Abstract:
A system for communicating signals between a transmitter and a receiver using digital modulation techniques is provided. This invention is particularly adapted to meet the requirements of power line communication. In one preferred embodiment of this invention the modulation technique is differential binary phase shift key modulation. This system provides a low cost, simple delay and multiply process for the modulation and demodulation of data. This system lends itself to an ASIC implementation, thereby further reducing the cost of the system while improving the reliability of the system in a noisy environment.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to methods and systems for the communication of telephone and modem signals over AC power lines. More specifically, the invention relates to the use of the digital techniques of differential binary phase shift keying modulation techniques in AC power line communications. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A variety of telephone and modem communications systems which take advantage of the AC power line for communications within a building or facility are well known in the art. Generally, these prior systems use analog frequency modulation techniques and fail to take advantage of digital processing and modulation techniques. 
     The reader is referred to the following U.S. patent documents for general background material. Each of these patents is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for the material contained therein. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,415 describes an apparatus and method, which provides PSK modulation utilizing a single balance mixer. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,543 describes a method and apparatus for phase-coherently demodulating a multipath-impaired time division multiple access QPSK data timeslot. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,452 describes a spread spectrum communications system that provides full-duplex voice/data radio communications with a single specified FCC ISM band. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,890 describes a combined telephone and electric power distribution system, wherein the signal conducting means and electric power conducting means are routed along-side each other to/from various utilization points. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,634 describes a method and system for conducting multiple access simultaneous telephone communications in full duplex either over the power lines of a building or using RF transmission. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,301 describes a method and apparatus for combining. multipath spread-spectrum signals, that is accomplished by detecting an envelope of an input differential phase shift keyed signal communicated over a communication channel. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,913 describes a high frequency transmitter that comprises a large number of narrow band channels spaced over a broad bandwidth transmission, using differential phase shift key modulations. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,629 describes a signal processing circuit that is provided with a frequency conversion circuit for converting a spread quadrature modulation signal of a carrier band into a baseband signal, a first correlator, a second correlator, a third correlator, a forth correlator spreading code, a decoding circuit, a first and second multiplier, a first and second adder, a judgment circuit, and a subtractor. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,272 describes a digital communications receiver that provides joint MLSE equalization and diversity combining. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,777 describes a communications system programmable to operate at a selected one of multiple frequency ranges and any one of a plurality of modulation schemes and data rights including an open architectural bus line for linking a plurality of board level units. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,528,585 and 5,546,383 describe a power-conserving time division multiple access (TDMA) radio telephone system, in which a cluster of subscriber stations, remote from a base station, employ a common pool of frequency-agile modems, each of which digitally synthesizes, on a timeslot-by-timeslot basis, the different channel-identifying intermediate frequencies needed to support communications between several of the subscriber stations and the base station. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,422 describes an acknowledgement paging system, which fits within the existing infrastructure of a paging network and which provides low cost manufacture and low power operation while still enabling the acknowledgement paging over long distances. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,304 describes a code-division multiple-access receiver that carries out the following steps whenever it recognizes a symbol boundary in the received baseband signal: first it estimates the value of the symbol; next it estimates an interference signal and modifies the baseband signal. These steps are iterated for each symbol. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,506 describes a method for demodulating a received spread-spectrum signal using a minimum-shift-keyed (MSK) receiver. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,610,939 describes a digital correlator used in a receiving component of a spread spectrum communication system of a direct sequence modulation type. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,333 describes a communications system that is programmable to operate at a selected one of multiple frequency ranges and any one of a plurality of modulation schemes and data rights including an open architectural bus line for linking a plurality of board level units. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,802 describes a telephone auxiliary power distribution system in a building has a flexible multi-conductor signal and power distribution cable; which cable originates from a central signal and power management facility located near the point where the telephone utility line enters the building and extends from there to each of numerous locations within the building. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,527 describes a communications system programmable to operate at a selected one of multiple frequency ranges and any one of a plurality of modulations schemes and data rights including an open architectural bus line for linking a plurality of board level units. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,313 describes a decoding apparatus that decodes a coherent, differentially encoded multi-level phase shift keying (DEPSK) modulated signal. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,428 describes a wireless LAN includes first stations adapted to operate at a 1 or 2 Mbps data rate and second stations adapted to operate at 1, 2, 5 or 8 Mbps data rate. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,872 describes a communications system that is programmable to operate at a selected one of multiple frequency ranges and any one of a plurality of modulations schemes and data rights, that includes an open architectural bus line for linking a plurality of board level units. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,571 describes a non-coherent digital receiver of a spread spectrum communication system for baseband synchronizing of a reference pseudo-noise sequence with a received pseudo-noise sequence modulated in a received spread spectrum signal. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,480 describes a multi-rate wireless communications system that supports a plurality of distributed user terminals in full-duplex simultaneous communications with a central base station, where each user terminal is provided on demand with one of multiple bit rates at a negotiated QOS. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,402 describes transmitter-receiver systems and circuits which employ binary and quadrature Feher&#39;s modulation. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,467 describes an interactive microprocessor based wireless communication device that includes sound and data transceivers. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,017 describes a method of, and receiver for, receiving and demodulating M-ary FSK symbols, where M equals two or four, comprising over sampling a received signal to obtain sub-symbols which are treated as repeated DBPSK π/4 DQPSK symbols, respectively. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,127 describes an apparatus for electrical line communications using FM video modulation, and which includes FM video modulation circuits and an impedance matching coupler at each of two or more locations along a pair of line. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,825,810 describes a method for demodulating a received spread-spectrum signal that uses a minimum-shift-keyed (MSK) receiver. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,692 describes a cordless telephone system connectable to the public switched telephone network having a base station and one or more handsets communicating with the base station by an RF link utilizing a DBPSK I and Q demodulator with a digital AGC loop. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,707 describes a differential detecting apparatus that includes samplers, a differential detection calculating units, and two post-detection filters. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is desirable to provide a system for communicating analog audio (voice) and/or digital data signals over the AC power lines. It is particularly desirable to provide such a system, and which makes use of differential binary phase shift keying (DBPSK) digital modulation techniques. 
     Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a system for the communicating analog audio (voice) and/or digital data signals over the AC power lines, using a differential binary phase shift keying modulation technique. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a system for the communication of analog audio (voice) and/or digital data signals that includes a DBPSK modulator and a DBPSK demodulator. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide a system for the communication of analog audio (voice) and/or digital data signals that lends itself to implementation in an ASIC because of its simplicity and digital modulation/demodulation techniques. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a system for the communication of analog audio (voice) and/or digital data signals that minimizes the cost and complexity required of the modulation system. 
     Additional objects, advantages, and other novel features of this invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of this invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Still other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description wherein there is shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration of one of the modes best suited to carry out this invention. As it will be realized, this invention is capable of other different embodiments, and its several details, and specific electronic circuits, are capable of modification in various aspects without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions should be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive. 
     To achieve the foregoing and other objectives, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention, the DBPSK modulator is provided with a digitizer, a summer, a differential encoder, phase shifter and a transmitter. While the DBPSK demodulator is provided with receiver, a delay circuit, and a mixer. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Some, although not all, alternative embodiments are described in the following description. In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a top level system block diagram showing the major sections of the preferred modulator of this invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a top level block diagram showing the major sections of the preferred demodulator of this invention. 
     FIG. 3 is the preferred design of the DBPSK modulator of this invention. 
     FIG. 4 is the preferred DPBSK demodulator design of this invention. 
    
    
     Reference will not be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows the top level system block diagram of the preferred embodiment of the modulator of the invention. A digitizer  101  receives the analog audio or voice signal  107  and converts this analog signal to a digital signal. The resulting digital signal is summed with the digital data signals  108  using a summer  102 , forming a composite digital signal. This composite digital signal  110  is received by a differential encoder  103  for changing the data from actual data bits into change of data bits. For example, a change in a data bit value is represented by a “1” and no change in data bit value is represented by a “0”. The output  111  of the differential encoder is provided to a 0, 180 degree phase shifter (mixer)  104 , which uses the output data  111  to phase shift the carrier signal produced by the local oscillator  105 . In this manner a change in phase of the carrier represents a “1” and a change in data bit value, and no change in the phase of the carrier represents a “0” and no change in a data bit value. The output  112  of the phase shifter  104  is a Differential Binary Phase Shift Keyed (DBPSK) signal. This signal is provided to a transmitter  106  for communication to the receiver, whether the base unit or the extension unit. 
     FIG. 2 shows a top level system block diagram of the major sections of the preferred demodulator embodiment of the invention. The DBPSK signal  201  transmitted by the transmitter  106  is received by the receiver  202  for demodulation and removal of the carrier signal. The output  206  receiver  202  is received by two devices: a delay unit  203  and a mixer (or multiplier)  204 . The delay unit  203  provides a signal  207  delayed by 1 bit time. The mixer  204  multiplies the signal  206  received from the receiver by the signal  207  delayed by 1 bit time. In this manner the mixer  204  retrieves the data from the transmitted DBPSK signal  201 . The output data  205  is a positive 1 if there is no change in the signal bit when comparing the delayed version of the data  207  with the non-delayed version of the data  206 , for example, a non-delayed 1 multiplied by a delayed 1 gives a 1 (high) output  205 ; and a non-delayed −1 multiplied by a non-delayed −1 gives a 1 (high) output  205 . While the output  205  is a negative 1 if there was a change in the bit, for example: a non-delayed  1  multiplied by a delayed −1 gives a −1 (low) output  205 ; and a non-delayed −1 multiplied by a delayed 1 gives a −1 (low) output  205 . Therefore, this demodulator detects a change for one bit to the next. The preferred system uses a carrier frequency having a minimum of four carrier cycles per data bit. However, the actual number of cycles is determined from the data rate period and the carrier frequency. For example, with a 3 MHz carrier signal and a 200 kHz data rate, there are approximately 16 carrier cycles per data bit. 
     FIG. 3 shows the preferred implementation of the DBPSK modulator of this invention. A frame buffer  301  receives, conditions and stores the incoming data  306  until the data clock  307  clocks the data  308  to the toggle block  302 . The toggle block  302  toggles the data, alternating between a “one” and a “zero” on every data clock  307  if the data input  308  from the frame buffer  301  is a “one”. If the data input  308  from the frame buffer  301  is a “zero”, then the toggle state remains the same, that is, the toggle block  302  does not toggle the data. Therefore, if the data is a “one”, then there is a change in the data level, and if the data input is a “zero”, then this represents no change in the data level. The digital output  309  of the toggle block  302  is input to a multiplier  303  which multiplies the incoming signal  309  with the frequency output of a local oscillator (LO)  304 . In this manner, the data is placed on a carrier frequency, which provides a 0, 180 degree phase shift of the carrier. The output  310  of the multiplier  303  is the DBPSK signal and is input to a transmitter  305  for transmission over the AC power line  405 . In alternative applications of this modulator, the communication can be other than an AC power line, such as a broadcast RF signal. 
     FIG. 4 shows the design of the preferred DBPSK demodulator. The incoming DBPSK signal  405  is received by the receiver  401  that strips off the carrier frequency and provides a digital bit stream signal  406  to the over sampled delay unit  402  and the EXOR detector  403 . The over sampled delay unit  402  delays the received bit stream  406  by one data bit time and provides a delayed output  407  to the EXOR detector  403 . The EXOR detector, multiplies the delayed  407  and the non-delayed  406  version of the data, thereby providing the means for detecting the data. A change in data states between the delayed  407  data and the non-delayed  406  data indicates a “one” and no change in data states represents a “zero”. The EXOR detector  403  output  408  is provided to a digital filter  404  to smooth out the data improved reception. The smoothed data is provided on the data output  409  of the digital filter  404  for use by the receiving communications device. 
     The preferred system of this invention provides data security by permitting the selection of different codes and different frequencies. Preferably, an 8-pole tertiary dip switch is used to select the frequency and the codes. The first two switches of the dip switch select among nine different frequencies (3 2 ) and the next three switches of the dip switch select among 27 house codes (3 2 ) The last three switches select among the 27 extension codes (3 3 ). This combination of codes and frequency selection provides a high level of data security and a relatively low probability of signal interference from co-users of the AC power line. 
     This preferred embodiment of the invention uses DBPSK as the modulation scheme. Other similar but alternative differential modulation schemes can be used without departing from the core concept of this invention. For example, a D8PSK system that has eight phase states instead of two, could be used. This would provide two more bits of information for every data bit sent more than sent using the DBPSK method. In the current best mode of the invention DBPSK is used for simplicity, although such alternatives as D8PSK are contemplated. 
     The foregoing description is of a preferred embodiment of the invention and has been presented for the purposes of illustration and as a description of the best mode of the invention currently known to the inventors. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form, connections, or choice of components disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible and foreseeable in light of the above teachings. This embodiment of the invention was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable on of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention as determined by the appended claims when they are interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled.