Bidirectional transmission apparatus

Abstract: A bidirectional transmission apparatus, such as an optical atmospheric link apparatus which sends information signals to and receives information signals from a communicating object using modulated light beams which propagate in the atmosphere. The invention enables the sending and receiving channel frequencies to be set simply and easily, to avoid interference between signals transmitted simultaneously over the sending and receiving channels. The apparatus of the invention includes a housing with slots. Each slot changeably accommodates a sending wiring board or a receiving wiring board. A control unit can set the operating frequency of each board at a particular frequency assigned to the slot in which the board is housed. The apparatus of the invention also includes an intercom circuit for communicating with the communicating object.

Description: Field of the Invention This invention relates to a bidirectional transmission apparatus, which can be applied to, for example, an optical atmospheric link apparatus which sends information signals to and receives information signals from an object of communication by means of light beams propagating through the atmosphere. Prior art There has been proposed a conventional optical atmospheric link apparatus which receives a part of the sending light beam sent to a communicating object by reflected to bend it, so that a location irradiated by the light beam on the communicating object can be easily detected in the sending apparatus side (Japanese Patent Application JP 1 305 734). That is, in an optical atmospheric link apparatus of this kind, a laser diode is driven with a specified information signal, and a sending light beam with a specified plane of polarization is emitted from the laser diode. Thereupon, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus, the sending light beam is sent to the communicating object via a specified optical system, and the information signal is transmitted by means of the sending light beam, L1. In the optical atmospheric link apparatus, the receiving light beam from the communicating object is further received by a specified light receiving element, the output signal of which is then processed in a specified signal processing circuit. Therefore, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus, the information signal from the communicating object is received by means of the receiving light beam. In the optical atmospheric link apparatus, a part of the sending light beam is further separated and reflected to bend along the optical axis of the sending light beam, and the sending light beam thus reflected is then picked up together with the scene of the communicating object. Therefore, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus, a location at which the sending light beam is irradiated can be detected as a bright spot in the picked-up image of the communicating object, making it possible to simplify installation work. As a result, video signals picked up with a TV camera while carrying the system around outdoors can be easily relayed. In a bidirectional communication system of this kind, it is necessary to prevent interference between the sending and receiving information signals by setting the modulation frequencies of information signals to be sent and received at different values. Particularly in an optical atmospheric link apparatus of this kind, some nonlinear distortion cannot be avoided in so far as a laser diode has to be driven. Therefore, the sending and receiving information signals become to be not able to be sent to the communicating object and received from the same, if the frequencies of information signals to be sent and received are equal. As shown in Fig. 7, one possible method to resolve this problem would be to allocate the modulation frequencies of odd-number channels 1, 3, and 5 to the first optical atmospheric link apparatus 1 and the modulation frequencies of the second optical atmospheric link apparatus 2, which is a communicating object for the first atmospheric link apparatus, to even-number channels 2, 4, and 6. However, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 1 and 2 to which the channels have thus once been allocated, information signals can no longer be sent and received with the communicating objects to which the even-number channels and odd-number channels have been allocated. That is, if the channels are thus allocated to the optical atmospheric link apparatus 1 and 2, the interchangeability of optical atmospheric link apparatus will be impaired and also productivity will fall, because it is needed to produce two types of optical atmospheric link apparatus. Moreover, such channel allocation as the above makes it difficult for a user to set as many sending and receiving channels as necessary, so that it becomes impossible for the user to take advantage of the merits of the optical atmospheric link apparatus, that is portability and ease-of-installation of the same. One possible solution to this problem is to arrange sending slots 6A through 6F and receiving slots 8A through 8B for sending wiring boards and receiving wiring boards, respectively, in both optical atmospheric link apparatus 4A and optical atmospheric link apparatus 4B, so that the sending slots 6A-6F have a one-to-one correspondence with the receiving slots 8A-8B, as shown in Fig. 8. That is, sending slots 6A-6B in apparatus 4A are connected to optical multiplexer circuit 10A and sending slots 6A-6B in apparatus 4B are connected to optical multiplexer circuit 10B, thus multiplexing the modulation signals from sending slots 6A-6B. The receiving slots 8A-8B, on the other hand, are connected to optical branching circuit 12A (in apparatus 4A) and to optical branching circuit 12B (in apparatus 4B), whereby transmitted modulation signals are output to the receiving slots 8A-8B respectively. In this case, common channels are allocated to the receiving slots 8A-8F corresponding to the sending slots 6A-6F, respectively, so that one communication line can be secured by housing a sending wiring board in the first sending slot 6A of optical atmospheric link apparatus 4A, for example, and correspondingly housing a receiving wiring board in the first receiving slot 8A of second optical atmospheric link apparatus 4B. Thus, desired sending and receiving channels can be set up by housing sending or receiving wiring boards in the corresponding slots 6A-6F and 8A-8F as necessary. However, in this method, there is a problem that redundant free slots must remain. As a result, the number of slots tends to increase disproportionately to the number of sending and receiving channels. Another possible method, apart from the above, is to enable a sending wiring board and a receiving wiring board to be housed in a common slot. In this case, the channels may be set with selective switches built in the sending and receiving wiring boards. This method, however, is still problematic in that channel missetting is unavoidable since channel setting is left to each user's selective operation. Moreover, such optical atmospheric link apparatus require communication lines, which themselves require sending and receiving frequencies to be set at different values, and also require interchangeability between the optical atmospheric link apparatus. GB-A-2 181 920 describes an optical local area network wherein the entire microwave frequency band width of the optical source-to-detector system is subdivided into a plurality of non-overlapping frequency bands or channels and each user transmits and/or receives information either (a) on a separate fixed one of the channels, (b) on a free channel selectively assigned via control signals transmitted on a separate control channel at the time of initiation of a communication, or (c) on a channel randomly selected at the receiver's side by an associated user to receive a particular program. The use of a suitable contention resolution technique for determining an inactive channel increases the cost and complexity of each transceiver since each transceiver must be capable of generating all of the possible carriers of the N-channels either selectively at each transceiver or automatically in response to control signals from either a central network unit or from included contention resolution means. The optical communication system known from above GB-A-2 181 920 does neither provide a solution for extending or reducing the number of transmitting/receiving channels in a flexible manner nor a simple and easy setting of the operating frequencies of the sending and receiving channel depending on the configuration of the system, that is the number of sending and receiving channels to be operated. Summary of the Invention In view of the foregoing, the present invention is to provide a compact bidirectional transmission system allowing the operating frequencies of its sending and receiving channels to be set simply and easily. The above object is according to the invention solved by the features specified in the independent claim 1. Depending claims 2 to 8 are respectively specifying advantageous developments thereof. According to an essential aspect, the above object is solved by a bidirectional transmitting/receiving apparatus for use in a bidirectional communication system including both said apparatus and a terminal remotely located therefrom for bidirectionally transmitting information signals between said apparatus and said terminal, said apparatus comprising: a housing means for removably receiving at least one sending and receiving wiring board each including a modulation circuit for modulating an information signal to generate a modulated information signal, a modulation frequency control circuit for controlling modulation frequency of said modulation circuit and a demodulation circuit for demodulating a modulated information signal at a demodulation frequency to generate a demodulated information signal and a demodulation frequency control circuit for controlling said demodulation frequency, respectively, multiplexing means connected for multiplexing each modulated information signal and to generate a multiplexed signal therefrom, transmitting means connected to the multiplexing means for receiving the multiplexed signal and transmitting said multiplexed signal towards the remote terminal, and receiving means for receiving a multiplexed signal transmitted from said terminal, characterized in that said sending and receiving wiring board (or boards) is (are) separated in a sending wiring board and a receiving wiring board, respectively said housing means has at least two slots, wherein each of the slots can removably receive either one of said sending wiring boards and said receiving wiring boards, said multiplexing means is multiplexing the modulated information signal supplied from each sending wiring board housed in one of the slots, said bidirectional transmitting apparatus further comprising: distributing means connected to said receiving means and distributing a plurality of modulated information signals from each multiplexed signal delivered from the receiving means to each receiving wiring board in the slots, and a control circuit for controlling the modulation frequency through the modulation frequency control circuit of each sending wiring board in one of the slots according to the condition which of the slots houses each of said sending wiring boards, and controlling a demodulation frequency through the demodulation frequency control circuit of each receiving wiring board in one of the slots according to the condition which of the slots houses said receiving wiring board. Moreover, the bidirectional transmission system of the invention further comprises a communication ("intercom") circuit 26 generating a sending communication signal SINO to be sent to the communicating object 11B, and demodulating a receiving communication signal SINI from the communicating object 11B. Control circuit 34 includes a wiring board distinguishing means for distinguishing one wiring board from another housed in the first and second wiring board housing means 22A and 22B. Multiplexing circuit 24 multiplexes the sending communication signal SINO (as well as the modulation signals SMA - SMF) to generate the multiplexed signal S1, and distribution circuit 20 distributes a multiplexed signal S2 transmitted from the communicating object 11B to the first and second connectors and the communication circuit 26. Control circuit 34 switches the behavior of the communication circuit 26 depending on the result (DS) of an operation distinguishing one wiring board from another wiring board by the wiring board distinguishing means, and switches the frequency of the sending communication signal SINO and the demodulation frequency of the receiving communication signal SINI depending on whether a sending wiring board 28 or a receiving wiring board 30 is housed in the first or second wiring board housing means 22A and 22B. Furthermore, in the bidirectional transmission system of this invention, control circuit 34 sets the frequency of the sending communication signal SINO and the demodulation frequency of the receiving communication signal SINI at a first frequency CHA and a second frequency CHB respectively when sending wiring board 28 is housed in the first wiring board housing means 22A. Control circuit 34 sets the frequency of the sending communication signal SINO and the demodulation frequency of the receiving communication signal SINI at a first frequency CHB and a second frequency CHA respectively when the receiving board 30 is housed in the first wiring board housing means 22A, sets the frequency of sending communication signal SINO and the demodulation frequency of receiving communication signal SINI respectively at a first frequency CHA and a second frequency CHB, or else at a second frequency CHB and a first frequency CHA, when neither sending wiring board 28 nor receiving wiring board 30 is housed in first wiring board housing means 22A and sending wiring board 28 is housed in second board housing means 22B, sets the frequency of sending communication signal SINO and the demodulation frequency of receiving communication signal SINI, respectively, at a second frequency CHB and a first frequency CHA, or else at a first frequency CHA and a second frequency CHB, when neither the sending wiring board 28 nor the receiving wiring board 30 is housed in first wiring board housing means 22A and receiving wiring board 30 is housed in second wiring board housing means 22B. Furthermore, in the bidirectional transmission system of this invention, multiplexing circuit 24 drives a laser light source 13 and transmits said sending information signals SAAI - SAFI and SVAI - SVFI to the communicating object 11B, and said distribution circuit 20 receives a receiving light beam L2 from said communicating object 11B and receives a multiplexed signal S2 from the communicating object 11B. A sending wiring board 28 and a receiving wiring board 30 can be changeably housed in the first and second wiring board housing means 22A and 22B. Outputting control data DA-DF are delivered thereto for changing the operating frequency thereof, so that the operating frequencies of sending wiring board 28 and receiving wiring board 30 become ones preset for the first and second wiring board housing means 22A and 22B. As a result, simple setting of frequencies for the sending and receiving channels is made possible while maintaining interchangeability in the general system with the communicating object. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a bidirectional transmission apparatus according to an embodiment of this invention; Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the connections between the slots of the Fig. 1 apparatus; Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining channel allocation in the Fig. 1 apparatus; Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a sending wiring board which can be included in the Fig. 1 apparatus; Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a receiving wiring board which can be included in the Fig. 1 apparatus; Fig. 6 is a block diagram of an intercom circuit which can be included in the Fig. 1 apparatus; Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining channel allocation in a conventional apparatus; Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a conventional apparatus in which a first set of slots house a set of sending wiring boards and another set of slots house a set of receiving wiring boards. Fig. 9 is a flow chart of a preferred method by which the invention allocates intercom sending and receiving channel frequencies. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Preferred embodiments of this invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In Fig. 1, optical atmospheric link apparatus 11 includes a driver 12 which drives a laser diode 13, to send light beam L1 with a particular plane of polarization. In the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, sending light beam L1 is transformed by a lens 15A into parallel rays of light, which then pass through a polarizing beam splitter 16 to lenses 15B and 15C, thereby sending the sending light beam L1 formed in predetermined beam shape. The optical atmospheric link apparatus 11 transmits the sending light beam L1 to a communicating object (e.g., object 11B shown in Fig. 3), so that a desired information signal S1 is sent by means of the sending light beam L1. Moreover, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, a receiving light beam L2 arriving from the communicating object is received into the lens 15C and is then guided through lens 15B to polarizing beam splitter 16. The plane of polarization of the receiving light beam L2 sent from the communicating object intersects orthogonally with the plane of polarization of the sending light beam L1, whereupon the receiving light beam L2 is reflected by the polarizing beam splitter 16 into lens 15D. Lens 15D causes the receiving light beam L2 to converge on a light receiving element 16. The element 16 then outputs an output signal being the result of the light reception to an branching circuit 20 via an AGC circuit 18. Moreover, in this embodiment, the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11 has six slots 22A-22F capable of accommodating card-type wiring boards, the output signals from which are added in an optical multiplexer circuit 24 consisting of adders, whereupon modulating signals generated in the respective sending wiring boards are frequency-multiplexed to generate an information signal S1. Furthermore, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, modulation signals generated by an intercom circuit 26 are frequency-multiplexed by the optical multiplexer circuit 24 in addition to the modulating signals generated in the sending wiring boards, whereupon various signals for communication can be transmitted to their communicating objects. Branching circuit 20 separates an information signal S2 into components according to frequency bands, the signal components of which are then output respectively to six slots 22A - 22F and the intercom circuit 26. Whereupon, information signals from the communicating object can be processed by plugging receiving wiring boards into the desired slots 22A - 22F in place of sending wiring boards. Communication signals from the communicating object can be demodulated via the intercom circuit 26. Thus, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, desired sending and receiving channels can be secured by plugging sending wiring boards or receiving wiring boards into the six slots 22A - 22F as necessary. In the slots 22A - 22F, as shown in Fig. 2, card-shape wiring boards are connected through connectors to a mother wiring board, whereon the multiplexer circuit 24, branching filter circuit 20, and intercom circuit 26 are formed. That is, in the mother wiring board, each connector is connected to multiplexer circuit 24 and branching circuit 20. Thus, if sending wiring boards 28A and 28B are plugged into corresponding slots, modulation signals SMA - SMF from the sending wiring boards 28A and 28B are output to the multiplexer circuit 24. If receiving wiring boards 30C and 30D plugged into the corresponding slots instead of the sending wiring boards, output signals SDA-SDF from the branching circuit 20 are applied to the receiving wiring