KR20020017012A - Power Line Carrier Communication Device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A power line communication apparatus is provided to solve difficulty in the configuration of an integrated system by integrating test equipments and a system, connected to a power line so as to transmit communication signals, into one. CONSTITUTION: A power line communication apparatus consists of a modem part(10), a control part(20), and a substrate part(30). The modem part(10) converts and outputs inputted and outputted transmit/receive data in accordance with system operation modes. While executing a system control function, the control part(20) creates and outputs transmit/receive data and controls signals concerning system operation modes. The substrate part(30), at which various components as well as the modem part(10) and control part(20) are mounted, is designed so as to configure a test circuit as the need arises.

Description

Power Line Carrier Communication Device

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power line communication device. In particular, a device for controlling and converting data to be transmitted / received between an external device and a power line and a device such as a circuit to be monitored, controlled, or tested by a user are installed on a single substrate. It relates to a power line communication device that can be easily and quickly applied to the field.

In general, a communication device for signal transmission between devices transmits and receives a signal to be transmitted through a communication cable. In this case, there is a problem that the communication cable has to be installed one by one for each device to be controlled, and there is a problem in that the cost is increased.

Therefore, the power line can carry a communication signal to control the devices connected to the power line without a separate communication cable, and may be a representative power line carrier (PLC).

However, even when the power line is used, there is a problem in that a control device for a communication device including an existing modem does not perform smoothly, and a separate power line modem for carrying a communication signal must be purchased and installed.

In addition, if the user wants to configure and test a separate circuit as needed, there is a problem that it is difficult to configure a single integrated circuit to operate such a system to connect it to the power line modem.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art, the object of which is to solve the difficulty of configuring the integrated system by integrating the device to be tested at the user's request to the system connected to the power line to transmit the communication signal as one It is to provide a power line communication device that can be applied simply and variously in the communication field.

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a power line communication apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a modem unit, which is a part of FIG. 1.

3 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a control unit which is a part of FIG. 1.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

10: modem unit 11: signal conversion unit

12: signal processor 13: coupler (Coupler)

20: control unit 21: interface unit

22: microchip 23: memory

30: substrate portion 31: component mounting area portion

32: user area 40: external device

50: power line

According to a feature of the power communication device according to the present invention for solving the above problems, a board portion formed so that various components can be mounted and design changes upon user request, and an external device mounted on the board portion for transmitting and receiving data A control unit for generating and outputting a control signal for determining whether to operate the system according to the transmission / reception data while supporting the interface with the control unit, and mounted on the substrate to communicate transmission / reception data with an external device via a power line according to the control signal of the control unit. It characterized in that configured to include a modem unit for converting, outputting to enable.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Power line communication apparatus according to the present invention performs the control function of the system including the modem unit 10 and the modem unit 10 for converting and outputting the data transmitted and received between the external device 40 according to the operation mode of the system. The controller 20 generates and outputs control signals related to the transmission / reception data and the system operation mode, and the various components as well as the modem unit 10 and the control unit 20. It is composed of a substrate portion 30 designed to be configurable.

In particular, the modem unit 10 will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. 2.

The modem unit 10 installed to enable data input and output through the power line 50 operates by receiving power from the power supply unit 15, and the signal conversion unit 11 having an operation time determined according to the clock pulse 14. And a coupler (Coupler) 13 which extracts and outputs only specific data from the transmit / receive data input / output to / from the signal processor 12.

Here, the signal conversion unit 11 receives and interprets a control signal that determines a system operation mode from the control unit 20, and the digital input / output unit 11a installed to exchange digitized transmit / receive data with the control unit 40. ), And an analog input / output unit 11b installed to exchange analogized transmit / receive data with the signal processor 12.

In addition, the signal converter 11 may further include a filter unit 11c for filtering signals output from the digital input / output unit 11a and the analog input / output unit 11b, and the filter unit 11c. If the passed signal is a digital form it is converted to an analog form, and in the analog form is configured to further include a frequency modulator / demodulator (11d) for converting it to a digital form.

The signal processing unit 12 that transmits / receives data to / from the analog input / output unit 11b of the signal conversion unit 11 processes the input data and the received data according to the operation mode of the system, and in particular, the system transmits the data. In the mode, the amplifying circuit unit 12a for amplifying the transmission data input from the signal conversion unit 11 and outputting the amplified circuit unit 12 to the coupler 13, and the received data input from the coupler 13 when the system is in the reception mode. It includes a bypass unit 12b for bypassing and outputting the signal to the signal conversion unit 11.

In addition, the coupler 13 is a coil 13c, the first capacitor (C1; 13a), the second capacitor (C2) in order to extract only specific data from the transmission and reception data input from the signal processor 12 and the power line 50 13b). Here, the specific data means transmission data of a specific frequency output from the signal conversion unit 11 when the system is in the transmission mode, and the standard used by the power line communication device among modulated signals flowing through the power line when the system is in the reception mode. Receive data of a specific frequency signal corresponding to the frequency band of. In particular, in the case of the coupler 13 shown in FIG. 2, a specific frequency of 100 kHz is modulated by a power line through which 60 Hz is transmitted by the first capacitor C1; 13a and the second capacitor C2; 13b.

Now, look at the control unit 20 based on the bar shown in Figure 3 as follows.

The interface unit 21 provides an interface for transmitting and receiving data with the external device 40, and the control unit 20 for inputting / outputting the system operation mode control signal generated by the modem unit 10 and the transmission / reception data is provided with an interface unit 21 for providing an interface. And a microchip 22 for determining whether to transmit / receive a system operation mode by determining the transmission / reception data input / output through the interface unit 21 and transmitting it to the modem unit 10, and the microchip 22. It is composed of a memory 23 for modifying and storing a programmed program to determine the transmission / reception mode of the system and to send and receive data.

In particular, the interface unit 21 supports an interface of various communication standards including serial communication (RS-232C) to input and receive data from the control unit 20 to an external device 40 such as a PC. 23) also supports a function to download the program to be modified / stored from the external device 40 to the microchip 22 to be transferred.

In addition, the microchip 22 is stored in a memory 23 connected to a data port, and is interpreted by an interpreter 22a for compiling and executing a programmed program to determine an operation mode of a system, and executed by the interpreter 22a. An operation control unit 22b for generating a control signal for determining whether to transmit / receive an operation mode of the system according to the programmed result value, and outputting the control signal of the operation control unit 22b to the modem unit 10, and It is composed of an input / output port 22c for inputting / receiving other transmission / reception data to the modem unit 10 and at the same time for inputting / outputting a signal capable of monitoring and controlling the user test circuit 32a.

In addition, the program stored in the memory 23 can be modified and stored by an electric signal transmitted from the microchip 22, thereby providing convenience for the development of a product that frequently changes the program. In addition, the memory 23 preferably uses EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and similarly, various memories that can be modified and stored may be used.

In addition, the board unit 30 is designed and changed by the user, the component mounting area unit 31 on which the control unit 20 and the modem unit 10 are mounted, and necessary parts can be added and tested at the user's discretion. It is composed of a user area section 32 capable of constructing a test circuit.

The user area part 32 of the board part 30 that mainly uses a PCB is a chip or a pin of a circuit in order to allow a user to mount a circuit or chip including a sensor and an input / output device according to the needs of research, development and application. It consists of a hole that can enter (pin) and a copper material that can be soldered.

Looking at the operation of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, the control unit 20 is connected to the external device 40 receives the transmission and reception data. In this case, the microchip 22 connected to the memory 23 through a connection port such as a data port in the control unit 20 is external to the PC or the like through a serial communication interface 21 for transmitting and receiving data. The device 40 downloads a program and transmit / receive data for determining an operation mode of the system. The program downloaded to the microchip 22 through the interface unit 21 is interpreted by the interpreter 22a and stored in the memory 23 by the microchip 22.

The operation control unit 22b, which determines whether the system is operated based on the execution result of the program stored in the memory 23, generates and outputs a control signal, which is received from the external device 40 through the input / output port 22c. Along with the transmission / reception data, the data is transmitted to the modem unit 10 and the user test circuit 32a of the user area unit 30 to be controlled and tested.

The modem unit 10 that receives the control signal indicating that the system is in the transmission mode from the control unit 20 first receives and interprets it from the digital input / output unit 11a. Accordingly, the signal processing unit 12 receives the amplification circuit unit 12a. Is determined to use. Subsequently, the transmission data to be transmitted by the modem unit 10 is transmitted from the control unit 20 in digital form, and the data is converted into an analog form.

That is, the transmission data transmitted from the control unit 20 and passed through the digital input / output unit 11a is filtered through the filter unit 11c and '1' and '0' of the digital signal in the frequency modulation / demodulation unit 11d. The frequency is converted into an analog signal corresponding to '. Thereafter, the converted signal is output to the signal processing unit 12, amplified through the amplifying circuit unit 12a, and transmitted to the coupler 13.

The coupler 13 transmits only a specific frequency signal generated by the signal converter 11 to the power line 50 and does not pass other signals. The signal transmitted to the power line 50 through the coupler 13 flows along the power line 50, and the second and third modem units of the same type receive the signal.

If the signal to be received flows on the power line 50 when the data is to be received, the signal is input to the modem unit 10 through the coupler 13 only a specific frequency signal. The modem unit 10 receives a control signal for operating the system in a reception mode under the control of the control unit 20, and in this case, the received signal through the coupler 13 passes the bypass unit 12b of the signal processing unit 11. ) Is bypassed and transmitted to the signal converter 11 in analog form.

The analog form signal is converted into a digital form of '1' and '0' while passing through the filter unit 11c and the frequency modulator / demodulator 11d. The digital signal is output to the control unit 20 as received data. .

The power line communication device of the present invention configured as described above can easily add and test a sensor and an input / output device according to the use of the sensor and an input / output device according to the necessity of research, development, and application, thereby providing an existing separate function-specific product. By integrating into one device, it is possible to realize control and communication through power lines simply and quickly.

Claims (8)

A board unit formed to mount a variety of parts and to change a design upon user request; A control unit mounted on the substrate to support an interface with an external device for transmitting and receiving data, and generating and outputting a control signal for determining a system operation mode according to the transmitted and received data; And a modem unit mounted on the board and configured to convert and output transmission / reception data to an external device through a power line in accordance with a control signal of a controller. The method of claim 1, A component mounting area part in which the control part and the modem part are mounted while the substrate part is designed and changed by a user; Power line communication device comprising a user area that can be configured for the test circuit to add and test the necessary parts at the user's discretion. The method of claim 1, The control unit includes an interface unit installed to perform a data transmission and reception function when communicating with an external device; A memory installed to have a function of modifying / storing a program capable of controlling input / output of transmission / reception data through the interface unit; And a microchip generating and outputting a control signal for determining a system operation mode according to a program execution result of the memory. The method of claim 3, wherein The microchip includes an interpreter for compiling and executing a program of the memory; An operation control unit for generating and outputting a control signal for determining a system operation mode according to an execution result of the interpreter; And an input / output port configured to transmit and receive data to and from an external device while transmitting a control signal of the operation control unit to a modem unit. The method of claim 1, The modem unit receives a control signal of the control unit according to a clock pulse signal that determines an operation time when power is supplied, analyzes the control signal, and operates in a transmission / reception mode based on the analysis result to perform each signal processing function of transmission / reception data. A signal converter; A signal processing unit for processing and outputting transmission data and reception data according to a transmission / reception mode through analysis results of the signal conversion unit; And a coupler (Coupler) configured to extract only specific data from the transceiving data input and output to the signal processing unit and output the external data. The method of claim 5, The signal converter comprises a digital input / output unit for analyzing and processing the digitized signal input and output to the control unit; An analog input / output unit configured to process an analogized signal input / output to the signal processor; A filter unit for filtering signals input and output to the digital input / output unit and the analog input / output unit; The digital input / output unit analogizes the input / output signal transmitted through the filter unit to the analog input / output unit, and simultaneously converts the input / output signal transmitted through the filter from the analog input / output unit to the digital input / output unit. Power line communication device comprising a frequency modulation / demodulation unit configured to. The method of claim 5, And the signal processing unit includes an amplifying circuit unit for amplifying and transmitting the transmission data of the signal conversion unit to a coupler when the system operates in a transmission mode. The method of claim 5, And the coupler further comprises a coil and a capacitor to extract only specific data from external input / receive data.