Systems and methods for monitoring and analyzing broadband over power line data

• US 10,432,258 B1
• Filed: 09/28/2018
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Mitchell, Timothy M., Brown, Everett D., Shah, Payal, Nameni, Shahram, Dillenburg, Donald E., Singh, Navpreet, McInnis, Michael D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hung T
• Application Number:
  US16/147,015
• Time in Patent Office: 368 Days
• Field of Search: 340537, 340538, 340 1231, 340 1331, 370338, 370445, 375257
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/14 Conductive energy transfer
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/30 Constructional details of charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 11/3109 Reflectometers detecting the back-scattered light in the time-domain, e.g. OTDR
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5454 Adapter and plugs
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/546 Combination of signalling, telemetering, protection circuits for remote indication of supply or distribution network condition H02J13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/56 Circuits for coupling, blocking, or by-passing of signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/18 Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network

Abstract

A system includes a multi-use power interface configured to be electrically and communicatively coupled to a vehicle via Broadband over Power Line (BPL) data links. The system also includes sensors configured to collect power quality data and load management data for the BPL data links and the multi-use power interface. The multi-use power interface includes a user interface, a processor, and a memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the multi-use power interface to perform operations. The operations include receiving power quality data and load management data from the sensors. The operations also include determining, based on the received data, functional health statuses of the multi-use power interface and the BPL data links. The operations further include transmitting the functional health statuses, the power quality data, and the load management data to a data store, and indicating, in the user interface, the functional health statuses.

Claims

1. A system for collecting and monitoring data at a power interface, the system comprising:

a multi-use power interface configured to be electrically and communicatively coupled to a vehicle via a plurality of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) data links; and

a plurality of sensors configured to collect power quality data and load management data for the plurality of BPL data links and the multi-use power interface,

wherein the multi-use power interface comprises a user interface, a processor, and a memory storing instructions thereon, that when executed by the processor, cause the multi-use power interface to perform operations including;

receiving power quality data and load management data from the plurality of sensors;

determining, based on the power quality data and load management data, functional health statuses of the multi-use power interface and the plurality of BPL data links;

transmitting the functional health statuses, the power quality data, and the load management data to a data store; and

indicating, in the user interface, the functional health statuses.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors include one or more of a domain reflectometer (TDR) and a frequency domain reflectometer (FDR) configured to collect power quality data by characterizing electrical conductors in the plurality of BPL data links.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the multi-use power interface further comprises:

a detachable adapter including the user interface, a wireless communications interface, a wired communications interface, and a plurality of pins for electrically and communicatively coupling the multi-use power interface to a connector of the vehicle via the plurality of BPL data links; and

a ground power interface connection configured to be electrically and communicatively coupled to the vehicle via a ground power unit.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the ground power interface connection is configured to provide alternating current (AC) power to a vehicle while engines of the vehicle are off.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the power quality data includes at least one of a voltage, a current, a frequency, a power, a reactive power, a power factor, voltage harmonics, current harmonics, a total harmonic distortion, an amplitude voltage modulation, a frequency voltage modulation, a current demand amplitude, a current demand frequency modulation, a voltage ripple amplitude, a current ripple amplitude, a current ripple frequency, a voltage ripple frequency, a power interrupt, a magnetic field density (MFD), or another power quality parameter usable to determine a functional health status of a BPL data link of the plurality of BPL data links.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the load management data includes at least one of a load identifier, current demand harmonics, a current demand amplitude, a current frequency modulation, a ripple current amplitude, a ripple current frequency, load impedance information, a load power factor, source impedance, impedance matching optimization, a magnetic field density (MFD), or another load management parameter usable to determine functional health statuses of one or more electrical components of the vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein determining the functional health status of a BPL data link of the plurality of BPL data links comprises determining whether the BPL data link is operating within an expected data rate range.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the data store is local to the multi-use power interface, and wherein indicating the functional health statuses includes illuminating multicolor light emitting diodes (LEDs) in the user interface.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the data store is remote to the multi-use power interface, and wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the functional health statuses, the power quality data, and the load management data to the data store via a BPL modem over at least one of the plurality of BPL data links using BPL communications.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the multi-use power interface further comprises:

a plurality of pins for electrically and communicatively coupling the multi-use power interface to the vehicle via the plurality of BPL data links;

electrical conductive materials for a three-phase alternating current (AC) power interface with the vehicle; and

one or more Gigabit fiber optic data links.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of sensors include at least one optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) configured to collect load management data by characterizing the one or more Gigabit fiber optic data links.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein determining the functional health status of the multi-use power interface comprises determining whether the one or more Gigabit fiber optic data links are operating within an expected data rate range.

13. A computer implemented method for collecting and monitoring data at a power interface, the method comprising:

receiving power quality data and load management data from a plurality of sensors operable to collect power quality data and load management data for a plurality of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) data links and a multi-use power interface operable to be electrically and communicatively coupled to a vehicle via the plurality of BPL data links;

determining, based on the power quality data and load management data, functional health statuses of the multi-use power interface and the plurality of BPL data links;

transmitting the functional health statuses, the power quality data, and the load management data to a data store; and

indicating, in a user interface, the functional health statuses.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the power quality data includes at least one of a voltage, a current, a frequency, a power, a reactive power, a power factor, voltage harmonics, current harmonics, a total harmonic distortion, an amplitude voltage modulation, a frequency voltage modulation, a current demand amplitude, a current demand frequency modulation, a voltage ripple amplitude, a current ripple amplitude, a current ripple frequency, a voltage ripple frequency, a power interrupt, a magnetic field density (MFD), or another power quality parameter usable to determine a functional health status of a BPL data link of the plurality of BPL data links.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the load management data includes at least one of a load identifier, current demand harmonics, a current demand amplitude, a current frequency modulation, a ripple current amplitude, a ripple current frequency, a load impedance information, a load power factor, source impedance, impedance matching optimization, or another load management parameter usable to determine functional health statuses of one or more electrical components of the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein determining the functional health status of a BPL data link of the plurality of BPL data links comprises determining whether the BPL data link is operating within an expected data rate range.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the data store is local to the multi-use power interface, and wherein indicating the functional health statuses includes illuminating multicolor light emitting diodes (LEDs) in the user interface.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the data store is remote to the multi-use power interface, and wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting the functional health statuses, the power quality data, and the load management data to the data store via a BPL modem over at least one of the plurality of BPL data links using BPL communications.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of sensors include one or more of a time domain reflectometer (TDR) and a frequency domain reflectometer (FDR) configured to collect power quality data by characterizing electrical conductors in the plurality of BPL data links.

20. A system for collecting and monitoring data from a power interface, the system comprising:

a plurality of sensors configured to collect power quality data and load management data for a plurality of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) data links and for a multi-use power interface configured to be electrically and communicatively coupled to a vehicle via the plurality of BPL data links; and

a server comprising a display device, a processor, and a memory storing instructions thereon, that when executed by the processor, cause the server to perform operations including;

receiving, via a communications link, power quality data and load management data from the plurality of sensors;

determining, based on the power quality data and load management data, functional health statuses of the multi-use power interface and the plurality of BPL data links;

storing, in the memory, the functional health statuses, the power quality data, and the load management data; and

presenting, in a user interface on the display device, the functional health statuses.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the plurality of sensors include one or more of a domain reflectometer (TDR) and a frequency domain reflectometer (FDR) configured to collect power quality data by characterizing electrical conductors in the plurality of BPL data links.