JP3537730B2 - Power-saving information outlet - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a data transmission / reception function and constitutes a part of a home network system. In particular, the present invention relates to a power-saving information outlet capable of realizing power saving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, in a home network system, for example, an information outlet based on Ethernet specifications using a plastic optical fiber (hereinafter referred to as POF) as a backbone is known. When a home network system is constructed using this information outlet, as shown in FIG. 8, an ISDN router 1 connected to a telephone line and this ISDN router 1 are used.
Information distribution board 2 including hub connected to the subsequent stage of router 1
And a plurality of information outlets 3a installed on the walls of each room
To 3c. A POF 4a is provided between the hub of the information distribution board 2 and the information outlets 3a and 3b.
4b, and the information outlet 3b and the information outlet 3c are connected by a POF 4c. Note that the POFs 4a to 4c are arranged between the walls.

In a home network system having such a configuration, the information outlets 3a to 3c are connected to POFs.
Data transmission and reception can be performed mutually by optical pulse signals using 4a to 4c as transmission media. Therefore, when an electronic device such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) 5 is connected to a port on the room side of the information outlets 3a to 3c, the electronic devices are connected to the information outlets 3a to 3c.
Data can be exchanged via 3c. In addition,
The information outlet 3b has a repeat function of transferring received data to another information outlet 3c or the like.

[0004]

The information outlet installed in each room has a function of amplifying and transmitting and receiving data, and an active circuit (active element) such as an IC or a transistor is provided to realize the function. Since the power is included, power is consumed according to the circuit scale during use, and this power consumption is considerably large at about several watts.

[0005] However, the conventional information outlet has a circuit configuration in which power is constantly consumed, so that the power consumption in the home increases and the heat generated by the power consumption lowers the reliability and life. Inconvenience occurred.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to control power supplied to a circuit in which heat generation is a problem within a range in which communication can be secured, thereby reducing power consumption in a home. Another object of the present invention is to provide a power-saving information outlet that reduces heat generation due to its power consumption and dramatically improves reliability and life.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object of the present invention, the inventions according to claims 1 to 3 are configured as follows. That is, claim 1
The invention described in is an information outlet that is capable of optical communication with the outside, and is capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from an external predetermined electronic device, and an optical communication unit that performs the optical communication, A plurality of the electronic devices can be connected, a transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving data to / from each of the electronic devices or the optical communication unit when the electronic device is connected, and data handled by the transmission / reception unit. Transfer speed in
Transfer speed to adjust the data transfer speed when is different
With a degree adjusting unit, and a power control unit for controlling each power supply of the said transceiver unit and the transfer speed adjusting unit,
The power control unit detects the presence or absence of an optical signal received by the optical communication unit and outputs a detection signal according to the detection.
A detection circuit, including a second detection circuit that detects the presence or absence of transmission data from each of the electronic devices connected to the transmission and reception unit, and outputs each detection signal according to each detection,
According to a detection signal of the first detection circuit, a plurality of detection signals of the second detection circuit, and a transfer speed signal corresponding to the transfer speed , power supply to the transmitting / receiving unit from a power supply is turned on / off. A first control signal to be controlled and the transfer rate control;
On / off control of power supply from the power supply to the regulator
A second control signal is generated , and the transmission / reception unit and the transfer are transmitted by the generated first control signal and the second control signal.
It is characterized in that performs the on-off control of the speed adjustment unit respectively.

[0007]

[0008] According to a second aspect of the invention, the power-saving information outlet according to claim 1, wherein the power control unit includes a logic circuit, the logic circuit, the detection signal of the first detection circuit, wherein A predetermined logical operation is performed using a plurality of detection signals of the second detection circuit and a transfer rate signal corresponding to the transfer rate, and power is supplied from a power supply to the transmitting / receiving unit in accordance with a result of the logical operation. A first control signal for on / off control and a second control signal for on / off control of supply of power from a power supply to the transfer rate adjusting unit are generated, and the transmission / reception is performed by the generated first control signal and second control signal. And performing the on / off control of the transfer speed adjusting unit and the transfer speed adjusting unit.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the power-saving information outlet according to the first or second aspect , the information outlet is installed on a wall or a floor of a house or the like, and the optical communication transmission is performed. The medium is a plastic optical fiber.

According to the present invention having such a structure,
As long as necessary communication can be secured, the transmission / reception unit and transfer speed
Control the power supplied from the power supply to the
Wear. Therefore, as long as necessary communication can be secured,
Power consumption within the building,
Heat can be reduced to greatly improve reliability and life.

[0010]

[0011]

[0012]

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an embodiment of a power-saving information outlet according to the present invention. The power-saving information outlet according to this embodiment is:
For example, it is configured based on Ethernet specifications (standards). As shown in FIG.
, A transformer unit 13 including a plurality of transformers, a transfer speed adjusting unit 14, and a power control unit 15.

The power-saving information outlet is used by the power communication unit 11 and the power control unit 15 during use.
Power is always supplied from the power supply 6, and the power controlled by the power control unit 15 is supplied from the power supply 16 to the transmission / reception unit 12 and the transfer speed adjustment unit 14 as described later. The optical communication unit 11 performs optical communication with another power-saving information outlet (not shown) or a hub (not shown), and exchanges data with the transmission / reception unit 12. For this reason, the optical communication unit 11 uses a PO (not shown).
The optical pulse signals A1 to Am propagating through F are received and converted into electric signals B1 to Bm by m photoelectric conversion elements (not shown).
There are provided m electro-optical conversion elements (not shown) for converting 1 to Bm into optical pulse signals A1 to Am, and data can be exchanged with the transmission / reception unit 12.
The electric signals B1 to Bn are transmitted to the power control unit 1 as described later.
5 is output to the power control signal generation circuit 21.

When the power-saving information outlet has a repeat function like the power-saving information outlet 3b in FIG. 8, the optical pulse signals A1 to Am received by the optical communication unit 11 are once transmitted. After being converted into electric signals B1 to Bm and subjected to waveform shaping, they are converted again into optical pulse signals by the optical communication unit 11 and output to the outside. The transmission / reception unit 12 exchanges data with the optical communication unit 11 and transmits and receives data with an electronic device such as a personal computer connected to the input / output ports 17-1 to 17-n on the indoor side. Is supposed to do it. For this reason, the transmission / reception unit 12
Has n transceivers (not shown) each composed of a driver and a receiver, and the n transceivers are connected to the input / output ports 17-1 to 17- via the n transformers (not shown) of the transformer section. n.

The reception data C1 to Cn of each transceiver of the transmission / reception section 12 are supplied to a power control signal generation circuit 21 of the power control section 15 as described later. The transmission / reception unit 12 includes input / output ports 17-1 to 17-n
Data C1 to Cn from a personal computer etc. connected to
Transfer rate is, for example, 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps
s is determined, and transfer rate signals D1 to Dn corresponding to the transfer rate are generated, and the generated transfer rate signals D1 to Dn are transmitted to the power control signal generation circuit 2 as described later.
1 is supplied.

The transfer speed adjusting unit 14 is used, for example, for communication between personal computers connected to the input / output ports 17-1 to 17-n, or for data communication between the optical communication unit 11 and the personal computer. When the data transfer speeds are different, such as 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps, data having different transfer speeds is received from the transmitting / receiving unit 12 and stored in the RAM 141 which is a readable and writable memory. Are synchronized with clocks having different frequencies and returned to the transmission / reception unit 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, the power control section 15 includes a power control signal generation circuit 21 and switch elements 22 and 23. The power control signal generation circuit 21 includes the electric signals B1 to Bm applied to the optical communication unit 11, the transmission / reception unit 12
Power control signals S1 and S2, which will be described later, are generated based on the received data C1 to Cn and the transfer speed signals D1 to Dn from the transmission / reception unit 12.

The switch elements 22 and 23 are interposed in the power supply lines 24 and 25 connecting the power supply 16 to the transmission / reception section 12 and the transfer rate adjustment section 14, respectively, and their contacts are controlled by the power control signals S5 and S6. Opening and closing control,
As a result, the power supplied from the power supply 16 to the transmission / reception unit 12 and the transfer speed adjustment unit 14 is controlled.

