Patent ID: 8050803

Claim:
A power feeding system comprising: a plurality of power feeding apparatuses for a corresponding plurality of external apparatuses, each power feeding apparatus coupled between a power line and the corresponding external apparatus, each including a power feeding unit that feeds power from the power line to the external apparatus corresponding to each power feeding apparatus, a power line communication unit that communicates with another power feeding apparatus via the power line, which is a communication medium, a power information detection unit that detects a power status of the corresponding external apparatus as power information relating to power of the corresponding external apparatus, and a restriction unit that restricts the feeding of the power to the corresponding external apparatus, based on at least one of (i) the power information detected by the power information detection unit and (ii) information acquired from said another power feeding apparatus by the power line communication unit, wherein each of the plurality of power feeding apparatuses stores a power feeding apparatus identification number and information regarding when feeding of the power to the corresponding external apparatus is to be restricted, one of the external apparatus includes a management mode that is detectable by the corresponding power feeding apparatus, when the management mode is detected, the corresponding power feeding apparatus notifies each other of the plurality of power feeding apparatuses of the management mode, when notified of the management mode, said each other of the plurality of power feeding apparatuses sends the respective power feeding apparatus identification number, and information regarding a type of the corresponding external apparatus that said each other of the plurality of power feeding apparatuses is connected, to the one of the external apparatus via the corresponding power feeding apparatus, in the management mode, the information regarding when feeding of the power to the corresponding external apparatus is to be restricted is input by a user of the one of the single external apparatus, and at an end of the management mode, the one of the external apparatus sends the information regarding when feeding of the power to the corresponding external apparatus is to be restricted to said each of the plurality of power feeding apparatuses, using the power feeding apparatus identification number, for storage.