JP2007174699A - Cabling system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cabling system which allows to utilize electrical power line to use devices connected to a local area network at a desired location without executing LAN cabling. <P>SOLUTION: The cabling system is provided with a cabling duct 1, which accommodates a conductor 13 through which commercial power is supplied in a duct body 10 and an outlet block 2, attached removably to the cabling duct 1 with a part of it inserted into a insertion hole 12 of the cabling duct 1. An outlet plug 2 is provided with blades 28 electrically connected to the conductor 13, an electric power outlet 24 for supplying the commercial power supplied via the blades 28 to a load, an electrical power line carrier communication part to send/receive data with electrical power line carrier via the electrical power line, and a protocol conversion part for performing protocol conversion between data input/output by the electrical power line carrier communication part and data input/output via a LAN connect port 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wiring system using power line carrier communication.

  Conventionally, a wiring system including a wiring duct disposed on a wall of a building and an outlet plug that is detachably connected to the wiring duct has been provided (for example, see Patent Document 1). The wiring duct has a horizontally long duct body, and the front surface of the duct body is formed with a communication hole along the longitudinal direction that communicates the internal power supply space with the outside. Conductors are provided for this purpose. On the other hand, the outlet plug is attached to the wiring duct with the rear part fitted into the duct body through the communication hole, and commercial power is supplied from the conductor of the wiring duct to the power outlet in the state of being attached to the wiring duct. It has become so. Thus, in this wiring system, the outlet plug can be attached at an arbitrary position in the longitudinal direction of the duct body, and the outlet plug is attached near the installation place of the electric equipment, so that the wiring to the electric equipment can be performed at a short distance. Can be done with.

Conventionally, there has been proposed a wiring system that transmits and receives an information signal using a power line wired in a house by using a power line carrier communication device that transmits and receives an information signal through a power line by power line communication (Power Line Communication) ( For example, see Patent Document 2). When such a power line carrier communication device is connected to the outlet plug used in the above wiring system, the power line carrier communication device is connected to the power line previously wired in the construction plane via the conductor of the wiring duct. The information signal can be transmitted and received using. Moreover, since the outlet plug can be attached to a desired position of the wiring duct, there is also an advantage that the wiring distance from the power line carrier communication device to the outlet plug can be shortened.
JP-A-63-133474 JP 2005-236815 A

  In the wiring system described above, an electrical device having a power line carrier communication function is connected to a power outlet so that an information signal is transmitted / received through the power line. When using a LAN device or the like, it is necessary to construct a LAN wiring separately from the power line, and there is a problem that it takes time and cost to construct the LAN wiring.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to use equipment connected to a local area network at a desired location using a power line without constructing LAN wiring. It is to provide a wiring system that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 comprises an elongated duct body disposed on the construction surface, and a communication hole for communicating the power space inside the duct body with the outside is provided on the surface of the duct body. A wiring duct in which a conductor for supplying commercial power to the power supply space is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the duct body, and a part of the inside of the wiring duct is formed through the communication hole. An outlet plug that is detachably attached to the wiring duct in an inserted state, and the outlet plug is a power supply member that is electrically connected to the conductor, and a commercial power supply that is supplied via the power supply member. Connected via a power supply member, a power outlet for supplying power to the load, a LAN connection port for connecting local area network communication equipment The power line carrier communication unit that transmits and receives data through the conductor by power line carrier communication and the data input from the power line carrier communication unit are converted to protocol and output to the LAN connection port, and the data input from the LAN connection port is converted to protocol And a protocol conversion unit for outputting to the power line carrier communication unit.

  The invention of claim 2 is the invention of claim 1, wherein the electric circuit between the power supply member and the power outlet has a high impedance with respect to a predetermined frequency band used for power line carrier communication, and with respect to a commercial power supply frequency. An impedance upper having a low impedance is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a state in which the data superimposed on the power waveform can be transmitted and a state in which the data cannot be transmitted are switched between the power outlet and the power supply member. A changeover switch is provided.

  According to the present invention, in the outlet plug, since the protocol conversion unit performs protocol conversion between the power line carrier communication unit and the LAN connection port, the communication device of the local area network that does not have the power line carrier communication function is connected to the LAN. By connecting to the connection port, information communication can be performed using the power line without installing a dedicated LAN wiring, so that the cost can be reduced by reducing the number of wirings. In addition, the outlet plug is detachably attached to the wiring duct with a part inserted into the wiring duct through a communication hole formed along the longitudinal direction on the surface of the wiring duct. By attaching an outlet plug near the communication device connected to the port, the wiring distance to the communication device can be shortened.

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

(Embodiment 1)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wiring system of the present embodiment includes a wiring duct 1 disposed on a construction surface such as a wall of a building, and an outlet block 2 that is detachably attached to the wiring duct 1. It consists of. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the vertical and horizontal directions are defined in the direction shown in FIG. 3A, and the front in FIG. Accordingly, the left end in FIG. 3B is the rear end.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3B, the wiring duct 1 is formed in a flat rectangular tube shape having both ends opened by a metal such as aluminum, and the surface of the duct body 10 is coated with an insulating synthetic resin. I have. On the surface of the duct body 10 opposite to the construction surface, a communication hole 12 that communicates the internal power supply space 11 and the outside is opened along the longitudinal direction at a substantially middle portion in the vertical direction. Further, in the power source space 11 of the duct body 10, long conductors 13 and 13 for supplying commercial power are disposed along the longitudinal direction on both the upper and lower sides with the communication hole 12 therebetween. A storage part (not shown) for storing a cable such as an information line may be provided below the duct body 10.

  On the other hand, the container body of the outlet block 2 is composed of a horizontally long box-shaped front cover 20 having an open rear surface and a rear cover 21 attached to the rear surface of the front cover 20. A protruding portion 22 that protrudes toward the inside of the duct body 10 through the communication hole 12 is integrally formed.

  On the front surface of the front cover 20, power outlets 24 each having a pair of plug blade insertion ports 23 are formed at one end side and an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction, respectively, for connecting communication devices of a local area network. A LAN connection port 25 composed of a modular connector is formed on the other end in the longitudinal direction.

  A cylindrical rotating body 26 inserted into the duct body 10 through the insertion hole 12 is rotatably provided on the back of the outlet block 2, and a knob 27 for rotating the rotating body 26 is provided on the front cover. 20 is arranged on the front surface. A pair of plug blades (power supply members) 28, 28 project from the circumferential surface of the rotating body 26 at symmetrical positions with the central portion of the rotating body 26 in between. The state in which the plug blades 28 and 28 are arranged in a horizontal direction (a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the duct main body 10) and a state in which the plug blades 28 and 28 are arranged in a vertical direction (a direction substantially parallel to the short width direction of the duct main body 10) can be selected. It is like that. Further, on the peripheral surface of the rotating body 26, locking pieces 29 are projected at positions closer to the front than the protruding positions of the respective plug blades 28. Thus, when the knob 27 is turned to a position where the pair of plug blades 28 and 28 are aligned in the vertical direction (vertical direction) with the protruding portion 22 inserted into the communication hole 12, the locking pieces 29 and 29 and the rear cover The front wall of the duct main body 10 is sandwiched between the rear surface of the main body 21, the body of the outlet block 2 is attached to the duct main body 10, and the plug blades 28, 28 are arranged inside the duct main body 10. Electrically connected to the conductors 13 and 13.

  The receptacle block 2 is also provided with a pair of blade receiving springs 30 that are electrically connected to plug blades (not shown) inserted into the vessel body through the respective plug blade insertion openings 23. Each blade receiving spring 30 is electrically connected to a plug blade 28 protruding from the rotating body 26.

  The receptacle block 2 contains a circuit as shown in FIG. That is, the outlet block 2 includes a pair of plug blades 28, 28, and includes a power supply connector 31 for supplying commercial power from the wiring duct 1 and a pair of blade receiving springs 30. Via a power supply connector 31, a power outlet 24 for supplying commercial power to the load, a LAN connection port 25 for connecting a communication device of a local area network such as Ethernet (registered trademark), and the like. The power line carrier communication circuit 33 for transmitting and receiving data through the power line carrier through the conductors 13 and 13 to be connected, the data inputted from the power line carrier communication circuit 33 are converted into a protocol and outputted to the LAN connection port 25, and the LAN connection port 25 That converts data input from the network into a protocol and outputs it to the power line carrier communication circuit 33 And a circuit 34.

  In addition, when an electric device is connected to the power outlet 24, a signal superimposed on the power source is sucked into the electric device having a low impedance. Is provided with an impedance upper 35 having a high impedance for a predetermined frequency band used for power line carrier communication and a low impedance for a commercial power supply frequency. Thus, even if an electrical device is connected to the power outlet 24 and the impedance of the electrical device is low with respect to the communication frequency band used for power line carrier communication, the power supply connector 31 and the power The electric path between the outlet 24 and the outlet 24 is maintained at a high impedance, so that stable communication can be performed without affecting the power line carrier communication. The impedance upper 35 may be omitted when the impedance of the electrical equipment connected to the power connector 24 is sufficiently high. The predetermined frequency band described above is, for example, 10 kHz to 450 kHz, 2 MHz to 30 MHz.

  The wiring duct 1 and the outlet block 2 constituting the present wiring system have the above-described configuration, and when the system is constructed, first, the wiring duct 1 is appropriately placed on a construction surface (for example, an indoor wall). Attach a feed-in cap 4 to one end of the wiring duct 1 for supplying the commercial power by connecting the conductors 13 and 13 to the power line previously wired on the back side of the construction surface. Further, the end cap 5 is attached to the other end of the wiring duct 1 to close the opening of the end (see FIG. 2). Next, the knob 27 of the outlet block 2 is operated to rotate the rotating body 26 to the position where the plug blades 28 and 28 are aligned in the horizontal direction, and the rear part of the outlet block 2 (the protruding portion 22 and the rotating body 26). Is inserted into the duct body 10 through the communication hole 12 and then the knob 27 is operated to rotate the rotary body 26 to the position where the plug blades 28 and 28 are aligned in the vertical direction. The front wall of the duct body 10 is sandwiched between the latching pieces 29 and 29 and the rear cover 21 so that the outlet block 2 is held by the duct body 10 and the plug blade 28 provided on the rotating body 26. 28 is electrically connected to the conductors 13 and 13. In addition, the blank chip 3 is attached to the communication hole 12 of the duct body 10 at a portion where the outlet block 2 is not attached, and the communication hole 12 is closed. Although the wiring duct 1 of this embodiment is a single-phase two-wire system, the distribution board (not shown) from which the power line to which the conductor 13 of the wiring duct 1 is connected is usually a single-phase three-wire. is there. Therefore, when power line carrier communication is performed outside the wiring duct 1, inter-phase communication may occur, and in this case, the reliability of the power line carrier communication may be lowered. Therefore, with respect to the distribution board, the impedance is low with respect to the carrier frequency (for example, the aforementioned predetermined frequency band) for performing power line carrier communication between the different-phase wiring, and is high with respect to the commercial power supply frequency (50/60 Hz). By providing a coupler (not shown) that is a high-pass filter having impedance, it is possible to improve the reliability of power line carrier communication including inter-phase communication. This is the same even if the wiring duct 1 is a single-phase three-wire system.

  In a state where the outlet block 2 is attached to the wiring duct 1, the blade receiving spring 30 of the outlet block 2 is electrically connected to the conductor 13 of the wiring duct 1 via the power supply connector 31, so that it is connected to the power outlet 24. Commercial power can be supplied to the electrical equipment to be used. Moreover, since the power line carrier communication circuit 33 is connected to the conductor 13 of the wiring duct 1 via the power feeding connector 31 and further connected to the power line previously wired on the construction surface, the power path (consisting of the conductor 13 and the power line). Data can be transmitted / received through the power line carrier system, and the protocol conversion circuit 34 performs protocol conversion between the communication device connected to the LAN connection port 25 and the power line carrier communication circuit 33, so that the LAN connection port 25 can be used by using a predetermined communication device. Therefore, if a communication device of a local area network that does not have a power line carrier communication function is connected to the LAN connection port 25, information communication can be performed using the power line without installing a dedicated LAN wiring. To reduce costs.

  When the outlet block 2 is removed from the wiring duct 1, the knob 27 of the outlet block 2 is operated to rotate the rotary body 26 to the position where the plug blades 28 and 28 are aligned in the horizontal direction. Since the locking pieces 29, 29 protruding from the peripheral surface rotate to a position aligned in the horizontal direction, the locking by the locking pieces 29 is released, and the outlet block 2 can be removed from the wiring duct 1.

  By the way, power line carrier communication systems include a low speed system using a frequency band of 10 kHz to 450 kHz for communication and a high speed system using a frequency band of 2 MHz to 30 MHz for communication. The impedance upper 35 has an input impedance characteristic higher than any one of the frequency bands. Here, as a low-speed power line carrier communication system, there are a single carrier system, a selective single carrier system, a direct spread spectrum system, and the like. In addition, as a method of high-speed, large-capacity power line carrier communication, there are a multicarrier modulation method, an OFDM modulation method, a spread spectrum modulation method, a GMSK modulation method, etc. Any method may be used in this wiring system. Further, other methods may be used.

  Further, the AC / DC converter (not shown) for converting the commercial power supplied via the power supply connector 31 into a DC voltage having a predetermined voltage value (for example, DC48V) is built in the outlet block 2 to provide an AC / DC converter. Is supplied to the LAN connection port 25, and the protocol conversion circuit 34 converts the transmission signal of the power line carrier communication circuit 33 into a signal of the Ethernet (registered trademark) protocol, so that the LAN connection port 25 is connected to the PoE. (Power over Ethernet (registered trademark)) specification may be used, and power is supplied to communication devices connected to the LAN connection port 25 (for example, VoIP-compatible telephones (IP phones), wireless LAN access points, Web cameras, etc.) And information signals can be transmitted.

(Embodiment 2)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, in the outlet block 2 described in the first embodiment, a state in which data superimposed on the power waveform can be transmitted between the power supply connector 31 and the power outlet 24 and a state in which the data cannot be transmitted. A change-over switch 36 for switching between and is provided. Here, the changeover switch 36 is, for example, a switch (not shown) that is exposed on the surface of the outlet plug 2. Since the configuration other than the changeover switch 36 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  The changeover switch 36 is a single-pole double-throw switch, and connects the common contact to the power supply connector 31 and connects one changeover contact to the power outlet 24 via the impedance upper 35 and the other changeover contact to the power supply. Connected to a power outlet 24. Accordingly, in response to the switching operation of the changeover switch 36, the power supply connector 31 is connected to the power outlet 24 without passing through the impedance upper 35, and the power supply connector 31 can transmit data superimposed on the power waveform. An impedance upper 35 is connected between the power outlet 24 and the power outlet 24, so that the state in which the data superimposed on the power waveform cannot be transmitted can be switched.

  Here, when connecting a general electric device having no power line carrier communication function to the power outlet 24, switching the contact of the changeover switch 36 to the impedance upper 35 side transmits the data superimposed on the power waveform. Since it is switched to an impossible state, it is possible to prevent the signal superimposed on the power source from being sucked into the low-impedance electric device and deteriorating the communication quality.

  On the other hand, when an electrical device having a power line communication function is connected to the power outlet 24, the data superimposed on the power waveform can be transmitted by switching the contact of the changeover switch 36 to the side opposite to the impedance upper 35. Since the data superimposed on the power waveform is input to the power outlet 24 side, the electrical equipment connected to the power outlet 24 can transmit and receive information signals by the power line carrier method. . Thus, by providing the changeover switch 36 for switching between a state in which the data superimposed on the power waveform can be transmitted between the power supply connector 31 and the power outlet 24 and a state in which the data cannot be transmitted, the same is achieved. It is possible to selectively connect an electric device that does not have a power line carrier communication function to the power outlet 24 and an electric device that has a power line carrier communication function.

  By the way, by using a device-embedded network technology called EMIT (Embedded Micro Internetworking Technology) (a network technology having a function of easily incorporating middleware into a device and connecting to the network, hereinafter referred to as EMIT technology). Various equipment (illumination equipment, air conditioning equipment, power equipment, sensors) from external terminals (not shown) such as mobile phones, PCs (Personal Computers), PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), PHSs (Personal Handy phone Systems) Electric locks, Web cameras, etc. are hereinafter referred to as EMIT terminals.) There is a system that can access <not shown> to remotely monitor and control the EMIT terminal. The EMIT terminal is a built-in device with a microcomputer, and is equipped with EMIT software that realizes EMIT technology, which is a built-in type middleware for network connection.

  As a system to which the above-mentioned EMIT technology is applied (hereinafter referred to as an EMIT system), an external terminal remotely monitors and controls an EMIT terminal via a center server (not shown) provided on the Internet. For example, a configuration in which an EMIT terminal is directly accessed from an external terminal equipped with EMIT software to remotely monitor and control the EMIT terminal without using a center server.

  Then, by using the EMIT system, for example, the above-mentioned EMIT terminals are distributed in a building (for detached houses, condominiums, buildings, factories, etc.) <not shown>, and the status of the EMIT terminals is monitored remotely from an external terminal. This makes it possible to perform energy management of the entire building and remote meter reading of gas, water, and electricity in the building.

  Here, although transmission processing by power line carrier communication does not depend on a specific communication protocol, the wiring system according to Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention is applied to, for example, the above-mentioned EMIT system, and a signal is superimposed on the power line. Then, data communication may be performed.

It is a perspective view of the state before attaching an outlet block to the wiring duct used for the wiring system of Embodiment 1. It is an external appearance perspective view of the state which attached the outlet block to the wiring duct used for the wiring system of Embodiment 1. (A) is a front view which can omit a part of the state which attached the outlet block to the wiring duct used for the wiring system of Embodiment 1, (b) is a sectional side view. It is a block diagram which shows the internal circuit of the outlet block used for the wiring system of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the internal circuit of the outlet block used for the wiring system of Embodiment 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wiring duct 2 Outlet block 10 Duct main body 11 Power supply space 12 Insertion hole 13 Conductor 28 Plug blade 29 Locking piece 23 Plug blade insertion port 25 LAN connection port 32 Power outlet

Claims (3)

It has an elongated duct body arranged on the construction surface, and a communication hole is formed in the surface of the duct body along the longitudinal direction to communicate the power space inside the duct body with the outside. A wiring duct in which a conductor for supplying power is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the duct body, and a part of the wiring duct inserted into the wiring duct through the communication hole is detachably attached to the wiring duct. A power supply member electrically connected to the conductor, a power outlet for supplying commercial power supplied via the power supply member to a load, and a local area. Data is transmitted by power line carrier communication through a LAN connection port for connecting network communication equipment and a conductor connected via a power supply member. The data input from the power line carrier communication unit and the data input from the power line carrier communication unit are converted to protocol and output to the LAN connection port, and the data input from the LAN connection port is converted to protocol and output to the power line carrier communication unit A wiring system comprising a protocol conversion unit. The power path between the power supply member and the power outlet is provided with an impedance upper having a high impedance for a predetermined frequency band used for power line carrier communication and a low impedance for a commercial power frequency. The wiring system according to claim 1. 2. A changeover switch is provided for switching between a state in which data superimposed on a power waveform can be transmitted between the power supply member and the power outlet, and a state in which the data cannot be transmitted. Or the wiring system of 2.

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