1. Field of the Invention
The instant disclosure relates to a socket; in particular, to a power socket with wireless communication capability, system having the same and method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
The power control of the traditional home appliance can be made by manipulating the power switch on the traditional home appliance. However, the traditional home appliance may not have the function of remote-control. When the human operator wants to turn-on or turn-off the power of the traditional home appliance, he or she needs to switch the power manually or remove the power plug of the home appliance from the power socket of the supply mains (e.g. the public utility grid). When the human operator is not near to the home appliance, he or she may hard to switch the power of the home appliance. For example, when the human operator is not at home and finds out he forgot to turn-off the home appliance, he or she may go home and succeed in finding the home appliance for turning-off the home appliance.
Although, some home appliance have the function of wirelessly remote-control. It is not convenient for the human operator to carry all remote controllers for all home appliances. Furthermore, the distance of remote-controlling is usually limited, and the traditional remote controller may not work when the human operator is not at home.
The object of the instant disclosure is to provide a power socket with wireless communication capability, system having the same and method thereof. The power socket with wireless communication capability can receive the control signal from the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability through the wireless router and the network service platform, and the power socket with wireless communication capability can be controlled by the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability accordingly.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a power socket with wireless communication capability is offered. The power socket with wireless communication capability comprises a power input unit, a power output unit, a switch, and a wireless communication module. The power input unit is for electrically coupling to a power source. The power output unit is for outputting the electric power of the power source. The switch is electrically coupled between the power input unit and the power output unit for controlling whether the power output unit outputs the electric power of the power source. The wireless communication module is electrically coupled to the power input unit and the switch for wirelessly receiving a control signal. The wireless communication module controls the switch according to the control signal.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a remote power switching system is offered. The remote power switching system comprises a wireless router and a power socket with wireless communication capability. The wireless router receives a control signal transmitted from a handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability through a network service platform, and the wireless router wirelessly transmits the control signal. The power socket with wireless communication capability comprises a power input unit, a power output unit, a switch, and a wireless communication module. The power input unit is for electrically coupling to a power source. The power output unit is for outputting the electric power of the power source. The switch is electrically coupled to the power input unit and the power output unit for controlling whether the power output unit outputs the electric power of the power source. The wireless communication module is electrically coupled to the power input unit and the switch for receiving the control signal wirelessly transmitted by the wireless router, and the wireless communication module controls the switch according to the control signal.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for controlling a power socket with wireless communication capability is offered. The method is adapted for a remote power switching system. The remote power switching system comprises a wireless router and a power socket with wireless communication capability. The power socket with wireless communication capability is utilized for connecting to a power source. The method comprises a handled calculating device with wireless communication capability transmitting a control signal to the wireless router through a network service platform, the wireless router wirelessly transmitting the control signal to the power socket with wireless communication capability, and the control signal controlling whether the power socket with wireless communication capability outputs the electrical power of the power source.
In summary, the power socket with wireless communication capability, system having the same and method thereof can be used to connect the power socket with wireless communication capability between the power plug of electric device and the power outlet of the public utility grid. The human operator can use a handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability to control the power socket with wireless communication capability for switching the power of the electric device. When any electric device is connected to a power source (e.g. the public utility grid) through the power socket with wireless communication capability, the power of the electric device can be controlled by the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability. The human operator does not need to modify the electric device for remote-controlling the electric device.
In order to further the understanding regarding the present invention, the following embodiments are provided along with illustrations to facilitate the disclosure of the present invention.
The aforementioned illustrations and following detailed descriptions are exemplary for the purpose of further explaining the scope of the present invention. Other objectives and advantages related to the present invention will be illustrated in the subsequent descriptions and appended drawings.
[An Embodiment of a Power Socket with Wireless Communication Capability]
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The power input unit 11 is disposed on the surface of the casing 10, and the power output unit 12 is disposed on the surface (another side) of the casing 12. The switch 13 is electrically coupled between the power input unit 11 and the power output unit 12. The wireless communication module 14 is electrically coupled to the power input unit 11 and the switch 13. The power output unit 12 is for electrically coupling to the electrical device 16. The antenna 141 of the wireless communication module 14 is disposed on the casing 10.
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In this embodiment, the power input unit 11 has at least a conductive connector 111, and three conductive connectors 111 are shown in
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Additionally, the wireless communication module 14 can transmit a status signal, the status signal can indicate whether the power output unit 12 outputs electric power of the power source. For example, when the wireless communication module 14 transmits the control signal SI the switch 13 for making the switch 13 be non-conductive, the wireless communication module 14 can wirelessly transmits the status signal for indicating the power socket with wireless communication capability 1 not outputting electric power of the power source.
