JP3257015B2 - Network with location recognition function - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network having a location recognition function, which recognizes the location of a communication terminal on a local area network system and controls, for example, equipment such as lighting equipment and air conditioners. It is used for the purpose of performing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the construction of intelligent buildings has become popular, and systems have been developed in which networks are installed in buildings and devices in the buildings are controlled through the networks. Conventionally, based on information when equipment is actually installed in a building, as a system dedicated to that building,
The number and name of the control target were individually set, and a control system was constructed using a dedicated control device, computer, operation switch, and the like to deal with the problem. However, the drop in the price of so-called LAN systems such as Ethernet and the spread of personal computers have made it possible to use these networks, which have been used for document processing, for building equipment control, and to use the conventional dedicated operation. Computers are used to replace switches and the like.

When controlling equipment on such a network, an operator needs to know information on the number of the device connected to the network and the position where the device is installed. This is because numbers are assigned to equipment such as lighting equipment and air conditioners in advance, but location information as to where the equipment with that number is actually installed is determined at the time of construction and cannot be obtained from the network. It is. In order to perform necessary control, the number of the device to be controlled is read based on the position information, and the device is controlled based on this number. Generally, the operator does not know such equipment information, so conventionally, similarly to a dedicated control system, the control target is limited in advance, and the number of equipment that needs to be controlled is registered.

[0004]

Since a local area network represented by Ethernet is originally a network for document processing, position information of a control target device or a control device on a network which is indispensable for device control is stored. It cannot be determined. Although a unique number is assigned to every node on the network, the correspondence information between this number and the physical location is not stored anywhere on the network. Therefore, as described above, a comparison table or map data between the information on the position where the equipment is installed and the number of the equipment is required. In addition, some computers called personal computers and workstations are portable, so it cannot be specified only by communication where they are actually installed. When a method of fixing operable devices as in the related art is adopted, there is a problem that the operation target must be changed every time the operating device or the equipment is moved.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to allow a portable or movable operation terminal or equipment to be connected to a network even when the operation terminal is connected. An object of the present invention is to provide a network having a position recognition function that can be controlled by designating a physical position of a device instead of a device number.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a modular jack for connecting a communication terminal having means for generating a unique identification number on a local area network system is provided. and co <br/> connector comprising, modular connected to the modular jack
-Register a unique identification number to the connector via the plug
An identification number register, a communication terminal having means for receiving an identification number generated by a connector, and a database accessible from a network having a comparison table of data indicating the identification number of the connector and its physical location and a communication terminal name It is characterized by comprising an apparatus and means for recognizing a physical position of a communication terminal based on an identification number of a connector connected to the communication terminal.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order for a communication terminal as a controller of an operation terminal or equipment on a network to recognize its own physical position, the position of the communication terminal itself is changed to a modular jack to which it is connected. is regarded as the position of the more becomes co <br/> connector, connected to the modular jack
A unique identification number via a modular plug
A unique identification number is assigned to a connector installed in advance by an identification number register registered in the connector. Then, the communication terminal receives the unique identification number from the connector, uses the identification number to inquire the database device on the network to recognize its own physical position, and perform appropriate device control. is there.

[0008]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the network of the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of a connector used in the network of the present invention. This connector is arranged at a place where an operation terminal is connected or a controller as a control terminal is connected in the network shown in FIG. As the network NW, 10BASE-T (Ethernet of twisted pair line) is used, but the present invention is not limited to this. Connectors C1, C2, C3, C4, ... as node connection ports to the network
, A unique ID number (identification number) is registered. A comparison table between the ID number of each connector and its physical position is stored in the database device DB in advance. Further, in this database device DB, a comparison table between the ID number of each connector and the node name is created by registration from each node. When the node name is given to the database device DB, the ID number of the connector is read from the node name by the comparison table of the latter, and its physical position is read from the ID number of the connector by the comparison table of the former, and as a result, Based on these two look-up tables, a node name can be searched for its physical location. As network nodes, operation terminals T1 and T2 are connected to connectors C1 and C2, respectively, and controllers T3 and T4 as control terminals are connected to connectors C3 and C4, respectively. The controller T3 is an air conditioning controller for controlling the air conditioner A, and the controller T4 is a lighting fixture controller for controlling the lighting fixture L. Each operation terminal T1, T2 and each controller T3, T4,
I generated by connectors C1, C2, C3 and C4 respectively
It has a function to receive the D number.

Next, the internal configuration of the connector C1 will be described with reference to FIG. The same applies to the internal configuration of the other connectors C2, C3, C4. The connector C1 is provided with a socket S1 for connecting the terminal T1. The socket S1 is composed of, for example, an 8-pin modular jack. Of the four pairs of signal lines of the socket S1, one pair of signal lines for transmission and one pair of signal lines for reception are connected to the switch SW1. This changeover switch SW1
Represents two pairs of signal lines of the socket S1, 10 BAS
Connect to ET network or 10B
This is for switching between connection to the driver / receiver X1 of the ASE-T. An ID number notification packet generation circuit Y1 and a connection confirmation packet detection circuit Z1 are connected to the 10BASE-T driver / receiver X1. ID
The number notification packet generation circuit Y1 generates an ID number notification packet having an ID number as data at regular intervals,
It has a function of sending to the 10BASE-T driver / receiver X1. Also, the connection confirmation packet detection circuit Z1
Has a function of switching the changeover switch SW1 to the network side when detecting data from the terminal and finding a connection confirmation packet. The changeover switch SW1
Is connected to the 10BASE-T driver / receiver X1 inside the connector C1 until the connection is confirmed.
Is connected to the network when the connection is confirmed.

As a network node used in the present embodiment, any conventional terminal having a function of basically connecting to a network can be used as it is. However, it is necessary to slightly change the processing at power-on. FIG. 3 shows the flow of this processing. Also, the database device D
As for B, there is no particular difference from the conventional device,
As a content of the data, it is necessary to register in advance a comparison table of the physical position of the connector determined at the time of construction and the ID number.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below.
First, an operation in which a node receives an ID number generated by a connector will be described. It is assumed that the connector changeover switch is initially manually connected to the 10BASE-T driver / receiver side inside the connector as shown in FIG. At this time, an ID number notification packet is sent to the socket regardless of whether or not the node is connected. When an operation terminal or a controller is connected to the socket of the connector as a network node and the power is turned on, an ID number notification packet from the connector is received according to the flow of FIG. 3, and the received ID number is stored in the node. Write to memory. Then, a connection confirmation packet is transmitted. The connection confirmation packet is detected by the connection confirmation packet detection circuit of the connector. As a result, a switch switching signal is sent from the connection confirmation packet detection circuit to the switch, and the switch is switched to the network side. In this way, when the node is connected to the network, a packet including the connector ID number and the node name written in the memory inside the node as data is transmitted to the database device, and the database device transmits the connector ID number and the node name to the database device. A comparison table is registered. After completing the connection registration to the database device, a normal operation is started. After that, when connecting another node,
ID until the switch is manually returned to the state shown in FIG.
Since the circuit related to the number is cut off, it can be used like a conventional connector. Note that, when connecting another node, a configuration may be adopted in which the attachment / detachment of the modular plug in the socket is detected and the changeover switch is automatically returned to the state shown in FIG.

By the above procedure, each node can obtain the ID number of the connector to which the node is connected.
Further, by using this ID number, it is possible to obtain its own connection position information by inquiring of a database device, and it is also possible to obtain information about what kind of equipment is present around itself. Thus, when creating an application for operating equipment, it is possible to use a format that specifies the position of the equipment instead of the equipment number, and a software configuration that does not depend on the configuration of the building equipment is possible.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which 10BASE-T, which is an Ethernet using twisted pair wires, is installed in a building. In the figure, four areas separated by broken lines are 1
The first to fourth floors are shown. 1 is a connector composed of a modular jack, and 2 is a multiport repeater (HU
The concentrator 3 having the function as B) is a twisted pair wire. LAN using such twisted pair wire
Has the advantage that the versatile twisted pair wire used in telephone lines and the like is used as the transmission medium, so that advance wiring can be performed at low cost, but on the other hand, the twisted pair wire is easily broken, and it is cut off somewhere. Even if it is, it is difficult to discover it without first connecting a communication terminal and transmitting and receiving data. In such a case, even if the communication terminal is not connected to the connector 1, the ID number is transmitted from the connector 1 to the network, so that the connector 1
At the same time, the presence or absence of the break of the twisted pair wire 3 can be confirmed.

