Communication system, communication method, and control program

Abstract

A communication system is provided that allows a terminal device to acquire master / slave information even if the hydraulic equipment does not have a display function. [Solution] The communication system includes a communication device. The communication device transmits master / slave information to the terminal device to identify the master device and the slave device.

Description

Technical Field

[0004] , , , , ,

[0005]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system, a communication method, and a control program.

Background Art

[0002] A wind-hydro power system including a plurality of wind-hydro power devices including rotating devices such as pumps and blowers is known. In such a wind-hydro power system, in a state where communication between a plurality of wind-hydro power devices and a terminal device (for example, an external portable terminal such as a PC (personal computer) or a smartphone) is established, an operator may operate the terminal device to uniformly operate (that is, interlock) a plurality of wind-hydro power devices.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In order to efficiently interlock a plurality of wind-hydro power devices, it is necessary to divide the plurality of wind-hydro power devices into a master device to which an operator's operation is input and a slave device that operates according to the operation input to the master device. Hereinafter, information for identifying such a master device and a slave device may be referred to as master / slave information.

[0005] If each hydraulic or pneumatic device is equipped with a display, or if a control panel for controlling multiple hydraulic or pneumatic devices is equipped with a display, the operator can identify the master and slave devices via the display by displaying master / slave information on the display.

[0006] However, if a display is not provided, the operator cannot obtain master / slave information unless communication is established between the terminal device and each hydraulic device. Establishing such communication is extremely time-consuming and laborious, especially when there are many hydraulic devices.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a communication system, a communication method, and a control program that enable a terminal device to acquire master / slave information even when the hydraulic equipment does not have a display function. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In one embodiment, a communication system is provided. The communication system comprises a terminal device, a plurality of wind and hydraulic devices that do not have a display function themselves, and a communication device that communicates between each of the plurality of wind and hydraulic devices and the terminal device. When the plurality of wind and hydraulic devices are divided into a master device into which the operator's operations are input and a slave device that operates in accordance with the operations input to the master device, the communication device transmits master / slave information to the terminal device to identify the master device and the slave device.

[0009] In one embodiment, the communication device transmits group information to the terminal device that associates the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group. In one embodiment, the communication device mounted on the master device transmits the master / slave information relating to the master device to the terminal device as group information, and the communication device mounted on the slave device transmits the master / slave information relating to the slave device to the terminal device as group information. In one embodiment, if the terminal device selects a group display based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in the master device and the slave device, the terminal device displays only the information of the master device.

[0010] In one embodiment, after the summary display is selected, if the terminal device selects the expanded display to expand and display the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group, the terminal device displays expanded display information based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in the master device and the slave device, respectively. In one embodiment, if there are unconfigured devices that do not contain the master / slave information, the terminal device sends a grouping setting request to the communication device installed in the unconfigured devices to group the unconfigured devices and performs the master / slave setting of the unconfigured devices. In one embodiment, the terminal device performs processing related to establishing / disconnecting communication with the unconfigured device, and processing related to transmitting information regarding the master / slave configuration to the communication device.

[0011] In one embodiment, a communication method is provided using a communication system. The communication system comprises a terminal device, a plurality of wind and hydraulic devices that do not have a display function themselves, and a communication device that communicates between each of the plurality of wind and hydraulic devices and the terminal device. In the communication method, when the plurality of wind and hydraulic devices are divided into a master device into which the operator's operations are input and a slave device that operates in response to the operations input to the master device, the communication device transmits master / slave information to the terminal device for identifying the master device and the slave device.

[0012] In one embodiment, the communication device transmits group information to the terminal device that associates the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group. In one embodiment, the communication device mounted on the master device transmits the master / slave information relating to the master device as group information to the terminal device, and the communication device mounted on the slave device transmits the master / slave information relating to the slave device as group information to the terminal device. In one embodiment, if the terminal device selects group display based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in the master device and the slave device, the terminal device displays only the information of the master device.

[0013] In one embodiment, after the summary display is selected, if the terminal device selects to display the expanded display so as to expand and display the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group, the terminal device displays the expanded display information based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in each of the master device and the slave device. In one embodiment, if there are unconfigured devices that do not contain the master / slave information, a grouping setting request for grouping the unconfigured devices is sent from the terminal device to the communication device installed in the unconfigured device, and the terminal device performs the master / slave setting for the unconfigured devices. In one embodiment, the terminal device performs the following processes: establishing / disconnecting communication with the unconfigured device, and transmitting information regarding the master / slave configuration to the communication device.

[0014] In one embodiment, a control program is provided that causes a computer to execute a method applicable to a communication system comprising a terminal device, each of a plurality of hydraulic and pneumatic devices that do not have a display function themselves, and a communication device that communicates between each of the plurality of hydraulic and pneumatic devices and the terminal device. When the plurality of hydraulic and pneumatic devices are divided into a master device into which the operator's operations are input, and a slave device that operates in response to the operations input to the master device, the control program causes the computer to execute a process of transmitting master / slave information for identifying the master device and the slave device from the communication device to the terminal device.

[0015] In one embodiment, the computer is instructed to perform a process of transmitting group information, which associates the master device and the slave devices belonging to the same group, from the communication device to the terminal device. In one embodiment, the computer is instructed to perform the following processes: transmitting the master / slave information relating to the master device as group information from the communication device installed in the master device to the terminal device; and transmitting the master / slave information relating to the slave device as group information from the communication device installed in the slave device to the terminal device. In one embodiment, if the terminal device selects group display based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in the master device and the slave device, the computer is instructed to perform a process to display only the information of the master device on the terminal device.

[0016] In one embodiment, after the group display is selected, if the terminal device selects the expanded display to expand and display the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group, the computer is instructed to perform a process to display expanded display information on the terminal device based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in each of the master device and the slave device. In one aspect, when there are unconfigured devices that do not include the master / slave information, the computer is caused to transmit a grouping setting request for grouping the unconfigured devices from the terminal device to the communication device mounted on the unconfigured devices, and cause the terminal device to execute the master / slave setting of the unconfigured devices. In one aspect, the computer is caused to cause the terminal device to execute processing related to communication establishment / communication interruption with the unconfigured devices and processing for transmitting information related to the master / slave setting to the communication device.

Advantages of the Invention

[0017] According to the above means, the communication system can cause the terminal device to acquire the master / slave information even when the wind-hydro power device does not have a display function.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1] It is a diagram showing an embodiment of a pump system. [Figure 2] It is a diagram showing an embodiment of a communication system. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing a communication system as a comparative example. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of device data transmitted by a communication device. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing the master / slave information displayed on the terminal screen of the terminal device. [Figure 6] It is a diagram showing the processing flow of a control device operating according to a control program. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing an example of operation state information displayed on the terminal screen of the terminal device. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing the display flow when displaying the device data of a plurality of pump devices on the terminal screen of the terminal device. ​​​​This diagram shows the configuration flow when setting up grouping of unconfigured devices. [Figure 11] This diagram illustrates the drag-and-drop operation included in the grouping settings function, where selected unconfigured devices are moved to other selected unconfigured devices. [Figure 12] This is a diagram showing the terminal screen when grouping is performed. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0019] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, the same or corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. In the multiple embodiments described below, the configuration of one embodiment that is not specifically described is the same as that of the other embodiments, so redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0020] Figure 1 shows one embodiment of a pump system. As shown in Figure 1, the pump system 1 comprises a plurality of pump devices 10. The pump system 1 is an example of a hydraulic system. A hydraulic system may also be a system comprising a plurality of hydraulic devices (including a plurality of rotating devices such as blowers). The configuration of the pump system 1 as an example of a hydraulic system will be described below.

[0021] Pump system 1 is a water supply system used to supply water to buildings such as office buildings and apartment buildings. Pump system 1 comprises an inlet pipe 2 connected to a water supply source such as a water main or a water storage tank, water supply pipes 3A and 3B connected to the inlet pipe 2, and a distribution pipe 5 connected to the water supply pipes 3A and 3B. The distribution pipe 5 is connected to water supply fixtures located inside the building. Furthermore, pump system 1 includes check valves 4 attached to each of the water supply pipes 3A and 3B, and a discharge-side pressure sensor 6 and a pressure tank 7 attached to the distribution pipe 5.

[0022] Each of the multiple pump devices 10 includes a pump 20, a motor 30 as a drive source for driving the pump 20, an inverter 40 which is an example of a variable speed means for the motor 30, and a control unit 50 which controls the operation of the pump 20 through the inverter 40.

[0023] The inverter 40 and the control unit 50 are electrically connected. As shown in Figure 1, the control unit 50 includes a control device 50a and a communication device 50b electrically connected to the control device 50a. The control device 50a is a computer such as a microcomputer. The control device 50a includes a memory 50a-1 in which programs and data are stored, a processor 50a-2 that performs calculations according to the programs stored in the memory 50a-1, and a communication unit 50a-3 that communicates with the control unit 50 of other pump equipment 10.

[0024] The processor 50a-2 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memory 50a-1 includes, for example, volatile memory accessible by the processor 50a-2 (e.g., random access memory (RAM)) and non-volatile memory for storing data and programs (e.g., flash memory).

[0025] The communication device 50b is configured to communicate (e.g., advertise communication) with a terminal device DV (e.g., an external mobile terminal such as a PC (personal computer) or smartphone). When the communication device 50b communicates with the terminal device DV, it sends data to the terminal device DV that includes information identifying the pump equipment 10 (such as equipment identification information and a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication address).

[0026] As shown in Figure 1, the terminal device DV includes a display operation control device DVa and a communication device DVb that communicates with the communication device 50b of the control unit 50. The display operation control device DVa is a computer such as a microcomputer. The display operation control device DVa includes a memory DVa-1 in which programs and data are stored, and a processor DVa-2 that performs calculations according to the program stored in memory DVa-1.

[0027] Each of the water supply pipes 3A and 3B is connected to the pump 20. When the pump 20 is driven, water flows into the water supply pipes 3A and 3B through the inlet pipe 2. The water that flows into the water supply pipes 3A and 3B flows into the distribution pipe 5 through the pump 20. The water flowing through the distribution pipe 5 is supplied to the building.

[0028] To ensure a stable water supply, the pump system 1 is configured to link multiple pump devices 10 together. In order to link multiple pump devices 10 together, it is necessary to divide the multiple pump devices 10 into master devices that receive input from operators (e.g., users, administrators) and slave devices that operate in response to the input from the master devices.

[0029] The master pump unit 10 determines the number of pump units 10 to operate according to the water supply conditions at the recipient. For example, the master pump unit 10 may operate all of the pump units 10 to supply a large amount of water. On the other hand, the master pump unit 10 may operate any of the multiple pump units 10 to supply a small amount of water.

[0030] In such cases, it is desirable for the operator to control the entire pump system 1, which includes multiple pump devices 10, by sending and receiving data necessary for operation control with the pump device 10 acting as the master device. However, if the pump device 10 does not have a display function, the operator cannot easily identify the pump device 10 acting as the master device. For example, the operator must establish communication between all the pump devices 10 and the terminal device DV.

[0031] Therefore, in the embodiment described below, we will describe a communication system that allows the terminal device DV to acquire master / slave information, which is information for identifying the master device and the slave device, even if the pump device 10 does not have a display function.

[0032] Figure 2 shows one embodiment of a communication system. The communication system 100 comprises a terminal device DV, a plurality of pump devices 10, and a communication device 50b. As shown in Figure 2, the terminal device DV is configured to establish communication with the communication devices 50b of the plurality of pump devices 10.

