Patent ID: 6777951
Filing Date: 2004-08-17
Classification: G05B,H02H

Abstract:
A system for detecting and isolating shorts and troubles on a 2-wire polling loop comprising a plurality of Addressable Electronic Switch (AES) devices, each having an associated ASIC, by which an electronic switch in each AES is individually turned ON or OFF by a system control for the polling loop, wherein the 2-wire polling loop concurrently provides both operating power and polling signals to the AES devices and system devices, and the system control is the sole detector of troubles on the polling loop, and the AES devices function only as simple addressable switches on the polling loop, to enable the system control to detect and isolate troubles, wherein the AESs are placed at branch locations with associated branches throughout the polling loop, and each AES is individually commanded by the system control through its associated ASIC to either connect or disconnect its associated branch from the polling loop, such that the system control can, by turning ON and OFF particular addressable electronic switches distributed throughout the polling loop, locate and isolate troubled polling loop branches.