JPWO2019065903A1 - Transmission lines, transmission lines with connectors, and repeaters - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce an influence on other devices and parts without separately providing a signal line used for transmitting and receiving the signal in transmitting and receiving a signal along an electric wire or a cable. SOLUTION: This is a transmission line 10 having a lead wire 12a and an insulator 12b covering the lead wire 12a and connected to a main control circuit 2, and has a first end portion and a second end portion of the lead wire 12a. A pair of electric wire communication modules 38 and 40 that perform electric wire communication using the insulator 12b as a communication medium, and information received by the electric wire communication or the received information connected to the electric wire communication module 38. A transmission line 10 with a connector, comprising an output unit 52 that outputs the processing result of the above to the main control circuit 2. [Selection diagram] Fig. 3

Description

The present invention relates to a transmission line, a transmission line with a connector, and a repeater.

Generally, electric wires and cables are used in various facilities and devices for transmitting and receiving control signals and supplying electric power. For example, in the power transmission facility described in Patent Document 1, a power transmission line for transmitting electric power, a signal power line for electrically connecting disconnection detection sensors installed at a plurality of points of the power transmission line to a relay device, and a signal power line. Is used. The disconnection information of the transmission line detected by the disconnection detection sensor is sent to the relay device through the signal power line. As described above, by using a signal line such as a signal electric line provided separately from the transmission line, wired communication for transmitting a signal along the transmission line is possible.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 09-251050

On the other hand, as a communication technology that does not use electric wires or cables, wireless communication that transmits and receives signals using radio waves is known. While such wireless communication does not require electric wires or the like, there may be a problem that radio waves used for communication affect other devices and parts as noise.

In view of the above problems, the present invention does not need to separately provide a signal line used for transmitting and receiving the signal when transmitting and receiving a signal along an electric wire or a cable, and reduces the influence on other devices and parts. The purpose is.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a transmission line including an insulator forming a surface and a lead wire arranged inside the insulator, and the first end portion and the second end portion of the lead wire. A pair of electric field communication modules that perform electric field communication using the insulator as a communication medium, and information received by the electric field communication or a processing result of the received information connected to one of the electric field communication modules. It is provided with an output unit for outputting.

Further, the first measuring unit that measures the voltage of the first end portion, the second measuring unit that measures the voltage of the second end portion, and the voltage of the first end portion and the voltage of the second end portion are acquired. A determination unit for determining the state of the lead wire based on the potential difference between the voltage at the first end and the voltage at the second end is provided, and the determination unit is an electric field generated by the pair of electric field communication modules. It may be configured to acquire the voltage of the second end portion by communication.

Further, the first measuring unit has a first filter that extracts a signal in a specific frequency band generated from the first end portion, and measures the voltage of the first end portion based on the extracted signal. The second measuring unit has a second filter that extracts a signal in a specific frequency band generated from the second end portion, and measures the voltage of the second end portion based on the extracted signal. You may.

The transmission line with a connector of the present invention includes the above transmission line and a connector including one of the electric field communication modules and the output unit.

The repeater of the present invention is a repeater that relays a connector provided at the first end of an electric wire or cable having an insulator forming a surface and a connector of the device, and insulates the first end. The electric field communication module includes an electric field communication module that is capacitively coupled to the body, and the electric field communication module performs electric field communication with the electric field communication module provided on the second end side of the electric wire or the cable using the insulator as a communication medium.

In the transmission line, the transmission line with a connector, and the repeater of the present invention, the electric field communication modules perform electric field communication using an insulator as a communication medium, and the information received by the electric field communication or the processing result of the information is used as an apparatus. Can be output to. Since information can be transmitted and received using electric field communication between electric field communication modules in this way, it is not necessary to separately provide an electric wire for communication. Further, since the electric power used for electric field communication is weak, it is possible to reduce the influence on other devices and parts.

The schematic diagram which showed the connection mode of the transmission line with a connector of 1st Embodiment Circuit configuration diagram of the transmission line with connector Block diagram of the above transmission line with connector Operation flow diagram of the first unit and the second unit of the transmission line with a connector Circuit configuration diagram of the transmission line with connector according to Modification 7. It is the frequency spectrum of the radio wave detected by the band-shaped electrode of the transmission line with the connector, (a) the frequency spectrum before the peripheral device is driven, and (b) the frequency spectrum when the peripheral device is driven. FIG. 5 in which the circuit configuration of the transmission line with a connector according to the modification 7 is partially changed. Schematic diagram of a transmission line with a connector according to Modification 8. Schematic diagram showing the usage mode of the repeater of the third embodiment

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a transmission line with a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transmission line 10 with a connector of the present embodiment supplies DC power from the main control circuit 2 to the peripheral circuits 4, and is used as an electric wire 12 used as a power supply line and a ground line. The electric wire 14 is provided. Each of the electric wires 12 and 14 is an insulator that covers the conductors 12a and 14a (FIG. 2) such as a single wire or a stranded wire in which a conductor mainly made of copper or an aluminum alloy is formed in a linear shape, and the conductors 12a and 14a. 12b, 14b (FIG. 2) and.

The transmission line 10 with a connector includes a first connector 16 arranged at the first end of both electric wires 12 and 14, and a second connector 18 arranged at the second end of both electric wires 12 and 14. There is. The first connector 16 is connected to the connector 2a of the main control circuit 2, and the second connector 18 is connected to the connector 4a of the peripheral circuit 4. The first connector 16 and the second connector 18 have a housing that is fitted into the connectors 2a and 4a, and connection terminals (not shown) that conduct with the respective conducting wires 12a and 14a are provided in the housing. ..

In the present embodiment, the peripheral circuit 4 is provided in a peripheral device (not shown) that repeatedly operates with respect to a main control device (not shown) having a built-in main control circuit 2, and bending or bending due to the repeated operation The transmission line 10 with a connector is provided with an inspection device 20 (FIG. 2) for checking the deterioration state of the electric wires 12 and 14 due to bending. The deteriorated state of the electric wires 12 and 14 is a state in which the electric wires 12a and 14a are about to be disconnected due to cracks or the like in a part of the electric wires 12a and 14a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inspection device 20 includes a first unit 22 provided in the first connector 16 (FIG. 1) and a second unit 24 provided in the second connector 18 (FIG. 1). It has.

The first unit 22 and the second unit 24 include differential amplifier circuits 26 and 28, analog-to-digital converters (hereinafter referred to as “ADC”) 30, 32, and microcomputers (hereinafter referred to as “MCU”) 34, respectively. Electronic devices such as 36 and electric field communication modules 38 and 40 are mounted on the substrate. A constant power source is supplied to these electronic devices from a constant voltage circuit (not shown) having the above power supply line as an input power source. In the following description, when these electronic devices are distinguished for each of the units 22 and 24, the electronic devices of the first unit 22 are referred to as the first differential amplifier circuit 26, the first ADC 30, the first MCU 34, and the first unit, respectively. The electric field communication module 38, and the electronic devices of the second unit 24 are referred to as a second differential amplifier circuit 28, a second ADC 32, a second MCU 36, and a second electric field communication module 40, respectively.

In the first differential amplifier circuit 26, one of the inputs is connected to the first end of the lead wire 12a, and the other of the inputs is connected to the first end of the lead wire 14a. The difference between the voltages of these inputs is output from the first differential amplifier circuit 26. The amplification factor is predetermined so that the output is at a level slightly lower than the power supply voltage supplied by the constant voltage circuit. Therefore, the first differential amplifier circuit 26 outputs an analog signal that indexes the voltage between the conducting wires 12a and 14a at the first end. The second differential amplifier circuit 28 has the same circuit configuration as the first differential amplifier circuit 26, and outputs an analog signal that indexes the voltage between the conducting wires 12a and 14a at the second end. The signals output from the differential amplifier circuits 26 and 28 are input to the ADCs 30 and 32 connected to the differential amplifier circuits 26 and 28. The outputs of the ADCs 30 and 32 are connected to the MCUs 34 and 36, and the digital signal converted by the ADCs 30 and 32 is input to the MCUs 34 and 36.

In addition to the above ADCs 30 and 32, electric field communication modules 38 and 40 are connected to the MCUs 34 and 36. Each of the electric field communication modules 38 and 40 is a module that performs electric field communication that transmits a signal by an electric field generated on the surfaces of the insulators 12b and 14b, and has electrodes 42 and 44 wound around the insulators 12b and 14b. It is capacitively coupled to the insulators 12b and 14b at the first end and the second end. The insulators 12b and 14b forming the surfaces of the electric wires 12 and 14 in this way serve as a communication medium for electric field communication.

Here, the first MCU 34 of the present embodiment acquires the voltage between the lead wires 12a and 14a at the first end portion when the program stored in the memory is executed by the CPU. Such a first MCU 34, an electrode 42, a first differential amplifier circuit 26, and a first ADC 30 are a first measuring unit 46 (FIG. 3) for measuring a voltage between the conducting wires 12a and 14a at the first end of the electric wire 12. Functions as. Similarly, the second MCU 36 acquires the voltage between the conducting wires 12a and 14a at the second end portion when the program stored in the memory is executed by the CPU. Such a second MCU, an electrode 44, a second differential amplifier circuit 28, and a second ADC 32 are a second measuring unit 50 (FIG. 3) for measuring a voltage between the conducting wires 12a and 14a at the second end of the electric wire 12. Functions as. Further, as described in the operation flow below, the first MCU 34 determines the deterioration state of the conducting wires 12a and 14a based on the potential difference between the voltage received from the second MCU 36 and the measured voltage (FIG. 3). ) Functions. Further, the first MCU 34 functions as an output unit 52 (FIG. 3) that outputs a determination result.

The operation flow of the first unit 22 and the second unit 24 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the main control device is started with the first connector 16 and the second connector 18 connected to the connectors 2a and 4a, the power of the main control circuit 2 is a constant voltage via the lead wire 12a. It is supplied to the circuit, and power is supplied from the constant voltage circuit to the electronic device. As a result, the MCUs 34 and 36 are activated to start the processing specified in the above program.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the processing is started, each of the MCUs 34 and 36 first executes the synchronous processing (s101, s201) for executing the measurement processing (s102, s202) described later at the same timing. .. Specifically, in the synchronization process (s101), the first MCU 34 controls the first electric field communication module 38 and transmits a trigger indicating the start of synchronization from the first electric field communication module 38 to the second electric field communication module 40. To do. In the synchronization process (s201), the second MCU 36 controls the second electric field communication module 40 to repeatedly check the reception state of the trigger. Then, upon confirming the reception of the trigger, the second MCU 36 executes the measurement process (s202). The first MCU 34 executes the measurement process (s102) after transmitting the trigger.

The measurement process (s102, s202) is a process of measuring the voltage between the conducting wires 12a and 14a. Specifically, in the measurement process (s102), the first MCU 34 controls the first ADC 30 to convert the analog signal input from the first differential amplifier circuit 26 into a digital signal. Then, the first MCU 34 acquires a voltage value (hereinafter, referred to as "first voltage value") for indexing the voltage between the conducting wires 12a and 14a at the first end portion based on the digital signal. The second MCU 36 also executes the process (s202) in the same manner, and acquires a voltage value (hereinafter, “second voltage value”) that indicates the voltage between the conducting wires 12a and 14a at the second end.

Each MCU 34, 36 executes the communication process (s103, s203) after executing the measurement process. Specifically, in the communication process (s103), the first MCU 34 controls the first electric field communication module 38, and a second voltage value transmission request is sent from the first electric field communication module 38 to the second electric field communication module 40. Send. In the communication process (s203), the second MCU 36 controls the second electric field communication module 40 to check the reception status of the transmission request. Then, upon confirming the reception of the transmission request, the second MCU 36 controls the second electric field communication module 40 and transmits the second voltage value acquired in the measurement process (s202) to the first electric field communication module 38. The first MCU 34 controls the first electric field communication module 38 to confirm the presence or absence of the second voltage value, and executes the determination process when the second voltage value is received.

The determination process is a process of determining the deterioration state of the lead wires 12a and 14a based on the first voltage value and the second voltage value, and the first MCU 34 is the subtraction process (s104), the first comparison process (s105), and the first. 2 The comparison process (s106) and the signal output process (s107a, s107b) are executed in order.

In the subtraction process (s104), the second voltage value is subtracted from the first voltage value, and the potential difference between the first end portion and the second end portion is obtained. The value of the potential difference increases as the conductor resistance increases due to the progress of deterioration of the conducting wires 12a and 14a. That is, the potential difference obtained by the subtraction process (s104) is an index of the deteriorated state of the conducting wires 12a and 14a.

In the first comparison process (s105), the upper limit value (first threshold value) of the potential difference that should be judged to have little deterioration of the lead wires 12a and 14a is compared with the potential difference obtained by the subtraction process (s104). As a result of comparison, when the potential difference is smaller than the first threshold value, the process is terminated. On the other hand, when the potential difference obtained by the subtraction process is larger than the first threshold value, the second comparison process (s106) is executed.

In the second comparison process (s106), the lower limit value (second threshold value) of the potential difference that should be judged to have a large deterioration of the lead wires 12a and 14a is compared with the potential difference obtained by the subtraction process (s104). As a result of comparison, when the potential difference obtained by the subtraction process is smaller than the second threshold value, a warning signal indicating that deterioration is in progress is output from the output terminal (s107a). On the other hand, when the potential difference obtained by the subtraction process is larger than the second threshold value, a deterioration signal indicating that there is a lot of deterioration is output from the output terminal (s107b). These warning signals and deterioration signals are transmitted to the main controller via the first connector 16. When the main control device receives the warning signal or the deterioration signal, it notifies the user or the administrator to that effect.

When the inspection device 20 executes the above process in this way, the deteriorated state of the lead wires 12a and 14a is inspected. It should be noted that these processes are not limited to the time when the main control device is started, and may be executed periodically during the operation of the main control device.

According to the transmission line 10 with a connector of the present embodiment, it is possible to inform the user or the administrator of a guideline for replacing the electric wires 12 and 14. Further, by performing electric field communication using the first electric field communication module 38 and the second electric field communication module 40, measurement can be performed while synchronizing the voltages at both ends without separately providing an electric wire (signal line) for communication. In addition, it is possible to acquire the voltage at the second end at the first end. Further, since the electric power used for the electric field communication is weak, it is possible to reduce the influence on the main control circuit 2 and the peripheral circuits 4. Further, there is a risk that the communication connection cannot be secured by wireless communication using radio waves, such as in a place where the radio wave environment is bad, but according to the transmission line 10 of the present embodiment, it is provided from the first end to the second end. Since the insulators 12b and 14b are used as communication media, stable communication connection can be ensured regardless of whether the radio wave environment is good or bad.

Although the transmission line 10 with a connector according to the present invention has been described above based on the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented in the following embodiment, for example. Absent.

<Modification example 1>
The synchronous processing in the above operation flow is not an indispensable process, and a flow in which the synchronous process is omitted may be used.

<Modification 2>
Instead of the differential amplifier circuits 26 and 28 of the above embodiment, a voltage dividing circuit that divides the voltage of the power supply line may be used, and the output of the voltage dividing circuit may be input to the ADCs 30 and 32.

<Modification example 3>
In the above operation flow, the first comparison process (s105) and the second comparison process (s106) were executed, but only the first comparison process (s105) was executed, and the potential difference in the first comparison process (s105). May output a warning signal when it is determined that is larger than the first threshold value.

<Modification example 4>
Further, in the above embodiment, the determination result is output to the main control circuit 2, but the first connector 16 is provided with the light emitting portion of the multicolor LED exposed, and the determination result is output by the light emission of the multicolor LED. You may inform the administrator. For example, in the second comparison process (s106), if the potential difference is smaller than the second threshold value, the multicolor LED emits yellow light, and if the potential difference is larger than the second threshold value, the multicolor LED emits red light. As a result, the user and the administrator can intuitively know the deterioration state.

<Modification 5>
The transmission line 10 with a connector of the above embodiment includes an electric wire 12 used as a power supply line for supplying electric power from the main control circuit 2 to the peripheral circuit 4, and an electric wire 14 used as a ground line. Further, the main control circuit 2 may be provided with another electric wire used as a control line for controlling the peripheral circuit 4.

In the embodiment further including the other electric wire, a third differential amplifier circuit for measuring the voltage between the lead wire 14a at the first end portion and the other lead wire is provided in the first unit 22 and at the second end portion. A fourth differential amplifier circuit for measuring the voltage between the lead wire 14a and the other lead wires is provided in the second unit 24. Further, as the ADC of the first unit 22, a multi-channel ADC that switches between the output signal of the first differential amplifier circuit 26 and the output signal of the third differential amplifier circuit and performs AD conversion is used. Similarly, as the ADC of the second unit 24, a multi-channel ADC that switches between the output signal of the second differential amplifier circuit 28 and the output signal of the fourth differential amplifier circuit and performs AD conversion is used.

In such a first unit 22, the measurement process (s102) is executed for each channel of the ADC. As a result, the first MCU 34 acquires the first voltage value corresponding to the output of the first differential amplifier circuit 26 and the third voltage value corresponding to the output of the third differential amplifier circuit 26. In the second unit 24, the measurement process (s202) is executed for each channel of the ADC, and corresponds to the second voltage value corresponding to the output of the second differential amplifier circuit 28 and the output of the fourth differential amplifier circuit. The fourth voltage value to be used is acquired.

Then, in the communication processing (s103, s203), the second voltage value and the fourth voltage value are transmitted to the first MCU 34 by the electric field communication. Further, by the subtraction process (s104) and the comparison process (s105, s106) by the first MCU34, the deterioration state of the lead wire 12a is determined based on the potential difference between the first voltage value and the second voltage value, and the third voltage value and the fourth voltage value are determined. The deterioration state of other conducting wires is determined based on the potential difference of the voltage value.

<Modification 6>
The transmission line with a connector of the present embodiment may have a mode in which the electric wires 12 and 14 are covered with a sheath 64 (FIG. 5) which is an insulator. That is, the transmission line with a connector may include a cable. In such an embodiment, electrodes are wound around the first end portion and the second end portion of the sheath 64, and the electric field communication modules 38 and 40 are capacitively coupled to the sheath 64 via the electrodes. Then, electric field communication is performed in which a signal is transmitted by an electric field generated on the surface of the sheath 64. That is, in the transmission line with a connector provided with a cable, the sheath 64 serves as a communication medium for electric field communication.

<Modification 7>
As shown in FIG. 5, in the transmission line with a connector according to the present embodiment, the deterioration state may be determined by grouping the electric wires group 112 including the electric wires 12 and 14 for electric power and the signal line 54 together. In this embodiment, a band-shaped electrode 56, 58 wound around the insulators 12b, 14b, 54b at each end of the wire group 112, and a first whose input is electrically connected to the band-shaped electrode 56, 58. The filters 60 and the second filter 62, the first ADC 30 and the second ADC 32 whose inputs are electrically connected to the outputs of the filters 60 and 62, and the first MCU 34 and the first MCU 34 and the second which are electrically connected to the ADCs 30 and 32 in a controllable manner. 2MCU36 and 2 are provided in the first unit 22 and the second unit 24.

The band-shaped electrodes 56 and 58 are, for example, copper foil tapes in which copper, which is a conductor, is formed in a tape shape, and an adhesive layer is formed on the mounting surface for the insulators 12b, 14b, 54b. The band-shaped electrodes 56 and 58 are wound so as to bundle the insulators 12b, 14b and 54b. By winding the band-shaped electrodes 56 and 58 in this way, the band-shaped electrodes 56 and 58 receive radio waves from the electric wire group 112.

Here, in this modification, the radio waves received by the band-shaped electrodes 56 and 58 before the peripheral device is operated are as shown in FIG. 6A. On the other hand, the radio waves received by the band-shaped electrodes 56 and 58 when the peripheral device is operated are as shown in FIG. 6 (b). As can be seen by comparing each figure, there is a difference in the spectrum around 2kHz before and after operating the peripheral device, and the voltage increases by about 10 dB after operating the peripheral device. In other words, when the electric wire group 112 deteriorates, the increase in the second end of the electric wire group 112 decreases (approaches the voltage in the stopped state), and in this modification, the increase decreases. It is intended to detect the deterioration of the electric wire by detecting.

Therefore, both the filters 60 and 62 provided in the first unit 22 and the second unit 24 are set to take out the signals of the above frequency components, and may have the same frequency band (pass band or blocking band). preferable. As described above, the frequency component to be extracted in the peripheral device in this example is 2 kHz, but the frequency component to be extracted is appropriately set according to the frequency of the signal input to the peripheral device and the power to be supplied. Further, since the power frequency is generally lower than the signal frequency, as shown in FIG. 7, a low-pass filter for extracting the frequency component of the radio wave emitted from the power wires 12 and 14 in the wire group 112. (Hereinafter, LPF60a, 62a), a high-pass filter (hereinafter, HPF60b, 62b) for extracting the frequency component of the radio wave emitted from the signal line 54, and the LPF ADC30a, which converts the output signals of the LPF60a, 62a into digital signals, The 32a and the ADCs 30b and 32b for the HPF that convert the output signals of the HPF 60b and 62b into digital signals may be provided so as to distinguish and detect the deterioration of the electric wires 12 and 14 and the signal line 54.

Returning to FIG. 5, the signals output from both filters 60 and 62 are converted into digital signals by the corresponding ADCs 30 and 32, input to the MCUs 34 and 36, and the voltage value is acquired by the MCUs 34 and 36. Become. The flow until the voltage value is acquired by the MCUs 34 and 36 is acquired by the measurement process (s102) after the synchronous process (s101) is executed as in the above embodiment. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, when LPF60a, 62a (filter for electric wires 12 and 14) and HPF60b, 62b (filter for signal line 54) are used, the voltage from the signal taken out by LPF60a, 62a. The first synchronous process and the power line measurement process for measuring the voltage are executed, and then the second synchronous process and the signal line measurement process for measuring the voltage from the signals taken out by the HPF 60b and 62b are executed.

Further, in the communication process (s103), the voltage value is transmitted from the second unit 24 to the first unit 22 by using electric field communication, but two types of filters (LPF60a, 62a and HPF60b, 62b) are used. If so, the power line voltage value measured in the power line measurement process and the signal line voltage value measured in the signal line measurement process are transmitted. Then, in the subtraction process (s104), the power line voltage value of the second unit 24 is subtracted from the power line voltage value of the first unit 22, and the potential difference between the power wires 12 and 14 is obtained, and the signal line of the first unit 22 is obtained. The signal line voltage value of the second unit 24 is subtracted from the voltage value to obtain the potential difference of the signal line 54.

Then, in the first comparison process (s105), the potential difference of the electric wires 12 and 14 obtained in the subtraction process (s104) is compared with the first threshold value, and the potential difference of the signal line 54 is compared with the first threshold value. Will be executed. The first threshold value may be set individually for each of the electric wires 12 and 14 and the signal line 54. As a result of the comparison, if any of the potential differences is larger than the first threshold value, the second comparison process is executed. In the second comparison process, the potential difference of the electric wires 12 and 14 is compared with the second threshold value, and the potential difference of the signal line 54 is compared with the second threshold value. The second threshold value may be set individually for each of the electric wires 12 and 14 and the signal line 54. As a result of the comparison, if the value determined to be large in the first comparison process is smaller than the second threshold value, a warning signal is output (s107a). On the other hand, if it is larger than the second threshold value, a deterioration signal is output (s107b).

According to the transmission line with a connector according to this modification, the presence or absence of deterioration can be determined for each wire group 112. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase or decrease the number of circuit components or the number of MCUs processed according to the number of electric wires constituting the electric wire group 112. In particular, even a multi-core cable in which a large number of electric wires are compounded can be configured with the same number of parts, so that it is possible to prevent the units 22 and 24 from becoming bloated and to suppress an increase in product cost.

In addition, in order to efficiently extract a specific frequency band, both or one of the above LPF60a and 62a and HPF60b and 62b may be replaced with a bandpass filter. Further, the bandpass filter may be electrically connected to the MCUs 34 and 36 so that the frequency band to be extracted can be appropriately set by the MCUs 34 and 36. In order to set the frequency band appropriately in this way, before the operation of the peripheral device, the voltage values output from the bandpass filter for all the frequency bands are acquired, temporarily stored in the memory, and the peripheral device is operated. Later, the voltage values output from the bandpass filter are acquired again for all frequencies. Then, for each frequency, a band in which the difference can be discriminated (or is remarkable) by comparing each of the voltage value once stored and the voltage value acquired again can be set as the frequency band to be extracted from the bandpass filter. it can.

<Modification 8>
The transmission line with a connector according to this embodiment may be of a branched type as shown in FIG. The transmission line 100 with a connector includes a first electric wire group 112a wired from the main control circuit 2 to the first peripheral circuit 104, and a second electric wire group 112b wired from the main control circuit 2 to the second peripheral circuit 114. It has. Both the first end portion of the first electric wire group 112a and the second electric wire group 112b are connected to the connector 2a of the main control circuit 2 via a common connector (hereinafter, referred to as "common connector") 116. The second end of the first electric wire group 112a is connected to the connector 104a of the first peripheral circuit 104 via the connector 118a. Further, the second end portion of the second electric wire group 112b is connected to the connector 114a of the second peripheral circuit 114 via the connector 118b.

Here, the connector 118a of the first electric wire group 112a contains a unit similar to the second unit 24 described above, and the connector 118b of the second electric wire group 112b also incorporates a unit similar to the second unit 24 described above. The connector.

The common connector 116 includes a differential amplification circuit for measuring the voltage between the conductors in the first wire group 112a and a differential amplification circuit for measuring the voltage between the conductors in the second wire group 112b. A multi-channel ADC that AD-converts the output signal of the dynamic amplification circuit, and an electric field that is capacitively coupled to each of the wire groups 112a and 112b via electrodes wound around the first wire group 112a and the second wire group 112b. A unit including a communication module and an MCU is built in.

The electric field communication module in the common connector 116 communicates with the electric field communication module in the connector 118a using the insulators 12b and 14b of the first electric wire group 112a as a communication medium, and between the conducting wires of the first electric wire group 112a on the connector 118a side. Receive voltage. Further, the electric field communication module in the common connector 116 communicates with the electric field communication module in the connector 118b using the insulators 12b and 14b of the second electric wire group 112b as a communication medium, and the lead wire of the second electric wire group 112b on the connector 118b side. Receive the voltage between.

The MCU in the common connector 116 acquires the voltage between the conductors on the connector 118a side received by the electric field communication module, and controls the ADC to acquire the voltage between the conductors of the first wire group 112a on the common connector 116 side. To do. Then, the deterioration state of the first electric wire group 112a is determined based on the potential difference between the two acquired voltages.

Further, the MCU in the common connector 116 acquires the voltage between the conductors on the connector 118b side received by the electric field communication module, and controls the ADC to control the voltage between the conductors of the second electric wire group 112b on the common connector 116 side. To get. Then, the deterioration state of the second electric wire group 112b is determined based on the potential difference between the two acquired voltages.

<Modification 9>
The first connector 16 and the second connector 18 are not indispensable configurations, and the first ends of the lead wires 12a and 14a may be directly connected to the main control circuit 2. Alternatively, the second ends of the conducting wires 12a and 14a may be directly connected to the peripheral circuit 4. That is, the configuration may be such that only one of the connectors (for example, only the first connector 16) is provided. In such an embodiment, the other unit (for example, the second unit 24) will be incorporated in the connected device (for example, a peripheral device).

<Modification example 10>
Further, a communication device may be provided instead of the inspection device 20 described above. The communication device includes a first unit 22 having a first MCU 34 and a first electric field communication module 38, and a second unit 24 having a second MCU 36 and a second electric field communication module 40. The first MCU 34 is connected to the control terminal of the connector 2a via the first connector 16, and the second MCU 36 is connected to the control terminal of the connector 4a via the second connector 18. Then, the first MCU 34 acquires the control command input from the control terminal, controls the first electric field communication module 38, and transmits the control command to the second electric field communication module 40. The second MCU 36 acquires a control command from the second electric field communication module 40, and outputs the control command to the control terminal of the connector 4a. In this way, the first MCU 34 functions as an acquisition unit that acquires the input from the device to which the first connector 16 is connected, and the second MCU 36 connects the information received via the electric field communication to the second connector 18. It functions as an output unit that outputs to the device.

[Second Embodiment]
The transmission line according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it does not include the first connector 16 and the second connector 18, but other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. That is, the transmission line of the present embodiment includes a lead wire 12a coated on the insulator 12b, a lead wire 14a coated on the insulator 14b, and a first unit 22 arranged at the first end of the lead wires 12a, 14a. , A second unit 24 arranged at the second end of the conductors 12a and 14a is provided, and both ends of the conductors 12a and 14a are directly connected to the main control circuit 2 and the peripheral circuit 4. ing. The operation flow of the first unit 22 and the second unit 24 is also the same as the operation flow of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In addition, each of the above-described modifications may be applied to the transmission line according to the present embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]
The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that, as shown in FIG. 9, a known electric wire 212 with a connector and a pair of repeaters 300 are used. The known electric wire 212 with a connector includes a wire 12a, 14a (FIG. 2), insulators 12b, 14b (FIG. 2) covering the wire 12a, 14a, and a pair of connectors 216 provided at both ends of the wire 12a, 14a. , 218, and. The connectors 216 and 218 do not have the units 22 and 24 of the first embodiment built-in.

The pair of repeaters 300 includes a first repeater 300a arranged between the electric wire 212 with a connector and a main control device, and a second repeater 300b arranged between the electric wire 212 with a connector and a peripheral device. .. The first repeater 300a relays the connector connection between the main controller and the electric wire 212 with a connector, and the second repeater 300b relays the connector connection between the peripheral device and the electric wire 212 with a connector.

The first repeater 300a is provided in the electric wire side connector 302a connected to the first connector 216 provided at the first end of the electric wire 212 with a connector, and in the circuit (main control circuit 2) in the main control device. A device-side connector 304a connected to the connector 2a is provided. An electric circuit 306 is provided between the electric wire side connector 302a and the device side connector 304a, and the corresponding connector terminals are conductive via the electric circuit 306.

Similarly, the second repeater 300b is provided in the electric wire side connector 302b connected to the second connector 218 provided at the second end of the electric wire 212 with a connector, and in the circuit (peripheral circuit 4) in the peripheral device. A device-side connector 304b connected to the connector 4a is provided, and an electric path (not shown) for conducting the corresponding connector terminal is provided between the electric wire-side connector 302b and the device-side connector 304b.

Here, the pair of repeaters 300 contains MCUs 34, 36 (FIG. 2) and electric field communication modules 38, 40 (FIG. 2). The MCUs 34 and 36 and the electric field communication modules 38 and 40 are operated by electric power supplied from a battery (not shown) or a main control circuit 2 provided in each of the repeaters 300a and 300b. The electric field communication modules 38 and 40 are capacitively coupled to the insulators 12b and 14b (FIG. 2) forming the surface of the electric wire 212 with a connector via an electrode 308 such as a worm clip, and the insulators 12b and 14b are coupled. Performs electric field communication using a communication medium.

The first MCU 34 is communicably connected to the main control circuit 2 via the device-side connector 304a, and acquires a control signal for the peripheral circuit 4 from the main control circuit 2. Then, when the first MCU 34 acquires the control signal, it controls the first electric field communication module 38 and transmits the control signal to the second electric field communication module 40.

The second MCU 36 controls the second electric field communication module 40 to receive the control signal. Then, when the second MCU 36 receives the control signal, the second MCU 36 transmits the control signal to the peripheral circuit 2 via the device-side connector 304b.

According to this embodiment, since the control signal from the main control circuit 2 to the peripheral circuit 4 is transmitted by electric field communication, it is not necessary to separately provide a signal line for transmitting the control signal. In addition, it is possible to reduce the influence on other devices and parts. Further, since the known electric wire 212 with a connector can be used in this embodiment, it is not necessary to newly prepare an electric wire for performing electric field communication.

In the present embodiment, the known electric wire 212 with a connector has been described as an example, but a known cable with a connector may be used. When the cable with the connector is used, the electric field communication modules 38 and 40 of the pair of repeaters 200 are capacitively coupled to the sheath 64 of the cable.

Further, in the present embodiment, the repeaters 300a and 300b are provided at the ends of the electric wire 212 with the connector, but for example, when the electric field communication module is provided in the peripheral circuit 2, only the repeater 300a is provided. It doesn't matter.

The present invention can also be carried out in a mode in which various improvements, modifications, or modifications are made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Further, within the range in which the same action or effect is produced, any of the invention-specific matters may be replaced with another technique.

10 Transmission line 12, 14 Electric wire 12a, 14a Conductive wire 12b, 14b Insulator 16 1st connector 18 2nd connector 38 1st electric field communication module 40 2nd electric field communication module 46 1st measurement unit 48 Judgment unit 50 2nd measurement unit 52 Output unit 60 1st filter 62 2nd filter 300 Pair of repeaters 300a 1st repeater 300b 2nd repeater

Claims (5)

A transmission line including an insulator forming a surface and a lead wire arranged inside the insulator.
A pair of electric field communication modules arranged at the first end and the second end of the lead wire and performing electric field communication using the insulator as a communication medium, respectively.
An output unit connected to one of the electric field communication modules and outputting information received by the electric field communication or a processing result of the received information.
Transmission line with. The first measuring unit that measures the voltage at the first end and
A second measuring unit that measures the voltage at the second end, and
A determination unit that acquires the voltage of the first end portion and the voltage of the second end portion and determines the state of the lead wire based on the potential difference between the voltage of the first end portion and the voltage of the second end portion.
With
The transmission line according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit acquires the voltage at the second end portion by electric field communication by the pair of electric field communication modules. The first measuring unit has a first filter that extracts a signal in a specific frequency band generated from the first end portion, and measures the voltage of the first end portion based on the extracted signal.
The second measuring unit has a second filter that extracts a signal in a specific frequency band generated from the second end portion, and measures the voltage of the second end portion based on the extracted signal.
The transmission line according to claim 2, wherein the transmission line is characterized by the above. The transmission line according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
One of the electric field communication modules and a connector incorporating the output unit,
Transmission line with connector. A repeater that relays a connector provided at the first end of an electric wire or cable having an insulator forming a surface and a connector of a device.
An electric field communication module that is capacitively coupled to the insulator at the first end is provided.
The electric field communication module is a repeater that uses the insulator as a communication medium to perform electric field communication with the electric field communication module provided on the second end side of the electric wire or the cable.

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