JP2012195113A - Power supply system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a power feeding system capable of improving safety at the time of connector insertion / removal and durability of a connector.
In a power supply system according to this embodiment, a connector includes a housing that covers the outside of a connector plug of a LAN cable, and a lock / release that detects whether the housing is locked to a device body. And the base unit 1 turns on the power supply system that supplies power to the handset unit 2 when the lock state is detected by the lock / release detection unit 42 of the base unit side connector 3. When the state is detected, the power supply system is controlled to be in the off state, and the handset 2 starts from the base unit 1 when the lock state is detected by the lock / release detector 42 of the connector 3 on the handset side. When a power supply system that receives power is turned on and a release state is detected, the power supply system is controlled to be turned off.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a power supply system that supplies power using a communication cable.

  The PoE (Power over Ethernet (registered trademark)) system is gradually becoming a popular technology, and its application range is expanding. In the conventional system, the power level to be supplied is small, and even when the connector is inserted / removed in the energized state, the problem is not so obvious.

  In the future, as the power supplied via the communication cable increases, there is a concern that the performance of the connector deteriorates due to the occurrence of an arc when the connector is inserted or removed. Further, when the connector plug is operated in the energized state, the connector electrode of the RJ-45 connector plug is exposed and there is a risk of short circuit.

JP 2003-160008 A

  In conventional PoE systems, normally used RJ-45 connectors are applied as they are, and there are problems in safety and connector performance degradation when inserting and removing connectors.

  The objective of this embodiment is to provide the electric power feeding system which can improve the safety | security at the time of connector insertion / extraction and the durability of a connector.

  The power supply system according to the present embodiment includes a parent device that is connected to a communication cable via a first connector, and is connected to the communication cable and a second connector via the first connector. A power supply system including a slave unit that receives power via the communication cable, wherein each of the first connector and the second connector includes a housing that covers an outside of a connection plug of the communication cable, and the housing is a device. Detecting means for detecting whether the main unit is locked or not, and when the master unit detects a locked state by the detecting unit of the first connector, a power supply system for supplying power to the slave unit is provided. When the release state is detected, control means for turning off the power supply system is provided, and the slave unit is the detection means of the second connector. When the lock state is detected, the power supply system that receives power from the parent device is turned on, and when the release state is detected, the power supply system is turned off. .

The power feeding system whole figure and conceptual diagram of a connector connection part concerning this embodiment. The figure which shows the circuit structure of a main | base station. The figure which shows the circuit structure of a subunit | mobile_unit. The figure which shows the specific example of a lock / release detection part. The figure which shows the other specific example of a lock / release detection part.

  Hereinafter, the power supply system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1A is an overall view showing a power supply system according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a conceptual diagram of a connector connecting portion. A configuration of a so-called PoE (Power over Ethernet (registered trademark)) that enables communication between the parent device 1 by supplying power to the child device 2 via the LAN cable 5 is shown. At this time, both the base unit 1 side and the handset 2 side are connected by a connector plug 31 (generally called an RJ-45 connector) attached to the LAN cable 5. A housing 32 is provided so as to cover. The housing 32 has a dustproof or waterproof function depending on the environment of the installation location.

  A mechanism for screwing, bayonet, or push-locking the housing 32 is provided on each device side of the master unit 1 and the slave unit 2. Furthermore, a lock / release detection unit 42 is provided on the base unit 1 side and the handset 2 side so as to detect the locked state and the released state of the housing 32. By providing this configuration, only when the housing 32 is locked, the parent device 1 side can turn on the power supply, and the child device 2 side can turn on the power supply (DC / DC converter) as a load.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, description will be given of what operations can be performed in the master unit 1 and the slave unit 2 with such a configuration.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a power feeding portion and a connector connection location on the base unit side. A system (signal processing unit 11, signal transmitting unit 12, signal receiving unit 13) for signal connection via the LAN cable 5 and a system (power supply control circuit 16) for connecting a power supply for power supply (50V) to the system are shown. . The power supply control circuit 16 includes, for example, a P-channel MOS type FET 161, resistors 162 and 164 for gate bias of the FET 161, a photocoupler 163 for turning on / off the gate, a transistor 165 for operating the photocoupler 163, and NOT A combination of the circuit 166 and the input pull-up resistor 167 can be realized. The power supply for power supply and GND are connected to the midpoint of the external line side coil of the pulse transformer 14 provided in the communication signal output section and output to the LAN cable 5.

  In FIG. 2, a P-channel MOS FET 161 for turning ON / OFF the output of the power supply for power supply and a protective fuse element 15 are inserted. When the housing 32 of the connector 3 is locked, the FET 161 is turned ON for power supply. Ensure that power is output. According to the example of FIG. 2, the ON / OFF signal line is set to the GND level when the housing 32 is locked, and is opened when the housing 32 is not locked. That is, the lock / release detector 42 is short-circuited when the housing 32 is locked, and is opened when the housing 32 is released. With such a configuration, it is possible to control power supply for power supply not to be output to the LAN cable 5 unless the housing 32 is locked.

  When the input of the NOT circuit 166 becomes the GND level, the transistor 165 is turned on, a current flows through the LED of the photocoupler 163, the output portion is in a low resistance state, and the gate of the FET 161 is determined by the resistors 162 and 164 and the power supply voltage (+ 50V) As a result, a low resistance value is established between the source (S) and the drain (D) of the FET 161 and the FET 161 becomes conductive. On the other hand, when the input of the NOT circuit 166 is open, the transistor 165 cannot be turned on because the pull-up resistor is in a high state, the photocoupler 163 remains off, and the source (S) and gate (G) of the FET 161 are at the same potential. Do not turn on. That is, + 50V is not output.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating a power feeding portion and a connector connection location on the slave unit side. On the handset 2 side, in addition to the system (signal processing unit 21, signal receiving unit 22, signal transmitting unit 23) for receiving communication signals from the outside as shown in FIG. The superimposed power source is taken into the DC / DC converter 26 in the slave unit 2 via the fuse element 25. It is assumed that the DC / DC converter 26 includes an enable terminal that can be controlled from the outside.

  When the connector plug 31 is connected to the connector socket 41 on the slave unit 2 side in the state where the master unit 1 side is connected first, a voltage is input to the power input portion of the DC / DC converter 26. In some cases, the enable terminal is not turned ON unless the housing 32 is locked. According to the example of FIG. 3, the enable pin is used such that the DC / DC converter 26 is turned on when connected to the −V level, and the enable pin and the −V terminal are short-circuited when a lock is detected. That's fine. In other words, the lock / release detector 42 may have a mechanism that causes a short circuit when the housing 32 is locked.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to perform an operation in a state managed so that no current flows when the connector 3 is inserted and removed.

Here, a specific example of the lock / release detection unit will be described.
FIG. 4 shows an electrical contact terminal as a specific example of the lock / release detector 42. Two electrodes are provided on the connector socket 41 side with contact pins 42a, and a metal plate (small metal piece) 33 is provided to short-circuit the electrodes only when locked to the housing 32 side.

  FIG. 5 shows another specific example of the lock / release detection unit 42 in which a push switch is embedded in the socket side of the apparatus. A small push switch 42b that functions when the housing 32 is covered is provided on the connector socket 41 side.

  In addition to the configuration shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a magnet may be assembled to the housing 32 and a magnetic switch that responds to the position of the magnet when locked may be provided on the connector socket 41 side. In addition, a photo sensor may be provided on the connector socket 41 side, and a reflection plate that reflects when locked may be provided on the housing 32.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a housing as a simple cover may be used. However, if necessary, an external housing that can secure dustproofing and waterproofing is provided outside the RJ-45 connector plug and the housing is locked. / Be ready to detect the release status. A mechanism is provided to turn on the PoE power supply system at the time of locking and turn off the power supply system at the time of release.

  With this configuration, when the RJ-45 connector is inserted / removed, the housing is released in advance, and the current path through the connector is OPEN. Therefore, the risk of arcing when the connector is inserted and removed can be reduced. In addition, if the housing structure is suitable for dustproof and waterproof purposes, a safer system can be provided.

  Although several embodiments have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Master machine, 2 ... Slave machine, 3 ... Connector, 5 ... LAN cable, 31 ... Connector plug, 32 ... Housing, 41 ... Connector socket, 42 ... Lock / release detection part, 11 ... Signal processing part, 12 ... Signal Transmitter, 13 ... signal receiver, 14 ... pulse transformer, 15 ... fuse element, 16 ... feed control circuit, 161 ... FET, 162 ... resistor, 163 ... photocoupler, 164 ... resistor, 165 ... transistor, 166 ... NOT circuit 167, resistor, 21 signal processing unit, 22 signal receiving unit, 23 signal transmitting unit, 24 pulse transformer, 25 fuse element, 26 DC / DC converter.

Claims (2)

A power supply system comprising: a master unit connected to a communication cable via a first connector; and a slave unit connected to the communication cable via a second connector and receiving power from the master unit via the communication cable. There,
Each of the first connector and the second connector is
A housing covering the outside of the connection plug of the communication cable;
Detecting means for detecting whether or not the housing is locked to the device body,
When the lock state is detected by the detection means of the first connector, the master unit turns on the power supply system that supplies power to the slave unit, and turns off the power supply system when the release state is detected. Comprising a control means for making a state,
When the slave unit detects the locked state by the detection means of the second connector, the power source system that receives power from the master unit is turned on, and when the release state is detected, the power source system A power supply system comprising control means for turning off the power supply.   The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a dustproof and waterproof function.

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