JP2008048012A - Plc network system and plc modem - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a PLC network system and a PLC modem in which power can be saved. <P>SOLUTION: Upon receiving operation start time (t0), operation time (T1), operating interval (T2), and number of operation times (N) of a PLC slave modem a2 from a PLC master modem a1; the PLC slave modem a2 stores the information in a memory circuit 22 and sets a predetermined numerical value in the counter 29 of a timer circuit 28. In accordance with clocking of the counter 29; an on/off control unit 27 controls operation or stoppage of the slave control circuit 21, the memory circuit 22, the transmission circuit 23, the receiving circuit 24, and the transmission/reception switching circuit 25 of the PLC slave modem a2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a PLC network system and a PLC modem. Note that PLC (Power Line Communication) refers to a technology for performing communication using a power line as a signal transmission path.

  In recent years, a system for centrally managing various home appliances by connecting various home appliances to a network has been proposed. Various home appliances are expected to apply a PLC that superimposes communication information on a commercial power line that supplies power.

  FIG. 1 is an example of a PLC network system, and shows a PLC network system of home A and devices connected thereto. The optical fiber 1 connected to the external Internet is connected to the photoelectric conversion device 2. A signal line S1 is connected to the photoelectric conversion device 2, and a home appliance centralized management device 3 that is provided at home as an ADSL line and has a router function is connected to the signal line S1, for example. In some cases, the optical fiber 1 is directly connected to the home appliance centralized management device 3 provided in the home without passing through the photoelectric conversion device 2.

  A PLC master modem a1 is connected to the home appliance centralized management apparatus 3 through a signal line S2.

  A low voltage (for example, 100 V or 200 V) converted from a three-phase AC medium voltage (for example, 6 kV) is distributed to the power line 10 by a transformer (not shown). The power line 10 is connected to the in-home power line 10 a via the wattmeter 4.

  A plurality of unit cables 8 corresponding to the number of rooms and the like are disposed in the home A. The unit cable 8 includes a home power line 10a-1 having one end connected to a branch breaker (not shown) disposed in the distribution board 5, and a branch connected to the other end of the home power line 10a-1. It is comprised with the tool 9 and the some in-home electric power line 10a-2 connected to this branch tool 9. FIG. A plurality of power outlets 7 are appropriately provided in the in-home power line 10a-2, and PLC slave modems a2 and a3 to which home appliances 6 are connected are connected to these power outlets 7 in addition to the PLC master modem a1. Has been.

  When the home appliance centralized management device 3 gives an instruction to the home appliance 6, information related to the instruction is transmitted from the PLC master modem a <b> 1 to the PLC slave modems a <b> 2 and a <b> 3. As an example, a case where a token passing system is used for communication between the PLC master modem a1 and the PLC slave modems a2 and a3 in order for the PLC slave modems a2 and a3 to receive this instruction. In this communication method, the PLC master modem a1 transmits a token to the PLC slave modems a2 and a3, and only the PLC slave modem that has received the token can communicate. For this reason, the PLC slave modem must be operated at all times. However, the power consumption becomes a problem in this case.

  For this reason, although the PLC slave modem is normally in the power saving mode, there is disclosed a technique for switching from the power saving mode to the normal mode when an event of a home appliance that should communicate with the PLC master modem occurs ( Patent Document 1). Here, the timer in the PLC slave modem starts counting and communicates with the PLC master modem. When the timer is counted up, the normal mode returns to the power saving mode.

The operation of this prior art will be described with reference to FIG. The horizontal axis of FIG. 7 represents the time when the PLC slave modem operates during the day. For example, an event of a home electric appliance occurs at 2 pm, the PLC slave modem shifts to the normal mode, and at the same time as the timer count is started, communication with the PLC master modem can be transmitted and received. The PLC slave modem is in the normal mode for a certain period of time counted by the timer (the hatched rectangular portion in FIG. 7 represents the normal mode). When the count is incremented, the PLC slave modem returns to the power saving mode from the normal mode again.
JP-A-2005-72970

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 above, if an event of a home appliance that should transmit and receive communication with the PLC master modem occurs in the PLC slave modem and the normal mode is not entered, the PLC master modem communicates with the PLC slave modem. Can not. This is because the PLC master modem transmits information to the PLC slave modem, but cannot receive it unless the PLC slave modem enters the normal mode. For this reason, there is a problem that the PLC master modem cannot communicate with the PLC slave modem with good timing.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a PLC network system capable of maintaining the power saving of the PLC slave modem and allowing the PLC master modem to communicate with the PLC slave modem with good timing. And

  The PLC network system according to the first invention is a PLC network system for performing communication using a power line as a transmission line between a PLC master modem and one or a plurality of PLC slave modems. The PLC slave modem includes a slave control circuit unit, a reception circuit unit, a transmission circuit unit, and a timer circuit unit. In the PLC master modem, the memory circuit unit includes a PLC slave modem. It has information on the operation of the slave control circuit unit, the reception circuit unit and the transmission circuit unit, and the transmission circuit unit of the PLC master modem transmits information on this operation to the PLC slave modem. In the PLC slave modem, the reception circuit unit , PLC master model The timer circuit unit counts a period during which any or all of the slave control unit, the reception circuit unit, and the transmission circuit unit are operated based on the information related to the operation. The slave control circuit unit It is characterized in that the operation is performed according to the timing.

  In the PLC network system according to the second aspect of the present invention, the information related to the operation includes the time to start operation, the time to operate, and the operation for any or all of the slave control unit, the reception circuit unit, and the transmission circuit unit in the PLC slave modem. A PLC network system characterized in that it is either an interval to be operated or a number of times to be operated.

  In the PLC network system according to the third aspect of the invention, the power line supplies AC power having a constant commercial frequency, and the timer circuit unit counts time based on the period of the commercial frequency. .

  A PLC modem according to a fourth invention comprises a control circuit unit, a reception circuit unit, a transmission circuit unit, and a timer circuit unit, and is a PLC modem for performing communication using a power line as a transmission line. Information on the operation of the control circuit unit, the reception circuit unit, and the transmission circuit unit is received from the outside, and the timer circuit unit is based on the commercial frequency cycle of the AC power supplied to the power line and information on these operations. The control circuit unit counts a period during which any one or all of the unit, the reception circuit unit, and the transmission circuit unit are operated, and the control circuit unit operates according to the time measurement of the timer circuit unit.

  According to the present invention, communication between a PLC master modem and a PLC slave modem can be performed between the PLC master modem and the PLC slave modem without depending on the occurrence of an event of the home appliance connected to the PLC slave modem. Communication can be performed with good timing, and the power consumption of the PLC slave modem can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, the element which attached | subjected the same or corresponding code | symbol in different drawing shall show the same or corresponding element.

(Management table)
The table of FIG. 3 is held by the home appliance centralized management apparatus 3 in the home A of FIG. 1 (hereinafter, this table is simply referred to as “management table”). The management table stores information related to operation or stop of the PLC slave modem for each home appliance (information related to operation or stop is referred to as “information related to operation”). Among information related to operation and information related to stop, information related to operation is the operation start time (t0), operation time (T1), operation interval (T2), and number of operations (N). The details of these will be described later.)

  In addition, “information regarding operation” is the initial condition regarding the operation of the PLC slave modem among the operation start time (t0), the operation time (T1), the operation interval (T2), and the number of operations (N). Since they may be substituted, it is not always necessary to have these four.

  Information relating to the operation will be described with reference to FIG. The horizontal axis of FIG. 8 represents the time at which the PLC slave modem operates in the same day as in FIG. However, the difference from FIG. 7 is that the operation of the PLC slave modem is repeated N times. The hatched rectangular portion of FIG. 8 represents the operation of the PLC slave modem. As can be seen from the rectangular portion, the PLC slave modem operates alternately N times and (N−1) times. The operation start time (t0) represents the first start time of N times of operation of the PLC slave modem. The operation time (T1) represents the operation time of one PLC slave modem. The operation interval (T2) represents the time from the end time of the operation of the current PLC slave modem to the start time of the operation of the next PLC slave modem. The operation period (T3) from the operation start time (t0) until the operation is repeated N times can be represented by N × (T1 + T2) −T2, and in the management table of FIG. May be stored.

(Home appliance central management device 3)
The home appliance centralized management device 3 in FIG. 1 refers to a calendar (not shown) in the home appliance centralized management device 3, and from the management table, the operation start time (t0) and the operation time ( T1), the operation interval (T2), and the number of operations (N) are extracted, and information regarding these operations is transmitted to the PLC master modem a1 through the signal line S2. The communication via the signal line S2 is USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like. Although the home appliance centralized management device 3 is a centralized management device connected to a network, the mobile phone may have a home appliance centralized management function via a wireless network.

(PLC master modem a1)
The PLC master modem a1 in FIG. 2 receives information related to the operation of the PLC slave modems a2 and a3 of each home appliance from the home appliance central management device 3. Hereinafter, each block of the PLC master modem a1 will be described. In addition, the arrow between blocks represents the flow of information.
The communication IF circuit unit 40 is an interface circuit for performing serial communication with a communication IF circuit unit (not shown) in the home appliance centralized management apparatus 3 via the signal line S2.
The coupling circuit unit 16 superimposes information as a high frequency component on the power line 10a-2, while taking out information from the power line 10a-2 as a high frequency component. The master control circuit unit 11 controls the transmission / reception switch circuit unit 15 according to transmission / reception of information. When receiving the information, the master control circuit unit 11 switches the transmission / reception switch circuit unit 15 so that the information can be transferred from the coupling circuit unit 16 to the reception circuit unit 14. When transmitting information, the master control circuit unit 11 switches the transmission / reception switch circuit unit 15 so that information can be transferred from the transmission circuit unit 13 to the coupling circuit unit 16. When receiving information, the receiving circuit unit 14 performs AD conversion and further demodulates the digital data. When transmitting information, the transmission circuit 13 modulates digital data and further performs DA conversion. The memory circuit unit 12 stores information received by the receiving circuit unit 14 under the control of the master control circuit unit 11.

  Since the master control circuit unit 11, the memory circuit unit 12, the transmission circuit unit 13, the reception circuit unit 14, and the transmission / reception switch circuit unit 15 operate at a low voltage (for example, 1.8V or 3.3V), the coupling circuit unit 16 Also has a function of cutting off commercial power voltage (for example, 100 V or 200 V) applied to the power line 10a-2.

(PLC slave modem a2)
Each block of the PLC slave modem a2 in FIG. 2 will be described. The functions of the slave control circuit unit 21, the memory circuit unit 22, the transmission circuit unit 23, the reception circuit unit 24, the transmission / reception switch circuit unit 25, and the coupling circuit unit 26 are the master control circuit unit 11 and the memory circuit unit in the PLC master modem a1. 12, the transmission circuit unit 13, the reception circuit unit 14, the transmission / reception switch circuit unit 15, and the coupling circuit unit 16. The communication IF circuit unit 50 is an interface circuit for performing serial communication with a communication IF circuit unit (not shown) in the home appliance 6 (video device) via the signal line S2.

The binarization circuit unit 31 converts the commercial frequency on the power line 10a-2 into a pulse signal.
The 50/60 Hz switching circuit unit 30 is a changeover switch for selecting either 50 Hz or 60 Hz according to the area where the PLC slave modem a2 is used.

  The timer circuit unit 28 increments or decrements the counter 29 based on the pulse signal obtained from the binarization circuit unit 31 and the switching information of the 50/60 Hz switching circuit unit 30. At this time, the value stored in the memory circuit unit 22 is set in the counter 29 via the slave control circuit unit 21. In an area with a commercial frequency of 50 Hz, the counter 29 operates every 20 milliseconds. When the counter 29 reaches a predetermined value, for example, 0000H or FFFFH (hexadecimal number), the timer circuit unit 28 notifies the slave control circuit unit 21 that the timing has been completed. Since the timer circuit unit 28 uses the commercial frequency of the commercial power source that is accurately frequency-controlled, it is possible to measure time extremely accurately.

  The on / off control unit 27 of the slave control circuit unit 21 receives the slave control circuit unit 21, the transmission circuit unit 23, the reception circuit unit 24, the transmission / reception switch circuit unit 25, and the memory circuit according to a predetermined signal from the timer circuit unit 28. Each function of the unit 22 is activated or deactivated. Even if the slave control circuit unit 21 is stopped, the on / off control unit 27 is always operated. On the contrary, the coupling circuit unit 26, the timer circuit unit 28, the counter 29, the 50/60 Hz switching circuit unit 30 and the binarization circuit unit 31 are out of the control of this operation or stop, and these are always operating.

  FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are diagrams according to the present embodiment. The information flow in the home appliance centralized management apparatus 3, the PLC master modem a1, the PLC slave modem a2, and the home appliance 6 (the time from the top to the bottom of each figure is time). FIG. Communication between the PLC master modem a1 and the PLC slave modem a2 is power line carrier communication using the power line 10a-2. Communication between the PLC master modem a1 and the home appliance centralized management device 3 and communication between the PLC slave modem a2 and the home appliance 6 are serial communication via the signal line S2. Further, it is assumed that a communication protocol is established and a communication route is established between the PLC master modem a1 and the PLC slave modem a2.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a flow of information regarding the change in operation of the PLC slave modem a2. In S100, as described above, the home appliance centralized management device 3 determines the operation start time (t0), the operation time (T1), and the operation interval (T2) from the management table based on the calendar day of the week and date / time of the home appliance centralized management device 3. ) And the number of times of operation (N) regarding the operation are taken out and transmitted to the PLC master modem a1.

  In S <b> 101, the PLC master modem a <b> 1 receives information related to the change in these operations from the home appliance central management device 3. In S102, the PLC master modem a1 transmits information regarding the change of these operations to the PLC slave modem a2.

  S110 shows the initial operation of the PLC slave modem a2. The timer circuit unit 28 in the PLC slave modem a2 in FIG. 2 measures the value set as the initial value. For example, a description will be given of a case where the PLC slave modem a2 has an initial condition in which the operation time is 5 minutes, the operation interval is 15 minutes, and the operation frequency is not limited. While the timer circuit unit 28 measures 5 minutes, the on / off control unit 27 of the slave control circuit unit 21 instructs the operation of the PLC slave modem a2 (as described above, the slave control circuit unit 21, the memory circuit The unit 22, the transmission circuit unit 23, the reception circuit unit 24, and the transmission / reception switch circuit unit 25 operate.). After 5 minutes, the on / off control unit 27 instructs the PLC slave modem a2 to stop while the timer circuit unit 28 measures 15 minutes (as described above, the slave control circuit unit 21, the memory The circuit unit 22, the transmission circuit unit 23, the reception circuit unit 24, and the transmission / reception switch circuit unit 25 are stopped.).

  In S111, information related to the change in operation is received from the PLC master modem a1, and information related to the operation is stored in the memory circuit unit 22. Thereafter, the slave control unit 21 acquires the operation time (T1) and the operation interval (T2) stored in the memory circuit unit 22, sets them in the counter 29 as new counter values, and the timer circuit unit 28 measures the time. Then, the on / off control unit 27 of the slave control unit 21 instructs the operation or stop of the PLC slave modem a2 according to the time of the timer circuit unit 28.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an information flow regarding an inquiry about information to the PLC master modem a1 while the PLC slave modem a2 is steadily operating.

  In S200, if the PLC slave modem a2 does not receive information from the PLC master modem a1 during the operation of the PLC slave modem a2, the PLC master modem a1 inquires of the PLC master modem a1. In S210, the PLC master modem a1 receives the inquiry from the PLC slave modem a2, and transmits it to the home appliance centralized management apparatus 3. In S220, the home appliance centralized management apparatus 3 receives the inquiry from the PLC slave modem a2.

(In case of PLC slave modem for water heater)
The flow of information relating to the change in operation from the central control device 3 to the PLC slave modem a3 for the water heater will be described with reference to FIG.

  In S1100, as explained in S110 of FIG. 4, the PLC slave modem a3 is operated for 5 minutes at 15-minute intervals for 24 hours a day because there is no limit on the number of operations, for example, in the initial state. I am letting. The timer circuit unit 28 measures time for 5 minutes for operating the PLC slave modem a3 and 15 minutes for stopping. The centralized management device 3 makes a hot water reservation instruction to the bath water heater via the PLC master modem a1 and the PLC slave modem a3 during 5 minutes (at 15 minute intervals) during which the PLC slave modem a3 is operating. Can do.

  In S1000, the centralized management device 3 takes out information related to the operation matching the current day of the week and date from the management table in light of its own calendar, and transmits it to the PLC master modem a1. For example, if the current time is 4pm on Saturday, the operation start time (t0) is 4pm, the operation time (T1) is 5 minutes, the operation interval (T2) is 10 minutes, and the operation frequency (N) is 16 times. Is transmitted through the signal line S2.

  In S1010, the PLC master modem a1 receives information regarding the change in these operations. In S1020, information regarding the change in operation is transmitted to the PLC slave modem a3.

  In S1110, information regarding the change in operation received by the PLC slave modem a3 from the PLC master modem a1 (operation start time (t0) = 4 pm, operation time (T1) = 5 minutes, operation interval (T2) = 10 minutes, The number of operations (N) = 16) is stored in the memory circuit unit 22. Thereafter, the PLC slave control unit 21 sets the operation time (T1) and the operation interval (T2) stored in the memory circuit unit 22 in the counter 29.

  The counter 29 in which the operation time (T1) and the operation interval (T2) are set starts counting, and the timer circuit 28 measures time. As described in S111 of FIG. 4, the PLC slave modem a3 operates as a modem for 5 minutes, and then stops the modem for 10 minutes. This is repeated 16 times (4 hours). That is, in the initial state of the PLC slave modem a3, the PLC slave modem a3 operates for 5 minutes at 15 minute intervals over 24 hours. On the other hand, after the information regarding the change in operation is stored in the memory circuit unit 22, the PLC slave modem a3 operates for 5 minutes at intervals of 10 minutes for 4 hours.

  In this way, the PLC that has received an instruction from the user by operating the PLC slave modem a3 only in a time zone (4 hours from 4 pm) that the user wants to instruct the water heater from the centralized management device 3. The master modem a1 can communicate with the PLC slave modem a3 with good timing. In addition, during this time period, the operating frequency of the PLC slave modem a3 is set to operate at 10-minute intervals for 5 minutes, so that the power consumption of the PLC slave modem a3 can be suppressed.

  In the embodiment, information related to the operation of the hot water supply PLC slave modem a3, that is, the operation start time (t0), the operation time (T1), the operation interval (T2), and the number of operations (N) has been described. The same applies to the period information of the device PLC slave modem a2.

  According to the PLC network system according to the present embodiment, the PLC slave modem a2 operates the modem based on the information related to the operation from the PLC master modem a1, so that the PLC master is timely while reducing power consumption. An instruction from the modem a1 can be received. Further, since the commercial frequency is used for the time measurement of the timer circuit unit 28 in FIG. 2, the time measurement of the timer circuit unit 28 is very accurate. For this reason, the operation of the PLC slave modem a2 in accordance with the start time and end time of video recording becomes possible.

  In the above embodiment, the description was given of the operation of the PLC slave modem a2 while the timer circuit unit 28 is timing. Conversely, the PLC slave modem a2 is stopped while the timer circuit unit 28 is timing. It can also be used.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a home PLC network system and related devices. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the main circuit structures of the PLC master modem and PLC slave modem which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a table in which the information regarding the action | operation or stop of the PLC slave modem which concerns on embodiment of this invention is stored. It is a figure showing the flow of the information regarding the change of the operation | movement of the PLC slave modem concerning this Embodiment. It is a figure showing the flow of the information regarding the steady operation | movement of the PLC slave modem concerning this Embodiment. It is a figure showing the flow of the information regarding the change of operation | movement of the PLC slave modem which concerns on an Example. It is a time chart regarding the operation | movement of the conventional PLC slave modem. It is a time chart regarding the operation | movement of the PLC slave modem which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

S1, S2 Signal line 1 Optical fiber 2 Photoelectric conversion device 3 Home appliance central control device 4 Wattmeter 5 Distribution board 6 Home appliance 7 Power outlet 8 Unit cable 9 Branching tool 10 Power line a1 Master modem a2, a3 Slave modem 11 Master control Circuit unit 21 Slave control circuit unit 12, 22 Memory circuit unit 13, 23 Transmission circuit unit 14, 24 Reception circuit unit 15, 25 Transmission / reception switch circuit unit 16, 26 Coupling circuit unit 27 On / off control unit 28 Timer circuit unit 29 Counter 30 50/60 Hz switching circuit unit 31 Binary circuit unit 40, 50 Communication IF circuit unit

Claims (4)

A PLC network system for performing communication using a power line as a transmission line between a PLC master modem and one or more PLC slave modems,
The PLC master modem includes a memory circuit unit and a transmission circuit unit,
The PLC slave modem includes a slave control circuit unit, a reception circuit unit, a transmission circuit unit, and a timer circuit unit.
In the PLC master modem,
The memory circuit unit is the slave control circuit unit of the PLC slave modem.
It has information about the operation of the receiving circuit unit and the transmitting circuit unit,
The transmission circuit unit of the PLC master modem transmits information on the operation to the PLC slave modem.
In the PLC slave modem,
The receiving circuit unit receives information on the operation from the PLC master modem,
The timer circuit unit, based on the information related to the operation, the slave control unit,
Timing the operation period of any or all of the receiving circuit unit and the transmitting circuit unit,
The PLC network system, wherein the slave control circuit unit operates in accordance with the timing of the timer circuit unit. Information on the operation is as follows:
Regarding any or all of the slave control unit, the reception circuit unit, and the transmission circuit unit in the PLC slave modem,
2. The PLC network system according to claim 1, wherein the PLC network system is one of an operation start time, an operation time, an operation interval, and an operation frequency. The power line supplies AC power having a certain commercial frequency,
The PLC network system according to claim 1, wherein the timer circuit unit measures time based on a period of the commercial frequency. A control circuit unit, a reception circuit unit, a transmission circuit unit, and a timer circuit unit;
A PLC modem for performing communication using a power line as a transmission line,
The receiving circuit unit receives information on the operation of the control circuit unit, the receiving circuit unit and the transmitting circuit unit from the outside,
The timer circuit unit operates any or all of the control circuit unit, the reception circuit unit, and the transmission circuit unit based on the period of the commercial frequency of the AC power supplied to the power line and information on the operation. Time the period,
The PLC modem, wherein the control circuit unit operates in accordance with the timing of the timer circuit unit.

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