High frequency network communications over various lines

Description of the invention

The subject of the invention is a communication device on power lines. Generally, such a communication device is used in the power system, and especially for the simultaneous transmission and reception of digital data signals both at high speeds and over long distances over power lines and transformers in power lines, including AC, power cables. fixed, coaxial and twisted pair.

In the field of communication in energy systems, power line carriers are known. The essential element of such a carrier on the power line is a transceiver terminal containing one or more line traps, one or more coupling capacitors, and tuning and coupling equipment. Detailed information on the description and typical structure of conventional powerline carriers can be found in the Fundamentals Handbook of Electrical and Computer Engineering Volume II: Communication Control Devices and Systems, John Wiley & Sons, 1983, pp. 617-627. A significant problem with known power line carriers is that they require the use of one or more line traps, one or more capacitors, one or more coupling transformers or hybrid systems of carrier frequency and frequency connection cables.

Each conventional coupler includes a ferrite or iron core transformer that causes signal distortions due to non-linear transmittance phase characteristics between the transmit coupler and the receive coupler. The distortions arise in the presence of the magnetic core material exhibiting hysteresis. In the case of power line carriers, the distortion is particularly strong because the signal must travel through at least three such non-linear elements, a distribution transformer and two power line couplers using transformers with ferrite cores. The distortions caused by these non-linear elements lead to delayed distortion of the envelope, which limits the communication speed.

The main drawbacks of the known designs arise from the use of ferrite cores or iron core transformers. The inductance of the primary winding L1, due to the nonlinearity of the core, changes to an unknown value. This results in a detuning with the desired carrier frequency. Also, the impedance of the primary winding at the desired carrier frequency no longer matches the characteristic impedance of the power line. Considering this fact, other designs have tried to provide a signal coupling to the low input impedance of the transceiver by using a large coupling capacitor (approx. 0.5 μF). This causes high coupling losses of up to 20 dB at the carrier frequency.

In US Patent Application No. 09/344 258, there is disclosed a description of a novel power, telephone, twisted pair and coaxial line coupler with linear phase shift characteristics for both transmit and receive. The linear phase shift coupler includes an air or dielectric core transformer that can be used for telephone, coaxial, LAN and power line communication through power line transformers. The linear phase shift coupler further comprises an associated array of coupling capacitors to achieve a resistance matching approximately to the lowest known line characteristic impedance value and to maximize stable signal transmission to the line. This resonance actually creates a bandpass filter for the carrier frequency.

The designs according to the American patent application No. 09/344 258 solved many problems related to previous designs, which used ferrite or iron couplers, which resonated with the characteristic impedance of the power line, causing indentations and degradation of characteristics, and non-linearity of the transmission carrier through different lines, for example, power lines. The linear phase shift coupler according to US Patent Application No. 09/344 258 has no notches in the communication band, allowing line communication over a very wide frequency band.

Nevertheless, there is a need for a power line communication system capable of simultaneously transmitting and receiving digital data signals using higher frequencies (e.g., 200 MHz - 500 GHz), and thus enabling connections at higher speeds using high frequencies. bandwidth values ​​and over long distances through power lines and power line transformers, including AC lines, direct current, coaxial cables and twisted lines.

In summary, a communication device is known for transmitting electrical signals over one or more electric lines having a characteristic impedance, including a coupler for connecting the transmitter or receiver to one of the electrical lines, the coupler being arranged to transmit a modulated signal at a carrier frequency having a pre-selected frequency greater than or equal to 200 MHz, where the coupler comprises a transformer, having a primary winding, a secondary winding and a core, and a coupling capacitor.

The essence of the invention is a communication device for transmitting electric signals over one or more electric lines with a certain characteristic impedance, characterized according to the invention in that the transformer comprises a first layer corresponding to the primary winding and a second layer corresponding to the secondary winding, the first and the second layer are formed directly in the silicon by doping the silicon, the capacitor being connected between the primary winding and the electric line, wherein the primary winding and the capacitor are matched to the characteristic impedance of the line in a preselected band.

Preferably, the silicon is contained in layers which are separated by a layer of non-conductive material of the chip.

Preferably, the transformer is an air transformer.

Preferably the transformer is a dielectric core transformer.

Preferably, the transformer core is filled with a resin material.

Preferably, the primary winding and the secondary winding of the transformer are separated by a non-conductive chip material layer.

Preferably, the primary winding and the secondary winding are cylindrical so as to form tubes.

The subject of the invention, in an exemplary embodiment, is explained in more detail in the attached drawing, where:

Fig. 1 is a graphical representation of the power line side of the power line coupler according to the invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a wide area communication network on the power line according to the invention, Fig. 3 - is a block diagram of a half-duplex power line modem according to the invention, Fig. 4 - is a block diagram of a full duplex power line modem of the present invention, Fig. 5 - is a block diagram of a power line communications apparatus according to the invention, fig. 6 - a block diagram of a modulator operating on a first frequency for use in the power line communication apparatus of fig. 5, fig. 7 is a block diagram of a modulator operating at a second frequency for use in the power line communication device of Fig. 5, Fig. 8 - a block diagram of a demodulator operating on a first frequency for use in the power line communication device of Fig. 5, Fig. 9 - a block diagram of a demodulator operating on a second frequency for use in the power line communication device of Fig. 5, Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of an Ethernet interface for use in the power line communication device of Fig. 5, Fig. 11 - a diagram of a coupler for use in the power line communication device of Fig. 5 at frequencies of a first set, Fig. 12 - a diagram of a coupler for use in the power line communication device of Fig. 5 at frequencies of a second set, and Figure 13 is a schematic view of a power supply for use in the power line communication device of Figure 5.

The solution according to the invention is an improvement of the linear phase shift coupler from US Patent Application No. 09/344 258. It has been found that when using higher frequencies (1 GHz - 500 GHz) with an air or dielectric core coupler, better results are obtained because it has he is wider

The bandwidth and may provide transmission over longer distances. Higher frequency signals create a magnetic field around any type of conductor and propagate across the surface of the power line like a magnetic wave and jump over transformers. Thus, for such high frequency signals, long distance transmission over a wide frequency band can be achieved.

In a controlled environment, such as in a coaxial cable, a high frequency signal of 1 GHz or above only travels a short distance before decaying. This is due to the fact that the coaxial cable has a large constant series inductance L and a certain parallel capacitance C, which create a strong low-pass filter, causing all frequency signals to disappear over a certain distance. The coaxial cable can only generate a slight magnetic field around the center conductor as it is tightly shielded.

The other environment is power lines that do not simply run from one point to another, but rather have a stellar system. Power lines do not have constant L and C values, so the power line performs less as a low pass filter than a coaxial cable. Power lines are also not shielded and therefore a power line conductor can create a stronger magnetic field around the conductor than a coaxial cable. In addition, the characteristic impedance ZO of power lines varies with time and location and the number of wires connected to each other, and varies at different points in the distribution network. Accordingly, the propagation of the electric / magnetic fields along the power lines is not suppressed and such signals may propagate further than in a coaxial cable. The high frequency signals can also pass through the power line transformer, which acts as a large parallel capacitor for them, without a large loss in signal strength if power line matching according to the present invention is used.

The importance of the coupler according to the invention is that it can act as a device for adjusting to the impedance characteristic of the power line. The coupler according to the invention comprises an air or dielectric core transformer and a Ceq coupling capacitor. Any changes on the primary side of the transformer will not significantly affect the secondary of the transformer, and vice versa. Thus, the only impedance that will be visible to the power line is the primary winding in resonance with the Ceq capacitor. This series resonance produces a low impedance, close to 1 Ω. As the frequency increases, the impedance increases to about 100 Ω -200 Ω, depending on the impedance optimal for matching the power line impedance characteristics, and the bandwidth needed.