[0033] Specifically, the communication device 50b is configured to send data from the terminal device DV to the control device 50a, and to send data from the control device 50a to the terminal device DV. More specifically, the communication device 50b is configured to transmit master / slave information to the terminal device DV through communication with the terminal device DV (e.g., advertising communication).

[0034] According to this embodiment, even if the pump equipment 10 does not have a display function, the communication system 100 can cause the terminal device DV to acquire master / slave information via the communication device 50b. Therefore, the operator can identify the master equipment and the slave equipment via the terminal device DV.

[0035] Figure 3 shows a communication system as a comparative example. As shown in Figure 3, the communication system as a comparative example has a configuration in which, for example, all of the multiple pump devices are designated as slave devices, a control panel that integrally controls the multiple pump devices is designated as the master device, and only the master device communicates with the terminal device DV.

[0036] Alternatively, as a comparative example, a communication system in which all pump equipment has a display function. Indeed, with such a configuration, the operator can check the equipment information of pump equipment 10 using the display function, thus eliminating the need to identify the master equipment, or it may be possible to identify the master equipment and the slave equipment.

[0037] However, there are cases where the pump system does not have a control panel, or where individual pump components do not have display functions. In such cases, the communication system shown in the comparative example cannot be used.

[0038] In this embodiment, even if the control panel is not provided in the pump system 1 and the pump equipment 10 does not have a display function, the communication device 50b is configured to add master / slave information to the equipment data of the pump equipment 10 and transmit it to the terminal device DV. Therefore, the operator can easily identify the master equipment and the slave equipment among the multiple pump equipment 10 via the terminal device DV.

[0039] Figure 4 shows an example of device data transmitted by a communication device. In the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the communication device 50b adds not only master / slave information but also group information regarding master and slave devices belonging to the same group to the device data and transmits it to the terminal device DV.

[0040] Hereinafter, in this specification, among the pump equipment 10 belonging to the same group, the pump equipment 10 assigned to the master equipment will be referred to as the master equipment 10M, and the pump equipment 10 assigned to the slave equipment will be referred to as the slave equipment 10S.

[0041] The communication system 100 divides multiple master devices 10M and multiple slave devices 10S into multiple groups according to the operator's operation of the terminal device DV. Typically, one group includes one master device 10M and at least one slave device 10S. In Figure 4, the multiple pump devices 10 are grouped such that one master device 10M and one slave device 10S belong to one group.

[0042] As shown in Figure 4, the communication devices 50b mounted on the master device 10M and the slave device 10S transmit device data to the terminal device DV. The device data includes device identification information (serial number) of the pump device 10, operating status information of the pump device 10, information identifying whether it is operating as a single unit or as multiple units, and group information. In one embodiment, the device data may include at least one of the above information, or it may include information other than the above information.

[0043] The communication device 50b of the master device 10M (i.e., the master-side communication device 50b) transmits master / slave information about the master device 10M (notification information that it is the master device 10M, and its own device identification information) to the terminal device DV as group information. Similarly, the communication device 50b of the slave device 10S (i.e., the slave-side communication device 50b) transmits master / slave information about the slave device 10S (notification information that it is the slave device 10S, and device identification information of the master device 10M) to the terminal device DV as group information.

[0044] Group information is information that associates master devices 10M and slave devices 10S belonging to the same group. In particular, group information includes information that identifies the master device 10M within the same group as the slave device 10S (device identification information).

[0045] Specifically, the master-side communication device 50b transmits device data with group information, including device identification information for the master device 10M, added to it. The slave-side communication device 50b transmits device data with group information, including device identification information for the master device 10M, added to it. With this configuration, the terminal device DV can display the master device 10M and slave device 10S belonging to the same group on its terminal screen.

[0046] In one embodiment, the master-side communication device 50b may transmit device data including device identification information of slave devices 10S belonging to the same group. However, if the number of slave devices 10S increases, the amount of device data to be transmitted will increase. Therefore, it is preferable for the slave-side communication device 50b to transmit the device data of the master device 10M. This configuration has the effect of reducing the amount of device data that is transmitted.

[0047] The communication unit 50a-3 (see Figure 1) of the master device 10M is configured to transmit device identification information of the source master device 10M to the slave devices 10S belonging to the same group.

[0048] Figure 5 shows the master / slave information displayed on the terminal screen of the terminal device. As shown in Figure 5, when the terminal device DV receives equipment data from multiple pump devices 10 transmitted by the communication device 50b, the terminal device DV displays the letters "M" and "S" on its terminal screen as master / slave information (see the dotted box in Figure 5). "M" represents the master device 10M, and "S" represents the slave device 10S.

[0049] Figure 6 shows the processing flow of a control device operating according to a control program. The program, which causes a computer to execute a method applicable to the communication system, is stored on a computer-readable recording medium, which is a non-temporary tangible object, and is provided to the control device 50a via the recording medium.

[0050] As shown in Figure 6, the control program instructs the control device 50a to transmit device data, including master / slave information, from the communication device 50b to the terminal device DV. The communication device 50b transmits the master / slave information to the terminal device DV via communication (e.g., advertising communication) in accordance with the command from the control device 50a. The terminal device DV displays the master / slave information for each pump device 10 on its terminal screen.

[0051] Although a detailed explanation is omitted, the control program causes the control device 50a to execute a process to transmit the device data, including the group information described above, from the communication device 50b to the terminal device DV.

[0052] Figure 7 shows an example of operating status information displayed on the terminal screen of the terminal device. When the operator selects the master device 10M based on the master / slave information displayed on the terminal screen, the terminal device DV displays the operating status information of the selected master device 10M on the terminal screen. The operating status information includes information such as the target pressure value, current pressure, and output current of the pump device 10.

[0053] The operator performs operations related to the operation of the pump equipment 10 via the terminal device DV, based on the operating status information displayed on the terminal screen of the terminal device DV. When the operator changes the target value via the terminal device DV, the change data is transmitted to the control device 50a via the communication device 50b.

[0054] For example, when performing constant pressure control to maintain a constant discharge pressure from the pump 20, the control device 50a operates the inverter 40 to change the rotational speed of the motor 30 so that the pressure value (i.e., pressure signal) detected by the discharge-side pressure sensor 6 of the pump equipment 10 becomes the desired pressure value.

[0055] The terminal device DV may, in accordance with the control program, perform a process to display only the master device 10M on the terminal screen based on the device data received from the master device 10M and the slave device 10S.

[0056] The operator of terminal device DV may be a user of pump system 1 or an administrator of pump system 1 (excluding the user). If the operator is a user of pump system 1, the user can achieve optimal operation of pump system 1 by operating master device 10M. In this case, terminal device DV displays master device 10M on the terminal screen (partial display).

[0057] The terminal device DV displays only the master device 10M through partial display, and the user can only access the master device 10M. When the user changes the target value, the master device 10M controls the operation of the pump 20 and / or the operation of the pump 20 of the slave devices 10S belonging to the same group based on the changed data.

[0058] If the operator is the administrator of the pump system 1, the terminal device DV may, in accordance with the control program, perform the process of displaying the master device 10M and the slave device 10S on the terminal screen based on the device data received from the master device 10M and the slave device 10S.

[0059] The terminal device DV may display the master device 10M and slave device 10S on the terminal screen (show all) by entering a PIN. The administrator can display the master device 10M and slave device 10S (show all) and remove the access restriction to slave device 10S by entering the correct PIN. In this case, the administrator can access slave device 10S. This configuration is useful for the administrator to perform maintenance on slave device 10S.

[0060] Figure 8 shows the display flow when displaying equipment data for multiple pump devices on the terminal screen of the terminal device. When displaying candidate pump devices 10 that establish communication with the terminal device DV, that is, before communication is established between the terminal device DV and the communication device 50b, the control device 50a executes a process to send the equipment data of the pump devices 10 from the communication device 50b to the terminal device DV, and allows the terminal device DV to acquire the equipment data through communication between the communication device 50b and the terminal device DV (e.g., advertising communication) (see step P101). Note that the expression "establishing communication" means a state in which data is continuously (i.e., not temporarily) sent and received between the terminal device DV and the pump devices 10, and the pump devices 10 can be monitored.

[0061] If there are no multiple pump devices 10 designated as configuration devices (see "Y" in step P102), the control device 50a executes a process to display a single candidate pump device 10 that can establish communication with the terminal device DV on the terminal device DV, and has the communication device 50b send the device data of the target pump device 10 to the terminal device DV (see step P103).

[0062] If there are multiple pump devices 10 that serve as configuration devices for establishing communication with terminal device DV (see "N" in step P102), terminal device DV decides to display only the master device 10M and not the slave devices 10S from among the master device 10M and slave devices 10S belonging to the same group (see step P104). If terminal device DV selects the combined display, terminal device DV executes the process of displaying the combined display information (i.e., information of the master device 10M).

[0063] Figure 9 shows a summary display shown on the terminal screen of the terminal device. Displaying many pump devices 10 on the terminal screen may impair the visibility of the pump devices 10. Therefore, the terminal device DV may, based on the device data transmitted from the communication devices 50b installed in the master device 10M and the slave device 10S, display only the master device 10M (i.e., summary display) at the operator's discretion (see "N" in step P105 of Figure 8).

[0064] If the terminal device DV does not perform a group display due to the operator's actions (see "Y" in step P105), the terminal device DV displays a list of candidate master devices 10M and slave devices 10S belonging to the same group on its terminal screen (see step P106).

[0065] After the summary display is selected, the operator selects the expanded display on the terminal device DV to display the master device 10M and slave devices 10S on the terminal screen. Then, the terminal device DV expands the master device 10M and slave devices 10S belonging to the same group based on the device data (including group information) transmitted from the communication device 50b installed in each of the master device 10M and slave devices 10S, and displays them on the terminal screen of the terminal device DV.

[0066] When the operator operates the terminal device DV (for example, by selecting (clicking) the summary display) and requests the expanded display (see "N" in step P107 of Figure 8 and Figure 9), the terminal device DV displays a list of candidate master devices 10M and slave devices 10S belonging to the same group on its terminal screen (see step P108). On the other hand, if the operator does not request the expanded display (see "Y" in step P107 of Figure 8), the terminal device DV displays only the master device 10M on its terminal screen (see step P109).

[0067] Figure 10 shows the configuration flow when configuring the grouping of unconfigured devices. As shown in step P201 of Figure 10, the control device 50a executes a process to send the device data of the pump device 10 from the communication device 50b to the terminal device DV via communication between the terminal device DV and the communication device 50b (for example, advertising communication), causing the terminal device DV to acquire the device data.

[0068] If there are no unconfigured devices in the initial state (i.e., pump devices 10 that do not contain master / slave information) (see "N" in step P202), the configuration flow is terminated. On the other hand, if there are unconfigured devices (see "Y" in step P202), the operator selects the unconfigured devices to be grouped on the terminal screen of the terminal device DV (see step P203). The terminal device DV has a grouping configuration function that allows the operator to group the unconfigured devices.

[0069] Figure 11 shows a drag-and-drop operation included in the grouping setting function, where a selected unconfigured device is moved to another selected unconfigured device. Figure 12 shows the terminal screen when grouping is performed. As indicated by the arrows in Figure 11 (see dotted and solid arrows), the operator selects an unconfigured device that is a candidate for slave device 10S on the terminal screen of terminal device DV, and then performs a drag-and-drop operation to move the selected unconfigured device to an unconfigured device that is a candidate for master device 10M.

[0070] When this operation is performed, the terminal device DV displays a selection image on the terminal screen to determine whether or not to perform grouping (see Figure 12). If the operator does not perform grouping (see "N" in step P204 of Figure 10), the terminal device DV deselects grouping (see step P205) and terminates the group setting process.

[0071] When the operator performs grouping (see "Y" in step P204), terminal device DV sends a grouping request to the control device 50a of the unconfigured device via the communication device 50b of the unconfigured device.

[0072] The terminal device DV sequentially establishes communication between the master device 10M and the slave device 10S that are to be grouped (see step P206). This establishment of communication is performed automatically between the terminal device DV and the communication device 50b in the master device 10M (and / or slave device 10S) when the operator selects the "Automatic Setup" button displayed on the terminal screen of the terminal device DV. By selecting such automatic setup, the operator's effort can be reduced.

[0073] Subsequently, terminal device DV performs a master / slave configuration to determine the master device 10M (and / or slave device 10S) according to the grouping configuration program (see step P207), and after changing the configuration, disconnects the communication connection with the communication device 50b on the master device 10M (and / or slave device 10S) (see step P208).

[0074] If the master / slave configuration is not complete (see "N" on page P209), the terminal device DV will automatically execute steps P206 through P208. Once the master / slave configuration is complete (see "Y" on page P209), the terminal device DV will finish the grouping configuration.

[0075] Thus, when terminal device DV separates the master device 10M from the slave device 10S, it performs the following processes: establishing / disconnecting communication with the communication device 50b of the unconfigured device, and performing master / slave configuration and sending information regarding the master / slave configuration to the communication device 50b.

[0076] The control device 50a performs a process to group unconfigured devices based on a request sent from the terminal device DV. Specifically, the control device 50a determines the unconfigured device to be selected as a slave device 10S, and the unconfigured device to be selected as a master device 10M. Note that the pump device 10 to be selected is not limited to unconfigured devices, but may be a pump device 10 that has already been determined as a master device 10M.

[0077] The embodiments described above are intended to enable persons with ordinary skill in the art to implement the present invention. Various modifications of the above embodiments can be made naturally by those skilled in the art, and the technical idea of ​​the present invention can be applied to other embodiments as well. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but is to be interpreted in the broadest sense according to the technical idea defined by the claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0078] 1. Pump System 2 Introductory tube 3A,3B Water pipe 4. Check valve 5 Water pipe 6. Discharge side pressure sensor 7. Pressure tank 10 Pump equipment 10M Master Equipment 10S slave device 20 pumps 30 motors 40 Inverters 50 control units 50a Control device 50a-1 Memory 50a-2 Processor 50a-3 Communications Department 50b Communication equipment 100 Communication Systems DV terminal device DVa Display Operation Control Device DVa-1 Memory DVa-2 Processor

Claims

1. It is a communication system, Terminal device and Multiple wind and hydraulic devices that do not have a display function of their own, The system includes a communication device that communicates between each of the aforementioned plurality of wind and hydraulic devices and the terminal device, When the aforementioned multiple wind and hydraulic devices are divided into a master device into which the operator's operations are input, and slave devices that operate in accordance with the operations input to the master device, the communication device transmits master / slave information to the terminal device for identifying the master device and the slave devices, and this is a communication system.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication device transmits group information relating the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group to the terminal device.

3. The communication device mounted on the master device transmits the master / slave information relating to the master device to the terminal device as group information. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein the communication device mounted on the slave device transmits the master / slave information relating to the slave device to the terminal device as group information.

4. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein, based on the group information transmitted from the communication device mounted on the master device and the slave device, if the terminal device selects group display, the terminal device displays only the information of the master device.

5. The communication system according to claim 4, wherein, after the summary display has been selected, if the terminal device selects to expand and display the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group, the terminal device displays the expanded display information based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in each of the master device and the slave device.

6. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein if there are unconfigured devices that do not contain the master / slave information, the terminal device transmits a grouping setting request to the communication device mounted on the unconfigured devices to group the unconfigured devices and performs master / slave configuration of the unconfigured devices.

7. The communication system according to claim 6, wherein the terminal device performs processing related to establishing / disconnecting communication with the unconfigured device, and processing related to transmitting information regarding the master / slave configuration to the communication device.

8. A communication method using a communication system, The aforementioned communication system Terminal device and Multiple wind and hydraulic devices that do not have a display function of their own, The system includes a communication device that communicates between each of the aforementioned plurality of wind and hydraulic devices and the terminal device, A communication method in which, when the plurality of wind and hydraulic devices are divided into a master device into which the operator's operations are input, and a slave device that operates in accordance with the operations input to the master device, the communication device transmits master / slave information to the terminal device for identifying the master device and the slave device.

9. The communication method according to claim 8, wherein the communication device transmits group information relating the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group to the terminal device.

10. The communication device mounted on the master device transmits the master / slave information relating to the master device to the terminal device as group information. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein the communication device mounted on the slave device transmits the master / slave information relating to the slave device to the terminal device as group information.

11. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein, based on the group information transmitted from the communication device mounted on the master device and the slave device, the terminal device selects group display and displays only the information of the master device.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, wherein, after the summary display is selected, the terminal device selects an expanded display to expand and display the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group, and the terminal device displays expanded display information based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in each of the master device and the slave device.

13. The communication method according to claim 8, wherein if there are unconfigured devices that do not contain the master / slave information, the terminal device transmits a grouping setting request for grouping the unconfigured devices to the communication device installed in the unconfigured devices, and the terminal device performs the master / slave setting for the unconfigured devices.

14. The communication method according to claim 13, wherein the terminal device performs the following processes: establishing / disconnecting communication with the unconfigured device, and transmitting information regarding the master / slave configuration to the communication device.

15. A control program that causes a computer to execute a method applicable to a communication system comprising a terminal device, each of a plurality of wind and hydraulic devices that do not have a display function themselves, and a communication device that communicates between each of the plurality of wind and hydraulic devices and the terminal device, A control program that, when the plurality of wind and hydraulic devices are divided into a master device into which the operator's operations are input, and a slave device that operates in accordance with the operations input to the master device, causes the computer to perform a process of transmitting master / slave information for identifying the master device and the slave device from the communication device to the terminal device.

16. The control program according to claim 15, which causes the computer to perform a process of transmitting group information relating the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group from the communication device to the terminal device.

17. To the aforementioned computer, The group information includes a process of transmitting the master / slave information relating to the master device from the communication device installed in the master device to the terminal device, The control program according to claim 16, which causes the program to perform a process of transmitting the master / slave information relating to the slave device, as the group information, from the communication device mounted on the slave device to the terminal device.

18. The control program according to claim 16, wherein, based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in each of the master and slave devices, if the terminal device selects group display, the computer is instructed to perform a process to display only the information of the master device on the terminal device.

19. The control program according to claim 18, which, after the summary display has been selected, if the terminal device selects to expand and display the master device and the slave device belonging to the same group, causes the computer to perform a process of displaying expanded display information on the terminal device based on the group information transmitted from the communication device installed in each of the master device and the slave device.

20. The control program according to claim 15, which, if there are unconfigured devices that do not contain the master / slave information, causes the computer to send a grouping setting request from the terminal device to the communication device installed in the unconfigured devices, thereby causing the terminal device to perform the master / slave setting of the unconfigured devices.

21. The control program according to claim 20, wherein the computer causes the terminal device to perform the following processes: establishing / disconnecting communication with the unconfigured device, and transmitting information regarding the master / slave configuration to the communication device.

Images