Wireless electrical apparatus controller device and method of use
DCFirst Claim
1. A system for controlling one or more electrical apparatuses substantially at real-time, the system consisting essentially of:
- a time-based wireless two-way network having imbedded real-time data inherent in a signal broadcast from the network at frequent regular intervals;
a host network operations center for communicating operating protocol commands over the wireless two-way network while expressly not communicating any real-time data; and
a processor/transceiver control unit connected to the one or more electrical apparatuses to be controlled and having at least one microprocessor wired to an RF transceiver through which the host network operations center communicates with the processor/transceiver control unit over the wireless two-way network, the microprocessor storing the operating protocol commands as sent from the network operations center and storing software code, the processor/transceiver control unit further including a clock circuit, the RF transceiver and microprocessor being configured in cooperation with the software code to receive, extract, and keep in the clock circuit the real-time data embedded in the network signal, whereby the processor/transceiver control unit controls power to the one or more electrical apparatuses according to the operating protocol commands sent from the network operations center at real-time as kept by the clock circuit with such real-time data being acquired by the processor/transceiver control unit through the wireless two-way network by which the operating protocol commands are sent, thus eliminating the need for a separate GPS receiver in the system for receiving real-time data.
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Abstract
A device for controlling one or more electrical apparatuses comprising a processor/transceiver control unit connected to each electrical apparatus and having at least one microprocessor wired to a transceiver and a clock circuit that keeps real-time onboard, the microprocessor storing an operating protocol according to which the control unit controls power to the electrical apparatus at real-time as kept by the clock circuit. The control unit'"'"'s microprocessor may be further configured to read and store a nominal voltage for the electrical apparatuses and to compare the nominal voltage to the electrical apparatuses'"'"' operating voltage so as to monitor and report on their operation.
95 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A system for controlling one or more electrical apparatuses substantially at real-time, the system consisting essentially of:
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a time-based wireless two-way network having imbedded real-time data inherent in a signal broadcast from the network at frequent regular intervals; a host network operations center for communicating operating protocol commands over the wireless two-way network while expressly not communicating any real-time data; and a processor/transceiver control unit connected to the one or more electrical apparatuses to be controlled and having at least one microprocessor wired to an RF transceiver through which the host network operations center communicates with the processor/transceiver control unit over the wireless two-way network, the microprocessor storing the operating protocol commands as sent from the network operations center and storing software code, the processor/transceiver control unit further including a clock circuit, the RF transceiver and microprocessor being configured in cooperation with the software code to receive, extract, and keep in the clock circuit the real-time data embedded in the network signal, whereby the processor/transceiver control unit controls power to the one or more electrical apparatuses according to the operating protocol commands sent from the network operations center at real-time as kept by the clock circuit with such real-time data being acquired by the processor/transceiver control unit through the wireless two-way network by which the operating protocol commands are sent, thus eliminating the need for a separate GPS receiver in the system for receiving real-time data.
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2. A method of controlling one or more electrical apparatuses wirelessly over a time-based two-way wireless network having real-time data imbedded in a signal broadcast from the wireless network at frequent regular intervals, comprising the steps of:
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wiring a control unit between a power source and each electrical apparatus; programming the control unit with an operating protocol and software code configured to acquire and utilize digital binary real-time data from the network signal; communicating with the control unit from a host network operations center through the wireless network; receiving and extracting at the control unit the real-time data automatically imbedded in a signal broadcast from the wireless network; keeping the real-time data in a clock circuit of the control unit as enabled by the software code residing on a microprocessor of the control unit; and controlling each electrical apparatus according to the operating protocol in conjunction with the real-time data in the clock circuit. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of controlling one or more electrical apparatuses wirelessly over a time-based two-way wireless network having real-time data imbedded in a signal broadcast from the wireless network at frequent regular intervals, comprising the steps of:
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wiring a control unit between a power source and a set number of electrical apparatuses; programming the control unit with an operating protocol and software code configured to acquire and utilize digital binary real-time data from the network signal; communicating with the control unit from a host network operations center through the wireless network; receiving and extracting at the control unit the real-time data automatically imbedded in a signal broadcast from the wireless network; initializing the control unit so as to determine a nominal voltage of the control unit based on the number of electrical apparatuses; keeping the real-time data in a clock circuit of the control unit as enabled by the software code residing on a microprocessor of the control unit; and controlling each electrical apparatus according to the operating protocol in conjunction with the real-time data in the clock circuit; reading an actual operating voltage when the control unit and its associated electrical apparatuses are powered; calculating an alert voltage change by dividing the nominal voltage by the number of electrical apparatuses; and sending a low-voltage alert message from the control unit over the wireless network to a network operations center if the operating voltage has dropped from the nominal voltage by an amount greater than or equal to the alert voltage change.
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19. A system for controlling one or more electrical apparatuses by way of a time-based wireless two-way network having imbedded real-time data inherent in a signal broadcast from the network at frequent regular intervals, the signal being acquired from a first transceiver configured to acquire and relay the real-time data from a global positioning system satellite and being broadcast by a second transceiver configured to receive the real-time data from the first transceiver and to transmit the real-time data at frequent regular intervals from a local tower site in the form of an encoded time-stamp transmission embedded in a first frame of a 16- to 32-frame data header, the system comprising:
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a processor/transceiver control unit connected to the one or more electrical apparatuses and having at least one microprocessor wired to a third transceiver, the microprocessor storing an operating protocol and software code, the processor/transceiver control unit further including a clock circuit, the third transceiver being configured in cooperation with the software code to receive the real-time data from the second transceiver as automatically embedded in the data header of the network signal and to then keep the real-time data in the clock circuit; and a network operations center configured to communicate with the remote processor/transceiver control unit over the wireless two-way network, the network operations center sending one or more operating protocol commands to the processor/transceiver control unit while expressly not sending any real-time data and receiving messages from the processor/transceiver control unit confirming receipt and execution of the commands, whereby the processor/transceiver control unit controls power to the one or more electrical apparatuses according to the operating protocol at real-time as kept by the clock circuit with such real-time data being acquired by the processor/transceiver control unit through the wireless two-way network by which the operating protocol commands are sent, thereby eliminating the need for a local GPS receiver at the processor/transceiver control unit or the network operations center. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A device for controlling one or more electrical apparatuses comprising a processor/transceiver control unit connected to each electrical apparatus and having at least one microprocessor wired to an RF transceiver, the microprocessor storing an operating protocol and software code, the processor/transceiver control unit further including a clock circuit, the RF transceiver being configured in cooperation with the software code to receive real-time data transmitted at frequent regular intervals from a local tower site in the form of an encoded time-stamp transmission embedded in a first frame of a 16- to 32-frame data header and to keep the real-time data in the clock circuit, whereby the processor/transceiver control unit controls power to each electrical apparatus according to the operating protocol at real-time as kept by the clock circuit without the need for a local GPS receiver at the processor/transceiver control unit.
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28. A device for controlling one or more electrical apparatuses consisting essentially of a processor/transceiver control unit connected to each electrical apparatus and having at least one microprocessor wired to an RF transceiver, the microprocessor storing operating protocol commands as sent from a network operations center over a time-based wireless two-way network, the processor/transceiver control unit further including a clock circuit that keeps real-time onboard, the RF transceiver and microprocessor being configured in cooperation with software code residing in the microprocessor to receive and extract real-time data automatically embedded in a signal of the wireless network broadcast at frequent regular intervals and to keep the real-time data in the clock circuit, whereby the processor/transceiver control unit controls power to the electrical apparatus according to the operating protocol commands sent from the network operations center at real-time as kept by the clock circuit with such real-time data being acquired by the processor/transceiver control unit through the wireless two-way network by which the operating protocol commands are sent, thus eliminating the need for a separate GPS receiver in the device for receiving real-time data.
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29. A device for controlling one or more electrical apparatuses consisting essentially of a processor/transceiver control unit connected to each electrical apparatus, the processor/transceiver control unit consisting essentially of:
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at least one microprocessor storing operating protocol commands as sent from a network operations center over a time-based wireless two-way network and further storing software code; an RF transceiver connected to the microprocessor; one or more relays connected between the at least one microprocessor and the one or more electrical apparatuses through one or more current transformers; a back-up power supply connected to the microprocessor; a voltage transformer connected between at least the microprocessor and an external power source; and a clock circuit that keeps real-time onboard, the transceiver and microprocessor being configured in cooperation with the software code stored in the microprocessor to receive and extract real-time data automatically embedded in a signal of the wireless network broadcast at frequent regular intervals and to keep the real-time data in the clock circuit, whereby the processor/transceiver control unit controls power to the one or more electrical apparatuses according to the operating protocol commands sent from the network operations center at real-time as kept by the clock circuit with such real-time data being acquired by the processor/transceiver control unit through the wireless two-way network by which the operating protocol commands are sent, thus eliminating the need for a separate GPS receiver in the device for receiving real-time data.
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Specification