JP2001178025A - Method of on/off controlling apparatus and on/off control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inexpensively provide a scalable on/off control method, in a system for controlling the starting and stopping of plural apparatuses in batch. SOLUTION: Plural apparatus blocks 10, consisting of a master apparatus 11, slave apparatuses 12a, 12b connected to the master apparatus 11, a signal converter 13 for on/off-controlling the master apparatus 11 based on an inputted on/off control command, and a signal wire 14 connecting the master apparatus 11 and the slave apparatuses 12a, 12b so that the on/off control of the slave apparatuses 12a, 12b work with the on/off control of the master apparatus 11; and a command apparatus 20 for transmitting an on/off control command, are incorporated in a system via a network 50. The on/off control command is transmitted from the command apparatus 20 to the master apparatus 11 via the network 20 and the signal converter 13, so that attain on/off control is conducted by apparatus block.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an on / off control method and system for controlling on / off of a plurality of devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A plurality of devices are turned on / off (start /
As a method of controlling (stop), control by a contact signal (hereinafter referred to as contact control) is known as a simple method. This contact control method performs on / off control of a slave device connected downstream of the master device in conjunction with on / off control of a master device located on the upstream side, that is, when the master device is turned on. The slave device is automatically turned on, and when the master device is turned off, the slave device is automatically turned off.

[0003]

However, the above-described contact control method has a limitation of poor expandability, such as difficulty in adding new wiring, limitation of wiring distance, and fixed wiring form. Therefore, it is difficult to collectively control devices at distant places for on / off control.

As a method of solving this problem, a method of connecting each device to a network and performing on / off control can be considered. According to the method using the network, the devices can be freely connected to the network, so that it is possible to realize the scalable on / off control without causing the above-described problems when the contact control method is used.

[0005] However, the above-described method using a network requires a device (control unit) for on / off control corresponding to the network connection for each device connected to the network. Occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an on / off method of a device capable of realizing a highly expandable on / off control method at low cost, and an on / off control system for implementing the method. The purpose is to do so.

[0007]

The present invention provides a local system (block system) using a conventional contact control method,
A system (network system) that connects each block to a network and controls each block using the network
It is characterized by performing control combining the two.

That is, the first device on / off control method according to the present invention is an on / off control method for controlling on / off of a plurality of devices, wherein a master device and a slave device are linked to each other in synchronization with on / off control of the master device. A plurality of device blocks formed by connecting both devices so that device on / off control is performed, each device block is connected to a network, and an on / off control command for on / off control of a master device of any block is issued. It is characterized in that on / off control is performed for each device block by transmitting it to the master device via a network from a system different from each device block.

A second device on / off control method according to the present invention is an on / off control method similar to the first method, wherein a master device and a slave device are linked to a slave device in conjunction with on / off control of the master device. Forming a plurality of device blocks connected to perform on / off control of devices, connecting each device block to a network, and controlling on / off of a master device of another device block from one of the device blocks. By transmitting an on / off control command to the master device via a network, on / off control of other device blocks is performed on a device block basis.

[0010] A first on / off control system according to the present invention is a system for implementing the first on / off control method,
That is, an on / off control system for controlling on / off of a plurality of devices, wherein a master device, a slave device,
Control means for controlling on / off of the master device based on the input on / off control command, and contact control connection for connecting the master device and the slave device so that on / off control of the slave device is performed in conjunction with on / off control of the master device A plurality of device blocks comprising means, command means for issuing an on / off control command, and network connection means for connecting the command means and the control means of each device block to a network.

A second on / off control system according to the present invention is a system for implementing the second on / off control method, that is, an on / off control system for controlling on / off of a plurality of devices, wherein a master device and a slave device are provided. And control means for controlling on / off of the master device based on the input on / off control command, and a contact for connecting the master device and the slave device such that on / off control of the slave device is performed in conjunction with on / off control of the master device. A plurality of device blocks comprising control connection means;
It is characterized by comprising command means for issuing an on / off control command provided in the equipment block, and network connection means for connecting the command means and the control means of each equipment block to a network. The command means in the second on / off control system may be provided in each of a plurality of device blocks, or any one of the device blocks may be used as a master block, the other device blocks may be used as slave blocks, and provided only in the master block. Is also good. In the former case, on / off control of other device blocks can be performed from any device block, and in the latter case, on / off control of other slave blocks can be performed only by the master block.

In the first and second on / off control systems according to the present invention, it is preferable that at least one of the plurality of device blocks includes a medical device.

[0013] In the above description, "device is turned on / off"
This means that control for starting (turning on) or stopping (turning off) the main function of the device is performed. The on / off control is performed not only by connecting (turning on) and shutting off (turning off) the power input to the device (by a so-called hardware switch), but also by starting (turning on) the main function of the device.・ To stop (off)
The on / off control may be performed in a device (a so-called software switch).
The “main function of the device” is a function that is the main purpose of the device, for example, a function of reading an image in the case of an image reading device, a function of displaying an image in the case of an image display device, and data. If it is a storage device, it has a function of storing data.

