Patent Application
20190081503
The present invention relates to an Internet-of-things (IoT) smart home/building automation system (hereinafter, “IoT smart system”), and more particularly, to technology to completely cut off network standby power which is consumed by electronic products or devices connected to the IoT system as the electronic products or devices performs no process but simply wait for occurrence of an event and the electronic devices' own standby power which is consumed even when they are powered off, thereby avoiding waste of power.
Further, the present invention relates to technology able to cut off network standby power while reducing the power consumption of individual devices by cutting off power to devices (e.g., refrigerators, bidets, or electric ranges) which typically remain powered upon use when they meet a predetermined control condition and resuming the power supply upon failing to meet the control condition.
The present invention also relates to IoT smart system technology able to cut off network standby power and devices' own standby power while allowing existing non-IoT devices to connect to the IoT smart system without the need for physically replacing with IoT devices.
The present invention also relates to technology able to cut off network standby power and devices' own standby power that are consumed from smart receptacles and to cut off the smart receptacles' own power consumption even while IoT devices connected to the smart receptacles are being operated.
Spreading IoT technology in various sectors is leading to the technology being adopted in IoT smart systems. As IoT technology applies, IoT devices connected together always consume network standby power in a so-called ‘network standby state’ where the IoT devices are on standby even when they perform no task or process because they are unaware when data is transmitted or received. Thus, the overall power consumption is expected to exponentially increase as more and more electronic products or devices are out there.
To address such increase in power consumption, the International Energy Agency (IEA) advises each country to figure out a measure for reducing unnecessary power waste and regulate (more power of about 850 TWH is probably required for the overall power in year 2020)
The 2015 G20 submit has chosen an action plan to prepare for a measure to saving power consumption (January 2015).
However, no noticeable approach has been proposed yet except for minimizing power consumption on individual semiconductor devices used for networks. Thus, it is obvious that as more and more devices are connected to the IoT, the devices' network standby power consumption and their own standby power consumption in the standby state are drastically increased.
To address the same, tremendous investment should be made in establishing power plants and relevant power transmission/distribution infrastructures, leaving cost issues. Some approaches have been suggested, such as standby power saving devices disclosed in Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2015-0003210, 10-2015-0009076, and 10-2015-0028858, all of which have been filed by the applicant in Korean Intellectual Property Office. However, the techniques disclosed therein propose a configuration in which a separate ethernet connector or USB connector is required as power supply means to control the supply of power to the electronic device only when necessary. The need for such a separate connector in the configuration is still inconvenient to users.
Further, the solutions disclosed in the prior applications regard a method of wiring smart receptacles to the central management device and IoT devices. Thus, installation may be simple when the system applies to newly founded buildings but it would not to apply to existing buildings and it would be tricky for unskilled persons to install. Therefore, a need exists for a way to enable easier installation while resolving the inconvenience issue.
What should be considered as well is that the smart receptacles themselves still consume power while the IoT devices are in operation.
In existing home/building automation systems, the devices cannot be relocated because they are connected in hardware and have unchanged addresses, and their position is fixed per type so that they require re-registration when moved. Further, techniques for manually or remotely supplying/cutting off power to devices are disclosed in Korean Patent Nos. 10-0945210, 10-0945213, and 10-0934970, which have been issued to the applicant. These Korean patents should be considered as reference documents.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an Internet-of-things (IoT) smart home/building automation system (hereinafter, “IoT smart system”), and a method for controlling the same, which may supply power to various electronic products and/or electrical devices (e.g., cooling or heating devices, TVs, refrigerators, washers, electrical ranges, microwaves, dish washers, security/disaster prevention devices, humidifiers or dehumidifiers, but not limited thereto) connected via IoT, only when necessary—and hence reducing power consumption—by cutting off network standby power in the device power-off state or network standby state where the devices process no task.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an IoT smart system, and a method for controlling the same, which may be built up by connecting smart power strips to existing power outlets without separate installation on existing buildings and inserting the power plugs of IoT devices to the smart power strips to connect the IoT devices to the smart power strips, thereby automatically cutting off the network standby power of the IoT system and the own standby power of the devices.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an IoT smart system, and a method for controlling the same, which may provide a wake-up power supply path and device input power supply paths only when necessary for the smart power strips so that the smart power strips do not consume power on their own even while the IoT devices operate. The IoT devices registered in the IoT system may be recognized and controlled without the need for re-registration even when plugged into other power outlets in the system. Existing non-IoT devices which cannot be connected to the IoT smart system may also be allowed to connect to the IoT smart system. This may lead to further reduced power consumption than in homes or buildings not adopting the IoT smart system, thus contributing to power savings.
Further, from a nationwide point of view, the present invention may eliminate the need for investment in facilities to get ready for increases in power consumption, thus leading to cost savings, reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, and hence preventing environmental contamination.
Adopting such IoT smart systems more and more may further reduce power consumption, lead to more convenience in daily life, and promote the development of IoT industry.
To achieve the above objects, as per an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided an IoT smart system, and a method for controlling the same, to perform control to automatically cut off the network standby power in the IoT system and the standby power of the devices and configured by connecting smart power strips to existing power outlets without separate installation on existing buildings and inserting the power plugs of various IoT devices to the smart power strips, the IoT smart system comprising: a master (1) including a wired/wireless power transmitter (13), as a means to supply wake-up power to trigger operations of a gateway or a router (12) for connecting an IoT smart system platform to an external network over a cloud, a power unit 15, and various IoT devices, a power supply/cutoff module (17), a power switching unit (19), and/or a communication module (11) and performing a hub function and control function;
a smart power strip (6 or 6′) connected to a smart outlet (a single or multi-tap power strip) connecting to an existing power outlet (3) to connect IoT devices (4 and 5) which remain cut off from network standby power, receiving wake-up power from the master (1) to supply wake-up power to the IoT devices;
IoT devices (4) including a configuration for cutting off the network standby power and their own standby power and IoT devices (5) configured to remain (24 hours) powered;
IoT devices including at least one battery-powered sensor; and a non-IoT smart power strip (a single or multi-tap power strip) configured to connect the non-IoT devices to the system.
Further, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an IoT smart system that allows for both wireless and wired power transmission/reception schemes as a means to wake up the devices when an event occurs while the devices remain powered-off, may cut off the standby power of the devices and the network standby power of the devices by configuring an IoT smart system hardware platform in home/building with a master and various smart power strips.
Further, to address the problems that wireless power transmission/reception suffers from poor communication efficiency and the transmission distance is short so that it is hard to make commercial due to being significantly influenced by the structure or environment, there are provided a power plug with a wake-up power transmitter therein to wake up the device, a power plug with a wake-up power receiver therein, a power plug insertion hole with a wake-up power transmitter therein in the smart outlet, and a power plug insertion hole with a wake-up power receiver therein, wherein the power plug with the wake-up power receiver is inserted into the power plug insertion hole with the wake-up power receiver of the smart outlet so that they may match each other, or conversely, the power plug with the wake-up power transmitter is inserted into the power plug insertion hole with the wake-up power receiver.
Preferably, as another approaching method, there is provided an IoT smart system configured so that the wireless power transceiver to awaken the device may be extended to the outside to be replaced in the position where wireless power transmission and reception may be performed better. In this case, the system may be configured with no smart power strip.
Further, preferably, as a method for wired transmission/reception, no separate Ethernet connector or USB connector or other separate cable connections are required, and connectors are provided in the power plug insertion hole of the smart outlet and the power plug, and if the power plug is inserted into the power plug insertion hole of the smart outlet, paths for supplying power and wake-up power are provided for mutual connection.
Further, where input power is DC power, the smart outlet may be replaced with a USB PD connector-USB c-type cable connectable hub. More preferably, further included is a means to manually power on or off the IoT device even in the power-off state.
The IoT smart system, and method for controlling the same, which control to automatically cut off the network standby power of the IoT smart system and the standby power of the devices, are described below in greater detail from the following description and claims.
The present invention may completely cut off the standby power which is wasted when the electronic devices connected with the IoT smart system are powered off and the network standby power which is wasted in the network standby state where the devices wait without processing any event, thereby reducing power waste.
Thus, where as many electronic products or devices as the number of prior ones are used, connecting and using the IoT-applied devices may significantly reduce power consumption as compared with current power consumption, further relieving the users of utility bill, facilitating to build up systems, and leading to easier connection of such IoT devices. By reducing unnecessary power waste as set forth above, carbon dioxide emissions may also be reduced, preventing environmental contamination and hence allowing for more convenience in life while adding values.
The foregoing and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The same reference denotations are intended to refer to the same or similar members or elements throughout the drawings, wherein:
The description below is provided for aid in understanding exemplary embodiments of the present invention and equivalents thereof defined by the appended claims. Although the description sets forth various details for a better understanding of the present invention, they should be regarded merely as examples. Therefore, it will readily be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes or modifications may be made to the embodiments set forth herein without departing from the scope and concept of the present invention.
Although any element or objection is expressed in singular form, it should be intended as encompassing plural elements or objects unless explicitly stated otherwise.
The terms “substantially,” “about,” and “essentially” as used herein does not essentially mean that any feature, parameter, or value need to be an exact one, but is intended to mean that a slight tolerance or variation may be made thereto which is known to one of ordinary skill in the art to exhibit the same effects despite the tolerance or variation.
The detailed description of known functions or elements may be omitted from the description of the embodiments of the present invention for clarity and simplicity of the disclosure.
As used herein, the term “electronic product” or “electric device” encompasses, in concept, e.g., room cooling/heating device, TV, refrigerator, washer, electric range, microwave, dish washer, security/emergency device, humidifier/dehumidifier, or computer (including a laptop computer, netbook, PDA, tablet PC, or other terminal), which is connected to the power outlet in a home or building or is rechargeable via the power outlet, but not necessarily limited thereto. Hereinafter, the devices or products are referred to simply as an “(electronic) product” or “(electric) device” for ease of description.
For reference, all the machine-to-machine (M2M)-related descriptions set forth in the drawings may be interpreted as those of Internet-of-things (IoT) in the disclosure. As used herein, the terms “module” and “component unit” are intended to be substantially the same or similar in meaning.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an IoT smart home/building automation system (hereinafter, “IoT smart system” for ease of description) with the functionality of cutting off standby power from electronic products and a method for controlling the same, according to the present invention, are described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A configuration of the IoT smart system according to the present invention is described below in detail with reference to
Referring to
IoT devices 4 with a configuration to cut off standby power and the network standby power and IoT devices 5 powered 24 hours;
a repeater 7 to amplify signals in the middle to enable seamless signal transmission/reception when wireless power transmission/reception is not seamless by the building structure; IoT devices 4′ battery-powered (including, e.g., sensors); and a non-IoT smart outlet provided to connect non-IoT devices 900 to the system.
If wake-up power is implemented with resonant wireless power transmission/reception, the IoT smart system may be configured more simply even with no smart power strip 6 as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
an input unit 508 functioning as a means to input/register, e.g., the IDs and control codes of the non-IoT devices; an IR transceiver 507 to produce an m signal for controlling the non-IoT device after power is supplied to the non-IoT device and transmit the m signal to the device if the non-IoT device is a device for receiving IR signals or an actuator 507′ configurable as a solenoid or motor if the device is a device that is operated as a switch is pressed; and a power plug insertion hole 600 for insertion/connection of the power plug 400 of the non-IoT device 900.
Meanwhile, more or less switching units 109 and power plug insertion holes 600 may be configured as necessary depending on design.
Referring to
A wake-up power receiver 101 or 101′ includes a reception coil 61 to receive induced power from the transmission coil 91, a rectifier to rectify the voltage induced at the reception coil, and a DC power unit to smooth the rectified power into DC power. Wake-up power produced as the DC power from the DC power unit is operated to supply power to the manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50 of the IoT devices to wake up the IoT devices 4, 5, and 6 which remain cut off from power, thereby operating the manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50 of the IoT devices 4, 5, 6, and 500 so that input power is supplied to the IoT devices 4, 5, 6, and 500. The wake-up power transmitter 13 and the wake-up power receiver 101 may include the wake-up power transmitter 13′ and wake-up power receiver 101′, respectively, which are provided outside the device and in a location where a good matching occurs in a poor communication environment or building to enable seamless power transmission and reception.
A configuration in which wake-up power is transmitted or received and is thus supplied is described in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
Referring to
It will be appreciated that the transmission/reception functions may reversely be configured in the power plug 403 and the power plug insertion hole 603.
As described above, once wake-up power is produced by the transmission and reception of wake-up power in a wired/wireless scheme, the wake-up power is supplied to the manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50 of the IoT devices. If the wake-up power is supplied to the manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50 so that the manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50 are turned on, input power from the power plug 400 inserted into the outlet 3 is supplied to the power units 15, 45, 55, and 505 of the IoT devices via the manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50.
Described below are the operation principle and control methods of the IoT smart system with the functionality of cutting off standby power as described above, according to preferred embodiments of the present invention.
Initial steps for the IoT smart system according to the present invention, e.g., ID setting and standby power measurement/setting, are described in detail in the applicant's prior patent applications Nos. 10-2015-0003210 10-2015-0009076, and 10-2015-0028858 which disclose standby power saving devices and the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein, and no further detailed description thereof is given below for ease of description. The operation principle and control methods for supplying power to, and controlling, IoT devices 1, 4, 5, 6, and 500 which initially remain cut off power and configured in the smart system, with power supplied to the master 1 are described with reference to the following IoT smart system configuration.
The power plug 401 or 403 of the master 1 is connected to the power plug insertion hole 601 or 603 of the smart power strip 6, and the power plug 400 of the smart power strip 6 is connected to the power plug insertion hole 600 of the outlet 3.
The power plug 402 or 430 of each IoT device 4, 5, and 500 is inserted and connected to the power plug insertion hole 602 or 603 of the smart power strip 6. If the number of power plug insertion holes 602 and 603 of the smart power strip 6 is not enough to connect more IoT devices, the power plug 401 or 403 of the smart power strip 6 may be inserted to the power plug insertion hole 601 or 603 of another smart power strip 6 for extension, thereby securing more power plug insertion holes 602 and 603.
Further, for connection of the non-IoT device 900 to the IoT smart system, the power plug 400 of the non-IoT device is inserted and connected into the power plug insertion hole 600 of the non-IoT smart outlet 500, and the power plug 402 or 403 of the non-IoT smart outlet 500 is inserted and connected to the power plug insertion hole 602 or 603 of the smart power strip 6.
1. Operations when Power is Remotely Supplied from Outside to IoT Device
If power is supplied to the master 1, and a control command is received from the outside through the gateway 12 or is received from the sensor 4 or 4′ and the IoT devices 4, 5, 6, and 500 configured inside, with all the IoT devices 4, 5, 6, and 500 connected with the IoT smart system cut off from power, then the controller 16 of the master 1 undergoes the step of verifying its IP and ID and password, etc., and upon verifying that it is its own, the controller 16 of the master 1 controls the power switching unit 19 to supply power from the power unit 15 to the wake-up power transmitter 13 or 13′ so as to supply power to the IoT device 4, 5, 6, or 500 of the ID.
At this time, the power is converted into wake-up power and transmitted to the power plug insertion hole 601 or 603 of the smart power strip 6 by the wake-up power transmitter 13 or 13′.
The wake-up power received by the wake-up power receiver 101 or 101′ of the smart power strip 6 is applied to the manual/remote power supply/cutoff unit 50 of the smart power strip 6 so that the manual/remote power supply/cutoff unit 50 is operated. Subsequently, input power from the power plug 400 is supplied to the power unit 15 of the smart power strip 6. If the power is supplied to the power unit 15, the power unit 15 produces and supplies power necessary for the smart power strip 6, thereby waking up the smart power strip 6.
At this time, the controller 66 controls the power switching unit 19 to supply power from the power unit 15 to the wake-up power transmitter 13 or 13′ of the smart power strip 6, thereby producing wake-up power and supplying the wake-up power to the IoT device 4, 5, or 500 connected with the power plug insertion hole 602 or 603 of the smart power strip 6.
The wake-up power received by the IoT device 4, 5, or 500 is applied to the manual/remote power supply/cutoff unit 50 of the IoT device 4, 5, or 500 so that the manual/remote power supply/cutoff unit 50 is operated to supply input power to the power unit 55, 45, or 505 of the IoT device 4, 5, or 500, thereby waking up the corresponding device.
2. ID Check and Power Cutoff Control Operation:
As set forth above, the smart power strip 6 transmits wake-up power and controls to turn off its manual/remote power supply/cutoff unit 50, thereby cutting off input power to the smart power strip 6. By doing so, power consumption in the smart power strip 6 is completely cut off even while the devices operate.
Meanwhile, the devices awaken as above identify whether IDs received from the master 1 are their own ones. If the received IDs are identified to be not their own, the controllers 56, 46, and 506 of the devices control to turn off the manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50, thereby cutting off the input power. This enables complete cutoff of network standby power and standby power.
3. Normal Operation Control of IoT Device:
If the received ID is identified to be its own, the corresponding device performs event processing while communicating with the master 1.
If the power plug insertion holes 602 and 602 are not enough so that the power plug 401 or 403 is connected to the power plug insertion hole 60 or 603 of another smart power strip 6, the other smart power strip 6 is awaken in the above manner to perform the same control.
4. Normal Operation Control of Non-IoT Device:
If the non-IoT smart outlet 500 receives wake-up power from the master 1 in a power-off state so that power is remotely supplied from the outside to the IoT devices 4, 5, 6, and 500, the non-IoT smart outlet 500 wakes up, and if the ID received from the master 1 is identified as the ID registered for the non-IoT smart outlet 500, the controller 506 controls the switching unit 109 to supply input power to the power plug insertion hole 600.
As the input power is supplied, power is supplied to the non-IoT device 900 inserted into the power plug insertion hole 600.
Where the non-IoT device connected to the power plug insertion hole 600 is a non-IoT device 900 controlled by IR signals, control signals received from the master 1 are received/transmitted by the IR receiver of the non-IoT device 900 in the IR transceiver 507. At this time, the device receives the control signals and operates.
If the device normally operates, the current increases. The power measuring module 18 receives the current, and the controller 506 transmits whether the device operates normally or abnormally to the master 1 to be fed back to the smartphone or remote control device. If the device abnormally operates, the power cutoff control on the non-IoT device 900 is performed.
Where the non-IoT device connected to the power plug insertion hole 600 is a switch-controlled device, a control signal is sent to the actuator 507′ provided at the position of the switch of the non-IoT device 900 to drive the solenoid or motor of the actuator 507′, thereby pressing the switch of the non-IoT device 900 and driving the device. Meanwhile, if the device normally operates, the current increases. The power measuring module 18 receives the current, and the controller 506 transmits whether the device operates normally or abnormally to the master 1 to be fed back to the smartphone or remote control device. If the device abnormally operates, the power cutoff control on the non-IoT device 900 is performed.
5. Power Cutoff Control Operation of Non-IoT Device:
(A) in Case of Cutting Off Power Remotely
If the non-IoT device 900 receives a power off command from the master 1 while normally operating, then, in a case where the non-IoT device connected to the power plug insertion hole 600 is a non-IoT device 900 controlled by IR signals, an ‘off’ control signal received from the master 1 is received/transmitted by the IR receiver of the non-IoT device 900 in the IR transceiver 507. At this time, the non-IoT device 900 receives the control signal and terminates the event processing, and turns off the device.
If the non-IoT device 900 turns off, the current reduces so that a standby current flows. If the power measuring module 18 receives the standby current value, the controller 506 controls the switching unit 109 to turn off and transmits data (e.g., power consumption) of the device managed to the master 1, and if the master 1 transmits data with the information to the IoT smart system over the cloud and then a transmission-complete signal is received, the controller 506 turns off the manual/remote power supply/cutoff unit 50 of the non-IoT smart outlet 500, completely cutting off the input power being supplied.
Further, where the non-IoT device connected to the power plug insertion hole 600 is a switch-controlled device, the off control signal received from the master 1 is sent to the actuator 507′ to press the ‘off’ switch of the non-IoT device 900.
At this time, the non-IoT device 900 receives the control signal and terminates the event processing, and turns off the device.
If the non-IoT device 900 turns off, the current reduces, thus becoming the standby current value. The power measuring module 18 receives the standby current value, and the controller 506 controls the switching unit 109 to turn off and transmits data (e.g., power consumption) of the device managed to the master 1, and if the master 1 transmits data with the information to the IoT smart system over the cloud and then a transmission-complete signal is received, the controller 506 turns off the manual/remote power supply/cutoff unit 50 of the non-IoT smart outlet 500, completely cutting off the input power being supplied.
(B) Where non-IoT device turns off the power while using the power If the non-IoT device 900 is powered off by the power switch or remote controller of the device, the controller 506 of the non-IoT smart outlet 500 reads the standby current value of the non-IoT device 900 connected from the power measuring module 18, compares it with a standby current value as set, determines that the non-IoT device 900 is powered off, transmits data (e.g., power consumption) managed while the device operates to the master 1, and if the master 1 transmits data with the information to the IoT smart system over the cloud and a transmission-complete signal is sent and received, the controller 506 turns off the manual/remote power supply/cutoff unit 50 of the non-IoT smart outlet 500 to completely cut off the input power being supplied.
As set forth above, the non-IoT smart outlet 500 registers and stores, and controls, virtual IDs of the non-IoT devices 900 to connect the non-IoT devices 900 to the IoT smart system.
6. Remote Power Cutoff Control Operation of IoT Device:
If a power turnoff command is received by the master 1 while the device operates, the master 1 identifies its IP, ID, and password, and if they are identified as its own, transmits power off commands to the IoT devices 4 and 5 of the corresponding IDs. The IoT devices 4 and 5, upon identifying the power off commands received from the master as their own IDs, terminate the proceeding event processing, transmit data to the IoT smart system over the cloud, and upon receiving transmission-complete signals from the master 1, the controllers 56 and 46 control their respective manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50 to cut off the input power so that the power waste in the devices 4 and 5 becomes substantially zero, allowing there to be no power waste as network standby power.
7. Manual Power Cutoff Control Operation of IoT Device:
If the manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50 are turned off manually or using the IR remote controller or touch switch while in operation, the IoT devices 4 and 5, upon identifying the power off commands received from the master as their own IDs, terminate the proceeding event processing, transmit data to the IoT smart system over the cloud, and upon receiving transmission-complete signals from the master 1, the controllers 56 and 46 control their respective manual/remote power supply/cutoff units 50 to cut off the input power so that the power waste in the devices 4 and 5 becomes substantially zero, allowing there to be no power waste as network standby power.
Although the IoT smart home/building automation system of the present invention have been described above in connection with preferred embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that effective power control and reduced power or energy waste may be achieved in the IoT environment by various configurations and controls as desired by users which may be implemented by changing the type of the devices or sensors.
Meanwhile, although only arbitrary preferred features of various embodiments have been described as examples, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that various changes or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the claims appended herewith. Therefore, it will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art that the appended claims encompass all such modifications or variations without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2016-0030252 | Mar 2016 | KR | national |
This patent application is a national-stage application of International Patent Application No.: PCT/KR2017/002717, filed on Mar. 14, 2017, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0030252, filed on Mar. 14, 2016, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2017/002717 | 3/14/2017 | WO | 00 |
