 73 performs the information transmission process described later to achieve those functions.

[0081] Whenever the wireless communication device 42 receives a wireless communication signal from the variable device (i.e., from the management device 2 in this embodiment), the reception strength detector 74 detects the reception strength of the wireless communication signal and stores the information indicating the detected reception strength in the memory 47.

[0082] [1-2. Process]

[0083] <Determining the process and response process>

[0084] refer to Figure 6 The flowchart shown describes the determination process performed by the antenna determination unit 61 of the management control unit 23 and the response process performed by the response unit 71 of the terminal control unit 43.

[0085] The management control unit 23 repeats the determination process at a predetermined cycle. In S110, the management control unit 23 obtains status information. In this embodiment, the IG signal and the elapsed time after determination are obtained as status information. The IG signal is a signal indicating whether the ignition switch (IG switch) is turned on. The elapsed time after determination refers to the elapsed time since the applicable antenna was determined immediately before. The management control unit 23 measures the elapsed time after determination using a different process than the determination process.

[0086] In steps S115-S120, the management control unit 23 determines whether the state of the housing 200 has changed based on state information. First, in S115, the management control unit 23 determines whether it is in a specific state. In this embodiment, the specific state refers to the state where the ignition switch is turned on. When it is not in a specific state, the management control unit 23 moves the process to S125, and when it is in a specific state, the management control unit 23 moves the process to S120.

[0087] In S120, the management control unit 23 then determines whether the state of the housing 200 has changed based on a comparison between the quantitatively indicated state information and a predetermined state threshold. That is, the state threshold is used to establish / determine the difference between (i) the state of the housing 200 has changed and (ii) the state of the housing 200 has not changed. In this embodiment, the quantitatively indicated state information refers to state information indicating the elapsed time after determination. When the elapsed time after determination becomes equal to or greater than the state threshold (i.e., the threshold time value), the management control unit 23 determines that the state of the housing 200 has changed.

[0088] The threshold time value is a predetermined time and can be set to ensure that the management device 2 does not change the amount of time allowed by the currently applicable antenna after the above determination. The threshold time value is pre-stored in the memory 27. When the elapsed time after determination is less than the threshold time value, the management control unit 23 moves the process to S125, and when the elapsed time after determination is equal to or greater than the threshold time value, the management control unit 23 moves the process to S130.

[0089] That is, in this embodiment, if a long time has elapsed after the ignition switch is turned on and confirmed, it is determined that the state of the housing 200 has changed. When it is determined that the state of the housing 200 has not changed, the management control unit 23 sets or determines the applicable antenna of each of the multiple terminal devices 4 as the applicable antenna stored in the memory 27 "currently" or "at that time" in S125 of the process transition, and ends the process.

[0090] In S130, the management control unit 23 selects one of the multiple terminal devices 4 included in the communication system 100. Hereinafter, the selected terminal device 4 will be described as terminal device X4. Subsequently, in S140-S155, the management control unit 23 sequentially transmits test signals to the terminal device X4, which serves as the target device, using one of a plurality of predetermined selected antennas. The selected antenna is a predetermined antenna and is the antenna used when transmitting the test signal. Note that the test signal includes a test pattern as a predetermined data string or a series of data segments. The target device is configured to determine the communication indicators of the test signal based on the received test signal and transmit reception information, including at least the determined communication indicators, to the variable device (i.e., to the management device 2).

[0091] The communication metric quantitatively represents the communication quality, and in this embodiment, it is BER (Best Before Ratio). That is, the test signal is a signal sent from a variable device to a target device, and is a signal that causes the target device, having received the test signal, to perform the following operations: (i) determine the communication quality (i.e., BER) of the received test signal, and (ii) send reception information that includes at least the determined communication quality. Note that the reception information may include identification information for identifying the target device (i.e., each terminal device 4 in this embodiment), and a communication metric indicating the communication quality of the received test signal.

[0092] In S140, the management control unit 23 selects one of a plurality of predetermined antennas. The selected antenna is a predetermined antenna, which is a candidate antenna used to determine a suitable antenna for wireless communication with the target device. The plurality of selected antennas are pre-stored in memory 27.

[0093] Subsequently, in S145, the management control unit 23 uses the wireless communication device 22 to send a test signal to the terminal device X4 using the selected antenna selected in S140. That is, in this embodiment, a test signal is sent whenever the state of the housing 200 changes.

[0094] Here, the terminal device X4 (i.e., the response unit 71 of the terminal control unit 43) begins a response process triggered by the transmission of a test signal from the management device 2, which is a variable device. The terminal control unit 43 receives the test signal in S201.

[0095] Subsequently, in S202, the terminal control unit 43 determines the BER (Bit Error Rate) as a communication indicator based on the received test signal. In the terminal device X4, the test patterns included in the test signal are pre-stored in the memory 47. The terminal control unit 43 confirms the match between the test patterns included in the received test signal and the test patterns pre-stored in the memory 47 (i.e., the correct test patterns), and determines the BER.

[0096] In S203, the terminal control unit 43 generates received information. The received information includes at least the BER determined in S202. The received information may include identification information for identifying the terminal device 4. The terminal control unit 43 uses the wireless communication device 42 to send a test response signal to the management device 2; this test response signal is a wireless communication signal that includes the received information. Then, the terminal device X4 terminates the power response process.

[0097] On the other hand, in S150, the management control unit 23 receives a test response signal including reception information from the terminal device X4, which is used as the target device. The management control unit 23 stores the reception information in the memory 27.

[0098] Subsequently, in S155, the management control unit 23 obtains the communication index (i.e., BER) included in the received information sent from the terminal device X4, which is the target device, and determines the selected antenna as the applicable antenna when the communication index is within a predetermined range, so as to communicate with the target device. For example, the memory 27 pre-stores a threshold index value. The threshold index value is a numerical value used to determine whether the communication index is within the allowable range. In this embodiment where the communication index is BER, the threshold index value is set to 10 to the power of -n (e.g., n is an integer of 1 or greater).

[0099] When the BER is less than the threshold value, the management control unit 23 determines that the communication indicator (i.e., BER) is suitable. Conversely, if the communication indicator is determined to be unsuitable, the management control unit 23 transfers the process (i.e., returns) to S140 and repeats the process from S140 to S155. That is, the management control unit 23 changes the selected antenna and sends a test signal to the terminal device X4 until the communication indicator is determined to be suitable. On the other hand, if the communication indicator is determined to be suitable, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S160.

[0100] In S160, the management control unit 23 determines the selected antenna from S140 as the applicable antenna, which will be used when the communication indicators are determined to be suitable. In S170, the management control unit 23 sets the selected antenna determined in S160 as the applicable antenna for the terminal device X4. The management control unit 23 associates the terminal device X4 with the determined applicable antenna and stores both in the memory 27.

[0101] In S175, the management control unit 23 determines whether the process of determining applicable antennas for all terminal devices 4 included in the communication system 100 has been completed. If applicable antennas have not yet been determined for all terminal devices 4, the management control unit 23 transfers the process (i.e., returns) to S130 and repeats the process from S130 to S175. Conversely, if applicable antennas have been determined for all terminal devices 4, the management control unit 23 ends the current determination process.

[0102] <Management Processes and Information Transmission Processes>

[0103] refer to Figure 7 The flowchart shown describes the management process executed by the battery management unit 62 of the management control unit 23 and the information transmission process executed by the information transmitter 73 of the terminal control unit 43.

[0104] The management control unit 23 repeats the management process at a predetermined cycle (i.e., a management cycle). In S310, the management control unit 23 selects one of the plurality of terminal devices 4 included in the communication system 100. Hereinafter, the selected terminal device 4 will be described as terminal device X4.

[0105] In S320, the management control unit 23 obtains the applicable antenna for the terminal device X4 stored in the memory 27, and uses the wireless communication device 22 having the applicable antenna to transmit a transmission indication signal. The transmission indication signal is a wireless communication signal that includes transmission indication information. The transmission indication information includes at least (i) information indicating an instruction to transmit battery information and (ii) identification information for identifying the terminal device X4 as the target of the instruction.

[0106] Then, the terminal device X4 (i.e., the response unit 71 of the terminal control unit 43) begins the information transmission process, which is triggered by the transmission of the transmission indication signal from the management device 2, which is a variable device.

[0107] In S410, the terminal control unit 43 of the terminal device X4 first receives a transmission instruction signal from the management device 2. The terminal control unit 43 of the terminal device X4 then obtains the battery information stored in the memory 47 in S420. The battery information referred to here includes the battery information most recently acquired by the battery information acquirer 72, as well as the battery information stored in the memory 47.

[0108] The terminal control unit 43 of terminal device X4 then sends a transmission response signal using wireless communication device 42 in S430. The transmission response signal is a wireless communication signal that includes at least the battery information obtained by terminal device X4. In this embodiment, the transmission response signal includes battery information and identification information for identifying that terminal device X4 has obtained the battery information. Then, the terminal control unit 43 of terminal device X4 terminates the current information transmission process.

[0109] On the other hand, in S330, the management control unit 23 of the management device 2 receives a transmission response signal from the terminal device X4. As described above, in this embodiment, the transmission response signal includes battery information and identification information of the terminal device X4 that has received the battery information (i.e., the terminal device 4 that has sent the transmission response signal). The management control unit 23 stores the battery information received from the terminal device X4 in association with the identification information of the terminal device X4 in the memory 27.

[0110] Subsequently, in S340, the management control unit 23 determines whether the processes of S310 to S330 have been performed for all terminal devices 4 included in the communication system 100. That is, it determines whether a transmission indication signal has been sent to all terminal devices 4 to cause them to report battery information, and whether the battery information from all terminal devices 4 has been stored in the memory 27.

[0111] Here, when it is determined that the above process has not been performed for all terminal devices 4, the management control unit 23 transfers (i.e., returns) the process to S310. Then, the management control unit 23 repeats the process from S310 to S340 for the remaining terminal devices 4.

[0112] On the other hand, once it is determined that the above process has been performed for all terminal devices 4, the management control unit 23 ends the management process. At this time, the memory 27 stores the battery information obtained from all terminal devices 4 included in the communication system 100. In this embodiment, the identification information and battery information are associated with each other and are stored in the memory 27 of each of the multiple terminal devices 4.

[0113] [1-3. Effects]

[0114] According to the first embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.

[0115] (1a) The variable device, which is one of the management device 2 and the terminal device 4, includes an antenna determination unit 61 and a battery management unit 62 (i.e., the management device 2 is a variable device in this embodiment). When it is determined based on the obtained state information that the state of the housing 200 has changed, the antenna determination unit 61 determines an antenna for wireless communication with the target device (i.e., the terminal device 4), which is the communication target of the variable device, as a suitable antenna to achieve a predetermined communication quality. The battery management unit 62 causes the wireless communicator 22 to transmit a wireless communication signal (i.e., a transmission indication signal) to the target device using the suitable antenna.

[0116] When the state of the housing 200 changes, the intensity distribution of the electromagnetic field inside the housing 200 may change due to factors such as vibration or changes in the objects within the housing 200. Changes in the objects within the housing 200 may include changes in shape, arrangement / position, etc., due to aging. When the intensity distribution of the electromagnetic field within the housing 200 changes, the distribution of standing waves within the housing 200 also changes.

[0117] Here, if the wireless communication device is located at a node of the standing wave distribution, the device may experience a deterioration in communication quality due to a reduction in the received radio wave level / intensity. Conversely, if the wireless communication device is located at the opposite node of the standing wave distribution, its communication quality may deteriorate due to saturation of the received radio wave level. In other words, if the state of the housing 200 changes, the communication quality may deteriorate.

[0118] In this embodiment, when the state of the housing 200 changes, the antenna used for wireless communication between the management device 2 and the terminal device 4 is determined as the applicable antenna, and signal transmission is performed using this applicable antenna. Therefore, such a scheme can prevent / suppress the deterioration of communication quality caused by changes in the state of the housing 200.

[0119] Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the state of the housing 200 changes or is changing, the management device 2 can enable the terminal device 4 to receive a transmission indication signal, thereby obtaining battery information transmitted from the housing 200 during the state change. Thus, the management device 2 can continuously manage the state of the battery cell 5 regardless of whether the state of the housing 200 changes.

[0120] (1b) The state information can be information indicating a specific state. The antenna determination unit 61 can be configured to determine that the state of the housing 200 has changed at least when the acquired state information is information indicating a specific state. For example, by determining that the specific state is a state in which the electromagnetic field strength distribution in the housing 200 may change, the applicable antenna can be determined when or whenever a state in which the electromagnetic field strength distribution may change occurs (i.e., e.g., is susceptible to external influences).

[0121] (1c) The communication system 100 may be a system installed on the vehicle V1. That is, the housing 200 may be the enclosure of a battery pack installed on the vehicle V1, and the battery unit 5 may be a rechargeable battery (e.g., a battery pack) for the vehicle V1. The status information may be information indicating a state in which the ignition switch of the vehicle V1 is turned on to a specific state. The antenna determination unit 61 may be configured to determine that the state of the housing 200 has changed at least when the ignition switch of the vehicle V1 is in a specific state, i.e., when the IG switch in the vehicle V1 is turned on.

[0122] When the ignition switch is turned on, various devices begin to operate, which may cause changes in the electromagnetic field strength distribution within vehicle V1, and may also cause changes in the electromagnetic field strength distribution within the housing 200 of vehicle V1. In this embodiment, since the applicable antenna is determined each time the ignition switch is turned on, it is possible to suppress the degradation of communication quality.

[0123] (1d) The state information can be information that quantitatively indicates the state of the housing 200. The antenna determination unit 61 can be configured to determine whether the state of the housing 200 has changed, at least based on a comparison between the state information and a state threshold. For example, the state threshold can be appropriately / arbitrarily set to a value representing the state information (i.e., a specific case) when the electromagnetic field intensity distribution in the housing 200 can / may change. Since the state of the housing 200 has changed is determined numerically, the determination accuracy can be improved.

[0124] (1e) The state information can be the elapsed time since the most recent determination of the applicable antenna (i.e., the elapsed time since determination). The antenna determination unit 61 can be configured to determine that the state of the housing 200 has changed when at least the elapsed time since determination becomes equal to or greater than a state threshold (i.e., the threshold time value). By appropriately setting the threshold time value, the applicable antenna can be updated at appropriate time intervals.

[0125] (1f) In S145, the antenna determination unit 61 can be configured to sequentially send test signals to the target device (i.e., terminal device X4) using a plurality of predetermined selected antennas when a predetermined execution condition is met. The execution condition is a condition whose satisfaction leads to the determination of the applicable antenna. In the above embodiment, the execution condition is that the state of the housing 200 has changed. Therefore, whenever the state of the housing 200 changes, test signals are sent and the applicable antenna is determined as described above. Thus, such a scheme allows for the determination of the applicable antenna based on changes in the state and circumstances that depend on the changes that occur (i.e., from time to time), thereby preventing / suppressing the degradation of communication quality.

[0126] The antenna determination unit 61 can be configured to determine the selected antenna as the applicable antenna in S160 when the communication index (i.e., BER) included in the received information transmitted from the target device is within a predetermined range. Since the wireless communication signal is transmitted with the applicable antenna at that time, the communication quality at that time can be maintained.

[0127] (1g) The communication system 100 uses the management device 2 as a variable device and determines the antenna for communicating with the terminal device 4 as the applicable antenna. Therefore, even if changes in the state of the housing 200 affect the transmission characteristics of the wireless communication signal transmitted by the management device 2, the management device 2 itself can determine the applicable antenna in response to maintain the communication quality in a reliable state and enable the management device 2 to transmit battery information to the target device more reliably.

[0128] In this embodiment, the management device 2 can be a variable device, and the terminal device 4 can include a target device. The management control unit 23 can be an antenna determination unit, a transmission indication unit, a test transmission unit, and a test determination unit. S145 can be a process of the test transmission unit, and S160 can be a process of the test determination unit.

[0129] [1-4. Variations]

[0130] In the first embodiment described above, an example has been given in which the management device 2 is a variable device and the terminal device 4 is a target device. However, this disclosure is not limited to such an example. Variations are shown below.

[0131] <First Transformation>

[0132] In the first variation, the management device 2 can be the target device, and the terminal device 4 can be a variable device. That is, the terminal device 4 can be configured to determine the antenna used for wireless communication to communicate with the management device 2 as the applicable antenna. When changes in the state of the housing 200 affect the transmission characteristics of the wireless communication signal of the terminal device 4, the applicable antenna can be determined on the terminal device 4 side to maintain the communication quality in a reliable state and enable the management device 2 to receive battery information more reliably.

