External AC-DC Coupling for Communication Interfaces

A system comprising:

• an AC/DC converter comprising
• means for converting AC line voltage of a power line to one or more DC voltages, and
• means for receiving digitally encoded signals and coupling the digitally encoded signals into the power line;
• and
• means for conveying the one or more DC voltages between the AC/DC converter and an external appliance, and
• means for conveying the digitally encoded signals between the external appliance and the AC/DC converter.

A method comprising:

• receiving a digitally encoded signal from a power line, using an AC/DC converter that includes signal coupling circuitry;
• decoupling the digitally encoded signal from an AC voltage of the power line, within the AC/DC converter using the signal coupling circuitry;
• communicating the decoupled digitally encoded signal from the AC/DC converter to an appliance using a conductor external to the appliance;
• and
• receiving the decoupled digitally encoded signal at the appliance.

A method comprising:

• generating a digitally encoded signal within an appliance;
• passing the digitally encoded signal through a first transformer;
• communicating the digitally encoded signal from the appliance to an external AC/DC converter;
• passing the digitally encoded signal through a second transformer, the second transformer being disposed within the external AC/DC converter;
• and
• coupling the digitally encoded signal into a power line using the AC/DC converter.