Patent Application
20230062488
The present invention relates to power pedestals and may be particularly suitable for marine or recreational vehicle power pedestals.
Power pedestals are typically free-standing outdoor electrical enclosures and are well known in the art. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,089,747 and 6,844,716, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if recited in full herein. The power pedestals can provide a utility power distribution for certain target devices such as marine or recreational vehicles. Known power pedestals include one or more circuit breakers and power receptacles that can be used to provide power to the target devices. The power pedestals include one or more circuit interrupters such as ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) that provide ground fault protection for the power outlet receptacles.
Embodiments of the invention are directed to power pedestals that include at least one internal meter socket.
Embodiments of the invention provide power pedestals with internal meter assemblies that are configured to allow for remote utility monitoring of the meter assembly and/or remote control of power supplied to and/or from the power pedestal.
Embodiments of the invention are directed to power pedestals that provide an externally viewable display that can display information to a user. The information can include one or more of real-time weather and/or meteorological data, date/time, slip/spot number, metering data, pedestal status, boat or RV name, owner/username, advertising, and ground fault status of a ground fault circuit breaker inside the power pedestal.
Embodiments of the invention are directed to a power pedestal with an incoming bus coupled to a meter socket, both inside an enclosure of the power pedestal, with the meter socket coupled to an internal bus bar that powers a power outlet receptacle.
Embodiments of the invention provide power pedestals that include a transceiver that can transmit and/or receive data, such as data regarding status of a power pedestal and/or power usage thereof to a remote and/or local external device.
Embodiments of the invention provide a meter socket inside an enclosure of a power pedestal with an internal bus bar, both accessible for service and repair via a pivotable or removable panel of the enclosure.
Embodiments of the invention provide a power pedestal that includes: a housing providing an enclosure with an internal chamber; a metering assembly in the internal chamber; an incoming power bus in the internal chamber and coupled to the meter assembly; an internal bus in the internal chamber connected to the meter assembly; at least one circuit interrupter in the internal chamber; and at least one power outlet receptacle that is externally accessible and that is coupled to the at least one circuit interrupter.
The housing can have a pivotable panel or a removable panel that, when opened or removed, respectively, provides access to the meter assembly.
The power pedestal can also have an externally viewable display held by the housing.
The power pedestal can have a transceiver in and/or coupled to the housing and configured to be in communication with the meter assembly.
The power pedestal can be configured to accept user data, optionally one or more of: vehicle license plate or tag, boat name, captain name, owner name, slip or space number and reservation dates.
The power pedestal can be configured to provide ground fault status information of a ground fault associated with a power circuit coupled to a power receptacle to the display.
The power pedestal can be configured to provide weather information and/or meteorological information to the display.
The transceiver can be configured to transmit metering information of power usage to an external device.
The power pedestal can be configured to wirelessly communicate with a mobile device using a power pedestal APP.
The external device can be a remote power monitoring and/or power control system.
The power pedestal can also include a power switch coupled to the power pedestal. The remote power monitoring and/or power control system can be coupled to the power switch.
The removable panel or the pivotable panel can have a visually transmissive window aligned with a meter socket of the meter assembly.
The at least one power outlet receptacle can be provided as a plurality of power outlet receptacles including first and second power outlet receptacles on a first sidewall and first and second power outlet receptacles on second sidewall, both the first and second sidewalls being different from a sidewall with the removable panel or the pivotable panel.
Other embodiments are directed to a power pedestal system that includes a power pedestal dashboard in wireless communication with a plurality of spaced apart power pedestals. The dashboard is configured to display a plurality of parameters of each power pedestal of the plurality of power pedestals.
The power pedestal dashboard can be provided by at least one processor coupled to at least one transceiver configured to transmit and receive data from each of the plurality of power pedestals.
The dashboard can be configured to have a programmable user interface thereby allowing for customization of parameters displayed by the dashboard.
The power pedestal parameters can include ground fault status of the circuit breakers onboard the plurality of power pedestals.
The dashboard can include a power control input that directs a power ON/OFF switch coupled to a corresponding power pedestal to open or close to control power input or output from the corresponding power pedestal.
The power pedestal system can be provided by a server and can be configured to communicate with mobile devices via an APP to provide power pedestal information to users and/or accept user information associated with a respective power pedestal.
Yet other embodiments are directed to a method of monitoring power pedestals. The method includes: providing a plurality of power pedestals with an internal metering assembly comprising a meter socket and an externally visually accessible display; remotely monitoring power usage of each of the plurality of power pedestals based on data from the internal metering assembly; receiving user information for a corresponding power pedestal; and displaying on respective display parameters associated with a corresponding power pedestal.
The method can also optionally include displaying user information of the corresponding power pedestal and/or communicating with mobile devices of users via an APP to accept user input and/or provide information associated with the corresponding power pedestal.
Further features, advantages and details of the present invention will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the figures and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments that follow, such description being merely illustrative of the present invention.
It is noted that aspects of the invention described with respect to one embodiment, may be incorporated in a different embodiment although not specifically described relative thereto. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination. Applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to be able to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. These and other objects and/or aspects of the present invention are explained in detail in the specification set forth below.
Further features, advantages and details of the present invention will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the figures and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments that follow, such description being merely illustrative of the present invention.
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown. Like numbers refer to like elements and different embodiments of like elements can be designated using a different number of superscript indicator apostrophes (e.g., 10, 10′, 10″, 10′″).
In the drawings, the relative sizes of regions or features may be exaggerated for clarity. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.
Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90° or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. The term “about” refers to numbers in a range of +/−20% of the noted value. Any numerical range stated to be between two numbers is inclusive of the end point numbers.
As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,” “comprises,” “including” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
As employed herein, the term “vehicle” shall expressly include, but not be limited by, a land vehicle, a marine vehicle, an air vehicle or another motor vehicle.
As employed herein, the term “land vehicle” shall expressly include, but not be limited by, any land-based vehicles having pneumatic tires, any rail-based vehicles, any maglev vehicles, automobiles, cars, trucks, station wagons, sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), recreational vehicles, construction vehicles, off road vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, farm vehicles, fleet vehicles, motor homes, vans, buses, motorcycles, mopeds, campers and trailers.
As employed herein, the term “marine vehicle” shall expressly include, but not be limited by, any water-based vehicles, ships, boats, personal watercraft or other vessels for travel on water, submarines, or other vessels for travel under water.
As employed herein, the term “air vehicle” shall expressly include, but not be limited by, any air-based vehicles, airplanes, jets, aircraft, airships, drones, balloons, blimps, or dirigibles.
As employed herein, the term “power pedestal” shall mean a pedestal structured to input power from input power terminals (e.g., utility power terminals) and output power to a number of output power receptacles held by the power pedestal.
The term “APP” refers to a computer program configured to provide defined functionality on a computer including pervasive computing devices and/or mobile devices such as an electronic notebook or notepad, smart phone, laptop, and the like. In some embodiments, the functionality of the APP may be accessible via an icon on a display of the computer and/or may be accessed by other user input, such as input provided by a typed or spoken user interface of the computer. The computer program may comprise computer program code configured to reside in a memory of the computer to be accessed and executed by a processor or other computing circuit of the computer, but the embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the computer program code, processor, and/or memory may be located remotely from the computer providing the functionality, such as in a networked environment, or “cloud.”
As employed herein, the term “processor” shall mean a programmable analog and/or digital device that can store, retrieve, and process data; a computer; a workstation; a personal computer; a digital signal processor (DSP); a microprocessor; a microcontroller; a microcomputer; a central processing unit; a mainframe computer; a mini-computer; a server; a networked processor; a programmable logic device (PLD); a combination of a plurality of logic gates; or any suitable processing device or apparatus.
Referring to
The power pedestal 10 can include a display 20 that is externally viewable. The power pedestal 10 can also include a light source 27 such as an LED illumination light and a photocell 28. The light source 27 and the photocell 28 may reside at a top portion 10t of the power pedestal 10.
The incoming bus 14 can be oriented to direct the electrical lines 140 to be routed upward toward the meter socket 12. The internal bus 16 can be oriented to direct the electrical lines 160 to extend downward toward the one or more power outlet receptacles 40 and the one or more circuit breakers 30.
Referring to
The wall 10w can include a window 11 that is aligned with the internal meter socket 12 that allows a user to be able to see the meter socket 12. The window 11 can comprise a visually transmissive material such as a translucent or transparent material. The window 11 can comprise plexiglass. The window 11 is shown as circular but can be any desired shape allow for viewing of the internal meter socket/assembly 12/120.
Still referring to
The transceiver 25 can be configured to receive/accept user input. The transceiver 25 can comprise or be coupled to a processor 26. The transceiver 25 can be configured to transmit data from a respective power pedestal 10 to one or more external devices, shown as devices 100, 110 (
The display 20 can be configured to have or be in communication with a programmable interface 23 that allows different marinas/RV parks and the like to customize and select or define input parameters and output parameters to facilitate communication to (marina) tenants. The display 20 can be in communication with the transceiver 25. The display 20 can be configured to display information such as reminders on arrival date, departure schedule, payments due, power usage and the like. The display 20 can be configured to display a slip number/slot or lot number/location, vehicle name, vehicle ownership, tag number, country registration data and the like as well as meteorological data, metering information, and power pedestal status (reserved, active ON, Offline for repair/service and the like). The display 20 can be configured to provide advertising and/or data on local attractions and eateries. The display 20 can be configured to display ground fault data of a power circuit 300 connecting one or more circuit interrupters 30 to one or more power outlet receptacles 40 of the power pedestal 10.
The power pedestal 10 can include a power circuit 300 comprising at least one circuit interrupter 30 (e.g., circuit breaker) and an incoming bus 14 with electrical lines 140 coupled to the meter socket 12. The power circuit 300 can also be configured with an internal bus 16. The internal bus 16 can include electrical lines 160 that are coupled to one or more respective circuit breakers 30 and/or one or more respective power outlet receptacles 40. The meter socket 12 can also be coupled to the internal bus 16. The internal bus 16 can reside above the incoming bus 14. As will be discussed further below, the one or more circuit breakers 30 can include at least one primary or main circuit breaker 30, configured as a GFCI or GFCI/AFCI, that can be coupled to at least one branch circuit breaker 130 (
Conventionally, meter sockets are located outside of the enclosure 10e. The internal meter socket 12/meter assembly 120 allows for protection from environmental conditions, tampering and vandalism.
Also, and advantageously, unlike power pedestals 10 with external meter sockets, to service the power pedestal 10, there is no requirement to pull out lengths of electrical cables 140, 160 to access internal components. Instead, the cables 140, 160 can remain in position in the chamber 10c inside the enclosure 10e and access to the meter assembly 120 can be provided by pivoting the panel 10w to an open position (
The power pedestal 10 can include the internal meter socket 12, the transceiver 25 and the display 20, the internal bus 16 and the incoming bus 14 (ready for customer installation thereto) and can be factory wired as a complete system that complies with UL231 listed marina power pedestal standards.
Referring to
Referring to
The internal circuit 50 can include a communications bus 50b that can comprise a Modbus® configuration or other communications bus configuration.
Referring again to
Referring to
Referring to
One of the sides 305, 310, shown as the first side 305 of the power circuit 300, can also include a fuse 128, the photocell 28 and light source (LED assembly) 27 coupled to L1.
The power receptacles 40 can be marine grade, corrosion resistant receptacles. The power pedestal 10 is structured to provide electrical power to devices that are electrically connected to the power pedestal 10 via the output power receptacles 40.
The primary circuit breakers 301, 302 can be configured as two-phase, 30 mA ground fault protected devices. Other types/rated GFCIs can be used. The branch circuit breakers 130 can be configured as 50 A (amp) (e.g., 2P 50 A circuit breaker) devices. The power receptacles 40 can be configured as 50 A, 125/250V outlets. However, other amperage and voltage rated devices may be used.
For example, the power receptacles 40 can be provided with at least some having different current ratings than others, with corresponding different size receptacles, optionally with 30 A, 50 A and 100 A ratings.
Individual per side ground fault mains 301, 302, allow for service of breakers 130 and receptacle 40 without interrupting power to adjacent in-use circuits and or users such as boaters. In turn, ground fault mains eliminate the need for individual ground fault breakers tied to each receptacle 40. This power circuit 300 can allow for use of reverse Y adapters in the vessel to pedestal connection. Currently, reverse Y adapters do not function with ground fault breakers. Advantageously, this configuration allows for serviceability of single side or whole pedestal without disconnecting power to a string of pedestals on a loop feed circuits. This configuration can reduce overall cost of ownership by eliminating costly individual ground fault breakers per shore power connection. Power pedestals are typically two sided and provide multiple shore power connections servicing two slips per single pedestal. Power pedestals 10 with integrated ground fault mains 301, 302 per side or per pedestal, can reduce overall internal wiring which in turn reduces potential failure points. In addition, ground fault mains 301, 302 allow for use of nonground fault individual breakers 130 to protect shore power receptacles 40 and still meet current applicable code requirements. Shore power breakers are commonly replaced as part of marina maintenance programs and the use of non-ground fault (branch) breakers 130 makes replacement of such breakers easier to perform and/or at a lower overall cost.
Referring to
Referring to
The dashboard 101 (
Users can communicate with a respective display 20, the dashboard 101 and/or server 400 via a computer network, such as one or more of local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN) and can include a private intranet and/or the public Internet (also known as the World Wide Web or “the web” or “the Internet.”
Referring to
The data processing system 600 may be incorporated in, for example, one or more device such as a smartphone or computer, database, dashboard, server, router, monitoring station or the like.
The data processing system 600 can reside on one machine or be distributed over a plurality of machines and/or in the “cloud”.
The processor 610 communicates with the memory 636 via an address/data bus 648 and communicates with the input/output circuits 646 via an address/data bus 649. The input/output circuits 146 can be used to transfer information between the memory (memory and/or storage media) 636 and another computer system or a network using, for example, an Internet protocol (IP) connection. These components may be conventional components such as those used in many conventional data processing systems, which may be configured to operate as described herein.
In particular, the processor 610 can be commercially available or custom microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor or the like. The memory 636 may include any memory devices and/or storage media containing the software and data used to implement the functionality circuits or modules used in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The memory 636 can include, but is not limited to, the following types of devices: ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, SRAM, DRAM and magnetic disk. In some embodiments of the present invention, the memory 636 may be a content addressable memory (CAM).
As further illustrated in
The data 656 may include (archived or stored) digital data sets correlated to respective power pedestals.
As further illustrated in
While the present invention is illustrated with reference to the application programs 654, and modules 624, 625 and 626 in
Turning now to
Embodiments of the present invention may take the form of an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product on a (non-transient) computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program code embodied in the medium. Any suitable computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, a transmission media such as those supporting the Internet or an intranet, or magnetic storage devices. Some circuits, modules or routines may be written in assembly language or even micro-code to enhance performance and/or memory usage. It will be further appreciated that the functionality of any or all of the program modules may also be implemented using discrete hardware components, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or a programmed digital signal processor or microcontroller. Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to a particular programming language.
Computer program code for carrying out operations of data processing systems, method steps or actions, modules or circuits (or portions thereof) discussed herein may be written in a high-level programming language, such as Python, Java, AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript), C, and/or C++, for development convenience. In addition, computer program code for carrying out operations of exemplary embodiments may also be written in other programming languages, such as, but not limited to, interpreted languages. Some modules or routines may be written in assembly language or even micro-code to enhance performance and/or memory usage. However, embodiments are not limited to a particular programming language. As noted above, the functionality of any or all of the program modules may also be implemented using discrete hardware components, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or a programmed digital signal processor or microcontroller. The program code may execute entirely on one computer (e.g., a workstation, circuit breaker, mobile device), partly on one computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the workstation's computer and partly on another computer, local and/or remote or entirely on the other local or remote computer. In the latter scenario, the other local or remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).
The present invention is described in part with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing some or all of the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
The flowcharts and block diagrams of certain of the figures herein illustrate exemplary architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flow charts or block diagrams represents a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order or two or more blocks may be combined, depending upon the functionality involved.
The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications to the disclosed embodiments, as well as other embodiments, are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
