Wireless communication device

Abstract

To provide a wireless communication device capable of operating a heater while continuing wireless communication even when the amount of power supply is relatively small.SOLUTION: A wireless communication device 10 includes a wireless communication circuit unit housed in a housing, a heater, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature inside the housing, and a control unit. The control unit operates the wireless communication circuit unit in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced and turns on the heater, while the temperature detected by the temperature sensor satisfies a predetermined temperature condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wireless communication device. [Background technology]

[0002] Various electronic devices, including wireless communication devices such as wireless LAN access point devices, are composed of many electronic components. Each of these electronic components has a specified guaranteed operating temperature, and it is preferable to operate the electronic components within this guaranteed operating temperature.

[0003] However, when a wireless communication device or the like is installed in a cold region, the temperature inside the housing may fall below the guaranteed operating temperature of the parts used. In recent years, some products have been designed to incorporate a heater inside the housing, and when the temperature inside the housing falls below a specified temperature, the heater is used to raise the temperature inside the housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2012 / 124382 Brochure Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when trying to improve the wireless communication function of a wireless communication device, such as to accommodate recent wireless communication technology, the power consumption of the circuit for performing wireless communication increases, and depending on the power supply method, it may not be possible to supply power to operate the heater while performing wireless communication.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and one of its objects is to provide a wireless communication device that makes it possible to operate a heater while continuing wireless communication even when the amount of power supply is relatively small.

[0007] Patent document 1 discloses a technology in which, in a processing device having multiple functional blocks and multiple power receiving units, the total amount of received power supplied to the multiple power receiving units is periodically detected, total received power information representing the total amount of received power is obtained, and, based on this total received power information, the supply of the total received power supplied to the multiple power receiving units to the multiple functional blocks is selectively controlled. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention for solving the problems of the above-mentioned conventional examples is a wireless communication device including a wireless communication circuit unit housed in a housing, a heater, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature inside the housing, and a control unit, wherein the control unit operates the wireless communication circuit unit in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced and turns on the heater while the temperature detected by the temperature sensor satisfies a predetermined temperature condition.

[0009] According to this aspect of the present invention, when the heater is turned on, the wireless communication circuit unit is operated in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced, making it possible to operate the heater while continuing wireless communication even when the amount of power supply is relatively small.

[0010] Here, the control unit may operate the wireless communication circuit unit in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced and turn on the heater while a temperature condition is satisfied in which the temperature detected by the temperature sensor falls below a predetermined first temperature T1 and then falls below a second temperature T2 (where T2>T1).

[0011] In this example, when the heater is turned on while the temperature condition is satisfied that the temperature falls below the first temperature T1 and then falls below the second temperature T2, the wireless communication circuit unit is operated in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced, making it possible to operate the heater while continuing wireless communication even when the amount of power supply is relatively small.

[0012] In addition, when the power supply method satisfies a first power supply condition related to a predetermined power supply, the control unit may operate the wireless communication circuit unit in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced and turn on the heater while the temperature detected by a temperature sensor satisfies the predetermined temperature condition.

[0013] In this example, the power supply method causes the wireless communication circuit unit to operate in a low power consumption mode with reduced power consumption when the heater is turned on, making it possible to operate the heater while continuing wireless communication even when, for example, the amount of power supply is relatively small, depending on the power supply method.

[0014] Furthermore, when the power supply method satisfies a second power supply condition related to a predetermined power supply, the control unit may turn on the heater without operating the wireless communication circuit unit in the low power consumption mode while the temperature detected by the temperature sensor satisfies the predetermined temperature condition.

[0015] In this example, depending on the power supply method, when the heater is turned on, the wireless communication circuit unit is not operated in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced, and depending on the power supply method, for example, if the amount of power supply is relatively large, it is possible to operate the heater while continuing wireless communication even if the temperature conditions are satisfied.

[0016] The low power consumption mode may be a mode in which the ratio of the time during which wireless signals are transmitted to the time during which they are received is reduced.

[0017] The low power consumption mode may be a mode in which the number of antennas that transmit radio signals is controlled to be reduced.

[0018] Furthermore, the low power consumption mode may be a mode in which power is reduced and controlled at least when transmitting a wireless signal.

[0019] These methods can reduce the power consumption of the wireless communication circuit unit.

[0020] In addition, the temperature sensors may be arranged in multiple locations within the housing, and the control unit may estimate the temperature of a component included in the wireless communication circuit unit that has the highest guaranteed operating temperature based on the detection results of the temperature sensors, and the temperature condition may be that the estimated temperature falls below a temperature that is a predetermined temperature higher than the guaranteed operating temperature.

[0021] According to this example, the heater can be turned on as needed, and when the heater is turned on, the wireless communication circuit unit is operated in a low power consumption mode that reduces power consumption, making it possible to operate the heater while continuing wireless communication even when the amount of power supply is relatively small. Effect of the Invention

[0022] According to the present invention, even when the amount of power supply is relatively small, it is possible to operate the heater while continuing wireless communication. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of a control unit of the wireless communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the wireless communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating another operation example of the wireless communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A wireless communication device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a wired communication circuit unit 13, a wireless communication circuit unit 14, a sensor unit 15, a heater unit 16, and a power supply circuit unit 17, as shown in Fig. 1, and is housed in a housing 100.

[0025] The control unit 11 is a program-controlled device such as a CPU, and operates according to a program stored in the storage unit 12 to control each unit of the wireless communication device 10. In one example of the present embodiment, the control unit 11 not only executes the processing of a normal wireless communication device 10, but also executes the processing of operating the wireless communication circuit unit 14 in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced and turning on the heater of the heater unit 16 while the temperature detected by the temperature sensor included in the sensor unit 15 satisfies a predetermined temperature condition. The specific operation of the control unit 11 will be described later.

[0026] The storage unit 12 is a memory device, a disk device, or the like, and holds a program executed by the control unit 11. This program may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable and non-transitory recording medium, and may be stored in the storage unit 12. The storage unit 12 also operates as a work memory for the control unit 11.

[0027] The wired communication circuit unit 13 is a wired LAN interface, and is connected to the wired LAN to receive data arriving via the wired LAN and output the data to the control unit 11. Furthermore, the wired communication circuit unit 13 follows instructions input from the control unit 11 and sends out the specified data via the wired LAN.

[0028] The wireless communication circuit unit 14 is a wireless LAN interface, and generally includes a plurality of wireless communication modules 141a, b, c, etc., as illustrated in Fig. 1. In one example of the present embodiment, the wireless communication modules 141a, b, c, etc. are wireless LAN interfaces with different frequency bands and communication standards, for example: The wireless communication module 141a supports 2.4GHz (802.11b, etc.) The wireless communication module 141b supports 5GHz (802.11ac, etc.) The wireless communication module 141c supports 6GHz (Wi-Fi 6E, etc.) … In this way, wireless communication is performed using different frequency bands.

[0029] Furthermore, any of the wireless communication modules 141 (collectively referred to as such when there is no need to distinguish between them) may be equipped with two or more antennas and perform wireless communication via each antenna.

[0030] The sensor unit 15 includes at least one temperature sensor 151. This temperature sensor 151 is disposed inside the housing 100. This temperature sensor 151 may be disposed not only inside the housing 100 but also inside the control unit 11. Each temperature sensor 151 measures the environmental temperature of the place where it is disposed, and outputs information indicating the measured temperature to the control unit 11. The heater unit 16 is a film heater or the like, which is turned on according to an instruction input from the control unit 11, and heats the surroundings with power supplied from the power supply circuit unit 17.

[0031] The power supply circuit unit 17 is a power supply unit that receives power from an external source and supplies power to each unit of the wireless communication device 10 within the range of the power supplied. In an example of the present embodiment, the power supply circuit unit 17 receives power from a commercial AC power source or 802.3at or 802.3bt PoE (Power over Ethernet: 802.3at or 802.3bt). In this case, when power is supplied from a commercial AC power source or 802.3bt (maximum 71.3 W), even if the heater unit 16 is turned on, there is no effect on the power supply to other circuit units. However, when power is supplied from 802.3at (maximum 30 W), there may be a case where the power supply to all other circuit units is insufficient when the heater unit 16 is turned on.

[0032] Next, an operation of the control unit 11 of the wireless communication device 10 of the present embodiment will be described. The control unit 11 of the present embodiment executes a program stored in the storage unit 12 to realize a configuration that functionally includes an acquisition unit 21, a condition determination unit 22, a mode change unit 23, and a heater control unit 24, as exemplified in FIG.

[0033] The acquisition unit 21 repeatedly acquires information output by the temperature sensor 151 of the sensor unit 15 at predetermined intervals (for example, at regular intervals such as every 10 seconds). The condition determination unit 22 checks whether the information acquired by the acquisition unit 21 satisfies a predetermined condition (temperature condition related to temperature).

[0034] Here, the temperature condition may be that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 151 falls below a predetermined first temperature T1, and then falls below a second temperature T2 (where T2>T1).

[0035] Here, when there are multiple temperature sensors 151, the condition may be that after the temperature detected by any (or all) of the temperature sensors 151 falls below a predetermined first temperature T1, the temperature detected by that temperature sensor 151 falls below a second temperature T2 (where T2>T1), or the condition may be that after the temperature detected by a specific temperature sensor 151 falls below the predetermined first temperature T1, the temperature detected by that specific temperature sensor 151 falls below the second temperature T2 (where T2>T1).

[0036] Specifically, the condition determination unit 22 holds a variable (hereinafter referred to as a state storage variable) that is in the "No" state, which means that the condition is not satisfied at the start of processing (immediately after the wireless communication device 10 is powered on).

[0037] If the state storage variable is "No", the condition determination unit 22 checks whether the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 151 disposed at the specific position is lower than the predetermined first temperature T1. If the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 151 disposed at the specific position is lower than the predetermined first temperature T1, the condition determination unit 22 sets the state storage variable to "Yes", which means that the condition is satisfied.

[0038] On the other hand, when the state memory variable is not "No" (i.e., it is "Yes"), the condition determination unit 22 checks whether the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 151 arranged at the specific position exceeds a predetermined second temperature T2 (where T2 > T1). Here, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 151 arranged at the specific position exceeds the second temperature T2, the condition determination unit 22 sets the state memory variable to "No".

[0039] According to the determination result of the condition determination unit 22, while the temperature condition is satisfied (for example, while the above-mentioned state memory variable is "Yes"), the mode change unit 23 operates the wireless communication circuit unit 14 in a low power consumption mode with reduced power consumption, and instructs the heater control unit 24 to turn on the heater. Also, according to the determination result of the condition determination unit 22, when the temperature condition is not satisfied, the mode change unit 23 instructs the heater control unit 24 to turn off the heater, and operates the wireless communication circuit unit 14 in a normal mode without reducing power consumption.

[0040] Specifically, the low power consumption mode here may be a mode that reduces the ratio of the time for the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to perform wireless transmission to the time for reception. That is, the wireless communication circuit unit 14 in the present embodiment performs wireless signal transmission and reception in a time-division manner via communication channels within the frequency band for each frequency band. In the normal mode, the ratio of the time for wireless signal transmission to the time for wireless signal reception is 1:1. That is, the same-sized time slots are allocated for transmission and reception. However, in the low power consumption mode, the ratio R = ttx / trx of the time (total size of time slots) ttx for the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to perform wireless signal transmission to the time trx for wireless signal reception is set so that R < 1, that is, ttx < trx. Generally, since the power for wireless signal transmission is greater than the power for reception, power consumption can be reduced by controlling this ratio.

[0041] Further, the mode change unit 23 may control the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in the low power consumption mode only when the method of feeding power from the outside to the power feeding circuit unit 17 satisfies a predetermined condition related to power feeding. Specifically, the condition related to power feeding may be a condition that the power supply capacity of the method of feeding power from the outside is relatively low (hereinafter referred to as a first power feeding condition). Also, a condition that the power supply capacity of the method of feeding power from the outside does not satisfy the first power feeding condition is hereinafter referred to as a second power feeding condition.

[0042] For example, the first power supply condition may be a condition that the method of externally supplying power to the power supply circuit unit 17 is PoE. In this example, the mode change unit 23 operates the wireless communication circuit unit 14 in the low power consumption mode only when the method of externally supplying power to the power supply circuit unit 17 is PoE. Alternatively, the first power supply condition may be a condition that the method of externally supplying power to the power supply circuit unit 17 is 802.3at. In this case, the mode change unit 23 operates the wireless communication circuit unit 14 in the low power consumption mode only when the method of externally supplying power to the power supply circuit unit 17 is 802.3at.

[0043] In this example, when the above temperature condition is satisfied, mode change unit 23 checks the method of external power supply to power supply circuit unit 17 according to the determination result of condition determination unit 22. This check can be performed by a conventional method that has been widely used, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0044] Specifically, if the first power supply condition is that the method of externally supplying power to the power supply circuit unit 17 is 802.3at, the mode change unit 23 determines whether the method of externally supplying power to the power supply circuit unit 17 is 802.3at or not. If the method of externally supplying power to the power supply circuit unit 17 is 802.3at, the mode change unit 23 operates the wireless communication circuit unit 14 in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced, and instructs the heater control unit 24 to turn on the heater.

[0045] Also, under the first power supply condition of this example, if the external power supply method to the power supply circuit unit 17 is not power supply according to 802.3at, the mode change unit 23 instructs the heater control unit 24 to turn on the heater while keeping the wireless communication circuit unit 14 operating in the normal mode.

[0046] Furthermore, according to the determination result of the condition determination unit 22, when the above temperature condition is not satisfied, the mode change unit 23 of this example instructs the heater control unit 24 to turn off the heater, and controls the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in the normal mode if it is operating in the low power consumption mode.

[0047] The heater control unit 24 turns on or off the heater of the heater unit 16 according to the instruction input from the mode change unit 23.

[0048] [Operation] An example of the wireless communication device 10 of the present embodiment has the above configuration and operates as follows. It is assumed that the heater is off when the wireless communication device 10 of the present embodiment is powered on.

[0049] In the initial operation after the wireless communication device 10 is powered on, the control unit 11 of the wireless communication device 10 first acquires the temperature information output by the temperature sensor 151 of the sensor unit 15 as illustrated in FIG. 3 (S11). In the example here, when there are a plurality of temperature sensors 151, the control unit 11 selects the temperature sensor 151 (hereinafter referred to as temperature sensor 151N) that is arranged closest to the component PN with the highest minimum value of the operation guarantee temperature (TL when the operation guarantee temperature T satisfies TL < T < TH) within the wireless communication device 10 (this selection is artificially made during the manufacture of the wireless communication device 10), and assumes that the temperature represented by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N is the temperature of the component PN with the highest minimum value of the operation guarantee temperature.

[0050] The control unit 11 judges whether the temperature indicated by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N is lower than a predetermined first temperature T1 (S12), and when it judges that the temperature is lower (S12: Yes), it checks whether the power supply method from outside to the power supply circuit unit 17 is relatively low power (specifically, here, whether the power supply method is 802.3at or not) (S13). If the power supply method is 802.3at (S13: low power), the control unit 11 controls the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in a low power consumption mode with reduced power consumption (S14), and turns on the heater of the heater unit 16 (S15). On the other hand, in step S13, if the method of external power supply to the power supply circuit unit 17 is not 802.3at (S13: high power), the control unit 11 controls the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in the normal mode (S16), moves to step S15, and instructs the heater control unit 24 to turn on the heater.

[0051] Here, the first temperature T1 is assumed to be a temperature T1=TL+ΔT that is higher than the minimum temperature TL of the guaranteed operating temperature of the component PN by a predetermined temperature ΔT (ΔT>0).

[0052] Furthermore, when the control unit 11 determines in step S12 that the temperature indicated by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N is not lower than the predetermined first temperature T1 (S12: No), the control unit 11 controls the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in the normal mode (S17). At this time, the control unit 11 does not turn on the heater of the heater unit 16.

[0053] Then, the control unit 11 performs normal operations as the wireless communication device 10, such as transmitting information received from the wired LAN side via the wireless communication circuit unit 14, or transmitting information based on a signal wirelessly received by the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to the wired LAN side or other terminals, etc., via the wireless communication circuit unit 14, and also performs heater control operations as exemplified in FIG. 4.

[0054] The control unit 11, which controls the heater, repeatedly executes the following process at a predetermined timing. That is, the control unit 11 acquires temperature information output by the temperature sensor 151 of the sensor unit 15 (S21). As already mentioned, in this example, the temperature indicated by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N disposed closest to the component PN having the highest minimum guaranteed operating temperature is acquired.

[0055] The control unit 11 judges whether the temperature indicated by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N is lower than a predetermined first temperature T1 (S22). The first temperature T1 here may be a temperature T1=TL+ΔT that is higher than the minimum temperature TL of the guaranteed operating temperature of the part PN by a predetermined temperature ΔT (ΔT>0).

[0056] When the control unit 11 determines that the temperature indicated by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N is lower than the first predetermined temperature T1 (S22: Yes), it checks whether the power supply method from outside to the power supply circuit unit 17 is a relatively low power supply (whether the first power supply condition is satisfied) (specifically, here, whether the power supply method is 802.3at or not) (S23). If the power supply method is 802.3at (S23: low power), the control unit 11 controls the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced (S24).

[0057] Specifically, in step S24, if the wireless communication circuit unit 14 is already operating in the low power consumption mode, the control unit 11 leaves it as is. Also, in step S24, if the wireless communication circuit unit 14 is operating in a normal mode (a mode other than the low power consumption mode), the control unit 11 starts operation in the low power consumption mode.

[0058] Then, the control unit 11 turns on the heater of the heater unit 16 (S25). On the other hand, in step S23, if the method of feeding power from outside to the power feeding circuit unit 17 is not 802.3at (S23: high power, i.e., if the second power feeding condition is satisfied), the control unit 11 controls the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in the normal mode (S26).

[0059] In step S26, if the wireless communication circuit unit 14 is operating in the low power consumption mode, the control unit 11 controls the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in the normal mode (a mode other than the low power consumption mode). Also, in step S26, if the wireless communication circuit unit 14 is already operating in the normal mode, the control unit 11 leaves the operation as it is.

[0060] Then, the control unit 11 proceeds to step S25, and instructs the heater control unit 24 to turn on the heater.

[0061] Furthermore, if the control unit 11 determines in step S22 that the temperature indicated by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N is not below a predetermined first temperature T1 (S22: No), it determines whether the heater is on (S31), and if it is on (S31: Yes), it determines whether the temperature indicated by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N is above a predetermined second temperature T2 (S32). Here, the second temperature T2 is a temperature higher than the first temperature T1 by a predetermined temperature Td: T2=T1+Td (where Td≧0 and may be determined experimentally).

[0062] Here, when it is determined that the temperature indicated by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N exceeds the predetermined second temperature T2 (S32: Yes), the control unit 11 instructs the heater control unit 24 to turn off the heater (S33). Then, the control unit 11 controls the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in the normal mode (S34). This step S34 is similar to the operation in step S26, and if the wireless communication circuit unit 14 is operating in the low power consumption mode, the control unit 11 controls the wireless communication circuit unit 14 to operate in the normal mode (a mode other than the low power consumption mode) and returns to step S21 to continue the process. Also, in this step S34, if the wireless communication circuit unit 14 is already operating in the normal mode, the control unit 11 leaves the operation as it is and returns to step S21 to continue the process.

[0063] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S32 that the temperature indicated by the information output by the temperature sensor 151N does not exceed the predetermined second temperature T2 (S32: No), the control unit 11 returns to step S21 and continues the process.

[0064] If the heater is off in step S31 (S31: No), the control unit 11 returns to step S21 and continues the process.

[0065] [Another example of low power control] In the explanation so far, the method of operating the wireless communication circuit unit 14 in the low power consumption mode has been described as reducing the ratio of the time spent receiving to the time spent transmitting wireless signals (shortening the time spent transmitting), but in this embodiment, the method of operating the wireless communication circuit unit 14 in the low power consumption mode is not limited to this method.

[0066] For example, the wireless communication circuit unit 14 can be operated in the low power consumption mode by (1) Reducing the ratio of the time spent receiving radio signals to the time spent sending them, (2) Reducing and controlling the number of antennas that transmit wireless signals; (3) reducing and controlling the power at least when transmitting a wireless signal; (4) Stopping the operation of the wireless chip; Such a method may also be adopted.

[0067] The example of (2) takes advantage of the fact that the power used for transmission can be reduced by reducing the number of transmitting antennas. For example, if in normal mode four antennas are used for transmission and four antennas are used for reception (4x4), in low power consumption mode the power supply to at least two transmitting antennas is cut (it is also possible to control so that two receiving antennas are not used at the same time), changing to 2x2.

[0068] Moreover, the example of (3) reduces the transmission power more directly. When the transmission power in the wireless communication circuit unit 14 can be directly controlled, a transmission power reduced from the power Pw in the normal mode is used, for example, by setting the power in the low power consumption mode to α×Pw (coefficient 0<α<1) compared to the power Pw in the normal mode.

[0069] Furthermore, in the example of (4), for example, the wireless communication circuit unit 14 is The wireless communication module 141a supports 2.4GHz (802.11b, etc.) The wireless communication module 141b supports 5GHz (802.11ac, etc.) The wireless communication module 141c supports 6GHz (Wi-Fi 6E, etc.) … When the system is equipped with multiple wireless communication modules 141a, b, c... corresponding to each frequency band such as those described above, the power supply to all but one of the wireless communication modules 141 is cut off. For example, one possible method is to use the wireless communication modules 141a, b, c in the normal mode, and cut off the power supply to the wireless communication module 141c in the low power consumption mode.

[0070] In addition, which wireless communication module 141 to cut off the power supply to may be determined based on the power consumption of each wireless communication module 141 and the usage status of the wireless communication module 141, such as the number of users performing wireless communication via each wireless communication module 141.

[0071] [Temperature estimation] In the description of this embodiment up to this point, when there are multiple temperature sensors 151, the control unit 11 acquires the temperature based on the information output by the temperature sensor 151 that is located closest to the component PN having the highest minimum guaranteed operating temperature, but this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0072] For example, in the processes in steps S11, S12, S21, and S22, the control unit 11 may acquire the output of the temperature sensor 151 (which may be multiple or single) and estimate the environmental temperatures τ1, τ2, ... of the components PN1, PN2 ... whose minimum guaranteed operating temperatures are relatively high based on the acquired information. In this example, the control unit 11 judges whether any of the estimated environmental temperatures is below a predetermined first temperature T1. When the control unit 11 judges that any of the environmental temperatures is below the predetermined first temperature T1, it performs control such as putting the wireless communication circuit unit 14 into a low power consumption mode or turning on the heater (depending on the conditions of the power supply method, etc.).

[0073] In addition, a method for estimating the environmental temperatures τ1, τ2, ... of the components PN1, PN2 ... having a relatively high minimum guaranteed operating temperature may use a machine learning model that has machine-learned the relationship between the output of the temperature sensor 151 during experimental operation and the values ​​obtained by measuring each actual environmental temperature, or it may be a method of estimation based on a predetermined formula, etc.

[0074] [Variations] In the above explanation, the second temperature T2 related to the condition for turning off the heater is not dependent on the power supply method, but it may be changed depending on whether the power supply method satisfies the first or second power supply condition. For example, the second temperature T2 may be different when power is supplied from a power supply method that satisfies the second power supply condition, such as a commercial power source, and when power is supplied from a power supply method that satisfies the first power supply condition, such as 802.3at.

[0075] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the usage status for each hour can be estimated from the usage status history, the second temperature T2 may be varied depending on whether or not it is a time period with low usage. For example, if there is a time period with low usage, such as at night, the second temperature T2 during that time period may be controlled to be higher than the second temperature T2 during other time periods. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 10 wireless communication device, 11 control unit, 12 storage unit, 13 wired communication circuit unit, 14 wireless communication circuit unit, 15 sensor unit, 16 heater unit, 17 power supply circuit unit, 21 acquisition unit, 22 condition determination unit, 23 mode change unit, 24 heater control unit, 100 housing, 141 wireless communication module, 151 temperature sensor.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device including a wireless communication circuit unit housed in a housing, a heater, a temperature sensor that detects a temperature inside the housing, and a control unit, The control unit operates the wireless communication circuit unit in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced and turns on the heater while the temperature detected by a temperature sensor satisfies a predetermined temperature condition.

2. 2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, The control unit of the wireless communication device operates the wireless communication circuit unit in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced, and turns on the heater, while satisfying a temperature condition that the temperature detected by the temperature sensor falls below a predetermined first temperature T1 and then falls below a second temperature T2 (where T2 > T1).

3. 2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, The control unit, when the power supply method satisfies a first power supply condition related to a predetermined power supply, operates the wireless communication circuit unit in a low power consumption mode in which power consumption is reduced and turns on the heater while the temperature detected by a temperature sensor satisfies a predetermined temperature condition.

4. 2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, When the power supply method satisfies a second power supply condition related to a predetermined power supply, the control unit turns on the heater without operating the wireless communication circuit unit in the low power consumption mode while the temperature detected by the temperature sensor satisfies the predetermined temperature condition.

5. 5. A wireless communication device according to claim 1, The wireless communication device, wherein the low power consumption mode is a mode in which the ratio of the time for transmitting wireless signals to the time for receiving wireless signals is reduced.

6. 5. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, The wireless communication device, wherein the low power consumption mode is a mode in which the number of antennas that transmit wireless signals is reduced.

7. 5. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, The low power consumption mode is a mode of the wireless communication device in which power is reduced and controlled at least when transmitting a wireless signal.

8. 2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, A plurality of the temperature sensors are arranged in the housing, A wireless communication device in which the control unit estimates the temperature of a component included in the wireless communication circuit unit that has the highest guaranteed operating temperature based on the detection result of the temperature sensor, and the temperature condition is that the estimated temperature falls below a temperature that is a predetermined temperature higher than the guaranteed operating temperature.

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