Method and apparatus for performing automated power plant battery backup capacity measurement
First Claim
1. An automated method for performing a measurement of battery backup capacity of a power plant, the power plant comprising a power plant controller for controlling the operation of said power plant, a rectifier for converting a primary power source to an output voltage of said rectifier, the output voltage of said rectifier having a nominal voltage level, and a battery for backup in case of a failure of said primary power source, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) reducing the output voltage of the rectifier to a voltage less than the nominal voltage level thereof, and identifying a time when the output voltage of the rectifier has been so reduced;
(b) measuring a voltage to determine when the battery has been discharged, and identifying a time at which the battery has been determined to be discharged;
(c) calculating a period of time for the battery to discharge based on the identified time when the output voltage of the rectifier has been reduced and on the identified time at which the battery has been determined to be discharged;
(d) restoring the output voltage of the rectifier to the nominal voltage level thereof; and
(e) comparing the calculated period of time for the battery to discharge to a predetermined minimum acceptable period of time for the battery to discharge.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for automatically performing a measurement of a power plant'"'"'s battery backup capacity. The process comprises reducing an output voltage of a rectifier and identifying a time when said output voltage has been so reduced, measuring the voltage (e.g., at the output of the battery) to determine when the battery has been discharged and identifying a time when the battery has been determined to be discharged, calculating the period of time for the battery to discharge based on the two identified times, restoring the output voltage of the rectifier, and comparing the calculated period of time for the battery to discharge to a predetermined minimum acceptable period of time for the battery to discharge. Advantageously, this process is performed automatically at predetermined intervals or in accordance with a predetermined scheduling algorithm, and is advantageously performed during known “off-peak” time periods (e.g., during the overnight hours).
12 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An automated method for performing a measurement of battery backup capacity of a power plant, the power plant comprising a power plant controller for controlling the operation of said power plant, a rectifier for converting a primary power source to an output voltage of said rectifier, the output voltage of said rectifier having a nominal voltage level, and a battery for backup in case of a failure of said primary power source, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) reducing the output voltage of the rectifier to a voltage less than the nominal voltage level thereof, and identifying a time when the output voltage of the rectifier has been so reduced;
(b) measuring a voltage to determine when the battery has been discharged, and identifying a time at which the battery has been determined to be discharged;
(c) calculating a period of time for the battery to discharge based on the identified time when the output voltage of the rectifier has been reduced and on the identified time at which the battery has been determined to be discharged;
(d) restoring the output voltage of the rectifier to the nominal voltage level thereof; and
(e) comparing the calculated period of time for the battery to discharge to a predetermined minimum acceptable period of time for the battery to discharge. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A power plant adapted to automatically perform a measurement of battery backup capacity thereof, the power plant comprising:
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a power plant controller for controlling the operation of said power plant;
a rectifier for converting a primary power source to an output voltage of said rectifier, the output voltage of said rectifier having a nominal voltage level; and
a battery for backup in case of a failure of said primary power source, wherein the controller is adapted to perform the steps of;
(a) reducing the output voltage of the rectifier to a voltage less than the nominal voltage level thereof, and identifying a time when the output voltage of the rectifier has been so reduced;
(b) measuring a voltage to determine when the battery has been discharged, and identifying a time at which the battery has been determined to be discharged;
(c) calculating a period of time for the battery to discharge based on the identified time when the output voltage of the rectifier has been reduced and on the identified time at which the battery has been determined to be discharged;
(d) restoring the output voltage of the rectifier to the nominal voltage level thereof; and
(e) comparing the calculated period of time for the battery to discharge to a predetermined minimum acceptable period of time for the battery to discharge. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification