System and method for detecting an arc fault in a power line signal including a communication signal modulated on an AC power signal
First Claim
1. A method of communicating over a power line, the method comprising:
- communicating a power line signal over the power line, wherein the power line signal comprises a communication signal modulated on an alternating current (AC) power signal, wherein the communication signal is communicated according to a power line network protocol, wherein a power spectrum of the power line signal comprises at least one first frequency band and at least one second frequency band that is different from the at least one first frequency band, wherein, in accordance with the power line network protocol, a power of the power line signal in the at least one first frequency band is attenuated in comparison to the power of the power line signal in the at least one second frequency band; and
performing arc fault detection on spectral portions of the power line signal that are within the at least one first frequency band.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An embodiment method of detecting an arc fault includes communicating a power line signal, including a communication signal modulated on an alternating current power signal, over a power line. The communication signal is communicated according to a power line network protocol. A power spectrum of the communication signal includes a first frequency band and a second frequency band different from the first frequency band. In accordance with the power line network protocol, a power of the communication signal in the first frequency band is attenuated in comparison to the power of the communication signal in the second frequency band. The method further includes performing arc fault detection on the spectral portions of the power line signal that are within the first frequency band.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of communicating over a power line, the method comprising:
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communicating a power line signal over the power line, wherein the power line signal comprises a communication signal modulated on an alternating current (AC) power signal, wherein the communication signal is communicated according to a power line network protocol, wherein a power spectrum of the power line signal comprises at least one first frequency band and at least one second frequency band that is different from the at least one first frequency band, wherein, in accordance with the power line network protocol, a power of the power line signal in the at least one first frequency band is attenuated in comparison to the power of the power line signal in the at least one second frequency band; and performing arc fault detection on spectral portions of the power line signal that are within the at least one first frequency band. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of operating an arc fault detection system coupled to a power line, the method comprising:
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communicating a power line signal over a power line, wherein the power line signal comprises a communication signal modulated on an alternating current (AC) power signal, wherein the communication signal is communicated according to a power line network protocol, wherein a power spectrum of the power line signal comprises a first frequency band and a second frequency band that is different from first frequency band, wherein, in accordance with the power line network protocol, a power of the power line signal in the first frequency band is attenuated in comparison to the power of the power line in the second frequency band; designating spectral portions of the power line signal that are within the first frequency band as an arc fault detection frequency window; and performing arc fault detection on spectral portions of the power line signal that are within the arc fault detection frequency window, wherein no arc fault detection is performed on spectral portions of the power line signal that are outside of the arc fault detection frequency window. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A system comprising:
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a power line modem configured to be coupled to a power line and to modulate and demodulate a communication signal on an alternating current (AC) power signal of the power line, wherein the AC power signal and the communication signal form a power line signal on the power line, wherein the power line signal is communicated according to a power line network protocol, wherein a power spectrum of the power line signal comprises a first frequency band and a second frequency band that is different from the first frequency band, wherein, in accordance with the power line network protocol, a power of the power line signal in the first frequency band is attenuated in comparison to the power of the power line signal in the second frequency band; and an arc fault detector coupled to the power line modem and configured to; identify spectral portions of power line signal that are within the first frequency band; and perform arc fault detection on the spectral portions of the power line signal that are within the first frequency band. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification