WO2014012882A1

WO2014012882A1 - Intelligent connector and bus controller

Info

Publication number: WO2014012882A1
Application number: PCT/EP2013/064887
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mingjie FAN; Yuming Song; Junying Liu; Yulin FENG
Original assignee: Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; Tyco Electronics Uk Ltd.
Priority date: 2012-07-16
Filing date: 2013-07-15
Publication date: 2014-01-23
Also published as: EP2873198A1; BR112015000842A2; JP2015531110A; KR20150038117A; JP6226980B2

Abstract

This invention relates to an intelligent connector and a bus controller. The intelligent connector is used for coupling a bus with at least one slave module in an electrical appliance. The intelligent connector contains a signal processing unit for communicating signals between the bus and the slave modules, processing the communicated signals, and responding to a control signal from the bus when the control signal received has a same address as an address of the signal processing unit; a first port coupled between the bus and the signal processing unit for communicating signals between the bus and the signal processing unit, the first port also coupled to a power line for receiving power supply; and a second port coupled between the signal processing unit and the slave modules for transmitting signals between them, the second port also arranged to provide power supply to the slave modules.

Description

Intelligent Connector and Bus Controller

Field of Invention The present invention relates to electrical appliances, and particularly to an intelligent connector arranged to couple a slave module with a bus in an electrical appliance, and a bus controller arranged to couple a master control module with a bus in an electrical appliance. Background of Invention

With the development of electronic technologies, an increasing number of electrical appliances have been integrated with different hardware modules for implementing different physical functions. For example, hardware modules such as electric heaters, fans, motors and various kinds of sensors, etc., are integrated into household appliances. To control the operations of these hardware modules, the master control board of the electrical appliance has to be connected with each of the hardware modules so as to supply power to each of these hardware modules or to enable signal communication between the master control board and the different hardware modules. In addition, the switches or relays for controlling the power supplied to the hardware modules are usually integrated on the master control board. However, for traditional electrical appliances, the implementation of the electrical connections between the master control board and the hardware modules requires each of the respective hardware modules to connect to the master control board separately through wires. This leads to a large number of interfaces on the master control board, and hence a large number of wires lead out from these respective interfaces. This type of control circuit structure has a complicated structure, a low scalability and its maintenance costs are high.

Summary

Based upon the above analysis, it is desirable to provide a device with a simple structure for coupling the main control module with the slave modules in the electrical appliance. For solving the aforesaid problems, according to one aspect of this invention, there is provided an intelligent connector for coupling a bus with at least one slave module in an electrical appliance, the intelligent connector including: a signal processing unit for communicating signals between the bus and the slave modules, processing the communication signal, and responding to a control signal from the bus when the control signal received has a same address as an address of the signal processing unit; a first port coupled between the bus and the signal processing unit for transmitting signals between the bus and the signal processing unit, said first port being coupled to a power line for receiving power supply; and a second port coupled between the signal processing unit and the slave modules for transmitting signals between them, said second port also being arranged to provide power supply to the slave modules.

Since the signal processing unit is disposed in the intelligent connector, the intelligent connector not only can transmit signals and provide power supply between the bus and the slave modules, but also respond to and process the control signal from the bus. This allows the slave modules coupled with the signal processing unit, especially some machines or appliance modules (such as heaters, motors, valves, and etc.), to have signal processing capability, so as to improve the controllability and the operating efficiency of the overall operation of the electrical appliance.

Moreover, as the slave modules can be coupled to the master control module in the electrical appliance through the intelligent connector, there is no need for the slave modules to connect to the master control module through different signal lines and power lines. This effectively decreases the number of wires in the electrical appliance. In one embodiment of this invention, the signal processing unit includes a filtering sub-unit, a signal amplifying sub-unit, a digital/analog converting sub-unit, an analog/digital converting sub-unit, and/or a modulating/demodulating sub-unit. In one embodiment of this invention, the intelligent connector further includes: a power control unit coupled between the first port and the second port, the power control unit also being coupled to the signal processing unit for switching connection of the slave modules with the power line under a control of the signal processing unit so as to control the power supplied to the slave modules.

In the prior art, the power supply of the slave module is directly controlled by the master control module that is distant from the slave modules. Compared with the prior art, the power control unit of the abovementioned intelligent connector is located closer to the slave modules, and its connection with the slave modules is simpler. Therefore, the number of wires in the electrical appliance can be effectively reduced. In one embodiment of this invention, the power control unit contains a relay or a controllable switch.

