SWITCH CONTROL DEVICE, OPTICAL POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM, AND SWITCH CONTROL METHOD

Abstract

This switch control device is provided with: a plurality of optical power feed devices; a switch control unit for controlling an optical power feed switch that connects a plurality of optical power reception devices for converting light received from the plurality of optical power feed devices into power for storage, and switches the emission destination of light radiated by the optical power feed devices; a power storage data reception unit for receiving data on the power storage amount stored by the plurality of optical power reception devices; and, a distribution determination unit for determining the distribution of light radiated by the plurality of optical power feed devices for the plurality of optical power reception devices on the basis of the power storage amount data received by the power storage data reception unit. The switch control unit controls the optical power feed switch on the basis of the distribution determined by the distribution determination unit.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a switch control device, an optical power supply system, and a switch control method. [Background technology]

[0002] An optical power supply system is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The optical power supply system disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of light sources, a plurality of first optical fibers each transmitting light output from the plurality of light sources, an optical coupler that multiplexes the light transmitted by the first optical fiber and branches and outputs the multiplexed light, a second optical fiber that transmits the multiplexed light output by the optical coupler, and a power generation means that receives the light transmitted from the second optical fiber and generates power. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-198396 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the optical power supply system described in Patent Document 1, the optical coupler is an N:N coupler, and the light intensity of the light source per optical fiber is approximately 1 / N. Therefore, even if all the light on the output side is collected, the light intensity does not exceed that of one light source, and in some cases, the efficiency may be lower than if the light source and the power receiving device are directly connected to supply power. An object of the present invention is to provide a switch control device capable of efficiently supplying optical power. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is a switch control device that connects a plurality of optical power supply devices to a plurality of optical power receiving devices that convert light received from the plurality of optical power supply devices into electricity and store the electricity, and includes a switch control unit that controls an optical power supply switch that switches the destination of light emitted by the optical power supply devices, a stored power data receiving unit that receives data on the amount of electricity stored by the plurality of optical power receiving devices, and an allocation determination unit that determines an allocation of light emitted by the plurality of optical power supply devices to the plurality of optical power receiving devices based on the stored power amount data received by the stored power data receiving unit, and the switch control unit controls the optical power supply switch based on the allocation determined by the allocation determination unit.

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an optical power supply system comprising: a plurality of optical power supply devices that transmit light; a plurality of optical power receiving devices that convert light received from the plurality of optical power supply devices into electricity and store the electricity; an optical power supply switch that connects the plurality of optical power supply devices to the plurality of optical power receiving devices and switches the destination of light emitted by the optical power supply devices; a switch control unit that controls the optical power supply switch; a stored power data receiving unit that receives data on the amount of stored power stored by the plurality of optical power receiving devices; and an allocation determination unit that determines an allocation of light emitted by the plurality of optical power supply devices to the plurality of optical power receiving devices based on the stored power amount data received by the stored power data receiving unit, and the switch control unit controls the optical power supply switch based on the allocation determined by the allocation determination unit.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a switch control method comprising a switch control step of connecting a plurality of optical power supply devices to a plurality of optical power receiving devices that convert light received from the plurality of optical power supply devices into electricity and store the electricity, and controlling an optical power supply switch that switches the destination of light emitted by the optical power supply devices, a stored power data receiving step of receiving data on the amount of stored power stored by the plurality of optical power receiving devices, and an allocation determination step of determining an allocation of light emitted by the plurality of optical power supply devices to the plurality of optical power receiving devices based on the stored power amount data received by the stored power data receiving step, wherein the switch control step controls the optical power supply switch based on the allocation determined by the allocation determination step unit. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The switch control device of the present invention can efficiently perform optical power supply. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an optical power supply system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating an optical power receiving device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a switch control device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] 2 is an example of an optically powered switch controlled by a switch control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an optical power supply system 1 according to the first embodiment. The optical power supply system 1 includes an optical power supply device 11, an optical power receiving device 12, an optical power supply switch 13, and a switch control device .

[0011] The optical power supply device 11 transmits light to the optical power supply switch 13. The optical power supply device 11 is, for example, an OLT (Optical Line Terminal). The optical power supply system 1 includes N (N is an integer of 2 or more) optical power supply devices 11-1 to 11-N.

[0012] The optical power receiving device 12 receives light from the optical power supply switch 13. The optical power receiving device 12 is, for example, an ONU (Optical Network Unit). When the optical power supply device 11 is an OLT and the optical power receiving device 12 is an ONU, the optical power supply device 11 and the optical power receiving device 12 may transmit and receive data using another connection method that does not involve the optical power supply switch 13. The optical power supply system 1 includes M (M is an integer of 2 or more) optical power receiving devices 12-1 to M. M may be equal to or different from N.

[0013] 2 is a diagram showing the optical power receiving device 12 according to the first embodiment. The optical power receiving device 12 includes an optical conversion unit 121, a power storage unit 122, a stored power amount measurement unit 123, and a stored power data transmission unit .

[0014] The optical conversion unit 121 converts the received light into electric power. The optical conversion unit 121 is, for example, a photodiode. The power storage unit 122 stores the electric power converted by the optical conversion unit 121. The power storage unit 122 is, for example, a battery. Furthermore, the stored power measurement unit 123 and the stored power data transmission unit 124 provided in the optical power receiving device 12 are driven by the electric power stored in the power storage unit 122. When the optical power receiving device 12 is an ONU, the electric power stored in the power storage unit 122 may be consumed for the optical power receiving device 12 to transmit and receive data.

[0015] The stored power amount measuring unit 123 measures the amount of stored power in the power storage unit 122. The stored power data transmitting unit 124 transmits data on the amount of stored power measured by the stored power amount measuring unit 123 to the switch control device 14. The stored power data transmitting unit 124 may transmit data on the amount of stored power to the switch control device 14, for example, via a connection means provided separately from the optical power supply switch 13 that connects the optical power receiving device 12 and the switch control device 14. The optical power supply switch 13 may include an optical circulator that outputs light input from the optical power supply device 11 to the optical power receiving device 12 and outputs light input from the optical power receiving device 12 to the switch control device 14, and the stored power data transmitting unit 124 may transmit an optical signal including data on the amount of stored power to the switch control device 14 via the optical power supply switch 13.

[0016] The optical power supply switch 13 connects the optical power supply device 11 and the optical power receiving device 12, and switches the connection relationship between the optical power supply device 11 and the optical power receiving device 12. The optical power supply switch 13 is configured so that any optical power receiving device 12 can receive light sent from the optical power supply device 11. The optical power supply switch 13 has, for example, a 1-input M-output switch having one input and M outputs and capable of controlling which of the M outputs the input light is to be output from, and an N-input 1-output coupler having N inputs and one output and multiplexing and outputting the multiple input lights. In order to suppress loss due to the N-input 1-output coupler, mode multiplexing, polarization multiplexing, or wavelength multiplexing is used for multiplexing light by the N-input 1-output coupler.

[0017] The optical power supply switch 13 includes N 1-input M-output switches 131 and M N-input 1-output couplers 132. The inputs of the 1-input M-output switches 131 are connected to different optical power supply devices 11. The M outputs of the 1-input M-output switch 131 are connected, one output at a time, to inputs of different N-input 1-output couplers 132. The inputs of the N-input 1-output couplers 132 are connected, one input at a time, to different 1-input M-output switches 131. The outputs of the N-input 1-output couplers 132 are connected to different optical power receiving devices 12.

[0018] The switch control device 14 is included in the optical power supply switch 13 or is connected to the optical power supply switch 13, and controls the switching of the optical power supply switch 13. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the switch control device 14 according to the first embodiment. The switch control device 14 includes an accumulated power data receiving unit 141, an allocation determination unit 142, and a switch control unit 143. The accumulated power data receiving unit 141 receives data indicating the amount of accumulated power from the accumulated power data transmitting unit 124 of the optical power receiving device 12.

[0019] The allocation determination unit 142 determines the allocation of light emitted by the optical power supplying devices to the optical power receiving devices based on the data of the amount of stored power received by the stored power data receiving unit. The allocation determination unit 142 determines the allocation so that light is transmitted from more optical power supplying devices 11 to the optical power receiving device 12 having a small amount of stored power in the power storage unit 122. For example, the allocation determination unit 142 determines the allocation so that when the amount of stored power in the power storage unit 122 is 75% to 100%, light is not transmitted from the optical power supplying device 11 to the optical power receiving device 12 including the power storage unit 122. For example, the allocation determination unit 142 determines the allocation so that when the amount of stored power in the power storage unit 122 is 50% to 75%, light is transmitted from one optical power supplying device 11 to the optical power receiving device 12 including the power storage unit 122. For example, when the power storage amount of the power storage unit 122 is 25% to 50%, the allocation determination unit 142 determines the allocation such that light is transmitted from two optical power supply devices 11 to the optical power receiving device 12 including the power storage unit 122. For example, when the power storage amount of the power storage unit 122 is 0% to 25%, the allocation determination unit 142 determines the allocation such that light is transmitted from three optical power supply devices 11 to the optical power receiving device 12 including the power storage unit 122.

