# US 9,439,269 B2 · Powerline luminaire communications > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,439,269 B2 - Document ID: US9439269B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/546,856 - Filed: 2014-11-18 - Published: 2015-05-21 - Granted: 2016-09-06 - Earliest claimed: 2013-11-21 - Assignees: General Electric Company - Applicants: General Electric Company - Inventors: Michael James Hartman; Bruce Gordon Barnett; John Erik Hershey; Michael Joseph Dell'Anno; Stanislava Soro - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9439269B2 ## CPC - H04W 4/026: {using orientation information, e.g. compass} - F21S 8/085: {of high-built type, e.g. street light} - G01P 15/18: in two or more dimensions - G01R 22/06: by electronic methods - G01S 11/06: using intensity measurements - G01S 19/14: specially adapted for specific applications - G01S 19/47: the supplementary measurement being an inertial measurement, e.g. tightly coupled inertial - G08B 21/18: Status alarms (G08B21/02 takes precedence) - G08G 1/087: Override of traffic control, e.g. by signal transmitted by an emergency vehicle - H02J 7/00: Circuit arrangements for charging or discharging batteries or for supplying loads from batteries - H04W 4/40: for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P] - H05B 47/115: by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings - H05B 47/19: via wireless transmission - F21V 33/00: Structural combinations of lighting devices with other articles, not otherwise provided for - F21W 2131/103: of streets or roads - G01S 11/02: using radio waves (G01S19/00 takes precedence) - G01S 11/12: using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves - H02J 7/345: {using capacitors as storage or buffering devices} - Y02B 20/40: Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) - F21S: NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS - G01P: MEASURING LINEAR OR ANGULAR SPEED, ACCELERATION, DECELERATION, OR SHOCK; INDICATING PRESENCE, ABSENCE, OR DIRECTION, OF MOVEMENT (measuring or recording blood flow A61B5/02, A61B8/06; monitoring speed or deceleration of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L3/00; vehicle lighting systems adapted to indicate speed B60Q1/54; determining position or course in navigation, measuring ground distance in geodesy or surveying G01C; combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement G01C23/00; measuring velocity of sound G01H; measuring velocity of light G01J7/00; measuring direction or velocity of solid objects by reception or emission of radiowaves or other waves and based on propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effect, propagation time, direction of propagation, G01S; measuring speed of nuclear radiation G01T; measuring acceleration of gravity G01V; {measuring or recording the speed of trains B61L23/00; speed indicators incorporated in motor vehicles B60K35/00; measuring frequency or phase G01R; traffic control G08G}) - G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12) - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - G08B: SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) - H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY - H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL - F21V: FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OR DETAILS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS THEREOF; STRUCTURAL COMBINATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES WITH OTHER ARTICLES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - F21W: INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASSES F21K, F21L, F21S and F21V, RELATING TO USES OR APPLICATIONS OF LIGHTING DEVICES OR SYSTEMS - Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS ## Abstract A system and method for a lighting control system to control street lighting fixtures using modified geometric harmonic modulation for communications over a powerline. At least some of the lighting fixtures have another communications capability that enables RF communications. The communications may by messages be sent to the lighting fixtures to read RF enabled meters. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An outdoor lighting system comprising: a plurality of street lighting fixtures configured to communicate using at least one communications protocol; a lighting control system configured to communicate with and control the plurality of street lighting fixtures using at least a first communications protocol; and at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures configured to communicate using a second communications protocol that is different from the first communications protocol; and at least one powerline communication (PLC)-enabled meter configured to communicate with the at least one of the street lighting fixtures using the second communications protocol, wherein the first communications protocol comprises a signal structure interleaved with a harmonic of a noise of a powerline and the lighting control system comprises a modified Geometric Harmonic Modulation (GHM) transmitter. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The outdoor lighting system of claim 1 wherein the modified GHM transmitter is communicatively connected to the powerline and the powerline is electrically connected to the at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures wherein the at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures includes a modified GHM receiver communicatively connected to the powerline. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The outdoor lighting system of claim 2 wherein the modified GHM transmitter comprises a pre-emphasis amplifier. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The outdoor lighting system of claim 3 wherein the modified GHM transmitter is communicatively connected to the powerline through a transient protection device. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The outdoor lighting system of claim 4 wherein the modified GHM receiver is communicatively connected to the powerline through a transient protection device. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The outdoor lighting system of claim 1 wherein the at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures comprises a modified GHM transmitter communicatively connected to the powerline. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The outdoor lighting system of claim 6 wherein the at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures comprises the modified GHM transmitters communicatively connected to the powerline through a transient protection device. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The outdoor lighting system of claim 1 wherein the at least one meter communicates with the at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures using a radio frequency (RF) as the second communications protocol. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The outdoor lighting system of claim 8 wherein the lighting control system further comprises a communications control that signals the at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures to switch communications mode between the first communications protocol and the second communications protocol. ### Claim 10 A method for operating an outdoor lighting system comprising the steps: controlling a plurality of street lighting fixtures by a lighting control system through communications sent over a powerline common to the plurality of street lighting fixtures; including a plurality of control signals in the communications, wherein a structure of each of the plurality of control signals is interleaved with a harmonic of a noise of the powerline; transmitting the control signals to at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures using a modified Geometric Harmonic Modulation (GHM) transmitter operatively connected to the powerline; receiving control signals by the at least the one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures using a modified GHM receiver communicatively connected to the powerline; reading, by the at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures, data for at least one powerline communication (PLC)-enabled meter; and relaying data read from the PLC-enabled meter back to the outdoor lighting control system. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 wherein transmitting further comprises applying pre-emphasis to control signals transmitted by the modified GHM transmitter. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11 wherein transmitting further comprises the modified GHM transmitter transmitting signals according to a first communications protocol. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12 wherein transmitting further comprises transmitting as the first communications protocol at least one of the features from the group comprising error detection, error correction, encryption, authentication, and repeat request. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13 wherein transmitting further comprises the at least one of the plurality of street lighting fixtures preparing messages and transmitting messages using Geometric Harmonic Modulation over the powerline to another modified GHM receiver within the outdoor lighting system control system. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14 wherein the Geometric Harmonic Modulation (GHM) is selected from the group comprising collision detection, collision avoidance, and time division multiple access. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14 wherein the prepared messages are in response to one or more lighting system control messages. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14 wherein the prepared messages are created sua sponte by the one or more street lighting fixtures. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14 wherein the prepared messages do not originate from the outdoor lighting system control system and further comprising relaying the prepared messages by the one or more street lighting fixtures. ### Claim 19 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10 further comprising the outdoor lighting control system controlling the at least one light fixture to switch between the first communications protocol and a second communications protocol that is an RF based protocol.