Intelligent power system and methods for its application
First Claim
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1. A process for controlling a consumer device based upon information relating to characteristics of a power source;
- said process comprising the steps of;
a. receiving a power signal at a power transceiver;
b. embedding a signature of a power source into the power signal using a modulator to form a combined signal, wherein embedding the signature of the power source comprises demultiplexing a signal from a signal generator into multiple subsequences, and wherein the modulator adds each subsequence to a distinct frequency-based sub-channel of the power signal;
c. transmitting the combined power signal in-band to a consumer device;
d. transmitting the signature and additional information out-of-band to a server having records;
e. storing the signature and the additional information in the records;
f. demodulating the combined signal to determine the signature;
g. sending the power from the power source to a power supply coupled to the consumer device;
h. generating a query based on the signature;
i. sending the query out-of-band from the consumer device to the server to request the server lookup information in the records; and
j. responding to the query by sending the additional information to the consumer device.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for injecting information into a power signal, and techniques to capture the injected information are disclosed. Various processes for using the information are also presented, which may relate to the type of device receiving the information. Moreover, techniques for determining the distance of a consumer device are disclosed, as have a specific implementation which relates to mobile consumer devices. Also various ways of encrypting both in-band and out-of-band transmission are disclosed.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A process for controlling a consumer device based upon information relating to characteristics of a power source;
- said process comprising the steps of;
a. receiving a power signal at a power transceiver; b. embedding a signature of a power source into the power signal using a modulator to form a combined signal, wherein embedding the signature of the power source comprises demultiplexing a signal from a signal generator into multiple subsequences, and wherein the modulator adds each subsequence to a distinct frequency-based sub-channel of the power signal; c. transmitting the combined power signal in-band to a consumer device; d. transmitting the signature and additional information out-of-band to a server having records; e. storing the signature and the additional information in the records; f. demodulating the combined signal to determine the signature; g. sending the power from the power source to a power supply coupled to the consumer device; h. generating a query based on the signature; i. sending the query out-of-band from the consumer device to the server to request the server lookup information in the records; and j. responding to the query by sending the additional information to the consumer device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
- said process comprising the steps of;
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9. A process for embedding a signature into a power signal using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing comprising the following steps:
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a. generating the signature; b. receiving a power signal having harmonics for transmitting power to a consumer device and for transmitting the signature to the consumer device; c. demultiplexing the signature into several sub-sequences; and d. injecting the signature as a mixed signal with the power signal by adding each sub-sequence to a distinct frequency-based sub-channel of the power signal using a modulator; e. wherein the modulating utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing to embed the information into the carriers near the power signal. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A process for tracking a consumer device'"'"'s power consumption from a power source comprising the steps of:
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a. providing a server having a memory for storing an account having a user'"'"'s payment information and consumer device information; b. connecting the consumer device to a power outlet to allow power to flow from the power source to the consumer device; c. sending an in-band transmission to the power source to charge the account associated with the consumer device for the consumption of the power, wherein the step of sending includes generating a signature for identifying the consumer device, demultiplexing the signature into a plurality of subsequences, and modulating the subsequences into the in-band transmission sent to the power source by adding each subsequence to a distinct frequency-based sub-channel; d. querying the server out-of-band from the power source to determine whether an account associated with the consumer device exists; and e. sending a response concerning the query to the power source. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification