This patent document relates generally to methods and systems for controlling delivery of power and in particular to controlling delivery of power by a power outlet.
In electrical systems in residential and commercial buildings, limitations exist where a wall switch is wired to control only a fixed lighting fixture or power outlet, or multiple switches (e.g., two-way, three-way) are wired to control a single lighting fixture or device. Once the electrical wiring is done for the building, the switch cannot be changed to control another lighting device or outlet, and no additional outlets or lighting can be added to the control. In real applications, a user's needs for power control may change from time to time. For example, the user has re-arranged the furniture inside a home and may want to move a single lamp to a different area of the house and wish that the lamp can be controlled by a different switch in the house. The user may also have a need to add extra lamps to a wall switch in the house. The user may also want to use an existing wall switch to control a timer or holiday lightings on a temporary basis. The wiring system in an existing home or building would not be able to achieve these without remodeling of the home or use of extension cords.
Home automation technologies, such as X10, offer some flexibilities in the control of home appliances using the home power line. However, X10 technologies require a user to replace an existing wall switch with an X10 switch to be installed into the outlet. Such modification of the wall switch may require someone skilled in handling electrical wiring inside the home. Further, X10 transmits signals over the power line, which may not always be reliable. Modern smart home technologies offer home automation that allows a user to program and control various devices at home. However, this solution has drawbacks in terms of the complexity and cost of the system. Such a solution also often uses Wi-Fi, which requires installation and configuration (e.g., using a secure password) of Wi-Fi. Such a solution also may use applications on a user's mobile electronic device, requiring installation of an application on the user's mobile device and also requiring the user to carry the mobile device in order to control a light. All of these can be cumbersome to the user.
A communication system for activating and deactivating the delivery of power to a power outlet includes a transmitting device that has a power port configured to couple with a first power source controllable by a switch, a transmitter configured to transmit on and off commands on a communication link, and a circuit. The circuit is configured to cause the transmitter to transmit the on and off commands on the communication link when the power port is coupled with the first power source and the first power source is switched to on and off, respectively. In some scenarios, when the transmitting device is coupled with the first power source, and the first power source is switched from off to on, the transmitting device transmits a sequence of on commands at randomized time intervals.
The system also includes a receiving device that has a power port configured to couple with a second power source, a receiver configured to receive commands on the communication link, a controlled port for receiving a power load, and a circuit. The circuit of the receiving device is configured to cause the receiver to receive the on and off commands from the transmitting device on the communication link and, in response to receiving the on and off commands, activate and deactivate the delivery of power from the second power source to the controlled port, respectively.
In some scenarios, the transmitting device may further include an energy storage element, such as a battery or a capacitor. The capacitor is configured to store power when the device is coupled with the power source and the power source is on. When the power source is off, the capacitor may provide the stored power to the transmitting device to allow the device to transmit commands on the communication link before the device is completely powered off.
In some or other scenarios, the circuit of the receiving device is configured to, in response to the receiver receiving an off command on the communication link, deactivate the delivery of power from the second power source to the controlled port. In some or other scenarios, the circuit of the receiving device is configured to, in response to the receiver receiving an on command on the communication link, activate the delivery of power from the second power source to the controlled port. In some or other scenarios, the circuit of the transmitting device is configured to, when the power port of the transmitting device is coupled with the first power source and the first power source is switched from off to on, transmit a sequence of on commands. The circuit of the receiving device may also be configured to deactivate the delivery of power from the second power source to the controlled port at an end of a time-off period only if the receiver has not received any on command on the communication link within the time-off period.
Each of the transmitting and receiving devices may also include a channel selection switch so that both devices may be set to one of the multiple channels. A transmitting device that is set to a particular channel may transmit commands over the communication link for one or more receivers that are also set to the same channel to receive the transmitted commands. Each of the plurality of channels may be represented by a unique digital channel identification code. Each of the commands may include a header followed by a command code, where the header includes the unique digital channel identification code representing one of the multiple channels.
In this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.” Similarly, the term “comprises” means “includes, and is not limited to.” Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in this document have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.
The terms “processor” and “processing device” refer to a hardware component of an electronic device that is configured to execute programming instructions. Except where specifically stated otherwise, the singular terms “processor” and “processing device” are intended to include both single-processing device embodiments and embodiments in which multiple processing devices together or collectively perform a process.
The term “couple,” when used with reference to a power source refers to either a physical connection to the power source, e.g., via a connection port, or a wireless connection to the power source, e.g., via induction, so that power can be withdrawn from the power source. The connection may be a direct connection or an indirect connection via one or more conductors.
In
In some scenarios, when the first power source 110 is turned from off to on, the transmitting device 101, 102, 103 may transmit one or more on commands to the receiving device 111, 112, 113 to activate delivery of power from the second power source 120 to the controlled port 222 of each receiving device. In other scenarios, when the first power source 110 is turned from on to off, the transmitting device 101, 102, 103 may transmit one or more off commands to the receiving device 111, 112, 113 to deactivate the delivery of power from the second power source 120 to the controlled port 222 of each receiving device.
In some or other scenarios, the communication link 130 can be a wireless link, such as a radio frequency band, e.g., a 900 MHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. Other communication links, existing or later developed, may also be used. The first power source 110 and the second power source 120 may be different power lines. For example, the first power source 110 may be a power line in a first building, whereas the second power source 120 may be a different power line in a second building. Alternatively, the first power source 110 and the second power source 120 may also be the same power source, e.g., on the home power line provided by the electrical panel of the house or other building.
In
The device 200 also includes a processing device, such as a circuit 216 having a microprocessor 214 and other components, and configured to perform various functions of the device. For example, the circuit 216 may include a printed circuit board (PCB) and have the microprocessor 214 mounted thereon. The device 200 also includes an antenna 212 and a transmitter or receiver 210 configured to transmit or receive a control command over the communication link via the antenna 212. For example, a transmitting device may be configured to transmit a control command, and a receiving device may be configured to receive the control command. In some or other scenarios, the device 200 may have both a transmitter and a receiver, or a combined transceiver in an integrated circuit (IC). In such a case, the device 200 can function as both a transmitter and a receiver. Additionally, the device 200 may also include a master/slave mode selection switch 220 that is configured to set the microprocessor 214 to operate as transmitting device (master mode) or receiving device (slave mode).
The device 200 may further include a direct current (DC) power rectifier or regulator 204 configured to provide a regulated voltage, e.g., a low DC voltage for powering the microprocessor 214 and the circuit 216. The DC power rectifier or regulator 204 may also be configured to provide power for the transmitter or receiver 210. The device 200 may also include a fast AC voltage presence detector 206 configured to detect whether there is power at the power port 202. For example, the power source 230 is a fixed outlet that is controlled by a switch. When the switch is turned off, the power from the power source 230 to the power port 202 is cut off, and the AC voltage presence detector 206 may detect that the power port 202 has no power.
The device 200 may further include a controlled port 222 that is configured to receive a power load 240, such as an appliance. The circuit 216 may also include an AC power control 208. When the device 200 functions as a receiving device, the AC power control 208 may be configured to activate or deactivate the delivery of power from the power source 230 to the controlled port 222 based on a control command received from the receiver 210. The AC power control 208 may be a relay or a solid state TRIAC (TRIode for Alternating Current). The relay may be an electromechanical relay. The relay may also be a solid state relay. In some scenarios, an on or off command received at the receiving device may cause the receiving device to generate a blip from the AC power control 208.
The device 200 may also include a channel selection switch 218. In some scenarios, the device 200 may be capable of handling a fixed number of channels, e.g., 8 or 16. In order for a transmitting device to control a receiving device, both the transmitting and receiving devices must be using the same channel. This can be done by selecting the channel selection switch 218 for both the transmitting and receiving devices to set to the same channel. The selection of the channel selection switch 218 corresponds to one of the multiple channels that can be set by the channel selection switch, each of the channels is represented by a unique digital channel identification code.
In
In some scenarios, the channel selector 218 of the transmitting device and the receiving device may be configured to cause each device to use the same digital channel identification code to respectively transmit and receive the on and off commands. For example, a transmitter for which channel selector 218 is set to channel 1 is configured to only transmit a command that includes a header corresponding to channel 1. Similarly, a receiver for which channel selector 218 is set to channel 1 is configured to receive a command that includes the header corresponding to channel 1.
With the channel selection, the system (as shown in
In some scenarios, the control commands transmitted or received by the transmitting or receiving device may include two types: an on command and an off command. With reference to
The use of randomized time intervals helps to avoid collision in which more than one transmitting device are transmitting control commands on the same channel at the same time. Sending the sequence of on commands at randomized time intervals may help avoid such collisions and allow the receiving device to receive all controlling commands from any transmitting device on the same channel. In some scenarios, the randomized time interval is in the range from 4 to 11 milliseconds.
With continued reference to
In some or other scenarios, in response to receiving an off command 306 on the communication link, the receiving device may be configured to deactivate 314 the delivery of power from the second power source to the controlled port.
With reference to
Returning to
A system may implement the above on and off commands in various ways to suit different applications. In some scenarios, the system may be configured to allow more than one transmitting device on the same channel to control one or more receiving devices on that channel. For example, when there are multiple transmitting devices, each transmitting device is configured to transmit a sequence of on commands 304 when the power source is switched on. The receiving device may be configured to detect one or more commands and deactivate 312 delivery of power from the power source to the controlled port if, during a time-off period T 305, the receiving device has not received any on command. In such scenario, if two transmitting devices are both on the same channel and the power for only one device is turned off, the receiving device will remain uninterrupted until both transmitting devices are turned off.
Returning to
In some or other scenarios, a receiving device includes: a power port configured to couple with a power source; a receiver configured to receive on and off commands from a device on a communication link; a controlled port for receiving a power load; and a circuit configured to cause the receiver to receive the on and off commands on the communication link and, in response to receiving the on and off commands, activate and deactivate the delivery of power from the power source to the controlled port, respectively. The on commands are transmitted as a sequence of on commands at randomized time intervals.
The above illustrated embodiments provide advantages over existing home or commercial power control systems. For example, the transmitting and receiving devices can be made of the same configuration, with a master/slave mode selection switch to switch the transmitting/receiving mode of the device. Each transmitting device may continuously broadcast a sequence of on or off commands on a channel without knowing how many receivers are on the communication link. Any number of receivers, once selected to the same channel as the transmitting device, may receive the control commands from the transmitting device Similarly, any number of transmitting devices can be selected to the same channel and control one or more receiving devices on that channel. With randomized time intervals used for transmitting a sequence of on commands, collisions between multiple transmitting devices can be avoided. Thus, the system can be made scalable in real deployment. Other advantages include the use of a time-off period in deactivating the delivery of power to a controlled port to prevent interference from noise in the communication link. Advantages also include the use of energy storage element that enables the transmitting device to transmit a sufficient number of off commands that can be received by the receiving device before the transmitting device is completely powered off.
The features and functions described above, as well as alternatives, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements may be made by those skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.