Intelligent Power Distribution Management System and Method Of Use

Abstract

An intelligent power distribution management system and method of use for intelligent control of power door locks and any other devices requiring managed power to enhance installation setup, increase functionality and versatility, include local diagnostic computation, extend communication capability for remote monitoring and control, monitor load conditions with the ability to signal and enact protective action as well as alert a user via alarms and LED indicators. The electrified power lock manager is remotely programmable and has a programmable controller, digitally controlled auto resetting solid-state circuit breakers, intelligent detection and measurement of power door lock voltage and current, and the ability to provide early detection of power door lock failure while sending a notification when detecting a failure.

Claims

1. An intelligent power distribution management system for managing power being supplied to a plurality of loads, said system comprising: at least one sensor, said at least one sensor sensing in real time a sensed condition comprising at least one of voltage supplied to, current supplied to and power being consumed by each of the plurality of loads; a memory on which is stored a historical record of the sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads; and a processor; wherein the processor compares the real time sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads with the historical record of the sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads, and predicts a likely failure of at least one of the plurality of loads based at least in part on the comparison; and wherein the processor compares the real time sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads with a threshold for each of the plurality of loads, and terminates power to a faulty load if the comparison indicates that a fault exists based at least in part on whether the real time sensed condition exceeds the threshold, and wherein the processor automatically and periodically checks to determine whether the fault continues to exist, and upon determining that the fault no longer exists, automatically restores power to the previously determined faulty load.

2. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 1 wherein the processor predicts the likely failure when the sensed condition measured in real time deviates from an average of the sensed condition stored in the historical record by more than a predetermined amount.

3. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 1 wherein the processor predicts the likely failure when the sensed condition measured in real time deviates from a nominal baseline of the sensed condition stored in the historical record by more than a predetermined amount.

4. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 1 wherein the historical record is updated periodically by storing the real time sensed condition.

5. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 4 wherein the historical record is updated at a frequency falling within the range of from every three seconds to every ten seconds.

6. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of loads comprises a plurality of electric door locks.

7. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 1 wherein the sensed condition comprises power being consumed by each of the plurality of loads.

8. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 1 wherein the sensed condition comprises current supplied to each of the plurality of loads.

9. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 8 wherein the fault comprises an overcurrent situation or a short circuit situation.

10. An intelligent power distribution management system for managing power being supplied to a plurality of loads, said system comprising: at least one sensor, said at least one sensor sensing in real time a sensed condition comprising at least one of voltage supplied to, current supplied to and power being consumed by each of the plurality of loads; a memory on which is stored a historical record of the sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads; and a processor which compares the real time sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads with the historical record of the sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads, and predicts a likely failure of at least one of the plurality of loads based at least in part on the comparison.

11. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 10 wherein the processor predicts the likely failure when the sensed condition measured in real time deviates from an average of the sensed condition stored in the historical record by more than a threshold amount.

12. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 10 wherein the processor predicts the likely failure when the sensed condition measured in real time deviates from a nominal baseline of the sensed condition stored in the historical record by more than a threshold amount.

13. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 10 wherein the historical record is updated periodically by storing the real time sensed condition.

14. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 13 wherein the historical record is updated at a frequency falling within the range of from every three seconds to every ten seconds.

15. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 10 wherein the plurality of loads comprises a plurality of electric door locks.

16. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 10 wherein the sensed condition comprises power being consumed by each of the plurality of loads.

17. An intelligent power distribution management system for managing power being supplied to a plurality of loads, said system comprising: at least one sensor, said at least one sensor sensing in real time a sensed condition comprising at least one of voltage supplied to, current supplied to and power being consumed by each of the plurality of loads; and a processor which compares the real time sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads with a threshold for each of the plurality of loads, and which terminates power to a faulty load if the comparison indicates that a fault exists based at least in part on whether the real time sensed condition exceeds the threshold, and wherein the processor automatically and periodically checks to determine whether the fault continues to exist, and upon determining that the fault no longer exists, automatically restores power to the previously determined faulty load.

18. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 17 wherein the plurality of loads comprises a plurality of electric door locks.

19. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 17 wherein the sensed condition comprises current supplied to each of the plurality of loads.

20. The intelligent power distribution management system of claim 19 wherein the fault comprises an overcurrent situation or a short circuit situation.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an intelligent power distribution management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 2 illustrates a software programming screen view employed by an intelligent power management distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 3 illustrates a software programming screen view employed by an intelligent power management distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates an RS-485A address and Termination selector (SW2) employed by an intelligent power management distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.

[0023] The present invention is directed to an intelligent power distribution management system. In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the intelligent power management distribution system includes a programmable controller, twelve supervised dry contact inputs including one Tamper input; two programmable, general purpose inputs; and eight programmable inputs for triggering programmable outputs; two RS-485 communication ports (a primary OSDP/RS-485 encrypted communication Port A and a secondary OSDP/RS-485 encrypted comm. port B) each having an API protocol; four onboard form C relays rated at 10 A; four wet trigger inputs for the form C relays; eight wet DC outputs with preset current limits each having a wet output voltage jumper selector, digitally controlled auto resetting solid-state circuit breakers including output current measurement capability and output current reporting capability, reverse load polarity sensing capability including signaling capability indicating to the programmable controller when a load is applied with reverse polarity; dual color output LED indicators having a first LED color when illuminated indicating normal operation and a second LED color when illuminated indicating overload/short conditions; two input power LED indicators indicating input power of 12V or 24V each having a third LED color indicating the presence of an input voltage; one Fire Alarm LED indicator indicating fire alarm status; a fourth LED color indicating the fire alarm status; two RS-485 LED indicators each having a fifth LED color indicating the presence of an RS-485 bus connection; two auxiliary power port LED indicators having a sixth LED color indicating the presence of a voltage on the power port; a DC Power IN connector; an unmanaged power output connected directly to DC Power IN connector; an onboard Fail Safe DIP switch including a plurality of switches; an onboard programmable RS-485 address DIP switch including a plurality of switches including an A setting switch, a B setting switch, and four address setting switches; and a fire alarm I/O interface.

[0024] The programmable controller has an algorithm that includes alarms and events reporting via dry contacts, and real-time diagnostic capability. A smart uninterruptable power supply works together in functional combination with the intelligent power management distribution system to supply the input voltage such the eight wet DC outputs are configured for either Fail Safe or Fail Secure operations; the first LED color when illuminated, second LED color when illuminated, a third LED color, fourth LED color, fifth LED color and a sixth LED color are all different colors each indicating a specific function or operating status as a means for providing quick information to an observer. The intelligent power management distribution system is provided a separate RS-485 connection for dedicated communication correspondence that is used to program current limits in the digitally controlled circuit breakers.

[0025] The intelligent power management distribution system's programmable controller is configured for real-time diagnostic capability and automatic recovery from reverse polarity situations for inputs and outputs. The intelligent power management distribution system inputs are managed (on/off) by an external dry contact and (on/off) by an OSDP RS-485 command.

[0026] The intelligent power management distribution system is configured to record and store load data including voltage and current over time for power door lock loads and the controller is programmed to recognize differences in load current based on the historic changes over time in the stored data as a means for determining component aging and/or failure. The intelligent power management distribution system programmable controller is configured to provide an alert signal based on changes in the load data and works together in functional combination with the digitally controlled auto resetting solid-state circuit breakers to provide programmable short circuit protection and circuit disconnect for over current conditions as well as reverse load polarity detecting while having self-resetting capability.

[0027] With respect to the predictive failure feature, the intelligent power distribution management system includes at least one sensor sensing in real time a sensed condition comprising at least one of voltage supplied to, current supplied to and power being consumed by, each of a plurality of loads, a memory on which is stored a historical record of the sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads, and a processor which compares the real time sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads with the historical record of the sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads, and predicts a likely failure of at least one of the plurality of loads based at least in part on the comparison.