Next, an example of the configuration of the power control signal generation circuit 21 will be described with reference to FIG. The power control signal generation circuit 21 includes electric signals B <b> 1 to B <b> 1 applied to the optical communication unit 11.
Based on Bm, m optical communication detection circuits 31-1 to 31-m for generating optical communication detection signals E1 to Em indicating presence / absence of optical communication of the optical communication unit 11, and data C1 received by the transmission / reception unit 12 N communication detection circuits 32-1 to 32-n for generating communication detection signals G1 to Gn indicating presence / absence of communication of each transceiver of the transmission / reception unit 12 based on.
Optical communication detection signals E1 to Em, communication detection signals G1 to Gn,
And a logic circuit 33 that generates power control signals S1 and S2 for controlling power supplied to the transmission / reception unit 12 and the transmission speed adjustment unit 14 based on the transmission speed signals D1 to Dn from the transmission / reception unit 12.

Next, the optical communication detection circuits 31-1 to 31-m
Will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. The electric signals B1 to Bm applied to the optical communication unit 11 are:
When the optical communication unit on the other side of the optical communication unit 11 is off, the signal is a random signal having a frequency of 100 MHz and a peak-to-peak value of its amplitude of 0.75 V. When on, the frequency is 125 MHz
It is known in advance that the peak-to-peak value of the amplitude is a sine wave signal or a modulation signal of 1.25 V.

The optical communication detecting circuits 31-1 to 31-m detect the presence or absence of optical communication of the optical communication unit 11 by utilizing the difference between the signals, and as shown in FIG. Rectification reference voltage generation circuit 312, rectification circuit 31
3. Comparison reference voltage generation circuit 314 and comparison circuit 31
5 is comprised. The buffer circuit 311 is a circuit necessary for the rectifier circuit 313 to be a passive circuit and not having an amplifying function. The buffer circuit 311 includes, for example, an operational amplifier (operational amplifier) OP1 as shown in FIG.
A coupling circuit is used.

As shown in FIG. 5, the operational amplifier OP1
An electric signal B1 is input to the input terminal (non-inverting input terminal) via the capacitor C1, and a divided voltage obtained by dividing the power supply voltage by the resistors R1 and R2 is applied. A feedback resistor R3 is connected between the-input terminal (inverted input terminal) and the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1, and the-input terminal is grounded via the resistor R4 and the capacitor C2. Further, the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1 is connected to the anode of the diode D1 of the rectifier circuit 313.

The rectification reference voltage generation circuit 312 is composed of an AC coupling circuit composed of an operational amplifier OP2 as shown in FIG. 5, and generates a rectification reference voltage for impedance matching with the rectification circuit 313. Has become. As shown in FIG. 5, the operational amplifier OP2
+ Input terminal is grounded via a capacitor C4,
A divided voltage obtained by dividing the power supply voltage by the resistors R6 and R7 is applied to the + input terminal. Also, the operational amplifier OP2
A feedback resistor R8 is connected between the negative input terminal and the output, and the negative input terminal is grounded via a resistor R9 and a capacitor C5.

The rectifier circuit 313 is a circuit for converting the electric signal B1 from the optical communication unit 11 amplified by the buffer circuit 311 into a DC voltage, and the electric signal B1 is turned on rather than when the optical pulse signal is turned off. Since the amplitude is larger at the time, a DC voltage corresponding to the amplitude can be obtained.
This rectifier circuit 313 is a combination of a diode D1, a smoothing capacitor C3, and an output resistor R5, as shown in FIG. That is, the diode D1 is
The anode side is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP1, and the cathode side is connected to one end of a parallel circuit in which a smoothing capacitor C3 and an output resistor R5 are connected in parallel.
Further, the other end of the parallel circuit is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier OP2.

The comparison reference voltage generation circuit 314 is a circuit for generating a reference voltage used by the comparison circuit 315 for comparison. This comparison reference voltage generation circuit 314 is provided, for example, in FIG.
As shown in (1), a configuration is employed in which the power supply voltage is obtained by being divided by the variable resistor VR1. The variable resistor VR1 has a variable resistance value and can extract a voltage from a tap on the way.

The comparison circuit 315 is composed of, for example, an operational amplifier OP3 as shown in FIG. 5, and compares the output voltage of the rectification circuit 313 with the reference voltage generated by the comparison reference voltage generation circuit 314, and outputs the light according to the comparison result. The communication detection signal E1 is output. The operational amplifier OP3 has a positive input terminal to which the divided reference voltage of the variable resistor VR1 is applied, and a negative input terminal connected to the cathode of the diode D1.

Next, a specific configuration of the communication detection circuits 32-1 to 32-n will be described with reference to FIGS. The data C1 to Cn received by the transmission / reception unit 12 input to the communication detection circuits 32-1 to 32-n are connected to the input / output ports 17-1 to 17-n in FIG. It is known in advance depending on the operation state of the electronic device). That is, when the peripheral device is not communicating, the voltages related to the data C1 to Cn are constant. When the peripheral device is communicating, the data C1 to C
For example, a pulse having a pulse width of 100 ns and an amplitude of 1.00 V is generated, and one pulse is generated every 20 ms when the transfer speed is 10 Mbps, and is generated every 12 ms when the transfer speed is 100 Mbps. Occur 20 times.

The communication detection circuits 32-1 to 32-n detect the presence / absence of communication of each transceiver of the transmission / reception unit 12 by using the difference between the signals as described above. As shown in FIG. A peak hold circuit 321, an integration circuit 322,
It comprises a comparison reference voltage generation circuit 323 and a comparison circuit 324. The peak hold circuit 321 is a circuit for amplifying and holding the peak voltage of the data signal C1. For example, when the peripheral device is not communicating as described above, since the voltage of the data signal C1 is constant,
The output of the peak hold circuit 321 remains constant.
On the other hand, when the peripheral device is communicating, a voltage higher by 1 V or more than that when the peripheral device is not communicating is held for a period of at least 20 ms or more.

As shown in FIG. 6, the peak hold circuit 321 includes three peak hold circuits using an operational amplifier.
This is realized by cascade connection. First,
The first-stage peak hold circuit is configured around an operational amplifier OP4 as shown in FIG. That is, the data signal C1 is input to the + input terminal of the operational amplifier OP4 via the capacitor C11, and a divided voltage obtained by dividing the power supply voltage by the resistors R11 and R12 is applied. The negative input terminal of the operational amplifier OP4 is grounded via the resistor R14 and the capacitor C12. The output terminal of the operational amplifier OP4 is connected to the cathode of the diode D2 and the anode of the diode D3. The anode of the diode D2 is grounded, the cathode of the diode D3 is connected to the other end of the grounded capacitor C13, and the other end is connected to the operational amplifier O3.
It is connected to the + input terminal of P5. Further, a resistor R13 is connected between the cathode of the diode Q3 and the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier OP4.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the second-stage peak hold circuit is configured around an operational amplifier OP5. That is, the operational amplifier OP5 has its + input terminal connected to the cathode of the preceding diode D3,
The input terminal is grounded via a resistor R15 and a capacitor C15. The output terminal of the operational amplifier OP5 is connected to the anode of the diode D4,
4 is connected to the + input terminal of the operational amplifier OP6 at the next stage. Further, the cathode of the diode D4 is grounded via the capacitor C14,
The resistor R16 is connected to the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier OP5.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the third-stage peak hold circuit is configured around an operational amplifier OP6. That is, the operational amplifier OP6 has its + input terminal connected to the cathode of the preceding diode D5, its output terminal connected to the anode of the diode D5, and its cathode connected to the + input terminal of the next operational amplifier OP7. ing. Further, the cathode of the diode D5 is grounded via the capacitor C16, and is directly connected to the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier OP6.

The integration circuit 322 includes the peak hold circuit 3
This is a circuit for smoothing the output voltage from 21. Since the data signal C1 is composed of a sporadic pulse train, if instantaneous noise occurs for some reason, the peak hold circuit 321 may erroneously detect it. Therefore, the integration circuit 3
22, the output voltage from the peak hold circuit 321 is smoothed to prevent erroneous detection.

As shown in FIG. 6, this integrating circuit 322 includes a resistor R17 and a capacitor C17.
It is realized by an integrating circuit, and its time constant is set to, for example, about 3.3 seconds. Since the integration circuit 322 is constituted by a passive circuit, as shown in FIG. 6, a buffer circuit including an operational amplifier OP7 is included on the input side. The comparison reference voltage generation circuit 323 is a circuit that generates a reference voltage used by the comparison circuit 324 for comparison. The circuit comparison reference voltage generator 323 employs a configuration in which the power supply voltage is obtained by dividing the power supply voltage by the variable resistor VR2, as shown in FIG. 6, for example. The variable resistor VR2 has a variable resistance value and can extract a voltage from a tap in the middle.

As shown in FIG. 6, the comparison circuit 324 is composed of, for example, an operational amplifier OP8, compares the output voltage of the integration circuit 322 with the reference voltage generated by the comparison reference voltage generation circuit 323, and communicates according to the comparison result. The detection signal G1 is output. The operational amplifier OP8 has its +
A divided reference voltage of the variable resistor VR2 is applied to the input terminal,
The negative input terminal is connected to one end of the resistor R17.

By the way, as described above, the logic circuit 33 shown in FIG. 2 is based on the optical communication detection signals E1 to Em, the communication detection signals G1 to Gn, and the transfer speed signals D1 to Dn.
The power control signals S1 and S2 for controlling the power supplied to the transmission / reception unit 12 and the transfer rate adjustment unit 14, respectively, are generated. The basic concept of generating the power control signals S1 and S2 will be described below.

First, in the power-saving information outlet shown in FIG. 1, the case where the optical communication unit 11 is not communicating with the outside and the input / output ports 17-1 to 17-17
If one of −n is performing communication or not all of them perform communication, there is no problem even if the power of both the transmission / reception unit 12 and the transfer speed adjustment unit 14 is turned off. Therefore, at this time, the power control signals S1 and S2 of the logic circuit 33 are transmitted to the transmission / reception unit 12, the transfer speed adjustment unit 1
4 so that a signal that can stop the power supply to the power supply 4 is obtained.

On the other hand, the input / output ports 17-1 to 17-1n
When communication is performed using two of the ports, the power of the transmitting / receiving unit 12 must be turned on without fail in order to secure the communication. Therefore, at this time,
As the power control signal S1 of the logic circuit 33, a signal capable of supplying power to the transmission / reception unit 12 is obtained.

At this time, the logic circuit 33 uses the transfer speed signals D1 and D2 indicating the data transfer speed, and takes into account the data transfer speed, the power control signal S of a predetermined logic level.
1. It is necessary to generate S2. In other words, when the data transfer speeds are the same, it is not necessary to adjust the data transfer speed, so that the power supply of the transfer speed adjustment unit 141 can be turned off, and only the power supply of the transmission / reception unit 12 needs to be turned on. Is enough. On the other hand, if the transfer rates of the data are different, it is necessary to adjust the transfer rate of the data. Therefore, it is necessary to turn on both the transfer rate adjusting unit 14 and the transmitting / receiving unit 12. Therefore, the power control signal S of the logic circuit 33
Steps S1 and S2 allow the transmission / reception unit 12 and the transfer speed adjustment unit 14 to generate a signal of a logic level that enables the power supply control as described above.

Next, an operation example of the power-saving information outlet according to this embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described. Now, the optical communication unit 11 is not performing optical communication, and one of the input / output ports 17-1 to 17-n.
It is assumed that one is communicating or not all of them are communicating. In this case, the optical communication detection circuit 3
From 1-1 to 31-m and the communication detection circuits 32-1 to 32-n, detection signals corresponding thereto are generated, and the logic circuits 33
Supplied to

As a result, in the logic circuit 33, the transmission / reception unit 1
Power control signals S1 and S2 for turning off the power of both the power control signal S2 and the transfer rate adjusting unit 14 are generated.
1 and S2, the respective contacts of the switch elements 22 and 23 shown in FIG.
Then, the supply of power from the power supply 16 to the transfer speed adjusting unit 14 is stopped.

On the other hand, input / output ports 17-1 to 17-1n
When communication is performed using two of the ports, the power of the transmitting / receiving unit 12 must be turned on without fail in order to secure the communication. In this case, the data transfer speed of the personal computer connected to the two ports may be different. If the data transfer speeds are different, it is necessary to adjust the data transfer speed. 14 must be turned on.

As a result, in the logic circuit 33, when the data transfer rate is the same, only the power supply of the transmission / reception unit 12 is turned on. On the other hand, when the data transfer rate is different, the logic circuit 33 and the transmission / reception unit 12 adjust the transfer rate. Power control signals S1 and S2 for turning on both power supplies of the unit 14 are generated. For this reason, when the data transfer speed is the same, only the contact of the switch element 23 is opened by the power control signal S2, so that the supply of power from the power supply 16 to the transfer speed adjusting unit 14 is stopped. On the other hand, when the data transfer rates are different, the switch elements 22 and 22 are controlled by the power control signals S1 and S2.
23 contacts remain closed.

Next, a design example of the logic circuit 33 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. The basic concept of the design example of the logic circuit 33 is the same as described above. Here, the input / output port on the optical communication unit 11 side is considered to be a standard as an information outlet in the home, and the transmission / reception unit A design example when the input / output port 17 on the 12 side is two ports will be described.

Therefore, in this example, the optical communication detecting circuits 31-1 to 31-m and the communication detecting circuits 32-1 to 32-1 of FIG.
2-n, only the optical communication detection circuit 31-1 and the communication detection circuits 32-1 and 32-2 are used. That is, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 7, the logic circuit 33 has an input whose optical communication detection signal E1 is output from the optical communication detection circuit 31-1 and whose communication circuit detection circuits 32-1 and 32-2.
-2, the communication detection signals G1, G2,
And the above-mentioned transfer rate signals D1 and D2, and the outputs thereof become power control signals S1 and S2.

Under such conditions, a truth table of the logic circuit 33 is created based on the above basic concept as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, when the communication detection signals G1 and G2 are "1", the input / output port 1
7-1 and 17-2 indicate that it is detected that the communication state is not established, and when "0", it is a signal indicating that it is detected that the communication state is established. Also, the transfer speed signal D1,
D2 indicates that the transfer rate of the corresponding received data is, for example, 10 Mbps when it is "1", indicates that the transfer rate is 100 Mbps when it is "0", and "x" indicates don ' means t care.

When the optical communication detection signal E1 is "1", it indicates that the optical communication unit 11 has detected that the optical communication unit 11 is not in communication with the outside. When the optical communication detection signal E1 is "0", the optical communication unit 11 is in communication with the outside. This is a signal indicating that the presence has been detected. The power control signal S1 is a signal that turns off the power of the transmitting and receiving unit 12 when it is "1" and turns it on when it is "0". The power control signal S1 is a signal that turns off the power supply of the transfer rate adjusting unit 14 when it is "1" and turns it on when it is "0".

Therefore, in FIG. 7, for example, in the first to third stages, the optical communication unit 11 is not performing optical communication, and both of the input / output ports 17-1 and 17-2 are in communication. , Or only one of them is communicating. Also, from the fourth stage to the seventh stage,
This is the case where the optical communication unit 11 is not performing optical communication, but one or both of the input / output ports 17-1 and 17-2 are performing communication. The eighth stage is a case where the optical communication unit 11 is performing optical communication, but neither of the input / output ports 17-1 and 17-2 is performing communication. The ninth to sixteenth stages correspond to the case where the optical communication unit 11 is performing optical communication and one or both of the input / output ports 17-1 and 17-2 are performing communication. .

Next, the logical expressions obtained from the truth table shown in FIG. 7 are as shown in the following expressions (1) and (2). S1 = G1 × G2 + G1 × E1 + G2 × E1 (1) Here, in the expression (1), “×” is a symbol indicating a logical product operation, “+” is a symbol indicating a logical sum operation,
“/” Is a symbol indicating inversion (negation), and so on.

S2 = / (/ G1 × / D1 × / G2 × D2 + / G1 × D1 × / G2 × / D2 + / G1 × D1 × / E1 + / G2 × D2 × / E1) (2) What is necessary is just to implement a logic circuit that satisfies the logical expressions (1) and (2). As described above, according to the power-saving information outlet according to this embodiment, the power control unit 15 supplies the transmission / reception unit 12 and the transfer rate adjustment unit 14 from the power supply 16 as long as necessary communication can be secured. The power was controlled individually. For this reason, the power consumption in the home can be reduced as long as necessary communication can be ensured, and the heat generation due to the power consumption can be reduced to significantly improve the reliability and the life.

