JP2003087347A - Power-saving type information receptacle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power-saving type information receptacle for controlling power within a range of securing communication so as to reduce the power consumption in a home and for reducing generated heat attended with the power consumption so as to enhance the reliability and the serving life. SOLUTION: Communication detection circuits 14-1, 14-2 detect presence of received data C1, C2 of each transceiver of a transmission reception 12 on the basis of the received data C1, C2. A received light detection circuit 15 detects the presence of a received light from a POF (Plastic Optical Fiber) connected to an optical communication section 11. A power control signal generating circuit 16 generates power supply control signals S1, S2 based on communication detection signals D1, D2 from the communication detection circuits 14-1, 14-2 and a received light detection section E1 from the received light detection circuit 15 and applies ON/OFF control to switch elements 17, 18 by the power supply control signals S1, S2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a data transmission / reception function and constitutes a part of a home network system. When an electronic device such as a computer or a printer is connected to a port, the electronic device transmits / receives data. The present invention relates to an information outlet capable of performing power saving, and particularly to a power saving type information outlet capable of realizing power saving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, in a home network system, for example, an information outlet based on Ethernet (registered trademark) specifications is known with a plastic optical fiber (hereinafter referred to as POF) as a backbone. When constructing a home network system using this information outlet, as shown in FIG. 10, an ISDN / router 1 connected to a telephone line,
The ISDN / router 1 is composed of an information distribution board 2 connected to a subsequent stage and including a hub, and a plurality of information outlets 3a to 3c installed on the wall of each room. Between the hub of the information distribution board 2 and the information outlets 3a, 3b,
Information outlet 3b connected by POF 4a, 4b
And the information outlet 3c are connected by a POF 4c. The POFs 4a to 4c are arranged between the walls.

In the home network system having such a configuration, the information outlets 3a to 3c are POFs.
Data can be exchanged by optical pulse signals using 4a to 4c as transmission media. Therefore, when an electronic device such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) 5 is connected to the room side ports of the information outlets 3a to 3c, the electronic devices are connected to each other.
Data can be exchanged via 3c. In addition,
The information outlet 3b has a repeat function of transferring the received data to another information outlet 3c or the like.

[0004]

The information outlet installed in each room has a function of amplifying and transmitting / receiving data, and an active circuit (active element) such as an IC or a transistor is provided to realize this function. Since the power consumption is included, there is power consumption according to the circuit scale during use, and this power consumption is considerably large at 1 watt or more.

However, since the conventional information outlet has a circuit configuration in which electric power is constantly consumed, it causes an increase in the amount of electric power consumed in the home, and at the same time, the heat generated by the electric power consumption lowers reliability and life. There was an inconvenience of causing.
On the other hand, it has been found that information outlets are multi-ported, and one of the ports is not always in a communication state at all times, but is in a non-communication state (standby / stop state) for a long time in many cases.

Therefore, in view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to control the power supplied to a circuit in which heat generation is a problem within a range where communication can be secured, and thereby power consumption at home is reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide a power-saving information outlet that reduces the amount of heat and reduces the heat generation due to the power consumption to dramatically improve reliability and life.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object of the present invention, the inventions described in claims 1 to 4 are configured as follows. That is, claim 1
The invention described in (1) is an information outlet equipped with a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting / receiving data to / from the outside, wherein the detecting means detects whether or not the transmitting / receiving means is in use, and the detection result of the detecting means. Control means for controlling power supply to the transmitting / receiving means, and the transmitting / receiving means is configured according to the IEEE 1394 standard.

Here, the transmitting / receiving means means either one or both of the optical communication section 11 and the transmitting / receiving section 12 in the example of FIG. In the invention according to claim 1 having such a configuration, the power supply to the transmitting / receiving means can be stopped when the transmitting / receiving means is not used. Therefore, power consumption in the home can be reduced within a range where communication can be secured, and heat generation due to power consumption can be reduced to dramatically improve reliability and life.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a second transmitting / receiving device for transmitting / receiving data to / from a predetermined information outlet, and a second transmitting / receiving device to / from a predetermined electronic device.
An information outlet capable of transmitting and receiving data between the first transmitting / receiving means and the second transmitting / receiving means, the transmitting / receiving means of Detecting means for detecting whether or not one or both of them are in a communication state, and supplying power to at least one of the first and second transmitting / receiving means according to the detection result of the detecting means. Control means for controlling, further, the first and second transmitting and receiving means,
It is characterized in that it is configured according to the IEEE 1394 standard.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the power-saving information outlet according to the second aspect, the first transmitting / receiving means transmits / receives data to / from the predetermined information outlet by using a plastic optical fiber. It is characterized by transmitting and receiving. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the power-saving information outlet according to the second or third aspect, the detection unit is the presence / absence of communication of the first transmission / reception unit and the communication of the second transmission / reception unit. And a power supply control signal generation circuit that generates a power supply control signal based on each detection signal of the detection circuit.
A switch element for controlling on / off of connection between the first transmitting / receiving unit and the second transmitting / receiving unit and a power source according to the power control signal.

Here, the first transmitting / receiving means and the second transmitting / receiving means correspond to the optical communication section 11 and the transmitting / receiving section 12 in the example of FIG. Claim 2 which consists of such a structure
According to each of the inventions from claim 4, when either or both of the first transmitting / receiving means and the second transmitting / receiving means are not in the communication state, the first transmitting / receiving means and the second transmitting / receiving means The power supply to at least one of them can be stopped. Therefore, power consumption in the home can be reduced within a range where communication can be secured, and heat generation due to power consumption can be reduced to dramatically improve reliability and life.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a first embodiment of a power saving type information outlet of the present invention. The power-saving information outlet according to the first embodiment is configured according to, for example, the IEEE 1394 standard (specification), and as shown in FIG. 1, an optical communication unit (optical transceiver) 11, a transmission / reception unit 12, and two A transformer unit 13 including a transformer and communication detection circuits 14-1 and 14-2
A received light detection circuit 15 and a power supply control signal generation circuit 16
And switch elements 17 and 18, and a power supply 19.

In addition, this power-saving type information outlet is constantly supplied with power from the power supply 19 to the communication detection circuits 14-1 and 14-2, the received light detection circuit 15, and the power supply control signal generation circuit 16 during use. The switch elements 17 and 18 are supplied to the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 to control the opening / closing of the switch elements 17 and 18 by the power supply control signals S1 and S2 generated by the power supply control signal generation circuit 16 as described below, Supply is controlled.

The optical communication unit 11 performs optical communication with another power-saving type information outlet (not shown) or a hub (not shown) and exchanges data with the transmission / reception unit 12. Therefore, the optical communication unit 11 receives and transmits the optical pulse signal A1 propagating through the POF (not shown) at the optical port and converts the optical pulse signal A1 into the electric signal B1 (not shown). An electro-optical conversion element (not shown) for converting the electric signal B1 from the section 12 into the optical pulse signal A1.
In addition to the above, data can be exchanged with the transmission / reception unit 12.

The transmission / reception unit 12 exchanges data with the optical communication unit 11, and the input / output port 21 on the indoor side.
Data is transmitted and received to and from electronic devices (peripheral devices) such as personal computers connected to -1 to 21-2. Therefore, the transmission / reception unit 12 has two transceivers (not shown) including a driver and a receiver, and these two transceivers input / output via the two transformers (not shown) of the transformer unit 13. Ports 21-1, 21-
It is connected to 2.

A part of the reception data C1 and C2 of each transceiver of the transmission / reception unit 12 is part of the communication detection circuits 14-1 and 14-.
It is designed to supply to 2. Communication detection circuit 14-
1 and 14-2 are reception data C1 and C2 based on the reception data C1 and C2 of each transceiver of the transmission / reception unit 12.
Is a circuit that detects the presence or absence of the signal and outputs the detection signals D1 and D2 to the power supply control signal generation circuit 16.

The received light detection circuit 15 detects the presence or absence of received light from a POF (not shown) connected to the optical communication section 11, and outputs this received light detection signal E1 as a power supply control signal generation circuit 1.
It is a circuit for outputting to 6. Power control signal generation circuit 16
Is the communication detection signal D of the communication detection circuits 14-1 and 14-2.
1, D 2 and the received light detection signal E1 of the received light detection circuit 15 to generate power supply control signals S1 and S2, which will be described later, and open / close control of the switch elements 17 and 18 by the power supply control signals S1 and S2. It is a circuit to do.

The power supply control signal generating circuit 16 is composed of, for example, a logic circuit satisfying the truth table as shown in FIG. 4, the details of which will be described later. Switch element 1
Reference numerals 7 and 18 denote a power source 19, an optical communication unit 11, and a transmission / reception unit 1.
2 are connected in the middle of power supply lines 22 and 23 respectively connecting the two and the power supply control signals S1 and S2, and turned on.
It is designed to be turned off. As a result, the power supplied from the power source 19 to the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 is controlled.

As the switch elements 17 and 18, for example, electronic switches such as transistors are used. Next, specific configurations of the communication detection circuits 14-1 and 14-2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The received data C1 and C2 of the transceiver of the transmission / reception unit 12 input to the communication detection circuits 14-1 and 14-2 are IE in this example.
It conforms to the EE1394 standard and is known in advance from the operating state of peripheral equipment (electronic equipment) such as a personal computer connected to the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 of FIG.

That is, according to the IEEE 1394 standard,
The operating status of the peripheral devices are Disconnect, Disable,
There are Suspend, Active, etc., and in this example, it is determined whether or not the status is Active. Specifically, if the peripheral device is Active, signals from the peripheral device (TPA /
TPA *) common mode bias voltage (1.665-
2.015V is applied, and a signal (TP
B / TPB *), which is received data D1
Becomes On the other hand, if the peripheral device is not Active, its bias voltage is not transmitted to the transmission / reception unit 12, and the common mode voltage (normally, it is connected to the ground level with an appropriate resistor) remains. The two are distinguished by an appropriate threshold value (comparison reference value).

Therefore, the communication detection circuits 14-1, 14-2
Is to detect the presence / absence of communication of each transceiver of the transmission / reception unit 12 by utilizing the difference in signal level as described above. As shown in FIG. 2, the comparison reference voltage generation circuit 141,
And a comparison circuit 142. The comparison reference voltage generation circuit 141 is a circuit that generates a reference voltage used by the comparison circuit 142 for comparison. The comparison reference voltage generating circuit 141 is configured to generate the voltage V as shown in FIG.
DD is divided by resistors R11 and R12, and this divided voltage is used as a reference voltage Vref.

The resistors R11 and R12 are replaced with variable resistors, and the voltage at the center tap of the variable resistors is set to the reference voltage Vre.
It may be used as f. Comparison circuit 142
Is composed of, for example, an operational amplifier OP11 as shown in FIG. 3, and compares the level of the reception data C1 of the transceiver of the transmitter / receiver 12 with the reference voltage Vref generated by the comparison reference voltage generation circuit 141, and according to the comparison result. The communication detection signal D1 is output. Operational amplifier OP
Reference numeral 11 is configured so that the reception data C1 is input to the-input terminal and the reference voltage Vref is applied to the + input terminal.

Next, the power supply control signal generation circuit 1 shown in FIG.
The basic idea of No. 6 will be described below. First,
In the power-saving information outlet shown in FIG. 1, when both the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 are not used and communication is not performed, both the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 have their power sources. There is no problem with turning off. Therefore,
At this time, the power supply control signals S1 and S2 of the power supply control signal generation circuit 16 are set to obtain signals for stopping the power supply to the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12.

Next, when the optical communication unit 11 is not communicating, there is no problem even if the optical communication unit 11 is powered off. Therefore, at this time, the power supply control signal generation circuit 16
The power supply control signal S2 of 1 enables the signal for stopping the power supply to the optical communication unit 11 to be obtained. Further, at this time, when the peripheral devices communicate with each other using the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2, the power supply of the transmission / reception unit 12 must be turned on in order to secure the communication. There is.
Therefore, at this time, the power supply control signal S1 of the power supply control signal generation circuit 16 is set to obtain a signal capable of supplying power to the transmission / reception unit 12.

Further, when the optical communication unit 11 is not communicating and only one of the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 is used, the power supply of the transmission / reception unit 12 is set. There is no problem if is off. Therefore, at this time, the power supply control signal S of the power supply control signal generation circuit 16 is generated.
In 1 and S2, a signal for stopping the power supply to the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 is obtained.

Next, the first structure having the above-mentioned structure
An operation example of the power-saving information outlet according to the embodiment will be described. I / O ports 21-1 and 21-2
It is assumed that neither of them is communicating. In this case, from the communication detection circuits 14-1 and 14-2 and the received light detection circuit 15, detection signals corresponding thereto are detected and input to the power supply control signal generation circuit 16.

As a result, the power supply control signal generation circuit 16 generates power supply control signals S1 and S2 for turning off the power supplies of both the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12, and the power supply control signals S1 and S2 are used to generate the power supply control signals S1 and S2 shown in FIG. Switch elements 17 and 1 shown in
Since it is in the OFF state opposite to that shown in FIG. 8, the optical communication unit 1
The power supply from the power source 19 to the transmitter 1 and the transmitter / receiver 12 is stopped.

Next, it is assumed that the optical communication unit 11 is not communicating, but the peripheral devices are communicating with each other using the ports of the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2. In this case, the power supply control signal generation circuit 16 generates power supply control signals S1 and S2 that turn off the power of the optical communication unit 11 and turn on the power of the transmission / reception unit 12. As a result, by the power supply control signals S1 and S2, the switch element 17 is turned on and power is supplied from the power supply 19 to the transceiver 12, while the switch element 18 is turned off. Power is not supplied to the 12 from the power supply 19.

Further, it is assumed that the optical communication unit 11 is not communicating and only one of the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 is used. In this case, the power supply control signal S for stopping the power supply to the power supply control signal generation circuit 16, the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12.
1 and S2 are generated. As a result, the power supply from the power supply 19 to the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 is stopped.

Next, the power supply control signal generation circuit 1 shown in FIG.
Since 6 is a logic circuit, FIG.
And it demonstrates with reference to FIG. The basic idea of the design example of the power supply control signal generation circuit 16 composed of this logic circuit is the same as that described above, and when a truth table of this logic circuit is created based on the basic idea, as shown in FIG. Become.

In FIG. 4, communication detection signals D1 to D2
Is "1", the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2
Indicates that it is not in a communication state, and when it is "0", it is a signal indicating that it is in a communication state. The "x" mark means don't care. When the received light detection signal E1 is "1", it indicates that the optical communication unit 11 has detected that the optical communication unit 11 is not in a communication state with the outside, and is "0".
Sometimes it is a signal indicating that the optical communication unit 11 has detected that it is in communication with the outside.

Further, the power supply control signal S1 is a signal for turning off the power supply of the transmitting / receiving section 12 when it is "1" and turning it on when it is "0". In addition, the power control signal S
2 turns off the power of the optical communication unit 11 when the value is "1",
When it is "0", it is a signal for turning it on. next,
The truth table shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

First, in FIG. 4, the first stage (corresponding to the serial number "1" at the left end of FIG. 4, and so on) is as follows.
This is a case where both the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 are not used and the transmission / reception unit 12 does not communicate. In this case, the power supplies of both the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 are turned off. In the second and third stages, the optical communication unit 11 does not perform optical communication, one of the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 is used, and the transmitting / receiving unit 12 communicates external devices with each other. That is when you are preparing for. In this case, the power supplies of both the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 are turned off.

In the fourth and fifth stages, one of the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 of the transmission / reception unit 12 is used (selected) by a peripheral device, and this peripheral device passes through the optical communication unit 11. And then communicate with the outside. In this case, the power supplies of both the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 are turned on.
The sixth stage is a case where the optical communication unit 11 does not perform optical communication, but the peripheral devices communicate with each other using the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2. In this case, the power of the optical communication unit 11 is turned off and only the power of the transmission / reception unit 12 is turned on.

The seventh stage is a case where the optical communication unit 11 performs optical communication and the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 are used and the transmission / reception unit 12 is used. In this case,
The power supplies of both the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 are turned on. Next, the logical expression obtained from the truth table shown in FIG.
It becomes as shown in the following equations (1) and (2).

S1 = D1 × D2 + D1 × E1 + D2 × E1 (1) S2 = D1 × D2 + E1 (2) Here, in the equations (1) and (2), “×” represents a logical product operation. And “+” is a symbol indicating an OR operation, and so on. Therefore, the power supply control signal generation circuit 16 may embody a logic circuit that satisfies these logical expressions (1) and (2).

As described above, according to the power-saving type information outlet according to the first embodiment, the power supplied from the power supply 19 to the optical communication section 11 and the transmission / reception section 12 is kept within a range in which necessary communication can be secured. Each was controlled. For this reason, power consumption in the home can be reduced within a range in which necessary communication can be secured, and heat generation due to power consumption can be reduced to dramatically improve reliability and life.

In the first embodiment, the case where the power saving type information outlets are the information outlets 3a and 3c shown in FIG. 10 that do not have the repeat function has been described. However, instead of this, the power-saving information outlet 3 of FIG.
You may make it have a repeat function like b.
In this case, the optical communication unit 11 has a plurality of optical ports,
The optical pulse signal received at this optical port is transmitted / received by the transmitter / receiver 1
At 2, the signal is once converted into the electric signal B1 and the waveform is shaped, and then again converted into the optical pulse signal by the optical communication unit 11 and output to the outside. In this case, the optical communication unit 11 is in a state in which power is constantly supplied from the power supply 19.

Further, in the first embodiment, the case where there are two input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 connected to the transmission / reception unit 12 has been described. However, the input / output port may be expanded to two or more. In addition, such a first
The modified example of the embodiment can be applied to the cases of other embodiments described later.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the optical communication unit 11 shown in FIG. 1 is replaced with an optical communication unit 11A, and the received light detection circuit 15 shown in FIG. 1 is omitted. .

That is, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the optical communication unit 11 and the received light detection circuit 15 are independently configured so that power is not supplied independently from the power supply 19, and the optical communication unit 11A is used. Includes a received light detection circuit 15, and its optical communication unit 11
The received light detection signal E1 is output from A. Then, in the second embodiment, the received light detection signal E1 is input to the power supply control signal generation circuit 16A, and the power supply control signal generation circuit 16A receives the received light detection signal E1 and the communication detection circuits 14-1, 14-. 2, the communication detection signal D1,
The power supply control signals S1 and S2 are generated according to D2.

The configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except for the configuration described above, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted, and a configuration example of the power supply control signal generation circuit 16A will be described below. The power supply control signal generation circuit 16A is specifically configured to satisfy the truth table as shown in FIG.

According to this truth table, as in the first step,
When both the input / output ports 21-1 and 21-2 are not used and the transmission / reception unit 12 does not perform communication, both the optical communication unit 11 and the transmission / reception unit 12 are powered off. This point is similar to the case of the first embodiment (see FIG. 4).
However, if the power of the optical communication unit 11A is turned off in other cases, there is a disadvantage that the optical communication unit 11A cannot generate the received light detection signal E1. Therefore, in other cases, power control is performed. The signal S2 has a logical value that turns on the power supply of the optical communication unit 11A.

Therefore, when the truth table of FIG. 6 and the truth table of FIG. 4 are compared, the second, third, and sixth portions are different, and the other portions are the same. Next, the third aspect of the present invention
Embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the received light detection circuit 15 shown in FIG. 1 is replaced with an optical communication detection circuit 31, and the detection signal F1 of the optical communication detection circuit 31 is replaced with a power supply control signal shown in FIG. Input to the generation circuit 16A, and the power supply control signal generation circuit 16A
However, the detection signal F1 and the communication detection circuits 14-1, 14-
According to the communication detection signals D1 and D2 of No. 2, the power control signal S
1 and S2 are generated.

The third embodiment is the first embodiment except for the configurations of the optical communication detection circuit 31 and the power supply control signal generation circuit 16A.
Since it is the same as the embodiment, the description thereof is omitted, and a configuration example of the optical communication detection circuit 31 will be described below. Next, a specific configuration of the optical communication detection circuit 31 will be described with reference to FIG.
And it demonstrates with reference to FIG.

The electric signal B1 applied to the optical communication unit 11 is such that when the optical communication unit on the other side of the optical communication unit 11 is off,
When the frequency is 100 MHz and the amplitude peak-peak value is 0.75 V, it is a random signal. On the other hand, when the optical communication unit on the other side is on, the frequency is 125 MHz and the amplitude peak-peak value is 1. It is previously known to be a 0.25 V sine wave signal or a modulation signal.

The optical communication detection circuit 31 detects the presence or absence of optical communication in the optical communication section 11 by utilizing the difference in the signals, and as shown in FIG. 8, the buffer circuit 311 and the rectification reference voltage generation circuit. It is composed of 312, a rectifier circuit 313, a comparison reference voltage generation circuit 314, and a comparison circuit 315. The buffer circuit 311 is a circuit necessary because the rectifier circuit 313 is a passive circuit and does not have an amplification function. For example, an operational amplifier (operational amplifier) as shown in FIG.
An AC coupling circuit having a gain of “2” is used, which is composed of OP1.

As shown in FIG. 9, the operational amplifier OP1 has a +
The electric signal B1 is input to the input terminal (non-inverting input terminal) via the capacitor C1, and a divided voltage obtained by dividing the power supply voltage by the resistors R1 and R2 is applied. A feedback resistor R3 is connected between the-input terminal (inverting input terminal) and the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1, and the-input terminal is grounded via the resistor R4 and the capacitor C2. Further, the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 is connected to the anode of the diode D1 of the rectifier circuit 313.

The rectification reference voltage generation circuit 312 is composed of an AC coupling circuit composed of an operational amplifier OP2 as shown in FIG. 9, and generates a rectification reference voltage for impedance matching with the rectification circuit 313. Has become. As shown in FIG. 9, the operational amplifier OP2
The + input terminal of is grounded via the capacitor C4,
A division voltage obtained by dividing the power supply voltage by the resistors R6 and R7 is applied to the + input terminal. Also, the operational amplifier OP2
A feedback resistor R8 is connected between the − input terminal and the output of the −, and the − input terminal is grounded via a resistor R9 and a capacitor C5.

The rectifier circuit 313 is a circuit for converting the electric signal B1 amplified by the buffer circuit 311 from the optical communication unit 11 into a DC voltage. The electric signal B1 is turned on more than when the optical pulse signal is turned off. Since the amplitude is larger at time, a DC voltage corresponding to the amplitude can be obtained.
As shown in FIG. 9, the rectifier circuit 313 is a combination of a diode D1, a smoothing capacitor C3, and an output resistor R5. That is, the diode D1 is
The anode side is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1, and the cathode side is connected to one end of a parallel circuit in which the smoothing capacitor C3 and the output resistor R5 are connected in parallel.
Further, the other end of the parallel circuit is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2.

The comparison reference voltage generation circuit 314 is a circuit for generating a reference voltage used by the comparison circuit 315 for comparison. The comparison reference voltage generating circuit 314 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the power supply voltage is divided by the variable resistor VR1 to obtain it. The variable resistor VR1 has a variable resistance value and a voltage can be taken out from a tap in the middle.

As shown in FIG. 9, the comparison circuit 315 is composed of, for example, an operational amplifier OP3, compares the output voltage of the rectifier circuit 313 with the reference voltage generated by the comparison reference voltage generation circuit 314, and outputs an optical signal according to the comparison result. The communication detection signal E1 is output. The divided reference voltage of the variable resistor VR1 is applied to the + input terminal of the operational amplifier OP3, and the − input terminal thereof is connected to the cathode of the diode D1.

In each of the above embodiments, IEEE1
Although the case of configuring according to the 394 standard has been described,
The present invention may be configured by other standards instead of this. Other standards (specifications) include USB
(Universal Serial Bus), HomePNA (Home Phon
eline Networking Alliance), IEEE802.1 1 (wireless LAN) and the like.

In the above embodiment, the optical communication section 11
Although the case where the optical communication with the outside is performed by the POF has been described, the present invention may be replaced by a transceiver that performs the communication by an electric cable.

[0055]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the power supply to the transmitting / receiving means can be stopped when the transmitting / receiving means is not used. Therefore, power consumption in the home can be reduced within a range where communication can be secured, and heat generation due to power consumption can be reduced to dramatically improve reliability and life.

According to each of the inventions described in claims 2 to 4, when one or both of the first transmitting / receiving means and the second transmitting / receiving means are not in the communication state, the first transmitting / receiving means The power supply to at least one of the transmitting / receiving means and the second transmitting / receiving means can be stopped. Therefore, power consumption in the home can be reduced within a range where communication can be secured, and heat generation due to power consumption can be reduced to dramatically improve reliability and life.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a communication detection circuit of FIG.

3 is a circuit diagram showing a specific configuration example of the communication detection circuit of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a truth table of the power supply control signal generation circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram showing an example of a truth table of the power supply control signal generation circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a third embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the optical communication detection circuit of FIG.

9 is a circuit diagram showing a specific configuration example of the optical communication detection circuit of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional home network.

[Explanation of symbols]

A1 optical pulse signal B1 electrical signal C1 and C2 data signals D1, D2 communication detection signal E1 Received light detection signal F1 optical communication detection signal S1, S2 power supply control signal 11 Optical communication section 12 Transmitter / receiver 13 Transformer 14-1, 14-2 communication detection circuit 15 Received light detection circuit 16 Power supply control signal generation circuit 17, 18 switch element 19 power supply 21-1, 21-2 I / O port 31 Optical communication detection circuit

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5B011 EB03 HH02 KK03 MA06                 5B077 NN02                 5J050 AA03 BB16 CC12 EE31 EE35                       FF01                 5K034 AA05 AA15 EE02 EE13 FF01                       FF04 GG02 GG06 HH01 HH02                       TT07 TT08

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An information outlet provided with a transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving data to / from the outside, wherein the detection means detects whether or not the transmission / reception means is in use, and a detection result of the detection means. A power-saving information outlet, comprising: a control unit that controls power supply to the transmission / reception unit, wherein the transmission / reception unit is configured according to the IEEE 1394 standard. 2. A first transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving data to / from a predetermined information outlet, and a second transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving data to / from a predetermined electronic device,
An information outlet capable of transmitting and receiving data between the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means, wherein one or both of the first and second transmission / reception means communicate with each other. Detecting means for detecting whether or not the state is present, and the first and second detecting means according to the detection result of the detecting means.
Control means for controlling the supply of electric power to at least one of the transmitting / receiving means, and the first and second transmitting / receiving means are IEEE.
A power-saving information outlet characterized by being configured in accordance with the 1394 standard. 3. The saving means according to claim 2, wherein the first transmitting / receiving means is adapted to transmit / receive data to / from the predetermined information outlet through a plastic optical fiber. Power type information outlet. 4. The detection means includes a detection circuit for detecting the presence / absence of communication of the first transmission / reception means and the presence / absence of communication of the second transmission / reception means, and the control means includes each of the detection circuits. A power supply control signal generation circuit that generates a power supply control signal based on a detection signal; and a switch element that controls on / off of connection between the first transmission / reception means and the second transmission / reception means and a power supply according to the power supply control signal. The power-saving information outlet according to claim 2 or 3, comprising: