INTEGRATED BUILDING DEVICE MONITORING NETWORK

• US 20090219145A1
• Filed: 02/28/2008
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Golan, Mark Joshua, Yudowitz, Martin Benjamin, Wong, Wai-Man
• Granted Patent: US 7,965,174 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/286.20
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/45 Utility meters networked together within a single building
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• 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

An electrical device for installation within a building is described. Accordingly, the device may comprise a mounting arrangement configured to mount the device within the building. A location module is provided to monitor a location of the device within the building and a power monitor is provided to monitor power consumption of an electrical appliance connectable to the device. The device further includes a communication module configured to interface the electrical device to a communications network and to communicate the location and the power consumption via the communications network. In an example embodiment, the communications network is connectable to a system controller that is operable to communicate with a plurality of the electrical devices to control operation of the electrical devices. The device and the system controller may form part of a building management system.

Claims

1. An electrical device comprising:

a mounting arrangement configured to mount the device operatively within a building;

a device communication module to communicate with at least one other electrical device located in use within the building;

a location module configured to provide a location of the at least one other electrical device within the building; and

a network communication module configured to interface the electrical device to a communications network and to communicate the location via the communications network.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the location is determined from a communication between the electrical device and the at least one other electrical device.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the location is based on a received signal strength of the communication between the electrical device and the at least one other electrical device.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the location is determined from communications between a plurality of electrical devices and the at least one other electrical device using triangulation.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a power monitor configured to monitor power consumption of an electrical appliance connectable to the electrical device.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the communications network is connectable to a system controller, the system controller being operable to communicate with a plurality of the electrical devices to control operation of the electrical devices.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the electrical device is a power outlet.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the electrical device is a lighting arrangement.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the electrical device is a heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) device.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the location module is configured to store physical coordinate data that identifies a physical location of the electrical device within the building.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the network communication module is a wireless communication module configured to communicate wirelessly with the communications network.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the network communication module is configured to communicate via a power reticulation network to which the electrical device is operatively coupled.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the device communication module is a low-power, short range transceiver.

14. The device of claim 1, further comprising an appliance controller configured to control an electrical appliance connectable to the electrical device.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the communication module is configured to receive location data from the at least one other electrical device and identify the location of the electrical device based on the location data.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the communications network includes an Ethernet.

17. A system comprising:

a plurality of electrical devices each connectable to an associated electrical appliance, each electrical device comprising;

a mounting arrangement configured to mount the device fixedly within a building;

a device communication module to communicate with at least one mobile electrical device located in use within the building;

a location module configured to provide a location of the at least one mobile electrical device within the building; and

a network communication module configured to interface the electrical device to a communications network; and

a system controller comprising;

a system communication module to interface the system controller to the communications network; and

a control module configured to receive the location from each of the electrical devices and, based on the location information, identify a physical location of the at least one mobile device within the building.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

a power monitor provided within the electrical device and configured to monitor power consumption of an electrical appliance connectable to the electrical device; and

a user console, the user console including a display to display the power consumption and the location of the electrical appliance.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

a user input module to receive user input from a user; and

a processing module to process the user input and generate control signals to communicate to one or more of the electrical devices to control operation of the plurality of electrical devices.

20. A method comprising:

communicating between an electrical device and at least one other electrical device located within a building, the electrical device being fixedly mounted within the building;

identifying a location of the at least one other electrical device within a building based on the communication; and

communicating the location from the electrical device to a system controller via a communications network.

21. An electrical device comprising:

means for mounting the device within a building;

means for monitoring a location of the device within the building;

means for monitoring power consumption of an electrical appliance connectable to the device; and

means for interfacing the electrical device to a communications network and to communicate the location and the power consumption via the communications network.