Power line carrier communication device, method and power line carrier communication system

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of power line carrier communication, and discloses a power line carrier communication device, a power line carrier communication method and a power line carrier communication system. The device comprises a power line carrier communication chip and a controller. The power line carrier communication chip comprises a sending module, a receiving module and a multiplexer. The controller is used for sending a first control signal to the multiplexer to configure the multiplexer into a first state in which a first input end and a first output end are in communication. The receiving module is used for receiving a first carrier signal from the sending module, processing the first carrier signal, and obtaining characteristic information of the first carrier signal. The controller is further used for determining the power spectral density of the first carrier signal according to the characteristic information, and adjusting the sending power of the sending module when the sending module sends a second carrier signal to a target communication device according to the power spectral density. The application can make the actually emitted signal always meet the requirements of the HPLC communication protocol under the condition that the actual power line load changes greatly.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of power line carrier communication, in particular to a power line carrier communication device, a power line carrier communication method and a power line carrier communication system. BACKGROUND

[0002] High-speed power line carrier (HPLC) communication, also known as broadband power line carrier communication, is a communication technology using power lines for data transmission, i.e. using existing power grids as signal transmission media so that the power grids can transmit data while transmitting power.

[0003] An HPLC communication system includes at least two communication devices connected by power lines, one of which is a sending device transmitting signals to a receiving device through the power line channel. The sending power of the sending device is generally a fixed value, but the actual power line load is unstable. Under the configuration of the fixed sending power, the actual sending power varies greatly, which is difficult to meet the requirement of the HPLC protocol that the sending power spectral density in the working frequency band is not greater than -45dBm / Hz. SUMMARY

[0004] Therefore, the present application provides a power line carrier communication device, a power line carrier communication method and a power line carrier communication system to improve the problem that the fixed sending power is difficult to meet the requirement of the HPLC protocol that the sending power spectral density in the working frequency band is not greater than -45dBm / Hz.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a power line carrier communication device, which includes a power line carrier communication chip and a controller. The power line carrier communication chip includes a sending module, a receiving module and a multiplexer. One end of the sending module is connected to the power line and the first input end of the multiplexer, and the other end of the sending module is connected to the controller. The second input end of the multiplexer is connected to the power line, and the first output end of the multiplexer is connected to one end of the receiving module. The control end of the multiplexer and the other end of the receiving module are both connected to the controller. The controller is configured to send a first control signal to the multiplexer to configure the multiplexer to a first state in which the first input end and the first output end are in communication. The receiving module is configured to receive a first carrier signal from the sending module and process the first carrier signal to obtain characteristic information of the first carrier signal. The controller is further configured to determine the power spectral density of the first carrier signal according to the characteristic information and adjust the sending power of the sending module when sending a second carrier signal to a target communication device according to the power spectral density.

[0006] The power line carrier communication device provided by the application can realize the receiving of the first carrier signal sent by the sending module of the HPLC communication chip through the receiving module, feedback the actual sending power spectral density on the power line through the receiving link, and then automatically adjust the sending power configuration to ensure that the actual signal meets the requirements of the HPLC communication protocol when the actual load of the power line changes. Moreover, the application uses the self-sending and self-receiving signal feedback to obtain the actual sending power on the power line, and the signal does not pass through the power line, so that the signal can be prevented from being interfered by the power line or the power supply line, the noise interference can be reduced, the signal energy received and calculated by the receiving module is more accurate, the energy size of the original sending signal can be better reflected, the accuracy of the adjustment is improved, and the communication quality is improved. Meanwhile, the receiving module calculates the characteristic information by using the existing module, without the need of adding other hardware modules, so that the cost is reduced.

[0007] In an optional implementation, the sending module comprises a variable gain amplifier, and the controller is configured to adjust an original gain amplification parameter of the variable gain amplifier according to the power spectral density, so as to adjust the sending power of the sending module when sending the second carrier signal to the target communication device.

[0008] In an optional implementation, the variable gain amplifier is configured with a plurality of gears, the plurality of gears correspond to different preset power spectral density ranges and different gain amplification parameters respectively, and the controller is specifically configured to: determine a target gear from the plurality of gears according to the power spectral density, and adjust the original gain amplification parameter to the gain amplification parameter corresponding to the target gear.

[0009] In an optional implementation, the controller is specifically configured to: when the power spectral density is less than a preset power spectral density, adjust the original gain amplification parameter to a first gain amplification parameter, wherein the first gain amplification parameter is greater than the original gain amplification parameter; and when the power spectral density is greater than or equal to the preset power spectral density, adjust the original gain amplification parameter to a second gain amplification parameter, wherein the second gain amplification parameter is less than the original gain amplification parameter.

[0010] In an optional implementation, the receiving module is specifically configured to: perform analog gain processing or digital gain processing on the first carrier signal, and perform synchronization processing on the first carrier signal after the analog gain processing or the digital gain processing to obtain the characteristic information; and the controller is specifically configured to: determine the power spectral density according to the characteristic information and a gain parameter during the analog gain processing, or determine the power spectral density according to the characteristic information and a gain parameter during the digital gain processing.

[0011] In an optional implementation, the controller is further configured to send a second control signal to the multiplexer to configure the multiplexer to a second state in which the second input end and the first output end are in communication; and the receiving module is configured to receive a third carrier signal from the target communication device and process the third carrier signal to obtain characteristic information of the third carrier signal.

[0012] In an optional implementation, the characteristic information of the third carrier signal includes a signal-to-noise ratio, and the controller is specifically configured to send the first control signal to the multiplexer when the signal-to-noise ratio of the third carrier signal is less than a preset signal-to-noise ratio.

[0013] In an optional implementation, the controller is specifically configured to send the first control signal to the multiplexer when the power line carrier communication chip is powered on or a first time length reaches a preset interval length, where the first time length is a time length between a current time and a time when the first control signal was last sent.

[0014] In a second aspect, the present application provides a power line carrier communication method, the method being applied to the controller of the power line carrier communication device according to the first aspect or any implementation thereof, and the method comprising the following steps: sending a first control signal to a multiplexer to configure the multiplexer to a first state in which a first input end and a first output end are in communication; determining a power spectral density of a first carrier signal according to characteristic information of the first carrier signal; and adjusting a sending power of a sending module when sending a second carrier signal to a target communication device according to the power spectral density.

[0015] In a third aspect, the present application provides a power line carrier communication system, the power line carrier communication system comprising at least one power line carrier communication device according to the first aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0016] Additional aspects and advantages of the present application will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present application in the specific embodiments or related art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the specific embodiments or related art description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings according to these drawings without creative labor.

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a power line carrier communication physical end frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2is a structural schematic diagram of an HPLC communication chip according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a power line carrier communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of processing a power line signal by a receiving module according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of another power line carrier communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 6 is a flow schematic diagram of a power line carrier communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Reference signs: 100, power line carrier communication device; 10, HPLC communication chip; 11, transmitting module; 111, variable gain amplifier; 12, receiving module; 13, multiplexer; 131, first input end; 132, second input end; 133, first output end; 134, control end; 20, controller; 200, power line. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present application. According to the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0026] HPLC communication is a communication mode for data transmission by using an existing power line network, and can realize interconnection, centralized management and control among various communication devices. The advantage of HPLC communication is that it relies on an existing power network, has low cost and wide coverage, and has wide application prospects in the fields of smart grid, smart home, industrial Internet of Things, etc.

[0027] The HPLC communication physical end framework can be as shown in Figure 1 Different communication terminals (which can also be referred to as communication devices) communicate with each other through power lines, and a transmitting end (Transmit, TX) transmits a carrier signal to a receiving end (Receive, RX) through a power line signal. The transmitting end refers to a communication terminal that transmits signals outward in the communication process, and the receiving end refers to a communication terminal that receives signals in the communication process. The communication terminal can be a smart meter, a smart home device or other terminal device.

[0028] Specifically, in the data transmission process of the HPLC communication system, the data to be transmitted generated by the sending end is first organized into a logical frame in the upper layer protocol, the logical frame is encapsulated into a physical protocol data unit (PPDU) frame, and is transmitted to the physical layer. The physical layer modulates the PPDU frame by orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and transmits it to the receiving end as a continuous carrier signal through the power line.

[0029] The PPDU frame usually contains a frame preamble, a frame control (FC) and a payload (PL). The frame preamble is used for frame synchronization and channel estimation, the frame control is used to describe the basic information of the frame, such as modulation mode, subcarrier distribution, etc., and the payload is used to describe the actual data to be transmitted.

