Electronic leakage reduction techniques

• US 9,401,254 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2013
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Beckman, Christopher V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thienvu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Comber, Kevin J
• Application Number:
  US13/784,408
• Publication Number:
  US 20130175880A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,240 Days
• Field of Search: 307/125
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 35/00 Switches operated by change of a physical condition operated by change of magnetic or electric field H01H36/00; thermally-actuated switches H01H37/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/005 using a power saving mode for copiers G03G15/5004
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 End-user application control systems

Abstract

Electronic leakage reduction techniques are provided, whereby a device is configured to detect characteristics of an appliance and its power supply when the appliance is off or otherwise placed in a mode for reduced power use by said appliance, and whereby voltage and power provided to the appliance are then substantially reduced. In other aspects of the disclosed technology, user behavior may also manually control power delivered to the appliance, for example, with a switch. In still other aspects of the disclosed technology, a device is configured to detect characteristics of an appliance and its power supply when the appliance is on or otherwise placed in a mode for higher power use by said appliance, and increases power to the appliance.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory device configured to store instructions associated with an application program; and

a processing device that, in response to executing the instructions stored in the memory device, is configured to;

monitor an operational state indicator of an electrical device;

measure a threshold power consumption at a power source while the electrical device is in a first operational state based at least in part on the operational state indicator;

detect that the electrical device changes from the first operational state to a second operational state based at least in part on detecting a change in the operational state indicator; and

transmit a positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is less than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting that the electrical device is in the second operational state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device, in response to executing the instructions stored in the memory device, is further configured to:

transmit a modified positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is equal to or greater than the threshold power consumption responsive to monitoring the operational state indicator.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device, in response to executing the instructions stored in the memory device, is further configured to:

receive an input indicating that the electrical device is in the first operational state; and

trigger the measuring the threshold power consumption responsive to the input.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device, in response to executing the instructions stored in the memory device, is further configured to:

identify a load associated with the electrical device indicating that the electrical device is in the first operational state; and

trigger the measuring the threshold power consumption responsive to the load.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device, in response to executing the instructions stored in the memory device, is further configured to intermittently disrupt a transmission of the positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is less than the threshold power consumption to transmit a modified positive power output from the power source that is greater than the threshold power consumption.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processing device, in response to executing the instructions stored in the memory device, is further configured to monitor the operational state indicator during a transmission of the modified positive power output from the power source based on a load associated with the electrical device.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the processing device, in response to executing the instructions stored in the memory device, is further configured to transmit a modified positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is equal to or greater than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting the first operational state of the electrical device.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing device, in response to executing the instructions stored in the memory device, is further configured to identify a non-operational power consumption associated with the electrical device that is below the threshold power consumption by a predetermined margin responsive to monitoring the operational state indicator.

9. A method, comprising:

monitoring, by a processing device, an operational state indicator;

measuring, by the processing device, a threshold power consumption at a power source while an electrical device is in a first operational state based at least in part on the operational state indicator;

detecting, by the processing device, that the electrical device changes from the first operational state to a second operational state based at least in part on detecting a change in the operational state indicator; and

transmitting, by the processing device, a positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is less than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting that the electrical device is in the second operational state.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting, by the processing device, a modified positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is equal to or greater than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting the first operational state.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving, by the processing device, an input indicating that the electrical device is in the first operational state; and

triggering, by the processing device, the measuring the threshold power consumption responsive to the input.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying, by the processing device, a load associated with the electrical device indicating that the electrical device is in the first operational state; and

triggering, by the processing device, the measuring the threshold power consumption responsive to the load.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising intermittently disrupting, by the processing device, a transmission of the positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is less than the threshold power consumption to transmit a modified positive power output from the power source that is greater than the threshold power consumption.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising monitoring, by the processing device, the operational indicator during a transmission of the modified positive power output from the power source based on a load associated with the electrical device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising transmitting, by the processing device, a modified positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is equal to or greater than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting the first operational state.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising identifying, by the processing device, a non-operational power consumption associated with the electrical device that is below the threshold power consumption by a predetermined margin responsive to detecting that the electrical device is in the second operational state.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

means for monitoring an operational state indicator of an electrical device;

means for measuring, at a power supply, a threshold power consumption while the electrical device is in a first operational state based at least in part on the operational state indicator;

means for detecting that the electrical device changes from the first operational state to a second operational state based at least in part on detecting a change in the operational state indicator; and

means for transmitting a positive power output from the power supply to the electrical device that is less than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting the non-operational state.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

means for transmitting a modified positive power output from the power supply to the electrical device that is equal to or greater than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting the first operational state.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

means for triggering the measuring the threshold power consumption responsive to the monitoring the operational state indicator.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising:

means for identifying a load associated with the electrical device responsive to detecting that the electrical device is in the first operating state; and

means for triggering the measuring the threshold power consumption responsive to the load.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising means for intermittently disrupting a transmission of the positive power output from the power supply to the electrical device that is less than the threshold power consumption to transmit a modified positive power output from the power supply that is greater than the threshold power supply.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising means for detecting that the electrical device is in the first operational state during a transmission of the modified positive power output from the power supply based on a load associated with the electrical device.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for transmitting a modified positive power output from the power supply to the electrical device that is equal to or greater than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting that the electrical device is in the first operational state.

24. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising means for identifying a non-operational power consumption associated with the electrical device that is below the threshold power consumption by a predetermined margin responsive to detecting that the electrical device is in the second operational state.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable memory device having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

monitoring an operational state indicator an electrical device;

measuring a threshold power consumption at a power source while the electrical device is in a first operational state based at least in part on the operational state indicator;

detecting that the electrical device changes from the first operational state to a second operational state based at least in part on detecting a change in the operational state indicator; and

transmitting a positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is less than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting that the electrical device is in the second operational state.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 25, wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting a modified positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is equal to or greater than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting the first operational state based at least in part on the operational status indicator.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 25, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving an input indicating that the electrical device is in the first operational state; and

triggering the measuring the threshold power consumption responsive to the input.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 25, wherein the operations further comprise:

identifying a load associated with the electrical device indicating that the electrical device is in the first operational state; and

triggering the measuring the threshold power consumption responsive to the load.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 25, wherein the operations further comprise intermittently disrupting a transmission of the positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is less than the threshold power consumption to transmit a modified positive power output from the power source that is greater than the threshold power consumption.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 29, wherein the operations further comprise detecting an operational state of the electrical device during a transmission of the modified positive power output from the power source based on a load associated with the electrical device.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 30, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting a modified positive power output from the power source to the electrical device that is equal to or greater than the threshold power consumption responsive to detecting the first operational state of the electrical device.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable memory device of claim 25, wherein the operations further comprise identifying a non-operational power consumption associated with the electrical device that is below the threshold power consumption by a predetermined margin responsive to monitoring the operational state indicator.