[0028] In one example, the processor predicts the likely failure when the sensed condition measured in real time deviates from an average of the sensed condition stored in the historical record by more than a threshold amount. In another example, the processor predicts the likely failure when the sensed condition measured in real time deviates from a nominal baseline of the sensed condition stored in the historical record by more than a threshold amount.

[0029] The historical record may be updated periodically by storing the real time sensed condition. The frequency at which the historical record is updated may vary; for example, the frequency may fall within the range of from every three seconds to every ten seconds, with it having been found that updated every 5 seconds provide acceptable results.

[0030] The plurality of loads may comprise a plurality of electric door locks. In certain embodiments, is it desirable for the sensed condition to comprise power being consumed by each of the plurality of loads.

[0031] With respect to the automatically resetting circuit breaker feature, the intelligent power distribution management system includes at least one sensor sensing in real time a sensed condition comprising at least one of voltage supplied to, current supplied to and power being consumed by each of the plurality of loads, and a processor. The processor compares the real time sensed condition for each of the plurality of loads with a threshold for each of the plurality of loads, and terminates power to a faulty load if the comparison indicates that a fault exists based at least in part on whether the real time sensed condition exceeds the threshold. The processor automatically and periodically checks to determine whether the fault continues to exist, and upon determining that the fault no longer exists, automatically restores power to the previously determined faulty load.

[0032] In certain embodiments, the plurality of loads comprises a plurality of electric door locks. In some embodiments, it is desirable for the sensed condition to comprise current supplied to each of the plurality of loads. The fault may comprise, for example, an overcurrent situation or a short circuit situation.

[0033] In the exemplary embodiment of the intelligent power management distribution system the programmable controller includes alarms and events reporting via dry contacts, RS-485 OSDP ports, Ethernet, and WiFi, real-time diagnostic capability, and automatic recovery from reverse polarity loads applied to any of the eight wet outputs.

[0034] The intelligent power management distribution system is configured to measure and record load data including output voltage and load current levels over time for power door lock loads, determine component aging and/or failure based on the levels, and provide an alert of component aging to a user. The eight wet output outputs are designed to survive and recover from reverse load applications.

[0035] Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a schematic view of an intelligent power management distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention having a DC Power IN connector (1) including a 12 VDC input terminal, a 24 VDC input terminal, and two ground terminals; that provides direct power to the 12 VDC and 24 VDC terminals in the unmanaged power output (2) and an auxiliary output power level of 12V/24V (8); provides current controlled power to eight wet DC outputs (5); a wet output voltage jumper selector (3) for selecting either a 12V or 24V input level; and dual color output LED indicators (4) having a first LED color when illuminated indicating normal operation and a second LED color when illuminated indicating overload/short conditions. FIG. 1 also shows the four form C Relays outputs (6a,6b) four voltage triggered inputs for the relays (7) and supervised inputs for the four Form C relays (15). Also shown in FIG. 1 are four onboard form C relays (9); one Tamper input (10); a communication address selector (11); a primary OSDP/RS-485 encrypted communications port A (17); a secondary OSDP/RS-485 encrypted communications port B (12); a programmer's input (13); the programmable controller (14); eight programmable supervised inputs (16) for triggering eight wet voltage outputs (5); a fire alarm I/O interface (18); and an onboard Fail Safe DIP switch (19).

[0036] FIG. 2 illustrates a software screen of an intelligent power management distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this view the status for the four Form C relays (15) and eight wet voltage outputs (5) is shown.

[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates an intelligent power management distribution system showing a sample of one of the software programming screen views according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this view status of two LED indicators is shown along with the status of the four supervised inputs for the four Form C relays.

[0038] FIG. 4 illustrates an intelligent power management distribution system showing an RS-485A address and Termination selector (SW2) according to an embodiment of the present invention. The addresses of the intelligent power management distribution system are aligned with the intelligent uninterruptible power supply for the communication and display of information via the RS-45 port A bus.

[0039] The exact specifications, materials used, and method of use of the intelligent power management distribution system may vary upon manufacturing.

[0040] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The exemplary embodiment(s) were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.