JP2006140552A - Appliance adaptor, household electric appliance, and home network system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a general-purpose appliance adaptor for various household electric appliances and employing a power feeding system not needing an exclusive AC power adaptor. <P>SOLUTION: The appliance adaptor 2 provided with: a communication interface section 61 and a network communication section 7 for connecting the household electric appliance 1 to a network; a charging power supply 8; and a power receiving interface section 62 connected to the household electric appliance 1 so that the household electric appliance 1 supplies power to the charging power supply 8, includes an appliance adaptor control section 9 connected to the communication interface section 61 and the network communication section 7 and controlling charging operations of the charging power supply 8. The charging power supply 8 is periodically charged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a device adapter for connecting a home appliance to a home network, a home appliance corresponding to the adapter, and a home network system.

  The home network system for connecting home appliances to a network is being standardized and is becoming popular due to the ECHONET standard. When connecting a home appliance having no communication function to a network, the ECHONET standard has already been standardized to be realized by attaching a device adapter having a communication function to the network to the home appliance.

  In the standard, specifications have been defined for basic communication interfaces between home appliances and device adapters and various communication protocols to be used. In Patent Document 1, another network having a different communication medium and network protocol is used. In contrast, a communication module has been proposed that allows home appliances to be connected.

  There are no specific rules regarding the design of equipment adapters, but typical home appliances, air conditioners (at least indoor units are energized for remote control reception), refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens, etc. are all household power supplies. When connected to an electrical outlet, it is a device that is constantly supplied with power, and it is generally easy for the device adapter to operate by supplying power from home appliances.

In addition, when a sufficient power supply to the device adapter cannot be performed due to the performance of the home appliance, the device adapter is generally provided with an AC power adapter outside.
JP 2000-354053 A

  As described above, the power supply method of the device adapter for communication connection to the network includes the method of receiving power supply from the device connected mainly and the method of requiring an external AC power adapter exclusively for the device adapter. .

  When receiving power supply from a connected device, depending on the type of device, there may be a situation where it is impossible to supply power in a power-off state. Alternatively, it is assumed that the plug is connected to a commercial power outlet, but the main power switch of the device is turned off and the main power is turned off. For example, in a television, there is a model in which the remote control is not accepted by turning off the main power. At this time, it is a problem that power is not supplied to a device adapter that requires constant network communication. However, keeping the device in a power-on state for this purpose increases unnecessary power consumption, which is not desirable from an economic and environmental point of view.

  In addition, in the case of power supply by the AC power adapter method, the wiring to the device adapter increases, the connection is complicated, and it is essential that an AC outlet can be connected exclusively.

  For this reason, it is a problem in designing a device adapter power supply unit to realize a general-purpose device adapter for various home appliances by using a power feeding method that does not require a dedicated AC power adapter.

  The present invention relates to a device adapter comprising a communication interface unit and a network communication unit for connecting a home appliance to a network, a rechargeable power source, and a power receiving interface unit for connecting to the rechargeable power source from the home appliance. The device adapter includes a device adapter control unit that is connected to the communication interface unit and the network communication unit and controls a charging operation of the rechargeable power source.

  Moreover, it is preferable that this invention is an apparatus adapter which charges the said rechargeable power supply regularly.

  The present invention may be a device adapter that includes means for detecting a power supply voltage of the rechargeable power supply, and starts a charging operation of the rechargeable power supply when the power supply voltage becomes a predetermined value or less.

  Furthermore, the present invention may be a device adapter that starts a charging operation of the rechargeable power supply according to an instruction from the network.

  Further, the present invention may be an apparatus adapter including means for starting a power supply unit of the household electrical appliance and starting power supply from the household electrical appliance by transmitting a wake-up request signal to the household electrical appliance.

  And it is preferable that this invention is an apparatus adapter electrically fed to the said rechargeable power supply using the power supply terminal of the interface connection connected with the said household appliance.

  Furthermore, the present invention may be a device adapter provided with means for notifying a device on the network of its own power supply voltage and other power supply information.

  Moreover, this invention is a household electrical appliance provided with the communication interface part and the electric power feeding interface part, and the connection with the said apparatus adapter is possible.

  And this invention comprises the network server and household appliances which were connected with the said network, and is a home network system using the said apparatus adapter.

  According to the present invention, the device adapter does not require an AC power supply as an external power supply, and can always establish home network communication by using power supply for interface connection with the home appliance. In addition, since it is rechargeable, the power supply capability difference of the device does not directly affect the operation of the device adapter, and it can be used universally in various home appliances.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described.
Embodiments of a device adapter, home appliance, and home network system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  Example 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a home network home appliance (an appliance adapter having a network communication function with a home appliance) according to an embodiment of the present invention. Household appliances 1 (air conditioners, refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines, etc.) are shown connected to a home network via a device adapter 2.

  First, the home appliance 1 will be described. The home appliance 1 includes an interface unit 3, a home appliance control unit 4, and a home appliance power supply unit 5. The interface unit 3 is connected to the device adapter 2, and the interface unit 3 further includes a communication interface unit 31. The power supply interface unit 32 is configured. About each function of household appliances, it is the same as that of the past, and illustration and explanation are omitted. The power supply interface unit 32 is used to supply power from the power supply circuit of the home appliance to the device adapter.

  The home appliance control unit 4 is a part that controls the operation of the home appliance, and can communicate with the device adapter 2 via the communication interface 31. The home appliance control unit 4 can perform network communication by the device adapter 2 having a communication function with the network.

  The home appliance power supply unit 5 is a power supply and can supply power to the outside via the power supply interface 32. The home appliance power supply unit 5 is controlled by the home appliance control unit 4.

  Next, the configuration of the device adapter will be described. The device adapter 2 includes an interface unit 6, a network communication unit 7, a rechargeable power supply unit 8, and a device adapter control unit 9. The interface unit 6 further includes a communication interface unit 61 and a power receiving interface unit 62. The communication interface unit 61 exchanges communication with the home appliance, and the power reception interface unit 62 is for receiving power supply from the home appliance 1.

  The network communication unit 7 has a function for transmitting communication with the home appliance 1 by the communication interface 61 to the network.

  The rechargeable power supply unit 8 is connected to the home appliance power supply unit 5 via the power receiving interface unit 62 in order to receive power supply from the home appliance. The power receiving type power supply unit 8 is controlled by the device adapter control unit 9.

  The device adapter control unit 9 is a part that controls the operation of the device adapter 2 and communicates with the home appliance 1 and the network server 10 via the communication interface unit 61 and the network communication unit 7.

  With the above configuration, the home appliance 1 can communicate with the network via the device adapter 2, and at the same time, the rechargeable power supply unit 8 of the device adapter 2 is configured to be fed from the home appliance 1. .

  A device connected to the home network of this embodiment will be described. In the embodiment, in addition to the devices described above, home appliances 11 and 12 and a network server 10 are connected on the home network. The network server 10 is for controlling and managing the entire home network. Each home appliance (home network appliances including the appliance 1 and the appliance adapter 2 described above, and appliances 11 and 12). We are communicating to control

  Here, when the network server 10 has a function of managing power supply information of the device adapter 2 in order to manage communication with home appliances, the network server 10 transmits an instruction to start charging to the device adapter 2 at an appropriate time. Can do.

  Regarding the management of the power supply information of the device adapter 2 from the home network at this time, the device adapter control unit 9 notifies the network server 10 of the power supply voltage information of the rechargeable power supply unit 8 of the device adapter 2. As a result of the information processing by the network server 10, it is possible to appropriately instruct charging start.

  Next, an example of a detailed operation flow of the embodiment will be described using the flowcharts of FIGS. In the flowchart of FIG. 2, control of the rechargeable power supply unit 8 of the device adapter 2 is shown. These controls are performed by the device adapter controller 9 of FIG. After the start, first, a charging start timer is started in S21, and it is periodically checked in S22 whether the timer has expired. When the timer expires, the charging process of S25 is performed. If the timer has not expired, the power supply voltage is set to a predetermined low level (a voltage value within which the device adapter control unit 9 of the device adapter 2 can operate normally) in S23. For example, if the minimum voltage at which the device adapter control unit 9 can operate normally is 3.3 V, it is confirmed that the voltage is lower than 3.3 V or higher (for example, 3.5 V). 1 or when a charging start instruction is received from the network server 10 of FIG. 1 in S24, the charging process in S25 is performed. As for the charge start S25, the contents of the process are shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, starting from the start of the S31 charging process, it is first determined in S32 whether the power supply interface connected to the home appliance is valid and in a power supply state. Subsequently, if the power supply state is valid, charging is performed from the power supply terminal in S33. It is confirmed whether or not the power supply voltage in S34 can be charged higher than a certain voltage level High (whether it has been fully charged). When it is recognized that charging has been completed, the charging process is normally completed in S35, and the process proceeds to S25 in FIG. It returns (this process is a sequence in which the home appliance is powered on and is supplying power to the device adapter. In a home appliance that is always powered on, charging is always performed in this process).

  On the other hand, when the power supply terminal of the home appliance is not valid in S32, the device adapter performs a process of starting the home appliance power supply unit 5 to start power supply by making a wake-up request to the home appliance. This process is performed in S36, and the device adapter control unit 9 in FIG. 1 issues a request to activate the home appliance power supply unit 5 through the communication interfaces 61 and 31. If the wake-up process is successful in S37, since the home appliance 1 is in a power supply state to the device adapter 2, the charging process of S33 is performed (this process is performed when the home appliance is powered off and the device adapter is turned off). Sequence when power is not being supplied to

  Moreover, when the rechargeable power supply unit 8 of the device adapter 2 has a voltage value lower than the constant voltage level High indicating full charge after charging in S34, the charging is terminated as a charging abnormality. Similarly, if the wake-up process is not successful in S37, it is determined that the communication with the home appliance 1 is abnormal.

  A second embodiment will be described. In home appliances that can turn off the main power, when the main power switch is turned off, the electric circuit unit (for example, the control unit 4, the power supply unit 5, etc.) 51 of the home appliance 1 is not energized. . Therefore, for example, a relay 53 is connected in parallel with the main power switch 52 for turning on and off the main power as shown in FIG. This relay is configured to be turned on and off by the device adapter 2. In addition, the other structure of the household appliances 1 of Example 2 is the same as that of Example 1.

  When it becomes necessary to charge the rechargeable power supply unit 8 of the device adapter 2 (for example, after a certain period of time has elapsed, the power supply voltage of the rechargeable power supply unit 8 is a predetermined value or less, an instruction from the network, etc.) When the switch 52 is OFF, the device adapter 2 cannot be charged. Therefore, the device adapter 2 energizes the coil of the relay 53 and closes the relay contact so that the main power supply of the home appliance 1 is substantially turned on to supply power, and the device adapter 2 can be charged. Then, after the charging of the rechargeable power source is completed, the energization to the relay coil is stopped and the relay contact is opened. In this way, the device adapter 2 can charge the rechargeable power supply unit 8 even when the main power switch 52 of the home appliance 1 is turned off. In this embodiment, a relay is used. However, a known electronic component such as a transistor may be used instead of the relay. Here, the main power switch 52 may be separate from the electric circuit unit of the home appliance 1 or may be mounted on the printed circuit board of the electric circuit unit.

  As described above, the device adapter used for the home network according to the present invention can be mounted with a rechargeable power source and can perform charging control using power feeding through an interface with home appliances. Further, since the device adapter and the power source are independent, the home appliance need not always be in the on state, and can suppress unnecessary standby power consumption. In addition, by incorporating a rechargeable power supply, it is possible to avoid a situation in which communication with the home network is disabled due to a failure of home appliances or the like.

The home network block diagram of the household appliances and apparatus adapter of Example 1. FIG. The flowchart figure which shows an example of the operation | movement procedure of the apparatus adapter of Example 1. FIG. The flowchart figure which shows an example of the charge processing procedure of the apparatus adapter of Example 1. FIG. The circuit diagram of control by the apparatus adapter of the main power supply of the household appliances in Example 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1: Home Appliances 2: Device Adapter 3: Interface Unit 31: Communication Interface Unit 32: Power Receiving Interface Unit 4: Home Appliance Control Unit 5: Home Appliance Power Supply Unit 51: Electric Circuit Side of Home Appliance 52: Main Power Switch 53: Relay 54: Commercial power supply side 6: Interface unit 61: Communication interface unit 62: Power supply interface unit 7: Network communication unit 8: Rechargeable power supply unit 9: Device adapter control unit 10: Network server 11: Home appliance 12: Home appliance

Claims (9)

A device adapter comprising a communication interface unit and a network communication unit for connecting a home appliance to a network, a rechargeable power source, and a power receiving interface unit connected to be fed from the home appliance to the rechargeable power source,
A device adapter comprising: a device adapter control unit that is connected to the communication interface unit and the network communication unit and controls a charging operation of the rechargeable power source.   The device adapter according to claim 1, wherein the rechargeable power source is periodically charged.   The apparatus adapter according to claim 1, further comprising means for detecting a power supply voltage of the rechargeable power supply, and starts a charging operation of the rechargeable power supply when the power supply voltage falls below a predetermined value.   The device adapter according to claim 1, wherein the charging operation of the rechargeable power source is started by an instruction from the network.   The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising means for starting a power supply unit of the home appliance and starting power supply from the home appliance by transmitting a wake-up request signal to the home appliance. adapter.   The device adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein power is supplied to the rechargeable power source using an interface connection power supply terminal connected to the home appliance.   The device adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising means for notifying a device on the network of its own power supply voltage and other power supply information.   A home appliance that includes a communication interface unit and a power supply interface unit, and that can be connected to the device adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 7.   A home network system using a device adapter according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising a network server and a home electric appliance connected to the network.

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