Communication terminal, communication system, power saving control method and storage medium

Abstract

The communication terminal (1) of the present invention performs intermittent actions that alternately repeat an activation state and a sleep state that consumes less power than the activation state, and includes: a battery (106); a wireless communication processing unit (101), which can communicate with a second service system for providing a second service via a communication network constructed for a first service; a connected device communication processing unit (103), which can communicate with a connected device; a control unit (102), which performs a joining process with the communication network via the wireless communication processing unit (101) in an activation state, and repeats the joining process if the joining process fails; and an intermittent action processing unit (104), which is used to transfer the communication terminal (1) to a sleep state if the joining process fails, determine the duration of the sleep state after the joining process fails, i.e., the sleep time, based on the number of repeated joining processes, and transfer the communication terminal (1) to an activation state after the sleep time has elapsed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication terminal for requesting to join a network, a communication system, a power saving control method, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, people have shown an interest in an energy-saving society, and the introduction of automatic meter reading devices called smart meters has been promoted to visualize power consumption and control power supply and demand. Smart meters are planned to be installed in all households, and a wide-area and large-scale network will be constructed and operated in the jurisdiction of each power company, except for some areas where communication is difficult.

[0003] Research is underway to utilize this type of network built for automatic meter reading of electricity as social infrastructure. For example, it is possible to connect communication terminals to various meters such as gas and water meters, and various sensors for monitoring, control, and data collection, and to implement automatic meter reading services for gas and water meters, and data collection services for monitoring, control, and the like by connecting the communication terminals to the network built for automatic meter reading of electricity. This makes it possible to implement automatic meter reading services for gas and water meters, and data collection services for monitoring, control, and the like without building a new large-scale network.

[0004] Smart meters installed for automatic meter reading of electricity are installed near power lines, so it is easy to secure commercial power. In contrast, various meters for gas, water and sewage, and various sensors for monitoring, control, data collection, etc. are generally located in places where it is difficult to secure commercial power. Therefore, it is also difficult to secure commercial power for communication terminals connected to these devices, and these communication terminals are mostly driven by batteries. Therefore, it is desirable to suppress power consumption in these communication terminals.

[0005] As one of the methods for saving power in a communication terminal, there is a method of repeating the activation state and the sleep state of the communication function in each intermittent cycle. In the communication using this method, the longer the duration of one sleep state, i.e., the longer the sleep time, the more power consumption can be suppressed, but the response time of the communication will also be longer. Therefore, it is desirable to appropriately set the sleep time in the intermittent operation so as to achieve power saving while maintaining the responsiveness of the communication.

[0006] Patent document 1 discloses the following technology: In a meter reading system that automatically reads water meters, a wireless device connected to a water meter performs intermittent reception to reduce power consumption. The wireless device described in Patent document 1 usually performs intermittent reception with a long intermittent cycle, and if a command to shorten the intermittent cycle is received from another wireless device that wirelessly communicates with the wireless device, the intermittent cycle is shortened. By shortening the intermittent cycle, the sleep time is also shortened. As a result, the meter reading system described in Patent document 1 usually suppresses the power consumption of the wireless device, and shortens the data acquisition time by shortening the sleep time when data acquisition is requested at any time, such as during installation or maintenance.

[0007] However, in order to realize automatic meter reading services for gas and water supply, data collection services for monitoring and control, etc. through a network constructed for automatic meter reading of electricity, the above-mentioned communication terminal needs to perform a joining process for joining the network before performing data communication for providing services. The communication terminal performs the joining process in the startup state, and when the joining process is completed, it repeats the startup state and the sleep state in each intermittent cycle to perform normal communication for providing services. The sleep time in the intermittent cycle of normal communication is, for example, 30 seconds.

[0008] On the other hand, the communication terminal is generally in a dormant state when the joining process fails. If the dormant state ends, the joining process is performed again. The reason for the joining process failure can be considered to be that there is no smart meter belonging to the network that the communication terminal can join nearby, the communication environment is not good, etc., and these factors are not necessarily eliminated after the normal communication dormant time. Although the main cause of the joining process failure is not eliminated, if the communication terminal frequently shifts to the start state, it will waste power. Therefore, the dormant time after the joining process fails is set to be longer than the dormant time in the normal intermittent operation.

[0009] Prior art literature

[0010] Patent Literature

[0011] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-70488 Summary of the invention

[0012] Technical problem to be solved by the invention

[0013] However, the automatic meter reading of electricity has a certain regulation of the measurement cycle of electricity, etc., while the monitoring and control services using meters and various sensors for gas, tap water, etc. do not have a regulation of the collection cycle, and the collection cycle varies according to the needs of the administrator, etc. Therefore, if the sleep time after the failed access processing is uniformly set, it may not meet the needs of the service. Therefore, it is difficult to set an appropriate sleep time that meets the needs while suppressing battery consumption.

[0014] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a communication terminal capable of setting an appropriate sleep time.

[0015] Technical means for solving technical problems

[0016] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the purpose, the communication terminal disclosed in the present invention performs intermittent actions that alternately repeat the first state and the second state with less power consumption than the first state. The communication terminal includes: a battery that drives the battery of the communication terminal; a first communication processing unit that can communicate with a second service system for providing a second service via a communication network constructed for the first service; and a second communication processing unit that can communicate with a connected device. The communication terminal also includes a control unit that performs a joining process of joining the communication network via the first communication processing unit with the communication network in the first state, and repeats the joining process if the joining process fails. The communication terminal also includes an intermittent action processing unit that is used to transfer the communication terminal to the second state if the joining process fails, and determines the duration of the second state after the joining process fails, i.e., the sleep time, based on the number of repeated joining processes, and transfers the communication terminal to the first state after the sleep time has passed.

[0017] Effects of the Invention

[0018] The communication terminal of the present disclosure has the effect of being able to set an appropriate sleep time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing a configuration example of an overall system including a communication system according to an embodiment.

[0020] Figure 2 It shows that Figure 1 A diagram of an example of a structure obtained after concreteness.

[0021] Figure 3 A diagram showing a configuration example of a communication terminal and a gas meter according to an embodiment.

[0022] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing a configuration example of an SM according to an embodiment.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a flowchart showing an example of a joining process procedure in a communication terminal according to an embodiment.

[0024] Figure 6 : is a diagram showing an example of a re-search sleep schedule according to an embodiment.

[0025] Figure 7This is a timing chart showing an example of setting of the SM re-search sleep time according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Hereinafter, a communication terminal, a communication system, a power saving control method, and a storage medium according to the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0027] Implementation method.

[0028] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an overall system including a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the overall system of the embodiment includes: first service systems 10, 20, 30 that perform processing for providing a first service; and communication systems 11, 21, 31 constructed corresponding to each of the first service systems 10, 20, 30. In addition, the overall system also includes second service systems 40, 50 that perform processing for providing a second service. In addition, the overall system itself is also a communication system.

[0029] The first service is, for example, an automatic meter reading service for the usage of electricity, gas, water and sewage, etc., a monitoring and control service based on various sensor data, etc. For example, when the first service is an automatic meter reading service for the usage of electricity, gas, water and sewage, etc., the first service systems 10, 20, and 30 are automatic meter reading systems that manage meter data collected via the communication systems 11, 21, and 31, respectively. In addition, when the first service is a monitoring and control service, for example, the first service systems 10, 20, and 30 are monitoring and control systems that perform monitoring and control based on sensor data collected via the communication systems 11, 21, and 31, respectively.

[0030] The first service means a service having a communication system constructed for the service, and the first services provided by the first service systems 10, 20, and 30 may be the same type of service or different types of services. For example, the first services provided by the first service systems 10, 20, and 30 may be different types of services, so that the first service provided by the first service system 10 is an automatic meter reading service for power usage, and the first service provided by the first service system 20 is a monitoring and control service.

[0031] The communication systems 11, 21, and 31 each include a plurality of communication devices. The communication systems 11, 21, and 31 are communication networks constructed for the first service. The communication devices constituting the communication system 11 may be connected wirelessly, via a dedicated line, via a power line, or via a mobile communication network provided for communication of mobile terminals. Similarly, the communication devices constituting the communication systems 21 and 31 may be connected wirelessly, via a dedicated line, via a power line, or via a mobile communication network provided for communication of mobile terminals.

[0032] Each of the communication systems 11, 21, and 31 can be connected to the second service system 40 and the second service system 50 via a WAN (Wide Area Network) 60, respectively. Figure 1 In the example, each of the communication systems 11, 21, 31 is connected to each of the second service systems 40, 50 via the WAN 60, but the connection method is not limited to the example via the WAN 60.

[0033] The second service means a service that does not have a communication system constructed for the service. The second service provided by the second service system 40, 50 may be a service of the same type or a service of a different type. The second service is, for example, an automatic meter reading service for the usage of electricity, gas, tap water, etc., a monitoring and control service based on various sensor data, etc. In addition, the second service may be a service for collecting or distributing data, etc.

[0034] The communication terminals 1-1, 1-2, 1-10, 1-21, 1-22 are communication devices that do not belong to any of the communication systems 11, 21, 31, and communicate with any of the second service systems 40, 50 via any of the communication systems 11, 21, 31, thereby implementing the second service. That is, the communication terminals 1-1, 1-2, 1-10, 1-21, 1-22 perform communication for the second service. In detail, Figure 1 In the example shown, the communication terminals 1-1 and 1-2 communicate with any one of the second service systems 40 and 50 via the communication system 11, the communication terminal 1-10 communicates with any one of the second service systems 40 and 50 via the communication system 21, and the communication terminals 1-21 and 1-22 communicate with any one of the second service systems 40 and 50 via the communication system 31. Thus, the communication terminals 1-1, 1-2, 1-10, 1-21 and 1-22 communicate with any one of the second service systems 40 and 50 via the communication systems 11, 21 and 31, thereby providing the second service without constructing a new communication network for the second service. That is, by using the existing communication systems 11, 21 and 31 as infrastructure, the second service can be efficiently realized.

[0035] Figure 1 In the illustrated example, three first service systems 10, 20, and 30 are shown, but the number of first service systems is not limited thereto. Figure 1 In the example shown, two second service systems 40 and 50 are shown, but the number of second service systems is not limited thereto. In addition, a plurality of second services may coexist in the same communication system. Figure 1 In the illustrated example, five communication terminals 1 - 1 , 1 - 2 , 1 - 10 , 1 - 21 , and 1 - 22 are illustrated, but the number of communication terminals is not limited thereto.

[0036] In addition, in the present embodiment, the existing communication systems 11, 21, 31 are used as infrastructure to efficiently provide the second service, and this example is described, but the method of the communication terminals 1-1, 1-2, 1-10, 1-21, 1-22 communicating with the corresponding second service systems 40, 50 is not limited to this. For example, the communication terminals 1-1, 1-2, 1-10, 1-21, 1-22 can respectively form a dedicated communication system for the second service together with the corresponding second service systems 40, 50. Alternatively, the communication terminals 1-1, 1-2, 1-10, 1-21, 1-22 can use a public line other than the communication systems 11, 21, 31 to communicate with the corresponding second service systems 40, 50.

[0037] Figure 2 It shows that Figure 1 A diagram of an example of a structure obtained after concreteness. Figure 2 In Figure 1 The first service systems 10, 20, the communication systems 11, 21 and the second service system 40 are concretized. Figure 2 In the example shown as a specific example, the first service provided by the first service systems 10 and 20 is an automatic meter reading service of electricity usage, and the second service provided by the second service system 40 is an automatic meter reading service of gas usage. Figure 2 The electric power automatic meter reading system 9 shown is Figure 1 The first service system 10 shown in FIG. 1 manages the measurement results of the power usage. The power automatic meter reading system 9 is connected to the communication system 11 constructed for the automatic meter reading of the power usage. Similarly, the communication system 21 is constructed for the automatic meter reading of the power usage and is connected to the power automatic meter reading system (not shown). Figure 1 An example of the first service system 20 is shown.

[0038] Gas automatic meter reading system 7 is Figure 1 An example of the second service system 40 is shown. Figure 2 In the communication system 11, the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 can communicate with the gas automatic meter reading system 7, and the communication terminal 1-10 can communicate with the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the communication system 21. The communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 and 1-10 are often installed together with the gas meter in a place where it is difficult to ensure commercial power supply. Therefore, the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 are often driven by batteries, and power saving is desired. The communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 and 1-10 achieve power saving by performing intermittent operation that alternately repeats a first state, namely a start-up state (Active state: activated state), and a second state, namely a sleep state (Sleep state: sleep state) that consumes less power than the first state. A communication method that takes power saving of the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 and 1-10 into consideration will be described later.

[0039] The following, such as Figure 2 As shown, the following example is described: the first service provided by the first service system 10, 20 is an automatic meter reading service for electricity usage, and the second service is an automatic meter reading service for gas usage, but the contents of the first service and the second service are not limited to these.

[0040] like Figure 2 As shown, the communication system 11 has smart meters (hereinafter referred to as SM) 2-1 to 2-13, which measure the amount of electricity used and send the measurement results to the automatic electricity meter reading system 9. The communication system 11 also includes a concentrator 3-1, which is a centralized station for concentrating the measurement results received from SM2-1 to 2-6, and a concentrator 3-2, which is a centralized station for concentrating the measurement results received from SM2-7 to 2-11. The concentrator 3-1 and SM2-1 to 2-6 constitute a wireless multi-hop network. The concentrators 3-2 and SM2-7 to 2-11 constitute a power line multi-hop network. The concentrators 3-1 and 3-2 are connected to a communication management device, namely HES (Head End System) 6-1, which manages the communication within the communication system 11 via WAN5.

[0041] In addition, the multi-hop network constructed by the concentrators 3-1, 3-2 and SM2-1 to 2-11 is the same as the multi-hop network in the general smart meter system, and the description of the path construction in the multi-hop network is omitted. Like the multi-hop network in the general smart meter system, the path in the wireless multi-hop network can be changed. In addition, Figure 2 Although the illustration is omitted, one concentrator is shown in each of the wireless multi-hop network and the power line multi-hop network. However, generally speaking, the wireless multi-hop network and the power line multi-hop network each have a plurality of concentrators.

[0042] SM2-12, 2-13 are connected to HES6-1 via mobile communication network 4 and WAN5 provided for communication of mobile terminals. Figure 2 In the figure, for the convenience of illustration, the mobile communication network 4 and WAN 5 are also recorded in the dotted line representing the communication system 11, but the mobile communication network 4 and WAN 5 are not included in the communication system 11. In addition, the concentrators 3-1 and 3-2 can be connected to the communication management device HES 6-1 that manages the communication in the communication system 11 via the mobile communication network 4.

[0043] thus, Figure 2 In the example shown, the communication system 11 includes SM2-1 to 2-13 that communicate using three communication methods, but the number of communication methods of SM2-1 to 2-13 in the communication system 11 is not limited to 3. For example, SM2-1 to 2-13 in the communication system 11 can all communicate using the same communication method. For example, SM2-1 to 2-13 in the communication system 11 can all communicate using a wireless multi-hop network.

[0044] Figure 2 The communication system 21 shown includes HES 6-2 and SMs 2-21, 2-22. Figure 2 Although the illustration is omitted, in the communication system 21, as in the communication system 11, any one or more of the three communication methods, for example, a wireless multi-hop network, a power line multi-hop network, and a mobile communication network 4, are used. Here, SM2-21, 2-22 and a concentrator omitted from the illustration constitute a wireless multi-hop network. HES6-2 is a communication management device that manages the communication within the communication system 21.

[0045] Hereinafter, when SM2-1 to 2-13, 2-21, and 2-22 are not individually distinguished, they are referred to as SM2, when concentrators 3-1 and 3-2 are not individually distinguished, they are referred to as concentrator 3, and when HES6-1 and 6-2 are not individually distinguished, they are referred to as HES6. Figure 2 In the figure, 15 SM2s are shown, but in reality, SM2s are installed in the homes of various electricity users, so the number of SM2s is more than 15. Generally speaking, the communication system 11 is a large-scale system including a plurality of SM2s in a wide area. SM2-1 to 2-13 are examples of a plurality of communication devices constituting the communication system 11, and SM2-21 and 2-22 are examples of a plurality of communication devices constituting the communication system 21. A part of SM2 performs communication based on, for example, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.15.4g / 4e.

[0046] The communication devices 1-1 to 1-6 can communicate with the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the communication system 11. Specifically, the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 can join the SM network A, which is a network composed of communication devices belonging to the communication system 11. The communication devices belonging to the communication system 11 include SM2-1 to 2-13, concentrators 3-1, 3-2, and HES6-1. Similarly, the communication device 1-10 can communicate with the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the communication system 21. Specifically, the communication terminal 1-10 can join the SM network B, which is a network composed of communication devices belonging to the communication system 21. The communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 can join the corresponding SM network by performing network joining processing on the SM network. As the network joining processing, any processing can be used, and general processing can be used.

[0047] In this embodiment, SM2-1 to 2-13 have the function of being a normal smart meter, and by performing network joining processing with the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6, communication between the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 and the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the communication system 11 can be performed. Similarly, SM2-21 and 2-22 have the function of being a normal smart meter, and by performing network joining processing with the communication terminal 1-10, communication between the communication terminal 1-10 and the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the communication system 21 can be performed.

[0048] The communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6, 1-10 are connected to gas meters 70-1 to 70-6, 70-10, which are examples of devices, respectively. The gas meters 70-1 to 70-6, 70-10 measure the amount of gas used, respectively, and output the measurement results to the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6, 1-10. The communication devices 1-1 to 1-6 send the measurement results to the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the communication system 11. The communication device 1-10 sends the measurement results to the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the communication system 21. Thus, the gas automatic meter reading system 7 can collect the amount of gas used measured by the gas meters 70-1 to 70-6, 70-10 via the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6, 1-10. The gas meters 70-1 to 70-6, 70-10 are examples of devices connected to the communication terminals. Since the devices can use the network by connecting to the devices in this way, the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 and 1-10 can also be called IoT terminals that realize IoT (Internet of Things). Hereinafter, when each of the communication terminals 1-1 to 1-6 and 1-10 is not individually distinguished, it is recorded as the communication terminal 1, and when each of the gas meters 70-1 to 70-6 and 70-10 is not individually distinguished, it is recorded as the gas meter 70.

[0049] Figure 2 In the illustrated configuration example, automatic meter reading of gas usage can be realized using SM network A and SM network B, which are constructed for automatic meter reading of electricity usage. Generally speaking, a plurality of SM2s are configured over a wide range, and SM network A and SM network B are large-scale networks. Figure 2 In the illustrated configuration example, by utilizing such a wide-area and large-scale SM network, it is possible to collect gas usage measurement results from a large number of gas users in a wide area without having to reconstruct a network for automatic meter reading of gas usage.

[0050] Next, a configuration example of the communication terminal 1 and the gas meter 70 will be described. Figure 3 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the communication terminal 1 and the smart meter 70 according to the present embodiment. Figure 3 As shown, the communication terminal 1 includes an antenna 100, a wireless communication processing unit 101, a control unit 102, a connected device communication processing unit 103, an intermittent operation processing unit 104, a storage unit 105, and a battery 106. The battery 106 drives the communication terminal 1 as a power source.

[0051] The wireless communication processing unit 101 is a first communication processing unit that can communicate with the second service system, i.e., the gas automatic meter reading system 7, for providing the second service, via a communication network constructed for the first service. Specifically, the wireless communication processing unit 101 performs wireless communication with the SM2 via the antenna 100. The wireless communication processing unit 101 includes a communication circuit for performing communication corresponding to the wireless communication method between the SM2. In addition, here, an example in which the communication terminal 1 performs wireless communication with the SM2 is described, but the communication between the communication terminal 1 and the SM2 may also be wired communication. In the case where the communication between the communication terminal 1 and the SM2 is wired communication, the communication terminal 1 is provided with a communication processing unit that performs communication processing corresponding to the communication method of the wired communication, instead of the antenna 100 and the wireless communication processing unit 101.

[0052] The connected device communication processing unit 103 is a second communication processing unit that can communicate with the connected device. The connected device communication processing unit 103 stores the data received from the device in the storage unit 105. For example, the connected device communication processing unit 103 stores the meter reading data received from the gas meter 70 as an example of the device in the storage unit 105. The connected device communication processing unit 103 includes a communication circuit for performing communication corresponding to the communication method between the devices. Figure 3, a state where the communication terminal 1 is connected to a gas meter 70 as an example of a device is shown. Hereinafter, an example in which the communication terminal 1 is connected to the gas meter 70 will be described, but the device connected to the communication terminal 1 is not limited to the gas meter 70, and may be various meters such as water and sewage, and various sensors for monitoring, control, data collection, etc. In addition, here, the communication between the communication terminal 1 and the device is set as wired communication, but wireless communication may also be used.

[0053] The control unit 102 controls the operation of the communication terminal 1. For example, when a control instruction for a gas meter 70 as an example of a device is received from the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the wireless communication processing unit 101, the control unit 102 causes the connection device communication processing unit 103 to perform communication processing with the device. For example, when it is time to obtain regular meter reading data from the gas meter 70, the control unit 102 sends a meter reading data transmission instruction to the gas meter 70 via the connection device communication processing unit 103. When it is time to transmit regular meter reading data to the gas automatic meter reading system 7, the control unit 102 transmits the meter reading data stored in the storage unit 105 to the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the wireless communication processing unit 101. In addition, based on the control instruction received from the gas automatic meter reading system 7, the control unit 102 requests the gas meter 70 to obtain data corresponding to the control instruction. In addition, the control unit 102 performs a joining process of joining the SM network between SM networks as communication networks via the wireless communication processing unit 101 in the first state, and repeats the joining process if the joining process fails.

[0054] The intermittent operation processing unit 104 controls the intermittent operation of the communication terminal 1. For example, if the joining process fails, the intermittent operation processing unit 104 causes the communication terminal 1 to transition to the sleep state, determines the sleep time as the duration of the sleep state after the joining process fails based on the number of times the joining process is repeated, and causes the communication terminal 1 to transition to the active state after the sleep time has elapsed. The operation of the intermittent operation processing unit 104 will be described later.

[0055] The control unit 102 and the intermittent motion processing unit 104 are implemented by, for example, a processing circuit, and the processing circuit has, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The storage unit 105 is a memory for storing data used by the control unit 102 and the intermittent motion processing unit 104 in processing. In addition, when the functions implemented by the control unit 102 and the intermittent motion processing unit 104 are provided as software, the storage unit 105 stores a program for the control unit 102 and the intermittent motion processing unit 104 to perform the functions, and the control unit 102 and the intermittent motion processing unit 104 are implemented by executing the program by the processor. The program may be provided by a storage medium or by a communication medium. The program includes a power saving control program for performing power saving control in the communication terminal 1 of the present embodiment.

[0056] The intermittent operation processing unit 104 includes: a state determination unit 111 for managing the state related to power saving of the communication terminal; a timer 112 for measuring the duration of the sleep state, that is, the sleep time (Sleep time); and a sleep time determination unit 113 for determining the sleep time. As described above, in order to save power, the communication terminal 1 performs intermittent operation of repeating the active state and the sleep state. The state related to power saving of the communication terminal 1 includes two states, namely, the active state and the sleep state. The sleep state is a state in which the power consumption is lower than that of the active state. As long as the power consumption of the sleep state is lower than that of the active state, the definition of the sleep state and the active state can be any definition. Generally speaking, the transmission process of wireless communication consumes a lot of power, so in the sleep state, at least the transmission function of the wireless communication processing unit 101 is stopped. Not limited to this, in the sleep state, the operation frequency of the control unit 102 and the intermittent operation processing unit 104, that is, the operation frequency of the processor of the processing circuit that realizes the control unit 102 and the intermittent operation processing unit 104 can be lower than that in the active state.

[0057] In addition, the communication terminal 1 performs a joining process for joining the SM network before performing normal operations. Normal operations include, for example, an operation for sending the meter reading result measured by the gas meter 70 to the gas automatic meter reading system 7, an operation for monitoring and controlling the operation, and the like. In the case of a failed joining process, the communication terminal 1 is in a dormant state, and if the dormant state ends, the joining process is performed again. The reason for the failure of the joining process can be considered to be that there are no smart meters belonging to the network that the communication terminal can join nearby, the communication environment is not good, and the like. These factors may not necessarily be eliminated after the normal communication dormant time. Although the main cause of the failure of the joining process is not eliminated, if the communication terminal frequently switches to the startup state, power will be wasted, and therefore the dormant time after the failed joining process is set to be longer than the dormant time in the normal intermittent operation.

[0058] However, if the sleep time after the joining process fails is uniformly set to a long time such as 10 hours, then in the confirmation operation when setting the communication terminal, once the joining process fails, it is difficult for the operator to confirm the connection to the above network. Therefore, since the joining process is performed again by restarting the communication terminal, etc., the operation cannot be performed effectively. Therefore, in this embodiment, the sleep time determination unit 113 determines the sleep time after the joining process fails according to the number of times the joining process fails, that is, the number of times the joining process is repeated. In detail, the sleep time determination unit 113 determines the sleep time so that the more times the joining process is repeated, the longer the sleep time after the joining process fails. For example, the sleep time is determined so that the sleep time when the joining process is repeated, that is, the number of times the joining process is repeated, is longer than the sleep time when the number of times the joining process is repeated, that is, the number of times the joining process is repeated is the first time. As a result, when the joining process fails due to a short period of poor communication, etc., the joining process can be performed again in a short time, so that the work efficiency when setting the communication terminal can be improved. In addition, due to the absence of a smart meter nearby, the joining process may fail many times. In this case, the sleep time determination unit 113 sets the sleep time to be longer, thereby suppressing useless activation and thus suppressing power consumption. Hereinafter, the sleep time after the processing failure is included is also referred to as the SM re-search sleep time.

[0059] The sleep time determination unit 113 determines the sleep time, and notifies the timer 112 of the determined sleep time. In normal operation, the sleep time determination unit 113 determines the sleep time based on, for example, information indicating the sleep time used in normal operation stored in the storage unit 105, and notifies the timer 112 of the determined sleep time. The sleep time in normal operation is, for example, about 15 seconds, but the sleep time in normal operation is not limited thereto. In the case of a join process failure, the sleep time determination unit 113 determines the SM re-search sleep time based on the number of join process failures, i.e., the number of join processes, and notifies the timer 112 of the determined SM re-search sleep time. The method for determining the SM re-search sleep time in the sleep time determination unit 113 will be described later.

[0060] The timer 112 measures the elapsed time from the start of the sleep state, ie, the end of the active state, and if the elapsed time is the sleep time notified from the sleep time determination unit 113 , the timer 112 notifies the state determination unit 111 that the sleep time has elapsed.

[0061] If the timer 112 notifies that the sleep time has passed, the state determination unit 111 changes the operating frequency of the control unit 102 to change to the active state, or puts the wireless communication processing unit 101 in a state where it can send and receive, thereby changing the communication terminal 1 to the active state. In addition, after the active state starts, if the end condition of the active state is satisfied, the state determination unit 111 changes the operating frequency of the control unit 102 or puts the wireless communication processing unit 101 to sleep, thereby making the communication terminal 1 transition to the sleep state. The end condition of the active state may be any condition such as the condition that a predetermined start time has passed, the condition that the processing to be executed in the active state has ended, etc. If the active state ends, the state determination unit 111 notifies the timer 112 that the active state has ended.

[0062] Next, a configuration example of the gas meter 70 will be described. Figure 3 As shown, the gas meter 70 includes a communication processing unit 71, a control unit 72, a storage unit 73, and a metering unit 74. When the device connected to the communication terminal 1 is various meters such as water supply and drainage, although the metering object of the metering unit 74 is different, the structure of the device is the same as that of the gas meter 70. When the device connected to the communication terminal 1 is various sensors for monitoring, control, data collection, etc., the device may include a detection unit instead of the metering unit 74, and include the communication processing unit 71, the control unit 72, and the storage unit 73 in the same manner as the gas meter 70. The detection unit may be a detector for detecting temperature, humidity, etc., or a camera for acquiring an image.

[0063] The communication processing unit 71 communicates with the terminal device 1. The control unit 72 controls the operation of the gas meter 70. Specifically, for example, when receiving an instruction to transmit the metering result, i.e., meter reading data, of the metering unit 74 via the communication processing unit 71, the control unit 72 transmits the metering result of the metering unit 74 as meter reading data to the communication terminal 1 via the communication processing unit 71.

[0064] The metering unit 74 measures the amount of gas used and transmits the measurement result to the control unit 72. The metering unit 74 may perform measurement at a predetermined period or when instructed by the control unit 72. The control unit 72 stores the measurement result in the storage unit 73, and when receiving an instruction to send meter reading data, reads the measurement result from the storage unit 73 and sends it to the communication terminal 1 via the communication processing unit 71. In addition, the metering unit 74 may directly store the measurement result in the storage unit 73. In addition, when the autonomous data notification is valid, the measurement result is read from the storage unit 73 at each predetermined period and sent to the communication terminal 1 via the communication processing unit 71. In addition, the control unit 72 may send the measurement result received from the metering unit 74 to the communication terminal 1 via the communication processing unit 71.

[0065] When the device connected to the communication terminal 1 includes a detection unit instead of the measurement unit 74, the detection result of the detection unit is similarly transmitted from the device to the communication terminal 1 instead of the above-mentioned measurement result.

[0066] Figure 4 1 is a diagram showing a structural example of SM2 according to this embodiment. Figure 4 As shown, SM2 includes a communication unit 201 and a meter 202. The meter 202 measures the amount of electricity used and outputs it to the communication unit 201. The communication unit 201 sends the measurement result received from the meter 202 to the automatic power meter reading system 9 via another SM2, the concentrator 3, and the HES 6, or receives a control signal sent from the HES 6, and acts based on the received control signal. The communication unit 201 includes a communication processing unit 211, a first control unit 212, a connection device communication processing unit 213, a storage unit 214, and a second control unit 215. The communication processing unit 211 can communicate with another SM2 and the concentrator 3. In addition, the communication processing unit 211 can communicate with the communication terminal 1. The communication performed by the communication processing unit 211 can be wired communication or wireless communication. The communication processing unit 211 includes a communication circuit for performing communication corresponding to the communication method. When the communication processing unit 211 performs wireless communication, the communication processing unit 211 includes an antenna.

[0067] The first control unit 212 controls the operation related to the automatic meter reading service of the amount of electricity used as the first service, that is, the operation as a general smart meter. Since the operation of the first control unit 212 is the same as the operation of a general SM, a detailed description is omitted. The second control unit 215 controls the operation related to the second service, that is, the operation as an access point that relays the communication between the communication terminal 1 and the gas automatic meter reading system 7.

[0068] The first control unit 212 and the second control unit 215 are implemented by, for example, a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is, for example, a CPU, an MPU, etc. The first control unit 212 and the second control unit 215 can be implemented by the same processing circuit, or can be implemented by different processing circuits. The storage unit 214 is used to store data used by the first control unit 212 and the second control unit 215 in processing. In addition, in the case where each function implemented by the first control unit 212 is provided as software, the storage unit 214 stores a first program for the first control unit 212 to perform each function, and the first program is executed by the first control unit 212. Similarly, in the case where each function implemented by the second control unit 215 is provided as software, the storage unit 214 stores a second program for the second control unit 215 to perform each function, and the second program is executed by the second control unit 215. The first program and the second program can be provided by a recording medium, or can also be provided by a communication medium. The first program and the second program can be installed on SM2 at the same time, or the second program can be installed on a general SM on which the first program is already installed, thereby achieving Figure 4 SM2 shown.

[0069] The connection device communication processing unit 213 receives the measurement result from the meter 202 and stores it in the storage unit 214. The measurement result stored in the storage unit 214 is read by the first control unit 212 and sent to the electric power automatic meter reading system 9 via the communication processing unit 211. If the communication unit 201 is a communication device, the plurality of communication devices constituting the communication system 11 can also be considered to be the communication units 201 of the plurality of SM2 constituting the communication system 11. Similarly, the plurality of communication devices constituting the communication system 21 can also be considered to be the communication units 201 of the plurality of SM2 constituting the communication system 21.

[0070] Next, the operation of this embodiment is described. In this embodiment, as described above, the communication terminal 1 communicates with the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the SM network, thereby realizing the gas automatic meter reading service as an example of the second service. In order to communicate with the gas automatic meter reading system 7 via the SM network, the communication terminal 1 first performs a joining process for joining the SM network.

[0071] The joining process includes, for example, a process of searching for an SM network to which the communication terminal 1 can connect and an authentication process. Generally speaking, in order to prevent illegal terminals from being connected to the SM network, identification information of the communication terminal 1 that is allowed to connect is registered in each SM network. In the following, the information for identifying the communication terminal 1 that is allowed to connect is registered in HES6, but is not limited to this, and may also be registered in SM2. The information for identifying the communication terminal 1 may be any information, but for example, a terminal identifier such as a MAC (Media Access Control) address may be used. In the joining process, the process of searching for an SM network to which the communication terminal 1 can connect is a process of searching for the SM network in which the communication terminal 1 itself is registered, specifically, a process of searching for SM2 that constitutes the SM network.

[0072] The process of searching for SM2 is performed, for example, according to the following steps. The control unit 102 of the communication terminal 1 sends a joining request to join the SM network by broadcasting via the wireless communication processing unit 101. If the second control unit 215 of SM2 receives the joining request from the communication terminal 1 via the communication processing unit 211, a registration confirmation is generated to confirm whether the communication terminal 1, which is the sending source of the joining request, has been registered, and the registration confirmation is sent to HES6 via the communication processing unit 211. In the registration confirmation, the identification information of the communication terminal 1 is stored. In the case where the identification information contained in the registration confirmation received from SM2 is the registered identification information, HES 6 sends a registration response indicating that it has been registered to SM2, the sending source of the registration confirmation. If SM2 receives a registration response indicating that it has been registered from HES6 via the communication processing unit 211, a joining response is sent to the communication terminal 1 by unicast. The joining response is received by the communication terminal 1, thereby completing the process of searching for SM2.

[0073] Next, the authentication process will be described. The authentication information used to perform the authentication process of the communication terminal 1 is also registered in the HES 6. Here, an example of the authentication process performed by HES6 is described, but an unillustrated authentication server that performs the authentication process of the communication terminal 1 may also be set up for each SM network different from the HES6. In addition, although the description is omitted, the authentication process is also performed on SM2, and the authentication process may be performed by HES6 or by an unillustrated authentication server. The authentication of SM2 is performed, for example, according to RFC (Request For Comments) 5191PANA (Protocol for carrying Authentication for Network Access), but the authentication steps are not limited to this. The authentication process of the communication terminal 1 may be performed according to the same steps as the authentication process of SM2, or may be performed according to different steps.

[0074] The above joining process is performed when the communication terminal 1 is set up, relocated, or when the setting is changed. If the joining process is successful, the communication terminal 1 transfers to the normal operation. On the other hand, there may be a case where the joining process fails. For example, in the process of SM search, that is, searching for the SM network to which the communication terminal 1 can connect, the search for SM2 sometimes fails. As the cause of the failure of the SM2 search, it can be considered that there is no SM2 belonging to the SM network to which the communication terminal 1 can connect around the communication terminal 1, there is SM2 belonging to the SM network to which the communication terminal 1 can connect around the communication terminal 1, but the communication environment is not good or SM2 has a fault. In addition, it can also be considered that the authentication process in the joining process fails, and as the cause, the communication environment is not good, and the authentication information related to the communication terminal 1 that requested the authentication process is not registered in the SM network. If the cause of the failure of one of the SM search and the authentication process is a temporary deterioration of the communication environment, it can be considered to solve this cause in a short time. On the other hand, in the case where there is no SM2 belonging to the SM network to which the communication terminal 1 can connect around the communication terminal 1, the cause of the failure of the joining process is generally not eliminated immediately, so if it is frequently activated and the joining process is performed, power consumption will be wasted.

[0075] Generally, it is unknown why the join process fails, but when the join process fails multiple times in succession, the possibility that it is not a temporary reason becomes high. Therefore, the communication terminal 1 of the present embodiment determines the SM re-search sleep time according to the number of times the join process fails in succession. In detail, the communication terminal 1 sets the SM re-search sleep time when the join process fails in succession for the second time to be longer than the SM re-search sleep time when the join process fails in succession for the first time, and sets the SM re-search sleep time when the join process fails in succession for more than three times to be longer than the SM re-search sleep time when the join process fails in succession for the second time.

[0076] Figure 5 1 is a flowchart showing an example of the joining process steps in the communication terminal 1 of the present embodiment. Figure 5 As shown, the control unit 102 of the communication terminal 1 initializes n indicating the number of times the join process is performed to 0 (step S1).

[0077] Next, the communication terminal 1 implements the SM search (step S2). In detail, the control unit 102 sends a joining request to join the SM network storing the identification information of the communication terminal 1 through broadcasting via the wireless communication processing unit 101. The joining request includes the identification information of the communication terminal 1. For example, the Enhanced Beacon Request frame in IEEE 802.15.4 can be used as the joining request, but the joining request is not limited to this. In addition, the SM2 that receives the joining request sends a registration confirmation to the HES6 to confirm whether the communication terminal 1 has been registered. When the communication terminal 1 has been registered, the HES6 sends a registration response indicating that it has been registered to the SM2. In addition, when the communication terminal 1 is not registered, the HES6 sends a registration response indicating that it has not been registered to the SM2. When the registration response indicates that the communication terminal 1 has been registered, the SM2 sends a joining response containing the identification information of the SM2 and the network identification information indicating the SM network to which the SM2 belongs to the communication terminal 1. When the registration response indicates that the communication terminal 1 has not been registered, the SM2 sends a response indicating that it has not been registered to the communication terminal 1. Furthermore, when a plurality of wireless frequencies (wireless channels) can be used, the communication terminal 1 may perform an SM search for each wireless frequency.

[0078] The communication terminal 1 determines whether the search in step S2 is successful (step S3). Specifically, the control unit 102 determines that the search is successful when receiving a join response including identification information of SM2 and network identification information indicating the SM network to which the SM2 belongs via the wireless communication processing unit 101. The control unit 102 determines that the search is unsuccessful when no response is received from SM2 within a certain period of time after sending the join request, and when the response received within a certain period of time after sending the join request is only a response indicating that the communication terminal 1 is not registered.

[0079] When the search is successful (step S3 "Yes"), the communication terminal 1 performs authentication processing (step S4). Specifically, the communication terminal 1 performs authentication processing according to the authentication procedure specified by PANA authentication, for example. The communication terminal 1 determines whether the authentication is successful (step S5). Specifically, the control unit 102 determines that the authentication is successful when a response indicating that the authentication is successful is received from SM2 via the wireless communication processing unit 101, and determines that the authentication is unsuccessful in other cases.

[0080] When the authentication is successful (step S5: Yes), the communication terminal 1 ends the joining process. When the joining process is ended, the communication terminal 1 performs a normal operation or other predetermined operations.

[0081] In the case of "No" in step S3 and in the case of "No" in step S5, the communication terminal 1 adds 1 to n (step S6), determines the SM re-search sleep time (step S7), and transitions to the sleep state (step S8). In detail, the control unit 102 adds 1 to n, stores the value of n in the storage unit 105, and notifies the state determination unit 111 and the sleep time determination unit 113 of the failure of the joining process. If the control unit 102 notifies the failure of the joining process, the state determination unit 111 causes the communication terminal 1 to transition to the sleep state. The sleep time determination unit 113 determines the SM re-search sleep time based on the value of n stored in the storage unit 105, that is, the number of times the joining process failed, and sets the determined SM re-search sleep time to the timer 112. The sleep time determination unit 113 determines the SM re-search sleep time corresponding to the value of n stored in the storage unit 105, for example, based on the re-search sleep time table stored in the storage unit 105.

[0082] After step S8, the communication terminal 1 determines whether the SM re-search sleep time has passed since the transition to the sleep state (step S9). If the SM re-search sleep time has not passed (step S9 "No"), step S9 is repeated. Specifically, the timer 112 determines whether the set SM re-search sleep time has passed. If the SM re-search sleep time has passed, that is, if the set SM re-search sleep time has expired, the communication terminal 1 notifies the state determination unit 111 of this fact. If the SM re-search sleep time has passed (step S9 "Yes"), the communication terminal 1 transitions to the active state (step S10) and repeats the processing from step S2. Specifically, if the state determination unit 111 receives a notification from the timer 112 that the SM re-search sleep time has passed, the communication terminal 1 transitions to the active state, and the control unit 102 that has entered the active state again implements the processing from step S2.

[0083] As described above, the power saving control method of the present embodiment includes a joining process step of performing joining process of joining the SM network with the SM network in the first state; and a sleep step of transferring to the sleep state when the joining process fails and continuing the sleep state during the sleep time. In addition, the power saving control method of the present embodiment includes a sleep time determination step of determining the sleep time after the joining process fails based on the number of times the joining process is repeated; and a start step of transferring the communication terminal to the first state after the sleep time has passed. In addition, the joining process step is executed again after the start step, and each time the joining process fails in the joining process step, the sleep step, the sleep time determination step, the start step, and the joining process step are executed again.

[0084] Figure 6 : is a diagram showing an example of a re-search schedule of the present embodiment. As described above, when the join process fails multiple times in succession, the possibility that the cause is not temporary becomes high, so in the present embodiment, if the number of consecutive join process failures increases, the re-search sleep time is lengthened. Figure 6 In the example shown, if the search or authentication fails in the first joining process, that is, the number of failed joining processes is 1, the SM re-search sleep time is 60 seconds. Thus, the installation engineer of the communication terminal 1 can immediately confirm the result of the second joining process on site, thereby making the work efficient.

[0085] In addition, Figure 6 In the example shown, if the search or authentication fails in the second joining process, the SM re-search sleep time is 30 minutes. Therefore, if the third joining process is successful, when the manager of the gas or water meter or various sensors as the second service sets the cycle of acquiring data from the device to be slightly longer than 30 minutes, the current meter value, measurement value, etc. can be sent before the next data is regularly acquired. For example, when the collection cycle of meter reading data of gas or water meter is 1 hour, the current meter reading data can be sent before the acquisition timing of the next meter reading data. In addition, the collection cycle of meter reading data is not limited to this example.

[0086] In addition, Figure 6In the example shown, in the case where the search or authentication fails in the joining process after the third time, that is, the third, fourth, fifth, ..., the SM re-search sleep time is 24 hours. Thus, if the joining process after the fourth time is successful, when the manager of the meter or various sensors of the gas or tap water meter as the second service sets the cycle of acquiring data from the device to 24 hours, the possibility of sending the current meter value, measurement value, etc. before the next data is regularly acquired can be increased. In the meter of gas or tap water, it can be assumed that the cycle of acquiring meter reading data varies depending on the operator. For example, the collection cycle is between about 1 hour and about 24 hours, and each operator may be different. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as described above, the SM re-search sleep time is set in two stages, namely, 30 minutes when the joining process fails for the second time and 24 hours when the joining process fails for the third time or later, so it is not necessary to change the SM re-search sleep time according to the operator. Therefore, for example, whether for an operator that sets the acquisition cycle of meter reading data to 1 hour or for an operator that sets the acquisition cycle of meter reading data to 24 hours, the power consumption of the communication terminal 1 can be reduced while preventing the loss of meter reading data as much as possible. That is, in this embodiment, it is possible to set an appropriate SM re-search sleep time according to the needs of the administrator while suppressing the consumption of the battery. In addition, in the SM network, the HES 6 confirms the connection related to the communication terminal 1 connected to the SM network in a cycle of about 1 day, for example. By setting the SM re-search sleep time to 24 hours when the search or authentication fails in the joining process after the third time, the possibility of performing the joining process before the next connection confirmation can be increased when the connection confirmation cycle of the HES 6 is 24 hours. In addition, the communication terminal 1 will not be transferred to the active state until the second day, so the power consumption can be suppressed.

[0087] In this way, Figure 6In the example shown, the re-search sleep schedule as the sleep schedule is a table in which information indicating the sleep time after the first join process fails, that is, the first sleep time, the sleep time after the join process fails for the second time, that is, the second sleep time, and the sleep time after the join process fails for the third time or later, that is, the third sleep time, are associated with the join process times. The second sleep time is longer than the first sleep time, and the third sleep time is longer than the second sleep time. The intermittent operation processing unit 104 uses the join process times and the re-search sleep schedule to determine the sleep time to be any one of the first sleep time, the second sleep time, and the third sleep time. By setting the second sleep time to be shorter than the data collection cycle in the second service such as the automatic meter reading service for gas and tap water, the possibility of performing the join process again and collecting data before the next data collection cycle can be increased. In addition, by making the first sleep time shorter than the time required for the setting operation of the assumed communication terminal 1, the setting operation can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, by making the third sleep time shorter than the cycle of the SM network confirming the connection status of the communication terminal 1, the possibility of completing the joining process before the next connection confirmation can be increased.

[0088] Automatic meter reading of electricity specifies the metering cycle of electricity to a certain extent. In contrast, monitoring and control services using meters such as gas and tap water and various sensors sometimes do not specify the collection cycle. Therefore, it is difficult to uniformly specify the SM re-search sleep time as the initial setting of the communication terminal 1 according to the collection cycle. In addition, it is also considered that the communication terminal 1 is generalized so that the communication terminal 1 can be used for any service. In this case, if the SM re-search sleep time is uniformly set, it may not meet the requirements corresponding to the service. In contrast, in this embodiment, if Figure 6 As shown, compared with the SM re-search sleep time when the search or authentication fails in the second joining process, the SM re-search sleep time in the case of search or authentication failure is made longer in the joining process after the third time. Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed while coping with services with a collection cycle slightly longer than 30 minutes.

[0089] in addition, Figure 6 The SM re-search sleep time shown is an example, and the specific value of the SM re-search sleep time is not limited to Figure 6 In addition, Figure 6 In the example shown, the SM re-search sleep time is determined in three stages, but it may be determined in two stages or in four or more stages. Figure 6In the example shown, when the number of failed join processes is less than 3 times, the SM re-search sleep time can be increased for each additional failed join process. However, the SM re-search sleep time can also be increased every time the number of failed join processes increases multiple times, so that the SM re-search sleep time is set to the same value when the number of failures is 1 and 2, and the SM re-search sleep time is increased when the number of failures is 3.

[0090] Figure 7 This is a sequence diagram for illustrating the setting of the SM re-search sleep time according to the present embodiment. First, when the communication terminal 1 is in the active state (step S11), the communication terminal 1 transmits a join request as a beacon signal by broadcasting (step S12). Figure 7 The example in which the SM2 belonging to the SM network in which the communication terminal 1 is registered does not exist near the communication terminal 1 and the communication terminal 1 fails in the SM search is shown. Since no joining response is received even after the prescribed time has passed, the communication terminal 1 sets the SM re-search sleep time corresponding to the number of failed joining processes, that is, the SM re-search sleep time #1, as the sleep time and transitions to the sleep state (step S13). The SM re-search sleep time #1 is set to Figure 6 In the example shown, this is 60 seconds.

[0091] If the SM re-search sleep time #1 has passed since the implementation of step S13, the communication terminal 1 is in an active state (step S14), and the joining request is again sent as a beacon signal by broadcasting (step S15). Since no joining response is received even after the prescribed time, the communication terminal 1 sets the SM re-search sleep time #2 corresponding to the number of failed joining processes, that is, the SM re-search sleep time #2, as the sleep time, and transitions to the sleep state (step S16). The SM re-search sleep time #2 is Figure 6 In the example shown, this is 30 minutes.

[0092] If the SM re-search sleep time #2 has passed since the implementation of step S16, the communication terminal 1 is in an activated state (step S17), and the joining request is again sent as a beacon signal by broadcasting (step S18). Since no joining response is received even after the prescribed time, the communication terminal 1 sets the SM re-search sleep time #3 corresponding to the number of failed joining processes less than 3 times as the sleep time, and transitions to the sleep state (step S19). The SM re-search sleep time #3 is Figure 6 In the example shown, this is 24 hours.

[0093] Thereafter, steps S20 and S21 are performed in the same manner as steps S17 and S18. Figure 7 In the figure, SM re-search sleep time #1 to #3 are not shown according to the length of the actual time, but schematically show that the SM re-search sleep time becomes longer as the number of failures increases. As described above, SM re-search sleep time #3 is, for example, 24 hours. If the main cause of the joining process failure is removed by newly setting SM2, the communication terminal 1 succeeds in the joining process and can perform normal operations thereafter.

[0094] As described above, in this embodiment, the communication terminal 1 determines the sleep time according to the number of failed join processes. Therefore, it is possible to set an appropriate sleep time while suppressing battery consumption.

[0095] The configuration described in the above embodiment is an example, and can be combined with other known technologies, the embodiments can be combined with each other, and part of the configuration can be omitted or changed within the scope of the gist.

[0096] Description of symbols

[0097] 1, 1-1 to 1-6, 1-10, 1-21, 1-22 communication terminals, 2, 2-1 to 2-13, 2-21, 2-22 SM, 7 gas automatic meter reading system, 10, 20, 30 first service system, 11, 21, 31 communication system, 40, 50 second service system, 70, 70-1 to 70-6, 70-10 gas meter, 71 communication processing unit, 72, 102 control unit, 73, 105, 214 storage unit, 74 measuring unit, 100 antenna, 101 wireless communication processing unit, 103, 213 connected device communication processing unit, 104 intermittent operation processing unit, 106 battery, 111 state determination unit, 112 timer, 113 sleep time determination unit, 201 communication unit, 202 meter, 211 communication processing unit, 212 first control unit, 215 second control unit.

Claims

1. A communication terminal that performs an intermittent operation of alternately repeating a first state and a second state in which power consumption is less than that of the first state, the communication terminal comprising: A battery for driving the communication terminal; a first communication processing unit capable of communicating with a second service system for providing a second service via a communication network constructed for the first service; a second communication processing unit capable of communicating with a connected device; a control unit that, in the first state, performs a joining process of joining the communication network with the communication network via the first communication processing unit, and repeats the joining process if the joining process fails; as well as an intermittent action processing unit, the intermittent action processing unit being used to make the communication terminal transfer to the second state if the joining process fails, determine the duration of the second state after the joining process fails, i.e., the sleep time, based on the number of times the joining process is repeated, and make the communication terminal transfer to the first state after the sleep time has elapsed, The intermittent operation processing unit determines the sleep time so that the sleep time is longer when the number of times the joining process is repeated is a second number greater than the first number, compared with the sleep time when the number of times the joining process is repeated is a first number.

2. The communication terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that The first service is an automatic meter reading service for electric power usage.

3. The communication terminal according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The second service is an automatic meter reading service for gas usage or an automatic meter reading service for water usage.

4. The communication terminal according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method comprises a storage unit which stores information indicating the sleep time after the first join process fails, that is, a first sleep time, the sleep time after the join process fails for the second time, that is, a second sleep time, and the sleep time after the join process fails for the third time or later, that is, a third sleep time, in correspondence with the join process times, as a sleep schedule. The intermittent operation processing unit determines the sleep time to be any one of the first sleep time, the second sleep time, and the third sleep time using the number of join processing times and the sleep schedule. The second sleep time is longer than the first sleep time, and the third sleep time is longer than the second sleep time.

5. The communication terminal according to claim 4, characterized in that The second sleep time is shorter than a data collection period in the second service.

6. The communication terminal according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first sleep time is shorter than a time assumed to be required for a setting operation of the communication terminal.

7. The communication terminal according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first sleep time is shorter than a time assumed to be required for a setting operation of the communication terminal.

8. The communication terminal according to claim 4, characterized in that: The third sleep time is shorter than a period in which the communication network checks the connection status of the communication terminal.

9. The communication terminal according to claim 5, characterized in that: The third sleep time is shorter than a period in which the communication network checks the connection status of the communication terminal.

10. The communication terminal according to claim 6, characterized in that The third sleep time is shorter than a period in which the communication network checks the connection status of the communication terminal.

11. A communication system, characterized in that: include: The communication network built for the first service; A second service system for providing a second service; as well as a plurality of communication terminals that perform intermittent operation of alternately repeating a first state and a second state that consumes less power than the first state, and that can communicate with the second service system via the communication network for providing the second service, The plurality of communication terminals respectively include: A battery for driving the communication terminal; a first communication processing unit capable of communicating with a second service system for providing a second service via a communication network constructed for the first service; a second communication processing unit capable of communicating with a connected device; a control unit that performs a joining process of joining the communication network via the first communication processing unit with the communication network in the first state, and repeats the joining process if the joining process fails; and an intermittent action processing unit, the intermittent action processing unit being used to make the communication terminal transfer to the second state if the joining process fails, determine the duration of the second state after the joining process fails, i.e., the sleep time, based on the number of times the joining process is repeated, and make the communication terminal transfer to the first state after the sleep time has elapsed, The intermittent operation processing unit determines the sleep time so that the sleep time is longer when the number of times the joining process is repeated is a second number greater than the first number, compared with the sleep time when the number of times the joining process is repeated is a first number.

12. A power saving control method, the power saving control method being executed by a communication terminal, the communication terminal performing an intermittent operation of alternately repeating a first state and a second state in which power consumption is less than that of the first state, the communication terminal comprising: a first communication processing unit capable of communicating with a second service system for providing a second service via a communication network constructed for the first service; and a second communication processing unit capable of communicating with a connected device, wherein the power saving control method comprises: A joining process step of performing a joining process of joining the communication network with the communication network in the first state; If the joining process fails, the state is transferred to the second state and the sleep step of the second state is continued during the sleep time; A sleep time determination step of determining the sleep time after the join process fails based on the number of times the join process is repeated; and a starting step of transferring the communication terminal to the first state after the sleep time has elapsed, After the start-up step, the join processing step is executed again, and whenever the join processing fails in the join processing step, the sleep step, the sleep time determination step, the start-up step and the join processing step are executed again, The intermittent operation processing unit determines the sleep time so that the sleep time is longer when the number of times the joining process is repeated is a second number greater than the first number, compared with the sleep time when the number of times the joining process is repeated is a first number.

13. A storage medium storing a program, characterized in that: The program causes a communication terminal to execute the following steps, wherein the communication terminal performs an intermittent operation of alternately repeating a first state and a second state in which power consumption is less than that of the first state, the communication terminal comprising: a first communication processing unit capable of communicating with a second service system for providing a second service via a communication network constructed for a first service; and a second communication processing unit capable of communicating with a connected device, A joining processing step of performing a joining process of joining the communication network via the first communication processing unit in the first state; If the joining process fails, the state is transferred to the second state and the sleep step of the second state is continued during the sleep time; A sleep time determination step of determining the sleep time after the join process fails based on the number of times the join process is repeated; and a starting step of transferring the communication terminal to the first state after the sleep time has elapsed, After the start-up step, the join processing step is executed again, and whenever the join processing fails in the join processing step, the sleep step, the sleep time determination step, the start-up step and the join processing step are executed again, The intermittent operation processing unit determines the sleep time so that the sleep time is longer when the number of times the joining process is repeated is a second number greater than the first number, compared with the sleep time when the number of times the joining process is repeated is a first number.

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