KR20040017695A - Interface architecture for networked home appliance using plc technology - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A PLC(Power Line Communication) system for household appliances and a method therefor are provided to reduce unnecessary transmission quantity in a PLC network by preventing that power is supplied to an external PLC modem when the power is not supplied to the household appliances. CONSTITUTION: An external PLC modem(100) has the first power supply connector(110) and the first serial port connector(120). A household appliance(200) has the second and third power supply connectors(210,230) and the second serial port connector(220). The first serial port connector(120) and the second serial port connector(220) are connected each other. The first power supply connector(110) and the second power supply connector(210) are connected each other. The third power supply connector(230) is connected with the second power supply connector(210). The third power supply connector(230) is connected with a PLC network.

Description

Power line communication system and method for home appliances {INTERFACE ARCHITECTURE FOR NETWORKED HOME APPLIANCE USING PLC TECHNOLOGY}

The present invention relates to a power line communication system and method for home appliances. More particularly, the present invention relates to a power line communication system and method for a home appliance, which enables the home appliance to perform communication using a power line communication network by connecting an external power line communication modem to the home appliance.

Recently, the power line communication (PLC) method has attracted attention as a home networking standard. PLC method is easier to install than cable network, wireless LAN, and Bluetooth communication network because it does not need to install additional communication line to build communication network by utilizing existing electric wiring that is widely established. The advantage is low price. Due to these advantages, the PLC method is expanding its application scope not only to home networking but also to new communication service fields such as Internet service business, digital telephony and security.

For communication of home appliances using a PLC method, the home appliances are connected to a power line through a communication device. As an example of such a communication device, a PLC modem is widely used. The PLC modem is divided into a built-in type and an external type according to the interface method with the home appliance. The built-in type is located in the home appliance, while the external type is located outside the home appliance. The PLC modem and the home appliance typically transmit and receive data to and from each other by serial communication.

Since the built-in modem is located in a home appliance, it does not occupy a separate space for installing a modem, and since the power of the home appliance can be used as it is, it can operate without a separate power supply.

In the past, internal PLC modems were mostly used, but external PLC modems have recently been newly proposed. External PLC modems have several advantages over embedded PLC modems. In other words, since the external modem is installed outside the home appliance, it does not generate heat inside the home appliance. Therefore, the external modem does not cause a problem internally. Also, the external modem has several modem indicator lights. You can check it yourself. Table 1 shows the types and meanings of the indicators of the external modem, and the external modem indicates the status of handshaking or conversation with the home appliance through the lamps that are blinking or constantly lit.

Modem indicator light meaning AA (auto answer) As an indication that the modem is ready to answer an incoming call, it is assumed that the communication program is also ready to handle the incoming call. CD (carrier detect) This indicates that the appliance and modem have recognized each other and that a carrier connection has been established. If a second call is received, the CD may be temporarily interrupted and, depending on several factors, the first connection may be lost. HS (high speed) When on, the modem is ready to transmit data at the specified rate. MR (modem ready) When on, the modem is ready to send and receive data. OH (off hook) When on, it means the phone line is available. RD (receive data) If it is flashing, it means that the modem is receiving data or signal. SD (send data) If it is flashing, it means that the modem is sending data or signals. TR (terminal ready) When on, it means that the communication program of the home appliance is activated. If it is off, one of the programs or home appliances may not work.

<Table 1> Indicator of external PLC modem

In addition, since the external modem can be easily installed and removed compared to the internal modem, it is easy to replace the modem in case of failure or upgrade.

However, in spite of the above advantages, since the conventional external PLC modem has a separate power supply line different from the power supply line of the home appliance, it operates regardless of whether the home appliance is supplied with power, causing some problems.

1 illustrates a connection between a conventional external PLC modem and a home appliance and a power line. As shown in FIG. 1, even when the power supply to the home appliance is interrupted due to an accident, the external modem directly connected to the external power line is still operable to continue the power line communication, which is performed in the power line communication network. This may cause unnecessary communication traffic. In addition, when the power supply to the home appliance is maintained, but the power supply to the modem is interrupted, the home appliance cannot transmit its state to the power line communication network through the modem, which also causes an unnecessary increase in the amount of communication. Can increase the load.

Therefore, when the power supply of the home appliance is interrupted, the external PLC modem stops the operation of the external PLC modem or detects the external modem being disconnected from the home appliance and stops the operation of the external modem, and immediately transfers it to the power line communication network. As a result, they faced the technical challenge of reducing unnecessary traffic.

The present invention has all the advantages of the existing external PLC modem, and proposes a new connection structure between an external PLC modem and a home appliance that can overcome all the disadvantages of the internal PLC modem and the conventional external PLC modem.

An object of the present invention is to stop the power supply of the external PLC modem when the power supply of the home appliance is interrupted to reduce the unnecessary amount of transmission in the power line communication network.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the home appliance to quickly transmit its status to the power line communication network when the power supply of the external PLC modem is cut off and thus the home appliance cannot perform any further communication.

1 is a diagram illustrating a connection between a conventional external PLC modem and a home appliance and a power line.

2 is a diagram illustrating a connection structure between a PLC external modem and a home appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a connection structure between a PLC external modem and a home appliance.

4 is a diagram illustrating in detail a connection relationship between an external modem and a home appliance.

5 is a view showing the overall structure of a power line communication system for home appliances according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

100: PLC external modem

110: power supply connector

120: Serial Port Connector

130: sensor

200: home appliances

According to an aspect of the present invention, in a power line communication system for a home appliance including a PLC modem and a home appliance and performing power line communication by connecting to a power line communication network, the PLC modem may include a first power supply connector and a first communication port. A connector, wherein the home appliance comprises a second and third power supply connector and a second communication port connector, wherein the first communication port connector and the second communication port connector are connected to each other, and the first power source The power supply connector and the second power supply connector are connected to each other, the third power supply connector is connected to the second power supply connector, and the third power supply connector is connected to the power line communication network. A power line communication system for home appliances is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the power line communication method for home appliances for connecting to a power line communication network using a PLC modem and a home appliance having a communication port connector and a power supply connector, respectively, the communication port of the PLC modem When the connector is disconnected from the communication port connector of the household electrical appliance, the PLC modem generating a predetermined signal, and the PLC modem transmitting the predetermined signal to the household electrical appliance through a power supply connector of the PLC modem. And transmitting, by the home appliance, the predetermined signal to the power line communication network, and stopping the communication to the PLC modem by the power line communication network. This is provided.

Hereinafter, a power line communication system and method for home appliances according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 illustrates a connection structure between a PLC external modem and a home appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the PLC external modem 100 and the home appliance 200 are connected to each other through the power supply connectors 110 and 210 and the serial port connectors 120 and 220. The home appliance further includes a power supply connector 230 for directly connecting with the power line communication network, and the power supply connector 210 and the power supply connector 230 are connected to each other through the power supply unit 240. . In another embodiment, the power supply connector 210 may be directly connected to the power supply connector 230. The power supply connector may take the form of an AC connector, which is often used in homes.

Therefore, the PLC modem 100 is connected to the power line through the power supply connector 230 of the home appliance instead of being directly connected to the power line, and eventually the PLC modem draws and uses the necessary power from the power line through the home appliance. . In addition, the home appliance 200 exchanges data required for power line communication with the PLC modem 100 through the serial port connectors 120 and 220.

According to the embodiment shown in Figure 2, since the PCL external modem depends on the power of the home appliance without a separate power source can have the advantages of the internal modem as it is. That is, when the power supply to the home appliance 200 is cut off from the power line, the power supply of the PLC modem 100 is also cut off, and thus the modem may operate independently to prevent generation of unnecessary communication amount in the communication network.

3 illustrates another embodiment of a connection structure between a PLC external modem and a home appliance. The power supply connectors 110 and 210 and the serial port connectors 120 and 220 connecting the PLC external modem and the home appliance may be constituted by a male and female pair. The male connector has pins and the male connector has a hole corresponding to these pins, so that the external modem and the home appliance can be easily connected to each other by ensuring that the pin is inserted into the hole. have.

Although FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment in the form of a male connector 110 and 120 provided in a PLC modem and a female connector 210 and 220 provided in a home appliance, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other combinations are possible. Self-explanatory

When the PLC modem 100 is disconnected from the home appliance 200 for the replacement and upgrade of the modem or due to an unexpected accident, the home appliance is normally operated while the power supply is maintained. It will not work. Even in such a case, the external PLC modem should be able to reduce unnecessary traffic by notifying the power line communication network that the home appliance is not capable of normal PLC communication due to separation from the home appliance. For this purpose, as soon as it detects that the PLC modem is disconnected from the home appliance, it should be possible to quickly transmit such a detection signal to the power line communication network through the power supply connector.

In the embodiment of Fig. 3, the power supply connector and the serial port connector are arranged substantially in parallel with each other, and the lengths of the pins and the depths of the holes of the connectors are different. That is, the pin length of the power supply connector 110 is longer than the pin length of the serial port connector 120, and the hole depth of the power supply connector 210 is deeper than the hole depth of the serial port connector 220. As a result, when the PLC modem 100 is separated from the home appliance 120, the separation time of the power supply connector and the separation time of the serial port may be different.

FIG. 4 shows the connection relationship between the connectors shown in FIG. 3 in more detail. As shown in Fig. 4, when the pins of the male connector are completely inserted into the holes of the female connector so that a pair of female connectors are completely connected to each other, the pin length of the male connector or the hole depth of the female connector is defined as "connection length". . In this case, by making the pin length and the hole depth of the power supply connectors 110 and 210 larger than the pin length and the hole depth of the serial port connectors 120 and 220, the connection length d1 of the power supply connector is increased. It can be made larger than the connection length (d2) of the serial port connector.

3 and 4, when the PLC modem is disconnected from the home appliance, the serial port connectors 120 and 220 having short connection lengths are first disconnected, and the power supply connectors 110 and 210 are later disconnected. . By using the difference in separation time, it is possible to quickly inform the power line communication network of the incompatibility state of the home appliance.

That is, during the time before the serial port connectors 120 and 220 are first disconnected and the power supply connectors 110 and 210 are disconnected, the sensor unit 130 connected to the serial port 120 stops the separation of the serial port. The sensing signal may be transmitted to the power line communication network through the power supply connectors 110 and 210 that are still connected to the home appliance.

In general, when the difference in the separation time between the two connectors is very short, as a preferred embodiment, the sensor unit 130 may quickly perform the detection signal transmission using an interrupt method.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, RS232C (EIA / TIA232C) may be used as the serial port. When the PLC modem 100 is disconnected from the home appliance 200, the voltage of the RS232C pins is changed, and the sensor unit 130 includes the DTR (Date Terminal Ready) pins and the DSR (Date Set Ready) pins among the RS232C pins. The change in voltage can be detected and transmitted to the powerline network.

Figure 5 shows the overall structure of a power line communication system for home appliances, in addition to the internal structure of a general PLC modem and home appliances for power line communication, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the PLC external modem 100 may include a coupling circuit 140, a chip power supply unit 150, an amplification and filter circuit 160, a serial interface unit 170, and a protection circuit 180. It is included.

The coupling circuit 140 blocks a carrier wave of an AC signal coming through the power supply connector 110 and prevents damage to a circuit due to a transient response and extracts a signal required for a modem. The signal passing through the coupling circuit 140 is divided into a chip power supply 150 for supplying power to the chip and an amplification and filter circuit 160.

The chip power supply unit 150 generates a power required to drive the chip of the PLC modem using the power from the coupling circuit 140. For example, the chip power supply unit 150 generates power of 12 V, 5 V, and 3.3 V in order. Done. The amplification and filter circuit 160 includes an amplifying circuit and a filter circuit. The amplifying circuit amplifies a signal extracted from the coupling circuit 140 and a transmission signal transmitted from the inside to a communication network to a required level, and the filter circuit is a communication network. The filtering operation is performed to remove noise and the like of the transmitted signal. The serial communication interface 170 converts a signal from the amplification and filter circuit 160 into a serial communication signal or converts a signal from a serial port to a TTL (Transistor Transistor Logic) level.

According to the structure of FIG. 5, the sensor unit 130 detects separation of the serial port connectors 120 and 220, and amplifies and senses the detection signal, the coupling circuit 140, the power supply connector, and the like. 110, the power supply connector 210 and the power supply connector 230 are transferred to the power line communication network. As an example, the protection circuit 180 may be added to prevent the chip from being damaged due to a sudden voltage change such as a spark occurring in the connector portion when the modem is separated from the home appliance. This protection circuit may consist of a capacitor, an inductor, a switch, etc., where the switch serves as a poly switch used in USB or IEEE 1394.

The power line communication network, which received the inoperability of the PLC modem through the detection signal, stops communication so that no more data is transmitted to the PLC modem, thereby preventing the occurrence of unnecessary communication amount.

As described above, according to the power line communication system according to the present invention, a PLC modem may be installed outside the home appliance, and thus the state of the modem may be checked at any time without generating heat in the home appliance.

In addition, according to the power line communication system according to the present invention, the installation and replacement of the modem is easy.

In addition, according to the power line communication system and method according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a technical effect that it is possible to effectively prevent an unnecessary increase in the amount of transmission in the power line communication network generated due to the interruption of the power supply of home appliances.

In addition, according to the power line communication system and method according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a technical effect that the PLC modem is separated from the home appliance can quickly transmit to the power line communication network a situation in which the power line communication of the home appliance is stopped.

According to the present invention, a new structure for connecting an external modem and a home appliance in the field of power line communication is proposed through this embodiment. However, one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains readily understands that the present invention can be applied to power line communication for all other types of systems that can be connected to a power line communication network using an external modem without being limited to home appliances only. Could be. In addition, although the embodiment of the present invention illustrates that the external modem and the home appliance transmit and receive data necessary for power line communication through the serial communication port, a structure using a communication port such as LAN, USB, IEEE1394, etc., rather than the serial port is used. The technical spirit of the present invention may be applied. In addition, although the pin length or the hole depth of the connector is defined as the connection length in the embodiment of the present invention, various connection lengths may be defined according to the shape of the connector. The technical idea of changing the separation time between the PLC modem and the home appliance may be applied as it is.

Claims (7)

A power line communication system for home appliances including a PLC modem and a home appliance, and performing power line communication by connecting to a power line communication network, The PLC modem includes a first power supply connector and a first communication port connector, The home appliance includes a second and third power supply connector and a second communication port connector, The first communication port connector and the second communication port connector are connected to each other, the first power supply connector and the second power supply connector are connected to each other, the third power supply connector is the second power supply And a third power supply connector connected to the power line communication network, wherein the third power supply connector is connected to the power supply connector. The power supply connector of claim 1, wherein the first power supply connector and the first communication port connector are arranged side by side in a straight line, and the second power supply connector and the second communication port connector are arranged side by side in a straight line. The connection length of the said 1st and said 2nd power supply connector is larger than the connection length of the said 1st and said 2nd communication port connector, The power line communication system for home appliances. The power line communication system of claim 1, wherein the PLC modem further comprises a sensor unit configured to detect that the first communication port connector is separated from the second communication port connector. The power line communication system of claim 3, wherein the sensor unit transmits the detection signal to the power line communication network through the first power supply connector. The power line of claim 3, wherein the communication port connector is a communication port connector based on an RS232C standard, and the sensor unit senses a change in voltage of a DTR and a DSR pin among pins of the RS232C communication port connector. Communication system. In a PLC modem for connecting to a home appliance to perform power line communication, The PLC modem has a power supply connector and a communication port connector respectively connected to the home appliance, The power supply connector and the communication port connector are arranged side by side in a line, the PLC modem, characterized in that the connection length of the power supply connector is larger than the connection length of the communication port connector. In the power line communication method for home appliances for connecting to a power line communication network using a PLC modem and a home appliance having a communication port connector and a power supply connector, respectively, The PLC modem generating a predetermined signal when the communication port connector of the PLC modem is disconnected from the communication port connector of the home appliance; Transmitting, by the PLC modem, the predetermined signal to the home appliance through a power supply connector of the PLC modem; The home appliance transmitting the predetermined signal to the power line communication network; And The power line communication network interrupting communication to the PLC modem Power line communication method for home appliances comprising a.