Patents Examined by Kelvin Booker
  • Patent number: 11456601
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a generation facility for producing electricity includes one or more electricity generating elements for producing electricity from a renewable energy source. The generation facility also includes a controller conductively coupled to: (1) a first conductive path leading from the one or more electricity generating elements; (2) a second conductive path leading to a public utility network; and (3) a third conductive path leading to an energy storage system for storing electrical energy. The energy storage system is also conductively coupled to a fourth conductive path leading to the public utility network. The controller includes one or more processors coupled to a non-transitory computer readable storage media embodying software that is operable when executed by the processors to determine whether to send electricity generated by the one or more electricity generating elements to the energy storage system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: D&D Patent and Trademark Holding Company, LLC
    Inventors: Dennis Emberling, David Shimon
  • Patent number: 11456619
    Abstract: Included are an energy management apparatus that manages at least one or more management target that consumes energy; and a user terminal that transmits and receives information to and from the energy management apparatus via a network. The energy management apparatus includes an energy management controller that prepares a question regarding a behavior of a user who uses the at least one or more management target, and transmits it to the user terminal. The user terminal includes a user terminal controller that transmits a question answer regarding the received question to the energy management controller when receiving the question transmitted from the energy management controller. The energy management controller predicts an energy consumption amount of the at least one or more management target based on the received question answer when receiving the question answer transmitted from the user terminal controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tsutomu Kawamura, Masatoshi Kumagai, Hirotaka Takahashi, Ryousuke Nakamura
  • Patent number: 11444459
    Abstract: There is provided a method of operating a renewable power plant that is connected to a wider power network by a bus. The method comprises: identifying a predetermined voltage condition of the renewable power plant or of the bus; controlling the renewable power plant to maintain zero reactive power exchange at the bus for a first period; calculating an average voltage level of the bus that was achieved during the first period; and controlling the renewable power plant to maintain the voltage output at a set voltage level for a second period, the set voltage level being substantially equal to the calculated average voltage level. The method ensures that voltage oscillations due to a push-pull phenomenon between a power plant controller and the power network do not upset the stability of the grid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2022
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Manoj Gupta, Ravi Kumar, Janakiraman Sivasankaran, Mario Dante Jardiel, Anoop Vijay Tiwari, Kouroush Nayebi
  • Patent number: 11411403
    Abstract: Aspects of the present invention relate to a method for controlling one or more wind turbine generators. The method comprises: monitoring an electrical parameter of a power network to which the wind turbine generators are connected with respect to a deadband for the electrical parameter; and determining that the monitored electrical parameter is deviating outside of the deadband. In response to determining that the electrical parameter is deviating outside of the deadband, the method comprises: quantifying a severity of the deviation; and selectively implementing a parameter control mode when the quantified severity of the deviation is at or above a threshold level. In the parameter control mode, one or more power set points are determined based on the value of the electrical parameter and are dispatched to control the wind turbine generators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Kouroush Nayebi, Søren Kappelgaard, Thair Mahmoud
  • Patent number: 11409249
    Abstract: Exemplary embodiments simulate the eigenmodes of a flexible rotor in a model of a rotor and thus reduce the number of variables and computation expense required during simulation of the transverse motion response of the rotor. The exemplary embodiments may use data structures, such as lookup tables, to store precomputed information that may be used for the determining eigenmode properties as the values of one or more parameters affecting the eigenmode properties (e.g., speed, shaft temperature, bearing viscosity, normal force acting along the rotor shaft axis, turbine power level, turbine fluid flow rate, etc.) change during a simulation. The use of the data structures helps to reduce the computational expense during the simulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: The MathWorks, Inc.
    Inventors: Martin Udengaard, Jocelyn Kluger
  • Patent number: 11399636
    Abstract: A sensor system senses a plurality of environmental phenomena and send a data message with sensed parameters. The computer system determines an indication that the sensed parameter indicated low-quality sleep and sends an instruction to adjust the environment. A control system adjusts the environment without particular input from a user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Sleep Number Corporation
    Inventors: Ramazan Demirli, Omid Sayadi
  • Patent number: 11401917
    Abstract: The invention relates to a power plant controller for controlling wind turbine generators. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for compensating data obtained from measurements at a connection point to the grid in case of a communication failure where communication of such data is lost or becomes unreliable. The measured data are used in the power plant controller for determining setpoints for controlling the wind turbine generators' production of active and reactive power. In response to detection of a communication fault a new setpoint is determined independently of new measured grid data by reconfiguring parts of the power plant controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS A/S
    Inventors: Jorge Martinez Garcia, Rasmus Lærke, Henrik Møller, Kouroush Nayebi, Rubin Panni, Chun Meng Heng
  • Patent number: 11404907
    Abstract: Systems, methods, techniques and apparatuses of power network control are disclosed. One exemplary embodiment is a power network comprising a plurality of zones each including a plurality of measurement devices structured to measure electrical characteristics of the corresponding zone, a zone controller structured to receive measurements from the plurality of measurement devices, a distributed energy resource (DER), and a load. Each zone controller is structured to receive a set of local measurements from the plurality of measurement devices of the corresponding zone, calculate a sensitivity matrix using the received set of local measurements, determine whether a voltage violation has occurred in the corresponding zone, determine a DER set point using the received set of local measurements in response to determining the voltage violation has occurred in the corresponding zone, and transmit the DER set point to the DER.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: HITACHI ENERGY SWITZERLAND AG
    Inventors: Mohammad Razeghi-Jahromi, David Coats, James Stoupis
  • Patent number: 11392112
    Abstract: An industrial integrated development environment (IDE) supports a virtual design environment that allows an automation system designer to perform project development via interaction with a virtual reality presentation of the plant facility. The industrial design environment can generate system project data for an automation project—including but not limited to device selections, industrial control programming, device configurations, visualizations, engineering drawings, etc. —based on the developer's manual interactions with the virtual reality presentation. These interactions can include, for example, placing and moving machines or other industrial assets within the virtualized environment, defining trajectories of motion devices or robots using manual gestures, or other such interactive input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew R Stump, Anthony Carrara, Eashwer Srinivasan, Christopher W Como, Sharon M Billi-Duran
  • Patent number: 11385549
    Abstract: A management method of managing a processing apparatus that performs processing of a member, includes setting, in a case where adjustment of the processing apparatus is performed, an offset value to control the processing apparatus such that variance between results of processing by the processing apparatus before and after the adjustment is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Tetsuya Taguchi
  • Patent number: 11381090
    Abstract: The present invention relates to systems and methods for dynamic control of distributed energy resource systems. The disclosed systems and methods provide the ability for coordinated, real-time, and pre-planned control of a network of distributed energy resource systems where each distributed energy resource system is located at a different consumer site. Each distributed energy resource system is operable to provide stored and/or generated energy to meet on-site consumer needs and/or provide energy to the grid. An off-site control system obtains energy usage information from a plurality of the distributed energy resource systems and processes the information in order to coordinate control of each distributed energy resource system such as coordinating if and when each distributed energy resource system provides energy to the grid in order to at least partially meet energy demands associated with a demand response timeframe.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: ATMA Energy, LLC
    Inventors: Supratim Srinivasan, Jaro Nummikoski
  • Patent number: 11360444
    Abstract: A method for operating an automation device having a CPU module for processing a control program and a source module that is connected via a bus and is intended to supply sink modules of the automation device with electrical energy, wherein variables that are available to the automation device and which influence the operation of the automation device are recorded so as to make it possible to relieve the load on the CPU module when preprocessing the influencing variables.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2022
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventor: Norbert Rottmann
  • Patent number: 11347153
    Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of pieces of collected data collected in a state where lithographic processing is executed by a lithography apparatus for forming a pattern by applying a plurality of processing conditions, a classification unit configured to classify the acquired data based on the processing conditions, a judgement unit configured to judge that an abnormality has occurred in the acquired collected data by judging whether the collected data falls within an allowable range specified based on the processing conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2022
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yosuke Takarada, Yusuke Miura
  • Patent number: 11337533
    Abstract: A portable, self-contained beverage apparatus includes a container assembly having a known storage capacity for storing a consumable liquid, and a dispensing assembly disposed within the container assembly that dispenses variable, non-zero quantities of additives into the consumable liquid. The dispensing assembly includes multiple apertures structured and arranged to retain vessels containing the additives to be dispensed into the consumable liquid. The beverage apparatus also includes a level sensor disposed within the container assembly that determines a consumable liquid level of the consumable liquid stored in the container assembly. In certain embodiments, one or more positive displacement pumping mechanisms are configured to pump additive liquid from additive containers into a beverage chamber. Other features relate to audio engagement processing. Other features relate to situational processing. Other features relate to group engagement processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Infuze, L.L.C.
    Inventors: Jonathon Perrelli, Robert Lawson-Shanks, Elizabeth Hubler, Mark Lyons
  • Patent number: 11320796
    Abstract: Physical and/or financial instruments may optimally hedge the cash flow of one or more renewable energy generators based on a desired risk and return profile of renewable infrastructure investors. Baseline revenues may be determined based on forward-looking electricity market price scenarios corresponding to qualified market products intended for sale from the renewable energy generators. Risk and return metrics of cash flows of the renewable energy generators may be determined. At least one physical hedge and/or financial hedge may be added. The size and operation of the renewable energy generators along with any physical hedges, or financial hedges, or both physical and financial hedges, may be optimized across multiple market price scenarios of qualified market products to optimize investor-tailored risk and return utility functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: Form Energy, Inc.
    Inventors: Aly Eldeen O. Eltayeb, Benjamin Michael Jenkins, Marco Ferrara
  • Patent number: 11316908
    Abstract: Methods and systems of monitoring and managing a facility including a plurality of end point devices. One system includes a first gateway device. The first gateway device includes a first electronic processor configured to receive fixture data from at least one electro-mechanical element of a fixture associated with the facility, the fixture data related to an operation of the fixture, and enable transmission of the fixture data to a remote device for virtual processing. The system also includes a second gateway device communicatively coupled with the first gateway device. The second gateway device includes a second electronic processor configured to receive, from the first gateway device, the processed fixture data. The second electronic processor configured to convert the processed fixture data pursuant to a networking protocol associated with a building management system and transmit the converted fixture data for display via a visual dashboard associated with the building management system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2022
    Assignee: ZURN INDUSTRIES, LLC
    Inventors: Arindam Chakraborty, Richard Ryer
  • Patent number: 11281168
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are related to a system, a method, and a non-transitory computer readable medium for operating an energy plant. In one aspect, the system generates a regression model of a produced thermal energy load produced by a supply device of the plurality of devices. The system predicts the produced thermal energy load produced by the supply device for a first time period based on the regression model. The system determines a heat capacity of gas or liquid in the loop based on the predicted produced thermal energy load. The system generates a model of mass storage based on the heat capacity. The system predicts an induced thermal energy load during a second time period at a consuming device of the plurality of devices based on the model of the mass storage. The system operates the energy plant according to the predicted induced thermal energy load.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP
    Inventors: Mohammad N. Elbsat, Michael J. Wenzel, Graeme Willmott, Matthew J. Asmus
  • Patent number: 11255560
    Abstract: An air-conditioning apparatus includes a plurality of indoor units each individually conditioning air in an air-conditioning target space, a storage unit storing detection values of a plurality of suction temperature sensors in time series, a timer measuring, for each of the plurality of indoor units, a preset temperature arrival period it takes for a suction temperature to reach a preset temperature for the air-conditioning target space after start of a thermo-on state or a thermo-off state, a calculation unit calculating, for each of the plurality of indoor units, a temperature change slope representing a change in the suction temperature for the preset temperature arrival period, and a determination unit comparing the temperature change slope of each of the plurality of indoor units with a determination threshold to determine, as an abnormal indoor unit, the indoor unit having the temperature change slope greater than the determination threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Chisato Taniguchi, Chika Tanabe
  • Patent number: 11251616
    Abstract: Provided are a method and system for managing power grid stability utilising local dynamic load control, the method being performed by a virtual load manager (VLM) comprising one or more processors configured to: configure a plurality of electrical devices connected to a mains supply grid to individually react to grid fluctuations such that the plurality of electrical devices act as one or more virtual load groups each comprising one or more electrical devices with the same response to the grid fluctuations; and manage the individual electrical devices and operating characteristics of the electrical devices in the one or more virtual load groups on behalf of a central grid controller (CGC) of the mains supply grid, wherein each of the electrical devices comprises a local controller configured to provide dynamic control of their respective load in response to fluctuations of the mains supply grid based on the configuration provided by the virtual load manager (VLM).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Inventors: William John Kerrigan, Frank Magee, Pat Gayer
  • Patent number: 11245284
    Abstract: A method and an electronic device for power allocation of multi-parallel power electronic transformers, the method including: determining a quantity of conversion stages of the power electronic transformers; obtaining a load ratio-efficiency relationship between the two ports of each conversion stage in turn, performing a curve fitting to obtain a load ratio-efficiency curve of each conversion stage of the power electronic transformers; calculating a load ratio-loss relationship of each conversion stage, based on the load ratio-efficiency curve of each conversion stage; obtaining a multi-parallel minimum-operation-loss power allocation curve of each conversion stage; performing a piecewise curve fitting of the minimum-operation-loss power allocation curve to obtain a multi-parallel optimum power allocation mathematical model of each stage; and determining an optimum power allocation to each port of the multi-parallel power electronic transformers, based on the multi-parallel optimum power allocation mathemati
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: GUANGZHOU INSTITUTE OF ENERGY CONVERSION, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
    Inventors: Lei Huang, Jie Shu, Qiong Cui, Jiyuan Zhang, Hao Wang