JPH11298622A - Power source line network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remotely operate electronic equipment through an operating device even without connecting the device and the electronic equipment through a telephone line or a dedicated cable. SOLUTION: A power source line network system is provided with devices 1-3 such as a control terminal 1 consisting of an operating device, for example, and electronic equipment 4-7 such as a video terminal 5 and these components are connected through power supply lines B1-B8 or receptacles C1-C7 in a house, for example. When an input means receives an instruction to reserve the video terminal 5 from a user through a key input as the operating instruction of electronic equipment, at the control terminal 1, for example, a control signal corresponding to the instruction is transmitted through the power supply line B1 by a control signal transmitting means. When the control signal is received through the power supply line B5 by a control signal receiving means, at the video terminal 5, the processing of reservation instructed by the control signal is performed by a processing means. In this case, the operating device can be composed of a telephone set 2 and the other telephone set connected through a telephone line T1 to the relevant telephone line 2, for example, as well.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for remotely controlling an electronic device by an operation device, and more particularly to a power line network system for remotely controlling an electronic device via a power line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A telephone line cable is connected to an electronic device such as a video tape recorder, and operation reservation of such an electronic device is remotely controlled via the cable. For example, in a room where a video tape recorder or the like is installed, a telephone line cable is connected to the telephone via the video tape recorder or the like, and based on a signal transmitted from the outdoor telephone via the telephone line, A reserved operation or the like is performed.

[0003] The above-described remote operation can also be realized by, for example, configuring a network system in which a control terminal that receives a remote operation instruction from a user and an electronic device are connected via a dedicated cable. In such a system, for example, a network board is inserted into each electronic device and a control terminal is connected by a dedicated cable, and operation reservation of each electronic device is performed based on a signal transmitted from the control terminal via the dedicated cable. Is performed.

[0004]

However, when remote control is performed with the above configuration, a telephone line cable or a dedicated cable must be connected to each electronic device to be remotely controlled. There is a problem that the wiring of such a cable becomes complicated. In such a configuration, for example, when a new electronic device is installed, a special cable or the like must be newly provided, and wiring of the special cable or the like is complicated even when changing the layout of the electronic device. Was troublesome.

The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and provides a system capable of performing remote control without connecting the above-mentioned telephone line cable or dedicated cable to an electronic device. The purpose is to do.
More specifically, the present invention provides a power supply line network system that can solve the above-described wiring problems by performing the above-described remote operation via a power supply line connected to an electronic device. The purpose is to do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, in a power line network system according to the present invention, an electronic device and an operation device are connected via a power line, and the operation device is operated as follows. To remotely control electronic devices.
That is, in the operation device, the input unit receives an instruction for operating the electronic device from the user, and transmits a control signal corresponding to the instruction received by the control signal transmission unit via the power supply line. On the other hand, in the electronic device, the control signal receiving means receives the control signal transmitted from the operating device via the power supply line, and the processing means performs the process specified by the received control signal.

Therefore, in the present invention, the operating device and the electronic equipment do not necessarily need to be connected via the telephone line cable or the dedicated cable as shown in the above-mentioned conventional example.
If the operation device and the electronic device are connected via a power supply line, remote operation can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem that the wiring of the system is complicated by a dedicated cable or the like. Can be.

In the power line network system according to the present invention, for example, the above-mentioned operation device is constituted by a pair of telephones connected via a telephone line. One of the telephones constituting the control signal transmitting means is connected to an electronic device via a power line laid indoors, and the other telephone constitutes an input means so that the inputted instruction from the user can be inputted to the telephone line. To one of the telephones via. That is, one of the telephones receives an instruction transmitted from the other telephone via a telephone line, and transmits a control signal corresponding to the received instruction to the electronic equipment via a power supply line, whereby the electronic equipment is connected to the other telephone. Operate remotely.

As described above, according to the present invention, for example, a remote control of an electronic device installed indoors can be performed using an outdoor telephone. In this case, the user operates the outdoor telephone to operate the indoor equipment indoors. By making a call to the telephone set, the operation of the indoor electronic device can be reserved.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a power line network system according to the present invention. The system includes a control terminal 1, a telephone 2, a personal computer 3, an air conditioner terminal 4, a video terminal 5, and rice cooking. The machine terminal 6 and the washing machine terminal 7 are installed, for example, indoors, and these devices 1 to 7 are connected to indoor outlets C1 to C7 via power lines B1 to B7, respectively.
In addition, the outlets C1 to C7 are connected to each other via a power line B8 laid indoors, for example, so that the devices 1 to 7 are connected to each other via the power lines B1 to B8. I have. The telephone 2 is connected to a telephone modular jack M via a telephone line cable T1, for example, and is connected to an external telephone line T2 described later via the jack M, for example.

In the present embodiment, the air conditioner terminal 4, the video terminal 5, the rice cooker terminal 6, and the washing machine terminal 7 constitute electronic devices that are remotely controlled, respectively. Each of the personal computers 3 has a function on the side of an operation device for remotely controlling the above-described electronic device. Further, for example, unique identifiers (equipment numbers) “1” to “7” are assigned and set to these devices 1 to 7, respectively. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the above-described power line network system will be described by taking as an example a case where the video terminal 5 is remotely controlled by the control terminal 1 and a case where the video terminal 5 is remotely controlled by the telephone 2.

First, the configuration and operation when the video terminal 5 is remotely controlled by the control terminal 1 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a control terminal 1 constituting an operation device in this example. The control terminal 1 includes a switch unit 11 for receiving data from a user, a display unit 12 for displaying and outputting data. , Timeout detection unit 1 that measures time
3, a control unit 14 for performing various processes and controls, and a power line B
And a data transmission / reception unit 15 for transmitting / receiving a signal via the communication unit 1.

The switch unit 11 includes a key for receiving data from the user, and in this example, a selection key for allowing the user to select an electronic device to be remotely controlled by its device number, a reservation time, and the like. A number key that allows the user to input a numerical value, a transmission key that allows the user to input an instruction for transmitting a control signal described below to the electronic device to be remotely operated, and a confirmation that allows the user to confirm the result of the remote operation that will be described later It has keys and the like. The switch unit 11 has a function of transmitting data corresponding to the pressed key to the control unit 14 when these keys are pressed by the user.

In this embodiment, an input means for receiving an instruction for operating the electronic device from the user by the switch unit 11 receiving an instruction for operating the electronic device from the user using a selection key, a number key, or the like is configured. . In addition,
The configuration of the input means may be of any type, and the point is that any configuration may be used as long as the user can receive an instruction for operating the electronic device.

The display unit 12 is composed of, for example, a display screen for displaying and outputting data, and has a function of being controlled by the control unit 14 to display and output data input from the control unit 14 on the screen. . The timeout detection unit 13 has, for example, a timer that measures time, has a function of measuring the time under the control of the control unit 14, and notifying the control unit 14 when a predetermined time has been measured. doing.

The control section 14 has a function of performing various processes and controls as described above.
Processing the data input from the, processing to output the data to be displayed to the display unit 12 for display output on the screen, processing to control the timeout detection unit to start or stop time measurement, A process for transferring data for remote operation of the electronic device with the data transmitting / receiving unit 15 is performed.

The function of controlling various processes performed by each of the processing units 11 to 14 may be configured by executing a control program by a processor such as a CPU, for example, and executing the process. May be configured as an independent hardware circuit.

The data transmitting / receiving unit 15 has a function of transmitting / receiving a signal via the power line B1 as described above, and a detailed configuration example of the data transmitting / receiving unit 15 is shown in FIG. The data transmission / reception unit 15 shown in FIG. 1 includes a device number setting unit 21 for setting a device number, a reception unit 22 for receiving a signal via a power line B1, a signal processing unit 23 for processing a signal, a power line And a transmission unit 24 for transmitting a signal via B1.

The device number setting section 21 has, for example, a memory, and stores a unique device number in the memory. Here, the device number “1” assigned to the control terminal 1 is stored in the device number setting unit 21 of the data transmission / reception unit 15 provided in the control terminal 1 of the present example. The receiving unit 22 has a function of receiving and inputting a signal (in this example, a modulated signal) transmitted via the power supply line B1, and outputting the received and input signal to the signal processing unit 23. I have.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of a frame of a signal transmitted and received by the devices 1 to 7 of the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 via the power supply lines B1 to B8. Is the device number of the destination device (destination device number)
, A data unit 32 including data such as an instruction to operate an electronic device, and a transmission device number unit 33 including a device number of a transmission source device (source device number). Have been.

Each of the devices 1 to 1 of the present embodiment shown in FIG.
Signal communication performed between the power supply lines 7 through the power supply lines B1 to B8 uses a spread spectrum method. The spread spectrum method is a communication method that is resistant to noise, and is a communication method that can guarantee the quality of signal communication even in a poor communication environment. In general, the impedance of a power supply line for transmitting electric power varies greatly depending on the wiring conditions and load conditions, and the communication environment is relatively large in electrical noise. Signal communication is performed to the extent that it is practically effective using the method.

The signal processing unit 23 has a function of performing signal processing and the like as described above. For example, the signal processing unit 23 demodulates a signal input from the receiving unit 22 and includes the signal in a signal frame obtained by demodulation. The destination device number, data, and source device number are extracted. Then, the signal processing unit 23 compares the extracted destination device number with the device number stored in the device number setting unit 21, and when it is determined that these device numbers match (that is, the self-addressed The extracted data and the like are output to the control unit 14 described above.

Further, the signal processing unit 23, for example, when data to be transmitted is input from the control unit 14,
Based on the input data, the device number (destination device number) of the device to which the data is to be transmitted is specified, and the device number stored in the device number setting unit 21 is read out as the source device number. Is modulated in accordance with the frame format shown in FIG. 4 and a signal obtained by the modulation is output to the transmission unit 24.

The transmission section 24 has a function of transmitting and outputting a signal (in this example, a modulation signal) input from the signal processing section 23 via the power supply line B1. In this example, the signal processing unit 23 of the data transmission / reception unit 15 transmits a control signal corresponding to an instruction to operate the electronic device received from the user by the switch unit 11 by the transmission unit 24 based on the data input from the control unit 14. Control signal transmitting means for transmitting, via the power supply line, a control signal corresponding to the instruction received by the input means by transmitting via the power supply line B1. The configuration of the control signal transmitting means is, in short, of any configuration as long as the control signal corresponding to the received operation instruction of the electronic device can be transmitted via the power supply line. There may be.

As described above, the data transmission / reception unit 15 of the present embodiment transmits the above-described control signal and the like via the power supply line B1 based on the data input from the control unit 14, and via the power supply line B1. It is determined whether or not the received signal is a signal addressed to itself, and for a signal addressed to itself, processing such as outputting data included in the signal to the control unit 14 is performed.
Note that the function of controlling such processing may be configured by executing a control program by a processor such as a CPU, or may be configured as an independent hardware circuit having a function of executing the processing. Good.

With the above configuration, the control terminal 1 of the present embodiment outputs, for example, an operation instruction of an electronic device received from the user by the switch unit 11 to the data transmission / reception unit 15 via the control unit 14 as data. Data transmission / reception unit 1
5 transmits a control signal corresponding to the instruction via the power supply line B1. Further, the control terminal 1 of the present example also checks whether or not the instructed remote operation has been normally performed based on a response signal received from the electronic device as described later. Further, in the control terminal 1 of the present example, the operating power is obtained via the power supply line B1 connected to the data transmitting / receiving unit 15.

In this embodiment, the processing units 11 to 15 provided in the control terminal 1 are incorporated in an integrated housing. However, similar to the case of the video terminal 5 described later,
For example, a mode in which the data transmission / reception unit 15 described above is configured as a data transmission / reception unit separately from the other processing units 11 to 14, and the signal processing unit 23 provided in the data transmission / reception unit is configured to be detachable from the control unit 14. Can also be used.

FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of a video terminal 5 constituting an electronic apparatus in this embodiment. This video terminal 5 has a function of transmitting and receiving signals via a power supply line B5 and the like. A data transmission / reception unit 41 and a control unit 42 for controlling various processes of the video tape recorder are provided. The data transmission / reception unit 41 provided in the video terminal 5 of the present example has the same configuration as the data transmission / reception unit 15 of the control terminal 1 shown in FIG.
A processing unit such as a receiving unit, a signal processing unit, and a transmitting unit is provided.

In the device number setting section of the video terminal 5, the device number "5" assigned to the video terminal 5 is stored in the memory, and in the signal processing section of the video terminal 5, based on the device number "5". It is determined whether or not the received signal is a signal addressed to itself, and the device number “5” is included in the transmission target signal frame as the source device number.

The signal processing unit of the video terminal 5 of the present embodiment transfers data to and from the control unit 42.
For example, the control unit 42 outputs data or the like in the control signal received from the operating device via the power supply line B5 to the control unit 42 by the receiving unit, and transmits data indicating the content of the processing performed by the control unit 42 to the control unit 42. Then, the data is included in the response signal and transmitted to the operating device that instructed the processing via the power supply line B5 by the transmission unit. In addition,
As for the detailed configuration of each processing unit provided in the data transmission / reception unit 41 of the video terminal 5 of the present embodiment, as described above, the processing units 21 to 24 provided in the data transmission / reception unit 15 of the control terminal 1 of the present embodiment are described above. Since the configuration is the same, the description is omitted.

In the present embodiment, the receiving unit provided in the data transmitting / receiving unit 41 of the video terminal 5 receives the control signal transmitted from the operating device via the power supply line B5, so that the control signal transmitted from the operating device is received. Is received via a power supply line. Note that the configuration of the control signal receiving means may be of any configuration as long as the control signal transmitted from the operating device can be received via the power supply line.

The control unit 42 of the video terminal 5 has a function of transferring data to and from the data transmission / reception unit 41, a function of processing such data, and the like. It controls various processes of the recorder. The control unit 42 of the present example can execute the process specified by the data based on the data input from the data transmission / reception unit 41 by using such a function. The transmission source device number input from the transmission / reception unit 41 is stored, and data indicating the content of the executed processing and the stored transmission source device number are output to the data transmission / reception unit 41.

The function of controlling such processing may be realized by a processor such as a CPU executing a control program. For example, the function for executing the processing may be realized as an independent hardware circuit. May be done.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 42 of the video terminal 5 executes various processes such as operation reservation based on the data input from the data transmission / reception unit 41 as described above, thereby controlling Processing means for performing the process specified by the signal is configured. Note that the configuration of the processing means may be any configuration as long as it can perform the process specified by the control signal received from the operating device.

With the above-described configuration, in the video terminal 5 of the present embodiment, the control signal transmitted from the operating device is received by the data transmission / reception unit 41 via the power supply line B5, and the processing specified by the received control signal is performed. Is performed by the control unit 42, the content of the executed processing is included in the response signal, and the data transmission / reception unit 41 transmits the response signal via the power supply line B5. In the video terminal 5 of the present example, the operating power is obtained through the power supply line B5 connected to the data transmitting / receiving unit 41.

In this embodiment, the processing units 41 to 42 provided in the video terminal 5 are shown as being built in an integrated housing. For example, the data transmission / reception unit 41 is used as a data transmission / reception unit. It is also possible to use an embodiment in which the signal processing unit provided in the data transceiver is detachably attached to the control unit 42, which is configured separately from the other processing units 42. In the present invention, when an aspect in which the data transceiver is configured as a separate body as described above is used, a power line is connected from the operating device by simply attaching the data transceiver to an electronic device such as an existing video tape recorder. An apparatus (electronic device according to the present invention) for making an operation reservation or the like based on a control signal received via the electronic apparatus can be configured, so that the configuration of such an apparatus can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced and the user can be economically reduced. Burden can be reduced.

Next, when the video terminal 5 is remotely controlled by the control terminal 1, the control terminal 1 and the video terminal 5
Will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 conceptually shows an example of the procedure of the above processing. First, in the control terminal 1, when the switch unit 11 is operated by the user, the device number of the electronic device to be remotely operated is received by the selection key (step S1), and the electronic device is operated by the number key. (Step S)
2). In this example, the device number “5” of the video terminal is received as the device number, and “1” is given as the operation instruction.
It is assumed that an instruction corresponding to a control item such as "Record from 9:00 to 20:00" has been received.

It is to be noted that, for example, the control unit 14
When sequentially processing the data input from the user, the content such as the instruction received from the user based on the data may be displayed on the screen of the display unit 12, and in this case, the user Since an instruction or the like can be input while confirming the displayed content, the convenience of the user can be achieved. Further, in the control terminal 1 of the present example, when the transmission key of the switch unit 11 is pressed by the user, the control signal corresponding to the instruction received as described above is sent to the electronic device selected by the user. The power transmission line B1 is transmitted by the data transmitting / receiving unit 15 as a frame.
(Step S3).

In the control terminal 1 of the present embodiment, for example, simultaneously with the above-described control signal transmission processing, the control unit 14 controls the timeout detection unit 13 to start time measurement (step S4). At 13, for example, when a predetermined time (for example, several seconds) that has been set in advance elapses, the control unit 14 is notified of the fact and causes the control unit 14 to display and output an error message on the screen of the display unit 12 ( Step S5).

On the other hand, for example, when the video terminal 5 is waiting for reception, when the control signal transmitted from the control terminal 1 is transmitted via the power lines B1, B8, and B5 as described above, After the control signal is received by the data transmission / reception unit 41 (step S11), it is determined whether or not the received control signal is a signal addressed to itself by comparing the device number (step S12), and the control addressed to itself is performed. If it is determined that the received signal is a signal (that is, if the destination device number of the receiving device number unit 31 in the frame is “5”), the control unit 42 transmits data and the like in the received control signal.
Output to When it is determined that the control signal is not a control signal addressed to itself, the video terminal 5 discards the received control signal and waits for reception again.

When the video terminal 5 receives the control signal addressed to itself as described above, the control unit 42 stores the transmission source device number input from the data transmission / reception unit 41 in a memory or the like, and the data transmission / reception unit 41 Various kinds of processing are executed based on the data of the operation instruction input from (step S13). In this example, for example, the device number “1” of the control terminal 1 is input as the source device number to the control unit 42, and the control unit 42 sets “19:00 to 20:00”.
The operation of the video tape recorder is set in accordance with the data of an operation reservation (recording reservation) instruction such as "record until".

In the video terminal 5, when the processing such as the operation reservation is executed as described above, the data indicating the contents of the executed processing (in this example, the data indicating the contents of the video reservation) is used as a response signal. The transmission / reception unit 41 transmits the data via the power line B5 (step S14). Here, as the transmission destination device number of the reception device number section 31 included in the frame of the response signal, for example, the transmission source device number “1” stored by the control unit 42 as described above is set.

In the control terminal 1, the response signal transmitted from the video terminal 5 as described above is transmitted to the power lines B5, B8, B
1 is transmitted through the data transmission / reception unit 1
5, after receiving the response signal (step S6),
It is determined whether or not the received response signal is a signal addressed to itself by collating the device number (step S7). If it is determined that the received response signal is a signal addressed to itself, the data transmission / reception unit 15 is notified. The control unit 14 notified by the control unit stops the time counting process based on the timeout detection 13, and
The operation of the content of the data and the like in the received response signal is instructed by the above-described control signal (in this example, “19:00 to 2
Operation such as "recording until 0:00") is determined (step S8).

In the control terminal 1, by such a determination process, for example, the fact that the received response signal has been transmitted from the electronic device targeted for remote operation, the content of the operation notified by the response signal and the content of the instruction, If it is confirmed that the numbers match, the control unit 14 causes the display unit 12 to output the fact (that is, information indicating the situation that the operation reservation or the like has been normally performed) on the screen of the display unit 12 (step S9). If it is confirmed that the content of the operation notified by the received response signal is different from the specified content, the control unit 14 causes the error message to be displayed on the screen of the display unit 12 (step S1). S5).

As described above, the result of the remote operation is transmitted to the control terminal 1.
Is displayed on the display unit 12, the user can confirm the display content. For example, the user can end the remote control process by pressing the confirmation key of the switch unit 11. Further, for example, when the remote operation is not performed normally, the user operates the switch unit 11.
By pressing the transmission key, the control signal corresponding to the electronic device operation instruction input to the control terminal 1 as described above can be transmitted again. In the above, for example, when it is determined that the response signal received by the control terminal 1 is not a signal addressed to the control terminal 1,
The response signal is discarded or the like, and the control terminal 1 performs processing such as reception standby.

As described above, in the control terminal 1 of the present embodiment, the power lines B1, B8, B
The video terminal 5 can be remotely controlled via the remote controller 5. For example, the electronic device to be remotely controlled and the operating device do not need to be connected using a telephone line cable or a dedicated cable. It is possible to prevent problems such as complicated wiring from occurring.

As described above, in this example, since the power supply line laid indoors or the power supply line connected to the outlet is used as a control signal propagation path, for example, when an operating device or electronic equipment is newly installed, Even when the layout of these installation positions is changed, the network system can be easily configured only by a simple operation such as connecting the operation device or the electronic device to an outlet or the like via a power supply line. In addition, as in this example, a response signal is transmitted from the electronic device to the operating device to check whether or not the remote operation process has been normally performed. The reliability of operation processing can be further increased.

Next, the configuration and operation when the video terminal 5 is remotely controlled by the telephone 2 will be described. The configuration and operation of the video terminal 5 are the same as those described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 shows an example of the configuration of an operating device composed of the telephone 2 shown in FIG. 1. The operating device includes the telephone 2 shown in FIG. 1, the telephone 2 and a telephone line cable T1. , T2 and a pair of telephones, for example, an outdoor telephone 51. Hereinafter, the indoor telephone 2 shown in FIG. 1 will be described as one telephone 2, and the outdoor telephone 51 connected to the one telephone 2 as the other telephone 51, for example.

First, the configuration and the like of the other telephone set 51 will be described. In this example, the other telephone 51 constitutes an input unit for receiving an instruction for operating the electronic device from the user, and the other telephone 51 is connected to the input unit 71 for receiving data, for example, via the telephone line cable T2. A communication unit 72 is provided for performing telephone communication with the mobile phone.

The input unit 71 has a number key for receiving a numerical value such as a telephone number.
These keys have a function of receiving an operation instruction of the electronic device from the user. In the present example, the input unit 71 is configured to receive the instruction for operating the electronic device by using the input unit 71 as described above.

The communication section 72 has a function of performing telephone communication by transmitting and receiving signals via the telephone line cable T2. For example, an instruction received by the input section 71 is converted into a tone signal or the like via the telephone line cable T2. , Transmitting an audio signal or the like input from a microphone (not shown) via the telephone line cable T2, and outputting an audio signal received via the telephone line cable T2 from a speaker (not shown). And so on.

With the above configuration, in the other telephone set 51 of the present example, the input section 71 is operated by the user to receive an instruction for operating the electronic device, and the received instruction is converted to a communication section 72 as a tone signal or the like. Perform transmission to a telephone communication partner (in this example, one telephone 2 described later). As the other telephone 51, various telephones such as public telephones and home telephones which are generally used can be used.
Further, in this example, a configuration is shown in which telephone communication is performed between the one telephone set 2 and the other telephone set 51 via wired telephone line cables T1 and T2. A configuration in which telephone communication is performed between the 51 via a wireless line may be used.

Next, the configuration and the like of one telephone 2 will be described. In this example, one telephone 2 constitutes a control signal transmitting means for transmitting a control signal corresponding to an instruction for operating the electronic device received by the other telephone 51 via the power supply line B2. The telephone 2 includes a switch unit 61 for receiving data from a user, a display unit 62 for displaying and outputting data, a line interface unit 63 for transmitting and receiving signals via a telephone line cable T1,
A communication unit 64 for inputting and outputting voice; a telephone signal processing unit 65 for processing signals; a message processing unit 66 for processing message data; a control unit 67 for performing various processes and control; A data transmission / reception unit 68 for transmitting / receiving a signal via B2 is provided.

The switch section 61 has a configuration similar to that of the switch section 11 of the control terminal 1 shown in FIG. 2, for example, and has a number key for receiving a numerical value such as a telephone number and the like, and receives data received from the user. It has a function of outputting to the control unit 67. In this example, a mode in which the other telephone 51 receives an instruction to operate the electronic device from the user as described above is described. For example, the user operates the switch unit 61 of the one telephone 2 to perform the above operation. Similarly to the case of the control terminal 1, the remote control of the electronic device can be executed by the one telephone 2.

The display unit 62 has the same configuration as the display unit 12 of the control terminal 1 shown in FIG.
Has the function of displaying and outputting data input from the control unit 67 on the screen under the control of the control unit 67. The line interface 63 is connected to the telephone line cable T as described above.
1 for transmitting / receiving a signal via the telephone line T1, for example, when a self-addressed call signal transmitted from the exchange of the central office via the telephone line cables T2 and T1 is detected. Performs the process of ringing.

The line interface unit 63 of this embodiment
Has a function of performing a process of capturing a telephone line (that is, responding to the above-described call signal) after a ringing tone sounds for a predetermined time or the like, such as an answering machine function. Further, the line interface unit 63 has a function of passing a signal between the telephone unit 64 and the telephone signal processing unit 65, such as a tone signal received from the other telephone set 51 via the telephone line cable T1. Is output to the signal processing unit 65.

The communication unit 64 is composed of, for example, a microphone for inputting sound and a speaker for outputting sound, and transmits and receives a sound signal to and from the line interface unit 63 to make a telephone communication conversation. Has a function. Note that, in this example, similarly to the above-described switch unit 61, a case is shown in which remote control processing is performed without using the above-described display unit 62 and communication unit 64.

The telephone signal processing section 65 has a function of processing a signal as described above. For example, the telephone signal processing section 65 of the electronic device which receives a tone signal or the like input from the line interface section 63 by the other telephone 51 is received. It has a function of converting the data into operation instruction data and the like, a function of modulating the message data input from the message processing unit 66 into a voice signal, and the like.

With such a function, the telephone signal processing section 65 modulates, for example, data to be transmitted inputted from the control section 67 into a signal suitable for a telephone line and transmits the signal from the line interface section 63 via the telephone line cable T1. And inputting a signal received via the telephone line cable T1 by the line interface unit 63, converting the input tone signal and the like into data, and converting the data to the control unit 6.
7, a process of converting the message data input from the message processing unit 66 into a voice signal, and transmitting the voice signal from the line interface unit 63 via the telephone line cable T1.

The message processing unit 66 includes, for example, the control unit 6
7 has a function of outputting various message data to the telephone signal processing unit 65 based on the data input from the terminal 7. The control unit 67 has a function of performing various processes and controls as described above. For example, the control unit 67 processes data input from the switch unit 61 and outputs data to be displayed to the display unit 62. Processing to display on the screen,
A process of outputting data of an instruction to operate an electronic device input from the telephone signal processing unit 65 to the data transmitting / receiving unit 68, a process of processing data input from the data transmitting / receiving unit 68, and a message processing unit 66 based on the data. And processing for controlling the telephone signal processing unit 65 and the like.

In the control section 67 of the present embodiment, for example, a password is stored in a memory or the like, and another telephone (the other telephone 51 in this example) is operated by the user and electronically connected via the telephone line T1. When the remote control of the device is performed, the password received from the user is authenticated by the other telephone. Further, the control section 67 of the present example has the same function as, for example, the timeout detection section 13 provided in the control terminal 1 described above.

The function of controlling various processes performed by each of the processing units 61 to 67 may be configured by executing a control program by a processor such as a CPU, for example, and executing the process. May be configured as an independent hardware circuit.

In this example, the data transmitting / receiving section 68
Has a configuration similar to that of the data transmission / reception unit 15 of the control terminal 1 shown in FIG. 1, and includes, for example, processing units such as a device number setting unit, a reception unit, a signal processing unit, and a transmission unit. In the device number setting unit of the data transmitting / receiving unit 68, the device number “2” assigned to the one telephone set 2 is stored in the memory, and in the signal processing unit of the data transmitting / receiving unit 68, based on the device number “2”. It is determined whether or not the received signal is a signal addressed to itself, and the device number “2” is included in the transmission target signal frame as the source device number.

The signal processing section of the data transmitting / receiving section 68 exchanges data with the control section 67.
For example, the data of the instruction to operate the electronic device input from the control unit 67 is modulated into a corresponding control signal and transmitted to the destination electronic device via the power supply line B2 by the transmission unit. For example, data in the response signal received from the electronic device via the power supply line B2 is output to the control unit 67.

The detailed configuration of each processing unit provided in the data transmission / reception unit 68 of the present embodiment is described in detail above with respect to the configuration of each processing unit 21-24 provided in the data transmission / reception unit 15 of the control terminal 1. Therefore, the description is omitted. In this example, the data transmission / reception unit 68 transmits the control signal via the power supply line B2 as described above, thereby constituting the control signal transmission unit described above.

With the above-described configuration, one telephone 2 of this embodiment receives a signal transmitted from the other telephone 51 via the telephone line cables T2 and T1, and receives the received tone signal and the like. The data transmission / reception unit 68 transmits the data of the instruction to operate the electronic device, which is obtained based on the above, as a control signal via the power supply line B2. Also, in the one telephone 2 of the present example, as in the case of the control terminal 1 described above, based on the response signal received from the electronic device, it is determined whether the instructed remote operation has been performed normally or not. Also do. Further, in one telephone 2 of the present example, the operating power is obtained via the power supply line B2 connected to the data transmitting / receiving unit 68.

In this example, the processing units 61 to 68 provided in the one telephone set 2 are incorporated in an integral housing. However, similar to the case of the video terminal 5 described above, For example, a mode in which the above-described data transmitting / receiving unit 68 is configured as a data transmitting / receiving unit separately from the other processing units 61 to 67, and a signal processing unit provided in the data transmitting / receiving unit is configured to be detachable from the control unit 67. It can also be used.

Next, an example of a procedure of processing performed by the pair of telephones 2, 51 and the video terminal 5 when the video terminal 5 is remotely controlled by the pair of telephones 2, 51 (operation device) will be described with reference to the drawings. It will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 conceptually shows an example of the procedure of the above-described processing. That is, for example, when the other telephone 51 is operated by the user, for example, the one telephone 2
Is called by an outside line telephone (that is, one telephone 2
Is performed (step S21), the telephone 2 receives a call signal from the exchange via the line interface unit 63 and sounds a ringing tone. A line is captured (step S31).

On the other hand, when the telephone 2 captures the line as described above, the control unit 67 controls the message processing unit 6.
6 and the telephone signal processing unit 65, and transmits a message for notifying "absence" as a voice signal to the other telephone set 51 via the telephone line cable T1, such as an answering machine function (step S32). . The other telephone 5
In step 1, the "absence" message received from one of the telephones 2 is output as a voice signal from the receiver, and for example, a password input by a user operating a key in response to the message is used as a tone signal or the like in one of the telephones. 2 (step S22).

One telephone 2 receives the tone signal and the like transmitted from the other telephone 51 via the telephone line cables T2 and T1 as described above, and the telephone signal processor 65 converts the signal into a password. Is converted (decrypted) into the data, and the content of the data of the password thus obtained is compared with the content of the password stored in the control unit 67 in advance. If one of the telephones 2 confirms that the two passwords match, processing for setting the remote operation described below (control terminal mode)
Is started (step S33). If it is confirmed that the passwords do not match, for example, one telephone 2 is prevented from being remotely operated by the other telephone 51 on the electronic device.

In the control terminal mode, one telephone 2
Then, for example, the control unit 67 controls the message processing unit 66 and the like to prompt the user to input a device number of the electronic device to be remotely controlled and a message for notifying that the passwords match. Is transmitted to the other telephone set 51 via the telephone line cable T1. On the other handset 51, a message received from one handset 2 via the telephone line cable T2 is output as voice, and for example, the device number of the electronic device keyed by the user in response to the message (in this example, device number "
5 ") is transmitted to one telephone 2 as a tone signal or the like (step S23).

One telephone 2 receives the tone signal and the like transmitted from the other telephone 51 via the telephone line cable T1 as described above, and the received signal is transmitted by the telephone signal processing unit 65 to the device number data. To control unit 6
7 is output. Then, in one telephone 2, the control unit 6
7, the message processing unit 66 and the like are controlled to input a message for allowing the user to confirm the device number obtained as described above and an instruction (control item) for operating the electronic device to the user. Is transmitted to the other telephone set 51 via the telephone line cable T1 (step S34).

In the other telephone set 51, when the message received from the one telephone set 2 is output as voice and the user confirms the device number, the message is accepted from the user in the same manner as in the input process of the device number. For example, "19:
The control item data such as "Record from 00 to 20:00" is transmitted to one telephone 2 as a tone signal or the like (step S24). The one telephone 2 converts the tone signal and the like received from the other telephone 51 into control item data in the same manner as in the processing of the device number described above, and the contents of the control item obtained in this manner are transmitted by the user. A message for confirmation is transmitted to the other telephone 51 (step S35).

In the other telephone set 51, when the message received from the one telephone set 2 is output as voice and the user confirms the control items, for example, it is determined that a key input for starting a remote operation has been received from the user. In response, that fact is notified to one telephone 2 (step S25).
In response to receiving notification from the other telephone 51 for the start of the remote operation, the one telephone 2 remotely controls the electronic device according to the device number and control item data received from the other telephone 51. To start that.

Here, the processing procedure in the case where one of the telephones 2 of this embodiment remotely controls an electronic device in accordance with the above-described device number and control items is the processing procedure in the case where the control terminal 1 shown in FIG. 6 is used. This is almost the same as the above, and the processing procedure will be briefly described below. That is, one telephone 2 transmits a control signal corresponding to an instruction (control item) received to the video terminal 5 corresponding to the device number “5” received from the other telephone 51 as described above on the power supply line B2.
(Step S36), and time measurement is started. If one telephone 2 of this example measures a predetermined time without receiving a response signal from the electronic device, an error message is sent to the other telephone 51 via the telephone line cable T1 as described later. Transmission is performed (steps S37 to S39).

On the other hand, the video terminal 5 receives the control signal transmitted from the one telephone set 2 via the power supply line B5 (step 51) as in the case shown in FIG. Is determined by checking the device number to determine whether the signal is addressed to itself (step S52).
If it is determined that the control signal is addressed to itself, a process such as an operation reservation specified by the control signal is executed (step S53), and the content of the executed process is included in the response signal and one of the telephone sets is processed. 2 via the power line B5 (step S54).

The telephone 2 receives the response signal transmitted from the video terminal 5 via the power supply line B2 as described above (step S40), and determines whether the received response signal is a signal addressed to itself. It is determined by checking the device number (step S41). If it is determined that the response signal is addressed to itself, the above-described time counting process is stopped, and the data and the like in the received response signal are stopped. It is determined whether or not the contents correspond to the operation and the like instructed by the control signal described above (step S42).

On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the remote operation has been normally performed by the above-described determination processing, the control section 67 controls the message processing section 66 and the like, and the telephone 2 is notified of the fact. A message (operation status message) for notification is set (step S43), and the message is transmitted to the other telephone 5 via the telephone line cable T1.
1 (step S39). On the other hand, for example, when a predetermined time is measured without receiving a response signal by the above-described time measurement processing (step S37), or the operation content notified by the received response signal is different from that instructed. Is confirmed, one telephone 2 sets an error message (step S3).
8) The error message is transmitted to the other telephone set 51 via the telephone line cable T1 (step S3).
9).

The other telephone 51 receives the message transmitted from the one telephone 2 as described above, and outputs the voice from the receiver, thereby confirming whether the remote operation received from the user has been performed normally. The user is notified of the fact, and the like is confirmed (step S26). For example, even if the remote control process is not performed normally, the user confirms the error message and operates the other telephone 51 again to issue a remote control instruction to one telephone 2. And the like.

As described above, in the operation device including the one telephone 2 and the other telephone 51 according to the present embodiment, the operation instruction of the electronic device is received from the user by the other telephone 51 and the received instruction is transmitted to the telephone line cable. The signal is transmitted to one of the telephones 2 via T2 and T1, and the one of the telephones 2 and the power line B laid indoors, for example, with the one telephone 2
By transmitting a control signal corresponding to the instruction to the video terminal 5 connected via 2, B8, and B5, the video terminal 5 can be remotely controlled.

In the case where the remote control is performed by the operation device including the pair of telephones 2 and 51 as described above,
As in the case of the control terminal 1 described above, it is possible to prevent a problem such as complicated wiring of a dedicated cable or the like from occurring, and, for example, to connect one telephone 51 or the electronic device to a power supply line. A network system can be easily configured only by a simple operation such as connection to an outlet or the like via a network.

Here, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration and operation when the electronic device is remotely controlled by the control terminal 1 or the telephone 2 have been described. However, the personal computer 3 has the same configuration as the control terminal 1, for example. By performing such an operation, it is possible to realize remote control. In addition, the video terminal 5 described above
In the same manner as in the case of, for example, a data transmission / reception unit that transmits a control signal via a power supply line or the like is configured separately from the personal computer main body, and is attached to an existing personal computer main body or the like. It is also possible to reduce the economic cost of the system.

In the above embodiment, the case where the video terminal 5 is remotely operated as an electronic device has been described. However, the other electronic devices 4, 6, and 7 can be operated by using the same configuration as the video terminal 5. The device allows remote control via a power line. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the operation reservation (recording reservation) of the video tape recorder is performed as the remote operation of the electronic device has been described, but the remote operation may be, for example, turning on or off the power of the electronic device. Various operations may be performed. Not only simple operations such as power on / off and operation reservation, but also a relatively complicated remote operation may be performed if, for example, required communication quality of a control signal is provided.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the electronic device is remotely controlled by the operation device via the power line laid indoors has been described. However, the operation device (the case where the telephone is used) is not necessarily required. Is not only a mode of remotely controlling an electronic device disposed relatively close to the above-mentioned one telephone 2), but also a range in which the remote control can be performed outdoors, for example, if there is required communication quality of a control signal. May be spread out.

The configuration of the power supply line network system of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above-described configuration, and various configurations may be used. In short, the power supply line network system is connected to electronic equipment via a power supply line. Any configuration can be used as long as the electronic device can be remotely controlled by the operation device. For example, various types of components may be used as the operation device, the electronic device, and the power supply line, and any type of signal may be used as the control signal transmitted from the operation device to the electronic device. . Further, the number of operating devices and electronic devices provided in the power line network system may be arbitrary.

When only one operation device is provided in the power line network system, for example, even if the electronic device does not check the operation device of the transmission source based on the received control signal, the transmission source of the transmission device may not be confirmed. Similarly, when only one electronic device is provided in the power line network system, for example, the operating device determines the transmission source electronic device based on the received response signal. Even if the configuration is not confirmed, the electronic device of the transmission source can be specified. Further, the response signal shown in the above embodiment need not necessarily be transmitted from the electronic device to the operation device.

[0087]

As described above, according to the power supply line network system of the present invention, the operation device receives an instruction for operating the electronic device from the user, and transmits a control signal corresponding to the instruction via the power supply line. Since the processing is transmitted to the electronic device and processing such as operation reservation instructed by the control signal received by the electronic device is performed, for example, the operating device and the electronic device are not necessarily connected via a telephone line cable or a dedicated cable. It is not necessary, and remote operation can be performed if the operating device and the electronic device are connected via a power supply line, which causes problems such as complicated wiring of the system due to a dedicated cable or the like. Can be prevented.

In the power supply line network system according to the present invention, for example, as shown in the above embodiment, the operating device is constituted by a pair of telephones connected via a telephone line, and the electronic device is connected via the power supply line. By transmitting, via a telephone line, an instruction received by the other telephone from the user to one telephone connected to the device, the above-described remote operation can be realized. In this case, for example, the user can remotely control an electronic device installed indoors, such as at home, by an outside line telephone from outside, so that the convenience of the user can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a power line network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a control terminal.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a data transmission / reception unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a frame communicated in the power line network system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a video terminal.

FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a processing procedure when a video terminal is remotely controlled by a control terminal.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an operation device including a pair of telephones.

FIG. 8 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a processing procedure when a video terminal is remotely controlled by an operation device including a pair of telephones.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. control terminal, 2, 51 telephone, 3. personal computer, 4 air conditioner terminal, 5.
Video terminal, 6 rice cooker terminal, 7 washing machine terminal,
B1 to B8 power line, C1 to C7 outlet, T1, T2 telephone line cable, M modular jack, 11, 61 switch part, 12, 62
..Display unit, 13 Timeout detection unit, 14, 4
2, 67 control unit, 15, 41, 68 data transmission / reception unit 21 device number setting unit 22, reception unit
23 ... signal processing unit, 24 ... transmission unit, 31 ... reception device number unit, 32 ... data unit, 33 ... transmission device number unit, 63 ... line interface unit, 64 ...
Talk part, 65… telephone signal processing part, 66… message processing part, 71… input part, 72… communication part,

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A power line network system for remotely operating an electronic device by an operation device connected to the electronic device via a power line, wherein the operation device has an input for receiving an operation instruction of the electronic device from a user. Means, and control signal transmitting means for transmitting a control signal corresponding to the received instruction via a power supply line, while the electronic device receives a control signal transmitted from the operation device via the power supply line. A power line network system, comprising: a control signal receiving unit; and a processing unit that performs a process specified by the received control signal. 2. The power line network system according to claim 1, wherein the operating device comprises a pair of telephones connected via a telephone line, and one of the telephones constituting the control signal transmitting means is located indoors. A power supply connected to the electronic device via the laid power supply line, the other telephone constituting input means, and transmitting the input instruction from the user to the one telephone via a telephone line; Line network system.