JPH04369950A - Line adaptor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the line adaptor in which mismatching between a kind of line adaptor and a kind of a line cable are found out early. CONSTITUTION:The line adaptor 12 is provided with a line adaptor type latch means (register) 27 to latch the type of the specific line adaptor, a line cable connection section (connector) 24 to be connected to a line terminator, a line cable type identification means identifying the type of the line cable when the line cable 13 is connected to the line cable connection connector 24, a comparator circuit 26 comparing the content of the line adaptor type latch means (register) 27 with an output of the line cable type identification means (register) 25 and a comparison result display means LFD lamp 28, and the presence of the matching between the line adaptor and the line cable is displayed on the comparison result display means LED lamp 28.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a line adapter used in a communication control device.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art There are many types of line adapters used in communication control devices, depending on line speed, transmission control procedure, electrical conditions of communication circuits, etc. Accordingly, there are many types of line cables.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] When there are many types of line adapters, mistakes in connection of line cables may occur. In this case, the system configuration information at the time of initial setup on the host device and the line adapter type and line cable type may not match, resulting in a communication error after actually starting communication, and it takes a lot of time to investigate the cause. There was a problem that it required

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a line adapter that can detect mismatches between line adapter types and line cable types at an early stage.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The invention as claimed in claim 1 includes a control section connected to a host device and controlling data transmission/reception to and from a line cable, and a line adapter type holding unit that holds a unique line adapter type. means, a line cable connection section for connecting to the line termination device, and line cable type identification means for identifying the line cable type when the line cable is connected to the line cable connection section;
The line adapter is provided with a comparison circuit for comparing the contents of the line adapter type holding means and the output of the line cable type identification means, and a comparison result display means for displaying the results of the comparison by the comparison circuit.

That is, in the invention as claimed in claim 1, there is provided a line adapter type holding means for holding a unique line adapter type on the line adapter side, and a line adapter for identifying the line cable type when the line cable is connected to the line cable connection part. The contents of the line adapter type holding means and the output of the line cable type identification means are compared, and the comparison result display means displays whether or not they match. A mismatch between the adapter and the line cable can be detected.

In the invention as claimed in claim 2, there is provided a control section that is connected to a host device and performs control when transmitting and receiving data to and from a line cable, a line adapter type holding means that holds a unique line adapter type, and a line termination device. a line cable connection part for connection to the line cable connection part, a line cable type identification means for identifying the line cable type when the line cable is connected to the line cable connection part, the contents of the line adapter type holding means and the line cable type identification. The line adapter is provided with a reading means for making the output of the means readable from the host device side.

That is, in the invention as claimed in claim 2, the contents of the line adapter type holding means and the output of the line cable type identifying means are made readable on the host device side, and are compared on the host device side, so that the line adapter and the line cable are Detect inconsistencies.

[0009] According to the third aspect of the invention, the line adapter according to the first aspect is provided with an interrupt reporting means for reporting the comparison result of the comparator circuit to the host device by an interrupt, so that the comparison can be performed quickly.

0010

EXAMPLES The present invention will be explained in detail with reference to Examples below.

FIG. 1 shows an example of how a line adapter is used in an embodiment of the present invention. In this example, nine line adapters 12-0 to 12-9 are connected to an 8-bit data bus connected to the host device. Since each of the line adapters 12-0 to 12-9 has the same configuration, here, the 0th line adapter 12-0 is representatively used.
Only the circuit configuration shown in FIG. These line adapters 12-0 to 12-9 are connected to corresponding line cables 13-0 to 13-8, respectively.

Representatively illustrated 0th line adapter 12
-0 is connected by the data bus 11 and data bus 21 described above. The data bus 21 includes a transmission/reception control section 22 that performs processing such as serial-parallel conversion. The transmission/reception control section 22 is connected via a level conversion circuit 23 to a connector 24 for connection to the line cable 13-0. The connector 24 includes a line cable type holding register 25 for holding the type of the line cable 13-0.
is connected. Line cable type holding register 25
The content of is compared with the content of a line adapter type holding register 27 for holding the line adapter type by a comparison circuit 26. The output side of the comparison circuit 26 is an LED
(Light emitting diode) It is connected to the lamp 28, and is turned on or off depending on the comparison result.

In the line adapter 12-0, the transmission/reception control section 22 outputs the transmission serial data 31 through the line 31, and after the signal level is converted by the level conversion circuit 23, the transmission serial data 31 is outputted through the line 32 to the connector 24. The signal is input to the network and sent out via the line cable 13-0. Further, the received serial data sent from the line cable 13-0 via the connector 24 and the line 33 is converted in signal level by the level conversion circuit 23, and then sent via the line 34 to the transmission/reception control unit 2.
2 is set to be input. Although not shown in this figure, the host device and each line adapter 12-0 to 12-0
Between 2 and 9, there is a 16-bit address line, a lead line,
Interface signal lines such as write signal lines and interrupt signal lines are arranged.

Next, the operation of this entire system in which a plurality of line adapters are arranged will be explained. The host device connects each line adapter 12-0 to 12- by address line.
9 can be identified. Therefore, the line adapter 1 is connected to the data bus 21 and other interface signal lines.
2-0, perform initial settings such as line speed, operation mode, transmission/reception start instruction, etc. Thereafter, when the transmission/reception control section 22 is ready for transmission/reception, it turns on the interrupt signal line in order to request transmission data. The host device thereby detects the interrupt request, reads the contents of the interrupt cause register (not shown) in the line adapter 12-0 via the data buses 11 and 21 and the interface signal line, and requests the transmission data. know that

[0015] As a result, the host device can control the transmission/reception control section 22.
The 1-byte transmission data is sent to the 1-byte transmission data register (not shown) in the data buses 11 and 2.
1 and the interface signal line. The transmission/reception control unit 22 transmits a preset synchronization character to a line 31, a level conversion circuit 23, and a line 3.
2. Send serially via connector 24 and cable 13-0. Once the synchronization character has been sent,
The transmission data in the transmission data register is continuously transmitted, and when the transmission data register becomes empty, an interrupt request for the next transmission data is made to the host device. The above operations are repeated. When the transmission is completed, an interrupt request is made to the higher-level device, and a report is sent to the higher-level device using the interrupt request register.

Next, the case of reception will be explained. In this case, received serial data is input to the transmission/reception control section 22 via the line cable 13-0, connector 24, line 33, level conversion circuit 23, and line 34, and is converted into parallel data. This parallel data is stored in a reception data register (not shown), and an indication that there is reception data is made in the interrupt factor register. In this state, the line adapter 12-0 issues an interrupt request to the host device.

When the host device detects this interrupt request, it reads the contents of the interrupt cause register and the reception data register via the data buses 11 and 21 and the interface signal line, and performs the same operation every time it receives one character. repeat. When reception ends normally, an interrupt request is made to the host device in the same way as in the case of transmission, and the end of reception is reported using the interrupt factor register.

The transmission and reception operations for the line adapter 12-0 have been explained above, but the transmission and reception operations for the line adapter 12-0 have been explained.
Transmission and reception operations are similarly performed for 1 to 12-8.

Next, the core of the present invention will be explained. The output of the line adapter type holding register 27 that holds the line adapter type in FIG. 25, line cable type holding register 25 and other lines 37
becomes the other input via. In this embodiment, the code representing the line adapter type and the line cable type code are set to the same code, and if the comparison results in the comparison circuit 26 do not match, the LED lamp 28 lights up to indicate an error. On the other hand, if the comparison results match, it means that the correct line cable is connected, and the L
The ED lamp 28 does not light up.

FIG. 2 is for explaining the principle of detecting the line cable type code. The connector 24A shown on the right side of this figure is a connector connected to the line cable 13-0, and the connector 24B shown on the left side is a connector on the line adapter 12-0 side. Connector 24A is moved in the direction shown by arrow 41 and connected to connector 24B. The numbers shown on both connectors 24A and 24B in FIG. 2 are the pin numbers of the connectors. Pin “1” to pin “21” are for communication, pin “23” to pin “26” are for cable type code generation. Pin “2”
6" is for connecting to the ground (GND). Lines 36-1 to 36-4 connected to pins "23" to "26, respectively, correspond to line 36 shown in FIG. This is used as a 4-bit code to indicate the line cable type. In this example shown in FIG. 2, four pins "22" to "25" of the connector 24A on the line cable side are electrically connected to each other.

[0021] Therefore, the connector 2 on the line adapter side
When connecting connector 24A on the line cable side to 4B,
Three lines 36-1 to 36-3 are connected to line "22" and have a ground potential. By the way, line 36-1~
Although not shown, 36-4 is connected to a pull-up resistor in the line adapter 12-0, and when connected to ground, it becomes L.
(low) level (earth potential), and becomes H level when not connected. Regarding line "26", since it is in an unconnected state, a cable type code of H (high) level is generated. In this way, in this embodiment, the connector 24A or the pin "26"
Depending on whether the line is connected to pin “22” or left unconnected, 16 line types can be displayed.

FIG. 3 is for explaining a modification of the present invention. Components that are the same as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions will be omitted as appropriate. In the line adapter 51-0 of this modification, the data bus 21 is connected to the transmission/reception control section 22.
In addition, a line adapter type holding register 27 and a line cable type holding register 25 are also connected. Therefore, the host device can read the line adapter type code and line cable type code via the data buses 11 and 21.

In the line adapter 51-0 of this modification, the host device connects each line adapter 51-0 at regular intervals.
0 to 51-N (however, 51-1 to 51-N are not shown)
Read out the line adapter type and line cable type in
Compare both. If these do not match, an error is displayed on a display device provided on the control console of the device (not shown).

In the embodiment and modification described above, the contents of the line cable type holding register 25 and the line adapter type holding register 27 are compared and an error is displayed on the lamp or the display device of the control console. It is not limited to these. That is, for example, the comparison results of these registers 25 and 27 may be reported to the higher-level device by an interrupt, or each time the line adapter type and line cable type change, the higher-level device is interrupted and both registers 25 are reported from the higher-level device. , 27 may be read and compared.

[0025]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, since the line adapter is equipped with the line adapter type holding register and the line cable type holding register, it is possible to detect mismatches at an early stage when connecting line cables. This has the effect of improving the reliability of the communication system.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main parts of a communication system using a line adapter in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a connector on the line cable side is connected to a connector on the line adapter side.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a line adapter in a modification of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 21 Data bus 12, 51 Line adapter 13 Line cable 22 Transmission/reception control section 24 Connector 25 Line cable type holding register 26 Comparison circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A control unit that is connected to a host device and performs control when transmitting and receiving data to and from a line cable, a line adapter type holding unit that holds a unique line adapter type, and a line for connecting to a line termination device. a cable connection part, a line cable type identification means for identifying the line cable type when a line cable is connected to the line cable connection part, contents of the line adapter type holding means and an output of the line cable type identification means; 1. A line adapter comprising: a comparison circuit that compares the numbers; and a comparison result display means that displays the results of the comparison by the comparison circuit. [Claim 2] A control unit that is connected to a host device and performs control when transmitting and receiving data to and from a line cable, a line adapter type holding unit that holds a unique line adapter type, and a line for connecting to a line termination device. a cable connection part, a line cable type identification means for identifying the line cable type when a line cable is connected to the line cable connection part, contents of the line adapter type holding means and an output of the line cable type identification means; A line adapter characterized by comprising: reading means for making it possible to read out from the host device side. 3. The line adapter according to claim 1, further comprising interrupt reporting means for reporting the comparison result of the comparison circuit to a host device by an interrupt.