JP2008141523A - Communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device without causing any power failure in the house even when a repeater compensating a communication signal having attenuated owing to branch loss is provided for excellent communication as in-house PLC. <P>SOLUTION: The communication device 1 for power line carrier communication between a first communication terminal device 81 connected to a first power supply line (a power line 20 and a branch line 21) branching off from a main line 101 in an electrical distribution panel CP and a second communication terminal 82 connected to a second power supply line (a power line 30 and a branch line 31) branching off from the main line 101 is provided with: communication wirings (communication wirings 20A and 30A and a connection line 10C) connecting the first power supply line and second power supply line so that communication signals can be transmitted 2 when both the communication terminals 81 and 82 communicate with each other; the repeater 10r which is connected to the communication wirings to amplify the communication signals; and signal transmitting filter sections 20f and 30f which are disposed on the communication wirings and attenuate the electric power in the commercial frequency band. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus for performing power line carrier communication using indoor wiring as a signal transmission line. In particular, the present invention relates to a communication apparatus that can compensate for attenuation of a communication signal in a signal transmission path.

  In recent years, power line communication (PLC) that performs high-speed communication by superimposing a high-frequency signal on indoor wiring that is arranged in a house (in-house) and is used for a power supply path has been studied. As shown in FIG. 4, in the house 100, a lead-in wire 200 connected to the low-voltage distribution line is introduced into the distribution board CP. The lead-in line 200 is connected to the main line 101 via the main breaker MB in the distribution board CP, and a plurality of branch main lines 110, 120, 130 are branched from the main line 101 via the branch breaker B. Further, a plurality of branch lines 111, 112, 121, 122, 131, 132... Are branched from each branch main line 110, 120, 130. An indoor wiring is constructed from the branch trunk lines 110 to 130 and the branch lines 111 to 132. At the end of each branch line 111 to 132, an electrical device such as a lighting fixture is connected, or an outlet to which various electrical devices can be connected is provided.

  In such a house 100, power line carrier communication devices (PLC modems) 141 and 142 are connected to the branch lines 111 and 121 of the branch trunk lines 110 and 120, respectively, and communication terminal devices 151 and 152 such as personal computers are connected to the PLC modems 141 and 142, respectively. Communication terminal device 151 (152) receives power supply from a power supply path composed of branch trunk line 110 (120) and branch line 111 (121). At this time, the communication terminal devices 151 and 152 are connected via the branch lines 111 and 121, the branch trunk lines 110 and 120, and the main line 101, and can perform home PLC using these as signal transmission paths.

  The indoor wiring shown in FIG. 4 is an arrangement form called a bus type having a plurality of branch points with respect to the main line and the branch trunk line. On the other hand, in recent years, using a cable called a unit cable, a star-type indoor wiring in which a plurality of branch lines are connected to one branch point has been constructed.

Unit cable U, a plurality of branch lines (wiring cable) u _1, u ₂ as shown in FIG. 5, ... and u _n, these branch lines u _1, u _2, ... branch connection for connecting one end of the u _n A portion S and a resin mold portion (cap) M covering the branch connection portion S are provided. The unit cable U is manufactured in advance in a factory and is transported to each house for wiring. Specifically, the mold part M is fixed to a pillar of a house, one of the branch lines is connected to a distribution board as a main power line, and an outlet is provided at the other end of the remaining branch lines. .

  By the way, in PLC, since the power line is used for carrying the communication signal, there is a possibility that the communication signal flows to the branch trunk line and the branch line not used for communication, so-called branch loss occurs, and the communication signal may be greatly attenuated. is there. In particular, conventional home PLCs transmit communication signals via the main line, so there is a large branch loss, the communication signals are attenuated, and good communication cannot be performed between signal transmission paths used for communication. There was a problem.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, Patent Literature 1 discloses a power line communication system in which a trunk power line that is a main line is interposed with a repeater that compensates for attenuated communication signals. ing. In this power line communication system, a repeater is arranged on a main power line (main line) to which indoor branch light lines (branch main lines) are collectively connected, and a re-branched light line further branched from the branch light line ( By amplifying the communication signal from the power line communication device (PLC modem and communication terminal device) connected to the terminal of the branch line), the attenuation of the communication signal due to the branch loss is compensated.

JP 2001-308756 A

  However, in the power line communication system of Patent Document 1 described above, it is necessary to perform an operation of connecting a repeater to the main power line (main line), and this connection point becomes a weak point and damage will occur in the future. There is a fear. When some damage occurs in the main line, the main line supplies power to all the branch trunks in the house, so that the entire house is in a power failure state. Therefore, the connection work to the main line is not preferable because it may cause damage to the main line. In particular, when a repeater is added later to existing indoor wiring, the main line is likely to be damaged. In addition, the main breaker must be turned off during expansion work, and the house is completely out of power.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its main purpose is to prevent power outages even when a repeater that compensates for a communication signal attenuated by a branch loss is provided when performing good communication with a home PLC. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that does not have a state.

  The present invention achieves the above-mentioned object by providing communication wiring that bypasses between each power supply path that branches from the main line and supplies power to the communication terminal device, and arranges a repeater in the communication wiring. To do.

  The present invention provides a first communication terminal device connected to a first power supply path branched from a main line in a distribution board, and a second communication terminal device connected to a second power supply path branched from the main line. It is a communication apparatus for performing power line carrier communication between. And when this invention communication apparatus communicates with both said communication terminal devices, between the said 1st power supply path and said 2nd power supply path, the wiring for communication which connects so that a communication signal can be transmitted, A signal transmission filter unit disposed on the communication wiring and attenuating power in a commercial frequency band, and a repeater connected to the communication wiring and amplifying the communication signal.

  According to the communication device of the present invention, a communication signal transmission path capable of transmitting a communication signal without passing through the main line can be configured by the communication wiring connecting the power supply paths. The signal transmission filter provided in the communication wiring attenuates the power in the commercial frequency band, that is, has a low impedance in the frequency band of the communication signal (usually a higher frequency band than the commercial frequency band). Communication signals can be easily drawn into the wiring. Furthermore, since the repeater is connected to this communication wiring, the communication signal attenuated by the branch loss can be amplified. Therefore, according to the communication apparatus of the present invention, good communication can be performed.

  The present invention will be described in detail below.

  The first power supply path and the second power supply path can be configured by continuous wiring, but may be configured by connecting a plurality of different wirings. In the case of a plurality of different wirings, for example, in a house having a bus-type wiring structure, a branch main line branched from the main line and a branch line connected to the branch main line are used as power supply paths. In this case, a communication terminal device is connected to the end of the branch line. Moreover, if it is a star type, it is the wiring (power supply line) connected to the main line among several wirings collectively connected to a connection part, and the wiring (branch line) from a connection part to the communication terminal device side And the power supply path. As the star-type wiring, it is possible to use a unit cable. In this case, in the unit cable, a power supply path is formed by the power supply line connected to the main line and the branch line connected to the power supply line via the branch connection portion.

  Each of the communication wirings is connected to the first power supply path and the second power supply path, and functions as a bypass path for transmitting a communication signal between the communication terminal devices. Since the communication wiring is connected to the power supply path and power in the commercial frequency band is applied, a communication wiring that can withstand this power and can transmit a desired communication signal can be used. For example, the communication wiring can be a wiring widely used for supplying power in a commercial frequency band, specifically, a parallel two-wire (a flat cable or a parallel two-core cable) without a shielding layer. When a wiring having a shielding layer is a communication wiring, it is difficult to be affected by noise due to induction.

  When the first (second) power supply path is composed of unit cable wiring (branch line and power supply line), the communication wiring is different from the first (second) power supply path provided for the unit cable. It is preferable to use a branch line. It is preferable to use the wiring provided in the unit cable in advance for the communication wiring because the connection work between each power supply path and each communication wiring is unnecessary.

  By connecting the two power supply paths with the communication wiring as described above, these power supply paths are short-circuited in a commercial frequency band (for example, 50 Hz or 60 Hz). Therefore, a signal transmission filter that attenuates power in the commercial frequency band is provided in the communication wiring. Specifically, power in the commercial frequency band is attenuated or cut off, and the frequency band used for communication signals (usually higher than the commercial frequency (for example, 50 Hz or 60 Hz), for example, about 1 to 50 MHz, particularly 2 to 30 MHz. The two power supply paths are connected to each other at high frequency through a signal transmission filter section capable of transmitting the signal).

  The main body of the signal transmission filter section is a high-pass filter (HPF) that has low impedance in the use frequency band of communication signals and high impedance in the commercial frequency band, and a band-pass filter (BPF) that cuts off power in a specific frequency band And band elimination filter (BEF) can be used. An example of HPF is a capacitor (capacitor, C). Since the signal transmission filter unit connected to the communication wiring has a low impedance in the frequency band of the communication signal, the communication signal transmitted from the communication terminal device is easily drawn into the communication wiring. As a result, it is possible to reduce a communication signal that branches to a wiring (branch line) other than the communication wiring connected to the power supply path.