[0133] Here, in the management device 2, the wireless communication device 22, as the target device, has an antenna 21. The antenna 21 can be omnidirectional or non-directional. The management control unit 23 includes a configuration similar to the response unit 71 (hereinafter referred to as the response unit included in the management control unit 23) included in the terminal control unit 43, but does not include the antenna determination unit 61 described above. That is, the response unit (not shown) included in the management control unit 23 performs the same process as the response process described above.

[0134] On the other hand, such as Figure 8 As shown, the terminal device 4, as a variable device, includes a plurality of antennas 41. The plurality of antennas 41 includes at least one first antenna 411 and at least one second antenna 412 having a different directivity than the first antenna 411. In this embodiment, the plurality of antennas 41 includes a first antenna 411 and a second antenna 412 with different directivity.

[0135] The wireless communication device 42 in this variation is similar to the wireless communication device in the first embodiment. That is, as... Figure 8 As shown, the wireless communication device 42 is provided with a transceiver 421 and a switching device 422. The transceiver 421 is configured in the same manner as the transceiver 221. The switching device 422 connects the transceiver 421 to one of the antennas, either the first antenna 411 or the second antenna 412, according to a switching signal output from the terminal control device.

[0136] The terminal control unit 43 includes a configuration substantially identical to that of the antenna determination unit 61 (hereinafter referred to as the antenna determination unit included in the terminal control unit 43) included in the management control unit 23, replacing the response unit 71 described above. That is, the antenna determination unit (not shown) included in the terminal control unit 43 performs a process almost identical to the power determination process described above.

[0137] However, note that the communication system 100 includes multiple terminal devices 4, and multiple terminal control units 43 sequentially determine the antennas used for wireless communication with the management device 2 as suitable antennas. This is a power determination process performed by the terminal control units 43. Figure 6 The differences in the power determination process are shown.

[0138] In the following text, see references Figure 9 The flowcharts shown describe each process, emphasizing the differences between them. The terminal control unit 43 repeats the process at a predetermined cycle. Figure 9 The determination process is shown. In S210-S220, the terminal control unit 43 performs the same process as in S110-S120.

[0139] The terminal control unit 43 sets the applicable antenna for managing device 2 and then stores it in memory 47 in S225. This is done after S215 and S220, when it is determined that the state of housing 200 has not changed, and the process is completed.

[0140] In S226, the terminal control unit 43 obtains the terminal device number n, which is performed after determining the state change of the housing 200 in S215 and S220. The terminal device number n is the number sequentially assigned to each of the plurality of terminal devices 4 included in the communication system 100.

[0141] For example, terminal device 4_1 has a terminal device number 1 assigned to it (i.e., n = 1), terminal device 4_2 has a terminal device number 2 assigned to it (i.e., n = 2), and so on. A terminal device number n is pre-assigned to each terminal device 4. Note that the terminal device number n can be sequentially assigned to any terminal device 4. The pre-assigned terminal device number n is pre-stored in memory 47.

[0142] Subsequently, in S227, the terminal control unit 43 determines whether the terminal device number n of the object device, including the terminal control unit 43 itself, is 1. If the terminal device number n is 1, the terminal control unit 43 transfers the process to S240, and if the terminal device number n is not 1, it transfers the process to S228.

[0143] Terminal control unit 43 waits until it receives an update instruction indicating update number y, which in S228 indicates the terminal device number n of the target device, after determining that the terminal device number n is not 1. Upon receiving the update instruction, terminal control unit 43 transfers the process to S240. The update instruction is a command to begin the process of determining the antenna for communication with the target device (i.e., management device 2 in this variant) as the applicable antenna (i.e., the process in S240 and subsequent steps).

[0144] Note that in this variant, the update instruction is sent from terminal device 4 and assigns the terminal device number to update number y-1. Update number y indicates the terminal device number of terminal device 4, and the process of determining the antenna for communication with management device 2 as the applicable antenna begins from this terminal device number.

[0145] and Figure 6 Similar to S140, in S240, after (i) determining that the terminal device number n is 1 or (ii) receiving an update instruction to assign the terminal device number n of the indicated target device as the update number y, the terminal control unit 43 selects one of a plurality of selected antennas. The plurality of selected antennas are pre-stored in memory 47.

[0146] Subsequently, in S245, the terminal control unit 43 uses the wireless communication device 42 to send a test signal to the management device 2 using the selected antenna selected in S240. Here, the management device 2 (i.e., the management control unit 23) begins a response process triggered by the transmission of the test signal from the terminal device 4, which is a variable device.

[0147] In S101, the management control unit 23 receives a test signal. Subsequently, in S102, the management control unit 23 determines the BER based on the received test signal. In the management device 2, the aforementioned test pattern is pre-stored in the memory 27. The management control unit 23 confirms the match between the test pattern included in the received test signal and the test pattern stored in the memory 27 (i.e., the correct test pattern), and determines the BER.

[0148] In S103, the management control unit 23 uses the wireless communication device 22 to generate reception information that includes at least the BER determined in S102, and sends a wireless communication signal including the reception information (hereinafter referred to as the test response signal) to the terminal device 4. Therefore, the management device 2 ends the response process.

[0149] On the other hand, in S250, the terminal control unit 43 receives a test response signal including reception information from the management device 2, which is the target device. The terminal control unit 43 stores the reception information in the memory 47. Subsequently, in S255, the terminal control unit 43 obtains the communication index (i.e., BER) included in the reception information sent from the management device 2, which is the target device, and determines the antenna for wireless communication as a suitable antenna when the communication index is within a predetermined range. For example, the memory 47 pre-stores a threshold index value. When the BER is less than the threshold index value, the terminal control unit 43 determines that the communication index is appropriate.

[0150] Here, when it is determined that the communication parameters are unsuitable, the terminal control unit 43 transfers the process to S240 and repeats the process from S240 to S255. That is, the test signal is repeatedly sent to the management device 2 with the antenna changed until it is determined that the communication parameters are suitable. On the other hand, when it is determined that the communication parameters are suitable, the terminal control unit 43 transfers the process to S260.

[0151] In S260, when the communication parameters are determined to be suitable, the terminal control unit 43 determines the selected antenna from S240 as the applicable antenna. In S270, the terminal control unit 43 sets the applicable antenna determined in S260 as the applicable antenna for the management device 2. That is, the terminal control unit 43 stores the management device 2 and the determined applicable antenna in association in the memory 47.

[0152] In S285, the terminal control unit 43 sends an update command indicating that the update number y is n+1 to the terminal device 4 with update number y (i.e., y = n+1). Therefore, in the standby terminal device 4 with terminal device number y, the process of determining the applicable antenna for the management device 2 begins (i.e., S240 and subsequent processes). The terminal control unit 43 then ends the determination process. When the communication system 100 includes m terminal devices 4, S285 can be deleted / skipped in the above determination process of the terminal device 4 with terminal device number m (m: 2 or a larger integer).

[0153] In the first variation, when it is determined that the state of the housing 200 has changed, a process is performed in multiple terminal devices 4 to determine the antenna for communication with the management device 2 as the applicable antenna. That is, it starts with the terminal device 4 with terminal device number 1, then continues in the device 4 with device number 2, and so on. In this way, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be achieved. This scheme is particularly effective when the change in the state of the housing 200 greatly affects the transmission characteristics of the wireless communication signal of the terminal device 4.

[0154] In this variation, the management device 2 can be the target device, and the terminal device 4 can be a variable device. The terminal control unit 43 may include an antenna determination unit, a transmission indication unit, a test transmission unit, and a test determination unit. S245 can be a process of the test transmission unit, and S260 can be a process of the test determination unit.

[0155] <Second Variation>

[0156] In the second variation, the management device 2 can be a variable device, and the terminal device 4 can be a target device. That is, the management device 2 can be configured to determine the antenna used for wireless communication with the terminal device 4 as the applicable antenna, and the terminal device 4 can be configured to determine the antenna used for wireless communication with the management device 2 as the applicable antenna.

[0157] If changes in the state of the housing 200 affect the transmission characteristics of wireless communication signals transmitted from both the management device 2 and the terminal device 4, then the management device 2 and the terminal device 4 can each determine the appropriate antenna. In this way, communication quality can be maintained reliably, and the management device 2 can receive battery information more reliably.

[0158] For example, in the second variation, the management device 2 can be configured to determine the applicable antenna, and subsequently, multiple terminal devices 4 can be configured to determine the applicable antenna sequentially, respectively. Here, the management device 2 includes a first antenna 211 and a second antenna 212 as antenna 21, similar to the first embodiment, and includes a wireless communication device 22 configured similarly to the first embodiment. The management control unit 23 includes (i) the antenna determination unit 61 described above and (ii) the response unit included in the management control unit 23 described in the first variation. However, the management device 2 of the second variation performs... Figure 10 The determination process shown is the same as Figure 5 The difference in the process shown is that multiple terminal devices 4 subsequently determine the applicable antenna sequentially (i.e., one after another). Note that the antenna determination unit 61 and the response unit included in the aforementioned management control unit 23 can execute the process in parallel.

[0159] On the other hand, the terminal control unit 43 includes (i) the aforementioned response unit 71 and (ii) the power determination unit included in the terminal control unit 43 described in the first modification. However, the terminal control unit 43 of the second modification performs... Figure 11 The determination process shown is the same as Figure 9The difference in the process shown is that the applicable antenna is determined after the determination made by the management device 2. Note that the response unit 71 and the antenna determination unit included in the terminal control unit 43 described above can execute the process in parallel.

[0160] The following focuses on different points and provides references. Figure 10 and Figure 11 The flowchart shown describes each process. This is executed by the management control unit 23 of the second variant. Figure 10 The determination process shown is the same as Figure 6 The difference in the determination process shown is the addition of S180.

[0161] In S110-S175, the management control unit 23 performs the following actions: Figure 6 The process shown is the same. That is, the management control unit 23 determines the applicable antennas for all terminal devices 4, and then the process proceeds to S180.

[0162] In S180, the management control unit 23 sends an update instruction indicating update number y as 1 to terminal device 4, which has terminal device number n as 1. In this manner, as described below, the process of determining the applicable antenna for management device 2 begins in terminal device 4, which is in standby mode and has terminal device number 1. That is, after management device 2 determines the applicable antenna, terminal device 4 then begins to determine the applicable antenna.

[0163] Performed by the terminal control unit 43 of the second variant Figure 11 The determination process shown is the same as Figure 9 The difference in the determination process shown is that S227 has been removed. That is, the terminal control unit 43 obtains the terminal device number in S226 and then transfers the process to S228.

[0164] In S228, the terminal control unit 43 waits until it receives an update instruction indicating the terminal device number n of the target device indicated by update number y (i.e., update number y = 1), and when such an update instruction is received, the terminal control unit 43 proceeds the process to S240. After S240, the terminal control unit 43 executes the... Figure 9 The process shown is the same as the process described.

[0165] In this way, the same effect as the above embodiment can be achieved in this variation. This solution is particularly effective when changes in the state of the housing 200 affect the transmission characteristics of the wireless communication signals of both the management device 2 and the terminal device 4.

[0166] In this variation, the management device 2 can be a variable device and the terminal device 4 can be a target device. In this case, the management control unit 23 can be a determination unit, a transmission instruction unit, a test transmission unit, and a test determination unit. S145 can be a process as a test transmission unit, and S160 can be a process as a test determination unit. Furthermore, the management device 2 can be a target device, and the terminal device 4 can be a variable device. In this case, the terminal control unit 43 can include an antenna determination unit, a transmission instruction unit, a test transmission unit, and a test determination unit. S245 can be a process as a test transmission unit, and S260 can be a process as a test determination unit.

[0167] <Third Variation>

[0168] In the second variation described above, the management device 2 is configured to determine the applicable antenna, and subsequently, the plurality of terminal devices 4 are configured to sequentially determine the applicable antenna. However, this disclosure is not limited to this configuration. In a third variation, the plurality of terminal devices 4 can be configured to sequentially determine the applicable antenna, and then the management device 2 can be configured to determine the applicable antenna. Thus, the same effect as the second variation can be obtained.

[0169] In this case, terminal device 4 can be configured to perform Figure 10 The determination process is shown. Then, for example, when the communication system 100 includes m terminal devices 4, the m-th terminal device 4 can be configured to send an update command to the management device 2, replacing the process of S285 as the process after S270. For example, in Figure 6 In the determination process shown, after the affirmative determination in S120, the management device 2 waits until it receives an update command, and when the update command is received, the process proceeds to S130. Then, the management device 2 can begin the process of determining the applicable antenna.

[0170] [Second Embodiment]

[0171] [2-1. Differences from the first embodiment]

[0172] The basic configuration of the second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the differences between them are described below. The same reference numerals as in the first embodiment denote the same components, and reference is made to the preceding description.

[0173] In the second embodiment, similar to the first embodiment, the management device 2 is a variable device, and the terminal device 4 is a target device. In the first embodiment described above, when the housing 200 is in a specific state (i.e., the ignition switch is turned on) and the elapsed time is equal to or greater than a threshold time value, it is determined that the state of the housing 200 has changed, and then a test signal is sent and the applicable antenna is determined.

[0174] On the other hand, in the second embodiment, when (i) the state information quantitatively indicating the vibration of the housing 200 is equal to or greater than a state threshold, and (ii) the elapsed time is determined to be equal to or greater than the threshold time value, it is determined that the state of the housing 200 has changed. This differs from the first embodiment in how it determines whether a change in state has occurred. Furthermore, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it uses learning information, including (i) the setup information described later and (ii) the learning antenna associated with the setup information, to determine the applicable antenna.

[0175] In this embodiment, the acceleration of vehicle V1 is used as a quantitative indicator / representation of the vibration state information of housing 200.

[0176] [2-2. Process]

[0177] Next, refer to Figure 12 The flowchart in the second embodiment describes the determination process performed by the management control unit 23, which replaces the first embodiment (i.e., Figure 5 The process of determining ). Because Figure 12 The process of S140-S160 in the middle and Figure 6 The processes S140-S160 are the same, so some descriptions are simplified.

[0178] In S111, the management control unit 23 first obtains status information. This status information includes the amplitude of the vibration of the housing 200 and the elapsed time after determination. More specifically, in this embodiment, information indicating the acceleration of the vehicle V1 is obtained as information indicating the amplitude of the vibration of the housing 200.

[0179] Subsequently, in S116 to S120, the management control unit 23 determines whether the state of the housing 200 has changed based on the state information. In this embodiment, the state of the housing 200 is determined to have changed when (i) the vibration of the housing 200 is relatively large and (ii) a long time has elapsed since the determination.

[0180] First, in S116, the management control unit 23 determines whether the vibration of the housing 200 is relatively large. More specifically, when the acceleration of the vehicle V1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined acceleration threshold, the management control unit 23 determines that the vibration of the housing 200 is relatively large. When the acceleration of the vehicle V1 is less than the acceleration threshold, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S125, and when the acceleration is equal to or greater than the acceleration threshold, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S120.

[0181] Subsequently, in S120, the management control unit 23 obtains the elapsed time after determination and determines whether the elapsed time after determination is equal to or greater than a threshold time value. When the elapsed time after determination is less than the threshold time value, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S125, and when the elapsed time after determination is equal to or greater than the threshold time value, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S130.

[0182] Management control unit 23 in Figure 10 Execution and in S125 Figure 6 The same process as S125 is performed after determining that the state of the housing 200 has not changed. That is, the management control unit 23 sets the applicable antenna of each of the multiple terminal devices 4 to the applicable antenna stored in the memory 27 at this time, and the process ends.

[0183] After determining that the state of housing 200 has changed, management control unit 23 selects one of the plurality of terminal devices 4 included in communication system 100 in S130. Hereinafter, the selected terminal device 4 is described as terminal device X4.

[0184] Subsequently, in S135, the management control unit 23 obtains the learning information of the terminal device X4. The learning information includes at least one set of corresponding information. The corresponding information includes at least setting information and a learning antenna associated with the setting information. The setting information is state information indicating a predetermined value included in the learning information. The learning antenna is an antenna of a variable device associated with the setting information in the learning information. In this embodiment, the learning information includes multiple sets of corresponding information.

[0185] In this embodiment, in addition to the setting information and the learning antenna, the corresponding information also includes information indicating the time when the learning antenna associated with the setting information is determined. Learning information is set for each terminal device 4 and stored in the memory 27. Figure 13 An example of the learning information in this embodiment is shown, where the state information is the acceleration of vehicle V1.

[0186] Subsequently, in S136, when it is determined that the state of housing 200 has changed, the management control unit 23 determines whether the state information obtained in S111 matches the selection information included in the learning information. The selection information is one of the multiple settings included in the learning information. In other words, when the obtained state information is included within a predetermined range including selection information, the management control unit 23 determines that the obtained state information and selection information match each other. The management control unit 23 transfers the process to S165 when it determines they match, and transfers the process to S140 when it determines they do not match.

[0187] In steps S140 and S160, after determining that the status information obtained in S116 does not fall within a predetermined range including the selection information included in the learning information, the management control unit 23 determines the applicable antenna and... Figure 6 Similar to S140 to S160.

[0188] Subsequently, in S161, the management control unit 23 generates a new set of corresponding information based on the results of S160. That is, the management control unit 23 generates a new set of corresponding information, which includes (i) the acceleration of vehicle V1 as new setting information, which is the state information obtained in S111, and (ii) the applicable antenna determined in S160 as a new learning antenna. The management control unit 23 adds the new corresponding information to the learning information stored in the memory 27. Then, the learning information with the added corresponding information is stored in the memory 27 as new learning information. In this way, the number of corresponding information included in the learning information increases.

[0189] In S165, after determining the match between (i) the acceleration of vehicle V1 as state information obtained in S111 and (ii) the selection information as one of the setting information included in the learning information, the learning antenna corresponding to the selection information is determined as the applicable antenna.

[0190] In S170, the management control unit 23 sets the applicable antenna determined in S160 or S165 as the applicable antenna of the terminal device X4, and stores the terminal device X4 in association with the determined applicable antenna in the memory 27.

[0191] In S175, when a suitable antenna has not yet been determined for all terminal devices 4, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S130 and repeats the process from S130 to S175. On the other hand, when a suitable antenna has been determined for all terminal devices 4, the management control unit 23 ends the current determination process.

[0192] [2-3. Effects]

[0193] According to the second embodiment described in detail above, the effects (1a), (1d), and (1g) of the first embodiment described above can be achieved, and the following effects can also be achieved.

[0194] (2a) In S136, when it is determined that the state of housing 200 has changed, antenna determination unit 61 determines that the acceleration (which is the obtained state information) is within a predetermined range including selection information.

[0195] Here, in S165, when the obtained state information is within a predetermined range including selection information, the antenna determination unit 61 determines the learned antenna associated with the selection information as the applicable antenna. In this way, the applicable antenna can be determined based on the learned information without sending test signals, thereby reducing the processing load for determining the applicable antenna.

[0196] On the other hand, when it is determined in S140 to S160 that the state of the housing 200 has changed, the antenna determination unit 61 determines the applicable antenna when an execution condition is met. This execution condition is that the obtained state information is not included in a predetermined range that includes selection information. In this way, the applicable antenna can be determined even when the learning antenna corresponding to the obtained state information is not stored in the learning information.

[0197] (2b) In S161, which serves as a storage execution unit, when the obtained state information is not included in a predetermined range including selection information, the antenna determination unit 61 adds the obtained state information and the information of the applicable antenna determined in S140 to S160 to the learning information. Then, the antenna determination unit 61 can be configured to store the learning information with the added information in the memory 27 as new learning information. In this way, the learning information is updatable.

[0198] (2c) The state information used to determine whether the state of the housing 200 has changed can be information that quantitatively indicates the vibration state of the housing 200. The electromagnetic field intensity distribution in the housing 200 may change due to the vibration of the housing 200. By using information that quantitatively indicates the vibration of the housing 200 as state information, the state in which the electromagnetic field intensity distribution in the housing 200 may change can be accurately determined, expressed in terms of quantity or numbers.

[0199] (2d) Specifically, the housing 200 can be mounted on the vehicle V1, and the state information can be the acceleration of the vehicle V1. When the acceleration of the vehicle V1 becomes equal to or greater than the acceleration threshold used as the state threshold, the antenna determination unit 61 can determine that the state of the housing 200 has changed. When the acceleration of the vehicle V1 is relatively large, it is considered that the arrangement or position of various devices in the housing 200 may change slightly, and the electromagnetic field intensity distribution in the housing 200 may change. In this embodiment, since the applicable antenna is determined when the acceleration of the vehicle V1 is relatively large, it is possible to prevent / suppress the degradation of communication quality.

[0200] In this embodiment, the management device 2 can be a variable device, and the terminal device 4 can be a target device. The management control unit 23 may include an antenna determination unit, a transmission indication unit, a test transmission unit, a test determination unit, a status acquisition unit, a corresponding information acquisition unit, a corresponding determination unit, and a selection determination unit. S145 can be a process of the test transmission unit, and S160 can be a process of the test determination unit. S111 can be a process of the status acquisition unit, S135 can be a process of the corresponding information acquisition unit, S136 can be a process of the corresponding determination unit, and S165 can be a process of the selection determination unit.

[0201] [2-4. Variations]

[0202] The following describes a variation of the second embodiment.

[0203] <Fourth Variation>

[0204] In the fourth variation, similar to the first variation described above, the management device 2 of the second embodiment can be a target device, and the terminal device 4 of the second embodiment can be a variable device. That is, multiple terminal devices 4 can be configured to sequentially determine the antenna to be used for wireless communication with the management device 2 based on learning information. In this variation, the same effect as in the second embodiment can also be achieved. This solution is particularly effective when changes in the state of the housing 200 affect the transmission characteristics of the wireless communication signal of the terminal device 4.

[0205] The response process executed by the management device 2 (i.e., the management control unit 23) of this variant and the determination process executed by each terminal device 4 (i.e., the terminal control unit 43) of this variant use Figure 14 The following is a description using a flowchart. Figure 12 The flowchart (i.e., the process of determining the management device 2 in the second embodiment) and Figure 9 The differences between the flowcharts (i.e., the process of determining the terminal device 4 in the first embodiment) and the flowcharts.

[0206] In S211–S220, the terminal control unit 43 performs the same as... Figure 12 The same process is used in S111–S120. That is, when it is determined in S211 that the acceleration of vehicle V1 is equal to or greater than the acceleration threshold, and when it is determined in S220 that the elapsed time after determination is equal to or greater than the threshold time value, the terminal control unit 43 determines that the state of housing 200 has changed.

[0207] In S225, after determining that the state of the housing 200 has not changed, the terminal control unit 43 sets the applicable antenna of the management device 2 to the applicable antenna currently stored in the memory 47, and then ends the current process.

[0208] exist Figure 14 In S226-S228, the terminal control unit 43 performs the same as... Figure 9 The same process as S226-S228 is performed after it is determined that a change in the state of housing 200 has occurred. Subsequently, in S235, the terminal control unit 43 obtains learning information set for management device 2. The learning information is stored in memory 47.

[0209] Subsequently, in S236, the terminal control unit 43 determines whether the state information obtained in S111 (i.e., the acceleration of vehicle V1) when it is determined that the state of housing 200 has changed matches the selection information, which is one of the setting information included in the learning information. If the terminal control unit 43 determines that they match, it transfers the process to S265, and if it determines that they do not match, it transfers the process to S240.

[0210] In S240-S260, the terminal control unit 43 performs the same as... Figure 9 The same process as in S240-S260 is performed, and the appropriate antenna for management device 2 is determined. Subsequently, in S261, terminal control unit 43 adds the acceleration of vehicle V1 (which is the state information obtained in S211) and the appropriate antenna determined in S260 to the learning information already stored in memory 47 as a new set of corresponding information. Then, the learning information with the added corresponding information is stored in memory 47 as new learning information.

[0211] In S265, after determining that the state information (i.e., the acceleration of vehicle V1) obtained in S211 matches the selection information, which is one of the setting information included in the learning information, the terminal control unit 43 determines the learning antenna corresponding to the selection information as the applicable antenna.

[0212] In S270, the terminal control unit 43 sets the applicable antenna determined in S260 or S265 as the applicable antenna for the management device 2, and stores the management device 2 in memory 47 in association with the determined applicable antenna.

[0213] In S285, the terminal control unit 43 sends an update command indicating update number y as n+1 to the terminal device 4 with terminal device number n as y, as shown in... Figure 9 In S285, the terminal control unit 43 of this modified example then concludes the determination process as described above.

[0214] In this variation, the management device 2 can be the target device, and the terminal device 4 can be a variable device. The terminal control unit 43 may include an antenna determination unit, a transmission indication unit, a test transmission unit, a test determination unit, a status acquisition unit, a corresponding information acquisition unit, a corresponding determination unit, and a selection determination unit. S245 can be a process of the test transmission unit, and S260 can be a process of the test determination unit. S211 can be a process of the status acquisition unit, S235 can be a process of the corresponding information acquisition unit, S236 can be a process of the corresponding determination unit, and S265 can be a process of the selection determination unit.

[0215] <Fifth Variation>

[0216] In the fifth variation of the second embodiment, similar to the second variation of the first embodiment described above, the management device 2 can be a variable device, and the terminal device 4 can be a target device. That is, based on the learned information, the management device 2 can be configured to determine the antenna for wireless communication with the terminal device 4 as the applicable antenna, and to determine the antenna for wireless communication between the management device 2 and the terminal device 4 performed by the terminal device 4 as the applicable antenna.

[0217] In this variation, the same effect as in the second embodiment can be achieved. This solution is particularly effective when changes in the state of the housing 200 affect the transmission characteristics of the wireless communication signals of both the management device 2 and the terminal device 4.

[0218] For example, in a fifth variation, management device 2 can be configured to determine the applicable antenna, and subsequently, multiple terminal devices 4 can be configured to sequentially determine the applicable antenna. The determination process performed by management device 2 (i.e., management control unit 23) of this variation and the response process performed by each terminal device 4 (i.e., terminal control unit 43) of this variation are... Figure 15 A flowchart is used for description. (Reference) Figure 16The flowchart describes the response process performed by the management control unit 23 of this variant and the determination process performed by each terminal control unit 43 of this variant.

[0219] The following is for reference. Figure 12 The flowchart (i.e., the process of determining the management device 2 in the second embodiment) and Figure 14 The flowchart (i.e., the process of determining the terminal device 4 of the fourth variation of the second embodiment) mainly describes the differences between them.

[0220] Here, the management control unit 23 of this variant performs the following: Figure 15 The determination process shown is the same as Figure 12 The difference in the determination process shown is the addition of S180. Figure 15 S180 shown is with Figure 10 The same process as shown in S180.

[0221] On the other hand, the terminal control unit 43 of this modified example performs... Figure 16 The determination process shown is the same as Figure 14 The difference in the determination process shown in the flowchart is the removal of S227. In this way, the management device 2 determines the antenna for wireless communication with the terminal device 4 as the applicable antenna based on the learning information, and the terminal device 4 determines the antenna for wireless communication with the management device 2 as the applicable antenna based on the learning information.

[0222] <Sixth Variation>

[0223] In the fifth variation described above, the management device 2 is configured to determine the applicable antenna based on the learning information, and then the plurality of terminal devices 4 are configured to sequentially determine the applicable antenna based on the learning information. However, this disclosure is not limited to this configuration. In the sixth variation, the plurality of terminal devices 4 may be configured to sequentially determine the applicable antenna based on the learning information, and then the management device 2 may be configured to determine the applicable antenna based on the learning information.

[0224] In this case, the terminal control unit 43 included in the terminal device 4 can be configured to perform... Figure 14 The determination process is shown. Then, for example, when the communication system 100 includes m terminal devices 4, the m-th terminal device 4 can be configured to send an update command to the management device 2, replacing the process of S285 as the process after S270. For example, in Figure 12 During the determination process shown, the management device 2 can wait until it receives an update command after making a positive determination in S120, and when it receives the update command, it can transfer the process to S130 and start the process of determining the applicable antenna.

[0225] <Third Embodiment>

[0226] [3-1. Differences from the second embodiment]

[0227] The basic configuration of the third embodiment is similar to that of the second embodiment. Therefore, the differences between them are described below. Note: The same reference numerals as in the second embodiment indicate the same configuration, and refer to the preceding description.

[0228] In the second embodiment described above, the acceleration of vehicle V1 is used as state information to quantitatively indicate the vibration of housing 200. Then, when (i) the acceleration of vehicle V1 becomes equal to or greater than an acceleration threshold and (ii) it is determined that the elapsed time is equal to or greater than the threshold time value, it is determined that the state of housing 200 has changed.

[0229] On the other hand, the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the inverter's rotation speed is used as state information to quantitatively indicate the vibration of the housing 200. Then, in conjunction with the above, the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the state of the housing 200 is determined to have changed when (i) the inverter's rotation speed becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined rotation speed threshold, and (ii) the elapsed time becomes equal to or greater than a threshold time value.

[0230] [3-2. Process]

[0231] Next, use Figure 17 The flowchart describes the determination process of this embodiment executed by the management control unit 23 of the third embodiment, which replaces the second embodiment (i.e., Figure 12 The execution of the determination process. Because Figure 17 The process of S125-S175 in the middle and Figure 12 The processes S125-S175 are similar, so some descriptions have been simplified.

[0232] First, in S112, the management control unit 23 obtains status information. In this embodiment, the status information includes the amplitude of the vibration of the housing 200 and the elapsed time after determination. Specifically, as the information indicating the vibration amplitude of the housing 200, information indicating the rotational speed of the inverter is obtained.

[0233] Subsequently, in S117-S120, the management control unit 23 determines whether the state of the housing 200 has changed based on the state information. In this embodiment, the state of the housing 200 is determined to have changed when (i) the vibration of the housing 200 is relatively large and (ii) a long time has elapsed since the determination.

[0234] First, in S117, the management control unit 23 determines whether the vibration of the housing 200 is relatively large. Specifically, when the inverter's rotational speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined rotational speed threshold, the management control unit 23 determines that the vibration of the housing 200 is relatively large. When the inverter's rotational speed is less than the rotational speed threshold, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S125, and when the rotational speed is equal to or greater than the rotational speed threshold, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S120.

[0235] Subsequently, in S120, the management control unit 23 obtains the elapsed time after determination and determines whether the elapsed time after determination is equal to or greater than a threshold time value. When the elapsed time after determination is less than the threshold time value, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S125, and when the elapsed time after determination is equal to or greater than the threshold time value, the management control unit 23 transfers the process to S130.

[0236] In S125-S175, the management control unit 23 performs the following actions: Figure 12 The process is the same for S125-S175.

[0237] [3-3. Effect]

[0238] Based on the third embodiment described in detail above, the effects of the first embodiment (1a), (1d), (1g) and the effects of the second embodiment (2a)-(2c) can be obtained, together with the following effects.

[0239] (3a) The housing 200 can be mounted on the vehicle V1. The status information can be information indicating the rotational speed of the inverter included in the vehicle V1. When the rotational speed of the inverter is equal to or greater than the rotational speed threshold used as the status threshold, the antenna determination unit 61 can determine that the status of the housing 200 has changed. It can be assumed that as the rotational speed of the inverter increases, the electromagnetic field strength distribution in the housing 200 changes more significantly. In this embodiment, since the applicable antenna is determined under the condition of a relatively increased inverter rotational speed, it is possible to suppress the degradation of communication quality.

[0240] In this embodiment, the management device 2 can be a variable device, and the terminal device 4 can be a target device. The management control unit 23 may include an antenna determination unit, a transmission indication unit, a test transmission unit, a test determination unit, a status acquisition unit, a corresponding information acquisition unit, a corresponding determination unit, and a selection determination unit. S145 can be a process of the test transmission unit, and S160 can be a process of the test determination unit. S112 can be a process of the status acquisition unit, S135 can be a process of the corresponding information acquisition unit, S136 can be a process of the corresponding determination unit, and S165 can be a process of the selection determination unit.

[0241] [3-4. Variations]

[0242] The following describes a variation of the third embodiment.

[0243] <Seventh Variation>

[0244] In the seventh variation of the third embodiment, as in the fourth variation described above, the management device 2 of the third embodiment can be a target device, and the terminal device 4 of the third embodiment can be a variable device. That is, multiple terminal devices 4 can be configured to sequentially determine, based on learning information, the antennas for wireless communication with the management device 2 as applicable antennas.

[0245] However, this variation differs from the fourth variation in that the inverter's rotation speed is used as state information to quantitatively indicate the vibration of the housing 200. Then, in conjunction with this, this variation differs from the fourth variation in that the state of the housing 200 is determined to have changed when (i) the inverter's rotation speed becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined rotation speed threshold, and (ii) the elapsed time becomes equal to or greater than a threshold time value.

[0246] For example, the terminal control unit 43 of this variant can be configured to perform Figure 18 The determination process is shown in the flowchart. Figure 18 In the middle, Figure 14 Replace S211 with S212, and... Figure 14 Replace S216 with S217.

[0247] In this variation, the same effect as in the third embodiment can be achieved. This solution is particularly effective when changes in the state of the housing 200 affect the transmission characteristics of the wireless communication signal of the terminal device 4.

[0248] Note: In this variation, the management device 2 can be the target device, and the terminal device 4 can be a variable device. The terminal control unit 43 may include an antenna determination unit, a transmission indication unit, a test transmission unit, a test determination unit, a status acquisition unit, a corresponding information acquisition unit, a corresponding determination unit, and a selection determination unit. S245 can be a process of the test transmission unit, and S260 can be a process of the test determination unit. S212 can be a process of the status acquisition unit, S235 can be a process of the corresponding information acquisition unit, S236 can be a process of the corresponding determination unit, and S265 can be a process of the selection determination unit.

[0249] <Eighth Variation>

[0250] In the eighth variation, similar to the fifth variation described above, the third embodiment can be modified because both (i) and (ii) are possible: (i) the management device 2 is a variable device and the terminal device 4 is the target device, and (ii) the management device 2 is the target device and the terminal device 4 is a variable device. That is, the management device 2 can be configured to determine the antenna for wireless communication with the terminal device 4 as an applicable antenna based on learning information, and the terminal device 4 can be configured to determine the antenna for wireless communication with the management device 2 as an applicable antenna.

[0251] However, this variation differs from the fifth variation in that the inverter's rotation speed is used as state information to quantitatively indicate the vibration of the housing 200. Then, in conjunction with this, this variation differs from the fifth variation in that the state of the housing 200 is determined to have changed when (i) the inverter's rotation speed becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined rotation speed threshold and (ii) the elapsed time becomes equal to or greater than a threshold time value.

[0252] For example, the management control unit 23 of this variant can be configured to perform Figure 19 The determination process is shown. Figure 19 The determination process shown is the same as Figure 14 The determination process shown is almost identical. However, in Figure 19 In the middle, Figure 14 The term "acceleration" is replaced with "inverter speed" in the diagram, and "acceleration threshold" is replaced with "speed threshold". Furthermore, for example, the terminal control unit 43 of this variant can be configured to perform... Figure 20 The determination process is shown. Figure 20 The determination process shown is the same as Figure 16 The determination process shown is almost identical. However, in Figure 20 In the middle, Figure 16 Replace “acceleration” with “inverter speed” and “acceleration threshold” with “threshold speed”.

[0253] In this variation, the same effect as in the third embodiment can be achieved. This solution is particularly effective when changes in the state of the housing 200 affect the transmission characteristics of the wireless communication signals transmitted by both the management device 2 and the terminal device 4.

[0254] <Ninth Variation>

[0255] In the eighth variation, the management device 2 is configured to determine the applicable antenna based on the learning information, and subsequently, multiple terminal devices 4 are configured to sequentially determine the applicable antenna based on the learning information. However, this disclosure is not limited to this configuration. In the ninth variation, the configuration may be modified as follows: (i) multiple terminal devices 4 are configured to sequentially determine the applicable antenna based on the learning information, and then (ii) the management device 2 is configured to determine the applicable antenna based on the learning information.

[0256] In this case, terminal device 4 can be configured to perform Figure 20 The determination process is shown. Then, for example, when the communication system 100 includes m terminal devices 4, the m-th terminal device 4 can be configured to send an update command to the management device 2, replacing the process of S285 as the process after S270. For example, in Figure 19 During the determination process shown, the management device 2 can wait until it receives an update command after making a positive determination in S120, and when the update command is received, the process is triggered to S130, and then the process of determining the applicable antenna can begin.

[0257] [4. Other embodiments]

[0258] Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments and various modifications can be made to implement the present disclosure.

[0259] (4a) In the determination process, the power value selected from multiple chosen power values ​​that provides the best communication quality can be determined as the applicable antenna. Optimal communication quality includes, for example, the case where the BER is minimized.

[0260] (4b) The test signal can be a wireless communication signal used to transmit at least the received strength of the test signal to the target device. For example, the target device can measure the received strength of the received wireless communication signal (i.e., the test signal) and can transmit a wireless communication signal (i.e., the test response signal) indicating the received information including the received strength to the variable device. That is, the test response signal only needs to include the received strength of the test signal, and does not necessarily need to include the BER determination result.

[0261] The variable device can be configured to identify the BER corresponding to the received strength transmitted from the target device based on (i) a plurality of predetermined received strengths and (ii) a BER obtained in advance through experiments, etc., for example, Figure 21 As shown, the information indicating the correspondence can be stored in the memory included in the variable device. In this way, it is possible to reduce the processing load in the target device for BER determination.

[0262] (4c) For example, in the above embodiments, the variable device is configured to determine whether the state of the housing 200 has changed based on two pieces of state information during the determination process. However, this disclosure is not limited to such an approach. The variable device may be configured to determine whether the state of the housing 200 has changed based on at least one piece of state information during the determination process.

[0263] That is, during the determination process, the variable device can determine whether the state of the housing 200 has changed based on one piece of state information, or it can determine whether the state of the housing 200 has changed based on multiple pieces of state information (i.e., three or more). In addition, multiple determination processes for determining the applicable antenna based on different pieces of state information can be executed in parallel.

[0264] (4d) For example, such as Figure 22 As shown, the communication system 101 may include a management device 2 and multiple terminal devices 4, and the multiple terminal devices 4 may form multiple groups, each group including at least one terminal device 4. The management device 2 can then be configured to wirelessly communicate with the terminal devices 4 in each group using different frequency bands. For example, in... Figure 22 The multiple groups include a first group (a) and a second group (b). The management device 2 and the terminal device 4 included in the first group (a) can perform wireless communication in the first frequency band F1, and the management device 2 and the terminal device 4 included in the second group (b) can perform wireless communication in the second frequency band F2.

[0265] In this scenario, when transmitting test signals during the determination process, the variable device can determine the appropriate antenna by transmitting wireless communication signals in the frequency band used by the terminal device 4, which is the target device, using the selected antenna. Information indicating the correspondence between the identification number of each terminal device 4 and the frequency band used by each terminal device 4 is pre-stored in a memory provided in the variable device.

[0266] Therefore, even when the communication system 101 uses multiple frequency bands to communicate with the terminal device 4, the same effect as described in the above embodiment can be achieved.

[0267] (4e) The first antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 may each have different directivity. That is, for example, the directivity of the second antenna 212 of antenna 21 may be narrowly directed toward at least one of the terminal devices 4 including the communication system 100 (i.e., at least one of the battery modules 3), such as... Figure 23 As shown. The direction of at least one of the aforementioned terminal devices 4 can indicate the directional direction of the first antenna 211. Figure 23The management device 2 shown has strong directivity toward the location including the terminal devices 4_5. However, this disclosure is not limited to this configuration. The first antenna 211 and the second antenna 212 can each have strong / sharp directivity in any direction.

[0268] (4f) For example, such as Figure 24 As shown, among a predetermined number of terminal devices 4 in the communication system 100, the first antenna 211 of the antenna 21 can have strong directivity toward at least one device 4. Furthermore, the second antenna 212 can have directivity in all directions.

[0269] (4g) The plurality of antennas 21 provided in the variable device (e.g., management device 2) may be (i) a first antenna 211 and a plurality of second antennas 212, or (ii) a plurality of first antennas 211 and a second antenna 212. In addition, the plurality of antennas 21 may include a plurality of first antennas 211 and a plurality of second antennas 212.

[0270] (4h) In the above embodiment, the communication system 100 is installed on the vehicle V1, but this disclosure is not limited to this approach. For example, the communication system 100 can be installed / used in various devices outside the vehicle V1, or can be used in combination with various devices.

[0271] (4i) The management control unit 23, terminal control unit 43 and methods thereof according to this disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer configured by a processor and a memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by a computer program.

[0272] Alternatively, the management control unit 23, terminal control unit 43, and methods described in this disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer configured with a processor having one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits.

[0273] Alternatively, the management control unit 23, terminal control unit 43 and methods described in this disclosure may be implemented by one or more dedicated computers provided as a combination of (i) a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by a computer program and (ii) a processor having one or more hardware logic circuits.

[0274] Furthermore, computer programs can be stored in computer-readable, non-transitory, tangible storage media as instructions to be executed by such a computer.

[0275] The methods for implementing the functions of the various units included in the management control unit 23 and the terminal control unit 43 do not necessarily have to include software, and all functions can be implemented using one or more hardware devices.

[0276] (4j) In the above embodiments, multiple functions of one element can be implemented by multiple elements, or one function of one element can be implemented by multiple constituent elements. Furthermore, multiple functions of multiple elements can be implemented by one element, or a single function implemented by multiple elements can be implemented by one element. Additionally, some configurations in the above embodiments can be omitted / removed. Furthermore, at least a portion of the configuration of one embodiment in the above embodiments can be added to or replaced by the configuration of another embodiment in the above embodiments.

[0277] (4k) In addition to the aforementioned management control unit 23, terminal control unit 43, CPU 26, CPU 46, management device 2, terminal device 4, battery module 3, communication system 100, and communication system 101, this disclosure may also be implemented in various forms such as: programs for operating the management control unit 23 and terminal control unit 43 to make them work, non-transitory substantial recording media such as semiconductor memory for recording such programs, communication methods for implementing the above, etc.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising: at least one management device (2) that performs wireless communication; and a plurality of terminal devices (4) that respectively acquire information about at least one battery and respectively perform wireless communication with the at least one management device, wherein a variable device is one of the management device and the terminal device, which includes: an antenna determination unit (61) that measures a communication index of wireless communication using an antenna provided in the variable device, and determines, from the antennas provided in the variable device, an antenna for wireless communication with a target device for each target device based on the measured communication index, the target device being the other of the management device and the terminal device and being a communication object of the variable device; and a transmission instruction unit (62) that instructs a wireless communication device provided in the variable device to perform the wireless communication with the target device by using the antenna, wherein the antenna determination unit (61) is further configured to: obtain at least one state information indicating a state of a housing including the communication system, determine that the state of the housing has changed based on the obtained state information being information indicating a predetermined specific state and an elapsed time after a last determination of an applicable antenna being equal to or greater than a threshold time value indicating a predetermined time, and determine, upon determining that the state of the housing has changed, an antenna for wireless communication with each of the target devices to be the applicable antenna.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the housing is mounted on a vehicle, the state information is information indicating a state in which an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on as the specific state, and the antenna determination unit determines that the state of the housing has changed at least when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on in the specific state.

3. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the state information is information quantitatively indicating a state of the housing, and the antenna determination unit determines whether the state of the housing has changed based on at least a comparison between the state information and a predetermined state threshold.

4. The communication system according to claim 3, wherein the state information is information quantitatively indicating a vibration of the housing.

5. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein the housing is mounted on a vehicle, the state information is an acceleration of the vehicle, and the antenna determination unit determines that the state of the housing has changed when at least the acceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than an acceleration threshold indicating a predetermined acceleration of the vehicle as the state threshold.

6. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein the housing is mounted on a vehicle, the state information is a number of revolutions of an inverter included in the vehicle, and the antenna determination unit determines that the state of the housing has changed when at least the number of revolutions of the inverter is equal to or greater than a threshold number of revolutions indicating a predetermined number of revolutions of the inverter as the state threshold. The antenna determination unit determines that the state of the housing has changed when at least the number of revolutions of the inverter is equal to or greater than a number of revolutions threshold that is the state threshold indicating a predetermined number of revolutions of the inverter.

7. The communication system according to claim 3, wherein The antenna determination unit includes: a test transmission unit (S145) configured to sequentially transmit a test signal from a selected one of the plurality of antennas in the variable device to the target device when a predetermined execution condition is satisfied, the target device generating a communication index quantitatively indicating a communication quality of the received test signal from the test signal received thereby and transmitting reception information including at least the communication index; and a test determination unit (S160) configured to obtain the communication index included in the reception information transmitted from the target device and determine the selected antenna as an applicable antenna when the communication index is within a predetermined range.

8. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein The antenna determination unit further includes: a state acquisition unit (S111) configured to acquire the state information; a correspondence information acquisition unit (S135) configured to obtain at least one set of learning information, the learning information including: setting information that is state information indicating a predetermined value; and a learning antenna that is a predetermined antenna associated with the setting information; a correspondence determination unit (S136) configured to determine whether the acquired state information is included in a predetermined range including selection information that is one of the setting information included in the learning information when it is determined that the state of the housing has changed; and a selection determination unit (S165) configured to determine the learning antenna associated with the selection information as the applicable antenna when the acquired state information is within the predetermined range including the selection information, and wherein the test transmission unit transmits a test signal based on the following execution condition when the acquired state information is not within the predetermined range including the selection information and the test determination unit determines the applicable antenna.

9. A communication system including: at least one management device (2) that performs wireless communication; and a plurality of terminal devices (4) that respectively acquire information on at least one battery and respectively perform wireless communication with the at least one management device, wherein a variable device is one of the management device and the terminal device, which includes: an antenna determination unit (61) that obtains at least one state information indicating a state of a housing including the communication system, determines that the state of the housing has changed based on the obtained state information being information indicating a predetermined specific state and an elapsed time after a last determination of an applicable antenna being equal to or greater than a threshold time value indicating a predetermined time, and upon determining that the state of the housing has changed, measures a communication index of wireless communication using an antenna provided in the variable device, and determines, for each of a target device, an applicable antenna for wireless communication with the target device and achieving a predetermined communication quality from among antennas provided in the variable device based on the measured communication index, wherein the target device is the other of the management device and the terminal device; and a transmission instruction unit (62) that instructs the wireless communication device provided in the variable device to perform the wireless communication with the target device by using the determined applicable antenna.

10. The communication system according to claim 9, wherein the housing is mounted on a vehicle, the state information is information indicating a state in which an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on as the specific state, and the antenna determination unit determines that the state of the housing has changed at least when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on in the specific state.

11. The communication system according to any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein the state information is information quantitatively indicating a state of the housing, and the antenna determination unit determines whether the state of the housing has changed based on at least a comparison between the state information and a predetermined state threshold.

12. The communication system according to claim 11, wherein the state information is information quantitatively indicating a vibration of the housing.

13. The communication system according to claim 12, wherein the housing is mounted on a vehicle, the state information is an acceleration of the vehicle, and the antenna determination unit determines that the state of the housing has changed when at least the acceleration of the vehicle is equal to or greater than an acceleration threshold indicating a predetermined acceleration of the vehicle as the state threshold.

14. The communication system according to claim 12, wherein the housing is mounted on a vehicle, the state information is a number of revolutions of an inverter included in the vehicle, and the antenna determination unit determines that the state of the housing has changed when at least the number of revolutions of the inverter is equal to or greater than a number of revolutions threshold indicating a predetermined number of revolutions of the inverter as the state threshold.

15. The communication system according to claim 11, wherein the antenna determination unit includes: a test transmission unit (S145) configured to sequentially transmit a test signal from a selected one of the plurality of antennas in the variable device to the target device when a predetermined execution condition is satisfied, the target device generating a communication index quantitatively indicating a communication quality of the received test signal from the test signal received thereby and transmitting reception information including at least the communication index; and a test determination unit (S160) configured to obtain the communication index included in the reception information transmitted from the target device and determine the selected antenna as an applicable antenna when the communication index is within a predetermined range.

16. The communication system according to claim 15, wherein the antenna determination unit further includes: a state acquisition unit (S111) configured to acquire the state information; a correspondence information acquisition unit (S135) configured to obtain at least one set of learning information, the learning information including: setting information, the setting information being state information indicating a predetermined value; and a learning antenna, the learning antenna being a predetermined antenna associated with the setting information; a correspondence determination unit (S136) configured to determine whether the acquired state information is included within a predetermined range when it is determined that the state of the housing has changed, the predetermined range including selection information, the selection information being one of the setting information included in the learning information; and a selection determination unit (S165) configured to determine the learning antenna associated with the selection information as the applicable antenna when the acquired state information is within the predetermined range including the selection information, and wherein when the acquired state information is not within the predetermined range including the selection information, the test transmission unit transmits a test signal based on an execution condition that the acquired state information is not within the predetermined range including the selection information and the test determination unit determines the applicable antenna.

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