Patent ID: 8879379

Claim:
A method to detect a phase connection of a receiver of a power line communication system, comprising: providing a first connection between a transmitter and one phase of a multi-phase power line; detecting a zero crossing of a first signal provided by the first connection; generating a first timestamp before a packet is transmitted by the transmitter, wherein a value of the first timestamp is based on the zero crossing of the first signal provided by the first connection; adding the first timestamp to a header of the packet; sending the packet over the power line communication system to the receiver; providing a second connection between the receiver and one phase of the multi-phase power line; detecting a zero crossing of a second signal provided by the second connection; generating a second timestamp when the packet is received by the receiver, wherein a value of the second timestamp is based on the zero crossing of the second signal; comparing the value of the first timestamp to the value of the second timestamp to determine whether the one phase of the first connection is the same as the one phase of the second connection; wherein the zero crossing of the first signal resets a first count and wherein the value of the first timestamp is based on the first count; wherein the zero crossing of the second signal resets a second count and wherein the value of the second timestamp is based on the second count; and generating a phase differential by calculating a difference between the second count and the first count and by dividing the difference by 3.