For example, Fig. 1 shows the characteristic impedance of the coupler from the power line side. If the power line impedance is 100 Ω at F1, then the 6 dB matching of the coupler will occur in the range from 50 Ω (F4) to 200 Ω (F3), with a bandwidth coverage from F3 to F4. In contrast, if the power line characteristic impedance is only 10 Ω, the 6 dB matching will occur in the range from 5 Ω to 20 Ω, resulting in a narrower bandwidth. Lowering the coupler impedance may result in a wider match with power lines having a low characteristic impedance (e.g. 10 Ω).

A great advantage resulting from the use of the coupler according to the invention is the phase linearity achieved.

In power lines, local impedance occurs every few feet at a different frequency. The best match to the power line can be achieved by using elements with coils (L) and capacitors (C) that do not contain ferrite and iron cores, because the power line consists of inductive and capacitive elements, L and C. Moreover, at the end of each of the closed line, reflections are formed. Couplers with ferrite or iron cores also have self resonances around the considered communication band. Self-resonances and reflections in power lines indent the characteristic with variable bandwidth. In contrast, the air or dielectric core coupler of the present invention has a self-resonance at a frequency much higher than the usable frequency band, and the air coupler is matched to the local characteristic impedance of the power line. Thus, the reflections do not cause sharp notches in the characteristic in the useful frequency band.

When the coupler according to the invention is used for matching with the power line, a non-uniformity of the band of 6 to 10 dB is achieved. This matching can be achieved when the power line characteristic impedance ranges from half the original characteristic impedance to twice the value of the primary impedance of the coupler. For example, the primary impedance of the coupler ranges from 1 Ω to 100 Ω for the 18 - 30 MHz frequency band. Assuming the power line impedance is 50 ohms at 22 MHz and 10 ohms at 20 MHz, around 20 MHz we get a 25 ohm to 100 ohm match that will cover the range from approximately 21 to 30 MHz. Assuming the coupler primary impedance at 20 MHz is about 20 Ω, matching in the range of about 18 to about 22 MHz can be achieved. Typically, the matching will occur in the range of 18 MHz to about 22 MHz of the 10 dB band, with no indentation.

Power lines have a typical impedance of 50 Ω to 100 Ω for underground lines, and 100 Ω to 500 Ω for overhead lines. However, circuit breakers and underground substations with multiple feeders can cause the power line characteristic impedance to be as low as 1 Ω at the point of connection. The coupler is designed to accommodate the most common local impedance of the power line. For example, if the power line characteristic impedance is 80 ohms, then a six dB match can be achieved with the air coupler of the present invention between 40 ohms and 160 ohms. The power line must be matched locally as the local power line impedance changes every few feet. Since the characteristic impedance of a 120V power line is known to be 80 Ω, for example, then 80 Ω should be a good match anywhere.

Since the secondary impedance does not change significantly with the change of the power line characteristic impedance, a matching between the transmitter and receiver can be achieved at approximately 50 Ω. Both sides of the transformer are matched regardless of the impedance change in the power line. The secondary side of the transformer is matched by a transmitter or receiver. The impedance change on the primary side of the transformer has no reflection on the secondary side. Thus, always for the transmitter and receiver a matching of 45 Ω - 50 Ω is achieved regardless of impedance changes in the power lines. For higher frequencies (e.g. 200 MHz - 500 GHz), the structure of the air or dielectric core transformer differs from that of the '258 application. The coupler can no longer consist of two concentric solenoids, i.e. air coils of different diameters, wound with a magnetic core, but it is much smaller and resembles a structure that is filled with any type of plastic or with a non-conductive material such as resin, adhesive, ceramics or any other hard non-conductive material (chip material). Preferably, the coupler comprises very thin conductive plates separated by a material of the structure. The plates are preferably made of copper, but can also be made of silver, gold or any other conductive material, whether active or passive. The plates can be of any shape (e.g. square, rectangular, round, etc.) but are preferably circular. The size of such air stratification transformers will depend on the frequency used. For example, the diameter of the primary winding of a 30 GHz coupler will be less than 1 millimeter and the layer thickness will be less than about 0.1 millimeter, resulting in an inductance of about 0.3 nH. Likewise, the dimensions of rectangular copper plates will be a few millimeters long, 0.1 millimeters thick, and the primary and secondary coils will be approximately 0.5 millimeters apart, one on top of the other. As a result, such components will appear as a very small capacitor. However, according to the present invention, coils with an overall inductance matched to resonance with a capacitor matching the power line characteristic impedance are used.

