Communication and energy control system for houses

• US 4,899,217 A
• Filed: 12/01/1987
• Issued: 02/06/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Building Technology Associates, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Smart House Limited Partnership
• Inventors: Wacks, Kenneth P., Foley, Daniel J., MacFadyen, David J., Edwards, Robert G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Jin F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F.
• Application Number:
  US07/126,794
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 379/102, 379/104, 379/105, 455/3, 455/4, 358/86
• US Class Current: 725/80
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1418 Removal detected by failure in electrical connection between the appliance and a control centre, home control panel or a power supply
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2300/03 Application domotique, e.g. for house automation, bus connected switches, sensors, loads or intelligent wiring
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/00 Installations of electric cables or lines or protective tubing therefor in or on buildings, equivalent structures or vehicles installations of bus-bars H02G5/00; overhead installations H02G7/00; installations in or on the ground H02G9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00036 the elements or equipment being or involving switches, relays or circuit breakers circuits for indication of single switches H01H9/167
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/12 The local stationary network supplying a household or a building
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 4/00 Circuit arrangements for mains or distribution networks not specified as ac or dc
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/205 with control bus for exchanging commands between units
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/28 characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks] wireless communication networks H04W ; arrangements for dividing the transmission path H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/14 Protecting elements, switches, relays or circuit breakers
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 End-user application control systems

Abstract

An automated system for providing different services within a house includes an appliance coordination data network for communicating relatively low speed appliance digital data within a house, a high capacity data network for transferring high speed digital data within the house, an energy distribution system for distributing energy throughout the house, an analog services distribution system for distributing conventional analog signals throughout the house and a video services distribution network for distributing video services throughout the house. The appliance coordination network interfaces with the energy distribution system to control the flow of energy to appliances throughout the house responsive to a digital request or interrogation signal that is emitted from the appliance itself.

Claims

1. An automated system apparatus for providing energy from an energy source and communication services within a house to appliances capable of receiving and generating appliance digital data, comprising:

appliance coordination data network means for communicating appliance digital data within the house;

higher capacity data network means for transferring higher capacity digital data at a rate faster than said appliance digital data within the house;

energy distribution means for supplying said energy from said source to appliances throughout the house responsive to said appliance digital data received from said appliances;

analog services distribution means for distributing conventional analog signals throughout the house;

video services distributing means for distributing conventional video signals throughout the house; and

a plurality of common outlet means disposed throughout the house for connectable attachment of said appliances, each common outlet means connected to and capable of transferring signals from said appliance digital data network means, said higher capacity data network means, said energy distribution means, said analog services distributing means and said video services distributing means.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said appliance coordination data network means comprises a plurality of power block means for applying said energy to said appliances.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of said plurality of power block means is a breaker power block means for controlling the status of a circuit breaker interposed between said energy source and said common outlet means.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of said plurality of power block means is a transfer power block means for monitoring the state of said energy received by said energy source and for activating a transfer switch in said energy distribution means to provide said energy to said energy distribution means from an alternate power source.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

a common communication bus means for transmitting appliance digital data between said plurality of said power block means, and

said appliance coordination data network means further comprises appliance controller means for coordinating appliance digital data plurality of power block means.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said analog services distributing means includes telephone gateway means for communicating between said higher capacity data network and a standard telephone line.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said higher capacity data network means further comprises network gateway means for receiving said higher capacity digital data from said telephone gateway means and higher capacity data controller means for receiving said higher capacity digital data from said network gateway means, and wherein said analog services distributing means includes an analog services controller having a matrix switch unit means for establishing an electrical connection between one of said analog services distributing means and an output of said higher capacity data controller means.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said energy distribution means comprises means for distributing at least one type of AC current within the house, and means for distributing at least one type of DC current within the house.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said means for distributing DC current comprises means for delivering a 12 VDC current and means for delivering a 48 VDC current.

10. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said means for distributing DC current includes a DC power supply having a battery which will maintain DC power during a loss of external power.

11. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said analog services distributing means comprises a music headend for generating music, an intercom headead and means for connecting said headends to each of said plurality of common outlet means.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said video services distributing means comprises gateway means for receiving video signals from one or more external sources;

headend combiner means for combining the signals from the sources into a video output signal;

means for amplifying said video output signal and splitter means for dividing the amplified video output signal and sending the divided video output signals to each of said plurality of outlet means.

13. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of said plurality of power block means is an outlet control power block means for applying power to one of said appliances through said one of said common outlet means only after attachment of said one appliance to said one common outlet means and after said outlet control power block means receives a power desired appliance digital data signal from said one attached appliance.

14. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of said plurality of power block means is a fixture power block means for applying power to one of said appliances only after said fixture power block means receives a power desired digital data signal.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14 further comprising:

switch means for producing said power desired digital data signal; and

switch/sensor power block means for transmitting said power desired digital data signal produced by said switching means to said fixture power block means.

16. Apparatus according to claim 2 further comprising:

switch means for producing a power desired digital data signal; and

switch/sensor power block means for transmitting said power desired digital data signal produced by said switching means to one of said plurality of power block means.

17. Apparatus according to claim 1 further including an outlet cable having a plurality of individual wires and a coaxial cable attached to said common outlet means, each of said plurality of individual wires for carrying signals from only one of said appliance digital data network means, said higher capacity data network means, and said energy distribution means and said coaxial cable for carrying signals from said analog services distributing means and said video services distributing means.