Although the above embodiment has been described with reference to the case where the configuration is based on the Ethernet standard, the present invention may alternatively be configured with another standard. In the above embodiment, the optical communication unit 11 is connected to the PO
Although the case of performing optical communication with the outside by F has been described,
The present invention may alternatively use a transceiver that performs communication using a cable. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the transfer speed adjusting unit 14 is provided, but this may be omitted as necessary.

[0052]

As described above, in the present invention, the necessary
Adjustment of transmission / reception unit and transfer speed as long as communication can be secured
The power supplied from the power supply to the unit can be controlled.
Therefore, as long as the necessary communication can be secured,
In addition to reducing power consumption, it also reduces heat generation due to power consumption.
And the reliability and life can be dramatically improved.

[0053]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit illustrating a configuration example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a power control signal generation circuit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an optical communication detection circuit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication detection circuit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating a circuit example of the optical communication detection circuit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram illustrating a circuit example of the communication detection circuit in FIG. 4;

7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a truth table of the logic circuit illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional home network.

[Explanation of symbols]

A1 to An optical pulse signal B1 to Bn electric signal C1 to Cn data signal D1 to Dn transfer speed signal E1 to Em Optical communication detection signal G1 to Gn communication detection signal S1, S2 power control signal 11 Optical communication unit 12 transmitting / receiving unit 13 Transformer 14 Transfer speed adjustment unit 15 Power control unit 16 Power supply 17-1 to 17-n I / O port 21 Power control signal generator 22, 23 switch element 31-1 to 31-m Optical communication detection circuit 32-1 to 31-n communication detection circuit 33 logic circuit 311 Buffer circuit 312 Rectified reference voltage generation circuit 313 rectifier circuit 314 Comparison reference voltage generation circuit 315 Comparison circuit 321 peak hold circuit 322 integration circuit 323 reference voltage generator 324 Comparison circuit

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H02J 1/00 G06F 1/26-1/32

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An information outlet capable of performing optical communication with the outside and transmitting and receiving data to and from an external predetermined electronic device, wherein: an optical communication unit that performs the optical communication; A plurality of electronic devices can be connected, and when the electronic device is connected, a transmission / reception unit that performs data transmission / reception with each of the electronic devices or with the optical communication unit, and a data transmission / reception unit that handles the transmission / reception unit. When the transfer speed is different
To, with the transfer speed adjusting unit for adjusting the transfer rate of data, and a power control unit for controlling each power supply of the said transceiver unit and the transfer speed adjusting unit, the power control unit, said optical communication A first detection circuit that detects the presence or absence of an optical signal received by the unit and outputs a detection signal according to the detection; and detects the presence or absence of transmission data from each of the electronic devices connected to the transmission and reception unit. A second detection circuit that outputs each detection signal corresponding to each detection, a detection signal of the first detection circuit, a plurality of detection signals of the second detection circuit, and a transfer speed signal corresponding to the transfer speed a first control signal for controlling on / off of supply of power from a power supply to the transmitting / receiving unit and the transfer rate control.
On / off control of power supply from the power supply to the regulator
A second control signal is generated , and the transmission / reception unit and the transfer are transmitted by the generated first control signal and the second control signal.
Power-saving information outlet and performs the on-off control of the speed adjustment unit respectively. 2. The power control unit includes a logic circuit, wherein the logic circuit includes a detection signal of the first detection circuit, a plurality of detection signals of the second detection circuit, and a transfer speed signal corresponding to the transfer speed. And a first control signal for controlling on / off of the power supply from the power supply to the transmission / reception unit according to the result of the logic operation, and the power supply from the power supply to the transfer rate adjustment unit. Generating a second control signal for controlling on / off of the supply of data, and performing the on / off control of the transmission / reception unit and the transfer rate adjustment unit by the generated first control signal and the second control signal, respectively. Item 2. The power-saving information outlet according to item 1 . Wherein the information outlet is intended to be installed in a wall or floor of the house or the like, according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the optical communication transmission medium is a plastic optical fiber Power-saving information outlet described in.