Telecommunications – Carrier wave repeater or relay system – Portable or mobile repeater
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-09
2002-12-31
Urban, Edward F. (Department: 2685)
Telecommunications
Carrier wave repeater or relay system
Portable or mobile repeater
C455S414200, C455S507000, C455S575100, C455S013100, C700S236000, C705S022000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06501940
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information collection system which utilizes a portable mobile communication system such as the PHS (personal handy phone system) to collect data of vending machines or like apparatus to an information collection center.
2. Description of the Related Art
An information collection system which utilizes a portable mobile communication system such as the PHS conventionally has such a construction as shown in FIG.
3
. Referring to
FIG. 3
, the information collection system shown includes a vending apparatus
112
and a coin handling apparatus
113
. The vending apparatus
112
and the coin handling apparatus
113
are connected through an interface
111
to and controlled by a central processing unit (CPU)
110
which executes required controlling operation in accordance with a program. A ROM
114
in which an operation program is stored, a RAM
115
and an information communication apparatus
116
are connected to the CPU
110
over; a bus line
117
. The RAM
115
has a storage section for storing transmission data such as sales data, sellout information, failure information and abnormality information. The CPU
110
tabulates, for each selling, an amount of sales of the vending machine and stores the tabulated amount of sales into the storage section of the RAM
115
or stores, if it detects a sellout, a failure or a like event, such information into the storage section.
FIG.
4
. shows a construction of a conventional PHS terminal equipment attached to the vending machine. Referring to
FIG. 4
, the PHS terminal equipment
101
shown includes a control section
102
having a memory, a radio section
103
, a vending machine interface
104
, a voice codec
105
, and a voice band modem
106
. The vending machine interface
104
is connected for communication with the information communication apparatus
116
of the vending machine and receives transmission data such as sales data, sellout information, failure information and abnormality information from the vending machine. If transmission data is received from the vending machine through the vending machine interface
104
, then the control section
102
controls the voice band modem
106
to convert the data into voice data, and a modem signal of the voice data is converted by the voice codec
105
into a signal which can be transmitted by the PHS. Then, the resulting signal is transmitted as radio data from the radio section
103
.
FIG. 5
shows a conventional information collection apparatus which makes use of a combination of PHS transmission and a telephone circuit. Referring to
FIG. 5
, a PHS terminal equipment
101
communicates with a PHS base station
107
, which in turn communicates data with a center
120
over a telephone circuit. In this instance, a center call origination method wherein the center originates a call to collect sales data or a terminal call origination method wherein failure or sellout information or abnormality information is transmitted on the real time basis from a vending machine
109
can be selectively employed. According to the center call origination method, sales data or failure information is collected at a fixed time at night so that the number of commodities to be delivered to each vending machine the next day or a countermeasure against a failed machine can be determined. According to the terminal call origination method, since transmission can be effected at a point of time when failure or abnormality occurs, an immediate countermeasure can be taken and the time within which sales is disabled can be reduced.
FIG. 6
shows a conventional information collection apparatus which does not make use of a telephone circuit. Referring to
FIG. 6
, a PHS terminal equipment
101
communicates with a portable PHS terminal equipment
121
. The portable PHS terminal equipment
121
includes a control section
102
, a radio section
103
, a voice codec
105
and a voice band modem
106
similarly to the PHS terminal equipment
101
and can effect transmission or reception in a communication area of the PHS terminal equipment
101
. Accordingly, a manager of such vending machines can collect data from all of such vending machines
109
which are located in the communication area even if the manager does not approach the vending machines. In particular, if a signal is received by the radio section
103
, then the PHS terminal equipment
101
stores the signal data into the memory of the control section
102
.
In a certain example of use of the portable PHS terminal equipment
121
, while the manager remains on a commodity delivery car
122
, it can collect data, take out a necessary quantity of commodities based on the collected data from the commodity delivery car
122
and carry the commodities to the vending machine
109
. In this instance, the portable PHS terminal equipment
121
preferably has a function of processing data of information stored in the memory of the control section
102
and displaying or printing a result of the data processing on a display unit or by means of a printer.
In this manner, with the conventional information collection system, data can be collected from vending machines even if a telephone circuit is not directly connected to the vending machines. However, since direct outside radio communication is employed between the vending machines and the information collection center, the vending machines must be installed within an area within which such outside radio communication is possible. Therefore, the conventional information collection system has a problem in that the locations at which vending machines configured for information collection may be installed are limited.
Further, with the conventional information collection system, where a vending machine of an object of information collection is installed outside an area in which outside radio communication is possible, such that information cannot be communicated between the vending machine and the information collection center, collection of information from the vending machine is impossible unless an investigator intentionally visits an outside radio communication area adjacent the vending machine to collect information. This signifies that information collection cannot be performed automatically, and consequently, the conventional information collection system has a problem in that it requires a high running cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information collection system that is inexpensive and highly reliable.
In order to attain the object described above, according to the present invention, each information source that is an object of information collection by the information collection system (e.g. a vending machine) is provided with an extension/outside radio communication section and an extension/outside communication switching section. The extension/outside radio communication section is capable of transmitting information by extension radio communication and by outside radio communication using a portable mobile communication system such as PHS. The extension/outside communication switching section is for switching communication by the extension/outside radio communication section between extension radio communication and outside radio communication, so that extension radio communication of the portable mobile communication system and outside radio communication can be used efficiently.
More particularly, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information collection system that utilizes a portable mobile communication system to collect information, comprising a base station connected to an information collection center over a telephone circuit, a parent machine for principally effecting outside radio communication with the base station, and a plurality of child machines for principally effecting extension radio communication with the parent machine. Each of the parent machine and the child machines act as an information source. An ext
Urban Edward F.
Zewdu Meless
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