Variable impedance circuit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11005532-B2
Application number	US-202016817941-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 13, 2020
Priority date	Dec 28, 2017
Publication date	May 11, 2021
Grant date	May 11, 2021

Abstract

A power line communication device including a current path provided between a first terminal and a second terminal. A coupling circuit includes a first circuit of a first inductor connected in parallel with a first capacitor and a first resistor, wherein the coupling circuit is connected between the first and second terminals. A sensor is configured to sense a communication parameter of the coupling circuit. The communication parameter may be a resonance of the first circuit, the quality (Q) factor of the resonance, the bandwidth (BW) of the coupling circuit, the resistance of the first resistor, or the impedance of the first circuit. A transceiver is adapted to couple to the first and second terminal to transmit a signal onto the current path or receive a signal from the current path responsive to the parameter of the coupling circuit and a level of current in the current path sensed by the sensor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a first terminal and a second terminal;
a first impedance circuit forming a current path between the first terminal and the second terminal;
at least one of:
a first inductor connected in series with the first impedance circuit, or
a first capacitor connected in parallel with the first impedance circuit; and

a transceiver connected to the first terminal and the second terminal, and based on at least one of a communication parameter of the first impedance circuit and a level of current in the current path, configured to transmit onto the current path or to receive from the current path, a signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the communication parameter comprises at least one of:
a resonant frequency of the first impedance circuit, a quality (Q) factor of a resonance corresponding to the resonant frequency, a bandwidth (BW) of the first impedance circuit, a resistance of a resistor in the first impedance circuit, or an impedance of the first impedance circuit.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first impedance circuit comprises a second inductor, a second capacitor, and a first resistor connected in parallel.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising:
a second impedance circuit connected between the first terminal and the second terminal, wherein the second impedance circuit is in series with the first impedance circuit, and comprises a third inductor, a third capacitor, and a second resistor connected in parallel.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the second impedance circuit is configured to provide an impedance configured to mitigate an absorption and an attenuation of a transmitted signal from a second transceiver.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 , further comprising one or more sensors configured to sense a resonant frequency of the second impedance circuit, wherein a frequency of the signal corresponds to the resonant frequency of the second impedance circuit.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
one or more sensors configured to sense:
the level of current in the current path, and
the communication parameter of the first impedance circuit; and

an auxiliary power circuit configured to supply, based on the level of current in the current path sensed by the one or more sensors, an operating power to the transceiver.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the transceiver, based on the supply of the operating power, is configured to change a capacitance of a capacitor of the first impedance circuit.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensors configured to sense a resonant frequency of the first impedance circuit, wherein the transceiver is further configured to transmit onto the current path or receive from the current path, the signal at a frequency responsive to the resonant frequency of the first impedance circuit sensed by the one or more sensors.

10. A method comprising:
measuring, by one or more sensors, a communication parameter of a first impedance circuit connected in a current path between a first terminal and a second terminal, wherein at least a first inductor is connected in series with the first impedance circuit or a first capacitor is connected in parallel with the first impedance circuit;
sensing, by the one or more sensors, a level of current in the current path; and
based on the communication parameter and the level of current and by a transceiver connected to the first terminal and the second terminal, transmitting onto the current path or receiving from the current path, signals.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the first impedance circuit comprises a second inductor, a second capacitor, and a first resistor connected in parallel.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the communication parameter comprises at least one of:
a resonant frequency of the first impedance circuit, a Q factor of a resonance corresponding to the resonant frequency, a bandwidth (BW) of the first impedance circuit, a resistance of a resistor of the first impedance circuit, an impedance of the first impedance circuit, or a standing wave ratio (SWR) of the signals transmitted onto the current path.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
reducing, with the first impedance circuit, an absorption and an attenuation of transmitted signals from a second transceiver.

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
supplying, by an auxiliary power circuit and based on the level of current in the current path, an operating power to the transceiver, to control the transmitting onto the current path or the receiving on the current path, the signals.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the auxiliary power circuit is independent from a power source driving a current in the current path; and
wherein the signals have frequencies that are based on resonant frequencies of the first impedance circuit sensed by the one or more sensors.

16. A method comprising forming a current path by:
connecting a first impedance circuit to a first terminal and a second terminal;
connecting at least:
a first inductor in series with the first impedance circuit, or
a first capacitor in parallel with the first impedance circuit; and

connecting a transceiver between the first terminal and the second terminal, wherein the transceiver, based on at least one of a communication parameter and a level of current in the current path, is configured to transmit onto the current path or receive from the current path, a signal.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the communication parameter of the first impedance circuit comprises at least one of: a resonance of the first impedance circuit, a Q factor of the resonance, a bandwidth (BW) of the first impedance circuit, a resistance of a resistor in the first impedance circuit, an impedance of the first impedance circuit, or a standing wave ratio (SWR) of the signal.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the first impedance circuit comprises a second inductor, a second capacitor, and a first resistor connected in parallel.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
connecting a second impedance circuit between the first and second terminals, wherein the second impedance circuit comprises a third inductor, a third capacitor, and a third resistor connected in parallel,
wherein the second impedance circuit is connected in series with the first impedance circuit; and
wherein each of the first impedance circuit and the second impedance circuit provides an impedance for mitigating an absorption and an attenuation of transmitted signals from other transceivers.

20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
connecting an auxiliary power circuit to the transceiver, wherein the auxiliary power circuit, based on the level of current, is configured to supply an operating power to the transceiver for controlling the transmitting onto the current path or the receiving on the current path, the signal.

21. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
one or more sensors configured to sense:
the level of current in the current path, and
the communication parameter of the first impedance circuit.

22. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
connecting one or more sensors between the first terminal and the second terminal, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to sense:
the communication parameters of the first impedance circuit; and
the level of current in the current path between the first terminal

Assignees

• Solaredge Technologies Ltd

Inventors

• Bieber Ofir

Classifications

• H04B1/04

  Circuits · CPC title

• H04B2203/5483

  using coupling circuits · CPC title

• H04B2203/5429

  Applications for powerline communications · CPC title

• H03J3/24

  of more than one resonant circuit simultaneously, the circuits being tuned to substantially the same frequency, e.g. for single-knob tuning · CPC title

• H04B3/56 Primary

  Circuits for coupling, blocking, or by-passing of signals · CPC title