US5680324A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Communications processor for electric power substations
Assignee: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc
•
Filing: 1995-04-07
•
Granted: 1997-10-21
•
Expires: 2015-04-07
Abstract
Abstract The communications processor includes an electronic network system which includes a total of 17 individual ports, four quad universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter devices, each of which serves four separate ports, and a microprocessor which processes and controls the flow of data under the control of stored control programs, command settings and command logic. Connected to a plurality of those ports referred to as IED ports are intelligent electronic devices IEDS, such as protective relays or meters, while connected to other ports, referred to as master ports, are remote terminal units or a local computer or terminal or a modem which can be connected to an external telephone line. The apparatus includes both buffer and long-term storage for development of a database, as well as an IRIG-B capability for synchronization of the time clocks of the connected devices.
Inventors
- 👤 Edmund O. Schweitzer, III
- 👤 David C. Wood
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 23:39
CPC Classifications
H; H02; H02H; H02H3/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
191 words
A communications processor apparatus for integrating communication between a plurality of electronic devices having data communication capability present at a given location in a power system or connected remotely thereto, the apparatus comprising: an electronic network system having a plurality of port positions to which electronic devices may be connected, including at least one port position to which an apparatus for entry of control commands may be connected and at least one port position through which data obtained from said electronic devices may be transmitted to other electronic devices; receiver-transmitter means for communication of data between a) an electronic device connected to a port position of the communications processor apparatus and b) the remainder of the communications processor apparatus; means for configuring communication parameters associated with each port position for proper data communication with the electronic device connected thereto; means for storing and retrieving data obtained from the electronic devices; means for storage of control commands entered by a user of the apparatus; means for processing data obtained from the electronic devices; and control means for controlling the flow of data and control commands within the apparatus and between said ports.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
191 words
A communications processor apparatus for integrating communication between a plurality of electronic devices having data communication capability present at a given location in a power system or connected remotely thereto, the apparatus comprising: an electronic network system having a plurality of port positions to which electronic devices may be connected, including at least one port position to which an apparatus for entry of control commands may be connected and at least one port position through which data obtained from said electronic devices may be transmitted to other electronic devices; receiver-transmitter means for communication of data between a) an electronic device connected to a port position of the communications processor apparatus and b) the remainder of the communications processor apparatus; means for configuring communication parameters associated with each port position for proper data communication with the electronic device connected thereto; means for storing and retrieving data obtained from the electronic devices; means for storage of control commands entered by a user of the apparatus; means for processing data obtained from the electronic devices; and control means for controlling the flow of data and control commands within the apparatus and between said ports.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
58 words
An apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ports to which protective relays or meters are connected are identified as Intelligent Electric Device (IED) ports, and wherein the ports to which a terminal or modem device are connected are identified as master ports, and wherein the apparatus includes at least one master port and at least six IED ports.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
An apparatus of claim 2, wherein the apparatus includes a port to which a printer may be connected for printing out data obtained from the IED ports.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus of claim 1, including means for automatically configuring a port for selected devices.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
An apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communication parameters include baud rate, number of data bits, stop bit and parity bit.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
An apparatus of claim 1, wherein the receiver-transmitter means comprises a plurality of quad universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter means, each of which services a plurality of ports.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
An apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is responsive to control commands, including user-defined commands to carry out specific functions associated with the control commands.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
28 words
An apparatus of 7, including means for automatically requesting of and obtaining data from a particular port device in response to a command setting for said particular port.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
28 words
An apparatus of 7, including means for automatically requesting of and obtaining data from a particular port device in response to a command setting for said particular port.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
An apparatus of claim 1, including a plurality of contact input means for accepting signals from protective relays and a plurality of contact output means for providing output signals.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
17 words
An apparatus of claim 9, wherein at least one of those output signals is an alarm signal.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
24 words
An apparatus of claim 1, including means for providing time information for synchronizing time clocks for each of the devices connected to said ports.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
19 words
An apparatus of 11, wherein a source of the time information is an externally generated IRIG-B time code signal.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
19 words
An apparatus of 11, wherein a source of the time information is an externally generated IRIG-B time code signal.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
13 words
An apparatus of 11, including an internal clock for generating the time information.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
13 words
An apparatus of 11, including an internal clock for generating the time information.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus of claim 1, including means for making the apparatus transparent to received data from a port.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
19 words
An apparatus of claim 14, wherein the apparatus can be transparent to data from more than one port simultaneously.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
27 words
An apparatus of claim 1, including an internal modem to which an external telephone line may be connected for transmission of selected data to a remote location.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus includes buffer storage associated with each port.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
21 words
An apparatus of claim 1, including means for temporarily storing data which has been received from the individual ports and parsed.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus of claim 1, including a long-term non-volatile memory for storage of selected data.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
21 words
An apparatus of claim 1, including buffer means at each port for separate storage of binary format and ASCII format data.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus of claim 1, including means for processing and storing fast meter binary data from IED devices.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
21 words
An apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data processing means includes means for parsing received data in accordance with selected rules.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
11 words
An apparatus of claim 22, wherein the parsing rules are pre-established.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
14 words
An apparatus of claim 22, wherein the parsing rules are defined by an operator.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-10-20 | 2001-04-21 | 2001-10-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-10-20 | 2005-04-21 | 2005-10-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-10-20 | 2009-04-21 | 2009-10-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |