KR100773828B1 - Home gateway using personal computer and home network system using same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a home gateway of a home network, comprising: a home gateway mounted on a computer on a home network connected to a plurality of home appliances, and relaying a home network and an external communication network. The home gateway may include an external interface connected to the communication network; A premise interface connected to the home network; And a control unit for relaying a list of data of the home appliance using a power source operated in a power saving mode when the computer is operated in a power saving mode according to the operation state of the computer, thereby connecting a home network and a personal computer. It is possible to connect the personal computer and the home network without a separate interface, and by using the power supplied in the power saving mode of the personal computer, there is an effect to prevent unnecessary waste of power by the personal computer.

Description

Home gateway using a personal computer and home network system using the same {Home gateway and home network system by using the same}

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a home network system using a home gateway using a personal computer according to the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a home gateway in a home network system using a home gateway using a personal computer according to the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a home gateway card according to an operation state of a personal computer in a home network system according to the present invention.

** Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings **

100: home network system

110: external communication network

120: personal computer

130: home network

200: home gateway card

The present invention relates to a home network system, and more particularly, to a home gateway using a personal computer and a home network system using the same, which are mounted in the form of an expansion board in a personal computer to relay an external communication network and a home network.

In recent years, the rapid development of wired and wireless data communication technology and the expansion and spread of the communication network on which it is based have led to the popularization of high-speed communication services such as the Internet. In particular, as the high-speed Internet is spreading into homes, existing PC-based network construction technologies are evolving into home network technologies for remote control of digital information appliances in homes.

This home network system is developed from the home automation system of the past, and can provide basic automation functions such as opening and closing of door, intruder detection, gas alarm, and fire alarm in the home automation system in an upgraded form. In addition, entertainment services such as high-quality multimedia services, distance education and video-on-demand services, information services such as personal and family information management, home shopping, e-commerce, home security, and integrated control of information appliances , Communication services such as remote energy resource management, and the like.

Typically, such a home network system includes a plurality of home appliances connected to a home communication network, a home gateway for connecting an external communication network such as the Internet to a home communication network, and a home server for controlling a plurality of home appliances connected to the home communication network. It is composed.

Recently, in order to simplify the system and reduce the number of nodes in the network, it is common to implement a separate type of home gateway and home server on a single terminal.

For example, since the home gateway is an essential device for interworking with an external communication network, the home gateway can be configured as one device by including the functions of the home server in the home gateway.

However, as described above, the home server is included in the home gateway to form a single device, but the system can be simplified. However, due to limited resources of the home gateway, only the above functions are performed. Functions such as audio visual (AV) media transmission are difficult to perform.

In order to cope with the above-described needs, a product designed to be connected to a personal computer and linked to the operation of the personal computer to enable AV-centered home networking has been released.

In this case, however, the personal computer must be equipped with a hardware interface corresponding to the physical medium of the home appliance installed in the home for the control and monitoring of the home appliances, and a separate application for the control and monitoring must be installed in the personal computer. .

Therefore, since the operation of the home network should always be dependent on the operation of the personal computer, there is a problem in that unnecessary power is consumed due to the operation of the personal computer when performing simple home networking other than AV-centric networking.

In addition, since a separate hardware interface corresponding to the physical medium of the home appliance installed in the home is provided for the control and monitoring of the home appliance in the home computer, a change in the interface of the personal computer is required.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, a personal computer to provide a home gateway in the form of an option board (or card) mounted on the personal computer for controlling and monitoring home appliances connected to the home network of the home The purpose is to provide a home gateway using.

In addition, the present invention provides a home gateway using a personal computer that is installed in the form of an option board in the personal computer to perform the function of the home gateway using the power applied in the power saving mode of the personal computer during the simple home networking operation. There is a purpose.

A home gateway using a personal computer according to the present invention for achieving the above object is mounted on a computer on the home network connected to a plurality of home appliances, the home gateway relaying a home network and an external communication network. The home gateway may include an external interface connected to the communication network; A premise interface connected to the home network; And a control unit for relaying a data list of the home appliance using a power source operated in the power saving mode when the computer is operated in the power saving mode according to the operating state of the computer.

When the computer is operated in the normal mode, the controller transfers a relay right to the computer, and the computer relays data of the home appliance using the resources of the computer.

Preferably, the home gateway is further provided with a database storing information of the home appliances and data information stored in the home appliances.

Home network control method according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the home gateway card installed in the computer sensing the operation of the computer; The home gateway card transfers data relay authority to the computer when the computer is operated in the normal mode, and the home gateway card has the data relay authority when the computer is operated in the power saving mode.

The data relayed by the computer when the computer is operated in the normal mode is data stored in each of the home appliances, and the data relayed by the home gateway card when the computer is operated in the power save mode is transmitted to the respective home appliances. It is preferably a list of stored data.

Hereinafter, a home gateway using a personal computer and a home network system using the same will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, a home gateway using a personal computer and a home network system using the same will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a home network system using a home gateway using a personal computer according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a home gateway in a home network system using a home gateway using a personal computer according to the present invention.

As shown, the home network system 100 according to the present invention includes a personal computer 120 connected to various home appliances 132a and 132b connected to the home network 120 and an external communication network 110. The personal computer 120 is provided in the form of an option card and has a home gateway card 200 connecting the home network 130 and the external communication network 110 in the home.

The communication network 110 is a wide area network composed of the Internet, a public line network, a wireless communication network, a CATV (CAble TeleVision) network, and the like, and is provided so that terminals located at remote locations are interconnected according to a predetermined communication protocol. Since this is a known technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted, and in the following description, the communication network will be referred to collectively.

The home network 130 is a home gateway card 200 and a plurality of home appliances (132a, 132b) are connected to each other, it may be implemented in a mixed form of a wired or wireless network and a wired and wireless.

Examples of wired networks include power line communication (PLC) networks using power lines installed in homes, home phone network (HomePNA) networks using telephone lines installed in homes, and real-time high-speed data of AV devices. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 network, a serial bus method used for transmission, and an RS-485 network using a multipoint communication line can be used.

In addition, the wireless network includes a wireless LAN network using the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band as an IEEE 802.11 series, a Bluetooth network that is an industry standard for wireless access in the 2.4 GHz band to support communication between short-range devices, Ultra Wide Band (UWB) network, a short-range broadband communication technology, and ZigBee network, an industry standard for home automation and data networks with low transmission rates, may be used.

The home appliances 132a and 132b are simply connected to the home appliances card 132a and the home gateway card 200 to be controlled and monitored by the home gateway card 200, and media content (for example, AVI, MP3). And the like, and AV appliances 132b for supplying and reproducing.

These home appliances (132a, 132b) are provided to be connected to the home gateway card 200 by a separate communication interface (not shown), in the case of the information appliance (132a) to a physical interface, such as PLC, RS-485, Zigbee In the case of the AV home appliance 132b, it is preferable to be connected to a conventional IP network, a UWB, a high-speed PLC, and the like, but it is not limited thereto.

In addition, in the case of the AV home appliance 132b, a list of data held in the home gateway card 200 installed in the personal computer 120 is provided. In addition, it is provided to be able to mutually transfer data held by each via the home gateway card 200.

The personal computer 120 is a known personal computer 120 that is usually used at home. The personal computer 120 includes a main controller 121, an input unit 122, a display unit 123, a memory unit 124, a main power supply unit 125, and an expansion interface 126, and an expansion interface 126. The home gateway card 200 is mounted.

Here, the main controller 121 is used to control each component in cooperation with the components 122, 123, 124, 125, and 126 described above, and is generally referred to as a central processing unit (CPU). This main controller 121 connects to a communication network using a home gateway card.

In addition, the input unit 122 is used for inputting various data. The input unit 122 is provided using a keyboard or a mouse. The display unit 123 is used to display various screens or data under the control of the main controller 121. Tube or LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). Since the input unit 122 and the display unit 123 may be various embodiments, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the memory unit 124 is loaded with a program and data necessary for the operation of the personal computer 120. The memory unit 124 is provided with a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), or the like.

The memory unit 124 is further loaded with a gateway driver (not shown) required for driving the home gateway card 200. The gateway driver is for the home gateway card 200 mounted on the personal computer 120 to be used as a network device for connecting the personal computer 120 to the communication network 110.

In addition, the expansion interface 126 is to be equipped with a separate card for expanding the function of the personal computer, and is provided with a conventional Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slot, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) slot, and the like.

On the other hand, the main power supply unit 125 is for supplying power to the above-described components 121, 122, 123, 124, 126, power supply mode for supplying the normal operating power to each component, and each component Or a power saving mode for supplying only minimal power to maintain operation to a particular component (eg home gateway card 200). Preferably, the above-described power mode and power saving mode satisfy the ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) standard.

That is, the power supply mode is a power mode for supplying the rated power to each component of the personal computer 120, and the power saving mode supplies power lower than the rated power to each of the minimum necessary parts of the personal computer 120 to reduce power consumption. Power mode.

The main power supply 125 performs control for switching the power mode from the power mode to the power saving mode when a switching factor of the mode occurs, or returning from the power saving mode to the power mode when a return factor occurs.

In addition, the main power supply 125 operates the home gateway card 200 on the home gateway card 200 mounted on the expansion interface 126 when the power of the personal computer 120 is turned off or enters a power saving mode. Supply minimum power to

The home gateway card 200 relays the external communication network 110 and the home network 130 while being mounted on the personal computer 120 and simultaneously connects the personal computer 120 to the external communication network 110. Perform.

The home gateway card 200 may include an external interface 230 connected to an external communication network 110, an indoor interface 240 connected to home appliances 132a and 132b, and a personal computer 120. A database 220 for storing the connected card interface 250, information of each home appliance 132a and 132b, and information of content stored in each home appliance 132a and 132b, and each component 210, 220, The control unit 210 is provided with a power supply unit 260 for transmitting power to the 230, 240, and 250, and interlocked with each component to control each component.

Here, the external interface 230 provides an interface function so that the personal computer 120 and the home gateway card 200 may be connected to and operate with an external communication network 110. In this case, the external interface 230 may be a wired or wireless Internet, a mobile communication network, or the like. In addition, the external interface 230 is provided to satisfy the communication protocol (for example, TCP / IP) of the communication network.

In addition, the indoor interface 240 provides an interface function so that the home gateway card 200 can be linked with the home appliances 132a and 132b in the home. At this time, the indoor interface 240 is provided to satisfy the communication protocol of the home network 130, which is implemented in a wired or wireless network and a mixture of wired and wireless. These communication protocols can be variously modified and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the card interface 250 is connected to the expansion interface 126 provided in the personal computer 120, and is provided to satisfy the standards (eg, PCI, ISA, etc.) of the expansion interface 126.

On the other hand, the control unit 210 is connected to the main control unit 121 of the personal computer to relay the movement of data between each home appliance (132a, 132b), or separate from the main control unit 121, each home appliance (132a, And a control signal between 132b).

The control unit 210 is implanted with a separate drive program that is driven separately from the drive of the personal computer 120. Therefore, depending on the operating state of the personal computer (power on (on) / off (off) and power saving mode) it can be driven independently or connected to the main controller of the personal computer.

In addition, the control unit 210 controls the driving program of the home gateway card 200 implanted in the control unit 210 when the personal computer 120 is normally operated according to the operation state of the personal computer 120. The home gateway card 200 is implanted in the main controller 121 so that the resources (main controller, memory, etc.) of the personal computer 120 can be used.

The database 220 stores basic information of each home appliance 132a and 132b and a list of AV contents (for example, a video and music) stored in the home appliance 132a and 132b and the personal computer 120. The storage list of the database 220 is provided according to the needs of the home appliances 132a and 132b when the personal computer 120 is turned off or in the power saving mode.

Hereinafter, a home gateway using a personal computer and an operation of a home network system using the same will be described. Each element mentioned below should be understood with reference to the above description and drawings.

3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a home gateway card according to an operation state of a personal computer in a home network system according to the present invention.

In the home gateway using the personal computer according to the present invention, the operation of the home gateway card 200 is limited according to the operating state of the personal computer 120. That is, when the personal computer 120 is in normal operation and in the power saving mode (or power off), its operation is limited.

The operation of the home gateway according to the operating state of the personal computer 120 will be described. First, the control unit 210 of the home gateway card 200 determines the operating state of the personal computer 120 (step S110). In this case, when the operation state of the personal computer 120 is in a normal operating state, the home gateway card 200 operates in dependence on the main controller of the personal computer 120. When the personal computer is in a power saving state, the home gateway card 200 is operated by the personal computer. Works separately from

First, the operation of the home gateway card 200 will be described when the personal computer 120 operates normally.

When the personal computer 120 is normally operated, the control unit 210 of the home gateway card 200 transmits a driving program to the personal computer 120 by the control unit 210 to the personal computer 120 by the home gateway card 200. Load the drive program (step S122).

As the driving program is loaded into the personal computer 120, the control authority of the home gateway card 200 is transferred to the main controller 125 of the personal computer 120, and the home gateway card 200 is controlled by the main controller 125. ) Is controlled and the external communication network 110 and the home network 130 are relayed (step S124).

At this time, the data of each home appliance (132a, 132b) is relayed using the resources of the personal computer 120, the home gateway card 200 is also connected to the personal computer 120 and the external communication network (110). Perform.

That is, when the home appliance 132a or 132b connected to the home network 130 requests specific data, the home appliance 130 uses a resource of the personal computer 120 (eg, a main control unit, a memory unit, etc.) to exchange a large amount of content with another home appliance. It may be provided to the devices (132a, 132b).

Meanwhile, the operation of the home gateway card 200 will be described when the personal computer 120 is operated in a power saving mode.

When the personal computer 120 is operated in a power saving mode, the control unit 21 of the home gateway card 200 executes a drive program of the control unit 210 to independently drive the home gateway card 200 (step S132). .

Accordingly, the data of the home appliances 132a and 132b are relayed using their own resources of the home gateway card 200. However, the relayed data is to provide the list data stored in the database 220 of the home gateway card 200, not the actual data stored in each home appliance 132a or 132b (step S134).

As described above, according to the home gateway using a personal computer according to the present invention and a home network system using the same, an option board type in which a personal computer is equipped with a home gateway for controlling and monitoring home appliances connected to a home network in a home By providing it, it is possible to connect the personal computer and the home network without a separate interface connecting the home network and the personal computer.

In addition, by providing a home gateway in the form of an option board (or card) mounted to a personal computer, and by using the power supplied in the power saving mode of the personal computer, it is possible to prevent unnecessary waste of power by the personal computer. have.

Claims (5)

It is installed in the computer through the card interface, An external interface connected to an external communication network; A premise interface connected to the home network; And a control unit which relays a data list of home appliances connected to the home network by using power supplied in the power saving mode when the computer is operated in the power saving mode according to the operation state of the computer. The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit, And relaying authority to the computer when the computer is operated in the normal mode, wherein the computer relays data of the home appliance using the resources of the computer. The method of claim 1, The home gateway further comprises a database for storing information of the home appliances and data information stored in each of the home appliances. Detecting a operation of the computer by a home gateway card installed in the computer; The home gateway card transfers data relay authority to the computer when the computer is operating in a normal mode, and the home gateway card has the data relay authority when the computer is operating in a power saving mode. Home network control method. The method of claim 4, wherein The data relayed by the computer when the computer is operated in the normal mode is data stored in each of the home appliances, and the data relayed by the home gateway card when the computer is operated in the power save mode is transmitted to the respective home appliances. Home network control method characterized in that the list of stored data.

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