Communication system, upper-level device, accommodating device, communication method, and program

Abstract

This communication system comprises: an accommodating device that accommodates communication connections of a plurality of smart meters; and an upper-level device that collects, via the accommodating device, measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters. The accommodating device includes: a plurality of hybrid accommodating parts that each accommodate a communication connection of any one of the plurality of smart meters; and a hybrid master accommodating part that determines a hybrid accommodating part for accommodating a communication connection of a first smart meter communicatively connected via a base station of a wide area network from among the plurality of hybrid accommodating parts on the basis of at least the base station. The hybrid accommodating part for accommodating the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates a communication connection of a second smart meter belonging to a multi-hop network rooted at the first smart meter. The upper-level device determines reference information serving as a reference of transmission timing of the measurement information of the smart meter for each of the plurality of hybrid accommodating parts.

Description

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, HOST DEVICE, ACCESSING DEVICE, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication system, a higher-level device, a containing device, a communication method, and a program.

[0002] There are communication systems that use smart meters that form a multi-hop network to collect the amount of electricity, gas, water, and other consumption (measurement information) measured in each home, factory, etc. In such communication systems, the measurement information of each smart meter is transmitted from the smart meter that serves as the root of the multi-hop network to a host system that collects the measurement information via a base station in a wide area network (WAN) such as a cellular communication network.

[0003] Furthermore, Patent Document 1 discloses a communication device and a communication method that are capable of changing a transmission period while determining a transmission time in accordance with a wireless resource determination rule for a communication device that has the function of communicating with a base station or an access point of a wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

[0004] International Publication No. 2020 / 246158

[0005] However, the communication device and communication method described in Patent Document 1 have the problem that while the transmission timing of a communication device that has the function of communicating with a base station or an access point, i.e., a smart meter that is the root of a multi-hop network, can be controlled, the transmission timing of smart meters other than those that are on the root of the multi-hop network cannot be controlled.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides a communication system, a higher-level device, a containing device, a communication method, and a program that can control the transmission timing of smart meters belonging to a multi-hop network.

[0007] This disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and one aspect of the present disclosure is a communication system comprising: an accommodation device that accommodates the communication connections of a plurality of smart meters; and a host device that collects measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters via the accommodation device; the accommodation device comprises a plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters; and a Hybrid parent accommodating unit that determines, based at least on the base station, from among the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network; the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root; and the host device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0008] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the communication system described above, wherein the communication connection of the first smart meter includes identification information of the base station or a cell of the base station.

[0009] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the communication system described above, wherein the communication connection of the first smart meter includes identification information of the first smart meter.

[0010] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned communication system, wherein the reference information of the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter is a first range of candidates for the transmission timing of the first smart meter, the higher-level device or the first smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the first smart meter from the first range, and the higher-level device or the second smart meter sets the transmission timing of the second smart meter to a value obtained by adding the transmission timing of the first smart meter to the product of a predetermined value and a value that identifies the second smart meter.

[0011] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned communication system, wherein the reference information of the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter is a second range of candidates for the transmission timing of the first smart meter and the second smart meter, and the higher-level device or the first smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the first smart meter from the second range, and the higher-level device or the second smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the second smart meter from the second range.

[0012] Another aspect of the present disclosure is the above-mentioned communication system, wherein the reference information of the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter is the transmission timing of the first smart meter, the higher-level device or the first smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the first smart meter from within a predetermined range, and the higher-level device or the second smart meter sets the transmission timing of the second smart meter to a value obtained by adding the transmission timing of the first smart meter to the product of a predetermined value and a value that identifies the second smart meter.

[0013] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a host device that collects measurement information transmitted by a plurality of smart meters via an accommodation device that accommodates the communication connections of the plurality of smart meters, wherein the accommodation device includes a plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, each of which accommodates the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodation unit that determines, based at least on the base station, from the plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, a Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the host device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meters whose communication connections the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0014] Another aspect of the present disclosure is an accommodating device in a communication system that includes an accommodating device that accommodates the communication connections of multiple smart meters and a higher-level device that collects measurement information transmitted by the multiple smart meters via the accommodating device, the accommodating device including multiple Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the multiple smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodating unit that determines, based at least on the base station, from among the multiple Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has established a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the higher-level device determines, for each of the multiple Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0015] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a communication method for a communication system including an accommodation device having a plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, each of which accommodates the communication connection of one of a plurality of smart meters, and a host device that collects measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters via the accommodation device, the communication method comprising the steps of: the accommodation device determining, based at least on the base station of a wide area network, from among the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via the base station of the wide area network; and the host device determining, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the transmission timing of the measurement information of the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates, and the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root.

[0016] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as a higher-level device that collects measurement information transmitted by a plurality of smart meters via an accommodation device that accommodates the communication connections of the plurality of smart meters, wherein the accommodation device includes a plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, each of which accommodates the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodation unit that determines, based at least on the base station, from the plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, a Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the higher-level device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0017] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as an accommodating device in a communication system comprising an accommodating device that accommodates the communication connections of a plurality of smart meters and a higher-level device that collects measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters via the accommodating device, the program comprising a plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodating unit that determines, based at least on the base station, from among the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has established a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the higher-level device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0018] According to this disclosure, a communication system, a higher-level device, a containing device, a communication method, and a program can control the transmission timing of a smart meter belonging to a multi-hop network.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a hybrid communication smart meter 11 in the same embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of an MH communication smart meter 12 in the same embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation example (part 1) of the communication system 100 in the same embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation example (part 2) of the communication system 100 in the same embodiment. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation example (part 3) of the communication system 100 in the same embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of a host system 40 in the same embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of a host system 40 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a table illustrating an example of a first range candidate in the same embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of a host system 40 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of a host system 40 in the same embodiment. FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 100a in a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of each device according to each embodiment.

[0020] First Embodiment Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 100 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system 100 collects usage (measurement information) of electricity, gas, water, etc. measured by a hybrid communication smart meter 11 and a multi-hop (MH) communication smart meter 12 that constitute a field area network (FAN) 10. The communication system 100 includes the FAN 10, a wide area network (WAN) 20, a hybrid host system 30 (accommodating device), and a host system 40 (host device).

[0021] The hybrid communication smart meter 11 (first smart meter) has a communication function via a multi-hop network and a communication function via a WAN 20, measures the amount of electricity, gas, water, etc. used, and transmits measurement information indicating the amount of use to the host system 40. The MH communication smart meter 12 (second smart meter) has a communication function via a multi-hop network, measures the amount of use in the same way as the hybrid communication smart meter 11, and transmits measurement information indicating the amount of use to the host system 40.

[0022] One hybrid communication smart meter 11 and one or more MH communication smart meters 12 form a multi-hop network with the hybrid communication smart meter 11 as the root. For example, several hundred MH communication smart meters 12 belong to one multi-hop network.

[0023] The WAN 20 is a wide area network such as a cellular communication network (e.g., LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 5G (5th Generation)), and includes a base station 21 (cell) and a WAN line 22. Since multiple hybrid communication smart meters 11 communicate with the hybrid upper system 30 and the upper system 40 via one base station 21 of the WAN 20, a group 13 of smart meters communicating via one base station 21 may include, for example, several to tens of thousands of meters. Note that the base station 21 may be on a cell-by-cell basis. In other words, when one base station 21 communicates with multiple cells, it may be considered that there is a different base station 21 for each cell.

[0024] The Hybrid upper system 30 accommodates the communication connections of multiple smart meters (Hybrid communication smart meters 11, MH communication smart meters 12). The Hybrid upper system 30 may be realized by one or more computers reading and executing a program. The Hybrid upper system 30 includes a Hybrid parent accommodation unit 31 and one or more Hybrid managers 32. Each of the multiple Hybrid managers 32 includes one or more Hybrid accommodation units 33. Each of the multiple Hybrid managers 32 corresponds to one base station 21. Hereinafter, when each of the multiple Hybrid managers 32 is to be individually identified and described, it will be referred to as Hybrid manager #1, #2, ... #n. Note that each of Hybrid managers #1, #2, ... #n may correspond to one computer.

[0025] The Hybrid accommodating unit 33 accommodates the communication connection of any one of a plurality of smart meters. The Hybrid accommodating unit 33 accommodating the communication connection of a certain Hybrid communication smart meter 11 accommodates the communication connection of an MH communication smart meter 12 that belongs to a multi-hop network with that Hybrid communication smart meter 11 as the root. Here, the Hybrid accommodating unit 33 accommodating the communication connection of a smart meter means that communication between the smart meter and the higher-level system 40 is performed via the Hybrid accommodating unit 33.

[0026] The hybrid parent accommodation unit 31 determines from among a plurality of hybrid accommodation units 33 which hybrid accommodation unit 33 will accommodate the communication connection of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 that has established a communication connection via the base station 21, based at least on which base station 21 it is.

[0027] The host system 40 determines, for each of the multiple hybrid accommodating units 33, reference information that serves as a basis for the transmission timing of measurement information from the smart meters whose communication connections are accommodated by the hybrid accommodating unit 33. Furthermore, the host system 40 may use the reference information to determine the transmission timing of each of the hybrid communication smart meters 11 and the MH communication smart meters 12. Here, the transmission timing is a predetermined timing that is an offset from the timing at which the smart meter periodically transmits measurement information. For example, if it is predetermined that the smart meter transmits measurement information every hour on the hour, the smart meter transmits the measurement information at a timing that is the transmission timing after every hour on the hour. Note that the host system 40 may be realized by one or more computers reading and executing a program.

[0028] The reference information of the hybrid accommodating unit 33 accommodating the communication connection of a certain hybrid communication smart meter 11 may be a first range of candidate transmission timings for the hybrid communication smart meter 11. The upper system 40 may randomly select the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 from the first range, and set the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12 to a value obtained by adding a predetermined value n1 and a value for identifying the MH communication smart meter 12 to the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11. The value for identifying the MH communication smart meter 12 may be, for example, a serial number assigned to the MH communication smart meter 12 in the multi-hop network, the number of hops from the MH communication smart meter 12 to the route, an identification number such as the network address of the MH communication smart meter 12, or a value generated from the identification number.

[0029] 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 in this embodiment. The hybrid communication smart meter 11 includes a metering unit 111 and a hybrid communication unit 112. The metering unit 111 measures the amount of electricity, gas, water, or the like used, and generates measurement information indicating the amount of use. The hybrid communication unit 112 has an 1N communication function for communicating via the WAN 20 and an MH communication function for communicating via a multi-hop network. The hybrid communication unit 112 transmits the measurement information generated by the metering unit 111 and the measurement information of the MH communication smart meter 12 received by the MH communication function to the upper system 40 by the 1N communication function.

[0030] 3 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the MH communication smart meter 12 in this embodiment. The MH communication smart meter 12 includes a metering unit 121 and an MH communication unit 122. The metering unit 121 measures the amount of electricity, gas, water, or other consumption, and generates measurement information indicating the amount of consumption. The MH communication unit 122 has an MH communication function for communicating via a multi-hop network. The MH communication unit 122 transmits the measurement information generated by the metering unit 121 to the upper system 40 using the MH communication function.

[0031] 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation example (part 1) of the communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. In the operation example shown in FIG. 4, the MH communication smart meters 12a and 12b, which are the MH communication smart meters 12, belong to a multi-hop network with the hybrid communication smart meter 11a, which is the hybrid communication smart meter 11, as the root. Then, in this operation example, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a and the MH communication smart meters 12a and 12b transmit measurement information according to the transmission timing notified to each of them. At this time, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a transmits the measurement information to the higher-level system 40 via the base station 21a, which is the base station 21 of the LTE cellular communication network, and the hybrid accommodating unit 33a.

[0032] First, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a transmits an LTE connection request to the base station 21a (sequence S100). The base station 21a receives the connection request and returns an LTE connection response to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a (sequence S101). The base station 21a includes the Cell-ID of the base station 21a (identification information of the base station 21a or identification information of the cell of the base station 21a) in the connection response.

[0033] The hybrid communication smart meter 11a, which has received the connection response in sequence S101, transmits a connection request to the hybrid parent accommodation unit 31 via the base station 21a (sequences S102 and S103). The hybrid communication smart meter 11a includes in this connection request the Cell-ID of the base station 21a that was included in the connection response in sequence S101. The hybrid communication smart meter 11a may further include in this connection request identification information of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a (for example, a media access control (MAC) address of the MH communication function of the hybrid communication unit 112, an integrated circuit card ID (ICCID) of the 1N communication function, an international mobile equipment identifier (IMEI), etc.). Furthermore, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a may include the identification information of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in subsequent communications. When the hybrid parent accommodation unit 31 receives this connection request, it selects a hybrid accommodation unit 33a that does not accommodate any communication connection from among the hybrid accommodation units 33 of the hybrid manager 32a that correspond to the Cell-ID of the base station 21a included in the connection request. The hybrid parent accommodation unit 31 returns a connection response indicating the selected hybrid accommodation unit 33a to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a via the base station 21a (sequences S104 and S105). Note that the hybrid parent accommodation unit 31 may also return a connection response indicating the hybrid manager 32a that corresponds to the Cell-ID of the base station 21a. The hybrid master accommodating unit 31 may also notify the hybrid manager 32a corresponding to the Cell-ID of the base station 21a or the selected hybrid accommodating unit 33a of the identification information of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a.

[0034] The hybrid communication smart meter 11a, which has received the connection response in sequences S104 and S105, transmits an entry confirmation notification to the hybrid accommodating unit 33a indicated in the connection response via the base station 21a (sequences S106 and S107). The hybrid communication smart meter 11a includes a value for identifying the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in this entry confirmation notification. The value for identifying the hybrid communication smart meter 11a may be, for example, a serial number assigned to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in the multi-hop network, an identification number such as the network address of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a, or a value generated from the identification number. Upon receiving this entry confirmation notification, the hybrid accommodating unit 33a transmits the entry confirmation notification to the higher-level system 40 (sequence S108).

[0035] In addition, if the connection response in sequences S104 and S105 indicates the Hybrid manager 32a, the Hybrid communication smart meter 11a may send an entry confirmation notification to the Hybrid manager 32a, and the Hybrid manager 32a that receives the entry confirmation notification may send the entry confirmation notification to a Hybrid accommodation unit 33a that is subordinate to the Hybrid manager 32a and does not accommodate any communication connections.

[0036] The higher-level system 40 that has received the entry confirmation notification in sequence S108 determines the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a. For example, the higher-level system 40 may determine a first range (reference information) based on a value that identifies the hybrid accommodating unit 33a that sent the entry confirmation notification, and may determine the transmission timing based on a value that identifies the hybrid communication smart meter 11a from the first range. Alternatively, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a may include a value that identifies the hybrid accommodating unit 33a in the entry confirmation notification, and the higher-level system 40 may determine the first range (reference information) based on the value that identifies the hybrid accommodating unit 33a that was included in the entry confirmation notification.

[0037] Here, the first range may be selected from a plurality of predetermined first range candidates using a pseudo-random number with a value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a as a seed. That is, the higher-level system 40 may select, as the first range, a candidate from among a plurality of first range candidates (blocks in FIG. 8 described later) whose serial number, previously assigned to each candidate, matches the integer part of "random" (the value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a) multiplied by the number of candidates. Here, "random( )" is a pseudo-random number greater than or equal to 0 and less than 1 with the value in parentheses as a seed. Note that, in this case, a value identifying the Hybrid communication smart meter 11a may be used instead of a value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a. Furthermore, the value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a may be a value obtained by combining a value identifying the Hybrid manager 32a and a value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a in the Hybrid manager 32a.

[0038] The transmission timing may be selected from the first range using a pseudo-random number with a seed value that identifies the hybrid communication smart meter 11a. That is, if the first range is equal to or greater than a and less than b, the upper system 40 may set the transmission timing to a + random (value that identifies the hybrid communication smart meter 11a) × (b - a).

[0039] After determining the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a, the upper system 40 transmits a participation completion notification including the transmission timing to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a via the hybrid accommodating unit 33a and the base station 21a (sequences S109, S110, S111).

[0040] As a result, the communication connection of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a is accommodated in the hybrid accommodation unit 33a, and the hybrid communication smart meter 11a transmits measurement information to the higher-level system 40 via the base station 21 and the hybrid accommodation unit 33a in accordance with the transmission timing notified by sequence S111.

[0041] Furthermore, when the MH communication smart meter 12a transmits (broadcasts) an enhanced beacon request (enhanced beacon request) (sequence S112), the hybrid communication smart meter 11a that has received the enhanced beacon request transmits an enhanced beacon (sequence S113). Upon receiving the enhanced beacon of sequence S113, the MH communication smart meter 12a transmits an entry confirmation notification to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a that is the sender of the enhanced beacon (sequence S114). The MH communication smart meter 12a includes a value that identifies the MH communication smart meter 12a in the entry confirmation notification. Note that this entry confirmation notification may be a entry confirmation notification to a multi-hop network with the hybrid communication smart meter 11a as the root.

[0042] Upon receiving the entry confirmation notification in sequence S114, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a further includes a value that identifies the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in the entry confirmation notification, and then transmits the notification to the higher-level system 40 via the base station 21a and the hybrid accommodating unit 33a (sequences S115, S116, S117).

[0043] Upon receiving the entry confirmation notification in sequence S117, the upper system 40 determines the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12a identified by the value included in the entry confirmation notification. For example, the upper system 40 may determine the transmission timing based on the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a and the value identifying the MH communication smart meter 12a. The upper system 40 may set the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12a to a value obtained by adding the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a to the product of the value identifying the MH communication smart meter 12a and a predetermined value n1. The upper system 40 may store the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in association with the value identifying the hybrid communication smart meter 11a, or may determine the transmission timing by performing the same calculation as when the entry confirmation notification in sequence S108 was received.

[0044] The upper system 40 transmits the determined transmission timing to the MH communication smart meter 12a via the hybrid accommodating unit 33a, the base station 21a, and the hybrid communication smart meter 11a (sequences S118, S119, S120, S121).

[0045] As a result, the communication connection of the MH communication smart meter 12a is accommodated in the Hybrid accommodating section 33a, and the MH communication smart meter 12a transmits the measurement information in accordance with the transmission timing notified in sequence S121.

[0046] Furthermore, when the MH communication smart meter 12b transmits (broadcasts) an extended beacon request (sequence S122), the MH communication smart meter 12a that has received the extended beacon request transmits an extended beacon (sequence S123). When the MH communication smart meter 12b receives the extended beacon of sequence S123, it transmits an entry confirmation notification to the MH communication smart meter 12a that is the sender of the extended beacon (sequence S124). The MH communication smart meter 12b includes a value that identifies the MH communication smart meter 12b in the entry confirmation notification. Note that this entry confirmation notification may be a notification of entry confirmation to the multi-hop network to which the MH communication smart meter 12a belongs.

[0047] The MH communication smart meter 12a that has received the entry confirmation notification in sequence S124 further includes a value that identifies the MH communication smart meter 12a in the entry confirmation notification, and then transmits the entry confirmation notification to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a that is the root of the multi-hop network to which the MH communication smart meter 12a belongs (sequence S125). The hybrid communication smart meter 11a that has received the entry confirmation notification in sequence S125 further includes a value that identifies the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in the entry confirmation notification, and then transmits the entry confirmation notification to the higher-level system 40 via the base station 21a and the hybrid accommodating unit 33a (sequences S126, S127, S128).

[0048] The upper system 40, which has received the entry confirmation notification in sequence S128, determines the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12b identified by the value included in the entry confirmation notification. For example, the upper system 40 may determine the transmission timing in the same manner as in the case of the MH communication smart meter 12a, based on the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a and the value identifying the MH communication smart meter 12b. That is, the upper system 40 may set the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12b to the product of the value identifying the MH communication smart meter 12b and a predetermined value n1, plus the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a. As a result, the interval between the transmission timings of the smart meters (the hybrid communication smart meter 11a, the MH communication smart meters 12a, and 12b) belonging to the multi-hop network with the hybrid communication smart meter 11a as the root falls within a predetermined range. This makes it possible to prevent the communication connection (LTE communication connection) with the base station 21a from being cut off due to a timeout while the hybrid communication smart meter 11a is transmitting the measurement information of these smart meters.

[0049] The upper system 40 transmits the determined transmission timing to the MH communication smart meter 12b via the hybrid accommodating unit 33a, the base station 21a, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a, and the MH communication smart meter 12a (sequences S129, S130, S131, S132, S133).

[0050] As a result, the communication connection of the MH communication smart meter 12b is accommodated in the Hybrid accommodating section 33a, and the MH communication smart meter 12b transmits the measurement information in accordance with the transmission timing notified in sequence S133.

[0051] Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a second example of the operation of the communication system 100 according to this embodiment. Fig. 5 shows a sequence relating to the hybrid communication smart meter 11b, which is installed in the cell (communication range) of the same base station 21a as the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in Fig. 4, and the MH communication smart meters 12c and 12d, which belong to a multi-hop network with the hybrid communication smart meter 11b as the root.

[0052] 5 are similar to the sequences S100 to S133 in Fig. 4, except that the communication connections of the hybrid communication smart meter 11b and the MH communication smart meters 12c and 12d are accommodated not in the hybrid accommodating unit 33a but in the hybrid accommodating unit 33b that belongs to the same hybrid manager 32a as the hybrid accommodating unit 33a. In this way, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the hybrid accommodating unit 33 and the hybrid communication smart meter 11, and the communication connections of the hybrid communication smart meters 11 that belong to the communication range (cell) of the same base station 21 are accommodated in the hybrid accommodating unit 33 that belongs to the same hybrid manager 32.

[0053] Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation example (part 3) of the communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 6 shows a sequence relating to a hybrid communication smart meter 11c installed in a cell (communication range) of a base station 21b different from the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in Fig. 4, and MH communication smart meters 12e and 12f that will belong to a multi-hop network with the hybrid communication smart meter 11c as the root.

[0054] 6 are similar to the sequences S100 to S133 in Fig. 4, except that the communication connections of the hybrid communication smart meter 11c and the MH communication smart meters 12e and 12f are accommodated not in the hybrid accommodating unit 33a but in the hybrid accommodating unit 33c belonging to the hybrid manager 32b different from the hybrid manager 32a. In this way, there is a one-to-one correspondence between the hybrid manager 32 and the base station 21, and the communication connections of the hybrid communication smart meters 11 belonging to the communication range (cell) of a different base station 21 are accommodated in the hybrid accommodating unit 33 belonging to a different hybrid manager 32.

[0055] Fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the host system 40 in this embodiment. The flowchart shown in Fig. 7 illustrates an example of the operation when the host system 40 receives a joining confirmation notification (sequences S108, S117, and S128 in Fig. 4, sequences S208, S217, and S228 in Fig. 5, and sequences S308, S317, and S328 in Fig. 6).

[0056] First, the host system 40 checks which Hybrid accommodation unit 33 the received entry confirmation notification is from (step Sa1). Next, the host system 40 determines a block number using a value (ID) identifying the Hybrid accommodation unit 33 checked in step Sa1 (step Sa2). Here, the block number is a serial number assigned to the candidates (blocks) in the first range, and the first range is determined by determining the block number. This is the same as the processing when receiving a message in sequence S108 of FIG. 4. That is, the block number may be determined to be the integer part of random (ID of the Hybrid accommodation unit 33a) x number of blocks.

[0057] Next, the upper system 40 determines the transmission timings of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the MH communication smart meter 12 using values ​​(IDs) that identify them. This is the same as the processing when sequences S108, S117, and S128 in FIG. 4 are received. That is, if the range of the block of the block number determined in step Sa2 is from a to b (for example, greater than or equal to a and less than b, or greater than or equal to a and less than b), a + random (ID of the hybrid communication smart meter 11) × (b - a) may be determined as the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11. Alternatively, a value obtained by adding the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 to the product of the ID of the MH communication smart meter 12 and a predetermined value n1 may be determined as the MH communication smart meter 12.

[0058] In this way, by determining the transmission timings of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the MH communication smart meter 12, the transmission timings of smart meters whose communication connections are accommodated in the same hybrid accommodating unit 33 are within a predetermined range, whereas the transmission timings of smart meters whose communication connections are accommodated in different hybrid accommodating units 33 are transmission timings based on different blocks (first ranges, reference information). This makes it possible to prevent the communication connection between the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the base station 21 from timing out, and to prevent communication between the hybrid upper system 30 and the upper system 40 from concentrating at a specific timing.

[0059] Fig. 8 is a table showing examples of candidates for the first range in this embodiment. Fig. 8 shows examples of the range of values ​​for each of blocks 0 to 9, which are candidates for the first range. For example, block 0 ranges from 100 ms to 27,500 ms, block 1 ranges from 27,600 ms to 55,000 ms, and so on, and block 9 ranges from 247,600 ms to 275,000 ms.

[0060] Second Embodiment A communication system 100 according to a second embodiment is similar to the communication system 100 according to the first embodiment, but differs in the method by which the upper system 40 determines the transmission timing of each smart meter.

[0061] In this embodiment, the reference information of the hybrid accommodating unit 33 that accommodates the communication connection of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 is a second range of candidate transmission timings for the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the MH communication smart meter 12. The upper system 40 randomly selects the transmission timing for the hybrid communication smart meter 11 from within the second range. The upper system 40 also randomly selects the transmission timing for the MH communication smart meter 12 from within the second range.

[0062] 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation of the host system 40 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The flowchart illustrated in Fig. 9 illustrates an example of operation when the host system 40 receives a joining confirmation notification (sequences S108, S117, and S128 in Fig. 4 , sequences S208, S217, and S228 in Fig. 5 , and sequences S308, S317, and S328 in Fig. 6 ).

[0063] First, the host system 40 checks which Hybrid accommodation unit 33 the received entry confirmation notification is from (step Sa1). Next, the host system 40 determines a block number using a value (ID) identifying the Hybrid accommodation unit 33 checked in step Sa1 (step Sb2). Here, the block number is a serial number assigned to the candidates (blocks) in the second range, and the second range is determined by determining the block number. This is the same as the processing when receiving a message in sequence S108 of FIG. 4. In other words, the block number may be determined to be the integer part of random (ID of the Hybrid accommodation unit 33a) x number of blocks.

[0064] Next, the higher-level system 40 determines the transmission timings of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 or the MH communication smart meter 12 using a value (ID) that identifies the hybrid communication smart meter 11 or the MH communication smart meter 12. If the range of the block of the block number determined in step Sb2 is from a to b (for example, greater than or equal to a and less than b, or greater than or equal to a and less than b), the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 may be determined as a + random (ID of the hybrid communication smart meter 11) × (b - a), and the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12 may be determined as a + random (ID of the MH communication smart meter 12) × (b - a).

[0065] In this way, by determining the transmission timings of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the MH communication smart meter 12, the transmission timings of smart meters whose communication connections are accommodated in the same hybrid accommodating unit 33 are within a predetermined range, whereas the transmission timings of smart meters whose communication connections are accommodated in different hybrid accommodating units 33 are transmission timings based on different blocks (second ranges, reference information). This makes it possible to prevent the communication connection between the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the base station 21 from timing out, and to prevent communication between the hybrid upper system 30 and the upper system 40 from concentrating at a specific timing.

[0066] Fig. 10 is a table showing examples of second range candidates in this embodiment. Fig. 10 lists examples of value ranges for each of block 0 to block 275, which are second range candidates. For example, block 0 ranges from 100 ms to 1000 ms, block 1 ranges from 1100 ms to 2000 ms, and so on, and block 275 ranges from 247600 ms to 275000 ms.

[0067] <Third embodiment> The communication system 100 in the third embodiment is similar to the communication system 100 in the second embodiment, except that the upper system 40 determines a second range, which is reference information, for each hybrid accommodating unit 33, and the transmission timings of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the MH communication smart meter 12 are determined by the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the MH communication smart meter 12, respectively.

[0068] In this embodiment, the reference information of the hybrid accommodating unit 33 that accommodates the communication connection of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 is a second range of candidate transmission timings for the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the MH communication smart meter 12. The hybrid communication smart meter 11 randomly selects its transmission timing from within the second range. Furthermore, the MH communication smart meter 12 randomly selects its transmission timing from within the second range.

[0069] 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of operation of the communication system 100 according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. In the example of operation shown in FIG. 11 , the MH communication smart meters 12a and 12b, which are the MH communication smart meters 12, belong to a multi-hop network with the hybrid communication smart meter 11a, which is the hybrid communication smart meter 11, as the root. Then, in this example of operation, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a and the MH communication smart meters 12a and 12b transmit measurement information according to the transmission timing notified to each of them. At this time, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a transmits the measurement information to the higher-level system 40 via the base station 21a, which is the base station 21 of the LTE cellular communication network, and the hybrid accommodating unit 33a.

[0070] First, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a transmits an LTE connection request to the base station 21a (sequence S400). The base station 21a receives the connection request and returns an LTE connection response to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a (sequence S401). The base station 21a includes the Cell-ID of the base station 21a (identification information of the base station 21a or identification information of the cell of the base station 21a) in the connection response.

[0071] Upon receiving the connection response in sequence S401, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a transmits a connection request to the hybrid parent accommodation unit 31 via the base station 21a (sequences S402 and S403). The hybrid communication smart meter 11a includes in this connection request the Cell-ID of the base station 21a included in the connection response in sequence S401. Upon receiving this connection request, the hybrid parent accommodation unit 31 selects a hybrid accommodation unit 33a that does not accommodate any communication connection from among the hybrid accommodation units 33 of the hybrid manager 32a that correspond to the Cell-ID of the base station 21a included in the connection request. The hybrid parent accommodation unit 31 returns a connection response indicating the selected hybrid accommodation unit 33a to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a via the base station 21a (sequences S404 and S405). The hybrid master accommodation unit 31 may return a connection response indicating the hybrid manager 32a corresponding to the Cell-ID of the base station 21a.

[0072] The hybrid communication smart meter 11a, which has received the connection response in sequences S404 and S405, transmits an entry confirmation notification to the hybrid accommodating unit 33a indicated in the connection response via the base station 21a (sequences S406 and S407). The hybrid communication smart meter 11a includes a value for identifying the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in this entry confirmation notification. The value for identifying the hybrid communication smart meter 11a may be, for example, a serial number assigned to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in the multi-hop network, an identification number such as the network address of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a, or a value generated from the identification number. Upon receiving this entry confirmation notification, the hybrid accommodating unit 33a transmits the entry confirmation notification to the higher-level system 40 (sequence S408).

[0073] In addition, if the connection response in sequences S404 and S405 indicates the Hybrid manager 32a, the Hybrid communication smart meter 11a may send an entry confirmation notification to the Hybrid manager 32a, and the Hybrid manager 32a that receives the entry confirmation notification may send the entry confirmation notification to a Hybrid accommodation unit 33a that is subordinate to the Hybrid manager 32a and does not accommodate any communication connections.

[0074] Upon receiving the entry confirmation notification in sequence S408, the host system 40 determines a second range, which is the reference information of the hybrid accommodating unit 33a. Here, as in the second embodiment, the second range is the range of transmission timings of smart meters whose communication connections are accommodated in the hybrid accommodating unit 33a. For example, the host system 40 determines the second range (reference information) based on a value that identifies the hybrid accommodating unit 33a that sent the entry confirmation notification.

[0075] Here, the second range may be selected from a plurality of predetermined second range candidates using a pseudo-random number with a value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a as a seed. That is, the higher-level system 40 may select, as the second range, a candidate from among a plurality of second range candidates (blocks in FIG. 10 ), whose serial number previously assigned to each candidate matches the integer part of the product of random (the value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a) and the number of candidates. In this case, a value identifying the Hybrid communication smart meter 11a may be used instead of the value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a. Furthermore, the value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a may be a value obtained by combining the value identifying the Hybrid manager 32a and the value identifying the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a in the Hybrid manager 32a.

[0076] After determining the second range, the upper system 40 transmits an entry completion notification including information indicating the second range to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a via the hybrid accommodating unit 33a and the base station 21a (sequences S409, S410, S411).

[0077] The hybrid communication smart meter 11a that has received the entry completion notification in sequence S411 randomly determines the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a from the second range indicated by the information included in the entry completion notification (sequence S412). The method of determining the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a may be the same as that in the second embodiment. As a result, the communication connection of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a is accommodated in the hybrid accommodating unit 33a, and the hybrid communication smart meter 11a transmits measurement information to the higher-level system 40 via the base station 21 and the hybrid accommodating unit 33a in accordance with the transmission timing determined in sequence S412.

[0078] Furthermore, when the MH communication smart meter 12a transmits (broadcasts) an enhanced beacon request (enhanced beacon request) (sequence S413), the hybrid communication smart meter 11a that has received the enhanced beacon request transmits an enhanced beacon (sequence S414). Upon receiving the enhanced beacon of sequence S414, the MH communication smart meter 12a transmits an entry confirmation notification to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a that transmitted the enhanced beacon (sequence S415). The MH communication smart meter 12a may include a value that identifies the MH communication smart meter 12a in the entry confirmation notification. Note that this entry confirmation notification may be a entry confirmation notification to a multi-hop network with the hybrid communication smart meter 11a as the root.

[0079] The hybrid communication smart meter 11a that has received the entry confirmation notification in sequence S415 transmits the entry confirmation notification to the higher-level system 40 via the base station 21a and the hybrid accommodating unit 33a (the hybrid accommodating unit 33 that accommodates the communication connection of the hybrid communication smart meter 11a) (sequences S416, S417, S418). At this time, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a may further include a value that identifies the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in the entry confirmation notification before transmitting it.

[0080] Upon receiving the entry confirmation notification in sequence S418, the upper system 40 transmits an entry completion notification including information indicating the second range, which is the reference information of the hybrid accommodating unit 33a that sent the entry confirmation notification, to the MH communication smart meter 12a via the hybrid accommodating unit 33a, the base station 21a, and the hybrid communication smart meter 11a (sequences S419, S420, S421, S422). Upon receiving the entry completion notification, the MH communication smart meter 12a randomly determines the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12a from the second range indicated by the information included in the entry completion notification (sequence S423). The method of determining the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12a may be the same as that of the second embodiment.

[0081] As a result, the communication connection of the MH communication smart meter 12a is accommodated in the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a, and the MH communication smart meter 12a transmits measurement information to the upper system 40 via the Hybrid communication smart meter 11a, the base station 21, and the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a in accordance with the transmission timing determined by sequence S423.

[0082] Furthermore, when the MH communication smart meter 12b transmits (broadcasts) an extended beacon request (sequence S424), the MH communication smart meter 12a that has received the extended beacon request transmits an extended beacon (sequence S425). When the MH communication smart meter 12b receives the extended beacon of sequence S425, it transmits an entry confirmation notification to the MH communication smart meter 12a that is the sender of the extended beacon (sequence S426). The MH communication smart meter 12b may include a value that identifies the MH communication smart meter 12b in the entry confirmation notification. Note that this entry confirmation notification may be a notification of entry confirmation to the multi-hop network to which the MH communication smart meter 12a belongs.

[0083] The MH communication smart meter 12a that has received the entry confirmation notification in sequence S426 transmits the entry confirmation notification to the hybrid communication smart meter 11a that is the root of the multi-hop network to which the MH communication smart meter 12a belongs (sequence S427). The MH communication smart meter 12a may further include a value that identifies the MH communication smart meter 12a in the entry confirmation notification before transmitting it. The hybrid communication smart meter 11a that has received the entry confirmation notification in sequence S427 transmits the entry confirmation notification to the upper system 40 via the base station 21a and the hybrid accommodating unit 33a (sequences S428, S429, S430). The hybrid communication smart meter 11a may further include a value that identifies the hybrid communication smart meter 11a in the entry confirmation notification before transmitting it.

[0084] Upon receiving the entry confirmation notification in sequence S430, the upper system 40 transmits an entry completion notification including information indicating the second range, which is the reference information of the hybrid accommodating unit 33a that sent the entry confirmation notification, to the MH communication smart meter 12b via the hybrid accommodating unit 33a, the base station 21a, the hybrid communication smart meter 11a, and the MH communication smart meter 12a (sequences S431, S432, S433, S434, S435). Upon receiving the entry completion notification, the MH communication smart meter 12b randomly determines the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12b from the second range indicated by the information included in the entry completion notification (sequence S436). The method of determining the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12b may be the same as that of the second embodiment.

[0085] As a result, the communication connection of the MH communication smart meter 12b is accommodated in the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a, and the MH communication smart meter 12b transmits measurement information to the upper system 40 via the MH communication smart meter 12a, the Hybrid communication smart meter 11a, the base station 21, and the Hybrid accommodating unit 33a in accordance with the transmission timing determined by sequence S436.

[0086] As in the first and second embodiments, the hybrid communication smart meter 11b and the MH communication smart meters 12c and 12d are accommodated in the hybrid accommodating unit 33b, and the hybrid communication smart meter 11c and the MH communication smart meters 12e and 12f are accommodated in the hybrid accommodating unit 33c.

[0087] 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the host system 40 in this embodiment. The flowchart shown in Fig. 12 illustrates an example of the operation when the host system 40 receives a participation confirmation notification (sequences S408, S418, and S430 in Fig. 10).

[0088] First, the host system 40 confirms which Hybrid accommodation unit 33 the received entry confirmation notification is from (step Sc1). Next, the host system 40 determines a block number using a value (ID) identifying the Hybrid accommodation unit 33 confirmed in step Sc1 (step Sb2). Here, the block number is a serial number assigned to the candidates (blocks) in the second range, and the second range is determined by determining the block number. This is the same as the processing when receiving a message in sequence S408 of FIG. 11. In other words, the block number may be determined to be the integer part of random (ID of the Hybrid accommodation unit 33a) x number of blocks.

[0089] In the first embodiment, as in the present embodiment, the upper system 40 may include information indicating the first range, which is the reference information, in the entry completion notification, and the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the MH communication smart meter 12 may determine their respective transmission timings.

[0090] Fourth Embodiment A communication system 100 according to a fourth embodiment is similar to the communication systems 100 according to the first to third embodiments, but differs in the method by which the upper system 40 determines the transmission timing of each smart meter.

[0091] In this embodiment, the reference information of the hybrid accommodating unit 33 that accommodates the communication connection of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 is the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11. The upper system 40 randomly selects the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 from a predetermined range, and sets the transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12 to a value obtained by adding the product of the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11, a predetermined value n2, and a value that identifies the MH communication smart meter 12.

[0092] For example, the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 may be a pseudo-random number x between 100 ms and 275,000 ms, with a seed value that identifies the hybrid accommodating unit 33 that accommodates the communication connection of the hybrid communication smart meter 11. The transmission timing of the MH communication smart meter 12 may be a value obtained by adding the product of the serial number assigned to the MH communication smart meter 12 in the multi-hop network and a predetermined value n2 (for example, 2 ms) to the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11 on the route of the multi-hop network to which the MH communication smart meter 12 belongs.

[0093] In the fourth embodiment, as in the third embodiment, the upper system 40 may include information indicating the transmission timing of the hybrid communication smart meter 11, which is the reference information, in the entry completion notification, and the MH communication smart meter 12 may determine its own transmission timing.

[0094] <Fifth embodiment> In the fifth embodiment, at least some of the hybrid communication smart meters 11 can send measurement information to the upper system 40 not only via the WAN 20 and the hybrid upper system 30, but also via other routes (e.g., the aggregation device 23, the dedicated line 24, and the MH upper system 50).

[0095] Fig. 13 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a communication system 100a according to the fifth embodiment. In addition to the components of the communication system 100 shown in Fig. 1, the communication system 100a includes an aggregation device 23, a dedicated line 24, and an MH upper system 50. At least some of the hybrid communication smart meters 11 and the MH communication smart meters 12 belonging to a multi-hop network using the hybrid communication smart meters 11 as a root are also communicatively connected to the upper system 40 via the aggregation device 23, the dedicated line 24, and the MH upper system 50.

[0096] In this embodiment, the transmission timings of all hybrid communication smart meters 11 and MH communication smart meters 12 are determined in the same manner as in any of the first to fourth embodiments. This allows the communication system to use the reference information to control the transmission timings of smart meters belonging to the multi-hop network. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the communication connection between the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the base station 21 from being cut off due to a timeout while the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and MH communication smart meter 12 are transmitting measurement information.

[0097] The hybrid communication smart meter 11, which can communicate with the host system 40 via the aggregation device 23, the dedicated line 24, and the MH host system 50, selects a route for transmitting measurement information from the hybrid communication smart meter 11 and the MH communication smart meter 12 depending on the situation at the time, but the same transmission timing may be used for either route. For example, the hybrid communication smart meter 11 may preferentially use the route via the WAN 20 and the hybrid host system 30, and if that route is unavailable, transmit measurement information via the aggregation device 23, the dedicated line 24, and the MH host system 50. Alternatively, the route via the aggregation device 23, the dedicated line 24, and the MH host system 50 may be preferentially used.

[0098] FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of each device according to each embodiment. The devices are the hybrid host system 30, the host system 40, and the MH host system 50. Each device includes an input / output module I, a storage module M, and a control module P. The input / output module I includes some or all of the following: a communication module H11, a connection module H12, a pointing device H21, a keyboard H22, a display H23, a button H3, a microphone H41, a speaker H42, a camera H51, and a sensor H52. The storage module M includes a drive H7. The storage module M may further include some or all of a memory H8. The control module P includes a memory H8 and a processor H9. These hardware components are connected to each other via a bus (Bus) and receive power from a power supply H6.

[0099] The connection module H12 is a digital input / output port such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus). In the case of a portable device, the pointing device H21, keyboard H22, and display H23 are touch panels. The sensor H52 is an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a GPS receiving module, a proximity sensor, or the like. The power supply H6 is a power supply unit that supplies the electricity necessary to operate each device. In the case of a portable device, the power supply H6 is a battery. The drive H7 is an auxiliary storage medium such as a hard disk drive or a solid-state drive. The drive H7 may be a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM or a flash memory, or a magneto-optical disk drive or a flexible disk drive. Furthermore, the drive H7 is not limited to being built into each device, but may also be an external storage device connected to the connector of the connection module H12. The memory H8 is a main storage medium such as a random access memory. The memory H8 may also be a cache memory. The memory H8 stores instructions when the instructions are executed by one or more processors H9. The processor H9 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor H9 may be an MPU (Microprocessing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The processor H9 reads programs and various data from the drive H7 via the memory H8 and performs calculations to execute instructions stored in one or more memories H8.

[0100] The input / output module I is used in the hybrid host system 30, the host system 40, the MH host system 50, etc. The control module P is used to implement each part of the hybrid host system 30, the host system 40, and the MH host system 50. In this specification and the like, the terms hybrid host system 30, the host system 40, and the MH host system 50 may be replaced with the term control module P.

[0101] The present disclosure may be embodied as follows: (1) One embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system including an accommodating device that accommodates communication connections of a plurality of smart meters and a host device that collects measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters via the accommodating device, wherein the accommodating device includes a plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodating unit that determines, from the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network, based at least on the base station, wherein the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the host device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a reference for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0102] This allows the communication system to use the reference information to control the transmission timing of smart meters that belong to the multi-hop network.

[0103] (2) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is the communication system according to (1), wherein the communication connection of the first smart meter includes identification information of the base station or a cell of the base station.

[0104] This allows the hybrid parent accommodating unit to associate one hybrid accommodating unit with identification information of one base station or a cell of a base station.

[0105] (3) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is the communication system according to (1) or (2), wherein the communication connection of the first smart meter includes identification information of the first smart meter.

[0106] This allows the Hybrid accommodating unit to identify which first smart meter the subsequent communication is from.

[0107] (4) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system described in any one of (1) to (3), wherein the reference information of the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter is a first range of candidates for the transmission timing of the first smart meter, the higher-level device or the first smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the first smart meter from the first range, and the higher-level device or the second smart meter sets the transmission timing of the second smart meter to a value obtained by adding the transmission timing of the first smart meter to the product of a predetermined value and a value that identifies the second smart meter.

[0108] This makes it possible to prevent the communication connection between the first smart meter and the base station from being cut off due to a timeout while the measurement information of the first and second smart meters is being transmitted.

[0109] (5) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system described in any one of (1) to (3), wherein the reference information of the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter is a second range of candidates for the transmission timing of the first smart meter and the second smart meter, and the higher-level device or the first smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the first smart meter from the second range, and the higher-level device or the second smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the second smart meter from the second range.

[0110] This makes it possible to prevent the communication connection between the first smart meter and the base station from being cut off due to a timeout while the measurement information of the first and second smart meters is being transmitted.

[0111] (6) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication system described in any one of (1) to (3), wherein the reference information of the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter is the transmission timing of the first smart meter, the higher-level device or the first smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the first smart meter from within a predetermined range, and the higher-level device or the second smart meter sets the transmission timing of the second smart meter to a value obtained by adding the transmission timing of the first smart meter to the product of a predetermined value and a value that identifies the second smart meter.

[0112] This makes it possible to prevent the communication connection between the first smart meter and the base station from being cut off due to a timeout while the measurement information of the first and second smart meters is being transmitted.

[0113] (7) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a host device that collects measurement information transmitted by a plurality of smart meters via an accommodation device that accommodates the communication connections of the plurality of smart meters, wherein the accommodation device includes a plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodation unit that determines, based at least on the base station, from the plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, a Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the host device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information of the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0114] This allows the higher-level device to use the reference information to control the transmission timing of the smart meters that belong to the multi-hop network.

[0115] (8) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is an accommodating device in a communication system including an accommodating device that accommodates the communication connections of multiple smart meters and a higher-level device that collects measurement information transmitted by the multiple smart meters via the accommodating device, the accommodating device including multiple Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the multiple smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodating unit that determines, based at least on the base station, from among the multiple Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has established a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the higher-level device determines, for each of the multiple Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0116] This allows the accommodation device to use the reference information to have the upper device control the transmission timing of the smart meters belonging to the multi-hop network.

[0117] (9) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication method for a communication system including an accommodation device having a plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of a plurality of smart meters, and an upper device that collects measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters via the accommodation device, the communication method including the steps of: the accommodation device determining, based at least on the base station, from the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network; and the upper device determining, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the transmission timing of the measurement information of the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates, and the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root.

[0118] This allows the communication method to use the reference information to control the transmission timing of smart meters that belong to the multi-hop network.

[0119] (10) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as a higher-level device that collects measurement information transmitted by a plurality of smart meters via an accommodation device that accommodates the communication connections of the plurality of smart meters, wherein the accommodation device includes a plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodation unit that determines, based at least on the base station, from the plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, a Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the higher-level device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0120] This allows the program to cause the higher-level device to use the reference information to control the transmission timing of the smart meters that belong to the multi-hop network.

[0121] (11) Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as an accommodating device in a communication system including an accommodating device that accommodates the communication connections of multiple smart meters and a higher-level device that collects measurement information transmitted by the multiple smart meters via the accommodating device, the program including multiple Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the multiple smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodating unit that determines, based at least on the base station, from among the multiple Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via a base station of a wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the higher-level device determines, for each of the multiple Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

[0122] This allows the program to cause the higher-level device to use the reference information to control the transmission timing of the smart meters that belong to the multi-hop network.

[0123] 1 and 13 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to realize the hybrid host system 30, the host system 40, and the MH host system 50. Note that the term "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices.

[0124] "Computer-readable recording media" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording media" also includes devices that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs over networks like the Internet or communication lines like telephone lines, and devices that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within the computer systems that serve as servers or clients. The programs may also be programs that implement some of the aforementioned functions, or may be programs that can realize the aforementioned functions in combination with programs already stored in the computer system.

[0125] The embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like are also included within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of this disclosure.

[0126] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 FAN 11 Hybrid communication smart meter 12 MH communication smart meter 20 WAN 21 Base station 22 WAN line 23 Aggregation device 24 Dedicated line 30 Hybrid upper system 31 Hybrid parent accommodation unit 32 Hybrid manager 33 Hybrid accommodation unit 40 Upper system 50 MH upper system 100, 100a Communication system

Claims

1. A communication system comprising: an accommodation device that accommodates the communication connections of a plurality of smart meters; and a host device that collects measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters via the accommodation device, wherein the accommodation device comprises a plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters; and a Hybrid parent accommodating unit that determines, based at least on the base station of a wide area network, from among the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via the base station of the wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the host device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a reference for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the communication connection of the first smart meter includes identification information of the base station or a cell of the base station.

3. The communication system of claim 2, wherein the communication connection of the first smart meter includes identification information of the first smart meter.

4. A communication system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reference information of the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter is a first range of candidates for the transmission timing of the first smart meter, the upper device or the first smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the first smart meter from the first range, and the upper device or the second smart meter sets the transmission timing of the second smart meter to a value obtained by adding the transmission timing of the first smart meter to the product of a predetermined value and a value that identifies the second smart meter.

5. A communication system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reference information of the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodating the communication connection of the first smart meter is a second range of candidates for the transmission timing of the first smart meter and the second smart meter, the upper device or the first smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the first smart meter from the second range, and the upper device or the second smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the second smart meter from the second range.

6. A communication system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the reference information of the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter is the transmission timing of the first smart meter, the upper device or the first smart meter randomly selects the transmission timing of the first smart meter from within a predetermined range, and the upper device or the second smart meter sets the transmission timing of the second smart meter to a value obtained by adding the transmission timing of the first smart meter to the product of a predetermined value and a value that identifies the second smart meter.

7. A host device that collects measurement information transmitted from a plurality of smart meters via an accommodation device that accommodates the communication connections of the plurality of smart meters, wherein the accommodation device comprises a plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodation unit that determines, based at least on the base station of a wide area network, from among the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via the base station of the wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the host device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a reference for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

8. An accommodating device in a communication system comprising an accommodating device that accommodates the communication connections of a plurality of smart meters and a host device that collects measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters via the accommodating device, comprising: a plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters; and a Hybrid parent accommodating unit that determines, based at least on the base station of a wide area network, from among the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via the base station of the wide area network; the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root; and the host device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a reference for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

9. A communication method for a communication system comprising an accommodating device having a plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of a plurality of smart meters, and a host device that collects measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters via the accommodating device, the method comprising: a step in which the accommodating device determines, based at least on the base station of a wide area network, from among the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via the base station of the wide area network; and a step in which the host device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a reference for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates, wherein the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root.

10. A program for causing a computer to function as a higher-level device that collects measurement information transmitted by a plurality of smart meters via an accommodation device that accommodates the communication connections of the plurality of smart meters, wherein the accommodation device comprises a plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters, and a Hybrid parent accommodation unit that determines, based at least on the base station of a wide area network, from among the plurality of Hybrid accommodation units, a Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via the base station of the wide area network, wherein the Hybrid accommodation unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root, and the higher-level device determines, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

11. A program for causing a computer to function as an accommodating device in a communication system comprising an accommodating device that accommodates the communication connections of a plurality of smart meters and a host device that collects measurement information transmitted by the plurality of smart meters via the accommodating device, the program comprising: a plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, each accommodating the communication connection of one of the plurality of smart meters; and a Hybrid parent accommodating unit that determines, based at least on the base station of a wide area network, from among the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, a Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of a first smart meter that has made a communication connection via the base station of the wide area network; the Hybrid accommodating unit that accommodates the communication connection of the first smart meter accommodates the communication connection of a second smart meter that belongs to a multi-hop network with the first smart meter as the root; and the host device determining, for each of the plurality of Hybrid accommodating units, reference information that serves as a basis for the timing of transmission of measurement information from the smart meter whose communication connection the Hybrid accommodating unit accommodates.

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