Patent ID: 8319372

Claim:
A method of communicating messages in an integrated power distribution system, comprising: providing a panel comprising a plurality of load control devices each for connection in a branch circuit to a load, and a single I/O controller operatively connected to each of the load control devices in the panel, the I/O controller comprising a controller for controlling operation of the load control devices and a communication port for message communication, the load control devices including a circuit breaker and a remote operated device, wherein the remote operated device includes an input terminal electrically connected to a load terminal of the circuit breaker and an output terminal for connection to a load device so the remote operated device can be coupled between the circuit breaker and a load device; providing a programmed system controller for controlling operation of the I/O controller and including a communication port for message communication; operatively connecting the I/O controller communication port to the system controller communication port via a bus; and the system controller implementing a protocol establishing communications on the bus, the protocol including a layer stack translating between logical messages and physical messages for communication on the bus, wherein each layer generates its own thread and communicates to other layers via objects passed in queues to adjacent layers.