Smart grid appliance control
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving, at a power controller at a first location, one or more requests from a plurality of electrical appliances to join a first network of appliances, the one or more requests including unique identification numbers of local controllers associated with respective appliances, wherein the plurality of electrical appliances are plugged into outlets at the first location;
assigning, by the power controller, unique encryption codes corresponding to the unique identification numbers to the respective appliances;
transferring, by the power controller, the encryption codes to respective local controllers of the appliances;
communicating with one or more appliances using the encryption codes;
receiving, at the power controller, consumption data from the plurality of electrical appliances;
evaluating the received consumption data of the plurality of electrical appliances;
obtaining stored data related to power consumption preferences of the plurality of electrical appliances at the first location, the power consumption preferences including different states of operation of the plurality of electrical appliances and preselected conditions that trigger remote control of at least a first appliance of the plurality of electrical appliances, the preselected conditions comprising at least threshold power consumption values of the first appliance corresponding to different states of operation of the first appliance and associated time periods at which remote control of the first appliance is authorized;
based at least in part on evaluating the received consumption data, determining that one or more of the preselected conditions are satisfied for the first appliance; and
based at least in part on the determining, providing a first communication from the power controller to the first appliance to control power consumption,wherein the first communication includes a first secure communication, and wherein providing the first communication includes generating the first communication using an encryption code corresponding to the first appliance.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for controlling small grids of appliances are described. One sample method includes receiving consumption data from a plurality of electrical appliances that are plugged into outlets at a first location and monitoring power usage at the first location. The method includes evaluating the received consumption data to identify one or more predetermined conditions in one or more of the plurality of electrical appliances and evaluating stored data related to power consumption preferences at the first location. The power consumption preferences define conditions when a consumer associated with the first location has agreed to enable remote control of at least one designated appliance upon an occurrence of one or more predetermined conditions. The method includes determining that the one or more conditions are satisfied and to provide a first secure communication to the first appliance to control the power consumption.
20 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving, at a power controller at a first location, one or more requests from a plurality of electrical appliances to join a first network of appliances, the one or more requests including unique identification numbers of local controllers associated with respective appliances, wherein the plurality of electrical appliances are plugged into outlets at the first location; assigning, by the power controller, unique encryption codes corresponding to the unique identification numbers to the respective appliances; transferring, by the power controller, the encryption codes to respective local controllers of the appliances; communicating with one or more appliances using the encryption codes; receiving, at the power controller, consumption data from the plurality of electrical appliances; evaluating the received consumption data of the plurality of electrical appliances; obtaining stored data related to power consumption preferences of the plurality of electrical appliances at the first location, the power consumption preferences including different states of operation of the plurality of electrical appliances and preselected conditions that trigger remote control of at least a first appliance of the plurality of electrical appliances, the preselected conditions comprising at least threshold power consumption values of the first appliance corresponding to different states of operation of the first appliance and associated time periods at which remote control of the first appliance is authorized; based at least in part on evaluating the received consumption data, determining that one or more of the preselected conditions are satisfied for the first appliance; and based at least in part on the determining, providing a first communication from the power controller to the first appliance to control power consumption, wherein the first communication includes a first secure communication, and wherein providing the first communication includes generating the first communication using an encryption code corresponding to the first appliance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 24)
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11. A system comprising:
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a power controller that is configured to be coupled to a power grid at a first location, wherein the first location includes a plurality of electrical appliances coupled to the power grid, wherein the power controller comprises; an input interface that; receives one or more requests from the plurality of electrical appliances to join a first network of appliances, the one or more requests including unique identification numbers of local controllers associated with respective appliances, and receives consumption data from a plurality of electrical appliances that are plugged into outlets at the first location; a monitoring engine that monitors power usage at the first location including evaluating the received consumption data of the plurality of electrical appliances; a data set of stored data related to power consumption preferences associated with appliances at the first location, the power consumption preferences including different states of operation of the plurality of electrical appliances and preselected conditions that trigger remote control of at least a first appliance of the plurality of electrical appliances, the preselected conditions comprising at least threshold power consumption values of the first appliance corresponding to different states of operation of the first appliance and associated time periods at which remote control of the first appliance is authorized; a detector that determines that one or more of the preselected conditions are satisfied for the first appliance based at least in part on evaluating the received consumption data; and a security device that; assigns unique encryption codes corresponding to the unique identification numbers to the respective appliances, transfers the encryption codes to respective local controllers of the appliances, communicates with one or more appliances using the encryption codes, and provides a first communication from the power controller to the first appliance to control power consumption based at least in part on the determination, wherein the first communication includes a first secure communication that is generated using an encryption code corresponding to the first appliance. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method comprising:
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plugging an appliance into a power grid at a location; upon plugging in the appliance, automatically configuring the appliance to communicate with a power controller, comprising; sending a request to the power controller to join a first network of appliances at the location, the request including a unique identification number of a local controller associated with the appliance, receiving, from the power controller, a unique encryption code assigned to the appliance by the power controller, the unique encryption code corresponding to the unique identification number of the local controller, establishing a secure communication link with the power controller, wherein the secure communication link between the power controller and the appliance is established using the encryption code assigned to the appliance; sending, to the power controller over the secure communication link, consumption data of the appliance; in response to sending the consumption data to the power controller, receiving a command from the power controller over the secure communication link to change an operation mode or a power configuration of the appliance, wherein the command is generated in response to an occurrence of one or more of a preselected set of conditions related to power consumption of the appliance that trigger remote control of the appliance by the power controller, the preselected set of conditions including at least a threshold power consumption value of the appliance, wherein the appliance is associated with one or more threshold power consumption values corresponding to different states of operation of the appliance and associated time periods at which remote control of the appliance is authorized; and changing the operation mode or power configuration of the appliance in response to the received command. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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Specification