ENERGY-EFFICIENT UTILITY SYSTEM UTILIZING SOLAR-POWER
First Claim
1. A utility system for powering at least one electrical load device, the utility system comprising at least one utility unit comprising:
- a pole;
at least one power source comprising a photovoltaic (PV) panel curved at least part way around a generally vertical surface of the pole an electrical load device connected to the pole;
a controller operatively connecting said electrical load device to said at least one power source;
wherein the controller is adapted for two-way communication between the controller and said electrical load device; and
wherein the controller is adapted to control consumption by said electrical load device of energy from said at least one power source.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Utility units each have a pole, a solar engine, lighting or other loads, and a controller. The controller senses and controls processes mainly on-pole, but a unit/pole may additionally communicate and/or receive/send control signals from/to poles with which they are networked and/or from a control station. Each pole/network may be adapted for energy-efficient operation of various loads; energy-metering; grid-cooperation; self-diagnostics; overriding of errors/signals to prevent abnormal operation; and/or coordinated activities between poles. Networks may be wireless or wired, or a portable temporary device may monitor pole(s). Active control includes detection of sensor signals or other operational data, which triggers the controller to modify operation of one or more devices/systems on the pole to maintain energy efficiency and operability in spite of malfunctions, abnormal signals or environments, cloudy/diffuse-light weather, or other non-standard conditions.
389 Citations
51 Claims
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1. A utility system for powering at least one electrical load device, the utility system comprising at least one utility unit comprising:
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a pole; at least one power source comprising a photovoltaic (PV) panel curved at least part way around a generally vertical surface of the pole an electrical load device connected to the pole; a controller operatively connecting said electrical load device to said at least one power source; wherein the controller is adapted for two-way communication between the controller and said electrical load device; and wherein the controller is adapted to control consumption by said electrical load device of energy from said at least one power source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A utility system for powering electrical load devices, the utility system comprising a plurality of utility units networked for coordinated activities,
wherein each utility unit comprises a pole having at least one electrical load device powered by at least one power source, said at least one power source comprising a photovoltaic (PV) panel curved at least part way around a generally vertical surface of each pole; -
each utility unit further having a controller and a sensor adapted to send a sensor signal to the controller; wherein the controllers of the plurality of utility units are wirelessly connected in a mesh network adapted so that the sensor of one of the utility units detecting a change in the environment of that utility unit triggers the controller of that utility unit to signal controllers of other of the utility units in the mesh network so that selected utility units operate differently after said trigger. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A utility system for powering at least one electrical load device, the utility system comprising at least one utility unit comprising:
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a pole; at least one power source comprising a photovoltaic (PV) panel curved at least part way around a generally vertical surface of the pole; an electrical load device connected to the pole; a controller operatively connecting said electrical load device to said at least one power source; a sensor operatively connected to the controller to send a detection signal to said controller when the sensor detects a change in the environment of the infrastructure pole; wherein the controller is adapted to monitor one or more operational parameters of said electrical load device and the sensor and to determine whether said operational parameters are in a category of normal parameters or a category of abnormal parameters; wherein, when the parameters are in the category of normal parameters, the controller is adapted to be triggered by the detection signal or by said operational parameters of the electrical load device to change control settings for the electrical load device; and wherein, when the parameters are in the category of abnormal parameters, the controller enters an override mode comprising executing control actions selected from the group consisting of;
resetting the electrical load device, resetting the sensor, changing power to the electrical load device, resetting a timer, resetting detection thresholds of the sensor, and ignoring said detection signal. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51)
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Specification