Providing electricity to essential equipment during an emergency

• US 10,014,681 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2013
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Duong, Quang T., Gordon, David M., Schmidt, David L., Will, Scott A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ortiz Rodriguez, Carlos
• Application Number:
  US14/094,854
• Publication Number:
  US 20150155717A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,673 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/181 due to failing power supply
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/066 guiding along a path, e.g. evacuation path lighting strip
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 5/08 responsive to abnormal fluid pressure, liquid level or liquid displacement, e.g. Buchholz relays

Abstract

An approach is provided in which an emergency electrical distribution system detects an environmental alert invoked by an environmental sensor located in a particular location of building structure. The emergency electrical distribution system selects specific electrical source connections in proximity to the environmental sensor and, in turn, terminates electrical power to selected specific electrical source connections.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

creating an emergency mapping table that comprises a plurality of mapping entries that map each of a plurality of environmental sensors to one or more of a plurality of electrical source connections, wherein the creating further comprises;

selecting a first emergency type and evaluating each of the plurality of environmental sensors to identify a first set of the plurality of environmental sensors that correspond to the first emergency type;

adding a first set of the plurality of mapping entries to the emergency mapping table that maps each of the first set of environmental sensors to a first set of electrical source connections;

selecting a second emergency type and evaluating each of the plurality of environmental sensors to identify a second set of the plurality of environmental sensors that correspond to the second emergency type; and

adding a second set of the plurality of mapping entries to the emergency mapping table that maps each of the second set of environmental sensors to a second set of electrical source connections;

receiving, at an emergency electrical distribution system, an environmental alert invoked by a triggered one of the plurality of environmental sensors;

analyzing the emergency mapping table and selecting one of the plurality of mapping entries corresponding to the triggered environmental sensor;

identifying the set of electrical source connections in the selected mapping entry, wherein the identified set of electrical source connections is selected from the group consisting of the first set of electrical source connections and the second set of electrical source connections; and

automatically terminating electrical power to the identified set of electrical source connections.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the emergency electrical distribution system is coupled to an environmental sensor subsystem and an electrical distribution subsystem, the method further comprising:

sending a message to the electrical distribution subsystem to terminate the electrical power to the identified set of electrical source connections.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of electrical source connections are selected from the group consisting of an electrical outlet, a lighting outlet, and a direct wire electrical device connection.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of environmental sensors corresponds to a first one of a plurality of rooms included in a building structure, and wherein at least one of the identified set of electrical source connections is located in a second one of the plurality of rooms that is different than the first room.

5. An information handling system comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory coupled to at least one of the processors;

a set of computer program instructions stored in the memory and executed by at least one of the one or more processors in order to perform actions of;

creating an emergency mapping table that comprises a plurality of mapping entries that map each of a plurality of environmental sensors to one or more of a plurality of electrical source connections, wherein the creating further comprises;

selecting a first emergency type and evaluating each of the plurality of environmental sensors to identify a first set of the plurality of environmental sensors that correspond to the first emergency type;

adding a first set of the plurality of mapping entries to the emergency mapping table that maps each of the first set of environmental sensors to a first set of electrical source connections;

selecting a second emergency type and evaluating each of the plurality of environmental sensors to identify a second set of the plurality of environmental sensors that correspond to the second emergency type; and

adding a second set of the plurality of mapping entries to the emergency mapping table that maps each of the second set of environmental sensors to a second set of electrical source connections;

receiving, at an emergency electrical distribution system, an environmental alert invoked by a triggered one of the plurality of environmental sensors;

analyzing the emergency mapping table and selecting one of the plurality of mapping entries corresponding to the triggered environmental sensor;

identifying the set of electrical source connections in the selected mapping entry, wherein the identified set of electrical source connections is selected from the group consisting of the first set of electrical source connections and the second set of electrical source connections; and

automatically terminating electrical power to the identified set of electrical source connections.

6. The information handling system of claim 5 wherein the information handling system is coupled to an environmental sensor subsystem and an electrical distribution subsystem, the method further comprising:

sending a message to the electrical distribution subsystem to terminate the electrical power to the identified set of electrical source connections.

7. The information handling system of claim 5 wherein each of the plurality of electrical source connections are selected from the group consisting of an electrical outlet, a lighting outlet, and a direct wire electrical device connection.

8. The information handling system of claim 5 wherein each of the plurality of environmental sensors corresponds to a first one of a plurality of rooms included in a building structure, and wherein at least one of the identified set of electrical source connections is located in a second one of the plurality of rooms that is different than the first room.

9. A computer program product stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, comprising computer program code that, when executed by an information handling system, causes the information handling system to perform actions comprising:

creating an emergency mapping table that comprises a plurality of mapping entries that map each of a plurality of environmental sensors to one or more of a plurality of electrical source connections, wherein the creating further comprises;

selecting a first emergency type and evaluating each of the plurality of environmental sensors to identify a first set of the plurality of environmental sensors that correspond to the first emergency type;

adding a first set of the plurality of mapping entries to the emergency mapping table that maps each of the first set of environmental sensors to a first set of electrical source connections;

selecting a second emergency type and evaluating each of the plurality of environmental sensors to identify a second set of the plurality of environmental sensors that correspond to the second emergency type; and

adding a second set of the plurality of mapping entries to the emergency mapping table that maps each of the second set of environmental sensors to a second set of electrical source connections;

receiving, at an emergency electrical distribution system, an environmental alert invoked by a triggered one of the plurality of environmental sensors;

analyzing the emergency mapping table and selecting one of the plurality of mapping entries corresponding to the triggered environmental sensor;

identifying the set of electrical source connections in the selected mapping entry, wherein the identified set of electrical source connections is selected from the group consisting of the first set of electrical source connections and the second set of electrical source connections; and

automatically terminating electrical power to the identified set of electrical source connections.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the information handling system is coupled to an environmental sensor subsystem and an electrical distribution subsystem, and wherein the information handling system performs further actions comprising:

sending a message to the electrical distribution subsystem to terminate the electrical power to the identified set of electrical source connections.

11. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein each of the plurality of electrical source connections are selected from the group consisting of an electrical outlet, a lighting outlet, and a direct wire electrical device connection.