JP2019149757A - Communication device, maintenance terminal, and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a communication device capable of responding to the state of a device without an advanced skill.SOLUTION: A communication device includes a state identification unit that identifies state information of the own device, a state database that stores optical signal information corresponding to the state information, and a light emitting unit that outputs optical signal information corresponding to the state information identified by the state identification unit as an optical signal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that transmits / receives data to / from another device, a maintenance terminal used for maintenance of the communication device, and a communication system including the communication device and the maintenance terminal.

  As an example of a conventional troubleshooting system, a system that displays address information for browsing a website on which information about an error that has occurred is disclosed when an error occurs in the device is disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

  In the system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a troubled device displays code information obtained by coding website information. A user photographs code information using a mobile terminal. Subsequently, the mobile terminal analyzes the photographed code information, accesses a website dedicated to the device, and displays an error information input screen presenting details of the error and a method for avoiding the error.

JP 2007-110524 A

  In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary for the user to input error information on the error information input screen. Even if the person who maintains the equipment is not the user but the maintenance worker of the equipment manufacturer, it is difficult to take appropriate measures according to the state of the equipment if the technical level of the equipment is not reached. is there.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a communication device, a maintenance terminal, and a communication system that can cope with the state of the device without a high level of skill. .

  The communication device according to the present invention includes a state identifying unit that identifies state information of the own device, a state database that stores optical signal information corresponding to the state information, and a light that corresponds to the state information identified by the state identifying unit. A light emitting unit that outputs signal information as an optical signal.

  A communication system according to the present invention is a communication system having a communication device and a maintenance terminal, and the communication device stores a state identification unit for identifying state information of the own device and optical signal information corresponding to the state information. And a light emitting unit that outputs optical signal information corresponding to the state information identified by the state identifying unit as an optical signal. The maintenance terminal is associated with the display unit and the optical signal information. A maintenance-side state database for storing the state information and maintenance work information, a light receiving unit for receiving an optical signal output from the light emitting unit, and demodulating the optical signal received by the light receiving unit into the optical signal information, A maintenance control unit for displaying the status information and the maintenance work information corresponding to the demodulated optical signal information on the display unit.

  A maintenance terminal according to the present invention is a maintenance terminal used for maintenance of a communication device, and stores a display unit, state information and maintenance work information of the communication device in association with optical signal information, and stores them A light receiving unit that receives an optical signal output from the communication device; and the optical signal received by the light receiving unit is demodulated into the optical signal information, and the status information and the maintenance work corresponding to the demodulated optical signal information A maintenance control unit for displaying information on the display unit.

  According to the present invention, when the communication device outputs an optical signal indicating the status information of the own device, the maintenance terminal that stores the status information corresponding to the optical signal information and the maintenance work information uses the received optical signal as the optical signal information. The status information and maintenance work information corresponding to the demodulated optical signal information is displayed. From the displayed content, the maintenance worker can recognize the abnormality of the communication device and perform the maintenance work efficiently without the need for advanced skills.

It is a figure which shows the example of 1 structure of the communication system containing the gateway which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the table stored in the state database shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the table stored in the maintenance side state database shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the gateway shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the maintenance terminal shown in FIG.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
A communication system including the communication apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, a case where the communication device is a gateway will be described. However, the communication device is not limited to a gateway. The communication device may be a bridge device, for example.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a communication system including a gateway according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The communication system includes a maintenance terminal 10 and a gateway 20. The gateway 20 according to the first embodiment performs one-way communication with the maintenance terminal 10 by using an optical signal as a carrier wave for transmitting information indicating the state of the own device, thereby changing the state of the own device to the maintenance terminal 10. Notify In the first embodiment, detailed description of the configuration and operation related to the function of data transfer between networks (not shown) executed by the gateway 20 is omitted.

  The configuration of the gateway 20 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the gateway 20 includes a state identification unit 21, a state database 22, and a light emitting unit 23. The state database 22 is constructed in a storage device (not shown) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), for example. The state identification unit 21 includes a memory (not shown) that stores a calling application software program (referred to as a “calling program”), and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) that executes processing according to the calling program stored in the memory. And have. The light emitting unit 23 is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The optical signal is visible light, but it may not be visible light.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a table stored in the state database shown in FIG. In the state database 22, an identification condition for the state identification unit 21 to identify the state information of the gateway 20, an identification key corresponding to the identification condition, and optical signal information corresponding to the identification key are registered. In the optical signal information shown in FIG. 2, “1” means the lighting state of the light emitting unit 23, and “0” means the off state of the light emitting unit 23. Referring to each optical signal information shown in FIG. 2, the light emission pattern represented by the time-series change of the blinking of the light emitting unit 23 is different for each identification key. As shown in the optical signal information of FIG. 2, in the light emission pattern, 1-bit information can be provided for each state of whether or not the light emitting unit 23 emits light. FIG. 2 shows a case where the identification keys corresponding to the state of the gateway 20 are represented by numerals such as 222, 215, and 136 as specific examples. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 2, the number of the identification key expressed in binary 8 bits corresponds to the optical signal information, but the identification key is not limited to this case.

  The identification key “222” indicates that the gateway 20 is in the “power reduction” abnormal state. The identification condition in this case is, for example, whether or not the power Pw supplied to the communication processing circuit board (not shown) is smaller than the threshold power Pth. When Pw <Pth, it is determined that the power is reduced. The identification key “215” indicates that the gateway 20 is in a “communication processing abnormality” state. The identification condition in this case is, for example, whether or not the usage rate of a FIFO (First-In First-Out) memory not shown in the figure is 95% or more. If the usage rate of the FIFO memory is> 95%, it is determined that the communication process is abnormal. The FIFO memory temporarily stores the data to be transferred, but if the usage rate exceeds 95%, the data transfer process has not been performed smoothly and an error has occurred in the communication processing circuit. It is possible. The identification key “136” is a case that does not correspond to all the identification conditions among the plurality of identification conditions registered in the state database 22, and the optical signal information in this case is also registered in the state database 22. The status information “not applicable” corresponds to, for example, a case where there is no abnormality in the gateway 20.

  The state identifying unit 21 identifies state information of the gateway 20. Specifically, the state identification unit 21 collates the state database 22 and determines whether there is any that matches the identification condition registered in the state database 22. When there is an identification condition that matches the state information of the gateway 20, the state identification unit 21 reads an identification key corresponding to the matching identification condition. Then, the state identifying unit 21 reads the optical signal information corresponding to the identification key from the state database 22 and causes the light emitting unit 23 to output the optical signal according to the light emission pattern of the read optical signal information. In addition, although the optical signal which the light emission part 23 outputs is defined by standards, such as IEEE802.15.7 and CP-1223, for example, it is not limited to these standards.

  Next, the configuration of the maintenance terminal 10 will be described. The maintenance terminal 10 is a portable terminal such as a PC (Personal Computer) and a smartphone. As shown in FIG. 1, the maintenance terminal 10 includes a maintenance control unit 11, a maintenance-side state database 12, a light receiving unit 13, and a display unit 14.

  The maintenance-side state database 12 is constructed in a non-volatile memory (not shown) such as a flash memory, for example. The maintenance control unit 11 includes a memory (not shown) that stores a reading application software program (referred to as a “reading program”) and a CPU (not shown) that executes processing according to the reading program stored in the memory. The light receiving unit 13 is, for example, a photodiode, but is not limited to a photodiode. The light receiving unit 13 may be a camera including an image sensor such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor. The display unit 14 is, for example, a liquid crystal display. Although not shown in FIG. 1, an operation unit for a maintenance worker to input an instruction to the maintenance terminal 10 may be provided in the maintenance terminal 10. The operation unit is, for example, an input interface device such as a button and a touch panel.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a table stored in the maintenance-side state database shown in FIG. In the maintenance-side state database 12, an identification key associated with the optical signal information, state information corresponding to the identification key, and maintenance work information corresponding to the state information are registered. As in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 shows a case of power reduction, communication processing abnormality, and normal as a specific example of the state information of the gateway 20. Referring to FIG. 3, for example, when the gateway 20 is in the “power reduction” abnormal state, the power supply circuit replacement or the battery replacement is registered in the table as a maintenance operation. In addition, in the maintenance-side state database 12, “no applicable data” is registered as the status information corresponding to the optical signal information “not applicable” shown in FIG. Work details are registered.

  The maintenance control unit 11 demodulates the light emission pattern received by the light receiving unit 13 into the original optical signal information. The maintenance control unit 11 collates the demodulated optical signal information with the maintenance-side state database 12. When the maintenance control unit 11 finds optical signal information that matches the demodulated optical signal information in the maintenance-side state database 12, the maintenance control unit 11 obtains the state information and maintenance work information of the gateway 20 corresponding to the optical signal information from the maintenance-side state database 12. read out. The maintenance control unit 11 causes the display unit 14 to display the status information and maintenance work information of the gateway 20 read from the maintenance-side status database 12.

  Next, operations of the maintenance terminal 10 and the gateway 20 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the gateway shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the maintenance terminal shown in FIG. Here, a case where the maintenance worker goes to the building where the gateway 20 is installed and performs maintenance work on the gateway 20 will be described. The maintenance work includes not only an inspection performed at regular intervals, but also a trouble handling work when the user is notified that an abnormality has occurred in the gateway 20.

