Electric utility communication system with field installation terminal and load management terminal with remotely assignable unique address
First Claim
1. Distribution powerline carrier communication apparatus comprising:
- a load management terminal connected to the powerline and deriving power therefrom, said load management terminal comprising a receiver coupled to the powerline for receiving a carrier signal imposed thereon and means connected to said receiver for controlling loads in response to said carrier signals, anda test terminal removably connected to said load management terminal and deriving operating power therefrom, said test terminal comprising a test transmitter coupled to the powerline for imposing carrier signals on the powerline, and means connected to said test transmitter for generating test commands to actuate said load control means and for modulating said commands onto carrier signals imposed on the powerline by said test transmitter, whereby said commands are transmitted from said test terminal to said load management terminal solely over the powerline and are received by said receiver to cause actuation of said load control means.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A powerline carrier communications system includes a plurality of types of load management terminals, each of which has a unique address, and a combination field configuration and test terminal which can be plugged into the load management terminals. The combination terminal is coupled to the powerline through the connection to the load management terminal and generates a separate set of test commands for each type of load management terminal, which are transmitted over the powerline for execution by the connected load management terminal. Some types of load management terminals include an INITIALIZATION ENABLE line which, when activated by the connected combination terminal, commands the load management terminal to accept and store an address value received over the powerline as its new unique address.
146 Citations
10 Claims
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1. Distribution powerline carrier communication apparatus comprising:
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a load management terminal connected to the powerline and deriving power therefrom, said load management terminal comprising a receiver coupled to the powerline for receiving a carrier signal imposed thereon and means connected to said receiver for controlling loads in response to said carrier signals, and a test terminal removably connected to said load management terminal and deriving operating power therefrom, said test terminal comprising a test transmitter coupled to the powerline for imposing carrier signals on the powerline, and means connected to said test transmitter for generating test commands to actuate said load control means and for modulating said commands onto carrier signals imposed on the powerline by said test transmitter, whereby said commands are transmitted from said test terminal to said load management terminal solely over the powerline and are received by said receiver to cause actuation of said load control means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. Electric utility system load management apparatus, comprising:
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a central station for generating load management commands and for transmitting said commands over a communications medium, a plurality of load management terminals each capable of providing load control functions and comprising a receiver for receiving said load management commands over said communications medium, storage means for storing a unique address whereby each of said load management terminals can be individually accessed by said central station, and INITIALIZATION ENABLE means operable upon activation to cause said storage means to accept a new value of unique address through said receiver; and a field configuration terminal comprising means permitting an operator to enter an address value, a transmitter for transmitting said entered address value over said communications medium, and means adapted for connection to one of said load management terminals for activating said INITIALIZATION ENABLE means, whereby said transmitted address value is accepted by said storage means and becomes the unique address for said connected load management terminal. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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Specification