JPS63299535A - Bidirectional optical communication unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize the transfer of data in two directions by setting the reflectors on the optical axes of a light emitting element and a light receiving element in order to scatter the light into two directions. CONSTITUTION:A lens 3 functioning to project the optical signal in a fixed direction and a reflecting mirror 4 as a reflector are arranged at the front side on the optical axes of a light emitting element 1 and a light receiving element 2 which are disposed superposingly. The reflecting mirror 4 is set convexly to the lens 3 at an optical angle, e.g., 90 deg. and reflects the light received from the lens 3 into two directions. Thus the bidirectional communication is possible and therefore just a single communication unit suffices. Thus it is possible to extremely simplify the constitution together with the cost reduction for various equipments including an automatically guided unmanned vehicle, etc., that contains the optical communication units.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an optical communication device using light emitting and light receiving elements, and more particularly to an optical communication unit capable of optical communication in two directions.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, optical communication units of this type are used in pairs facing each other at a certain distance, and each optical communication unit is equipped with a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and one of the optical communication units The conventional method was to send and receive data between the two devices by having the other light-receiving device receive the light emitted by one device.

[Problems to be solved] - The optical communication unit as described above is difficult to use when one side is moving and it is impossible to connect the other with a cable, as in the case of communication between an unmanned guided vehicle and a ground station. Often used in cases. In such a case, with the conventional optical communication unit described above, the two units must always face each other! When only one optical communication unit is installed on both sides of the V, the placement of the ground station is restricted to either the left or right side of the vehicle, which is a major restriction on placement.

Furthermore, in order to arrange the ground stations independently on the left and right sides of the vehicle, there is a problem in that two optical communication units must be installed on the left and right sides of the vehicle.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a two-way optical communication unit that can send and receive data in two directions by dispersing light in two directions by placing a reflector on the optical axis of a light emitting element and a light receiving element. do.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the object described in [1], the bidirectional optical communication unit of the present invention includes a light emitting element that sends an optical signal to the photometric communication unit of the other party, and a light emitting element that transmits the optical signal from the optical communication unit of the other party. It includes a light-receiving element that receives light, and a reflector that is disposed on the optical axis of the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element, disperses the optical signal of the light-emitting element in two directions, and causes the light-receiving element to receive optical signals from the two directions. The configuration is as follows.

[Example] Next, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the same.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a light emitting element, and reference numeral 2 is a light receiving element.These light emitting element 1 and light receiving element 2 are provided vertically overlapping each other. , a lens 3 for irradiating an optical signal in a fixed direction, and a reflecting mirror 4 as a reflector are arranged. This reflecting mirror 4 can be set at an arbitrary angle with respect to the lens 3, for example, 901
It is provided convexly at an angle of g, and is configured to disperse and reflect the light incident from the lens 3 in two directions.

As shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting element l and the light receiving element 2 are connected to a signal transmitting circuit 5 and a signal receiving circuit 6, and the signal output from the signal transmitting circuit 5 is transmitted to the light emitting element l.
The optical signal is sent to the other unit as an optical signal from the other unit, and the optical signal from the other unit is received by the light receiving element 2 and given to the signal receiving circuit 6.

Next, the operation of the bidirectional optical communication unit as described above will be explained.

The signal output from the signal transmitting circuit 5 is sent out as an optical signal from the light emitting element 1. This transmitted optical signal is focused on a surface of 914 m 4 through a lens 3, and
After being dispersed and reflected in two directions by 4b, it is received by the optical communication units on the opposite side arranged on both the left and right sides.

On the other hand, optical signals sent from the opposite optical communication units placed on both the left and right sides are reflected in the same direction by the reflecting surfaces 4a and 4b, and are received by the light receiving element 2 via the lens 3.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a usage example in which a two-way optical communication unit is mounted on an automatic guided vehicle. In this figure, 7 is an automatic guided vehicle, and the front side of this automatic guided vehicle Unit 8 is installed.

Reference numeral 9.10 denotes a counterpart optical communication unit, which is arranged on both the left and right sides of the automatic guided vehicle 7 in the traveling direction. Therefore, the two-way optical communication unit 8 can communicate with either the left or right counterpart optical communication unit 9, IO.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention enables communication in two directions by arranging a reflector in front of the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the optical communication unit on the optical axis. The communication unit, which conventionally required two sets, can be reduced to one set, and has the effect of greatly simplifying and reducing costs in various devices such as automatic guided vehicles equipped with optical communication units.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the same, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of use in which a two-way optical communication unit is mounted on an automatic guided vehicle. 12 Light-emitting element 2: Light-receiving element 4: Reflector 9.10: Agent for the optical communication unit on the other side Patent attorney Watanabe 9 Half cylinder 1 Figure 2 Toi wealth]Σ7to ゝ21e1V thing 3rd self 7! Poison 2r\10

Claims (1)

[Claims] a light emitting element that sends an optical signal to the other party's optical communication unit;
A light-receiving element that receives an optical signal from the other party's optical communication unit, and a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element that are placed on the optical axis, and disperse the optical signal of the light-emitting element in two directions, as well as transmitting optical signals from the two directions. A two-way optical communication unit characterized by comprising a reflector that causes a light receiving element to receive signals.