Detecting actuation of electrical devices using electrical noise over a power line
First Claim
1. An apparatus configured to detect a change in an electrical state of one or more electrical devices, the one or more electrical devices are coupled to an electrical power infrastructure and generate transient electrical noise on the electrical power infrastructure, the apparatus comprises:
- a processing module configured to run on a processor of a computational unit; and
a sensing device configured to be coupled to an electrical outlet, the sensing device comprising;
a data acquisition receiver configured to receive the transient electrical noise via the electrical outlet when the sensing device is coupled to the electrical outlet, and further configured to convert the transient electrical noise into one or more first data signals, wherein;
the electrical outlet is electrically coupled to the electrical power infrastructure;
the sensing device is in communication with the processing module; and
the processing module is further configured to identify the change in the electrical state of the one or more electrical devices at least in part by using the one or more first data signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Activity sensing in the home has a variety of important applications, including healthcare, entertainment, home automation, energy monitoring and post-occupancy research studies. Many existing systems for detecting occupant activity require large numbers of sensors, invasive vision systems, or extensive installation procedures. Disclosed is an approach that uses a single plug-in sensor to detect a variety of electrical events throughout the home. This sensor detects the electrical noise on residential power lines created by the abrupt switching of electrical devices and the noise created by certain devices while in operation. Machine learning techniques are used to recognize electrically noisy events such as turning on or off a particular light switch, a television set, or an electric stove. The system has been tested to evaluate system performance over time and in different types of houses. Results indicate that various electrical events can be learned and classified with accuracies ranging from 85-90%.
107 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus configured to detect a change in an electrical state of one or more electrical devices, the one or more electrical devices are coupled to an electrical power infrastructure and generate transient electrical noise on the electrical power infrastructure, the apparatus comprises:
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a processing module configured to run on a processor of a computational unit; and a sensing device configured to be coupled to an electrical outlet, the sensing device comprising; a data acquisition receiver configured to receive the transient electrical noise via the electrical outlet when the sensing device is coupled to the electrical outlet, and further configured to convert the transient electrical noise into one or more first data signals, wherein; the electrical outlet is electrically coupled to the electrical power infrastructure; the sensing device is in communication with the processing module; and the processing module is further configured to identify the change in the electrical state of the one or more electrical devices at least in part by using the one or more first data signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of detecting and classifying electrical power usage by one or more electrical devices, the one or more electrical devices are coupled to an electrical power line, the method comprising:
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capturing one or more first electrical signals on the electrical power line, the one or more first electrical signals comprise first transient electrical noise; after capturing the one or more first electrical signals, using the first transient electrical noise in the one or more first electrical signals to train a computational unit to associate one or more electrical events with the electrical power usage by the one or more electrical devices; capturing one or more second electrical signals on the electrical power line, the one or more second electrical signals comprise second transient electrical noise; detecting an occurrence of the one or more electrical events on the electrical power line using at least in part the second transient electrical noise in the one or more second electrical signals; and using the computational unit to associate the occurrence of the one or more electrical events with a change in an electrical state of at least one device of the one or more electrical devices. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An electrical state change detection device configured to detect a change in an electrical state of one or more electrical devices, the one or more electrical devices are coupled to an electrical power infrastructure, the electrical state change detection device comprises:
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a power line interface module configured to couple to the electrical power infrastructure, the power line interface module comprising; a transmitter configured to couple to the electrical power infrastructure and further configured to transmit an interrogation signal over the electrical power infrastructure, the interrogation signal interacts with a first device of the one or more electrical devices to create a modified interrogation signal; and a receiver configured to couple to the electrical power infrastructure and further configured to receive the modified interrogation signal; one or more filter circuits coupled to the power line interface module and configured to pass one or more portions of the modified interrogation signal; a converter module coupled to an output of the one or more filter circuits and configured to convert the modified interrogation signal into one or more data signals, the one or more data signals comprise information regarding electrical noise of the modified interrogation signal; and a processing module configured to run on a processor of a computational unit, the processing module is further configured to identify the change in the electrical state of the one or more electrical devices at least in part by using the one or more data signals. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification