Power conversion and signal transmission integration method based on dual modulation of DC-DC converters

For the development of communication systems such as Internet of Things, integrating communication with power supplies is an attractive solution to reduce supply cost. This paper presents a novel method of power/signal dual modulation (PSDM), by which signal transmission is integrated with power conversion. This method takes advantage of the intrinsic ripple initiated in switch mode power supplies as signal carriers, by which cost-effective communications can be realized. The principles of PSDM are discussed, and two basic dual modulation methods (specifically PWM/FSK and PWM/PSK) are concluded. The key points of designing a PWM/FSK system, including topology selection, carrier shape, and carrier frequency, are discussed to provide theoretical guidelines. A practical signal modulation-demodulation method is given, and a prototype system provides experimental results to verify the effectiveness of the proposed solution

DC power line communication based on power/signal dual modulation in phase shift full bridge converters

For intelligent DC distributed power systems, data communication plays a vital role in system control and device monitoring. To achieve communication in a cost effective way, power/signal dual modulation (PSDM), a method that integrates data transmission with power conversion, can be utilized. In this paper, an improved PSDM method using phase shift full bridge (PSFB) converter is proposed. This method introduces a phase control based freedom in the conventional PSFB control loop to realize communication using the same power conversion circuit. In this way, decoupled data modulation and power conversion are realized without extra wiring and coupling units, and thus the system structure is simplified. More importantly, the signal intensity can be regulated by the proposed perturbation depth, and so this method can adapt to different operating conditions. Application of the proposed method to a DC distributed power system composed of several PSFB converters is discussed. A 2kW prototype system with an embedded 5kbps communication link has been implemented, and the effectiveness of the method is verified by experimental results

Direct sequence spread spectrum based PWM strategy for harmonic reduction and communication

Switched mode power supplies (SMPSs) are essential components in many applications, and electromagnetic interference is an important consideration in the SMPS design. Spread spectrum based PWM strategies have been used in SMPS designs to reduce the switching harmonics. This paper proposes a novel method to integrate a communication function into spread spectrum based PWM strategy without extra hardware costs. Direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and phase shift keying (PSK) data modulation are employed to the PWM of the SMPS, so that it has reduced switching harmonics and the input and output power line voltage ripples contain data. A data demodulation algorithm has been developed for receivers, and code division multiple access (CDMA) concept is employed as communication method for a system with multiple SMPSs. The proposed method has been implemented in both Buck and Boost converters. The experimental results validated the proposed DSSS based PWM strategy for both harmonic reduction and communication

Embedding Power Line Communication in Photovoltaic Optimizer by Modulating Data in Power Control Loop

In Photovoltaic (PV) system, dc-dc power optimizer (DCPO) is an option to maximize output power. At the same time, data links among DCPOs are often required for system monitoring and controlling. This paper proposes a novel power line communication (PLC) method for the DCPOs, in which the data of a DCPO is modulated into the control loop of power converter, and then transmitted through the series-connected dc power line to other DCPOs. In the process of communication, differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulation and discrete Fourier transformation (DFT) demodulation are employed. To analyze the quality of communication, the communication model of the system is built, based on small-signal model. Furthermore, the noises of the system, including switching, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), are discussed and measured to evaluate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). At last, an experimental system including 6 DCPOs is established and tested, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method

Integrated power/signal transmission for smart energy systems

Communication technologies, especially wired technology, have developed considerably in terms of signal stability and communication speed. Conventional renewable energy generation units in traditional energy systems require additional communication devices to manage the renewable power generation equipment, which can raise the size and expenditure of the system. Additionally, although power line communication (PLC) can simplify system wiring by eliminating the requirement for communication cables, additional signal coupling devices are still needed to combine energy and signals. Therefore, it is significant to investigate a suitable transmission approach for energy and signals in smart energy systems (SESs). The purpose of this study is to analyse the feasibility of the integrated power/signal transmission (IPST) approach and to develop IPST-based converters for SESs. Firstly, state-of-the-art communication strategies including wireless and wired methods are reviewed and their advantages and restrictions are summarised in comparison. The review work demonstrates that it is essential to systematically analyse the possible signal modulation approaches for power converter implementations and extend IPST technology in AC power system applications. On this basis, this research then investigates the similarity between signal transmission and power conversion from a system architecture perspective and analyses the mechanisms of pulse width modulation (PWM) based signal modulation methods. Next, the integrated transmission approaches are verified through the buck converter, boost converter and cascaded H-bridge converter, and the simulation results demonstrate that the designed strategies have decent noise immunity. Finally, all the proposed IPST methods in different SESs are validated. In summary, the main achievements of this study are the analysis of the feasibility of various converters for IPST transmission and the extension of IPST technology to different SES applications