DATA PLANT - A RAW MATERIAL POWERED DATA GENERATOR

• US 20130190936A1
• Filed: 01/25/2012
• Published: 07/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Belady, Christian L., James, Sean M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,252,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/286
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2203/20 Simulating, e g planning, reliability check, modelling or computer assisted design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/20 The dispersed energy generation being of renewable origin
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/24 of photovoltaic origin
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2300/30 The power source being a fuel cell
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/381 Dispersed generators
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/56 Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

A “data plant” accepts power-generation-capable raw materials and outputs processed data. The processed data can be delivered to consumers more efficiently than other forms of power transfer, including power transfer through electricity, steam, physical motion, and the like. Consequently, data plants can be located where power-generation-capable raw materials can be obtained inexpensively, for free, or where power-generation-capable raw materials are waste products for which the operator of the data plants can be compensated for processing. Self-powered data plants need not even be continuously fed with power-generation-capable raw materials and, if such data plants receive and output data via wireless communications, the self-powered data plants can require no physical connection or attachment at all. For example, a single piece of silicon comprising a silicon solar cell that generates electrical power and silicon circuitry that consumes it to perform data processing can be a silicon self-powered data plant.

Claims

1. A data plant comprising:

data processing circuitry that receives direct current electrical power from one or more power generation components that are co-located with the data processing circuitry; and

the one or more power generation components generating, from power-generation-capable raw materials, direct current electrical power at a native voltage of at least some of the data processing circuitry.

2. The data plant of claim 1, wherein the one or more power generation components comprise a natural-gas-powered fuel cell.

3. The data plant of claim 1, wherein the one or more power generation components comprise a solar cell.

4. The data plant of claim 3, wherein the data processing circuitry is etched onto a same silicon wafer as the one or more power generation components.

5. The data plant of claim 4, further comprising wireless data communication circuitry.

6. The data plant of claim 1, further comprising wireless data communication circuitry, wherein the one or more power generation components comprise a betavoltaic battery.

7. The data plant of claim 1, wherein the power-generation-capable raw materials are either waste products or byproducts of existing processes.

8. The data plant of claim 7, wherein the power-generation-capable raw materials are un-captured natural gas from oil or gas wells.

9. The data plant of claim 7, wherein the power-generation-capable raw materials are gas generated by a landfill.

10. The data plant of claim 1, further comprising a cooling component powered by the one or more power generation components.

11. The data plant of claim 1, further comprising a heat-driven airflow generation component that utilizes heat generated by the one or more power generation components to increase airflow across at least some of the data processing circuitry, thereby cooling the at least some of the data processing circuitry.

12. The data plant of claim 1, further comprising a heat-driven airflow generation component generating increased airflow across at least some of the data processing circuitry to provide cooling to the at least some of the data processing circuitry.

13. The data plant of claim 12, wherein the heat-driven airflow generation component is driven by heat generated by the one or more power generation components.

14. The data plant of claim 1, further comprising computer-executable instructions for providing processing redundancy to at least one other data plant to compensate for unreliable delivery of the power-generation-capable raw materials to the other data plant.

15. A method of establishing one or more data plants, the method comprising the steps of:

identifying locations where power-generation-capable raw materials can be obtained;

determining, for at least some of the identified locations, a financial cost of obtaining the power-generation-capable raw materials at the at least some of the identified locations;

determining a financial cost of communicationally coupling the one or more data plants from the at least some of the identified locations to existing communicational infrastructure;

selecting at least one location, from among the at least some of the identified locations, based on the determining the financial cost of obtaining the power-generation-capable raw materials and based on the determining the financial cost of the communicationally coupling;

installing one or more data plants at the selected at least one location, each of the one or more data plants comprising;

data processing circuitry that receives direct current electrical power from one or more power generation components that are co-located with the data processing circuitry; and

the one or more power generation components generating, from the power-generation-capable raw materials at the at least one location, direct current electrical power at a native voltage of at least some of the data processing circuitry; and

communicationally coupling the installed one or more data plants to the existing communicational infrastructure.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising the steps of determining environmental impacts of establishing one or more data plants at the at least some of the identified locations;

and wherein the selecting the at least one location is further based on the determining the environmental impacts.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the identifying the locations where the power-generation-capable raw materials can be obtained comprises identifying only the locations where the power-generation-capable raw materials are already being produced as either waste products or byproducts of existing processes.

18. A method of converting waste products or byproducts of existing processes into processed data, the method comprising the steps of:

installing one or more data plants proximate to a location where the waste products or the byproducts are produced by the existing processes, each of the one or more data plants comprising;

data processing circuitry that receives direct current electrical power from one or more power generation components that are co-located with the data processing circuitry; and

the one or more power generation components generating, from the waste products or the byproducts, direct current electrical power at a native voltage of at least some of the data processing circuitry; and

providing the waste products or the byproducts to the installed one or more data plants.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of receiving payment for the processing of the waste products or the byproducts from one or more entities performing the existing processes;

and receiving payment for processing of data performed by the data processing circuitry from users of data processing capabilities of the one or more installed data plants.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the waste products or the byproducts comprise natural gas;

and wherein further the wherein the one or more power generation components comprise a natural-gas-powered fuel cell.