Apparatus for addressably controlling remote units
First Claim
1. A load management system for a power network, the power network including a power generating source and a plurality of separately controllable loads, said load management system comprising:
- a. central message generator means for transmitting coded radio frequency messages, said messages including a plurality of bits, for each bit there being at least a pair of tones with the upper tone of said pair indicating a first logic state and the lower tone of said pair indicating a second logic state, said messages including a load address indication and a command indication; and
b. a plurality of load controllers, said load controllers being responsive to messages transmitted by said central message generator means, each of said load controllers being responsive to a specific load address indication, each of said load controllers including means for connecting and disconnecting a load to and from the power generating source in response to command indications from said central message generator means;
each of said load controllers further including decoder means for translating said radio frequency messages into digital information, said decoder means including;
(1) input means for detecting a particular phase in the cycle of a tone;
(2) several window registers, each for accumulating single bit data applied to its input;
(3) sequencing means for repetitively and sequentially applying the output of said input means to the inputs of a number N of said window registers, said sequencing means including means for sequencing N window registers in a base period of time which is an integer X times the period of said upper tone and an integer Y times the period of said lower tone;
(4) means for detecting repetition in the pattern of data in said N window registers and for generating a first logic signal where there is repetition in each N/Xth window register, and for generating a second logic signal where there is repetition in each N/Yth window register.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A load management system which includes a central message generator and a plurality of addressable remote load controllers which selectively connect and disconnect high power deferrable loads to and from a power source in response to transmitted messages. The load controllers include means for translating coded tone pair inputs into digital data. Tones selected from three such tone pairs are used in one scheme, where a tone selected from the first tone pair is used for the initial bit of a message, and subsequent tones are alternately selected from the remaining two tone pairs or the remaining bits. One of the tones of the first tone pair is utilized as a test tone which initiates a test routine sequence. The test tone can be transmitted by a portable, low power transmitter to test the functioning of the remote units. A message format includes two code sets, a zone code set and a command/address code set. Each load controller has a preprogrammed zone identifier and a preprogrammed address identifier, and is responsive to a command/address code message only when the last received zone code message has identified the preprogrammed zone identifier of that load controller and the command/address message indicates the preprogrammed address identifier of that load controller. All load controllers having a common zone identifier are responsive to a scram instruction message which identifies that zone.
23 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A load management system for a power network, the power network including a power generating source and a plurality of separately controllable loads, said load management system comprising:
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a. central message generator means for transmitting coded radio frequency messages, said messages including a plurality of bits, for each bit there being at least a pair of tones with the upper tone of said pair indicating a first logic state and the lower tone of said pair indicating a second logic state, said messages including a load address indication and a command indication; and b. a plurality of load controllers, said load controllers being responsive to messages transmitted by said central message generator means, each of said load controllers being responsive to a specific load address indication, each of said load controllers including means for connecting and disconnecting a load to and from the power generating source in response to command indications from said central message generator means;
each of said load controllers further including decoder means for translating said radio frequency messages into digital information, said decoder means including;(1) input means for detecting a particular phase in the cycle of a tone; (2) several window registers, each for accumulating single bit data applied to its input; (3) sequencing means for repetitively and sequentially applying the output of said input means to the inputs of a number N of said window registers, said sequencing means including means for sequencing N window registers in a base period of time which is an integer X times the period of said upper tone and an integer Y times the period of said lower tone; (4) means for detecting repetition in the pattern of data in said N window registers and for generating a first logic signal where there is repetition in each N/Xth window register, and for generating a second logic signal where there is repetition in each N/Yth window register. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 38)
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28. A load management system for a power network, the power network including a power generating source and a plurality of separately controllable loads, said load management system comprising:
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a. central message generator means for transmitting coded messages, said messages including a plurality of bits, for each bit there being a first logic state and a second logic state; b. a plurality of load controllers, said load controllers being responsive to messages transmitted by said central message generator means, each of said load controllers including means for connecting and disconnecting a load to and from the power generating source in response to command indications from said central message generator means; c. each of said load controllers having a preprogrammed zone code identifier and a preprogrammed address code identifier; d. said messages including a zone code set and a command/address code set, said zone code set including means for identifying a zone;
said command/address code set including means for indicating a command and means for identifying an address indication;e. each of said load controllers including means for causing said load controller to be responsive to said command/address code set only when the last received zone code message has identified the preprogrammed zone identifier of the load controller and the command/address message indicates the address identifier of the load controller; and f. said zone code set including scram indicator bit means for indicating a scram instruction, all of said load controllers with a common zone identifier being responsive to a scram instruction for that zone, said response including the disconnection of said load controller'"'"'s loads from the power generating source. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A load management system for a power network, the power network including a power generating source and a plurality of separately controllable loads, said load management system comprising:
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a. central message generator means for transmitting coded radio frequency messages, said messages including a plurality of bits, for each bit there being a pair of tones with the upper tone indicating a first logic state and the lower tone indicating a second logic state, said messages including a load address indication and a command indication; b. said central message generator means including means; (1) for beginning each message with a tone from a first tone pair, the tone selected from said first tone pair being used only as the first bit in a message and not used as a subsequent bit in a message and (2) for conveying further portions of messages with tones for sequential bits being selected alternately between a second and a third tone pair, all of the tones in said first, second and third tone pairs being different from each other. c. a plurality of load controllers, said load controllers being responsive to messages transmitted by said central message generator means, each of said load controllers being responsive to a specific load address indication, each of said load controllers including means for connecting and disconnecting a load to and from the power generating source in response to command indications from said central message generator means; d. decoder means in said load controllers for translating said radio frequency messages into digital information; e. alternating means in said decoder means for permitting alternate sensitivity for tone detection from said first, second and third tone pairs, said alternating means preventing sensitivity to tones in any one of said tone pairs when detecting a tone from another of said tone pairs and for permitting sensitivity to either tone of a tone pair when sensitivity for tone detection is permitted; and f. means for causing said alternating means to become sensitive to a different tone pair in response to detection of a tone. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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34. A load management system for a power network, the power network including a power generating source and a plurality of separately controllable loads, said load management system comprising:
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a. central message generator means for transmitting coded messages by modulating a radio frequency, said messages including a plurality of bits, said messages including a load address indication and a command indication; b. said central message generator means including means for beginning each message with a specific first tone; c. a portable, battery powered, transmitter having a radiated power of less than 1 watt which when operated transmits a single tone modulated radio frequency signal the same radio frequency as said central message generator means, said single tone being a test tone of different frequency than said first tone; d. a plurality of load controllers, said load controllers being responsive to signals transmitted by said portable transmitter and to messages transmitted by said central message generator means, each of said load controllers being responsive to a specific load address indication, each of said load controllers including means for connecting and disconnecting a load to and from the power generating source in response to command indications from said central message generator means; e. decoder means in said load controllers for translating said transmitted coded messages into digital infomation; f. means for causing said decoder to be essentially simultaneously sensitive to modulation of radio frequency signals with either said first tone or said test tone whenever a radio frequency message is not being received; f. an electrically operable indicator; g. means for determining the operability of a portion of said means for connecting and disconnecting a load and for operating said electrically operable indicator when said test tone is received depending upon the result of the determining. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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Specification