Method and apparatus for resource allocation in a communication network system
DCFirst Claim
1. An electric utility network comprising:
- a plurality of devices including outlets and switches for selectively controlling said outlets, each of said devices having plural activation states such as on and off;
all of said devices being electrically inter-connected, and each having means;
for initially generating and remembering a unique unit identifying code upon occurrence of a certain event and declaring said unit identifying code to the other devices, andat least one of said devices having means for monitoring said unit identifying codes declared by at least one of said other devices, andat least one of said devices having means for changing its own activation state in response to certain unit codes corresponding to at least one of said other devices.
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Abstract
A control communication network system adapted for distributed control and communication between various home electrical appliances in a manner that eliminates the need for a central controller and eliminates or greatly simplifies the manual assignment of addresses, control relationships or other network resources. The system utilizes a novel and useful process of "hailing" for addresses or resources by newly introduced network devices combined with a process by which declaratory statements are used to convey identification or resource availability information to potential controlling devices. The present invention comprises an intelligent lightswitch which can be dynamically "taught" to control or to be controlled by any other similar lightswitch in a given house without special wiring or user intervention other than the toggling of a simple "teach/learn" switch associated with each lightswitch.
146 Citations
13 Claims
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1. An electric utility network comprising:
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a plurality of devices including outlets and switches for selectively controlling said outlets, each of said devices having plural activation states such as on and off; all of said devices being electrically inter-connected, and each having means;
for initially generating and remembering a unique unit identifying code upon occurrence of a certain event and declaring said unit identifying code to the other devices, andat least one of said devices having means for monitoring said unit identifying codes declared by at least one of said other devices, and at least one of said devices having means for changing its own activation state in response to certain unit codes corresponding to at least one of said other devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of establishing control relationships between plural devices in a home electrical system, using existing home wiring, comprising
providing each said device with means for generating and remembering a unique unit identifying code, means for declaring its code upon the occurrence of predetermined events to other devices on the home wiring, and means communicating with the home wiring for detecting unit identifying codes declared by other of said devices, and establishing control relationships between said devices, whereby activation of one of said devices will produce a response in any other of said devices with respect to which a controlling relationship has been established.
Specification