Determining the minimum operation and shutdown time
First Claim
1. A method for controlling generator operation comprising:
- assigning a binary value to one or more commitment status variables indicative of whether a generator is committed for being operated, each commitment status variable associated with an increment of time;
assigning a binary value to a time-dependent startup status variable indicative of whether the generator is in a process of being started up, wherein the startup status variable minus a current commitment variable plus a subsequent previous commitment status variable is greater than or equal to zero, the startup status variable plus the subsequent previous commitment status variable is less than or equal to one, and the startup status variable minus the current commitment status variable is less than or equal to zero;
determining a generator operation constraint responsive to the binary value assigned to the one or more commitment status variables and the binary value assigned to the time-dependent startup status variable; and
using the generator operation constraint for controlling operation of the generator to optimize at least one of a shutdown time and an operating time of the generator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for determining minimum operation and startup for a generator are described herein. A method and system according to the invention may include assigning a binary value to one or more commitment status variables each associated with an increment of time. The method and system may also assign a binary value to a time-dependent startup status variable. The method and system may implement the following constraints. The startup status variable minus the current commitment variable plus the subsequent previous commitment status variable is greater than or equal to zero, the startup status variable plus the subsequent previous commitment status variable is less than or equal to one, and the startup status variable minus the current commitment status variable is less than or equal to zero. The method and system may also include a constraint that a sum of all commitment status variables is greater than or equal to the product of the startup status variable and a minimum time-on variable wherein the minimum time-on variable is equal to a minimum operation time for the generator.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for controlling generator operation comprising:
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assigning a binary value to one or more commitment status variables indicative of whether a generator is committed for being operated, each commitment status variable associated with an increment of time; assigning a binary value to a time-dependent startup status variable indicative of whether the generator is in a process of being started up, wherein the startup status variable minus a current commitment variable plus a subsequent previous commitment status variable is greater than or equal to zero, the startup status variable plus the subsequent previous commitment status variable is less than or equal to one, and the startup status variable minus the current commitment status variable is less than or equal to zero; determining a generator operation constraint responsive to the binary value assigned to the one or more commitment status variables and the binary value assigned to the time-dependent startup status variable; and using the generator operation constraint for controlling operation of the generator to optimize at least one of a shutdown time and an operating time of the generator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for controlling generator operation comprising:
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assigning a binary value to one or more commitment status variables indicative of whether a generator is committed for being operated each commitment status variable associated with an increment of time; assigning a binary value to one or more time-dependent shutdown status variables indicative of whether the generator is in a process of being shut down, wherein the shutdown status variable plus the current commitment status variable minus the subsequent previous commitment status variable is greater than or equal to zero, the shutdown status variable minus the subsequent previous commitment status variable is less than or equal to zero, and the shutdown status variable plus the current commitment status variable is less than or equal to one; determining a generator operation constraint responsive to the binary value assigned to the one or more commitment status variables and the binary value assigned to the time-dependent shutdown status variable; and using the generator operation constraint for controlling operation of the generator to optimize at least one of a shutdown time and an operating time of the generator. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for controlling generator operation comprising:
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a means for assigning a binary value to one or more commitment status variables indicative of whether a generator is committed for being operated, each commitment status variable associated with an increment of time based on one or more received commitment status signals; a means for assigning a binary value to a time-dependent startup status variable indicative of whether the generator is in a process of being started up, wherein the startup status variable minus the current commitment variable plus the subsequent previous commitment status variable is greater than or equal to zero, the startup status variable plus the subsequent previous commitment status variable is less than or equal to one, and the startup status variable minus the current commitment status variable is less than or equal to zero; a means for determining a generator operation constraint responsive to the binary value assigned to the one or more commitment status variables and the binary value assigned to the time-dependent startup status variable; and a means for producing a generator control signal responsive to the generator operation constraint for use in controlling operation of the generator to optimize at least one of a shutdown time and an operating time of the generator. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification