JP2008236563A - Power conversion apparatus, mobile terminal, and power line communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform power line communication using a mobile terminal with simple configuration, and to enable a user to select whether the communication can be connected continuously, a connection time zone, a location, and the like, by allowing the user to grasp the quality of communication. <P>SOLUTION: A power conversion apparatus 100 comprises a power transforming section 130, which transforms power received from a commercial power source into power available for an external device 110 and supplies the transformed power to the external device; a modem 132, which modulates and demodulates a communication signal, superimposed on the commercial power source and a communication signal used for the external device; an apparatus-side quality measuring section 134 for measuring the communication quality value, representing the quality of the communication signal; an apparatus-side display section 136 for displaying the communication quality value; and an apparatus-side communication section 138 for establishing communication with the external device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power conversion device, a mobile terminal, and a power line communication method for establishing communication with a power line communication network via a power conversion device connected to a commercial power source.

  In recent years, power line communication (PLC: Power Line Communication) using a power line used for power supply as a communication circuit has been put into practical use. Such power line communication is a technology that can use a commercial power supply already installed in a home or office or a distribution line at a later stage as a communication path as it is, and can easily be used without establishing a new communication path. It is possible to connect to other communication networks.

  On the other hand, mobile terminals such as mobile phones and PHS (Personal Handy phone System) are not limited to the original phone function with other terminals, but include information such as sending and receiving e-mails and obtaining data from communication networks. It has come to play a role as a terminal.

  For the input / output of such information, a wireless communication function provided in the portable terminal can be used. However, such wireless communication may make it difficult to transfer data at high speed depending on the communication environment such as radio wave intensity. In some cases, wireless communication itself becomes impossible. Therefore, when a user desires reliable and inexpensive data communication, the user can also select wired communication.

  However, since mere wired communication requires electrical contact with the communication medium, the connection points where communication can be performed are limited to, for example, the place where the communication modem is installed, and movement to the communication point is very much. It was inconvenient. Therefore, using the power line communication shown at the beginning, the user can use any of a plurality of commercial power sources provided in each room of the house as a connection point with the communication network, and indoors like wireless communication. It is possible to easily communicate at any place.

In addition, a technique is known in which a function capable of performing power line communication is added to the above-described mobile terminal so that the mobile terminal can perform data communication via the power line communication network (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-169004 A

  Since the power line is not originally intended for communication, a large number of loads are connected in addition to the target mobile terminal, and voltage fluctuations and noise occur depending on the usage status. Therefore, the quality of data communication may deteriorate due to such harmful effects as noise. Such communication quality varies depending on the time zone and position connected to the power line, and depending on the communication situation, a sufficient speed of data communication cannot be obtained or data communication cannot be performed.

  Therefore, the user will desire a communication connection in a time zone or position where the communication quality is stable, but there is no way to know the communication quality. Therefore, even if an actual communication connection is made, the user cannot grasp the quality of the communication quality, and when performing large-capacity data communication, the user should continue the communication or change the time zone or position. I couldn't determine if I should try again.

  Moreover, even if the communication quality can be grasped, it is only a sensuous thing from the elapsed time of data transmission in an actual communication connection. As long as the user can know the communication quality at the time zone and the location before starting communication, it is possible to avoid unnecessary processing that communication was started but communication speed was insufficient or communication was not possible. It should be possible.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of conventional power line communication, and an object of the present invention is to enable power line communication by a portable terminal with a simple configuration and to allow a user to grasp communication quality. The present invention is to provide a new and improved power conversion device, portable terminal, and power line communication method capable of selecting whether or not to continue communication connection and selecting a connection time zone and position.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, power received from a commercial power source is transformed into power that can be used by an external device, and is supplied to the external device, and is superimposed on the commercial power source. A modem that modulates and demodulates communication signals used by external devices and communication signals used by external devices, a device-side quality measurement unit that measures a communication quality value that represents the quality of the communication signal, and a device-side display that displays the communication quality value And a device side communication unit that establishes communication with an external device.

  Also, the power received from the commercial power source is transformed into power that can be used by the external device, and the power transformation unit that supplies the external device, the communication signal superimposed on the commercial power source, and the communication signal used by the external device. A modem that modulates and demodulates, a device-side quality measuring unit that measures a communication quality value that represents the quality of a communication signal, a device-side communication unit that establishes communication with an external device and transmits a communication quality value to the external device; A power conversion device is also provided.

  With this configuration, it is possible to acquire a power source and perform power line communication necessary for the external device simply by connecting the external device to the power conversion device. Further, the external device can charge the secondary battery built in the external device by the power from the power conversion device.

  In addition, the user can confirm and grasp the communication quality of the power line communication during communication on the display unit of the external device or the device side display unit of the power converter, so that the communication should be continued as it is, or the time zone or It is possible to determine whether or not to try communication again by changing the position to avoid communication quality deterioration.

  Furthermore, since the power conversion device is fixedly used together with a commercial power supply, a mobile terminal that can be moved can be located by connecting to the power conversion device, and can be accessed from outside by power line communication. It becomes possible to accept it in a fixed manner. In addition, since the portable terminal and the power conversion device are connected by wire, stable transmission of communication signals is possible during that time, and stable and reliable data communication is possible even when continuously transferring large amounts of data. it can.

  When the communication with the external device is disconnected, it further includes a device-side virtual communication unit that establishes virtual communication with a virtual communication signal, and the device-side quality measurement unit measures the communication quality value by the device-side virtual communication unit Also good.

  With this configuration, the user can visually recognize the communication quality of the power line communication in advance on the display unit of the external device or the device-side display unit of the power conversion device. Therefore, the communication quality is determined in advance without starting the actual communication connection. Can be grasped and confirmed, and wasteful processing in which communication is started but the communication speed is not sufficient or communication is impossible can be avoided.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a power receiving unit that receives power transformed by a power conversion device while connected to the power conversion device, and a modem of the power conversion device are provided. There is provided a portable terminal comprising: a terminal side communication unit that establishes communication with a power line communication network via a terminal; and a terminal side display unit that displays a communication quality value received from the power conversion device.

  In addition, while connected to the power converter, a power receiving unit that receives the power transformed by the power converter, a terminal-side communication unit that establishes communication with the power line communication network via the modem of the power converter, There is also provided a portable terminal comprising: a terminal-side quality measuring unit that measures a communication quality value that represents the quality of a communication signal with the power line communication network; and a terminal-side display unit that displays the communication quality value. .

  With the configuration in which a portable terminal as such an external device is connected to the power conversion device, it is possible to execute acquisition of a power source and power line communication necessary for the portable terminal. In addition, the user can confirm and grasp the communication quality of the power line communication during communication on its own display unit. Therefore, the communication should be continued as it is, or the communication quality deteriorates by changing the time zone or position. It is possible to determine whether to avoid the communication and try again.

  Furthermore, by connecting the portable terminal to a power conversion device that is connected to a commercial power source and used in a fixed manner, it is possible to identify the position of the mobile terminal itself with respect to the power line communication network, and to fix external access via power line communication. Can be accepted. In addition, since the portable terminal and the power conversion device are connected by wire, stable transmission of communication signals is possible during that time, and stable and reliable data communication is possible even when continuously transferring large amounts of data. it can.

  The terminal-side communication unit further includes a terminal-side virtual communication unit that establishes virtual communication with a virtual communication signal before establishing communication, and the terminal-side quality measurement unit measures a communication quality value by the terminal-side virtual communication unit. Also good.

  With this configuration, the user can visually recognize the communication quality of the power line communication in advance on his / her terminal side display unit, and thus can grasp and confirm the communication quality in advance without starting actual communication connection. Thus, it is possible to avoid useless processing in which communication is started but the communication speed is not sufficient or communication is not possible.

  The terminal side display unit may represent the communication quality value using a level display indicating the radio wave intensity.

  In particular, a portable terminal having a wireless communication function may use a level display indicating the radio wave intensity in advance. In the present invention, by displaying the communication quality value using such level display, it is possible to allow the user to confirm the communication quality value without providing a separate new display unit. Further, since the level display is permeated among users as a graphic indicating the radio wave intensity, even if a communication quality value similar to the radio wave intensity is displayed, the level display can be accepted by the user without a sense of incongruity.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a power transformation step for transforming power from a commercial power source into power usable by an external device, a communication signal superimposed on the commercial power source, and an external device A modulation / demodulation step for modulating and demodulating the communication signal used in the communication, a communication quality measurement step for measuring a communication quality value indicating the quality of the communication signal, and a display step for displaying the communication quality value, A power line communication method is provided.

  The above-described components based on the technical idea of the power conversion device and the portable terminal and the description thereof can be applied to the power line communication method.

  As described above, according to the present invention, power line communication by a portable terminal is possible with a simple configuration, and by allowing the user to grasp the communication quality, whether or not the communication connection can be continued and the connection time zone and position can be selected. It becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

  Power line communication (PLC) is also called power line communication, and is a technology that uses power wiring to a home or office as a communication line for full-duplex communication having a bus network configuration. In power line communication, orthogonal frequency multiplexing (OFDM) using fast Fourier transform and wavelet transform, spread spectrum (SS) that can reduce speed reduction due to noise, discrete multiple A modulation method such as frequency (DMT method) is employed.

  Since the power line is not originally intended for communication, a large number of loads are connected in addition to the target mobile terminal, and voltage fluctuations and noise occur depending on the usage status. Due to such harmful effects such as noise, the quality of data communication may deteriorate, and the communication quality varies depending on the time zone and position connected to the power line.

  In the present embodiment, a portable terminal as an external device is connected to the power conversion device, enables power line communication by the portable terminal, and further allows the user to grasp the communication quality at that time, whether communication connection can be continued, communication connection The purpose is to allow start, whether or not to select a connection time zone and position. Here, although a portable terminal is mentioned as an external device for easy understanding, the external device is not limited to having portability, and can be configured by various electronic devices.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining the power conversion device 100 and the mobile terminal 110. The mobile terminal 110 includes various portable electronic devices such as a notebook personal computer and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) in addition to the above-described mobile phone and PHS.

  Moreover, the power converter device 100 is formed so that the portable terminal 110 can be fitted, and after the portable terminal 110 is fitted, the power converter device 100 is locked to the power converter device 100 by the latch mechanism 102. In addition, the power conversion device 100 is connected to a commercial power source and charges the mobile terminal 110 with power from the commercial power source. Such charging is started by fitting the portable terminal 110 to the power conversion apparatus 100 and press-contacting the power receiving terminal 112 of the portable terminal 110 and the power supply terminal 104 of the power conversion apparatus 100, and is performed in the fitted state. . In this way, the power conversion device 100 can serve as a so-called cradle.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining a configuration when the mobile terminal 110 is fitted to the power conversion device 100. Here, the portable terminal 110 is locked to the power conversion device 100 in a folded state. The mobile terminal 110 receives power from the power conversion apparatus 100, and the received power is used as operating power for other functions such as wireless communication of the mobile terminal 110, or power stored in a secondary battery in the mobile terminal 110. Is done.

  In addition, the mobile terminal 110 can establish a communication line with the power line communication network by connecting to the power conversion device 100, and can accept external access to the memory of the mobile terminal 110. Data in the portable terminal 110 can be read out from other terminals having the same.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating schematic functions of the power conversion device 100 and the mobile terminal 110. The power conversion apparatus 100 includes a power conversion unit 130, a modem 132, a device-side quality measurement unit 134, a device-side display unit 136, a device-side communication unit 138, and a device-side virtual communication unit 140. The mobile terminal 110 includes a terminal-side control unit 150, a memory 152, a terminal-side display unit 154, an operation unit 156, a power receiving unit 158, a secondary battery 160, a terminal-side communication unit 162, a wireless And a communication unit 164.

  The power conversion unit 130 of the power conversion apparatus 100 receives power supplied through a power wiring from a commercial power supply 170 disposed in a home or office, for example, AC 100 V, and the received power is received by the mobile terminal 110. Transform into available power.

  The modem (MODEM) 132 demodulates the communication signal superimposed on the power (power waveform) from the commercial power supply 170 together with the carrier wave into a communication signal used by the mobile terminal 110, and conversely, is used by the mobile terminal 110. The communication signal is modulated and transmitted to the power line communication network.

  The apparatus-side quality measuring unit 134 measures a communication quality value indicating the quality of the communication signal. The communication quality to be measured includes, for example, RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) for displaying signal strength, minimum data transfer rate CIR (Committed Information Rate) guaranteed for each fixed connection partner by frame relay, It can be determined from CINR (Carrier to Interference and Noise Ratio) indicating interference and noise power ratio, signal power value, signal power value by HPF (High Pass Filter) or BPF (Band Pass Filter), communication speed, and the like.

  The device-side display unit 136 includes a color or single color display, and displays at least the communication quality value derived by the device-side quality measurement unit 134. As a display example of the communication quality value by the device side display unit 136, a level display or a communication enable display (ENable) as shown in FIG. Since the level display is permeated among users as a graphic indicating the radio wave intensity, even if a communication quality value similar to the radio wave intensity is displayed, the level display can be accepted by the user without a sense of incongruity.

  The device-side communication unit 138 establishes communication with the mobile terminal 110 and transmits / receives data to / from the mobile terminal 110.

  When the communication with the mobile terminal 110 is disconnected, the device-side virtual communication unit 140 establishes virtual communication with a virtual communication signal that is different from the communication signal of the mobile terminal 110. Since such virtual communication is intended to measure communication quality, it is not necessary to perform continuous communication connection, and it may be periodically connected only for a short time.

  With this configuration, the user can visually recognize the communication quality of the power line communication in advance on the terminal-side display unit 154 of the portable terminal 110 or the device-side display unit 136 of the power conversion device 100, so that an actual communication connection is started. Even if it is not, it becomes possible to grasp and confirm the communication quality in advance, and it is possible to avoid a useless process in which communication is started but the communication speed is not sufficient or communication is impossible.

  The terminal-side control unit 150 of the portable terminal 110 manages and controls the entire portable terminal 110 using a semiconductor integrated circuit including a central processing unit (CPU). The terminal-side control unit 150 performs a call function and a mail delivery function using the mobile terminal 110 using the program in the memory 152.

The memory 152 includes a ROM, a RAM, an E ² PROM, a nonvolatile RAM, a flash memory, an HDD, and the like, and stores a program processed by the terminal-side control unit 150.

  The terminal-side display unit 154 is configured by a color or single color display, and is stored in the memory 152 or provided from an application server (not shown) via a communication network. User Interface) can be displayed.

  The operation unit 156 includes switches such as a keyboard, a cross key, and a joystick, and accepts a user operation input.

  The power receiving unit 158 receives power from the power conversion device 100, converts the power into a voltage suitable for each circuit of the mobile terminal 110, and distributes the power. In addition, while the power converter 100 is fitted, power is also supplied to the secondary battery 160.

  The secondary battery 160 accumulates a part of the power received by the power receiving unit 158 and distributes power to each circuit of the mobile terminal 110 instead of the power receiving unit 158 after being detached from the power conversion device 100. .

  The terminal side communication unit 162 establishes communication with the power line communication network via the device side communication unit 138 of the power conversion device 100 and the modem 132.

  The wireless communication unit 164 performs wireless communication with the base station 120 in the mobile phone network. As such wireless communication, there is a time division multiplexing method in which a plurality of time slots obtained by time division of frames in the base station 120 are assigned to channels of the mobile terminal 110 to perform communication.

  In addition, a program that functions as the above-described power conversion device 100 and a storage medium that stores the program are also provided.

