Facility information transmission device and remote information collection system

Abstract

To provide an equipment information transmission device or the like that reliably transmits equipment information data acquired during a communication failure period to a server without causing an instantaneous increase in a communication load after a communication failure has been restored even when a communication failure occurs with the server.SOLUTION: An equipment information transmission device 20 includes: a storage unit 28 that stores equipment information and status information indicating whether or not the equipment information has been transmitted to a server 50; and status information update unit 26b that updates the status information of the equipment information that is transmitted to the server 50 to the information that indicates that the status information has been transmitted. The equipment information transmission device 20 includes transmission information configuration unit 26a that extracts untransmitted equipment information to the server 50 at predetermined time intervals on the basis of the status information, and constitutes the transmission equipment information that is less than or equal to predetermined data from the extracted equipment information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a facility information transmission device that acquires facility information related to one or more pieces of electrical equipment from the one or more pieces of electrical equipment at predetermined intervals and sequentially transmits transmission facility information composed of the facility information to a server. The present disclosure also relates to a remote information collection system including such a facility information transmission device and one or more pieces of electrical equipment. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventional facility information transmission device is described in Patent Document 1. This facility information transmission device transmits operation information of building facilities to an information collection device in a remote location via a network. The operation information of the building facilities transmitted to the information collection device is used to control the building facilities from inside or outside the building, and to monitor for abnormalities in the building facilities. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-205278 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Regarding communication in the above-mentioned equipment information transmission device, if a network failure occurs between the equipment information transmission device and the information collection device due to a physical disconnection or a malfunction of the mobile communication line, and the equipment information transmission device is unable to transmit equipment information to the information collection device, the data of the equipment information that could not be transmitted will be accumulated in the equipment information transmission device.

[0005] In this context, if, when a network failure is recovered from, the equipment information transmission device transmits all the data it has held to the information collection device all at once, not only will communication traffic increase in a short period of time, making it more likely that data communicated over the network will be lost, but the processing load on the information collection device receiving the data will also increase, potentially causing a server crash.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an equipment information transmission device and a remote information collection system that, even if a communication failure occurs between the information collection device and a server, can prevent the communication load from increasing suddenly in a short period of time after the communication failure is resolved, and can reliably transmit equipment information data acquired during the communication failure period to the server. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the equipment information transmission device according to the present disclosure is an equipment information transmission device that acquires equipment information related to electrical equipment from one or more pieces of electrical equipment at predetermined intervals, and sequentially transmits transmission equipment information composed of the equipment information to a server, and includes a receiving unit that receives the equipment information from the electrical equipment, a transmitting unit that transmits the transmission equipment information to the server, a storage unit that stores the equipment information and status information indicating whether the equipment information has been transmitted to the server or not, a status information updating unit that updates the status information of the equipment information that has been transmitted to the server to information indicating that it has been transmitted, and a status information extracting unit that extracts equipment information that has not been transmitted to the server based on the status information at predetermined time intervals, and extracts equipment information from the extracted equipment information to a predetermined value. of data amount and a transmission information configuration unit that configures the following transmission facility information.

[0008] The requirement of "at a predetermined interval" does not have to be met at equal intervals. For example, the interval at which electrical equipment transmits equipment information between midnight and 6:00 a.m. may be longer than the interval at which electrical equipment transmits equipment information between 6:00 a.m. and midnight.

[0009] The equipment information may be process data or may include process data. Here, the process data is data including at least one of the state and the setting value of the electrical equipment, and may include, for example, an identifier specific to the electrical equipment and generation date information. In addition, the process data in the case where the state of the lighting device (lighting fixture) is periodically acquired may include, for example, a value or identifier indicating the lighting state, dimming level, and color adjustment level. In addition, the process data in the case where the adjustment value is changed to a preset value by a switch or a controller may include an identifier indicating the setting pattern. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, even if a communication failure occurs with a server, it is possible to realize an equipment information transmission device and a remote information collection system that can prevent the communication load from increasing suddenly in a short period of time after the communication failure is resolved, and can reliably transmit equipment information data obtained during the communication failure period to the server. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a remote information collection system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the exchange of information regarding a facility information transmission device of the remote information collection system. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating a situation that may occur due to a network failure, and an overview of the operations performed by the technology of the present disclosure when such a failure occurs. [Figure 4] 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of facility information stored in a storage unit of the facility information transmission device. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart showing an example of control of a control unit of an equipment information transmission device in a specification in which the control unit does not have a new information selection unit, and more specifically, a flowchart showing an example of control of operations from generating transmission equipment information to transmitting the generated transmission equipment information to a server and rewriting status information. [Figure 6]10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a network communication unit of the facility information transmission device. [Figure 7] 1 is an example flow chart illustrating a process for a remote information collection system that allows for storage of recent data on a server. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of two-way information exchange that can be performed in the remote information collection system of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, the embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, when multiple embodiments and modified examples are included below, it is assumed from the beginning that new embodiments will be constructed by appropriately combining the characteristic parts of those. In addition, in the following examples, the same components are given the same symbols in the drawings, and duplicated explanations are omitted. In addition, multiple drawings include schematic diagrams, and the dimensional ratios of length, width, height, etc. of each member between different drawings do not necessarily match. In addition, among the components described below, components that are not described in the independent claim showing the highest concept are optional components and are not essential components. In addition, when the word "approximately" is used in this specification, it is used in the same sense as the word "roughly speaking", and the requirement of "approximately ~" is met if a person looks roughly ~. For example, the requirement of approximately circular is met if a person looks roughly circular.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a remote information collection system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the remote information collection system 1 includes a plurality of facility information transmission devices 20 and a server (data server) 50. Each facility information transmission device 20 is installed in a facility 5, for example, an office building, an apartment building, a store (for example, a convenience store, a mobile phone company store, etc.), a house, a hospital, a museum, etc. Each facility information transmission device 20 may be a host computer or a gateway that is disposed in the facility 5 in which it is installed and performs operation management of one or more pieces of electrical equipment 10 included in the remote information collection system 1.

[0014] Each equipment information transmission device 20 is connected to an electrical equipment 10 in the facility 5, and sequentially transmits equipment information related to the electrical equipment 10 collected from the electrical equipment 10 to a predetermined server 50 via a network. Expressed more objectively, the equipment information transmission device 20 acquires equipment information related to the electrical equipment 10 from one or more electrical equipment 10 at predetermined intervals via at least one of wired and wireless connections, and sequentially transmits transmission equipment information composed of the equipment information to the server 50 via at least one of wired and wireless connections. The equipment information may be composed of only process information, or may include the process information. Then, the equipment information transmission device 20 may transmit process data including the process information to the corresponding server 50.

[0015] Here, the process data is data including at least one of the state and the setting value of the electrical equipment, and may include, for example, an identifier specific to the electrical equipment, generation date information, etc. For example, the process data when the state of a lighting device (lighting fixture) is periodically acquired may include a value or identifier indicating the lighting state, dimming level, and color adjustment level. Furthermore, the process data when the adjustment value is changed to a preset value by a switch or a controller may include an identifier indicating the setting pattern.

[0016] 1, the multiple electrical equipment 10 may include electrical equipment that is required to be installed by law, such as emergency exit lights 12, automatic fire alarms 14, and smoke control and exhaust equipment 15. The multiple electrical equipment 10 may also include general electrical equipment, such as lighting fixtures 11, air conditioning equipment 13, and a distribution board (not shown). The server 50 receives and holds the equipment information transmitted from the equipment information transmission device 20. The equipment information held by the server 50 is used, for example, for centralized management of the electrical equipment 10 in each facility 5.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a block diagram explaining the exchange of information regarding the equipment information transmission device 20. As shown in Fig. 2, each of N pieces of first to Nth electrical equipment 10 (N may be any natural number, including 1) managed by the equipment information transmission device 20 transmits its equipment information to the equipment information transmission device 20 periodically (at predetermined intervals).

[0018] The equipment information transmission device 20 includes a control device 25, a receiving unit 30, and a transmitting unit 35. The control device 25 is preferably configured by a computer, for example, a microcomputer, and has a control unit 26 and a storage unit 28. The control unit 26 includes a transmission information configuration unit 26a, a status information update unit 26b, a high priority information selection unit 26c, a new information selection unit 26d, and a network communication unit 26e. The control unit 26, that is, the processor, includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The storage unit 28 is configured by a hard disk drive (HDD) and a semiconductor memory, and the semiconductor memory is configured by a non-volatile memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 28 may be configured by only one storage medium, or may be configured by a plurality of different storage media. The CPU reads out and executes a program, etc., previously stored in the storage unit 28. The non-volatile memory also stores a control program, a predetermined threshold value, etc., in advance. The volatile memory temporarily stores the read programs and processing data. The storage unit 28 stores control programs that regulate the operations of the transmission information configuration unit 26a, the status information update unit 26b, the high priority information selection unit 26c, the new information selection unit 26d, and the network communication unit 26e.

[0019] The receiving unit 30 is composed of a receiving port to which a cable for transmitting a wired signal is connected and a receiving antenna for receiving a wireless signal, and receives equipment information from each piece of electrical equipment 10. More specifically, the receiving unit 30 is composed of a communication interface, such as a port for inputting and outputting an analog signal, a serial communication port, an Ethernet (registered trademark) adapter, or a wireless communication module.

[0020] The equipment information transmission device 20 and each electrical equipment 10 may transmit information by any communication means. For example, communication between the equipment information transmission device 20 and each electrical equipment 10 may be performed using at least one of an electric wire that transmits an analog signal, a signal line or line for serial communication, and a cable used for transmitting signals such as data strings in Ethernet (registered trademark). In addition, communication between the equipment information transmission device 20 and each electrical equipment 10 may be performed using a wireless signal that complies with standards such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and LPWA (Low Power Wide Area).

[0021] The equipment information received by the receiver 30 is processed by the operations of the transmission information composing unit 26a, the status information updating unit 26b, the high priority information selecting unit 26c, and the new information selecting unit 26d to become transmission equipment information. The operations of the transmission information composing unit 26a, the status information updating unit 26b, the high priority information selecting unit 26c, and the new information selecting unit 26d will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 3 and subsequent figures.

[0022] The transmission equipment information is transmitted to the server 50 via a network by the operation of the network communication unit 26e. The transmission unit 35 is configured with a transmission port to which a cable for transmitting a wired signal is connected and a transmission antenna for transmitting a wireless signal. More specifically, the network communication unit 26e is configured to establish network communication with the server 50 and transmit the transmission equipment information received from the transmission information configuration unit 26a to the server 50. The network communication unit 26e may be configured with, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) adapter, a Wi-Fi (registered trademark), a wireless communication module supporting LPWA, or the like, and may have a plurality of interfaces.

[0023] The network between the equipment information transmission device 20 and the server 50 may be connected by a wired connection such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or a wireless connection such as a mobile communication line. In addition, the network between the equipment information transmission device 20 and the server 50 may be a shared communication line such as the Internet, or a dedicated line.

[0024] Next, the purpose of the present disclosure and operations for achieving the purpose will be described. Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining situations that may occur due to a network failure and an overview of operations executed by the technology of the present disclosure when such a failure occurs.

[0025] 3(a), during a period T1 until a network failure occurs, facility information 55 having a predetermined amount of data is transmitted from electrical equipment 10 (not shown in FIG. 3) to facility information transmission device 20 at predetermined time intervals. Here, in FIG. 3, facility information 55 transmitted in one transmission is shown by one rectangle. During period T1 until a network failure occurs, the facility information 55 of the predetermined amount of data received by facility information transmission device 20 is transmitted to server 50 as is, and therefore facility information 55 is not accumulated in facility information transmission device 20.

[0026] On the other hand, suppose that a network failure occurs at time t1 and continues for a period T2. In that case, the facility information transmission device 20 is unable to transmit the facility information 55 received from the electrical equipment 10 at predetermined intervals to the server 50, and therefore the facility information 55, the amount of data of which increases in proportion to the length of the period T2, is accumulated in the facility information transmission device 20 during the period T2. In the example shown in Fig. 3, the facility information 55 for four transmissions is accumulated in the facility information transmission device 20 during the period T2.

[0027] Suppose that the network is subsequently restored at time t2. At this time, if the facility information transmission device 20 were to instantly transmit all facility information 55 stored in the facility information transmission device 20 to the server 50, communication traffic would increase rapidly in a short period of time, making data transmitted over the network more likely to be lost, and the processing load on the server 50 receiving the data would also increase, possibly causing the server to go down.

[0028] In order to prevent these problems from occurring, in the technology disclosed herein, when such a situation occurs, the facility information transmission device 20 selects a predetermined facility information from all the accumulated facility information 55. of data amountThe transmission equipment information is constructed as follows, and the constructed transmission equipment information is sequentially transmitted to the server 50. More specifically, in the example shown in Fig. 3, as shown in Fig. 3(b), two transmissions of equipment information 55 are constructed as transmission equipment information 56 to be transmitted in one transmission, and the equipment information 55 that could not be sent is transmitted in the next or subsequent transmissions. For example, at time t4, the transmission equipment information 56 composed of two transmissions of equipment information 55 is transmitted to the server 50 from a total of four transmissions of equipment information 55, including three transmissions of equipment information 55 that could not be transmitted at the previous transmission timing, time t3, and one transmission of equipment information 55 received from the electrical equipment 10 at time t4.

[0029] Furthermore, at time t5, which is the next transmission timing after time t4, transmission equipment information 56 consisting of two transmissions of equipment information 55 is transmitted to the server 50 from the two transmissions of equipment information 55 that could not be transmitted at time t4 and the one transmission of equipment information 55 received from the electrical equipment 10 at time t5, a total of three transmissions of equipment information 55. In this way, the equipment information 55 stored in the storage unit 28 of the equipment information transmission device 20 is reduced by one transmission of equipment information 55 at each transmission timing. Then, in the example shown in FIG. 3(b), at time t7, which is the transmission timing four transmissions after time t3, which is the first transmission timing after recovery, the stored equipment information 55 no longer exists, and the normal state can be restored.

[0030] In this way, in the technology disclosed herein, a predetermined of data amount The following transmission facility information 56 is constructed, and the constructed transmission facility information is sequentially transmitted to the server 50. Therefore, a sudden increase in communication traffic in a short period of time can be prevented, and the accumulated facility information 55 can be transmitted reliably to the server 50 while preventing data loss and server downtime.

[0031] Next, the operations of the transmission information configuration unit 26a, the status information update unit 26b, the high priority information selection unit 26c, and the new information selection unit 26d will be described in detail. The data capacity that can be held in the memory unit 28 of the equipment information transmission device 20 is limited. Therefore, if a network failure continues for a long time due to an earthquake or the like, the data capacity of the memory unit 28 of the equipment information transmission device 20 becomes full, and it becomes necessary to select equipment information 55 held by the equipment information transmission device 20.

[0032] The high priority information selection unit 26c and the new information selection unit 26d operate in such a situation. More specifically, the equipment information 55 may include transmission priority information indicating the priority of transmission to the server 50. Here, the transmission priority information may be automatically set according to the type of the electrical equipment 10, or may be set manually. For example, when the equipment information 55 includes identification information that can identify the corresponding electrical equipment 10 from other electrical equipment 10, the identification signal may be used to identify the emergency exit light 12, the automatic fire alarm equipment 14, and the smoke control equipment 15 from among the multiple electrical equipment 10. In such a case, it is preferable to immediately know whether the electrical equipment 12, 14, and 15 directly connected to disaster prevention can operate normally when a disaster occurs.

[0033] In such a case, the identification information of the electrical equipment 12, 14, 15 directly related to disaster prevention can be the transmission priority information. The identification signal may be any information that can identify the corresponding electrical equipment from other electrical equipment, and may be, for example, a MAC address (Media Access Control address), barcode information, RF (radio frequency) tag, or product number information, IP address, manufacturing number, etc.

[0034] The high priority information selection unit 26c operates to store equipment information 55 with a high transmission priority in the storage unit 28. In detail, when the equipment information 55 exceeds the capacity of the storage unit 28 of the equipment information transmission device 20, the high priority information selection unit 26c compares the transmission priority information of the newly received equipment information 55 with the transmission priority information of the equipment information stored in the storage unit 28. Then, when the transmission priority of the newly received equipment information 55 is equal to or higher than the transmission priority information of the equipment information 55 stored in the storage unit 28, the high priority information selection unit 26c executes control to delete the equipment information 55 with a low transmission priority stored in the storage unit 28 and store the newly received equipment information 55 with a high transmission priority in the storage unit 28.

[0035] The equipment information 55 may also include date and time information that can specify the date and time when the equipment information 55 is transmitted from the electrical equipment 10 with respect to the same electrical equipment 10. In this case, the new information selection unit 26d determines whether the equipment information 55 is later than the specified equipment information 55 by the newly received equipment information 55. Amount of If the received time exceeds the limit, the date and time information of the facility information 55 is referenced, the facility information 55 with the older date and time information is deleted, and the newly received facility information 55 is held.

[0036] The status information update unit 26b receives information from the network communication unit 26e that can identify the equipment information 55 that has been successfully transmitted to the server 50, and updates the transmission status information of the equipment information 55 stored in the memory unit 28 to information indicating that it has been transmitted.

[0037] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of facility information 55 stored in storage unit 28. In FIG. 4, the date and time indicates the date and time when receiving unit 30 received facility information 55, and electrical equipment indicates electrical equipment 10 corresponding to acquired facility information 55. Furthermore, the state indicates the state of corresponding electrical equipment 10 included in received facility information 55, and the priority indicates the order of transmission when storage unit 28 becomes full, with the larger the value, the higher the transmission priority and the faster the transmission. The state is specified by normal, standby, and abnormal, etc. Furthermore, the transmission status indicates whether transmission is completed or not, and the data amount indicates the size of the data amount of the facility information.

[0038] The high priority information selection unit 26c uses information on the priority order, and the new information selection unit 26d uses information on the date and time and information on the electrical equipment. The status information update unit 26b appropriately rewrites the transmission status based on information from the network communication unit 26e. The equipment information 55 whose transmission status is "transmitted" may be deleted a predetermined time after the time when the transmission status became "transmitted", or may be deleted when the storage unit 28 becomes full.

[0039] Although the case has been described in which the control unit 26 has a high priority information selection unit 26c and a new information selection unit 26d, the control unit does not have to have either the high priority information selection unit or the new information selection unit, and does not have to have both the high priority information selection unit and the new information selection unit.

[0040] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of control for a control unit to transmit transmission equipment information 56 to a server 50 in a specification in which the control unit does not have a new information selection unit. More specifically, it is a flowchart showing an example of control of operations from generation of transmission equipment information to transmission of the generated transmission equipment information to the server and rewriting of status information.

[0041] In the technology disclosed herein, the process in which the receiving unit 30 receives facility information 55 from the electrical equipment 10 and the process following the calculation process (the process for generating transmission data) are processed independently (in parallel) as separate processes (separate threads). This is because the problem of increased traffic during recovery can be prevented by setting the allowable data volume when the calculation process is called. Therefore, in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the control of the operation following the process for generating transmission data will be described on the assumption that the receiving unit 30 receives facility information 55 from the electrical equipment 10 at predetermined time intervals in a separate process not shown in FIG. 5.

[0042] After the remote information collection system 1 is constructed, when a predetermined timing is determined to have occurred by a timer (not shown) built into the control device 25, software that performs the calculations stored in the memory unit 28 (software that generates transmission data) is called, the calculation process is initiated, and control starts. The software that performs the calculations is called at predetermined time intervals (for example, at regular intervals). When control starts, in step S1, the transmission information configuration unit 26a determines whether or not there is any untransmitted equipment information 55 in the memory unit 28. If a negative determination is made in step S1, the control ends. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in step S1, the process proceeds to step S2, and the transmission information configuration unit 26a generates the data of the untransmitted equipment information 55 stored in the memory unit 28. Amount In the next step S3, the transmission information configuration unit 26a Amount Where quantitative It is determined whether or not it is equal to or greater than this.

[0043] If a negative determination is made in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4, in which the transmission information configuration unit 26a selects a predetermined of data amount The transmission equipment information 56 described below is constructed, and the constructed transmission equipment information is sent to the network communication unit 26e. The transmission process is triggered by the calculation process. Specifically, after the transmission equipment information is generated, software for transmission stored in the storage unit 28 is called, and the transmission process is executed.

[0044] In step S5 after step S4, the network communication unit 26e transmits the transmission equipment information 56 to the server 50, and in the following step S6, the status information update unit 26b, which has received information capable of identifying the equipment information 55 normally transmitted from the network communication unit 26e, rewrites the transmission status of the equipment information 55 stored in the storage unit 28 to "transmitted", and then the control ends. Note that the equipment information 55 whose transmission status has been rewritten to "transmitted" is deleted from the storage unit 28 a predetermined time after the rewriting.

[0045] On the other hand, if the determination in step S3 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S7, where the high priority information selection unit 26c sorts the untransmitted equipment information 55 based on the transmission priority, and rearranges the information in descending order of priority. Then, in the next step S8, the data is sorted in descending order of the untransmitted equipment information 55 with the highest transmission priority. Amount Allowed capacity The transmission equipment information 56 is constructed within the range below, and the constructed transmission equipment information 56 is sent to the network communication unit 26e. capacity At step S3 quantitative below Amount of After that, step S5 and subsequent steps are repeated.

[0046] Next, the operation of the network communication unit 26e will be described. Fig. 6 is a flow chart for explaining an example of the operation of the network communication unit 26e. Referring to Fig. 6, when the remote information collection system 1 is constructed and control is started, in step S21, the network communication unit 26e receives the transmission equipment information 56, and in the following step S22, it is determined whether the network communication unit 26e is connected to the server 50.

[0047] If the determination in step S22 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S23, where the network communication unit 26e controls the transmission unit 35 so as to transmit the transmission equipment information 56, and then, in step S24, the network communication unit 26e determines whether or not the transmission equipment information 56 has been normally transmitted. This determination is made by checking whether or not the network communication unit 26e has received, from the server 50, information indicating that the server 50 has received the transmission equipment information 56. If the determination in step S24 is negative, the control is returned, and steps S21 and onward are repeated, and if the determination in step S24 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S25, where the network communication unit 26e passes information capable of identifying the normally transmitted transmission equipment information 56 to the status information update unit 26b, and then, the control is returned, and steps S21 and onward are repeated.

[0048] On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S22, the process proceeds to step S26, where the network communication unit 26e attempts to connect to the server 50, and then in step S27, the network communication unit 26e determines whether or not a connection with the server 50 has been established. If a positive determination is made in step S27, steps S23 and onwards are repeated, and if a negative determination is made in step S27, the control is returned, and steps S21 and onwards are repeated.

[0049] As described above, the equipment information transmission device 20 acquires equipment information 55 related to one or more pieces of electrical equipment 10 from the electrical equipment 10 at predetermined intervals, and sequentially transmits transmission equipment information 56 composed of the equipment information 55 to the server 50. The equipment information transmission device 20 also includes a receiving unit 30 that receives the equipment information 55 from the electrical equipment 10, and a transmitting unit 35 that transmits the transmission equipment information to the server 50. The equipment information transmission device 20 also has a storage unit 28 that stores the equipment information 55 and status information indicating whether the equipment information 55 has been transmitted to the server 50 or not. The equipment information transmission device 20 also has a status information updating unit 26b that updates the status information of the equipment information 55 that has been transmitted to the server 50 to information indicating that it has been transmitted. The equipment information transmission device 20 also extracts equipment information 55 that has not been transmitted to the server 50 based on the status information at predetermined time intervals, and extracts equipment information 56 from the extracted equipment information 55 based on the status information at predetermined time intervals. of data amount The transmission information configuration unit 26a configures the transmission equipment information 56 as follows.

[0050] Therefore, since equipment information 55 containing an excessively large amount of data is not transmitted to server 50, a sudden increase in communication traffic in a short period of time can be suppressed, and the accumulated equipment information 55 can be reliably transmitted to server 50 while suppressing data loss and server downtime.

[0051] Furthermore, the facility information 55 may include transmission priority information indicating the priority of transmission to the server 50. Furthermore, the transmission information configuration unit 26a may configure the transmission facility information 56 from facility information 55 with a high priority.

[0052] According to this configuration, it is easy to transmit important facility information 55 with high priority to the server 50.

[0053] In addition, the equipment information transmission device 20 determines whether the equipment information 55 is updated to a predetermined value based on the newly received equipment information 55. Amount of The information processing device may be provided with a high priority information selection unit 26c that deletes, from the equipment information 55 stored in the memory unit 28, equipment information 55 having a lower priority than the priority of the newly received equipment information 55 when the number of equipment information pieces exceeds a certain number, and stores the newly received equipment information 55 in the memory unit 28.

[0054] According to this configuration, when a network failure or the like occurs, the amount of data of the facility information 55 stored in the storage unit 28 becomes a predetermined amount. Amount of If the number of pieces of facility information 55 exceeds the limit, data with a low priority can be deleted. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which a large amount of facility information 55 is accumulated in storage unit 28, causing the capacity of storage unit 28 to decrease and making it impossible for facility information transmission device 20 to smoothly execute operations.

[0055] The equipment information 55 may also include date and time information that can specify the time and date when the equipment information 55 is transmitted from the electrical equipment 10 with respect to the same electrical equipment 10. In addition, the equipment information transmission device 20 may determine that the equipment information 55 is a predetermined Amount of The present invention may also include a new information selection unit 26d that, when the number of equipment information pieces exceeds the number of equipment information pieces, deletes equipment information 55 having date and time information older than that of the newly received equipment information 55 and stores the newly received equipment information 55 in the memory unit 28.

[0056] When a network failure or the like occurs, a large amount of equipment information 55 is accumulated in the memory unit 28 of the equipment information transmission device 20. In such a case, however, there is almost no problem even if old equipment information 55 is deleted.

[0057] According to this configuration, when a network failure or the like occurs, the amount of data of the facility information 55 stored in the storage unit 28 becomes a predetermined amount. Amount ofexceeding 100%, only the new facility information 55 can be left for the same electrical equipment 10, and the old facility information 55, which will have little impact even if deleted, can be deleted. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which a large amount of facility information 55 is accumulated in the storage unit 28, reducing the capacity of the storage unit 28 and making it impossible for the facility information transmission device 20 to smoothly execute operations.

[0058] The remote information collection system 1 also includes one or more pieces of electrical equipment 10 , a equipment information transmission device 20 that acquires equipment information 55 from the electrical equipment 10 , and a server 50 that acquires transmission equipment information 56 from the equipment information transmission device 20 .

[0059] According to the remote information collection system 1, it is possible to prevent a sudden increase in communication traffic in a short period of time, and it is possible to reliably transmit the accumulated facility information 55 to the server 50 while preventing data loss and server downtime.

[0060] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment and its modified examples, and various improvements and modifications are possible within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

[0061] For example, in the above embodiment, the remote information collection system 1 is provided with a plurality of electrical equipment 10, and the plurality of electrical equipment 10 includes two or more different electrical equipment 11 to 15. However, all of the electrical equipment 10 provided in the remote information collection system 1 may be lighting devices having a light source that emits light. Here, the lighting device may be any lighting device that has a light source and emits light, for example, an emergency light, a ceiling light, a line light, a downlight, a spotlight, or a pendant light. According to this configuration, the equipment information of the lighting device can be transmitted to the server. Therefore, it is possible to investigate and analyze when, where, and how lighting fixtures are used in facility lighting, store lighting, residential lighting, etc., and what conditions are preferred.

[0062] More specifically, as explained in paragraph

[0061] , the lighting fixtures managed by the technology of the present disclosure may be any lighting devices, but in the case of lighting fixtures used for a special purpose, it is preferable to store transmission equipment information related to that purpose in the server. For example, since the lighting fixtures managed by the technology of the present disclosure may be any lighting devices, they do not have to be lighting fixtures used indoors, but may be lighting fixtures installed outdoors, such as street lights, road lights, or security lights.

[0063] Here, in the case of lighting fixtures installed outdoors, which are subject to significant deterioration over time and may be damaged by contact with objects (e.g., people, bicycles, or automobiles), it is of course necessary to perform fault detection, i.e., monitoring of the lighting status. Furthermore, if the most recent data, such as data on the most recent power consumption, data on the most recent lighting status, or data on the most recent power, can be identified, this makes it easier to smoothly restore the fixture and also enables analysis of the failure, which is preferable.

[0064] Fig. 7 is an example of a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the remote information collection system 1 that enables storage of immediately preceding data in a server, without being limited to such applications. When the remote information collection system 1 is constructed, the processing procedure starts, and in step S31, the control device 25 of the equipment information transmission device 20 judges whether or not a normal signal has not been acquired N (N is any natural number) times in succession at the reception timing from any lighting fixture. Here, cases in which a normal signal has not been acquired include, for example, cases in which the signal itself has not been received, cases in which the received signal does not contain equipment information that should be included in the signal, and the like. Moreover, when N is 1, to be precise, the judgment is not whether or not a normal signal has not been acquired consecutively, but whether or not a normal signal has not been acquired at any reception timing.

[0065] If a negative determination is made in step S31, step S31 is repeated. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in step S31, the process proceeds to step S32, in which the control device 25 identifies, for the abnormal lighting fixture, facility information that is stored in the storage unit 28 and that was included in the last normal signal immediately before the occurrence of a state in which normal signals could not be acquired N consecutive times, such as time information, power information, power information, lighting state information, dimming information, and the like.

[0066] Then, in step S33 after step S32, the equipment information transmission device 20 transmits the one or more pieces of equipment information to the server 50 in a state in which the information is linked to the identification information (which may also be equipment information) of the abnormal lighting fixture. In step S34 after step S33, the server 50 receives (acquires) the information linked to the identification information from the equipment information transmission device 20 and stores it in a memory unit of the server 50. In this modified example, each of the equipment information transmission device 20 and the server 50 has a signal transmission unit and a signal reception unit, and is capable of transmitting and receiving signals. In the next step S35, the server 50 transmits information to the equipment information transmission device 20 indicating that it has stored the information linked to the identification information.

[0067] In the next step S36, when the control device 25 of the equipment information transmission device 20 recognizes that the server 50 has stored the information linked to the identification information based on the signal from the server 50, the processing procedure is returned. According to this modification, a person can access the server 50 to obtain equipment information immediately before the failure of a broken lighting fixture. Therefore, the cause of the failure can be analyzed, and the lighting fixture can be quickly restored. In particular, when the lighting fixture is a lighting fixture installed outdoors, such as a street light, road light, or security light, the location information of the lighting fixture and, in some cases, information on the time of installation are important information. Therefore, in the case of such a lighting fixture, at least one of the location information obtained by a person using a GPS receiver or the like and the information on the time of installation of the lighting fixture obtained by a person may be transmitted to the server 50 via the equipment information transmission device 20 using an information device (e.g., a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, etc.) by a person, or may be transmitted directly to the server 50, and at least one of the information may be stored in the server 50 in a state linked to the identification information of the lighting fixture. Alternatively, in the case of such a lighting fixture, the lighting fixture may transmit location information acquired by a GPS receiver built into the lighting fixture to the server 50 via the facility information transmission device 20, and the location information may be stored in the server 50 in a state linked to the identification information of the lighting fixture. In the case where the lighting fixture is a lighting fixture installed outdoors, such as a street light, road light, or security light, and a luminaire including a structure (e.g., a power supply circuit, wiring, etc.) required for emitting light from a light-emitting unit is fixed to a predetermined position using a pole, the lighting device includes the lighting fixture and the pole. Therefore, when the lighting fixture includes a GPS receiver and a pole, the GPS receiver may be disposed in the lighting fixture or in the pole.

[0068] In addition, in the flowchart using FIG. 7, the electrical equipment is a lighting fixture, particularly a lighting fixture installed outdoors, but the application of the flowchart using FIG. 7 is not limited to lighting fixtures. In detail, the flowchart using FIG. 7 may be applied to any electrical equipment other than a lighting fixture, and may be applied to, for example, an environmental sensor that can detect environmental information, such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a water level sensor, a rainfall detection sensor, an illuminance sensor, etc. Alternatively, the flowchart using FIG. 7 may be applied to a solar power generation device, a wind power generation device, a wave power generation device, a tidal power generation device, etc. Alternatively, the flowchart using FIG. 7 may be applied to a monitoring device that stores at least one of image information (image data) and video information (video data) in a server, such as a fixed-point shooting device that monitors traffic volume, or a security shooting device for crime prevention purposes.

[0069] Further, the remote information collection system of the present disclosure may perform one-way data exchange, but may also perform two-way data exchange. Here, in the case of performing two-way signal exchange in the remote information collection system, the information exchange between the electrical equipment and the equipment information transmission device may be one-way information exchange from the electrical equipment to the equipment information transmission device, while the information exchange between the equipment information transmission device and the server may be two-way information exchange using the transmission and reception units of each other. Alternatively, in the case of performing two-way signal exchange in the remote information collection system, the information exchange between at least one electrical equipment and the equipment information transmission device may be two-way information exchange using the transmission and reception units of each other, while the information exchange between the equipment information transmission device and the server may be one-way information exchange from the equipment information transmission device to the server. Alternatively, in the case of performing two-way signal exchange in the remote information collection system, the information exchange between at least one electrical equipment and the equipment information transmission device may be two-way information exchange using the transmission and reception units of each other, and the information exchange between the equipment information transmission device and the server may also be two-way information exchange using the transmission and reception units of each other.

[0070] Next, an example of two-way information exchange in a remote information collection system will be described. For example, when new street lights or road lights are installed in the same area (e.g., a town), the street lights and road lights are often subjected to the same lighting control in the same area. In such a case, it may be preferable to smoothly obtain lighting information of existing street lights and road lights in the same area and use it for lighting control of the additional street lights and road lights to be installed.

[0071] Fig. 8 is a diagram explaining two-way information exchange that is preferable in such a case. First, in such a case, as shown in the flowchart in Fig. 8(a), when each lighting fixture is incorporated into the remote information collection system, in step S41, the lighting fixture may transmit information related to dimming control (including simple lighting control) to the server via the equipment information transmission device, and in step S42, the server may store the information related to dimming control in association with the identification information of the corresponding lighting fixture.

[0072] Then, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8(b), when a new lighting fixture (for example, a street light or road light) is installed and incorporated into the remote information collection system, a person may transmit, in step S51, a signal indicating that the newly installed lighting fixture is to be subjected to the same dimming control as the existing lighting fixtures and including the identification numbers of the newly installed lighting fixture and the existing lighting fixtures, to the server 50 via the equipment information transmission device 20 using an information device (for example, a smartphone, a tablet, or a personal computer). Then, in step S52 after step S51, the server that has received the signal may transmit information regarding dimming control related to the corresponding existing lighting fixture to the newly installed lighting fixture via the equipment information transmission device 20. Then, in the next step S53, the newly installed lighting fixture may store the information regarding dimming control related to the existing lighting fixture in its storage unit.

[0073] In the case of this modified example, the lighting fixture, the facility information transmission device, and the server can exchange a series of two-way signals as shown in Figures 8(a) and (b). Therefore, for example, when a person installs new street lights or road lights in the same area, the newly installed street lights or road lights can be instantly controlled with a simple operation to perform the same lighting control as the existing street lights and road lights in the same area.

[0074] In addition, regardless of the contents described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8, the exchange of facility information and transmission facility information described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6 may be performed using lighting equipment installed outdoors, such as street lights, road lights, or security lights. Alternatively, regardless of the contents described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8, the exchange of facility information and transmission facility information described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6 may be performed using an environmental sensor capable of detecting environmental information, such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a water level sensor, a rainfall detection sensor, or an illuminance sensor, or may be performed using a power generation device whose power generation amount varies depending on the environment, such as a solar power generation device, a wind power generation device, a wave power generation device, or a tidal power generation device. Alternatively, regardless of the contents described with reference to Figs. 7 and 8, the exchange of facility information and transmission facility information described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6 may be performed using a monitoring device that stores at least one of image information (image data) and video information (video data) in a server, such as a fixed-point photography device that monitors traffic volume, or a security photography device for crime prevention purposes.

[0075] 1 to 6 may include information related to the amount of power (for example, power information, power amount information). If the equipment information or transmission equipment information includes information related to the amount of power, a person can check the power consumption of the electrical equipment and can, for example, study a method for efficiently saving power. In particular, when the electrical equipment is a device related to power generation, not only the power consumption but also the amount of generated power can be monitored as equipment information.

[0076] In addition, when the information related to the amount of power is information on the amount of power, the electrical equipment may calculate the amount of power (power consumption) for each predetermined period and transmit the calculated amount of power to the server via the equipment information transmission device, and the server may store the information on the amount of power (power consumption) for each predetermined period in association with the identification information of the corresponding electrical equipment. Alternatively, the server may calculate the amount of power (power consumption) of the electrical equipment for each predetermined period based on the equipment information of the electrical equipment contained in the transmission equipment information received during the predetermined period via the equipment information transmission device. Then, the server may store the calculated information on the amount of power (power consumption) for each predetermined period in association with the identification information of the corresponding electrical equipment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 1 remote information collection system, 5 facility, 10 electrical equipment, 11 lighting fixtures, 12 emergency exit lights, 13 air conditioning equipment, 14 automatic fire alarms, 15 smoke control equipment, 20 equipment information transmission device, 25 control device, 26 control unit, 26a transmission information configuration unit, 26b status information update unit, 26c high priority information selection unit, 26d new information selection unit, 26e network communication unit, 28 memory unit, 30 receiving unit, 35 transmitting unit, 50 server, 55 equipment information, 56 transmission equipment information.

Claims

1. A facility information transmission device that acquires facility information related to one or more electrical facilities from the electrical facilities at predetermined intervals and sequentially transmits transmission facility information composed of the facility information to a server, A receiving unit that receives the equipment information from the electrical equipment; A transmitting unit that transmits the transmission equipment information to the server; a storage unit that stores the facility information and status information indicating whether the facility information has been transmitted to the server or not; a status information update unit that updates the status information of the equipment information that has been transmitted to the server to information indicating that the equipment information has been transmitted; a transmission information configuration unit that extracts the equipment information that has not been transmitted to the server at a predetermined time interval based on the status information, and configures the transmission equipment information that is equal to or smaller than a predetermined data amount from the extracted equipment information; A facility information transmission device comprising:

2. The facility information includes transmission priority information indicating a priority of transmission to the server, The facility information transmission device according to claim 1 , wherein the transmission information configuration unit configures the transmission facility information from the facility information having the high priority.

3. 3. The facility information transmission device according to claim 2, further comprising a high priority information selection unit that, when the newly received facility information causes the facility information to exceed a predetermined amount, deletes facility information stored in the memory unit that has a lower priority than the priority of the newly received facility information, and stores the newly received facility information in the memory unit.

4. The equipment information includes date and time information that can specify a time before or after a date and time when the equipment information is transmitted from the electrical equipment for the same electrical equipment, 4. The facility information transmission device according to claim 1, further comprising a new information selection unit that, when the newly received facility information causes the facility information to exceed a predetermined amount, deletes the facility information having the date and time information that is older than the newly received facility information, and stores the newly received facility information in the storage unit.

5. The facility information transmission device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more pieces of electrical equipment is a lighting device having a light source that emits light.

6. One or more electrical installations; A facility information transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which acquires the facility information from the electrical facility; A server that acquires the transmission equipment information from the equipment information transmission device; A remote information collection system comprising:

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