In one embodiment of this invention, the power control unit further contains an AC-DC converter sub-unit for converting the power supply provided by the power line from an alternating current to a direct current, and providing the converted power supply to the slave modules and/or the signal processing unit. In one embodiment of this invention, the power control unit further contains a DC-DC converter sub-unit for converting a voltage supply of a direct current power supplied by the power line, and for providing the converted power supply to the slave modules and/or the signal processing unit.

In one embodiment of this invention, the bus is a power line carrier communication circuit. The intelligent connector further contains: a second modem unit coupled to the signal processing unit for signal modulation and/or demodulation; and a second coupling unit coupled between the second modem unit and the first port for communicating the modulated signals between the second modem unit and the bus.

In one embodiment of this invention, the bus is a DC power line communication bus, the intelligent connector further including a second modem unit coupled between the signal processing unit and the first port for signal modulation and/or demodulation.

It can be seen that, different from the prior art, the intelligent connector described in the above embodiment is adapted to receive the power line carrier bus or DC power line communication bus. Thus there is no need to use extra data signal wires for transmitting data signals, and therefore the number of the wires in the electrical appliance can be further reduced.

In one embodiment of this invention, the first port is a PSI5 bus port.

In one embodiment of this invention, the first port is a S-485 bus port or a LIN bus port.

In one embodiment of this invention, the second port is coupled to the slave modules through direct contact or indirect contact.

In one embodiment of this invention, the intelligent connector further contains an extended interface for coupling an extended unit to the signal processing unit.

According to another aspect of this invention, there is further provided a bus controller for coupling a bus with a master control module in an electrical appliance. The bus controller includes a control unit for communicating signals between the bus and the master control module. The control unit is arranged to add a destination address to a control signal from the master control module, wherein the destination address indicates an address of the intelligent connector coupled to the bus corresponding to the control signal.

By using the bus controller, the master control module can interact with the slave modules through the bus and control the operation of the slave modules. Thus, the master control module does not have to have separate interfaces for connecting with each slave module. Therefore the number of the wires in the electrical appliance can be further reduced, and thus the control circuit module may be less complicated. In one embodiment of this invention, the bus controller further contains: a first modem unit for signal modulation and/or demodulation; and a first coupling unit coupled to the first modem unit for communicating the modulated signal between the first modem unit and the bus.

In one embodiment of this invention, the bus contains multiple bus branches. The first coupling unit further contains multiple coupling sub-units. Each coupling sub-unit respectively couples to one of the multiple bus branches; and wherein the bus controller further contains a multiplexing unit having multiple data signal channels. The multiplexing unit is arranged to select a data signal channel from the multiple data signal channels for communicating signals between the first modem unit and the control unit. As the bus controller has a multiplexing unit for switching the data signal channels, the bus controller only needs to have a modem unit, and this modem unit is shared by multiple coupling sub-units in the coupling unit. In one embodiment of this invention, each coupling sub-unit contains a primary coil and a secondary coil, wherein each secondary coil respectively couples to a bus branch through a coupling capacitor.

In one embodiment of this invention, the first coupling unit includes a primary coil, each coupling sub-unit contains a secondary coil; and the multiple coupling sub-units share the primary coil, wherein each secondary coil is respectively coupled to a bus branch through coupling capacitor.

In one embodiment of this invention, the bus controller couples to the bus through a RS-485 bus interface, a LIN bus interface or a PSI5 bus interface. The aforesaid features and other features of the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the following embodiments.

Brief Description of Drawings

Through description of the embodiments of the present invention in details by way of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, the abovementioned features and other features of the present invention will become more apparent. The same or similar number or label used in the drawings of this invention represents the same or similar components.

Figure 1 illustrates a control circuit 100 including a bus controller 1 10 and an intelligent connector 120 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates an embodiment of the bus controller 1 10 as shown in Figure 1 ; Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of the intelligent connector 120 as shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 illustrates another embodiment of the intelligent connector 120 as shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 5 illustrates a control circuit 200 including a bus controller 210 and an intelligent connector 220 in accordance with another embodiment of this invention;

Figures 6 and 7 respectively illustrate an embodiment of the bus controller 210 and the intelligent connector as shown in Figure 5;

Figures 8 and 9 respectively illustrate another embodiment of the bus controller 210 and the intelligent connector as shown in Figure 5;

Figure 10 illustrates an embodiment of a first coupling unit 213 and a second coupling unit 225; Figure 1 1 illustrates another embodiment of the bus controller as shown in Figure 5.

Description of the Preferred Embodiments In the detailed description of the following preferred embodiments, some of the accompanying drawings of this invention will be taken into reference. The specific embodiments of the present invention will now be illustrated by way of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments of the present invention are not intended to illustrate all possible embodiments. It should be noted that the present invention may have other embodiments or may be structurally or logically modified without deviating from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description should not be considered restrictive, and the scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims.

Figure 1 illustrates a control circuit 100 including a bus controller 1 10 and an intelligent connector 120. The control circuit 100 is installed in an electrical appliance (not shown) for coupling a master control module 130 with at least one slave module 140 in the electrical appliance, so as to realize signal communication or exchange between the master control module 130 and the slave module 140. In some examples, the electrical appliance may be for example home appliances, industrial equipment, or numerical control (NC) machine tools, etc. In the electrical appliance, the master control module 130 refers to the module for controlling the operation of the slave modules 140. Based on the user input or the instructions generated by an application program, the master control module 130 generates control signals for controlling the operation of the slave modules 140. Examples of the slave modules 140 include micro-controller units, micro-processors or other suitable electronic devices. Slave module 140 refers to electronic or electro-mechanical module that is coupled to the master control module 130 through the control circuit 100. In some examples, the operation of the slave modules 140 is controlled by the control signals provided by the master control module 130 such as heater, radiator, actuator, etc. In other examples, the slave module 140 such as sensor can also generate feedback signals. Generally, the operation of the slave module 140 can be maintained by the power supply loaded thereon, and its operation status can be changed according to different power supplies (for example different power, current or voltage supply). It should be noted that the number of the slave modules 140 as shown in Figure 1 is exemplary and a person skilled in the art may appreciate that the number of the slave modules 140 in the electronic appliance should not be limited to three, but can be one, two or more than three in practical applications. In addition, in practical applications, one intelligent connector 120 can also correspond to two or more slave modules 140.

As shown in Figure 1 , the control circuit 100 adopts a bus construction, in which there is a bus 150 for coupling the intelligent connector 120 with the bus controller 110 for transmitting data signals. For example, the control signal from the master control module 130 can be transmitted to the intelligent connector 120 through bus 150, and can be further provided to the corresponding slave modules 140 through the intelligent connector 120; alternatively, the feedback signal from the slave modules 140 can be transmitted to the bus controller 110 through bus 150, and can be further provided to the master control module 130 through bus controller 1 10.

In practical applications, the intelligent connector 120 is also coupled to the power line 160 for receiving the power supply (such as the power supply from the power source) from the power line 160, and in turn provides power to the slave modules 140. In the embodiment as illustrated in Figure 1 , the power line 160 is introduced into the intelligent connector 120 through bus 150, that is, bus 150 includes a signal bus 151 for transmitting signals and a power bus 152 for delivering power. The power bus 152 can either obtain power supply by indirectly coupling to the power line 160 through the bus controller 110, or by directly coupling to the power line 160 on the electrical appliances. In practical applications, the connection between the power bus 152 and the power line 160 can be either of the aforesaid two coupling methods; or by both of these two methods, as shown in Figure 1. In some other embodiments, the power line 160 can be directly coupled to the intelligent connector 120 without using bus 150, and power can be provided to the corresponding slave modules 140 through the intelligent connector 120.

Figures 2 and 3 respectively illustrate an example of the bus controller 1 10 and the intelligent connector 120. Next, by combining Figures 1 -3, the bus controller 1 10 and the intelligent connector 120 are described in further detail.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, bus controller 1 10 is arranged for coupling the bus 150 with the master control module 130, where the bus controller 1 10 includes:

a control unit 1 1 1 for communicating signals between the bus 150 and the master control module 130, the control unit 1 1 1 is arranged to add a destination address to the control signal from the master control module 130, wherein the destination address indicates an address of the intelligent connector 120 coupled to the bus 150 corresponding to the control signal.

By using a destination address in the control signal, the control signal from the bus controller 1 10 to the bus 150 can be recognized by the corresponding intelligent connector 120, and this in turn allows the intelligent connector 120 to control the corresponding actions of the slave modules 140 with which it couples with. It can be understood that the control unit 1 1 1 can also deliver other signals from the master control module 130 to the bus 150.

In addition, the bus controller 1 10 further includes an interface unit 1 12 arranged to match the signal transmission such as signal timing, signal level, signal format, etc. between the control unit 1 1 1 and the bus 150. In some examples, the bus controller 110 can be coupled to the bus 151, 152 through S-485 bus interface or LIN (Local Interconnect Network) bus interface, and the bus controller 110 transmits signal according to the corresponding bus protocol specification. It can be understood that the bus controller 110 can also use other suitable bus interfaces and corresponding bus protocol specifications to communicate signals with bus 151, 152.

It can be understood that, in practical applications, the bus controller 110 can be a single hardware module, and can be coupled to the master control module 130. This implementation method has good compatibility and can be seamlessly integrated with the master control module 130. Or alternatively, bus controller 1 10 can be integrated in the master control module 130 in a firmware or software format. Hardware with such implementation is relatively low cost, and can be realized only by updating the software or firmware code in the master control module 130.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the intelligent connector 120 is arranged to couple the bus 150 and at least one slave module 140, where the intelligent connector 120 includes:

a signal processing unit 121 for communicating signals between the bus 150 and the slave module 140 and for processing the communicating signals, and for responding to a control signal with a corresponding address from the bus 150 upon receiving such a control signal;

a first port 122 coupled between bus 150 and the signal processing unit 121 for transmitting signals between them, the first port 122 is also coupled to a power line 160 for receiving power supply; and

a second port 123 coupled between the signal processing unit 121 and the slave module 140 for transmitting signals between them, the second port also providing the slave module 140 with power supply.

In particular, different intelligent connectors 120 coupled to the bus 150 have different addresses, so that they can be distinguished from each other and can be recognized by the bus controller 1 10. In an electrical appliance installed with a control circuit 100, when the master control module 130 controls the slave modules 140, the bus controller 110 first receives the control signals provided by the master control module 130. Then, the bus controller 1 10 packs the control signals as data packets, and adds the destination address to the control signals. Afterwards, the bus controller 1 10 sends the packed control signals to bus 150, and distributes the control signals to each intelligent connector 120 coupled with the bus 150 through the bus 150. Upon receiving the packed control signals and the destination address, the signal processing unit 121 in each intelligent connector 120 will check and determine whether the destination address corresponds to its own address: if the destination address matches the address of the intelligent connector 120, the signal processing unit 121 unpacks the data packet to acquire the control signals; if the destination address does not match the address of signal processing unit 121 , the data packet will be discarded. And then, signal processing unit 121 responds to the control signals acquired, and operates according to the different controlling instructions in the control signals.

In some examples, the signal processing unit 121 may comprise a filtering sub-unit, a signal amplifying sub-unit, a D/A converter sub-unit, a A/D convertor sub-unit and/or a modulation/demodulation sub-unit. These sub-units can perform corresponding signal processing to the signals communicated with the intelligent connector 120.

It can be seen that since a signal processing unit 121 is disposed in the intelligent connector 120, the intelligent connector 120 can transmit signals and provide power supply between the bus 150 and the slave modules 140, and can also respond to and process the control signals from the bus 150. This allows the slave modules 140 to which it is connected, especially some machine or appliance module (such as heater, motor, valve, etc.), to have signal processing capability, and this improves the controllability and efficiency of the overall operation of the electrical appliance.

As mentioned above, in practical applications, the control unit 1 1 1 in the bus controller 1 10 is used for communicating signals between the bus 150 and the master control module 130. Accordingly, signal processing unit 121 in the intelligent controller 120 is arranged to communicate signals between the bus 150 and the slave modules 140. In this way, by using bus 150, bus controller 110 and intelligent controller 120, a two-way communication can be carried out between the master control module 130 and the slave modules 140. For example, the slave module 140 may be a sensor which is a module that can generate sensing data. The sensed data can reflect the operating status of the electrical appliance. For example, the slave module 140 may be a temperature sensor which detects the temperature variations within the electrical appliance, and generates a feedback signal in response to the temperature variations. In other examples, the operation state of the slave module 140 may change in accordance with the change in operation status of the electrical appliance. For example, the slave module is a radiator (such as a fan), the thermal dissipation efficiency of the radiator may change as the local temperature or global temperature in the electrical appliance changes. In some other examples, the feedback signal may also be a response by the slave module 140 to the control signal provided by the master control module 130. Thus, under this circumstance, the intelligent connector 120 can receive feedback signals from the slave modules 140. The feedback signal contains the sensing data reflecting the operation state of the electrical appliance, or other signals from the slave module 140. Then, the intelligent connector 120 encapsulate the feedback signals. Optionally, the intelligent connector 120 may add an address in the feedback signals for instructing the slave module 140 that is arranged to transmit those feedback signals. Then, the slave module 140 transmits the feedback signals to the bus controller 1 10 through the bus 150. Afterwards, the bus controller 1 10 decodes the encapsulated feedback signals and provides the feedback signals to the master control module 130. In this way, the master control module 130 may determine the operation status of each slave modules 140 in the electrical appliance, and further centralizes the management and control of these slave modules 140.

In the example as shown in Figure 1 , the bus 150 includes a signal bus 151 and a power bus 152. Accordingly, the first port 122 of the intelligent connector 120 is adapted for connecting these two buses 151 , 152, so as to match its signal transmission such as signal timing, signal level, signal format, etc. with the bus 151 , 152. In some examples, the first port 122 of the intelligent connector 120 can be a S-485 bus interface or LIN bus interface which transmits signals according to the corresponding bus protocol specification. Accordingly, the bus controller 1 10 can also be coupled to the bus 150 by a RS-485 bus interface or a LIN bus interface. It should be understood that, the intelligent connector 120 and the bus controller 110 can communicate signals with the bus 151 , 152 by using other suitable bus interfaces and corresponding bus protocol specifications.

In another aspect, the second port 123 is arranged to couple the intelligent connector 120 with the slave module 140. This second port

123 can be coupled to the slave module 140 through direct contact, i.e. achieving transmission of signal and power supply through conductive leads or conductive contact strips, etc., that requires direct contact.

Alternatively, the second port 123 may be coupled to the slave module 140 without contact, i.e. achieving transmission of signal and power supply through electromagnetic field, light waves, ultrasonic waves or other media.

In some embodiments, the intelligent connector 120 also includes one or more extended interfaces arranged to connect the extended sub-unit. The extended interfaces support devices such as input devices, display devices or other extended sub-units that is suitable for coupling to the intelligent connector 120. Extended interfaces such as UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter), I²C ( Inter-Integrated Circuit) , SPI ( Serial Peripheral Interface ) or other interfaces may be used.

In the example as shown in Figure 3, the first port 122 of the intelligent connector 120 is coupled to the power line 160 by the bus 150 in order to receive power supply provided by the power line 160. Also, the first port 122 and the second port 123 are in direct electric contact, such that the power supply received can be supplied to the slave modules 140 by the second port 123.

Figure 4 illustrates another example of the intelligent connector 120 as shown in Figure 1. In the example as shown in Figure 4, the intelligent connector 120 also includes a power source control unit 124 for controlling the power supply.

As shown in Figure 4, the power source control unit 124 is coupled between the first port 122 and the second port 123, and is further coupled to the signal processing unit 121 for switching the connection of the slave modules 140 and the power line 160 in order to control the power supplied to the slave modules 140.

Specifically, the intelligent connector 120 may include circuit control elements, such as controllable switches, relays, etc. The controllable switch or relay is disposed in the electrical pathway from the power line 160 to the slave module 140, and is arranged to change the power supplied to the slave module 140 based on status of the circuit control elements.

In one example, the power supply provided by the power line 160 is an alternating current. Accordingly, the power source control unit 124 may further include an AC-DC converting sub-unit for converting the power supply provided by the power line 160 from alternating current (AC) to direct current, and provides all the converted power supply to the slave modules 140 and/or the signal processing unit 121. In other examples, the power supply provided by the power line 160 is a direct current (DC). The power source control unit 124 may further comprise a DC-AC converting sub-unit for converting voltage supplied of the direct current provided by the power line 160, and providing all the converted voltage to the slave modules 140 and/or signal processing unit 121.

In the prior art, the power supply of the slave module is directly controlled by the master control module that is distant from the slave modules. Compared to the prior art, the power source control unit 124 in the intelligent connector 120 in the present embodiment is closer to the slave modules 140, and its connection with the slave modules 140 is less complicated, thus this may effectively reduce the number of the wires in the electrical appliance. Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention of a control circuit 200 includes a bus controller 210 and an intelligent connector 220.

In the control circuit 200 as shown in Figure 5, bus 250 is a circuit that transmits signals through a power line. For example, bus 250 may be a power line carrier communications circuit or a DC power line communications bus. In this case, the signal bus 151 and the power bus 152 shown in Figure 1 are combined into a single circuit. Control circuit 200 does not have to use additional signal circuits for transmitting data signals, which effectively reduces the number of the wires in the electrical appliance. In addition, since the control circuit 200 utilizes a single circuit for transmitting data signal and power supply between the master control module 230 and the slave module 240, there is no need for the master control module 230 to have a plurality of separate interfaces for connecting with each of the slave modules 240. This further reduces the number of the wires and reduces the complexity of the control circuit module 200. For collecting data signals from bus 250, bus controller 210 and intelligent connector 220 that are coupled to the bus 250 have to be integrated with a unit that is arranged to modulate and/or demodulate signals. This modulation/demodulation (modem) unit can convert the signals provided by the master control module 230 and/or signals provided by the slave modules 240 into a format operable for power line transmission so as to allow the data signals and the power supply to be transmitted through the same bus 250.

Figures 6 and 7 respectively illustrate an example of the bus controller 210 and the intelligent connector 220 as shown in Figure 5, the bus controller 210 and the intelligent connector 220 are adapted for the case in which bus 250 is a DC power source line communication bus, i.e. the power supply transmitted by the bus 250 is a direct current, and the signal is modulated in the direct current.

As shown in Figure 6, the bus controller 210 includes a control unit 21 1 and a first modem unit 212, wherein the first modem unit 212 is coupled between the control unit 21 1 and the bus 250 for modulating and/or demodulating signals, i.e. modulating and/or demodulating the control signals from the master control module 230 and/or the feedback signals from the bus. The first modem unit 212 allows both the signal and the power supply to be transmitted through same bus 250. In some examples, the bus controller 210 can be coupled to the bus 250 through PSI5 ( Peripheral Sensor Interface 5 ) .

As shown in Figure 7, the intelligent connector 220 includes a signal processing unit 221 , a first port 222, a second port 223 and a second modem unit 224, wherein the second modem unit 224 coupled between the signal processing unit 221 and the first port 222 is arranged to modulate and/or demodulate signals, i.e. modulating and/or demodulating the control signals from the bus 250 and/or the feedback signals from the slave modules 240. In some examples, the first port 222 can be PSI5 bus interface.

Figures 8 and 9 respectively illustrate another example of the bus controller 210 and the intelligent connector as shown in Figure 5. The bus controller 210 and the intelligent connector are adapted for the bus 250 being a power line carrier communication line, i.e. the power supply transmitted by the bus 250 is an alternating current, and the signal is modulated in the alternating current (AC).

As shown in Figure 8, the bus controller 210 includes a control unit 211 , a first modem unit 212 and a first coupling unit 213, wherein the first modem unit 212 and the first coupling unit 213 are connected in series between the control unit 21 1 and bus 250. The first modem unit 212 is arranged to modulate and/or demodulate signals. The first coupling unit 213 is coupled with the first modem unit 212 for communication of the modulated signals between the first modem unit 212 and the bus 250.

As shown in Figure 9, the intelligent connector 220 includes a signal processing unit 221, a first port 222, a second port 223, a second modem unit 224 and a second coupling unit 225, wherein the second modem unit 224 is coupled to the signal processing unit 221 for signal modulation and/or demodulation. The second coupling unit 225 is coupled between the second modem unit 224 and the first port 222 for communication of the modulated signals between the second modem unit 224 and the bus 250.

The first modem unit 212 and the second modem unit 224 as shown in Figures 6 to 9 performs signal modulation and/or demodulation by using carrier modulation technology, such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. It can be understood that, in some examples, the slave module 240 may not feed signals back to the master control module 230. Accordingly, the first modem unit 212 includes a modulator for modulating the control signal, and the second modem unit 224 includes a demodulator for demodulating the modulated control signal. In other examples, the slave module 240 may feed signals back to the master control module 230. Accordingly, the second modem unit 212 may further comprise a modulator for modulating the feedback signals, and the first modem unit 224 may further include a demodulator for demodulating the modulated feedback signal.

In Figures 8 and 9, the signal coupling of the bus 250 with the first coupling unit 213 and the second coupling unit 225 can be achieved through a capacitive coupling circuit or inductive coupling circuit structure. Figure 10 illustrates an example of the first coupling unit 213 and the second coupling unit 225.

As shown in Figure 10, the coupling unit is coupled to the bus 250 through transformer 261 and coupling capacitor 262. The transformer 261 may isolate the voltage with large amplitude on the bus 250 from other parts of the coupling unit. The coupling capacitor 262 and the secondary coil of the transformer 261 form a high-pass filter for filtering and eliminating the interference of the frequency of the AC (50 or 60Hz) from the bus 250. The secondary coil of the transformer 261 is coupled to an input of a first operational amplifier 263, and the other input of the operational amplifier 263 is coupled to the reference inductance 264. When signal is received from the bus 250, the operational amplifier 263 amplifies the signal difference between its two inputs and outputs the signal difference to the corresponding modem unit.

In another aspect, the coupling unit further includes a second operational amplifier 265, wherein the input of this operational amplifier 265 receives the modulated control signal and the output of this operational amplifier 265 is coupled to the primary coil of the transformer 261 through a coupling capacitor 269 so as to provide control signals to the bus 250 through the transformer 261. In this example, the output of the second operational amplifier 265 is further coupled with clamping diodes 266, 267 in series. Clamping diodes 266, 267 are arranged to provide surge protection, i.e. to protect the second operational amplifier 265 being damaged by an instantaneous high-voltage pulse. One end of the clamping diodes 266 is coupled to the reference electric potential through a shunt capacitor 268.

It should be noted that the coupling unit shown in Figure 10 only illustrates an exemplary circuit structure for the first coupling unit 213 and the second coupling unit 225. In practical applications, the first coupling unit 213 and the second coupling unit 225 can have other circuit structures according to different embodiments so as to couple the modem unit with the bus.

In some electrical appliance, different slave modules may require power supply with different magnitudes of voltage. For instance, the voltage of the power required by modules with smaller rated working power such as sensors may be far smaller than that required by modules with higher rated working power such as radiators or heaters. In this case, the bus 250 may comprise multiple bus branches wherein each bus branch may provide power with different magnitudes of voltage. These bus branches can be respectively coupled to different intelligent connector 220 and to the same bus controller 210.

It can be seen that, each intelligent connector 220 in the control circuit 200 is further coupled between a slave module 240 and a bus branch. Thus, the intelligent connector 220 can still utilize the intelligent connector structure as shown in Figure 10. However, as the bus controller 210 needs to be coupled with multiple bus branches, its structure may differ from the bus controller structure as shown in Figure 9. Figure 11 illustrates another example of the bus controller shown in

Figure 5.

As shown in Figure 1 1 , the bus controller contains a control unit 211 , a first modem unit 212 and a first coupling unit 213 wherein the first coupling unit 213 includes multiple coupling sub-units 214. Each of the coupling sub-unit 214 is coupled to a bus branch, so as to communicate with and supply power to the intelligent connector coupled to the bus branch through the bus branch.

In addition, the bus controller further includes a multiplexing unit 215 having multiple data signal channels. The multiplexing unit 215 is coupled between the control unit 21 1 and the first modem unit 212 for selecting one of the multiple data signal channels for communicating signals between the first modem unit 212 and the control unit 21 1 , and thereby facilitating the communication between the slave modules coupled to the different bus branches and the master control module. In practical application, the multiplexing unit 215 may receive a selection signal from the master control module for switching the data signal channel.

As the multiplexing unit 215 is arranged to switch the data signal channel, only one modem unit 212 is required for the bus controller. This modem unit 212 is shared by the multiple coupling sub-units 214 in the first coupling unit 213. This can reduce the use of modem units in the bus controller and hence reduces hardware costs.

In one example, each coupling sub-unit 214 in the first coupling unit 213 may contain a primary coil and a secondary coil. Each of the secondary coils of the coupling sub-units is respectively coupled to a bus branch through a coupling capacitor. In another example, the first coupling unit 213 may contain a secondary coil, and each of the coupling sub-units 214 contains a secondary coil, and the multiple coupling sub-units 214 share the primary coil, wherein each secondary coil is respectively coupled to a bus branch through a coupling capacitor. Such a coupling unit further reduces the use of coil and hence further reduces hardware costs. Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to the figures and the above description, such illustration and description are descriptive and exemplary and is not intended to be limiting. The present invention is not limited to above embodiments.

By studying the specification, the detailed descriptions, drawings and the appended claims, a person skilled in the art would readily understand and would be able to implement other embodiments of the present invention. In the claims, the term "comprising" is not intended to exclude other elements and steps, and the term "one" is not intended to exclude in the possibility of plurality. In the practical application of the present invention, one element can carry out the functions of several technical features in the claims. Any reference sign of drawings in the claims should not be interpreted as limitation to the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent connector for coupling a bus with at least one slave module in an electrical appliance, wherein the intelligent connector comprises:

a signal processing unit for communicating signals between the bus and the slave modules, processing the communicated signals, and responding to a control signal from the bus when the control signal received has a same address as an address of the signal processing unit; a first port coupled between the bus and the signal processing unit for transmitting signals between the bus and the signal processing unit; the first port being coupled to a power line for receiving power supply; and

a second port coupled between the signal processing unit and the slave modules for transmitting signals between them; the second port also being arranged to provide power supply to the slave modules.

2. The intelligent connector in accordance with claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit comprises a filtering sub-unit, a signal amplifying sub-unit, a digital/analog converting sub-unit, an analog/digital converting sub-unit, and/or a modulating/demodulating sub-unit.

3. The intelligent connector in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising:

a power control unit coupled between the first port and the second port, the power control unit also being coupled to the signal processing unit for switching connection of the slave modules with the power line under a control of the signal processing unit, in order to control the power supplied to the slave modules.

4. The intelligent connector in accordance with claim 3, wherein the power control unit comprises a relay or a controllable switch.

5. The intelligent connector in accordance with claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the power control unit further comprises an AC-DC converter sub-unit for converting the power supply provided by the power line from an alternating current to a direct current, and providing the converted power supply to the slave modules and/or the signal processing unit.

6. The intelligent connector in accordance with claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the power control unit further comprises a DC-DC converter sub-unit for converting a voltage supply of a direct current power supplied by the power line, and for providing the converted power supply to the slave modules and/or the signal processing unit.

7. The intelligent connector in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein the bus is a power line carrier communication circuit, the intelligent connector further comprising:

a second modem unit coupled to the signal processing unit for signal modulation and/or demodulation; and

a second coupling unit coupled between the second modem unit and the first port for communicating the modulated signals between the second modem unit and the bus.

8. The intelligent connector in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein the bus is a DC power line communication bus, the intelligent connector further comprising: a second modem unit coupled between the signal processing unit and the first port for signal modulation and/or demodulation.

9. The intelligent connector in accordance with claim 8, wherein the first port is a PSI5 bus port.

10. The intelligent connector in accordance with any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first port is a S-485 bus port or a LIN bus port.

1 1. The intelligent connector in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein the second port is coupled to the slave modules through direct contact or indirect contact.

12. The intelligent connector in accordance with any preceding claim, further comprising:

an extended interface for coupling an extended unit to the signal processing unit.

13. A bus controller for coupling a bus with a master control module in an electrical appliance, the bus controller comprising:

a control unit for communicating signals between the bus and the master control module, the control unit being arranged to add a destination address to a control signal from the master control module, wherein the destination address indicates an address of an intelligent connector coupled to the bus corresponding to the control signal.

14. The bus controller in accordance with claim 13, further comprising:

a first modem unit for signal modulation and/or demodulation; and a first coupling unit coupled to the first modem unit for communicating the modulated signal between the first modem unit and the bus.

15. The bus controller in accordance with claim 14, wherein the bus comprises multiple bus branches; the first coupling unit further comprising multiple coupling sub-units, wherein each coupling sub-unit respectively couples to one of the multiple bus branches;

and wherein the bus controller further comprises a multiplexing unit having multiple data signal channels; the multiplexing unit being arranged to select a data signal channel from the multiple data signal channels for communicating signals between the first modem unit and the control unit.

16. The bus controller in accordance with claim 15, wherein each coupling sub-unit comprises a primary coil and a secondary coil, wherein each secondary coil respectively couples to a bus branch through a coupling capacitor.

17. The bus controller in accordance with claim 15, wherein the first coupling unit comprises a primary coil, each coupling sub-unit comprises a secondary coil; and the multiple coupling sub-units share the primary coil, wherein each secondary coil is respectively coupled to a bus branch through a coupling capacitor.

18. The bus controller in accordance with any of claims 13 to 17, wherein the bus controller couples to the bus through a S-485 bus interface, a LIN bus interface or a PSI5 bus interface.