Elevator control device, elevator, and communication processing method

Abstract

To provide a method that places fewer requirements on a processing unit of a unit control unit and is compatible with a variety of communication specifications.SOLUTION: An elevator control device 4 includes an overall control unit 5 and a communication control unit 6 that controls communication with multiple terminal devices under the control of the overall control unit 5. The overall control unit 5 includes a communication timing command unit 55 that commands the communication timing for communicating with the terminal devices, and a first communication unit 54 that communicates with the communication control unit 6 in accordance with the communication timing. The communication control unit 6 includes a first communication unit 61 that communicates with the first communication unit 54 of the overall control unit 5, a communication speed switching unit 66 that switches the communication speed of communication with the terminal devices for each terminal device, and a second communication unit 64 that communicates with the terminal devices in accordance with the communication speed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator control device, an elevator, and a communication processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Due to the recent shortage of parts and discontinuation of production, there is a demand for the selection of parts that are readily available in the market and for processing structures that make them easy to replace.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a semiconductor device having a communication function. Patent Document 1 describes that the semiconductor device has "an internal bus, a central processing unit connected to the internal bus, a communication circuit having a plurality of communication channels, and a communication bridge circuit connecting the communication circuit to the internal bus," and that "the communication bridge circuit employs a buffer memory to which a communication channel buffer area is assigned in one-to-one correspondence with the communication channel, and the buffer memory is interfaced to the internal bus via a bus interface circuit on one side and to the communication circuit via a communication channel interface circuit on the other side." Patent Document 1 further describes that "the communication channel interface circuit controls reading out transmission data to be provided to the corresponding communication channel from the communication channel buffer area and writing received data provided from the communication channel to the corresponding communication channel buffer area based on definition information of the communication channel buffer area set in the register circuit via the internal bus." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-150656 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The semiconductor device described in Patent Document 1, with the above-described configuration, is less likely to waste storage capacity in the communication data buffer and can reduce bus traffic of communication data. However, this semiconductor device does not take into consideration the communication specifications of the connected terminal and cannot handle the communication (communication, protocol) of the connected terminal. Furthermore, this semiconductor device does not take into consideration what to do when communication fails.

[0006] To select parts that are easily distributed in the market, it is desirable that the processing unit requirements (peripherals, number of pins, processing performance, etc.) be few. However, in an elevator, the unit control unit on the unit side has many communication partners, and the communication specifications differ for each communication partner, so the requirements placed on the unit control unit are many.

[0007] The unit control unit has two main functions: control the entire elevator and communicate with multiple communication partners.If the unit control unit fails and cannot be replaced quickly due to the current shortage of parts and discontinued production, the elevator will no longer be able to be controlled and will have to be stopped until a unit control unit can be arranged.

[0008] In view of the above circumstances, there has been a demand for a method that at least reduces the requirements on the processing unit of the unit control unit and is capable of supporting various communication specifications. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the elevator control device of the present invention is an elevator control device that controls an elevator to which multiple terminal devices are connected, and includes an overall control unit that controls the multiple terminal devices, and a communication control unit that controls communication between the multiple terminal devices under the control of the overall control unit. The overall control unit has a communication timing command unit that commands the communication timing for carrying out communication between the overall control unit and the terminal device, and a first communication unit that communicates with the communication control unit in accordance with the communication timing. The communication control unit has a first communication unit that communicates with the first communication unit of the overall control unit, a communication speed switching unit that switches the communication speed of communication between the communication control unit and the terminal device for each terminal device, and a second communication unit that communicates with the terminal device in accordance with the communication speed switched by the communication speed switching unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to at least one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the requirements for the processing unit of the elevator control unit (the overall control unit of the elevator control device), and to support various communication specifications. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an elevator car control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 10 is a diagram showing an example of communication parameters stored in a communication parameter storage unit provided in a communication control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 3] 10 is a diagram showing an example of communication storage data in a communication data storage unit provided in a communication control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a second communication unit provided in a communication control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 10 is a timing chart showing an example of communication data processing by an overall control unit and a communication control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart (1) showing an example of the operation of an overall control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart (2) showing an example of the operation of the overall control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of a communication control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9]10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing by a second communication unit of the communication control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of an overall control unit and a communication control unit that constitute a unit control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, examples of modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the accompanying drawings, identical components or components having substantially the same functions are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0013] <Overall elevator configuration and unit control unit configuration> First, the overall configuration of an elevator and the configuration of a car control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0014] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an elevator and an example of the configuration of a car control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is an example in which an elevator control device of the present invention is applied to a car control unit that controls each car of an elevator.

[0015] [Overall structure of the elevator] As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator 100 includes a car section 1, a hoisting machine 2, hall terminals 3-1 to 3-N (N is a natural number of 2 or more), and a car control section 4.

[0016] The car unit 1 is a car of an elevator 100 that moves up and down within a building's elevator shaft. The car unit 1 is provided with various terminals (hereinafter also referred to as "car terminals", which are an example of processing units) not shown. The car terminals include, for example, destination floor buttons, door open / close buttons, display devices, speakers, and lighting (all not shown). For example, the various car terminals accept the user's destination floor, open / close doors, display the running status of the car, and output audio.

[0017] The hoisting machine 2 uses the rotation of the motor to wind up a rope connected to the car part 1, thereby raising and lowering the car part 1. The motor is connected to an inverter (not shown) (hereinafter referred to as "inverter terminal") that outputs a drive signal to the motor.

[0018] The hall terminals 3-1,...,3-N (an example of a processing unit) are terminals configured with hall buttons (car call buttons), indicators, and a control system that controls them, which are provided in the hall (not shown) of the elevator 100. In the following description, when it is not necessary to individually identify the hall terminals 3-1 to 3-N, they will be referred to as hall terminals 3. Note that in this embodiment, an example has been given in which the hall terminal 3 includes hall buttons and indicators, but the present invention is not limited to this. The hall terminal 3 may also include other terminals such as speakers and lighting. For example, various hall terminals 3 accept car calls from users, display the running status of the car, output voice, etc.

[0019] [Unit control section] The car control unit 4 is a control device (an example of an elevator control device) that controls the operation of multiple terminal devices that make up the elevator 100 (in the example of FIG. 1, the car unit 1, the hoisting machine 2, and the hall terminal 3). In this embodiment, an example is given in which one car control unit 4 is provided in the elevator 100, but the present invention is not limited to this. The number of car control units may be two or more. Basically, a car control unit 4 is provided for each car unit 1 (car) of the elevator 100. For example, the car control unit 4 includes an overall control unit 5 and a communication control unit 6 mounted on a printed circuit board. The overall control unit 5 and the communication control unit 6 are configured as separate IC (Integrated Circuit) chips.

[0020] (Overall control unit) The overall control unit 5 controls the operation of each terminal device to control the entire elevator, including running and stopping the car, opening and closing the car doors, monitoring car calls, displaying information in the car and in the hall, and making voice announcements. The overall control unit 5 includes a car terminal control unit 51, an inverter terminal control unit 52, a hall terminal control unit 53, a first communication unit 54, a first communication timing command unit 55, and a first communication speed switching unit 56.

[0021] The car terminal control unit 51 controls the opening and closing operations of a door (not shown) attached to the car unit 1, and the operations of various terminals (car terminals) (not shown) provided in the car unit 1. In the process of controlling the operations of each car terminal, the car terminal control unit 51 generates transmission data (for example, control signals) to be sent to each car terminal, and also acquires received data from each car terminal.

[0022] The inverter terminal control unit 52 controls the operation of the inverter terminals that supply drive signals to the motor of the hoisting machine 2. In the process of controlling the operation of each inverter terminal, the inverter terminal control unit 52 generates transmission data (e.g., control signals) to be sent to each inverter terminal and also acquires received data from each inverter terminal.

[0023] The hall terminal control unit 53 controls the operation of the hall terminals 3. In the process of controlling the operation of each hall terminal, the hall terminal control unit 53 generates transmission data (e.g., control signals) to be sent to each hall terminal and also acquires received data from each hall terminal.

[0024] The first communication unit 54 controls the operation of communication between each of the car terminal control unit 51 , the inverter terminal control unit 52 , and the hall terminal control unit 53 and the first communication unit 61 of the communication control unit 6 .

[0025] The first communication timing command unit 55 commands the car terminal control unit 51, the inverter terminal control unit 52, and the hall terminal control unit 53 to set the first communication timing, which is the timing for communication between the overall control unit 5 and each terminal device. The first communication timing is also the communication timing (see the timing chart in FIG. 5) when the overall control unit 5 communicates (first communication) with the communication control unit 6. For example, the first communication timing is a periodic signal that repeatedly operates the first communication unit 54 at a predetermined timing.

[0026] The first communication speed switching unit 56 switches the communication speed (first communication speed) of the first communication unit 54 in the overall control unit 5 based on an external setting operation. In the overall control unit 5, the value of the first communication speed is written to any of a register included in the first communication speed switching unit 56, a software program functioning as the first communication speed switching unit 56, or a non-volatile storage unit included in the overall control unit 5. For example, the value of the first communication speed is determined once during the design stage, but an on-site tester sets (switches) the first communication speed to an appropriate value using the first communication speed switching unit 56 based on an operation test performed upon installation of the elevator 100 so that necessary communication is completed within a set time. Basically, after installation of the elevator 100, communication between the overall control unit 5 and the communication control unit 6 is performed at the first communication speed (initial setting value) determined when the elevator 100 was installed.

[0027] (Communication control unit) The communication control unit 6, under the control of the overall control unit 5, controls communication between the overall control unit 5 and each terminal device provided in the elevator 100. The communication control unit 6 and each terminal device are connected via a network such as a LAN or a public internet network. In the example of FIG. 1, the terminal devices include a car terminal, an inverter terminal, and a hall terminal 3.

[0028] The communication control unit 6 includes a first communication unit 61, a communication parameter storage unit 62, a communication data storage unit 63, a second communication unit 64, a first communication speed switching unit 65, and a second communication speed switching unit 66. The communication parameter storage unit 62, the communication data storage unit 63, and the second communication unit 64 are provided for each terminal device that is the communication partner.

[0029] The first communication unit 61 controls the operation of communication between each communication parameter storage unit 62 and the first communication unit 54 of the overall control unit 5 at the first communication speed switched by the first communication speed switching unit 65. Note that the first communication unit 61 is assumed to communicate with the car terminal, inverter terminal, and hall terminal in that order, but if the communication environment is ready, communication with each of the car terminal, inverter terminal, and hall terminal may be performed in parallel.

[0030] The communication parameter storage unit 62 temporarily stores, for each terminal device, communication parameters applied to communication with the terminal device. A main storage device such as a RAM is used for the communication parameter storage unit 62. In FIG. 1, the communication parameter storage units 62 include a communication parameter storage unit 62-1 corresponding to communication with the car terminal of the car unit 1, a communication parameter storage unit 62-2 corresponding to communication with the inverter terminal of the hoisting machine 2, and a communication parameter storage unit 62-3 corresponding to communication with the hall terminal 3. In the following description, when there is no need to individually identify the communication parameter storage units 62-1 to 62-3, they will be referred to as the communication parameter storage unit 62. The communication parameters stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2.

[0031] The communication data storage unit 63 temporarily stores, for each terminal device, communication data transmitted and received between the overall control unit 5 and the terminal device. A main storage device such as a RAM is used for the communication data storage unit 63. In FIG. 1, the communication data storage units 63 include a communication data storage unit 63-1 corresponding to communication with the car terminal of the car unit 1, a communication data storage unit 63-2 corresponding to communication with the inverter terminal of the hoisting machine 2, and a communication data storage unit 63-3 corresponding to communication with the hall terminal 3. In the following description, when there is no need to individually identify the communication data storage units 63-1 to 63-3, they will be referred to as the communication data storage unit 63. The communication data stored in the communication data storage unit 63 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3.

[0032] The second communication unit 64 controls, for each terminal device, the communication operation between the communication data storage unit 63 and the terminal device using the communication parameters stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 and the communication data stored in the communication data storage unit 63. In FIG. 1, the second communication unit 64 includes a second communication unit 64-1 that corresponds to communication with the car terminal of the car unit 1, a second communication unit 64-2 that corresponds to communication with the inverter terminal of the hoisting machine 2, and a second communication unit 64-3 that corresponds to communication with the hall terminal 3. The configuration of the second communication unit 64 will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0033] The first communication speed switching unit 65 switches the communication speed (first communication speed) of the first communication unit 61 in the communication control unit 6 based on an external setting operation. The first communication speed switched by the first communication speed switching unit 65 is the same as the first communication speed switched by the first communication speed switching unit 56 in the overall control unit 5. In the communication control unit 6, the value of the first communication speed is written to any of a register included in the first communication speed switching unit 65, a software program functioning as the first communication speed switching unit 65, or a non-volatile storage unit included in the communication control unit 6. For example, the value of the first communication speed is determined once in the design stage, and a field tester switches the first communication speed to an appropriate value by the first communication speed switching unit 65 in accordance with the first communication speed on the overall control unit 5 side.

[0034] The second communication speed switching unit 66 switches the communication speed (second communication speed) of each second communication unit 64 based on an external setting operation. The value of the second communication speed is written in a register provided in the second communication speed switching unit 66, a software program that functions as the second communication speed switching unit 66, or a non-volatile storage unit provided in the communication control unit 6. By providing the communication control unit 6 with the second communication speed switching unit 66, the overall control unit 5 becomes able to control terminal devices with different communication speeds using one communication method (first communication speed). Note that a configuration in which various terminal devices are connected to the elevator control unit 4 at different communication speeds can be said to be a configuration unique to elevators.

[0035] The overall control unit 5 and the communication control unit 6 are configured to be connectable to a communication terminal (not shown). A notebook PC (Personal Computer), a tablet terminal, or the like can be used as the communication terminal. By operating the communication terminal connected to the overall control unit 5 and the communication control unit 6, the field tester can set (switch) the first communication speed and the second communication speed using the functions of the first communication speed switching unit 56 of the overall control unit 5 and the first communication speed switching unit 65 and the second communication speed switching unit 66 of the communication control unit 6.

[0036] (Communication parameter storage section) Next, the communication parameters stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 provided in the communication control unit 6 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Here, the communication parameter storage unit 62-3 that stores the communication parameters used for communication with the hall terminal 3 will be taken as an example.

[0037] 2 is a diagram showing an example of communication parameters stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62-3. The communication parameter storage unit 62-3 stores, for each terminal device (identifier such as ID), information on the "communication speed," "number of transmitted data," "number of received data," "transmission / reception interval," "idle interval," "start trigger," and "number of terminals" as communication parameters. Each piece of communication parameter information is written each time the communication control unit 6 of the terminal control unit 4 communicates with the target terminal device.

[0038] "Communication speed" is information about the value of the communication speed (second communication speed) of communication between the communication control unit 6 and the target terminal device. For example, the communication speed when the communication control unit 6 communicates with the hall terminal 3-1 (see FIG. 1) whose identifier is "ID1" is V [Mbps].

[0039] "Number of transmission data" is information about the number of transmission data to be transmitted from the communication control unit 6 to the target terminal device. In the transmission control unit 642 (see FIG. 4) of the second communication unit 64 described later, a predetermined amount of data is processed as one unit (data unit), and the transmission data is transmitted to the terminal device by the number of transmission data. For example, the number of transmission data for the hall terminal 3-1 (see FIG. 1) whose identifier is "ID1" is A [items].

[0040] "Number of received data" is information about the number of received data that the communication control unit 6 should receive from the target terminal device. In the reception control unit 643 (see FIG. 4) of the second communication unit 64 described later, a predetermined amount of data is processed as one unit (data unit) and the received data is received from the terminal device for the number of received data. For example, the number of received data from the hall terminal 3-1 (see FIG. 1) whose identifier is "ID1" is B [items].

[0041] The "transmission / reception interval" is information about the time interval set as the time from when the communication control unit 6 completes transmission of transmission data to a target terminal device to when it starts receiving reception data from the target terminal device. For example, the transmission / reception interval of the hall terminal 3-1 (see Figure 1) whose identifier is "ID1" is Y [μs].

[0042] The "idle interval" is information about the time interval that the communication control unit 6 sets as the waiting time from when it completes communication with the target terminal device until it starts communication with the next terminal device of the communication partner. In other words, the idle interval is the length of time from when it completes receiving reception data from the terminal device with the previous identifier until it starts sending transmission data to the terminal device with the next identifier. For example, the idle interval of the hall terminal 3-1 (see FIG. 1) with the identifier "ID1" is Z [μs]. Note that in this embodiment, if there is no communication with the terminal device with the next identifier after communication with the terminal device with a certain identifier, the communication control unit 6 may be configured to perform the next process without leaving an idle interval.

[0043] The "start trigger" is trigger information that indicates the start of communication between the communication control unit 6 of the unit control unit 4 and the target terminal device. For example, the initial value of the "start trigger" is "0", and when a command to start communication with the target terminal device is received from the overall control unit 5, the "start trigger" is changed to a value other than "0" ("W" in FIG. 2). The second communication unit 64 confirms that the value of the "start trigger" is different from the initial value and determines whether to start communication with the terminal device.

[0044] "Number of terminals" is information on the number of terminal devices connected to the machine control unit 4. In the example of Figure 2, the information on the number of terminals is common to the communication parameters of all hall terminals 3. For example, the number of hall terminals 3-1 to 3-N (see Figure 1) connected to the machine control unit 4 as hall terminals 3 is N.

[0045] In this manner, in this embodiment, at least for each terminal device, before communication between the communication control unit 6 and the terminal device, the communication speed between the communication control unit 6 and the terminal device, the number of pieces of data to be transmitted to the terminal device, and the number of pieces of data to be received from the terminal device are set. This allows the communication control unit 6 to support various communication specifications with various terminal devices.

[0046] (Communication data storage section) Next, the communication data stored in the communication data storage unit 63 provided in the communication control unit 6 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Here, the communication data storage unit 63-3 used for communication with the hall terminal 3 will be taken as an example.

[0047] 3 is a diagram showing an example of communication data stored in the communication data storage unit 63-3. The communication data storage unit 63-3 has a transmission data recording area 631 and a reception data recording area 632. The transmission data recording area 631 stores, at a predetermined address, transmission data to be transmitted from the communication control unit 6 to a terminal device for each terminal device (identifier such as an ID). The reception data recording area 632 stores, at a predetermined address, reception data received from a terminal device by the communication control unit 6 for each terminal device (identifier such as an ID).

[0048] 3 shows an example of storage locations (memory addresses) for transmitted data and received data in communication between the communication control unit 6 and the hall terminal 3. For example, the first to fourth address range in the transmitted data recording area 631 records transmitted data for hall terminal 3-1, which has the identifier "ID1." The fifth to eighth address range in the transmitted data recording area 631 records transmitted data for hall terminal 3-2, which has the identifier "ID2." Furthermore, for example, the first to second address range in the received data recording area 632 records received data from hall terminal 3-1, which has the identifier "ID1." The third to fourth address range in the received data recording area 632 records received data from hall terminal 3-2, which has the identifier "ID2."

[0049] Let us assume that the smallest rectangle recorded in the communication data storage unit 63-3 is the unit of data to be transmitted and received (for example, 4 bytes (32 bits)). In the case of "ID1", four areas for recording transmission data are secured in the transmission data recording area 631, and two areas for recording reception data are secured in the reception data recording area 632. Note that the way of thinking about the number of data in the communication data storage unit is not limited to this example.

[0050] (Second Communications Department) Next, the configuration of the second communication unit 64 provided in the communication control unit 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the second communication unit 64. The second communication unit 64 includes a communication synchronization counter 641, a transmission control unit 642, and a reception control unit 643. The communication synchronization counter 641, the transmission control unit 642, and the reception control unit 643 are each communicably connected to the communication data storage unit 63 via a signal line. The transmission control unit 642 and the reception control unit 643 are also communicably connected to a communication unit (not shown) of each terminal device via a signal line. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the second communication unit 64 is configured to acquire information on communication parameters via the communication data storage unit 63, but the second communication unit 64 may also be configured to acquire communication parameters directly from the communication parameter storage unit 62.

[0051] The communication synchronization counter 641 counts the time (e.g., the number of clocks) that has elapsed since the start of data transmission or reception between the second communication unit 64 and the terminal device. From the first communication start information, the number of clocks, and the communication speed, it is possible to determine which data in the first communication is currently being transmitted / received (which data is for which terminal device and which number). Since the communication synchronization counter 641 can calculate which data in the target terminal device is currently being transmitted / received, it is possible to determine whether communication for the number of transmitted data and the number of received data registered in the communication parameter storage unit 62-3 has been completed.

[0052] In this embodiment, a method is adopted in which a storage location for communication storage data is determined using a communication synchronization counter 641. The communication synchronization counter 641 determines a storage location for communication data for each communication terminal using information on the number of pieces of received data stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62. The storage location for transmission data can also be determined using the communication synchronization counter 641.

[0053] For example, if the communication data storage unit 63 is a simple buffer memory, and there is a terminal device with which communication is not possible, the storage location of the received data will be shifted, and the overall control unit 5 will process the wrong received data, but this invention can prevent such an event. The communication synchronization counter 641 determines the storage location of the received data based on the count result and the information on the number of received data items in the communication parameters, so that the storage location of the received data between each terminal device in the communication data storage unit 63 can be fixed even when communication fails.

[0054] The transmission control unit 642 controls the operation of transmitting the transmission data stored in the communication data storage unit 63 to the terminal device connected to the second communication unit 64 in accordance with the communication parameters stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62. Typically, the transmission control unit 642 transmits the transmission data in the order of the identifiers written in the communication data storage unit 63 (or the communication parameter storage unit 62), for example, to the hall terminal 3-1 with "ID1", the hall terminal 3-2 with "ID2", ..., the hall terminal 3-N with "IDN".

[0055] The reception control unit 643 receives reception data from a terminal device connected to the second communication unit 64 in accordance with the communication parameters stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62, and controls the operation of storing the data in the communication data storage unit 63. Typically, the reception control unit 643 transmits transmission data to each transmitting terminal in the order of the identifiers written in the communication data storage unit 63 (or the communication parameter storage unit 62).

[0056] For example, in FIG. 3, the reception control unit 643 writes B pieces of received data received from hall terminal 3-1 with "ID1" at address Ad1, and writes "B" pieces of received data received from hall terminal 3-2 with "ID2" at address Ad2. Even if B pieces of received data cannot be received from hall terminal 3-1 with "ID1," the reception control unit 643 uses the third address Ad2 in the received data recording area 632 as the starting address and writes "B" pieces of received data received from the next hall terminal 3-2 with "ID2." In this way, the communication synchronization counter 641 can be used to fix the storage location of received data for each terminal device. The same applies to transmitted data.

[0057] As described above, in this embodiment, the communication control unit 6 includes a communication data storage unit 63 that stores data transmitted and received by the second communication unit 64 to and from the terminal device. The second communication unit 64 also includes a counter (communication synchronization counter 641) that counts the data transmitted and received. This counter counts the data transmitted and received for each terminal device, and determines the storage address of the transmitted and received data in the communication data storage unit 63 for each terminal device based on the count result. This prevents the overall control unit 5 from processing incorrect received data (transmitted data) even if transmission and reception between the communication control unit 6 and the terminal device is not performed as scheduled.

[0058] [Processing of communication data by the overall control unit and communication control unit] Next, the processing of communication data by the overall control unit 5 and the communication control unit 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 and the above-mentioned FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing an example of communication data processing by the overall control unit 5 and the communication control unit 6. Based on the first communication timing, the overall control unit 5 divides the transmission data for one cycle of the first communication into transmission data for one terminal device for each terminal device and transmits them to the communication control unit 6. Here, communication (hall data processing) between the unit control unit 4 and the hall terminal 3 is taken as an example.

[0059] 5, the first communication unit 54 of the overall control unit 5 divides transmission data 71 for one cycle of the first communication for multiple terminal devices into transmission data for one terminal device for each terminal device and transmits them to the communication control unit 6 at the first communication speed. For example, the first communication unit 61 of the communication control unit 6 stores the transmission data for hall terminals 3 with identifiers "ID1" to "IDN" transmitted from the overall control unit 5 in the communication data storage unit 63-3 for each hall terminal 3 based on the identifier. The communication data storage unit 63-3 stores "A" pieces of transmission data Dt1 for hall terminal 3-1 with "ID1," "A2" pieces of transmission data Dt2 for hall terminal 3-2 with "ID2," ..., "AN" pieces of transmission data DtN for hall terminal 3-N with "IDN."

[0060] In the communication control unit 6, the second communication unit 64 transmits (second communication) the transmission data stored in the communication data storage unit 63 to the target terminal device (here, the hall terminal 3) at the second communication speed based on the communication parameters stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 for each terminal device. In the case of the hall terminal 3-1 with "ID1", the second communication unit 64-3 transmits "A" pieces of transmission data Dt1 to the hall terminal 3-1. Then, after the transmission / reception interval "Y" [μs] has elapsed, the second communication unit 64-3 receives (second communication) "B" pieces of reception data Dr1 from the hall terminal 3-1 at the second communication speed as a response to the data transmission, and stores them in the communication data storage unit 63-3.

[0061] Thereafter, the second communication unit 64-3 waits until the idle interval "Z" [μs] has elapsed from the time when it has completed receiving "B" pieces of received data Dr1 from the hall terminal 3-1. Then, the second communication unit 64-3 transmits "A2" pieces of transmitted data Dt2 to the hall terminal 3-2 with "ID2" at the second communication speed, and receives "B2" pieces of received data Dr2 from the hall terminal 3-2 at the second communication speed.

[0062] Similarly, the second communication unit 64-3 communicates with all communication target hall terminals 3. For example, the second communication unit 64-3 transmits "AN" pieces of transmission data DtN to the hall terminal 3-N of "IDN" at the second communication speed, and receives "BN" pieces of reception data DrN from the hall terminal 3-N at the second communication speed.

[0063] Then, the first communication unit 61 reads out the received data of each terminal device (here, hall terminals 3-1 to 3-N) stored in the communication data storage unit 63 and transmits it all at once to the overall control unit 5. In the overall control unit 5, the first communication unit 54 receives the received data of the multiple terminal devices (hall terminals 3-1 to 3-N) all at once from the first communication unit 61 of the communication control unit 6 as received data 72 for one cycle of the first communication, and the received data is processed by the corresponding terminal control unit (here, hall terminal control unit 53). The above-mentioned data transmission from the overall control unit 5 to the communication control unit 6 and the data reception from the communication control unit 6 in the overall control unit 5 are performed within one cycle of the first communication based on the first communication timing.

[0064] After the overall control unit 5 receives the received data from each terminal device in a batch, the transmission data and reception data for each terminal device stored in the communication data storage unit 63 of the communication control unit 6 may be deleted. In addition, in parallel with deleting the transmission data and reception data, the corresponding communication parameters are also deleted.

[0065] As described above, in this embodiment, the first communication unit 54 of the overall control unit 5 divides the transmission data for one cycle of the communication timing (first communication timing) for each terminal device and transmits it to the first communication unit 61 of the communication control unit 6. Next, the second communication unit 64 of the communication control unit 6 transmits the transmission data divided for each terminal device to each terminal device, receives received data corresponding to the transmission data from each terminal device, and stores it in the communication data storage unit 63. Then, the first communication unit 61 of the communication control unit 6 transmits the received data from each terminal device stored in the communication data storage unit 63 all at once to the first communication unit 54 of the overall control unit 5. The first communication unit 54 of the overall control unit 5 receives the received data from each terminal device collectively from the communication control unit 6, and each terminal control unit processes the received data from the corresponding terminal device. In this embodiment, the communication control unit 6 is responsible for communication with each terminal device, thereby reducing the requirements for the processing unit (overall control unit 5) that processes the entire elevator.

[0066] [Operation of the overall control unit] Next, the operation of the overall control unit 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig. 6 is a flowchart (1) showing an example of the operation of the overall control unit 5, and Fig. 7 is a flowchart (2) showing an example of the operation of the overall control unit 5. Here, communication (hall data processing) between the machine control unit 4 and the hall terminal 3 is taken as an example.

[0067] First, in the overall control unit 5, the first communication speed switching unit 56 determines the first communication speed (S1). Note that if an initial setting value is used as the first communication speed, this process can be omitted. The overall control unit 5 simply reads out the initial setting value of the first communication speed from the storage location. Next, the first communication unit 54 transmits information on the communication parameters of each terminal device to the communication control unit 6 (S2).

[0068] (Transmission process) Next, the first communication unit 54 determines whether the first communication timing command unit 55 has commanded the timing (first communication timing) for the hall terminal control unit 53 to start the transmission process (S3).

[0069] When the timing for starting the transmission process by the hall terminal control unit 53 is commanded (YES in S3), the first communication unit 54 transmits transmission data for one cycle of the first communication in the hall terminal 3 to the communication control unit 6 and updates the information of the start trigger (see FIG. 2) (S4). At this time, the information of the start trigger in the communication parameter storage unit 62-3 used for communication with the hall terminal 3 is changed from "0" (initial value) to "W".

[0070] Then, after processing of step S4, or if the timing for the hall terminal control unit 53 to start the transmission process has not been commanded (NO judgment in S3), the first communication unit 54 judges whether the first communication timing command unit 55 has commanded the timing (first communication timing) for the inverter terminal control unit 52 to start the transmission process (S5).

[0071] When the timing for starting transmission processing by the inverter terminal control unit 52 is commanded (YES determination in S5), the first communication unit 54 transmits transmission data for one cycle of the first communication at the inverter terminal to the communication control unit 6 and updates the start trigger information (S6). At this time, the start trigger information in the communication parameter storage unit 62-2 used for communication with the inverter terminal is changed from "0 (initial value)" to "W."

[0072] Then, after processing of step S6, or if the timing for the inverter terminal control unit 52 to start the transmission process has not been commanded (NO judgment in S5), the first communication unit 54 judges whether the first communication timing command unit 55 has commanded the timing (first communication timing) for the car terminal control unit 51 to start the transmission process (S7).

[0073] When the timing for starting transmission processing by the car terminal control unit 51 is commanded (YES determination in S7), the first communication unit 54 transmits transmission data for one cycle of the first communication at the car terminal to the communication control unit 6 and updates the start trigger information (S8). At this time, the start trigger information in the communication parameter storage unit 62-1 used for communication with the car terminal is changed from "0 (initial value)" to "W".

[0074] (receiving process) After processing of step S8, or if the timing for the car terminal control unit 51 to start the transmission process has not been commanded (NO judgment in S7), the first communication unit 54 judges whether the first communication timing command unit 55 has commanded the timing (first communication timing) for the hall terminal control unit 53 to start the reception process (S9 in Figure 7).

[0075] When the timing for the hall terminal control unit 53 to start receiving processing is commanded (YES judgment in S9), the first communication unit 54 receives one cycle of reception data of the first communication at the hall terminal 3 from the communication control unit 6 (S10). Then, the hall terminal control unit 53 processes one cycle of reception data of the first communication received from the hall terminal 3 (S11).

[0076] After processing of step S11, or if the timing for the hall terminal control unit 53 to start receiving processing has not been commanded (NO judgment in S9), the first communication unit 54 determines whether the first communication timing command unit 55 has commanded the timing (first communication timing) for the inverter terminal control unit 52 to start receiving processing (S12).

[0077] When the timing for starting reception processing by the inverter terminal control unit 52 is instructed (YES determination in S12), the first communication unit 54 receives reception data for one cycle of the first communication at the inverter terminal from the communication control unit 6 (S13). Then, the inverter terminal control unit 52 processes the reception data for one cycle of the first communication received from the inverter terminal (S14).

[0078] After processing of step S14, or if the timing for the inverter terminal control unit 52 to start receiving processing has not been commanded (NO judgment in S12), the first communication unit 54 judges whether the first communication timing command unit 55 has commanded the timing (first communication timing) for the car terminal control unit 51 to start receiving processing (S15).

[0079] When the timing for starting reception processing by the car terminal control unit 51 is instructed (YES determination in S15), the first communication unit 54 receives reception data for one cycle of the first communication at the car terminal from the communication control unit 6 (S16). Then, the car terminal control unit 51 processes the reception data for one cycle of the first communication received from the car terminal (S16).

[0080] After the unit control unit 4 has completed communication with all the terminal devices connected to the unit control unit 4, the unit control unit 4 proceeds to the determination process of step S3, and repeats the processes of steps S3 to S17.

[0081] [Operation of communication control unit] Next, the operation of the communication control unit 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the communication control unit 6. First, in the communication control unit 6, the first communication speed switching unit 65 determines the first communication speed (S21). Of course, the first communication speed in the communication control unit 6 is the same as the first communication speed in the overall control unit 5. If an initial setting value is used as the first communication speed, this process can be omitted. The communication control unit 6 simply reads out the initial setting value of the first communication speed from the storage location. Next, the second communication speed switching unit 66 determines the communication speed of the second communication speed from the communication speed information in the communication parameter storage unit 62 (S22).

[0082] Next, the second communication unit 64 determines whether the start trigger information in the communication data storage unit 63 has been updated (S23). If the start trigger information has not been updated (NO in S23), the second communication unit 64 performs the determination in step S23 again after the set time has elapsed.

[0083] If the start trigger information has been updated (YES judgment in S23), the second communication unit 64 refers to the information on the number of transmission data stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62, reads out the transmission data equal to the number of transmission data from the communication data storage unit 63, and transmits it to the target terminal device (S24).

[0084] Next, the second communication unit 64 determines whether or not reception of the number of pieces of reception data has been completed (S25) by referring to the information on the number of pieces of reception data stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62. If reception of the number of pieces of reception data has been completed (YES in S25), the process proceeds to the determination process of step S27.

[0085] On the other hand, if the second communication unit 64 has not completed receiving the number of received data (NO judgment in S25), it judges whether the time that has elapsed since the transmission of the transmission data was completed is equal to or greater than the transmission / reception interval stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 (S26).

[0086] If the time elapsed since the completion of transmission of the transmission data is less than the transmission / reception interval stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 (NO determination in S26), the second communication unit 64 performs the determination in step S25 again after the set time has elapsed. Also, if the time elapsed since the completion of transmission of the transmission data is less than the transmission / reception interval stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 (YES determination in S26), the process proceeds to the determination processing in step S27.

[0087] If the determination in step S25 is NO or the determination in step S26 is YES, the second communication unit 64 determines (S27) whether or not it has waited for the idle interval time stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62. If it has not waited for the idle interval time stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 (NO determination in S27), the second communication unit 64 performs the determination in step S27 again after the set time has elapsed.

[0088] If the idle interval time stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 has elapsed (YES determination in S27), the second communication unit 64 determines (S28) whether or not communication has been established with the number of terminal devices equal to the number of terminal devices stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62. If communication has not been established with the number of terminal devices equal to the number of terminal devices stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 (NO determination in S28), the second communication unit 64 proceeds to the determination in step S23.

[0089] On the other hand, if communication has been performed with the number of terminal devices equal to the number of terminal devices stored in the communication parameter storage unit 62 (YES determination in S28), the second communication unit 64 proceeds to the processing of step S24. Then, in the next cycle, the second communication unit 64 refers to the information on the number of transmission data items in the communication parameter storage unit 62, reads out the transmission data equal to the number of transmission data items from the communication data storage unit 63, and transmits it to the target terminal device. Thereafter, the communication control unit 6 repeats the processing of steps S23 to S28.

[0090] [Processing of the second communication part] Next, the processing of the second communication unit 64 in the communication control unit 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the second communication unit 64 in the communication control unit 6. First, the second communication unit 64 determines whether or not the start trigger information in the communication data storage unit 63 has been updated (S31). If the start trigger information has not been updated (NO determination in S31), the second communication unit 64 proceeds to the determination processing of step S33.

[0091] If the start trigger information has been updated (YES in S31), the second communication unit 64 clears the count value (number of transmitted / received data) of the communication synchronization counter 641 (S32).

[0092] After the process of step S32, or if the determination in step S31 is NO, the transmission control unit 642 and the reception control unit 643 in the second communication unit 64 determine whether the transmission process of the transmission data and the reception process of the reception data for one terminal device have been completed (S33). This corresponds to, for example, in FIG. 5, the completion of the transmission process of A pieces of transmission data Dt1 specified by the "number of transmission data" and the reception process of B pieces of reception data Dr1 specified by the "number of reception data" for the hall terminal 3-1 with identifier "ID1." If the transmission process of the transmission data and the reception process of the reception data for one terminal device have not been completed (NO determination in S33), the second communication unit 64 performs the determination in step S33 again after the set time has elapsed.

[0093] Then, when the transmission processing of the transmission data and the reception processing of the reception data for one terminal device are completed (YES judgment in S33), the second communication unit 64 increments the count value (number of transmitted / received data) of the communication synchronization counter 641 (adds 1 to the count value) (S34).

[0094] Next, the second communication unit 64 determines a data storage address in the received data recording area 632 (FIG. 3) of the communication data storage unit 63 from the information on the number of received data items in the communication parameter storage unit 62 (S35). Then, the reception control unit 643 records the received data received from the target terminal device in the determined data storage address.

[0095] After the process of step S35, the second communication unit 64 proceeds to the determination process of step S31, and performs communication process for the terminal device with the next identifier (for example, the hall terminal 3-2 with the identifier "ID2"). Thereafter, the processes of steps S31 to S35 are repeated.

[0096] [Hardware configuration of the overall control unit and communication control unit] Next, the hardware configuration of each control unit for realizing the functions of the control system of the car control unit 4 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0097] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the overall control unit 5 and communication control unit 6 that constitute the unit control unit 4. A calculator 80 shown in Fig. 10 is hardware used as a so-called computer.

[0098] The computer 80 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 81, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 82, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 83, a non-volatile storage 86, and a communication interface 87, which are all connected to a system bus.

[0099] The CPU 81 is a processing device that reads out program code of software that realizes each function according to this embodiment from the ROM 82, expands it into the RAM 83, and executes it. Note that the computer 80 may include a processing device such as an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) instead of the CPU 81. Variables, parameters, etc. that are generated during arithmetic processing are temporarily written to the RAM 83. The processing device such as the CPU 81 may include a register.

[0100] Each of the overall control unit 5 and the communication control unit 6 includes a computer 80. The functions of the overall control unit 5 and the communication control unit 6 are realized by a CPU 81 reading out the corresponding program code from a ROM 82, expanding it in a RAM 83, and executing it. Each terminal device connected to the unit control unit 4 also includes a hardware configuration similar to that of the computer 80, and the functions of each terminal device are realized by the CPU 81, the ROM 82, and the RAM 83.

[0101] The nonvolatile storage 86 may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flexible disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a nonvolatile memory card, etc. In addition to an operating system (OS) and various parameters, programs for operating the computer 80 may also be recorded in this nonvolatile storage 86.

[0102] The program is stored in the form of a computer-readable program code, and the CPU 81 sequentially executes operations in accordance with the program code. In other words, the ROM 82 or the non-volatile storage 86 is used as an example of a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium that stores a program to be executed by a computer.

[0103] The functions of the communication parameter storage unit 62 and the communication data storage unit 63 of the communication control unit 6 are realized using the RAM 83. Information on the first communication speed and the second communication speed may be stored in the non-volatile storage 86.

[0104] The communication interface 87 may be, for example, a network interface card (NIC), and may transmit and receive various data to and from external devices via a network or a communication line. The functions of the first communication unit 54 of the overall control unit 5, the first communication unit 61 and the second communication unit 64 of the communication control unit 6, and the communication units (not shown) of the terminal devices are realized by the communication interface 87.

[0105] As described above, the elevator control unit 4 (an example of an elevator control device) of this embodiment is an elevator control device (e.g., elevator control unit 4) that controls an elevator 100 to which multiple terminal devices (e.g., car terminal, inverter terminal, hall terminal 3, etc.) are connected, and is equipped with an overall control unit 5 that controls the multiple terminal devices, and a communication control unit 6 that controls communication between the multiple terminal devices under the control of the overall control unit 5. The overall control unit 5 has a communication timing command unit (first communication timing command unit 55) that commands the communication timing (first communication timing) for communication between the overall control unit 5 and the terminal device, and a first communication unit 54 that communicates with the communication control unit 6 in accordance with the communication timing. The communication control unit 6 has a first communication unit 61 that communicates with the first communication unit 54 of the overall control unit 5, a communication speed switching unit (second communication speed switching unit 66) that switches the communication speed (second communication speed) of communication between the communication control unit 6 and the terminal device for each terminal device, and a second communication unit 64 that communicates with the terminal device in accordance with the communication speed switched by the communication speed switching unit.

[0106] In the elevator control device (car control unit 4) according to this embodiment with the above-described configuration, by dividing the IC chip between the overall control unit 5 and the communication control unit 6, it is possible to reduce the requirements of the processing unit (overall control unit 5) that processes the entire elevator and to support various communication specifications. Furthermore, because the requirements of the overall control unit 5 (peripherals, number of pins, processing performance, etc.) can be reduced, the range of parts that can be selected is expanded, allowing parts with good market availability to be selected. This reduces the labor required for part maintenance and part costs.

[0107] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various other applications and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention as set forth in the claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail and specifically to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the components described. Furthermore, it is also possible to add, replace, or delete other components to or from part of the configuration of one embodiment.

[0108] Furthermore, the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, etc. may be partially or entirely realized in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits, etc. As the hardware, a broad processor device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) may be used.

[0109] In the above-described embodiment, the control lines and information lines are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all control lines and information lines in the product are necessarily shown. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other.

[0110] In this specification, processing steps describing chronological processing include not only processing performed chronologically in the order described, but also processing that is not necessarily performed chronologically but is performed in parallel or individually (for example, processing by objects). Furthermore, the processing order of processing steps describing chronological processing may be changed as long as it does not affect the processing results. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1...car unit, 2...hoisting machine, 3-1 to 3-N...hall terminal, 4...unit control unit, 5...overall control unit, 6...communication control unit, 51...car terminal control unit, 52...inverter terminal control unit, 53...hall terminal control unit, 54...first communication unit, 55...first communication timing command unit, 56...first communication speed switching unit, 61...first communication unit, 62...communication parameter storage unit, 62-1 to 62-3...communication parameter storage unit, 63...communication data storage unit, 63-1 to 63-3...communication data storage unit, 64...second communication unit, 64-1 to 64-3...second communication unit, 65...first communication speed switching unit, 66...second communication speed switching unit, 100...elevator, 641...communication synchronization counter, 642...transmission control unit, 643...reception control unit

Claims

1. An elevator control device that controls an elevator to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, The elevator control device includes: a general control unit that controls the plurality of terminal devices; and a communication control unit that controls communication between the plurality of terminal devices under the control of the general control unit, The overall control unit a communication timing command unit that commands a communication timing for carrying out communication between the overall control unit and the terminal device; a first communication unit that communicates with the communication control unit in accordance with the communication timing, The communication control unit a first communication unit that communicates with the first communication unit of the overall control unit; a communication speed switching unit that switches the communication speed of communication between the communication control unit and the terminal device for each of the terminal devices; a second communication unit that communicates with the terminal device in accordance with the communication speed switched by the communication speed switching unit, Before communication between the communication control unit and the terminal device, the communication speed between the communication control unit and the terminal device, the number of pieces of transmission data to be transmitted to the terminal device, and the number of pieces of reception data to be received from the terminal device are set for each of the terminal devices. Elevator control device.

2. the communication control unit includes a communication data storage unit that stores data transmitted and received between the second communication unit and the terminal device, the second communication unit has a counter that counts the data transmitted and received, The counter counts the data transmitted and received for each of the terminal devices, and determines a storage address for the data in the communication data storage unit for each of the terminal devices based on the count result. The elevator control device according to claim 1.

3. the first communication unit of the overall control unit divides transmission data for one cycle of the communication timing for each of the terminal devices and transmits the divided data to the first communication unit of the communication control unit; the second communication unit of the communication control unit transmits the transmission data divided for each of the terminal devices to each of the terminal devices, receives reception data corresponding to the transmission data from each of the terminal devices, and stores the reception data in the communication data storage unit; The first communication unit of the communication control unit transmits the received data from each terminal device stored in the communication data storage unit all at once to the first communication unit of the overall control unit. The elevator control device according to claim 2.

4. An elevator equipped with an elevator control device that controls the operation of an elevator to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, The elevator control device includes: a general control unit that controls the plurality of terminal devices; and a communication control unit that controls communication between the plurality of terminal devices under the control of the general control unit, The overall control unit a communication timing command unit that commands a communication timing for carrying out communication between the overall control unit and the terminal device; a first communication unit that communicates with the communication control unit in accordance with the communication timing, The communication control unit a first communication unit that communicates with the first communication unit of the overall control unit; a communication speed switching unit that switches the communication speed of communication between the communication control unit and the terminal device for each of the terminal devices; a second communication unit that communicates with the terminal device in accordance with the communication speed set by the communication speed switching unit, Before communication between the communication control unit and the terminal device, the communication speed between the communication control unit and the terminal device, the number of pieces of transmission data to be transmitted to the terminal device, and the number of pieces of reception data to be received from the terminal device are set for each of the terminal devices. Elevator.

5. A communication processing method in an elevator control device that controls an elevator to which a plurality of terminal devices are connected, the elevator control device includes an overall control unit that controls the plurality of terminal devices, and a communication control unit that controls communication between the plurality of terminal devices under the control of the overall control unit, In the overall control unit, a process of instructing a communication timing for performing communication between the overall control unit and the terminal device; and performing a process of communicating with the communication control unit in accordance with the communication timing. In the communication control unit, A process of communicating with the overall control unit; a process of switching a communication speed of communication between the communication control unit and the terminal device for each of the terminal devices; and performing a process of communicating with the terminal device in accordance with the switched communication speed; Before communication between the communication control unit and the terminal device, the communication speed between the communication control unit and the terminal device, the number of pieces of transmission data to be transmitted to the terminal device, and the number of pieces of reception data to be received from the terminal device are set for each of the terminal devices. Communication processing method.

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