REMOTE MONITORING OF DEVICE OPERATION BY TRACKING ITS POWER CONSUMPTION

• US 20110125432A1
• Filed: 01/28/2011
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Afeka Tel Aviv Academic College Of Engineering
• Original Assignee: Afeka Tel Aviv Academic College Of Engineering
• Inventors: BINYAMINI, Itzhak, POMERANTZ, Itzhak
• Application Number:
  US13/015,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20110125432A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/62
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/058 Safety, monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33291 Logic analyser function of cnc
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2203/20 Simulating, e g planning, reliability check, modelling or computer assisted design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/58 The condition being electrical
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5433 Remote metering
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5495 having measurements and testing channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/546 Combination of signalling, telemetering, protection circuits for remote indication of supply or distribution network condition H02J13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2843 Mains power line
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• 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 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• 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: Y04S 20/20 End-user application control systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/00 Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

Monitoring devices by following and analyzing local current measurements and communicating the data over the power line. Various operation characteristics are extracted from the measurements, such as device profiles, operational status, various deficiencies and user related parameters. Current consumption profiles are derived from the accumulating data, and compared to previous patterns. The monitoring allows controlling operation of the devices, estimating their physical location and communicating messages from the devices regarding e.g. software status, by deliberate operation of the device to generate predefined current use patterns.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring a plurality of devices, comprising:

a control unit; and

associated with each device;

a current meter arranged to measure a current used by the device; and

a PLC unit arranged to send a device identifier and data relating to the current measurements to the control unit over power line communication (PLC),

wherein the control unit is arranged to analyze the current measurements and derive device operation characteristics therefrom.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the device operation characteristics comprise a current consumption profile of each device.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the control unit is arranged to derive, by comparing the current consumption to statistical data, at least one of the device operation characteristics:

a device type, an operational state of the device, a deterioration in device operation, a device malfunction, an improper operation of the device, a loading status of the device, and an cumulative usage time of the device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the control unit is further arranged to generate the statistical data from obtained current measurements.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is arranged to prevent supply of power to at least one of the devices upon receiving specified current measurements, according to specified criteria.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of repeaters arranged to enhance PLC signals from the PLC units to the control unit, each repeater having an identifier and a physical location, wherein each repeater is arranged to add to the enhanced PLC signals its identifier, and wherein the control unit is further arranged to estimate from the repeater identifiers received with each enhanced PLC signals, a physical position of a corresponding device, in respect to the physical locations of the identified repeaters.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the devices further comprises a communication unit in wireless communication with the PLC unit, arranged to send the data relating to the current measurements obtained therefrom to the control unit.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a communication unit having a PLC unit and arranged to receive data from at least one of the devices over a communication link and transmit the received data to the control unit over PLC.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the devices further comprises a processor arranged to derive the data relating to the current measurements from the current measurements to comprise operation relevant data, and wherein the data relating to the current measurements requires a PLC bandwidth smaller than half a PLC bandwidth required by the current measurements, selected to allow communication of the data over PLC during a specified threshold period.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the operation relevant data comprises at least one of:

current idle consumption, current peaks, current drops, and current derivatives.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the device operation characteristics comprise an update status of software installed on the device, and wherein the control unit is arranged to derive the update status by detecting a predefined pattern of current consumption associated with the software update.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the predefined pattern of current consumption comprises alternately turning on and off a component in the device that consumes a current detectable by the current meter.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one device comprises an encoder, arranged to encode specified device parameters into an operational sequence of device components, to yield an specified pattern of current measurements, and wherein the control unit comprises a decoder, arranged to derive the specified device parameters from the received specified pattern of current measurements.

14. A method of monitoring a plurality of devices, comprising:

measuring, locally and continuously, a current used by each device;

communicating a device identifier and data relating to the current measurements over power line communication (PLC);

analyzing the current measurements; and

deriving device operation characteristics from the analyzed current measurements,

wherein at least one of the analyzing and the deriving is carried out by at least one processor.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

generating statistical data from obtained current measurements; and

comparing the analyzed current measurements to the statistical data, to yield device operational parameters.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising preventing supply of power to at least one of the devices upon receiving specified current measurements, according to specified criteria.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising estimating from repeater identifiers received with repeater-enhanced PLC signals, a physical position of a corresponding device, in respect to the physical locations of the identified repeaters.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising deriving the data relating to the current measurements from the current measurements, to reduce a communication volume.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

encoding specified device parameters into an operational sequence of device components, to yield an specified pattern of current measurements, and

deriving the specified device parameters from the received specified pattern of current measurements.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the encoding comprises alternately turning on and off a component in the device that consumes a current detectable by the current meter.