JP4513057B2 - Optical transmission system, optical wireless transmitter, and optical transmission method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an optical transmission system, an optical wireless transmission apparatus, and an optical transmission method capable of easily aligning optical axes of a transmission side and a reception side by optical radio.

  Conventionally, there is an optical wireless transmission technology that performs spatial transmission of information using light. In this optical wireless transmission technology, infrared light is generally used, and a semiconductor light emitting element such as a light emitting diode or a laser diode is used as the light emitting element. In such optical wireless transmission, when a sufficient distance between transmission and reception is desired, the emission angle of the light beam emitted from the transmission device is sharpened, that is, narrowed (directivity) so that a sufficient light level is incident on the reception device side. Need to be high). Therefore, the optical axes of the transmitting device and the receiving device must be aligned. However, it is necessary to use a light beam with high directivity (narrow emission angle) or infrared light where the light beam is not visible. Since it is used, the optical axis alignment of the optical wireless transmission apparatus is a very troublesome work. Therefore, conventionally, there has been proposed an optical wireless transmission device that can easily perform this optical axis alignment.

  As an example, the visible light from the transmitting device is focused on the same point as the infrared light for signal transmission or the parallel optical axis, and the visible light reflecting means provided on the receiving device side is sent together. An optical wireless transmission apparatus that adjusts the optical axis of a transmission apparatus while an operator looks at visible light reflected by the visible light reflecting means is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. As another technique, an optical sight transmission device that installs a sighting device in the transmission device and aligns the optical axis while looking at the sighting device, or a measuring device for detecting the received light level is connected to the receiving device side. However, there is also an optical wireless transmission device that performs optical axis alignment with a pair of two persons. Also, as disclosed in Patent Document 2 below, using a light source for adjusting the optical axis on the receiver side, the reception level information of the transmitted light from the transmitter is turned back, and the optical axis is adjusted accordingly. is there.

Furthermore, in Patent Document 3 below, a transmitter receives pilot light transmitted from a receiver with a 4-split PD, performs coarse optical axis alignment based on the level difference, and then transmits from the receiver. A method of performing fine optical axis alignment based on received light level information has also been proposed.
JP-A-62-110339 (FIGS. 1 and 2) JP-A-7-131422 (abstract) JP 2004-135326 A (Abstract)

  However, the optical wireless transmission device as disclosed in the above-described Patent Document 1 requires a configuration that causes the transmission device to generate visible light used for purposes other than optical wireless transmission. When it is necessary to keep a sufficient distance between the transmitting and receiving devices, the visible light emission output must be made sufficiently large, and the configuration needs to be added, which increases the cost of the transmitting device. In addition, the device becomes large. This is the same when a sighting machine is installed in the transmission device. In addition, it is necessary to strictly match the optical axis of visible light, the aim of the sighting device, and the optical axis of infrared light for signal transmission, which increases the cost. In addition, even when the light receiving level detection measuring machine is connected to the receiving device and performed by a pair of two persons, there is a disadvantage that it is necessary to prepare a light receiving level detecting measuring machine or to require manpower. As described above, in the conventional optical wireless transmission device, if the optical axis alignment is simplified, the cost of the transmission / reception device is increased, the size of the transmission / reception device is reduced, the cost of the transmission / reception device is reduced, and the optical transmission is reduced. There were drawbacks such as time-consuming alignment work.

  Patent Document 2 attempts to solve the above-described problems, but a single light receiving element mounted on a transmitter that receives transmission light from an optical transmission element for adjusting an optical axis attached to a receiver. Since the optical axis is adjusted based only on the received light level at and the reception level of the transmission signal light from the transmitter at the receiver, the person uses the level display device to adjust the optical axis based on this information. In the case of adjustment, the time and effort can be simplified sufficiently. However, unnecessary operations increase in automatically adjusting the optical axis.

  The reason is that it is impossible to determine whether the receiver is located on the top, bottom, left, or right only by the level of the transmission light for adjusting the optical axis obtained by a single light receiving element. Therefore, in order to automatically adjust the optical axis, it must always move once, and it must be judged whether the direction of movement is correct compared to the light reception level at the previous position. Must. In this case, there is a problem that unnecessary movement increases, and considering the time required for mechanical driving, it becomes a drag on high-speed automatic optical axis alignment.

  In addition, in the coarse optical axis alignment stage as described in Patent Document 3 in consideration of the above, after adjusting in a rough direction using an element such as a quadrant PD, the receiver uses the received level information based on the received level information. Some of them align the optical axes. However, even in a system in which such an optical axis can be automatically and accurately aligned and installed, a transmitter mainly used in a general living space such as the optical transmission system shown in FIG. It is easy to imagine that there are many cases where 1 moves due to vibration or impact, or has to be moved for cleaning, and the combined optical axes are often deviated. However, if the optical axis adjustment function has to be activated, it becomes very inconvenient and inconvenient.

  Moreover, even in an apparatus having a function of adjusting the optical axis by returning the light reception level information to the transmitter as in Patent Document 3 described above, the apparatus is mainly used in a general living space. In such systems, it is expected that the optical transmission line will be blocked and momentarily interrupted, but the light reception level information will change due to fluctuations in the light reception state on the receiver side due to such instantaneous interruption of the optical transmission line. And it is expected that correct control will be difficult. In such a system that is expected to be used in a living space, the axis is automatically corrected as soon as a misalignment occurs, and in addition to an abnormal situation such as a momentary interruption of the optical line due to light shielding. It is necessary to prevent the optical axis from being inadvertently entered.

Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to the above points, and is an easy-to-use automatic optical axis adjustment function that prevents unnecessary re-optical axis adjustment for abnormal conditions such as instantaneous interruption of the optical transmission path. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical transmission system, an optical wireless transmission apparatus, and an optical transmission method that require the above.

In order to achieve the above object, an optical transmission system of the present invention has a transmitter having first optical transmission means for transmitting a first optical signal, and receives the first optical signal and converts it into an electrical signal. An optical transmission system that performs spatial transmission of information using light between the transmitter and the receiver, the receiver comprising: A second optical transmission unit configured to transmit a second optical signal at a radiation angle wider than a radiation angle of the first optical signal transmitted from the first optical transmission unit of the transmitter; A plurality of light receiving elements, and when the second optical signal is received from the first optical transmission means, each of the light receiving elements has a light receiving level corresponding to an incident direction of the second optical signal. Second optical receiving means for outputting the first signal, the first optical transmitting means and the first optical transmitting means The driving means for directing the direction of the optical receiving means toward the receiver and the driving so that the light receiving levels of the second optical signals received by the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving means all coincide. A control unit that controls the optical axis alignment by controlling the means, and the control unit records the light reception levels in the plurality of light receiving elements as reference levels when the optical axis alignment is completed. Alternatively, a reference level recording unit that records a total value of received light levels in the plurality of light receiving elements as a total value of reference levels, and the second optical signals from the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving unit in sequence. Select a total value difference that is the difference between the total value of the received light levels received by each light receiving element and the total value of the reference level, and whether the total value difference is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value As well as The second optical signals from the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving means are sequentially selected, and each selected light receiving level is compared with the reference level, and the comparison results are all one. A determination processing unit for determining whether or not the measurement is performed, and measuring whether or not the total value difference equal to or greater than the first predetermined value continues for a first predetermined time or more, and at least one comparison result A timer measuring unit that measures whether or not the mismatched state continues for a second predetermined time or more,
In the determination processing unit, a state occurs in which the difference between the total values is less than a predetermined value, and each of the received light levels does not match one or more of the reference levels. When the state where one or more of the light reception level and the reference level do not coincide with each other continues for a second predetermined time or longer, the control unit controls the drive unit to perform the optical axis adjustment again.
In order to achieve the above object, the optical transmission system according to the present invention includes a plurality of light receiving elements in which a first light receiving element, a second light receiving element, a third light receiving element, and a fourth light receiving element are in a matrix. The first light receiving element, the fourth light receiving element, the second light receiving element, and the third light receiving element are respectively arranged in a staggered manner, and the transmitter includes the first light receiving element, the first light receiving element, the fourth light receiving element, the second light receiving element, and the third light receiving element. The sum of the light receiving levels of the second optical signal in the light receiving element and the second light receiving element and the sum of the light receiving levels of the second optical signal in the third light receiving element and the fourth light receiving element. The optical axis alignment in the first direction is performed so that the difference is equal to or less than the second predetermined value, and the total light receiving level of the second optical signal in the first light receiving element and the third light receiving element, In the second light receiving element and the fourth light receiving element The difference between the sum of the light receiving level of the second optical signal to perform optical axis alignment in a second direction perpendicular to said first direction so as to be less than the second predetermined value that.
Further, in order to achieve the above object, the optical transmission system of the present invention is configured so that when the difference in the total value is changed to a predetermined value or more in the determination processing unit, the change is determined by the determination number timer. It is determined whether or not it is the first predetermined time or more. If it is less than the first predetermined time, it is determined that the second optical signal is interrupted, and the determination processing unit When the difference between the total values is less than a predetermined value, the light receiving level of each of the light receiving elements is compared with the reference level of the corresponding light receiving element. It is determined whether or not it is the second predetermined time or more of the determination number timer. If it is equal to or longer than the second predetermined time, it is determined that the optical axis is shifted, and the optical axis is readjusted.
Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the optical wireless transmission apparatus of the present invention has a first optical transmission means for transmitting a first optical signal and a plurality of light receiving elements, and each of the light receiving elements An optical receiving means for receiving and converting to an electric signal at a light receiving level corresponding to an incident direction of the second optical signal when a second optical signal is incident from the outside; and the first optical transmitting means; The light receiving levels of the second optical signal received by the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving means and the driving means for directing the direction of the second optical receiving means to the receiver all match. A control unit that controls the drive means to align the optical axis, and the control unit records the light reception levels of the plurality of light receiving elements as reference levels when the optical axis alignment is completed. Or in a plurality of the light receiving elements. A reference level recording unit which records the total value of the received light level as the total value of the reference level, sequentially selects the second optical signal from a plurality of the light receiving element of said second optical receiving means, each of said light receiving elements A total value difference, which is a difference between the total value of the received light levels received at step S3 and the total value of the reference level, is determined to determine whether the total value difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the second optical Whether the second optical signals from the plurality of light receiving elements of the receiving means are sequentially selected, each selected light receiving level is compared with the reference level, and whether all the comparison results match And a determination processing unit for determining whether or not the total value difference equal to or greater than the first predetermined value continues for a first predetermined time or more, and the comparison result continues for a second predetermined time or longer. A timer measurement unit that measures whether or not, The determination processing unit includes a state in which the difference between the total values is less than a predetermined value, and each of the received light levels does not match one or more of the reference levels. When the state in which one or more of the received light levels does not match one or more of the reference levels continues for a second predetermined time or longer, the control unit controls the drive unit to perform the optical axis adjustment again.
Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the optical transmission method of the present invention transmits a first optical signal and receives a second optical signal by a plurality of light receiving elements, and the first optical signal. And a receiver for transmitting a second optical signal and receiving the signal, wherein the plurality of light receiving elements receive the second optical signal to a light receiving level. A light reception level total value calculating step for converting and calculating the total value of the light reception levels, and monitoring whether the total value of the light reception levels calculated in the light reception level total value calculation step changes to a predetermined value or more. A first change time for determining whether or not the change continues for a predetermined time or more when the total value of the light reception level changes to a predetermined value or more in the light reception level total value monitoring step and the light reception level total value monitoring step. Judgment And when the total value of the received light levels is less than a predetermined value in the received light level total value monitoring step, each received light level for acquiring the received light level value of each of the plurality of received light elements at any time and comparing the change. A monitoring step; and a second change time determination step for determining whether or not the change continues for a predetermined time or more when the value of at least one light reception level is changed in each of the light reception level monitoring steps, If the change in the total value of the light reception level is less than a predetermined time in the first change time determination step, it is determined that the interruption of the second optical signal is an instantaneous interruption, and the monitoring is returned to the light reception level total value monitoring step. And when the change in the total value of the received light levels continues for a predetermined time or more in the first change time determination step, the second optical signal is cut off and the optical axis shifts. If it is determined that no occurrence has occurred, and the change in the value of the received light level is less than a predetermined time in the second change time determining step, it is determined that there is no optical axis shift, and the process returns to the received light level total value monitoring step. If the change in the light reception level value continues for a predetermined time or longer in the second change time determination step, the optical axis is readjusted assuming that a deviation of the optical axis has occurred.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the optical wireless transmission apparatus of the present invention has a first optical transmission means for transmitting a first optical signal and a plurality of light receiving elements, and each of the light receiving elements An optical receiving means for receiving and converting to an electric signal at a light receiving level corresponding to an incident direction of the second optical signal when a second optical signal is incident from the outside; and the first optical transmitting means; a drive means for directing the orientation of the second optical receiving means to the receiver, the received light level of the second optical signals received by the plurality of the light receiving element of said second optical science receiving means matches all wherein the controlling the drive means control unit for the optical axis alignment position has the control section, the reference level the received light levels in a plurality of the light receiving element when the front Symbol alignment optical axis position is completed as Or in a plurality of the light receiving elements A reference level recording unit that records a total value of received light levels as a total value of reference levels, and a plurality of the light receiving elements of the second optical receiving means receive the second optical signal at regular intervals, A total value difference, which is a difference between the total value of the received light levels received by the light receiving element and the total value of the reference level, is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the total value difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The plurality of light receiving elements of the optical receiving means receives the second optical signal at regular intervals, compares each received light level with the reference level, and the comparison results all match. And a determination processing unit for determining whether or not the difference between the total values greater than or equal to the first predetermined value continues for a first predetermined time or more, and the result of the comparison is a second predetermined value Measure whether or not it will last longer A state in which the total value difference is less than a predetermined value and each of the received light levels does not match one or more of the reference levels; and In the timer measurement unit, when the state where one or more of the received light levels does not match one or more of the reference levels continues for a second predetermined time or longer, the control unit controls the drive unit to perform the optical axis adjustment again.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the optical transmission method of the present invention transmits a first optical signal and receives a second optical signal by a plurality of light receiving elements, and the first optical signal. And a receiver for transmitting a second optical signal and receiving the signal, wherein the plurality of light receiving elements receive the second optical signal to a light receiving level. A light reception level total value calculating step for converting and calculating the total value of the light reception levels, and monitoring whether the total value of the light reception levels calculated in the light reception level total value calculation step changes to a predetermined value or more. A first change time for determining whether or not the change continues for a predetermined time or more when the total value of the light reception level changes to a predetermined value or more in the light reception level total value monitoring step and the light reception level total value monitoring step. Judgment And when the total value of the received light levels is less than a predetermined value in the received light level total value monitoring step, each received light level for acquiring the received light level value of each of the plurality of received light elements at any time and comparing the change. A monitoring step; and a second change time determination step for determining whether or not the change continues for a predetermined time or more when the value of at least one light reception level is changed in each of the light reception level monitoring steps, If the change in the total value of the light reception level is less than a predetermined time in the first change time determination step, it is determined that the interruption of the second optical signal is an instantaneous interruption, and the monitoring is returned to the light reception level total value monitoring step. And when the change in the total value of the received light levels continues for a predetermined time or more in the first change time determination step, the second optical signal is cut off and the optical axis shifts. It is determined that that does not occur,
If the change in the value of the light reception level is less than a predetermined time in the second change time determination step, it is determined that there is no optical axis deviation, the process returns to the light reception level total value monitoring step, and monitoring is continued. If the change in the light reception level value continues for a predetermined time or more in the time determination step, the optical axis is readjusted on the assumption that a deviation of the optical axis has occurred.

According to the present invention, after the first optical axis adjustment is performed after the system is installed, the position (orientation) of the transmitter is shifted due to vibration or impact, and the optical transmission path between the transmitter and the receiver is normal. If the transmitter is not in a stable state and there is a problem in accurate data transmission, the transmitter monitors the reception state of the second optical signal from the receiver, so that the optical transmission path can be Determine if the optical axis is misaligned or if the optical transmission path is blocked (shielded) due to an obstacle crossing, etc., and the optical axis misalignment is automatically detected again only when an optical axis misalignment such as a transmitter misalignment occurs. Can be corrected automatically. As a result, when the optical transmission path is simply cut off by a person, the transmitter waits for the light shielding object to be removed, and when the light shielding object disappears, the optical transmission path is promptly removed. In addition, the optical axis can be automatically corrected quickly by determining and detecting the optical axis misalignment such as the transmitter misalignment at high speed, eliminating the trouble of the user. An easy-to-use optical transmission system, optical wireless transmitter, and optical transmission method can be provided.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, an example of an image of an optical transmission system assumed to use the present invention is shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 1, digital images displayed by the video display device 61 are displayed on the receiver 20 installed on the video display device 61 (for example, a high-definition display device such as a plasma display panel (PDP) television). An optical wireless video transmission apparatus that transmits video signal data by optical wireless. This apparatus transmits a digital video signal to the receiver 20 connected (installed) to the video display device 61 from the transmitter 1 installed in the video control device 60 such as a tuner by optical radio.

  In this optical transmission system, data is transmitted to the receiver 20 by transmission light (first optical signal) 19 emitted from the transmitter 1, in order to transmit data efficiently with limited optical power. The transmission light 19 has a narrow radiation angle, and it is an important transmission condition that the transmission light 19 strikes the receiver 20 accurately. As a result, the concept (function) of optical axis adjustment is required in an optical transmission system that is required to match the transmitted light 19 to the receiver 20.

  Further, assuming such an embodiment, the transmitter 1 is installed on the side of the video control device 60 such as a tuner. There is a high possibility that the optical axis will be shifted due to the above, and the precise adjustment of the optical axis by the user each time significantly impairs the comfort of use of the system. Therefore, it is desirable that the transmitter 1 has a function of automatically adjusting the optical axis, and it is desirable that the transmitter 1 can be automatically and quickly readjusted even if an optical axis shift occurs during use. In order to provide such a transmitter 1 with an automatic optical axis adjustment function, pilot light (second optical signal) 33 for the transmitter 1 to adjust the optical axis is provided on the receiver 20 side. It is thought that it is done.

<First Embodiment>
Next, as a first embodiment of an optical wireless transmission apparatus of an optical transmission system that is assumed to use the present invention as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of each of the transmitter 1 and the receiver 20. Shown together. As shown in FIG. 2, the receiver 20 in the optical wireless transmission apparatus according to the present invention is a relatively long receiver for receiving the first optical signal 19 that is spatially transmitted by the first optical transmission means 8 of the transmitter 1. Processing such as reception by a first light receiving means (for example, composed of a PD, APD, and a condensing lens) 22 having a wide light receiving angle, and electrical amplification by a light receiving circuit 23 in the electric signal processing circuit 21 In addition, a reception signal processing circuit 24 that performs signal processing for transmission to an external device (for example, an image receiving device) not described here is provided.

  In addition, the receiver 20 has second light transmission means (for example, an LED or a lens added thereto) 32 having a wide radiation angle, a transmission circuit 30 for generating a transmission signal thereof, and a light emitting element driver 31. A second optical signal 33 (generally referred to as such light as pilot light) is transmitted to the transmitter 1 to indicate the position of the receiver 20 itself. In addition, the receiver 20 including the first optical receiver 22 and the second optical transmitter 32 and the like can be easily installed by adjusting the direction thereof to the direction of the transmitter 1 at the time of installation. For this purpose, a horizontal movable part 37 and a vertical movable part 38 are provided.

  Next, the transmitter 1 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. The transmitter 1 receives a signal (for example, a video signal) sent from an external data generation device not described here, and the signal processed by the transmission signal processing circuit 3 that performs processing for optical wireless transmission Then, the first optical transmission means 8 is driven through the light emitting element driver 7 and optically transmitted by the first optical signal 19.

  The transmitter 1 has second optical receiving means (consisting of a plurality of light receiving elements (for example, PDs)) 9 for receiving the second optical signal 33 from the receiver 20, and this second The received signal of each light receiving element received by the light receiving means 9 is subjected to processing such as electrical amplification by the light receiving circuit 10 in the transmitter electrical signal processing unit 2. As for the reception signal from each light receiving element processed by the light receiving circuit 10, only a specific reception signal is selected by the control from the control unit 15 using the signal selection circuit 11, and the reception level is detected by the reception level detection circuit 13. The result is passed to the control unit 15.

  Here, the control unit (for example, MPU, DSP, etc.) 15 receives the necessary reception by the second optical receiving means 9 using the signal selection circuit 11 in a timely manner in order to align the optical axis of the transmitter 1 with the receiver 20. A signal is selected and the level of each signal obtained by the reception level detection circuit 13 is compared to control the drive control unit 16 to drive a horizontal (pan) direction drive means 17 and a vertical (tilt) direction drive means 18 (for example, , Stepping motors, etc.) are controlled to automatically adjust the orientation of the first optical transmitter 8 and the second optical receiver 9.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a receiver 20 in the optical wireless transmission apparatus shown in FIG. 3 will be described as a second embodiment of the present invention. The receiver 20 receives a first optical signal 19 spatially transmitted by the first optical transmitter 8 of the transmitter 1 and receives a first optical receiver 19 having a relatively wide directivity angle (for example, PD, APD, and collector). The signal is received by the optical circuit 22 and is amplified electrically by the light receiving circuit 23, converted into a digital signal by the binarization circuit 25, and decoded by a symbol decoding circuit (for example, 10B8B conversion circuit 35). And transmit to an external device (for example, an image receiving device) not described here.

  The receiver 20 is connected to the transmitter 1 by a second light transmitting means (for example, an LED or a lens added thereto) 32 having a wide radiation angle so that the transmitter 1 adjusts the optical axis. The optical signal 33 is transmitted. Further, the second optical transmission unit 32 also has a purpose of transmitting reception error rate information of the signal received by the first optical reception unit 22. In the receiver 20, the first optical reception unit 22 Error detection is performed on the data received and transmitted by the first optical signal 19 digitized by the binarization circuit 25.

  In the example of FIG. 3, a symbol error detection circuit 26 is used to detect a reception error to detect a data reception error, and in order to further improve the error detection accuracy, the CRCC added to the data of the received first optical signal 19 is used. Is checked in the CRCC check circuit 36. The error rate calculation circuit 27 monitors (counts) the result detected by the symbol error detection circuit 26 and each error result detected by the CRCC check circuit 36, and the result is transmitted by the second optical transmission means 32. For this purpose, the error rate packet generation circuit 28 performs packetization, modulates the light emission signal to the second optical transmission means 32 by the modulation circuit 29 in accordance with this packet, and sends it to the light emitting element driver 31. The reception status of the first optical signal 19 sent from the transmitter 1 at the receiver 20 is sent to the transmitter 1 using the second optical signal 33.

  Further, when the data error of the first optical signal 19 received by the receiver 20 is detected, the transmitter 1 which will be described later adjusts the optical axis with the receiver 20 in the first process. When the optical signal 19 is not received at a certain level or higher, the detection of the error rate is postponed, the load on the optical axis adjustment control processing of the transmitter 1 is reduced, and the optical axis can be adjusted more quickly. The reception level of the signal received by the first light receiving means 22 and the light receiving circuit 23 is monitored by the signal level detection circuit 34, and the generation (transmission) of the error rate packet is stopped.

  Next, the transmitter 1 shown in FIG. 3 will be described. The transmitter 1 receives a signal (for example, a video signal) sent from an external data generation device not described here, and checks the correctness of the data on the receiver 20 side after transmission, in order to confirm the correctness of the data. The data to be transmitted is divided for each fixed size, and a CRC code is added to each of the divided data. Further, in order to perform optical wireless transmission, this signal is encoded by an encoding circuit (for example, 8B10B conversion circuit 5), converted into a binary digital signal that can be optically transmitted by a binary circuit 6, and a light emitting element driver 7 Send to. The light emitting element driver 7 drives a first light transmitting means (for example, composed of an LED, an LD, a condensing lens, etc.) 8 to optically transmit a binarized signal, and transmits light having a narrow radiation angle. As 19, the data is spatially transmitted to the receiver 20.

  The transmitter 1 also includes second optical receiving means (multiple optical receivers) for receiving the second optical signal 33 transmitted by the second optical transmitting means 32 mounted for adjusting the optical axis of the receiver 20. A light receiving element (for example, PD) 9 is provided, and the light receiving circuit 10 electrically receives the received signal of each light receiving element (second light receiving means 9) received by the second light receiving means 9. Perform processing such as amplification. The reception signal from each light receiving element processed by the light receiving circuit 10 is selected only by the control unit 15 using the signal selection circuit 11, and the reception level detection circuit 13 detects the reception level and controls it. The result is passed to part 15. Further, the reception signal selected by the signal selection circuit 11 by the control unit 15 is demodulated by the demodulation circuit 12, and packet detection and analysis means for obtaining the reception error rate information of the first optical signal 19 on the receiver 20 side. 14, the reception error rate information from the receiver 20 is detected, and the result is sent to the control unit 15.

  Here, the control unit (for example, MPU, DSP, etc.) 15 uses the signal selection circuit 11 to receive the necessary received signal by the second optical receiving means 9 when necessary to align the optical axis of the transmitter 1 with the receiver 20. And the reception error rate information sent from the reception level detection circuit 13 and the receiver 20 is obtained by the packet detection and analysis means 14, and the control unit 15 controls the drive control unit 16 based on these information. The horizontal driving means 17 and the vertical driving means 18 (for example, a stepping motor) are controlled, and the direction of the first optical transmission means 8 and the second optical reception means 9 is directed toward the receiver 20, The transmission optical axis of the first optical transmission means 8 of the transmitter 1 is adjusted to coincide with the reception optical axis of the receiver 20. Further, the control unit 15 controls the light emitting element driver 7 based on the information from the reception level detection circuit 13 so as to prevent the first optical signal 19 from being inadvertently emitted to the periphery during the optical axis alignment. It also has a mechanism to do.

  Next, the transmitter 1 uses the second optical receiver 9 by using the second optical signal 33 emitted by the second optical transmitter 32 as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. An example of the basic principle for detecting the direction of the receiver 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, a case will be described in which the second light receiving means 9 provided in the transmitter 1 uses a light receiving element (four divided PDs) in which four PD elements are enclosed by one lens as shown in FIG. The principle of this quadrant PD will be briefly described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the 4-partition PD is one in which four PDs (light receiving elements: PD1, PD2, PD3, PD4) are housed in one optical lens. In this light receiving element, the light receiving level of each light receiving element (PD1, PD2, PD3, PD4) varies depending on the incident direction of light. FIGS. 4 (a), (b), and (c) show the principle of three patterns. An example is shown.

  In the case of FIG. 4A, the light source (second optical transmission means in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) 32 is located on the left side (PD1, PD3 side) with respect to the four-divided PD. The incident light is condensed to the right PD2 and PD4 side by the lens in which each PD is encapsulated, and as a result, the relationship of PD1 <PD2 and PD3 <PD4 is obtained for each light receiving level. In the case of FIG. 4B, the light source 32 is located in front of the 4-split PD. In this case, since the light is condensed at the center where each PD is located, the relationship between the reception levels is PD1 = PD2. PD3 = PD4. In the case of FIG. 4C, the light source 32 is positioned on the right side (PD2, PD4 side) with respect to the four-divided PD. In this case, the incident light is incident on the left side by the lens in which each PD is enclosed. The light is condensed toward the PD1 and PD3 sides. As a result, the relationship between the respective light receiving levels is PD1> PD2 and PD3> PD4.

  That is, it is possible to know the direction in which the light source 32 is located by comparing the respective reception levels of the light receiving elements using the characteristics of the light receiving elements such as the four-divided PD. An operation example of direction alignment using this will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 5, the second light receiving means 9 mounted on the transmitter 1 is assumed to have four light receiving elements (PD1, PD2, PD3, PD4) arranged as shown in the figure. FIG. 5 shows in which direction the receiver 20 is located (in FIG. 5, the position of the receiver 20 is described as “the light source” as the position of the second optical transmission means 32).

  Here, when the receiver 20 is positioned in the direction of the position A of the light source 32 shown in FIG. 5 when viewed from the transmitter 1, the reception level of the PD1 of the second optical receiving means 9 of the transmitter 1 is SL1. When the reception level of PD2 is SL2, the reception level of PD3 is SL3, and the reception level of PD4 is SL4, the relationship is approximately SL1 = SL2 <SL3 = SL4 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the control unit 15 compares the reception levels SL1 to SL4 obtained from the second optical receiving means 9, and if the relationship SL1 = SL2 <SL3 = SL4 is obtained, the receiver 20 The control signal is determined so that the first optical transmission unit 8 and the second optical reception unit 9 are directed upward to the vertical driving unit 18. Similarly, when there is a receiver 20 at each of the positions B to H, a relationship as shown in FIG. 6 is approximately generated between SL1, SL2, SL3, and SL4, and the control unit 15 examines this relationship while checking FIG. The first optical transmission means 8 and the second optical reception means 9 are controlled so as to face each direction shown in the above, and by repeating such control several times, Each of the reception levels SL1 to SL4 of the optical signal 33 is moved to a position where all the values are the same. When such a state is reached, the transmitter 1 has roughly grasped the position of the receiver 20.

  However, in an actual system, in order to realize accurate optical axis alignment only by comparing and determining the light reception level of the second optical signal 33 (pilot light) by the second optical receiver 9 as described above. The light emitting and receiving axes of each light receiving and emitting element must be mounted so that they are accurately parallel, and the tolerance is required to be higher as the radiation angle of the first optical signal 19 becomes smaller. For this reason, when it is desired to increase the data transmission speed, to increase the data transmission speed, and to increase the transmission distance, the radiation angle of the first optical signal 19 needs to be a narrow angle, and more accurate optical axis alignment is required. In other words, it is difficult to easily obtain the assembly accuracy corresponding to it, and this causes a great burden in assembly adjustment at the time of mass production.

  In such a case, as shown in the second embodiment of FIG. 3, the receiver 20 side returns the reception state of the first optical signal 19 from the transmitter 1 as delivery information, thereby returning the transmitter. 1 has a mechanism that finally matches the optical axis with the receiver 20. In other words, in order to align the communication optical axis with the receiver 20, the transmitter 1 is first directed quickly toward the receiver 20 based on the reception level information of the pilot light 33, and then the receiver 20 transmits the first optical signal 19. Depending on the delivery information that can know the reception status, the communication optical axis with the receiver 20 is changed until the first optical receiving means 22 of the receiver 20 can correctly receive the first optical signal 19. adjust.

  As described above, in the first and second embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 3 shown as the embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter 1 uses the second optical signal 33 emitted from the receiver 20 as the pilot light. In the case where the second optical receiver 9 is used to quickly adjust the optical axis while determining the optical axis adjustment direction, the receiver 20 has a system configuration that requires more accurate adjustment at the final stage. Therefore, accurate optical axis adjustment is performed by relying on the delivery information from. This is because adjusting the optical axis from the beginning with only the delivery information from the receiver 20 has no way of knowing the adjustment direction and so on, and adjustment from a position far away from the direction takes a lot of time for adjustment. Since the high-speed optical axis adjustment is difficult, the transmitter 1 as described in FIG. 5 determines the position from the reception level of the second optical signal 33 (pilot light) obtained by the second optical receiver 9. The finding method is used.

  However, also in this method, the accuracy of the direction determination from the obtained level or the determination processing man-hour is affected by the accuracy of mounting the second optical receiving means 9 mounted on the transmitter 1. Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, the second light receiving means 9 attached relatively roughly also reduces the influence of the mounting variation and the like, and the left / right / up / down determination is made by the second light receiving means. It is determined from the light receiving level of 9 light receiving elements. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the transmitter 1 is attached to each of the drive shafts of the horizontal rotation shaft 49 and the vertical rotation shaft 48 (hereinafter also simply referred to as an axis) for aligning the transmitter 1. When the second light receiving means 9 is used, the sum of the levels of the plurality of light receiving elements on the left and right or the top and bottom across the shafts 49 and 48 is used for the determination of the right / left deviation or the up / down deviation. 9 reduces the influence of mounting displacement on the drive shaft that occurs during assembly.