[0020] The allocation determination unit 142 may determine the allocation as follows. First, the allocation determination unit 142 calculates the difference between the amount of stored power in the power storage unit 122 and the full amount of stored power in the power storage unit 122. This difference is called the required power supply amount. Then, the allocation determination unit 142 calculates the sum of the required power supply amounts in each power storage unit 122 (total required power supply amount). Then, for each power storage unit 122, the allocation determination unit 142 provisionally determines the number of optical power supply devices 11 to be allocated to the power storage unit 122 as a value obtained by multiplying the number N of optical power supply devices 11 by the ratio of the required power supply amount to the total required power supply amount (the number obtained by dividing the required power supply amount of the power storage unit 122 by the total required power supply amount). Note that the number provisionally determined here may not be an integer, so the allocation determination unit 142 finally determines the number of optical power supply devices 11 (an integer) based on the provisionally determined number. Here, the allocation determination unit 142 may, for example, round down the decimal point of the provisionally determined number and allocate the unallocated optical power supply device 11 to a power storage unit 122 requiring a large amount of power supply, or may allocate the unallocated optical power supply device 11 to a power storage unit 122 requiring a small amount of power supply.

[0021] The switch control unit 143 controls the optical power supply switch based on the allocation determined by the allocation determination unit 142. When the allocation determined by the allocation determination unit 142 cannot be achieved, the switch control unit 143 may control the optical power supply switch 13 so that light is transmitted from the multiple optical power supply devices 11 to the optical power receiving device 12 having the power storage unit 122 with a small amount of stored power.

[0022] Fig. 4 is an example of a connection by an optical power supply switch 13 controlled by a switch control device 14. In the optical power supply system 1 shown in Fig. 4, N = M = 6. That is, the optical power supply system 1 includes six optical power supply devices 11 and six optical power receiving devices 12. The power storage units 122-3 and 5 of the optical power receiving devices 12-3 and 5 have a power storage capacity of 90%. The power storage units 122-1, 4 and 6 of the optical power receiving devices 12-1, 4 and 6 have a power storage capacity of 60%. The power storage unit 122-2 of the optical power receiving device 12-2 has a power storage capacity of 10%. Here, the allocation determination unit 142 determines that no light is transmitted from the optical power supply device 11 to the optical power receiving devices 12-3 and 5, determines that light is transmitted from one optical power supply device 11 to the optical power receiving devices 12-1, 4, and 6, and determines that light is transmitted from three optical power supply devices 11 to the optical power receiving device 12-2.

[0023] The switch control unit 143 controls the optical power supply switch 13 to connect the optical power supply device 11 and the optical power receiving device 12 as shown in Fig. 4. The lines drawn within the optical power supply switch 13 in Fig. 4 indicate fibers through which light transmitted by the optical power supply device 11 propagates. The switch control unit 143 controls the optical power supply switch 13 so that light transmitted from the optical power supply device 11-1 is transmitted to the optical power receiving device 12-1, light transmitted from the optical power supply devices 11-2, 11-3, and 11-5 is transmitted to the optical power receiving device 12-2, light transmitted from the optical power supply device 11-4 is transmitted to the optical power receiving device 12-4, and light transmitted from the optical power supply device 11-6 is transmitted to the optical power receiving device 12-6.

[0024] With the above configuration, the switch control device 14 can transmit light from many optical power supply devices 11 to the optical power receiving device 12 having the power storage unit 122 with a small amount of stored power by controlling the optical power supply switch 13. This allows the power storage unit 122 to be charged efficiently.

[0025] Other Embodiments The optical power supply device 11 may specify the optical power receiving device 12 as the destination. At this time, the optical power supply device 11 may transmit a signal to the switch control device 14 via a connection means provided separately from the optical power supply system 1. The optical power supply switch 13 may include a filter that switches the destination of the light input from the optical power supply device 11 between the optical power receiving device 12 and the switch control device 14 depending on the wavelength of the light, and the optical power supply device 11 may transmit an optical signal having a wavelength different from the wavelength of the light to be transmitted to the optical power receiving device 12 to the switch control device 14 via the optical power supply switch 13. When the switch control device 14 receives the signal or the optical signal, it controls the optical power supply switch 13 so that the switch control unit 143 transmits light to the optical power receiving device 12 specified by the optical power supply device 11.

[0026] The optical power supplying device 11 may be provided with a configuration corresponding to the switch control device 14, and may specify the optical power receiving device 12 as the transmission destination. In this case, each optical power supplying device 11 is provided with an accumulated power data receiving unit 141 and a switch control unit 143. The accumulated power data receiving unit 141 may receive the data on the amount of accumulated power from the accumulated power data transmitting unit 124 via a connection means provided separately from the optical power supplying switch 13. In addition, when the optical power receiving device 12 generates an optical signal including data on the amount of accumulated power by modulating a part of the light it receives and transmits the optical signal to the optical power supplying device 11, the accumulated power data receiving unit 141 may receive the optical signal via the optical power supplying switch 13. The switch control unit 143 provided in each optical power supply device 11 controls the optical power supply switch 13 in accordance with the optical power receiving device 12 to which the optical power supply device 11 sends a signal. The allocation determination unit 142 is provided inside or outside the optical power receiving device 12. The allocation determination unit 142 receives power accumulation data from each optical power receiving device 12, determines allocation, and transmits data related to the determined allocation to the switch control unit 143.

[0027] The power storage data receiving unit 141 may acquire the measurement result by the power storage amount measuring unit 123 of the optical power receiving device 12 via the optical power supply switch 13 or via a connection means provided separately from the optical power supply system 1. In this case, the optical power receiving device 12 does not need to include the power storage data transmitting unit 124.

[0028] Although the allocation determination unit 142 allocates one optical power supply device 11 to one optical power receiving device 12, this is not limited to the above. For example, the allocation determination unit 142 may determine that light transmitted from one optical power supply device is allocated to multiple optical power receiving devices.

[0029] The stored power data transmission unit 124 and the switch control device 14 of the optical power receiving device 12 in the above-mentioned embodiment may be realized by a computer. In that case, a program for realizing this function may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded in the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to realize the function. The term "computer system" here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. The term "computer-readable recording medium" may also include a medium that dynamically holds a program for a short period of time, such as a communication line when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, and a medium that holds a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory inside a computer system that is a server or client in that case. The above-mentioned program may be a program for realizing a part of the above-mentioned function, or may be a program that can realize the above-mentioned function in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, or may be a program that is realized using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1 Optical power supply system, 11 Optical power supply device, 12 Optical power receiving device, 13 Optical power supply switch, 14 Switch control device, 121 Optical conversion unit, 122 Power storage unit, 123 Power storage amount measurement unit, 124 Power storage data transmission unit, 141 Power storage data reception unit, 142 Allocation determination unit, 143 Switch control unit

Claims

1. a switch control unit that connects a plurality of optical power supply devices to a plurality of optical power receiving devices that convert light received from the plurality of optical power supply devices into electricity and stores the electricity, and controls an optical power supply switch that switches a destination of light emitted by the optical power supply devices; a power storage data receiving unit that receives data on the amount of power stored by the plurality of optical power receiving devices; an allocation determination unit that determines an allocation of light emitted by the plurality of optical power supply devices to the plurality of optical power receiving devices based on data of the amount of stored power received by the stored power data receiving unit; The switch control unit controls the optical power supply switch based on the allocation determined by the allocation determination unit. Switch control device.

2. The allocation determination unit, and determining the distribution so that the optical power receiving device with a smaller amount of stored power receives more light from the optical power supply device. The switch control device according to claim 1 .

3. the optical power supply switch includes a coupler having an input side connected to all of the optical power supply devices and an output side connected to one of the optical power receiving devices; The coupler multiplexes the light transmitted from the optical power supply device using mode multiplexing, polarization multiplexing, or wavelength multiplexing.

3. A switch control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A plurality of optical power supply devices that transmit light; a plurality of optical power receiving devices that convert light received from the plurality of optical power supply devices into electricity and store the electricity; an optical power supply switch that connects the plurality of optical power supply devices and the plurality of optical power receiving devices and switches a destination of light emitted by the optical power supply device; A switch control unit that controls the optical power supply switch; a power storage data receiving unit that receives data on the amount of power stored by the plurality of optical power receiving devices; an allocation determination unit that determines an allocation of light emitted by the plurality of optical power supply devices to the plurality of optical power receiving devices based on data of the amount of stored power received by the stored power data receiving unit; The switch control unit controls the optical power supply switch based on the allocation determined by the allocation determination unit. Optical power supply system.

5. a switch control step of connecting a plurality of optical power supply devices to a plurality of optical power receiving devices that convert light received from the plurality of optical power supply devices into electricity and store the electricity, and controlling an optical power supply switch that switches a destination of light emitted by the optical power supply devices; a power storage data receiving step of receiving data on the amount of power stored by the plurality of optical power receiving devices; an allocation determination step of determining an allocation of light emitted from the plurality of optical power supply devices to the plurality of optical power receiving devices based on data of the amount of stored power received in the stored power data receiving step; The switch control step controls the optical power supply switch based on the distribution determined by the distribution determination step. Switch control method.

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