JP6531426B2 - INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL PROGRAM, CONTROL METHOD OF INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control program, a control method of the information processing apparatus, and an information processing system.

  There is an information processing system in which an information processing apparatus collects data acquired by each of a plurality of devices provided with sensors via a relay device such as a gateway and performs predetermined processing based on the collected data. Each device is fixedly installed at a place to acquire data, and transmits data to the gateway via near field communication. Also, the gateway transmits data received from the device to the information processing apparatus via wired or wireless.

  In addition, each device has a battery and is driven by the battery. Therefore, when the battery of the device runs out, the worker visits the place where the device is installed, and performs maintenance such as battery replacement and charging.

  The information processing system arranges one or more gateways for one device. Each device, for example, selects a gateway to connect to, and transmits data to the information processing apparatus via the selected gateway.

  The technology related to the communication path of the device provided with the battery is described in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-526416 gazette Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2006-211389

  However, when the device selects a connection destination gateway, the number of times of re-transmission to the gateway of a device with a small battery remaining amount may increase, and power consumption may increase. As a result, the life of the device with a small amount of remaining battery is shortened, and the life of the information processing system based on the remaining battery of each device is shortened. The shortening of the service life of the information processing system increases the cost of maintenance.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device, a control program, a control method of the information processing device, and an information processing system, which prolongs the life of the system based on the battery remaining amount of the device. .

  According to the first aspect, the processing unit receives, through the relay device, the acquired information acquired by the device and the remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery of the device from the plurality of devices. A storage unit for storing the acquired information and the remaining amount information, and the processing unit is configured to select a relay apparatus to be selected by the device when the remaining amount information of any device falls below a predetermined value Communication information indicating a communication state with one or more relay devices from the plurality of devices is further received from the first mode in which the acquired information and the remaining amount information are received via the network; The relay device of the plurality of devices is determined based on the information and the communication information, the determined relay devices are notified to the plurality of devices, and the acquired information and the remaining amount information are determined. Receive via That is switched to the second mode.

  According to the first aspect, the lifetime of the system based on the battery level of the device can be extended.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a network configuration of an information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. It is a figure explaining the bias | inclination of the battery remaining charge between the devices of the information processing system 100 shown in FIG. It is a figure which illustrates typically the aspect of control of the center server 10 of this Embodiment. It is a hardware block diagram of the center server 10 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the software block of the data acquisition program 210 of the center server 10 shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the device information table 310 shown to FIG. 4, FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the device connection destination control information table 311 shown to FIG. 4, FIG. It is a hardware block diagram of device 30a shown in FIGS. 1-3. It is a block diagram of the software block of device 30a shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining an example of the control information table 411 shown to FIG. 8, FIG. It is a sequence diagram explaining the flow of the switching process from autonomous control to central control. It is a sequence diagram explaining the flow of the switching process from centralized control to autonomous control. It is a figure which shows the device information table 310-1 after switching to centralized control. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the format of transmission sensor data, control information notification request, transmission control data, and connection destination control notification described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12; It is a flowchart figure explaining the flow of the switching determination processing of control of the data collection program 210 of the center server 10 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the flow of the reception processing of transmission sensor data and transmission control data of the data acquisition program 210 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the flow of a transmission process of the sensor data of the data transmission program 410 of the device 30 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the flow of the control switching process which responded to reception of the connection destination control notification of the data transmission program 410 of the device 30 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the flow of the process at the time of control information notification request | requirement reception of the data transmission program 410 of the device 30 shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the flow of the connecting point switching process of the data transmission program 410 of the device 30 shown in FIG. It is a hardware block diagram of the gateway 20 shown to FIGS. 1-3. It is a block diagram of the software block of the gateway 20 shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but extends to the matters described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

[Information processing system]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a network configuration of an information processing system 100 according to the present embodiment. The information processing system 100 of FIG. 1 is a system based on M2M (Machine to Machine: M2M). M2M represents a system in which machines perform advanced control and operation by exchanging information with each other via a network.

  An information processing system 100 of FIG. 1 includes a center server (information processing apparatus) 10, a plurality of gateways (relay apparatuses) 20-1 to 20-3, and a plurality of devices 30a to 30f. The center server 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 indicates, for example, a server realized by cloud computing or the like. The gateway 20 is a device that relays communication between the device 30 and the center server 10.

  Each of the devices 30 a to 30 f is connected to the gateways 20-1 to 20-3 (also referred to as a gateway 20) via short-distance wireless communication (dotted line in the drawing). The short distance communication indicates, for example, wireless communication in a communication area of about several tens of meters, and indicates wireless communication based on ZigBee (ZigBee (registered trademark)), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like. Further, the gateway 20 is connected to the center server 10 via a wireless communication or a wired communication (straight line in the drawing). When based on wireless communication, the gateway 20 connects to the center server 10 according to a standard such as LTE (Long Term Evolution: LTE) or 3G (3rd Generation), for example.

  Each device 30 shown in FIG. 1 is fixedly located at the sensing location. Each device 30 also includes a sensor, and acquires data detected by the sensor. Each device 30 periodically acquires data, and transmits acquired data (also referred to as sensor data) to the center server 10 via the gateway 20.

  Each device 30 does not necessarily have to include a sensor. The acquired data may be data detected by another device, program or the like included in the device 30. Further, although six devices 30 a to 30 f (also referred to as devices 30) are illustrated in the example of FIG. 1, the information processing system 100 actually includes a large number of devices 30.

  The center server 10 performs predetermined processing based on the acquired data collected from the plurality of devices 30. For example, when the information processing system 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a manhole sewage management system, the center server 10 collects water level data (acquisition data) observed by a water level sensor installed in the manhole from each device 30. Then, when there is water level data exceeding the threshold value among the collected water level data, the center server 10 performs alert notification or the like to the residents near the device 30 of the water level data. Alternatively, the center server 10 outputs the collected water level data as information for workers.

  The information processing system 100 is not limited to the sewage management system. The information processing system 100 may be a vibration management system such as a bridge or a tunnel. The center server 10 of the vibration management system collects vibration data from each device 30, and performs inspection work, repair work and the like based on the collected vibration data.

  In addition, each of the devices 30 includes a battery and is driven by the battery. The power consumption of the device 30 is a large proportion of the power consumption due to the data transmission process. In addition, when the battery of the device 30 runs out, the worker visits the place where the device 30 is installed, and performs maintenance such as battery replacement and charging. The device 30 may be installed at a remote place or a place where workability is difficult, and the cost for maintenance increases according to the load of work such as battery replacement and charging by workers.

  In addition, the information processing system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 redundantly arranges the plurality of gateways 20 with respect to one device 30. The wireless environment between the device 30 and the gateway 20 fluctuates in response to changes in the installation environment. Thus, if the wireless environment degrades, gateway 20 may not be able to receive data from device 30. In addition, when the amount of data processed by the gateway 20 exceeds the allowable amount, packet collisions frequently occur and data transmission errors easily occur.

  Therefore, the information processing system 100 increases the reliability of the reception of data from the device 30 and allows the plurality of gateways 20 to one device 30 in order to keep the amount of data processed by each gateway 20 within the allowable amount. Arrange redundantly. The plurality of gateways 20 have different frequency channel (CH) settings.

[Autonomous control]
Each device 30 selects the optimal gateway 20 from, for example, a plurality of connectable gateways 20. Each device 30 selects, for example, the gateway 20 of the connection destination based on the radio wave intensity, the number of retransmissions, and the like. The radio wave strength indicates the strength of the radio wave of wireless communication between the device 30 and the gateway 20. The higher the radio wave intensity, the lower the probability that a transmission error will occur. The number of retransmissions indicates the number of retransmissions associated with a transmission error of data to the gateway 20.

  Each device 30 connects with another gateway 20 having a good wireless environment when the wireless environment with the connected gateway 20 deteriorates. Thereby, the device 30 suppresses the number of retransmissions of sensor data. For example, when the radio wave intensity of the connected gateway 20 falls below a predetermined threshold, the device 30 disconnects the connection with the gateway 20, and from among the surrounding gateways 20, the gateway 20 whose radio wave intensity is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold select. Then, the device 30 sets and connects the same frequency channel as the selected gateway. Alternatively, each device 30 may select a gateway 20 with a small number of retransmissions as a connection destination.

  Thus, the device 30 selects the optimal gateway 20 for the device 30. The center server 10 may not control the route between each device 30 and the gateway 20 because each device 30 can autonomously select the gateway 20. As a result, the processing load on the center server 10 can be reduced, and no communication processing for path control occurs.

  On the other hand, each device 30 selects the connection destination gateway 20 without considering other devices 30. Therefore, the number of times of retransmission of sensor data to the connecting gateway 20 of the device 30 with a small battery level may increase. The increase in the power consumption according to the increase in the data transmission process further reduces the remaining battery power of the device 30 with a low remaining battery power. As a result, the remaining amount of battery tends to be uneven among the devices.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the bias of the battery remaining amount among the devices of the information processing system 100 shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are indicated by the same symbols. FIG. 2 shows the gateways 20-1 and 20-2 among the gateways 20-1 to 20-3 shown in FIG. FIG. 2 further shows devices 30g and 30h in addition to the devices 30a to 30f shown in FIG. Moreover, in FIG. 2, illustration of the center server 10 is omitted.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the radio wave strength between the devices 30a to 30f and the gateway 20-1 is high, and the radio wave strength between the devices 30a to 30f and the gateway 20-2 is low. Therefore, each of the devices 30a to 30f selects, for example, the gateway 20-1 as the connection destination gateway 20. As a result, the connections of the plurality of devices 30a to 30f concentrate on the gateway 20-1, and the amount of data may exceed the processing capacity of the gateway 20-1 and the capacity of the wireless capacity. As a result, packet collisions frequently occur, and the number of retransmissions of sensor data increases, and the amount of communication data further increases. As the number of retransmissions continues to increase, the power consumption of the devices 30a-30f increases.

  Also, for example, in order to suppress the number of retransmissions, the device 30 f reselects, as the connection destination, the gateway 20-2 whose radio wave intensity is weaker than that of the gateway 20-1 but the number of retransmissions is smaller. According to the example of FIG. 2, the battery remaining amount BPf of the device 30 f is smaller than the battery remaining amounts BPa to BPe of the devices 30 a to 30 e. Therefore, a state in which devices 30a-30e having a large amount of remaining battery power BPa to BPe are connected to gateway 20-1 having a high radio wave strength, and a device 30f having a small amount of remaining battery power BPf is connected to gateway 20-2 having a low radio wave strength Occurs.

  As a result, the power consumption of the device 30f having a small battery remaining amount BPf is increased, and the battery remaining amount BPf of the device 30f is further reduced, whereby a battery remaining amount between devices is biased. The information processing system 100 can not collect sensor data of all the devices 30a to 30h (also referred to as the device 30) when the battery of the device 30f is exhausted. That is, the life of the information processing system 100 is shortened by reducing the battery remaining amount of the device 30 f.

  In addition, the power consumption concerning transmission processing may differ according to the characteristic of the battery with which the device 30 is provided. In addition, since the degree of deterioration of the battery differs among the devices according to environmental factors of the device 30 such as temperature, power consumption by the transmission processing also differs. As described above, even if the number of retransmissions between devices is the same, the battery remaining amount between devices may be biased.

This Embodiment
Therefore, the center server 10 according to the present embodiment determines whether the battery remaining amount (remaining amount information) of any of the devices 30 is less than a predetermined value, and determines that it is less than the first value. And switch to the second mode.

  In the first mode, the center server 10 receives sensor data (acquisition information) and remaining amount information via the gateway 20 selected by the device 30. Hereinafter, an aspect in which each device 30 selects the connection destination gateway 20 will be referred to as autonomous control. In the second mode, the center server 10 further receives communication information (control data) indicating the communication state with the gateway 20 from each device 30, and based on the remaining amount information and the communication information, the gateway of each device 30 Determine 20. Then, the center server 10 notifies each device 30 of the determined gateway 20, and receives sensor data and remaining amount information via the determined gateway 20. Hereinafter, an aspect in which the center server 10 determines the gateway 20 to which all the devices 30 are connected will be referred to as centralized control.

  According to centralized control, the center server 10 can assign the gateway 20-1 having high radio wave strength only to the device 30f having a small battery remaining amount BPf. That is, the center server 10 determines the connection destination of the device 30f as the gateway 20-1, and determines the connection destination of the devices 30a to 30e having a large amount of remaining battery power BPa to BPe as another gateway 20-2.

  Thereby, the number of retransmissions of the device 30 f can be reduced, and power consumption for data transmission processing can be suppressed. By reducing the power consumption of the device 30f with a low battery level BPf, the lifetime of the device 30f is extended. Thereby, the lifetime of the information processing system 100 based on the battery remaining amount of each of the devices 30a to 30h is extended.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an aspect of control of the center server 10 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are indicated by the same symbols. FIG. 3 shows a case where the information processing system 100 has gateways 20-4 to 20-8 in addition to the gateways 20-1 to 20-3 shown in FIG.

  The upper schematic diagram MD1 in FIG. 3 shows an aspect of autonomous control (first mode). According to the schematic diagram MD1, the remaining battery power BPa to BPh (also referred to as the remaining battery power BP) of any of the devices 30a to 30 h is sufficient. That is, according to the schematic diagram MD1, the remaining battery amounts BPa to BPh of any of the devices 30a to 30h do not fall below the predetermined value. Therefore, the center server 10 collects sensor data via the gateways 20-1 to 20-8 selected by the devices 30a to 30h according to the autonomous control.

  Each device 30 selects, for example, a connection destination gateway 20 most suitable for the device 30 among the connectable gateways 20 based on the radio wave intensity and / or the number of retransmissions. As a result, the device 30 can suppress the occurrence rate of errors at the time of data transmission and can suppress the power consumption associated with the retransmission process. According to the example of the schematic diagram MD1 of FIG. 3, the device 30a selects the optimal gateway 20 from the connectable gateways 20-1 and 20-2, and transmits sensor data via the gateway 20.

  The lower schematic diagram MD2 of FIG. 3 shows an aspect of centralized control (second mode). As described with reference to FIG. 2, in the case of adopting autonomous control, a bias of the battery remaining amount BP between devices tends to occur. The schematic diagram MD2 of FIG. 3 shows a state in which bias of the battery remaining amount BP among the devices is generated by continuing the autonomous control. Since the battery remaining amount BPb of the device 30b and the battery remaining amount BPg of the device 30g are lower than a predetermined value, the center server 10 switches from autonomous control to centralized control.

  According to central control, the center server 10 determines gateways 20-1 to 20-8 to which all the devices 30a to 30h are connected. The center server 10 further receives, from each of the devices 30a to 30h, communication information (also referred to as control data) indicating a communication state with the connectable gateway 20, and based on the battery remaining amount BP and the control data, each device 30a. A destination gateway 20 to 30 h is determined. The communication information indicating the communication state indicates the state of communication with one or more gateways 20 to which the device 30 can connect. The communication information includes, for example, the number of retransmissions.

  According to the example of the schematic diagram MD2 of FIG. 3, the center server 10 connects the connection destinations of the devices 30b and 30g with less battery remaining amount BPb and BPg based on the communication information to the gateways 20-2 and 20-7 in good communication state. Each will be prioritized. Further, the center server 10 determines connection destinations of the devices 30a and 30h having a large amount of remaining battery power BPa and BPh as gateways 20-1 and 20-8 different from the gateways 20-2 and 20-7.

  As a result, the center server 10 can reduce the power consumption of the devices 30b and 30g having a small amount of remaining battery power BPb and BPg. Therefore, the center server 10 can smooth the remaining battery amount BP between the devices and extend the life of the devices 30b and 30g. Thus, the center server 10 can extend the life of the information processing system 100 based on the remaining battery amounts BPa to BPh of the devices 30a to 30h.

  As described above, when the life of the information processing system 100 has become short, the center server 10 smoothes the bias of the remaining battery amount BP between the devices by switching to centralized control, and the life of the information processing system 100 can be reduced. It can be prolonged. Alternatively, when there is a tendency for the life of the information processing system 100 to be shortened, the center server 10 smoothes the bias of the remaining battery amount BP between devices by switching to centralized control, and prolongs the life of the information processing system 100. can do. By prolonging the life, it is possible to reduce the cost of battery maintenance.

  In addition, by switching to centralized control, a collection process of control data from each device 30 occurs, and the data amount of communication increases. In the case of adopting a wireless line in which charging occurs according to the increase in the amount of data for communication between the gateway 20 and the center server 10, the cost for communication increases with the increase in the amount of data for communication.

  In addition, the power consumption of each device 30 is increased by the transmission process of control data. Further, when the information processing system 100 has, for example, a huge amount of gateways 20, the load of communication processing of the center server 10 accompanying the generation of control data collection processing from each device 30 is large. Furthermore, the processing load on the center server 10 to calculate an optimal combination from all combinations of the device 30 and the gateway 20 is also large.

  On the other hand, the center server 10 in the present embodiment switches to centralized control only when the battery remaining amount BP of any of the devices 30 falls below a predetermined value. Thereby, the center server 10 can suppress the communication cost, the load of the communication processing and calculation processing of the center server 10, and the power consumption when extending the life of the information processing system 100. Moreover, although based on centralized control, although the cost of communication increases, since the cost concerning the maintenance of a battery is reduced by prolongation of lifetime, it becomes possible to hold down overall cost.

  Next, the hardware configuration and software block diagram of the center server 10 in the present embodiment will be described according to FIGS. 4 and 5. The hardware configuration and software block diagram of the device 30 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

[Hardware configuration of center server]
FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of the center server 10 shown in FIG. The center server 10 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes, for example, a CPU 101, a memory 102, an auxiliary storage device 103, a communication interface unit 104, an input device 105, and an output device 106. The respective parts are connected to one another via a bus 107. The memory 102 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory: RAM) 201, a non-volatile memory 202, and the like. The input device 105 indicates, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and the output device 106 is, for example, a display.

  The CPU 101 is connected to the memory 102 and the like via the bus 107, and controls the entire center server 10. The communication interface unit 104 exchanges data with the gateway 20 or another device (not shown) via the antenna 108 according to wireless communication. The antenna 108 transmits and receives various data by radio waves. The communication interface unit 104 may be connected to the gateway 20 or another device (not shown) in accordance with wired communication. The RAM 201 of the memory 102 stores data and the like to be processed by the CPU 101. The auxiliary storage device 103 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) that stores various information.

  The non-volatile memory 202 of the memory 102 has an area (not shown) for storing an OS (Operating System) program executed by the CPU 101. Further, the non-volatile memory 202 includes a data collection program storage area 210 and an application program storage area 211. The non-volatile memory 202 indicates, for example, a non-volatile semiconductor memory or the like.

  The data collection program of the data collection program storage area 210 (hereinafter referred to as the data collection program 210) collects data from each device 30 by execution of the CPU 101. Details of the processing of the data collection program 210 will be described according to FIG. The application program in the application program storage area 211 (hereinafter referred to as the application program 211) performs aggregation and analysis processing of data collected by the data collection program 210 by the execution of the CPU 101.

  Further, the auxiliary storage device 103 has a device information storage area 310 (hereinafter referred to as a device information table 310) and a device connection destination control information storage area 311 (hereinafter referred to as a device connection destination control information table 311). The device information table 310 is a table for storing data of each device 30 collected by the data collection program 210. The details of the device information table 310 will be described later according to FIG. The device connection destination control information table 311 is a table for storing information of the connection designation gateway 20 of each device 30. The details of the device connection destination control information table 311 will be described later according to FIG.

[Center server software block]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of software blocks of the data collection program 210 of the center server 10 shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the same components as those shown in FIG. 4 are indicated by the same symbols.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the data acquisition program 210 shown in FIG. 4 includes a control module 221, a connection control switching module 222, and a connection destination optimization module 223. Details of the processing of each of the modules 221 to 223 will be described later in the flowcharts of FIGS. 15 and 16.

  The control module 221 controls the modules 222 and 223, and stores data received by relaying the gateway 20 from each device 30 in the device information table 310 (FIG. 4).

  The connection control switching module 222 refers to the device information table 310 to determine whether or not to switch between autonomous control and centralized control, and performs processing according to each control. Further, when switching from autonomous control to centralized control, the connection control switching module 222 instructs the connection destination optimization module 223 to optimize the connection destination gateway 20 of all the devices 30. Further, the connection control switching module 222 stores the determined information of the connection destination gateway 20 of each device 30 in the device connection destination control information table 311 (FIG. 4).

  The connection destination optimization module 223 refers to the device information table 310 in response to the instruction of the connection control switching module 222, and determines the gateway 20 to be specified as the connection destination of all the devices 30 according to the calculation process.

Device Information Table
FIG. 6 is a view for explaining an example of the device information table 310 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. The device information table 310 has items of a battery remaining amount, a transmission frequency, a number of retransmissions, and a radio wave strength, for example, using a MAC (Media Access Control: MAC) address of the device 30 as identification information. The battery remaining amount indicates the remaining amount information of the battery that drives the device 30. The transmission frequency (times / sec) indicates the number of times of sensor data transmission per second. The number of retransmissions indicates the number of retransmissions associated with a transmission error of sensor data to each gateway 20 in a predetermined period. The radio wave intensity (dBm (decibel-milliwatts)) indicates the radio wave intensity between each gateway 20.

  The device 30 with the device address “aaaa” shown in FIG. 6 shows the device 30 a shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The device 30 with the device address “bbbb” indicates the device 30 b, and the device 30 with the device address “cccc” indicates the device 30 c. Also, gateways “GW1” to “GW4” illustrated in FIG. 6 correspond to the gateways 20-1 to 20-4 illustrated in FIG. The same applies to a device connection destination control information table 311 described later with reference to FIG.

  According to the device information table 310 shown in FIG. 6, the battery remaining amount of the device 30a is 90%, and the transmission frequency is “0.1”. That is, the device 30a transmits sensor data to the center server 10 once every 10 seconds. Further, according to the device information table 310, the device 30a can be connected to the gateway “GW1” 20-1, the gateway “GW2” 20-2, and the gateway “GW4” 20-4.

  Also, according to the device information table 310 shown in FIG. 6, the number of retransmissions from the device 30a to the gateway "GW1" 20-1 is five, the number of retransmissions to the gateway "GW2" 20-2 is one, and the gateway "GW4" The number of retransmissions to 20-4 is ten. That is, among the gateways 20 connectable to the device 30a, the number of retransmissions to the gateway "GW2" 20-2 is the smallest.

  Further, according to the device information table 310 shown in FIG. 6, the radio wave strength of the device 30a and the gateway “GW1” 20-1 is “−70 dBm”. The radio wave strength between the device 30a and the gateway "GW2" 20-2 is "-45 dBm", and the radio wave strength between the gateway "GW4" 20-4 is "-88 dBm". That is, of the gateways 20 that can be connected to the device 30a, the field intensity with the gateway “GW2” 20-2 is the highest.

  The device information table 310 illustrated in FIG. 6 similarly has information on the remaining battery level, the transmission frequency, the number of retransmissions, and the radio wave strength for the other devices 30b and 30c. According to the device information table 310 shown in FIG. 6, the transmission frequency differs for each device 30. Thus, each device 30 may transmit different types of sensor data according to different transmission frequencies.

[Device connection control information table]
FIG. 7 is a view for explaining an example of the device connection destination control information table 311 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. (A) of FIG. 7 shows an example of the device connection destination control information table 311 a in autonomous control, and (B) of FIG. 7 shows an example of the device connection destination control information table 311 b in centralized control.

  The device connection destination control information tables 311 a and 311 b have an item of the gateway 20 of connection designation of each device 30. The connection designation gateway 20 indicates the gateway 20 to which each device 30 is connected as determined by the center server 10.

  The device connection destination control information table 311a shown in (A) of FIG. 7 is a table in the case of adopting autonomous control, and therefore has no information in the item of the connection designation gateway 20. On the other hand, since the device connection destination control information table 311 b shown in FIG. 7B is a table in the case of adopting centralized control, information is included in the item of the connection designation gateway 20. Specifically, the gateway 20 for connection designation of the device 30a is the gateway “GW1” 20-1. The gateway 20 for connection designation of the device 30b is a gateway "GW2" 20-2, and the gateway 20 for connection designation of the device 30c is a gateway "GW3" 20-3.

  Next, the hardware configuration and software block diagram of the gateway 20 in the present embodiment will be described according to FIG. 21 and FIG.

[Hardware configuration of gateway]
FIG. 21 is a hardware configuration diagram of the gateway 20 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The gateway 20 illustrated in FIG. 21 includes, for example, a CPU 501, a memory 502, and a communication interface unit 503. The respective parts are mutually connected via a bus 505. The memory 502 includes a RAM 520, a non-volatile memory 521, and the like.

  The CPU 501 is connected to the memory 502 and the like via the bus 505, and controls the entire gateway 20. The communication interface unit 503 exchanges data with the device 30 or the center server 10 via the antenna 504. The antenna 504 transmits and receives various data by radio waves. The communication interface unit 503 may transmit and receive data with the center server 10 in accordance with wired communication.

  The RAM 520 of the memory 502 stores data and the like to be processed by the CPU 501. The non-volatile memory 521 of the memory 502 includes an area (not shown) for storing the program of the OS executed by the CPU 501. The non-volatile memory 521 further includes a data relay program storage area 510. The nonvolatile memory 521 represents, for example, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory or the like. The data relay program in the data relay program storage area 510 (hereinafter referred to as the data relay program 510) realizes relay processing of sensor data by execution of the CPU 101. Details of the processing of the data relay program 510 will be described according to FIG.

[Gateway software block]
FIG. 22 is a block diagram of software blocks of the gateway 20 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 22, the data relay program 510 shown in FIG. 21 has a control module 511 and a relay module 512.

  The control module 511 manages the processing of the relay module 512. When the relay module 512 receives data destined for the center server 10 from the device 30, the relay module 512 transmits the received data to the center server 10 according to wireless communication or wired communication. In addition, when the relay module 512 receives data destined for the device 30 from the center server 10, the relay module 512 transmits the received data to the device 30 according to the short distance wireless communication.

  Next, the hardware configuration of the device 30 and the software block diagram will be described. 8 and 9 show an example of the device 30a among the plurality of devices 30a to 30h shown in FIG. 3, but the same applies to the other devices 30b to 30h.

[Device hardware configuration diagram]
FIG. 8 is a hardware configuration diagram of the device 30 a shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The device 30a illustrated in FIG. 8 includes, for example, a CPU 301, a memory 302, a sensor 303, a communication interface unit 304, and a battery 305. The respective parts are connected to one another via a bus 306. The memory 302 includes a RAM 401, a non-volatile memory 402, and the like.

  The CPU 301 is connected to the memory 302 and the like via the bus 306, and controls the entire device 30a. The sensor 303 is a detection unit that detects measurement information such as water level, temperature, and vibration. The sensor 303 is, for example, a water level sensor, a temperature sensor, a vibration sensor or the like. The communication interface unit 304 transmits and receives data in accordance with near-field wireless communication with the gateway 20 via the antenna 307. The antenna 307 transmits and receives various data by radio waves. The battery 305 is a power supply unit that supplies power for operating the device 30a. The battery 305 is, for example, a dry battery or a rechargeable battery such as lithium ion, but is not limited thereto.

  The RAM 401 of the memory 302 stores data and the like to be processed by the CPU 301. The non-volatile memory 402 of the memory 302 includes an area (not shown) for storing a program of the OS executed by the CPU 301. The non-volatile memory 402 further includes a data transmission program storage area 410 and a control information storage area 411. The nonvolatile memory 402 indicates, for example, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory or the like.

  The data transmission program of the data transmission program storage area 410 (hereinafter referred to as the data transmission program 410) realizes acquisition processing of sensor data and transmission processing by execution of the CPU 101. The details of the process of the data transmission program 410 will be described according to FIG. The control information storage area 411 (hereinafter referred to as a control information table 411) stores the remaining battery power, control data (transmission frequency, number of retransmissions, radio wave strength), and information of the gateway 20 for connection designation. The details of the control information table 411 will be described later according to FIG.

[Device software block]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of software blocks of the device 30a shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the same components as those shown in FIG. 8 are indicated by the same symbols. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the data transmission program 410 illustrated in FIG. 8 includes a control module 421, a sensing module 422, a battery remaining amount acquiring module 423, a connection destination control switching module 424, and a connection destination switching module 425. The details of the processing of each of the modules 421 to 425 will be described later according to FIGS.

  The control module 421 controls each of the modules 422-425. In addition, the control module 421 periodically instructs the sensing module 422 to acquire sensor data and instructs the battery residual amount acquisition module 423 to acquire battery residual amount information. The control module 421 also controls transmission processing of the acquired sensor data and remaining amount information, and stores the number of retransmissions of the transmission processing and the remaining amount information in the control information table 411 (FIG. 8).

  The sensing module 422 acquires sensor data detected by the sensor 303 (FIG. 8) in accordance with an instruction of the control module 421. The battery remaining amount acquisition module 423 acquires the remaining amount information (also referred to as the battery remaining amount) of the battery of the battery 305 (FIG. 8) according to the instruction of the control module 421.

  The connection destination control switching module 424 updates the control information table 411 in response to the switching instruction between the autonomous control and the central control by the center server 10. Further, the connection destination control switching module 424 transmits control data to the center server 10 in response to a request from the center server 10. The connection destination switching module 425 updates the control information table 411 and selects the gateway 20 in the case of autonomous control.

Control Information Table
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of the control information table 411 shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. (A) of FIG. 10 shows an example of the control information table 411a in autonomous control, and (B) of FIG. 10 shows an example of the control information table 411b in centralized control.

  The control information tables 411a and 411b have items of information on the remaining battery level, transmission frequency, number of retransmissions, radio wave strength, and the gateway 20 for connection designation. The respective items are as described in the device information table 310 of FIG. 6 and the device connection destination control information tables 311 a and 311 b of FIG. 7.

  Since the control information tables 411a and 411b shown in (A) and (B) of FIG. 10 are the control information table 411 of the device 30a, the same information as the information of the device 30a included in the device information table 310 shown in FIG. Have.

  Further, the control information table 411a in the autonomous control shown in FIG. 10A is similar to the device connection destination control information table 311a described in FIG. Do not have Further, the control information table 411b in the centralized control shown in (B) of FIG. 10 is similar to the device connection destination control information table 311b described in (B) of FIG. Have.

  Next, the flow of switching processing from autonomous control to centralized control will be described according to FIG. 11, and the flow of switching processing from centralized control to autonomous control will be described according to FIG.

[Switching from autonomous control to centralized control]
FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram for explaining the flow of switching processing from autonomous control to centralized control. In FIG. 11, the same components as those shown in FIG. 3 are indicated by the same symbols. FIG. 11 illustrates the flow of switching processing from autonomous control to centralized control according to the flow of transmission and reception of signals between a plurality of devices 30a to 30h (also referred to as device group 30 and devices 30) and the center server 10. . Further, each device 30 transmits information to the center server 10 via the gateway 20, but the illustration of the gateway 20 is omitted in FIG. 11 in order to simplify the description.

  The device group 30 acquires sensor data and remaining amount information at predetermined time intervals such as 10 seconds to generate transmission sensor data, and via the gateway (not shown in FIG. 11) 20 selected by the device 30. To the center server 10 (a1). The format of transmission sensor data will be described later according to FIG.

  The center server 10 receives transmission sensor data from the device group 30, and acquires sensor data and remaining amount information of each device 30 (a2). Each device 30 may acquire sensor data and remaining amount information and transmit it to the center server 10 in response to an acquisition instruction received from the center server 10 or another device (not shown).

  The center server 10 calculates the average of the remaining battery charge (hereinafter referred to as average battery remaining charge) based on the received remaining charge information of the device group 30 (a3). Then, the center server 10 determines whether the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 falls below a predetermined value, and switches from autonomous control to centralized control when it is determined that the battery remaining level falls below a predetermined value. The predetermined value indicates a threshold value or a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined degree from the average battery remaining amount. That is, the center server 10 determines whether the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 falls below the threshold or whether it falls below the average battery remaining amount by a predetermined degree or more. Switch from autonomous control to centralized control. The threshold and the predetermined degree indicate, for example, values set in advance according to verification and the like.

  The state in which the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 is below the threshold indicates that the life of the information processing system 100 has become shorter than a predetermined period due to the shortening of the life of at least one device 30. Further, in a state where the battery remaining amount of any device 30 is less than a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined degree from the average battery remaining amount, the battery remaining amount of at least one device 30 is smaller than the battery remaining amount of the other device 30. It shows the case where it is decreasing and decreasing. Alternatively, the case where the standard deviation of the remaining battery level of the device group 30 is large is shown. In other words, this indicates that the remaining battery power between devices is biased, and the life of the information processing system 100 tends to be shortened.

  Therefore, the center server 10 switches from autonomous control to centralized control when the life of the information processing system 100 becomes short or when the life of the information processing system 100 tends to become short. Thereby, the center server 10 suppresses the power consumption of the device 30 with a small remaining battery level, smoothes the remaining battery level between the devices, and prolongs the life of the information processing system 100. The center server 10 switches from autonomous control to centralized control when the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 falls below a threshold and falls below a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined degree from the average battery remaining amount. Good.

  The threshold in the present embodiment is “20%”. Further, the predetermined degree in the present embodiment is “25%”. According to the device information table 310 described with reference to FIG. 6, the battery remaining amount of the device 30a is "90%", the battery remaining amount of the device 30b is "40%", and the battery remaining amount of the device 30c is "80%". Therefore, the battery remaining amount of none of the devices 30a to 30c is not lower than the threshold value "20%". On the other hand, the average battery remaining amount of the devices 30a to 30c is "70% (= (90% + 40% + 80%) / 3)", and the battery remaining amount "40%" of the device 30b is the average battery remaining amount It is less than the value “45%” obtained by subtracting the predetermined degree “25%” from “70%”. Therefore, the center server 10 switches to centralized control.

  When switching to centralized control, the center server 10 transmits a control information notification request instructing switching to centralized control to the device group 30 via the gateway 20 (a4). The format of the control information notification request will be described later according to FIG. The device group 30 acquires control data (transmission frequency, number of retransmissions, radio wave strength) in response to the reception of the control information notification request (a5). Then, each device 30 generates transmission control data including control data, and transmits the transmission control data to the center server 10 via the gateway 20 selected by each device 30 (a6). The format of transmission control data will be described later according to FIG.

  When the center server 10 receives the transmission control data of the device group (a7), the center server 10 optimizes and determines the connection destination gateway 20 of all the devices 30 based on the remaining amount information of the device group 30 and the control data ((7) a8).

  The center server 10 according to the present embodiment has a small number of retransmissions among the connectable gateways 20 of the connection destination of the device (second device) 30 having a battery remaining amount smaller than that of the other device (first device) 30. The gateway 20 is determined. That is, the center server 10 preferentially assigns the gateway 20 with a small number of retransmissions to the device 30 with a small battery level. Thereby, the center server 10 can suppress the power consumption of the device 30 with a small amount of remaining power, and can smooth the remaining amount of power between the devices. Details of the optimization process of the gateway 20 to which all the devices 30 are connected will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The center server 10 may preferentially assign the gateway 20 having a short distance and a good radio wave environment to the device 30 having a small amount of remaining battery power. Alternatively, the center server 10 may preferentially assign one or both of the gateway 20 with a small number of retransmissions, the gateway 20 with a short distance, and a good radio environment to the device 30 with a low battery level.

  The center server 10 stores the information of the connection destination gateway 20 of each of the determined devices 30 in the device connection destination control information table 311 (FIG. 7), and each of the connection destination control notifications including the information of the connection destination gateway 20 It transmits to the device 30 (a9). The format of the connection destination control notification will be described later according to FIG. Each device 30 responds to the reception of the connection destination control notification, stores the information of the connection designated gateway 20 included in the connection destination control notification in the control information table 411b (FIG. 10), and changes the connection destination gateway 20 To do (a10).

  Thus, the center server 10 in the present embodiment switches from autonomous control to centralized control when the battery remaining amount of any device 30 falls below a predetermined value. As a result, the center server 10 can switch to centralized control at the end of the life of the information processing system 100 and extend the life. This makes it possible to reduce the cost of battery maintenance.

  Further, the center server 10 determines whether the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 is lower than the threshold value or lower than the average battery remaining amount by a predetermined degree or more, and determines that it is lower than Switch from autonomous control to centralized control. Thereby, the center server 10 can detect the case where the life of the information processing system 100 becomes short or the case where the life of the information processing system 100 tends to become short, and can extend the life.

  Further, the center server 10 switches to centralized control only when the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 falls below a predetermined value. As a result, it is possible to suppress the increase in the cost and power consumption of communication due to collection of control data, the load on the center server 10, and the like while realizing the prolongation of the life. In addition, since the cost for maintenance can be suppressed, it is possible to suppress the overall cost including the cost of communication and maintenance.

[Switching from centralized control to autonomous control]
After switching from the autonomous control to the centralized control, the center server 10 may further perform a determination process, and may switch from the centralized control to the autonomous control when it is determined that it does not fall below. As described in FIG. 11, when the battery remaining amount of any device 30 falls below the average battery remaining amount by a predetermined degree or more, the battery remaining amount between the devices is biased, and the life of the information processing system 100 Indicates that it tends to be short.

  Therefore, when the control is switched to the centralized control when the average battery remaining power falls below the predetermined degree, the remaining battery power between the devices is smoothed by continuing the centralized control, and the battery remaining power of any of the devices 30 is also predetermined. It may transition to a state not falling below the value. That is, there may be a transition from the average battery remaining amount to a state not falling below a predetermined degree. Therefore, the center server 10 returns from centralized control to autonomous control, and suppresses consumption resources (centralized communication cost, load on the center server 10, power consumption of the device 30, etc.) by centralized control.

  The increase in consumption resources based on centralized control and the prolongation of the life of the information processing system 100 are in a trade-off relationship. That is, although based on the autonomous control, it is possible to suppress the communication cost, the load on the center server 10, the power consumption of the device 30 based on collection of control data, etc., the battery residual amount tends to be uneven among devices. The lifetime of the information processing system 100 based on the remaining amount is shortened.

  On the other hand, although the service life of the information processing system 100 can be extended by the centralized control, the communication cost, the load on the center server 10, the power consumption, and the like increase. In order to follow changes in the wireless environment between the device 30 and the gateway 20, the gateway 20 to which all the devices 30 are connected may be determined frequently. This further increases consumption resources based on centralized control.

  Therefore, the center server 10 in the present embodiment switches from centralized control to autonomous control in accordance with the change in the remaining battery level of the device group 30. That is, the center server 10 appropriately switches between the autonomous control and the centralized control according to the change in the remaining battery power. Thus, the center server 10 can efficiently realize the lifetime of the information processing system 100 and the communication cost and the like.

  FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram for explaining the flow of switching processing from centralized control to autonomous control. In FIG. 12, the same components as those shown in FIG. 11 are indicated by the same symbols. Similarly to FIG. 11, FIG. 12 omits illustration of the gateway 20.

  The device group 30 periodically acquires sensor data and remaining amount information, generates transmission sensor data, and sends the center server 10 to the center server 10 via a gateway (not shown in FIG. 12) determined by the center server 10. Send (a11).

  The center server 10 receives transmission sensor data from the device group 30, and acquires sensor data and remaining amount information of each device 30 (a12). The center server 10 calculates the average battery remaining amount based on the received remaining amount information of the device group 30 (a13). Then, as described in FIG. 11, the center server 10 determines whether the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 falls below the threshold or whether it falls below the average battery remaining amount by a predetermined degree or more. If it is determined that the value is less than, continuous control is adopted. On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not lower than, the center server 10 switches from centralized control to autonomous control.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the device information table 310-1 after switching to centralized control. The device information table 310-1 shown in FIG. 13 shows a table after a certain period of time of the device information table 310 shown in FIG.

  While the battery remaining amount of the device 30a is "90%" in the device information table 310 of FIG. 6, it is reduced to "70%" in the device information table 310-1 of FIG. Further, the battery remaining amount of the device 30 b is reduced to “30%” in the device information table 310-1 of FIG. 13 while it is “40%” in the device information table 310 of FIG. 6. Further, the battery remaining amount of the device 30c is reduced to "50%" in the device information table 310-1 in FIG. 13 while it is "80%" in the device information table 310 in FIG.

  As shown in the device information table 310-1 of FIG. 13, based on the centralized control, the degree of decrease of the battery of the device 30 b having a small battery remaining amount is small, and the battery remaining amount between devices is smoothed. Therefore, the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30a to 30c is not lower than the average battery remaining amount "50% (= (70% + 30% + 50%) / 3)" by a predetermined degree "25%" or more. In addition, the remaining battery level of any of the devices 30a to 30c is not lower than the threshold value "20%". Therefore, the center server 10 switches from centralized control to autonomous control.

  Referring back to FIG. 12, when switching to autonomous control, the center server 10 transmits a connection destination control notification instructing switching to autonomous control to each device 30 (a14). The format of the connection destination control notification will be described later according to FIG. Each device 30 deletes the information of the connection designated gateway 20 stored in the control information table 411b (FIG. 10) in response to the reception of the connection destination control notification (a15). Thus, each device 30 transmits sensor data and remaining amount information to the center server 10 via the gateway 20 selected by the device 30.

  If, after returning from centralized control to autonomous control, center server 10 again has a battery remaining amount of any of devices 30 lower than a predetermined value, as described in FIG. Switch back to control. Thus, the center server 10 can easily optimize the information processing system 100, the cost of communication, the load on the center server 10, the power consumption, and the like.

Data Format
FIG. 14 is a view showing an example of the format of the transmission sensor data, the control information notification request, the transmission control data, and the connection destination control notification described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

  (A) of FIG. 14 shows an example of the format of transmission sensor data. The transmission sensor data shown in FIG. 14A has a transmission source address Ma1, a destination address Ma2 and a remaining amount information Ma3 in a header portion (not shown), and a sensor in a body portion (not shown) It has data Ma4. The transmission source address Ma1 indicates the address of the device 30, and the destination address Ma2 indicates the address of the center server 10. The remaining amount information Ma3 and the sensor data Ma4 are as described above.

  FIG. 14B shows an example of the format of the control information notification request. The control information notification request has a transmission source address Mb1 and a destination address Mb2 in a header portion (not shown), and has a control information notification request instruction Mb3 in a body portion (not shown). The transmission source address Mb1 indicates the address of the center server 10, and the destination address Mb2 indicates the address of the device 30. The control information notification request instruction Mb3 indicates a transmission instruction of control data to the center server 10.

  FIG. 14C shows an example of the format of transmission control data. The transmission control data has a transmission source address Mc1 and a destination address Mc2 in a header portion (not shown), and has a transmission frequency Mc3, a number of retransmissions Mc4 and a radio wave strength Mc5 in a body portion (not shown). The transmission source address Mc1 indicates the address of the device 30, and the destination address Mc2 indicates the address of the center server 10. The transmission frequency Mc3, the number of retransmissions Mc4, and the radio wave strength Mc5 are as described in FIG.

  (D) of FIG. 14 shows an example of the format of the connection destination control notification. The connection destination control notification has a transmission source address Md1 and a destination address Md2 in the header portion (not shown), and has a connection destination control instruction Md3 in the body portion (not shown). The transmission source address Md1 indicates the address of the center server 10, and the destination address Md2 indicates the address of the device 30. The connection destination control instruction Md3 has information of the connection-designated gateway 20 when switching from autonomous control to centralized control, and does not have information of the connection-designated gateway 20 when switching from centralized control to autonomous control. .

  Next, details of the processing of the center server 10 will be described according to the flowcharts of FIGS. Further, details of the processing of the device 30 will be described according to the flowcharts of FIGS. 15 to 16 will be described in accordance with the device information table 310 shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 13 and the device connection destination control information table 311 shown in FIG.

[Center server: control switching process]
FIG. 15 is a flow chart for explaining the flow of the control switching determination process of the data collection program 210 of the center server 10 shown in FIG.

  S11: In response to an instruction from the control module 221, the connection control switching module 222 of the data collection program 210 acquires the remaining battery power of all the devices 30 from the device information table 310 (FIG. 6). Further, the connection control switching module 222 calculates the average value of the battery remaining amount of all the devices 30 as the average battery remaining amount.

  S12: The connection control switching module 222 determines whether the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 has fallen below a predetermined value. Specifically, the connection control switching module 222 determines whether the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 falls below a threshold or falls below the average battery remaining amount calculated in step S11 by a predetermined degree or more.

  S13: As a result of the determination in the step S12, when it is determined that the number falls below (Yes in S12), the connection control switching module 222 transmits a control information notification request ((B) in FIG. 14) to all the devices 30. The connection control switching module 222 switches from the autonomous control to the centralized control when the autonomous control is adopted, and continuously adopts the centralized control when the centralized control is already adopted.

  As described in FIG. 11, according to the device information table 310 described in FIG. 6, the battery remaining amount “40%” of the device 30 b is obtained by subtracting a predetermined degree “25%” from the average battery remaining amount “70%” It falls below the value “45%” (Yes in S12). Therefore, the connection control switching module 222 transmits a control information notification request ((B) in FIG. 14) to all the devices 30a to 30c (S13). Each of the devices 30 a to 30 c transmits transmission control data ((C) in FIG. 14) to the center server 10 in response to the reception of the control information notification request. Details of the processing of the devices 30a to 30c will be described later according to the flow chart of FIG.