  That is, for the left / right determination, the reception levels SL1 and SL3 of PD1 and PD3 are added by the addition processing 42 with the horizontal rotation axis 49 interposed therebetween, and the reception levels SL2 and SL4 of PD2 and PD4 are added by SHL = SL1 + SL3. SHR = SL2 + SL4 added by the addition processing by the signal adder 43 is used for comparison determination, and the vertical rotation shaft 48 is sandwiched between the upper and lower determinations, and the reception levels SL1 and SL2 of PD1 and PD2 are determined by the signal adder 40. SVD = SL1 + SL2 added by the addition process and SVD = SL3, SL4 obtained by adding the reception levels SL3 and SL4 of PD3 and PD4 by the addition process by the signal adder 41 are used for comparison determination. The influence of the inclination of the means 9 and the influence on each driving direction are suppressed. Here, in FIG. 7, the horizontal rotation shaft 49 and the vertical rotation shaft 48 are drawn as the centers of the second light receiving means 9 for the sake of illustration, but strictly speaking, these are respectively the horizontal rotation shaft 49 and the horizontal rotation shaft 49. Any axis that passes through the center of the second light receiving means 9 parallel to the vertical rotation axis 48 may be used.

  As can be seen from the above description, in order to transmit desired data from the transmitter 1 to the receiver 20 by optical wireless transmission, the second optical transmission means 32 of the receiver 20 as shown in FIG. Is aligned with the second optical signal light receiving axis (hereinafter also simply referred to as the light receiving axis) 52 of the second optical receiving means 9 of the transmitter 1, and the first optical signal light emitting axis of the first optical transmitting means 8 is aligned. 51 captures the first optical receiving means 22 of the receiver 20 to establish an optical wireless transmission path from the transmitter 1 to the receiver 20. However, as described at the beginning, the optical wireless transmission apparatus in which the present invention is assumed to be used is expected to be used in a general living space. Therefore, as a matter of course, FIG. As shown in b), the light shielding object 55 may enter instantaneously, such as when a person crosses between established transmission paths.

  Naturally, if such a light blocking object 55 enters, the optical wireless transmission apparatus such as the present system will disconnect the transmission path, and data cannot be transmitted correctly at that moment. This is a problem in the characteristics of the transmission path of the system, and in order to solve this problem directly, it is considered that there are solutions such as mounting a lot of data storage means. This is a problem that can be solved by balancing with the concept. However, such an instantaneous interruption of the optical transmission path due to the light shield 55 has an automatic optical axis adjustment function, and causes a new problem in a system equipped with an automatic axis deviation correction function after setting. In the present invention, these problems can be prevented from occurring.

  Next, the problems that the present invention has focused on at the time of light shielding mentioned above will be described. In a system that has a function of automatically adjusting the optical axis to which the present invention is applicable and is mainly used in a living space, the installation position direction is delicately caused by vibration or cleaning during use. It is possible to predict that the optical transmission line is shifted and the optical axis shift occurs, the quality of the optical transmission line is degraded, or the optical transmission line is cut off in the worst case. Therefore, the automatic optical axis adjustment function can easily adjust the optical axis even in such a case, but the user can adjust the optical axis one by one every time the optical axis shifts for the reasons described above after installation. If instructions must be given, the user will be greatly stressed from the viewpoint of ease of use of the system.

  Therefore, in order to reduce such stress on the user, it is desirable that the apparatus after installation automatically detects the occurrence of the optical axis deviation and automatically corrects the optical axis deviation. Therefore, in order for the apparatus (the transmitter 1 in each embodiment) to detect the optical axis shift, the reception level of the second optical signal 33 from the receiver 20 performed at the time of optical axis adjustment is monitored. It is considered that the optical axis deviation can be detected with (first and second embodiments). Further, it is considered that the optical axis deviation can be detected by monitoring data delivery information (error information) indicating the reception state of the first optical signal 19 transmitted from the receiver 20 as the second optical signal 33 (first). Embodiment 2).

  When considering such an optical axis misalignment detection function, the problem is when the transmitted light is blocked by people crossing the optical transmission path described above. Will cause problems. That is, in this apparatus, the optical transmission line is blocked, which means that the first optical signal 19 from the transmitter 1 to the receiver 20 is blocked, and at the same time, the second optical signal 33 from the receiver 20 is also blocked. Will occur with a very high probability. This is because when the optical axis shift is monitored by the difference in the reception level of the second optical signal 33, the position of the transmitter 1 is changed by the change in the reception level of the second optical signal 33 caused by light shielding. It is mistaken for a change in received light level due to movement. Originally, it is desirable to wait as long as there is no light shield, especially when the optical transmission line is momentarily interrupted and the light is interrupted, this misperception causes unnecessary optical axis adjustment operations. In other words, the transmission path may be interrupted for a long time.

  Even when the optical axis deviation is detected not only by monitoring the light reception level difference of the second optical signal 33 but also by the delivery status information (delivery error information, etc.) from the receiver 20, error occurrence information is simply received. As a result, in the determination of “optical axis misalignment”, an error due to the effect of disconnection of the transmission path due to light shielding is mistaken as “optical axis misalignment”. (At the moment of interruption, the second optical signal 33 for sending the delivery information is also interrupted, so during that time, the delivery information from the receiver 20 does not reach the transmitter 1, but the optical transmission path is interrupted and the receiver 20 If the reception level is greatly swung, a reception error may occur even after a momentary interruption, and the error may be affected by the error, or the error detection result from the reception of the optical signal may be reflected by the second light. The transmitter 1 may receive delivery error information with an error due to a delay in processing until transmission to the signal 33 or the like.

  The present invention has been made to prevent such unnecessary optical axis misalignment adjustment operation due to misidentification of the position misalignment of the transmitter 1 and the blocking of the optical transmission line. Here, the focus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 9A visualizes the influence of the reception level signal (light reception level) obtained from the second optical receiver 9 when the transmitter 1 determines the position of the receiver 20 at the momentary interruption. Is. Here, the reception level signals required for each determination are shown by taking SVU, SVD, SHL, and SHR according to FIG. As shown in FIG. 9 (a), when the optical axes are correctly aligned, all levels are stable at a constant level V1, but when something is momentarily interrupted, each level suddenly goes to the light shielding state level V0. descend. At this time, a certain amount of time (t0-t1) is required until all levels are stabilized from the instant t0 when the light is shielded to the light-shielding level V0, and this level (t0-t1) and each level SVU, SVD during this time are required. , SHL, SHR behavior depends on the characteristics of the second light receiving means 9 and the light receiving circuit 10 and differs depending on how the light is shielded, and therefore becomes a reception level unstable region. Therefore, FIG. 9A shows an image and does not necessarily show such a change. If the light is shielded, the light receiving levels SVU and SVD are passed through the level unstable region to the light shielding level V0. , SHL and SHR are lowered.

  That is, if the light reception levels SVU, SVD, SHL, and SHR in the light reception level instability time region (t0-t1) when the light is shielded are used for the optical axis deviation determination, the optical axis deviation is not actually caused. However, it will be mistaken as an optical axis misalignment state. Next, FIG. 9B shows a change in the total sum SLall = SL1 + SL2 + SL3 + SL4 of the second reception level at the time of light shielding as in FIG. 9A. Also in this case, the light-shielding level is changed to the stable state through the level unstable region after the light-shielding.

