Powerline bridge apparatus
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A powerline access portal system for enabling transfer of data onto and off of a powerline, said system comprised of:
- an electrical outlet connector that is coupled to a powerline;
a media access controller/physical interface (MAC/PHY) processor that transforms data that is to be transported via the powerline, and that transforms data that has been transported and received from the powerline;
an analog front end coupled between the electrical outlet and the MAC/PHY processor that is capable of amplifying signals to be transmitted on or received from the powerline; and
a data transport interface coupled to the MAC/PHY processor that sends data to the MAC/PHY processor for transport by the powerline, and that receives data from the MAC/PHY processor that has been transported and received from the powerline.
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Abstract
A system whereby existing powerlines are utilized as a data transport medium whereby computer network data, audio data, video data, control signals, native communication signals, and any combinations thereof are transported via powerlines, wherein powerline access portals are provided at any electrical power outlets to thereby enable data to be transmitted onto and received from standard powerlines, and wherein filters can be installed at power boxes to ensure that data is not transported to any powerlines that are not considered part of a data network.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A powerline access portal system for enabling transfer of data onto and off of a powerline, said system comprised of:
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an electrical outlet connector that is coupled to a powerline;
a media access controller/physical interface (MAC/PHY) processor that transforms data that is to be transported via the powerline, and that transforms data that has been transported and received from the powerline;
an analog front end coupled between the electrical outlet and the MAC/PHY processor that is capable of amplifying signals to be transmitted on or received from the powerline; and
a data transport interface coupled to the MAC/PHY processor that sends data to the MAC/PHY processor for transport by the powerline, and that receives data from the MAC/PHY processor that has been transported and received from the powerline. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for enabling transfer of data onto and off of a powerline utilizing a powerline access portal, said method comprising the steps of:
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1) providing a powerline access portal that comprises an electrical outlet connector that is coupled to a powerline, a media access controller/physical interface (MAC/PHY) processor that transforms data that is to be transported via the powerline, and that transforms data that has been transported and received from the powerline, an analog front end coupled between the electrical outlet and the MAC/PHY processor that is capable of amplifying signals to be transmitted on or received from the powerline, and a data transport interface coupled to the MAC/PHY processor that sends data to the MAC/PHY processor for transport by the powerline, and that receives data from the MAC/PHY processor that has been transported and received from the powerline; and
2) transmitting data to the data transport interface to be transported via the powerline. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A method for transferring data via powerline utilizing a powerline access portal, said method comprising the steps of:
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1) providing a powerline access portal that is coupled to a powerline; and
2) transmitting data via the powerline access portal to the powerline, wherein the data is characterized as being selected from the group of data types comprised of Ethernet, USB 1.0 and 2.0, parallel, serial, Firewire (IEEE
1394), optical (fiber optic), telephony, DSL, WiFi 802.11a, 802.11b, Bluetooth, and radio frequency 900 MHz), and infra-red. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification