Communication system and communication method in communication system

Abstract

To provide a communication system that can perform communication without data loss, thereby saving power.SOLUTION: A communication system comprises: a receiving device that is provided with single unit receiving processing execution means and single day receiving processing execution means; and a plurality of transmission devices that transmits data at an interval of T seconds. When the single unit receiving processing execution means performs receiving processing for the duration of T×a seconds, while the plurality of transmission devices transmits data for the duration of T×a seconds, the time for a data waiting period and the time for a pause period are determined according to the probability of data that can be received by the receiving device to all of transmitted data, and these times are set.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system and a communication method in a communication system. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, a communication system based on the Internet of Things (IoT) is usually powered by a battery such as a dry cell, etc. Therefore, when not actually communicating, the system is in a sleep state to reduce power consumption.

[0003] However, in a system in which multiple transmitting devices and one receiving device perform data communication, if these transmitting devices and receiving devices go into sleep mode separately, the transmitted data may not be received, and the system cannot be operated properly. Therefore, there is a demand for a system that can communicate without data loss while saving power.

[0004] Furthermore, power supply-related maintenance such as battery replacement is typically performed randomly for multiple transmitting devices and one receiving device, which increases the time and cost required for maintenance.

[0005] Patent document 1 discloses a power saving processing method that reduces the transition time and extends the power saving operation time in a master communication terminal that simultaneously establishes multiple communication links with multiple slave communication terminals.

[0006] In this power saving processing method, when a power saving operation is performed in multiple slave communication terminals that have established asynchronous communication links with a master communication terminal, the master communication terminal sets the communication start time and communication duration of each communication link so that the communication cycles of each communication link are all the same and each communication slot used for the communication link is a continuous range. The master communication terminal negotiates with the multiple slave communication terminals in accordance with the settings. The master communication terminal then performs its own power saving operation during the period of unused slots that have been grouped together into a single range by the above settings.

[0007] Patent Document 2 discloses a wireless communication device and a wireless communication system that reduce power consumption. This invention is a wireless communication system that includes a parent device and a child device and forms a multi-hop network. The wireless communication device operates as a parent device or a child device, transitions to a sleep state when data transmission / reception is completed, and when no transmission data is generated, temporarily releases the sleep state every time a certain period of time elapses and determines whether to transition back to the sleep state. The wireless communication device includes a relay table management unit that registers the number of hops to the parent device and the number of subordinate devices that indicates the number of subordinate wireless communication devices that communicate with the parent device via the device, and an intermittent cycle determination unit that determines an intermittent cycle, which is a certain period of time, based on the number of hops and the number of subordinate devices.

[0008] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 discloses an invention for reducing the cost of replacing batteries in wireless terminals. A wireless control device of this invention selects a first wireless terminal having a short remaining battery life based on battery information of each wireless terminal, and if the first wireless terminal is selected, selects a second wireless terminal having a long remaining battery life, and instructs the wireless base station and the first and second wireless terminals to change the communication path between the first wireless terminal and the wireless base station to a communication path for communication between the first wireless terminal and the wireless base station via the second wireless terminal, and to connect the first and second wireless terminals by the second communication function.

[0009] The first wireless terminal transmits uplink data to a second wireless terminal using a second communication function, and the second wireless terminal transmits the uplink data to a wireless base station using a first communication function. The second wireless terminal receives downlink data to be transmitted to the first wireless terminal from the wireless base station using the first communication function, and transmits the downlink data to the first wireless terminal using the second communication function. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0010] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-152268 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2014-183470 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2020-145532 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0011] As described above, although inventions have been made from the viewpoint of power saving, a communication system that is improved in two ways, that is, capable of communication without data loss while also saving power, has not yet been provided.

[0012] An object of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a communication system that is capable of communication without data loss and that consumes less power. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The communication system according to the present embodiment is a communication system including a receiving device having a single-unit reception processing execution means for executing reception processing in which a reception processing period consisting of a data waiting period in an operating state waiting for incoming data and a pause period in a non-operating state is repeated n times to form one unit reception processing period, and a single-day reception processing execution means for repeatedly executing the single unit reception processing period m times per day, and a plurality of transmitting devices having a data transmission interval of T seconds, When the multiple transmitting devices transmit data for T×a seconds, the duration of the data waiting period and the duration of the idle period are determined and set according to the probability of data being receivable by the receiving device relative to all transmitted data when the receiving process is performed by the single-unit receiving process execution means for T×a seconds.

[0014] In the communication system of this embodiment, the receiving device and the multiple transmitting devices are powered by a battery, and the number of times that the data waiting period lasts is determined and the interval for the transmitting device is determined so that the operating times of the receiving device and the multiple transmitting devices powered by this battery are the same.

[0015] A communication method in a communication system according to this embodiment is a communication method in a communication system including a receiving device having a single-unit reception processing execution means that executes reception processing by repeating n times, as one unit reception processing period, a reception processing period being a combination of a data waiting period in which data is waiting to arrive while in operation and a pause period in which data is paused while in a non-operating state, and a single-day reception processing execution means that repeatedly executes the single unit reception processing period m times a day, and a plurality of transmitting devices having a data transmission interval of T seconds, When the plurality of transmitting devices transmit data for T×a seconds, and the receiving process is performed by the single-unit receiving process execution means for T×a seconds, the data waiting period and the idle period are determined according to the probability of data being receivable by the receiving device relative to all transmitted data, and these periods are set to perform communication.

[0016] In a communication method in the communication system of this embodiment, the receiving device and the multiple transmitting devices are powered by batteries, and the number of times that will be the data waiting period is determined so that the operating times of the receiving device and the multiple transmitting devices powered by the batteries are the same, an interval for the transmitting device is determined, and communication is performed using these determined parameters. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a transmission device used in the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a receiving device used in the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 4 is a timing chart showing an operation of a transmitting device used in the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 4 is a timing chart showing an operation of a receiving device used in the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 4 is a timing chart showing an operation of a receiving device used in the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram showing the probability of receiving data sent from a transmitting device when receiving according to a receiving method of a receiving device used in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] A diagram in which the horizontal axis indicates the interval of the transmitting device, which corresponds to the operating time of the receiving device and the transmitting device used in the communication system of an embodiment of the present invention, and the time obtained by multiplying the data waiting period (C8) of the transmitting device by the number of repetitions (X2=n) in one unit receiving processing period. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, a communication system and a communication method in the communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, the same components are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. For example, the communication system according to the embodiment of the present invention can adopt a configuration as shown in Fig. 1. That is, the communication system includes a plurality of transmitting devices S and a repeater C that receives data from these transmitting devices S.

[0019] The repeater C shown here has a function of a receiving device R that receives data from a transmitting device S, and a function of a transmitting device S that transmits the received data to another repeater C or a gateway GW. The gateway GW is connected to the repeater C and is also connected to a cloud CL.

[0020] For example, LPWA (LOW POWER WIDE AREA) network technology is used for communication between the repeaters C and C and between the repeater C and the gateway GW, and for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) technology is used for communication between the repeater C and the transmitting device S. The repeater C and the transmitting device S are assumed to be powered by a battery. In this specification, the battery includes both rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries.

[0021] As described above, the repeater C has the functions of the receiving device R and the transmitting device S, but in this embodiment, the repeater C will be described as having the functions of only the receiving device R. The multiple transmitting devices S have the configuration shown in FIG.

[0022] That is, the transmitting device S includes a central control unit 100 that is composed of a CPU, which is the core part of a computer, a main memory, etc. To the central control unit 100, for example, a sensor 101 for acquiring data is connected, and also a display device 102 and an input device 103 are connected. The display device 102 is used to perform necessary displays, and the input device 103 is used to input necessary commands and data.

[0023] A communication control unit 104 is connected to the central control unit 100, and a wireless transmission / reception unit 105 is connected to the communication control unit 104. Data captured by the sensor 101 is sent from the central control unit 100 to the communication control unit 104 for transmission, where it is converted into data in a required format and sent to the wireless transmission / reception unit 105. The wireless transmission / reception unit 105 converts the received data into a transmission signal in a specified format and transmits it via wireless communication.

[0024] The receiving device R of this embodiment is configured as shown in Fig. 3. In the receiving device R, the signal transmitted from the transmitting device S as described above is received by the radio transmitting / receiving unit 201 and converted into a baseband signal. The received baseband signal is sent to the communication control unit 202, where it is converted into data in a format usable within the receiving device R and then sent to the central control unit 200.

[0025] A display device 203 and an external transmission IF (interface) 204 are connected to the central control unit 200. The central control unit 200 can send received data to the display device 203 to display it in a predetermined format, and can also send the received data to a transmitting device S via the external transmission IF 204 and transmit it to the next repeater C, gateway GW, etc. Furthermore, an input device 205 is connected to the central control unit 200, and necessary commands and data can be input from the input device 205.

[0026] In the communication system according to this embodiment, the transmitting device S has a data transmission interval of T seconds from the viewpoint of power saving, as shown in Fig. 3, and the transmission processing period during which data is transmitted while the power is ON and in operation is as shown in Fig. 3. The interval of T seconds and the value (time) of the transmission processing period are inputted from the input device 103 and set in the central control unit 100.

[0027] In the communication system according to this embodiment, the receiving device R is provided with a one-unit reception processing execution means 211 (FIG. 3) that executes reception processing to set one unit reception processing period as one reception processing period, which is a combination of a data waiting period in which the receiving device is in operation and waiting for incoming data, and a pause period in which the receiving device is in a non-operating state, as shown in FIG. 4 from the viewpoint of power saving. The receiving device R is also provided with a one-day reception processing execution means 212 that executes the one-unit reception processing period m times a day (FIG. 3). Various parameters used by the one-unit reception processing execution means 211 and the one-day reception processing execution means 212 can be input from the input device 205.

[0028] If the data waiting period of the receiving device R is 100 milliseconds and the idle period is 500 milliseconds, the receiving processing period is 600 seconds. In this case, if the interval T is 2 seconds, and T is repeated three times (2×3=6), the receiving processing period can be repeated 10 times. When the receiving process by the one-unit receiving processing period executing means 211 is performed for 6 (T×a) seconds, the probability of data that can be received by the receiving device R for all transmitted data is calculated.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 7, if one section represents every 100 milliseconds, the data waiting period is hatched upward to the right, the idle period is shown in white, and one horizontal row is 2 seconds, then 6 seconds can be represented by three rows. In other words, in FIG. 7, when 100 milliseconds of reception is performed by repeating once every 600 milliseconds with 2 seconds as one unit, the total number of times that reception can be performed is the number of sections hatched upward to the right. In this example, as shown in the "Total" column, reception is possible in 11 of 20 sections, and it is shown that data from multiple transmitting devices S can be received with a probability of 55%. In this embodiment, the above parameters are set so that this probability is a desired value. When this probability is set to 100%, communication is possible without any data loss, but the probability is set to a desired value due to the convenience of system design. Therefore, as shown in the above, a probability of 50% or more can be preferable.

[0030] As described above, this embodiment is provided with a configuration for achieving power saving, but further power saving will be considered. (1) The operating time of one transmitting device S can be calculated from the battery capacity (C1) of the transmitting device S. Operating time (days) = C1 / daily current consumption (Formula 1) The current consumption amount of one transmitting device S in one day is the fixed amount of standby current amount (C2) in one day plus the increase due to transmission. Daily current consumption = C2 + [transmission current / day] (Formula 2) The amount of transmission current of one transmitting device S is equal to the amount of current consumed in one transmission (C3) multiplied by the number of transmissions per day. [Transmission current amount / day] = C3 × [Transmission number / day] (Equation 3) The number of transmissions can be calculated from the time of day (C4) and the transmission interval (X1) as follows: [Number of transmissions / day]=C4 / X1 (Equation 4) According to Equations 1 to 4 Operating time (days) = C1 / (C2+(C3×(C4 / X1))) (Equation 5) From Equation 5, we can see that the larger X1 is, the longer the operating time is. The transmission interval (X1) is nothing but the interval T seconds.

[0031] (2) On the other hand, the operating time of the receiving device R can be calculated from the battery capacity (C5) of the receiving device R. Operating time (days) = C5 / daily current consumption (Equation 6) In addition to the fixed amount of power consumed by the receiving device R (C6), the amount of power consumed when the receiving device R is in an operating state for receiving data is added. Daily current consumption = C6 + [received power amount during operation / day] (Formula 7) The receiving device R receives data from the multiple transmitting devices S in an independent cycle, and performs one unit reception processing period a fixed number of times (C7=m) per day. As described above, one unit reception processing period is realized by repeating the data waiting period (C8) in which data arrives in the operating state (X2=n) times. [Data reception power amount / day]=C7×(C8×X2) (Equation 8) According to Equations 6 to 8, Operating time (days) = C5 / (C6+(C7×(C8×X2))) (Equation 9) From this formula 9, we can see that the smaller X2 is, the longer the operating time will be.

[0032] From the above, it is necessary that formula (5) and formula (9) are equal. In this case, C1, C2, and C4 in formula (5) are fixed values, and C5, C6, and C7 in formula (9) are fixed values. Therefore, the best operating time is the point (time) where the curves, which show the interval time T and the time obtained by multiplying the data waiting period (C8) by the number of repetitions (X2=n) in one unit reception processing period on the horizontal axis and the operating time on the vertical axis, intersect as shown in Figure 8.

[0033] In this embodiment, the receiving device R and the multiple transmitting devices S are driven by batteries. Therefore, a configuration is adopted in which the number of data waiting periods and the interval of the transmitting device S are determined so that the operating times of the receiving device R and the multiple transmitting devices S driven by the batteries match, and communication is performed using these determined parameters.

[0034] With this configuration, even in a communication system that combines devices made by multiple companies, it is expected that the battery replacement period can be adjusted to a certain range, thereby significantly reducing maintenance costs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] C Repeater CL Cloud GW Gateway R Receiver S Transmitter 100 Central Control Unit 101 Sensors 102 Display device 103 Input Device 104 Communication control section 105 Radio transmitter / receiver 200 Central Control Unit 201 Radio transmitter / receiver 202 Communication control section 203 Display device 204 External sending IF 205 Input Device 211 1 unit receiving process execution means 212 1-day reception processing execution means

Claims

1. a single-unit reception processing execution means for executing a reception processing period, which is a combination of a data waiting period in which the data is waiting for incoming data while in an operating state and a pause period in which the data is paused while in a non-operating state, and repeating the reception processing period n times to form one unit reception processing period; a one-day reception processing execution means for repeatedly executing the one-unit reception processing period m times per day; A receiving device comprising: A plurality of transmitting devices having a data transmission interval of T seconds; In a communication system comprising: A communication system characterized in that, when the plurality of transmitting devices transmit data for T×a seconds, the duration of the data waiting period and the duration of the idle period are determined and set in accordance with the probability of data being able to be received by the receiving device relative to all transmitted data when the receiving process is performed by the single-unit receiving process execution means for T×a seconds.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, characterized in that the receiving device and the multiple transmitting devices are powered by a battery, and the number of data waiting periods and the interval of the transmitting device are determined so that the operating times of the receiving device and the multiple transmitting devices powered by the battery are the same.

3. a single-unit reception processing execution means for executing a reception processing period, which is a combination of a data waiting period in which the data is waiting for incoming data while in an operating state and a pause period in which the data is paused while in a non-operating state, and repeating the reception processing period n times to form one unit reception processing period; a one-day reception processing execution means for repeatedly executing the one-unit reception processing period m times per day; A receiving device comprising: A plurality of transmitting devices having a data transmission interval of T seconds; A communication method in a communication system comprising: A communication method in a communication system, characterized in that when the plurality of transmitting devices transmit data for T×a seconds, and the receiving process is performed by the one-unit receiving process executing means for T×a seconds, the duration of the data waiting period and the duration of the idle period are determined in accordance with the probability of data being receivable by the receiving device relative to all transmitted data, and these durations are set to perform communication.

4. The receiving device and the plurality of transmitting devices are driven by a battery, A communication method in a communication system according to claim 3, characterized in that the number of data waiting periods and the interval of the transmitting device are determined so that the operating times of the receiving device and the multiple transmitting devices using the battery are the same, and communication is performed using these determined parameters.

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