JP5419168B2 - Power-saving communication device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power saving communication device having a power saving function.

  In recent communication services, communication devices are required to have multiple functions due to an increase in communication capacity and diversification of services. As the number of necessary functions increases, the number of mounted parts increases in proportion to this, and an increase in power consumption becomes a major problem. Thus, for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there is a communication device that saves power by automatically stopping power supply to the communication function unit in the communication device in response to the absence of transmission signal input. Proposed.

JP 2003-188760 A JP 2004-186752 A

  However, in the communication devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the on / off of the power supply is controlled only according to the presence or absence of signal input, if a transmission signal is input, regardless of the state of the signal, Power supply is maintained. For this reason, the communication function unit continues to operate even when an abnormality occurs in the transmission signal (for example, when erroneous meaningless data is continuously received due to a failure of the wireless device or environmental conditions). There was a problem that power saving efficiency was poor.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems in the conventional technology, and an object thereof is to provide a power-saving communication device capable of improving the power-saving efficiency.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a power-saving communication device, an interface unit that receives a transmission signal from a terminal device , a modem unit that receives a transmission signal from a wireless device, the interface unit, A plurality of communication function units each including a signal processing unit that multiplexes / separates signals between modem units; and the interface unit and / or the modem provided in each of the interface unit and the modem unit. Provided in correspondence with each of the plurality of communication function units excluding the alarm unit, and an alarm unit that outputs an alarm state signal indicating an abnormality content of the communication function unit in which an abnormality has occurred, when an abnormality occurs in the unit A plurality of power supply switches for individually switching the presence / absence of power supply to each communication function unit, and monitoring the presence / absence of signal input of each of the plurality of communication function units When the signal input stops, the signal input stop period is measured, and when the signal input stop period exceeds a predetermined value, a stop signal is detected by detecting the stop of the signal input. An input monitoring unit that outputs, and a storage unit that stores a stop condition in which a condition for stopping power supply to each of the plurality of communication function units is determined by a combination of the state of the pause signal and the state of the alarm state signal; Collecting the alarm state signal output from the alarm unit and the pause signal output from the input monitoring unit, and when the state of those signals matches the stop condition stored in the storage unit, And a control unit that stops power supply to the plurality of communication function units through a plurality of power supply switches.

  According to the present invention, the stop condition constituted by the combination of the pause signal state and the alarm state signal state is stored in the storage unit, and the signal states collected from the input monitoring unit and the alarm unit are stored in the storage unit. Since the power supply to the communication function unit is stopped when the stop condition is met, the fact that the error rate of the received signal has become an abnormal value is added to the stop condition of the storage unit. The power supply can be stopped not only when the input is stopped but also when a signal abnormality occurs, and the power saving efficiency can be improved.

  In the power-saving communication device, when the stop condition is output, the pause signal is output, and when the alarm state signal indicates that an out-of-synchronization abnormality occurs in the interface unit, the pause signal is not output, and When the alarm state signal indicates that the error rate of the transmission signal received by the interface unit is an abnormal value, the power supply to the interface unit and the signal processing unit can be stopped.

  In the power saving communication apparatus, when the stop condition is output, when the pause signal is output, and the alarm state signal indicates that an out-of-synchronization abnormality has occurred in the modem unit, there is no output of the pause signal, and When the alarm state signal indicates that the error rate of the transmission signal received by the modem unit is an abnormal value, the power supply to the modem unit and the signal processing unit can be stopped.

  In the power-saving communication device, the plurality of communication function units receive a transmission signal from a terminal device and transmit a transmission signal from the wireless counter device, It can comprise from the receiving side function part which transmits to a terminal device.

  In the power-saving communication device, when the transmission signal received from the terminal device or the wireless device includes a rewrite control signal indicating that the stop condition is to be rewritten and rewrite content, a condition setting for rewriting the stop condition of the storage unit Can be provided. According to this configuration, the stop condition can be changed by remote operation without going to the place where the power-saving communication device is installed and collecting the device.

  In the power-saving communication device, the storage unit stores external control conditions for externally controlling the presence / absence of power supply to the plurality of communication function units, and the control unit is connected to a terminal device or a wireless device. When a transmission signal to be received includes a stop control signal indicating that power supply to the plurality of communication function units should be stopped, power supply to the plurality of communication function units is performed through the plurality of power supply switches. Can be stopped. According to this configuration, power supply can be forcibly stopped by external control, and power consumption can be suppressed by remote operation.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power saving communication apparatus capable of improving the power saving efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the power saving communication apparatus concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the stop condition memorize | stored in the condition memory of FIG. 1, and an external control condition. It is a block diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the power saving communication apparatus concerning this invention.

  Next, modes for carrying out the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, a case where the power-saving communication device according to the present invention is applied to a relay device installed between a terminal device and another wireless communication device will be described as an example.

  FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a power-saving communication device according to the present invention. The power-saving communication device 1 includes an interface (I / F) unit 4 connected to a terminal device 2 and multiplexing and demultiplexing. A signal processing unit 5 that performs signal processing such as conversion, a modem unit 6 that is connected to the wireless device 3, an interface unit 4, a signal processing unit 5, and a modem unit 6 (hereinafter these three are collectively referred to as “ The power supply switches 7 to 9 for supplying operation power to the communication function units 4 to 6), the input monitoring unit 10 for monitoring the inputs of the communication function units 4 to 6, and a stop condition described later are stored. A condition memory 11, a condition setting unit 12 that rewrites a stop condition stored in the condition memory 11, a control unit 13 that controls the operation of the entire power-saving communication device 1, and the like.

  The interface unit 4 is provided for exchanging transmission signals between the power-saving communication device 1 and the terminal device 2. The interface unit 4 is provided with an alarm unit 4a. When the alarm unit 4a receives an abnormality in the received signal from the terminal device 2 (AIS signal (all “1” signal indicating the line status) is received) When the error detection rate is an abnormal value), the alarm state signal AS1 is output to the control unit 13. The alarm state signal AS1 is a signal indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the interface unit 4 and the content of the abnormality.

  The interface unit 4 is operated by the power supplied through the power supply switch 7, but the power to the alarm unit 4 a is directly supplied without going through the power supply switch 7. Although only one terminal device 2 is illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of terminal devices 2 are connected to the interface unit 4.

  The signal processing unit 5 multiplexes the transmission signal received by the interface unit 4 and outputs the multiplexed signal to the modem unit 6, and separates the multiplexed signal received by the modem unit 6 and outputs it to the interface unit 4. The signal processing unit 5 also has a function of decoding signals output from the interface unit 4 and the modem unit 6. If the input signal includes stop control signals SCS1 and SCS2 (to be described later), these are transmitted to the control unit 13. If the input signal includes a rewrite control signal RW (to be described later), this is a condition. Output to the setting unit 12.

  The modem unit 6 is provided for exchanging transmission signals between the power-saving communication device 1 and the wireless device 3. The modem unit 6 is provided with an alarm unit 6a. The alarm unit 6a is configured to detect an abnormality in a received signal from the radio facing device 3 (when the synchronization with the radio facing device 3 is out of synchronization or an error detection rate is increased). The alarm state signal AS3 is output to the control unit 13 when the predetermined threshold is exceeded. The alarm state signal AS3 is a signal indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the modem unit 6 and the content of the abnormality. The modem unit 6 is operated by the power supplied through the power supply switch 9, but the power to the alarm unit 6 a is directly supplied without going through the power supply switch 9.

  The power supply switches 7-9 are provided corresponding to each of the communication function units 4-6. Each of the switches 7 to 9 is turned on / off in accordance with an instruction (control signals CS5 to CS7) from the control unit 13, and selectively supplies power (drive power) supplied from the outside to the communication function units 4 to 6.

  The input monitoring unit 10 monitors the inputs of the communication function units 4 to 6 and detects the presence or absence of signal input to the communication function units 4 to 6. Further, when the input monitoring unit 10 detects the stop of the signal input, the input monitoring unit 10 measures the stop period by the timer 10a. The timer 10a is set with a predetermined threshold value that determines the allowable signal stop time. When the detected stop period becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value of the timer 10a, the input monitoring unit 10 indicates a pause indicating that the signal input is stopped. The signal BS is output.

  The condition memory 11 stores a stop condition that defines a condition for stopping the operation of the communication function units 4 to 6 by cutting off the power supply to the communication function units 4 to 6.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a stop condition stored in the condition memory 11. As shown in FIG. 2A, the condition memory 11 stores conditions (A-1 to A-3) for stopping the interface unit 4 and the signal processing unit 5, and the modem unit 6 and the signal processing unit. 5 is stopped (B-1 to B-2). Each stop condition is configured by a combination of a pause signal BS and alarm state signals AS1 and AS3 (contents of abnormality).

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2B, the condition memory 11 stores external control conditions for externally controlling the presence or absence of power supply to the communication function units 4 to 6, and the external control conditions are: It consists of stop control signals SCS1 and SCS2 input from the outside and control operations corresponding to them. The stop control signals SCS1 and SCS2 are inserted into overhead bits of the transmission signal, for example.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the condition setting unit 12 is provided for setting a stop condition in the condition memory 11 or changing the stop condition set in the condition memory 11. The condition setting unit 12 rewrites the stop condition of the condition memory 11 or adds a new condition when receiving a control instruction signal (rewrite control signal RW) for rewriting the stop condition of the condition memory 11. For this reason, the setting of the stop condition in the condition memory 11 and the change of the set condition can be performed by remote operation from an external device (such as the wireless device 3 or a remote device not shown). The rewrite control signal RW is inserted, for example, in an overhead bit of the transmission signal, and the rewriting data and the additional data are inserted, for example, in data bits of the transmission signal.

  The control unit 13 outputs control signals CS1 to CS4 to the interface unit 4, the signal processing unit 5, the modem unit 6, and the input monitoring unit 10, and performs basic settings necessary for each operation. Further, the control unit 13 collects the alarm state signals AS1 and AS3 output from the alarm units 4a and 6a and the pause signal BS output from the input monitoring unit 10 as needed, and changes the states of these signals AS1, AS3, and BS. Then, the stop condition stored in the condition memory 11 is inquired to determine whether or not to stop the communication function units 4 to 6.

  Next, the operation of the power-saving communication device 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, a case where the power saving communication device 1 is used for microwave radio communication used in the SDH communication system will be described as an example.

  In the power-saving communication device 1, when a main signal (E1 or the like) is transmitted from a plurality of terminal devices 2, the main signal is received by the interface unit 4, and signal processing such as multiplexing of overhead bits and main signals is performed. The signal processing unit 5 applies the multiplexed signal to the wireless device 3 through the modem unit 6. Conversely, when a radio signal is transmitted from the radio facing device 3, the radio signal is received by the modem unit 6, and signal processing such as separation of overhead bits and main signals is performed by the signal processing unit 5 and separated. The main signal is transmitted to the terminal device 2 through the interface unit 4.

  For example, in the communication with the wireless device 3, when transmission of a wireless signal from the wireless device 3 is stopped, the input monitoring unit 10 detects that the input of the modem unit 6 is stopped, and the timer The time count according to 10a is started. Then, when the stop period reaches the threshold value of the timer 10a, a pause signal BS indicating that the input of the modem unit 6 is continuously paused is output to the control unit 13.

  At the same time, the modem unit 6 detects a loss of synchronization, outputs an alarm state signal AS3 from the alarm unit 6a, and notifies the control unit 13 of the alarm state signal AS3. Here, the loss of synchronization means a state where the synchronization signal cannot be extracted from the signal received by the modem unit 6 and cannot be synchronized with the received signal.

  When receiving the pause signal BS from the input monitoring unit 10 and the alarm state signal AS3 from the alarm unit 6a, the control unit 13 inquires the state of these signals BS and AS3 as the stop condition stored in the condition memory 11, It is determined whether or not both match.

  In the above case, for example, as indicated by B-1 in FIG. 2A, one of the conditions for stopping the operation of the modem unit 6 is “modem unit 6 input is paused” AND “modem unit 6 is out of synchronization. ”Is stored in the condition memory 11, the state of the signals BS and AS 3 received by the control unit 13 matches the stop condition stored in the condition memory 11. The power supply switches 8 and 9 are controlled to be turned off through CS6 and CS7.

  In this way, when the modem unit 6 is in a state where wireless communication is suspended, power supply to the modem unit 6 and the signal processing unit 5 is stopped, and unnecessary power consumption is suppressed. When the state of the signals BS and AS3 received by the control unit 13 and the stop condition set in the condition memory 11 do not match, the power supply switches 8 and 9 are kept on, and the modem The power supply to the unit 6 and the signal processing unit 5 is continued.

  Further, for example, in the communication with the wireless device 3 in FIG. 1, when the quality of the wireless communication line is lowered and the error rate of the wireless signal from the wireless device 3 is increased, the modem unit 6 determines the error rate. And an alarm state signal AS3 is output from the alarm unit 6a to notify the control unit 13 of the increase. The alarm unit 6a outputs an alarm state signal AS3 when the error rate of the radio signal from the radio facing device 3 is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value.

  Upon receiving the alarm state signal AS3 from the alarm unit 6a, the control unit 13 inquires about the stop condition stored in the condition memory 11. At this time, as indicated by B-2 in FIG. 2A, one of the conditions for stopping the operation of the modem unit 6 is “the modem unit 6 is input” AND “the modem unit 6 has an error rate equal to or higher than a threshold value”. Is set, the control unit 13 controls the power supply switches 8 and 9 to be turned off. As described above, even when the modem unit 6 is receiving unnecessary data, the power supply to the modem unit 6 and the signal processing unit 5 is stopped, and power saving is performed.

  Further, for example, when the rewrite control signal RW is included in the transmission signal from the terminal device 2, the signal processing unit 5 extracts the rewrite control signal RW and transmits it to the condition setting unit 12 together with the rewrite data or additional data. . In response to this, the condition setting unit 12 accesses the condition memory 11 and rewrites the stop condition or the like stored in the condition memory 11 or writes a new stop condition or the like in the condition memory 11.

  Further, for example, when the stop control signal SCS <b> 1 is included in the transmission signal from the terminal device 2, the signal processing unit 5 extracts the stop control signal SCS <b> 1 and transmits it to the control unit 13. Then, the control unit 13 inquires the stop control signal SCS1 received from the signal processing unit 5 and the external control condition (FIG. 2 (b)) stored in the condition memory 11, and determines whether or not they match. To do. Thereafter, the power supply switches 7 and 8 are turned off through the control signals CS5 and CS6, and the power supply to the interface unit 4 and the signal processing unit 5 is stopped.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the stop condition constituted by the combination of the state of the pause signal BS and the state of the alarm state signals AS1 and AS3 is stored in the condition memory 11, and the input monitoring unit 10 and the alarm unit When the states of the signals BS, AS1, and AS3 collected from 4a and 6a match the stop condition stored in the condition memory 11, the power supply to the interface unit 4, the signal processing unit 5 and the modem unit 6 is stopped. As a result, the fact that the error rate of the received signal has become an abnormal value is added to the stop condition of the condition memory 11 to supply power not only when the input of the transmission signal is stopped but also when a signal error occurs. Can be stopped, and the power saving efficiency can be improved.

  In addition, a condition setting unit 12 for rewriting the stop condition stored in the condition memory 11 is provided, so that the rewrite condition of the condition memory 11 can be rewritten when a rewrite control signal RW is included in the transmission signal, or a new stop condition can be set. Since it is configured to be added, the stop condition can be rewritten by remote operation without going to the place where the power-saving communication device 1 is installed and collecting the device, so that the power-saving communication device 1 can be connected to a remote unmanned station. This is convenient when installing in a building.

  Furthermore, external control conditions for externally controlling the presence or absence of power supply to the communication function units 4 to 6 are stored in the condition memory 11, and when the stop control signals SCS1 and SCS2 are included in the transmission signal, the communication function unit 4 Since the power supply to .about.6 is stopped, the power supply can be forcibly stopped by external control. For this reason, power consumption can be suppressed by remote operation, and further power saving can be achieved.

  Next, a second embodiment of the power-saving communication device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the power-saving communication device 20 according to the present embodiment, the functions in the device 20 are divided into two types, that is, the transmission-side function unit 21 and the reception-side function unit 22, and the transmission-side function unit 21 and the reception-side function unit 22 Corresponding to each, power supply switches 24 and 25 are provided. Reference numerals CS5 'and CS6' in the figure are control signals for controlling on / off of the power supply switches 24 and 25.

  Similarly to the case of the first embodiment, the condition for stopping the transmission-side function unit 21 and the condition for stopping the reception-side function unit 22 are stored in the condition memory 11, the stop condition of the condition memory 11, and input monitoring When the state of the pause signal BS from the unit 10 and the states of the alarm state signals AS1 and AS3 from the alarm units 4a and 6a match, the transmission side functional unit 21 and the reception side functional unit are connected through the power supply switches 24 and 25. The power supply to 22 is stopped.

  In the case of the power saving communication device 20, since a plurality of related functions are included in one communication function unit, the opportunity for stopping the power supply is reduced, but the range in which the operation stops when the power supply is stopped is increased. It is possible to increase the amount of power saved by stopping the operation.

  In the above description, the second embodiment is described in which one communication function unit is enlarged, but conversely, each of the interface unit 4, the signal processing unit 5, and the modem unit 6 is subdivided finely. The presence / absence of power supply may be individually controlled.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Power-saving communication apparatus 2 Terminal apparatus 3 Radio | wireless opposing apparatus 4 Interface part 4a Alarm part 5 Signal processing part 6 Modem part 6a Alarm part 7 Power supply switch 8 Power supply switch 9 Power supply switch 10 Input monitoring part 10a Timer 11 Condition memory 12 Condition setting unit 13 Control unit 20 Power saving communication device 21 Transmission side functional unit 22 Reception side functional unit 24 Power supply switch 25 Power supply switch AS1, AS3 Alarm state signals CS1 to CS7, CS5 ′, CS6 ′ Control signal BS Pause signal RW Rewrite control signal SCS1, SCS2 Stop control signal

Claims (6)

An interface unit that receives a transmission signal from a terminal device, a modem unit that receives a transmission signal from a wireless device, and a signal processing unit that multiplexes / separates signals between the interface unit and the modem unit A plurality of communication function units configured ;
An alarm that is provided in each of the interface unit and the modem unit , and outputs an alarm state signal indicating a communication function unit in which an abnormality has occurred and the details of the abnormality when an abnormality has occurred in the interface unit and / or the modem unit. And
A plurality of power supply switches provided corresponding to each of the plurality of communication function units excluding the alarm unit, and individually switching the presence or absence of power supply to each communication function unit;
The presence or absence of signal input of each of the plurality of communication function units is monitored, and when the signal input stops, the signal input stop period is measured, and the signal input stop period becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value set in advance. An input monitoring unit that detects a stop of the signal input and outputs a pause signal;
A storage unit for storing a stop condition in which a condition for stopping power supply to each of the plurality of communication function units is determined by a combination of the state of the pause signal and the state of the alarm state signal;
The alarm state signal output from the alarm unit and the pause signal output from the input monitoring unit are collected, and when the state of those signals matches a stop condition stored in the storage unit, the plurality of And a control unit that stops power supply to the plurality of communication function units through a power supply switch. The stop condition is that when the pause signal is output and the alarm state signal indicates that an out-of-synchronization abnormality has occurred in the interface unit, there is no output of the pause signal, and the alarm state signal is when indicating that the error rate of the transmission signal received by the interface unit is an abnormal value, according to claim 1, characterized in that it is determined to stop the power supply to said interface unit and said signal processing unit Power-saving communication equipment. The stop condition is when the pause signal is output, and when the alarm state signal indicates that an out-of-synchronization abnormality has occurred in the modem unit, the pause signal is not output, and the alarm state signal is when indicating that the error rate of the transmission signal received by the modem is an abnormal value, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is determined to stop the supply of power to the modem unit and the signal processing unit The power-saving communication device described in 1.   The plurality of communication function units receive a transmission signal from the terminal device and transmit the signal to the radio device, and a receiving side that receives the transmission signal from the radio device and transmits it to the terminal device The power saving communication apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a functional unit. A transmission signal received from a terminal device or a wireless device includes a condition setting unit that rewrites the stop condition of the storage unit when a rewrite control signal indicating that the stop condition is rewritten and rewrite content is included. The power-saving communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The storage unit stores external control conditions for externally controlling the presence or absence of power supply to the plurality of communication function units,
When the control unit includes a stop control signal indicating that power supply to the plurality of communication function units should be stopped in the transmission signal received from the terminal device or the wireless device, the plurality of power supply switches saving communication apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that stops the power supply to the plurality of communication function unit through.

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