JPH0775347B2 - Communication method and device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Use) The present invention is an HA that electrically connects a plurality of terminal devices and a plurality of controllers by connecting household electrical appliances as terminals to a common transmission path. (Home Automation) Communication system and device of system

(Prior Art) In a conventional HA system, as a communication device of an HA (home automation) system that organically combines a plurality of controllers such as air conditioners, home buses, etc., which are terminal devices, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-142431. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication, the control signal sent from the controller includes the address set for each terminal device, and there is no signal sent from another controller or another terminal when sending After confirming that, a control signal is sent to a plurality of terminals through a common transmission line, and the terminal equipment receives only a signal that matches the set address, thereby performing control distinguished from other terminal equipment. There is something you can do. With such a communication device, it has become possible to freely select, from a plurality of terminal devices, to stop, start, or leave the operation of some terminal devices.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In recent years, the development of HA systems has been remarkable in response to the tendency to demand comfort in daily life, and the types of electrical appliances used there have been increasing. Here, as the number of electric appliances used increases, whether or not the electric appliances are performing the specified control or whether the operation is being performed safely is promptly performed by the controller. If the user does not know it, he / she cannot maintain a comfortable living environment.

However, in the conventional technology, the operation of some terminal devices can be freely stopped, started, and left unattended, but the operating state of the terminal device depends on the signal sent from the controller or the operation from other terminals. After confirming that there is no status sending signal, the operating status of the terminal device can be known only after it is sent. Therefore, it takes time to instruct the operation and to know the result.

Therefore, it is becoming necessary to increase the communication speed in order to control electrical appliances related to HA systems.

The present invention solves such a problem, and it is possible to freely stop, start, or leave the operation of some terminal devices by selecting from a plurality of terminal devices, and to enable communication between a plurality of controllers and a plurality of terminal devices. Provided is a communication device capable of increasing the communication speed.

(Means for Solving Problems) A communication method according to the first invention is a communication method used for a communication system having a plurality of communication devices and one common transmission path, and all of the plurality of communication devices have one synchronization. The data is transmitted and received at the same time in one communication frame whose start and end are determined by a signal, and the data to be communicated includes a communication destination and communication contents, and has a distinguishable format.

A communication device of a second invention is a device used for a communication system having a plurality of communication devices and one common transmission path,
The communication device (1) comprises a synchronization signal generating means (11) for generating a synchronization signal for determining the start of transmission / reception of one signal at regular time intervals, and a plurality of communication devices (1). Only after receiving the transmission, the transmission means (13) for transmitting the communication data from the logical operation means (16) to the transmission line, and the demodulation means (14) for demodulating the communication data transmitted on this transmission line, A synchronization signal discriminating means (15) for discriminating communication data from a synchronization signal, and a data converting means (17) for connecting the terminal equipment and the transmitting means (13) to convert the data from the terminal equipment into data which can be discriminated, and a demodulating means. Data decoding means (20) for decoding the demodulated data from (14), display output means (23) for outputting the data from the data decoding means (20) to a display device, and data decoding means (20) To the terminal device by the data from A means (21) for determining whether output is possible, a data output means (24) for outputting data to the terminal device only when output is possible by the means (21) for determining output to the terminal device, and the data conversion means (1
7), a data decoding means (20), a display output means (23), a means (21) for deciding whether to output to a terminal device, and a logical operation means (16) for controlling the data output means (24). , All the communication devices (1) are wired-OR connected to the transmission path (3). One of the plurality of communication devices (1) has a synchronization signal generating means (1
1) can be provided.

The first invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1a, a plurality of communication devices 1a, 1b,
1c, 1d.1e ... Are connected to one common transmission line 3 and each communication device 1 has a terminal device 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d, 51.
In the HA system to which e ... are connected, the data 4 to be communicated on the one common transmission line 3 is shown in FIG. 1b.
As shown in, data b ₀ , b ₁ ,.
As consisting ··· b _n, 1 bit for the terminal device 51a of the data 4, 51b, 51c, 51d, to correspond to one function of the 51e · · · ·, one of the two values To operate its function, and the other to stop the operation. As shown in FIG. 1c, the synchronization signal 2 and the data 4 are handled in time series, and all the communication devices 1a, 1b, 1c are handled. , 1d.1e ...
No matter which terminal device 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d,
It is possible to distinguish between the signals for operating 51e ..., Which terminal device 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d, 51e ...

The means that can be used in the second invention will be specifically described below.

As the synchronizing signal generating means 11 for generating the synchronizing signal 2 for determining the start of signal transmission at regular time intervals, it is possible to use a generally known frequency dividing circuit in which an oscillating circuit and a logic gate are combined. When a microcomputer is used, it can be configured by using a clock signal that is the reference of its operation, and by using a frequency divider circuit that combines logic gates in hardware, and the same operation can be performed by software. You can also In order to distinguish this synchronization signal 2 from the communication data 4, it is used by changing it to a signal having a different level from the signal of the communication data 4, by using a special code, or by applying a modulation different from the signal data.

As the switching means 12 for determining whether or not the synchronization signal 2 from the synchronization signal generating means 11 can be transmitted prior to the communication data 4, any switching means can be used as long as it is used as a switch. It is assumed that this switch is closed and used only in the one used as a communication controller among the plurality of communication devices 1 connected to one transmission path 3, and is not closed in the other communication devices 1. Any means may be used instead of this switch as long as it is not connected on the circuit.

The transmission means 13 for transmitting the communication data 4 from the logical operation means 16 to the transmission line only after receiving the synchronization signal 2 is:
The communication data 4 is temporarily stored and the parallel-serial converter for outputting the communication data 4 in time series by the input of the synchronization signal 2 and the output from the parallel-serial converter are directly converted into the voltage. It is possible to use either a circuit that handles signals, a circuit that converts light signals, or a circuit that converts tone burst waves. Further, the communication data 4 may be temporarily stored and a program may be incorporated in the logical operation means 16 to perform the function in order to output the communication data 4 in time series by the input of the synchronization signal 2. Each structure is not particularly limited as long as it is currently used.

As the demodulation means 14 for demodulating the communication data 4 transmitted to this transmission line, a signal from the transmission means 13 is used as a photocoupler for an optical transmission line, a circuit for demodulating a tone burst wave, or a voltage signal as it is. Any of the demodulation circuits used and communication data 4 demodulated by the demodulation circuit
Of the serial-to-parallel converter for converting the time series data into parallel data that can be easily handled and temporarily storing the parallel data. In this case, in order to convert the communication data 4 demodulated by the demodulation circuit from time-series data into parallel data which is easy to handle and temporarily store it, a program is built in the logical operation means 16 to perform its function. If each configuration is currently in use,
There is no particular limitation.

Synchronous signal discriminating means for discriminating communication data 4 from synchronous signal 2
As shown in FIG. 3A, as the reference numeral 15, a comparator is used which, when the levels of the synchronizing signal 2 and the data 4 are different from each other, compares with the reference level corresponding to each threshold level. Also, as shown in FIG. 3b, when signals of the same level and special codes are used,
A circuit for decoding the code or a program provided in the logical operation means 16 is used. Alternatively, if the signal data is modulated differently, a circuit that demodulates only that modulation is used.

The communication device according to the second aspect of the invention is roughly divided into the synchronization signal generating means 11, the switching means 12, the transmitting means 13, the demodulating means 14, the synchronization signal discriminating means 15, and the logical operation means 16. The logical operation means 16 can be usually realized by a circuit configured by combining logical elements, a circuit including software such as a microcomputer system, or the like. A circuit having software such as a system is preferable.

The logical operation means 16 includes a data conversion means 17, a data decoding means 20, a means 21 for deciding whether or not to output to a terminal device,
It comprises display output means 23 and output means 24 to the terminal equipment.

The data conversion means 17 for connecting the terminal device and the transmission means 13 to the data 5 designating the communication destination and the communication content from the terminal device to the distinguishable data 5 is a terminal device including many switches such as a keyboard. Can be realized by a combination of predetermined logic gates built in the logic operation means 16 or a program for converting in accordance with a fixed format.

The data decoding means 20 for decoding the data 4 from the data conversion means 17 can be realized by a combination of predetermined logic gates built in the logic operation means 16 or a program for converting according to a fixed format.

The display output means 23 for outputting the communication data 4 from the data decoding means 20 to the terminal device for displaying is a combination of predetermined logic gates built in the logic operation means 16 or a program for converting according to a fixed format. Can be realized by In this case, when the display device uses the current of the LED or the like, the data 4 until the next data 4 is received.
A latch circuit for holding the current and a current amplifier for displaying the data held in the latch circuit on the LED are used. Also, if a display device that can be connected to a microcomputer system is used, the interface and its A program that manages the output of data via the interface can also be used.

Communication from the data decoding means 20 to the terminal device is performed only when output is possible by means 21 for determining whether output to the terminal device is possible by the data 4 from the data decoding means 20 and means 21 for determining whether output to the terminal device is possible. The communication content output means 24 for outputting the data 4 can be realized by a combination of predetermined logic gates built in the logic operation means 16 or a program for converting according to a fixed format.

(Operation) According to the present invention, in the communication system having a common transmission line with a plurality of communication devices by the above-described system and the configuration of the communication device, it is possible to select some terminal devices from a plurality of terminal devices. It is possible to freely stop, start, and leave the operation, and increase the communication speed between multiple controllers and multiple terminal devices.

This is because a plurality of communication devices of the present invention can simultaneously transmit in one communication frame at the same time, and one communication device does not occupy a transmission path.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1d, in a communication system having a plurality of communication devices and a common transmission path, the number of the plurality of communication devices is 4, each number is 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, Communication device 1a
The clock signal in the microcomputer system as the logical operation means 16 is divided and used as the synchronization signal generating means 11 for generating the synchronization signal 2 for determining the start of transmission / reception of the signal at fixed time intervals in all communication. The device transmits and receives at the same time by its sync signal 2, and as shown in FIG. 1e, the data to be communicated is a 4-bit signal b ₀ , b that follows the sync signal 2.
₁ , b ₂ , b ₃ , b ₀ is a terminal device connected to the communication device 1a
51a is connected to 51a and represents the function of turning on and off the electric lamp 71a as the output of the terminal device. Similarly, b ₁ , b ₂ and b ₃ are the electric lamps 71b, 71c and 71a.
It shall have a format that includes the communication destination and the content of the communication that expresses the function of lighting and extinguishing d, and has a distinguishable form.

Each of the communication devices has a sync signal generating means 11 for generating a sync signal for determining the start of signal transmission / reception at regular time intervals. The sync signal from the sync signal generating means 11 is used as communication data. In order to send the communication data from the logical operation means 16 to the transmission line only after receiving the synchronizing signal, the communication device 1a is set to accept the deciding means 12 that decides whether or not to transmit in advance and the other communication devices are set to denial. The transmitting means 13 has the structure shown in FIG. 4, and the demodulating means 14 for demodulating the communication data transmitted on this transmission line has the structure shown in FIG. The configuration of the signal discriminating means 15 is shown in FIG. 4, and the data converting means 17 for connecting the terminal equipment and the transmitting means 13 and converting the data from the terminal equipment into the distinguishable data is the terminal equipment 51a, 51b. , 51c, 51d Ji 72a, 72b, 72c, 72d of the lamp 71a, 71b, 71c, the power supply voltage V _cc to one of these provided to indicate the starting and switching off the light of 71d addition, the other terminal equipment to be connected to the logic operation unit 16 Connect to the data line of. Also,
Data decoding means 20 for decoding the demodulated communication data from the demodulation means 14, means 21 for deciding whether to output to the terminal equipment according to the data from the data decoding means 20 and output by means 21 for deciding whether to output to the terminal equipment The logical operation means 16 including the data output means 24 for outputting the data to the terminal device only when it is possible uses a microcomputer system to set its flowchart as shown in FIG.

Using such a system, lighting and extinguishing each light from four remote locations will be performed as follows. In the communication device 1a, when the switch 72a of the terminal device 51a is pressed, the signal sets the bit of b _{0 in} the communication device 1a to 1, and 1,0,0,0 is sent to the transmission means 13 after the synchronization signal 2. , It is input to the base terminal of the transistor 81a, so 0, V _cc , V
The signals of _cc and V _cc appear on the transmission path 3, and if no switch is pressed in the external communication device, the external communication device follows the synchronization signal 2 and then V _cc , V _cc , V The signals of _cc and V _cc are transmitted to the transmission line 3, but at that time, since the collector and the emitter of the transistor 81a of the communication device 1a are in conduction, the transmission line 3 has 0, V _cc , V _cc , and Appears as a signal of V _cc . At this time, if the outer switch is pressed, the signal corresponding to the switch also appears as 0 on the transmission line 3. Therefore, at this time, the demodulation means 14 connected to the transmission line 3 simultaneously demodulates the signal, and if only the switch 1a is pressed, it demodulates to 1,0,0,0 and sends it to the data decoding means 20. In the communication device 1a, the means 21 for deciding whether or not to output to the terminal device based on the data from the data decoding means 20 decides to allow it, and to the outside communication device to decide not to do so. The data output means 24 for outputting the data to the device outputs the data only in the communication device 1a.
Only 71a is illuminated. Further, since the display output means 18 turns on the LED for displaying the data from the data decoding means 20 when the data is 1, it is possible to confirm which electric light is turned on in any communication device. .

Example 1 In order to generate a synchronization signal for determining the start of signal transmission at regular time intervals, a clock signal is taken out from a clock circuit of a one-chip microcomputer HDD401010 (Hitachi, Ltd., trade name), and FIG. As shown in FIG.
It was created. The synchronizing signal at this time is shown in FIG. 4b.

In order to determine whether or not the sync signal generation circuit 41 can be transmitted prior to communication data, a snap switch 42 is used to connect to the output of the sync signal generation circuit 21. As shown in FIG. 4c, the switch 42 is connected to the synchronizing signal input terminal 52 of the transmitting circuit 44 and is used in the closed state only when the communication device is used as the communication controller 43 of the HA system. The transmission circuit 44, the demodulation circuit 45, and the synchronization signal discrimination circuit 46 of the communication device other than the communication controller rectify and smooth the synchronization signal from the communication controller and use it as the power supply 70. The configuration is shown in FIG. 4c.

When the communication device is not used as a communication controller, the sync signal extracted by the sync signal discriminating circuit 46 determines the timing of transmission and reception.

As shown in FIG. 4d, the transmission circuit 44 for transmitting the transmission data to the transmission line only after receiving the synchronization signal is
The user work area of the memory in the one-chip microcomputer is used as a memory for temporarily storing transmission data, and its data output terminal 56 is used as a parallel-serial converter which starts conversion at the falling edge of the synchronization signal. It is connected to the parallel input terminal of the shift register and its output is connected to the data input terminal 53 of FIG. 4c.

As the demodulation circuit 45 for demodulating the communication data 4 transmitted to this transmission line, as shown in FIG.
By detecting the falling edge of the sync signal 2 discriminated by the comparator 55 having the inverting input terminal connected to the communication data 4, the subsequent communication data 4 is time-series data via the comparator 57 whose reference voltage is 2.5V. From the one-chip microcomputer by detecting the rising edge of the synchronization signal 2 after storing the data in a shift register as a serial-parallel converter for temporarily storing the parallel data which is easy to handle. Data is stored in an area different from the area for storing transmission data.

The logic operation means 16 uses the one-chip microcomputer HD401010 (Hitachi, Ltd., trade name) as described above.
This microcomputer can perform 8-bit parallel processing.

In the controller, as shown in FIG. 4f, many switches such as a keyboard are arranged in a matrix, and an address selector is connected so that one address can be selected for one of the line 61 of the column, and the program is sequentially operated. When the address is swept and the switch is pressed, the output appears on line 62 of the row. Data to be transmitted was created by a program that changes the state of only the bit corresponding to the function of the terminal device for controlling by transferring the signal from the line 62 of the row to the memory built in the microcomputer.

Also, as the display output circuit 47 for outputting the received data 5 to the terminal device for displaying, an 8-bit latch is used for the output interface of the microcomputer, and the base terminal of the transistor is connected to the output, and the output terminal 47 shown in FIG. As shown in, the LED corresponding to each function of the terminal device 51 is turned on.

In the controlled terminal device, an 8-bit DIP switch is provided so as to output data corresponding to the function of each communication device in order to determine whether to output to the terminal device according to the received data 5, and the exclusive logic of that and data is provided. Only when all bits are 1 after summing, the function of the DIP switch matches, and only in that case, the gate of the buffer which is the output interface for outputting the communication contents from the communication device to the terminal device. I opened it.

Example 2 The same logical operation means 16 as in Example 1 was used.

The common data format between the communication devices was also the same as in the first embodiment.

Instead of the shift register as the transmission parallel-serial converter used in the first embodiment, a program is built in the microcomputer, and the data in the accumulator 65 is bit by bit in the accumulator 65 of the CPU in the microcomputer. An instruction to move to the upper bit and move the most significant bit to the least significant bit (left rotate instruction) and an instruction to output to a specific address Q are repeated alternately, and as shown in FIGS. The highest level was connected to the data input terminal 59 of the transmission circuit.

Also, instead of the shift register as a serial-to-parallel converter for reception, demodulated serial data is put in the uppermost position of another specific address N, all other places are set to 0, and the CPU in the microcomputer is started from that address. Instruction to transfer data to the accumulator 65 and its accumulator 65
An instruction to move the data in each bit to the upper bit and move the most significant bit to the least significant bit (left rotate instruction)
Put the moved data and the next highest address N,
All other places were combined with an instruction that takes the logical sum of serial data with all zeros, and the serial data was converted into parallel data by the program.

Other configurations were the same as those in the first embodiment.

Example 3 The same as Example 2 except that a photocoupler for an optical transmission line was used as a transmitter and a demodulator, and an individual power supply was built in each communication device.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of communication devices simultaneously transmit and receive with a single synchronization signal, and the data to be communicated includes the communication destination and the communication content, and the data are distinguished. Since it has a format that can be selected, it is possible to freely select, stop, start, or leave the operation of some terminal devices, and to increase the communication speed between multiple controllers and multiple terminal devices. It is possible to provide a communication system and device capable of performing the above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1a is a block diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention,
FIG. 1b is a diagram showing the structure of data for explaining the principle of the present invention, FIG. 1c is a diagram showing the relationship between synchronization signals and data for explaining the principle of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the present invention, FIG. 1e is a diagram showing waveforms of data signals for explaining the operation of the present invention, and FIG. 1f is for explaining the operation of the program of the present invention. A flow chart, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a communication device according to the present invention, FIGS. 3a and 3b are diagrams showing a relationship between data and a sync signal which can be used in the present invention, and FIG. 4a is for one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4B is a block diagram showing the frequency divider, FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the waveform of the synchronization signal used in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4C is a transmission circuit diagram used in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4d shows parallel-serial conversion of data from the memory in the transmission circuit used in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4e is a demodulation circuit diagram used in one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4f is a circuit diagram of a switch matrix circuit used in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. The conceptual diagram which shows the operation | movement of the program which converts the parallel data used in other Examples into serial data. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the operation of a program for converting serial data into parallel data used in another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows a circuit for displaying the data used in one embodiment of the present invention. A circuit diagram and FIG. 8 are conceptual diagrams showing a state of outputting to a terminal device used in one embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication device, 2 ... Synchronization signal 3 ... Transmission path, 4 ... Communication data 11 ... Synchronization signal generating means 12 ... Switching means, 13 ... Sending means 14 ... Demodulation means, 15 ...... Synchronization signal discrimination means 16 …… Logical operation means, 17 …… Data conversion means 20 …… Decoding data 21 …… Means for deciding whether to output to terminal equipment 23 …… Means for outputting to display equipment 24 ...... Means to output to terminal equipment

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A communication method used for a communication system having a plurality of communication devices and one common transmission path, wherein all of the plurality of communication devices are started and ended by a single synchronization signal. A communication method, wherein data is transmitted and received at the same time within a frame, and the data to be communicated includes a communication destination and communication contents and has a distinguishable format. 2. A device for use in a communication system having a plurality of communication devices and one common transmission path, wherein a synchronization signal is generated at fixed time intervals for determining a start time of transmission / reception of one signal. Means (11) and a plurality of communication devices (1)
The communication device (1) is transmitted to this transmission path and a transmission means (13) for sending out the communication data from the logical operation means (16) to the transmission path only after receiving the synchronization signal. Demodulation means (14) for demodulating communication data, and synchronization signal discriminating means (15) for discriminating communication data from a synchronization signal.
A data conversion means (17) for connecting the terminal device and the transmission means (13) to convert data from the terminal device into distinguishable data, and a data decoding means for decoding the demodulated data from the demodulation means (14) ( 20), display output means (23) for outputting the data from the data decoding means (20) to a display device for displaying the data, and means for deciding whether to output to the terminal device according to the data from the data decoding means (20) ( 21), data output means (24) for outputting data to the terminal equipment only when output is possible by means (21) for determining output to the terminal equipment, and the data conversion means (17) and data decoding means (20), display output means (23), means (21) for determining whether output to the terminal device is possible, and data output means (24)
And a logical operation means (16) for controlling the transmission line, and all the communication devices (1) are wired-OR connected to the transmission path (3). 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of communication devices (1) has a synchronization signal generating means (11).