JP5905771B2 - Communication failure support system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless mesh network in which arbitrary devices are connected by wireless communication between devices in neighboring buildings and each device transferring traffic, and communication failure occurs in this network due to a large-scale disaster or the like The present invention relates to a communication failure support system that can efficiently solve this problem.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a security system in which a security device is installed in a monitoring area such as a residence or a business office and an abnormality is reported to a monitoring center when an abnormality such as an intrusion abnormality or a fire abnormality occurring in the monitoring area is detected. In such a known security system, a security device and a monitoring center are connected through a communication line network such as a telephone line or the Internet.

  Further, Patent Document 1 has a function of wirelessly communicating with a security device of a neighboring dwelling unit while being connected to a monitoring center (security center) through a telephone line, and another security device relays a radio signal. Thus, a security device that performs remote data transfer through wireless communication between a plurality of security devices is disclosed.

JP 2009-245258 A

  The security device disclosed in Patent Document 1 establishes a self-distributed communication network (wireless mesh network) capable of relaying and relaying wireless communication between neighboring security devices in multiple stages through communication means wired to the public network. Communication means. According to such a security device, the reliability is such that communication is normally stably performed by wire, and an optimum relay wireless route is automatically set when a public network is interrupted due to a disaster or the like. High system can be constructed. In particular, in this case, even when the disaster scale is large and a failure occurs in the wireless communication path between specific security devices, the communication can be maintained by changing the path flexibly. .

  However, even when such a wireless mesh network is constructed, many security devices may not be able to pass through as relay nodes in the event of a large-scale disaster that damages a wide area. As a result, traffic through a specific relay node (security device) capable of communication increases rapidly, or the number of multi-hop stages increases to form a detour, and an acknowledgment Ack packet is returned for each relay packet. May occupy a high bandwidth ratio, resulting in a decrease in network throughput (execution transfer rate). For this reason, there is a risk of hindering communication that is originally necessary under such a situation, such as normal confirmation of the monitoring area by the security device and grasping the situation.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication failure support system that can efficiently resolve a communication failure that occurs in a wireless mesh network due to a large-scale disaster or the like.

  In order to achieve the above object, the communication failure support system according to the present invention includes a wireless communication unit, and a plurality of monitoring devices arranged in different monitoring areas are connected by wireless links, and monitoring information can be transferred to each other. A communication failure support system related to a wireless mesh network formed on a monitoring center connected to the wireless mesh network by including a communication unit connected to at least one of the monitoring devices; and a wireless communication unit A mobile base station that transfers monitoring information between the monitoring devices at a position designated by the monitoring center, and the monitoring center establishes a path established by the position information of each monitoring device and a radio link between the monitoring devices. A route storage unit for storing the route information as a route information, and a communication reference value for storing a reference value for the amount of transfer traffic for each monitoring device A storage unit, a failure determination unit for determining a route failure in the route stored in the route information, and a reference for the amount of transfer traffic in the route in which the failure occurs when the route failure of the predetermined number or more is determined A support position determining unit that determines position information of a monitoring device having a high value as a dispatch point of the mobile base station, and transmitting the determined dispatch point to the mobile base station.

  In the communication failure support system according to the present invention, the monitoring center further measures a transfer traffic amount per unit time for each monitoring device, and calculates a value statistically calculated from the measured value for each monitoring device. You may make it provide the reference value calculation part memorize | stored in the said communication reference value memory | storage part as a reference value of the amount of transfer traffic.

  Further, in different aspects of the communication failure support system according to the present invention, a plurality of monitoring devices that are provided with wireless communication units and are arranged in different monitoring areas are connected by wireless links so that the monitoring information can be transferred to each other. A communication failure support system related to a wireless mesh network, comprising a communication unit connected to at least one monitoring device and connected to the wireless mesh network, and a wireless communication unit from the monitoring center. A mobile base station that transfers monitoring information between the monitoring devices at a designated position, and the monitoring center is configured to provide route information established by position information of each monitoring device and a wireless link between the monitoring devices. A path storage unit that stores the fault, a fault determination unit that determines a path fault in the path stored in the path information, A support position determination unit that determines position information of a monitoring device having a large number of wireless links in a route determined to have a failure as a dispatch point of the mobile base station when a predetermined number of path failures are determined; The determined dispatch point is transmitted to the mobile base station.

  According to the present invention, when a communication failure occurs in a wireless mesh network due to a large-scale disaster or the like, an optimal point for dispatching a mobile base station is extracted and efficiently solved by a limited number of mobile base stations. can do.

The figure which shows the structure of the communication failure assistance system of this invention The block diagram which shows the structure of the monitoring apparatus of this invention The block diagram which shows the structure of the center apparatus of this invention

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment, for an example in which a wireless network is configured using a monitoring device such as a security device, when a failure occurs in a part of this network due to a large-scale disaster or the like, communication that dispatches a mobile base station from a remote monitoring center An example of the failure support system will be described.

  First, the overall configuration of the communication failure support system 1 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication failure support system 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the monitoring device 3 is arranged in a mesh shape so that the wireless coverage area overlaps with another wireless node (monitoring device 3) as a wireless node, and communicates with each other. Each wireless node operates equally and autonomously to form a wireless network 5 (wireless mesh network) so as to transfer necessary information packets from the wireless node to the wireless node in multiple stages (multi-hop connection).

  The monitoring device 3 is, for example, a security device or a monitoring camera, and is installed in a monitoring area such as a house, a business office, or a street light such as a building or on the street. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, an example in which the monitoring device 3 is mainly used as a wireless node connected to the wireless network 5 will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various communication devices such as a housing information panel and a wireless LAN router are wireless nodes. The wireless network 5 may be realized thereby.

  In FIG. 1, the portion where the wireless communication ranges 6 indicated by the one-dot chain line overlap each other indicates that communication between wireless nodes is possible. An arrow 7 indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1 indicates that the monitoring devices 3 in which the wireless communication ranges 6 overlap each other are connected by a wireless link. FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of a wireless network 5, and actually, there are a plurality of wireless nodes other than those shown in the figure, and the wireless communication range 6 by each wireless node is gathered in a mesh shape and becomes larger. A wireless network is formed.

  The monitoring center 2 is connected to the wireless network 5 via a base station (not shown). The monitoring center 2 is a facility managed and operated by an organization (such as a security company) that provides a monitoring service. The center device 4 disposed in the monitoring center 2 is connected to a base station (not shown) and is connected to the wireless network 5 via this base station. The center device 4 monitors the state of the wireless nodes connected to the wireless network 5, and when a communication failure occurs in a predetermined number or more of wireless nodes, the center device 4 is effective in the path where the communication failure occurs. It has a function of determining a dispatch point of a mobile base station 8 and transmitting it to the mobile base station 8.

  The mobile base station 8 is a mobile body such as a vehicle, a ship, or an airship that includes the wireless communication unit 9 connected to the wireless network 5. In this embodiment, an example in which an airship is used as the mobile base station 8 will be described. Normally, the mobile base station 8 is stationary at a predetermined standby position and connected to other wireless nodes by the wireless communication unit 9. When the position information of the dispatch point is received from the monitoring center 2, the moving means is driven to move to the position. Then, the mobile base station 8 is connected to the nearby monitoring device 3 by a wireless link by the wireless communication unit 9 and transmitted between the monitoring devices 3 around the dispatch point as a wireless node on the wireless network 5 at this dispatch point. Transfer monitoring information.

  Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the monitoring device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the monitoring device 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the monitoring device 3 includes a wireless communication unit 31 connected to a nearby monitoring device 3 through a wireless link, a monitoring information generation unit 32 that acquires monitoring area information and generates monitoring information, and a control. Part 33. In addition, a display unit that displays monitoring information acquired by the own device and monitoring information received from the other device addressed to the own device, an operation unit that is operated by a user of the monitoring device, and the like are optionally provided. Good.

  The wireless communication unit 31 is a communication interface that is connected to a wireless node such as another nearby monitoring device 3 via a wireless link, and transmits and receives necessary information packets such as monitoring information. The wireless communication unit 31 is set with a wireless channel and identification information of the device itself, and performs communication using a specific low power security wireless. The specified low-power security radio is standardized by ARIB standard RCR STD-30 by the Radio Industry Association. Note that the present invention is not limited to this, and communication according to various wireless LAN standards may be performed.

  The monitoring information generation unit 32 is a monitoring camera, a crime prevention sensor, or the like, and outputs captured image data and sensor detection information as monitoring information. In the present embodiment, the monitoring information is information used for monitoring the monitoring area in the monitoring device 3 or the monitoring center 2, and is not limited to the above-described image data and sensor detection information. Information transmitted from the monitoring center 2 to the monitoring device 3 is included. That is, the monitoring device 3 of the present embodiment sends this monitoring information as an information packet to the wireless network 5 via the wireless communication unit 31 and reaches the transmission destination (the monitoring device 3 and the center device 4) in the wireless network 5. Transfer is performed until.

  The control unit 33 includes a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like and peripheral circuits thereof, and has a function of controlling various operations of the monitoring device 3. The monitoring device 3 has a communication control unit 331 as a functional module realized by a computer program executed on the microcomputer.