  On the other hand, the angle θ in FIG. 10A indicates the position (direction) of the light source 32 with respect to the 4-split PD 9 as the second light receiving means. FIG. 10B shows the second optical reception when the light source (second optical transmission means) 32 is at the position θ relative to the second optical reception means 9 as shown in FIG. Changes in the horizontal direction determination levels SHL = SL1 + SL3 and SHR = SL2 + SL4 with respect to the direction (θ) of the light source 32 in accordance with FIG. 7 based on the light receiving levels of the light receiving elements (PD1, PD2, PD3, PD4) constituting the means 9. Similarly, the change of the total light level SLall = SL1 + SL2 + SL3 + SL4 of the light receiving levels obtained by the respective light receiving elements of the second light receiving means 9 is shown as an image. As shown in FIG. 10B, when the light source 32 is in front (θ = 0 °), the second light receiving means 9 has the same level V1 (= SHL = SHR), and the total received level SLall. The level Vtotal1 is the largest. Here, looking at the change in the level sum SLall, it can be seen that the change width is ΔVm when the position of the light source 32 is moved between θ0 and θ1, and in FIG. 9B described above. When the level change ΔVS at the time of light shielding is compared, there is a relationship ΔVm> ΔVS.

  By utilizing this fact, it is the main point of the present invention that the change in the received light level of the second optical signal 33 in the second optical receiving means 9 due to the optical axis deviation and the light shielding is realized. If the optical transmission path is momentarily interrupted, careless optical axis adjustment processing is not performed, and it is possible to quickly correct the optical axis against optical axis misalignment due to movement of the transmitter 1 or the like. The specific means will be described below using an example of a determination block and an example of an optical axis adjustment flow.

  FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the present invention for performing the optical axis misalignment and light shielding determination described above, with the main points placed on the control unit 15. However, other functions of the control unit 15 are omitted here. As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 15 determines the direction of the second optical receiving means 9 (and the first optical transmitting means 8) at each PD element in the second optical receiving means 9 for the second optical signal 33. After adjusting the direction based on the received level of the optical axis and aligning the optical axis, the reception level of the second optical receiving means 9 in the state where the communication optical axis is accurately aligned is monitored to detect the optical axis deviation, This is for quickly correcting the optical axis.

  After the optical axis adjustment at the time of setting is completed, the control unit 15 sends a select control signal to the signal select circuit 11 by the reception signal select control unit 59 at any time, and sequentially receives the level of the received signal obtained from the second optical receiving means 9. SL1 to SL4 are passed to the optical axis establishment reference level recording unit 56 as level values in the reception level detection circuit 13, and the total light reception level SLall when the optical axis just after the optical axis adjustment is calculated is calculated as the light shielding judgment reference value. Recorded in the optical axis establishment reference level recording unit 56, and further, SHL = SL1 + SL3, SHR = SL2 + SL4 as horizontal fluctuation determination reference values, and SVU = SL1 + SL2, SVD = SL3 + SL4 as vertical fluctuation determination reference values, and light as determination reference values Recorded in the axis establishment reference level recording unit 56.

  Further, as needed, the determination processing unit 58 compares the level value of each signal obtained in the reception level detection circuit 13 with each reference level recorded in the optical axis establishment reference level recording unit 56. A repeat determination number counter (or timer) 57 for determining how long the period of occurrence of the error has occurred is set, and the interval is measured. Based on the measurement result, the determination processing unit 58 determines whether the reception level is changed due to the optical axis deviation or the reception level is changed due to light shielding, and the drive unit is controlled based on the result, thereby determining the optical axis. Only when a deviation actually occurs, it is possible to perform an appropriate optical axis deviation correction process (drive). Here, as described later with reference to FIG. 13, the repetition determination number counter (or timer) 57 includes two types of repetition light shielding determination number counter (or timer) 57-1 and repetition axis deviation determination number counter (or timer) 57-2. Consists of.

  Next, the flow of the automatic optical axis adjustment according to the present invention that leads to the optical axis adjustment operation, the optical axis deviation determination operation, and the optical axis deviation correction in the first and second embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. I will explain. First, the operation of the transmitter 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, first, the second optical reception signal is sequentially selected as step S1, and it is determined whether there is a reception signal of a certain level or more at step S2. This is to avoid erroneous determination due to noise reception such as disturbance light by determining whether or not the receiver 20 is within the light receiving angle of the second light receiving means 9. If there is no received signal exceeding a certain level in this determination, the light emission of the first optical transmission means 8 is stopped in step S3 to avoid unnecessary emission of the first optical signal 19 and to the surrounding outside world. Take care. When the first optical signal 19 is stopped in step S3, the direction of the second optical receiving means 9 (and the first optical transmitting means 8) is moved in step S4, and the processing from step S1 is performed again.

  If reception of a certain level or more is confirmed in step S2, it is further determined in step S5 whether all these second received light levels SVU, SVD, SHL, SHR match, and they match. If not, in step S4, the direction of the second optical receiving means 9 (and the first optical transmitting means 8) is moved in accordance with the magnitudes of the second received optical levels SVU, SVD, SHL, SHR. The process from step S1 is performed again.

  If all levels SVU, SVD, SHL, and SHR match in step S5, transmission of the first optical signal 19 to the receiver 20 is started by the first optical transmission means 8 in step S14. The initial optical axis adjustment at the time is completed, and the process proceeds to the subsequent optical axis monitoring state. In the optical axis monitoring state, the second optical reception level V1 (SVU, SVD, SHL, SHR) when the optical axis is matched in the previous optical axis adjustment is recorded in step S11, and when the optical axis coincides in step S12. The second optical total reception level Vtotal1 is obtained and recorded.

  In step S11 and step S12, the second optical reception level V1 and the second optical total reception level Vtotal1 are recorded as subsequent determination reference values, and then optical axis misalignment and fluctuation detection processing is performed in step S13. If a deviation is detected, the process proceeds to a process for readjusting the optical axis. In this example, the optical axis readjustment process is performed by returning to the process of determining the received light level of the second optical signal 33 in step S2. If no optical axis deviation is detected in step S13, the optical axis deviation monitoring process in step S13 is repeated.

  The optical axis monitoring process in step S13 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 shows the state of the optical transmission line established by the first optical signal 19 between the transmitter 1 and the receiver 20 (occurrence of optical axis misalignment) after the transmitter 1 completes the initial optical axis alignment at the time of installation. This is a determination process for monitoring, determining whether the optical transmission path is abnormal or not due to an optical axis deviation at the time of light shielding, detecting the occurrence of optical axis deviation, and adjusting the optical axis deviation automatically by the transmitter 1.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the optical axis misalignment occurrence determination process is for determining whether the light is blocked or not, and first, in step S41, the current reception level of the second optical reception signal is sequentially monitored. Then, the signal selection circuit 11 is controlled, and the change in the total received light amount (level) SLall received by all the light receiving elements of the second light receiving means 9 obtained by the reception level detecting circuit 13 is monitored in step S42. If this total amount of received light SLall has changed significantly, the light-blocking determination counter 57-1 is set (+1) repeatedly in step S43 in order to determine whether this change continues for a certain period of time. Next, in step S44, the counter 57-1 set in step S43 is checked to determine whether the number of determinations is equal to or greater than a predetermined number N (a predetermined duration in the case of a timer). As a result, if the number of determinations has not reached the prescribed magnitude, the repeated axis deviation determination number counter 57-2 is reset (cleared) in step S45, and the process returns to step S41 to continue monitoring the optical transmission line. Note that the repeated axis deviation determination counter 57-2 that is cleared in step S45 is a counter that is set at the time of optical axis deviation determination described later.

  If the number of determinations has reached the prescribed size N in step S44, it is determined that the sudden change in the total light reception amount SLall of the second light receiving means 9 in step S42 is due to light shielding, and step S47. In step S48, each of the repetitive axis deviation determination counter 57-2 and the repetitive light shielding determination counter 57-1 is cleared, and the optical axis readjustment is unnecessary, and the process proceeds to the next process.

  If there is no significant change in the total received light amount SLall of the second light receiving unit 9 in the monitoring determination in step S42, each determination obtained from each light receiving element of the second light receiving unit 9 in step S46. When the reception level V1 is checked and all the second received light levels match (strictly, they match the levels when the optical axes are aligned at the initial setting), there is no optical axis shift. In step S47 and step S48, the repeated axis deviation determination number counter 57-2 and the repeated light shielding determination number counter 57-1 are cleared, respectively, and the optical axis readjustment is not necessary, and the process proceeds to the next process.

  On the other hand, if it is detected in step S46 that all the determination reception levels V1 are not in agreement, in step S49, the repeated axis deviation determination counter 57-2 is set (+1), and the next In step S50, the number of determinations is checked. When the number of determinations of the repeat axis deviation determination number counter 57-2 is larger than the predetermined number M, that is, when a level mismatch state due to a relatively small light reception level change in the level determination in step S46 continues for a predetermined time or more. Determines that an optical axis misalignment has occurred due to a position misalignment (movement) of the transmitter 1, etc., and in steps S51 and S52, a repeat axis misalignment determination counter 57-2 and a repeat light shielding determination counter 57-, respectively. Clear 1 and move to the optical axis readjustment process. On the other hand, if the predetermined number M is not exceeded in the counter determination number check in step S50, the process returns to step S41 and monitoring is continued.

  The automatic optical axis adjustment and the automatic optical axis deviation correcting operation are realized by the flow of the optical axis adjustment of the transmitter 1 as described above. Regarding the operation on the receiver 20 side of the first embodiment described here, it is required that the second optical signal 33 emits light toward the transmitter 1 after power-on as a minimum operation. However, since further operations are not required for the optical axis adjustment operation of the transmitter 1 described above, description thereof will be omitted.

  Next, operations of the transmitter 1 and the receiver 20 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, respectively. As shown in FIG. 14, in the transmitter 1 according to the second embodiment, first, in step S1, the control unit 15 controls the signal selection circuit 11 to sequentially select second optical reception signals. The level of the second optical reception signal detected by the reception level detection circuit 13 is checked, and this level is a first determination level (a level at which the second optical signal 33 from the receiver 20 can be determined: for example, in FIG. If it does not exceed V0), transmission of the unnecessary first optical signal 19 is stopped in step S3 because it is not facing the receiver 20, and the surrounding environment such as surrounding equipment and people is stopped. In step S4, the driving means 17 and 18 are controlled to change the directions of the first optical transmission means 8 and the second optical reception means 9, and the process returns to step S1 to search for the receiver 20.

  If there is a signal that exceeds a certain determination level in step S2, whether or not the received light levels SVU, SVD, SHL, and SHR of all these second optical signals 33 match in step S5 (actually noise or the like) If there is no match, in step S4, it is driven according to each level SVU, SVD, SHL, SHR of the second received light. The means 17 and 18 are controlled to change the directions of the first optical transmission means 8 and the second optical reception means 9, and then the process returns to step S1 to search for the receiver 20 again. The direction of the first optical transmission means 8 and the second optical reception means 9 in this step S4 is driven in accordance with the second light reception level already described with reference to FIGS. This is performed according to the basic principle of the method for determining the direction of the light source 32 used.

  If the received optical levels SVU, SVD, SHL, and SHR of the second optical signal 33 all match in step S5, CRC data is added to the transmission data in step S6, and 8B10B conversion is performed and binarized in step S7. Transmission of the processed signal as the first optical signal 19 is started, and the delivery error information (error rate) of the first optical signal 19 on the receiver 20 side sent by the second optical signal 33 in step S8 is set. Receive and analyze the error information obtained in step S9. If information indicating that there is an error is received, the direction of the first optical transmission means 8 and the second optical reception means 9 is changed to an arbitrary direction in step S10. The error rate information from the receiver 20 is again determined in step S9.

  If it is received in step S9 that there is no error (actually, if there is no abnormal error for a certain period of time, it is determined that an optical transmission line with an optical axis matching error has been established and the process proceeds to the next step. ), Complete the initial optical axis adjustment at the time of installation, and proceed to the subsequent optical axis monitoring state. In the optical axis monitoring state, each second light reception level V1 by each light receiving element at the time when the optical axis is matched in the previous optical axis adjustment is recorded in step S11, and in step S12, the second optical reception level V1 at the time when the optical axis coincides. 2 is calculated and recorded.

  In step S11 and step S12, the second optical reception level V1 and the second optical total reception level Vtotal1 are recorded as subsequent determination reference values, and then the optical axis deviation is monitored and detected in step S13. In this case, the process proceeds to a process for performing optical axis readjustment. In this example, the optical axis readjustment process is performed by returning to the process of determining the received light level of the second optical signal 33 in step S2. If no optical axis deviation is detected in step S13, the optical axis deviation monitoring process in step S13 is repeated. The automatic optical axis adjustment and the automatic optical axis deviation correcting operation are realized by the flow of the optical axis adjustment of the transmitter 1 as described above. Note that the details of the optical axis deviation monitoring process in step S13 shown in the operation of the transmitter 1 in FIG. 14 are the same as those described with reference to FIG.

  Next, the operation of the receiver 20 shown in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In step S21, the receiver 20 adjusts the movable parts 37 and 38 so that the first optical receiver 22 and the second optical transmitter 32 are directed toward the transmitter 1. In step S22, the receiver 20 directed toward the transmitter 1 transmits a second optical signal (pilot light) 33 for informing the transmitter 1 of its position from the second optical transmitter 32.

  In step S23, the process waits until the reception level of the first optical signal 19 is close to a level at which data transmission is possible. Here, if the reception level reaches a level at which data can be transmitted by the first optical signal 19, the data by the first optical signal (first received light) 19 received in step S24 is binarized and 10B8B. In step S25, a symbol error is detected in the data received by the first optical signal 19 in step S25, and an error is checked using the CRCC of the first received data in step S26. The number of errors detected in steps S25 and S26 is counted until a predetermined time elapses in step S27. In step S28, an error rate is calculated from the number of errors detected within the predetermined time. In step S29, the presence / absence of an error is determined. If there is no error, the error-free information is packetized in step S30 to generate an error-free packet. If there is an error, the error rate is packetized in step S31 to generate an error packet indicating the error rate. In step S32, the generated packet is modulated into the second optical signal 33 and transmitted, so that the transmission error information indicating the reception state of the first optical signal 19 at the receiver 20 is transmitted to the transmitter 1. To transmit.

  As described above, the optical wireless transmission apparatus according to the first and second embodiments aligns the optical axis between the transmitter 1 and the receiver 20 and establishes an optical transmission path by the operation as described above. Further, by performing the determination operation as described above, the optical axis deviation determination based on the light reception level of the second optical signal 33 is quickly realized, and the transmitter 1 automatically detects the optical axis deviation after installation. It is possible to correct it. Note that the configurations of the transmitter 1 and the receiver 20 of the optical wireless transmission apparatus described in the above embodiment are examples shown for explaining the technical idea of the present invention, and the configuration and operation flow are changed as appropriate. Is possible.

It is a block diagram which shows the optical transmission system assumed that this invention is used. It is a block diagram which shows the transmitter and receiver of the optical wireless transmission apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the transmitter and receiver of the optical wireless transmission apparatus of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between a light source position and the reception level of 4 division | segmentation PD. It is explanatory drawing which shows in more detail the relationship between a light source position and the reception level of 4 division | segmentation PD. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship of the reception level of 4 division | segmentation PD in the light source position of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment gap of a 2nd optical receiving means, and a level determination signal. It is explanatory drawing which shows the optical axis and optical transmission line of an optical wireless transmission apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the change of the light reception level of 4 division | segmentation PD at the time of light-shielding. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a reception level change with respect to the light source direction of the light reception level of 4 division | segmentation PD. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the control block for performing optical axis shift | offset | difference and light-shielding determination. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the optical axis adjustment operation | movement of the transmitting apparatus of 1st Embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating in detail a determination operation for determining an optical axis misalignment and light shielding in FIG. 12. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the optical axis adjustment operation | movement of the transmitting apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the optical axis adjustment operation | movement of the receiver of 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transmitter 2 Transmitter electric signal processing part 3 Transmission signal processing circuit 4 CRCC addition circuit 5 8B10B conversion circuit 6, 25 Binary circuit 7, 31 Light emitting element driver 8 First optical transmission means 9 Second optical reception means DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 23 Light reception circuit 11 Signal selection circuit 12 Demodulation circuit 13 Reception level detection circuit 14 Packet detection and analysis means 15 Control part 16 Drive control part 17 Horizontal direction drive means 18 Vertical direction drive means 19 1st optical signal (transmission) light)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Receiver 21 Electric signal processing circuit 22 1st light receiving means, light receiving element 24 Reception signal processing circuit 26 Symbol error detection circuit 27 Error rate calculation circuit 28 Error rate packet generation circuit 29 Modulation circuit 30 Transmission circuit 32 2nd light Transmitting means, light source, light emitting element 33 Second optical signal (pilot light)
34 Signal Level Detection Circuit 35 10B8B Conversion Circuit 36 CRC Check Circuit 37 Horizontal Movable Unit 38 Vertical Movable Units 40, 41, 42, 43 Signal Adder 48 Vertical Rotation Axis 49 Horizontal Direction Rotation Axis 51 First Optical Signal Light Emission Axis 52 Second optical signal light receiving axis 53 Transmitter electric circuit board 54 Receiver electric circuit board 55 Light shield 56 Optical axis establishment reference level recording unit 57 Repeat determination number counter (or timer)
57-1 Repeated shading determination counter (or timer)
57-2 Repeated axis misalignment determination counter (or timer)
58 judgment processing unit 59 received signal selection control unit 60 video control device 61 video display device PD1, PD2, PD3, PD4 light receiving elements constituting second light receiving means SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4 each second light receiving means Signal received at

Claims (5)

A transmitter having a first optical transmission means for transmitting a first optical signal, and a receiver having a first optical reception means for receiving the first optical signal and converting it into an electrical signal, An optical transmission system that performs spatial transmission of information using light between a transmitter and the receiver,
The receiver
Second optical transmission means for transmitting a second optical signal at a radiation angle wider than the radiation angle of the first optical signal transmitted from the first optical transmission means of the transmitter;
The transmitter is
A plurality of light receiving elements, and when the second optical signal is received from the first optical transmission means, each of the light receiving elements has a light receiving level corresponding to an incident direction of the second optical signal. Second optical receiving means for outputting a signal;
Drive means for directing the first optical transmission means and the second optical reception means toward the receiver;
A control unit that controls the driving unit to align the optical axis so that the received light levels of the second optical signals received by the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving unit all coincide;
Have
The controller is
Reference level recording that records the received light level of the plurality of light receiving elements as a reference level when the optical axis alignment is completed, or records the total value of the received light levels of the plurality of light receiving elements as the total value of the reference levels And
The second optical signals from the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving means are sequentially selected , and the difference between the total value of the received light levels received by each of the light receiving elements and the total value of the reference levels A certain total value difference is obtained, it is determined whether or not the total value difference is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, and the second optical signals from the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving means are determined. A determination processing unit that sequentially selects, compares each of the selected light reception levels with the reference level, and determines whether or not all of the comparison results match.
Measure whether or not the total value difference greater than or equal to the first predetermined value continues for a first predetermined time or more and whether or not one or more compared results do not match for a second predetermined time or more A timer measurement unit that measures whether or not,
With
In the determination processing unit, a state occurs in which the difference between the total values is less than a predetermined value, and each of the received light levels does not match one or more of the reference levels. The optical transmission characterized in that the control unit controls the drive unit to perform the optical axis adjustment again when a state in which at least one light receiving level and the reference level do not coincide with each other continues for a second predetermined time or more. system. In the plurality of light receiving elements, a first light receiving element, a second light receiving element, a third light receiving element, and a fourth light receiving element are arranged in a matrix, and the first light receiving element and the fourth light receiving element are arranged in a matrix. A light receiving element, the second light receiving element, and the third light receiving element are respectively arranged in a staggered manner,
The transmitter includes a sum of received light levels of the second optical signal in the first light receiving element and the second light receiving element, and the second light receiving element in the third light receiving element and the fourth light receiving element. The optical axis alignment in the first direction is performed so that the difference from the total received light level of the optical signal is equal to or less than the second predetermined value, and the second in the first light receiving element and the third light receiving element. The difference between the total received light level of the optical signal and the total received light level of the second optical signal in the second light receiving element and the fourth light receiving element is equal to or less than the second predetermined value. The optical transmission system according to claim 1, wherein optical axis alignment in a second direction orthogonal to the direction of 1 is performed. The transmitter is
When the difference between the total values is changed to a predetermined value or more in the determination processing unit, it is determined whether or not the change is not less than the first predetermined time of the determination number timer,
If it is less than the first predetermined time, it is determined that the interruption of the second optical signal is a momentary interruption,
When the difference between the total values is less than a predetermined value in the determination processing unit, the received light level of each light receiving element is compared with the reference level of the corresponding light receiving element, and the received light levels do not all match Determining whether the mismatched state is equal to or longer than the second predetermined time of the determination count timer;
3. The optical transmission system according to claim 1, wherein when the second predetermined time or more is exceeded, it is determined that the optical axis is shifted, and the optical axis is readjusted. First optical transmission means for transmitting a first optical signal;
It has a plurality of light receiving elements, and when a second optical signal is incident on each of the light receiving elements from the outside, it is received at a light receiving level corresponding to the incident direction of the second optical signal and converted into an electric signal. Optical receiving means for converting;
Drive means for directing the first optical transmission means and the second optical reception means toward the receiver;
A control unit that controls the driving unit to align the optical axis so that the received light levels of the second optical signals received by the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving unit all coincide;
Have
The controller is
A reference level recording unit that records the received light level of the plurality of light receiving elements as a reference level when the optical axis alignment is completed, or records the total value of the received light levels of the plurality of light receiving elements as the total value of the reference levels. When,
The second optical signals from the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving means are sequentially selected , and the difference between the total value of the received light levels received by each of the light receiving elements and the total value of the reference levels Obtain a certain total value difference, determine whether the total value difference is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and sequentially select the second optical signal by the plurality of light receiving elements of the second optical receiving means , A determination processing unit that compares each selected light reception level with the reference level and determines whether or not the comparison results are all the same,
Timer measurement that measures whether or not the total value difference greater than or equal to the first predetermined value continues for a first predetermined time or more and measures whether or not the comparison result continues for a second predetermined time or more. And
With
In the determination processing unit, a state occurs in which the total value difference is less than a predetermined value, and one or more of the respective light reception levels and the reference level do not coincide with each other, and each of the light receptions in the timer measurement unit. An optical wireless transmission device, wherein the control unit controls the drive unit to perform the optical axis adjustment again when a state where one or more of the level and the reference level do not match continues for a second predetermined time or more . A transmitter for transmitting the first optical signal and receiving the second optical signal by a plurality of light receiving elements;
A receiver for receiving the first optical signal and transmitting a second optical signal;
A transmission method for an optical transmission system comprising:
A light receiving level total value calculating step of receiving the second optical signal in the plurality of light receiving elements, converting the light signal to a light receiving level, and calculating a total value of the light receiving levels;
A light reception level total value monitoring step for monitoring whether or not the total value of the light reception levels calculated in the light reception level total value calculation step changes to a predetermined value or more;
A first change time determination step of determining whether or not the change continues for a predetermined time or more when the total value of the light reception level is changed to a predetermined value or more in the light reception level total value monitoring step;
When the total value of the light reception levels is less than a predetermined value in the light reception level total value monitoring step, each light reception level monitoring step of acquiring the value of the light reception level of each of the plurality of light receiving elements as needed and comparing the change,
A second change time determination step for determining whether or not the change continues for a predetermined time or more when the value of at least one light reception level is changed in each of the light reception level monitoring steps;
Have
If the change in the total value of the light reception level is less than a predetermined time in the first change time determination step, it is determined that the interruption of the second optical signal is an instantaneous interruption, and the monitoring is returned to the light reception level total value monitoring step. Continue
If the change in the total value of the received light level continues for a predetermined time or more in the first change time determination step, it is determined that the second optical signal is blocked and the optical axis is not displaced,
If the change in the value of the light reception level is less than a predetermined time in the second change time determination step, it is determined that there is no optical axis deviation and the monitoring is returned to the light reception level total value monitoring step,
If the change in the value of the received light level continues for a predetermined time or more in the second change time determination step, the optical axis is readjusted as a deviation of the optical axis has occurred.
An optical transmission method characterized by the above.

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