  S14: The connection control switching module 222 receives transmission control data ((C) in FIG. 14) from the device 30, and stores control data included in the transmission control data in the device information table 310 (FIG. 6). Then, the connection control switching module 222 instructs the connection destination optimization module 223 to optimize the connection destination gateway 20 of all the devices 30.

  When the centralized control is continuously adopted, the connection control switching module 222 instructs the connection destination optimization module 223 to optimize the connection destination gateway 20 of all the devices 30 again. This makes it possible to periodically update the gateway 20 to which each device 30 is connected to the optimal gateway 20 according to the change in the radio wave environment.

  The connection destination optimization module 223 refers to the device information table 310 (FIG. 6) to obtain the battery remaining amount and control data of each device 30, and according to the calculation process, the gateway 20 of the connection destination of all the devices 30. Decide. The connection destination optimization module 223 optimizes the connection destination gateways 20 of all the devices 30 by preferentially determining the connection destination gateway 20 of the device 30 having a small battery level to the gateway 20 having a small number of retransmissions. Do.

(Optimization processing)
Specifically, in the present embodiment, the connection destination optimization module 223 extracts a plurality of combination patterns of the device 30 and the gateway 20. Next, the connection destination optimization module 223 calculates the operation time of each device 30 in each combination pattern based on the remaining battery power, the transmission frequency, and the number of retransmissions. Then, the connection destination optimization module 223 selects a combination pattern in which the operation time of the device 30 with a small amount of remaining battery is long, and determines the gateway 20 to which each device 30 is connected.

  The larger the number of retransmissions, the shorter the operating time. Therefore, the combination pattern in which the operation time of the device 30 with a small amount of remaining battery is long indicates the combination pattern in which the number of retransmissions of the device 30 with a small amount of remaining battery decreases. The connection destination optimization module 223 calculates the operation time (seconds) of each device 30 according to, for example, the equation 1 “b / p / (t + r)”.

  The value “b%” in Equation 1 indicates the ratio of the power consumption of the transmission process of one sensor data in the storage capacity of the battery 305, and the value “p%” indicates the remaining battery capacity of the battery 305. Therefore, the sub-expression "b / p" indicates the required number of transmissions until the battery remaining amount reaches "0%". Further, a value “t (times / sec)” in the equation 1 indicates a data collection frequency, and a value “r (times / sec)” indicates a resend frequency associated with transmission processing per second. Thus, the subexpression "(t + r)" indicates the transmission frequency per second including retransmission.

  In other words, Equation 1 divides the required number of transmissions “b / p” until the remaining battery capacity reaches “0%” according to the transmission frequency “(t + r)” that includes retransmission per second. It is a formula for calculating the required time until the remaining amount reaches “0%”, that is, the operating time (seconds).

  The connection destination optimization module 223 calculates, for example, the retransmission frequency “r (times / sec) per transmission process according to Equation 2“ the number of simultaneous connections × (the number of retransmissions / the maximum number of simultaneous connections) ”. . Formula 2 shows a formula for calculating the retransmission frequency when the number of simultaneous connections is plural, and is an expression for calculating the retransmission frequency by linearly increasing the number of retransmissions according to the number of simultaneous connections.

  The maximum simultaneous connection number in Equation 2 indicates the total number of devices 30 to which the connection candidate gateway 20 of the device 30 can connect. Further, the number of simultaneous connections in Equation 2 indicates the total number of devices 30 connected to the connection candidate gateway 20 in the combination pattern. The number of retransmissions indicates the number of retransmissions under the maximum number of simultaneous connections.

  For example, when the maximum number of simultaneous connections of the connection candidate gateway 20 is the value “10”, the number of simultaneous connections is the value “3”, and the number of retransmissions is “5”, the connection destination optimization module 223 selects the retransmission frequency “1. Calculate 5 {= 3 × (5/10)} (times / sec). The retransmission frequency “1.5 (times / sec)” indicates that 1.5 retransmissions can occur per second. When the maximum number of simultaneous connections of the connection candidate gateway 20 is the value “10”, the number of simultaneous connections is the value “8”, and the number of retransmissions is “5”, the connection destination optimization module 223 selects the retransmission frequency “4 { “8 × (5/10)} (times / sec)” is calculated.

  If the number of retransmissions is unknown because it is not connected to the connection candidate gateway 20, the connection destination optimization module 223 retransmits the number of retransmissions to the gateway 20 having the same radio field intensity as the connection candidate gateway 20. Get as a count.

  Note that the method of optimization processing is not limited to the above method. The connection destination optimization module 223 may determine the connection destination gateway 20 of each device 30 so as to reduce variation in operation time between the devices. Further, the connection destination optimization module 223 may perform the optimization process by assigning the gateway 20 with a small number of retransmissions to the device 30 with a small amount of remaining battery power, not based on the operating time. Alternatively, the connection destination optimization module 223 may perform the optimization process by assigning the gateway 20 with a small number of retransmissions and a high radio wave strength to the device 30 with a small battery level.

  S15: After step S14, the connection control switching module 222 refers to the device connection destination control information table 311 (FIG. 7) and determines whether autonomous control is adopted. The connection control switching module 222 determines that centralized control is adopted when the device connection destination control information table 311 has information of the connection designation, and when it does not have it, autonomous control is adopted. It determines that it is.

  S16: When it is determined that the centralized control is adopted (No in S15), the connection control switching module 222 extracts the device 30 for which the connection destination gateway 20 is to be changed. That is, when continuously adopting centralized control, the connection control switching module 222 extracts the device 30 in which the connection-specified gateway 20 has changed.

  S17: The connection control switching module 222 transmits a connection destination control notification ((D) in FIG. 14) including the information of the connection designated gateway 20 for the device 30 extracted in step S16. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of communication data. On the other hand, when it is determined that the autonomous control is adopted (Yes in S15), the connection control switching module 222 is a connection including all the information of the gateway 20 for connection designation determined in step S14 for all devices 30. The prior control notification ((D) in FIG. 14) is transmitted.

  The connection control switching module 222 updates the determined connection destination gateways 20 of all the devices 30 to the device connection destination control information table 311 b (FIG. 7). According to the device connection destination control information table 311 b of (B) of FIG. 7, the connection destination of the device 30 b with a small battery remaining amount is the gateway “GW 2” 20-2 with a small number of retransmissions. The connection destinations of the other devices 30a and 30c are the gateways 20 other than the gateway "GW2" 20-2. That is, only the device 30b connects to the gateway "GW2" 20-2 with a small number of retransmissions.

  As a result, the connection control switching module 222 can reduce the power consumption of the device 30 b and extend the life of the device 30 b. That is, it becomes possible to smooth the remaining battery level between devices and prolong the life of the information processing system 100. In the example of FIG. 7, only the device 30 b is connected to the gateway “GW 2” 20-2 with a small number of retransmissions, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, if the number of retransmissions of the device 30b does not increase, the other devices 30a and 30c may be connected to the gateway “GW2” 20-2.

  S18: When it is determined by the determination in step S12 that the remaining amount information of none of the devices 30 is not below the threshold and is not below the average battery remaining by a predetermined degree or more (No in S12), connection control switching Module 222 employs autonomous control. The connection control switching module 222 refers to the device connection destination control information table 311 (FIG. 7) to determine whether autonomous control has been adopted.

  S19: If autonomous control is not adopted (No in S18), that is, if centralized control is adopted, the connection control switching module 222 switches from centralized control to autonomous control. According to the device information table 310 described in FIG. 13, as described above, the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30a to 30c is set to a predetermined degree “25” from the threshold “20%” and the average battery remaining amount “50%”. It is not less than the value “25%” obtained by subtracting “%” (No in S12). Therefore, the connection control switching module 222 determines to switch from centralized control to autonomous control.

  Specifically, the connection control switching module 222 transmits, to all the devices 30, a connection destination control notification ((D) in FIG. 14) that does not have the information of the connection-specified gateway 20. Each device 30 deletes the information of the connection designated gateway 20 in the control information table 411 shown in FIG. 10 in response to the connection destination control notification.

  On the other hand, when autonomous control is adopted (Yes in S18), that is, when autonomous control is continuously adopted, the connection control switching module 222 does not perform the process of step S19.

[Center server: Reception processing of transmission sensor data and transmission control data]
FIG. 16 is a flow chart diagram for explaining the flow of reception processing of transmission sensor data and transmission control data of the data collection program 210 shown in FIG. (A) of FIG. 16 is a flowchart figure explaining the reception process of transmission sensor data.

  S21: The control module 221, upon receiving the transmission sensor data ((A) in FIG. 14), acquires remaining amount information included in the header portion. Then, the control module 221 stores the remaining amount information in the device information table 310 (FIG. 6) as the MAC address of the transmission source device 30 as identification information.

  S22: The control module 221 acquires sensor data included in the body portion of the transmission sensor data, and transmits the sensor data to the application program 211. The application program 211 starts processing of sensor data. The application program 211 performs analysis and tabulation processing based on sensor data.

  In addition, although transmission sensor data ((A) of FIG. 14) has residual amount information in a header part, you may have residual amount information in a body part. The control module 221 may acquire the remaining amount information included in the body portion, and may transmit data of the body portion excluding the remaining amount information to the application program 211.

  (B) of FIG. 16 is a flow chart diagram for explaining transmission control data reception processing.

  S31: When receiving the transmission control data ((C) in FIG. 14), the control module 221 acquires control data (transmission frequency, number of retransmissions, radio wave strength) included in the transmission control data. Then, the control module 221 stores control data in the device information table 310 (FIG. 6) as the MAC address of the transmission source device 30 as identification information.

[Device: Transmission process of sensor data]
FIG. 17 is a flow chart for explaining the flow of transmission processing of sensor data of the data transmission program 410 of the device 30 shown in FIG.

  S41: The control module 421 of the data transmission program 410 instructs the sensing module 422 at predetermined time intervals according to the transmission frequency, and acquires sensor data observed by the sensor 303.

  S42: The control module 421 of the data transmission program 410 instructs the battery remaining amount acquiring module 423 to acquire the remaining amount information of the battery 305 every predetermined time according to the transmission frequency.

  S43: The control module 421 generates transmission sensor data ((A) in FIG. 14) including the sensor data acquired in step S41 and the remaining amount information acquired in step S42.

  S44: The control module 421 transmits the generated transmission sensor data to the center server 10. When the control information table 411 (FIG. 10) has the information of the connection designated gateway 20, the control module 421 transmits the transmission data to the center server 10 via the connection designated gateway 20. On the other hand, when the control information table 411 does not have the information of the connection-designated gateway 20, the control module 421 selects the connection destination gateway 20 and transmits transmission data to the center server 10 via the gateway 20. .

  S45: The control module 421 stores the number of retransmissions in the MAC layer at the time of transmission in the control information table 411 (FIG. 10) as the number of retransmissions. The control module 421 also stores the transmission frequency in the control information table 411.

[Device: Process when receiving connection destination control notification]
FIG. 18 is a flow chart for explaining the flow of control switching processing in response to the reception of the connection destination control notification of the data transmission program 410 of the device 30 shown in FIG.

  S51: The control module 421 instructs the connection destination control switching module 424 to switch the connection destination control in response to the reception of the connection destination control notification ((D) in FIG. 14). The connection destination control switching module 424 determines whether the connection destination control instruction of the connection destination control notification is a notification instructing switching to the autonomous control based on whether or not the connection destination gateway 20 has information of the connection destination. judge.

  S52: In the case of a notification instructing switching to autonomous control (Yes in S51), the connection destination control switching module 424 deletes the information of the connection designated gateway 20 that the control information table 411 (FIG. 10) has.

  S53: On the other hand, if it is a notification instructing centralized control (No in S51), the connection destination control switching module 424 sets the information of the connection designated gateway 20 included in the connection destination control notification in the control information table 411 (FIG. 10). Remember (update).

  S54: In accordance with the update of the control information table 411, the connection destination control switching module 424 switches the connection destination to the gateway 20 for connection designation after the update.

[Device: Process when receiving control information notification request]
FIG. 19 is a flow chart diagram for explaining the flow of processing upon reception of a control information notification request, of the data transmission program 410 of the device 30 shown in FIG.

  S61: In response to the reception of the control information notification request ((B) in FIG. 14), the connection destination control switching module 424 refers to the control information table 411 (FIG. 10) and transmits the field strength with the surrounding gateway 20. get.

  S62: The connection destination control switching module 424 refers to the control information table 411 (FIG. 10), and acquires the number of retransmissions to the surrounding gateway 20.

  S63: The connection destination control switching module 424 refers to the control information table 411 (FIG. 10) and acquires the transmission frequency of sensor data to the gateway 20.

  S64: The connection destination control switching module 424 generates transmission control data ((C) in FIG. 14) including the control data (radio wave intensity, number of retransmissions, transmission frequency) acquired in steps S61 to S63.

  S65: When the control information table 411 (FIG. 10) has the information of the gateway 20 of the connection designation, the connection destination control switching module 424 acquires the information of the gateway 20 and does not have the information of the gateway 20, The gateway 20 is selected.

  S66: The connection destination control switching module 424 transmits the transmission control data ((C) in FIG. 14) generated in step S64 to the center server 10 via the gateway 20 acquired or selected in step S65.

[Device: Connection destination switching process]
FIG. 20 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of connection destination switching processing of the data transmission program 410 of the device 30 shown in FIG.

  S71: The connection destination switching module 425 of the data transmission program 410 periodically determines whether the control information table 411 (FIG. 10) stores information of the gateway 20 for connection designation.

  S72: When the connection destination gateway 20 is not stored (Yes in S71), that is, based on the autonomous control, the connection destination switching module 425 determines whether the radio wave environment with the connected gateway 20 has deteriorated. judge. For example, the connection destination switching module 425 determines whether the radio wave environment has deteriorated based on the radio wave intensity.

  S73: When the radio wave environment of the connected gateway 20 is deteriorated (Yes in S72), the connection destination switching module 425 measures the radio wave environment such as the radio wave intensity with the surrounding gateway 20, and controls the control information table 411a (FIG. 10). Store in). The connection destination switching module 425 may measure the radio wave environment at the time of receiving the control information notification request from the center server 10 without storing the radio wave environment in the control information table 411a.

  S74: The connection destination switching module 425 selects and connects the gateway 20 having a good radio wave environment as the connection destination gateway 20. For example, the connection destination switching module 425 selects the gateway 20 based on one or both of the radio wave intensity and the number of retransmissions.

  S75: As a result of the determination in the step S71, when the information of the connection designated gateway 20 is stored (No in S71), that is, based on the centralized control, the connection destination switching module 425 transmits the radio wave with the surrounding gateway 20 Measure the environment. Then, the connection destination switching module 425 stores the measured radio wave environment in the control information table 411b (FIG. 10).

  If the radio wave environment with the connected gateway 20 is not deteriorated as a result of the determination in step S72 (No in S72), the connection destination switching module 425 does not perform the processing in steps S73 and S74.

Other Embodiments
According to the flowchart of FIG. 15, every time the connection control switching module 222 determines that the battery remaining amount of any of the devices 30 falls below the predetermined value (Yes in S12), the connection control gateway 20 of all the devices 30 is connected. An optimization process is performed (S13, S14). That is, when continuing the centralized control, the connection control switching module 222 performs optimization processing at intervals of receiving transmission sensor data of the device group 30.

  Therefore, especially when the transmission interval of the transmission sensor data of the device group 30 is short, the communication cost and the load on the center server 10 become high. Therefore, the connection control switching module 222 may perform the optimization process according to a frequency that is less than the frequency with which the transmission sensor data is received. For example, the connection control switching module 222 transmits a control information notification request to each device 30 only when a predetermined period has elapsed since the previous optimization processing, when it is determined that the number is lower than the optimization processing. Do.

  As a result, it is possible to suppress the increase in the communication cost, the load on the center server 10, and the like accompanying the centralized control. Therefore, the center server 10 can prolong the life of the information processing system 100 more effectively while suppressing the increase in cost due to the transmission process of control data of each device 30.

  The present embodiment is also applicable to route generation in a multihop environment including a route passing through a plurality of devices 30. The center server 10 applies the process of the present embodiment to the process of generating a partial route of the gateway 20 and the device 30 directly connected to the gateway 20 among the routes. As a result, it is possible to generate a multi-hop environment partial path that extends the life of the information processing system 100 while suppressing the power consumption of the device 30.

  The following is a summary of the above embodiment.

(Supplementary Note 1)
A processing unit that receives, from a plurality of devices, acquired information acquired by the device and remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery of the device via a relay device;
A storage unit that stores the received acquisition information and the remaining amount information;
The processing unit is configured to receive, from the first mode, the acquisition information and the remaining amount information via the relay device selected by the device, when the remaining amount information of any of the devices falls below a predetermined value. Further receiving from the plurality of devices communication information indicating a communication state with the one or more relay devices, and determining the relay devices of the plurality of devices based on the remaining amount information and the communication information; Switching to the second mode in which the determined relay device is notified to the plurality of devices, and the acquired information and the remaining amount information are received via the determined relay device;
Information processing device.

(Supplementary Note 2)
In Appendix 1,
The processing unit is configured such that the remaining amount information of any device falls below a threshold indicating the predetermined value, or the remaining amount information of any device is determined from an average of remaining amount information of the plurality of devices. Switching from the first mode to the second mode when the value falls below the predetermined value obtained by subtracting the degree of
Information processing device.

(Supplementary Note 3)
In Appendix 1 or 2,
The processing unit switches from the second mode to the first mode when the remaining amount information does not fall below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Information processing device.

(Supplementary Note 4)
In any of Appendices 1 to 3,
The processing unit further receives, in the second mode, the communication information including the number of retransmissions of wireless communication from the device to the relay device, and the second device having the remaining amount information smaller than that of the first device. The relay device is determined to be the relay device with the smaller number of retransmissions among the plurality of relay devices connected by the second device.
Information processing device.

(Supplementary Note 5)
In any of Appendices 1 to 4,
In the processing unit, in the first mode, the device is configured to receive either the radio wave intensity of wireless communication with one or more relay devices or the number of retransmissions of wireless communication from the device to the relay device. Receiving the acquired information and the remaining amount information via the relay device selected based on the information;
Information processing device.

(Supplementary Note 6)
In Appendix 3,
The processing unit performs processing of the second mode when the remaining amount information falls below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Information processing device.

(Appendix 7)
A first mode is executed in which the acquired information acquired by the device and the remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery of the device are received from a plurality of devices via a relay apparatus selected by the device.
When the remaining amount information of any device falls below a predetermined value, communication information indicating the communication state with one or more relay devices from the plurality of devices is further received from the first mode; The relay device of the plurality of devices is determined based on the remaining amount information and the communication information, the determined relay device is notified to the plurality of devices, and the acquired information and the remaining amount information are determined. Switching to a second mode of receiving via the relay device,
Control program that causes a computer to execute processing.

(Supplementary Note 8)
In Appendix 7,
In the switching, the remaining amount information of any device falls below a threshold indicating the predetermined value, or the remaining amount information of any device is a predetermined value from the average of the remaining amount information of the plurality of devices. Switching from the first mode to the second mode when the value is less than the reduced value.
Control program.

(Appendix 9)
In Appendix 7 or 8,
The switching is switched from the second mode to the first mode when the remaining amount information does not fall below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Control program.

(Supplementary Note 10)
In any of Appendices 7 to 9,
The switching further includes receiving the communication information including the number of retransmissions of wireless communication from the device to the relay device in the second mode, and the second device having the remaining amount information smaller than the first device. The relay device is determined to be the relay device with the smaller number of retransmissions among the plurality of relay devices connected by the second device.
Control program.

(Supplementary Note 11)
In any of Appendices 7 to 10,
In the switching, in the first mode, the device transmits radio wave intensity of wireless communication with one or more relay devices, and / or the number of retransmissions of wireless communication from the device to the relay device. Receiving the acquired information and the remaining amount information via the relay device selected based on the information;
Control program.

(Supplementary Note 12)
In Appendix 9,
The switching is performed in the second mode if the remaining amount information falls below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Control program.

(Supplementary Note 13)
A first mode in which the processing unit receives the acquired information acquired by the device and the remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery of the device from the plurality of devices via the relay device selected by the device Run
When the processing unit determines that the remaining amount information of any device falls below a predetermined value, communication information indicating a communication state with the one or more relay devices from the plurality of devices from the first mode is used. Further, the relay device of the plurality of devices is determined based on the remaining amount information and the communication information, and the determined relay device is notified to the plurality of devices, and the acquired information and the remaining amount information Switch to the second mode of receiving via the determined relay device,
Control method of information processing apparatus.

(Supplementary Note 14)
In appendix 13,
In the switching, the remaining amount information of any device falls below a threshold indicating the predetermined value, or the remaining amount information of any device is a predetermined value from the average of the remaining amount information of the plurality of devices. Switching from the first mode to the second mode when the value is less than the reduced value.
Control method of information processing apparatus.

(Supplementary Note 15)
In Appendix 13 or 14,
The switching is switched from the second mode to the first mode when the remaining amount information does not fall below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Control method of information processing apparatus.

(Supplementary Note 16)
In any of appendices 13 to 15,
The switching further includes receiving the communication information including the number of retransmissions of wireless communication from the device to the relay device in the second mode, and the second device having the remaining amount information smaller than the first device. The relay device is determined to be the relay device with the smaller number of retransmissions among the plurality of relay devices connected by the second device.
Control method of information processing apparatus.

(Supplementary Note 17)
In any one of appendices 13 to 16,
In the switching, in the first mode, the device transmits radio wave intensity of wireless communication with one or more relay devices, and / or the number of retransmissions of wireless communication from the device to the relay device. Receiving the acquired information and the remaining amount information via the relay device selected based on the information;
Control method of information processing apparatus.

(Appendix 18)
In appendix 15,
The switching is performed in the second mode if the remaining amount information falls below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Control method of information processing apparatus.

(Appendix 19)
A plurality of devices for transmitting the acquired information and the remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery;
A plurality of relay devices that relay the plurality of devices received the acquired information and the remaining amount information and transmit the relayed information to the information processing device;
The information processing apparatus includes the information processing apparatus that receives the acquired information and the remaining amount information.
A storage unit that stores the received acquisition information and the remaining amount information;
The plurality of devices are received from the first mode in which the acquired information and the remaining amount information are received via the relay device selected by the device when the remaining amount information of any device falls below a predetermined value. The relay device of the plurality of devices is determined based on the remaining amount information and the communication information, and the relay device determined And a processing unit for switching to the second mode for notifying the plurality of devices and receiving the acquired information and the remaining amount information via the determined relay device.
Information processing system.

(Supplementary Note 20)
In appendix 19,
The processing unit of the information processing apparatus switches from the second mode to the first mode when the remaining amount information does not fall below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Information processing system.

100: information processing system, 10: center server, 101: CPU, 102: memory, 103: auxiliary storage device, 104: communication interface unit, 105: input device, 106: output device, 108: antenna, 20 (20-1 To 20-8): gateway, 30 (30a to 30h): device, 301: CPU, 302: memory, 303: sensor, 304: communication interface unit, 305: battery, 307: antenna

Claims (7)

A processing unit that receives, from a plurality of devices, acquired information acquired by the device and remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery of the device via a relay device;
A storage unit that stores the received acquisition information and the remaining amount information;
The processing unit is configured to receive, from the first mode, the acquisition information and the remaining amount information via the relay device selected by the device, when the remaining amount information of any of the devices falls below a predetermined value. Further receiving from the plurality of devices communication information indicating a communication state with the one or more relay devices, and determining the relay devices of the plurality of devices based on the remaining amount information and the communication information; the determined the relay apparatus notifies the plurality of devices, and the acquisition information and the remaining amount information, received via the determined the relay device, you switch to the second mode,
Switching from the second mode to the first mode when the remaining amount information does not fall below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Information processing device. In claim 1,
The processing unit is configured such that the remaining amount information of any device falls below a threshold indicating the predetermined value, or the remaining amount information of any device is determined from an average of remaining amount information of the plurality of devices. Switching from the first mode to the second mode when the value falls below the predetermined value obtained by subtracting the degree of
Information processing device. Oite to claim 1,
The processing unit further receives, in the second mode, the communication information including the number of retransmissions of wireless communication from the device to the relay device, and the second device having the remaining amount information smaller than that of the first device. The relay device is determined to be the relay device with the smaller number of retransmissions among the plurality of relay devices connected by the second device.
Information processing device.   A processing unit that receives, from a plurality of devices, acquired information acquired by the device and remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery of the device via a relay device;
  A storage unit that stores the received acquisition information and the remaining amount information;
  The processing unit is configured to receive, from the first mode, the acquisition information and the remaining amount information via the relay device selected by the device, when the remaining amount information of any of the devices falls below a predetermined value. Further receiving from the plurality of devices communication information indicating a communication state with the one or more relay devices, and determining the relay devices of the plurality of devices based on the remaining amount information and the communication information; Switching to a second mode in which the determined relay device is notified to the plurality of devices, and the acquired information and the remaining amount information are received via the determined relay device;
  In the second mode, the relay apparatus of the second device further receiving the communication information including the number of retransmissions of wireless communication from the device to the relay apparatus, and the remaining amount information is smaller than the first device. Determining the relay device with the smaller number of retransmissions among the plurality of relay devices connected by the second device;
  Information processing device. A first mode is executed in which the acquired information acquired by the device and the remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery of the device are received from a plurality of devices via a relay apparatus selected by the device.
When the remaining amount information of any device falls below a predetermined value, communication information indicating the communication state with one or more relay devices from the plurality of devices is further received from the first mode; The relay device of the plurality of devices is determined based on the remaining amount information and the communication information, the determined relay device is notified to the plurality of devices, and the acquired information and the remaining amount information are determined. receiving via said relay device, you switch to the second mode,
Switching from the second mode to the first mode when the remaining amount information does not fall below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Control program that causes a computer to execute processing. A first mode in which the processing unit receives the acquired information acquired by the device and the remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery of the device from the plurality of devices via the relay device selected by the device Run
When the processing unit determines that the remaining amount information of any device falls below a predetermined value, communication information indicating a communication state with the one or more relay devices from the plurality of devices from the first mode is used. Further, the relay device of the plurality of devices is determined based on the remaining amount information and the communication information, and the determined relay device is notified to the plurality of devices, and the acquired information and the remaining amount information the decision said received via a relay apparatus, you switch to the second mode,
Switching from the second mode to the first mode when the remaining amount information does not fall below the predetermined value after switching to the second mode.
Control method of information processing apparatus. A plurality of devices for transmitting the acquired information and the remaining amount information indicating the remaining amount of the battery;
A plurality of relay devices that relay the plurality of devices received the acquired information and the remaining amount information and transmit the relayed information to the information processing device;
The information processing apparatus includes the information processing apparatus that receives the acquired information and the remaining amount information.
A storage unit that stores the received acquisition information and the remaining amount information;
The plurality of devices are received from the first mode in which the acquired information and the remaining amount information are received via the relay device selected by the device when the remaining amount information of any device falls below a predetermined value. The relay device of the plurality of devices is determined based on the remaining amount information and the communication information, and the relay device determined the notified to the plurality of devices, and the acquisition information and the remaining amount information, received via the determined the relay device, you switch to the second mode, after switching to the second mode, A processing unit configured to switch from the second mode to the first mode when the remaining amount information does not fall below the predetermined value ;
Information processing system.

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