  The communication control unit 331 has a route control function, creates a route table as a routing table by periodically exchanging information between the wireless nodes, and autonomously establishes and maintains the route of the wireless network 5. Do. The created routing table is held by the communication control unit 331 and updated at regular intervals. The routing table is transmitted to the center device 4 every time it is created or updated. The configurations related to the communication control unit 331 and the wireless communication unit 31 are common to wireless nodes other than the monitoring device 3.

  Next, a specific configuration of the center device 4 of the monitoring center 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the center device 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the center device 4 includes a communication unit 41 connected to the wireless network 5, a storage unit 42 configured by an HDD, a ROM / RAM, and the like, and a control unit 43 that controls operations of these units. ing. In addition, the center device 4 includes a display unit 44 that is configured by an LCD or the like and displays various types of information, and an operation unit 45 that is configured by a keyboard, a pointing device, or the like, and is monitored by a monitor.

  The communication unit 41 is connected to at least one monitoring device 3 (wireless node) via a LAN in the monitoring center 2 or a gateway such as a base station (not shown), and thus connected to the wireless network 5.

  The storage unit 42 includes route information and communication reference information as information for monitoring the wireless network 5. The storage unit 42 stores various programs used in the center device 4.

  In the route information, identification information of each wireless node and position information (latitude / longitude, address, etc.) where the wireless node is installed are stored in association with each other. This is updated and stored each time a wireless node is added to or removed from the wireless network 5. For example, it may be periodically input to the center device 4 as configuration information of the wireless network 5, or may be transmitted to the center device 4 when a wireless node joins the wireless network 5. In the route information, route tables of all wireless nodes in the wireless network 5 are stored. The storage unit 42 that stores the route information functions as the route storage unit of the present invention.

  In the communication reference information, a day is divided every hour, and a reference value based on the transfer traffic amount of each wireless node in each time zone is stored. This reference value is a degree indicating that the higher the numerical value, the greater the traffic volume. For example, the reference value may be the total value of the transmission / reception data size in the time zone, or the reciprocal of the average transfer throughput in the time zone. May be. The storage unit that stores the reference value of the transfer traffic amount of each wireless node functions as the communication reference value storage unit of the present invention.

  The control unit 43 includes a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like and peripheral circuits thereof, and has a function of controlling various operations of the center device 4. The center apparatus 4 includes a path information generation unit 431, a reference value calculation unit 432, a failure determination unit 433, and a support position determination unit 434 as functional modules realized by a computer program executed on the microcomputer. Have.

The route information generation unit 431 creates a route table for all wireless nodes in the wireless network 5 from the route table received from the wireless node, and stores the route table in the route information in the storage unit 42.
The reference value calculation unit 432 measures the transfer traffic amount for each wireless node in units of one hour. The measurement of the amount of transfer traffic may be realized by acquiring the result measured by the wireless node every predetermined time. Then, the reference value calculation unit 432 statistically calculates the reference value of the transfer traffic amount in the time period from the measured value and stores it in the communication reference information of the storage unit 42. For example, as described above, a total value of transmission / reception data sizes in the time period may be calculated as the reference value.

  The failure determination unit 433 performs life / death confirmation on the wireless nodes constituting the wireless network 5 stored in the route information. For example, the failure determination unit 433 periodically transmits / receives a communication confirmation signal (Keep Alive packet) to / from a wireless node, and determines a wireless node that has not transmitted the communication confirmation signal as a path failure. The method for determining the path failure of the wireless network 5 is not limited to this, and various known methods can be used.

The wireless network 5 is not a network structure in which there are a plurality of slave stations under the base station, and when the base station becomes unable to communicate, all the slave stations cannot communicate, and it is flexible even if a failure occurs in a specific wireless node. The self-healing function that changes the route to maintain communication works. However, when a large-scale disaster that damages a wide area occurs, there is a possibility that many wireless nodes adjacent to the disaster location may not be able to pass through, and there may be a problem that the throughput of the network decreases because a large detour is formed .
Therefore, in this embodiment, when a large number of wireless nodes simultaneously become communication failures such as the occurrence of such a large-scale disaster, the mobile base station 8 is dispatched to a location with good relay efficiency in the surrounding area. I am trying to build a relay route between wireless nodes.

  When the failure determination unit 433 determines a route failure, the support position determination unit 434 detects a route failure within a range in which the route from the wireless node where the route failure is detected is within a predetermined number of stages (the number of hops). Extract the number. Then, if the number of detected path faults in a range within a predetermined number of hops (number of hops) from the wireless node in which the path fault is detected is greater than or equal to the threshold, the support position determination unit 434 routes the path higher than the threshold in the adjacent range. If a failure is detected, it is determined that the mobile base station 8 needs assistance.

  When the assistance position determination unit 434 determines that the mobile base station 8 needs assistance, the reference value of the corresponding time zone stored in the communication reference information is the highest in the plurality of wireless nodes in which the path failure is detected in the range. The position information of the high wireless node is determined as the dispatch point of the mobile base station 8. In other words, this means that the mobile base station 8 reconstructs a route that is most usable as a transmission route in the time period. When the dispatch point is determined, the support position determination unit 434 transmits this position information to the mobile base station 8. As a result, the mobile base station 8 moves to this dispatch point, forms a radio link with the surrounding radio nodes, and functions as a relay node.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when a large number of wireless nodes in the adjacent area simultaneously become communication failures, the transmission with the highest availability is based on the amount of transfer traffic for each normal time zone. It is possible to reconstruct the route with priority. As a result, it is possible to efficiently eliminate communication failures using a limited number of mobile base stations 8.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above by way of example, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and can be changed or modified according to the purpose within the scope of the claims. is there.

  A modification of the present embodiment will be described below. In this modification, when the support position determination unit determines that support by the mobile base station 8 is necessary, the mobile base station 8 uses other parameters instead of the reference value of the corresponding time zone stored in the communication reference information. Determine dispatch points. When the support position determination unit determines that the mobile base station 8 needs to support, the wireless base station 8 refers to the route information and, for a plurality of wireless nodes in which the route failure is detected in the range, other wireless nodes before the route failure occurs Find out the number of radio links connected to. Then, the support position determination unit transmits the position information of the wireless node having the largest number of wireless links connected to other wireless nodes before the path failure in the plurality of wireless nodes in which the path failure is detected to the mobile base Determined as dispatch point for station 8. This means that the mobile base station 8 reconstructs a node that is most likely to be used as a relay station in the wireless network. When the dispatch point is determined, the support position determination unit transmits this position information to the mobile base station 8.

  As described above, even in this modification, when many wireless nodes simultaneously fail in a nearby area, priority is given to the node with the highest availability based on the number of normal wireless links. And can be reconstructed. As a result, it is possible to efficiently eliminate communication failures using a limited number of mobile base stations 8.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Communication failure support system 2 Monitoring center 3 Monitoring apparatus 31 Wireless communication part 32 Monitoring information generation part 33 Control part 331 Communication control part 4 Center apparatus 41 Communication part 42 Storage part 43 Control part 431 Route information generation part 432 Reference value calculation part 433 Fault determination unit 434 support position determination unit 44 display unit 45 operation unit 5 wireless network 6 wireless communication range 7 wireless link 8 mobile base station 9 wireless communication unit

Claims (3)

A communication failure support system for a wireless mesh network in which a plurality of monitoring devices provided with wireless communication units and arranged in different monitoring areas are connected by wireless links, and monitoring information can be transferred to each other,
A monitoring center connected to the wireless mesh network with a communication unit connected to at least one of the monitoring devices, and monitoring information between the monitoring devices at a position designated by the monitoring center with a wireless communication unit Mobile base station to transfer,
The monitoring center is
A path storage unit that stores position information of each monitoring device and a route established by a wireless link between the monitoring devices as route information;
A communication reference value storage unit for storing a reference value of the transfer traffic amount for each of the monitoring devices;
A failure determination unit for determining a route failure in the route stored in the route information;
Support position determination for determining position information of a monitoring device having a high reference value of the transfer traffic amount as a dispatch point of the mobile base station in the path in which the failure occurs when the predetermined number of path failures are determined And
A communication failure support system comprising: transmitting the determined dispatch point to the mobile base station.
Furthermore, the monitoring center
A reference value for measuring the amount of transfer traffic per unit time for each monitoring device, and storing the value statistically calculated from the measured value in the communication reference value storage unit as a reference value for the amount of transfer traffic for each monitoring device The communication failure support system according to claim 1, further comprising a calculation unit.
A communication failure support system for a wireless mesh network in which a plurality of monitoring devices provided with wireless communication units and arranged in different monitoring areas are connected by wireless links, and monitoring information can be transferred to each other,
A monitoring center connected to the wireless mesh network with a communication unit connected to at least one of the monitoring devices, and monitoring information between the monitoring devices at a position designated by the monitoring center with a wireless communication unit Mobile base station to transfer,
The monitoring center is
A path storage unit that stores position information of each monitoring device and a route established by a wireless link between the monitoring devices as route information;
A failure determination unit for determining a route failure in the route stored in the route information;
A support position determination unit that determines position information of a monitoring device having a large number of radio links in a path in which the failure is determined as a dispatch point of the mobile base station when the predetermined number of path failures are determined; ,
A communication failure support system comprising: transmitting the determined dispatch point to the mobile base station.

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