Power management and priority charging assignments

• US 9,692,259 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2010
• Issued: 06/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kangas, P. Daniel, Boss, Gregory J., Jones, Andrew R., McConnell, Kevin C., Moore, Jr., John E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Abbaszadeh, Jaweed A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hicks, Austin
• Application Number:
  US12/825,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320828A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,555 Days
• Field of Search: 713320, 713324
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3209 Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/329 by task scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00 Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00004 characterised by the power network being locally controlled
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00016 using a wired telecommunication network or a data transmission bus
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/16 The load or loads being an Information and Communication Technology [ICT] facility
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 80/10 Efficient use of energy, e.g. using compressed air or pressurized fluid as energy carrier
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for managing power to devices in a network, using a centralized power allocation controller. The method of managing power consumption of a plurality of devices includes receiving scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities from one or more of a plurality of devices connected in a network. The method further includes centrally managing power consumption of a device of the plurality of devices in the network based on the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities.

Claims

1. A method of managing power consumption of a plurality of devices, comprising:

receiving scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities from an electronic calendar of one or more of a plurality of devices connected in a network;

centrally managing power consumption and priority charging assignments of a device of the plurality of devices in the network based on the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities;

updating the electronic calendar of the one or more of the plurality of devices with power availability of one or more power appliances at a location of the one or more of the plurality of devices when the one or more power appliances are available at the location of the one or more of the plurality of devices; and

rescheduling the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities to another location that meets predetermined power requirements in response to the predetermined power requirements exceeding the power availability of the one or more power appliances at the location of the one or more of the plurality of devices,

wherein the centrally managed power consumption comprises charging essential devices when energy usage costs are at their highest point during a time of day,

the essential devices have a higher weighting factor than other devices of the plurality of devices, and

charging batteries of the plurality of devices when energy usage costs are at their lowest point during the time of the day.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities are received by a central power allocation controller that has logic for managing the power consumption of the one or more devices; and

the network includes any combination of devices within a certain location.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the managing comprises remote power management of the one or more devices within the network which comprises ensuring that devices are charged based on rules associated with the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the managing comprises power allocation based on the priority assigned to the one or more devices or scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of the rules and priority are assigned a weighting factor, wherein the higher weighting factor gives preferences for charging essential devices of the one or more devices, compared to a lower weighting factor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities are polled periodically by a centralized power allocation controller to determine power supply and charging of a battery.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving additional device information from the one or more devices, which includes BIOS information, user information, location information, computer configuration information, registry information, hardware configuration information, and software configuration information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the managing comprises looking up in a look up table charging rules associated with the calendar events and/or activities and applying the charging rules to the one or more devices.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the look up table includes received information from a power grid, which includes peak power usages and energy costs for certain times of the day, and the managing includes charging the one or more devices based on the information received from the power grid.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying the device of charging capabilities associated with the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying the device of actions to be taken for power management based on at least one of the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities, rules and priorities.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a service provider, on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis, manages the power requirements for each of the devices.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving is provided from a first device and the managing is performed on a second device, different from the first device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the managing the priority charging assignments comprises charging the one or more devices based on a priority assigned to the one or more devices or scheduled events and based on upcoming calendar events and/or activities, wherein one or more devices with a higher priority is charged prior to one or more devices with a lower priority.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the electronic calendar of the one or more devices with power availability of one or more power appliances at a location of the one or more devices when one or more power appliances are available at the location of the one or more devices.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the managing the power consumption comprises allocating power based on a location of the device, wherein device components are turned off based on the location of the device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the managing the power consumption comprises diverting power to critical systems when a power failure or reduction in available power occurs.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising placing the one or more devices in sleep mode when the one or more devices is not being used and when there is peak energy usage costs during the time of day on a grid.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising minimizing power consumption of the one or more devices when there is peak energy usage costs during the time of day on the grid.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein a total power consumption of the one or more devices in a network do not exceed a predetermined voltage requirement corresponding to a predetermined total power consumption.

21. A system of delivering power to devices comprising a central power allocation controller comprising at least hardware and software components, the central power allocation controller receiving calendar information from an electronic calendar of one or more devices in a network and, based on the received calendar information, remotely managing power consumption and priority charging assignments of the one or more devices in the network, charging essential devices when energy usage costs are at their highest point during a time of day, the essential devices having a higher weighting factor than other devices of the one or more devices, charging batteries of the one or more devices when energy usage costs are at their lowest point during the time of the day, updating the electronic calendar of the one or more devices with power availability of one or more power appliances at a location of the one or more devices when the one or more power appliances are available at the location of the one or more devices, and rescheduling scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities to another location that meets predetermined power requirements in response to the predetermined power requirements exceeding the power availability of the one or more power appliances at the location of the one or more devices.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the central power allocation controller sends notifications to the one or more devices concerning power management issues.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the central power allocation controller centrally manages the one or more devices based on rules assigned to the calendar information.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the central power allocation controller assigns weighting factors to the rules, wherein the higher weighting factor gives preferences for charging essential devices of the one or more devices, compared to a lower weighting factor.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the central power allocation controller periodically polls the one or more devices for the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities to determine power supply and charging of battery requirements.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the central power allocation controller charges batteries based on the calendar information, rules and priorities associated with the calendar information.

27. The system of claim 21, further comprising a database which stores priorities and weighting factors for each of a plurality of rules associated with the scheduled upcoming events and/or activities of the calendar information.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the database includes received information from a power grid, which includes peak power usages and energy costs for certain times of the day, and the managing includes charging the one or more devices based on the information received from the power grid.

29. The system of claim 21, wherein the central power allocation controller notifies the one or more devices of charging capabilities associated with the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities associated with the calendar information.

30. The system of claim 21, wherein the managing the priority charging assignments comprises charging the one or more devices based on a priority comprising a scheduled upcoming calendar event and/or activity, wherein one or more devices with a higher priority is charged prior to one or more devices with a lower priority.

31. A computer system for managing power consumption in a network, the system comprising:

a processor, a computer readable memory and a computer readable storage media;

first program instructions to receive scheduled calendar events and/or activities an electronic calendar of a plurality of devices on a network;

second program instructions to manage power settings and priority charging assignments of the one or more devices based on the scheduled calendar events and/or activities;

third program instructions to associate priorities and weighting factors to rules associated with the scheduled calendar events and/or activities; and

fourth program instructions to charge essential devices when energy usage costs are at their highest point during a time of day;

fifth program instructions to charge batteries of the plurality of devices when energy usage costs are at their lowest point during the time of day;

sixth program instructions to update the electronic calendar of the plurality of devices with power availability of one or more power appliances at a location of the plurality of devices when the one or more power appliances are available at the location of the plurality of devices; and

seventh program instructions to reschedule the scheduled calendar events and/or activities to another location that meets predetermined power requirements in response to the predetermined power requirements exceeding the power availability of the one or more power appliances at the location of the plurality of devices,

wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the processor via the computer readable memory, and

the essential devices have a higher weighting factor than other devices of the plurality of devices.

32. The computer system of claim 31, wherein the managing the priority charging assignments comprises charging the one or more devices based on a priority comprising a scheduled upcoming calendar event and/or activity, wherein one or more devices with a higher priority is charged prior to one or more devices with a lower priority.

33. A computer program product for managing power in a network, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage media;

first program instructions to receive scheduled calendar events and/or activities from an electronic calendar of a plurality of devices on a network;

second program instructions to manage power settings and priority charging assignments of the one or more devices based on the scheduled calendar events and/or activities;

third program instructions to charge essential devices when energy usage costs are at their highest point during a time of day;

fourth program instructions to charge batteries of the plurality of devices when energy usage costs are at their lowest point during the time of the day;

fifth program instructions to update the electronic calendar of the plurality of devices with power availability of one or more power appliances at a location of the plurality of devices when the one or more power appliances are available at the location of the plurality of devices; and

sixth program instructions to reschedule the scheduled calendar events and/or activities to another location that meets predetermined power requirements in response to the predetermined power requirements exceeding the power availability of the one or more power appliances at the location of the plurality of devices,

wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth program instructions are stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage media, and

the essential devices have a higher weighting factor than other devices of the plurality of devices.

34. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the managing the priority charging assignments comprises charging the one or more devices based on a priority comprising a scheduled upcoming calendar event and/or activity, wherein one or more devices with a higher priority is charged prior to one or more devices with a lower priority.

35. A method for deploying a system of delivering a power supply to a plurality of portable computing devices, comprising:

providing a computer infrastructure operable to;

receive scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities from an electronic calendar of one or more devices connected in a network;

manage power consumption and priority charging assignments of the one or more devices in the network based on the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities;

update the electronic calendar of the one or more devices with power availability of one or more power appliances at a location of the one or more devices when the one or more power appliances are available at the location of the one or more devices; and

reschedule the scheduled upcoming calendar events and/or activities to another location that meets predetermined power requirements in response to the predetermined power requirements exceeding the power availability of the one or more power appliances at the location of the one or more devices.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the managing the priority charging assignments comprises charging the one or more devices based on a priority comprising a scheduled upcoming calendar event and/or activity, wherein one or more devices with a higher priority is charged prior to one or more devices with a lower priority.