  One signal transmission filter unit may be provided in the communication wiring, but two signal transmission filter units may be provided. In this case, by arranging a repeater between the two signal transmission filter units, a communication signal that is less affected by the power in the commercial frequency band can be input to the repeater.

  In addition, the signal transmission filter unit may be stored in a case or the like. By storing in the case, the signal transmission filter part can be protected. Further, when housed in a case, the communication wiring can be easily attached to and detached from the case. For example, when a unit cable is used in the configuration of the communication device of the present invention, a signal transmission filter portion housed in a case is formed at the end of a branch line of the unit cable, and a separately prepared wiring can be attached to and detached from the case. A connection is formed. And the wiring for communication is formed by connecting the connection part of the case connected to a different unit cable by the said wiring. According to such a configuration, the communication wiring can be easily extended, and the degree of freedom of arrangement of the repeater connected to the communication wiring is increased. In addition, even when a separately prepared wiring between the connection portions is damaged, the damaged wiring can be easily replaced.

  A repeater that compensates for the attenuated communication signal is connected to the communication wiring described above. The repeater is a device for amplifying and shaping a received communication signal. Here, since the communication signal is easily drawn into the communication wiring as described above, it can be said that it is a very preferable position as the arrangement position of the repeater. Moreover, unlike Patent Document 1, there is no need to create a location that becomes a weak point of the main line by connecting the repeater to the main line. Such a repeater is preferably housed in a housing for protection. Such a housing may cover at least the outer periphery of the repeater. Further, the signal transmission filter unit may be housed inside the housing.

  Furthermore, in order to reduce the branch loss and perform a good communication signal, it is preferable that the communication signal is hardly transmitted to the main line. Specifically, the communication device is configured to prevent a communication signal from being transmitted from the communication wiring to the main line via the first power supply path, and from the communication wiring to the second power supply path. And a second blocking filter unit for preventing a communication signal from being transmitted to the main line via the cable. Since such a blocking filter unit hardly transmits a communication signal transmitted from each communication terminal device to the main line, branch loss can be reduced. In addition, this blocking filter unit transmits a communication signal to the main line and leaks to the outside from the main line via the lead-in line, or conversely, a communication signal or noise from the outside is transmitted to the power supply path. Talk can be prevented.

  The blocking filter section must be capable of transmitting power in the commercial frequency band from the main line to each power supply path. For example, a low-pass filter (LPF) that has a low impedance in the commercial frequency band and a high impedance in the frequency band of the communication signal, or a BPF or BEF that cuts off power in a specific frequency band can be used. LPF includes an L-C circuit combining an inductance component (L) and a capacitor (capacitor, C). This blocking filter part is preferably housed in a case or the like for protection.

  According to the communication device of the present invention, the repeater that compensates for the communication signal attenuated due to the branch loss is provided in the communication wiring different from the main line, so that the main line is not damaged. Moreover, when installing a repeater, the house is not made into a power failure state.

  Further, according to the communication device of the present invention, a communication wiring that does not pass through the main line is provided, and a signal transmission filter unit that has low impedance with respect to power in the frequency band of the communication signal is provided in the communication wiring. Thus, the communication signal can be easily drawn. Then, by amplifying the drawn communication signal by the repeater, good communication can be performed in the home PLC.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
<Example 1>
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a home power line carrier communication system including the communication device of the present invention. In the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same items. This system performs in-home PLC using a part of the indoor wiring (branch lines 21, 31) of the indoor wiring in the house as a signal transmission path. Specifically, a communication terminal device (first communication terminal device) 81 such as a personal computer connected to the distribution board CP via the first power supply path (power supply line 20 and branch line 21), and the distribution board CP Communication signals are exchanged with the communication terminal device (second communication terminal device) 82 connected to the second power supply path (power supply line 30 and branch line 31). Communication terminal devices 81 and 82 are connected to branch lines 21 and 31 via PLC modems 71 and 72, respectively, and PLC modem 71 or 72 may be configured to be communicable with the outside.

  The indoor wiring is composed of unit cables 2, 3, and 5. The cable 2 includes a plurality of branch lines 21 and 22, a power line 20 connected to the main line 101 in the distribution board CP, and a branch connection part that electrically connects the branch lines 21 and 22 and the power line 20 2j and a resin mold part 2m covering the connection part 2j. The same applies to the cables 3 and 5 and includes power supply lines 30 and 50, branch lines 31, 32, 51 and 52, branch connection portions 3j and 5j, and resin mold portions 3m and 5m, respectively. One end of each branch line 21, 22, 31, 32, 51, 52 is connected to the branch connection portion 2j, 3j, 5j, and an outlet, a lighting device, or the like is provided at the other end. Each power supply line 20, 30, 50 has one end connected to the branch connection portions 2 j, 3 j, 5 j and the other end connected to the main line 101. Power is supplied to each branch line 21, 22, 31, 32, 51, 52 by the power supply lines 20, 30, 50.

  In order to use such an indoor wiring as a signal transmission path of the PLC, the system includes a communication device 1. The communication device 1 is a device for amplifying a communication signal attenuated by a repeater (relay) 10r so that communication can be satisfactorily performed between the communication terminal devices 81 and 82 connected to the unit cables 2 and 3. . Here, the unit cable 5 is for ordinary home wiring and is not used for home PLC. Hereinafter, the communication apparatus 1 will be described.

  The communication device 1 enables transmission of communication signals between the communication terminal devices 81 and 82 by communication wiring connecting between the power line 20 of the unit cable 2 and the power line 30 of the unit cable 3. It is. Specifically, the communication wiring includes a communication line 20A connected to the branch connection part 2j, a communication line 30A connected to the branch connection part 3j, and a connection line 10C connecting both the communication lines 20A and 30A. Become.

  As the communication line 20A (30A), a general-purpose branch line connected in advance to the unit cable 2 (3) was used in the same manner as the branch lines 21 and 22 (31 and 32).

  The communication line 20A (30A) is provided with a signal transmission filter unit 20f (30f) that attenuates power in the commercial frequency band. The filter unit 20f (30f) is a high-pass filter (HPF) that has high impedance in the commercial frequency band and low impedance in the use frequency band of the communication signal, and uses a capacitor. Since the communication line 20A (30A) is provided with the filter unit 20f (30f), it is possible to easily draw a communication signal into the communication line 20A (30A), so that branch loss can be reduced. Further, it is possible to prevent the unit cables 2 and 3 connected by the communication wiring (20A, 10C, 30A) from being short-circuited by the filter unit 20f (30f).

  A terminal portion is provided at the end of the communication line 20A (30A) connected to the unit cable 2 (3). By fitting this terminal portion with the fitting portions 10t provided at both ends of the connection line 10C, the communication line 20A, the connection line 10C, and the communication line 30A are connected to form a communication wiring.

  The connection line 10C and the fitting portion 10t are arranged inside the connection box 10. A repeater (relay device) 10r is further accommodated in the connection box 10. The connection box 10C and the repeater 10r can be protected by the connection box 10. Further, the connection line 10C and the fitting portion 10t are provided in the connection box 10 so that the connection box 10 and the communication lines 20A and 30A are detachable, so that the communication lines 20A and 30A are connected to the unit cables 2 and 3 Can be easily connected.

  The repeater 10r is a device for amplifying and shaping the received communication signal and transmitting it, and is connected in parallel to the connection line 10C. A known repeater 10r was used. As the repeater 10r, it is possible to use a class 1 repeater that reads a waveform, digitizes it, and then recreates the waveform, or a class 2 repeater that shapes and transfers the waveform as analog.

  In the communication device 1 of the present invention having the above-described configuration, the power supply path composed of the power supply line 20 and the branch line 21 and the power supply path composed of the power supply line 30 and the branch line 31 are connected to the communication wiring (20A, 10C). , 30A), and this communication wiring can be used for transmission of communication signals. Further, the signal transmission filter portions 20f and 30f are provided in the communication wiring, so that the communication signal can be easily drawn into the communication wiring, and the drawn communication signal can be amplified by a repeater (repeater). By constructing an in-home PLC system including the communication device of the present invention, it is possible to compensate for the communication signal attenuated by the branch loss and perform good communication. The communication device of the present invention can be easily attached to the indoor wiring, is excellent in installation workability, and does not damage the main line when the repeater is connected.

<Modification 1-1>
In this modification, a communication system using communication wiring having a configuration different from that of the first embodiment will be described. Since this modification is common to the first embodiment except for the configuration of the communication wiring, only the differences will be described.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the unit cable 2 in the communication system. In this example, the communication line 20A for communication wiring is configured by two cables 20a and 20b having different configurations. The cable 20a is a branch line provided in advance in the unit cable, and a signal transmission filter unit 20f is provided at an end thereof. The signal transmission filter portion 20f is housed in a case, and a fitting portion 20t is formed in the case. On the other hand, the cable 20b is a general-purpose parallel two-core cable in which terminal portions are provided at both ends thereof, one end of which is connected to the fitting portion 20t, and the other end is connected to the fitting portion 10t. Connected. According to such a configuration, even if the portion of the cable 20b in the communication line 20A is damaged, it can be repaired simply by replacing the cable 20b. The unit cable 3 in FIG. 1 may be configured similarly to the unit cable 2.

<Example 2>
In the second embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, a communication device that can reduce communication loss and perform better communication by including a configuration that prevents communication signals from being transmitted to the main line. Will be explained.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the communication device of the second embodiment is provided with a blocking filter unit 25f (35f) in the power supply line in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment. The blocking filter 25f (35f) is configured to allow the power in the commercial frequency band to pass and attenuate or block the signal in the used frequency band of the communication signal. The blocking filter unit 25f (35f) is composed of a low-pass filter (LPF) that allows power in the commercial frequency band to pass and attenuates the signal in the used frequency band of the communication signal. The filter unit is configured by an L-C circuit including a coil serving as an inductance component and a capacitor. The circuit is housed in a case for protection.

By arranging such a filter unit 25f (35f) on the power supply line 20 (30), the communication signal from the communication terminal device 81 (82) is connected to the branch connection unit 2j (3j) from the branch line 21 (31). Even if it is transmitted to the power line 20 (30) via the filter section 25f (35f), it is attenuated. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the communication signal from being transmitted to the main line 101 side from the filter unit 25f (35f). In addition, even if an external communication signal or noise is transmitted from the lead-in line 200 to the power supply line 20 (30) via the main line 101, it is attenuated by the filter unit 25f (35f) and moved to the branch line 21 (31) side. It can be prevented from being transmitted. Since the blocking filter unit 25f (35f) does not transmit the communication signal transmitted from the communication terminal device 81 (82) to the main line 101, branch loss can be reduced. Further, it is possible to prevent so-called crosstalk, in which a communication signal leaks from the main line 101 to the outside via a lead-in line, or a communication signal or noise from the outside is received.

  Further, in this example, a unit cable 4 is further provided so that communication terminal devices other than the communication terminal devices 81 and 82 can be connected later. The configuration of the unit cable 4 is the same as that of the unit cables 2 and 3. Specifically, the power line 40 of the unit cable 4 is connected to the main line 101, and the communication line 40A is connected to the connection line 10C. Further, a blocking filter portion 45f is disposed on the power line 40. Therefore, by connecting the modem and the communication terminal device to the outlet OL provided at the end of the branch line 41 of the unit cable 4, the power line carrier communication by the three communication terminal devices can be performed.

  The above-described embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention, and is not limited to the above-described configuration.

  The communication apparatus of the present invention can be suitably used for in-home power line carrier communication using indoor wiring as a signal transmission path.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication apparatus described in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the communication device described in Modification 1-1, and shows the vicinity of a unit cable. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the communication apparatus described in the second embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a state in which a PLC communication system is constructed using indoor wiring. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a unit cable.

Explanation of symbols

1 Communication device
2,3,4,5 unit cable
20,30,40,50 Power line 21,22,31,32,41,51,52 Branch line
2j, 3j, 4j, 5j Branch connection 2m, 3m, 4m, 5m Mold part
10 Junction box 10C Connection line 10r Repeater 10t, 20t Mating part
20A, 30A, 40A Communication line 20a cable (branch line) 20b cable (parallel 2-core cable)
20f, 30f, 40f Signal transmission filter
25f, 35f, 45f Blocking filter section
71,72 PLC modem 81,82 Communication terminal equipment
100 House 101 Main track CP Distribution board MB Main breaker B Branch breaker
110,120,130 Branch line 111,112,121,122,131,132 Branch line
141,142 PLC modem 151,152 Communication terminal
200 service line OL outlet
U unit cable u _{1 to} u _n Branch line S Connection M Mold

Claims (4)

Between the first communication terminal apparatus connected to the first power supply path branched from the main line in the distribution board and the second communication terminal apparatus connected to the second power supply path branched from the main line A communication device for performing power line carrier communication,
When performing communication between the two communication terminal devices, between the first power supply path and the second power supply path, communication wiring for connecting a communication signal,
A signal transmission filter unit that is disposed in the communication wiring and attenuates power in a commercial frequency band;
A communication apparatus comprising: a repeater connected to the communication wiring and amplifying the communication signal. A first blocking filter section for preventing the communication signal from being transmitted from the communication wiring to the main line via the first power supply path;
2. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a second blocking filter unit that prevents the communication signal from being transmitted from the communication wiring to the main line via the second power supply path. .   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the repeater is housed in a housing. The first power supply path is constituted by wiring of a first unit cable,
The second power supply path is constituted by wiring of a second unit cable,
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication wiring is configured by connecting the wiring of the first unit cable and the wiring of the second unit cable.

Images