boards 30C and 30D. In the system control circuit 34, control data DA-DF allocated to the slots 22A - 22F, respectively, are output to the connectors of the slots 22A - 22F, whereupon the operating frequencies of the sending wiring boards and the receiving wiring boards plugged into the slots are set at frequencies assigned to the respective slots 22A - 22F. Thus, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, as shown in Fig. 3, when the sending wiring boards 28A and 28B are plugged into the first and second slots 22A and 22B, respectively, the center frequencies of the modulation signals from the sending boards 28A and 22B are set as the frequencies of the first and second channels CH1 and CH2, respectively. When the receiving wiring boards 30C and 30D are housed in the third and fourth slots 22C and 22D, the center frequencies for demodulation on the receiving wiring boards 30C and 30D°are set at the frequencies of the third and fourth channels CH3 and CH4, respectively. Hence, with regard to a remote optical atmospheric link apparatus 11B (or "communicating object" 11B), if receiving wiring boards 30A and 30B are plugged into the corresponding first and second slots 22A and 22B, respectively, of the communicating object 11B, modulation signals can be transmitted from the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11 to the communicating object 11B through the first and second channels CH1 and CH2, respectively. Furthermore, with regard to communicating object 11B, if sending wiring boards 28C and 28D are plugged into the corresponding third and fourth slots 22C and 22D, respectively, of the communicating object 11B, the modulation signals thus sent from the communicating object 11B can be received (at apparatus 11) through the third and fourth channels CH3 and CH4, respectively. Two or more slots are arranged so that a sending wiring board or a receiving wiring board can be selectively plugged in each of such slots. The operating frequencies of these wiring boards are set at the frequencies predetermined to the respective slots. Thus, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, each of the six slots can be used for either one of the sending wiring boards or one of the receiving wiring boards. Thus, the setting of sending and receiving channels can be simplified through miniaturization of the whole system. Moreover, in the system control circuit 34, the bits of an input port are assigned respectively to the connectors of the slots 22A-22F. The connection lines of the connectors in sending wiring boards 28 are connected to the power supply, whereas the connection lines of the connectors in receiving wiring boards 30 are grounded. Thereupon, in the system control circuit 34, a decision is made as to whether sending wiring board 28 or receiving wiring board 30 is housed in each of the slots 22A -22F, and the sending and receiving frequencies are set based on the result of their decision. That is, in the system control circuit 34, when a sending wiring board 28 is housed in the first slot 22A, the frequencies of the sending and receiving channels of intercom circuit 26 are set to the first intercom channel CHA and the second intercom channel CHB, respectively. By contrast, in the system control circuit 34, when a receiving wiring board 30 is housed in the first slot 22A, the sending and receiving channels of the intercom circuit 26 are set to the second intercom channel CHB and the first intercom channel CHA, respectively. Thereupon, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, the frequency of the intercom circuit 26 is set according to the type of the board housed in the first slot 22A, whereupon a communication line can be secured without interchangeability being lost. Moreover, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, if neither a sending wiring board 28 nor a receiving wiring board 30 is housed in the first slot 22A, then the system will detect a wiring board housed in the second slot 22B. When a sending wiring board 28 is housed in the second slot 22B, the sending and receiving channels of the intercom circuit 26 are set to the first intercom channel CHA and the second intercom channel CHB, respectively. In this connection, a receiving wiring board 30 is housed in the second slot 22B with neither a sending wiring board 28 nor a receiving wiring board 30 housed in the first slot 22A, the sending and receiving channels of the intercom circuit 26 are set to the second intercom channel CHB and the first intercom channel CHA, respectively. Furthermore, when neither a sending wiring board 28 nor a receiving wiring board 30 is housed in the first slot 22A and second slot 22B, the system will detect a wiring board plugged in the third slot 22C. When either a sending wiring board 28 or a receiving wiring board 30 is housed (and plugged) in the third slot 22C, the sending and receiving channels of the intercom circuit 26 are set to the first intercom channels CHA and the second intercom channel CHB, respectively, or else to the second intercom channel CHB and the first intercom channel CHA, respectively. Similarly, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, when no wiring boards are plugged in the first to third slots 22A to 22C, the sending and receiving channels of the intercom circuit 26 are set according to the wiring board housed in the fourth slot 22D. When no wiring boards are plugged in the first to fourth slots 22A to 22D (or in the first to fifth slots 22A to 22E), the sending and receiving channels of the intercom circuit 26 are set according to the wiring boards housed in the fifth slot 22E (or the sixth slot 22F). Fig. 9 is a flow chart summarizing the preferred method for setting the frequencies of the sending and receiving channels of intercom circuit 26. As shown in Fig. 9, in step 100 (immediately after initialization) the wiring board distinguishing means in control circuit 34 determines whether there is any wiring board in the first slot 22A. If not, the wiring board distinguishing means performs step 102 to determine whether there is any wiring board in the second slot 22B. This process can repeat (each time for a different slot) until the wiring board distinguishing means performs step 108 to determine whether there is any wiring board in the sixth slot 22F. If not, the process ends. If the wiring board distinguishing means determines that a wiring board is housed in any of the slots, it then performs step 110 to determine whether the board is a sending wiring board 28. If it determines that the board is a sending wiring board, then control circuit 34 performs step 112 to allocate the intercom sending and receiving channels to channels (i.e., frequencies) CHA and CHB, respectively. If it is determined in step 110 that the board is not a sending wiring board, then control circuit 34 assumes the board is a receiving wiring board 30 and performs step 114 to allocate the intercom sending and receiving channels to channels CHB and CHA, respectively. As shown in Fig. 4, if sending wiring boards 28 are housed in the slots 22A to 22F, video signals SVAI (SVBI to SVFI) are received at specified connectors arranged on the cabinet, and audio signals SAAI (SABI to SAFI) which are associated with the respective video signals are also input through the connectors. One of video signals SVAI (SVBI to SVFI) and at least one of audio signals SAAI (SABI to SAFI) are supplied to modulation circuit 40 within each board 28. The modulation circuit 40 frequency-modulates the video signals SVAI and the audio signals SAAI with a specified center frequency and thereby forms an intermediate frequency signal SIF composed of modulation signals with the specified frequency, this intermediate frequency signal SIF being output to a mixer 42. The mixer 42, consisting of a double-balanced mixer composed of a ring modulation circuit configuration, multiplies a local oscillation signal SOSC from a local oscillation circuit 44 by the center frequency SIF and outputs the result via a low-pass filter circuit (LPF) 46. In the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, the frequency of the local oscillation signal SOSC is changed according to control data DA (DB to DF) from the system control circuit 34. Thus, each sending wiring board 28 outputs a modulation signal SMA (SMB to SMF) having the center frequency assigned to the relevant one of slots 22A to 22F. That is, in the local oscillation circuit 44, some part of the distributed output of a distributor 50 is fed as a local oscillation signal SOSC to the mixer 42, and the rest of the distributed output is frequency-divided by a prescaler 52 before being output to a PLL circuit 54. At this time the PLL circuit 54 cyclically counts reference signals generated by a quartz oscillator 56, draws a comparison in phase between the result of this counting and the frequency-divided output, and changes this count in accordance with control data DA (DB to DF) from the system control circuit 34. The result of this phase comparison is provided through a loop filter circuit 58 to a voltage-controlled oscillation circuit 60, the output signals of which are then output to the distribution circuit 50. Thereby, in the local oscillation circuit 44, the center frequency of modulation signals SMA (SMB to SMF) can be changed by means of switching control data DA (DB to DF). Since the switching control data DA (DB to DF) are provided to each of slots 22A to 22F, the frequencies of modulation signals SMA (SMB to SMF) can be set at frequencies corresponding to the respective slots 22A to 22F on a common sending wiring board. In the receiving wiring board 30, by contrast, as shown in Fig. 5, the output signals SDA (SDB to SDF) of distribution circuit 20 are received through a low-pass filter circuit (LPF) 62 into a mixer 64, and are multiplied therein by the local oscillation signal SOSC of local oscillation circuit 44. The mixer 62 and the local oscillation circuit 44 of the receiving board have the same configuration as the mixer 42 and local oscillation circuit 44 of the sending wiring board 28. Thus, local oscillation signals SOSC with frequencies corresponding to the respective slots 22A to 22F are generated similarly to the manner in which they are generated in the sending wiring board 28. The demodulation circuit 66 receives a center frequency signal SIF from the mixer 64. Then, the demodulation circuit 66 limits the frequency band of center frequency signal SIF and then demodulates the limited center frequency signal so as to output two channels of audio signals SAAO (SABO to SAFO) and video signals SVAO (SVBO to SVFO). Thereupon, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, it becomes possible to demodulate audio and video signals through channels allocated to the, slots 22A to 22F even if a receiving wiring board 30 is housed therein instead of a sending wiring board 28. Thereby, sending and receiving channels can be set simply and surely. In the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, as shown in Fig. 6, it becomes possible to input and output an operator/repeater's audio signals SA and SB with a communicating object via the microphone jack M and earphone jack I on the cabinet control panel. These audio signals are exchanged as communication signals with the communicating object. That is, in the intercom circuit 26, an audio signal 5A input through the microphone jack is amplified by an amplifier 70, frequency-modulated by a demodulator 72, frequency-converted by a mixer 74, and output through a low-pass filter 76 to the optical multiplexer circuit 24. Moreover, in the intercom circuit 26, the output signal SINI of the optical branching circuit 20 is sent through a low-pass filter circuit 78 to a mixer 80, therein undergoing frequency conversion. The resulting signal is further demodulated by a demodulator 82, the output signal of which is then output through an amplifier 84 to the earphone jack I. With regard to the sending and receiving systems in the intercom circuit 26, local oscillation circuits 86 and 88 of the sending and receiving systems are composed of PLL circuits, just as with the sending board 28 and the receiving board 30. Thus, the oscillation frequency of local oscillation circuit 86 can be changed according to control data DIA and DIB output from the system control circuit 34. Thus, in the optical atmospheric link apparatus 11, the control data DIA and DIB are output corresponding to the sending wiring boards 28 and the receiving wiring boards 30 housed in the first to sixth slots 22A to 22F to change the oscillation frequency of the local oscillation circuit 86, whereupon it also becomes possible to set the related communication lines to interference-free frequencies as necessary. According to the above configuration, a plurality of slots are provided so that sending wiring boards and receiving wiring boards can be housed interchangeably. Based on interchangeability between optical atmospheric link apparatus, the invention allows the simple and easy setting of frequencies of transmitting and receiving channels through the setting of the operating frequencies of the sending and receiving wiring boards housed in these slots at the respective frequencies assigned to each of the slots. The above-described configuration also allows the frequencies of sending and receiving channels to be set simply and easily for communication (intercom) lines as well by changing the behavior of the intercom circuit in accordance with the sending and receiving wiring boards housed in the corresponding slots. The above described embodiments have dealt with the case where control data are output from a system control circuit to set channels. However, the invention is not limited to this, but also may be applied to other cases, e.g., where control data are output through formed logic circuits. Moreover, the above described embodiments have dealt with the case where channels are set for six slots and an intercom circuit. However, the invention is not limited to this, but also allows various other variations, e.g., where various numbers of channels may be selected as necessary, and where the intercom circuit may be omitted. Furthermore, the above described embodiments have dealt with the case where the invention is applied to optical atmospheric link apparatuses to transmit video and audio signals. However, the invention is not limited to this, but can also be widely applied to other cases, such as the transmission of various information signals, the exchange of information signals through optical fibers, and the bidirectional transmission of desired information signals by the use of microwave lines. As described above, according to this invention, the operation frequencies of wiring boards are changeably set at specific frequencies assigned to respective board slots, and each slot can changeably accommodate one of two or more different sending and receiving boards. Therefore a bidirectional transmission device allowing the frequencies of sending and receiving channels to be set simply and easily as necessary is obtained, while maintaining interchangeability with communicating objects. Preferably, the data DA-DF assign a different operating frequency to each of the slots 22A-22F, regardless of which (if any) type of wiring board is plugged into each of the slots.

Claims: A bidirectional transmitting/receiving apparatus for use in a bidirectional communication system including both said apparatus (11) and a terminal (11B) remotely located therefrom for bidirectionally transmitting information signals between said apparatus and said terminal, said apparatus comprising: a housing means (22A-22F) for removably receiving at least one sending and receiving wiring board (28, 30) including a modulation circuit (40) for modulating an information signal to generate a modulated information signal and a modulation frequency control circuit for controlling modulation frequency of said modulation circuit, and a demodulation circuit (66) for demodulating a modulated information signal at a demodulation frequency to generate a demodulated information signal and a demodulation frequency control circuit for controlling said demodulation frequency, respectively, multiplexing means (24) connected for multiplexing each modulated information signal and to generate a multiplexed signal therefrom, transmitting means (12, 13) connected to the multiplexing means (24) for receiving the multiplexed signal and transmitting said multiplexed signal towards the remote terminal, and receiving means (16, 18) for receiving a multiplexed signal transmitted from said terminal, characterized in that said sending and receiving wiring board or boards is/are separated in a sending wiring board (28A, 28B) and a receiving wiring board (30C, 30D), respectively said housing means has at least two slots (22A-22F), wherein each of the slots can removably receive either one of said sending wiring boards and said receiving wiring boards, said multiplexing means (24) is arranged to multiplex the modulated information signal supplied from each sending wiring board housed in one of the slots, said bidirectional transmitting apparatus (11) further comprising: distributing means (20) connected to said receiving means and distributing a plurality of modulated information signals from each multiplexed signal delivered from the receiving means to each receiving wiring board in the slots, and a control circuit (34) for controlling the modulation frequency through the modulation frequency control circuit of each sending wiring board in one of the slots according to the condition which of the slots houses each of said sending wiring boards, and controlling a demodulation frequency through the demodulation frequency control circuit of each receiving wiring board in one of the slots according to the condition which of the slots houses said receiving wiring board. The bidirectional transmitting apparatus in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that said control circuit (34) is arranged to output control data (DA-DF) such that the modulation frequency of a sending wiring board (28) and the demodulation frequency of a receiving wiring board (30) housed in a different slot (22A-22F) are different and are preset for the respective slot in which the board is housed. The bidirectional transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the control circuit (34) is arranged to output the control data (DA-DF) such that a different operating frequency is assigned to each of the slots (22A-22F) of the housing means (26) regardless of which type of wiring board is plugged into each of the slots. The bidirectional transmitting apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: intercom means (26) having a first intercom circuit connected to said multiplexing means (24), and a second intercom circuit connected to said distributing means (20), wherein the first intercom circuit has an intercom modulating circuit (72) for modulating a sending intercom signal (SA) produced in said apparatus (11) to generate a modulated sending intercom signal (SINO) having an intercom modulation frequency (D/A; D/B), and an intercom modulating frequency control circuit (86) for controlling said intercom modulating frequency; and wherein the second intercom means (26) has an intercom demodulating circuit (82) for demodulating a modulated receiving intercom signal (SINI) at an intercom demodulation frequency (D/B; D/A) to generate a demodulated receiving intercom signal (SB) indicative of information from said remote terminal (11B), and an intercom demodulating frequency control circuit (88) for controlling the intercom demodulating frequency of the intercom demodulating circuit (82); and wherein the control circuit (34) also includes: a detect means for detecting whether one of said sending wiring boards (28) or one of said receiving wiring boards (30) is housed in a respective one of the slots; and intercom control means for controlling said intercom modulating frequency control circuit and said intercom demodulating frequency control circuit in accordance with an output signal of said detect means. The bidirectional transmitting apparatus of claim 4, wherein said detect means is arranged to sequentially address the slots (22A-22F) until detecting one sending wiring board (28) or one receiving wiring board (30) in one of the slots. The bidirectional transmitting apparatus of claim 1, wherein said transmitting means comprises a light source means (13) for generating a light beam. The bidirectional transmitting apparatus of claim 4, wherein said intercom means (26) is fixedly mounted in said apparatus. The bidirectional transmitting apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of said modulated information signals and said demodulated information signals is a video signal.

Inventors: MIHARA KANJI, MIHARA, KANJI, MIHARA, KANJI, C/O SONY CORPORATION
Applicants: SONY CORP, SONY CORPORATION
Application year: 1993
Main classification: H04B10
IPC codes: H04B10