JPH11187392A - Bi-directional optical communication unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate malfunctions and to sufficiently increase the range of infrared beams in bi-directional optical communication. SOLUTION: Each of 1st and 2nd optical communication units 10 and 11 is provided with at least a pair of light emitting element 15 and light receiving element 16 in bi-directional optical communication. Then at least one of both elements 15 and 16 is covered with a light shading cover having transmitting holes. The infrared beams 18 emitted from the element 15 of the unit 10 or 11 are received by the element 16 of the unit 11 or 10. The beams 18 are blocked by the light shading cover and never incident on the other element 16 of the same pair even if the beams 18 are reflected and refracted by a filter 17, etc. As result, bi-directional optical communication is carried out between both units 10 and 11 in a full-dual system without any malfunction and also the range of beams 18 can be increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bidirectional optical communication device comprising two optical communication devices each capable of transmitting and receiving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a second optical communication device 11 built in or as an adapter in a video device 12 or the like and a first optical communication device 10 as a remote controller are described. A two-way optical communication device that enables two-way communication between infrared rays 18 is known. In such a two-way optical communication device, a signal of an infrared ray 18 is emitted from the light emitting element 15 through the filter 17 by operating the operation unit 14 of the first optical communication device 10 and transmitted to the second optical communication device. The signal is received by the light receiving element 16 through the filter 17 on the 11 side, and the signal of the infrared ray 18 is also emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the second optical communication apparatus 11 through the filter 17, and The light is received by the light receiving element 16 through the filter 17 and bidirectional optical communication is performed, and the same display as that of the video device 12 is performed on the display unit 13 of the first optical communication device 10.

[0003] As a bidirectional optical communication system in such an optical communication device, there are a half-duplex system and a full-duplex system. The half-duplex system transmits / receives data from the first optical communication device 10 to the second optical communication device 11 and transmits / receives data from the second optical communication device 11 to the first optical communication device 10.
This is a method in which time-division transmission and reception are performed at different times so that transmission and reception are not performed at the same time, thereby preventing mutual interference. The full-duplex method is a method of transmitting and receiving at random, such as transmitting and receiving simultaneously with each other or transmitting and receiving from only one of them. Two-way communication is employed when it takes too much time, and has the advantage that much data can be transmitted and received in a short time.

[0004]

However, in the full duplex system, as shown in FIG. 6, the light emitting element 15 of the first optical communication device 10 and the light emitting element 15 of the second optical communication device 11 are simultaneously turned on. Since the infrared ray 18 may be emitted, the infrared ray 18 from the light emitting element 15 on the first optical communication device 10 is reflected on the inner surface of the filter 17 and the light receiving element on the first optical communication device 10 side At 16, the infrared light 18 from the light emitting element 15 of the second optical communication device 11 is received at the same time, and the infrared light 18
Interference occurs between them, and malfunctions are likely to occur, and the problem that the reach of the infrared ray 18 is reduced has occurred. This phenomenon is the same on the second optical communication device 11 side.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. In bidirectional optical communication, there is no malfunction, and a sufficiently long range of infrared rays can be obtained. An object is to provide an optical communication device.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the first optical communication device 10 and the second optical communication device 11 each include at least one optical communication device.
In a two-way optical communication device including a pair of light-emitting elements 15 and light-receiving elements 16 and capable of bidirectional optical communication by infrared light 18, at least one of the light-emitting elements 15 and light-receiving elements 16 in each of the sets And a light-shielding cover 21 having a light-transmitting hole 28.

The infrared ray 18 emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the first optical communication device 10 toward the second optical communication device 11
The light is received by the light receiving element 16 of the second optical communication device 11. At this time, even if the infrared ray 18 emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the first optical communication device 10 is reflected and refracted by the inner surface of the filter 17 or the like, the same set of light receiving elements 16 provided side by side is shielded from light. It is not blocked by the cover 21 and does not enter.
The same applies to the infrared ray 18 emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the second optical communication device 11 toward the first optical communication device 10. Therefore, in the first optical communication device 10 and the second optical communication device 11, bidirectional optical communication using the full-duplex method is performed without malfunction, and the reach of the infrared ray 18 can be further increased.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention, a first optical communication device 10 and a second optical communication device 11 are provided with at least one set of a light emitting element 15 and a light receiving element 16, respectively. In a bidirectional optical communication device capable of bidirectional optical communication, at least one of the light-emitting element 15 and the light-receiving element 16 is covered with a light-shielding cover 21 having a light-transmitting hole 28, and an infrared ray 18 is received, and the infrared rays 18 from the same set of light emitting elements 15 provided side by side are prevented from being mixed.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 10 denotes a first optical communication device serving as a remote controller.
A filter 17 transmitting the filter 8 is covered. The filter 17 also serves as a design purpose and a cover for preventing dust from entering. A light emitting element 15 for transmitting a signal of an infrared ray 18 so as to face the inside of the filter 17.
And a light receiving element 16 for receiving a signal of an infrared ray 18 from the second optical communication device 11.

The light emitting element 15 is, as shown in FIG.
The terminal 31 is inserted into the printed circuit board 19 and fixed with solder, and the tip of the light emitting element 15 is fixed toward the filter 17 side. The light receiving element 16 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. The light receiving element 16 may be covered with the light shielding cover 21 after covering the shield box 20 as necessary.

More specifically, the insulator 2 of the light receiving element 16
2 is fitted into a shield box 20 made of a conductive metal, the locking pieces 26 of the shield box 20
2 and is prevented from falling out by being fitted into the locking recess 23 of the light receiving element 1.
6 is fitted in such a manner that the tip end thereof slightly protrudes from the light transmitting hole 25 of the shield box 20. The light receiving element 16 fitted in the shield box 20 is assembled on the printed circuit board 19, and the terminal 24 is connected to the circuit by soldering.
Is fixed to the printed circuit board 19 by soldering. The light receiving element 16 may be directly incorporated into the printed circuit board 19 without being fitted to the shield box 20.

After the light receiving element 16 is connected to the printed circuit board 19 by soldering (along with a shield box 20 if necessary) and fixed, the light shielding cover 21 is put on and the locking claw 2 is attached.
At 9, it is fixed to the printed circuit board 19. This light shielding cover 21
Is made of plastic colored black or other color to block infrared light 18 and other optical signals, and has a second light at its tip. A light-transmitting hole 28 for receiving the infrared ray 18 from the communication device 11 is provided.
The two locking claws 29 are formed on the side facing the. The one locking claw 29 is for locking to the end face of the printed circuit board 19, and the other locking claw 29 is formed on the printed circuit board 19. In order to provide elasticity, slits 30 are formed on both sides of the locking claw 29. The light-shielding cover 21 blocks infrared rays 18 from the light-emitting element 15 reflected by the filter 17 but blocks incident light. Therefore, the light-transmitting holes 28 are made as small as possible. It is desirable to be as close as possible.

In the second optical communication device 11, as in the first optical communication device 10, the light-emitting element 15
The light receiving element 16 is mounted directly on the printed circuit board 1.
After attaching to 9, the light-shielding cover 21 is covered. The light receiving element 16 may be covered with the light shielding cover 21 after fitting to the shield box 20 as necessary.

In the above configuration, the infrared ray 18 emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the first optical communication device 10 to the second optical communication device 11 passes through the filter 17 and Filter 17 and light shielding cover 2 in optical communication device 11
The light is received by the light receiving element 16 through one light transmitting hole 28. At this time, even if the infrared ray 18 emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the first optical communication device 10 is reflected and refracted on the inner surface of the filter 17, the same set of light receiving elements 16 provided side by side is still
The light is not blocked by the light shielding cover 21 and does not enter.

Similarly, the light emitting element 1 of the second optical communication device 11
The infrared light 18 emitted from the optical communication device 5 toward the first optical communication device 10 passes through the filter 17, passes through the filter 17 in the first optical communication device 10, passes through the light transmitting hole 28 of the light shielding cover 21, and is received by the light receiving element. It is received at 16. At this time, even if the infrared ray 18 emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the second optical communication device 11 is reflected and refracted on the inner surface of the filter 17, the same set of light receiving elements 16 provided side by side is not covered by the light shielding cover. The light is not blocked by 21 and does not enter. In this manner, the first optical communication device 10 and the second optical communication device 11 can perform bidirectional optical communication using the full-duplex method without malfunction, and further increase the reach of the infrared light 18. Can be.

In the first embodiment, the light shielding cover 21 is provided on the light receiving element 16 side. However, the invention is not limited to this. The light shielding cover 21 may be provided on the light emitting element 15 side. Further, the light receiving element 16 on the first optical communication device 10 side and the light emitting element 15 on the second optical communication device 11 side (or the light receiving element 16 on the second optical communication device 11 side and the first optical communication device side). The light-shielding cover 21 may be put on the light-emitting element 15 on the 10 side.

The present invention does not cover the light-shielding cover 21 on only one of the light-emitting element 15 and the light-receiving element 16, but covers the light-shielding cover 2 on both the light-emitting element 15 and the light-receiving element 16.
One can also be covered. FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a light-shielding cover 21 is provided with a light-emitting element housing part 32 for housing the light-emitting element 15 and a light-receiving element housing part 33 for housing the light-receiving element 16. The light-emitting element 15 and the light-receiving element 16 are provided with a light-transmitting hole 28 facing the front ends thereof.

The light shielding cover 21 may be provided integrally when the light emitting element 15 and the light receiving element 16 are mounted side by side, or may be provided separately when the light emitting element 15 and the light receiving element 16 are mounted separately. Good. In the first and second embodiments, the light-shielding cover 21 is attached to the printed circuit board 19 with the locking claws 29. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be formed integrally with the housing 34 of the optical communication device 11. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the light-receiving element 16 is covered with the shield box 20 and further covered with the light-shielding cover 21. However, the light-shielding cover 21 may be formed as a shield made of a conductive metal.

[0019]

According to the present invention, at least one of the light emitting element 15 and the light receiving element 16 in each set is provided with a light transmitting hole 28.
Is covered with the light-shielding cover 21 having
An infrared ray 18 emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the first optical communication device 10 toward the second optical communication device 11 is received through the light transmitting hole 28 of the light shielding cover 21 of the second optical communication device 11. Received at element 16. At this time, the first optical communication device 1
Even if the infrared ray 18 emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the “0” is reflected and refracted by the inner surface of the filter 17, the infrared ray 18 is not blocked by the light shielding cover 21 and enters the same set of light receiving elements 16. Similarly, the same applies to the infrared ray 18 emitted from the light emitting element 15 of the second optical communication device 11 to the first optical communication device 10. Therefore, in the first optical communication device 10 and the second optical communication device 11, bidirectional optical communication using the full-duplex method is performed without malfunction, and the reach of the infrared ray 18 can be further increased.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to make the most of the advantage of the full-duplex method that a large amount of data can be transmitted and received in a short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view showing an embodiment of a bidirectional optical communication device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting state of the light emitting element 15 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting state of the light receiving element 16 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a light receiving element 16, a shield box 20, and a light shielding cover 21 according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a conventional two-way optical communication device.

FIG. 7 shows an example of use of a two-way optical communication device.
2 is a perspective view of the whole, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the first optical communication device 10 as viewed from the front.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 first optical communication device, 11 second optical communication device, 12
Image equipment, 13 display unit, 14 operation unit, 15 light emitting element, 16 light receiving element, 17 filter, 18 infrared light, 19 printed circuit board, 20 shield box, 2
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Light shielding cover, 22 ... Insulator, 23 ... Locking concave part, 24
... Terminal part, 25 ... Transparent hole, 26 ... Locking piece, 27 ... Terminal part, 28 ... Transparent hole, 29 ... Locking claw, 30 ... Slit, 31
... terminal part, 32 ... light emitting element housing part, 33 ... light receiving element housing part, 34 ... housing.

Claims (3)

[Claims] A first optical communication device and a second optical communication device.
And at least one set of a light emitting element 15 and a light receiving element 16 respectively, and a bidirectional optical communication device capable of performing bidirectional optical communication by infrared rays 18. Characterized in that at least one of them is covered with a light shielding cover 21 having a light transmitting hole 28. 2. A first optical communication device 10 and a second optical communication device 11
And at least one set of a light emitting element 15 and a light receiving element 16 respectively, and a bidirectional optical communication device capable of performing bidirectional optical communication by infrared rays 18. The light-emitting element 15 and the light-receiving element 16 in the first optical communication device 10 and the second optical communication device 11 are covered with a light-shielding cover 21 having a light-transmitting hole 28 on at least one of them. The light-shielding cover 21 is fixed to the printed circuit board 19 and attached to the filter 17 on the front surface.
9 is formed in a box shape having an open side, and is made of a material that blocks infrared rays 18 from the light emitting elements 15 forming a pair, and has a tip portion for receiving the infrared rays 18 from a transmission partner. A two-way optical communication device comprising a light-transmitting hole (28). 3. A first optical communication device 10 and a second optical communication device 11.
And at least one set of a light emitting element 15 and a light receiving element 16 respectively, and a bidirectional optical communication device capable of performing bidirectional optical communication by infrared rays 18. The light-emitting element 15 and the light-receiving element 16 in the first optical communication device 10 and the second optical communication device 11 are covered with a light-shielding cover 21 having a light-transmitting hole 28 on at least one of them. The light-shielding cover 21 is fixed to the printed circuit board 19 and attached to the filter 17 on the front surface.
9 is formed in a box shape having an open side, and is made of a material that blocks infrared rays 18 from the light emitting elements 15 forming a pair, and has a tip portion for receiving the infrared rays 18 from a transmission partner. A light-transmitting hole 28 is formed, and a locking claw 29 for locking to an end surface of the printed circuit board 19 and a locking claw 2 for engaging with a locking hole of the printed circuit board 19 are provided on the side of attachment to the printed circuit board 19.
9. The two-way optical communication device according to claim 1, wherein the light-transmitting hole 28 of the light-shielding cover 21 is mounted as close to the inner surface of the filter 17 as possible.