Smart Electrical Wire-Devices and Premises Power Management System
First Claim
1. A remotely controllable, condition sensing wire-device (10) installable in an electric power line (16), for measuring an electrical property of said electric power line (16), said condition sensing wire-device (10) comprising:
- a current-carrying electrical appliance wiring-device (20), the appliance wiring-device (20) having a locally controlled maker/breaker means (24) for opening and closing said electric power line (16);
a management node (40), the management node (40) including;
a control mechanism (70) having a remotely controllable maker/breaker means (74) separate from the locally controlled maker/breaker means of the electrical wiring-device (20), the remotely controllable maker/breaker means (74) for controlling the condition of the control mechanism (70), in response to a internal device signal (54) from a communications circuit (42);
a sensing circuit (44) in electrical communication with said electric power line (16) and the control mechanism (70), the sensing circuit (44) measuring said electrical property of said electrical line (16) and communicating an internal device signal (54) of a result of the measuring and the sensing;
a communications circuit (42) adapted to receive, process and route internal device signals (54), and to transmit external output signals and receive external input signals from a spatially separated, remote signal device via an I/O interface port (50); and
the management node (40) physically integrated with the electrical appliance wiring-device (20) to provide said condition sensing wire-device (10) in a unitary form.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is power management system based on a “smart” wire-device installable in an electric power line (i.e., the “drop-grid” or “micro-grid”) at a premises, such as a business or residence. The “smart” wire-device includes a management node integrated into the form of a typical electrical power outlet, circuit breaker or switch as would be found in such a premises, and is installable in the power line in a manner similar to existing wire-device. The “smart” wire-device requires no special skill to install beyond that of an ordinary skilled electrician. The present wire-device is “smart” in that the node has a detector circuit that senses the electrical characteristic(s) of the power line at the point at which it is installed. The node'"'"'s communications circuit signals what it detects to a spatially separated remote controller device, and receives instructions from one or more spatially separated remote controller devices. The node'"'"'s control mechanism operates a remotely controllable maker/breaker means in response to the received instructions to alter the condition of the electrical power output of the wire-device.
114 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A remotely controllable, condition sensing wire-device (10) installable in an electric power line (16), for measuring an electrical property of said electric power line (16), said condition sensing wire-device (10) comprising:
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a current-carrying electrical appliance wiring-device (20), the appliance wiring-device (20) having a locally controlled maker/breaker means (24) for opening and closing said electric power line (16); a management node (40), the management node (40) including; a control mechanism (70) having a remotely controllable maker/breaker means (74) separate from the locally controlled maker/breaker means of the electrical wiring-device (20), the remotely controllable maker/breaker means (74) for controlling the condition of the control mechanism (70), in response to a internal device signal (54) from a communications circuit (42); a sensing circuit (44) in electrical communication with said electric power line (16) and the control mechanism (70), the sensing circuit (44) measuring said electrical property of said electrical line (16) and communicating an internal device signal (54) of a result of the measuring and the sensing; a communications circuit (42) adapted to receive, process and route internal device signals (54), and to transmit external output signals and receive external input signals from a spatially separated, remote signal device via an I/O interface port (50); and the management node (40) physically integrated with the electrical appliance wiring-device (20) to provide said condition sensing wire-device (10) in a unitary form. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An electrical power management system for managing electrical power usage on a micro-power grid (1) of a consumer'"'"'s premises, the management system comprising:
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an electricity metering device (610b) feeding power into a distribution panel (200) of the micro-power grid (1); the distribution panel (200), having a main circuit breaker (100a) and at least one distribution circuit breaker (100b) connected to at least one drop power line (16) to feed electrical power throughout the micro-grid (1); at least one remotely controllable, condition sensing wire-device (10) disposed in the at least one drop power line (16) between the distribution panel (200) and a load appliance (120, 220) installed on the power line (16); and a signal processing unit (100) in signal communication with the at least one remotely controllable, condition sensing wire-device (10), the signal processing unit (100) in a communications network with the at least one remotely controllable, condition sensing wire-device (10), and adapted to provide electrical power usage management of the micro-power grid (1) and adapted to overcome breaks in the communications network.
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Specification