FIG. 5 shows the appearance of a connector 1 comprising a modular jack, in which 4 is a twisted pair wire,
5 is an ID display. FIG. 6 shows the internal configuration of the connector 1, in which 6 is an ID display circuit, 7 is a read / write circuit, and 8 is a memory. ID display circuit 6
Is for displaying the ID number read from the memory 8 by the read / write circuit 7 on the ID display 5.
In addition, the read / write circuit 7 outputs an ID input from an ID register 10 described later via an unused line of the twisted pair line 4 (two pairs of signal lines other than two pairs of signal lines for transmission and reception).
It also has a function of writing numbers to the memory 8. Memory 8
Is composed of an EEPROM or the like, and stores a unique ID number assigned to the connector 1.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the ID register 10, in which 9 is an 8-pin modular plug, 11 is a data transmitting / receiving circuit, and 12 is a memory. The modular plug 9 can be connected to a modular jack of the connector 1. The data transmission / reception circuit 11 performs a function of transmitting and receiving data for connection confirmation using two twisted pair wires for transmission and reception, and registers an ID number in the connector 1 using two pairs of twisted pair wires other than for transmission and reception. Has functions. Reference numeral 13 denotes a data display circuit, which includes a display. Reference numeral 14 denotes a data input keyboard for inputting an ID number, a command for instructing ID registration, and a command for instructing data transmission / reception for connection confirmation. This ID
The register 10 is supplied with power from a commercial AC power supply.

FIG. 8 shows the status of the ID registration work and the connection confirmation work after the completion of the preceding wiring. In the figure, reference numeral 15 denotes a monitor terminal having a data transmission / reception function. Normally, in an eight-core twisted pair line, two pairs are used as signal lines for transmission and reception, and the remaining two pairs are not used. Is transferred to the connector 1. That is, the modular plug 9 of the ID register 10 in FIG. 7 is connected to the modular jack of the connector 1, a unique ID number is set in the memory 12 from the keyboard 14, and displayed on the data display circuit 13 for confirmation. The data is transferred to the connector 1 by the transmission / reception circuit 11 and written to the memory 8 by the read / write circuit 7 of the connector 1. At the same time, the ID register 10 transmits / receives data to / from the monitor terminal 15 by the data transmission / reception circuit 11 and checks the connection. For data transmission and reception for connection confirmation, two pairs of signal lines for original data transmission and reception may be used, or another two pairs of signal lines may be used. The above ID registration work and connection confirmation work are performed for each connector 1 in the building.

After the above operations are completed, as shown in FIG. 9, terminals 16,..., 20 are connected to the respective connectors to form a network. In the figure, 16,..., 20 are terminals with a LAN board having an address setting function. The LAN boards of these terminals each have a unique address, and the monitor terminal 15 can display which terminal is present and where by recognizing the address and the ID number of the connector. This allows
Even when the terminal moves within the network, the position of the terminal can be easily confirmed, and the network can be easily managed.

[0018]

As described above, in the present invention,
When operating a device connected to a communication terminal on the network, each communication terminal can recognize its own position.Therefore, the communication terminal on the operating side uses position information instead of the number of the device to be controlled. There is an effect that the control target device can be controlled. Further, since the movement of the communication terminal on the operation side and the movement of the control target device are registered in the database device, an effect is obtained that it is possible to flexibly cope with equipment changes due to layout changes. In addition, for communication terminal connection
Module connected to a connector consisting of a modular jack
From the ID number register to the connector via the connector
Identification number is registered, so identification to connector
There is an effect that the number can be easily registered.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a connector used in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a control flow of a node initialization program according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of preceding wiring of a twisted pair line LAN.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a connector having an ID registration function.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a connector having an ID registration function.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an ID register.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a status of ID registration and connection confirmation.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a network configuration example after ID registration.

[Explanation of symbols]

 NW network DB database device T1 operation terminal T2 operation terminal T3 air conditioning controller T4 lighting fixture controller C1 connector S1 socket SW1 changeover switch X1 driver / receiver Y1 ID number notification packet generation circuit Z1 connection confirmation packet detection circuit

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-46431 (JP, A) JP-A-2-94897 (JP, A) JP-A-4-167896 (JP, A) JP-A-2-274089 (JP) , A) JP-A-2-22459 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04L 12/28-12/46 H04Q 9/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A connector comprising a modular jack for connecting a communication terminal having means for generating a unique identification number on a local area network system, and a unique identification number via a modular plug connected to the modular jack. On a network having a communication terminal having an identification number register for registering an ID number in a connector, a communication terminal having a means for receiving an identification number generated by the connector, and a data and communication terminal name comparison table of the identification number of the connector and its physical position. 1. A network having a position recognition function, comprising: a database device accessible from a communication terminal; and means for recognizing a physical position of the communication terminal based on an identification number of a connector connected to the communication terminal. 2. An identification number register for storing data of a network.
Connection using an empty signal line other than the signal line for
2. The identification number is registered in the data register.
Network with location recognition function.