Methods of processing data corresponding to a device that corresponds to a gas, water, or electric grid, and related devices and computer program products

• US 10,079,915 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2014
• Issued: 09/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Duke Energy Corporation
• Original Assignee: Duke Energy Corporation
• Inventors: Laval, Stuart, Smith, Raiford
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Afrifa-Kyei, Anthony D
• Application Number:
  US14/264,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20150097697A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,603 Days
• Field of Search: 3408702, 3408703, 370216, 707610, 707613, 702 60, 709202, 709203, 709217, 709218, 709230
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/03 Protocol definition or specification protocol conformance testing H04L1/244
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/242 Home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

Methods of operating a communication node are provided. A method of operating a communication node may include receiving data from an electric grid device via a network interface. The method may include processing the data from the electric grid device at the communication node. Moreover, the method may include transmitting a filtered portion of the data to an electric utility head end system, after processing the data at the communication node. In some embodiments, a method of operating a communication node may include using a message broker controlled by a virtual machine in the communication node to provide a protocol to interface with a field message bus that includes a standards-based or open-source Application Programming Interface (API). Related communication nodes and computer program products are also described.

Claims

1. A method of operating a first device corresponding to a gas, water, or electric grid, the method comprising:

using a message broker and/or message client comprising an embedded protocol that is standardized with respect to a field message bus comprising a standards-based or open-source Application Programming Interface (API), at the first device;

receiving data corresponding to a second device corresponding to the gas, water, or electric grid, via the field message bus;

determining a response decision at the first device, with respect to the data received corresponding to the second device; and

transmitting the response decision from the first device to a utility grid asset that is configured to implement the response decision and that is spaced apart from a data center comprising an utility head end system, wherein the response decision comprises a response to an event at the second device or at a third device corresponding to the gas, water, or electric grid,

wherein the first device is spaced apart from the data center, and

wherein the field message bus is configured to provide communications with the first and second devices independently of a data center message bus of the utility head end system.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first and second devices correspond to different first and second vendors, respectively, and

wherein the field message bus is configured to obtain data from different protocols of the first and second devices, respectively.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the embedded protocol of the message broker and/or the message client to interface with a translator unit that is between a device protocol and the field message bus.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the embedded protocol of the message broker and/or the message client to interface with a standards-based or open-source-API-based application in the first device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the embedded protocol of the message broker and/or the message client to interface with a plurality of field message buses.

6. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium including computer readable program code therein configured to perform the method of claim 1.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the response to the event comprises a response to a power outage or to a change in electricity production.

7. A first device corresponding to a gas, water, or electric grid, the first device comprising:

a network interface configured to provide communications with a second device corresponding to the gas, water, or electric grid, via a field message bus comprising a standards-based or open-source Application Programming Interface (API); and

a processor configured to control a message broker and/or message client in the first device, the message broker and/or message client comprising an embedded protocol that is standardized with respect to the field message bus,

wherein the first and second devices comprise peer devices,

wherein the processor is further configured to;

determine a response decision at the first device; and

control transmission of the response decision from the first device to a utility grid asset that is configured to implement the response decision and that is spaced apart from a data center comprising an utility head end system,

wherein the response decision comprises a response to an event at the second device or at a third device corresponding to the gas, water, or electric grid,

wherein the first device is spaced apart from the data center, and

wherein the field message bus is configured to provide communications with the first and second devices independently of a data center message bus of the utility head end system.

8. The device of claim 7,

wherein the network interface of the first device comprises a local area network interface or a wide area network interface configured to provide communications with the second device, and

wherein the network interface of the first device is configured to provide communications with a plurality of devices corresponding to the gas, water, or electric grid.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the first device comprises an electric utility meter, a transformer, a light, an electric grid control device, an electric grid protection device, a line sensor, a weather sensor, an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) device, an analog or digital sensor, an electric generator, an electric turbine, an electric boiler, an electric vehicle, an intelligent switching device, a home appliance, a battery storage device, a capacitor device, a solar power device, a smart generation device, an emission monitoring device, a water heater, a server, or a voltage regulator.

10. The device of claim 7, wherein:

the network interface is configured to receive data from the second device via the network interface;

the processor is configured to process the data from the second device at the first device to determine the response decision;

the processor is configured to control transmission of the response decision to the second device via the field message bus;

the processor is configured to control transmission of a filtered portion of the data to the utility head end system, after processing the data at the first device; and

the filtered portion of the data received from the second device comprises at least one electric grid parameter, water grid parameter, gas grid parameter, networking parameter, customer parameter, security parameter, device identification parameter, or time-stamp parameter.

11. The device of claim 7, wherein the first and second devices correspond to different first and second vendors, respectively.

12. The device of claim 7, wherein the embedded protocol of the message broker and/or message client is configured to interface with a translator unit that is between a device protocol and the field message bus.

13. The device of claim 7, wherein the embedded protocol of the message broker and/or message client is configured to interface with a plurality of field message buses.

22. The device of claim 7, wherein:

the second device is spaced apart from the data center;

the network interface is configured to receive voltage and/or current data corresponding to the electric grid from the second device via the field message bus; and

the processor is configured to process the voltage and/or current data at the first device.

26. The device of claim 7, wherein the response decision is implementable by:

the second device; and

/or

the third device.

14. A first device corresponding to a gas, water, or electric grid, the first device comprising:

a network interface configured to provide communications with a second device corresponding to the gas, water, or electric grid, via a field message bus comprising a standards-based or open-source Application Programming Interface (API); and

a processor configured to control a brokerless messaging protocol in the first device, the brokerless messaging protocol comprising an embedded protocol that is standardized with respect to the field message bus,

wherein the first device is spaced apart from a data center comprising an utility head end system,

wherein the field message bus is configured to provide a common publish/subscription interface for different protocols of the first and second devices, respectively, to enable interoperability between the first and second devices,

wherein the field message bus is configured to provide communications with the first and second devices independently of a data center message bus of the utility head end system,

wherein the processor is further configured to control the brokerless messaging protocol to contextualize data independently of the data center, and

wherein the processor is further configured to determine a response decision at the first device, with respect to the data.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to control the brokerless messaging protocol to communicate with a protocol of a message broker in a third device, via a local area network.

16. The device of claim 14,

wherein the processor of the first device is configured to control the brokerless messaging protocol to communicate with the second device via the field message bus, and

wherein the processor of the first device is configured to control a protocol of a message broker in the first device to communicate with a third device via a local area network.

17. The device of claim 14, wherein the first device further comprises a memory comprising an enterprise-wide security application that is on every device in an enterprise that comprises the first and second devices.

18. The device of claim 14,

wherein the processor is configured to control communications via publishing and subscribing, using the common publish/subscription interface, on the field message bus to data topics that are defined according to an enterprise-wide semantic model, and

wherein the enterprise-wide semantic model comprises a conceptual data model defined by a particular utility company or a utility industry.

19. The device of claim 18,

wherein the processor is configured to control a determination of capabilities of the second device, and

wherein the processor is configured to control incorporation of the capabilities of the second device into the enterprise-wide semantic model.

20. The device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to share a portion of a processing capacity or a storage capacity of the first device with the second device.

21. The device of claim 14,

wherein the first device further comprises reprogrammable hardware, and

wherein the processor is configured to reprogram the reprogrammable hardware in response to a command received via the field message bus.

23. The device of claim 14, wherein the brokerless messaging protocol is configured to use Quality of Service (QoS) to define prioritization of traffic on the field message bus.

24. The device of claim 14, wherein the brokerless messaging protocol comprises Data Distribution Service (DDS).