# US 10,320,382 B2 · Power line communication smart relay > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,320,382 B2 - Document ID: US10320382B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/545,122 - Filed: 2017-04-13 - Published: 2018-02-15 - Granted: 2019-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2016-04-15 - Assignees: Voyomotive, LLC - Applicants: Voyomotive, LLC; Robert Vogt, IV; Adam Sloan - Inventors: Robert Vogt, IV; Adam Sloan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10320382B2 ## CPC - H03K 17/72: having more than two PN junctions; having more than three electrodes; having more than one electrode connected to the same conductivity region - H03K 17/00: Electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making and –breaking (gated amplifiers H03F3/72; switching arrangements for exchange systems using static devices H04Q3/52) - H04B 3/548: {the power on the line being DC (arrangements for feeding power H04L12/10; extracting feeding power from signals H04L25/02)} - H04L 67/125: involving control of end-device applications over a network - H01H 36/00: Switches actuated by change of magnetic field or of electric field, e.g. by change of relative position of magnet and switch, by shielding - H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M) - H04B: TRANSMISSION - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - H01H: ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES (contact cables H01B7/10; electrolytic self-interrupters H01G9/18; emergency protective circuit arrangements H02H; switching by electronic means without contact-making H03K17/00) ## Abstract A replacement smart relay having a relay, controlled by a microcontroller operably connected through a power line communication line that receives instructions from a relay controller, the relay has a simulated resistor representative of a reference resistance, the instructions pass through commands that are sent to the relay control terminals to the relay switched terminals to allow the relay to function the same as the relay it is replacing in the existing application, the instructions from the relay controller are capable of opening or closing the relay switched terminals to override a command on the relay control terminals from the existing application based on a set of vehicle conditions communicated to the relay controller, and instructions from the relay controller allow the smart relay to act deterministically when the smart relay is not actively communicating with the relay controller. A feedback circuit may be used to enhance functionality. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A replacement smart relay comprising: a. a relay, controlled by a microcontroller operably connected through a power line communication line that receives instructions from a relay controller; b. the relay has a simulated resistor representative of a reference resistance; c. the instructions from the relay controller are capable of allowing the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed based on the request on the relay control terminals, to allow the smart relay to function the same as the relay it is replacing in the existing application; d. the instructions from the relay controller are capable of allowing the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed independently of the request on the relay control terminals to override a command from the existing application, based on a set of conditions determined by the relay controller; and e. the instructions from the relay controller allow the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed to a different state after loss of active communication between the smart relay and relay controller; and f. when the smart relay power is cycled, the instructions from the relay controller allow the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed in the same state as they were prior to the power cycle. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The replacement smart relay according to claim 1 further comprising status information received from the smart relay that the relay controller uses as feedback. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The replacement smart relay according to claim 1 further comprising relay controller external inputs used as feedback to provide more precise control over the smart relay. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The replacement smart relay according to claim 1 further comprising instructions from the relay controller that allow for deterministic control of the smart relay at a higher resolution than the normal periodic instructions. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The replacement smart relay according to claim 1 further comprising a power scavenging circuit. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The replacement smart relay according to claim 1 wherein the relay is a solid-state relay. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The replacement smart relay according to claim 1 further comprising relay controller external inputs from wired sensors, wireless sensors, data received from other ECUs on a data bus, user input from a user interface, or peripheral devices. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The replacement smart relay according to claim 1 wherein the power line communication modems can optionally encrypt the instructions using an encryption key prior to encoding and transmitting. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The replacement smart relay according to claim 1 wherein a single relay controller can send instructions to multiple smart relays and receive status from multiple smart relays. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The replacement smart relay according to claim 1 wherein the smart relay and relay controller can enter a low power sleep mode. ### Claim 11 A replacement smart relay comprising: a. a smart relay, controlled by a microcontroller operably connected through a power line communication line that receives instructions from a relay controller; b. the instructions from the relay controller are capable of allowing the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed based on the request on the relay control terminals, to allow the smart relay to function the same as the relay it is replacing in the existing application; c. the instructions from the relay controller are capable of allowing the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed independently of the request on the relay control terminals to override a command from the existing application, based on a set of conditions determined by the relay controller; and d. the instructions from the relay controller allow the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed to a different state after loss of active communication between the smart relay and relay controller. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The replacement smart relay according to claim 11 further comprising a power scavenging circuit. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The replacement smart relay according to claim 11 wherein the smart relay power is cycled, the instructions from the relay controller allow the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed in the same state as they were prior to the power cycle. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The replacement smart relay according to claim 11 further comprising status information received from the smart relay that the relay controller uses as feedback. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The replacement smart relay according to claim 11 further comprising instructions from the relay controller that allow for deterministic control of the smart relay at a higher resolution than the normal periodic instructions. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The replacement smart relay according to claim 11 further comprising using relay controller external inputs as feedback to provide control over the smart relay. ### Claim 17 A replacement smart relay comprising: a. a relay, controlled by a microcontroller operably connected through a power line communication line that receives instructions from a relay controller; b. the instructions from the relay controller are capable of allowing the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed independently of the request on the relay control terminals to override a command from the existing application, based on a set of conditions determined by the relay controller; c. the instructions from the relay controller allow the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed to a different state after loss of active communication between the smart relay and relay controller; and d. when the smart relay power is cycled, the instructions from the relay controller allow the relay switched terminals to be controlled open or closed in the same state as they were prior to the power cycle. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The replacement smart relay according to claim 17 further comprising a power scavenging circuit. ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The replacement smart relay according to claim 17 further comprising status information received from the smart relay that the relay controller uses as feedback.