House code assigning device for assigning house code to electronic equipment

• US 20040066272A1
• Filed: 06/26/2003
• Published: 04/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Renesas System Design, Co., Ltd. (Renesas Electronics Corporation), Renesas Technology Corporation (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Renesas System Design, Co., Ltd. (Renesas Electronics Corporation), Renesas Technology Corporation (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Kitagaki, Katsumi, Nakakimura, Kiyoshi, Hirosawa, Takashi, Kondoh, Harufusa
• Application Number:
  US10/603,663
• Publication Number:
  US 20040066272A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/3.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]

Abstract

A house code assigning device includes a communication unit for sending a command for requesting transmission of a house code to electronic equipment included in a system and for receiving a house code from the electronic equipment, a verification unit for verifying whether or not a house code received by the communication unit is correct and for outputting a verification result showing whether or not the house code received by the communication unit is correct, and a display control unit for controlling a light emitting unit according to the verification result from the verification unit.

Claims

1. A house code assigning device for assigning a specific house code to one or more pieces of electronic equipment connected with each other via a common line in order to differentiate a system, in which the one or more pieces of electronic equipment are controlled through communication via the common line, from other systems, said device comprising:

a communication means for sending a command for requesting transmission of a house code to electronic equipment included in the system and for receiving a house code from the electronic equipment;

a verification means for verifying whether or not a house code received by said communication means is correct and for outputting a verification result showing whether or not the house code received by said communication means is correct; and

a display control means for controlling a light emitting means according to the verification result from said verification means.

2. The house code assigning device according to claim 1, wherein said display control means turns on said light emitting means when the verification result shows that the house code received by said communication means is correct, whereas said display control means blinks said light emitting means when the verification result shows that the house code received by said communication means is incorrect.

3. The house code assigning device according to claim 1, wherein every time when said verification means determines that the house code received by said communication means is incorrect, said verification means causes said communication means to send a correct house code and a house code assigning command for assigning the correct house code to said electronic equipment, counts a number of times that said verification means verifies that the house code received by said communication means is incorrect, and outputs a verification result showing that the house code received by said communication means is incorrect when determining that the house code received by said communication means is incorrect after the number of times that said verification means verifies that the house code received by said communication means is incorrect reaches a predetermined number of times.

4. The house code assigning device according to claim 1, wherein when said house code assigning device makes sure that a certain piece of electronic equipment is newly connected to the house code assigning device, said communication means sends a command for requesting transmission of a house code to said electronic equipment and receives a house code assigned to said electronic equipment.

5. The house code assigning device according to claim 1, wherein said communication means can send a house code, a house code transmission request command for requesting transmission of a house code, and a house code assigning command for assigning a house code, and can receive a house code to and from electronic equipment connected to said house code assigning device, by way of a leased line that works from a small amount of DC electrical power.

6. The house code assigning device according to claim 1, wherein said communication means can send a house code, a house code transmission request command for requesting transmission of a house code, and a house code assigning command for assigning a house code, and can receive a house code to and from electronic equipment connected to said house code assigning device, by way of electrical power lines via which electrical power is supplied to the electronic equipment.