System and method for managing uninterruptible power supply systems

• US 7,082,541 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2004
• Issued: 07/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric IT Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: American Power Conversion Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Hammond, Brad, Meiser, Carl J. III, Murphy, Catherine, Giaquinto, Todd, Redmond, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): Cao, Chun
• Application Number:
  US10/806,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20050071699A1
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 709/202, 709/229
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/30 Means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations for resetting only G06F1/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00028 involving the use of Internet protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/062 for AC powered loads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• 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: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/12 Energy storage units, uninterruptible power supply [UPS] systems or standby or emergency generators, e.g. in the last power distribution stages
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/248 UPS systems or standby or emergency generators
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/00 Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them

Abstract

An Internet-based system and method is set forth for managing a number of uninterruptible power supply systems. The system includes an uninterruptible power supply manager computer coupled to a number of user computers via a computer network. The manager computer is further coupled to the number of uninterruptible power supply systems via the computer network. The manager computer can communicate with the number of uninterruptible power supply systems to obtain inventory and/or status information related to each of the uninterruptible power supply systems. The inventory and/or status information is contained in a database defined on the manager computer. An inventory engine, which is included in the computer manager, can configure and arrange the inventory and/or status information into a number of reports.

Claims

1. An uninterruptible power supply manager for managing a plurality of uninterruptible power supply systems coupled to a computer network, the uninterruptible power supply manager comprising:

a communication port for communicating over the computer network with the uninterruptible power supply systems and a plurality of user computers;

a storage medium that stores at least one of inventory information and status information for each of the uninterruptible power supply systems;

a processor coupled to the storage medium and the communication port and configured to obtain the at least one of inventory information and status information from each uninterruptible power supply system over the computer network via the communication port and to send at least a subset of the inventory information and status information toward at least one user computer, coupled to the computer network, via the communication port; and

an engine coupled to the storage medium and configured to aggregate the at least one of the inventory information and status information of the uninterruptible power supply systems;

wherein the processor is configured to send at least a subset of the aggregated information toward the at least one computer.

2. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 1, wherein the inventory engine is configured to aggregate the at least one of inventory information and status information in the storage medium to generate a report.

3. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 2, wherein the engine is configured to arrange at least a subset of the aggregated uninterruptible power supply system information stored in the storage medium to provide a plurality of reports.

4. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 3, wherein the plurality of reports includes inventory reports.

5. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 3, wherein the plurality of reports includes battery status reports.

6. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to limit attempts to communicate with the uninterruptible power supply systems.

7. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to limit attempts to communicate with the uninterruptible power supply systems by specifying at least one of a time limit and a retry limit.

8. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to provide at least one of the plurality of user computers with at least one of an uninterruptible power supply system status web page and a main menu.

9. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to

strobe the uninterruptible power supply systems associated with a range of computer network addresses defined by starting and ending addresses to determine computer network addresses of the uninterruptible power supply systems;

and

store the computer network addresses determined from the strobing.

10. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

strobe the uninterruptible power supply systems associated with a partial computer network address to determine computer network addresses of the uninterruptible power supply systems; and

store the computer network addresses determined from the strobing.

11. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to update the uninterruptible power supply system information.

12. The uninterruptible power supply manager of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to update the uninterruptible power supply system information on a predetermined cyclic schedule.