[0030] Figure 1 The processing process of the signal at the sending end and the receiving end is shown. Specifically, the sending end receives data (frame control data and payload data) from the data link layer, then encodes the data, and then converts the encoded data into symbols suitable for transmission through constellation point mapping. After that, the time domain frequency domain conversion is realized by inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to convert the mapped discrete data into the time domain waveform of the OFDM symbol. Then, the OFDM symbol is added with a cyclic prefix and windowed. The OFDM symbol after the windowing processing and the generated frame preamble are converted into an analog signal in the analog front end, and at the same time, signal amplification, filtering and other processing are performed to adapt the electrical characteristics of the power line channel (such as impedance matching, signal amplitude adjustment), so that the signal can be effectively transmitted on the power line. Finally, the obtained signal is transmitted to the receiving end as a continuous carrier signal through the power line channel.

[0031] After the receiving end detects the carrier signal from the power line, it can first perform analog-to-digital conversion in the analog front end, convert the received analog signal on the power line into a digital signal, and monitor the received signal strength in real time, automatically adjust the amplifier gain, maintain the signal amplitude within a suitable range, and ensure the stable operation of the subsequent modules. Then, through the frame preamble signal, the clock synchronization and frame synchronization of the sending end and the receiving end are realized, and then the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is performed to restore the OFDM symbol to the modulation symbol on the subcarrier. After performing FFT, the modulation symbol is demodulated according to the mapping rule of the sending end, and then the frame control data and the payload data (data payload) are decoded (decoded), and finally the obtained data information is sent to the data link layer for subsequent protocol analysis.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 1, the encoding process of the sending end includes encoding of the frame control data (FC encoding), encoding of the payload data (payload data encoding), and the decoding process of the receiving end includes decoding of the frame control data (FC decoding) and decoding of the payload data (payload data decoding). Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1, the encoding process of the sending end includes encoding of the frame control data (FC encoding), encoding of the payload data (payload data encoding), and the decoding process of the receiving end includes decoding of the frame control data (FC decoding) and decoding of the payload data (payload data decoding).

[0033] Turbo encoding refers to adding redundant check bits to data through a Turbo code algorithm. When noise and interference caused by channel transmission result in data errors, the receiving end can correct errors based on redundant information to improve data transmission reliability. Turbo decoding refers to using a Turbo decoding algorithm to correct residual errors in demodulated data in combination with the redundant check bits added by the sending end. Channel interleaving is used to disrupt the order of encoded data, and channel deinterleaving is used to restore the data order before interleaving by the sending end, to more efficiently correct burst errors in combination with Turbo decoding and improve overall error correction capability.

[0034] Diversity copy is used to copy / generate multiple copies of data to resist channel fading and enhance signal robustness. Diversity combining is used to combine different path signals according to weights by using maximum ratio combining, equal gain combining, etc., to improve signal-to-noise ratio and resist multipath fading. Scrambling is used for randomization processing of digital signals to make the spectral characteristics of the output signal more optimal and more in line with transmission requirements, and descrambling is used to remove the scrambling processing of the sending end and restore the original form of the data.

[0035] For example, the communication terminal includes an HPLC communication chip, as shown in FIG. 2. Figure 2As shown, the HPLC communication chip 10 includes a sending module 11 and a receiving module 12, when the communication terminal is a sending terminal, the HPLC communication chip 10 also acts as a sending terminal, and the sending module 11 sends a carrier signal to the receiving module in another communication terminal through the power line 200; when the communication terminal is a receiving terminal, the HPLC communication chip 10 also acts as a receiving terminal, and the receiving module 12 receives the carrier signal sent by the sending module in another communication terminal.

[0036] It should be noted that the HPLC communication chip 10 can receive signals or send signals at the same time, but the HPLC communication chip 10 cannot send signals and receive signals at the same time.

[0037] Specifically, based on the consideration of suppressing spurious emission, avoiding interference with other communication systems, reducing self-interference, improving communication reliability, international / domestic spectrum management specifications, balancing communication distance and device cost, and power line channel characteristics, the power line carrier communication protocol specifies that the transmission power spectral density in the working frequency band is not greater than -45dBm / Hz, which is measured under the condition that the load of the power line is 50Ω.

[0038] However, due to the double influence of electrical equipment and line parameters, the actual power line load is unstable, and under the condition of fixed transmission power configuration, the actual transmission power changes greatly. If the equivalent load of the power line is less than 50Ω, the actual transmission power will become smaller, and the smaller transmission power will result in low signal energy and signal-to-noise ratio, affecting the subsequent signal synchronization and analysis process; if the equivalent load of the power line is greater than 50Ω, the actual transmission power will become larger, and the larger transmission power may result in a power spectral density greater than -45dBm / Hz, thereby possibly interfering with the normal work of other communication systems, and at the same time, it does not meet the requirements of the HPLC communication protocol.

[0039] Therefore, the application provides a power line carrier communication device, method and system, which adopts a loop mode of sending module and receiving module, feeds back the actual transmission power on the power line through the receiving link, and then automatically adjusts the transmission power configuration according to the actual transmission power, so that the signal actually emitted by the sending module meets the requirements of the HPLC communication protocol under the condition that the actual power line load changes greatly.

[0040] The power line carrier communication device provided by the application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] The power line carrier communication device can be an HPLC communication device, similar to the communication terminal described above. For example, the power line carrier communication device can be a smart meter, a smart home device (such as a smart air conditioner or a smart refrigerator, etc.), a concentrator device, a communication module embedded device, a communication test terminal, or other terminal devices, etc.

[0042] As shown in Figure 3 The power line carrier communication device 100 provided by the application can include an HPLC communication chip 10 and a controller 20. The HPLC communication chip 10 includes a sending module 11, a receiving module 12, and a multiplexer (MUX) 13. The controller 20 can be a central processing unit (CPU) or a microcontroller unit (MCU), etc.

[0043] Specifically, one end of the sending module 11 is connected to the power line 200 and the first input end 131 of the multiplexer 13, and the other end of the sending module 11 is connected to the controller 20. The second input end 132 of the multiplexer 13 is connected to the power line 200, one end of the receiving module 12 is connected to the first output end 133 of the multiplexer 13, and the control end 134 of the multiplexer 13 and the other end of the receiving module 12 are both connected to the controller 20.

[0044] The multiplexer 13 is a kind of digital logic circuit, the core function is to select one or more from multiple input signals, and transmit through a single output channel. The controller 20 software configures the multiplexer 13, so that the multiplexer 13 is in the first state that the first input end 131 and the first output end 133 are connected (conductive), or the multiplexer 13 is in the second state that the second input end 132 and the first output end 133 are connected. That is, the controller 20 software configures the multiplexer 13, so as to realize the change of the channel of the receiving module 12 receiving signal.

[0045] For example, the controller 20 is configured to send a first control signal to the multiplexer 13, and the first control signal is configured to configure the multiplexer 13 to be in the first state that the first input end 131 and the first output end 133 are connected, that is, the controller 20 configures the state value of the multiplexer 13 to be 0.

[0046] As shown in Figure 3As shown, when the multiplexer 13 is configured to the first state by the controller 20, the sending module 11 and the receiving module 12 are in a connected state, at this time, the sending module 11 of the HPLC communication chip 10 sends the generated first carrier signal to the receiving module 12 of the HPLC communication chip 10 itself, that is, the HPLC communication chip 10 is self-generating and self-receiving, and the receiving module 12 is used to receive the first carrier signal generated by the sending module 11 of the HPLC communication chip 10 itself. Among them, the sending module 11, the multiplexer 13 and the receiving module 12 are electrically connected through the wires inside the HPLC communication chip.

[0047] The receiving module 12 is used for processing the first carrier signal after receiving the first carrier signal to obtain characteristic information of the first carrier signal. Wherein, the processing of the first carrier signal can include the analog-to-digital conversion processing, the clock synchronization processing and the frame synchronization processing of the analog front end as shown. Figure 1 The characteristic information can include the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the signal energy, etc.

[0048] The controller 20 is also used for determining the power spectral density of the first carrier signal according to the characteristic information, and adjusting the sending power of the sending module 11 when sending the second carrier signal to the target communication device according to the power spectral density. Wherein, the target communication device is a device connected with the power line carrier communication device 100 for communication, and the target communication device can be the communication terminal mentioned above or another power line carrier communication device 100 provided by the present application. Figure 1

[0049] The power spectral density (PSD) represents the signal power in a unit frequency bandwidth, and is a physical quantity for describing the distribution characteristics of the signal power in the frequency domain, and is used for quantifying the power size of the signal at different frequency components. After obtaining the characteristic information, the controller 20 can determine the power spectral density of the first carrier signal based on the characteristic information by the periodogram method, and the controller 20 can also determine the power spectral density by other ways recorded in the art, which is not limited in the present application.

[0050] After determining the power spectral density, the controller 20 adjusts the sending power of the sending module 11 when sending the second carrier signal to the target communication device, with the goal of controlling the sending power spectral density in the working frequency band below the preset power spectral density (such as -45dBm / Hz).

[0051] ​The power line carrier communication device provided by the application can realize the receiving of the first carrier signal sent by the sending module 11 of the HPLC communication chip 10 by the receiving module 12, can feed back the actual sending power spectrum density on the power line through the receiving link, and can further automatically adjust the sending power configuration, so as to ensure that the actual sent signal meets the requirements of the HPLC communication protocol when the actual load of the power line changes. Moreover, the application uses the self-sending and self-receiving signal to feed back the actual sending power on the power line, and the signal does not pass through the power line, so that the signal can be prevented from being interfered by the power line or the power supply line, the noise interference can be reduced, the signal energy received and calculated by the receiving module is more accurate, the energy size of the original sending signal can be better reflected, the accuracy of the adjustment is improved, and the communication quality is improved. Meanwhile, the receiving module calculates the characteristic information by using the existing module, and no other hardware module needs to be additionally added, so that the cost is reduced.

[0052] It should be understood that, as Figure 3 shown, the power line 200, the sending module 11, the receiving module 12, the multiplexer 13 and the controller 20 are in a connected state, which is equivalent to being in one circuit loop. When the receiving module 12 receives the first carrier signal sent by the sending module 11 of the HPLC communication chip 10 itself, although the first carrier signal does not pass through the power line, because they are in one circuit loop, the load change on the power line 200 will also affect the first carrier signal received by the receiving module 12, and therefore the power spectrum density of the first carrier signal calculated by the application can feed back the actual sending power spectrum density on the power line.

[0053] For example, the controller 20 is further configured to send a second control signal to the multiplexer 13, and the second control signal is used to configure the multiplexer 13 to a second state in which the second input end 132 and the first output end 133 are in communication, that is, the controller 20 configures the state value of the multiplexer 13 to 1.

[0054] As Figure 3 shown, when the multiplexer 13 is configured to the second state by the controller 20, the receiving module 12 and the power line 200 are in a connected state, at this time, the receiving module 12 is configured to receive the third carrier signal from the target communication device, or the sending module 11 is configured to send the second carrier signal to the target communication device, so that the target communication device and the power line carrier communication device 100 realize interconnection, centralized management and control.

[0055] After receiving the third carrier signal, the receiving module 12 is further configured to process the third carrier signal, and the processing process of the receiving module 12 on the third carrier signal can be as Figure 4 shown.

[0056] Firstly, the receiving module 12 performs analog filtering, analog-to-digital conversion and other processes on the third carrier signal at the analog front end. The third carrier signal is processed by the analog front end into a digital signal, and then the digital signal is subjected to frame synchronization to accurately locate the frame synchronization position for subsequent data frame extraction. The third carrier signal is composed of frame signals with fixed intervals, each frame signal including a frame preamble signal, a frame control signal and a data payload. The third carrier signal (valid signal) processed by the analog front end also includes a frame preamble signal, a frame control signal and a data payload.

[0057] Frame synchronization is performed according to the frame preamble signal. The frame preamble signal is a periodic sequence known by both the transmitter and the receiver. The frame preamble signal includes a SYNCP (Synchronization Pattern), a SYNCM (Synchronization Marker) and a repetition interval (RI). The SYNCP is used to provide a synchronization signal for the receiver to help the receiver identify the start of a frame, which can be referred to as a synchronization sequence. The SYNCM is used to mark the end of a frame, which can be referred to as a marker sequence. The RI is a gap / interval in the preamble frame, which is used to avoid interference or superposition between the preamble symbols.

[0058] When performing frame synchronization, when the SYNCP sequence, i.e. the marker sequence, is detected, the final positioning of the frame synchronization is completed, and the start position of the frame control signal is determined, and the signal synchronization is completed. From the synchronization start position, a continuous synchronization peak is searched for, and feature information is calculated, including received signal strength indication (RSSI) and signal-to-noise ratio, until the synchronization is completed (the last synchronization position is found).

[0059] It should be noted that the receiving module 12 can calculate the feature information once for each SYNCP symbol (synchronization symbol) found from the synchronization start position. The final feature information can be the average of the feature information between the synchronization start and the synchronization completion.

[0060] After the final feature information of the third carrier signal is obtained, the final feature information is stored in the baseband buffer. Then, the corresponding signal is subjected to FFT, demodulation and other processes according to the synchronization position, and the demodulated information is transferred to the system memory. Finally, the controller 20 performs development and processing at the application level according to the frame signals read from the system memory and the frame feature information in the baseband buffer.

[0061] Further, the characteristic information of the third carrier signal includes a signal-to-noise ratio, and the controller 20 is specifically configured to: send the first control signal to the multiplexer when the signal-to-noise ratio of the third carrier signal is less than a preset signal-to-noise ratio. The preset signal-to-noise ratio can be configured by a worker according to actual needs, and is used to indicate whether the signal-to-noise ratio of the current carrier signal is low. If the signal-to-noise ratio is less than the preset signal-to-noise ratio, the signal-to-noise ratio of the current carrier signal is low, and the low signal-to-noise ratio may lead to an increase in the bit error rate and a decrease in the accuracy of frame synchronization.

[0062] Specifically, when the signal-to-noise ratio of the third carrier signal received by the receiving module 12 is low, it can be determined that the power line load has changed or fluctuated. At this time, the first control signal is sent to the multiplexer, so that the receiving module 12 receives the first carrier signal of the sending module 11, and the sending power of the sending module 11 is modulated according to the power spectral density corresponding to the first carrier signal. The influence of load fluctuation can be excluded, the signal-to-noise ratio of the carrier signal transmitted on the power line can be prevented from being low, and the communication quality can be improved.

[0063] Optionally, the controller 20 is further specifically configured to: send the first control signal to the multiplexer when the HPLC communication chip 10 is powered on or a first time length reaches a preset interval length. The first time length is the time length between the current time and the time when the first control signal is last sent, and the preset interval length can be configured by a worker according to actual needs.

[0064] Specifically, when the HPLC communication chip 10 is powered on, the initial state (such as noise level and impedance matching) of the power line channel is unknown, and the sending power of the modulation sending module 11 is modulated. The power can be quickly set to the initial value suitable for the current channel to avoid communication failure in the starting stage caused by improper power.

[0065] The power line channel characteristics change with the load (such as the switching of electrical appliances), and the sending power is adjusted periodically (every preset interval length). The power line carrier communication device can continuously track the channel changes, so that the actual signal emitted always meets the requirements of the HPLC communication protocol.

[0066] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 5 The sending module 11 includes a variable gain amplifier (VGA) 111, and the controller 20 is configured to adjust the original gain amplification parameter of the variable gain amplifier 111 according to the power spectral density, so as to adjust the sending power of the sending module 11 when sending the second carrier signal to the target communication device.

[0067] The variable gain amplifier 111 is an amplifier module whose gain (amplification factor) can be dynamically adjusted by an external control signal (such as a voltage, current or digital signal). The core role of the variable gain amplifier 111 is to adjust the amplification factor in real time according to the input signal strength, optimize the signal processing performance, and play a key role especially in scenes where the signal amplitude changes dramatically.

[0068] The application does not limit the process of adjusting the original gain amplification parameter of the variable gain amplifier 111 by the controller 20 according to the power spectral density. The adjustment process is described below with specific examples.

[0069] In some examples, the controller 20 is specifically configured to: adjust the original gain amplification parameter to a first gain amplification parameter when the power spectral density is less than a preset power spectral density; and adjust the original gain amplification parameter to a second gain amplification parameter when the power spectral density is greater than or equal to the preset power spectral density. The first gain amplification parameter is greater than the original gain amplification parameter, the second gain amplification parameter is less than the original gain amplification parameter, and the preset power spectral density is the maximum value of the transmission power spectral density specified in the HPLC protocol, which is generally -45dBm / Hz.

[0070] In other words, if the power spectral density is greater than or equal to -45dBm / Hz, the gain amplification parameter of the VGA is adjusted, for example, to the difference between the original gain amplification parameter and the gain variation; if the power spectral density is less than -45dBm / Hz, the gain amplification parameter of the VGA is adjusted, for example, to the sum of the original gain amplification parameter and the gain variation. The gain variation can be configured by the staff based on actual needs.

[0071] In other examples, the variable gain amplifier 111 is configured with multiple gears, and the multiple gears correspond to different preset power spectral density ranges and different gain amplification parameters, for example, the variable gain amplifier 111 is provided with 5 gears, which are gear 1, gear 2, gear 3, gear 4 and gear 5, each gear corresponds to a preset power spectral density range and a gain amplification parameter, for example, the preset power spectral density range corresponding to gear 1 is [A1, A2), the gain amplification parameter corresponding to gear 1 is B1, the preset power spectral density range corresponding to gear 2 is [A2, A3), and the gain amplification parameter corresponding to gear 2 is B2.

[0072] The controller 20 is specifically configured to: determine a target gear from the multiple gears according to the power spectral density, and adjust the original gain amplification parameter to the gain amplification parameter corresponding to the target gear.

[0073] Specifically, after determining the power spectral density, the controller 20 can look up a preset power spectral density range corresponding to the power spectral density, and then determine the gear corresponding to the preset power spectral density range as the target gear. After obtaining the target gear, the original gain amplification parameter is adjusted to the target gain amplification parameter, which is the gain amplification parameter corresponding to the target gear. For example, if the target gear is gear 2, the original gain amplification parameter is adjusted to B2.

[0074] It should be noted that when the multiplexer 13 is configured as the first state, the controller 20 only needs to obtain the characteristic information of the baseband buffer, and then determine the power spectral density according to the characteristic information, and adjust the configuration of the variable gain amplifier according to the size of the power spectral density. At this time, the controller 20 does not need to read the frame signal of the system memory for development and processing at the application level, so compared with the processing process of the carrier signal of the receiving module 12 shown in the prior art, the receiving module 12 of the embodiment does not need to perform FFT and demodulation on the signal. Figure 4

[0075] That is, when the multiplexer 13 is configured as the first state, the receiving module 12 does not perform FFT and demodulation on the signal.

[0076] In some embodiments, the receiving module 12 is specifically configured to: perform analog gain processing or digital gain processing on the first carrier signal, and perform synchronization processing on the first carrier signal after the analog gain processing or the digital gain processing to obtain the characteristic information. The controller is specifically configured to: determine the power spectral density according to the characteristic information and a gain parameter during the analog gain processing; or determine the power spectral density according to the characteristic information and a gain parameter during the digital gain processing. The gain parameter can be an amplification multiple, and the gain parameter is a known value for the controller (such as a CPU) 20.

[0077] Specifically, the signal before synchronization can have undergone analog gain processing or digital gain processing. At this time, the controller needs to eliminate the influence of the gain parameter on the signal when calculating the power spectral density based on the characteristic information, and then calculate the power spectral density of the original received signal, and then adjust the VGA.

[0078] That is, after the original signal enters the receiving module, the receiving module performs analog or digital gain processing on the original signal, and then performs synchronization on the original signal after the analog or digital gain processing. After the controller 20 receives the characteristic information, the power spectral density of the original signal is calculated based on the characteristic information and the previous gain parameter, and then the configuration of the variable gain amplifier is adjusted based on the power spectral density of the original signal.

[0079] In the embodiment, a power line carrier communication method is also provided, which can be used for the controller of the power line carrier communication device provided in any of the above embodiments.​Figure 6 is a flowchart of a power line carrier communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 6 The method comprises the following steps:

[0080] In step S601, a first control signal is sent to the multiplexer to configure the multiplexer to a first state in which the first input end and the first output end are in communication.

[0081] In one example, the controller sends the first control signal to the multiplexer when the signal-to-noise ratio of the third carrier signal is less than a preset signal-to-noise ratio.

[0082] In another example, the controller sends the first control signal to the multiplexer when the HPLC communication chip is powered on or a first time duration reaches a preset interval duration. The first time duration is the duration between the current time and the time when the first control signal was last sent.

[0083] In step S602, the power spectral density of the first carrier signal is determined according to the characteristic information of the first carrier signal.

[0084] In an example, the power spectral density of the first carrier signal can be determined by the characteristic information and the periodogram method.

[0085] In step S603, the transmission power of the sending module when sending the second carrier signal to the target communication device is adjusted according to the power spectral density.

[0086] The target communication device is a device connected to the power line and communicating with the power line carrier communication device 100, and can be the communication terminal mentioned above or another power line carrier communication device 100 provided by the present application. Figure 1

[0087] Specifically, the controller is configured to adjust the original gain amplification parameter of the variable gain amplifier according to the power spectral density to adjust the transmission power of the sending module when sending the second carrier signal to the target communication device.

[0088] The embodiment also provides a power line carrier communication system, which comprises at least one power line carrier communication device provided by any of the above embodiments.

[0089] Optionally, the power line carrier communication system comprises two power line carrier communication devices, one of which serves as a sending end to send carrier signals to the other power line carrier communication device.

[0090] ​In the present application, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the term "connection" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be an electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium; it can be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise explicitly limited. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above-mentioned term in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0091] It should be understood that parts of the present application can be realized by hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. In the above-mentioned embodiments, a plurality of steps or methods can be realized by software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if realized by hardware, and as in another embodiment, it can be realized by any one or a combination of the following technologies known in the art: discrete logic circuit with logic gate circuit for implementing logic function on data signal, application specific integrated circuit with suitable combination logic gate circuit, programmable gate array (PGA), field programmable gate array (FPGA) and the like.

[0092] In the description of the present specification, the description of the terms "the present embodiment", "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" and the like means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In the present specification, the illustrative description of the above-mentioned terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, the skilled in the art can combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in the present specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples without contradiction.

[0093] In addition, the terms "first", "second" are only for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, the features limited by "first", "second" can explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is at least two, for example, two, three, etc., unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited.

[0094] Although the embodiments of the present application are described in conjunction with the drawings, various modifications and variations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, and such modifications and variations fall within the scope defined by the present application.

Claims

1. A power line carrier communication device, characterized in that, The power line carrier communication device includes a power line carrier communication chip and a controller. The power line carrier communication chip includes a transmitting module, a receiving module, and a multiplexer. One end of the transmitting module is connected to the power line and the first input terminal of the multiplexer, and the other end of the transmitting module is connected to the controller; the second input terminal of the multiplexer is connected to the power line, the first output terminal of the multiplexer is connected to one end of the receiving module, and the control terminal of the multiplexer and the other end of the receiving module are both connected to the controller; The controller is used to send a first control signal to the multiplexer when the power line carrier communication chip is powered on or when a first duration reaches a preset interval, so as to configure the multiplexer in a first state where the first input terminal and the first output terminal are connected; wherein, the first duration is the duration between the current time and the last time the first control signal was sent; The receiving module is used to receive a first carrier signal from the transmitting module and process the first carrier signal to obtain the feature information of the first carrier signal. The transmitting module includes a variable gain amplifier. The controller is further configured to determine the power spectral density of the first carrier signal based on the feature information, and adjust the original gain amplification parameters of the variable gain amplifier based on a comparison between the power spectral density and a preset power spectral density, so as to adjust the transmission power of the transmitting module when transmitting the second carrier signal to the target communication device. Specifically: When the power spectral density is less than the preset power spectral density, the original gain amplification parameter is adjusted to a first gain amplification parameter, wherein the first gain amplification parameter is greater than the original gain amplification parameter, so that the power spectral density of the adjusted second carrier signal is greater than the power spectral density and less than the preset power spectral density. When the power spectral density is greater than or equal to the preset power spectral density, the original gain amplification parameter is adjusted to a second gain amplification parameter, wherein the second gain amplification parameter is less than the original gain amplification parameter, so that the power spectral density of the adjusted second carrier signal is less than the preset power spectral density.

2. The power line carrier communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The variable gain amplifier is configured with multiple levels, each corresponding to a different preset power spectral density range and different gain amplification parameters. The controller is specifically used for: The target gear is determined from the plurality of gears based on the power spectral density, and the original gain amplification parameter is adjusted to the gain amplification parameter corresponding to the target gear.

3. The power line carrier communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that, The receiving module is specifically used to: perform analog gain processing or digital gain processing on the first carrier signal, and perform synchronization processing on the first carrier signal after analog gain processing or digital gain processing to obtain the feature information; The controller is specifically used to: determine the power spectral density based on the feature information and the gain parameters during the analog gain processing; or determine the power spectral density based on the feature information and the gain parameters during the digital gain processing.

4. The power line carrier communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that, The controller is further configured to send a second control signal to the multiplexer to configure the multiplexer in a second state where the second input terminal and the first output terminal are connected; the receiving module is configured to receive a third carrier signal from the target communication device and process the third carrier signal to obtain the feature information of the third carrier signal.

5. The power line carrier communication device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The characteristic information of the third carrier signal includes the signal-to-noise ratio, and the controller is specifically used for: When the signal-to-noise ratio of the third carrier signal is less than a preset signal-to-noise ratio, the first control signal is sent to the multiplexer.

6. A power line carrier communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to the controller of the power line carrier communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and the method includes: Send a first control signal to the multiplexer to configure the multiplexer in a first state where the first input and the first output are connected; Based on the characteristic information of the first carrier signal, the power spectral density of the first carrier signal is determined; Based on the power spectral density, the transmission power of the transmitting module when sending the second carrier signal to the target communication device is adjusted.

7. A power line carrier communication system, characterized in that, The power line carrier communication system includes at least one power line carrier communication device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

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