Method and apparatus for node electronics unit architecture
First Claim
1. A method of operating a power distribution system circuit, said method comprising:
- monitoring electrical system parameters of a plurality of circuit breakers in the power distribution system, each circuit breaker of said plurality of circuit breakers being in electrical communication with a node electronics unit;
communicating said electrical system parameters from said node electronics unit to a central control processing unit;
determining circuit breaker actuation commands based at least partially on said electrical system parameters; and
communicating said circuit breaker actuation commands from said central control processing unit to said node electronics unit so that said node electronics unit operates each circuit breaker of said plurality of circuit breakers based on said circuit breaker actuation commands.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for operating a power distribution system circuit breaker is provided. The circuit breaker includes an associated node electronics unit wherein a node electronics unit redundancy requirement is predetermined. The method includes monitoring electrical system parameters associated with the circuit breaker with the node electronics unit, communicating the electrical system parameters over a digital network to at least one central control processing unit, receiving commands and actions from the at least one central control processing unit over the digital network, determining circuit breaker actuation commands based at least partially on the received commands and actions, and operating the circuit breaker based on the circuit breaker actuation commands.
299 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method of operating a power distribution system circuit, said method comprising:
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monitoring electrical system parameters of a plurality of circuit breakers in the power distribution system, each circuit breaker of said plurality of circuit breakers being in electrical communication with a node electronics unit; communicating said electrical system parameters from said node electronics unit to a central control processing unit; determining circuit breaker actuation commands based at least partially on said electrical system parameters; and communicating said circuit breaker actuation commands from said central control processing unit to said node electronics unit so that said node electronics unit operates each circuit breaker of said plurality of circuit breakers based on said circuit breaker actuation commands. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A node electronics unit comprising:
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at least one network communications interface for communicating with the at least one central control processing unit; at least one processor including a memory, a communication processor and a command interpreter, said at least one processor being coupled to said at least one network communications interface; a signal conditioner module coupled to said processor, said signal conditioner for receiving electrical signals from a plurality of sensors adapted to be coupled to a circuit breaker, said plurality of sensors located remote from said node electronics unit; a status input module coupled to said processor, said status input module for receiving status signals from said circuit breaker, said processor being configured to communicate said electrical signals and said status signals to said central control processing unit and being configured to receive circuit breaker actuation commands from said central control processing unit based on said electrical signals and/or said status signals; and an actuation power module coupled to said processor, said actuation power module for supplying said circuit breaker actuation commands to said circuit breaker. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A power distribution system comprising:
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a plurality of circuit breakers; a node electronics unit in communication with each circuit breaker of said plurality of circuit breakers; a digital network communicatively coupled to each said node electronics unit; and at least one central control unit communicatively coupled to said digital network, said digital network communicating transmissions between each said node electronics unit and said at least one central control unit, said at least one central control unit operating any of said plurality of circuit breakers based on said transmissions. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification