Communication station and communication system

Abstract

To provide a communication station and a communication system that can detect an incorrect connection of an optical cable, display an alarm, and prompt workers to perform an action.SOLUTION: In a communication station and a communication system, a first communication station 10 includes a control unit 11, a master communication unit 12, and a slave communication unit 13. A first optical cable 3 is connected to the master communication unit 12, and a second optical cable 4 is connected to the slave communication unit 13. The control unit 11 determines whether the optical cables 3, 4 are connected normally, and if they are not connected normally, displays an alarm and further prompts workers to perform a swap process to exchange data of the incorrect connection.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication station that performs communication via an optical cable, and more particularly to a communication station and a communication system that detects an incorrect connection of an optical cable and displays an alarm. [Background technology]

[0002] [Prior Art] In some conventional communication systems, communication stations are connected to each other by optical cables to perform communication. Typically, the master communication unit of a first communication station and the master communication unit of a second communication station are connected by a first optical cable, and the first slave communication unit of the first communication station and the slave communication unit of the second communication station are connected by a second optical cable to perform data communication.

[0003] [Related Technology] As a related prior art, there is a "repeater amplifier" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-285176 (Patent Document 1).

[0004] Patent document 1 shows a repeater amplifier device that is installed in a dead zone of a mobile phone system and consists of a parent unit that transmits and receives signals with a wireless base station, and a child unit that is connected to the parent unit by an optical cable to form a zone for mobile units. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-285176 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the above-mentioned conventional communication system had a problem in that if the first optical cable and the second optical cable were not connected correctly, an alarm was not displayed to prompt the user to take steps to establish a correct connection.

[0007] Incidentally, Patent Document 1 does not disclose the configuration of a communication device that can detect a misconnection of an optical cable, display an alarm, and prompt the user to take action such as swapping the received data.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a communication station and a communication system that can detect an incorrect connection of an optical cable and display an alarm to prompt the user to take appropriate action. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention, which aims to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional examples, is characterized in that it comprises a communication station which communicates via optical cables, a master communication unit to which a first optical cable is connected, a slave communication unit to which a second optical cable is connected, and a control unit which stores the ID of the master communication unit and, if the ID received by the slave communication unit from the second optical cable does not match the ID of the master communication unit, determines that the optical cables are connected incorrectly and displays an alarm.

[0010] The present invention is characterized in that in the above-mentioned communication station, when the master communication unit transmits the ID of the master communication unit to the first optical cable, if the optical cable is normally connected, the slave communication unit receives the ID of the master communication unit from the second optical cable, and if the optical cable is incorrectly connected, the slave communication unit receives an ID different from the ID of the master communication unit from the second optical cable.

[0011] The present invention is characterized in that in the above-mentioned communication station, when the control unit determines that the optical cable is connected incorrectly, it performs a swap process in which it converts data received by the slave communication unit into data that would be received by the master communication unit, and it converts data received by the master communication unit into data that would be received by the slave communication unit.

[0012] The present invention is characterized in that in the above-mentioned communication station, when the control unit displays an alarm, it displays a display that prompts the user to input an instruction as to whether or not to execute swap processing, and when the instruction to execute is input, the swap processing is executed.

[0013] The present invention is a communication system in which a first communication station and a second communication station communicate using two optical cables, and when the optical cables are connected normally, an ID transmitted by the first communication station is returned from the second communication station to the first communication station, and when the optical cables are connected incorrectly, an ID different from the ID transmitted by the first communication station is returned from the second communication station to the first communication station, and the first communication station compares the transmitted ID with the received ID, and if they match, determines that the connection is normal, and if they do not match, determines that the connection is incorrect, and displays an alarm in the case of an incorrect connection. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, a communication station that communicates via optical cables has a master communication unit to which a first optical cable is connected, a slave communication unit to which a second optical cable is connected, and a control unit that stores the ID of the master communication unit and, if the ID received by the slave communication unit from the second optical cable does not match the ID of the master communication unit, determines that the optical cable is connected incorrectly and displays an alarm, thereby having the effect of notifying the user of the incorrect connection of the optical cable and urging them to take action.

[0015] According to the present invention, when the optical cable is connected normally, the ID transmitted by the first communication station is returned from the second communication station to the first communication station, and when the optical cable is connected incorrectly, an ID different from the ID transmitted by the first communication station is returned from the second communication station to the first communication station, and the first communication station compares the transmitted ID with the received ID, and if they match, determines that the connection is normal, and if they do not match, determines that the connection is incorrect. In the case of an incorrect connection, an alarm is displayed. This has the effect of enabling the first communication station to notify of an incorrect connection of the optical cable and prompt the user to take action. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the system in a normal connection state. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the system in an abnormal connection state. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a flow chart of processing by a control unit of a first communication station. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a swap process. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the sequence of the present system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Outline of the embodiment] A communication station according to an embodiment of the present invention (this communication station) is connected to an optical cable to perform data communication, and is equipped with a control unit, a master communication unit, and a slave communication unit. A first optical cable is connected to the master communication unit, and a second optical cable is connected to the slave communication unit. The control unit determines whether the optical cables are connected normally, and if they are not, displays an alarm. Furthermore, the control unit performs a swap process to exchange data regarding a misconnection, and can notify and deal with the misconnection.

[0018] In addition, in a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention (this system), a first communication station and a second communication station communicate using two optical cables, and if the optical cables are connected normally, an ID transmitted by the first communication station is returned from the second communication station to the first communication station, and if the optical cables are connected incorrectly, an ID different from the ID transmitted by the first communication station is returned from the second communication station to the first communication station, and the first communication station compares the transmitted ID with the received ID, and if they match, determines that the connection is normal, and if they do not match, determines that the connection is incorrect. In the case of an incorrect connection, an alarm is displayed, and the first communication station can notify the user of the incorrect connection and prompt them to take action.

[0019] [This system: Figures 1 and 2] This system will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the system in a normal connection state, and Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the system in an abnormal connection state. In this system, in a normal connection state, a first communication station 10 and a second communication station 20 are connected by a first optical cable 3 and a second optical cable 4, as shown in FIG. In addition, in this system, when in an abnormal connection state, as shown in FIG. 2, the optical cable is connected to an incorrect communication port, resulting in a cross connection (teleco connection).

[0020] [First communication station 10] The first communication station 10 includes a control unit 11 such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a master communication unit (SFP_L11: Small Form Factor Pluggable) 12, a slave communication unit (SFP_L12) 13, a display unit 14, and an input unit 15. The first communication station 10 corresponds to the communication station in the claims and corresponds to this communication station.

[0021] In addition, FPGA is an integrated circuit that can be programmed on-site, and SFP is a communication port (communication unit) called an optical transceiver. When transmitting data to an optical cable, it converts an electrical signal into an optical signal (electrical / optical conversion), and when receiving data from the optical cable, it converts the optical signal into an electrical signal (optical / electrical conversion). A first optical cable 3 is connected to the master communication unit 12, and a second optical cable 4 is connected to the slave communication unit 13.

[0022] The control unit 11 stores the ID (identification information) “XXX” (first ID) of the master communication unit 12 in a register, and in the case of a normal connection, the master communication station 12 transmits the ID “XXX” of the master communication unit 12 to the second communication station 20 when communication starts. If the connection is normal, the slave communication unit 13 receives the ID “XXX” from the second communication station 20 and outputs it to the control unit 11.

[0023] Then, the control unit 11 compares the ID "XXX" of the master communication unit 12 with the ID received by the slave communication unit 13 from the second communication station 20, and if they match, it determines that the connection is normal, and if they do not match, it determines that the connection is abnormal (teleco connection / cross connection), and if it is a teleco connection, it displays an alarm on the display unit 14.

[0024] Furthermore, in the case of a teleco connection, the control unit 11 performs a swap process of data. Note that the control unit 11 may display whether or not to perform the swap process on the display unit 14, and perform the swap process when an instruction to perform the swap process is input from the input unit 15. The details of the swap process will be described later.

[0025] [Second communication station 20] The second communication station 20 includes a control unit 21 such as an FPGA, a master communication unit (SFP_L21) 22, and a slave communication unit (SFP_L22) 23. A display unit 24 and an input unit 25 may also be included. A first optical cable 3 is connected to the master communication unit 21, and a second optical cable 4 is connected to the slave communication unit .

[0026] The control unit 21 stores the ID "YYY" (second ID) of the master communication unit 22 in a register, and when it receives the ID "XXX" (first ID) of the master communication unit 12 from the first communication station 10, it adds and stores the first ID "XXX" in the register, and if the connection is normal, the slave communication unit 23 transmits the first ID "XXX" from the first communication station 10 to the second optical cable 4.

[0027] Furthermore, if the second communication station 20 does not receive the first ID “XXX” from the master communication unit 12, it transmits the ID “YYY” of the master communication unit 22 to the first communication station . In this case, since the second ID "YYY" received from the second communication station 20 does not match the first ID "XXX" stored in the control unit 11, the control unit 11 determines that the first communication station 10 is connected to a teleco and displays an alarm on the display unit 14. Note that the first communication station 10 may transmit the state of the teleco connection to the second communication station 20, and cause the display unit 24 to also display an alarm.

[0028] [Processing of the control unit 11 of the first communication station 10: FIG. 3] Next, the processing of the control unit 11 of the first communication station 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flow diagram of the processing of the control unit of the first communication station. As shown in FIG. 3, when the optical cable is connected (S1), the control unit 11 determines whether the ID received by the slave communication unit 13 of the first communication station 10 matches the ID of the master communication unit 12 (S2), and if they match (Yes), determines that the connection is normal (S6).

[0029] If the IDs do not match in the determination process S2 (No), an alarm indicating an abnormal connection (teleco connection) is displayed on the display unit 14 (S3). When this alarm is displayed, the display unit 14 displays whether or not swap processing should be performed for the teleco connection.

[0030] Then, it is determined whether or not an instruction to execute swap processing has been input from input unit 15 (S4). If an instruction not to execute swap processing is input from input unit 15 (if No), the processing is terminated. If an instruction to execute swap processing is input from input unit 15 (if Yes), the swap processing is executed (S5) and the connection is determined to be normal (S6).

[0031] [Swap process: Figure 4] Next, the swap process will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flow diagram of the swap process. When the control unit 11 of the first communication station 10 confirms the ID and determines that the connection is a teleco connection, the swap process is executed.

[0032] The outline of the swap process is that, since it is a teleco connection, the data received by the master communication unit 12 of the first communication station 10 is data that should originally be received by the slave communication unit 13, and the data received by the slave communication unit 13 is data that should originally be received by the master communication unit 12, so it is a process of exchanging the data of both.

[0033] When the control unit 11 of the first communication station 10 determines that a teleco connection is established, it determines whether or not the slave communication unit 13 has received data (S11), and if data has been received (Yes), it converts the data received by the slave communication unit 13 to data received by the master communication unit 12 (S12), and proceeds to the next process. Specifically, the data received by the slave communication unit 13 is converted (replaced) to look like data received at the port of the master communication unit 12 .

[0034] If the slave communication unit 13 has not received the data (No), the process S12 is not performed, and the control unit 11 determines whether the master communication unit 12 has received the data (S13).

[0035] If the master communication unit 12 has received data in the determination process S13 (Yes), the control unit 11 converts the data received by the master communication unit 12 to data received by the slave communication unit 13 (S14) and proceeds to the next process. Specifically, the data received by the master communication unit 12 is converted (replaced) to look like data received at a port of the slave communication unit 13 .

[0036] If the master communication unit 12 has not received data (if No), the control unit 11 determines whether or not communication between the first communication station 10 and the second communication station 20 has ended (S15), and if it has not ended (if No), the control unit 11 returns to processing S11, and if it has ended (if Yes), the control unit 11 ends the processing of FIG. 4.

[0037] [Sequence of this system: Figure 5] Next, the sequence in this system will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of the sequence in this system. In this system, as shown in FIG. 5, the first communication station 10 includes a GUI (Graphical User Interface) serving as a display unit 14 and an input unit 15, an FPGA serving as a control unit 11, a master communication unit (SFP_L11) 12, and a slave communication unit (SFP_L12) 13, and the second communication station 20 includes an FPGA serving as a control unit 21, a master communication unit (SFP_L21) 22, and a slave communication unit (SFP_L22) 23.

[0038] When the optical cable is connected normally (normal connection), the master communication unit 12 of the first communication station 10 transmits the ID (first ID) of the master communication unit 12 stored in the register of the control unit 11 to the master communication unit 22 of the second communication station 20 (S21), the master communication unit 22 outputs the first ID to the control unit 21 (S22), and the control unit 21 stores the first ID in the register (S23).

[0039] In the case of a teleco connection (teleco connection) of an optical cable, the ID (first ID) of the master communication unit 12 stored in the register of the control unit 11 is transmitted to the slave communication unit 23 of the second communication station 20 (S21'), and the slave communication unit 23 does not output the first ID to the control unit 21 and does not store the first ID in the register. In steps S21 to S26, normal connections are indicated by solid arrows, and teleco connections are indicated by dashed arrows.

[0040] In the case of a normal connection, the slave communication unit 23 acquires an ID from the register of the control unit 21 (S24), and since the acquired ID is the first ID, the slave communication unit 23 transmits the first ID to the slave communication unit 13 of the first communication station 10 (S25).

[0041] In the case of a teleco connection, in the second communication station 20, the master communication unit 22 acquires the ID (second ID) of the master communication unit 22 stored in the register of the control unit 21 (S24') and transmits the second ID to the slave communication unit 13 of the first communication station 10 (S25').

[0042] In the case of a normal connection and a teleco connection, the slave communication unit 13 outputs the received ID to the control unit 11 (S26), and the control unit 11 stores the ID received by the slave communication unit 13 in a register (S27).

[0043] Then, the control unit 11 acquires the first ID of the master communication unit 12 and the ID input from the slave communication unit 13 from the register (S28), and compares the two IDs to determine whether or not they are a match (S29).

[0044] Then, in the judgment process S29, if there is no mismatch (No), the process proceeds to the next process, and if there is a mismatch (Yes), an alarm is displayed on the display unit 14 (S30), and further, a question as to whether or not to perform swap processing is displayed on the display unit 14, and it is judged whether or not an instruction to perform swap processing has been input from the input unit 15 (S31).

[0045] If an instruction to execute swap processing is input from the input unit 15 (if Yes), the swap processing is executed (S32) and the process proceeds to the next step, but if an instruction not to execute swap processing is input (if No), the process is interrupted without proceeding to the next step. In this case, the process will be restarted from the beginning, waiting for the optical cable to be properly connected.

[0046] [Effects of the embodiment] According to this communication station, data communication is performed by connecting to two optical cables 3, 4, and the station is equipped with a control unit 11, a master communication unit 12, and a slave communication unit 13. The first optical cable 3 is connected to the master communication unit 12, and the second optical cable 4 is connected to the slave communication unit 13. The control unit 11 determines whether the optical cables 3, 4 are connected normally, and if they are not connected normally, displays an alarm and prompts the user to perform a swap process to exchange data related to the incorrect connection. This has the effect of displaying and notifying the user of the incorrect connection, thereby making it possible to deal with the incorrect connection.

[0047] According to this system, a first communication station 10 and a second communication station 20 communicate with each other through two optical cables 3 and 4. When the optical cables 3 and 4 are connected normally, the ID transmitted by the first communication station 10 is returned from the second communication station 20 to the first communication station 10. When the optical cables 3 and 4 are connected incorrectly, an ID different from the ID transmitted by the first communication station 10 is returned from the second communication station 20 to the first communication station 10. The first communication station 10 compares the transmitted ID with the received ID, and if they match, determines that the connection is normal. If they do not match, determines that the connection is incorrect. In the case of an incorrect connection, an alarm is displayed. This has the effect of enabling the first communication station 10 to notify of an incorrect connection and prompt the user to take action. [Industrial Applicability]

[0048] INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is suitable for a communication station and a communication system that can detect an incorrect connection of an optical cable and display an alarm to prompt a user to take corrective action. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 3...first optical cable, 4...second optical cable, 10...first communication station, 11...control section, 12...master communication section (SFP_L11), 13...slave communication section (SFP_L12), 14...display section, 15...input section, 20...second communication station, 21...control section, 22...master communication section (SFP_L21), 23...slave communication section (SFP_L22), 24...display section, 25...input section

Claims

1. A communication station that communicates by optical cable, a master communication unit to which a first optical cable is connected; a slave communication unit to which a second optical cable is connected; a control unit that stores an ID of the master communication unit, and if the ID received by the slave communication unit from the second optical cable does not match the ID of the master communication unit, determines that the optical cable is misconnected and displays an alarm.

2. 2. The communication station according to claim 1, characterized in that when the master communication unit transmits an ID of the master communication unit to a first optical cable, if the optical cable is normally connected, the slave communication unit receives the ID of the master communication unit from a second optical cable, and if the optical cable is incorrectly connected, the slave communication unit receives an ID different from the ID of the master communication unit from the second optical cable.

3. The communication station according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, when the control unit determines that an optical cable is connected incorrectly, the control unit performs a swap process to convert data received by the slave communication unit into data received by the master communication unit, and to convert data received by the master communication unit into data received by the slave communication unit.

4. 4. The communication station according to claim 3, wherein the control unit, when displaying an alarm, displays a display prompting the user to input an instruction as to whether or not to execute the swap processing, and when the instruction to execute is input, executes the swap processing.

5. A communication system in which a first communication station and a second communication station communicate with each other through two optical cables, When the optical cable is normally connected, the ID transmitted by the first communication station is returned from the second communication station to the first communication station; If the optical cable is erroneously connected, an ID different from the ID transmitted by the first communication station is returned from the second communication station to the first communication station; a first communication station that compares the transmitted ID with the received ID, and determines that the connection is normal if they match, and determines that the connection is incorrect if they do not match, and displays an alarm in the event of an incorrect connection.

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