DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates to field of Power over Ethernet (PoE). More specifically, but not exclusively, to a device for controlling electrical appliances over a PoE network.

BACKGROUND
Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a technique of transmitting power signals and data signals over an Ethernet cable. The PoE technique has reduced costs of laying power cables and data cables separately and has provided provision to control electrical appliances using Internet Protocol (IP). Devices that are controlled using the IP are generally known as IP devices (e.g., IP camera, IP television, etc).

An IP device such as a lighting device is powered and controlled (changing light color, changing intensity and the like) by providing digital signals by one or more Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) switches. Generally, the one or more PSE switches are installed at a particular place and cables are laid from the one or more PSE switches to the lighting device. The lighting device comprises a Power Device (PD) controller that receives signals from the one or more PSE switches, the signals comprising power signals and data signals. The power signals and data signals are processed by the PD controller and then provided to the lighting device. The lighting device may be controlled externally, for example using an application installed in a mobile device.

Conventionally, the length of cables laid between the PSE switch and the lighting device are limited because of low signal strength of the signals provided by the PSE switch. Thus, the lighting device and the PSE switch are provided close to each other. Due to this, multiple PSE switches may be employed increasing overall cost of providing PoE. One lighting device may be controlled by multiple users. The control signals of each user are processed by the PD controller. However, in conventional systems the controls are not reflected quickly in the lighting device. Thus, lag in the lighting device may affect user experience.

The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

SUMMARY
In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a device (Power Device (PD) controller in a Power over Ethernet (PoE) network, for operating and controlling electrical appliances (like lighting devices, cameras, etc). The PD controller comprises a first circuit (power circuit) and a second circuit (control circuit). The PD controller receives signals from one or more Ethernet switches (Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) switches). The signals received from the one or more Ethernet switches are Direct Current (DC) signals and comprise power signals and control signals. The power signals are signals for operating the electrical appliances. The control signals are for controlling one or more parameters of the electrical appliances. The power signals and the control signals are split and are provided to the power circuit and the control circuit respectively.

The power circuit converts the input DC power signals to Alternating Current (AC) power signals. The AC power signals are further converted to DC power signals. The DC per signals are processed and are provided to the electrical appliances.

The control circuit receives the control signals that are split from the input DC signal. The control circuit stores the control signals in a memory (Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM)). Storing the control signals in the memory enables fast processing of the control signals and reduces load in the control circuit. The processed control signals are then combined with the DC power signals are provided to the electrical equipments.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

Figure 1 shows an exemplary block diagram of a Power over Ethernet (PoE) network, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 shows a simplified block diagram of a Power Device (PD) controller, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Figure 3 shows internal circuitry of a PD controller, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or apparatus.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a device, for operating and controlling electrical appliances. The device may be a part of a Power over Ethernet (PoE) network. The device is configured to receive input DC signals comprising power and control/ data signals from one or more Ethernet switches present in the PoE network. The device splits the power and control/ data signals and processes them individually. The processed power and control/ data signals are then provided to the electrical appliances. The processing of the power and control/ data signals enable efficient operation and controlling of the electrical appliances.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary block diagram of a PoE (100) network. The PoE (100) network comprises a host server (101), a router (102), a distribution switch (103), one or more Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) switches (106A, 106B), a Power Device (PD) controller associated with each PDE switch, a wall mount controller (108), an electrical appliance (109) (lighting device/ light (109)), and one or more sensors (110).

The host server (101) comprises an application for interacting with the router (102). The host server (101) is capable of providing services in response to requests made by electrical appliances (light (109)) via the router (102). In an embodiment, the host server (101) is connected to Internet. The host server (101) provides IP packets to the router (102) for providing to the one or more electrical appliances. In an embodiment, one or more electrical appliances may request for different information via a single router (102). The router (102) is configured to route Internet Protocol (IP) packets to one or more destinations (PSE switches (106)) in the PoE (100) network. The router (102) identifies Media Access Code (MAC) address of the one or more destinations and accordingly routes IP packets received from the server to respective destinations. Likewise, the router (102) routes requests made by one or more user devices (mobile phone, tablets, etc) to the server and routes information received from the server back to respective user devices. In an embodiment, the router (102) may interact with the gateway (104) to communicate with other networks for distribution switches of other networks to communicate with the PoE (100) network. The gateway (104) may be connected to a cloud (105). In an embodiment, the host server (101) may communicate/ control other connected networks via the cloud (105).

The distribution switch (103) receives the MAC addresses of the one or more electrical appliances and distributes the IP packets to one or more PSE switches (106) connected to the respective electrical appliances. In an embodiment, the configuration of the distribution switch (103) depends on size of the PoE (100) network. The distribution switch (103) communicates the IP packets to the one or more PSE switches (106) over a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN). In an embodiment, the distribution switch (103) is capable of configuring and reconfiguring the VLAN.

Each of the one or more PSE switches (106) receives the IP packets from the distribution switch (103). Each PSE switch (106) transmits the IP packets (data) along with power signals to one or more electrical appliances connected to the corresponding PSE switch (106). Each PSE switch (106) transmits the power and the control signals as a combined DC signals preferably using a Category-5 (CAT-5) cable having a Registered Jack-47 (RJ-45) connector. The PSE switch (106) injects power signal into the CAT-5 cable using an injector (not shown). Also, care is taken that the power signals and the control signals are isolated from each other to avoid interference between the two signals.

The PD controller (107) is configured in each of the one or more electrical appliances. In an embodiment, the PD controller (107) may be outside the electrical appliance (109), however proximately associated with the electrical appliance (109). The PD receives the DC signals from corresponding one or more PSE switch (106). Further, the PD controller (107) splits the DC signals into the power signals and the control signals and processes the power and control signals independently. Further, the processed power and control signals are combined and are provided to the one or more electrical appliances connected to the PD controller (107). In an embodiment, the PD controller (107) uses User Data Protocol/ Internet Protocol Version 4 (UDP/ IPV-4). In an embodiment, the PD controller (107) is provided with a unique physical identity (ID), individual ID and MAC address. The individual ID and the MAC address may be assigned using a firmware. The physical ID and the individual ID enables reducing IP conflicts and enables dynamic IP configuration.

In an embodiment, the PD controller (107) is operated according to IEEE 802.3at standard for providing power to the one or more electrical appliances. The power signals received from the PSE switch (106) may be increased as per requirement. For example, the PD controller (107) receives 13-Watt power initially and may increase to 15 Watts based on usage of the one or more electrical appliances. Further, a power of 30 Watts may be received from the PSE switch (106). The power reception is performed using a Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP). The PD controller (107) is capable of communicating using a “send and receive datagram” protocol.

The PD controller (107) may receive the DC signal as IP datagrams from the PSE switch (106). The PD controller (107) validates the IP datagrams. If the IP datagrams are valid, the PD controller (107) provides power to the one or more electrical appliances and also controls the one or more electrical appliances. If the IP datagrams are not valid, then the PD controller (107) rejects the IP datagrams and transmits a feedback signal to the host server (101). The response signal may comprise of 18 bytes. The below Table 1 shows the byte information of feedback signal.

Sl. No Description Field Value No. of bytes
1 LISTEN L 1
2 START 55 1
3 INDIVIDUAL_ID_VAL 2
4 MAC_ADDRESS 6
5 PHY_ADDRESS 2
6 LIGHT_LEVEL 2
7 PRODUCT_CODE 1
8 DYMMY_BYTE 3
TOTAL 18

TABLE 1

In an embodiment, the sensors (110) are used to measure one or more parameters of the one or more electrical appliances. For example, the sensors (110) may include a luminosity sensor to monitor brightness of a light (109). Likewise, the sensors (110) may include temperature sensor, pressure sensor based on the electrical appliance (109) and parameters of the electrical appliance (109) to be monitored. The sensors (110) may be IP sensors (110) which provides the measured data to the PSE switch (106) or the PD controller (107).

In an embodiment, the wall mount controller (108) is mounted on a surface and is configured to receive inputs from a user. The wall mount controller (108) may comprise a user interface (touch screen, keypad and the like) for the user to provide input to operate and control the electrical appliances. The wall mount controller (108) is configured to perform the functions of the PD controller (107) upon receiving user inputs from the user interface.

Figure 2 shows a simplified block diagram of a PD controller (107). As shown, the PD controller (107) comprises one or more Ethernet ports (201), a LAN transformer (202), a power circuit (203), a control circuit (204) and a current driver (205). The one or more ethernet ports (201) are connected to the PSE switch (106) via the CAT-5 cable comprising the RJ-45 connectors. The CAT-5 cable enables transfer of power signal and control/ data signal over the same cable as a DC signal. The one or more ethernet ports (201) receives the DC signal from the PSE switch (106). Further the LAN transformer (202) receives the DC signal from the one or more ethernet ports (201) and splits the power signal and control signal from the input DC signal. The LAN transformer (202) provides the power signal to the power circuit (203) for processing of the power signal and provides the control signal to the control circuit (204) for processing of the control signal. Thereafter, processed power and control signals are combined together and are provided to the light (109) (hereafter, an example of light (109) is considered for the one or more electrical appliances. The foregoing disclosure is described using light (109) as an example). The current driver (205) drives necessary current required to operate and control the light (109).

Figure 3 shows simplified block diagram of the power circuit and the control circuit. The power circuit (203) comprises a bridge rectifier (301), a PD interface (302), and a filter circuit (303). The control circuit (204) comprises an Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) filter (304), a Butterworth filter (305), a communication LAN transformer (306), a noise filter (307), an ethernet interface (308), a microcontroller (309), an Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) (310), a clock (311), a Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) (312), a Pulse Width Modulator (PWM (315)), a Buck converter (313) and a power supply (314).

The power circuit (203) is configured to convert the input DC signal to AC signal and back to output DC signal. The output DC signal is provided to the light (109). In the power circuit (203), the input DC signal is converted to AC signal using an inverter/ converter (not shown). The conversion of DC signal to AC signal enables improving signal strength and reduces voltage drop while carrying the signal for long distances. The AC signal is then processed (signal amplification, noise reduction, removing ripples, etc). The processed AC signal is then passed through the bridge rectifier (301) for converting the AC signal to DC signal. The generated DC signal is referred as output DC signal. The AC signal is converted to DC signal as the light (109) may work on DC. The output DC signal may be passed through a low pass filter (not shown) to eliminate noise. The filtered output DC signal is provided to the PD interface (302). The conversion of the DC-AC-DC strengths the signal. As the signal strength increases, length of the CAT-5 cable between the PSE switch (106) and the PD controller (107) may be increased. Thus, number of PSE switch (106) may be reduced thereby reducing resources and cost.

The PD interface (302) incorporates all the functions required by the IEEE 802.3at including detection, classification, Under Voltage Lockout (UVLo) and inrush current limitation. The PD device may detect the output DC signal with low voltage for a predefined time period. Initially, the PD controller (107) receives a low voltage (10VDC to 34VDC) which is enough to power ON the PD controller (107). The low input voltage signal (10VDC to 34vVDC) withstands for 15 seconds signal and moves to high input voltage (Max 54vdc) signal. After reaching high input voltage signal, the feedback resistor in the power circuit (203) (not shown) is set manually for generating high voltage signal to PD device comparator. The PD interface (302) then provides the output DC signal to the filter circuit (303). The filter circuit (303) removes noise from the output DC signal.

The denoised output DC signal is provided to the current driver (205)/ DC-DC converter (205). The DC-DC convertor (205) provides variable voltage to load/ light (109). If load exceeds maximum voltage, the DC-DC converter (205) moves to shut-down mode. The required current is set through a resistor provided in the DC-DC converter (205). A current setting option is provided in the DC-DC converter (205) circuit. The user may select the current according to lighting Load. A current spike pulse is filtered by Inductance-Capacitance (LC) filter associated with the DC-DC converter (205) circuit. An overload current protection design is provided with the DC- DC converter circuit. If the load exceeds the setting current, the overload protection circuit provides high pulse (e.g., 3.3V) to the DC-DC converter (205). The DC-DC converter (205) then moves to a shut-down mode. Due to this process, the DC-DC converter (205) device and PD device is protected, and the life of the product is increased.

In an embodiment, the control circuit (204) processes the control signal separated from the input DC signal. The EMI filter (304) may be a part of the LAN transformer (202) or may be outside the LAN transformer (202). The EMI filter (304) suppresses electromagnetic interference generated from the power signal. Thus, the control circuit (204) is immune to electromagnetic interferences. The control signal is then passed to the Butterworth signal. The Butterworth filter (305) high frequency signals which are considered as noise. For example, signals above 10dB are filtered by the Butterworth filter (305). Then, the filtered control signal is provided to the communication LAN transformer (306). The communication LAN transformer (306) converts input DC signal to AC signal of high amplitude. The high amplitude signals are converted to low amplitude signals. The conversion increases strength of the control signal. The transformed control signal is then provided to a noise filter (307) to remove noises from the control signal. The filtered control signal is converted back to DC signals and are passed through the ethernet interface (308) for segregating reception (Rx) signal and transmission (Tx) signal.

The Rx and Tx signals are provided to I/O port pin of the microcontroller (309). The microcontroller (309) has two interrupt signals, a first interrupt signal for receiving interrupt and a second interrupt signal for transmitting interrupt. The interrupts work independently and provides duplex communication. A receive interrupt module generates receive interrupt signal when the receive module receives data from the ethernet interface (308). A Transmit module provides the transmit interrupt signal to transmit data outside the microcontroller (309). The ethernet interface (308) module has interrupt provision for eliminating data collision in the network communication. For example, the receive interrupt and transmit interrupt may be using a same buffer to store data configured to receive or transmit. The provision enables interrupt handling such that one of the receive interrupt or the transmits interrupt is executed. Thus, the control circuit (204) eliminates likelihood of executing a receive interrupt during data transmission and vice versa and avoids data corruption and data malfunction.

The microcontroller (309) is connected to volatile SRAM (312) memory. The SRAM (312) is used to store incoming data and outgoing data. Conventionally, a process time of an internal flash memory associated with the microcontroller (309) is more. The process time is calculated for storing and segregating the data and process the control signals. In the present disclosure, all incoming data is stored in the SRAM (312) memory and then send to microcontroller (309) internal receive module buffer (not shown). The outgoing data also is also stored in the SRAM (312) memory and send to microcontroller (309) internal transmit module buffer. Due to storing of the incoming data and the outgoing data in the SRAM (312), processing time of microcontroller (309) efficiency is increased. The processed control signals are provided to the DC-DC converter (205) for combining the control signals with the power signals for operating and controlling the light (109).

The DC-DC converter (205) device has PWM (412) (Pulse Width Modulation) dimming feature. A Dimming circuit is added to DC-DC converter (205) PWM (412) pin. The Dimming circuit provides High (3.3Vdc) and Low (Less than 1.8Vdc) pulse to DC-DC converter (205) with specified time interval. The PWM (412) interface is controlled by microcontroller (406). The microcontroller (406) is generating the PWM (412) pulse signal according to the logarithmic algorithms. The PWM (412) Pulse signal width varies according to the logarithmic algorithms. The frequency is varying 1 Mhz to 5 Mhz. The maximum frequency of PWM (412) signal is 5Mhz. The logarithmic algorithm has dual slope characters; the forward slope (Increase the light level) and reverse slope (decrease the light level). The forward and reverse slope variation is not constant step changes of the pulse. However, the forward and reverse slope varies according to logarithmic value for eye response. The LED Light level varies according PWM (412) interval. The load current is maintained according to the PWM (412) Signal.

In an embodiment, the present disclosure discloses that network congestion may be reduced between PSE switch (106) to PD controller (107). In an embodiment, the data loss and data corruption in the network may be reduced.

In an embodiment, the PD controller (107) may receive commands from the user device via the PSE switch (106). In an embodiment, the user device may communicate with the PSE switch (106) through a communication network (104). The user device may be disposed in communication with the PSE switch (106) via a network interface (not shown). The network interface may employ connection protocols including, without limitation, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/x, etc. The communication network 104 may include, without limitation, a direct interconnection, wired connection, e-commerce network, a peer to peer (P2P) network, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)), the Internet, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), etc.

The terms "an embodiment", "embodiment", "embodiments", "the embodiment", "the embodiments", "one or more embodiments", "some embodiments", and "one embodiment" mean "one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention(s)" unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms "including", "comprising", “having” and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to", unless expressly specified otherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms "a", "an" and "the" mean "one or more", unless expressly specified otherwise.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention need not include the device itself.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

REFERRAL NUMERALS:
PoE (100)
Host server (101)
Router (102)
Distribution switch (103)
Gateway (104)
Cloud (105)
PSE switch (106)
PD controller (107)
Wall mount controller (108)
Light (109)
Electrical Appliance (109)
Sensors (110)
Ethernet ports (201)
LAN transformer (202)
Power circuit (203)
Control circuit (204)
Current driver (205)
Bridge rectifier (301)
PD interface (302)
Filter circuit (303)
EMI filter (304)
Butterworth filter (305)
Communication LAN transformer (306)
Noise filter (307)
Ethernet interface (308)
Microcontroller (309)
EEPROM (310)
Clock (311)
SRAM (312)
Buck converter (313)
Power source (314)
PWM interface (315)

,CLAIMS:We claim:

1. A device in a Power Over Ethernet (PoE) network, for controlling and operating electrical appliances, the device comprising:
a first circuit for converting a power signal to an Alternating Current (AC) power signal and successively converting the AC power signal to an output DC power signal, wherein the power signal is separated from an input signal received by the device from one or more Ethernet switches in the PoE network, and wherein the output DC power signal is supplied to one or more electrical appliances connected to the device; and
a second circuit for storing a control signal separated from the input signal and processing the stored control signal for generating an output DC control signal, wherein output DC control signal is combined with the output DC power signal for controlling and operating the one or more electrical appliances.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprises an interface for receiving the input signal from the one or more Ethernet switches.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first circuit is configured to supply the output DC power signal continuously, wherein the output DC control signal is combined with the output DC power signal upon processing of the control signal by the second circuit, wherein combined output DC power signal and the output DC control signal is supplied to the one or more electrical appliances.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second circuit is configured to store commands associated with the input DC signal in a memory, and wherein the second circuit is configured to buffer the processed DC signal in the memory.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprises a splitter circuit and a driver circuit, wherein the splitter circuit is configured to separate the power signal and the control signal from the input signal, and wherein the driver circuit is configured to supply the output DC control signal and the output DC power signal to the one or more electrical appliances, wherein the driver circuit provides protection to the electrical appliances.