JP2010147714A - Device and method for verifying connection of power line communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To verify connection states of power line communication terminals connected to power lines with different systems. <P>SOLUTION: A device includes: a plurality of power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d to be connected to a power line 1; wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d connected to the power line communication terminals; a wireless control unit 4 capable of communicating with the respective wireless terminals; and a connection verification unit 5 connected to the wireless control unit 4. The wireless control unit 4 includes a test telegram transmitting unit 41 which transmits test telegrams. The power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d transmit the test telegrams and transmitting source IDs to the power line communication terminals at transmitting destinations via the power line 1. The connection verification unit 5 includes a connection state decision unit 53 which determines the connection states of the power line communication terminals capable of directly communicating with one another according to the test telegrams, the transmitting source IDs, and receiving side IDs from the respective power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d received via the respective wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and the wireless control unit 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and a connection verification method for verifying whether or not a plurality of power line communication terminals are connected to exchange data via a power line.

  Conventionally, when deploying power line communication terminals, one set of power line communication terminals and data terminals are connected to an outlet provided in the vicinity of the installation location of a data terminal such as a personal computer. Communication has been determined between the power line communication terminal and the data terminal to determine whether communication is possible. However, in such a confirmation method, it is only possible to confirm one by one whether or not communication via the power line is possible, and there is a drawback that work is time consuming and time consuming.

In order to solve such problems, the invention described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. In the invention of Patent Document 1, a plurality of sets of power line communication terminals and data terminals are connected to a power line, and each set of data terminals has a relay function. In the invention of this patent document 1, even if the data terminal on the transmission side and the data terminal on the reception side cannot communicate directly, communication is performed by relaying the data terminals that can communicate.
JP-A-8-186526

  Certainly, if you use a data terminal that has such a relay function, even if there is no connection check for each set, even if there are places that can not be connected, that part is automatically covered, Easy deployment of power line communication terminals. However, this conventional technology is effective when only one system of power lines extends from the substation, but when multiple systems of power lines are wired in the building and the wiring status is not clearly understood. It was inappropriate.

  In other words, in existing factories and business establishments, there may be multiple power systems such as the lighting system, measurement system, and equipment system in one room, and the outlets of each system are mixed in the building. There is. In this case, according to the invention of Patent Document 1, data cannot be relayed between power line communication terminals with different systems, and therefore communication cannot be performed even with outlets in the same building.

  Therefore, in a situation where a plurality of power lines are laid and the laying information is insufficient, there is no need to use the invention of Patent Document 1, and a single outlet that can communicate with a power line communication terminal connected to each outlet. I have to verify each one. In addition, it is necessary to check one outlet at a time using the same method as to which outlet belongs to which power line.

  The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and its purpose is in a building in which a plurality of power lines of different systems as well as power lines of the same system are laid. An object of the present invention is to provide a connection verification device and a connection verification method for a power line communication terminal that can easily determine a connectable power line communication terminal.

  To achieve the above object, a power line communication terminal connection verification device according to the present invention includes a plurality of power line communication terminals connected to a power line, a wireless terminal connected to each of the power line communication terminals, and each of the power line communication terminals. A wireless control unit capable of communicating with a wireless terminal connected to the wireless communication unit, and a connection verification unit connected to the wireless control unit, and transmits the wireless terminal and a power line communication terminal connected thereto to the wireless control unit. As a source, a test message sending unit for sending a test message with another power line communication terminal as a transmission destination is provided, and the power line communication terminal transmits the test message and the transmission source ID to the destination power line communication terminal via the power line. And a power line communication function unit that transmits a test message from another power line communication terminal and a transmission source ID to the connection verification unit via the wireless terminal, and is connected to the wireless terminal or to it. An ID assigning unit that assigns a sender ID to a test message to a power line communication terminal, and a receiver ID in addition to a test message and a sender ID received from another power line communication terminal received via the power line Power line capable of directly communicating with each other according to the test message, the transmission source ID, and the receiving side ID received from each power line communication terminal received via each wireless terminal and wireless control unit. A connection status determination unit for determining the connection status of the communication terminal is provided.

  In the present invention having the above-described configuration, when the radio control unit transmits a test message to a specific radio terminal, the radio terminal that has received the test message is a power line communication terminal (transmission side power line communication terminal) connected to itself. Via ID, self-ID is transmitted to all power line communication terminals to be verified by power line communication. All the power line communication terminals (reception-side power line communication terminals) that have received this ID receive the ID received by the wireless control unit through their own wireless terminals and the path information indicating other power line communication terminals that have passed through the ID. Transmit to the radio control unit. The connection verification unit is the ID of the transmission side power line communication terminal acquired from the radio control unit, all the reception side power line communication terminals that have acquired this ID, the route information to the reception side power line communication terminal, and the reception impossible Based on the power line communication terminal, a communicable power line communication terminal is determined.

  In addition, the connection verification unit includes a relay point determination unit that determines a relay point based on the connection status of each power line communication terminal determined by the connection status determination unit, the relay point determination unit is a relay point and A power line communication terminal to be transmitted, a transmission source and a transmission destination power line communication terminal are specified, and a signal including these pieces of information is transmitted from the connection verification unit to the wireless terminal of the power line communication terminal serving as a relay point via the wireless control unit. An apparatus and a method for verifying connection of a power line communication terminal as described above are also one aspect of the present invention.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the power line communication terminal which can be communicated can be easily determined by the combination of power line communication and radio | wireless communication. In particular, since wireless communication is a communication method different from the power line communication to be verified, it is not affected by the power line system, and communication between power line communication terminals connected to power lines of different systems is ensured. Can be determined. Therefore, even if there is no information about the power line system, the connection status between each power line communication terminal and each power line can be determined by simply connecting the power line communication terminal to the power line outlet of each system and performing verification. It is possible to easily determine to which power line the outlet connected to the communication terminal belongs.

(1) Configuration of Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, four power line communication terminals are connected to the power line. However, this is for convenience of explanation, and the power line is within the range covered by the power line communication by the power line communication terminal and the wireless communication by the wireless terminal. The number of communication terminals can be freely set, for example, 50 to 250.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a power line, and 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, and 2 d are power line communication terminals connected to different outlets of the power line 1. Wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are connected to the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d, respectively. Reference numeral 4 denotes a wireless control unit installed within the communication range of the wireless terminals 3 a, 3 b, 3 c, and 3 d, and 5 denotes a connection verification unit connected to the wireless control unit 4.

  Here, as the wireless communication, for example, a short-range wireless communication standard for home appliances known as ZigBee (registered trademark) and Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used.

Each of the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d is provided with a power line communication function unit 21, an output control unit 22, a setting storage unit 23, and an ID assigning unit 24 as shown in the enlarged portion of FIG. .
Among these, the power line communication function unit 21 modulates / demodulates the signal having the test message and the transmission source ID received from the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d into the power line communication signal and transmits it to the other specified power line communication terminal. To do. The output control unit 22 controls the signal strength output to the power line 1 and increases or decreases the signal strength according to the reach distance of the power line communication, the noise environment, and the like.

  The setting storage unit 23 stores a setting as to whether or not the own power line communication terminal is used as a relay point. That is, a list in which a transmission source and a transmission destination of a signal to be relayed when the self becomes a relay point is stored. This list is obtained when the connection verification unit 5 of the present embodiment verifies the connection status of each power line communication terminal, and based on the result, the relay point determination unit 54 to be described later is one of the power line communication terminals. Is defined as a relay point, the power line communication terminal relays the power line communication signal of which transmission source and which transmission destination power line communication terminal.

  The power line communication function unit 21 relates to a transmission source and a transmission destination included in a signal received from another power line communication terminal when the setting storage unit 23 performs a setting for using the terminal as a relay point. Based on the information, it is determined whether the received signal is to be relayed.

  The ID assigning unit 24 transmits the signals received by the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d to its own wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, and the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d When a signal is sent to the other power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d as a relay point, its own ID is given. That is, when the received signal is to be relayed, the transmission source ID included in the received signal is added with its own ID as a relay point, and the transmission destination power line communication terminal or its own wireless Send to the terminal.

  Each of the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d is provided with a wireless interface 31, a path control unit 32, and an ID assigning unit 33. The radio interface 31 exchanges signals between the radio terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and the radio control unit 4. The route control unit 32 determines a transmission destination of a test message transmitted from each of the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d via the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d. The path control unit 32 sends the signal received from the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d to the ID assigning unit 33 if the signal is a test message, and the ID assigning unit if the signal is a relay point setting signal. Directly sent to the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d without going through 33.

  The wireless control unit 4 transmits a relay point setting signal in the same manner as the test message transmission unit 41 that transmits a test message to each of the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d based on a command from the connection verification unit 5. A relay point setting signal transmission unit 42 is provided. In addition, a connection confirmation unit 42 that determines whether or not the connection between each wireless terminal 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and the wireless control unit 4 is secured is provided.

  The connection verification unit 5 is configured, for example, by executing software on a personal computer. The connection verification unit 5 is an output unit 51 such as a display or a printer that displays the connection status of each terminal, and any wireless terminal according to the verification result. Is provided as a relay point, or a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, or other input means 52 for designating a transmission source and a transmission destination to be relayed.

  In addition, the connection verification unit 5 uses the test message, the transmission source ID, and the relay point ID received from the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d via the wireless control unit 4, and the power line communication terminals 2a and 2b. , 2c, 2d, and a connection status determination unit 53 that outputs the connection matrix to a display or the like, and a relay point determination unit 54 that determines a relay point based on the determination result of the connection status determination unit 53. Yes. The relay point determination unit 54 determines which power line communication terminal is used as a relay point to enable communication between all the power line communication terminals connected to the power line 1. As a determination algorithm, for example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 can be used, but is not limited thereto.

(2) Operation of Embodiment Next, the operation of the first embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In this embodiment, when the verification of the connection business status of each power line communication terminal 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d is started, first, the radio control unit 4 starts from the connection confirmation unit 42 to each radio terminal 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d. A confirmation signal is transmitted, and connection confirmation is performed based on the presence or absence of a response (step 1). In this case, when the connection with all the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d cannot be confirmed (NO in step 2), a wireless relay device is installed (step 3), or each wireless terminal 3a, 3b, Check for power failure or failure of 3c and 3d.

  After all the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d have been confirmed (YES in Step 3), the four wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are transmitted from the test message sending unit 41 of the wireless control unit 4. In response to this, the output information of the power line communication and the test message are transmitted (step 4). Here, in the output information of the power line communication, information necessary for outputting the signals received by the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d to the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, for example, sending a test message Destination, transmission start time, number of transmission repetitions, and the like. For example, the test message can be sent by designating individual power line communication terminals or by designating all power line communication terminals, and the transmission destination can be designated as output information by each individual radio terminal 3a, It is output to 3b, 3c, 3d.

  In each wireless terminal 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d that has received the output information of the power line communication and the test message, for example, in the wireless terminal 3a, the output information of the power line communication is extracted from the information received by the wireless interface 31; Notify the output control unit 22 provided in the power line communication terminal 2a.

  On the other hand, for the test message received by the wireless interface 31 of the wireless terminal 3 a, the route control unit 32 is instructed to deliver the received test message to the ID assigning unit 33. The ID assigning unit 33 assigns the received ID (for example, A) of the wireless terminal 3a to the test message, and then outputs it to the power line communication function unit 21 of the power line communication terminal 2a. The power line communication function unit 21 sends a test message with an ID to the other power line communication terminals 2b, 2c, 2d via the power line 1 in accordance with the signal strength set in advance in the output control unit 22. To do. And the test message | telegram which provided such ID is sent toward another power line communication terminal from each of the other three power line communication terminals 2b, 2c, and 2d.

  If the signal strength set in the output control unit 22 is the maximum output permitted by law, the signal output from the power line communication terminal 2a via the power line 1 is connected to the power line communication terminal 2b. Even if it reaches 2c, it is assumed that it has not reached the power line communication terminal 2d. Then, the reached power line communication terminals 2b and 2c receive the received signal (test message + ID of transmission source power line communication terminal “A” + reception destination power line communication terminal ID “B” or “C”), respectively. The wireless terminals 3b and 3c connected to are input / output. On the other hand, a signal from the power line communication terminal 2a is not output to the wireless terminal 3d connected to the non-delivery power line communication terminal 2d.

  The test message output to the wireless terminals 2b and 2c at the arrival point, the transmission source, and the ID of the arrival point are sent to the connection verification unit 5 that connects the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d. It is verified whether the test message from which transmission source has reached which power line communication terminal is undeliverable. Accordingly, it is found that the power line communication terminal 2a can directly communicate with the power line communication terminals 2b and 2c and cannot communicate directly with the power line communication terminal 2d.

  In this way, as a result of performing the same work for all the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, the connection status determination unit 53 of the connection verification unit 5 generates a connection matrix as shown in FIG. Output to an output device such as a display (step 5).

In this way, it is assumed that, for example, the following connection status is found in the connection verification unit 5.
(1) The power line communication terminal 2a can directly communicate with the power line communication terminals 2b and 2c and cannot directly communicate with the power line communication terminal 2d.
(2) The power line communication terminal 2b can directly communicate with the power line communication terminals 2a and 2c, and cannot directly communicate with the power line communication terminal 2d.
(3) The power line communication terminal 2c can directly communicate with all the power line communication terminals 2b, 2c, 2d.
(4) The power line communication terminal 2d can be directly connected only to the power line communication terminal 2c.

  When direct communication is not possible between all such power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d (NO in step 6), the power line communication terminal 2c uses the information from the power line communication terminals 2a, 2c as the power line communication terminal. If it is set so that the information from the power line communication terminal 2d is set to be bridged to the power line communication terminals 2a and 2b in the reverse direction, the bridge between the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d Communication becomes possible.

  Therefore, the connection verification unit 5 uses the relay point determination unit 53 to determine the power line communication terminal 2c as a relay point based on the connection state of each of the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d as described above, The power line communication terminal 2c is set to be a relay point for the power line communication terminal 2c via the control unit 4 and the wireless terminal 3c (step 7). That is, the relay point determination unit 53 designates a power line communication terminal to be a relay point, a transmission source and a transmission destination power line communication terminal, and transmits a signal including these information from the connection verification unit 5 via the wireless control unit 4. To the wireless terminal 3c of the power line communication terminal 2c serving as a relay point.

  It should be noted that the power line communication terminal, the transmission source, and the transmission to be used as a relay point by the user who viewed the verification result on the display or the like without using the relay point determination unit 54 using the input device provided in the connection verification unit 5 The previous power line communication terminal can also be designated.

  When the wireless terminal 3c receives this signal, the path control unit 32 sends it directly to the designated power line communication terminal 2c without attaching an ID to it, unlike the case of the test message. In response to this signal, the power line communication terminal 2c issues a command to set itself as a relay point to the power line communication function unit 21 and to which setting destination the signal from which transmission source is relayed to the setting storage unit 23 As a list.

  As described above, when the power line communication terminal 2c is set as a relay point, for example, when the relay point is not set, direct communication between the power line communication terminal 2a and the power line communication terminal 2d is not possible. Communication is possible in the following manner. That is, when a signal is transmitted from the power line communication terminal 2a to the power line communication terminal 2d, the power line communication terminal 2c at the relay point that has received this signal sets its transmission source ID and transmission destination from the received signal. It is determined and a list stored in the relay point setting storage unit 23 is referred to.

  As a result of referring to the list, when it is determined that the received signal is a signal to be relayed by itself, the power line communication terminal 2c at the relay point transfers the signal to the power line communication terminal 2d as the transmission destination. In this case, the ID assigning unit 24 provided in the power line communication terminal 2c assigns its own ID indicating that it is a relay point to the received signal and sends it to the transmission destination.

  For example, when a test message is transmitted from the power line communication terminal 2a to the power line communication terminal 2d in a state where the relay point is set, in addition to the test message loaded at the transmission source wireless terminal 2a and the transmission source ID “A”, The ID “C” of the power line communication terminal 2c at the relay point and the ID “D” of the power line communication terminal 2d at the reaching point are output from the power line communication terminal 2d at the reaching point to the wireless terminal 3d. By inputting the signal received by the wireless terminal 3d to the connection verification unit 5 via the wireless control unit 4, it is found that the power line communication terminals 2a and 2d can communicate with each other via the relay point.

(3) Effects of the embodiment According to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d as a set are outlets of the power line 1. By connecting to, the connection verification unit 5 grasps collectively the communicable range of the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d via the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d and the wireless control unit 4. Is possible. In particular, even when communication between power line communication terminals connected to power line outlets of different systems is impossible, the connection status can be collected from the individual power line communication terminals via the wireless connection to the connection verification unit 5. Whether or not the communication terminal can be connected can be accurately determined.

  For example, in the invention of Patent Document 1, if a power line communication terminal serving as a relay point provided on a power line cannot be detected, signal relay becomes impossible, and the connection status of power line communication terminals after the relay point becomes unknown. . However, in the present embodiment, the individual power line communication terminals are wirelessly transmitted to the connection verification unit independently of the other power line communication terminals, so regardless of whether or not a relay point is detected, It becomes possible to verify the connection status for all power line communication terminals.

  As a result, even when the wiring status of the power line 1 is unknown, the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d can be arranged at appropriate positions, and communication from each outlet and whether or not from the substation Since it is possible to check outlets with different systems, the labor required for installing and operating the power line communication terminal can be greatly reduced.

