The present disclosure relates generally to networked devices and systems, and more particularly, to a wireless monitoring system for use with, e.g., a power generation unit, and methods of using the same.
Distributed sensor networks have been used for monitoring various parameters of power generation units within a power generation plant, e.g., to avoid possible system failures. These distributed sensor networks typically include wired sensors, which may be installed on the same power and signal lines as the power generation units. These wired networks typically carries high installation costs due to the need for running additional power and signal lines, e.g., to each sensor. Additionally, the reliability of these wired networks is questionable, as power failures and faults within the power generation plant will effectively cause the wired sensors to fail.
Battery powered solutions have been provided, e.g., by replacing wired sensors with wireless sensors, to reduce costs associated with wired networks, and to prevent failures resulting from power and signal loss within the power plant. However, these battery power solutions have reliability issues as well, as the batteries powering these wireless sensors lasts for a limited amount of time, which results in the wireless sensor coming offline. Because these wireless sensors are needed for monitoring the power generation unit, e.g., to avoid system failures, it is important to provide a more reliable system. Therefore, there remains a need for systems and methods that provide a more reliable monitoring system.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide an improved monitoring system for one or more power generation units, e.g., gas turbine, steam turbine, generator or the like, that is more reliable than systems relying on batteries, or wired power and signal lines.
In one embodiment, a power generation plant with wireless monitoring system is provided. The power generation plant may include one or more power generation units, e.g., gas turbine engine, generator, etc., and a wireless monitoring system. The power generation units may include one or more sensors for sensing one or more parameters of the power generation unit and for transmitting the senses parameters to the wireless monitoring system. The wireless monitoring system may be a distributed wireless sensor network having one or more wireless node assemblies distributed throughout the plant and proximate to the power generation units for receiving the sensed parameters of the power generation unit. The wireless monitoring system may further include a controller operably connected to a light emitting means and the wireless node assembly. The controller may be configured to receive the sensed parameters of the power generation unit from the wireless node assembly, and to receive one or more parameters of the wireless node assembly. The one or more parameters of the wireless node assembly may identify, e.g., the location of the wireless node assembly or other device of the wireless monitoring system, and the power level remaining in the wireless node assembly, or more particularly, the wireless node assembly's sensor power source.
The controller may further be configured to identify the parameters of the wireless node assembly, and to determine if the identified parameters indicate that the energy level of the sensor power source is within a predefined range requiring that the sensor power source be recharge. Upon determining that the energy level is within the predefined range, the controller may be configured to generate and transmit one or more signals or commands to activate the light emitting means. The activated light emitting means may be within the purview of the wireless node assembly, e.g., positioned above and/or proximate to the wireless node assembly, or more particularly, positioned such that any light energy emitted from the light energy means is within the line-of-sight of a sensor power adapter of the wireless node assembly. The sensor power adapter may be operably connected to the sensor power source, and operably configured to convert the light energy into, e.g., electricity, for recharging the sensor power source.
In yet a further embodiment, the controller may further be configured to deactivate the activated light emitting means upon determining that the energy level of the wireless node assembly is outside of the predetermined range requiring recharging. To determine whether the energy level is outside the predetermined range, the controller may receive a subsequent message, via the wireless node assembly, indicating that the energy level is outside the range. Thereafter, the controller may generate and transmit a command to deactivate the light emitting means. In yet a further embodiment, the activated light emitting means may be deactivated after a predetermined amount of time has elapsed since activation.
The components and materials described hereinafter as making up the various embodiments are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many suitable components and materials that would perform the same or a similar function as the materials described herein are intended to be embraced within the scope of embodiments of the present invention.
In general, the computing systems and devices described herein may be assembled by a number of computing components and circuitry such as, for example, one or more processors (e.g., Intel®, AMD®, Samsung®) in communication with memory or other storage medium. The memory may be Random Access Memory (RAM), flashable or non-flashable Read Only Memory (ROM), hard disk drives, flash drives, or any other types of memory known to persons of ordinary skill in the art and having storing capabilities. The computing systems and devices may also utilize cloud computing technologies to facilitate several functions, e.g., storage capabilities, executing program instruction, etc. The computing systems and devices may further include one or more communication components such as, for example, one or more network interface cards (NIC) or circuitry having analogous functionality, one or more one way or multi-directional ports (e.g., bi-directional auxiliary port, universal serial bus (USB) port, etc.), in addition to other hardware and software necessary to implement wired communication with other devices. The communication components may further include wireless transmitters, a receiver (or an integrated transceiver) that may be coupled to broadcasting hardware of the sorts to implement wireless communication within the system, for example, an infrared transceiver, Bluetooth transceiver, or any other wireless communication know to persons of ordinary skill in the art and useful for facilitating the transfer of information.
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the subject matter herein only and not for limiting the same,
Each PGU 20 may include sensors (not shown) for monitoring/sensing various parameters of the PGU 20, and for transmitting data representative of the sensed parameters to the PMS 100. The sensed parameters may include, for example, the temperature within the PGU 20 or surrounding its internal components, vibrations of various pumps, pressures within various line, stress of particular parts, humidity, valve status (on/off), and position indications. The sensed parameters may be transmitted to the PMS 100 via a communications link 130. The communications link 130 may be, e.g., a wired communications link, wireless communications link, or any other communications link known to persons having ordinary skill in the art and configurable to allow for communication and/or interfacing between the devices and/or components within the PGP 10, PGU 20, and PMS 100. Examples of such communication links may include Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), and Global Area Networks (GAN) having wired or wireless branches. Additionally, network devices/components and/or nodes (e.g., cabling, routers, switches, gateway, etc.) may also be included in the PMS 100 for facilitating the transfer of information within the PMS 100, and between the PMS 100 and the devices within the PP 10, e.g., sensors of the PGU 20.
With continued reference to
With reference now to
The controller 200 may further include a network interface circuit 230 operably connected to the processing circuit 210 and/or memory 220, and configured for interfacing the controller 200 with any of the devices within the PMS 100 and/or the PGP 10, e.g., the WNA 300 and PGU 20. The network interface circuit 230 may be any of the communication components described herein (e.g., NIC, wireless transceivers etc.) for facilitating the transfer of information between the controller 200 and the devices of the PMS 100 and PGP 10. The transmission of information via the network interface circuit 230 may also be one-directional or multidirectional, e.g., depending on whether the network interface circuit 230 comprises a separate receiver and transmitter circuit, or a transceiver. The controller may also include a user interface 260. The user interface 260 may be any general interface, e.g., a graphical interface (GUI), which receives user input and generates an output, e.g., a displayable output.
With continued reference to
The LFA 400 may further include a microcontroller 420 operably connected to a network interface circuit 430 for processing commands or signals received from the controller 200, via the network interface circuit 430, and in response to the parameters received from by the controller 200 from the WNA 300. The network interface circuit 430 may be similar to the network interface circuit 230 of the controller in that it may be configured for one-directional communication between the controller 200 and the LFA 400, or multi-directional communication as described herein. The LFA 400 may further include a switching circuit 440 operably connected to the microcontroller 420. The switching circuit 440 may be configured to control the operability of each bulb or bulb assembly 410, i.e., the powering on or off each bulb or assembly, in response to commands from the controller 200.
With reference now to
As shown in
With continue reference to the figures, the wireless sensor 310 may include monitoring circuitry 340 operably connected to the sensor power source 335 and other components, e.g., the memory 325, for monitoring the power remaining in the sensor power source 335, e.g., the battery level, and transmitting the results, e.g., to the controller 200 or second WNA 300. In yet a further embodiment, the functionality of the monitoring circuitry 340, i.e., to identify the status of the sensor power source 335, may reside in the controller 200, e.g., as a battery monitoring circuit BMC (
In operation, the monitoring circuit 340 may continuously, or sequentially, monitor the sensor power source 335 to detect or identify any changes in its energy or power level, e.g., the amount of power remaining as compared to the sensor power source's 335 power capacity. Once the remaining energy level is identified, the identified level may then be transmitted to the controller 200, e.g., via the network interface circuit 330. In one embodiment, the power level may be transmitted to the controller 200 as a battery state, i.e., a status assigned to and representative of the power remaining in the sensor power source 335.
The battery state may be defined via the wireless sensor 310, or in a further embodiment, via the controller 200. Examples of types of battery states may include, e.g., a full state, a partial state, or critical state. In one embodiment, a full-battery state may be representative of a battery having a power level at or proximate to that sensor power source's 335 power capacity, e.g., a battery with 100% power. A partial-battery state may be representative of the sensor power source's 335 power level being around 50% of its power capacity. A critical-battery state may represent less than 25% of power remaining in the sensor power source 335. It should also be appreciated that the detected or identified numerical value for the power level remaining may also be transmitted to the controller 200 as the battery state in another embodiment. The above power level percentages are exemplary in nature, and not for limiting the possible power level values or ranges defining a particular battery state, and that each battery state may be customized to based on ones needs or industry requirements.