Alternatively, the lamellae may be formed directly into a structure by depositing metallic layers or by using doped silicon. The doped silicon is conductive when it is active, such as when the transistor is turned on with a DC voltage level that causes it to become the active element. Thus, when made of doped silicon, they may take the form of some type of active element, for example a transistor or a diode. Of course, other designs for air or dielectric core transformers may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, a length of coaxial cable can be used as an air core transformer. The screen of the coaxial cable is the primary winding of the transformer, and the inner conductor forms the secondary winding of the transformer. This coaxial type air transformer can be used for very high frequency communications, above 500 MHz. Likewise, two copper or iron tubes (or aluminum or copper foil) can be placed inside each other. The outer tube or foil is the primary winding

The air transformer, and the inner tube or foil forms the secondary winding. This design can also be used above 100 MHz.

In addition, recent work has been done on the construction of semiconductor converters to convert MV to an AC voltage of 7.6 kV to 120 V AC using techniques similar to the technique used in stabilizers and for DC / DC conversion.

The technique used in semiconductor converters is called executive gate control of transistor gate actuators and is known, and therefore does not require detailed explanation in this document. These converters are called solid state transformers - namely, their operation relies heavily on semiconductor elements instead of heavy copper coils and iron cores of conventional transformers. Such converters can also be used in couplers according to the present invention. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that other, simpler integrated circuits may also be used to construct converter circuits for use in couplers according to the present invention. Today's integrated circuits have the inductance and capacitance parameters needed to operate exactly like ordinary air transformers.

Although the structure of the coupler described above differs from that described in the aforementioned US Application No. 09/344 258, the operation of the coupler is the same. The coupling of the primary and secondary sides of the transformer changes with frequency. The primary and secondary sides are almost equally mechanically and electrically coupled (i.e., capacitively and inductively coupled) below 100 MHz and more inductively (magnetically) coupled at frequencies above 100 MHz. At frequencies of the order of 100 GHz, the primary and secondary sides of the transformer are mainly inductively coupled.

The functionality of the high-frequency couplers according to the invention goes much further than the functionality of the couplers of the prior art, allowing an increase in the data rate. For example, the invention may use carrier frequencies in the order of 200 MHz - 50 GHz for transmission over power lines. By using the dielectric core coupler technique of the present invention, a transmission rate on the power line of up to at least 1 Gb / s can be achieved.

In the accompanying drawing figures, like reference numerals designate equal or corresponding parts in each of the several views. Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a wide area network on a power line according to the invention.

The Ethernet router 12 is connected to a mainstream computer network, for example the Internet or an Intranet using a hub (HUB) or switch (not shown), for example Nu Wave three-layer network peripheral protocol (Network Peripheral's Nu Wave). The router 12 is also connected to the powerline modem 14, which in turn is connected to the medium voltage powerline coupler 16, which at the substation 20 supplies the signals from the modem 14 to the 11kV power line.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the Ethernet router 12 may be connected to other devices in other applications without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, other applications include (1) an Ethernet wide area network with other servers where the main thread of a computer network is attached to another network; (2) telephone service applications where the computer network mainstream is connected to a telephone exchange and a time division multiplexer that assembles multiple telephone lines across a power line; and (3) television applications where the main thread of a computer network is coupled to a television broadcast station and capable of transmitting several television stations over a power line.

The Ethernet router 12 is a standard Ethernet router. The power line modem 14 through the medium voltage power line coupler 16 modulates and demodulates the Ethernet signals of the 18 11 kV power line. The structure of the power line modem 14 is discussed in detail below. Preferably, the medium voltage power line coupler 16 is about 0.5 meters high and 0.2 meters in diameter, placed in a ceramic insulator, and filled with resin. Preferably, a dielectric core transformer is used as the coupler which, as explained above, may take the form of two small pieces of stacked wafers for high frequency operation. Of course, any other high frequency transformer design discussed above may be used in the medium voltage power line coupler 16 without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The high frequency signal, preferably a 100 Mbps Ethernet signal, propagates on power lines 18 and passes through one or more distribution transformers 22, 24 as magnetic waveforms and on to low voltage 110-220 V power lines 26. The signal is captured by one or more power line modems 14 via low voltage couplers 20. Preferably, low voltage couplers 28 and power line modems 14 are arranged in front of electricity meters (not shown) on low voltage power lines 26 entering buildings 30. Power line modems 14 are identical to power line modems 14 18. Couplers The low voltage 28 may be designed as described in the '258 application, and are smaller than the medium voltage power line coupler 16. Low voltage couplers 28 employ high frequency air or dielectric core transformers as described above.

Powerline modems 14 are coupled to Ethernet switches (hubs) 32. Ethernet switches 32 distribute Ethernet data over power lines to buildings 30 using a local area network (LAN) over power lines according to the invention, as described below.

Preferably all powerline modems 14 use 1.35 GHz for both transmit and receive. The carrier frequency is transmitted by distribution transformers 22, 24 from medium voltage power lines 18 (7 kV to 35 kV) to power lines 26 low voltage (110 V to 240 V) to buildings 30 Ethernet data can be transmitted using this carrier frequency 100 Mb / s or 10 Mb / s. It is obvious to the skilled person that it is possible to use other carrier frequencies, for example 2.7 GHz or 3.5 GHz, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

In an alternate embodiment, use a carrier frequency of 30 GHz or above to transmit Ethernet data at 10 Mbps, 100 Mbps, or 1 Gbps. When using a carrier frequency of this value, the wide area network (WAN) on the power line according to the present invention is capable of transmission over the entire distance, from substations 20 to buildings 30, without interruption at energy meters outside buildings 30. Thus, power line modems 14 and low voltage couplers 28 do not need to be placed in front of energy meters (not shown) on low voltage power lines 26 leading to buildings 30.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that while the disclosed embodiments describe the use of the Ethernet protocol for transmitting and receiving data, any other data protocol may be used in communications over a wide area network (WAN) on power lines according to the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention. or the scope of the invention.

Fig. 3 shows the presently preferred configuration of the power line modem 14. The physical Ethernet interface 38 connects the powerline modem 14 to an Ethernet card or hub or amplifier (not shown), and may include any suitable connection including a twisted pair connection. Ethernet data (e.g., Manchester encoded data) is provided from interface 38 to CPU 40, e.g. a Motorola MPC855T, which converts the encoded data to and from the parallel bus interface 42.

A user-programmable Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) 46, preferably a Xilinx Virtex XCV100FG256, connects to a parallel bus interface 42, and provides powerline modem 14 control as well as data modulation and demodulation, which are respectively transmitted. and received. EPROM 48 stores program instructions for FPGA 46 and CPU 40. The FPGA controls the transmit / receive switch 36, which is connected to the power line coupler 34, via which data is transferred from the powerline modem 14. The interface between coupler 34 and power lines 48 as well as the structure of coupler 34 are explained in detail in the '258 application. However, as noted above, it is necessary to use a high frequency, air or dielectric core transformer in the coupler 34.

A circuitry serves to mediate signaling to and from the FGPA matrix 46. For transmission, the signal exits the FPGA 46 and passes through an A / D converter 50. Upconversion to carrier frequency is performed by a mixer 58 with a local oscillator 32. Amplifier 56 and filters 54 are used to mediate transmission.

The resultant signal to coupler 34. Likewise, on reception, the signal passes through filters 54 and amplifiers 56, and is down-processed by a mixer 58 with a local oscillator 58. Automatic gain control (AGC) implements the AGC circuit 62, and then the signal is digitized at an analog-to-digital (A / D) converter 60 for transmission to the FGPA 46. The powerline modem shown in FIG. 3 is a semiduplex modem so that the carrier frequency used for transmitting and for receiving is the same. One skilled in the art will understand that the AGC gain control and up / down conversion via the mixer can be performed in the FPGA without the need for additional circuits.

The FPGA 46 can be programmed to apply any desired modulation type. Although it is preferable to use FM modulation, the FPGA 46 could be programmed to use FSK, QPSK, 16QAM, CDMA, ADSL or any other type of modulation without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. It is also evident that a particular model of the FPGA 46 or CPU 40 may be replaced without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Indeed, the FPGA matrix may be replaced with another type of processor (DSP).

Fig. 4 shows a full duplex implementation of the power line modem 14. The structure of modem 14 is almost identical to the semiduplex modem 14 shown in FIG. 3, except for the interface between modem 14 and power lines 48. As shown in FIG. 4, the transmit / receive switch 36 has been removed. Instead, one coupler 34 operating on the second frequency F2 is used for reception. For example, 1.2 and 1.6 GHz frequencies can be used to transmit and receive simultaneously over the power lines 48. In addition to the design difference in modem 14, the software for FPGA 46 stored in EPROM 48 also needs to be changed to accommodate full duplex operation at two different frequencies.

As shown in Fig. 5, there is shown a block diagram of a Local Area Network (LAN). The illustrated communication device 10 is coupled to two power lines 48. The communication device 10 typically includes a modulator 64, a demodulator 66, an Ethernet interface 68, a coupler 34, and a power supply 70. The communication device 10 connects to an Ethernet card, hub, or switch (not shown) and transmits Ethernet data over 48 power lines in full duplex.

In operation, a first communication device 10, designated a master, is connected to power lines 48 and transmits on the first frequency F1 and receives on the second frequency F2. The second communication device 10, designated a Slave unit, also connected to the power lines 48, transmits on the second frequency F2 and receives on the first frequency F1. For example, in order to provide an Ethernet signal of 10 Mbps on power lines, the device described below uses 250 MHz as F1 and 350 MHz as F2. It is obvious to the skilled person that other frequencies may be used without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, to provide an Ethernet signal of 100 Mbps on power lines, it would be possible to use frequencies in the 2.44 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands, which are frequency bands not requiring authorization for communication.

Fig. 6 shows details of the Master modulator 64 (e.g., transmit at 250 MHz). Preferably modulator 64 is an FM modulator including an oscillator 76, modulator 74, and associated capacitors and coils. The modulator 64 also includes an RF transformer 72 and associated interfacing circuits with the Attachment Unit Interface (AUI) port interface on the Ethernet interface 68. The Ethernet input signal is transferred from the transformer through the oscillator / modulator circuits 74, 76 and then through the LC filter circuit to the output of the modulated signal. The values ​​of the capacitors and coils are selected on the basis of the carrier frequency, which in the case of the Master unit is 250 MHz.

Fig. 7 shows a modulator for a Slave unit transmitting at, for example, 350 MHz. Preferably, modulator 64 for the Slave unit is identical to the Master modulator 64 except for the values ​​of the coils and capacitors in the LC filter arrangement. The values ​​of the coils and capacitors in the Slave modulator 64 are selected based on a 350 MHz carrier frequency.

Details of the demodulator 66 for the Master (e.g., reception at 350 MHz) are shown in Fig. 8. The FM modulated input signal is first transmitted by two RF amplifiers 78 and their associated circuits, as shown, between amplifiers 78 including Blinch filters to separating the noise and other carrier frequency from the modulated input signal. The LC values ​​in the Blinch filters are selected based on the carrier frequencies used in the communication device. The filtered modulated signal is then applied to the detector circuit FM 82 through the RF transformer 80. Preferably, the detector circuit 82 is of the type MC13155D. The output of detector circuit 82 is then passed through fast amplifiers 84 and filters 86 to produce an Ethernet data output reconstructed from the modulated input signal.

Fig. 9 shows a demodulator 66 for a Slave unit (e.g., receive at 250 MHz). The Slave demodulator 66 is identical to the Master 66 demodulator, except for the values ​​of the inductors and capacitors in the Blinch filters used for the modulated input signal. The values ​​of the coils and capacitors in the Slave demodulator 66 are different because the carrier frequency filtered from the modulated input signal is different.

The embodiment of the demodulator 66 described above is limited to an Ethernet speed of 10 Mbps due to the use of the MC1315D FM detector system and carrier frequencies of 250 MHz and 350 MHz. The bandwidth of the demodulator 66 can be increased to 100 Mbps by using an FM detector 82 capable of operating in the frequency band above 200 MHz and also using carrier frequencies greater than 1 GHz.

Fig. 10 shows details of the Ethernet interface 68 for both Master and Slave. Two alternative interfaces are implemented in the Ethernet 68 interface. A first AUI interface is connected to the Ethernet hub or switch through connector 88. Two lines 90 run from connector 88 directly to modulator 64, and the output of demodulator 66 is coupled to connector 88 using RF transformer 92. Alternatively, the communications device 10 may connect to an Ethernet hub or switch using an RJ-45 twisted pair Ethernet connector. When using an RJ-45 connector 94, an IC 96 is used to provide an interface between the RJ-45 connector 94 and the AUI port of connector 88, which is a Base-T transceiver or a twisted pair / AUI Ethernet adapter, preferably ML4658CQ, and layouts assigned to it.

In Fig. 11, a coupler 34 for use in a communication device is shown. When transmitted to power lines 48, the output of modulator 64 first passes through RF amplifier 96 and low pass filter 98. The signal is then sent to an air or dielectric core high frequency coupler according to the invention comprising an air or dielectric core transformer 100 and a coupling capacitor (Ceq) 102, a transformer 100 and a coupling capacitor 102 transmit the signal to the power lines 48. The LC values ​​in the low pass filter 98 are selected on the basis of the carrier frequency. The capacitance values ​​of the coupling capacitor (Ceq) 102 are selected to match the 50 Ω impedance between the power lines 48 and the RF amplifier 96.

When receiving signals from power lines 48, the high frequency, air or dielectric core coupler of the invention comprising an air or dielectric core transformer 104 and a coupling capacitor (Ceq) 106 first provides input from power lines 48. The input signal is then transmitted via RF amplifier 108 and Blinch filter 110 for output to demodulator 66. As on the transmit side, the LC values ​​in the Blinch 110 filter are selected based on the carrier frequency. The capacitance values ​​of the coupling capacitor (Ceq) 106 are selected to match the 50 Ω impedance between the power lines 48 and the RF amplifier 108.

12 shows a coupler 34 for a Slave communication device 10. The slave coupler 34 is identical to the Master coupler 34, except for the values ​​of the coils and capacitors in the Blinch filter 110 and low pass filter 98, as well as the values ​​of the coupling capacitors (Ceq) 102 106. The value of these coils and capacitors in the slave coupler 34 are different because the carrier frequencies for transmitting and receiving signals from the power lines 48 are inverse from the master communication device.

Finally, Fig. 13 shows a power supply 70 for use with a communication device. AC power is taken from the power lines 48 and transmitted through the bushings 112 to cut the impedance of the power transformer 114 from the impedance of the power lines 48. This is to provide greater bandwidth stability on the power lines and a higher signal level. DC power is produced using power transformers 114 and rectifiers 116. Finally, various DC output voltages needed in the communication device 10 are produced using voltage stabilizers 118. As can be seen in Fig. 13, device 10 for supplying power to the transmitting side and the receiving side

In the communication network, separate power transformers 114, rectifiers 116, and voltage stabilizers 118 are used. Thus, carrier frequencies of 250 MHz and 350 MHz are kept separate from each other.

It is obvious to one skilled in the art that changes can be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the general idea of ​​the invention. It is therefore understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment as claimed, but is intended to include modifications consistent with the spirit and scope of the present invention. In particular, although specific examples of the novel couplers of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the couplers can be used for any other form of communication over power lines without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Moreover, the technology of making couplers according to the invention can be used to communicate over any lines, such as telephone lines, coaxial lines, twisted-pair lines, any wire harness, track and bus, and / or AC / DC power lines. Likewise, although the Ethernet protocol is described as the transmission protocol in the preferred embodiments, it is possible to use any other communication protocol with the communication device of the invention.