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[Another Embodiment of the Power Socket with Wireless Communication Capability]
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The block diagram of the power socket with wireless communication capability 2 is the same as to the block diagram of the power socket with wireless communication capability 1 in the previous embodiment (shown in
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[Another Embodiment of the Power Socket with Wireless Communication Capability]
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The block diagram of the power socket with wireless communication capability 3 is the same as to the block diagram of the power socket with wireless communication capability 1 shown in
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[An Embodiment of the Remote Power Switching System]
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The wireless router 41 transmits the control signal SI to the power socket with wireless communication capability 4. The handled calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 is wirelessly linked to the network service platform 43 and transmits the control signal SI to the wireless router 41 through the network service platform 43. The power socket with wireless communication capability 4 can be connected to the electric device 44, 45, or 46 through the power output unit 42.
The network service platform 43 can be a server or a virtual server with cloud computing capability. The handled calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 can be a smart phone or a tablet PC. The handled calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 can be installed with a application program, thus the human operator can operate the mentioned application program to make the handled calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 be linked to the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 through the network service platform 43 and the wireless router 41. For example, the handled calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 links to the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 according to the Media Access Control Address (MAC) of the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 provided by the wireless router 41 and the network service platform 43.
The power socket with wireless communication capability 4 is the same as to the power socket with wireless communication capability 1 shown in
Additionally, the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 can transmits status signal ST for indicating whether the power output unit 402 outputs the electric power of the power source. For example, when the wireless communication module of the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 transmits the control signal SI to the switch for making the switch be non-conductive, the wireless communication module of the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 can wirelessly transmit the status signal ST for indicating the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 does not output electric power of the power source. For example, the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 can transmit status signal ST including the MAC address of the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 to the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 according to the communication protocol for linking the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 and the power socket with wireless communication capability 4.
However, the instant disclosure is not so restricted. The status signal ST can be included in the data packets transmitted to the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42. The manner of addressing the data packets to the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 can be, for example, using the Web address or the address of the Internet Protocol (IP).
More specifically, the wireless communication module of the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 transmits the status signal ST to the wireless router 41, and the status signal ST is for indicating whether the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 outputs the electric power of the power source. Then the status signal ST is transmitted from the wireless router 41 to the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 through the network service platform 43. Accordingly, the human operator of the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 can be informed whether the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 outputs electric power of the power source, and the human operator can know whether the power of the electric device 44, 45, or 46 is turned-on or turned-off.
[An Embodiment of a Method for Controlling a Power Socket with Wireless Communication Capability]
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Firstly, in step S510, the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 wirelessly transmits the status signal ST to the wireless router, wherein the status signal ST indicates whether the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 outputs the electric power of the power source. Then, in step S520, the wireless router 41 transmits the status signal ST to the handheld calculating device with communication capability 42 through the network service platform 43. The step S510 and the step 520 can make the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 transmit the status signal ST to the handheld calculating device with communication capability 42. The handheld calculating device with communication capability 42 can be installed with an application program for linking with the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 by using the network service platform 43 and the wireless router 41. The mentioned application program can generate a function icon displayed on the screen of the hand held calculating device with communication capability 42 for representing the status signal ST. Thus, the human operator can know whether the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 outputs the electric power of the power source by seeing the mentioned function icon. It is worth mentioning that the step S510 and the step S520 can be executed after the following steps S530, S540, and S550 or before the steps S530, S540, and S550.
In step S530, the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 transmits the control signal SI to the wireless router 41 through the network service platform 43. More specifically, the human operator can check up whether the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 outputs the electric power of the power source. The human operator can manipulate the input interface (e.g. buttons or the touch screen) of the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 to make the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 transmit the control signal SI to the wireless router 41 through the network service platform 43.
In step S540, the wireless router 41 wirelessly transmits the control signal SI to the power socket with wireless communication capability 4. In step S550, the control signal SI controls whether the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 outputs the electric power of the power source. According to the steps S520˜S550, the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability 42 can remote-control the power socket with wireless communication capability 4 to output electric power of the power source or not.
According to the aforementioned embodiments, the power socket with wireless communication capability, system having the same and method thereof can be used to connect the power socket with wireless communication capability between the power plug of electric device and the power outlet of the public utility grid. The human operator can use a handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability to control the power socket with wireless communication capability for switching the power of the electric device. When any electric device is connected to a power source (e.g. the public utility grid) through the power socket with wireless communication capability, the power of the electric device can be controlled by the handheld calculating device with wireless communication capability. The human operator does not need to modify the electric device for remote-controlling the electric device. Additionally, the power socket with wireless communication capability can replace the traditional power socket. The power socket can be designed to be easy to carry, or the power socket can have an extension cord for letting the human operator make the power setting of any electric device to be remotely controllable. Thus, the convenience of using the electric devices is significantly improved.
The descriptions illustrated supra set forth simply the preferred embodiments of the present invention; however, the characteristics of the present invention are by no means restricted thereto. All changes, alternations, or modifications conveniently considered by those skilled in the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention delineated by the following claims.