Method for remote control through a power supply system and apparatus for carrying out the same

Claim 3

The method as defined in claim 1, including the step of transmitting the control commands in the form of frequency-shift keyed signals, and maintaining the modulation index smaller than 1.

Claim 4

The method as defined in claim 1, including the step of controlling the discriminator frequency characteristic at the receiving end as a function of the mains frequency of the power supply system in a manner that it follows the signal frequencies dependent upon the mains frequency in the event of fluctuations in the mains frequency.

Claim 5

The method as defined in claim 1, including the step of spectrally rating the received and limited receiving signal at the receiving end for frequency discrimination, and delivering a frequency-discriminated signal to an amplitude-rating stage.

Claim 6

The method as defined in claim 1, including the stpe of maintaining the signal transmitting level at the transmitting end so as to be at least 60 dB below the rated power of the power supply system used for transmission.

Claim 7

The method as defined in claim 2, wherein at the receiving end the -3 db-band width is at most equal to one and one-half times the frequency shift.

Claim 8

The method as defined in claim 2, further including the step of producing a first transmitting frequency or a multiple thereof by bringing the oscillator frequency of a controllable oscillator into a fixed relationship to the mains frequency by phase comparison of a first auxiliary frequency obtained from the oscillator frequency by frequency division with a first divisor with a reference frequency which itself is maintained in a fixed relationship with the mains frequency, and obtaining a second transmitting frequency in the same manner as the first transmitting frequency, but with the selection of a second divisor, and bringing such second transmitting frequency into a fixed but different relationship with the mains frequency.

Claim 9

The method as defined in claim 6, further including the step of automatically reversing the frequency division as a function of and in time with a pulse sequence representing the information to be transmitted.

Claim 10

An arrangement for carrying out remote control operations through a power supply system, comprising a transmitting end and a receiving end, said transmitting end including means for producing control commands signals, angle-modulator means and transmitter means for angle-modulating the control commands signals upon a carrier for superimposing the control commands signals upon a power line of the power supply system via said transmitting means, coupling means for coupling the transmitter means at the transmitting end to the power line of the power supply system use for transmission, said receiving end including at least one receiver means connected to at least one arbitrary point of the power supply system, said receiver means comprising selecting means for the signals to be received, amplitude limiter and evaluating means following and in circuit with an angle modulation discriminator means, wherein said transmitter means at the transmitting end comprises means for maintaining each transmitted frequency in a fixed relationship with the mains frequency of the power supply system, and wherein said receiving end includes means for controlling the response frequency of the receiver means as a function of the mains frequency such that the response frequency of the receiver means bears the same fixed relationship to the mains frequency as the frequency of the transmitter means.

Claim 11

An arrangement for carrying out remote control operations through a power supply system, comprising a transmitting end and a receiving end, said transmitting end including means for producing control commands signals, angle-modulator means and transmitter means for angle-modulating the control commands signals upon a carrier for superimposing the control commands signals upon a power line of the power supply system via said transmitting means, coupling means for coupling the transmitter means at the transmitting end to the power line of the power supply system use for transmission, said receiving end including at least one receiver means connected to at least one arbitrary point of the power supply system, said receiver means comprising selecting means for the signals to be received, amplitude limiter and evaluating means following and in circuit with an angle modulation discriminator means, wherein said transmitter means at the transmitting end comprises means for maintaining each transmitted frequency in a fixed relationship with the mains frequency of the power supply system, and wherein said receiving end includes means for controlling the response frequency of the receiver means as a function of the mains frequency such that the response frequency of the receiver means bears the same fixed relationship to the mains frequency as the frequency of the transmitter means.

Claim 12

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein said discriminator means comprises a frequency discriminator.

Claim 13

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein said transmitter means comprises a frequency modulation transmitter provided at the transmitting end.

Claim 14

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein said transmitter means comprises a transmitter for binary angle modulation provided at the transmitting end.

Claim 15

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein said transmitter means comprises a transmitter for producing frequency-shift keyed signals provided at the transmitting end.

Claim 16

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein said transmitter means comprises a transmitter for angle modulation with a modulation index of less than 1 provided at the transmitting end.

Claim 17

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, further including a control system operatively associated in circuit with at least part of the selecting means at the receiver end for maintaining the transmission characteristic of at least part of the selecting means at the receiving end in the same fixed relationship to the mains frequency as is the case with the transmitting frequency.

Claim 18

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein said receiver means is provided with amplitude limiter means for the incoming signal which is coupled out of the power supply system.

Claim 19

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, further including a control system operatively associated in circuit with the discriminator means of the receiver means for maintaining its transmission characteristic in the same fixed relationship to the mains frequency as is the case with the transmitting frequency.

Claim 20

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, wherein the discriminator means at the receiving end contains a filter whose resonance frequency coincides with one of two transmitting frequencies occurring during frequency-shift keying and whose transmission characteristic has a narrower band than that of a receiving filter preceding it.

Claim 21

The arrangement as defined in claim 18, further including a threshold-value stage following and in circuit with said narrower-band filter of said discriminator means for evaluating the amplitude of the output signal of such filter.

Claim 22

The arrangement as defined in claim 9, further including a first controllable oscillator with an operatively associated phase-locked loop provided at the transmitting end for producing a reference frequency bound to the mains frequency.

Claim 23

The arrangement as defined in claim 20, further including a second controllable oscillator operativey associated with a phase-locked loop provided at the transmitting end for producing a first and second transmitting frequency bound to said reference frequency and thus to the mains frequency, a frequency divider provided in the phase-locked loop, said frequency divider including menas rendering the same reversible to a first divisor for producing the first transmitting frequency and to a second divisor for producing the second transmitting frequency.

Claim 24

The arrangement as defined in claim 21, wherein said reversible means for the frequency divider renders said frequency divider electronically reversible by a control signal delivered to a control input thereof, a coder for delivering a pulse sequency corresponding to the information to be transmitted, said coder having an output, said control input of the frequency divider being connected to said output of said coder.

Claim 25

The arrangement as defined in claim 15, wherein said selecting means at the receiving end comprises a sampling filter controllable by a clock pulse sequence, a clock pulse generator for generating said clock pulse sequence provided for said sampling filter, said clock pulse generator generating a clock pulse sequence whose frequency is maintained in a fixed relationship to the mains frequency.

Claim 26

The arrangement as defined in claim 23, wherein said sampling filter comprises an N-path filter.

Claim 27

The arrangement as defined in claim 24, wherein an active RC-filter is operatively connected in circuit with said N-path filter.

Claim 28

The arrangement as defined in claim 17, wherein said discriminator means comprises a sampling filter controllable by a clock pulse sequence, a clock pulse generator provided for the sampling filter for delivering said clock pulse sequence, said clock pulse generator generating a clock pulse sequence whose frequency is maintained in a fixed relationship to the mains frequency.