With continue reference to the figures, and upon identifying the power level of the sensor power source 335, the controller 200, under the control of the CAP 250, may activate one or more of the LFA 400 in response to the identified power level. In order to activate the LFA 400, the controller 200 may transmit one or more commands to the switching circuit 440. Upon receiving the commands from the controller 200, the switching circuit 440 may activate one or more of the bulbs 410 of the LFA 400, such that light energy LE may be emitted from the bulbs 410 and within the purview of the WNA 300 identified as having a sensor power source 335 with a power level below capacity. It should further be appreciated that the functionality of the switching circuit 440 may also reside in the controller 200, e.g., as a light switching circuit LSC (
With continued reference to
It should also be appreciated, that a transmission of the updated power level may not necessary in an embodiment where the monitoring circuit continuously monitors the sensor power source 335, or where the monitoring is performed in the controller 200. In this embodiment, the status of the sensor power source 335 may be identified by the controller 200, which may control, e.g., power off, the LFA 400 in response to the status of the sensor power source 335.
With continued reference to the figures, and now
In step 1010, receiving one or more messages, via the WNA 300, identifying one or more parameters of the PGU 20 and/or one or more parameters of the WNA 300. As described herein, the parameters of the PGU 20 may include one or more parameters identifying the operability or condition of the PGU 20 or its internal components. The one or more parameters of the WNA 300 may include parameters identifying the location of the WNA 300 within the PGP 10. The location may be identified by comparing, e.g., a serial number or other unique identifier for the WNA 300 to a floor plan of the PGP 10, or by other means known to persons having ordinary skill in the art and capable of identifying the location of the WNA 300. Additionally, the parameters may include an indication of the energy/power level remaining in the sensor power source 335 for the WNA 300, or in a further embodiment, another WNA 300.
In step 1020, identifying the energy remaining in the sensor power source 335. As described herein, the power level may be identified as a battery state, e.g., full, partial, etc., or as a value indicative of the percentage remaining, a range, or other numerical value. Upon identifying the energy remaining, the controller 200, under the control of the CAP 250, may compare the identified power level to, e.g., a listing or other database, to determine whether the remaining power is at or below a sustainable power threshold for the WNA 300. That is, to determine if the WNA 300 needs to be recharged. The listing may be stored within the controller 200, e.g., the memory 220, or any other storage medium operable connected thereto and accessible by the controller 200.
Upon determining that the WNA 300 needs recharging, in step 1030, activating the LFA 400. In this step, the controller 200, under the control of the CAP 250, activates an LFA 400 in response to the identified energy level. The activate LFA 400 may be position within the PGP 10 above or proximate to the WNA 300 to be recharged, such that the light energy LE emitted therefrom is within the line-of-sight of the PV Panel 362 of the WNA 300. In yet a further embodiment, the WNA 300 may identify which LFA 400 should be activated by the controller 200. This identification may be provided with the message identifying the energy level, or a subsequent message.
Upon determining that the sensor power source 335 is fully charged or no longer requires recharging, in step 1040, deactivating the LFA 400. In this step the controller 200, under the control of the CAP 250, may deactivate the LFA 400 upon determining that the energy within the sensor power source 335 is at or near its full capacity, or above the threshold requiring recharging of the sensor power source 335. To determine the power level, the controller 200 may receive a further message from the WNA 300 identifying its power level. Upon comparing this further identified power level with the listing, if the listing is above the threshold for recharging the sensor power source 335, the LFA 400 which was previously activate, may be deactivated.
In yet a further embodiment, the controller 200 or the LFA 400 may include a timing module or timer operable connected thereto for deactivating an activated LFA 400. The timing module may define a time or time period, e.g., one hour, half a day, for operating the activated LFA 400. In an embodiment where a specified deactivation time is defined, the specified time may correspond to the time represented by, e.g., a system clock for the controller 200 or any other device operably connected thereto. In this embodiment, and in addition to or in lieu of receiving the update message from the WNA 300 identifying the updated state of the sensor power source 335, the LFA 400 may be deactivated based upon the specified time or predetermined period as defined via the timing module. It should also be appreciated that the above functionality of the timing module may be comprised as a series of instructions of the CAP 250, which upon execution, via the processing circuit 210, causes the controller 200 to deactivate the activated LFA 400 based upon the specified time or time period via the CAP 250.
While specific embodiments have been described in detail, those with ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and alternative to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. For example, elements described in association with different embodiments may be combined. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims or disclosure, which are to be given the full breadth of the appended claims, and any and all equivalents thereof. It should be noted that the terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having”, are open-ended and does not exclude other elements or steps; and the use of articles “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality.