Management method for managing installation including power supply device, computer program product, information medium, and associated management system

• US 10,642,230 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2016
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flowbird Group
• Original Assignee: Flowbird Group
• Inventors: Longet, Christian, Thiebaut, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Cao, Chun
• Application Number:
  US15/223,272
• Publication Number:
  US 20170075321A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,376 Days
• Field of Search: 700286, 700287
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/02 Picture taking arrangements specially adapted for photogrammetry or photographic surveying, e.g. controlling overlapping of pictures
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/021 in which a variable is automatically adjusted to optimise the performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/38 Arrangements for parallely feeding a single network by two or more generators, converters or transformers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/82 Energy audits or management systems therefor

Abstract

A method for managing an installation (10), the installation (10) including: a power supply device (14), and members (16) supplied with energy by the power supply device (14), the method including the following steps:

• • determining the available energy coming from the power supply device (14),
  • determining the energy consumed by the members (16), and
  • optimizing the operation of the installation (10) so that a criterion is met, the criterion being met at least if the energy balance of the installation (10) is positive for a given length of time.

Claims

1. A method for managing an installation, the installation including a power supply device, and members supplied with energy by the power supply device, the method comprising:

determining an available energy coming from the power supply device;

determining the energy consumed by the members, each of the members comprising an operational state and a non-operational state;

selecting one of a plurality of operating modes of the installation corresponding to a combination of members that are in the operational state and the non-operational state, each operating mode being distinct from each other operating mode, the selecting occurring by using a criterion so that at least an energy balance of the installation is positive for a given length of time; and

operating the installation according to the selected operating mode of the installation.

2. The management method according to claim 1, wherein the installation is an automaton.

3. The management method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the available energy coming from the power supply device includes:

providing an image of the environment of at least part of the installation,

processing the provided image,

computing the energy produced by the power supply device,

determining the energy stored by the power supply device, and

computing the available energy coming from the power supply device by obtaining the sum of the energy produced by the power supply device and the energy stored by the power supply device.

4. The management method according to claim 1, wherein in the determining the consumed energy, the consumed energy is expressed in terms of operations.

5. The management method according to claim 1, further comprising choosing parameters taken into account to determine the energy produced by the power supply device,

wherein the number of parameters taken into account is less than or equal to 7, or

the parameters taken into account comprise the geometry of the power supply device, the output of the power supply device, and the sunshine produced by the sun.

6. The management method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the members is configured to operate according to several operating modes in the operational state, each operating mode causing a different energy consumption, and, during the optimizing, the number of members that are operational and the operating modes of the members are optimized so that the energy balance of the installation is positive for the given length of time.

7. The management method according to claim 1, further comprising sending information representative of the selected operating mode of the installation to an operator to anticipate maintenance operations, or to a user of the installation.

8. The management method according to claim 1, wherein, during the selecting, the state of at least one of the members is the operational state.

9. The management method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting is performed using the criterion so that at least that the energy balance of the installation is positive for a given length of time and so that an evolution of the energy balance of the installation complies with a predictive model determined from the determined available energy coming from the power supply device and the determined energy consumed by the members.

10. A data medium including the instructions for a computer program product including a readable information medium, on which a computer program is stored comprising program instructions, the computer program being able to be loaded on a data processing unit and configured to drive, when the computer program is implemented on the data processing unit, the implementation of a method for managing an installation including a power supply device, and members supplied with energy by the power supply device, the method comprising:

determining an available energy coming from the power supply device;

determining the energy consumed by the members, each of the members comprising an operational state and a non-operational state;

optimizing an operation of the installation so that a criterion is met, the criterion being met at least when an energy balance of the installation is positive for a given length of time, the number of members that are in the operational state being optimized during the optimizing; and

operating the members according to the optimized operation of the installation.

11. A management system configured to manage an installation including a power supply device, and members supplied with energy by the power supply device,

wherein the management system

determines an available energy coming from the power supply device,

determines the energy consumed by the members, each of the members comprising an operational state and a non-operational state, and

optimizes an operation of the installation at so that a criterion is met, the criterion being met at least when an energy balance of the installation is positive for a given length of time, the number of members that are in the operational state being optimized during the optimizing, and

operating the members according to the optimized operation of the installation.

12. A method for managing an installation including a power supply device, and members supplied with energy by the power supply device, the method comprising:

determining an available energy coming from the power supply device;

determining the energy consumed by the members, each of the members comprising an operational state and a non-operational state;

optimizing an operation of the installation so that a criterion is met, the criterion being met at least when an energy balance of the installation is positive for a given length of time; and

operating the members according to the optimized operation of the installation,

wherein the number of members that are in the operational state are optimized during the optimizing.

13. A method for managing an installation including a power supply device, and members supplied with energy by the power supply device, the method comprising:

determining an available energy coming from the power supply device;

determining the energy consumed by the members, each of the members comprising an operational state and a non-operational state;

optimizing an operation of the installation so that a criterion is met, the criterion being met at least when an energy balance of the installation is positive for a given length of time, the number of members that are in the operational state being optimized during the optimizing;

operating the members according to the optimized operation of the installation; and

sending information representative of the optimized operation of the installation to an operator to anticipate maintenance operations, or to a user of the installation.

14. An automaton including a management system configured to manage the automaton, the automaton comprising:

a power supply device including a photovoltaic system comprising at least one solar panel; and

members supplied with energy by the power supply device, each of the members comprises an operational state and a non-operational state,

wherein the management system

determines an available energy coming from the power supply device,

determines the energy consumed by the members,

optimizes an operation of the automaton so that a criterion is met, the criterion being met at least when an energy balance of the automaton is positive for a given length of time, the number of members that are in the operational state being optimized during the optimizing, and

operates the members according to the optimized operation of the installation.