JP2009100214A - Duct attachment type plc plug and master-slave setting method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide duct attachment type PLC plugs and the master-slave setting method for simplifying setting work in master-slave setting between a plurality of duct attachment plugs which are used while being attached to a wiring duct installed on the ceiling of a building. <P>SOLUTION: Each of the duct attachment type PLC plugs 60A, 60B which are used while being attached to the wiring duct 20 installed on the ceiling of the building is provided with a battery attachment part 90 to which a battery 91 is attached. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a duct-mounted PLC plug that accommodates a conductor connected to a power line routed in a building and is used by being mounted on a wiring duct installed on the ceiling of the building and a parent-child setting method thereof.

  Power lines are installed in various places such as dwellings and office buildings to supply power. In recent years, power line communication (PLC) using this power line as a transmission path has been established. Since this PLC realizes communication between devices using an existing power line, it is possible to network devices without newly introducing and constructing a dedicated communication line.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, a lighting duct such as an electric light or a network device is arranged in a wiring duct that is disposed on a ceiling of a building and houses a conductor for connecting to a power line routed in the building. A wiring duct system is disclosed that is used with a power plug for connecting a power cable.

In recent years, as a plug used in this wiring duct system, not only power supply via a conductor in the wiring duct but also power line carrier communication (PLC communication) between network devices can be performed (duct mounted PLC plug). Attempts have been made to use. The duct mounting type PLC plug is provided with a communication cable connecting portion to which a communication cable of a network device is connected, and the communication cable of the network device is connected to the communication cable connecting portion of the duct mounting type PLC plug attached to the wiring duct. When this is connected, this network device can perform PLC communication using the conductor in the wiring duct.
JP 53/084195

  By the way, in the above-described wiring duct system, in order to perform PLC communication using a conductor in a wiring duct between a plurality of network devices arranged at positions distant from each other, a duct-mounted PLC plug is prepared for each network device. Therefore, it is necessary to attach these at appropriate positions of the wiring duct. When a plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs are used by being mounted on a wiring duct in this way, they are mounted on the wiring duct in order to perform appropriate communication between a plurality of network devices connected to each duct-mounted PLC plug. PLC communication is controlled by the duct-mounted PLC plug set in the master unit by setting any one of the plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs to be set as the master unit and the other plugs as slave units. It is desirable to have a configuration.

  The parent-child setting between the plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs is performed, for example, by identifying unique identification information of the duct-mounted PLC plug serving as the child machine from the duct-mounted PLC plug serving as the child machine. This is realized by performing processing such as transmitting to the PLC plug, and receiving the identification information of the duct-mounted PLC plug serving as the slave unit and registering it in the table. Therefore, in order to perform parent-child settings between a plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs, it is necessary to connect these duct-mounted PLC plugs so that they can communicate with each other while power is supplied to each duct-mounted PLC plug.

  Here, since the duct mounting type PLC plug is configured on the assumption that it is used by being mounted on the wiring duct as described above, power is not supplied unless it is mounted on the wiring duct. In other words, the duct-mounted PLC plugs cannot be connected to each other in a communicable manner. Therefore, until now, in a state where a plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs are actually mounted at predetermined positions of wiring ducts already installed on the ceiling of the building, each duct-mounted PLC plug is operated to operate the parent and child. At present, work for setting is performed, and this has been a factor that causes deterioration in workability of the parent-child setting work.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a duct-mounted PLC plug and a method for setting the parent and child thereof that can simplify the setting of the parent-child of the duct-mounted PLC plug that is used by being mounted on the wiring duct.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a duct-mounted PLC plug that is installed on a wiring duct that is installed on a ceiling of a building and is electrically connected to a power line arranged in the building. In a state where electric power is supplied from a communication means for performing wired or wireless information communication between the battery mounting portion on which the battery is mounted and another duct mounting type PLC plug, and the battery mounted on the battery mounting portion. And a parent-child setting processing means for performing parent-child setting by performing information communication with another duct-mounted PLC plug by the communication means.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the duct-mounted PLC plug according to claim 1, wherein the parent-child setting processing means determines whether the duct-mounted PLC plug is set as a parent device or a child device. It further has a display part for enabling display.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a parent-child between a plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs installed on a wiring duct that is installed on a ceiling of a building and electrically connected to a power line routed in the building. A method of setting, wherein the plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs are connected to each other by performing wired or wireless information communication in a state where power is supplied from the batteries mounted on each of the plug-mounted PLC plugs, It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs can be connected to each duct from the battery mounted on the battery-mounted portion of the duct-mounted PLC plug without mounting the existing wiring duct installed on the ceiling of the building or the like. Since the parent-child setting is performed by the communication means of the duct-mounted PLC plug in a state where power is supplied to the mounted PLC plug, the parent-child setting operation can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, a duct mounting type PLC plug to which the present invention is applied and a wiring duct system using the same will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a wiring duct system. This wiring duct system uses the wiring duct 20 installed on the ceiling of the building to supply power from the power line 70 routed in the building to the lighting device 200, the network devices 100A and 100B, and the network device 100A. , 100B is a system that enables power line carrier communication (PLC communication) between 100B.

  The wiring duct 20 installed on the ceiling of the building is connected to, for example, a power line for transmitting commercial power via the distribution board 10. The wiring duct 20 is fitted with a power plug 50 and duct-attached PLC plugs 60A and 60B. The lighting device 200 having no communication function is connected to the power plug 50, and network devices 100A and 100B such as cameras and personal computers having a communication function are connected to the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wiring duct 20 has a slide rail 23 formed into a long rail shape, and a conductor 26 is provided along the longitudinal direction inside the slide rail 23. Yes. As shown in FIG. 2, the slide rail 23 is provided with an opening 24 that opens in the longitudinal direction at the lower end thereof, and through this opening 24, the power plug 50 and the duct-mounted PLC plug 60 </ b> A, 60B can be detachably mounted. A pair of holders 731 projecting inward are provided on the pair of inner walls facing each other inside the slide rail 23 along the longitudinal direction, and the conductors 26 are disposed on the pair of holders 731, respectively. Has been. The tops of the pair of holders 731 are open, and a part of the conductor 26 is exposed from the tops of the open holders 731. The power plug 50 and the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60 </ b> A and 60 </ b> B mounted through the opening 24 of the slide rail 23 are in contact with the conductor 26 at the top of the holder 731, so that the terminal portion contacts the conductor 26. Are electrically connected.

  A PLC feed-in 30 is connected to one end of the slide rail 23 in the longitudinal direction (end on the distribution board 10 side). The PLC feed-in 30 supplies power from the distribution board 10 to the conductor 26 in the slide rail 23 and prevents a power line carrier communication signal (PLC signal) flowing through the conductor 26 from leaking to the distribution board 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, a blocking filter 32 including a normal mode capacitor C1 and common mode choke coils L1 and L2 is provided.

  Further, a PLC end 40 is provided at the other end portion (terminal portion) in the longitudinal direction of the slide rail 23. The PLC end 40 is for preventing reflection of the PLC signal flowing through the conductor 26 inside the slide rail 23, and is composed of a capacitor Cw and a resistance element Rw, for example, as shown in FIG. . The PLC end 40 is designed so that impedance characteristics are matched with the conductor 26 inside the slide rail 23.

  FIG. 3 shows the structure in the vicinity of the terminal portions of the power plug 50 and the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B mounted on the wiring duct 20. The structure in the vicinity of the terminal portion is common to the power plug 50 and the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the power plug 50 and the duct-attached PLC plugs 60A and 60B attached to the wiring duct 20 have a cylindrical portion 55 protruding from the main body portion 52. A terminal portion 54 is formed on the peripheral surface of the portion 55. This terminal portion 54 is connected to an electric wire 57 in the main body portion 52. A projecting portion 53 is formed on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 55 at a position closer to the main body portion 52 than the terminal portion 54.

