COMMUNICATION METHOD AND SYSTEM

• Main Authors: NOTTER, ALLEN, RAMSEIER, STEFAN, KIRRMANN, HUBERT, WIMMER, WOLFGANG, ISRAEL, MARTIN, SPIESS, HERMANN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 22.07.2010
• Subjects: CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERATION; INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ONOTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS; MULTIPLEX COMMUNICATION; SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORKOPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FORIMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION,DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TRANSMISSION; TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHICCOMMUNICATION

The present invention increases reliability of communication over a non-deterministic communication channel, and is particularly suited for inter-substation teleprotection in electric power systems. A communication channel is being monitored based on regular network traffic, i.e. by evaluating messages or data packets carrying real-time operational data as a payload. A permanent determination of a channel quality, including appropriate alarming in case the channel quality is found insufficient, is based on an evaluation, at a receiving node, of data packets continually transmitted by a sending node. These continually or repeatedly transmitted data packets may comprise identical payloads reflecting current states rather than state changes as operational data.