Initialization of endpoint devices joining a power-line communication network

• US 9,306,624 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2015
• Issued: 04/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Landis and Gyr Technologies LLC (Landis+Gyr Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Landis and Gyr Technologies LLC (Landis+Gyr Group AG)
• Inventors: Wolter, Chad K., Johnson, Bryce D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phu, Phuong
• Application Number:
  US14/675,244
• Time in Patent Office: 371 Days
• Field of Search: 375/257, 375/259, 455/402, 370/345, 370/235, 379/227, 379/219
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00007 using the power network as support for the transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00017 using optical fiber
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00034 the elements or equipment being or involving an electric power substation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/121 using the power network as support for the transmission
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/124 using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses

Abstract

In one or more embodiments, an apparatus includes a first power-line communication circuit to communicate data with a second power-line communication circuit over power lines and using a communication protocol requiring that one of the first power-line communication circuit or the second power-line communication circuit join into regular communications in response to an initiation message received over the power lines. The first power-line communication circuit communicates data regularly with the second power-line communication circuit over the power lines after being joined into regular communications by an initiation message received over the power lines, the initiation message being communicated over the power lines at an initiation time interval, the initiation time interval being based on a random interval that is within an interval range and that is based on a relative time at which at least two of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within an interval range.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a first power-line communication circuit configured and arranged to communicate data with a second power-line communication circuit over power lines of a power-line communication network and using a communication protocol requiring that one of the first power-line communication circuit or the second power-line communication circuit join into regular communications in response to an initiation message being recognized as received over the power lines of the power-line communication network, the communicated data including power-meter data collected by at least one of a plurality of endpoint devices;

the first power-line communication circuit being further configured and arranged to communicate data regularly with the second power-line communication circuit over the power lines after being joined into regular communications by the initiation message being recognized as received over the power lines of the power-line communication network, the initiation message being communicated over the power lines at an initiation time interval, the initiation time interval being based on a random interval that is within an interval range and that is based on a relative time at which at least two of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within the interval range.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the relative time at which at least two of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within the interval range is based on a relative time at which a detected one of the plurality of endpoint devices provided a signal used for joining the detected one of the plurality of endpoint devices.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first power-line communication circuit is one of the plurality of endpoint devices, and the relative time at which at least two of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within the interval range is based on a relative time at which a detected one of the plurality of endpoint devices provided a signal used for joining the detected one of the plurality of endpoint devices.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first power-line communication circuit is one of the plurality of endpoint devices and further including the second power-line communication circuit, wherein the second power-line communication circuit is configured and arranged to collect data from the plurality of endpoint devices and to communicate with a command center over utility power lines that are part of the power-line communication network, and the relative time at which at least two of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within the interval range is based on a relative time at which a detected one of the plurality of endpoint devices provided a signal used for joining the detected one of the plurality of endpoint devices.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the relative time at which at least two of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within the interval range is based on a number of the plurality of endpoint devices in a selected set designated for joining.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first power-line communication circuit is a collector device including communication circuitry, and wherein the relative time at which at least two of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within the interval range is based on a number of the plurality of endpoint devices in a selected set designated for joining.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first power-line communication circuit is a collector device including communication circuitry, and further including the second power-line communication circuit, wherein the second power-line communication circuit is configured and arranged as one of the plurality of endpoint devices, and wherein the relative time at which at least two of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within the interval range is based on a number of the plurality of endpoint devices in a selected set designated for joining.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the relative time at which at leasttwo of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within the interval range is based on a relative time at which a detected one of the plurality of endpoint devices provided a signal used for joining the detected one of the plurality of endpoint devices, wherein the signal used for joining is the initiation message detected as being communicated over the power lines on behalf of the detected one of the plurality of endpoint devices.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the relative time at which at least two of the plurality of endpoint devices are designated to join within an interval range is based on a number of the plurality of endpoint devices in a selected set designated for joining, wherein the number is greater than two and wherein the random interval is based on the number.

20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the power lines include internal electrical lines of a location, the power lines being configured and arranged with a utility power line to provide power between consumers of the power and electrical substations associated with a power source generating the power, and wherein the initiation message includes beacon requests formatted in a common communication protocol.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a first power-line communication circuit configured and arranged to communicate data with a second power-line communication circuit over power lines of a power-line communication network and using a communication protocol requiring that one of the first power-line communication circuit or the second power-line communication circuit join into regular communications in response to an initiation message being recognized as received over the power lines of the power-line communication network, the communicated data including power-meter data collected by at least one of a plurality of endpoint devices, wherein the first power-line communication circuit is configured and arranged to;

provide an initiation time interval for an endpoint device, the initiation time interval being based on a random interval within an interval range;

at each of a plurality of message time intervals wherein each is less than the interval range, check for the initiation message received over the power-line communication network and from another endpoint device;

in response to the received initiation message, using another initiation time interval that is greater than the provided initiation time interval and based on a time at which the initiation message is received; and

transmit, in response to expiration of the another initiation time interval and over the power-line communication network, a communication to a collector device, the collector device configured and arranged to use the communication as an initiation request for joining the endpoint device to the power-line communication network.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first power-line communication circuit is one of the plurality of endpoint devices, and wherein each of the plurality of endpoint devices are configured and arranged to join the power-line communication network using the communication protocol and without directly coordinating with one another, and wherein the communication protocol is associated with a wireless personal area network and the plurality of endpoint devices are configured to communicate with the collector device using shared power lines.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first power-line communication circuit is one of the plurality of endpoint devices, further including the second power-line communication circuit, wherein the second power-line communication circuit is configured and arranged as the collector device including communication circuitry configured and arranged to transmit initiation data over the power line and the power-line communication network in response to the communication, and wherein each of the plurality of endpoint devices is configured and arranged to process initiation data from the collector device in response to verifying the respective endpoint device transmitted the communication.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first power-line communication circuit is the collector device including communication circuitry configured and arranged to communicate with the plurality of endpoint devices and communicate with a command center over a utility power line that is part of the power-line communication network, and wherein a time associated with initiating the plurality of endpoint devices is associated with a function of the number of endpoint devices being initiated and a time to initiate one of the endpoint devices.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the collector device, in response to the communication, transmits initiation data to one of the plurality of endpoint devices using at least another of the plurality of endpoint devices.

15. A method for initializing an endpoint device with a power-line communication network, the endpoint device configured and arranged to provide power-meter reports over the power-line communication network by transmitting data symbols over power lines using a data communication channel, the method including:

providing an initiation time interval, the initiation time interval being based on a random interval within an interval range;

at each of a plurality of message time intervals wherein each is less than the interval range, checking for an initiation message received over the power-line communication network and from another endpoint device;

in response to the received initiation message, use another initiation time interval that is greater than the provided initiation time interval and based on a time at which the initiation message is received; and

transmitting, in response to expiration of the initiation time interval and over the power-line communication network, a communication to a collector device, the collector device configured to use the communication as an initiation request for joining the endpoint device in communication with other endpoint devices over the power lines.

16. The method of claim 15, further including joining each of the endpoint devices to the power-line communication network using initiation data received by the endpoint device from the collector device, the initiation data sent in response to the initiation request, and wherein transmitting the initiation request to the collector device includes the endpoint device transmitting the initiation request to a different endpoint device and the method further includes the different endpoint device routing the initiation request to the collector device using the power lines.

17. An endpoint device configured to provide power-meter reports over a power-line communication network by transmitting data symbols over a power line using a data communication channel comprising:

a metering circuit configured to receive power-meter data for utility-supplied alternating current (AC) power that is provided over the power line that is part of the power-line communication network;

a communication circuit configured to transmit the power-meter data over the power line and the power-line communication network;

a processing circuit configured to initialize the endpoint device with the power-line communication network by;

determining an initiation time interval associated with the endpoint device;

detecting, prior to the expiration of the initiation time interval, an initiation request from another endpoint device;

adding, in response to detecting the initiation request from the another endpoint device, time to the initiation time interval;

detecting the expiration of the initiation time interval; and

transmitting, in response to detecting the expiration of the initiation time interval, an initiation request.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the communication circuit is configured to receive initiation data over the power line and the power-line communication network in response to the transmitted initiation request, and

wherein the processing circuit is configured to process the initiation data and join the power-line communication network in response to determining the endpoint device transmitted the initiation request, and further configured to ignore the initiation data in response to determining the endpoint device did not transmit the initiation request.

19. The device of claim 17, wherein the processing circuit is configured to periodically repeat detecting, prior to the expiration of the initiation time interval, an initiation request from a plurality of another endpoint devices and adding, in response to detecting the initiation request from the plurality of another endpoint devices, time to the initiation time interval to revise the initiation time interval until the expiration of the revised initiation time interval.