Management control of household appliances using continuous tone-coded DSM signalling
First Claim
1. A method of communicating between a master device and a slave device for managing home energy comprising:
- transmitting a carrier signal at a preselected frequency from a master device in a home to a slave device in the home;
adding a tone to the carrier signal indicative of a cost of energy level;
receiving the carrier signal with tone at the slave device;
providing an option to a controller to control energy usage within the home in response to the received carrier signal with the added tone; and
retransmitting a signal indicative of receipt of the carrier signal with the added tone from the slave device to the master device.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of communicating between a master and a slave device for managing home energy are provided. A transmitter is operatively associated with one of a meter and a home energy manager for emitting a carrier signal at a selected frequency. A tone is superimposed on the selected carrier frequency and represents an operational energy cost level output from an associated utility. A receiver receives the emitted carrier signal with superimposed tone. A microcontroller associated with the home appliance then controls the home appliance in response to the emitted carrier signal with superimposed tone. Multiple distinct frequencies correlate to specific rates, and decoding or detecting the presence of one or more tones can be used to represent a binary number that allows the meter/controller to communicate “intelligence” with the home appliance.
228 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of communicating between a master device and a slave device for managing home energy comprising:
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transmitting a carrier signal at a preselected frequency from a master device in a home to a slave device in the home; adding a tone to the carrier signal indicative of a cost of energy level; receiving the carrier signal with tone at the slave device; providing an option to a controller to control energy usage within the home in response to the received carrier signal with the added tone; and retransmitting a signal indicative of receipt of the carrier signal with the added tone from the slave device to the master device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 18, 19)
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7. A system for communicating data relating to home energy comprising:
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a transmitter in a home for emitting a carrier signal at a selected frequency with an added tone representative of energy operational costs; a receiver in the home for receiving the emitted carrier signal with the added tone; and a controller operatively connected to the receiver that provides an option of controlling an operational mode of an associated home appliance in response to the carrier signal with the added tone; and a second transmitter operatively associated with the associated home appliance for confirming receipt of the carrier signal with the added tone. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for communicating energy operational cost data to an associated home appliance comprising:
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a transmitter in a home operatively associated with one of a meter and a home energy manager for emitting a carrier signal at a selected frequency having a tone superimposed thereon representative of an operational energy cost level output from an associated utility; a receiver in the home for receiving the emitted carrier signal with the superimposed tone; a controller operatively connected to one of the home energy manager and an associated home appliance for controlling energy use by the associated home appliance in response to the emitted carrier signal with the superimposed tone; and a second transmitter operatively associated with the associated home appliance for confirming receipt of the carrier signal with the added tone. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of communicating between a master device and a slave device for managing home energy comprising:
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transmitting a carrier signal at a preselected frequency from a master device in a home to a slave device in the home; adding a tone to the carrier signal indicative of a demand state of an energy providing utility; receiving the carrier signal with the added tone at the slave device; providing an option to a controller to control energy usage within the home in response to the received carrier signal with the added tone; and retransmitting a signal indicative of receipt of the carrier signal with the added tone from the slave device to the master device.
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17. A system for communicating data relating to home energy comprising:
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a transmitter in a home for emitting a carrier signal at a selected frequency with an added tone representative of the demand state of an energy providing utility; a receiver in the home for receiving the emitted carrier signal with the added tone; and a controller operatively connected to the receiver that provides an option of controlling an operational mode of an associated home appliance in response to the carrier signal with the added tone; and a second transmitter operatively associated with the associated home appliance for confirming receipt of the carrier signal with the added tone.
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Specification