  When the power plug 50 and the duct mounting type PLC plugs 60 </ b> A and 60 </ b> B having such a structure are mounted on the slide rail 23 of the wiring duct 20, the cylindrical portion 55 is located inside the slide rail 23 from the opening 24 at the lower end of the slide rail 23. Inserted into. Then, when the cylindrical portion 55 is rotated in this state, the terminal portion 54 comes into contact with the conductor 26 disposed in the holder 731 inside the slide rail 23 as shown in FIG. At this time, the projecting portion 53 is fitted between the pair of inner walls of the slide rail 23, and the state of being attached to the slide rail 23 is maintained.

  The power plug 50 and the duct mounting type PLC plugs 60A and 60B are mounted on the slide rail 23 of the wiring duct 20 as described above, and the terminal portion 54 comes into contact with the conductor 26 inside the slide rail 23. Electrically connected. At this time, since the power is supplied from the distribution board 10 to the conductor 26 inside the slide rail 23 as described above, this power is supplied to the power plug 50 and the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B via the conductor 26. Will be supplied. Further, when the lighting device 200 is connected to the power plug 50 and the network devices 100A and 100B are connected to the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B, power is supplied to these devices. Further, the network devices 100A and 100B are connected to the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B via communication cables, respectively, so that PLC communication is possible via the conductor 26 in the slide rail 23.

  Next, the internal configuration of the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B for realizing PLC communication between the network devices 100A and 100B will be described with reference to FIG.

  The duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B convert information signals (for example, LAN signals) transmitted from the network devices 100A and 100B via the communication cables into PLC signals and transmit them to the conductors 26 of the slide rail 23. It has a function of receiving a PLC signal flowing through the conductor 26, converting the received PLC signal into a LAN signal and transmitting it to the network devices 100A and 100B. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the network devices 100A and 100B Are connected to each other, and a communication cable connection unit 5, a transmission / reception unit 46, a power line carrier communication modem 47, a communication interface 48 and a control unit 49.

  LAN signals transmitted from the network devices 100 </ b> A and 100 </ b> B via the communication cable are input to the interface unit 4 via the communication cable connection unit 5 and received by the communication interface 48 of the interface unit 4. The LAN signal received by the communication interface 48 is converted into a PLC signal by the power line carrier communication modem 47, and the wiring duct 20 slides from the transmission / reception unit 46 via the electric wires 57 inside the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B. It is sent to the conductor 26 inside the rail 23. Conversely, the PLC signal transmitted through the conductor 26 inside the slide rail 23 is input to the interface unit 4 from the electric wires 57 inside the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60 </ b> A and 60 </ b> B and is received by the transmission / reception unit 46 of the interface unit 4. The Then, the PLC signal received by the transmission / reception unit 46 is converted into a LAN signal by the power line carrier communication modem 47, and then the network device 100 </ b> A via the communication cable connected from the communication interface 48 to the communication cable connection unit 5. 100B.

  The operation of each component of the interface unit 4 as described above is controlled by the control unit 49. In addition, the control unit 49 performs operation control at the time of parent-child setting to be described later, and a display for displaying whether the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B are set to the parent device or the child device so that they can be discriminated. The unit 45 is also controlled. In addition, power is supplied to each component of the interface unit 4 via a power supply unit 44 including an AC / DC converter.

  The electric wires 57 inside the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60 </ b> A and 60 </ b> B and the interface unit 4 are connected via a DC cut capacitor 42 and an insulating transformer 43. Further, the electric wires 57 inside the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B are also connected to the outlet portion 7 for supplying power to the network devices 100A and 100B.

  In the wiring duct system of the present embodiment, as described above, the two duct mounting type PLC plugs 60A and 60B are mounted on the slide rail 23 of the wiring duct 20, and the network device 100A is connected to the duct mounting type PLC plugs 60A and 60B. 100B is connected to each other so that PLC communication can be performed by these network devices 100A and 100B. For this reason, it is desired to perform parent-child setting between the two duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B, with either one serving as a master unit and the other serving as a slave unit.

  However, the parent-child setting between the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B has so far been performed by actually mounting the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B on the wiring duct 20 previously installed on the ceiling. However, there was a problem that the work was complicated. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the battery mounting part 90 is provided in the duct mounting type PLC plugs 60 </ b> A and 60 </ b> B, and each duct mounting type PLC is connected to the battery 91 mounted on the battery mounting part 90. In a state where power is supplied to the plugs 60A and 60B, the duct-attached PLC plugs 60A and 60B are connected to each other via a communication cable to perform parent-child settings so that the setting operation can be performed easily.

  As described above, the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B of the present embodiment include the communication cable connection unit 5 and the interface unit 4 for the network devices 100A and 100B to perform PLC communication via the conductor 26 of the wiring duct 20. The communication cable connection unit 5 and the interface unit 4 are also used when performing parent-child settings between the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B. Specifically, on one of the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60 </ b> A and 60 </ b> B, an information signal (for example, a LAN signal) transmitted from the other duct-mounted PLC plug via the communication cable is transmitted via the communication cable connection unit 5. Are input to the interface unit 4 and received by the communication interface 48 of the interface unit 4 (communication means). The communication interface 48 is for transmitting and receiving LAN signals between the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B connected via a communication cable, and is a control unit 49 (parent-child control) that controls operation of parent-child settings. Setting processing means). As shown in FIG. 5, even when the duct-attached PLC plugs 60 </ b> A and 60 </ b> B are not electrically connected to the wiring duct 20, when performing parent-child setting from the battery 91 attached to the battery attachment unit 90. Electric power is supplied to the display unit 45, the communication interface 48, and the control unit 49 that are used.

  The communication interface 48 can be configured in accordance with the standard of information signals transmitted from the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B. In this embodiment, the parent / child setting is performed by LAN communication using a communication cable. However, the communication connection may be made by a wireless method such as radio waves. By using wireless communication, there is an advantage that a communication cable is unnecessary.

  The parent-child setting between the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B is performed from the battery 91 mounted on the battery mounting part 90 of the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B to each duct-mounted PLC plug 60A and 60B as described above. In a state where electric power is supplied, the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B perform information communication via a communication cable.

  In the present embodiment, the battery mounting unit 90 is configured to detachably mount the primary battery or the secondary battery, but may be configured to incorporate the secondary battery so as to be rechargeable.

  Here, taking as an example a case where the duct-mounted PLC plug 60A is set as a master unit and the duct-mounted PLC plug 60B is set as a slave unit, a procedure for performing parent-child setting between the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B is taken as an example. explain.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60 </ b> A and 60 </ b> B include a parent / child setting button 80 for instructing the control unit 49 of the interface unit 4 to start parent-child setting processing, And a parent-child setting slide switch 81 for identifying whether to set to the slave unit. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the parent / child setting slide switch 81 is slid to the left in the drawing when it is desired to be set as the parent device, and is slid to the right in the drawing when it is desired to be set as the child device. It is configured. The parent / child setting button 80 includes a push button that can be operated by an operator. When the parent / child setting button 80 is pressed by the operator, the control unit 49 of the interface unit 4 sets the parent / child. Start processing.

  When the duct-mounted PLC plug 60A is set as the master unit and the duct-mounted PLC plug 60B is set as the slave unit, the parent-child setting slide switch 81 of the duct-mounted PLC plug 60A is first slid to the parent side, The parent-child setting slide switch 81 of the type PLC plug 60B is slid to the child side. In this state, the parent-child setting button 80 of the duct-mounted PLC plug 60A and the parent-child setting button 80 of the duct-mounted PLC plug 60B are pressed simultaneously. As a result, an instruction to start the parent-child setting process as a master unit is input to the control unit 49 of the duct-mounted PLC plug 60A, and the control unit 49 of the duct-mounted PLC plug 60B is input. Receives an instruction to start the parent-child setting process as a slave.

  The control unit 49 of the duct-mounted PLC plug 60B reads a unique address (identification information) stored in advance in an internal memory or the like when an instruction to start the parent-child setting process as a slave unit is input. The address is transmitted to the duct-mounted PLC plug 60A via the communication cable. On the other hand, the control unit 49 of the duct-mounted PLC plug 60A receives the address transmitted from the duct-mounted PLC plug 60B via the communication cable when an instruction to start the parent-child setting process as the parent device is input. Is received, and the received address of the duct-mounted PLC plug 60B is registered in a table provided in an internal memory or the like. Thereby, the parent-child setting between the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B is completed. The duct-mounted PLC plug 60A set as the master unit displays that the display unit 45 has set itself as the master unit, and the duct-mounted PLC plug 60B set as the slave unit is displayed on the display unit 45. Displays that it has been set as a slave unit. As shown in FIG. 4A, the display unit 45 is composed of, for example, a plurality of LED elements having different emission colors, and changes the emission color depending on whether the display unit 45 is set as the master unit or the slave unit. It is controlled by the control unit 49.

  As described above in detail with specific examples, in the present embodiment, when performing parent-child setting between the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B that are mounted on the wiring duct 20 and used, In a state where electric power is supplied to each of the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B from the battery 91 mounted on the battery mounting portion 90 of the mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B, the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B are connected to each other. Information communication is performed via a communication cable to execute processing for parent-child setting. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform the work for setting the parent and child by actually installing the duct-attached PLC plugs 60A and 60B using a stepladder or the like on the wiring duct 20 already installed on the ceiling, and in an easy-to-work place. After performing the parent-child setting operation between the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B using the power and the communication cable from the battery 91 mounted on the battery mounting part 90 of each duct-mounted PLC plug 60A and 60B, Since the duct mounting type PLC plugs 60A and 60B for which the parent-child setting is completed may be mounted on the wiring duct 20 installed on the ceiling, the work efficiency can be improved by simplifying the work. In addition, it is possible to easily determine whether the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B are set as the master unit or the slave unit by the display unit 45 provided on the duct-mounted PLC plugs 60A and 60B. It becomes possible.

(A) shows the overall configuration diagram of the wiring duct system, (b) shows a circuit diagram of the PLC feed-in, and (c) shows a circuit diagram of the PLC end. The external appearance block diagram of the slide rail of the wiring duct used for the wiring duct system same as the above is shown. (A) has shown sectional drawing of the terminal part vicinity of the duct mounting type | mold PLC plug and electric power plug concerning one Embodiment of this invention, (b) has shown the state attached to the wiring duct. (A) shows the perspective view which looked at the duct mounting type PLC plug same as the above from the lower part, (b) has shown the enlarged view of the parent-child setting slide switch of a duct mounting type PLC plug. The circuit diagram of the duct mounting type | mold PLC plug same as the above is shown.

Explanation of symbols

4 Interface part (communication means)
5 Communication cable connection (communication means)
20 Wiring duct 45 Display unit 49 Control unit (parent-child setting processing means)
60A, 60B Duct mounted PLC plug 70 Power line 80 Parent-child setting button 81 Parent-child setting slide switch 90 Battery mounting part 91 Battery

Claims (3)

A duct-mounted PLC plug that is used by being mounted on a wiring duct that is installed on the ceiling of a building and electrically connected to a power line arranged in the building,
A battery mounting part to which the battery is mounted;
A communication means for performing information communication by wire or wireless with another duct-mounted PLC plug;
A parent-child setting processing means for performing parent-child settings by performing information communication with another duct-mounted PLC plug by the communication means in a state where power is supplied from the battery attached to the battery mounting portion; A duct-mounted PLC plug characterized by comprising:   The duct according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying whether the duct-mounted PLC plug is set as a master unit or a slave unit by the parent-child setting processing unit. Wearable PLC plug. A method of performing parent-child setting between a plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs used by being mounted on a wiring duct installed on a ceiling of a building and electrically connected to a power line routed in the building,
The plurality of duct-mounted PLC plugs perform parent-child settings by performing information communication by wire or wireless in a state where power is supplied from the batteries mounted on each of the duct-mounted PLC plugs,
A parent-child setting method of a duct-mounted PLC plug characterized by

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