CONTROL APPARATUS FOR USE IN A DWELLING

摘要

2088506 9202887 PCTABS00010 The present invention provides a controller (32) that operates using two different processors (50, 52). Each processor (50, 52) performs certain predetermined functions. A control processor (50) is responsible for switching AC power distribution and control, while a message processor (52) is responsible for messaging. A polling scheme and arbitration logic (70, 72) prevent data transfers relating to these two processors (50, 52) from interfering with each other. A configurable interface (34) allows many different types of appliances (30) to attach to the system, and a serial multimode interface (54) further enchances the configurability of the system.