[0014]

According to the device on / off control method and system of the present invention, device blocks using the contact control method are connected to a network, and an on / off control command for controlling on / off of the master device is transmitted via the network. By transmitting the information to the master device and performing on / off control in units of device blocks, the cost can be reduced as compared with a case where a device for on / off control is provided for each device. Therefore, the scalable on / off control can be realized without using the above-described problems when the contact control method is used.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an on / off control system for implementing an on / off control method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the system according to the first embodiment, an on / off control command for controlling on / off of a master device of a block is transmitted from a system different from each device block to the master device via a network, so that the device block unit is used. To perform on / off control.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system comprises a master device 11 and a slave device section 12 having slave devices 12a and 12b connected to the master device 11.
A signal converter 13 as control means for controlling the power of the master device 11 on and off based on the input on / off control command, and the power supply of the slave devices 12a and 12b in conjunction with the on / off control of the power of the master device 11. A plurality of device blocks (hereinafter simply referred to as blocks) 10 each including a master device 11 and a signal line 14 forming contact control connecting means for connecting each of the slave devices 12a and 12b so that on / off control is performed (FIG. 1). In 1, blocks A to C).

As described above, the master device 11 and each of the slave devices 12a and 12b are controlled to turn on and off the power by contact control via the signal line 14, and the master device located on the upstream side is controlled. In conjunction with the power on / off control of the power supply of the master device 11, the power supply of the slave devices 12a and 12b connected to the downstream side of the master device 11 is controlled on / off. The devices 12a and 12b are also automatically turned on in conjunction therewith, and conversely, the master device 11
When the power of the slave devices 12a, 1
The master device 11 and both slave devices 12a and 12b are provided with contact control units (not shown) constituting contact control connection means, respectively, so that the contact control unit 2b is automatically turned off in conjunction with the contact control unit. These are connected via a signal line 14.

As the signal converter 13, any signal converter may be used as long as it can control the power of the master device 11 on and off based on the input on / off control command. An apparatus can be used.

Further, in this system, each block 1
A command device 20 for issuing an on / off control command for turning on / off the power of the master device 11 of 0, an image workstation 30, and a filing device 40 are provided.

Each block 10, the command device 20, the image workstation 30, and the filing device 40
Network connection is provided by a network 50.
In addition, each block 10 and the network 50 are network-connected via the signal converter 13. The image workstation 30 and the filing device 40 are devices compatible with network connection, and each have an interface device (not shown) for network connection inside.

Next, an on / off control method in the on / off control system according to the first embodiment will be described. In the following description, the present system will be described as a medical network system used in a hospital, in which at least one of the blocks 10 includes a medical device (a device used for medical purposes such as medical diagnosis and treatment). The description will be made as applied. In particular,
In this example, the master device 11 of the block 10 is used.
Is an image information reading device, the slave device 12a is an ID terminal, and the slave device 12a is a printer. The image information reading device and the slave device ID terminal are medical devices. As the image information reading device, a CR (Computed Radiography) device, a CT (Computed Tomography) device, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Image) device, or the like can be used. The printer is not limited to a medical printer, but may be a general-purpose printer.

First, a block 10 in which photographing is to be performed
Included in the image information reading device (master device 11),
Each power supply of the ID terminal (slave device 12a) and the printer (slave device 12b) is turned on. In the power-on control, an on / off control command for turning on the power of the image information reading device to be photographed is issued from the command device 20 to the signal converter 13 of the block 10 to which the image information reading device belongs. Accordingly, the on / off control command is converted into a signal for turning on the power of the image information reading device in the signal converter 13, and the power of the image information reading device is first turned on. This is performed by turning on the power of the ID terminal and the printer. That is, each block 1
Every time the power of the image information reading device is turned on,
Each power supply of the ID terminal and the printer is turned on. By turning on the power of the image information reading device without waiting for the on / off control command from the command device 20, each power of the ID terminal and the printer can be turned on.

After turning on the power of each device in the block 10, the image information reading device reads the image information of the subject in accordance with the photographing menu registered by the ID terminal, and if necessary, converts the read image information into a printer. To output a visible image. The image data carrying the read image information is temporarily stored in the filing device 40 via the network 50.

In the image workstation 30,
Image data necessary for diagnosis is read out from the filing device 40 via the network, and diagnosis is performed.

In this way, the power of each device included in the block 10 to be photographed is turned on, and after performing necessary photographing, the power of each device is turned off. This power-off control is performed by issuing an on-off control command for turning off the power of the image information reading device from the command device 20 to the signal converter 13 of the block 10 to which the image information reading device belongs. At 13, the on / off control command is converted into a signal for turning off the power of the image information reading device, and the power of the image information reading device is first turned off. In conjunction with this, the ID terminal connected to the image information reading device and This is performed by turning off each power supply of the printer. By turning off the power of the image information reading device without waiting for the on / off control command from the command device 20,
The power supply of the ID terminal of the block to which the image information reading apparatus belongs and the power supply of the printer can also be turned off.

As described above, the on / off control of the power supply of each device included in the block 10 is controlled by the on / off control command from the command device 20 via the network 50 or a direct method for each block 10. This can be done by turning on and off the power of the device.

On the other hand, when the power supply of each device included in the plurality of blocks 10 is controlled collectively, a certain block 1
From 0, the power of the devices included in the other blocks 10 cannot be turned on / off. In this case, an on / off control command for turning on and off the power of the image information reading device belonging to the necessary block 10 requiring control is sent from the command device 20 to the signal converter 13 of the block 10 to which the image information reading device belongs. It turns on and off by turning on and off each power supply of the ID terminal and the printer connected to the image information reading device so that the power control method by contact control is performed in conjunction with turning on and off the power of the image information reading device. Perform control. Thus, each block 10
The on / off control in units is performed by issuing an on / off control command from the command device 20 to the signal converter 13 connected to the image information reading device requiring control by using the network 50, and the devices belonging to each block 10. In the on / off control of the device, by performing on / off control by contact control, the power supply of the devices over a plurality of blocks can be controlled collectively.

This eliminates the necessity of providing a device for on / off control for each device, so that there is no problem in that it costs much to configure a system for performing on / off control of a plurality of devices collectively. Also,
Since it uses a network, it is basically scalable, and it can be used for on-off control of devices at remote locations and devices that cannot handle the method of contact control. it can.

In the above description, one signal converter 13 is provided for each block 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in the second embodiment shown in FIG. One signal converter 13 may be configured to control the power of each master device 11 belonging to the plurality of blocks 10 on and off.

In the above description, the command device 20 is provided separately from each block 10, and an on / off control command for on / off control of the master device of each block is issued from a system different from each device block. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to such a configuration. A command device 20 is provided in a block, and on / off control of the master device 11 in the block is performed by the command device 2.
0 may be detected, and the on / off control of another block 10 may be performed in conjunction with the detected on / off control. For example, a command device 20 is provided for each block 10 so that any one block 10
Of the on / off control of
As in the third embodiment, one of the blocks is a master block (block A in the example in the figure), the other blocks (same blocks B and C) are slave blocks, and only the master block has a command device. 20 can be provided so that on / off control of other slave blocks is performed only by the master block. When the on / off control of the other blocks 10 is performed, the block to be controlled may be designated each time, or all the other blocks (including the slave blocks) may be collectively controlled (all the blocks are controlled). (Equivalent to performing on-off control substantially simultaneously). When the command device 20 is provided in the block, as shown in FIG.
In other words, the system functions as a control unit according to the present invention for controlling the master device 11 to be turned on and off and a command unit according to the present invention for issuing an on / off control command.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an on / off control system for implementing an on / off control method according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an on / off control system that implements an on / off control method according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an on / off control system that implements an on / off control method according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Device block 11 Master device 12 Slave device part 12a Slave device 12b Slave device 13 Signal converter (control means) 14 Signal line 20 Command device 30 Image workstation 40 Filing device 50 Network

Claims (5)

[Claims] An on / off control method of a device for controlling on / off of a plurality of devices, wherein a master device and a slave device are connected so that on / off control of the slave device is performed in conjunction with on / off control of the master device. A plurality of device blocks are formed, and each of the device blocks is connected to a network, and an on / off control command for controlling on / off of the master device of any device block is transmitted to the master device via the network. The on / off control method for a device, wherein the on / off control is performed on a device block basis. 2. An on / off control method for a device for controlling on / off of a plurality of devices, wherein a master device and a slave device are connected so that the on / off control of the slave device is performed in conjunction with the on / off control of the master device. A plurality of device blocks are formed, each of the device blocks is connected to a network, and an on / off control command for controlling on / off of the master device of another device block from one of the device blocks Is transmitted to the master device via the network to perform the on / off control of other device blocks in device block units. 3. An on / off control system for controlling on / off of a plurality of devices, comprising: a master device; a slave device; control means for controlling on / off of the master device based on an input on / off control command; A plurality of device blocks including contact control connecting means for connecting the master device and the slave device so that on / off control of the slave device is performed in conjunction with on / off control of the slave device; and command means for issuing the on / off control command An on-off control system, comprising: a network connection unit that connects the command unit and the control unit of each device block to a network. 4. An on / off control system for controlling on / off of a plurality of devices, comprising: a master device; a slave device; control means for controlling on / off of the master device based on an input on / off control command; A plurality of device blocks including contact control connection means for connecting the master device and the slave device so that the on / off control of the slave device is performed in conjunction with the on / off control of the device; and An on / off control system comprising: command means for issuing the on / off control command; and network connection means for connecting the command means and the control means of each of the device blocks to a network. 5. The on / off control system according to claim 3, wherein at least one device block of the plurality of device blocks includes a medical device.