CA1338477C - Load control system - Google Patents
Load control systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA1338477C CA1338477C CA 611258 CA611258A CA1338477C CA 1338477 C CA1338477 C CA 1338477C CA 611258 CA611258 CA 611258 CA 611258 A CA611258 A CA 611258A CA 1338477 C CA1338477 C CA 1338477C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- power line
- branch power
- terminal
- gateway
- signal
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J3/00—Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks
- H02J3/12—Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks for adjusting voltage in ac networks by changing a characteristic of the network load
- H02J3/14—Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks for adjusting voltage in ac networks by changing a characteristic of the network load by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J13/00—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
- H02J13/00004—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network characterised by the power network being locally controlled
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J13/00—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
- H02J13/00006—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment
- H02J13/00007—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment using the power network as support for the transmission
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J13/00—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
- H02J13/00032—Systems characterised by the controlled or operated power network elements or equipment, the power network elements or equipment not otherwise provided for
- H02J13/00034—Systems characterised by the controlled or operated power network elements or equipment, the power network elements or equipment not otherwise provided for the elements or equipment being or involving an electric power substation
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J13/00—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
- H02J13/00032—Systems characterised by the controlled or operated power network elements or equipment, the power network elements or equipment not otherwise provided for
- H02J13/00036—Systems characterised by the controlled or operated power network elements or equipment, the power network elements or equipment not otherwise provided for the elements or equipment being or involving switches, relays or circuit breakers
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
- H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
- H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
- H05B47/175—Controlling the light source by remote control
- H05B47/185—Controlling the light source by remote control via power line carrier transmission
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
- H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H02J2310/00—The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load
- H02J2310/10—The network having a local or delimited stationary reach
- H02J2310/12—The local stationary network supplying a household or a building
- H02J2310/14—The load or loads being home appliances
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02B70/00—Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
- Y02B70/30—Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02B70/00—Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
- Y02B70/30—Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
- Y02B70/3225—Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02B90/00—Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02B90/20—Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
- Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
- Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
- Y04S20/20—End-user application control systems
- Y04S20/222—Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
- Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
- Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
- Y04S20/20—End-user application control systems
- Y04S20/242—Home appliances
- Y04S20/246—Home appliances the system involving the remote operation of lamps or lighting equipment
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
- Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
- Y04S40/00—Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them
- Y04S40/12—Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them characterised by data transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated electrical equipment
- Y04S40/121—Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them characterised by data transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated electrical equipment using the power network as support for the transmission
Abstract
An improved luminaire load control system for handling control signals as by converting them into power line carrier communication signals which are transmitted through branch power lines to terminal control units without causing any significant interference to power line installation. the conversion of the control signals is done respectively at a plurality of gate way units mounted on each branch power line and each gate way unit further includes memory unit for storing the information regarding to the connecting status of the terminal unit for sending back the stored information to a central control unit upon receipt of a send back command there-from. In a specific embodiment of the invention, a plurality of gate way units are mutually connected with specific signal transmission lines for providing the reciprocity control of luminaire loads by installing a plurality of operation command input terminals in each of the branch power line, whereby the control signal is transmitted through the specific signal transmission lines.
Description
Il 1 338477 The present invention relates to a load control system and, more particularly, to a system for providing centraliæed monitor and/or control against a plurality of loads suc~ as luminaire loads (lighting fittings) and the like.
Numerous prior art systems for controlling luminaire loads havle been proposed and these systems essentially utilize two line systems in wiring, a power line system and a signal transmis~ion line system, which has resulted in expensive 10 installation and required wire checking for each line system in case of an failure. In order to check every terminal unit when the signal transmission line system is in out of order, for example, the checking have to be done by turning off the power to the power line system for the loads which are under the control of the terminal units to which the signal transmission lines are wired, especially, in case of a single signal transmission line is wired to a plurality of terminal units which are in connection with a plurality of power lines, all of the power lines have to be powered off during the 20 checking period of time. As is clear from the above, there have been many problems in the maintenance of the prior art system, such as in its complexity and the difficulty of checking failures.
It is therefore an object of this invention to solve such prob,lems and to provide a load control system with less wiring and which is easy to maintain.
It is another object of this invention to provide a load control system wherein the maximum time required for a central control unit to detect a failure of a terminal unit 30 is shorlened and an amount of traffic through signal transmission lines is considerably decreased.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a load control system wherein an amount of traffic through power lines is decreased by making the reciprocity con~rol possible between terminal units connected on a differenl branch power lines Eor hastening the control of loads and improving the reliability.
V
~ 3 3 8 In accordance with this invention, an improved luminaire load control system is provided for effectively handling control signals without significantly interfering with the power line installation.
, ~ ., According to the present invention, there is provided ,a load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to respective ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal control means for controllil~g the connecting status of the loads in response to load conlrol signals, each terminal control means being connected to a respective one of said loads and to said load's respective branch power line;
- a plurality of input terminal means for transmitting operation commands as power line carrier communication signals on said branch power lines, the input terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of gatewa~ means connected to one another by specific communication lines for providing reciprocity control for the plurality of loads, the gateway means being connected to one another and to respective ones of the br-anch power lines, and the gateway means generating transmission signals and the load control signals in response to said operation command received as power line carrier communication signals, said transmission signals being communicated among the gateway means and the load control signals being communicated selected ones of the terminal 30 control ~leans.
Preferably, each of the plurality of gateway means includes means for converting the power line carrier communication signal into a transmission signal for the specific communication lines.
The plurality of loads may be luminaire loads.
According to the present invention, there is also "_,, ~ 1 338477 provided a load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal means for controlling the connecting status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines and each terminal means controlling its respective load in response to a control signal received via its respective 10 branch power line;
- a plurality o~ gateway means for converting load control signal received from a central means into said control signal and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via the branch power lines, each gateway means being provided for a respective one of the power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wherein each gateway means is connected directly to said central control means; and - signal transmission means connected between each 20 said gateway means and said central control means for directly communicating said load control signals from said central control means to said gateway means.
The plurality of loads may be limit loads.
The central control means may further include means for transmitting a polling signal to a plurality of gateway means through the signal transmission means.
The plurality of gateway means may further include:
- signal transmitter/receiver means for communi-cating with the central control means through the signal 30 transmission means;
- memory means for storing information;
- power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via a respective branch power line with terminal means connected thereto; and - a control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and ~ 1 338477 the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
The load control system according to the present invention, may further comprise a plurality of circuit breakers,~each circuit breaker being connected to a respective one of the branch power lines and being responsive to a control signal from the respective gateway means.
It may also further comprise a plurality of block filters, leach block filter being connected to a respective one of the branch power lines and a respective one of said circuit 10 breakers, for preventing leakage of a carrier wave signal on each respective power line.
According to the present invention there is also provided a load control system comprising:
- at least one branch power line;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to said branch power line;
- at least one terminal means for controlling a connecti~n status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to said branch power line and 20 controlling said respective loads in response to a control signal re,ceived via said at least one branch power line;
- gateway means for converting load control signals received from a central control means to said control signals and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via said branch power line;
- a circuit breaker connecting said branch power line to a power source; and - a block filter connected in said branch power line between said circuit breaker and said terminal means, and said 30 gateway means being connected to said branch power line between said blocking filter and said terminal means, said blocking filter thus preventing leakage of said control signals ~rom said gateway means upstream with respect to a direction of power flow.
Preferably, the central control means may further include means for transmitting a polling signal to the gateway B
` 1 338477 means thr-ough the signal transmission means, and wherein said gateway means further includes:
- signal transmitter/receiver means for communi-cating w~th the central control means;
,. . .
- memory means for storing information;
- power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via said branch power line with terminal means connected thereto; and - control means for controlling the operation of the 10 signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
Preferably, the gateway means stores the status of said terminal means in said memory means and sends the stored status :information to said control means in a signal transmis~'ion when said central control means requests polling of said terminal means.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to ones of ~;aid branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal means for controlling the connection status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines andl each terminal means controlling its respective load in response to a control signal received via its respective branch power line;
- a plurality of gateway means for converting load control signals received from central control means into said 30 control signals and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via the branch power lines, each gateway means bei.ng provided for a respective one of the power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wh~rein each gateway means is connected directly to said central control means, each of said gateway means including signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating with the T~
~;
., central control means through the signal transmission means, memory means for storing information, power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicat~ing via said branch power line with terminal means connectecl thereto, and control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
In the load control system described in the preceding paragraph each of said gateway means may store the 10 status of terminal means of the power branch line to which said gateway means is connected, said gateway means storing said status of said terminal means in said memory means and sending the stored status information to said control means in a single transmission when said central control means requests polling of said terminal means.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to 20 respective ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal control means for controlling the connecting status of the load in response to load control signals, each terminal control means being connected to a respective one of said loads and to said load's respective branch power line;
- a plurality of input terminal means ~or transmitting operatlon commands as power line carrier communication signals on said branch power lines, the input terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power 30 lines;
. - a plurality of gateway means for providing reciprocity control of the plurality of loads, the gateway means being connected to one another and to respective ones of the b:ranch power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wherein the gateway means generate transmission signals and the load control signals in B
i ~ ~ 338~77 response to said operation commands received as power line carrier communication signals transmitted by ones of said input terminal means, said transmission signal being communica~ed among the gateway means and the load control signals being communic~ted to selected ones of the terminal control means wherein a first one of said plurali~y of gateway means, c~nnected to a first one of said branch power lines, is adapted to transmit said transmission signals responsive to receiving said power line carrier communication signals 10 from a first one of said plurality of input terminal means connected to-the ~irst branch power line, to a second one of said plurality of gateway means, connected to a second branch power line, which in turn transmits load control signals to one of sa.id plurality of terminal control means connected to the second branch power line.
The load control system described in the preceding paragraph may further.comprise a signal line connected between each of said gateway means for connecting said gateway means ~o one another, and wherein said signal line transmits said 20 transmiss:ion signals between said first one of said plurality of gateway means and said second one of gateway means.
One of the advantages of the present invention is that, since the load control signal transmitted from the central control unit is sent to the respective branch power line after converting it into a power line carrier communicat.ion signal at the gate way Ullit in the respective branch power line and the loads connected to the branch power line are controlled in accordance with the recei~ed load control signal by the respective control unit in connection 30 therewith,. the power line system and the signal transmissivn system between the gate way units and the respective loads can be used cvmmonly for providing the least amount of wiring and, moreover, the maintenance relating to the wiring system can easily be carried out because, in this arrangement, there is one to one correspondence between the branch power line and the signal transmission line in respect with the transmission '112 ~ 1 338477 of the control signal to the luminaire loads connected thereto.
Furthermore, since the connecting status of each terminal ~,unit in connection with a branch power line is confirmed and stored by a respective gate way unit provided for the branch power line and the stored information of each connection is transmitted to the central control unit in a lump from the gate way unit, there is no need of polling ~or each terminal unit in a separated manner from the central 10 control urlit. Therefore the act of polling is distributed and the time required to make a round of all of the terminal units in the polling is decreased, thus resulting in the considerable shortening in the maximum time required by the central control unit for detecting a failure in a terminal unit. E~urther, with this arrangement, the in~ormation regarding the wiring connexion of each terminal unit can be transmitted to the central control unit in a lump from the respective gate way unit, therefore amounts of traffic through the signal transmission line is also decreased significantly.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, in order to control a luminaire load from the operation command input terminal unit connected in a different branch power line, an operation command is transmitted in power line carrier communication mode to the gate way unit through the branch power line to which the operated operation command input terminal is connected. The gate way unit therl converts the received power line carrier communication signal into an exclusive communication signal and transmits this converted signal to another gate way unit 30 connected to the branch power line to which the control terminal to be controlled is connected through the exclusive communication line. The gate way unit that has received the converted signal then transmits the operation command to the control t;erminal unit through the branch power line. The control t;erminal unit that received the operation command operates switch means in turn for controlling the luminaire ~j ~ 1 338477 load in accordance therewith. In this way, this speci~ic embodiment of the invention can use exclusive communication lines between gate way units different from tlle prior art syst~m, E;o that the signal transmission between the branch power lines is greatly improved and provided in high speed.
Fig. 1 i5 a block diagram showing a prior art load control system;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the prior art load control sy~tem together with a power line installation;
tO Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing another prior art load control system;
Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of this invention;
Fig. 5A and 5B together form a signal structure of load control signal in accordance with this invention;
Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of this invention installed in a power line installation;
Fig. 7 is a signal structure of polling signal to be transmitted from a central control unit shown as an 20 illustrative purpose;
FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a power line carrier communication when the polling signal of FIG. 7 is used in the arrangement of FIG. 4;
FIG. 9~ and 9B together form a signal structure of polling signal to be transmitted from the central control unit in an another embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary detailed block diagram showing a gate way unit to be used with the polling signal shown in ~IG. 9;
FIG. 11 iS a sequence diagram showing a power line carrier communication when the polling signal of FIG. 9 is used in the arrangement of FIG. 10; and FIG. 12 iS a block diagram showing still another embodiment of this invention.
B
i ;
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram~of a prior art load control system illustrated in Japanese Laid open Patent No~ 7,587/1981 wherein, 1 denotes a power line, 2 denotes a plurality of luminaire loads connected thereto, 3 denotes a plurality of terminal units for providing ON-OFF control against the plurality of luminaire loads 2 with use of switching devices such as relay contacts and the like, and 4 denotes a central control unit to send out control signsls to terminal units 3 for the control of luminaire loads 2 via 10 a signal transmission line 5 whereby a specific address is assigned respectively to each terminal unit 3.
According to this prior art system, a load control signal is transmitted firstly from the central control unit 4. This load control signal consists o~ a base band or a modulated pulse train, more specifically, of a series of address pulses having an address data for B;
.. ~ , specifying a required terminal unit 3 and a seri~s of control pulses having a control data for controlling the respective luminaire load 2 which is connected to the selected terminal unit 3. Each terminal unit 3 monitors a load control signal which is transmitted through the signal transmission line 5 and accepts the load control signal if the address data thereof coincides with own address. The terminal unit 3 then decodes the control data contained in the accepted signal and provides lhe re~uired control of the luminaire load 2 through 10 the decoded control data with use of relay contacts and the like. Further, there is provided a monitor input terminal (not shown) with each of the terminal units 3, and a signal indicating the status of each luminaire load 2 which is connected to the respective terminal unit 3 being fed to this monitor input terminal. ~he signal indicating the status of the luminaire load 2 is transmitted to the central control unit 4 as monitor input pulses together with address pulses indicating the address of the terminal unit 3 and address pulses indicating the address of the central control unit 4.
20 The status of each luminaire load 2 is monitored at the central control unit 4 by receiving the monitor input pulses.
Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the luminaire load control system of the prior art being installed in a building facility l_ogether with an electric power unit. Branch power lines la - ld of the main power line 1 are branched through 20A rating breakers 6a - 6d. According to the law or private regulations such as an electric installation engineering standard, the capacity at the final end of the power line is specified to 20A when the luminaire loads are fluorescent 30 lamps. Connected to each branch power line through a terminal unit are :Luminaire loads. For instance, luminaire loads 2a -2c are connected to a branch power line la through a terminal unit 3a. Generally, in an ordinary building facility, a plurality of breakers 6a - 6d are installed in an electric power room as one unit of a distribution board for centralized control. That is, the branch power lines la - ld .
. 1 338477 are branched from the electric power room by every 20A
electric current capacity in a star connection. On the other hand, every terminal unit 3a - 3p is installed in the ceiling in proxilnity to its respective luminaire load in order to shorten the wiring thereto and a signal transmission line 5 is connected to the terminal units 3a - 3p in a transition connection whereby the terminal units are connected in series.
As is described above, according to the prior art system, the breakers 16a - 6d and the central control unit 4 are gathered 10 for centralized monitor and control.
/
B j ,.....
~ 1 338477 The disclosure of Japanese Laid-open Patent No.
64,14011988 illustrated in FIG. 3, shows branch power lines la - ld which are branched from the main power line 1, and connected to the respective branch power line are a pluralilty of luminaire loads 2al - 2d2, a plurality of control terminals 3al - 3d2 which are connected to respective luminaire Loads for providing ON - OFF control thereof by utilizing switching means such as relay contacts and the like, a plurality of control means made up of operatio:n command input terrminals 4al - 4d2 for operating the cont:rol terminals, central control units 4A - 4B for sending out control signals to said control terminals 3al -3d2 upon' receipt of signals from said operation command input terminals 4al - 4d2 correspondingly to the branch power lines la - ld, and block filters 7 for providing the isolation of a signal for power line carrier communication between the main power line 1 and the branch power lines la - ld.
According to this type of load control system, in case of controlLing a luminaire load 2 being connected to a different branch power line, for instance, in case of controlling the luminaire load 2al being connected to the branch power line la from the operation command input terminal 4dl connected to the branch power line ld, the flow of the control is in such a way as that, firs.tly, an operation command is transmitted from the operation command input terminal 4dl to the central control unit 4B through the branch power line ld in power line carrier communication mode, secondarily, the central control unit 4B then transmits the information in the power line carrier communication mode to the central control unit 4~ being connected to the branch power line la, which is connected to the control terminal 3al to be controlled, via the main power line 1 in accordance with the contents of the received ~,.
~ 1 338477 command~ thirdly, the central control unit 4A which has receivecl the information sends out the operation command through the branch power line la to the control terminal 3al, and then the luminaire load 2al is controlled by the control terminal 3al under the received operation command with use of switching means such as relay contacts.
The present invention will now be described more in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a block diagram of the pres;ent invention, the numerals 2 - 5 identify like elements in the prior art system shown in FIG. 1, wherein 8a and 8b denote gate way units of each branch power line la, lb for sending out load control signals transmitted from the central control unit 4 to the respective branch power line la, lb after converting them into power line carrier communication signals. Each terminal unit 3 is connected to ~I~o Lo~y~ h~
~ 1 338~77 power line la, lb and each gate way unit 8a, 8b is assigned an address code respectively in the same manner as terminal units 3.
In the operation of the load control system shown in Fig. 4 a load control signal is transmitted from the central control unit 4 to the signal transmission line 5. As is shown in Fig. 5A, load control signal consists of an originator address code pulse l9a to identify the originator address code pulse l9a to identify the originator, a gate way 10 address code pulse lsb to identify the gate way unit that corresponds to the branch power line to which the luminaire load 2 for the control is connected, a terminal unit address code pulse lsc to identify the address data of the terminal unit 3 which controls the luminaire load 2, and control data 19d to specify the control for the luminaire load 2. Each gate way unit 8a, 8b watches for a signal to be directly transmitted through the signal transmission line 5 without intermission and will accept the signal if the gate way address is indicating its own address. Upon receipt oE the 20 address ,signal, the gate way unit converts the terminal address code pulse l9c and the control data l9d into a transmission signal accommodated to the power line carrier communication, modulates a power line carrier wave, and then sends it out to the branch power line la as is shown in Fig.
5B. In like way, each terminal unit watches for a signal to be transnnitted through the branch power line la and will accept the signal if the terminal address code pulse l9c is indicating its own address and then controls the respective luminaire load 2 in accordance with the contents of the 30 control data l9d. The status of the luminaire load 2 is fed to the terminal unit 3 as a monitor input signal and sent out to the branch power line la as a monitor input pulse together with an address code pulse indicating the gate way 8a. The gate way 8a then accepts the transmitted signal having the address code pulse being addressed thereto on the branch power line la, converts it into a transmission signal for the signal ~, ,. _ ~ 1 338477 transmis!~ion line 5 and sends it out to the signal transmission line after adding an address code pulse indicating the address of central control unit 4. The status of the control of the luminaire load 2 is then monitored at the central control unit 4 by receiving the input monitor pulse.
As it has been descr~bed above, by providing the gate way unit respectively to each branch power line, it is possible to utilize the branch power line la, lb as control 10 signal transmission lines between the gate ways 8a, 8b and the respecti~Je terminal units 3 in common and there provided is less wirlng in installation.
In Fig. 6, there is shown a block diagram illustraling an another embodiment of this invention for a luminaire load control system in a building installation together with a power line installation. The numerals l, la -ld, 2a - 2c, 3a - 3h, 4, 5, and 6a - 6d denote like elements in the prior art system shown in Fig. 2. The numerals 8a -8d denote! gate way units provided at each branch power lines 20 la - ld. The numerals 7a - 7d denote block filters for protecting a carrier wave signal for power line carrier communic~tion to be used in each branch power line la - ld from leaking to different branch power lines and for making an impedance of each branch power line la - ld with a capacity of 20 A high against the carrier wave signal. In such an arrangement for the luminaire load control system, the branch power lines la - ld are also used as the signal transmission lines for transmitting a control signal to respective terminal control unit and the luminaire load control is performed in 30 the same way as is described in the previous embodiment under the least amount of wiring in the installation. Further, as the gate way unit is provided for each branch power line la -ld, the signal transmission line system and the branch power line system beyond the gate way units correspond to each other in one to one relationship. Therefore in case of a failure of the luminaire system the checking can be performed ~;, ~ ~ 338~77 separately for every branch power line and there will he no influenc~a on branch power lines other than the branch power line under maintenance as well.
Generally, the power line carrier communication is considered as a low reliable communication system because of the uncertainly of the power line characteristics as a signal transmission line. However, in the embodiments of this invention, the current capacity of branch power lines to be used ~or the power line carrier communication system is 10 limited t:o 20A for each and limited numbers of luminaire loads are connected. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the characteristic of the branch power line as a signal transmission line and a high reliable power line carrier communication line is provided with appropriate circuit designinq.
Further, in the power line carrier communication system, in order to achieve the reliability of the signal transmission, the transmission speed of the signal has been kept slow. Therefore, if the terminal units to be connected 20 to the power line which is involved in the power line carrier communication are increased in number, the communication traffic will be increased in turn on the power line and result in the spoiling of the response in the load control. However, since in the embodiments of the invention, a unit of the power line carrier communication system is limited within the scope of the extent defined by the law or regulation such as electric installation engineering standard and the like and also the numbers of luminaire loads and the terminal units to be connected to the power line system are limited as it has 30 been desl~ribed above, there is provided a practical control response system even in such a low signal transmission speed condition.
By utilizing 20 A breakers being capable of ON - OFF
switchin~ by remote control such as remote control breakers for the hreakers 6a - 6d shown in the embodiment of Fig. 6 and by arranging the remote control breaker controllable from the V, .
respective gate way units 8a - 8d based upon the control signals from the central control unit 4, there is provided an easy maintenance load control system. For example, a controlled status of the luminaire load 2 when the terminal unit 3 i,5 at offset or a controlled status of the luminaire load 2 when no control signal is fed is assigned as a turn ON
status. With this assignment, the controllability of the load control ~ystem can be maintained even under such conditions as when the power line carrier communication system in a l0 branch power line is interrupted due to the failure of the terminal unit or other reasons, by providing the ON - OFF
control ~ith a xemote control breaker under the control of gate way units 8a - 8d to which a control signal is fed from the cental control unit 4 for simultaneously controlling whole luminaire! loads connected to the branch power line in trouble.
The status of connection to each terminal unit 3 in t~e load control system as described above, may be conformed by sending out a polling signal from the central control unit 4 to the signal transmission line 5 ~or the confirmation of 20 the connecting status of the terminal units. The polling signal as exemplified by Fig. 7 may consist of an originator address L7a indicating the address data for the originator, a gate way address 17b indicating the address data for the gate way units 8a - 8b that correspond to the branched power lines la and lb to which the terminal units 3 for which status is being confirmed are connected, a terminal unit address 17c indicating the address data for the respective terminal unit 3 to be confirmed, and a control data 17d for the terminal unit 3 (]oop back request command herein).
In order to make polling with such a polling signal as described above, the polling signal is sent out from the central control unit 4 to each terminal unit 3 respectively through the signal transmission line 5. This signal is then converted into a transmission signal for the power line carrier communication with by respective gate way unit 8a, 8b, and the converted transmission signal is received at each ~; .
~ 1 338477 terminal unit 3. Each terminal unit 3 then transmits a reply signal to the respective branch power line la, lb, and sends back the reply signal to the central control unit 4 through the respective gate way unit 8a, 8b.
Fig. 8 illustrates the sequence diagram of the operation stated above, wherein three gate way units 8a - 8c are uti:Lized. As mentioned above, since the signal transmiss;ion speed is kept low for attaining the reliability of the control, it takes a long time to get through the 10 polling against the whole terminal units if a considerable amount of terminal units 3 are connected to the branch power lines and there is a possibility of taking too much time before detecting a failure of the terminal unit 3 at the central control unit 4 and also there is a problem of increasing an amount of traffic in the signal transmission line 5.
According to the next embodiment of this invention, this problem is solved by the provision that an amount of traffic in the signal transmission line is decreased 20 considerclbly by giving a specific feature to each gate way unit. In this embodiment, the gate way units 8a, 8b, each connectecl to the respective branch power line la, lb and capable of sending out a control signal transmitted by the central control unit 4 to the respective luminaire load 2 through ~he signal transmission line 5 after converting it into a transmission signal for the power line carrier communication includes the following polling functions. They are additionally e~uipped with a function for confirming the connecting status of each terminal unit 3 connected to the 30 respective branch power line la, lb, and a function for storing :information regarding the connecting status of each terminal unit 3 and for sending the stored information to the central control unit 4 in a lump.
In accordance with the load control system as equipped with the functions as above, the polling for each terminal unit 3 can be done in the following step. The B
,. ,.. ,~
.
polling signal (control signal for luminaire loads 2) is sent out from the gate way unit 8a, 8b respectively to the branch power line la, lb, wherein the polling signal consists of a terminal unit address 17a and a control data 17d (herein a status da!ta send back request command) as is shown in Fig. 9a.
Each terminal unit 3 watches for the polling signal being sent out through the branch power line la, lb and accepts the polling signal if the terminal address 17c coincides with its own address to perform the required process (herein the 10 process for sending back the status of the terminal unit 3 to the respective gate way unit 8a, 8b) based upon the contents of the control data 17d.
At the terminal unit 3 that received the polling signal, the terminal address 17c and the control data 17d are replaced respectively with a gate way address 8a, 8b and a data rep~resenting the status of the terminal unit 3 for sending ]back through the branch power line la r lb. In this case, the gate way units 8a, 8b also watch for transmitted signals over the branch power lines la, lb and are enabled to 20 accept t~e data representing the status of the connection transmitted from the terminal unit 3 to which the request command is addressed.
Further, a polling signal consists of a gate way unit address 17b and a control data 17d shown in Fig. 9b which may be substituted for the structure of the polling signal in the above.
Referring now to the Fig. lo, a presently preferred structure of the gate way unit in accordance with this invention is shown as a block diagram. One gate way unit 8a 30 is shown however, the others have the same structure. Block 9a is a signal transmitter receiver unit for exchanging a signal between the gate way unit 8a and the central control unit 4 through the signal transmission line 5, block 10a is a power line carrier communication signal transmitter receiver unit for carrying out the power line carrier communication with the terminal units 3 through the branch power line la, B;j l ~ 3 ~
.
block lla is a control unit for performing the control of the related units, and block 12a is a memory unit of store information such as the status of terminal units 3.
Since the above illustrated gate way unit 8a can store the status of each terminal unit 3 connected to the branched power line la in the memory unit 12a, it is possible to send back the stored status information of the terminal units 3 to the control unit 4 in a lump when the control signal to request the polling of the terminal units 3 is lO transmitt,ed from the central control unit 4. This eliminates the polling for the terminal units 3 to carry out one by one from the central control unit 4 and then distributing the steps of the polling as well as decreasing the time required to make a round of polling of the terminal units 3.
Therefore, the maximum time required to detect an irregularity in the terminal units 3 by the central control unit 4 is considerably decreased in this preferred embodiment of the invention.
Moreover, in accordance with this preferred 20 embodiment of the invention, amount o~ traffic on the signal transmisE;ion line 5 is greatly decreased.
A sequence diagram for polling according to the preferred embodiment illustrated in Fig. 10 is shown in Fig.
11. As seen, the amount of traffic between the central control unit 4 and each gate way unit 8a - 8c is distinctly decreased from that of Fig. 8 and this then decreases the time required after the polling signal has been transmitted and the send back signals carrying the status information o~ the terminal units are collected at the central control unit 4 30 even if t,he terminal units 3 are increased in number. This is because each gatè way units has added the polling function as has been described in the foregoing.
Still another preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 12, wherein the blocks 1 - 5, 7 are the like elements shown in Fig. 3 and blocks 8a - 8d are a plurality of gate way units provided for the branch power lines la - ld B;
1 3384~7 correspondingly. The numeral 13 denotes a speci~ic signal transmission line installed in between the plurality of gate way unit~: 8a - 8d.
In this preferred embodiment of the invention, a plurality of control means comprise a plurality o~ terminal control units 3al - 3d2 for controlling a plurality of respecti~Te loads 2al - 2d2 and a plurality of operation command input terminal units 4al - 4d2 for transmitting operation commands to the respective gate way units through 10 the branch power lines la - ld. With the help of the gate way units 8a - 8d and the specific signal line 13 inter-connecting the gate way unit6 8a - 8d, the power line carrier communication signals on the branch power lines la - ld are converted into transmission ~ignals accommodated to the specific communication, and the reciprocity control amongst the components such as the control terminal units 3al - 3d2 connected to the branch power lines la - ld, the operation command input terminal units 4al - 4d2 and the like, can be performed.
Further, in this type of load control ~ystem, the reciprocity control of the luminaire loads 2 connected to any two of the branch power lines la - ld, for example, the control of the luminaire load 2al connected to the branch power line! la from the operation command input terminal unit 4dl which is connected to the branch power line ld, can be done in the following steps. An operational information is transmitted to the gate way unit 8d from the operation command input terminal unit 4dl as a power line carrier communication signal through the branch power line ld. The gate way unit 30 8d which xeceived the operational information converts the power line carrier communication signal into a transmission signal for the specific signal line and then the converted operational information is transmitted through the specific signal line 13 to the gate way unit 8a connected to the branch power line la to which the control terminal unit 3al to be controlled is connected. In the next step, the gate way unit B;
. .
8a which received the converted operational information sends out the operation command to the control terminal unit 3al through the branch power line la. Hence, the control terminal unit which received the operational command controls the luminaire load 2al in accordance with the command by operating the switching means such as relay contacts and the like.
In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the signal transmission between the branch power lines is carried out by utilizing the specific signal line, so that there 10 provided is a high speed communication and also the time duration from the request of control by the operation terminal unit to the commencement of the control is kept substantially constant regardless of the number of branch power lines as well as the number of requests to carry out.
In other words, there is provided a considerable decrease in waiting time.
Further, in an application of this preferred embodiment of the invention to a large scale load control system such as a system to be used in a building installation, 20 since the signal transmission between the branch power lines can be carried out through the specific signal line wired therebetween, there is no need for power line carrier communication signals to be transmitted through the main power line and this results in the elimination of block filters to be installed in the load only branch power lines for blocking off the power line carrier communication signals.
It should be appreciated from the foregoing desc~iption that the present invention provides an improved load control system for controlling a plurality of luminaire 30 loads con]lected to a plurality of branch power lines with use of a plurality of gate way units, each of which can afford to transfer a control signal into a power line carrier communication signal, mounted respectively to each of the branch power line.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, each gate way unit further can afford to store the ~ 1 338~77 information after confirming the status of connections to the terminal units and to send back the stored information in a lump to t;he central control unit upon request.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of gate way units can afford to perform ~he reciprocity control by connecting the gate way units mutually with a specific signal line.
The present invention is not to be considered to be limited to the specific embodiment illustrated, except insofar 10 as may be required by the following claims.
.13;,
Numerous prior art systems for controlling luminaire loads havle been proposed and these systems essentially utilize two line systems in wiring, a power line system and a signal transmis~ion line system, which has resulted in expensive 10 installation and required wire checking for each line system in case of an failure. In order to check every terminal unit when the signal transmission line system is in out of order, for example, the checking have to be done by turning off the power to the power line system for the loads which are under the control of the terminal units to which the signal transmission lines are wired, especially, in case of a single signal transmission line is wired to a plurality of terminal units which are in connection with a plurality of power lines, all of the power lines have to be powered off during the 20 checking period of time. As is clear from the above, there have been many problems in the maintenance of the prior art system, such as in its complexity and the difficulty of checking failures.
It is therefore an object of this invention to solve such prob,lems and to provide a load control system with less wiring and which is easy to maintain.
It is another object of this invention to provide a load control system wherein the maximum time required for a central control unit to detect a failure of a terminal unit 30 is shorlened and an amount of traffic through signal transmission lines is considerably decreased.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a load control system wherein an amount of traffic through power lines is decreased by making the reciprocity con~rol possible between terminal units connected on a differenl branch power lines Eor hastening the control of loads and improving the reliability.
V
~ 3 3 8 In accordance with this invention, an improved luminaire load control system is provided for effectively handling control signals without significantly interfering with the power line installation.
, ~ ., According to the present invention, there is provided ,a load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to respective ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal control means for controllil~g the connecting status of the loads in response to load conlrol signals, each terminal control means being connected to a respective one of said loads and to said load's respective branch power line;
- a plurality of input terminal means for transmitting operation commands as power line carrier communication signals on said branch power lines, the input terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of gatewa~ means connected to one another by specific communication lines for providing reciprocity control for the plurality of loads, the gateway means being connected to one another and to respective ones of the br-anch power lines, and the gateway means generating transmission signals and the load control signals in response to said operation command received as power line carrier communication signals, said transmission signals being communicated among the gateway means and the load control signals being communicated selected ones of the terminal 30 control ~leans.
Preferably, each of the plurality of gateway means includes means for converting the power line carrier communication signal into a transmission signal for the specific communication lines.
The plurality of loads may be luminaire loads.
According to the present invention, there is also "_,, ~ 1 338477 provided a load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal means for controlling the connecting status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines and each terminal means controlling its respective load in response to a control signal received via its respective 10 branch power line;
- a plurality o~ gateway means for converting load control signal received from a central means into said control signal and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via the branch power lines, each gateway means being provided for a respective one of the power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wherein each gateway means is connected directly to said central control means; and - signal transmission means connected between each 20 said gateway means and said central control means for directly communicating said load control signals from said central control means to said gateway means.
The plurality of loads may be limit loads.
The central control means may further include means for transmitting a polling signal to a plurality of gateway means through the signal transmission means.
The plurality of gateway means may further include:
- signal transmitter/receiver means for communi-cating with the central control means through the signal 30 transmission means;
- memory means for storing information;
- power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via a respective branch power line with terminal means connected thereto; and - a control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and ~ 1 338477 the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
The load control system according to the present invention, may further comprise a plurality of circuit breakers,~each circuit breaker being connected to a respective one of the branch power lines and being responsive to a control signal from the respective gateway means.
It may also further comprise a plurality of block filters, leach block filter being connected to a respective one of the branch power lines and a respective one of said circuit 10 breakers, for preventing leakage of a carrier wave signal on each respective power line.
According to the present invention there is also provided a load control system comprising:
- at least one branch power line;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to said branch power line;
- at least one terminal means for controlling a connecti~n status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to said branch power line and 20 controlling said respective loads in response to a control signal re,ceived via said at least one branch power line;
- gateway means for converting load control signals received from a central control means to said control signals and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via said branch power line;
- a circuit breaker connecting said branch power line to a power source; and - a block filter connected in said branch power line between said circuit breaker and said terminal means, and said 30 gateway means being connected to said branch power line between said blocking filter and said terminal means, said blocking filter thus preventing leakage of said control signals ~rom said gateway means upstream with respect to a direction of power flow.
Preferably, the central control means may further include means for transmitting a polling signal to the gateway B
` 1 338477 means thr-ough the signal transmission means, and wherein said gateway means further includes:
- signal transmitter/receiver means for communi-cating w~th the central control means;
,. . .
- memory means for storing information;
- power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via said branch power line with terminal means connected thereto; and - control means for controlling the operation of the 10 signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
Preferably, the gateway means stores the status of said terminal means in said memory means and sends the stored status :information to said control means in a signal transmis~'ion when said central control means requests polling of said terminal means.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to ones of ~;aid branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal means for controlling the connection status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines andl each terminal means controlling its respective load in response to a control signal received via its respective branch power line;
- a plurality of gateway means for converting load control signals received from central control means into said 30 control signals and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via the branch power lines, each gateway means bei.ng provided for a respective one of the power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wh~rein each gateway means is connected directly to said central control means, each of said gateway means including signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating with the T~
~;
., central control means through the signal transmission means, memory means for storing information, power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicat~ing via said branch power line with terminal means connectecl thereto, and control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
In the load control system described in the preceding paragraph each of said gateway means may store the 10 status of terminal means of the power branch line to which said gateway means is connected, said gateway means storing said status of said terminal means in said memory means and sending the stored status information to said control means in a single transmission when said central control means requests polling of said terminal means.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to 20 respective ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal control means for controlling the connecting status of the load in response to load control signals, each terminal control means being connected to a respective one of said loads and to said load's respective branch power line;
- a plurality of input terminal means ~or transmitting operatlon commands as power line carrier communication signals on said branch power lines, the input terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power 30 lines;
. - a plurality of gateway means for providing reciprocity control of the plurality of loads, the gateway means being connected to one another and to respective ones of the b:ranch power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wherein the gateway means generate transmission signals and the load control signals in B
i ~ ~ 338~77 response to said operation commands received as power line carrier communication signals transmitted by ones of said input terminal means, said transmission signal being communica~ed among the gateway means and the load control signals being communic~ted to selected ones of the terminal control means wherein a first one of said plurali~y of gateway means, c~nnected to a first one of said branch power lines, is adapted to transmit said transmission signals responsive to receiving said power line carrier communication signals 10 from a first one of said plurality of input terminal means connected to-the ~irst branch power line, to a second one of said plurality of gateway means, connected to a second branch power line, which in turn transmits load control signals to one of sa.id plurality of terminal control means connected to the second branch power line.
The load control system described in the preceding paragraph may further.comprise a signal line connected between each of said gateway means for connecting said gateway means ~o one another, and wherein said signal line transmits said 20 transmiss:ion signals between said first one of said plurality of gateway means and said second one of gateway means.
One of the advantages of the present invention is that, since the load control signal transmitted from the central control unit is sent to the respective branch power line after converting it into a power line carrier communicat.ion signal at the gate way Ullit in the respective branch power line and the loads connected to the branch power line are controlled in accordance with the recei~ed load control signal by the respective control unit in connection 30 therewith,. the power line system and the signal transmissivn system between the gate way units and the respective loads can be used cvmmonly for providing the least amount of wiring and, moreover, the maintenance relating to the wiring system can easily be carried out because, in this arrangement, there is one to one correspondence between the branch power line and the signal transmission line in respect with the transmission '112 ~ 1 338477 of the control signal to the luminaire loads connected thereto.
Furthermore, since the connecting status of each terminal ~,unit in connection with a branch power line is confirmed and stored by a respective gate way unit provided for the branch power line and the stored information of each connection is transmitted to the central control unit in a lump from the gate way unit, there is no need of polling ~or each terminal unit in a separated manner from the central 10 control urlit. Therefore the act of polling is distributed and the time required to make a round of all of the terminal units in the polling is decreased, thus resulting in the considerable shortening in the maximum time required by the central control unit for detecting a failure in a terminal unit. E~urther, with this arrangement, the in~ormation regarding the wiring connexion of each terminal unit can be transmitted to the central control unit in a lump from the respective gate way unit, therefore amounts of traffic through the signal transmission line is also decreased significantly.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, in order to control a luminaire load from the operation command input terminal unit connected in a different branch power line, an operation command is transmitted in power line carrier communication mode to the gate way unit through the branch power line to which the operated operation command input terminal is connected. The gate way unit therl converts the received power line carrier communication signal into an exclusive communication signal and transmits this converted signal to another gate way unit 30 connected to the branch power line to which the control terminal to be controlled is connected through the exclusive communication line. The gate way unit that has received the converted signal then transmits the operation command to the control t;erminal unit through the branch power line. The control t;erminal unit that received the operation command operates switch means in turn for controlling the luminaire ~j ~ 1 338477 load in accordance therewith. In this way, this speci~ic embodiment of the invention can use exclusive communication lines between gate way units different from tlle prior art syst~m, E;o that the signal transmission between the branch power lines is greatly improved and provided in high speed.
Fig. 1 i5 a block diagram showing a prior art load control system;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the prior art load control sy~tem together with a power line installation;
tO Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing another prior art load control system;
Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of this invention;
Fig. 5A and 5B together form a signal structure of load control signal in accordance with this invention;
Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of this invention installed in a power line installation;
Fig. 7 is a signal structure of polling signal to be transmitted from a central control unit shown as an 20 illustrative purpose;
FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a power line carrier communication when the polling signal of FIG. 7 is used in the arrangement of FIG. 4;
FIG. 9~ and 9B together form a signal structure of polling signal to be transmitted from the central control unit in an another embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary detailed block diagram showing a gate way unit to be used with the polling signal shown in ~IG. 9;
FIG. 11 iS a sequence diagram showing a power line carrier communication when the polling signal of FIG. 9 is used in the arrangement of FIG. 10; and FIG. 12 iS a block diagram showing still another embodiment of this invention.
B
i ;
FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram~of a prior art load control system illustrated in Japanese Laid open Patent No~ 7,587/1981 wherein, 1 denotes a power line, 2 denotes a plurality of luminaire loads connected thereto, 3 denotes a plurality of terminal units for providing ON-OFF control against the plurality of luminaire loads 2 with use of switching devices such as relay contacts and the like, and 4 denotes a central control unit to send out control signsls to terminal units 3 for the control of luminaire loads 2 via 10 a signal transmission line 5 whereby a specific address is assigned respectively to each terminal unit 3.
According to this prior art system, a load control signal is transmitted firstly from the central control unit 4. This load control signal consists o~ a base band or a modulated pulse train, more specifically, of a series of address pulses having an address data for B;
.. ~ , specifying a required terminal unit 3 and a seri~s of control pulses having a control data for controlling the respective luminaire load 2 which is connected to the selected terminal unit 3. Each terminal unit 3 monitors a load control signal which is transmitted through the signal transmission line 5 and accepts the load control signal if the address data thereof coincides with own address. The terminal unit 3 then decodes the control data contained in the accepted signal and provides lhe re~uired control of the luminaire load 2 through 10 the decoded control data with use of relay contacts and the like. Further, there is provided a monitor input terminal (not shown) with each of the terminal units 3, and a signal indicating the status of each luminaire load 2 which is connected to the respective terminal unit 3 being fed to this monitor input terminal. ~he signal indicating the status of the luminaire load 2 is transmitted to the central control unit 4 as monitor input pulses together with address pulses indicating the address of the terminal unit 3 and address pulses indicating the address of the central control unit 4.
20 The status of each luminaire load 2 is monitored at the central control unit 4 by receiving the monitor input pulses.
Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the luminaire load control system of the prior art being installed in a building facility l_ogether with an electric power unit. Branch power lines la - ld of the main power line 1 are branched through 20A rating breakers 6a - 6d. According to the law or private regulations such as an electric installation engineering standard, the capacity at the final end of the power line is specified to 20A when the luminaire loads are fluorescent 30 lamps. Connected to each branch power line through a terminal unit are :Luminaire loads. For instance, luminaire loads 2a -2c are connected to a branch power line la through a terminal unit 3a. Generally, in an ordinary building facility, a plurality of breakers 6a - 6d are installed in an electric power room as one unit of a distribution board for centralized control. That is, the branch power lines la - ld .
. 1 338477 are branched from the electric power room by every 20A
electric current capacity in a star connection. On the other hand, every terminal unit 3a - 3p is installed in the ceiling in proxilnity to its respective luminaire load in order to shorten the wiring thereto and a signal transmission line 5 is connected to the terminal units 3a - 3p in a transition connection whereby the terminal units are connected in series.
As is described above, according to the prior art system, the breakers 16a - 6d and the central control unit 4 are gathered 10 for centralized monitor and control.
/
B j ,.....
~ 1 338477 The disclosure of Japanese Laid-open Patent No.
64,14011988 illustrated in FIG. 3, shows branch power lines la - ld which are branched from the main power line 1, and connected to the respective branch power line are a pluralilty of luminaire loads 2al - 2d2, a plurality of control terminals 3al - 3d2 which are connected to respective luminaire Loads for providing ON - OFF control thereof by utilizing switching means such as relay contacts and the like, a plurality of control means made up of operatio:n command input terrminals 4al - 4d2 for operating the cont:rol terminals, central control units 4A - 4B for sending out control signals to said control terminals 3al -3d2 upon' receipt of signals from said operation command input terminals 4al - 4d2 correspondingly to the branch power lines la - ld, and block filters 7 for providing the isolation of a signal for power line carrier communication between the main power line 1 and the branch power lines la - ld.
According to this type of load control system, in case of controlLing a luminaire load 2 being connected to a different branch power line, for instance, in case of controlling the luminaire load 2al being connected to the branch power line la from the operation command input terminal 4dl connected to the branch power line ld, the flow of the control is in such a way as that, firs.tly, an operation command is transmitted from the operation command input terminal 4dl to the central control unit 4B through the branch power line ld in power line carrier communication mode, secondarily, the central control unit 4B then transmits the information in the power line carrier communication mode to the central control unit 4~ being connected to the branch power line la, which is connected to the control terminal 3al to be controlled, via the main power line 1 in accordance with the contents of the received ~,.
~ 1 338477 command~ thirdly, the central control unit 4A which has receivecl the information sends out the operation command through the branch power line la to the control terminal 3al, and then the luminaire load 2al is controlled by the control terminal 3al under the received operation command with use of switching means such as relay contacts.
The present invention will now be described more in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a block diagram of the pres;ent invention, the numerals 2 - 5 identify like elements in the prior art system shown in FIG. 1, wherein 8a and 8b denote gate way units of each branch power line la, lb for sending out load control signals transmitted from the central control unit 4 to the respective branch power line la, lb after converting them into power line carrier communication signals. Each terminal unit 3 is connected to ~I~o Lo~y~ h~
~ 1 338~77 power line la, lb and each gate way unit 8a, 8b is assigned an address code respectively in the same manner as terminal units 3.
In the operation of the load control system shown in Fig. 4 a load control signal is transmitted from the central control unit 4 to the signal transmission line 5. As is shown in Fig. 5A, load control signal consists of an originator address code pulse l9a to identify the originator address code pulse l9a to identify the originator, a gate way 10 address code pulse lsb to identify the gate way unit that corresponds to the branch power line to which the luminaire load 2 for the control is connected, a terminal unit address code pulse lsc to identify the address data of the terminal unit 3 which controls the luminaire load 2, and control data 19d to specify the control for the luminaire load 2. Each gate way unit 8a, 8b watches for a signal to be directly transmitted through the signal transmission line 5 without intermission and will accept the signal if the gate way address is indicating its own address. Upon receipt oE the 20 address ,signal, the gate way unit converts the terminal address code pulse l9c and the control data l9d into a transmission signal accommodated to the power line carrier communication, modulates a power line carrier wave, and then sends it out to the branch power line la as is shown in Fig.
5B. In like way, each terminal unit watches for a signal to be transnnitted through the branch power line la and will accept the signal if the terminal address code pulse l9c is indicating its own address and then controls the respective luminaire load 2 in accordance with the contents of the 30 control data l9d. The status of the luminaire load 2 is fed to the terminal unit 3 as a monitor input signal and sent out to the branch power line la as a monitor input pulse together with an address code pulse indicating the gate way 8a. The gate way 8a then accepts the transmitted signal having the address code pulse being addressed thereto on the branch power line la, converts it into a transmission signal for the signal ~, ,. _ ~ 1 338477 transmis!~ion line 5 and sends it out to the signal transmission line after adding an address code pulse indicating the address of central control unit 4. The status of the control of the luminaire load 2 is then monitored at the central control unit 4 by receiving the input monitor pulse.
As it has been descr~bed above, by providing the gate way unit respectively to each branch power line, it is possible to utilize the branch power line la, lb as control 10 signal transmission lines between the gate ways 8a, 8b and the respecti~Je terminal units 3 in common and there provided is less wirlng in installation.
In Fig. 6, there is shown a block diagram illustraling an another embodiment of this invention for a luminaire load control system in a building installation together with a power line installation. The numerals l, la -ld, 2a - 2c, 3a - 3h, 4, 5, and 6a - 6d denote like elements in the prior art system shown in Fig. 2. The numerals 8a -8d denote! gate way units provided at each branch power lines 20 la - ld. The numerals 7a - 7d denote block filters for protecting a carrier wave signal for power line carrier communic~tion to be used in each branch power line la - ld from leaking to different branch power lines and for making an impedance of each branch power line la - ld with a capacity of 20 A high against the carrier wave signal. In such an arrangement for the luminaire load control system, the branch power lines la - ld are also used as the signal transmission lines for transmitting a control signal to respective terminal control unit and the luminaire load control is performed in 30 the same way as is described in the previous embodiment under the least amount of wiring in the installation. Further, as the gate way unit is provided for each branch power line la -ld, the signal transmission line system and the branch power line system beyond the gate way units correspond to each other in one to one relationship. Therefore in case of a failure of the luminaire system the checking can be performed ~;, ~ ~ 338~77 separately for every branch power line and there will he no influenc~a on branch power lines other than the branch power line under maintenance as well.
Generally, the power line carrier communication is considered as a low reliable communication system because of the uncertainly of the power line characteristics as a signal transmission line. However, in the embodiments of this invention, the current capacity of branch power lines to be used ~or the power line carrier communication system is 10 limited t:o 20A for each and limited numbers of luminaire loads are connected. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the characteristic of the branch power line as a signal transmission line and a high reliable power line carrier communication line is provided with appropriate circuit designinq.
Further, in the power line carrier communication system, in order to achieve the reliability of the signal transmission, the transmission speed of the signal has been kept slow. Therefore, if the terminal units to be connected 20 to the power line which is involved in the power line carrier communication are increased in number, the communication traffic will be increased in turn on the power line and result in the spoiling of the response in the load control. However, since in the embodiments of the invention, a unit of the power line carrier communication system is limited within the scope of the extent defined by the law or regulation such as electric installation engineering standard and the like and also the numbers of luminaire loads and the terminal units to be connected to the power line system are limited as it has 30 been desl~ribed above, there is provided a practical control response system even in such a low signal transmission speed condition.
By utilizing 20 A breakers being capable of ON - OFF
switchin~ by remote control such as remote control breakers for the hreakers 6a - 6d shown in the embodiment of Fig. 6 and by arranging the remote control breaker controllable from the V, .
respective gate way units 8a - 8d based upon the control signals from the central control unit 4, there is provided an easy maintenance load control system. For example, a controlled status of the luminaire load 2 when the terminal unit 3 i,5 at offset or a controlled status of the luminaire load 2 when no control signal is fed is assigned as a turn ON
status. With this assignment, the controllability of the load control ~ystem can be maintained even under such conditions as when the power line carrier communication system in a l0 branch power line is interrupted due to the failure of the terminal unit or other reasons, by providing the ON - OFF
control ~ith a xemote control breaker under the control of gate way units 8a - 8d to which a control signal is fed from the cental control unit 4 for simultaneously controlling whole luminaire! loads connected to the branch power line in trouble.
The status of connection to each terminal unit 3 in t~e load control system as described above, may be conformed by sending out a polling signal from the central control unit 4 to the signal transmission line 5 ~or the confirmation of 20 the connecting status of the terminal units. The polling signal as exemplified by Fig. 7 may consist of an originator address L7a indicating the address data for the originator, a gate way address 17b indicating the address data for the gate way units 8a - 8b that correspond to the branched power lines la and lb to which the terminal units 3 for which status is being confirmed are connected, a terminal unit address 17c indicating the address data for the respective terminal unit 3 to be confirmed, and a control data 17d for the terminal unit 3 (]oop back request command herein).
In order to make polling with such a polling signal as described above, the polling signal is sent out from the central control unit 4 to each terminal unit 3 respectively through the signal transmission line 5. This signal is then converted into a transmission signal for the power line carrier communication with by respective gate way unit 8a, 8b, and the converted transmission signal is received at each ~; .
~ 1 338477 terminal unit 3. Each terminal unit 3 then transmits a reply signal to the respective branch power line la, lb, and sends back the reply signal to the central control unit 4 through the respective gate way unit 8a, 8b.
Fig. 8 illustrates the sequence diagram of the operation stated above, wherein three gate way units 8a - 8c are uti:Lized. As mentioned above, since the signal transmiss;ion speed is kept low for attaining the reliability of the control, it takes a long time to get through the 10 polling against the whole terminal units if a considerable amount of terminal units 3 are connected to the branch power lines and there is a possibility of taking too much time before detecting a failure of the terminal unit 3 at the central control unit 4 and also there is a problem of increasing an amount of traffic in the signal transmission line 5.
According to the next embodiment of this invention, this problem is solved by the provision that an amount of traffic in the signal transmission line is decreased 20 considerclbly by giving a specific feature to each gate way unit. In this embodiment, the gate way units 8a, 8b, each connectecl to the respective branch power line la, lb and capable of sending out a control signal transmitted by the central control unit 4 to the respective luminaire load 2 through ~he signal transmission line 5 after converting it into a transmission signal for the power line carrier communication includes the following polling functions. They are additionally e~uipped with a function for confirming the connecting status of each terminal unit 3 connected to the 30 respective branch power line la, lb, and a function for storing :information regarding the connecting status of each terminal unit 3 and for sending the stored information to the central control unit 4 in a lump.
In accordance with the load control system as equipped with the functions as above, the polling for each terminal unit 3 can be done in the following step. The B
,. ,.. ,~
.
polling signal (control signal for luminaire loads 2) is sent out from the gate way unit 8a, 8b respectively to the branch power line la, lb, wherein the polling signal consists of a terminal unit address 17a and a control data 17d (herein a status da!ta send back request command) as is shown in Fig. 9a.
Each terminal unit 3 watches for the polling signal being sent out through the branch power line la, lb and accepts the polling signal if the terminal address 17c coincides with its own address to perform the required process (herein the 10 process for sending back the status of the terminal unit 3 to the respective gate way unit 8a, 8b) based upon the contents of the control data 17d.
At the terminal unit 3 that received the polling signal, the terminal address 17c and the control data 17d are replaced respectively with a gate way address 8a, 8b and a data rep~resenting the status of the terminal unit 3 for sending ]back through the branch power line la r lb. In this case, the gate way units 8a, 8b also watch for transmitted signals over the branch power lines la, lb and are enabled to 20 accept t~e data representing the status of the connection transmitted from the terminal unit 3 to which the request command is addressed.
Further, a polling signal consists of a gate way unit address 17b and a control data 17d shown in Fig. 9b which may be substituted for the structure of the polling signal in the above.
Referring now to the Fig. lo, a presently preferred structure of the gate way unit in accordance with this invention is shown as a block diagram. One gate way unit 8a 30 is shown however, the others have the same structure. Block 9a is a signal transmitter receiver unit for exchanging a signal between the gate way unit 8a and the central control unit 4 through the signal transmission line 5, block 10a is a power line carrier communication signal transmitter receiver unit for carrying out the power line carrier communication with the terminal units 3 through the branch power line la, B;j l ~ 3 ~
.
block lla is a control unit for performing the control of the related units, and block 12a is a memory unit of store information such as the status of terminal units 3.
Since the above illustrated gate way unit 8a can store the status of each terminal unit 3 connected to the branched power line la in the memory unit 12a, it is possible to send back the stored status information of the terminal units 3 to the control unit 4 in a lump when the control signal to request the polling of the terminal units 3 is lO transmitt,ed from the central control unit 4. This eliminates the polling for the terminal units 3 to carry out one by one from the central control unit 4 and then distributing the steps of the polling as well as decreasing the time required to make a round of polling of the terminal units 3.
Therefore, the maximum time required to detect an irregularity in the terminal units 3 by the central control unit 4 is considerably decreased in this preferred embodiment of the invention.
Moreover, in accordance with this preferred 20 embodiment of the invention, amount o~ traffic on the signal transmisE;ion line 5 is greatly decreased.
A sequence diagram for polling according to the preferred embodiment illustrated in Fig. 10 is shown in Fig.
11. As seen, the amount of traffic between the central control unit 4 and each gate way unit 8a - 8c is distinctly decreased from that of Fig. 8 and this then decreases the time required after the polling signal has been transmitted and the send back signals carrying the status information o~ the terminal units are collected at the central control unit 4 30 even if t,he terminal units 3 are increased in number. This is because each gatè way units has added the polling function as has been described in the foregoing.
Still another preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 12, wherein the blocks 1 - 5, 7 are the like elements shown in Fig. 3 and blocks 8a - 8d are a plurality of gate way units provided for the branch power lines la - ld B;
1 3384~7 correspondingly. The numeral 13 denotes a speci~ic signal transmission line installed in between the plurality of gate way unit~: 8a - 8d.
In this preferred embodiment of the invention, a plurality of control means comprise a plurality o~ terminal control units 3al - 3d2 for controlling a plurality of respecti~Te loads 2al - 2d2 and a plurality of operation command input terminal units 4al - 4d2 for transmitting operation commands to the respective gate way units through 10 the branch power lines la - ld. With the help of the gate way units 8a - 8d and the specific signal line 13 inter-connecting the gate way unit6 8a - 8d, the power line carrier communication signals on the branch power lines la - ld are converted into transmission ~ignals accommodated to the specific communication, and the reciprocity control amongst the components such as the control terminal units 3al - 3d2 connected to the branch power lines la - ld, the operation command input terminal units 4al - 4d2 and the like, can be performed.
Further, in this type of load control ~ystem, the reciprocity control of the luminaire loads 2 connected to any two of the branch power lines la - ld, for example, the control of the luminaire load 2al connected to the branch power line! la from the operation command input terminal unit 4dl which is connected to the branch power line ld, can be done in the following steps. An operational information is transmitted to the gate way unit 8d from the operation command input terminal unit 4dl as a power line carrier communication signal through the branch power line ld. The gate way unit 30 8d which xeceived the operational information converts the power line carrier communication signal into a transmission signal for the specific signal line and then the converted operational information is transmitted through the specific signal line 13 to the gate way unit 8a connected to the branch power line la to which the control terminal unit 3al to be controlled is connected. In the next step, the gate way unit B;
. .
8a which received the converted operational information sends out the operation command to the control terminal unit 3al through the branch power line la. Hence, the control terminal unit which received the operational command controls the luminaire load 2al in accordance with the command by operating the switching means such as relay contacts and the like.
In this preferred embodiment of the invention, the signal transmission between the branch power lines is carried out by utilizing the specific signal line, so that there 10 provided is a high speed communication and also the time duration from the request of control by the operation terminal unit to the commencement of the control is kept substantially constant regardless of the number of branch power lines as well as the number of requests to carry out.
In other words, there is provided a considerable decrease in waiting time.
Further, in an application of this preferred embodiment of the invention to a large scale load control system such as a system to be used in a building installation, 20 since the signal transmission between the branch power lines can be carried out through the specific signal line wired therebetween, there is no need for power line carrier communication signals to be transmitted through the main power line and this results in the elimination of block filters to be installed in the load only branch power lines for blocking off the power line carrier communication signals.
It should be appreciated from the foregoing desc~iption that the present invention provides an improved load control system for controlling a plurality of luminaire 30 loads con]lected to a plurality of branch power lines with use of a plurality of gate way units, each of which can afford to transfer a control signal into a power line carrier communication signal, mounted respectively to each of the branch power line.
In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, each gate way unit further can afford to store the ~ 1 338~77 information after confirming the status of connections to the terminal units and to send back the stored information in a lump to t;he central control unit upon request.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of gate way units can afford to perform ~he reciprocity control by connecting the gate way units mutually with a specific signal line.
The present invention is not to be considered to be limited to the specific embodiment illustrated, except insofar 10 as may be required by the following claims.
.13;,
Claims (16)
1. A load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to respective ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal control means for controlling the connecting status of the loads in response to load control signals, each terminal control means being connected to a respective one of said loads and to said load's respective branch power line;
- a plurality of input terminal means for transmitting operation commands as power line carrier communication signals on said branch power lines, the input terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of gateway means connected to one another by specific communication lines for providing reciprocity control for the plurality of loads, the gateway means being connected to one another and to respective ones of the branch power lines, and the gateway means generating transmission signals and the load control signals in response to said operation commands received as power line carrier communication signals, said transmission signals being communicated among the gateway means and the load control signals being communicated selected ones of the terminal control means.
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to respective ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal control means for controlling the connecting status of the loads in response to load control signals, each terminal control means being connected to a respective one of said loads and to said load's respective branch power line;
- a plurality of input terminal means for transmitting operation commands as power line carrier communication signals on said branch power lines, the input terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of gateway means connected to one another by specific communication lines for providing reciprocity control for the plurality of loads, the gateway means being connected to one another and to respective ones of the branch power lines, and the gateway means generating transmission signals and the load control signals in response to said operation commands received as power line carrier communication signals, said transmission signals being communicated among the gateway means and the load control signals being communicated selected ones of the terminal control means.
2. A load control system as defined in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of gateway means includes means for converting the power line carrier communication signal into a transmission signal for the specific communication lines.
3. A load control system as defined in claim 1, wherein said plurality of loads are luminaire loads.
4. A load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal means for controlling the connecting status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines and each terminal means controlling its respective load in response to a control signal received via its respective branch power line;
- a plurality of gateway means for converting load control signal received from a central means into said control signal and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via the branch power lines, each gateway means being provided for a respective one of the power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wherein each gateway means is connected directly to said central control means; and - signal transmission means connected between each said gateway means and said central control means for directly communicating said load control signals from said central control means to said gateway means.
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal means for controlling the connecting status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines and each terminal means controlling its respective load in response to a control signal received via its respective branch power line;
- a plurality of gateway means for converting load control signal received from a central means into said control signal and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via the branch power lines, each gateway means being provided for a respective one of the power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wherein each gateway means is connected directly to said central control means; and - signal transmission means connected between each said gateway means and said central control means for directly communicating said load control signals from said central control means to said gateway means.
5. A load control system as defined in claim 4, wherein said plurality of loads are limit loads.
6. A load control system as defined in claim 4, wherein the central control means further includes means for transmitting a polling signal to a plurality of gateway means through the signal transmission means.
7. A load control system as defined in claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of gateway means further includes:
- signal transmitter/receiver means for communi-cating with the central control means through the signal transmission means;
- memory means for storing information;
- power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via a respective branch power line with terminal means connected thereto; and - a control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
- signal transmitter/receiver means for communi-cating with the central control means through the signal transmission means;
- memory means for storing information;
- power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via a respective branch power line with terminal means connected thereto; and - a control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
8. A load control system as defined in claim 4, further comprising a plurality of circuit breakers, each circuit breaker being connected to a respective one of the branch power lines and being responsive to a control signal from the respective gateway means.
9. A load control system as defined in claim 8, further comprising a plurality of block filters, each block filter being connected to a respective one of the branch power lines and a respective one of said circuit breakers, for preventing leakage of a carrier wave signal on each respective power line.
10. A load control system comprising:
- at least one branch power line;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to said branch power line;
- at least one terminal means for controlling a connection status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to said branch power line and controlling said respective loads in response to a control signal received via said at least one branch power line;
- gateway means for converting load control signals received from a central control means to said control signals and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via said branch power line;
- a circuit breaker connecting said branch power line to a power source; and - a block filter connected in said branch power line between said circuit breaker and said terminal means, and said gateway means being connected to said branch power line between said blocking filter and said terminal means, said blocking filter thus preventing leakage of said control signals from said gateway means upstream with respect to a direction of power flow.
- at least one branch power line;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to said branch power line;
- at least one terminal means for controlling a connection status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to said branch power line and controlling said respective loads in response to a control signal received via said at least one branch power line;
- gateway means for converting load control signals received from a central control means to said control signals and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via said branch power line;
- a circuit breaker connecting said branch power line to a power source; and - a block filter connected in said branch power line between said circuit breaker and said terminal means, and said gateway means being connected to said branch power line between said blocking filter and said terminal means, said blocking filter thus preventing leakage of said control signals from said gateway means upstream with respect to a direction of power flow.
11. A load control system as defined in claim 10, wherein the central control means further includes means for transmitting a polling signal to the gateway means through the signal transmission means, and wherein said gateway means further includes:
- signal transmitter/receiver means for communi-cating with the central control means;
- memory means for storing information;
- power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via said branch power line with terminal means connected thereto; and - control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
- signal transmitter/receiver means for communi-cating with the central control means;
- memory means for storing information;
- power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via said branch power line with terminal means connected thereto; and - control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
12. A load control system as defined in claim 11, wherein said gateway means stores the status of said terminal means in said memory means and sends the stored status information to said control means in a signal transmission when said central control means requests polling of said terminal means.
13. A load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal means for controlling the connection status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines and each terminal means controlling its respective load in response to a control signal received via its respective branch power line;
- a plurality of gateway means for converting load control signals received from central control means into said control signals and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via the branch power lines, each gateway means being provided for a respective one of the power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wherein each gateway means is connected directly to said central control means, each of said gateway means including signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating with the central control means through the signal transmission means, memory means for storing information, power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via said branch power line with terminal means connected thereto, and control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal means for controlling the connection status of respective ones of said loads, the terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines and each terminal means controlling its respective load in response to a control signal received via its respective branch power line;
- a plurality of gateway means for converting load control signals received from central control means into said control signals and for transmitting said control signals to said terminal means via the branch power lines, each gateway means being provided for a respective one of the power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch power line, wherein each gateway means is connected directly to said central control means, each of said gateway means including signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating with the central control means through the signal transmission means, memory means for storing information, power line carrier communication signal transmitter/receiver means for communicating via said branch power line with terminal means connected thereto, and control means for controlling the operation of the signal transmitter/receiver means, the memory means, and the power line carrier transmitter/receiver means.
14. A load control system as defined in claim 13, wherein each of said gateway means stores the status of terminal means of the power branch line to which said gateway means is connected, said gateway means storing said status of said terminal means in said memory means and sending the stored status information to said control means in a single transmission when said central control means requests polling of said terminal means.
15. A load control system comprising:
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to respective ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal control means for controlling the connecting status of the loads in response to load control signals, each terminal control means being connected to a respective one of said loads and to said load's respective branch power line;
- a plurality of input terminal means for transmitting operation commands as power line carrier communication signals on said branch power lines, the input terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of gateway means for providing reciprocity control of the plurality of loads, the gateway means being connected to one another and to respective ones of the branch power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch line, wherein the gateway means generate transmission signals and the load control signals in response to said operation commands received as power line carrier communication signals transmitted by ones of said input terminal means, said transmission signal being communicated among the gateway means and the load control signals being communicated to selected ones of the terminal control means wherein a first one of said plurality of gateway means, connected to a first one of said branch power lines, is adapted to transmit said transmission signals responsive to receiving said power line carrier communication signals from a first one of said plurality of input terminal means connected to the first branch power line, to a second one of said plurality of gateway means, connected to a second branch power line, which in turn transmits load control signals to one of said plurality of terminal control means connected to the second branch power line.
- a plurality of branch power lines;
- a plurality of loads selectively connectable to respective ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of terminal control means for controlling the connecting status of the loads in response to load control signals, each terminal control means being connected to a respective one of said loads and to said load's respective branch power line;
- a plurality of input terminal means for transmitting operation commands as power line carrier communication signals on said branch power lines, the input terminal means being connected to ones of said branch power lines;
- a plurality of gateway means for providing reciprocity control of the plurality of loads, the gateway means being connected to one another and to respective ones of the branch power lines such that one gateway means is connected to each branch line, wherein the gateway means generate transmission signals and the load control signals in response to said operation commands received as power line carrier communication signals transmitted by ones of said input terminal means, said transmission signal being communicated among the gateway means and the load control signals being communicated to selected ones of the terminal control means wherein a first one of said plurality of gateway means, connected to a first one of said branch power lines, is adapted to transmit said transmission signals responsive to receiving said power line carrier communication signals from a first one of said plurality of input terminal means connected to the first branch power line, to a second one of said plurality of gateway means, connected to a second branch power line, which in turn transmits load control signals to one of said plurality of terminal control means connected to the second branch power line.
16. A load control system as defined in claim 15, further comprising a signal line connected between each of said gateway means for connecting said gateway means to one another, and wherein said signal line transmits said transmission signals between said first one of said plurality of gateway means and said second one of gateway means.
Applications Claiming Priority (6)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP63-230295 | 1988-09-14 | ||
| JP23029588A JPH0279593A (en) | 1988-09-14 | 1988-09-14 | Load control system |
| JP1102748A JPH088519B2 (en) | 1989-04-21 | 1989-04-21 | Load control system |
| JP1-102748 | 1989-04-21 | ||
| JP1-106629 | 1989-04-26 | ||
| JP1106629A JPH02285726A (en) | 1989-04-26 | 1989-04-26 | Load control system |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1338477C true CA1338477C (en) | 1996-07-23 |
Family
ID=27309789
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 611258 Expired - Lifetime CA1338477C (en) | 1988-09-14 | 1989-09-13 | Load control system |
Country Status (5)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (3) | US5175677A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0359178B1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1338477C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE68925085T2 (en) |
| HK (1) | HK1006766A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (53)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5175677A (en) * | 1988-04-21 | 1992-12-29 | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha | Load control system |
| FR2661577B1 (en) * | 1990-04-25 | 1994-06-10 | Marinier Jean Claude | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR REMOTELY MONITORING A LIGHTING NETWORK. |
| US5323307A (en) * | 1990-11-29 | 1994-06-21 | Square D Company | Power management and automation system |
| GB9104881D0 (en) * | 1991-03-08 | 1991-04-24 | Ind Cybernetics Ltd | Monitoring apparatus and system |
| US5416777A (en) * | 1991-04-10 | 1995-05-16 | California Institute Of Technology | High speed polling protocol for multiple node network |
| GB9204129D0 (en) * | 1992-02-26 | 1992-04-08 | Legrand Electric Ltd | Control of lighting etc circuits |
| DE4207784C2 (en) * | 1992-03-11 | 1993-12-23 | Martin Nimbach | Freely programmable installation network |
| JPH07212387A (en) * | 1994-01-12 | 1995-08-11 | Brother Ind Ltd | Communication control device in data communication system |
| FR2719176B1 (en) * | 1994-04-22 | 1996-06-14 | Sgs Thomson Microelectronics | System comprising a pricing change communication apparatus. |
| US6297724B1 (en) * | 1994-09-09 | 2001-10-02 | The Whitaker Corporation | Lighting control subsystem for use in system architecture for automated building |
| IT1271260B (en) * | 1994-12-13 | 1997-05-27 | Bticino Spa | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WITH CONTROL OF THE POWER DEMAND |
| US6487509B1 (en) * | 1996-02-20 | 2002-11-26 | Wrap Spa | Method for the energy management in a domestic environment |
| US5889465A (en) * | 1995-07-25 | 1999-03-30 | Jersey Central Power & Light Company | Power service unit with automated dialer and other enhancements |
| US5905442A (en) * | 1996-02-07 | 1999-05-18 | Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. | Method and apparatus for controlling and determining the status of electrical devices from remote locations |
| US5971598A (en) * | 1996-06-07 | 1999-10-26 | Puretan International, Inc. | Wireless remote controlled tanning system |
| US5978371A (en) * | 1997-03-31 | 1999-11-02 | Abb Power T&D Company Inc. | Communications module base repeater |
| KR100313553B1 (en) * | 1998-06-25 | 2001-11-07 | 이마이 기요스케 | Remote supervisory control system |
| JP4567153B2 (en) * | 2000-07-07 | 2010-10-20 | 株式会社アイオイ・システム | Two-wire remote control system and two-wire display device |
| DE10047927B4 (en) * | 2000-09-27 | 2006-08-03 | Siemens Ag | Method for networking a control unit with one or more power units |
| US6660948B2 (en) * | 2001-02-28 | 2003-12-09 | Vip Investments Ltd. | Switch matrix |
| US20030189495A1 (en) * | 2002-04-03 | 2003-10-09 | Pettler Peter R. | Method and system for controlling a selected electrical load in a building |
| DE10392763T5 (en) * | 2002-06-03 | 2012-01-12 | S.T.L. Energy Solutions And Technologies Ltd. | Multiple channel ballast and network topology and networked system that includes power line carrier applications |
| US7049939B2 (en) * | 2002-07-31 | 2006-05-23 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd | Power line carrier system |
| FR2851048B1 (en) * | 2003-02-06 | 2010-04-23 | Maurice Gainville | IMPROVED INSTALLATION FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF DEVICES MOUNTED IN SERIES ON A POWER LINE |
| US7755506B1 (en) | 2003-09-03 | 2010-07-13 | Legrand Home Systems, Inc. | Automation and theater control system |
| US7274117B1 (en) | 2003-09-05 | 2007-09-25 | The Watt Stopper, Inc. | Radio wall switch |
| US7889051B1 (en) | 2003-09-05 | 2011-02-15 | The Watt Stopper Inc | Location-based addressing lighting and environmental control system, device and method |
| US7616090B2 (en) * | 2004-05-20 | 2009-11-10 | Von Duprin, Inc. | Electronic security system |
| US7778262B2 (en) | 2005-09-07 | 2010-08-17 | Vantage Controls, Inc. | Radio frequency multiple protocol bridge |
| GB2431299B (en) * | 2005-10-13 | 2010-05-12 | Thomas & Betts Corp | Emergency lighting system and luminaire module |
| US20070279900A1 (en) * | 2005-11-01 | 2007-12-06 | Nexxus Lighting, Inc. | Submersible LED Light Fixture System |
| DE102006019143A1 (en) * | 2006-04-21 | 2007-10-25 | Erco Leuchten Gmbh | Light Control System |
| CN101064978B (en) * | 2006-04-28 | 2011-03-30 | 徐佳义 | Electric illumination zone control system and control method isolated by boundary repeaters |
| US7886338B2 (en) * | 2006-10-06 | 2011-02-08 | Control4 Corporation | System and method for controlling access to local services without losing failover capibilty |
| US20080092075A1 (en) * | 2006-10-13 | 2008-04-17 | Joe Suresh Jacob | Method of building a database of a lighting control system |
| DE102006049636B4 (en) * | 2006-10-20 | 2009-04-02 | Siemens Ag | Bus coupler and communication system with bus coupler |
| US8107946B2 (en) * | 2007-02-22 | 2012-01-31 | Control4 Corporation | System and method for using a wired network to send response messages in an automation system |
| US8436943B2 (en) * | 2007-03-22 | 2013-05-07 | Control4 Corporation | System and method for automated audio visual system control |
| US20080238668A1 (en) * | 2007-03-28 | 2008-10-02 | Control4 Corporation | System and method for security monitoring between trusted neighbors |
| US20100321151A1 (en) * | 2007-04-04 | 2010-12-23 | Control4 Corporation | Home automation security system and method |
| US8588103B2 (en) * | 2007-04-10 | 2013-11-19 | Control4 Corporation | System and method for distributing communications through a dense mesh network |
| US10877623B2 (en) | 2007-06-18 | 2020-12-29 | Wirepath Home Systems, Llc | Dynamic interface for remote control of a home automation network |
| DE102009058877A1 (en) | 2009-12-18 | 2011-06-22 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, 80333 | Method for testing electrical components in a power grid, in particular in a building power grid |
| US9229514B2 (en) * | 2010-01-29 | 2016-01-05 | Hewlett Parkard Enterprise Development LP | Managing electric energy distribution to multiple loads using selective capping |
| US9544975B2 (en) * | 2010-02-04 | 2017-01-10 | Ywire Technologies Inc. | Lighting control switch apparatus and system |
| CN101847314B (en) * | 2010-04-28 | 2011-09-28 | 辛明 | Signal transmission method and transmission device for solar water heater |
| CN102111188B (en) * | 2011-03-03 | 2013-07-24 | 郭建国 | Asymmetric power-line carrier communication system |
| US20120253532A1 (en) * | 2011-03-30 | 2012-10-04 | General Electric Company | Systems and methods for forecasting electrical load |
| US8836476B2 (en) * | 2012-01-05 | 2014-09-16 | Lumenpulse Lighting, Inc. | Wireless light controller system and method |
| US20140355610A1 (en) * | 2013-05-31 | 2014-12-04 | Qualcomm Incorporated | Switched power line communication |
| CN108011404B (en) * | 2017-12-11 | 2021-10-19 | 国网江苏省电力有限公司经济技术研究院 | Power system coordination control method under fault occurrence condition |
| CN111556613B (en) * | 2020-04-24 | 2022-06-24 | 中国铁道科学研究院集团有限公司铁道建筑研究所 | System and method for realizing intelligent control of tunnel lamp |
| WO2023164135A1 (en) * | 2022-02-24 | 2023-08-31 | Bnsf Railway Company | System and method for railroad smart flasher lamps |
Family Cites Families (20)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPS567587A (en) * | 1979-06-30 | 1981-01-26 | Matsushita Electric Works Ltd | Remote control unit for time sharing multiplex transmission |
| US4347575A (en) * | 1979-07-02 | 1982-08-31 | Sangamo Weston, Inc. | System for controlling power distribution to customer loads |
| US4419667A (en) * | 1979-07-02 | 1983-12-06 | Sangamo Weston, Inc. | System for controlling power distribution to customer loads |
| US4302750A (en) * | 1979-08-03 | 1981-11-24 | Compuguard Corporation | Distribution automation system |
| US4484258A (en) * | 1979-10-30 | 1984-11-20 | General Electric Company | Apparatus for controlling distributed electrical loads |
| US4418333A (en) * | 1981-06-08 | 1983-11-29 | Pittway Corporation | Appliance control system |
| JPS60114043A (en) * | 1983-11-25 | 1985-06-20 | Matsushita Electric Works Ltd | Power line carrier system |
| US4783748A (en) * | 1983-12-09 | 1988-11-08 | Quadlogic Controls Corporation | Method and apparatus for remote measurement |
| US4656593A (en) * | 1985-05-20 | 1987-04-07 | Westinghouse Electric Corp. | Multi-function load controller for carrier load control subsystem |
| US4763104A (en) * | 1986-03-19 | 1988-08-09 | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha | Gateway for use in load control system |
| US5196823A (en) * | 1986-04-24 | 1993-03-23 | Multitecno S.P.A. | Deratization apparatus with remote terminals |
| JPS6364140A (en) * | 1986-09-04 | 1988-03-22 | Canon Inc | Central processing unit |
| US4703306A (en) * | 1986-09-26 | 1987-10-27 | The Maytag Company | Appliance system |
| US4933668A (en) * | 1986-09-29 | 1990-06-12 | Shepherd Intelligence Systems, Inc. | Aircraft security system |
| US4804938A (en) * | 1986-10-24 | 1989-02-14 | Sangamo Weston, Inc. | Distribution energy management system |
| US4792731A (en) * | 1987-03-16 | 1988-12-20 | Lightolier Incorporated | Multi-room controlled for individual light controls |
| US4939728A (en) * | 1987-11-10 | 1990-07-03 | Echelon Systems Corp. | Network and intelligent cell for providing sensing bidirectional communications and control |
| US5175677A (en) * | 1988-04-21 | 1992-12-29 | Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha | Load control system |
| US5416777A (en) * | 1991-04-10 | 1995-05-16 | California Institute Of Technology | High speed polling protocol for multiple node network |
| US5327307A (en) * | 1992-04-17 | 1994-07-05 | Datatape Incorporated | Magnetic tape cassette recorder having a slidably and tiltably mounted cassette holder and a latch interlock mechanism |
-
1989
- 1989-09-11 US US07/405,140 patent/US5175677A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1989-09-11 EP EP19890116787 patent/EP0359178B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1989-09-11 DE DE1989625085 patent/DE68925085T2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1989-09-13 CA CA 611258 patent/CA1338477C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1992
- 1992-09-14 US US07/944,315 patent/US5455761A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1995
- 1995-06-07 US US08/482,841 patent/US5495406A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1998
- 1998-06-22 HK HK98105849A patent/HK1006766A1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US5495406A (en) | 1996-02-27 |
| EP0359178A3 (en) | 1991-04-10 |
| US5175677A (en) | 1992-12-29 |
| EP0359178A2 (en) | 1990-03-21 |
| DE68925085T2 (en) | 1996-08-22 |
| DE68925085D1 (en) | 1996-01-25 |
| HK1006766A1 (en) | 1999-03-12 |
| EP0359178B1 (en) | 1995-12-13 |
| US5455761A (en) | 1995-10-03 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| CA1338477C (en) | Load control system | |
| CA1300713C (en) | Gateway for use in load control system | |
| EP0201253B1 (en) | Power line communications system | |
| KR890010644A (en) | Communication and energy control system for home | |
| US4860977A (en) | Railway signalling system | |
| KR20000023284A (en) | An arrangement for individually controlling an actuator of a high-safety industrial installation | |
| JPS62219721A (en) | Gateway | |
| JPH0418492B2 (en) | ||
| JPH02285402A (en) | Load control system | |
| JPH02141198A (en) | Electronic interlocking device | |
| JPS62123897A (en) | Remote control supervisory equipment | |
| US5126730A (en) | Multipoint TBOS interface including backup response unit | |
| JPH06189367A (en) | Lighting control system | |
| JPH0235898A (en) | Remote supervisory control system | |
| JPH0279593A (en) | Load control system | |
| JPH0667006B2 (en) | Radio link control method for mobile radio | |
| JPS5818737A (en) | Controlling system for on-line terminal device | |
| JPS63104599A (en) | Building management system | |
| JPH07336362A (en) | Supervisory and controlling device | |
| JPS61239742A (en) | Home bus system | |
| JPS61247143A (en) | Remote controller | |
| JPH01103033A (en) | Power line carrier system | |
| JPS61262794A (en) | Multiplex control system of electric bulletin board | |
| JPH0479699A (en) | Home control device | |
| JPS61139144A (en) | Data communication supervisory system |