Wireless transceiver within an electrical receptacle system

• US 8,467,734 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2012
• Issued: 06/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric USA, Inc. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Schneider Electric USA, Inc. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Schubert, Clifford
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PATRICIA T
• Application Number:
  US13/460,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20120212332A1
• Time in Patent Office: 413 Days
• Field of Search: 455/66.1, 455/90.3, 455/67.7, 455/68, 455/67.6
• US Class Current: 455/66.1
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/66 Structural association with built-in electrical component coupling devices having concentrically or coaxially-arranged contacts H01R24/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5441 Wireless systems or telephone
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5454 Adapter and plugs
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/542 the information being in digital form

Abstract

An electrical receptacle assembly having a housing that includes a wireless transceiver electrically coupled to one or more antennas that can be integrated into the receptacle housing itself or in the receptacle'"'"'s faceplate. The one or more antennas can be one or more dipoles or a single loop antenna. The housing also houses a power converter that derives its power directly from the line connection to the outlet. A junction box includes an integrated antenna reflector for improved radio direction and propagation relative to the antenna(s). Or, an antenna reflector insert is placed within the junction box behind the electrical receptacle assembly. The electrical receptacle assembly further includes a temperature sensor, a PLC module, or a current/voltage sensor and communicates associated data via its wireless transceiver. A status indicator is disposed on the front of the housing. A reset switch on housing resets the electronics to a default state.

Claims

1. A wall-mounted electrical receptacle assembly for installation into an electrical junction box, comprising:

a housing that houses a microcontroller coupled to a wireless transceiver that is electrically coupled to one or more antennas and a power converter that powers the microcontroller and the wireless transceiver;

an electrical socket for receiving a power plug through the housing, wherein the power converter derives its power from the line power connection to which the electrical socket is connected;

a switch configured to connect the electrical socket to the line power connection or disconnect the electrical socket from the line power connection, the microcontroller being programmed to receive an instruction via at least the wireless transceiver to cause a state of the switch to change between an on state and an off state; and

a power line communication (PLC) module coupled to the microcontroller,

the microcontroller being programmed to communicate PLC data according to a PLC protocol, the PLC module communicating the PLC data over the power line connection, the microcontroller being further programmed to cause the state of the switch to change between the on state and the off state in accordance with the PLC data received over the power line connection.

2. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 1, further comprising a sensor that senses an electrical characteristic of the line current from the line power connection, the microcontroller receiving an output signal from the sensor indicative of the electrical characteristic and communicating data indicative of the electrical characteristic via the wireless transceiver, the microcontroller being programmed to cause the state of the switch to change between the on state and the off state in response to the data indicative of the electrical characteristic indicating a fault condition or a loss of power from the line power connection.

3. The electrical assembly of claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor coupled to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being programmed to receive a signal from the temperature sensor indicative of a temperature measured by the temperature sensor and communicating, via the wireless transceiver, temperature data indicative of the ambient temperature.

4. The electrical assembly of claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor coupled to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being programmed to receive a signal from the temperature sensor indicative of a temperature measured by the temperature sensor and cause the state of the switch to change between the on state and the off state based on whether the signal indicates that an over-temperature condition exists based on a comparison of the measured temperature with a predetermined threshold.

5. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 1, further comprising a status indicator visible through the housing and controlled by the microcontroller, the status indicator being configured to indicate the state of the switch.

6. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 1, wherein the one or more antennas are integrated into the housing of the electrical receptacle assembly and electrically coupled to the wireless transceiver.

7. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 1, in combination with a faceplate having an opening to receive the electrical receptacle assembly therein, wherein the one or more antennas are integrated with the faceplate and are electrically coupled to the wireless transceiver by one or more electrical wires.

8. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 1, in combination with an electrical junction box, the electrical junction box having a front opening that receives the housing and a back portion opposite the front opening, the back portion forming a shaped antenna reflector that reflects electromagnetic signals toward the one or more antennas.

9. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 1, in combination with an electrical junction box and an antenna reflector insert that is inserted into the electrical junction box behind the electrical receptacle assembly for reflecting electromagnetic signals toward the one or more antennas.

10. A wall-mounted electrical receptacle assembly for installation into an electrical junction box, comprising:

a housing that houses a microcontroller, a wireless transceiver, a power converter, and a power line communication (PLC) module,

the wireless transceiver being coupled to the microcontroller and to one or more antennas,

the power converter powering the microcontroller and the wireless transceiver; and

an electrical socket for receiving a power plug through the housing, wherein the power converter derives its power from the line power connection to which the electrical socket is connected, wherein

the PLC module is coupled to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being programmed to communicate PLC data according to a PLC protocol, and the PLC module communicating the PLC data over the power line connection, wherein the one or more antennas are integrated into the housing of the electrical receptacle assembly and electrically coupled to the wireless transceiver.

11. The electrical assembly of claim 10, wherein the PLC module is configured to communicate the PLC data to the wireless transceiver for communication as wireless data via the one or more antennas.

12. The electrical assembly of claim 10, wherein the microcontroller is programmed to communicate wireless data received via the wireless transceiver to the PLC module.

13. The electrical assembly of claim 10, further comprising a temperature sensor coupled to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being programmed to receive a signal from the temperature sensor indicative of a temperature measured by the temperature sensor and communicating, via the wireless transceiver or the PLC module, temperature data indicative of the measured temperature.

14. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 13, wherein the microcontroller is programmed to transmit, via the wireless transceiver, an indication that an over-temperature condition exists in response to the measured temperature exceeding a predetermined threshold.

15. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 10, further comprising a switch configured to connect the electrical socket to the line power connection or disconnect the electrical socket from the line power connection, the microcontroller being programmed to receive an instruction via the wireless transceiver or the PLC module to cause a state of the switch to change between an on state and an off state.

16. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 10, further comprising a sensor that senses an electrical characteristic of the line current from the line power connection, the microcontroller receiving an output signal from the sensor indicative of the electrical characteristic and communicating data indicative of the electrical characteristic via the wireless transceiver or the PLC module.

17. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 10, further comprising a status indicator visible through the housing and controlled by the microcontroller, the status indicator being configured to indicate a mode of operation that the wireless transceiver is communicating wireless data or that the PLC module is communicating PLC data.

18. The electrical assembly of claim 10, wherein the microcontroller is programmed to communicate wireless data via the one or more antennas according to a wireless communication protocol defined by the IEEE 802.11 or 802.15 standard.

19. The electrical assembly of claim 10, wireless transceiver is part of a repeater, a wireless access device, or a wireless bridge.

20. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 10, in combination with a faceplate having an opening to receive the electrical receptacle assembly therein, wherein the one or more antennas are integrated with the faceplate and are electrically coupled to the wireless transceiver by one or more electrical wires.

21. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 10, in combination with an electrical junction box, the electrical junction box having a front opening that receives the housing and a back portion opposite the front opening, the back portion forming a shaped antenna reflector that reflects electromagnetic signals toward the one or more antennas.

22. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 10, in combination with an electrical junction box and an antenna reflector insert that is inserted into the electrical junction box behind the electrical receptacle assembly for reflecting electromagnetic signals toward the one or more antennas.

23. A wall-mounted electrical receptacle assembly, in combination with a faceplate having an opening to receive the electrical receptacle assembly therein, for installation into an electrical junction box, comprising:

a housing that houses a microcontroller coupled to a wireless transceiver that is electrically coupled to one or more antennas and a power converter that powers the microcontroller and the wireless transceiver, the wireless transceiver being configured to receive and transmit wireless data using the one or more antennas;

an electrical socket for receiving a power plug through the housing, wherein the power converter derives its power from the line power connection to which the electrical socket is connected; and

a web interface for viewing the wireless data or statistics, wherein the one or more antennas are integrated with the faceplate and are electrically coupled to the wireless transceiver by one or more electrical wires.

24. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 23 further comprising a power line communication (PLC) module coupled to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being programmed to communicate data according to a PLC protocol, the PLC module communicating the data over the power line connection.

25. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 23, further comprising a temperature sensor coupled to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being programmed to receive a signal from the temperature sensor indicative of a temperature measured by the temperature sensor and communicating, via the wireless transceiver, corresponding temperature data.

26. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 25, wherein the microcontroller is programmed to transmit, via the wireless transceiver, an indication that an over-temperature condition exists in response to the measured temperature exceeding a predetermined threshold.

27. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 23, further comprising a switch configured to connect the electrical socket to the line power connection or disconnect the electrical socket from the line power connection, the microcontroller being programmed to receive an instruction via the wireless transceiver to cause a state of the switch to change between an on state and an off state.

28. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 23, further comprising a sensor that senses an electrical characteristic of the line current from the line power connection, the microcontroller receiving an output signal from the sensor indicative of the electrical characteristic and communicating data indicative of the electrical characteristic via the wireless transceiver.

29. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 23, further comprising a status indicator visible through the housing and controlled by the microcontroller, the status indicator being configured to indicate a mode of operation that the wireless transceiver is communicating wireless data.

30. The electrical assembly of claim 23, wherein the microcontroller is programmed to communicate wireless data via the one or more antennas according to a wireless communication protocol defined by the IEEE 802.11 or 802.15 standard.

31. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 23, wherein the one or more antennas are integrated into the housing of the electrical receptacle assembly and electrically coupled to the wireless transceiver.

32. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 23, in combination with an electrical junction box, the electrical junction box having a front opening that receives the housing and a back portion opposite the front opening, the back portion forming a shaped antenna reflector that reflects electromagnetic signals toward the one or more antennas.

33. The electrical receptacle assembly of claim 23, in combination with an electrical junction box and an antenna reflector insert that is inserted into the electrical junction box behind the electrical receptacle assembly for reflecting electromagnetic signals toward the one or more antennas.

34. A wall-mounted electrical receptacle assembly for installation into an electrical junction box, comprising:

a housing that houses a microcontroller, a wireless transceiver, a power converter, and a power line communication (PLC) module,

the wireless transceiver being coupled to the microcontroller and to one or more antennas,

the power converter powering the microcontroller and the wireless transceiver;

a temperature sensor coupled to the microcontroller; and

an electrical socket for receiving a power plug through the housing, wherein the power converter derives its power from the line power connection to which the electrical socket is connected, wherein

the PLC module is coupled to the microcontroller, the microcontroller being programmed to communicate PLC data according to a PLC protocol, and the PLC module communicating the PLC data over the power line connection,

the microcontroller being programmed to receive a signal from the temperature sensor indicative of a temperature measured by the temperature sensor and communicating, via the wireless transceiver or the PLC module, temperature data indicative of the measured temperature.