Information collecting system

• US 6,308,111 B1
• Filed: 12/04/1998
• Issued: 10/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Personal Computers, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Koga, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi H.
• Application Number:
  US09/205,237
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 700/231, 700/236, 700/241, 700/244, 340/825.06, 340/825.02, 340/825.35, 455/406, 455/407, 455/408, 455/449
• US Class Current: 700/236
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

An information collecting system includes a central management computer for collecting and managing information and information collection target machines from which information is to be collected and has a PHS terminal apparatus. Some of the target machines are master units to which outside line telephone numbers and extension telephone numbers are assigned. Each master unit can perform outside line radio communication with the PHS base station and extension radio communication with other target machines belonging to the master unit. The remaining target machines are subsidiary units to which extension telephone numbers are assigned. Each subsidiary unit can perform extension radio communication with only a specific master unit. Pieces of information stored in subsidiary units belonging to the specific master unit are sequentially stored in a subsidiary unit on an upper layer by extension radio communication, together with pieces of identification information identifying the subsidiary units from which the pieces of information are sent. The pieces of information are finally stored in the specific master unit and collected by the central management computer through a PHS base station and a telephone line by outside line radio communication.

Claims

1. An information collecting system comprising:

a central management computer for collecting and managing information through a personal handyphone system PHS base station and a telephone line; and

a plurality of information collection target machines serving as target machines from which information is collected by said central management computer and has a PHS terminal apparatus,

wherein some of said plurality of target machines are master units to which outside line telephone numbers and extension telephone numbers are assigned, and each of said master units can perform outside line radio communication with said PHS base station and extension radio communication with other target machines belonging to said master unit,

said remaining target machines are subsidiary units to which extension telephone numbers are respectively assigned, and each of said subsidiary units can perform extension radio communication with only a specific master unit, and

pieces of information stored in subsidiary units belonging to said specific master unit are sequentially stored from said subsidiary units on a lower layer to a subsidiary unit on an upper layer by extension radio communication, together with pieces of identification information identifying said subsidiary units from which the pieces of information are sent, the pieces of information being finally stored in said specific master unit and collected by said central management computer through said PHS base station and the telephone line by outside line radio communication.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said target machine is a vending machine.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the pieces of identification information identifying said subsidiary units from which the pieces of information are sent are extension telephone numbers assigned to said respective subsidiary units.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein each of said target machines comprises a control section for controlling operation of said target machine, a transmission information storage section for storing information to be transmitted to said central management computer, an identification information storage section for storing the identification information, a host unit extension telephone number storage section for storing an extension telephone number of a host unit as said target machine to which information is to be transmitted, an automatic extension communication time data storage section for storing time data based on which the information is to be transmitted to said host unit, a timer for managing time, and an extension/outside line switching data storage section for storing information for switching a radio communication method used by said PHS terminal apparatus to an extension mode or outside line mode,

in said subsidiary unit, the extension/outside line switching data in said extension/outside line switching data storage section is set in the extension mode in advance, and control is performed by said control section to periodically transmit the information stored in said transmission information storage section and the identification information to said host unit in accordance with the extension telephone number stored in said host unit extension telephone number storage section on the basis of said timer and the automatic extension communication time data stored in said automatic extension communication time data storage section, and

in said master unit, the extension/outside line switching data in said extension/outside line switching data storage section is set in the extension mode in advance, and the extension/outside line switching data in said extension/outside line switching data storage section is switched to the outside line mode by said control section when said control section determines, on the basis of pieces of transmitted identification information, that all pieces of information to be transmitted to said master unit have been transmitted, thereby transmitting all pieces of information including information about said master unit to said central management computer through said PHS base station and the telephone line.

5. A system according to claim 2, wherein the pieces of information transmitted to said central management computer are pieces of sales information including sales amount data, stock state information about goods, failure information, and remaining change information.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein a range in which said central management computer can collect information can be expanded by installing subsidiary units such that extension communication areas of said subsidiary units are linked to each other.