Communication device and communication confirmation method

Abstract

To provide a communication device that allows flexible use.SOLUTION: A communication device (10) includes, in a communication device housing (11), a wireless board (12) for wireless communication with a sensor (1) and a gateway board (14) for wireless network connection. The wireless board and the gateway board are connected to each other within the communication device housing by a USB cable (13a).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device and a communication confirmation method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, communication devices for transmitting data sensed by a sensor to an external network have been known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a recorder including an Ethernet (registered trademark) switch for transmitting information related to data collected from a field device to an external terminal device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-90412 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In general, the above-mentioned communication devices are connected by a cable between a wireless base station wirelessly connected to a sensor and a gateway that transmits data from the wireless base station to an external network via carrier communication. However, this configuration requires a specific cable to connect the wireless base station and the gateway, which requires an engineer with specialized knowledge to implement the communication device. Another problem is that there are restrictions on where the wireless base station and the cable can be installed.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that allows flexible use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the communication device of aspect 1 of the present invention includes, within the communication device housing, a wireless board unit that communicates wirelessly with a sensor and a gateway board unit that connects to a wireless network, and the wireless board unit and the gateway board unit are connected to each other by a USB cable within the communication device housing.

[0007] In a communication device according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned first aspect, the USB cable may be provided in the wireless board unit and detachable from the gateway board unit.

[0008] In a communication device according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the wireless board unit may have a USB connector for connecting the USB cable.

[0009] In a communication device according to aspect 4 of the present invention, in aspect 2 above, the wireless board unit may be stored in an internal housing, the USB cable may be pulled out from the internal housing, and the internal housing may be stored within the communication device housing.

[0010] In a communication device according to aspect 5 of the present invention, in aspects 1 to 4 above, the wireless board unit may acquire data sensed by the sensor and output the data to the gateway board unit via the USB cable, and the gateway board unit may transmit the data to a server via a wireless network.

[0011] In order to solve the above problem, a communication confirmation method according to aspect 6 of the present invention is a communication confirmation method for a communication device described in aspects 1 to 5 above, in which an information processing terminal is connected to the wireless board unit via a USB cable, and the information processing terminal confirms whether the wireless board unit is able to acquire data from the sensor.

[0012] In order to solve the above problems, a communication system according to a seventh aspect of the present invention includes a sensor, the communication device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, and a server. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, a communication device that allows for flexible use can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a communication system according to a reference embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a communication system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the communication system when confirming communication between communication devices. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] [Reference form] Prior to describing the communication system 100 according to the first embodiment, a communication system 100A will be described as a reference embodiment. For convenience of description, in the following embodiments, components having the same functions as those described in the reference embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0016] (Schematic configuration of communication system 100A) Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a general configuration of a communication system 100A according to a reference embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system 100A includes a plurality of sensors 1, a wireless master device 2, an IoT gateway 3, and a cloud server 4 (server). The communication system 100A is a system that collects data sensed by the plurality of sensors 1 and transmits the data to the cloud server 4, thereby enabling monitoring of the data.

[0017] The sensor 1 is an environmental sensor that measures predetermined environmental parameters corresponding to each device that is a monitoring target of the communication system 100 A. The sensor 1 is provided, for example, in a distribution board that is a power receiving and transforming facility, and detects abnormal heating in the distribution board.

[0018] The wireless master device 2 is connected to the plurality of sensors 1 by wire and / or wirelessly. The wireless master device 2 communicates with the plurality of sensors 1 and acquires measurement data sensed by each sensor 1.

[0019] The IoT gateway 3 is a device that transmits measurement data acquired by the wireless master device 2 to the cloud server 4. The IoT gateway 3 acquires the measurement data from the wireless master device 2 via a designated cable that connects the wireless master device 2 and the IoT gateway 3. The IoT gateway 3 also transmits the measurement data to the cloud server 4 via a communication network. The IoT gateway 3 is connected to the cloud server 4 by, for example, LTE (Long Term Evolution) communication.

[0020] The cloud server 4 stores the measurement data transmitted from the IoT gateway 3. The measurement data stored in the cloud server 4 is monitored by, for example, an information processing device connected to the cloud server 4 via a communication network.

[0021] [Embodiment 1] (Schematic configuration of communication system 100) Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a communication system 100 according to embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the communication system 100 differs from the communication system 100A according to the reference embodiment in that the communication system 100 includes a communication device 10 instead of the wireless master device 2 and the IoT gateway 3.

[0022] The communication device 10 includes a communication device housing 11, a radio board 12 (radio board portion), a sub-board 13 (radio board portion), and a gateway board 14 (gateway board portion). The communication device housing 11 houses the radio board 12, the sub-board 13, and the gateway board 14 in a hermetically sealed manner.

[0023] The wireless board 12 communicates wirelessly with the sensor 1. The wireless board 12 acquires measurement data sensed by the sensor 1 from the sensor 1. The wireless board 12 includes a wireless communication module for wirelessly communicating with the sensor 1. The wireless board 12 also includes a serial interface for serially connecting to the sub-board 13.

[0024] The sub-board 13 is a board on which the wireless board 12 is mounted and which is serially connected to the wireless board 12. The sub-board 13 has a serial interface for serially connecting to the wireless board 12. The sub-board 13 is also provided with a USB cable 13a which connects to the serial interface of the sub-board 13. The USB cable 13a is connected to a USB connector 14a of a gateway board 14, which will be described later, inside the communication device housing 11. This allows the sub-board 13 to output measurement data to the gateway board 14 via the USB cable 13a. The USB cable 13a is also detachable from the USB connector 14a of the gateway board 14. When checking communication with the communication device 10, the USB cable 13a of the sub-board 13 is detached from the USB connector 14a of the gateway board 14 and connected to a USB connector 20a of the information processing terminal 20, which will be described later (see FIG. 3).

[0025] The gateway board 14 establishes a wireless network connection. The gateway board 14 transmits measurement data to the cloud server 4 via the wireless network. The gateway board 14 includes a wireless communication module for wireless communication with the cloud server 4. The gateway board 14 also has a USB connector 14a. A USB cable 13a of the sub-board 13 is connected to the USB connector 14a. The connector of the USB cable 13a and the USB connector 14a are, for example, USB Type A connectors.

[0026] The communication device 10 further includes an internal housing 15 that stores the wireless board 12 and the sub-board 13. The internal housing 15 is stored in the communication device housing 11 together with the gateway board 14. In this case, the USB cable 13a is drawn out from the internal housing 15 and connected to the USB connector 14a of the gateway board 14. This improves the workability when removing the sub-board 13 on which the wireless board 12 is mounted from the communication device housing 11. It also improves the static electricity resistance of the wireless board 12.

[0027] Note that a USB connector may be provided instead of the USB cable 13a on the sub-board 13. In this case, a USB cable having connectors on both ends connects the USB connector on the sub-board 13 and the USB connector 14a on the gateway board 14.

[0028] Furthermore, the gateway board 14 may have another USB connector in addition to the USB connector 14a. The other USB connector is a connector for connecting to the connector of the USB cable connected to the information processing terminal 20 when checking the communication of the communication device 10. This allows the communication of the communication device 10 to be checked without disconnecting the connection between the sub-board 13 and the gateway board 14 by the USB cable.

[0029] (Method for checking communication of communication device 10) 3 is a schematic diagram showing a general configuration of the communication system 100 when confirming communication of the communication device 10. When the communication system 100 is implemented, a problem may occur, such as measurement data of the sensor 1 not reaching the cloud server 4. When such a problem occurs, a method for confirming whether the wireless board 12 has successfully acquired the measurement data of the sensor 1 (a communication confirmation method of the communication device 10) will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0030] 3, when checking communication of the communication device 10, the information processing terminal 20 (such as a PC) is connected to the sub-board 13 via the USB cable 13a. That is, the USB cable 13a of the sub-board 13 is connected to the USB connector 20a of the information processing terminal 20. The information processing terminal 20 checks whether the wireless board 12 is successfully acquiring the measurement data of the sensor 1. In this way, communication between the communication device 10 and the sensor 1 can be checked simply by connecting the USB cable 13a of the sub-board 13 to the USB connector 20a of the information processing terminal 20.

[0031] (Action and effect) According to the above configuration, the communication device 10 can have the function of collecting data sensed by the sensor 1 and transmitting the data to the cloud server 4, similar to the wireless master device 2 and IoT gateway 3 according to the reference embodiment.

[0032] In the reference embodiment, the wireless master device 2 and the IoT gateway 3 are connected by a specified cable, which requires an engineer with specialized knowledge to implement the communication system 100A. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the wireless board unit and the gateway board unit are connected by a USB cable 13a. Therefore, the communication system 100 can be implemented without requiring expertise. Furthermore, parts in the communication device 10 can be easily replaced.

[0033] Furthermore, the USB cable 13a is removable inside the communication device housing 11. Therefore, by connecting the USB cable 13a to the information processing terminal 20, it is possible to easily check the communication between the communication device 10 and the sensor 1. In other words, even a user without expertise can easily identify where the problem lies in the communication path or the device.

[0034] Furthermore, since the communication device 10 is wirelessly connected to the sensor 1, there are no restrictions on installation location compared to when it is connected by wire. Furthermore, compared to the reference embodiment, the communication device 10 can store functional units (wireless board unit and gateway board unit) corresponding to the wireless master unit 2 and the IoT gateway 3 within a single communication device housing 11. This makes it easier to kit the wireless network and to install it on-site. Furthermore, compared to the reference embodiment, the configuration of the communication device 10 is advantageous in terms of cost.

[0035] [Additional Notes] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1 sensor 4. Cloud Server 10. Communications equipment 11. Communication equipment housing 12 Radio board (radio board part) 13 Sub-board (radio board section) 13a USB cable 14 Gateway board (gateway board part) 14a USB connector 15 Internal housing 20 Information processing terminal 100 Communication Systems

Claims

1. Inside the communications device housing, a wireless substrate unit that wirelessly communicates with the sensor; a gateway board unit for wireless network connection; The communication device, wherein the wireless board unit and the gateway board unit are connected to each other by a USB cable within the communication device housing.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the USB cable is provided in the wireless board and is detachable from the gateway board.

3. The communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the wireless board unit has a USB connector for connecting the USB cable.

4. the radio board unit is housed in an internal housing, The USB cable is pulled out from the internal housing, The communication device of claim 2 , wherein the internal housing is housed within the communication device housing.

5. the wireless board unit acquires data sensed by the sensor and outputs the data to the gateway board unit via the USB cable; The communication device according to claim 1 , wherein the gateway board unit transmits the data to a server via a wireless network.

6. A communication confirmation method for a communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: A communication confirmation method in which an information processing terminal is connected to the wireless board unit via a USB cable, and whether or not the wireless board unit is able to acquire data from the sensor is confirmed by the information processing terminal.

7. A communication system comprising: a sensor; the communication device according to claim 1; and a server.

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