RECONFIGURABLE LOAD-CONTROL RECEIVER

• US 20120029717A1
• Filed: 07/28/2010
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cooper Technologies Company (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Original Assignee: Cooper Technologies Company (Eaton Corporation PLC.)
• Inventors: Cox, Robert J., Brager, Ryan F., Coffel, James A., Brandt, Nathan A.
• Application Number:
  US12/845,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20120029717A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/295
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00004 characterised by the power network being locally controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00006 characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/12 The local stationary network supplying a household or a building
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• 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 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/12 characterised by data transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated electrical equipment

Abstract

A reconfigurable load-control receiver for communication with a first long-haul network and selectively adaptable to be reconfigured and in communication with a second long-haul network, a short-haul network and an electrical load. The reconfigurable load-control receiver includes a switching device adapted to control power to the electrical load, and a controller coupled to the switching device and adapted to switch between operating as a gateway and operating as a node.

Claims

1. A method of operating a reconfigurable load-control receiver in initial communication with a first long-haul network and selectively adaptable to be reconfigured and in communication with a second long-haul network and to a short-haul network associated with a facility that includes the reconfigurable load-control receiver and an electrical load controlled by the reconfigurable load-control receiver, the method comprising:

operating a reconfigurable load-control receiver as a gateway for the first long-haul network to administer a short-haul network associated with the facility that includes the load-control receiver and an electrical load controlled by the reconfigurable load-control receiver, the load-control receiver controlling power delivered to the load in response to a load-control message received over the first long-haul network;

receiving at the reconfigurable load-control receiver a first role-change configuration message transmitted over the first long-haul network; and

in response to the first role-change configuration message, reconfiguring the reconfigurable load-control receiver to stop operating as the gateway and start operating as a node in a short-haul network such that another device in the short-haul network serves as a gateway to the second long-haul network, and wherein when the load-control receiver operating as a node controls power delivered to the load in response to a load-control message received over the second long-haul network and the short-haul network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first long-haul network is a network selected from the group consisting of a power line communication network, an interne protocol network, a cellular network and a paging network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first long-haul network comprises a paging network utilizing a paging protocol selected from the group consisting of one-way FLEX, two-way FLEX, VFH, ReFLEX, and POCSAG.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the load-control message and the role-change message are formatted according to a first protocol, wherein the first protocol is selected from the group consisting of a one-way Expresscom protocol and a two-way Expresscom protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the short-haul network utilizes a communications protocol selected from the group consisting of ZigBee®

, ZigBee Smart Energy Profile, Wi-Fi®

, Z-Wave®

, HomePlug® and

Bluetooth®

.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the communications protocol is ZigBee.

7. The method of claim 6, operating the reconfigurable load-control receiver as the gateway for the first long-haul network to administer the short-haul network further comprises operating the reconfigurable load-control receiver as a gateway selected from the group consisting of a ZigBee energy services interface, a ZigBee energy services portal, a ZigBee coordinator, and a ZigBee gateway.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the reconfigurable load-control receiver operating as a node in the short-haul network includes the reconfigurable load-control receiver operating as a ZigBee end device or a ZigBee router.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the reconfigurable load-control receiver controlling power delivered to the load in response to a load-control message further comprises the reconfigurable load-control receiver causing a relay to interrupt power to a compressor of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the another device in the short-haul network that serves as a gateway to the second long-haul network comprises a utility meter that serves as a gateway to the second long-haul network as part of an advance metering infrastructure.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding one or more devices associated with the facility and acting as nodes on the short-haul network administered by the reconfigurable load-control receiver.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein adding one or more devices includes adding one or more devices selected from the group consisting of a thermostat, a water heater, a pool heater, a dishwasher, and a fan.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein operating a reconfigurable load-control receiver as a gateway for the first long-haul network to administer a short-haul network further comprises receiving a second load-control message over the first long-haul network according to a first long-haul protocol, translating the second message according to a protocol of the short-haul network, and transmitting to the nodes of the short-haul network.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein in reconfiguring the reconfigurable load-control receiver to stop operating as the gateway and start operating as a node in the short-haul network includes disabling gateway functionality and enabling node functionality and searching for a new short-haul network.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the new short-haul network is the short-haul network administered by the other device and serving as the gateway to the second long-haul network.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at the reconfigurable load-control receiver while the reconfigurable load-control receiver is operating as the node, a second role-change configuration message transmitted over either the first long-haul network or the second long-haul network; and

in response to the second role-change configuration message, reconfiguring the reconfigurable load-control receiver to stop operating as the node and start operating as the gateway.

17. A reconfigurable load-control receiver for initial communication with a first long-haul network and selectively adaptable to be reconfigured and in communication with a second long-haul network and to a short-haul network associated with a facility that includes the reconfigurable load-control receiver and an electrical load controlled by the reconfigurable load-control receiver, the reconfigurable load-control receiver comprising:

means for initially operating as a gateway connecting a short-haul network associated with a facility to a first long-haul network;

means for operating as a node in a short-haul network while another device in the short-haul network serves as a gateway to connect the short-haul network to a second long-haul network;

means for switching between operating as the gateway connecting the short-haul network associated with the facility to the first long-haul network and operating as a node in the short-haul network while another device in the short-haul network serves as a gateway to connect the short-haul network to the second long-haul network;

means for controlling power delivered to the load in response to a load-control message received over the first long-haul network or the second long-haul network and the short-haul network.

18. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 17, wherein the first long-haul network is a network selected from the group consisting of a power line communication network, an internet protocol network, a cellular network and a paging network.

19. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 17, wherein the short-haul network utilizes a communications protocol selected from the group consisting of ZigBee®

, ZigBee Smart Energy Profile, Wi-Fi®

, Z-Wave®

, HomePlug® and

Bluetooth®

.

20. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 19, wherein the communications protocol is ZigBee.

21. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 20, wherein the means for operating as a gateway includes means for operating as gateway selected from the group consisting of a ZigBee energy services interface, a ZigBee energy services portal, a ZigBee coordinator, and a ZigBee gateway.

22. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 20, wherein the means for operating as a node includes means for operating as a node selected from the group consisting of a ZigBee end device and a ZigBee router.

23. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 17, wherein the other device in the short-haul network that serves as a gateway to connect the short-haul network to the second long-haul network includes a utility meter that serves as a gateway to the second long-haul network as part of an advance metering infrastructure.

24. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 17, further comprising means for translating a load control message received over the first long-haul network according to a first communications protocol to a load control message according to a second communications protocol, and means for transmitting the translated load control message to devices on the short-haul network.

25. A reconfigurable load-control receiver for initial communication with a first long-haul network and selectively adaptable to be reconfigured and in communication with a second long-haul network, a short-haul network associated with a facility that includes the reconfigurable load-control receiver and an electrical load controlled by the reconfigurable load-control receiver, the reconfigurable load-control receiver comprising:

a switching device adapted to control power to an electrical load at a facility; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the switching device and adapted to switch between operating as a gateway connecting a short-haul network associated with a facility to a first long-haul network, and operating as a node in the short-haul network, the controller including;

a long-haul transceiver adapted to receive load-control messages over the first long-haul network;

a short-haul transceiver adapted to receive and transmit messages over a short-haul network associated with the facility; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the long-haul transceiver and the short-haul transceiver, the processor adapted to control the switching device in response to load-control messages received over the first long-haul network while the controller is configured as the gateway and to control the switching device in response to load-control messages received over the short-haul network and a second long-haul network while the controller is configured to operate as a node of the short-haul network.

26. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 25, wherein the switching device is a relay.

27. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 25, wherein the first long-haul network is a network selected from the group consisting of a power line communication network, an interne protocol network, a cellular network and a paging network.

28. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 27, wherein the first long-haul network is a paging network, and the long-haul transceiver is a radio-frequency transceiver.

29. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 25, wherein the short-haul network utilizes a communications protocol selected from the group consisting of ZigBee®

, ZigBee Smart Energy Profile, Wi-Fi°

, Z-Wave®

, HomePlug® and

Bluetooth®

.

30. The reconfigurable load-control receiver of claim 29, wherein the short-haul network utilizes a ZigBee communications protocol and the short-haul transceiver is a radio-frequency transceiver adapted to comply with the ZigBee communications protocol.