Body capacitance electric field powered device for high voltage lines
First Claim
1. An apparatus for mounting on a power line carrying a high AC line voltage, the apparatus comprising:
- a conductive body having a body capacitance;
a power supply comprising at least two input terminals;
a first of said at least two input terminals coupled to said conductive body and a second of said at least two input terminals operative to be coupled to said power line;
electronic circuitry coupled to said power supply;
wherein a primary current flows through said power supply between said conductive body and said power line and said power supply converts said primary current into a supply of power at a voltage substantially lower than said high AC line voltage for operation of said electronic circuitry.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Devices that couple to high voltage transmission lines obtain power themselves using the body capacitance of an element of the devices. The devices generate a comparatively lower voltage from the current flowing between the high voltage line and the element of the device that generates the body capacitance. The devices can be used to operate sensors that monitor the transmission lines or parameters of the power distribution system, such as current, line temperature, vibration, and the like. The devices can also be used as indicators, such as aircraft warning lights, information signs, etc. In addition, the devices can operate as RF transmission/reception or repeater devices, radar devices, mesh networking nodes, video/audio surveillance, sound emitting devices for scaring animals, drones that traverse the power line, etc. Because the devices operate in response to line voltage rather than current, the devices are reliable even in low current conditions.
169 Citations
100 Claims
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1. An apparatus for mounting on a power line carrying a high AC line voltage, the apparatus comprising:
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a conductive body having a body capacitance; a power supply comprising at least two input terminals;
a first of said at least two input terminals coupled to said conductive body and a second of said at least two input terminals operative to be coupled to said power line;electronic circuitry coupled to said power supply; wherein a primary current flows through said power supply between said conductive body and said power line and said power supply converts said primary current into a supply of power at a voltage substantially lower than said high AC line voltage for operation of said electronic circuitry. - 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, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95)
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96. A method of powering an apparatus mountable coupled with a power line carrying a high AC line voltage, the method comprising:
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mounting an apparatus having a conductive portion on a power line; connecting a first terminal of a power supply of the apparatus to the power line and connecting a second terminal of the power supply to the conductive portion such that a primary current flows between said power line and a body capacitance of the conductive portion of said apparatus; converting said primary current into a supply of power at a voltage substantially lower than said high AC line voltage; and providing said supply of power to electronic circuitry coupled to said apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (97, 98)
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99. A power grid monitoring system comprising:
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at least two apparatus, each apparatus comprising; a conductive body having a body capacitance; a power supply comprising at least two input terminals;
a first of said at least two input terminals coupled to said conductive body and a second of said at least two input terminals operative to be coupled to said power line;electronic circuit coupled to said power supply, the electronic circuitry operative to sense at least one of current flow with a current sensor and a voltage of said power line with a voltage sensor, the electronic circuit further comprising; at least one analog to digital converter coupled to said voltage sensor and said current sensor; and a processor coupled to said at least one analog to digital converter and operative to receive digital samples representative of said current flow in said power line and said voltage on said power line from said analog to digital converter; wherein a primary current flows through said power supply between said conductive body and said power line and said power supply converters said primary current into a supply of power at a voltage substantially lower than said high AC line voltage for operation of said electronic circuitry; at least two receiving devices each operative to receive data indicative of voltage from at least one of said at least two apparatus; and at least one monitoring device operative to receive said data indicative of voltage from said at least two receiving devices and at least one of display and analyze said data indicative of voltage from more than one location on said power grid.
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100. A power grid monitoring system comprising:
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at least two apparatus, each apparatus comprising; a conductive body having a body capacitance; a power supply comprising at least two input terminal;
a first of said at least two input terminals coupled to said conductive body and a second of said at least tow input terminals operative to be coupled to said power line;electronic circuitry coupled to said power supply, the electronic circuitry operative to sense at least one of a current flow with a current sensor and a voltage of said power line with a voltage sensor, the electronic circuit further comprising; wherein a primary current flows through said power supply between said conductive body and said power line and said power supply converts said primary current into a supply of power at a voltage substantially lower than said high AC line voltage for operation of said electronic circuitry; at least two receiving devices each operative to receive data indicative of voltage from at least one of said at least two apparatus; at least one monitoring device operative to receive said data indicative of voltage from said at least two receiving devices and at least one of display and analyze said data indicative of voltage from more than one location on said power grid; wherein said at least two receiving devices are further operative to receive said position information from at least one of said at least two apparatus; and wherein said at least one monitoring device is operative to receive said position information from said at least two receiving devices and display the position of said at least two apparatus.
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Specification