METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRANSMITTING DATA OVER A POWER CABLE UTILIZING A MAGNETIC SATURABLE CORE REACTOR

The present invention impresses the data on the power signal by utilizing a saturable core reactor. The saturable core reactor uses two cores. Each core has both load windings and control windings. The control windings are selectively energized to alter an electrical characteristic of the current passing through the load windings. The saturable core reactor is designed with cores made of a highly magnetically permeable material so that the cores are easily saturated. The cyclical saturation of the cores achieved by the load current and the selective saturation of the cores achieved by selectively applying a control current results in "deformations" being selectively formed at the zero crossings of the load current waveform. These "deformations" can be selectively formed on the power signal to represent a binary data stream. Once the series of "deformations" is impressed onto the power signal the "deformations" are communicated from one point on the power cable to another point on the power cable together with the power signal. The "deformations" are then read and transformed into a binary data stream. Thus, the power cable is converted from a mere power cable to a power cable capable of transmitting both power and data simultaneously.