JP4725264B2 - Home power line communication management system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a home power line communication management system that manages that an appropriate power line communication modem is used in a home network.

  In the conventional power line communication management system, it is possible to guarantee the bandwidth and the security and provide security by providing the user with a power line communication modem having the performance and functions assumed in advance by the service provider.

Moreover, in the security system in the conventional power line, there exists a method of managing the household appliances with which the wireless chip was mounted | worn with a management server (refer patent document 1).
JP 2004-056435 A

  In the conventional power line communication management system, when a user uses an arbitrary power line communication modem, the provider side cannot manage it, and even if a communication failure caused by the power line communication modem occurs on the user side, accurate processing is performed. could not. Therefore, it is necessary for the provider to know whether or not the power line communication modem provided or specified by the provider is being used at an appropriate location and determine whether or not the provider can manage the power line communication modem.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a home power line communication management system that satisfies such a demand.

Home power line communication management system according to the present invention is added one by one to each of a plurality of power line communication modem connected to the home power line communication network, and the RFID tag you store identification information of the power line communication modems, the R A plurality of tag readers that read the identification information stored in each of the FID tags, and a notification unit that notifies the management device of the residential power line communication network of the identification information read by the tag reader, When any of the power line communication modems is not authenticated, at least one of reducing the quality of video data and reducing the data communication speed is executed for the in-home power line communication network.

  According to the present invention, the service provider can know whether or not an appropriate power line communication modem is used in the home power line communication network, and can prevent occurrence of a failure in advance.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

  An optical termination unit (ONU) 10 for an optical access line is arranged in the user's home, and a home gateway 12 is connected to the ONU 10. The home gateway 12 is a so-called router. The home gateway 12 includes a communication circuit 14, a control circuit 16, a memory 18, and an RFID tag reader 20.

  A set-top box 22 for receiving a broadcast service via the network is also arranged in the user's home. The set top box 22 includes a communication circuit 24, a control circuit 26, a memory 28, an RFID tag reader 30 and a video processing circuit 32. The video processing circuit 32 converts the video data transmitted via the communication line into a format suitable for the video display device 34 and supplies the video data to the video display device 34.

  In the present embodiment, video data and the like are transmitted from the home gateway 12 to the set top box 22 via the power line communication (PLC) modems 36 and 38. In addition, various control signals and status signals are transmitted and received between the home gateway 12 and the set top box 22 via the power line communication modems 36 and 38.

  In the present embodiment, RFID tags 40 and 42 for storing identification information such as manufacturer and model number are attached to the PLC modems 36 and 38, respectively. The RFID tag reader 20 of the home gateway 12 reads the identification information of the RFID tag 40 attached to the PLC modem 36 connected to the home gateway 12 via a LAN cable, and supplies the read identification information to the control circuit 16. The control circuit 16 stores the identification information in the memory 18.

  Similarly, the RFID tag reader 30 of the set-top box 22 reads the identification information of the RIFD tag 42 attached to the PLC modem 38 connected to the set-top box 22 via a LAN cable, and uses the read identification information as a control circuit. 26. The control circuit 26 stores the identification information in the memory 28.

The ONU 10 is connected to the optical terminal device (OLT) 46 of the center station via the optical access line 44. The transmission of the downstream signal from the OLT 46 to the ONU 10 uses light of wavelength λ1, and the reverse transmission of the upstream signal from the ONU 10 to the OLT 46 uses light of wavelength λ2 different from the wavelength λ1. The OLT 46 is connected to the management device 48 of the service provider company via a communication network (not shown). Service provider (service provider), using an optical access line 44 can provide both broadcasting service and Internet access service to users.

  In this embodiment, the RFID tag reader 20 of the home gateway 12 reads the identification information of the RFID tag 40 attached to the PLC modem 36 connected to the LAN terminal of the home gateway 12 and supplies it to the control circuit 16. Of course, the RFID tag 40 may be embedded in the PLC modem 36 as long as it can be read by the RFID tag reader 20. The control circuit 16 stores the identification information of the RFID tag 40 from the RFID tag reader 20 in the memory 18. Then, unless the PLC modem 36 is removed from the home gateway 12, the control circuit 16 sets the identification information of the RFID tag 40 periodically or according to a predetermined operation (for example, service request, channel change, etc.) 14 to the management device 48.

  Similarly, the RFID tag reader 30 of the set top box 22 reads the identification information of the RFID tag 42 attached to the PLC modem 38 connected to the LAN terminal of the set top box 22 and supplies it to the control circuit 26. Of course, the RFID tag 42 may be embedded in the PLC modem 38 as long as it can be read by the RFID tag reader 30. The control circuit 26 stores the identification information of the RFID tag 42 from the RFID tag reader 30 in the memory 28. Then, unless the PLC modem 38 is removed from the set top box 22, the control circuit 26 communicates the identification information of the RFID tag 42 periodically or according to a predetermined operation (for example, service request, channel change, etc.). The data is transmitted to the management device 48 using the circuit 24.

  The home gateway 12 may aggregate the identification information of the RFID tags added to the PLC modem used in the subordinate apparatus and transmit the identification information collectively to the management apparatus 48.

  When the RFID tag is not added to the connected PLC modem, the home gateway 12 and the set top box 22 notify the management device 48 to that effect.

  With the above operation, the management device 48 can know that the PLC modem that has been confirmed by the company or the PLC modem that has been authenticated by the company is being used in the power line communication home network provided by the company. The service provider can recognize in advance the demarcation point of responsibility when a failure occurs.

  If an unauthenticated PLC modem is used, the service provider lowers the image quality of the video provided to this user (increases the compression rate), decreases the communication service communication speed, and informs the user if necessary. To be notified. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a failure in a situation where the provider cannot manage.

  FIG. 1 shows an example in which the PLC modems 36 and 38 are connected on a one-to-one basis. Of course, the same applies when a plurality of PLC modems including the modem 38 are connected to the PLC modem 36 via a power line. That is clear.

  Although the invention has been described with reference to specific illustrative embodiments, various modifications and alterations may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. This is obvious to an engineer in the field to which the present invention belongs, and such changes and modifications are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

10: Optical termination unit (ONU)
12: Home gateway 14: Communication circuit 16: Control circuit 18: Memory 20: RFID tag reader 22: Set top box 24: Communication circuit 26: Control circuit 28: Memory 30: RFID tag reader 32: Video processing circuit 34: Video display device 36 , 38: Power line communication (PLC) modem 40, 42: RFID tag 44: Optical access line 46: Optical terminator (OLT)
48: Management device

Claims (2)

One for each of the plurality of power line communication modem connected to the home power line communication network is added, and the RFID tag you store identification information of the power line communication modems,
A plurality of tag readers that read the identification information stored in each of the R FID tags;
Notification means for notifying the identification information read by the tag reader to the management device of the home power line communication network,
The management device executes at least one of a reduction in video data quality and a reduction in data communication speed for the in-home power line communication network when any of the power line communication modems is not authenticated. In-house power line communication management system.   The in-home power line communication management system according to claim 1, wherein the notifying unit notifies the management apparatus of use of a power line communication modem that does not have an RFID tag.

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