Wireless communication device

Abstract

A wireless communication device (1A) comprises a control board (10A) installed inside a housing (20) of a device (2), and an antenna / user interface unit (11A) installed outside the housing (20). The control board (10A) generates a wireless signal based on data acquired from the device (2), transmits the wireless signal to the antenna / user interface unit (11A) via a high-frequency signal cable (12A), generates a display signal based on the state of the wireless communication device (1A), transmits the display signal to the antenna / user interface unit (11A) via a multi-core cable (13A), and receives an operation signal from the antenna / user interface unit (11A) via the multi-core cable (13A). The antenna / user interface unit (11A) transmits the wireless signal received from the control board (10A) to a server (3), performs display based on the display signal received from the control board (10A), receives an operation by a user, and transmits an operation signal related to the received operation to the control board (10A).

Description

wireless communication device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communication devices.

[0002] Recently, remote monitoring systems have become known that remotely monitor devices such as air conditioners and water heaters, in which a wireless communication device periodically acquires data from the device and uploads the acquired data to a server via wireless communication such as mobile communication. Generally, such wireless communication devices are preferably installed outdoors, where the communication environment is better than indoors. However, from the viewpoint of security and reducing damage caused by sunlight, wind, and rain, there is also a need to house the wireless communication device inside the housing of an outdoor unit, heat pump unit, or the like.

[0003] However, since the housings of outdoor units, heat pump units, etc. are made of metal, when a wireless communication device is housed inside the equipment, there is a problem that wireless communication performance is reduced due to radio wave blocking. There is also a problem that it is not easy to check the operating status of the wireless communication device or perform operations such as software reset on site.

[0004] In response to this, Patent Document 1 proposes a communication system in which an antenna unit for wireless communication is installed outside the housing of the outdoor unit. This communication system includes a communication converter provided inside the housing of the outdoor unit that extracts necessary electrical signals from a control board of the outdoor unit and converts them into digital signals for wired transmission, a cable having one end connected to the communication converter and extending from inside the housing to the outside, and an antenna unit connected to the other end of the cable outside the housing and capable of wireless communication with a base station.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-8261

[0006] In the communication system described in Patent Document 1, the antenna unit is provided outside the housing of the outdoor unit, which makes it possible to suppress degradation of wireless communication performance. However, Patent Document 1 does not describe at all a user interface for checking the operating status of the communication system or for operating the communication system on-site, and the reality is that proposals for new technologies are desired.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and aims to provide a wireless communication device that can suppress degradation of wireless communication performance and further enables easy checking of operating status and operation on-site.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, a wireless communication device according to the present disclosure is a wireless communication device that acquires data from a device and transmits it to a server, comprising: a control board installed inside a housing of the device; and an antenna / user interface unit installed outside the housing, wherein the control board and the antenna / user interface unit are connected via a first cable which is a high-frequency signal cable and a second cable which is a multi-core cable, and the control board comprises: a wireless signal generation unit that generates a wireless signal based on the data acquired from the device and transmits the generated wireless signal to the antenna / user interface unit via the first cable; a display signal generation unit that generates a display signal based on a state of the wireless communication device and transmits the generated display signal to the antenna / user interface unit via the second cable; and an operation signal receiving unit that receives an operation signal from the antenna / user interface unit via the second cable, and the antenna / user interface unit comprises: an antenna that transmits the wireless signal received from the control board via the first cable to the server; and a display unit that performs a display based on the display signal received from the control board via the second cable. The control board includes an operation reception unit that receives an operation by a user and transmits an operation signal related to the received operation to the control board via the second cable.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, in a wireless communication device, it is possible to suppress degradation of wireless communication performance, and further, it is possible to easily check the operating status and operate the device on-site.

[0010] FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a remote monitoring system in embodiment 1. FIG. 1 shows the hardware configuration of a wireless communication device in embodiment 1. FIG. 1 shows the hardware configuration of a control unit provided in a wireless communication device in embodiment 1. FIG. 1 shows the functional configuration of a control unit provided in a wireless communication device in embodiment 1. FIG. 2 shows a table showing the correspondence between the state of the wireless communication device, the state of the device, and the display pattern in embodiment 1. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart showing the procedure for status display processing in embodiment 1. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a remote monitoring system in embodiment 2. FIG. 2 shows the hardware configuration of a wireless communication device in embodiment 2. FIG. 3 shows the hardware configuration of a power supply superposition unit provided in a wireless communication device in embodiment 2. FIG. 4 shows the hardware configuration of a power supply separation unit provided in a wireless communication device in embodiment 2. FIG. 4 shows the overall configuration of a remote monitoring system in embodiment 3. FIG. 5 shows the hardware configuration of a wireless communication unit and a user I / F unit provided in a wireless communication device in embodiment 3. FIG. 5 shows the overall configuration of a remote monitoring system in embodiment 4. FIG. 6 shows the hardware configuration of a wireless communication unit provided in a wireless communication device in embodiment 4.

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0012] 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a remote monitoring system A according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The remote monitoring system A is a system that acquires data from devices 2 installed in buildings such as homes, office buildings, and commercial buildings, and provides services such as maintenance and replacement recommendations for the devices (hereinafter referred to as "remote monitoring services") to owners of the buildings, etc., and includes a wireless communication device 1A, the devices 2, and a server 3.

[0013] <Wireless Communication Device 1A> The wireless communication device 1A is an example of a wireless communication device according to the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 1A is installed outdoors and includes a control board 10A and an antenna-user I / F (interface) unit 11A. The control board 10A is an example of a control board according to the present disclosure, and the antenna-user I / F unit 11A is an example of an antenna-user interface unit according to the present disclosure. The control board 10A and the antenna-user I / F unit 11A are communicatively connected via communication cables 12A and 13A. In the wireless communication device 1A, the control board 10A is installed inside a metal housing 20 of the device 2, and the antenna-user I / F unit 11A is installed outside the housing 20. As shown in Figure 2, the control board 10A has a control unit 100, a first communication unit 101, and a second communication unit 102, and the antenna / user I / F unit 11A has an antenna 110, a display unit 111, an operation reception unit 112, a third communication unit 113, and a fourth communication unit 114.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 3 , in the control board 10A, the control unit 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 120, a read-only memory (ROM) 121, a random-access memory (RAM) 122, and an auxiliary storage device 123, and performs overall control of the wireless communication device 1A. The auxiliary storage device 123 is configured with a readable / writable nonvolatile semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or the like. The readable / writable nonvolatile semiconductor memory is, for example, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The auxiliary storage device 123 stores a wireless communication program, which is a program for implementing each function of the control unit 100 described below, and data used when the wireless communication program is executed.

[0015] The wireless communication device 1A can also acquire the above-mentioned wireless communication program or an update program for updating the wireless communication program via communication from the server 3, another server (not shown), a terminal, etc., and install the program on itself. These programs can also be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a magneto-optical disk, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a HDD, an SSD (Solid-State Drive), or a memory card. When such a recording medium is directly or indirectly attached to the wireless communication device 1A, the wireless communication device 1A can read the wireless communication program or update program from the recording medium and install it on itself.

[0016] 2 , the first communication unit 101 is a communication circuit including a communication driver IC (Integrated Circuit) and the like, and is communicatively connected to the third communication unit 113 of the antenna-user I / F unit 11A via a communication cable 12A. The first communication unit 101 receives, via the communication cable 12A, a radio signal transmitted from the server 3 and received by the antenna-user I / F unit 11A, and supplies the received radio signal to the control unit 100. The first communication unit 101 also transmits a radio signal generated by the control unit 100 to the antenna-user I / F unit 11A via the communication cable 12A.

[0017] The communication cable 12A is a high-frequency signal cable and is an example of a first cable according to the present disclosure. In the present embodiment, the communication cable 12A is a coaxial cable. In the wireless communication device 1A, the communication cable 12A and the communication cable 13A are configured to share a common GND (ground). More specifically, the shield portion of the communication cable 12A is configured to serve as a common GND for the wireless signal flowing through the communication cable 12A and the display signal and operation signal flowing through the communication cable 13A.

[0018] The second communication unit 102 is a communication circuit including a communication driver IC and the like, and is communicatively connected to the fourth communication unit 114 of the antenna-user I / F unit 11A via the communication cable 13A. The second communication unit 102 transmits display signals generated by the control unit 100 to the antenna-user I / F unit 11A via the communication cable 13A, receives operation signals from the antenna-user I / F unit 11A via the communication cable 13A, and supplies the received operation signals to the control unit 100. The second communication unit 102 is an example of an operation signal receiving unit according to the present disclosure. The communication cable 13A is an example of a second cable according to the present disclosure, and is a multi-core cable including multiple signal lines for transmitting display signals and operation signals and a single power line for supplying DC power, which is a power source for driving the display unit 111 and the operation receiving unit 112, from the control board 10A to the antenna-user I / F unit 11A.

[0019] In the antenna-user I / F unit 11A, the antenna 110 is an example of an antenna according to the present disclosure. The antenna 110 receives a wireless signal transmitted from the server 3 via the base station 4 and supplies the received wireless signal to the third communication unit 113. The antenna 110 also transmits the wireless signal supplied from the third communication unit 113 to the server 3 via the base station 4. The base station 4 is a wireless base station installed by a telecommunications carrier and enables wide-area wireless communication using mobile communications (e.g., Long-Term Evolution (LTE)), Low Power, Wide Area (LPWA), etc.). The display unit 111 is an example of a display according to the present disclosure and is configured to include a display device such as an LED (Light-Emitting Diode), and performs operations such as lighting up and blinking based on a display signal supplied from the fourth communication unit 114.

[0020] The operation reception unit 112 is an example of an operation reception unit according to the present disclosure, and is configured to include one or more input devices such as a push button, a slide switch, a rotary switch, a toggle switch, etc., and receives operations from a user such as an operator and supplies an operation signal related to the received operation to the fourth communication unit 114. The third communication unit 113 is a communication circuit configured to include a communication driver IC, etc., and transmits a wireless signal supplied from the antenna 110 to the control board 10A via the communication cable 12A, and receives a wireless signal transmitted from the control board 10A via the communication cable 12A and supplies the received wireless signal to the antenna 110.

[0021] The fourth communication unit 114 is a communication circuit including a communication driver IC and the like, and receives a display signal transmitted from the control board 10A via the communication cable 13A and supplies the received display signal to the display unit 111. The fourth communication unit 114 also transmits an operation signal supplied from the operation reception unit 112 to the control board 10A via the communication cable 13A.

[0022] <Device 2> Device 2 is an example of a device according to the present disclosure. Device 2 is, for example, an outdoor unit of an air conditioner, an outdoor air conditioning unit, a tank unit of a water heater, or the like, and includes a device control board 21 inside a metal housing 20 as shown in FIG. 1 . In addition to these, device 2 also includes general components (not shown) that correspond to the model of device 2. Device control board 21 includes a communication unit, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and an auxiliary storage device, all of which are not shown, and performs overall control of device 2. Device control board 21 and control board 10A of wireless communication device 1A are connected to each other via a communication cable 22 so as to be able to communicate with each other. Device control board 21 also supplies DC power to control board 10A via the communication cable 22.

[0023] When device 2 receives information indicating a request for device data from control board 10A, it transmits device data indicating its own status to control board 10A. For example, the device data includes measurement results from various sensors equipped in device 2. Note that if device 2 is, for example, an outdoor unit of an air conditioner or a tank unit of a water heater, or a device that achieves a function (air conditioning, hot water supply, etc.) in cooperation with other devices, the device data also includes the status of those other devices. For example, if device 2 is an outdoor unit, the device data transmitted from device 2 to control board 10A includes not only the status of the outdoor unit but also the status of each indoor unit (such as the measurement results of various sensors equipped in the indoor units). Furthermore, when device 2 receives information indicating an operation request from server 3 from control board 10A, it performs an operation according to the received information.

[0024] <Server 3> The server 3 is an example of a server according to the present disclosure. The server 3 is installed in a location different from the building in which the device 2 is installed and is a server computer that monitors the status of the device 2. Although not shown, the server 3 includes a communication unit for performing mobile communication (e.g., LTE, LPWA, etc.) with the wireless communication device 1A, a CPU that controls the server 3, a ROM, a RAM, and an auxiliary storage device. The server 3 generates wireless signals indicating communication setting requests for the wireless communication device 1A and operation requests for the device 2 as needed, and transmits the generated wireless signals to the wireless communication device 1A via the base station 4. The server 3 also receives device data periodically transmitted from the wireless communication device 1A and accumulates and stores the received device data in the auxiliary storage device.

[0025] <Functional Configuration of Control Unit 100> Next, the functions of the control unit 100 in the wireless communication device 1A will be described in detail. As shown in Fig. 4, the control unit 100 has, as its functional configuration, a main processing unit 130, a wireless signal processing unit 131, a display signal processing unit 132, and an operation signal processing unit 133. These functional units are realized when the CPU 120 of the control unit 100 executes the above-mentioned wireless communication program stored in the auxiliary storage device 123.

[0026] The main processing unit 130 executes overall processing in the wireless communication device 1A. For example, the main processing unit 130 executes the following processes (1) to (6). (1) Acquisition of Device Data The main processing unit 130 periodically (for example, every minute) acquires device data from the device 2 and stores the acquired device data in the auxiliary storage device 123. (2) Transmission of Device Data The main processing unit 130 periodically transmits device data to the server 3. Specifically, the main processing unit 130 periodically (for example, every 10 minutes) reads out a log of device data stored in the auxiliary storage device 123 and supplies the read log of device data to the wireless signal processing unit 131.

[0027] (3) Communication Settings When the main processing unit 130 receives a communication setting request for the wireless communication device 1A from the server 3, it performs communication settings according to the content of the communication setting request. (4) Operation Request for Device 2 When the main processing unit 130 receives an operation request for the device 2 from the server 3, it transmits information indicating the operation request to the device 2 (more specifically, the device control board 21).

[0028] (5) Display Control The main processing unit 130 periodically (e.g., every second) determines the display pattern of the display unit 111 and supplies information indicating the determined display pattern (hereinafter referred to as "display pattern information") to the display signal processing unit 132. The main processing unit 130 determines the display pattern based on the respective states of the wireless communication device 1A and the device 2. FIG. 5 shows the correspondence between the state of the wireless communication device 1A, the state of the device 2, and the display pattern. As shown in FIG. 5, the main processing unit 130 determines a green light as the display pattern when the state of the wireless communication device 1A and the device 2 are both normal. Furthermore, when the state of the wireless communication device 1A is normal and the state of the device 2 is abnormal, the main processing unit 130 determines a red light flashing once as the display pattern. Furthermore, when the state of the wireless communication device 1A is abnormal and the state of the device 2 is normal, the main processing unit 130 determines a red light flashing twice as the display pattern. Furthermore, when the state of the wireless communication device 1A is abnormal and the state of the device 2 is normal, the main processing unit 130 determines a red light flashing twice as the display pattern. Furthermore, when the state of the wireless communication device 1A is abnormal and the state of the device 2 is normal, the main processing unit 130 determines a red light flashing twice as the display pattern. Furthermore, when the state of the wireless communication device 1A is abnormal and the state of the device 2 is normal, the main processing unit 130 determines a red light flashing once ...

[0029] The main processing unit 130 determines whether the state of the wireless communication device 1A is normal or abnormal based on whether a communication error has occurred with the base station 4. That is, if no communication error has occurred with the base station 4, the main processing unit 130 determines that the state of the wireless communication device 1A is normal. On the other hand, if a communication error has occurred with the base station 4, the main processing unit 130 determines that the state of the wireless communication device 1A is abnormal. The main processing unit 130 also determines whether the state of the device 2 is normal or abnormal based on the device data acquired from the device 2. For example, if the measurement values ​​of all sensors included in the device data are within normal ranges, the main processing unit 130 determines that the state of the device 2 is normal. On the other hand, if the measurement value of any sensor included in the device data is outside the normal range, the main processing unit 130 determines that the state of the device 2 is abnormal.

[0030] (6) Software Reset When a user performs an operation requesting a reset, the main processing unit 130 executes a software reset (that is, a reboot) process for the wireless communication device 1A.

[0031] 4 , the wireless signal processing unit 131 is an example of a wireless signal generation unit according to the present disclosure. When the wireless signal processing unit 131 receives a device data log from the main processing unit 130, it generates a wireless signal addressed to the server 3 indicating the contents of the device data log and supplies the generated wireless signal to the first communication unit 101. The wireless signal supplied to the first communication unit 101 is transmitted to the antenna-user I / F unit 11A via the communication cable 12A and then transmitted to the base station 4 by the antenna 110.

[0032] Furthermore, the wireless signal processing unit 131 analyzes the wireless signal supplied from the first communication unit 101, i.e., the wireless signal from the server 3 received by the antenna-user I / F unit 11A, to acquire information indicating a request from the server 3 (a communication setup request or an operation request), and supplies the acquired information to the main processing unit 130. The main processing unit 130 executes the above-mentioned communication setup processing and operation request processing for the device 2 based on the information supplied from the wireless signal processing unit 131.

[0033] The display signal processing unit 132 is an example of a display signal generating unit according to the present disclosure. Upon receiving the above-described display pattern information from the main processing unit 130, the display signal processing unit 132 generates a display signal indicating the display pattern information and supplies the generated display signal to the second communication unit 102. The display signal supplied to the second communication unit 102 is transmitted to the antenna / user I / F unit 11A via the communication cable 13A. The display unit 111 performs display according to the display signal received from the control board 10A.

[0034] When the operation signal processing unit 133 receives an operation signal from the antenna / user I / F unit 11A via the communication cable 13A, it generates information indicating a reset request from the operation signal and supplies the generated information to the main processing unit 130. When the main processing unit 130 receives the information from the operation signal processing unit 133, it executes the software reset process described above.

[0035] <Status Display Process> Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the status display process executed by the wireless communication device 1 A. The wireless communication device 1 A executes the status display process periodically (for example, every second).

[0036] (Step S100) The wireless communication device 1A determines whether its own state is normal or abnormal. As described above, the wireless communication device 1A determines its own state to be normal if no communication error occurs with the base station 4, and determines its own state to be abnormal if a communication error occurs with the base station 4. Thereafter, the processing of the wireless communication device 1A transitions to step S101.

[0037] (Step S101) The wireless communication device 1A determines whether the state of the device 2 is normal or abnormal. As described above, the wireless communication device 1A determines whether the state of the device 2 is normal or abnormal based on the device data acquired from the device 2. Thereafter, the processing of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S102.

[0038] (Step S102) The wireless communication device 1A determines whether or not the conditions that the wireless communication device 1A itself (i.e., the wireless communication device 1A) is in a normal state and that the device 2 is in a normal state are satisfied. If the conditions that the wireless communication device 1A itself is in a normal state and that the device 2 is in a normal state are satisfied (step S102; YES), the processing of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S103. If the conditions that the wireless communication device 1A itself is in a normal state and that the device 2 is in a normal state are not satisfied (step S102; NO), the processing of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S104.

[0039] (Step S103) The wireless communication device 1A determines that the display pattern is green lighting. After that, the process of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S109.

[0040] (Step S104) The wireless communication device 1A determines whether or not the condition that its own state is normal and the state of device 2 is abnormal is satisfied. If the condition that its own state is normal and the state of device 2 is abnormal is satisfied (step S104; YES), the processing of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S105. If the condition that its own state is normal and the state of device 2 is abnormal is not satisfied (step S104; NO), the processing of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S106.

[0041] (Step S105) The wireless communication device 1A determines a single red flash as the display pattern. After that, the process of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S109.

[0042] (Step S106) The wireless communication device 1A determines whether the condition that its own state is abnormal and the state of device 2 is normal is satisfied. If the condition that its own state is abnormal and the state of device 2 is normal is satisfied (step S106; YES), the processing of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S107. If the condition that its own state is abnormal and the state of device 2 is normal is not satisfied (step S106; NO), that is, if its own state is abnormal and the state of device 2 is abnormal, the processing of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S108.

[0043] (Step S107) The wireless communication device 1A determines the display pattern to be two red flashes. After that, the process of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S109.

[0044] (Step S108) The wireless communication device 1A determines the display pattern to be red lighting. After that, the process of the wireless communication device 1A proceeds to step S109.

[0045] (Step S109) The wireless communication device 1A executes display according to the determined display pattern on the display unit 111. Thereafter, the wireless communication device 1A ends the status display process for this cycle.

[0046] As described above, in the remote monitoring system A of the present embodiment, in the wireless communication device 1A, the control board 10A that performs the central functions of the wireless communication device 1A is installed inside the housing 20 of the equipment 2, but the antenna / user I / F unit 11A that includes the antenna 110 and the display unit 111 and operation reception unit 112 that serve as a user interface is installed outside the housing 20. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in wireless communication performance in the wireless communication device 1A, and further makes it possible to easily check the operating status and operate the device on site.

[0047] Furthermore, in the wireless communication device 1A, the shield portion of the communication cable 12A is configured to serve as a common GND for the wireless signals flowing through the communication cable 12A and the display signals and operation signals flowing through the communication cable 13A, and when the wireless communication device 1A is operating, the display unit 111 always displays a display pattern corresponding to the respective states of the wireless communication device 1A and the device 2. In other words, the wireless communication device 1A is configured so that the display unit 111 always performs a display operation when operating. This allows the user to easily notice a poor connection due to, for example, forgetting to connect the communication cable 12A or the communication cable 13A.

[0048] (Modification 1) The display unit 111 may be configured with a seven-segment display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display, or the like, and the status of the wireless communication device 1A and the device 2 may be displayed by characters, pictures, or the like.

[0049] (Variation 2) The user can also perform an operation other than a reset (for example, a communication setting operation) via the operation reception unit 112. In this case, when the operation signal processing unit 133 receives an operation signal from the antenna / user I / F unit 11A via the communication cable 13A, it generates information indicating the operation content of the user from the operation signal and supplies the generated information to the main processing unit 130. When the main processing unit 130 receives the information from the operation signal processing unit 133, it executes processing according to the operation content indicated by the information.

[0050] (Modification 3) All or part of the functional units (see FIG. 4) of the control unit 100 included in the wireless communication device 1A may be realized by dedicated hardware, such as a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

[0051] The technical ideas according to the above-described modifications may be realized independently or in appropriate combination.

[0052] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the following description, components and the like common to the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

[0053] 7 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a remote monitoring system B according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The remote monitoring system B is a system that acquires data from devices 2 installed in buildings such as homes, office buildings, and commercial buildings, and provides remote monitoring services such as maintenance and replacement recommendations for the devices to the owners of the buildings, and includes a wireless communication device 1B, the devices 2, and a server 3.

[0054] <Wireless Communication Device 1B> The wireless communication device 1B is an example of a wireless communication device according to the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 1B is installed outdoors and includes a control board 10B and an antenna-user I / F unit 11B. The control board 10B is an example of a control board according to the present disclosure, and the antenna-user I / F unit 11B is an example of an antenna-user interface unit according to the present disclosure. The control board 10B and the antenna-user I / F unit 11B are communicatively connected via a communication cable 12B and a communication cable 13B. In the wireless communication device 1B, the control board 10B is installed inside a metal housing 20 of the device 2, and the antenna-user I / F unit 11B is installed outside the housing 20.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 8 , the control board 10B includes a control unit 100, a first communication unit 101, a second communication unit 102, and a power supply superimposition unit 103. The hardware configuration of the control board 10B differs from the hardware configuration of the control board 10A of the wireless communication device 1A in embodiment 1 (see FIG. 2 ) in that the control board 10B newly includes the power supply superimposition unit 103, but otherwise the configurations of the two are similar. The antenna-user I / F unit 11B includes an antenna 110, a display unit 111, an operation acceptance unit 112, a third communication unit 113, a fourth communication unit 114, and a power supply separation unit 115. The hardware configuration of the antenna-user I / F unit 11B differs from the hardware configuration of the antenna-user I / F unit 11A of the wireless communication device 1A in embodiment 1 (see FIG. 2 ) in that the control board 10B newly includes the power supply separation unit 115, but otherwise the configurations of the two are similar.

[0056] The communication cable 12B is a high-frequency signal cable and is an example of a first cable according to the present disclosure. The communication cable 12B is a coaxial cable similar to the communication cable 12A in the first embodiment. The communication cable 13B is an example of a second cable according to the present disclosure and is a multi-core cable composed of multiple signal lines for transmitting and receiving display signals and operation signals. However, unlike the communication cable 13A in the first embodiment, the communication cable 13B does not include a single power line for supplying DC power, which is the power source for operation, from the control board 10B to the antenna-user I / F unit 11B. In this embodiment, the DC power, which is the power source for driving the display unit 111 and the operation reception unit 112, is supplied from the control board 10B to the antenna-user I / F unit 11B by being superimposed on the central conductor portion of the communication cable 12B.

[0057] In addition, in the wireless communication device 1B, the communication cables 12B and 13B are configured to share a common GND. More specifically, the shield portion of the communication cable 12B is configured to be a common GND for the wireless signals flowing through the communication cable 12B and the display signals and operation signals flowing through the communication cable 13B.

[0058] In the control board 10B, the power supply superposition unit 103 is an example of a power supply superposition unit according to the present disclosure. The power supply superposition unit 103 is a circuit for superimposing DC power on a wireless signal and transmitting the signal to the antenna-user I / F unit 11B, and is provided between the control unit 100 and the first communication unit 101. As shown in Fig. 9 , the power supply superposition unit 103 includes a capacitor 1030 and an inductor 1031, and superimposes DC power supplied from the device 2 on the wireless signal supplied from the control unit 100. In the power supply superposition unit 103, the capacitor 1030 allows the wireless signal to flow through the communication cable 12B without loss, and the inductor 1031 allows the DC current to flow through the communication cable 12B without loss.

[0059] In the antenna-user I / F unit 11B, the power supply separator 115 is an example of a power supply separator according to the present disclosure. The power supply separator 115 is a circuit for separating a radio signal from a DC power supply and is provided between the antenna 110 and the third communication unit 113. As shown in FIG. 10 , the power supply separator 115 includes a capacitor 1150 and an inductor 1151. The capacitor 1150 separates the DC power supply superimposed on the radio signal, supplies the separated radio signal to the antenna 110, and supplies the separated DC power supply to the display unit 111 and the operation reception unit 112. In the power supply separator 115, the capacitor 1150 allows the radio signal to be extracted without loss, and by providing a high impedance to the DC current, the flow of the DC current into the antenna 110 can be prevented. The inductor 1151 allows the DC current to be extracted without loss, and by providing a high impedance to the radio signal, the flow of the radio signal into the display unit 111 and the operation reception unit 112 can be prevented.

[0060] The overall operation of the wireless communication device 1B, that is, the operation relating to wireless communication and the operation relating to the user I / F, is similar to that of the wireless communication device 1A.