  The maintenance worker operates the maintenance terminal 10 to input an instruction to start the reading program, and holds the maintenance terminal 10 so that the light receiving unit 13 can receive the optical signal output from the light emitting unit 23 of the gateway 20. When the instruction for starting the reading program is input, the maintenance control unit 11 executes the reading program. The maintenance control unit 11 activates the light receiving unit 13. Subsequently, the maintenance worker inputs an instruction to activate the transmission program in the gateway 20 to be maintained. When the instruction for starting the transmission program is input, the state identification unit 21 executes the transmission program. When the status identification unit 21 confirms the status of its own device (step S101 shown in FIG. 4), it refers to the status database 22 (step S102). Subsequently, the state identifying unit 21 identifies whether the state confirmed in step S101 is applicable to the identification condition registered in the state database 22 (step S103).

  As a result of the identification in step S103, if there is one corresponding to the identification condition registered in the state database 22, the state identifying unit 21 identifies an identification key corresponding to the corresponding identification condition in the state database 22, and uses it as the identification key. Read the corresponding optical signal information. And the state identification part 21 outputs an optical signal to the light emission part 23 according to the light emission pattern of the read optical signal information (step S104). On the other hand, if there is no state corresponding to the identification condition registered in the state database 22 as a result of the identification in step S103, the state identification unit 21 identifies an identification key corresponding to the case of no corresponding in the state database 22, and identifies Read optical signal information corresponding to the key. Then, the state identifying unit 21 causes the light emitting unit 23 to output an optical signal in accordance with the light emission pattern of the read optical signal information (step S105).

  When the light receiving unit 13 illustrated in FIG. 1 receives an optical signal from the gateway 20, in step S201 illustrated in FIG. 5, the maintenance control unit 11 acquires the optical signal from the light receiving unit 13 (step S201), and the maintenance side state database. 12 is referred to (step S202). Subsequently, the maintenance control unit 11 demodulates the light emission pattern of the optical signal acquired in step S201 into optical signal information, and determines whether or not the demodulated optical signal information is registered in the maintenance-side state database 12 (step). S203).

  As a result of the determination in step S203, when the corresponding optical signal information is registered in the maintenance-side state database 12, the maintenance control unit 11 specifies an identification key corresponding to the corresponding optical signal information in the maintenance-side state database 12. . Then, the maintenance control unit 11 reads out the status of the gateway 20 and the maintenance work information corresponding to the identified identification key from the maintenance-side status database 12. Further, the maintenance control unit 11 causes the display unit 14 to display the read state of the gateway 20 and maintenance work information (step S204). The maintenance worker performs the maintenance work displayed on the display unit 14 according to the state of the gateway 20.

  On the other hand, if the corresponding optical signal information is not registered in the maintenance-side state database 12 as a result of the determination in step S203, the maintenance control unit 11 assigns an identification key when the corresponding optical signal information is not registered to the maintenance side. It is specified by the state database 12. Then, the maintenance control unit 11 reads out the state of the gateway 20 corresponding to the identified identification key and the maintenance work information and causes the display unit 14 to display the information. The display unit 14 displays that there is no abnormality in the gateway 20 and the work contents accompanying the normal operation. The maintenance worker looks at the display content of the display unit 14 and confirms that there is no abnormality in the gateway 20, and then performs work such as inspections stipulated in the maintenance operation regulations accompanying normal operation.

  In the first embodiment, the start timing of the transmission program and the reading program is described as the timing when the start instruction by the maintenance worker is input. However, the present invention is not limited to this case.

  The gateway 20 according to the first embodiment includes a state identification unit 21 that identifies state information of its own device, a state database 22 that stores optical signal information corresponding to the state information, and state information that the state identification unit 21 identifies. And a light emitting unit 23 for outputting the corresponding optical signal information as an optical signal.

  The gateway 20 converts the status information of its own device into an optical signal and outputs it, and the maintenance terminal 10 demodulates the optical signal received from the gateway 20 into optical signal information, and status information and maintenance work information corresponding to the optical signal information Is acquired from the maintenance-side state database 12 and displayed. Since the maintenance terminal 10 displays the state of the gateway 20 and the maintenance work corresponding to the state, the maintenance worker recognizes an abnormality that has occurred in the gateway 20 without any advanced skills, and maintains the gateway 20. Work can be done.

  In the first embodiment, the state database 22 stores an identification condition for identifying the state information of the gateway 20, an identification key corresponding to the identification condition, and optical signal information corresponding to the identification key. It is. By referring to the state database 22, the state identification unit 21 can acquire different optical signal information for each state information of the gateway 20 from the state database 22 and cause the light emitting unit 23 to output an optical signal.

  In the first embodiment, the state database 22 may store a plurality of identification conditions, and may store optical signal information that does not correspond to all the identification conditions. When the maintenance terminal 10 receives from the gateway 20 the optical signal information indicating that it does not correspond to all the identification conditions registered in the state database 22, it displays that it is not applicable. When the plurality of identification conditions are conditions for checking whether or not the state of the gateway 20 is abnormal, the maintenance worker can confirm that there is no abnormality in the gateway 20. For example, when the gateway 20 cannot transfer data, the maintenance terminal 10 displays “N / A” so that the maintenance worker can confirm that the cause of the data transfer is not the gateway 20.

  Conventionally, when an abnormality occurs in the communication device installed in the user's building, the maintenance worker goes to the user's building, connects the maintenance terminal to the communication device with a cable, and downloads the log recorded by the communication device to the maintenance terminal Then, necessary maintenance work may be selected from the log information. When investigating the cause of the abnormality in this way, it takes time for the maintenance worker to identify the cause unless the technical level of the communication device has reached a certain level. Also, the more types of communication devices, the more information the maintenance worker should store. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, since the maintenance terminal 10 displays the status information of the communication device and the maintenance work corresponding to the status, the maintenance worker has a technical level higher than a certain level for the communication device. Even if it has not reached, maintenance work can be performed efficiently.

  Conventionally, when an abnormality occurs in a communication device installed in a user's building, a maintenance worker operates a call center management terminal to connect to the user's communication device via a network and downloads a log from the communication device. Sometimes. If maintenance work information related to the communication device to be maintained is stored in the database of the management terminal, the maintenance worker can search the database for necessary maintenance work from the log information. However, the communication device to be maintained needs to be in a state where at least the network can be accessed, and the network may not be accessible depending on the cause of the abnormality that has occurred. In this case, the maintenance worker needs to go to the user's building and have the maintenance terminal connect the management terminal to the management terminal via the network in addition to downloading the log of the communication device to the maintenance terminal. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, since the maintenance terminal 10 stores maintenance work information corresponding to the state of the communication device, the maintenance worker uses the maintenance terminal 10 as a management terminal via the network. Even without connection, it is possible to know maintenance work according to the state of the communication device.

  Further, the communication device having the display unit displays the status information of the own device in code information such as a two-dimensional code, and the maintenance worker causes the maintenance terminal having a camera function to photograph the code information, It is also conceivable to cause the maintenance terminal to analyze the code information and display the result. However, the amount of information that can be mounted on the two-dimensional code is limited, and the number of state information of the communication device is limited. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the case where the optical signal information is 8 bits has been described. However, the information amount is not limited to 8 bits, and may be a larger number of bits. Therefore, the maintenance worker can perform a finer maintenance with respect to the state of the communication device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Maintenance terminal 11 Maintenance control part 12 Maintenance side state database 13 Light receiving part 14 Display part 20 Gateway 21 State identification part 22 State database 23 Light emission part

Claims (5)

A state identifying unit for identifying state information of the own device;
A state database for storing optical signal information according to the state information;
A light emitting unit that outputs optical signal information corresponding to the state information identified by the state identifying unit as an optical signal;
A communication device. The state database is
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an identification condition for identifying the state information, an identification key corresponding to the identification condition, and the optical signal information corresponding to the identification key are stored. The state database is
The communication device according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of the identification conditions are stored, and the optical signal information when not satisfying all the identification conditions is stored. A communication system having a communication device and a maintenance terminal,
The communication device
A state identifying unit for identifying state information of the own device;
A state database for storing optical signal information according to the state information;
A light emitting unit that outputs optical signal information corresponding to the state information identified by the state identifying unit as an optical signal,
The maintenance terminal is
A display unit;
A maintenance-side state database that stores the state information and maintenance work information in association with the optical signal information;
A light receiving unit for receiving an optical signal output from the light emitting unit;
A maintenance control unit configured to demodulate an optical signal received by the light receiving unit into the optical signal information and display the status information and the maintenance work information corresponding to the demodulated optical signal information on the display unit. A maintenance terminal used for maintenance of a communication device,
A display unit;
A maintenance-side state database for storing state information and maintenance work information of the communication device in association with optical signal information;
A light receiving unit for receiving an optical signal output from the communication device;
A maintenance control unit that demodulates the optical signal received by the light receiving unit into the optical signal information, and displays the status information and the maintenance work information corresponding to the demodulated optical signal information on the display unit;
Maintenance terminal having.

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