(Power line communication method)
Then, the power line communication method which connects the portable terminal 110 mentioned above to the power converter device 100, and performs power line communication is demonstrated.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the power line communication method. First, when the portable terminal 110 is fitted to the power conversion apparatus 100 and the power receiving terminal 112 of the portable terminal 110 and the power supply terminal 104 of the power conversion apparatus 100 are in pressure contact (S180), the power of the commercial power source can be used by the portable terminal 110. (S182: power transformation step).

  Aside from such a power system, the modem 132 of the power conversion device 100 demodulates the communication signal superimposed on the commercial power supply, modulates the communication signal of the mobile terminal 110, and the device-side communication unit 138 110 is established (S184: modulation / demodulation step). At that time, the device-side quality measuring unit 134 of the power conversion device 100 measures the communication quality value demodulated by the modem 132 (S186: communication quality measuring step), and displays the communication quality value on its own device-side display unit 136. (S188: display step).

  In addition, while the mobile terminal 110 is not fitted, the device-side virtual communication unit 140 performs virtual communication with the power line communication network on behalf of the mobile terminal 110 (S190), and the device-side quality measurement unit 134 of the power conversion device 100 Then, the communication quality value by virtual communication of the device side virtual communication unit 140 is measured (S186), and the communication quality value is displayed on its own device side display unit 136 (S188).

  As described above, with the configuration of each device and method as described above, it is possible to acquire the necessary power source and perform power line communication with the mobile terminal 110 only by connecting the mobile terminal 110 to the power conversion device 100. In addition, the mobile terminal 110 can charge the secondary battery 160 built in the mobile terminal 110 with the power from the power conversion device 100.

  In addition, the user can confirm and grasp the communication quality of the power line communication during communication on the terminal side display unit 154 of the portable terminal 110 or the device side display unit 136 of the power conversion device 100, so that the communication should be continued as it is. It is possible to determine whether or not to try communication again by changing the time zone or position to avoid deterioration of communication quality.

  Further, since the power conversion device 100 is fixedly used together with a commercial power source, the mobile terminal 110 that can be moved can be identified by being connected to the power conversion device 100, and can be identified from the outside through power line communication. Can be fixedly received, for example, by a fixed IP address. In addition, since the mobile terminal 110 and the power conversion device 100 are connected by wire, stable transmission of communication signals is possible during that time, and stable and reliable data can be obtained even when a large amount of data is continuously transmitted. Can communicate.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the communication quality value is displayed on the device side display unit 136 of the power conversion device 100. However, the communication quality value is obtained using the terminal side display unit 154 provided in advance on the mobile terminal 110. It can also be displayed. In the second embodiment, display of communication quality by the terminal side display unit 154 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating schematic functions of the power conversion device 200 and the mobile terminal 210. The power conversion device 200 includes a power conversion unit 130, a modem 132, a device-side quality measurement unit 134, a device-side communication unit 138, and a device-side virtual communication unit 140. The terminal-side control unit 150, the memory 152, the terminal-side display unit 154, the operation unit 156, the power receiving unit 158, the secondary battery 160, and the terminal-side communication unit 162 are configured. As compared with the first embodiment, it can be seen that the device-side display unit 136 is not included as a component.

  The power transformation unit 130, the modem 132, the device-side quality measurement unit 134, the device-side virtual communication unit 140, the terminal-side control unit 150, the memory 152, and the operation already described as the constituent elements in the first embodiment Unit 156, power supply / reception unit 158, secondary battery 160, and terminal-side communication unit 162 are substantially the same in function, and therefore redundant description is omitted. Here, device-side communication unit 138 having a different configuration and The terminal-side display unit 154 will be mainly described.

  The device-side communication unit 138 of the power conversion device 200 transmits not only the communication with the portable terminal 210 but also the communication quality value measured by the device-side quality measuring unit 134 to the portable terminal 210.

  The terminal-side display unit 154 of the portable terminal 210 displays the communication quality value from the power conversion device 200 at any location in the display area, and notifies the user of the current communication quality. When the portable terminal 210 is accessing the power line communication network, that is, when the portable terminal 210 is not performing wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 164, the communication quality value is expressed using the level display used for wireless communication. Also good.

  FIG. 6 is a front view of the mobile terminal 210 for explaining level display in the terminal-side display unit 154 of the mobile terminal 210. The portable terminal 210 uses a level display 220 that indicates the radio wave intensity in wireless communication in advance. Here, by displaying the communication quality value using the level display 220, the user can confirm the communication quality value without providing a new display unit. Further, as described above, the level display 220 is permeated among users as a graphic indicating the radio wave intensity, so even if a communication quality value similar to the radio wave intensity is displayed, the level display 220 can be accepted by the user without a sense of incongruity.

  With this configuration, the user can confirm and grasp the communication quality of the power line communication during the communication with the terminal side display unit 154 of his / her mobile terminal 210. Thus, it is possible to quickly determine whether or not to attempt communication again by avoiding deterioration of communication quality.

(Third embodiment)
In the second embodiment, the configuration in which the communication quality value is displayed using the terminal-side display unit 154 provided in advance in the mobile terminal 110 has been described. It is possible to do it. In the third embodiment, measurement of communication quality by the terminal-side display unit 154 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating schematic functions of the power conversion device 300 and the mobile terminal 310. The power conversion device 300 includes a power conversion unit 130, a modem 132, and a device-side communication unit 138. The mobile terminal 310 includes a terminal-side control unit 150, a memory 152, and a terminal-side display unit 154. An operation unit 156, a power receiving unit 158, a secondary battery 160, a terminal side communication unit 162, a terminal side quality measurement unit 320, and a terminal side virtual communication unit 322. Here, a terminal-side quality measurement unit 320 of the mobile terminal 310 is provided instead of the device-side quality measurement unit 134 of the power conversion device 300, and further, the constituent elements of the terminal-side virtual communication unit 322 are added.

  The power transformer 130, the modem 132, the device-side communication unit 138, the terminal-side control unit 150, the memory 152, the terminal-side display unit 154, and the operation unit 156 that have already been described as the constituent elements in the first embodiment. Since the power receiving unit 158, the secondary battery 160, and the terminal side communication unit 162 have substantially the same functions, duplicate description is omitted. Here, the terminal side quality measuring unit 320 having a different configuration, The terminal-side virtual communication unit 322 will be mainly described.

  The terminal-side quality measurement unit 320 of the portable terminal 310 measures the communication quality value of the communication signal with the power line communication network made by the terminal-side communication unit 162. And the terminal side display part 154 displays this communication quality value, and alert | reports the present communication quality to a user.

  The terminal-side virtual communication unit 322 establishes virtual communication using a virtual communication signal before the terminal-side communication unit establishes communication. Then, the terminal-side quality measurement unit 320 measures the communication quality value by the terminal-side virtual communication unit 322. With this configuration, even when the mobile terminal 310 is accessing the power line communication network, that is, when the mobile terminal 310 is not performing wireless communication, the current communication quality can be notified to the user. The communication quality value may be displayed using a level display used for wireless communication.

  With this configuration, as in the first and second embodiments, the user can confirm and grasp the communication quality of power line communication during communication with the terminal-side display unit 154 of his / her mobile terminal 310, so the communication should be continued as it is. Or change the time zone or position to avoid deterioration of communication quality and quickly determine whether communication should be attempted again.

(Fourth embodiment)
In the first to third embodiments, the cradle capable of charging the mobile terminal is illustrated as the power conversion device. However, the configuration of the power conversion device is not limited to this, and the commercial power supply 170 and the mobile terminal are connected. Various configurations such as the relay device 400 for relaying and the AC adapter 410 having a power plug and directly inserted into the commercial power source 170 can be employed.

  FIG. 8 is an image diagram of the relay device 400 described above, and FIG. 9 is an image diagram of the AC adapter 410. Both the relay device 400 and the AC adapter 410 are connected to the external connector 420 of the mobile terminal 110, and the connection is made by a flexible wire 430. Therefore, power can be supplied from the relay device 400 or the AC adapter 410 and power line communication can be performed with the portable terminal 110 held by hand as shown in FIGS.

  In the power converters and portable terminals shown in the first to fourth embodiments as described above, the user can easily grasp the communication quality value of power line communication, and communication is performed based on the communication quality value. Whether or not to maintain can be determined. In addition, the user can select a better connection destination with reference to the communication quality values of the power conversion devices in a plurality of commercial power sources.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to the example which concerns. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

  The present invention can be used for a power conversion device, a portable terminal, and a power line communication method for establishing communication with a power line communication network via a power conversion device connected to a commercial power source.

It is a perspective view for demonstrating a power converter device and a portable terminal. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the structure at the time of fitting a portable terminal to a power converter device. It is the functional block diagram which showed the schematic function of the power converter device and the portable terminal. It is the flowchart figure which showed the flow of the power line communication method. It is the functional block diagram which showed the schematic function of the power converter device and the portable terminal. It is a front view of the portable terminal for demonstrating the level display in the terminal side display part of a portable terminal. It is the functional block diagram which showed the schematic function of the power converter device and the portable terminal. It is an image figure of a relay apparatus. It is an image figure of an AC adapter.

Explanation of symbols

100, 200, 300 Power conversion device 110, 210, 310 Mobile terminal 130 Power conversion unit 132 Modem 134 Device side quality measurement unit 136 Device side display unit 138 Device side communication unit 140 Device side virtual communication unit 154 Terminal side display unit 158 Power supply Power receiving unit 170 Commercial power source 320 Terminal side quality measuring unit 322 Device side virtual communication unit

Claims (8)

A power transformer that transforms power received from a commercial power source into power that can be used by an external device, and supplies the power to the external device;
A modem that modulates and demodulates a communication signal superimposed on the commercial power source and a communication signal used in the external device;
A device-side quality measuring unit that measures a communication quality value representing the quality of the communication signal;
A device-side display for displaying the communication quality value;
A device-side communication unit that establishes communication with the external device;
A power conversion device comprising: A power transformer that transforms power received from a commercial power source into power that can be used by an external device, and supplies the power to the external device;
A modem that modulates and demodulates a communication signal superimposed on the commercial power source and a communication signal used in the external device;
A device-side quality measuring unit that measures a communication quality value representing the quality of the communication signal;
Establishing communication with the external device and transmitting the communication quality value to the external device;
A power conversion device comprising: When communication with the external device is disconnected, further comprising a device-side virtual communication unit that establishes virtual communication by a virtual communication signal,
The power conversion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the device-side quality measurement unit measures a communication quality value by the device-side virtual communication unit. A power receiving unit that receives power transformed by the power conversion device while connected to the power conversion device;
A terminal side communication unit that establishes communication with a power line communication network via a modem of the power conversion device;
A terminal-side display unit that displays a communication quality value received from the power conversion device;
A portable terminal comprising: A power receiving unit that receives power transformed by the power conversion device while connected to the power conversion device;
A terminal side communication unit that establishes communication with a power line communication network via a modem of the power conversion device;
A terminal-side quality measuring unit that measures a communication quality value representing the quality of a communication signal with the power line communication network;
A terminal side display unit for displaying the communication quality value;
A portable terminal comprising: Before the terminal side communication unit establishes communication, further comprising a terminal side virtual communication unit that establishes virtual communication by a virtual communication signal,
The mobile terminal according to claim 5, wherein the terminal-side quality measurement unit measures a communication quality value by the terminal-side virtual communication unit.   The portable terminal according to claim 4, wherein the terminal-side display unit represents the communication quality value using a level display indicating radio wave intensity. A power transformation step for transforming the power of the commercial power source into power that can be used by an external device;
A modulation / demodulation step for modulating and demodulating a communication signal superimposed on the commercial power source and a communication signal used in the external device;
A communication quality measurement step of measuring a communication quality value indicating the quality of the communication signal;
A display step for displaying the communication quality value;
A power line communication method comprising:

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