  In addition, when the signal does not reach, the invention of Patent Document 1 cannot determine whether the power line communication terminal is powered off or cannot be relayed. In this embodiment, the wireless terminal of each power line communication terminal By analyzing the signal coming back from the power supply, it is possible to easily distinguish between power failure and relay failure. That is, in the case of a power failure, since the power line communication terminal cannot be a transmission source or a transmission destination, the transmission source ID is included in any signal received from another power line communication terminal to the connection verification unit. For a power line communication terminal, it can be determined that there is no possibility of power failure.

  In the present embodiment, since the wireless control unit 4 is provided with a communication function with each wireless terminal 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, the test message is sent after waiting for the response of each wireless terminal 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d. If transmitted to each of the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d that do not respond and the power line communication terminals 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d connected to the wireless terminals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d can also be judged. Is possible.

(4) Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and includes the following other embodiments.
(a) In the illustrated embodiment, the relay point is automatically determined from the verification result. However, the user determines the relay point from the connection result displayed by the connection verification unit, and inputs the result to the connection verification unit. You can also

(b) Instead of providing a sender ID assigning unit in the wireless terminal, a sender ID assigning unit is provided in each power line communication terminal.
(c) Instead of the power line communication terminal having the relay function, a separately prepared relay device can be arranged at the relay point. In this case, each power line communication terminal does not need to be provided with an ID assigning unit 24 that assigns a relay ID.

The block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the effect | action of embodiment of FIG. The matrix figure which displays the connection condition of each power line communication terminal in embodiment of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Power line 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d ... Power line communication terminal 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d ... Wireless terminal 4 ... Wireless control part 5 ... Connection verification part 21 ... Power line communication function part 22 ... Output control part 23 ... Setting storage part 24 ... ID assigning unit 31 ... wireless interface 32 ... route control unit 33 ... ID assigning unit 41 ... test message sending unit 42 ... connection confirmation unit 51 ... output means 52 ... input means 53 ... connection status determining unit 54 ... relay point determining unit

Claims (3)

A plurality of power line communication terminals connected to the power line; a wireless terminal connected to each of the power line communication terminals; a wireless control unit capable of communicating with each wireless terminal; and a connection verification unit connected to the wireless control unit; With
The wireless control unit is provided with a test message sending unit for sending a test message with the wireless terminal and the power line communication terminal connected thereto as a transmission source and another power line communication terminal as a transmission destination,
In the wireless terminal or a power line communication terminal connected thereto, an ID assigning unit that assigns a transmission source ID to the test message, and a test message and a transmission source ID received from another power line communication terminal received via the power line In addition, an ID granting unit that grants the ID on the receiving side is provided.
The power line communication terminal transmits the test message and the transmission source ID to the transmission destination power line communication terminal via the power line, and transmits the test message and the transmission source ID from other power line communication terminals via the wireless terminal. A power line communication function unit that transmits to the connection verification unit,
The connection verification unit determines the connection status of the power line communication terminals that can directly communicate with each other according to the test message, the transmission source ID, and the reception side ID from each power line communication terminal received via each wireless terminal and the wireless control unit. A connection verification device for a power line communication terminal, characterized in that a connection status determination unit is provided. The connection verification unit includes a relay point determination unit that determines a relay point based on the connection status of each power line communication terminal determined by the connection status determination unit,
This relay point determination unit designates a power line communication terminal to be a relay point, a transmission source and a destination power line communication terminal, and sends a signal including these information from the connection verification unit to the relay point via the radio control unit. The power line communication terminal connection verification apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power line communication terminal connection verification apparatus according to claim 1 is transmitted. A plurality of power line communication terminals connected to the power line; a wireless terminal connected to each of the power line communication terminals; a wireless control unit capable of communicating with each wireless terminal; and a connection verification unit connected to the wireless control unit; In the method of verifying the connection of each power line communication terminal connected to the power line using
To the wireless control unit, the wireless terminal and the power line communication terminal connected to the wireless terminal as a transmission source, and another power line communication terminal as a transmission destination to send a test message,
Each power line communication terminal transmits a test message via the power line to the destination power line communication terminal,
The signal from each wireless terminal that has received this test message is collected in the connection verification unit via the wireless control unit, and the connection status of each power line communication terminal is determined according to the presence or absence of the signal from each wireless terminal that has received the test message. A connection verification method for a power line communication terminal.

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