[0061] As described above, in the remote monitoring system B of this embodiment, in the wireless communication device 1B, the control board 10B that performs the central function of the wireless communication device 1B is installed inside the housing 20 of the equipment 2, but the antenna / user I / F unit 11B that includes the antenna 110 and the display unit 111 and operation reception unit 112 that serve as a user interface is installed outside the housing 20. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in wireless communication performance in the wireless communication device 1B, and further makes it possible to easily check the operating status and operate the device on site.

[0062] Furthermore, in wireless communication device 1B, the shield portion of communication cable 12B is configured to serve as a common GND for the wireless signals flowing through communication cable 12B and the display signals and operation signals flowing through communication cable 13B, and when wireless communication device 1B is operating, display unit 111 constantly displays display patterns corresponding to the respective states of wireless communication device 1B and device 2. In other words, wireless communication device 1B is configured so that display unit 111 constantly performs display operation when in operation. This allows the user to easily notice a poor connection due to, for example, forgetting to connect communication cable 12B or communication cable 13B.

[0063] Furthermore, in the wireless communication device 1B, a DC power supply is superimposed on the wireless signal flowing through the communication cable 12B and transmitted to the antenna-user I / F unit 11B, so there is no need to include a single power supply line in the communication cable 13B, which reduces the number of cores in the multi-core cable.

[0064] (Modification 1) The display unit 111 may be configured with a seven-segment display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, and the status of the wireless communication device 1B and the device 2 may be displayed by characters, pictures, or the like.

[0065] (Variation 2) The user can also perform an operation other than a reset (for example, a communication setting operation) via the operation reception unit 112. In this case, when the operation signal processing unit 133 receives an operation signal from the antenna / user I / F unit 11B via the communication cable 13B, it generates information indicating the operation content of the user from the operation signal and supplies the generated information to the main processing unit 130. When the main processing unit 130 receives the information from the operation signal processing unit 133, it executes processing according to the operation content indicated by the information.

[0066] (Variation 3) All or part of the functional units (see FIG. 4) of the control unit 100 included in the wireless communication device 1B may be realized by dedicated hardware, such as a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0067] The technical ideas according to the above-described modifications may be realized independently or in appropriate combination.

[0068] Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the following description, components and the like common to the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

[0069] 11 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a remote monitoring system C according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. The remote monitoring system C is a system that acquires data from devices 2 installed in buildings such as homes, office buildings, and commercial buildings, and provides remote monitoring services such as maintenance and replacement recommendations for the devices to the owners of the buildings, etc., and includes a wireless communication device 1C, the devices 2, and a server 3.

[0070] <Wireless Communication Device 1C> The wireless communication device 1C is an example of a wireless communication device according to the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 1C is installed outdoors and includes a control board 10A, a wireless communication unit 14, and a user I / F unit 15. The wireless communication unit 14 is an example of a wireless communication unit according to the present disclosure, and the user I / F unit 15 is an example of a user interface unit according to the present disclosure. The control board 10A and the wireless communication unit 14 are communicatively connected via communication cables 12A and 13A, and the wireless communication unit 14 and the user I / F unit 15 are communicatively connected via communication cable 16. In the wireless communication device 1C, the control board 10A is installed inside a metal housing 20 of the device 2, and the wireless communication unit 14 and the user I / F unit 15 are installed outside the housing 20. Thus, unlike the wireless communication device 1A in the first embodiment, the wireless communication device 1C includes a separate wireless communication unit 14 and user I / F unit 15 instead of the antenna / user I / F unit 11A.

[0071] 12 , the wireless communication unit 14 includes an antenna 110, a third communication unit 113, and a fifth communication unit 140. The user I / F unit 15 includes a display unit 111, an operation reception unit 112, and a sixth communication unit 150. In the wireless communication unit 14, the fifth communication unit 140 is a communication circuit including a communication driver IC and the like, and is communicatively connected to the second communication unit 102 of the control board 10A via a communication cable 13A, and to the sixth communication unit 150 of the user I / F unit 15 via a communication cable 16. The communication cable 16 is a multi-core cable including a plurality of signal lines for transmitting and receiving display signals and operation signals, a single power line for supplying DC power, which is a power source for driving the display unit 111 and the operation reception unit 112, from the wireless communication unit 14 to the user I / F unit 15, and a single GND line.

[0072] The fifth communication unit 140 receives a display signal transmitted from the control board 10A via the communication cable 13A, and transmits the received display signal to the user I / F unit 15 via the communication cable 16. The fifth communication unit 140 also receives an operation signal transmitted from the user I / F unit 15 via the communication cable 16, and transmits the received operation signal to the control board 10A via the communication cable 13A.

[0073] In the user I / F unit 15, the sixth communication unit 150 is a communication circuit including a communication driver IC and the like, and receives a display signal transmitted from the wireless communication unit 14 via the communication cable 16 and supplies the received display signal to the display unit 111. In addition, the sixth communication unit 150 transmits an operation signal supplied from the operation reception unit 112 to the wireless communication unit 14 via the communication cable 16.

[0074] As described above, the wireless communication unit 14 and user I / F unit 15 of the wireless communication device 1C correspond to the antenna / user I / F unit 11A of the wireless communication device 1A in embodiment 1 separated into a configuration related to wireless communication and a configuration related to the user I / F, respectively.

[0075] The overall operation of the wireless communication device 1C, that is, the operation relating to wireless communication and the operation relating to the user I / F, is similar to that of the wireless communication device 1A.

[0076] As described above, in the remote monitoring system C of this embodiment, in the wireless communication device 1C, the control board 10A that performs the central functions of the wireless communication device 1C is installed inside the housing 20 of the equipment 2, but the wireless communication unit 14 that includes the antenna 110 and the user I / F unit 15 that includes the display unit 111 and operation reception unit 112 that serve as a user interface are installed outside the housing 20. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in wireless communication performance in the wireless communication device 1C, and further makes it possible to easily check the operating status and operate the device on site.

[0077] Furthermore, in the wireless communication device 1C, the shield portion of the communication cable 12A is configured to serve as a common GND for the wireless signals flowing through the communication cable 12A and the display signals and operation signals flowing through the communication cable 13A, and when the wireless communication device 1C is operating, the display unit 111 constantly displays display patterns corresponding to the respective states of the wireless communication device 1C and the device 2. In other words, the wireless communication device 1C is configured so that the display unit 111 constantly performs display operation when in operation. This allows the user to easily notice a poor connection due to, for example, forgetting to connect the communication cable 12A or the communication cable 13A.

[0078] Furthermore, since the wireless communication unit 14 equipped with the antenna 110 and the user I / F unit 15 equipped with the display unit 111 and the operation reception unit 112 are configured as separate entities, there is a high degree of freedom in the installation location. For example, the wireless communication unit 14 can be installed at a higher location to improve the wireless communication quality, and the user I / F unit 15 can be installed at a location that is easier for the user to operate, and each can be installed in a more suitable location.

[0079] (Modification 1) The display unit 111 may be configured with a seven-segment display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, and the status of the wireless communication device 1C and the device 2 may be displayed by characters, pictures, or the like.

[0080] (Variation 2) The user can also perform an operation other than reset (for example, a communication setting operation) via the operation reception unit 112. In this case, when the operation signal processing unit 133 receives an operation signal from the user I / F unit 15 via the communication cable 13A, it generates information indicating the operation content of the user from the operation signal and supplies the generated information to the main processing unit 130. When the main processing unit 130 receives the information from the operation signal processing unit 133, it executes processing according to the operation content indicated by the information.

[0081] (Variation 3) All or part of the functional units (see FIG. 4) of the control unit 100 included in the wireless communication device 1C may be realized by dedicated hardware, such as a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0082] The technical ideas according to the above-described modifications may be realized independently or in appropriate combination.

[0083] Fourth Embodiment Next, a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. In the following description, components that are common to the first to third embodiments will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

[0084] 13 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a remote monitoring system D according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. The remote monitoring system D is a system that acquires data from devices 2 installed in buildings such as homes, office buildings, and commercial buildings, and provides remote monitoring services such as maintenance and replacement recommendations for the devices to the owners of the buildings, etc., and includes a wireless communication device 1D, the devices 2, and a server 3.

[0085] <Wireless Communication Device 1D> The wireless communication device 1D is an example of a wireless communication device according to the present disclosure. The wireless communication device 1D is installed outdoors and includes a control board 10B, a wireless communication unit 17, and a user I / F unit 15. The wireless communication unit 17 is an example of a wireless communication unit according to the present disclosure. The control board 10B and the wireless communication unit 17 are communicatively connected via communication cables 12B and 13B, and the wireless communication unit 17 and the user I / F unit 15 are communicatively connected via communication cable 16. In the wireless communication device 1D, the control board 10B is installed inside a metal housing 20 of the device 2, and the wireless communication unit 17 and the user I / F unit 15 are installed outside the housing 20. Thus, unlike the wireless communication device 1B according to the second embodiment, the wireless communication device 1D includes a separate wireless communication unit 17 and user I / F unit 15 instead of the antenna / user I / F unit 11B.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 14 , the wireless communication unit 17 includes an antenna 110, a third communication unit 113, a fifth communication unit 140, and a power supply separator 170. The hardware configuration of the wireless communication unit 17 differs from the hardware configuration of the wireless communication unit 14 in the third embodiment (see FIG. 12 ) in that the wireless communication unit 17 newly includes the power supply separator 170, but otherwise the configurations of the two are similar. The power supply separator 170 is a circuit for separating the wireless signal from the DC power supply, and is provided between the antenna 110 and the third communication unit 113. The configuration of the power supply separator 170 is similar to the configuration of the power supply separator 115 in the second embodiment (see FIG. 10 ). The power supply separator 170 separates the DC power supply superimposed on the wireless signal and supplies the separated wireless signal to the antenna 110, while also supplying the separated DC power supply to the user I / F unit 15 via the communication cable 16 connected to the fifth communication unit 140.

[0087] In the power supply separation unit 170, the capacitor 1150 allows the wireless signal to be extracted without loss, and by providing a high impedance to the DC current, it is possible to prevent the DC current from flowing into the antenna 110. Furthermore, the inductor 1151 allows the DC current to be extracted without loss, and by providing a high impedance to the wireless signal, it is possible to prevent the wireless signal from flowing into the display unit 111 and operation reception unit 112 of the user I / F unit 15.

[0088] The overall operation of the wireless communication device 1D, that is, the operation relating to wireless communication and the operation relating to the user I / F, is similar to that of the wireless communication devices 1A-1C.

[0089] As described above, in the remote monitoring system D of this embodiment, in the wireless communication device 1D, the control board 10B that performs the central functions of the wireless communication device 1D is installed inside the housing 20 of the equipment 2, but the wireless communication unit 17 that includes the antenna 110 and the user I / F unit 15 that includes the display unit 111 and operation reception unit 112 that serve as a user interface are installed outside the housing 20. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in wireless communication performance in the wireless communication device 1D, and further makes it possible to easily check the operating status and operate the device on site.

[0090] Furthermore, in the wireless communication device 1D, the shield portion of the communication cable 12B is configured to serve as a common GND for the wireless signals flowing through the communication cable 12B and the display signals and operation signals flowing through the communication cable 13B, and when the wireless communication device 1D is operating, the display unit 111 constantly displays display patterns corresponding to the respective states of the wireless communication device 1D and the device 2. In other words, the wireless communication device 1D is configured so that the display unit 111 constantly performs display operation when in operation. This allows the user to easily notice a poor connection due to, for example, forgetting to connect the communication cable 12B or the communication cable 13B.

[0091] Furthermore, since the wireless communication unit 17 equipped with the antenna 110 and the user I / F unit 15 equipped with the display unit 111 and the operation reception unit 112 are configured separately, there is a high degree of freedom in the installation location. For example, the wireless communication unit 17 can be installed in a higher location to improve the wireless communication quality, and the user I / F unit 15 can be installed in a location that is easier for the user to operate, and each can be installed in a more suitable location.

[0092] Furthermore, in wireless communication device 1D, DC power is superimposed on the wireless signal flowing through communication cable 12B and transmitted to wireless communication unit 17, and wireless communication unit 17 separates the wireless signal and DC power, and supplies the separated DC power to user I / F unit 15 via communication cable 16, so there is no need to include a single power line in communication cable 13B, which reduces the number of cores in a multi-core cable.

[0093] (Modification 1) The display unit 111 may be configured with a seven-segment display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, and the status of the wireless communication device 1D and the device 2 may be displayed by characters, pictures, or the like.

[0094] (Variation 2) The user can also perform an operation other than reset (for example, a communication setting operation) via the operation reception unit 112. In this case, when the operation signal processing unit 133 receives an operation signal from the user I / F unit 15 via the communication cable 13B, it generates information indicating the operation content of the user from the operation signal and supplies the generated information to the main processing unit 130. When the main processing unit 130 receives the information from the operation signal processing unit 133, it executes processing according to the operation content indicated by the information.

[0095] (Variation 3) All or part of the functional units (see FIG. 4) of the control unit 100 included in the wireless communication device 1D may be realized by dedicated hardware, such as a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0096] The technical ideas according to the above-described modifications may be realized independently or in appropriate combination.

[0097] The present disclosure allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to explain the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and within the meaning of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0098] The present disclosure can be suitably adopted in a system for remotely monitoring equipment.

[0099] A-D Remote monitoring system, 1A-1D Wireless communication device, 2 Equipment, 3 Server, 4 Base station, 10A, 10B Control board, 11A, 11B Antenna / user I / F section, 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B, 16, 22 Communication cable, 14, 17 Wireless communication section, 15 User I / F section, 20 Housing, 21 Equipment control board, 100 Control section, 101 First communication section, 102 Second communication section, 103 Power supply superposition section, 110 Antenna, 111 Display section, 112 Operation acceptance section, 113 Third communication section, 114 Fourth communication section, 115, 170 Power supply separation section, 120 CPU, 121 ROM, 122 RAM, 123 Auxiliary storage device, 130 Main processing section, 131 Wireless signal processing section, 132 Display signal processing section, 133 Operation signal processing unit, 140 fifth communication unit, 150 sixth communication unit, 1030, 1150 capacitor, 1031, 1151 inductor

Claims

1. A wireless communication device that acquires data from a device and transmits it to a server, comprising: a control board installed inside a housing of the device; and an antenna / user interface unit installed outside the housing, wherein the control board and the antenna / user interface unit are connected via a first cable which is a high-frequency signal cable and a second cable which is a multi-core cable, and the control board comprises: a wireless signal generation unit that generates a wireless signal based on the data acquired from the device and transmits the generated wireless signal to the antenna / user interface unit via the first cable; a display signal generation unit that generates a display signal based on the state of the wireless communication device and transmits the generated display signal to the antenna / user interface unit via the second cable; and an operation signal reception unit that receives an operation signal from the antenna / user interface unit via the second cable, and the antenna / user interface unit comprises: an antenna that transmits the wireless signal received from the control board via the first cable to the server; a display unit that performs a display based on the display signal received from the control board via the second cable; and an operation reception unit that receives an operation by a user and transmits an operation signal related to the received operation to the control board via the second cable.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna / user interface unit is composed of a wireless communication unit having the antenna, and a user interface unit having the display unit and the operation reception unit, and the wireless communication unit and the user interface unit are installed separately.

3. The wireless communication device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second cable includes a power line for supplying power to the antenna / user interface unit to drive the display unit and the operation reception unit.

4. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein the control board further comprises a power supply superimposition unit that superimposes power for driving the display unit and the operation reception unit onto the wireless signal generated by the wireless signal generation unit, and the antenna / user interface unit further comprises a power supply separation unit that separates the wireless signal from the power supply.

5. The wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein the control board further comprises a power supply superimposition unit that superimposes power for driving the display unit and the operation reception unit onto the wireless signal generated by the wireless signal generation unit, and the wireless communication unit further comprises a power supply separation unit that separates the wireless signal from the power supply.

6. A wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the shielding portion of the first cable is configured to serve as a common ground for the wireless signals flowing through the first cable and the display signals and operation signals flowing through the second cable, and wherein the display portion is configured to perform a constant display operation when the wireless communication device is in operation.

7. The wireless communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the display signal generation unit generates a display signal indicating a display pattern determined based on the state of the wireless communication device and the state of the equipment.

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