There is provided an information processing apparatus, including a reception section which receives, from a connection device having a connection terminal, entry information in which connection device identification information for identifying the connection device and communication device identification information for identifying a communication device connected to the connection terminal are associated with each other, a control section which acquires connection device information related to the connection device based on the entry information, and a transmission section which transmits the connection device information to the communication device indicated by the communication device identification information.

A control unit of a communication device provides multicast precoding information from at least first beamforming information descriptive for a first transmission channel and second beamforming information descriptive for a second transmission channel. A precoder unit beamforms at least one signal using the multicast precoding information to obtain at least two precoded signals. A transmitter circuit which is electrically coupled to the precoder unit multicasts transmission signals through the at least first and a second transmission channels, wherein the transmission signals are derived from the precoded signals.

Systems and methods for carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) protocols for power line communications (PLC) are described. In some embodiments, a method may include performing a virtual carrier sensing operation and, in response to the virtual carrier sensing operation indicating that a communication channel is idle, calculating a contention window. The method may also include performing a physical carrier sensing operation subsequent to the virtual carrier sensing operation, the physical carrier sensing operation based, at least in part, upon the contention window. In response to the physical carrier sensing operation indicating that the communication channel is idle, the method may then include transmitting data over the channel. In other embodiments, another method may include determining that a data transmission is a unicast transmission and that an acknowledgement message has not been received. The method may further include incrementing a backoff parameter and repeating one or more carrier sense operations.

The present invention involves utilizing AC power lines adapted for connection to an AC power source and a signal line to perform baseband signal transmission and communication. According to the invention, a threshold voltage is provided as a comparison reference for an AC input voltage to determine whether the communication is permitted. If the AC input voltage is greater than the threshold voltage, the communication is permitted. On the contrary, if the AC input voltage is smaller than the threshold voltage, the communication is not permitted. By virtue of the invention, the initiation time and the termination time of the baseband signal communication for each load tend to be substantially identical. Reliability is thus increased and noise interference problem is not created.

A reporting device for association with an article having power requirements is provided, where the reporting device is capable of performing communications operations, for example to specify the article's power requirements, and power supply using a single pair of conductors. Communications are performed at a lower voltage than the voltage intended for power supply operations. Optionally the communications interface of the reporting device may be disconnected at higher voltages, and the operational circuits of the reporting device may be disconnected at lower voltages, and circuits preventing inversion of voltages across the conductors, or reverse currents when the operational circuits are connected to the conductors may be provided. The reporting device may be used in connection with charging surfaces providing a matrix of conductive surfaces, and supports operation with a corresponding coupling manager.

A system and method for establishing communication between a controller and a plurality of inverters comprises determining a response time window length and broadcasting a response request to the array of inverters that includes the response time window length. Each inverter, in response to receiving the response requests, transmits a response to the controller at a randomly determined response time within the response time window. In response to receiving an acknowledgement from the controller, the responding inverter may ignore subsequent response requests. The controller may adjust the response time window and broadcasts the new response time window until no inverter response is received for a pre-determined number of response time windows.

A device includes an interface and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Medium Access Control (MAC) circuitry coupled to the interface. The TDMA MAC circuitry detects a beacon in a frame having a defined frame duration and determines a frame compensation value based on a start time of the frame, a reference start time of the frame, and a number of elapsed frames. A current frame duration value is determined based on the frame compensation value and the defined frame duration.

A system for assigning addresses to a plurality of communication nodes coupled via a power line is disclosed. Each of the plurality of communication nodes includes a current sensor. The plurality of communication nodes includes one master communication node and the master communication node is configured to start an auto-addressing process by asking the each of the plurality of communication nodes to sink a preselect amount of current and measure current, through the current sensor, flowing through the powerline under the each of the plurality of communication nodes. A first communication node in the plurality of communication nodes that does not measure any current flowing under the first communication node is assigned a first address.

Various embodiments of the present technology may comprise a system disposed within a structure comprising a network of individually addressed devices for providing building safety, security, and operational efficiency. Each device in the network may comprise a microcontroller electrically connected to a communication module, at least one output module, and/or at least one sensor module. The sensor module may produce data corresponding to a particular sensed environmental condition within its vicinity and may transmit a signal to the microcontroller based on the data for processing to identify the particular sensed environmental condition. In various embodiments, the microcontroller may communicate with any number of addressable devices in the network to effect selective activation of output modules and/or sensor modules. In some embodiments, the microcontroller may communicate with remote systems external to the network, such as building operation systems, building fire suppressions systems, and first responder notification systems to appropriately respond to the particular sensed environmental condition.

A method and an apparatus for coordinating multiple power line networks are provided. The method includes: obtaining, by a central coordinator of a first power line network of multiple power line networks, signaling timeslot information of a second power line network; and determining, according to the signaling timeslot information, whether a predetermined signaling timeslot of the first power line network conflicts with a signaling timeslot of the second power line network, and if the predetermined signaling timeslot conflicts with the signaling timeslot of the second power line network, determining, according to a predetermined backoff rule, a contention-free timeslot as a signaling timeslot of the first power line network. Signaling timeslots of different networks can be staggered as sequential as possible, which ensures non-confliction of the signaling timeslots, thereby avoiding signal interference and attenuation in a shared network.