Master device, slave device, repeater, and wireless communication system

Abstract

To provide a master unit, slave unit, repeater, and wireless communication system that are configured so that a repeater signal transmitted from the repeater and a response signal transmitted from the master unit do not interfere with each other.SOLUTION: A repeater includes: a repeater receiving section that receives a slave unit signal including first individual identification information, wirelessly transmitted from a slave unit; and a repeater transmitting section that wirelessly transmits a repeater signal including second individual identification information corresponding to the first individual identification information to the slave unit and a master unit based on the slave unit signal. The repeater receiving section further receives a response signal to the repeater signal, wirelessly transmitted from the master unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a master device, a slave device, a repeater, and a wireless communication system.

Background Art

[0002] A wireless communication system for wirelessly controlling a device to be controlled has been put into practical use. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a wireless communication system that performs two-way wireless communication between a control device and a controlled device controlled thereby via a repeater.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In a conventional wireless communication system that performs two-way wireless communication between a slave device and a master device controlled thereby via a repeater, when the slave device signal reaches both the repeater and the master device, there is a problem that the repeater signal and the response signal respectively transmitted in response to the slave device signal from the repeater and the master device interfere with each other.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a master unit, a slave unit, a repeater, and a wireless communication system configured such that a repeater signal transmitted from the repeater and a response signal transmitted from the master unit do not interfere with each other.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A repeater according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a repeater receiving unit that wirelessly receives a slave unit signal transmitted from a slave unit and includes first individual identification information, a repeater transmitting unit that wirelessly transmits a repeater signal including second individual identification information corresponding to the first individual identification information to the slave unit and the master unit based on the slave unit signal, The repeater receiving unit further receives a response signal to the repeater signal transmitted wirelessly from the master unit.

[0008] A slave unit according to another aspect of the present disclosure is a slave unit that transmits a signal to the master unit via the repeater according to the above aspect, a storage unit that stores the first and second individual identification information, a slave unit transmitting unit that wirelessly transmits the slave unit signal including the first individual identification information to the repeater, a slave unit receiving unit that receives a signal, and a notification unit that notifies a user of reception success information indicating that reception has been successful when the signal received by the slave unit receiving unit includes the second individual identification information.

[0009] A master unit according to another aspect of the present disclosure is a master unit that receives a signal from the slave unit via the repeater according to the above aspect, a master unit receiving unit that receives the repeater signal including the second individual identification information, a master unit transmitting unit that transmits the response signal including the second individual identification information to the repeater when the master unit receiving unit receives the repeater signal, and an output unit that outputs a control signal to a target device that is pre-associated with the second individual identification information when the master device receiving unit receives the repeater signal.

[0010] A wireless communication system according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes the repeater according to the above aspect, a slave unit, and a master unit. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the master unit, slave unit, repeater, and wireless communication system of the present disclosure, the repeater signal transmitted from the repeater and the response signal transmitted from the master unit do not interfere with each other. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the wireless communication system according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0014] 1. First Embodiment 1-1. Application Example FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an application example of the wireless communication system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 100 includes a slave unit (transmitter) 1, a repeater 2, and a master unit (receiver) 3.

[0015] The slave unit 1 is, for example, a wireless switch that can be carried by a user and is equipped with a push-button type transmission switch. When the transmission switch is pressed and turned on, the slave unit 1 transmits a signal to the master unit 3 via the repeater 2. The master unit 3 outputs a control signal to a controlled device such as a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) based on the received signal, enabling operations such as robot control, door opening and closing, and operation of an automated guided vehicle.

[0016] The slave unit 1, the repeater 2, and the master unit 3 are wireless devices that use radio waves having a frequency in the 920 MHz band, for example, 915 MHz to 930 MHz, for example, 928.15 MHz to 929.65 MHz, and conform to the ARIB STD-T108 standard defined in, for example, Non-Patent Document 1. The slave unit 1 is, for example, an Omron Corporation wireless push-button switch A2W-TA-WC1 that uses radio waves having a frequency of 929.2 MHz, and the master unit 3 and the repeater 2 are, for example, A2W-RAN-WC1. The slave unit 1, the repeater 2, and the master unit 3 are not limited to the above, and any devices that can perform wireless communication with each other may be used, and may be wireless devices that conform to communication standards such as ARIB STD-T67 and ARIB STD-T93.

[0017] In Fig. 1(a), when the user presses the button member 110 of the transmission switch, the slave unit 1 transmits a slave unit signal to the repeater 2.

[0018] In Fig. 1(b), the repeater 2 that has received the slave unit signal transmits a repeater signal to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3. The slave unit 1 that has received the repeater signal notifies the user that the reception has been successful, for example, by lighting the display unit green.

[0019] In Fig. 1(c), the master unit 3 that has received the repeater signal returns an affirmative response signal (hereinafter referred to as an "ACK signal") to the repeater 2 and transmits an output signal to the device to be controlled. The repeater 2 receives the ACK signal transmitted from the master unit 3. The ACK signal is an example of the "response signal" of the present disclosure.

[0020] Compared with a wireless communication system including a conventional repeater, the wireless communication system 100 configured as described above can shorten the return time from the transmission of the slave unit signal from the slave unit 1 to the repeater 2 in Fig. 1(a) to the return of the repeater signal from the repeater 2 to the slave unit 1 in Fig. 1(b).

[0021] The reason why the return time can be shortened compared with the prior art is as follows.

[0022] In a conventional wireless communication system, it has been necessary to go through the following steps from the transmission of the slave unit signal from the slave unit to the repeater to the return of the repeater signal from the repeater to the slave unit. (i) A step in which the slave unit transmits a slave unit signal to the repeater, (ii) A step in which the repeater that has received the slave unit signal transmits a first repeater signal to the master unit, (iii) A step in which the master unit that has received the first repeater signal returns an ACK signal to the repeater, (iv) A step in which the repeater that has received the ACK signal transmits a second repeater signal to the slave unit.

[0023] Here, there is a communication standard limitation that a predetermined time interval must be provided between step (ii) and step (iv) when the repeater transmits a signal.

[0024] That is, in various communication standards, it is stipulated that the control device of the wireless facility must have a transmission time limit function. For example, in 3.4.1(3)2 of Non-Patent Document 1 that stipulates ARIB STD-T108, when the control device of the wireless facility uses radio waves with a frequency in the range of 928.15 MHz to 929.65 MHz, if carrier sense is not performed, the emission of the radio waves must be stopped within 50 milliseconds (ms), and subsequent transmission must not be performed until after the transmission pause time of 50 ms has elapsed. However, 3.4.1(3)2 of Non-Patent Document 1 stipulates that "it is assumed that retransmission can be performed without providing a transmission pause time of 50 ms after stopping the emission within 50 ms continuously from the first emission of the radio waves." In this specification, a predetermined time period from the first emission of the radio waves, during which retransmission is possible without providing a transmission pause time, is referred to as the "retransmission possible time." In ARIB STD-T108 defined in Non-Patent Document 1, when using radio waves with a frequency in the range of 928.15 MHz to 929.65 MHz, the retransmission possible time when carrier sense is not performed is 50 ms.

[0025] In a conventional wireless communication system, a transmission pause time must be provided between step (ii) of transmitting the first repeater signal to the master unit and step (iv) of transmitting the second repeater signal to the slave unit. Although it is conceivable to execute step (iv) within the retransmission possible time from step (ii), since it is necessary to go through step (iii) between step (ii) and (iv), it is difficult to execute step (iv) within the retransmission possible time.

[0026] Therefore, in the conventional wireless communication system, it took a time exceeding, for example, a transmission pause time of 50 ms from when the slave unit transmitted the slave unit signal to the repeater until it received the second repeater signal.

[0027] In contrast, the wireless communication system 100 according to the present embodiment can shorten the time from when the slave unit transmits the slave unit signal to the repeater until it receives the second repeater signal as compared with the wireless communication system including the conventional repeater.

[0028] The effect of this time shortening is particularly advantageous when the slave unit 1 is a self - power - generating device that generates power in accordance with an operation of a transmission switch by a user. Generally, such a self - power - generating slave unit 1 can transmit a slave unit signal without using a primary battery or a secondary battery, so that battery replacement and charging can be made unnecessary. Further, such a self - power - generating slave unit 1 can use the generated power to more reliably transmit the slave unit signal and more reliably grasp the reception state of the repeater signal. However, when it takes a long time of, for example, 50 ms or more of transmission pause time from when the slave unit transmits the slave unit signal to the repeater until it receives the second repeater signal as in the conventional wireless communication system, the power generated by the slave unit does not last, and there has been a problem that the reception state of the repeater signal cannot be grasped. The wireless communication system 100 according to the present embodiment can shorten the time from when the slave unit transmits the slave unit signal to the repeater until it receives the second repeater signal as compared with the wireless communication system including the conventional repeater, thus solving the above - mentioned problem.

[0029] 1 - 2. Configuration example FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the slave unit 1 in FIG. 1. The slave unit 1 includes a transmission switch 11, a power generation unit 12, a power storage unit 13, a control unit 14, a transmission unit 15, a reception unit 16, a storage unit 17, and a notification unit 18.

[0030] The transmission switch 11 has a button member 110 and is a mechanical switch that switches between an on state and an off state by the movement of the button member 110. When the button member 110 is pressed and turned on, the slave unit 1 transmits a control signal.

[0031] The power generation unit 12 generates electric power using the energy generated as the button member 110 moves, for example, the energy applied by the user to move the button member 110.

[0032] The power storage unit 13 is electrically connected to the power generation unit 12 and stores the electric power generated by the power generation unit 12. The power storage unit 13 is, for example, a capacitor. The power storage unit 13 supplies the stored electric power to each component such as the control unit 14, the transmission unit 15, the reception unit 16, and the notification unit 18.

[0033] The transmission switch 11, the power generation unit 12, and the power storage unit 13 can apply the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2 that can generate electricity by moving a button member (see, for example, 0063 of Patent Document 2).

[0034] The control unit 14 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), etc., and controls the operation of the slave unit 1 according to information processing. Such information processing is realized by the control unit 14 executing a program. The control unit 14 may be composed of various semiconductor integrated circuits such as an MPU, a GPU, a DSP, an FPGA, and an ASIC in addition to the CPU.

[0035] The storage unit 17 is a medium that stores information such as programs recorded by a computer or other devices, machines, etc. so that the information can be read, and stores the information such as programs by means of electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical actions. The storage unit 17 is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a ROM that can retain storage without power, a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or a solid state drive. The storage unit 17 stores individual identification information, programs executed by the control unit 14, etc.

[0036] The transmitting unit 15 is equipped with, for example, an antenna and transmits a slave unit signal in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 14. The slave unit signal includes individual identification information. The individual identification information includes, for example, the identifier (ID) of the slave unit 1 which is the transmission source and type information indicating the type of the transmission source device. Both the ID and the type information are examples of the "individual identification information" of the present disclosure. The type information includes information for specifying whether the transmission source device is any one of the slave unit 1, the repeater 2, and the master unit 3. For example, when the transmission source device is the slave unit 1, in the type information, the bit corresponding to the slave unit 1 is set to the High (H) level, and the bits corresponding to the repeater 2 and the master unit 3 are set to the Low (L) level.

[0037] The receiving unit 16 is equipped with, for example, an antenna and receives the repeater signal transmitted from the repeater 2.

[0038] The notification unit 18 is a notification device for notifying the user of information indicating that the signal transmission and reception have been successful, failed, the communication status, etc. The notification unit 18 is, for example, a light-emitting device such as an LED that emits light to notify the user of certain information. The notification unit 18 may be a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display capable of displaying information. The notification unit 18 may also be an audio output device such as a speaker that notifies the user of information by sound.

[0039] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the repeater 2 in FIG. 1. The repeater 2 includes a power supply unit 21, a control unit 22, a notification unit 23, a storage unit 24, a transmitting unit 25, and a receiving unit 26.

[0040] The power supply unit 21 receives power from a power source such as a commercial power supply or a battery and supplies power to each component of the repeater 2. The power supply unit 21 may have a circuit such as a conversion circuit that converts alternating current to direct current.

[0041] The control unit 22 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, etc., and controls the operation of the repeater 2 according to information processing. Such information processing is realized by the control unit 22 executing a program. The control unit 22 may be composed of various semiconductor integrated circuits such as an MPU, a GPU, a DSP, an FPGA, and an ASIC in addition to the CPU.

[0042] The storage unit 24 is a medium that stores information such as programs in which computers and other devices, machines, etc. are recorded, by means of electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical actions, so that the information can be read. The storage unit 24 is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a ROM that can retain storage without power, a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or a solid state drive. The storage unit 24 stores programs and the like executed by the control unit 22.

[0043] The notification unit 23 is a notification device for notifying the user of information indicating that the transmission and reception of a signal has been successful, failed, the communication status, etc. The notification unit 23 is, for example, a light-emitting device such as an LED. The notification unit 23 may be a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display that can display information. The notification unit 23 may be an audio output device such as a speaker that notifies the user of information by sound.

[0044] The transmission unit 25 includes, for example, an antenna and transmits a repeater signal according to an instruction from the control unit 22. The repeater signal includes individual identification information. When the control unit 22 receives a slave unit signal including a specific ID, for example, ID "A", from the slave unit 1, the control unit 22 includes ID "A" in the repeater signal. Thereby, it can be seen that the repeater signal reaching the master unit 3 is related to the slave unit 1 having ID "A".

[0045] The reception unit 26 includes, for example, an antenna and receives the slave unit signal transmitted from the slave unit 1 and the ACK signal transmitted from the master unit 3.

[0046] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the master unit 3 in FIG. 1. The master unit 3 includes a power supply unit 31, a control unit 32, an operation unit 33, a storage unit 34, a transmission unit 35, a reception unit 36, and an output unit 37.

[0047] The power supply unit 31 receives power from a power source such as a commercial power supply or a battery, and supplies power to each component of the master unit 3. The power supply unit 31 may have a circuit such as a conversion circuit that converts alternating current to direct current.

[0048] The control unit 32 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, etc., and controls the operation of the master unit 3 according to information processing. Such information processing is realized by the control unit 32 executing a program. The control unit 32 may be composed of various semiconductor integrated circuits such as an MPU, a GPU, a DSP, an FPGA, and an ASIC in addition to the CPU.

[0049] The storage unit 34 is a medium that stores information such as programs recorded in a computer or other devices, machines, etc. in a readable manner by means of electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical actions. The storage unit 34 is, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a ROM that can retain storage without power, a flash memory, a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, etc. The storage unit 34 stores programs and the like executed by the control unit 32.

[0050] The operation unit 33 is an input device for inputting information to the control unit 32. The operation unit 33 is composed of, for example, buttons, switches, a touch panel, a pointing device such as a mouse, a dial-type input device, etc. The user can operate the controlled device not only by operating the slave unit 1 but also by operating the operation unit 33 of the master unit 3.

[0051] The transmission unit 35 is equipped with, for example, an antenna and transmits an ACK signal in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 32. The ACK signal contains individual identification information. When the relay device 2 receives a relay signal containing a specific ID, for example, ID "A", the control unit 32 includes ID "A" in the ACK signal. Thereby, it can be understood that the ACK signal reaching the relay device 2 is related to the slave unit 1 having ID "A".

[0052] The reception unit 36 is equipped with, for example, an antenna and receives the relay signal transmitted from the relay device 2.

[0053] The output unit 37 is an output interface circuit that transmits an output signal to an output destination such as a device to be controlled.

[0054] 1-3. Operation Example 1-3-1. Operation Example of Slave Unit 1 FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing executed by the slave unit 1 in FIG. 2.

[0055] In step S11 of FIG. 5, the control unit 14 of the slave unit 1 determines whether the transmission switch 11 has been turned on. If Yes, it proceeds to step S12; if No, it returns to step S11. When the button member 110 is pressed by the user and the transmission switch 11 is turned on, power is generated by the power generation unit 12. In step S12, the transmission unit 15 transmits a slave unit signal to the relay device 2 using the generated power.

[0056] In step S13 of FIG. 5, the control unit 14 determines whether the receiving unit 16 has received the repeater signal within a predetermined slave unit response time since the execution of step S12. If Yes, it proceeds to step S14, while if No, it proceeds to step S15. This repeater signal is transmitted from the transmitting unit 25 of the repeater 2 in step S22 of FIG. 6 described later. In step 14, the notification unit 18 notifies the user of information indicating that the reception has been successful. For example, in step 14, the notification unit 18 emits light in green. In step S15, the notification unit 18 notifies the user of information indicating that the reception has failed. For example, in step S15, the notification unit 18 emits light in red.

[0057] 1-3-2. Example of operation of repeater 2 FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the process executed by the repeater 2 in FIG. 3.

[0058] In step S21 of FIG. 6, the control unit 22 of the repeater 2 determines whether the receiving unit 26 has received the slave unit signal. If Yes, it proceeds to step S22, while if No, it returns to step S21. This slave unit signal is transmitted from the transmitting unit 15 of the slave unit 1 in step S12 of FIG. 5.

[0059] In step S22 of FIG. 6, the transmitting unit 25 transmits the repeater signal to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3. The transmitting unit 25 may transmit the repeater signal to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3 simultaneously. Alternatively, the transmitting unit 25 may transmit the repeater signal to the slave unit 1 or the master unit 3, and then transmit the repeater signal to the master unit 3 or the slave unit 1 within the retransmission available time. In step S23, the control unit 22 determines whether the receiving unit 26 has received the ACK signal within a predetermined repeater response time since the execution of step S22. If Yes, the process of FIG. 6 ends, while if No, it proceeds to step S24. This ACK signal is transmitted from the transmitting unit 35 of the master unit 3 in step S32 of FIG. 7 described later.

[0060] In step S24 of FIG. 6, the control unit 22 determines whether the reception of the ACK signal has failed a predetermined number of times. If Yes, it proceeds to step S25, while if No, it returns to step S22 to retransmit the repeater signal. Here, the failure to receive the ACK signal means proceeding to No in step S23, that is, the control unit 22 determines that the receiving unit 26 has not received the ACK signal within a predetermined repeater response time from the execution of step S22. For example, in step S24, when the number of times of proceeding to No in step S23 reaches the predetermined number of times, the control unit 22 determines that the reception of the ACK signal has failed a predetermined number of times and proceeds to step S25.

[0061] When proceeding to No in step S24 of FIG. 6 and returning to step S22 to retransmit the repeater signal, it is preferable that the retransmission be executed within a predetermined retransmission possible time from the transmission of the repeater signal in the first step S22. The retransmission possible time is, for example, 50 ms (see 3.4.1(3)2 of Non-Patent Document 1 that defines ARIB STD-T108). In this case, the repeater response time of step S23 is set so that retransmission can be executed within the retransmission possible time.

[0062] In step S25 of FIG. 6, the notification unit 23 notifies the user of information such as a signal indicating the failure to receive the ACK signal. For example, when the notification unit 23 is realized as an LED, it emits light in red. For example, the notification unit 23 may transmit the information to the user's terminal via the network. Thereby, the user can know that the repeater 2 has failed to receive the ACK signal a predetermined number of times and that there is a problem with the wireless communication system 100.

[0063] 1-3-3. Operation Example of the Master Unit 3 FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the process executed by the master unit 3 of FIG. 4.

[0064] In step S31 of FIG. 7, the control unit 32 of the master device 3 determines whether the receiving unit 36 has received a repeater signal. If Yes, it proceeds to step S32, while if No, it returns to step S31. This repeater signal is transmitted from the transmitting unit 25 of the repeater 2 in step S22 of FIG. 6. In step S32, the transmitting unit 35 transmits an ACK signal to the repeater 2.

[0065] In step S33 of FIG. 7, the control unit 32 determines whether it has received a plurality of repeater signals including the same ID within a predetermined period. If Yes, it ends the process of FIG. 7, while if No, it proceeds to step S34. The "predetermined period" is, for example, the period from a time a predetermined time ago to the present. In step S34, the output unit 37 transmits an output signal to the device to be controlled. In step S33, when it is determined that a plurality of repeater signals including the same ID have been received within the predetermined period, the output signal is not transmitted to the device to be controlled because, in this case, the output signal has already been transmitted to the device to be controlled within the predetermined period and the device to be controlled is being driven.

[0066] 1-3-4. Operation Example of Wireless Communication System 100 FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall operation of the wireless communication system 100 according to this embodiment. FIG. 8 shows an example where all signal transmissions and receptions between the slave device 1 and the repeater 2 and between the repeater 2 and the master device 3 are successful.

[0067] In FIG. 8, when the user presses and turns on the transmission switch 11 (S11a), the slave device 1 transmits a slave device signal to the repeater 2 in step S12 (see FIG. 5). Here, let the ID of the slave device 1 be represented by "A". Therefore, the slave device signal includes individual identification information having the ID "A" of the slave device 1 and type information for specifying that the transmission source is the slave device 1.

[0068] In FIG. 8, the repeater 2 that was waiting for the slave unit signal in step S21 (see FIG. 6) receives the slave unit signal (S21a), and in step S22, transmits a repeater signal including the ID “A” to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3. The slave unit 1 receives the repeater signal (S13a) and notifies the user of information indicating that the reception was successful in step S14 (see FIG. 5). On the other hand, the master unit 3 receives the repeater signal (S31a), transmits an ACK signal to the repeater 2 in step S32 (see FIG. 7), and further transmits an output signal to the device to be controlled in step S34. The repeater 2 receives the ACK signal transmitted from the master unit 3 (S23a).

[0069] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing another example of the overall operation of the wireless communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. Different from FIG. 8, FIG. 9 shows an example in which the signal transmission from the repeater 2 to the master unit 3 fails.

[0070] In FIG. 9, when the user presses and turns on the transmission switch 11 (S11a), the slave unit 1 transmits a slave unit signal including the ID “A” to the repeater 2 in step S12 (see FIG. 5). The repeater 2 that was waiting for the slave unit signal in step S21 (see FIG. 6) receives the slave unit signal (S21a), and in step S22, transmits a repeater signal including the ID “A” to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3. The slave unit 1 receives the repeater signal (S13a) and notifies the user of information indicating that the reception was successful in step S14 (see FIG. 5).

[0071] In FIG. 9, an example is shown in which the repeater signal transmitted from the repeater 2 fails to reach the master unit 3 due to a failure of the repeater 2, a failure of the master unit 3, a communication failure, or the like. In this case, the master unit 3 proceeds to No in step S31 of FIG. 7 and does not execute the ACK signal transmission in step S32. Therefore, the repeater 2 does not receive the ACK signal within the repeater response time in step S23 (timeout, S23b), returns to step S22, and retransmits the repeater signal. If the retransmission also fails and the repeater 2 does not receive the ACK signal within the repeater response time in step S23 (timeout, S23b), when the predetermined number of times in step S24 of FIG. 6 is set to "2", the process proceeds to the notification process in step S25.

[0072] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing still another example of the overall operation of the wireless communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. Unlike FIG. 9, FIG. 10 shows an example in which the signal transmission from the repeater 2 to the master unit 3 fails the first time and succeeds the second time. In FIG. 10, the description of the processes overlapping with those in FIG. 9 is omitted.

[0073] In FIG. 10, the master unit 3 successfully receives the repeater signal retransmitted from the repeater 2 (S31a), transmits an ACK signal to the repeater 2 in step S32, and further transmits an output signal to the control target device in step S34. The repeater 2 receives the ACK signal transmitted from the master unit 3 (S23a).

[0074] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing still another example of the overall operation of the wireless communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. Unlike FIG. 8, FIG. 11 shows an example in which the signal transmission from the master unit 3 to the repeater 2 fails. In FIG. 11, the repeater 2 does not receive the ACK signal and performs the same operation as in FIG. 9 where the ACK signal is not received.

[0075] In FIG. 11, the master unit 3 receives a repeater signal including the ID "A" transmitted from the repeater 2 (S31a), transmits an ACK signal to the repeater 2 in step S32, and further transmits an output signal to the device under control in step S34. However, due to a failure of the repeater 2, a failure of the master unit 3, a communication failure, etc., the repeater 2 does not receive an ACK signal within the repeater response time in step S23 (timeout, S23b), returns to step S22, and retransmits the repeater signal.

[0076] The master unit 3 receives a repeater signal including the ID "A" retransmitted from the repeater 2 (S31a), and transmits an ACK signal to the repeater 2 in step S32. Since the master unit 3 has received a repeater signal including the same ID a plurality of times within a predetermined period, it proceeds to Yes in step S33 and does not execute step S34 of transmitting the output signal to the device under control this time.

[0077] In FIG. 11, the second transmission of the ACK signal by the master unit 3 also fails, and since the repeater 2 does not receive the ACK signal within the repeater response time in step S23 (timeout, S23b), when the predetermined number of times in step S24 of FIG. 6 is set to "2", the process proceeds to the notification process of step S25.

[0078] 1-4. Effects, etc. As described above, the repeater 2 according to the present embodiment includes a receiving unit 26 that receives a slave unit signal wirelessly transmitted from the slave unit 1, and a transmitting unit 25. The transmitting unit 25 wirelessly transmits a repeater signal to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3 based on the slave unit signal. The receiving unit 26 further receives an ACK signal for the repeater signal wirelessly transmitted from the master unit 3. The repeater 2 according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the repeater signal is also transmitted to the slave unit 1.

[0079] According to this configuration, the repeater 2 does not wait for the return of the ACK signal from the master unit 3 and then transmit the repeater signal to the slave unit 1 after transmitting the repeater signal to the master unit 3. Instead, the transmission of the repeater signal to the master unit 3 and the transmission of the repeater signal to the slave unit 1 can be performed in a batch. Therefore, compared with the prior art, the transmission procedure of the repeater signal can be simplified. Further, according to the repeater 2 according to the present embodiment, there is no need to provide a transmission pause time defined in a communication standard such as ARIB STD-T108 between the transmission of the repeater signal to the master unit 3 and the transmission of the repeater signal to the slave unit 1. Compared with the prior art, the time from when the slave unit 1 transmits the slave unit signal to the repeater 2 until it receives the repeater signal can be shortened.

[0080] When the receiving unit 26 does not receive the ACK signal within a predetermined first response time from the transmission of the repeater signal by the transmitting unit 25, the transmitting unit 25 may retransmit the repeater signal to the master unit 3 one or more times.

[0081] According to this configuration, compared with the case where the repeater signal is not retransmitted, the opportunity to successfully communicate with the master unit 3 can be increased.

[0082] The transmitting unit 25 may retransmit the repeater signal to the master unit 3 within a predetermined retransmittable time from the transmission of the repeater signal by the transmitting unit 25. The retransmittable time is, for example, 50 milliseconds.

[0083] According to this configuration, by complying with the retransmittable time, a repeater 2 compliant with a communication standard such as ARIB STD-T108 can be obtained.

[0084] The repeater 2 may further include a notification unit 23. The notification unit 23 notifies the user when the receiving unit 26 does not receive the ACK signal within a predetermined first response time after the transmitting unit 25 last transmits the repeater signal.

[0085] According to this configuration, the user can know that the repeater 2 has failed to receive the ACK signal and that there may be a problem in the communication between the repeater 2 and the master unit 3.

[0086] The slave unit 1 includes a transmission unit 15 that wirelessly transmits a slave unit signal to the repeater 2, a reception unit 16 that receives a repeater signal wirelessly transmitted from the repeater 2, and a notification unit 18 that notifies a user of information. When the reception unit 16 receives the repeater signal within a predetermined second response time from the transmission of the slave unit signal by the transmission unit 15, the notification unit 18 notifies the user of information indicating that the reception was successful.

[0087] According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain the slave unit 1 applicable to the wireless communication system 100 that can shorten the time from when the slave unit 1 transmits the slave unit signal to the repeater 2 until the repeater signal is received as described above. In addition, the user using the slave unit 1 can know, by the notification unit 18, the operation performed using the slave unit 1 and the success or failure of communication between the slave unit 1 and the repeater 2.

[0088] The slave unit 1 may further include a transmission switch 11 and a power generation unit 12. The transmission switch 11 has a button member 110 and switches between an on state and an off state by the movement of the button member 110. The power generation unit 12 generates electric power using the energy generated with the movement of the button member 110. The transmission unit 15 transmits a slave unit signal to the repeater 2 using the electric power generated by the power generation unit 12.

[0089] According to this configuration, since the slave unit 1 can transmit a slave unit signal without using a primary battery or a secondary battery, it is possible to eliminate the need for battery replacement and charging. In addition, such a self-powered slave unit 1 can more reliably transmit a slave unit signal using the generated electric power and can more reliably grasp the reception state of the repeater signal.

[0090] The slave unit 1 may further include a power storage unit 13 that stores the electric power generated by the power generation unit 12. The reception unit 16 receives the repeater signal by the electric power supplied from the power storage unit 13, and the notification unit 18 notifies information by the electric power supplied from the power storage unit 13.

[0091] According to this configuration, even after the slave unit 1 has transmitted the slave unit signal, it can use the power stored by the power storage unit 13 to receive the repeater signal and notify the information by the reception and notification unit 18.

[0092] The master unit 3 includes a master unit reception unit 36 that wirelessly receives the repeater signal transmitted from the repeater 2, a transmission unit 35 that transmits an ACK signal to the repeater 2 when the reception unit 36 receives the repeater signal, and an output unit 37 that outputs a control signal to the device to be controlled when the reception unit 36 receives the repeater signal.

[0093] According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain the master unit 3 applicable to the wireless communication system 100 that can shorten the time from when the slave unit 1 transmits the slave unit signal to the repeater 2 until it receives the repeater signal as described above.

[0094] 2. Second Embodiment 2-1. Findings Regarding the Two-Way Wireless Communication System In a wireless communication system that performs two-way wireless communication between the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3 via the repeater 2, when the master unit 3 and the repeater 2 are in the proximity space, as shown in FIG. 12(a), the slave unit signal may reach not only the repeater 2 but also the master unit 3. In this case, as shown in FIG. 12(b), the repeater 2 transmits the repeater signal to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3 in response to the slave unit signal, and the master unit 3 transmits an ACK signal to the slave unit 1 in response to the slave unit signal. Therefore, the repeater signal and the ACK signal may interfere with each other. When interference occurs, the slave unit 1 may fail to receive the repeater signal or the ACK signal, and notify the user of information indicating the reception failure (see step S15 in FIG. 5), or the repeater 2 may determine that the communication with the master unit 3 has failed and retransmit the repeater signal. This is a problem because, even though the master unit 3 has received the slave unit signal and transmitted the output signal to the device to be controlled (see step S34 in FIG. 7), the reception failure notification by the slave unit 1 and the retransmission process by the repeater 2 are performed. The wireless communication system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure solves this problem.

[0095] 2-2. Operation Example 2-2-1. Operation Example of Sub-device 1 FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the sub-device 1 of the wireless communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. The flowchart of FIG. 13 includes step S213 instead of step S13 in FIG. 5. Different from step S13 in FIG. 5 that waits only for the repeater signal, step S213 in FIG. 13 is a step that waits for both the repeater signal and the ACK signal. Therefore, compared with the first embodiment, the receiving unit 16 of the sub-device 1 receives not only the repeater signal transmitted from the repeater 2 but also the ACK signal transmitted from the master device 3. In step S13 of FIG. 13, the control unit 14 of the sub-device 1 determines whether the receiving unit 16 has received the repeater signal or the ACK signal within a predetermined sub-device response time since the execution of step S12. If Yes, it proceeds to step S14, while if No, it proceeds to step S15.

[0096] 2-2-2. Operation Example of Master Device 3 FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the master device 3 of the wireless communication system 100 according to the present embodiment.

[0097] Compared with the first embodiment, the receiving unit 36 of the master device 3 receives not only the repeater signal transmitted from the repeater 2 but also the sub-device signal transmitted from the sub-device 1. In step S231 of FIG. 14, the control unit 32 of the master device 3 determines whether the receiving unit 36 has received the sub-device signal or the repeater signal. If Yes, it proceeds to step S232, while if No, it returns to step S231.

[0098] In step S232 of FIG. 14, the control unit 32 determines whether the signal received by the receiving unit 36 is a sub-device signal. If Yes, it proceeds to step S233, while if No, it proceeds to step S32. In step S233, the control unit 32 waits for a predetermined waiting time T and then proceeds to step S32. Since the subsequent steps S32 to S34 are the same as those in FIG. 7, the description is omitted.

[0099] That is, in the flow of FIG. 14, when the master unit 3 receives a repeater signal in the signal waiting step S231, it immediately transmits an ACK signal to the repeater 2, similar to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7. On the other hand, in the flow of FIG. 14, when the master unit 3 receives a slave unit signal in the signal waiting step S231, it waits for the waiting time T and then transmits an ACK signal to the slave unit 1.

[0100] The waiting time T for waiting in the waiting step S233 is longer than the time from when the repeater 2 receives the slave unit signal until the transmission of the repeater signal is completed. That is, the waiting time T is set to satisfy the following formula (1). T>t1 + t2 …(1) Here, t1 is the time from when the repeater 2 receives the slave unit signal until it transmits the repeater signal. t2 is the temporal length of the repeater signal itself, that is, the time from the start of transmission of the repeater signal by the repeater 2 until the transmission is completed.

[0101] Also, the waiting time T is set so that the slave unit 1 can receive an ACK signal from the master unit 3 while the power generated by the self-powered slave unit 1 persists. For example, the waiting time T is shorter than the power supply available time during which the power storage unit 13 can supply power. The waiting time T is, for example, several ms.

[0102] 2-2-3. Operation Example of Wireless Communication System 100 FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall operation of the wireless communication system 100 according to the present embodiment.

[0103] In FIG. 15, when the user presses the transmission switch 11 to turn it on (S11a), the slave unit 1 transmits a slave unit signal to the repeater 2 and the master unit 3 in step S12 (see FIG. 13). Here, it is assumed that the ID of the slave unit 1 is represented by "A". Therefore, the slave unit signal includes the individual identification information having the ID "A" of the slave unit 1 and the type information for specifying that the transmission source is the slave unit 1.

[0104] In FIG. 15, the repeater 2 that was waiting for the slave unit signal in step S21 (see FIG. 6) receives the slave unit signal (S21a), and in step S22, transmits a repeater signal including ID “A” to the slave unit 1. The slave unit 1 receives the repeater signal (S213a), and in step S14 (see FIG. 13), notifies the user of information indicating that the reception was successful.

[0105] On the other hand, the master unit 3 receives the slave unit signal (S232a), and thus waits for the waiting time T in the waiting step S233. Next, in step S32 (see FIG. 7), an ACK signal is transmitted to the repeater 2, and in step S34, an output signal is transmitted to the controlled device. The repeater 2 receives the ACK signal transmitted from the master unit 3 (S23a).

[0106] As described above, the master unit 3 according to the present embodiment receives a signal directly from the slave unit 1 or via the repeater 2. When the repeater 2 receives the slave unit signal from the slave unit 1, the repeater 2 wirelessly transmits the repeater signal to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3. The master unit 3 includes a receiving unit 36, a transmitting unit 35, and an output unit 37. The receiving unit 36 receives the slave unit signal and the repeater signal. When the receiving unit 36 receives the repeater signal, the transmitting unit 35 transmits an ACK signal to the slave unit 1 and the repeater 2. When the receiving unit 36 receives at least one of the slave unit signal and the repeater signal, the output unit 37 outputs a control signal to the controlled device. When the receiving unit 36 receives the slave unit signal, the transmitting unit 35 transmits an ACK signal to the slave unit 1 and the repeater 2 after a predetermined waiting time T has elapsed.

[0107] According to this configuration, when the slave unit signal reaches both the repeater 2 and the master unit 3, the repeater 2 immediately transmits the repeater signal to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3 in response to the slave unit signal, while the master unit 3 transmits an ACK signal to the slave unit 1 and the repeater 2 after a predetermined waiting time T has elapsed. Therefore, the repeater signal and the ACK signal are transmitted with a time interval. Therefore, the problem that the repeater signal and the ACK signal interfere with each other does not occur.

[0108] The standby time T may be longer than the time from when the repeater 2 receives the slave unit signal until the transmission of the repeater signal is completed.

[0109] Even with this configuration, the effect that the repeater signal and the ACK signal do not interfere with each other can be achieved in the same manner as described above.

[0110] The slave unit 1 includes a transmission unit 15 that wirelessly transmits a slave unit signal to the repeater 2, a reception unit 16 that receives a repeater signal and an ACK signal, and a notification unit 18 that notifies a user of information. The notification unit 18 notifies the user of information indicating that the reception was successful when the reception unit 16 receives at least one of the repeater signal and the ACK signal within a predetermined response time from the transmission of the slave unit signal by the transmission unit 15.

[0111] According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain a slave unit 1 applicable to the wireless communication system 100 that achieves the effect that the repeater signal and the ACK signal do not interfere with each other as described above. In addition, the user using the slave unit 1 can know, by the notification unit 18, the success or failure of the operation performed using the slave unit 1, the communication between the slave unit 1 and the repeater 2, and the communication between the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3.

[0112] The repeater 2 includes a reception unit 26 and a transmission unit 25. The reception unit 26 receives the slave unit signal wirelessly transmitted from the slave unit 1 and the ACK signal wirelessly transmitted from the master unit 3. The transmission unit 25 wirelessly transmits a repeater signal to the slave unit 1 and the master unit 3 based on the received slave unit signal.

[0113] According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain a repeater 2 applicable to the wireless communication system 100 that achieves the effect that the repeater signal and the ACK signal do not interfere with each other as described above.

[0114] In the wireless communication system 100, the slave unit 1 may further include a transmission switch 11 and a power generation unit 12. The transmission switch 11 has a button member 110, and switches between an on state and an off state by moving the button member 110. The power generation unit 12 generates electric power using the energy generated as the button member 110 moves. The transmission unit 15 transmits a slave unit signal to at least one of the repeater 2 and the master unit 3 using the electric power generated by the power generation unit 12.

[0115] According to this configuration, since the slave unit 1 can transmit a slave unit signal without using a primary battery or a secondary battery, it is possible to eliminate the need for battery replacement and charging. In addition, such a self-powered slave unit 1 can more reliably transmit a slave unit signal using the generated electric power and can more reliably grasp the reception state of the repeater signal.

[0116] In the wireless communication system 100, the slave unit 1 may further include a power storage unit 13 that stores the electric power generated by the power generation unit 12. The reception unit 16 receives at least one of a repeater signal and an ACK signal using the electric power supplied from the power storage unit 13, and the notification unit 18 notifies information using the electric power supplied from the power storage unit 13.

[0117] According to this configuration, even after the slave unit 1 transmits a slave unit signal, it can receive at least one of a repeater signal and an ACK signal and notify information by the notification unit 18 using the electric power stored by the power storage unit 13.

[0118] The standby time T may be shorter than the power supply available time during which the power storage unit 13 can supply power.

[0119] According to this configuration, the slave unit 1 can receive at least one of a repeater signal and an ACK signal and notify information by the notification unit 18 using the electric power stored by the power storage unit 13.

[0120] 3. Third Embodiment 3-1. Application Example FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an application example of a wireless communication system 300 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 300 includes a plurality of slave devices 301, one or more repeaters 302, and one or more master devices 303. In FIG. 16, four slave devices 301a, 301b, 301c, 301d, two repeaters 302a, 302b, and two master devices 303a, 303b are illustrated.

[0121] In FIG. 16, in accordance with a user's operation, the slave device 301a transmits a slave device signal including the ID "A" to the repeater 302a. Similarly, the slave device 301b transmits a slave device signal including the ID "B" to the repeater 302a, and the slave device 301c transmits a slave device signal including the ID "C" to the repeater 302b. The repeater 302a converts the conversion target ID "A" to the conversion ID "X" and the conversion target ID "B" to the conversion ID "Y" according to a pre-stored ID conversion table. The repeater 302b converts the conversion target ID "C" to the conversion ID "Z" according to a pre-stored ID conversion table.

[0122] When the repeater 302a receives a slave device signal including the ID "A", it transmits a repeater signal including the conversion ID "X" to the slave device 301a and the master device 303b, and when it receives a slave device signal including the ID "B", it transmits a repeater signal including the conversion ID "Y" to the slave device 301b and the master device 303a.

[0123] The slave device 301d directly transmits a slave device signal including the ID "D" to the master device 303b.

[0124] The master devices 303a and 303b store an output destination table that associates the master device target ID with the output destination of the control signal, and select the output destination according to the ID included in the received signal. In the example of FIG. 16, when the master device 303a receives a repeater signal including the ID "Y", it returns an ACK signal including the ID "Y" to the repeater 302a and transmits a control signal to the output destination OUT1. When the master device 303b receives a repeater signal including the ID "X", it returns an ACK signal including the ID "X" to the repeater 302b and transmits a control signal to the output destination OUT2. When the master device 303b receives a repeater signal including the ID "Z", it returns an ACK signal including the ID "Z" to the repeater 302b and transmits a control signal to the output destination OUT3.

[0125] When the master device 303b receives a slave device signal including the ID "D", it returns an ACK signal including the ID "D" to the slave device 301d and transmits a control signal to the output destination OUT4.

[0126] In the above manner, each of the slave devices 301a to 301d is associated with the output destinations OUT1 to 4, respectively. In the wireless communication system 300, the ID conversion table and the output destination table are shared and adjusted so that malfunction does not occur. For example, since the master device target IDs in the output destination table do not include the IDs "A", "B", and "C", the master devices 303a and 303b do not directly respond to the slave device signals transmitted from the slave devices 301a to 301c and return ACK signals. Also, since the conversion target ID in the ID conversion table does not include the ID "D", the repeaters 302a and 302b do not transmit repeater signals in response to the transmission signals transmitted from the slave device 301d.

[0127] Therefore, according to the wireless communication system 300, even if a slave device signal including the ID "A" reaches both the repeater 302a and the master device 303a, the master device 303a does not return an ACK signal in response to the slave device signal, so there is no problem of interference between the repeater signal from the repeater 302a and the ACK signal from the master device 303a.

[0128] As described above, similar to the second embodiment, the wireless communication system 300 according to the present embodiment solves the problem that the repeater signal and the ACK signal interfere with each other.

[0129] 3-2. Configuration Example FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the slave unit 301 according to the present embodiment. Comparing with the slave unit 1 in FIG. 2, in FIG. 17, ID correspondence information 171 is stored in advance in the storage unit 17 of the slave unit 301.

[0130] FIG. 18 is a table showing an example of the ID correspondence information 171 in FIG. 17. In the ID correspondence information 171, the own device ID and the conversion ID are associated with each other in advance. FIG. 18 shows an example in which the own device ID of the slave unit 1 is "A" and the conversion ID is "X". As will be described later, the ID "A" indicating the slave unit 1 is converted to the ID "X" by the ID conversion unit 221 of the repeater 302.

[0131] FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the repeater 302 according to the present embodiment. Comparing with the repeater 2 in FIG. 3, in FIG. 19, the control unit 22 includes an ID conversion unit 221, and an ID conversion table 325 is stored in advance in the storage unit 24. The ID conversion unit 221 is an example of the "individual identification information conversion unit" of the present disclosure, and the ID conversion table 325 is an example of the "conversion table" of the present disclosure.

[0132] FIG. 20 is a table showing an example of the ID conversion table 325 in FIG. 19. In the ID conversion table 325, a plurality of conversion target IDs and conversion IDs are associated with each other in advance. In the example of FIG. 20, the conversion ID "X" is associated with the conversion target ID "A", the conversion ID "Y" is associated with the conversion target ID "B", and the conversion ID "Z" is associated with the conversion target ID "C".

[0133] When the slave unit ID included in the slave unit signal corresponds to one of the plurality of IDs to be converted in the ID conversion table 325, the ID conversion unit 221 in FIG. 19 refers to the ID conversion table 325 and converts the slave unit ID into a conversion ID. The ID conversion unit 221 may generate a repeater signal including a conversion ID corresponding to one of the plurality of IDs to be converted in the ID conversion table 325. In the example where the ID conversion table 325 shown in FIG. 20 is stored in the storage unit 24, when the ID conversion unit 221 receives a slave unit signal including the ID "A", it converts the ID "A" into the ID "X".

[0134] The relationship between the ID to be converted and the conversion ID in the ID conversion table 325 in FIG. 20 corresponds to the relationship between the own unit ID and the conversion ID in each ID correspondence information 171 of the plurality of slave units 1 in the wireless communication system 300 (see FIG. 18). In the examples shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, the own unit ID in the ID correspondence information 171 in FIG. 18 is "A", the conversion ID is "X", and the conversion ID corresponding to the ID to be converted "A" in the ID conversion table 325 in FIG. 20 is "X", and the relationship between the two is consistent without contradiction.

[0135] FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the master unit 303 according to the present embodiment. Compared with the master unit 3 in FIG. 4, in FIG. 21, an output destination table 335 is stored in advance in the storage unit 34 of the master unit 303.

[0136] FIG. 22 is a table showing an example of the output destination table 335 in FIG. 21. In the output destination table 335, a plurality of master unit target IDs and output destination information are associated in advance. In the example of FIG. 22, the output destination "OUT2" is associated with the master unit target ID "X", the output destination "OUT1" is associated with the master unit target ID "Y", the output destination "OUT3" is associated with the master unit target ID "Z", and the output destination "OUT4" is associated with the master unit target ID "D", respectively. The output destinations OUT1 to OUT4 are respectively linked to the corresponding controlled devices.

[0137] 3-3. Operation example 3-3-1. Operation example of the slave unit 301 FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing an example of the process executed by the slave unit 301 in FIG. 17. The process in FIG. 23 includes step S313 instead of step S13 as compared with FIG. 5. In step S313 in FIG. 23, the control unit 14 determines whether the receiving unit 16 has received a repeater signal including its own device ID or the converted ID within a predetermined slave unit response time from the execution of step S12. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S14, while if No, the process proceeds to step S15. The control unit 14 refers to the ID correspondence information 171 in FIG. 17 to determine whether the receiving unit 16 has received a repeater signal including its own device ID or the converted ID.

[0138] 3-3-2. Operation Example of Repeater 302 FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing an example of the process executed by the repeater 302 in FIG. 19.

[0139] In step S321 in FIG. 24, the control unit 22 of the repeater 302 determines whether the receiving unit 26 has received a slave unit signal including the ID to be converted. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S322, while if No, the process returns to step S321. The control unit 22 refers to the ID conversion table 325 in FIG. 20 to determine whether the receiving unit 26 has received a slave unit signal including the ID to be converted.

[0140] In step S322 in FIG. 24, the ID conversion unit 221 refers to the ID conversion table 325 in FIG. 20 to convert the ID to be converted into the converted ID. In the next step S323, the transmitting unit 25 transmits a repeater signal including the converted ID to the slave unit 301 and the master unit 303.

[0141] Since the subsequent steps S23 to S25 are the same as those in FIG. 6, the description thereof is omitted.

[0142] 3-3-3. Operation Example of Master Unit 303 FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing an example of the process executed by the master unit 303 in FIG. 21.

[0143] In step S331 of FIG. 25, the control unit 32 of the master unit 303 determines whether the receiving unit 36 has received a slave unit signal or a repeater signal including the master unit target ID. If Yes, the process proceeds to step S32, while if No, the process returns to step S331.

[0144] In step S32 of FIG. 25, the transmitting unit 35 transmits an ACK signal to the slave unit 301 or the repeater 302. When the control unit 32 determines in step S331 that it has received a slave unit signal including the master unit target ID, the transmitting unit 35 transmits an ACK signal including the master unit target ID to the slave unit 301. On the other hand, when the control unit 32 determines in step S331 that it has received a repeater signal including the master unit target ID, the transmitting unit 35 transmits an ACK signal including the master unit target ID to the repeater 302.

[0145] In step S333 of FIG. 25, the control unit 32 determines whether it has received a slave unit signal or a repeater signal including the same master unit target ID a plurality of times within a predetermined period. If Yes, the process of FIG. 25 ends, while if No, the process proceeds to step S334.

[0146] In step S334 of FIG. 25, the output unit 37 refers to the output destination table 335 of FIG. 21 and transmits an output signal to the control target device corresponding to the master unit target ID included in the signal received in step S331.

[0147] 3-3-4. Operation Example of Wireless Communication System 300 FIG. 26 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall operation of the wireless communication system 300 according to the present embodiment.

[0148] In FIG. 26, when the user presses and turns on the transmission switch 11 (S11a), the slave unit 301 transmits a slave unit signal to the repeater 302 in step S12 (see FIG. 23). Here, it is assumed that the ID of the slave unit 1 is represented by "A". Therefore, the slave unit signal includes the individual identification information having the ID "A" of the slave unit 1 and the type information for specifying that the transmission source is the slave unit 301.

[0149] In FIG. 26, the repeater 302 receives the slave unit signal including the ID "A" (S321a), while the master unit 303 does not respond to the slave unit signal including the ID "A". This is because the master unit target ID in the output destination table 335 of FIG. 22 does not include the ID "A", and the slave unit signal including the ID "A" is not a target for reception by the master unit 303.

[0150] Returning to FIG. 26, in step S322, the repeater 302 converts the ID "A" to the ID "X", and in step S323, transmits the repeater signal including the ID "X" to the slave unit 301 and the master unit 303. The slave unit 301 receives the repeater signal including the ID "X" (S313a), and notifies the user of information indicating that the reception was successful in step S14 (see FIG. 23).

[0151] On the other hand, the master unit 303 receives the repeater signal including the ID "X" (S331a), transmits an ACK signal including the ID "X" to the repeater 302 in step S32 (see FIG. 25), and the repeater 302 receives the ACK signal (S23a). Further, in step S334, the master unit 303 refers to the output destination table 335 in FIG. 22 and transmits the output signal to the output destination.

[0152] 3-4. Effects, etc. As described above, the repeater 302 according to the present embodiment includes a receiving unit 26 and a transmitting unit 25. The receiving unit 26 receives the slave unit signal wirelessly transmitted from the slave unit 301. The slave unit signal includes first individual identification information. The transmitting unit 25 wirelessly transmits a repeater signal including second individual identification information corresponding to the first individual identification information to the slave unit 301 and the master unit 303 based on the slave unit signal. The receiving unit 26 further receives an ACK signal for the repeater signal wirelessly transmitted from the master unit 303.

[0153] According to this configuration, in the wireless communication system 300, the transmission of an ACK signal including specific individual identification information from the master unit 303 and the transmission of a repeater signal including the same individual identification information as the specific individual identification information from the repeater 302 are not performed simultaneously, and the problem that the ACK signal and the repeater signal interfere with each other does not occur. As an example, when a slave unit signal including the first individual identification information reaches both the repeater 302 and the master unit 303, the repeater 302 transmits a repeater signal including the second individual identification information to the slave unit 301 and the master unit 303, so that the repeater signal and the ACK signal from the master unit 303 do not interfere with each other.

[0154] The repeater 302 may further include a storage unit 24 and an individual identification information conversion unit 221. The storage unit 24 stores an ID conversion table 325 that associates the first individual identification information with the second individual identification information. The individual identification information conversion unit 221 refers to the ID conversion table 325 and converts the first individual identification information included in the slave unit signal into the second individual identification information. The transmission unit 25 transmits a repeater signal including the second individual identification information to the slave unit 301 and the master unit 303.

[0155] Even with this configuration, the same effects as those of the repeater 302 described above can be achieved.

[0156] The slave unit 301 includes a storage unit 17, a transmission unit 15, a reception unit 16, and a notification unit 18. The storage unit 17 stores the first and second individual identification information. The transmission unit 15 wirelessly transmits a slave unit signal including the first individual identification information to the repeater 302. The reception unit 16 receives a signal. The notification unit 18 notifies the user of reception success information indicating that the reception has been successful when the signal received by the reception unit 16 includes the second individual identification information.

[0157] According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain a slave unit 301 applicable to the wireless communication system 300 that achieves the effect that the repeater signal and the ACK signal do not interfere with each other as described above. In addition, the user using the slave unit 301 can know, by the notification unit 18, the operation performed using the slave unit 301 and the success or failure of the communication between the slave unit 301 and the repeater 302.

[0158] The slave device 301 may be able to directly transmit a signal to the master device 303 without going through the repeater 302. In this case, when the signal received by the receiving unit 16 includes the first individual identification information, the notification unit 18 notifies reception success information.

[0159] According to this configuration, the slave device 301 can communicate with the master device 303 without going through the repeater 302 when, for example, it is at a short distance such as in the same room as the master device 303.

[0160] The master device 303 includes a receiving unit 36, a transmitting unit 35, and an output unit 37. The receiving unit 36 receives a repeater signal including the second individual identification information. The transmitting unit 35 transmits an ACK signal including the second individual identification information to the repeater 302 when the receiving unit 36 receives the repeater signal. The output unit 37 outputs a control signal for the controlled device pre-associated with the second individual identification information when the receiving unit 36 receives the repeater signal.

[0161] According to this configuration, a master device 303 applicable to a wireless communication system 300 that achieves the effect that the repeater signal and the ACK signal do not interfere with each other as described above can be obtained.

[0162] The master device 303 may further include a storage unit 34 that stores an output destination table 335 that associates the second individual identification information with output destination information. The output unit 37 outputs a control signal to the output destination indicated by the output destination information with reference to the second individual identification information and the output destination table 335.

[0163] Even with this configuration, the same effect as that of the above-described master device 303 can be achieved.

[0164] The master device 303 may be able to directly receive a signal from the slave device 301 without going through the repeater 302. In this case, the output destination table 335 may further associate the first individual identification information with the output destination information. The receiving unit 36 further receives a slave device signal including the first individual identification information. When the receiving unit 36 receives a slave device signal including the first individual identification information, the transmitting unit 35 transmits an ACK signal including the first individual identification information to the slave device 301. The output unit 37 refers to the first individual identification information and the output destination table 335, and outputs a control signal to the output destination indicated by the output destination information.

[0165] According to this configuration, the master device 303 can communicate with the slave device 301 without going through the repeater 302 when, for example, it is at a short distance such as in the same room as the slave device 301.

[0166] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, the foregoing description is merely illustrative of the present disclosure in every respect. Various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0167] 1 Slave device 11 Transmission switch 12 Power generation unit 13 Power storage unit 14 Control unit 15 Transmission unit 16 Receiving unit 17 Storage unit 18 Notification unit 2 Repeater 21 Power supply unit 22 Control unit 23 Notification unit 24 Storage unit 25 Transmission unit 26 Receiving unit 3 Master device 31 Power supply unit 32 Control unit 33 Operation unit 34 Storage unit 35 Transmission unit 36 Receiving unit 37 Output unit 100 Wireless communication system 110 Button member 171 ID-corresponding information 221 ID conversion unit 221 Individual identification information conversion unit 300 Wireless communication system 301 Sub-device 302 Repeater 303 Master device 325 ID conversion table 335 Output destination table

Claims

1. A repeater receiving unit that wirelessly receives a slave unit signal transmitted from a slave unit and includes first individual identification information, A storage unit that stores a conversion table for associating the first individual identification information with second individual identification information, An individual identification information conversion unit that refers to the conversion table and converts the first individual identification information into the second individual identification information, A repeater transmission unit that wirelessly transmits a repeater signal including the second individual identification information to the slave unit and the master unit based on the slave unit signal, The repeater receiving unit further receives a response signal for the repeater signal wirelessly transmitted from the master unit, Repeater.

2. A slave unit that transmits a signal to the master unit via the repeater according to claim 1, A storage unit that stores the first and second individual identification information, A slave unit transmission unit that wirelessly transmits the slave unit signal including the first individual identification information to the repeater, A slave unit receiving unit that receives a signal, A notification unit for notifying a user of reception success information indicating that reception has been successful when the signal received by the slave unit receiving unit includes the second individual identification information, Slave unit.

3. The slave unit can directly transmit a signal to the master unit without passing through the repeater, The notification unit notifies the reception success information when the signal received by the slave unit receiving unit includes the first individual identification information, The slave unit according to claim 2.

4. A master unit that receives a signal from the slave unit via the repeater according to claim 1, A master unit receiving unit that receives the repeater signal including the second individual identification information, A master unit transmission unit that transmits the response signal including the second individual identification information to the repeater when the master unit receiving unit receives the repeater signal, An output unit that outputs a control signal for a target device pre-associated with the second individual identification information when the master unit receiving unit receives the repeater signal, Master unit.

5. The master unit further includes a storage unit that stores an output destination table for associating the second individual identification information with output destination information, The output unit refers to the second individual identification information and the output destination table and outputs a control signal to the output destination indicated by the output destination information, The master unit according to claim 4.

6. The master unit can directly receive a signal from the slave unit without passing through the repeater, The output destination table further associates the first individual identification information with the output destination information. The master unit receiving section further receives the slave unit signal including the first individual identification information. When the master unit receiving section receives the slave unit signal including the first individual identification information, the master unit transmitting section transmits the response signal including the first individual identification information to the slave unit. The output section refers to the first individual identification information and the output destination table, and outputs a control signal to the output destination indicated by the output destination information. The master unit according to claim 5.

7. The repeater according to claim 1, the slave unit according to claim 2, the master unit according to claim 4, and a wireless communication system comprising the same.

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