Appliance control

• US 6,229,433 B1
• Filed: 07/30/1999
• Issued: 05/08/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: X-10 LTD.
• Original Assignee: X-10 LTD.
• Inventors: Phillips, James, Rye, David John, Thompson, David Richard, Leech, Lesley Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Lefkowitz, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOINS, DAVETTA WOODS
• Application Number:
  US09/364,714
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 340/310.01, 340/310.02, 340/825.06, 340/565, 340/825.69, 340/825.22, 340/538, 340/539, 340/541, 340/309.15, 340/310.03, 340/310.04, 701/2, 702/57, 180/167
• US Class Current: 340/12.5
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/41 Remote control of gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2843 Mains power line
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/285 Generic home appliances, e.g. refrigerators

Abstract

An automated appliance control system includes a unit which transmits binary coded address and function control signals along the a.c. power line to a plurality of appliance control modules connected to the power line at various locations in the home. The binary coded signals transmitted along the a.c. power line are in the form of binary rf bursts which occur before and after the a.c. power line zero crossing points.

Claims

1. A system for controlling the operation of a plurality of electrically operated devices, said system comprising a programmable interface unit comprising means for producing multibit binary address and function control signals, said signal producing means comprising means for producing pulses both before and after selected zero crossing points of the a.c. power line voltage and for forming said multibit binary address and function control signals from said pulses, means for applying said multibit binary address and function control signals on to the a.c. power line;

and a plurality of control modules operatively electrically connected to the a.c. power line, each of said control modules being identified by a unique address and responding to a function control signal addressed to it to control the operation of an electrical device operatively electrically connected thereto.

2. The system of claim 1, in which said signal producing means further comprises means for modulating said pulses onto an rf carrier signal to produce a series of binary coded rf bursts that occur before and after selected zero crossing points of the a.c. power line voltage.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprises means for connecting said interface unit to an external PC to permit said interface unit to receive address and function data from said PC, and means in said interface unit for producing said pulses in a binary code corresponding to said received address and function data.

8. The system of claim 1, in which said signal applying means includes means for modulating said coded binary signals onto an r.f. signal, and means coupled to said modulating means for transmitting said modulated r.f. coded signals to a remote transceiver.

4. An interface unit for use in an appliance control system to control the operation of at least one appliance electrically connected to an ac power line, said interface unit comprising input means for receiving data defining an appliance address and an appliance function;

means coupled to said input means for generating, synchronously with an a.c. power line voltage, multibit coded digital signals corresponding to said appliance address and function data, the bits of said multibit digital signals occurring both before and after selected zero crossing points of the a.c. power line voltage, said coded binary signals defining said appliance address and said appliance function; and

means for injecting said coded binary signals onto the a.c. power line.

5. The interface unit of claim 4, further comprising means for modulating said digital signals onto an rf carrier signal to produce a series of binary coded rf bursts that occur before and after selected zero crossing points of the a.c. power line voltage.

6. The interface unit of claim 4, further comprising means for connecting said interface unit to an external PC and for receiving appliance address and function data from said PC, and means for producing said pulses in a binary code corresponding to said received address and function data.

7. The interface unit of claim 4, in which said injecting means includes means for modulating said coded binary signals onto an r.f. signal, and means coupled to said modulating means for transmitting said modulated r.f. coded signals to a remote transceiver to couple to the a.c. power line.