PLC Device Supporting MIMO Operations
First Claim
1. A powerline communications (PLC) device comprising:
- a PLC interface operable to couple at least two differing communication signals to at least two differing pairs of at least three conductors of a powerline medium; and
a processing module coupled the PLC interface, the processing module and the PLC interface operable to;
interact with a remote PLC device to determine connectivity of the remote PLC device to the PLC device via the at least three conductors of the powerline medium;
select at least two conductor pairs of the powerline medium that communicatively couple the PLC device to the remote PLC device for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) signal servicing; and
simultaneously transmit MIMO PLC signals to the remote PLC device via the at least two conductor pairs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A communications device includes a PLC interface operable to couple at least two differing communication signals to at least two differing pairs of at least three conductors of a powerline medium. A processing module of the device and the PLC interface interact with a remote PLC device to determine connectivity of the remote PLC device to the PLC device via the at least three conductors of the powerline medium, select at least two conductor pairs of the powerline medium that communicatively couple the PLC device to the remote PLC device for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) signal servicing, and simultaneously transmit MIMO PLC signals to the remote PLC device via the at least two conductor pairs. The communications device may also include a non-PLC interface, with the communications device operable to divide MIMO communications between a powerline medium and a non-PLC medium, e.g., coaxial cable, cat-5 cable.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A powerline communications (PLC) device comprising:
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a PLC interface operable to couple at least two differing communication signals to at least two differing pairs of at least three conductors of a powerline medium; and a processing module coupled the PLC interface, the processing module and the PLC interface operable to; interact with a remote PLC device to determine connectivity of the remote PLC device to the PLC device via the at least three conductors of the powerline medium; select at least two conductor pairs of the powerline medium that communicatively couple the PLC device to the remote PLC device for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) signal servicing; and simultaneously transmit MIMO PLC signals to the remote PLC device via the at least two conductor pairs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for operating a first PLC (Power Line Communications) device to support communication with a second PLC device via a plurality of powerline medium conductors, the method comprising:
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identifying a number of available conductors from the plurality of powerline medium conductors, the available conductors being those of the plurality of powerline medium conductors that are attached to both the first PLC device and the second PLC device; and establishing Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) communications if the number of available conductors is sufficient to support MIMO. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A communications device that communicates via a coupled powerline medium, the communication device comprising:
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a PLC (Power Line Communication) interface operable to couple a communication signal to at least a first conductor of the coupled powerline medium; a non-PLC communication interface operable to support non-PLC communication; and a processing module coupled the PLC interface and to the non-PLC communication interface, the processing module, the PLC interface, and the non-PLC communication interface operable to; interact with a remote communications device to determine connectivity of the remote communications device to the communications device via the powerline medium and the non-PLC communication interface; establish a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) configuration based at least in part on the connectivity determination. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification