WO2020198851A1 - Methods and systems for pay-per-use appliances - Google Patents

Methods and systems for pay-per-use appliances Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2020198851A1
WO2020198851A1 PCT/CA2020/050394 CA2020050394W WO2020198851A1 WO 2020198851 A1 WO2020198851 A1 WO 2020198851A1 CA 2020050394 W CA2020050394 W CA 2020050394W WO 2020198851 A1 WO2020198851 A1 WO 2020198851A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
power
appliance
intermediary
switch apparatus
control system
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/CA2020/050394
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Brian WEN
Original Assignee
Wen Brian
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from CA3038549A external-priority patent/CA3038549A1/en
Application filed by Wen Brian filed Critical Wen Brian
Publication of WO2020198851A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020198851A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J13/00—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
    • H02J13/00006—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment
    • H02J13/00028—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment involving the use of Internet protocols
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/08—Payment architectures
    • G06Q20/14—Payment architectures specially adapted for billing systems
    • G06Q20/145—Payments according to the detected use or quantity
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
    • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
    • G07F17/20—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for washing or drying articles, e.g. clothes, motor cars
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J13/00—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
    • H02J13/00032—Systems characterised by the controlled or operated power network elements or equipment, the power network elements or equipment not otherwise provided for
    • H02J13/0005—Systems characterised by the controlled or operated power network elements or equipment, the power network elements or equipment not otherwise provided for the elements or equipment being or involving power plugs or sockets
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/2801—Broadband local area networks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/01—Protocols
    • H04L67/12—Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/01—Protocols
    • H04L67/12—Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
    • H04L67/125—Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks involving control of end-device applications over a network
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/80—Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F34/00—Details of control systems for washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
    • D06F34/04—Signal transfer or data transmission arrangements
    • D06F34/05—Signal transfer or data transmission arrangements for wireless communication between components, e.g. for remote monitoring or control
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J2310/00—The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load
    • H02J2310/50—The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load for selectively controlling the operation of the loads
    • H02J2310/56—The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load for selectively controlling the operation of the loads characterised by the condition upon which the selective controlling is based
    • H02J2310/62—The condition being non-electrical, e.g. temperature
    • H02J2310/64—The condition being economic, e.g. tariff based load management
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B70/00—Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
    • Y02B70/30—Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B70/00—Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
    • Y02B70/30—Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
    • Y02B70/3225—Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • Y04S20/20—End-user application control systems
    • Y04S20/222—Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • Y04S20/20—End-user application control systems
    • Y04S20/242—Home appliances
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S40/00—Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them
    • Y04S40/18—Network protocols supporting networked applications, e.g. including control of end-device applications over a network
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S50/00—Market activities related to the operation of systems integrating technologies related to power network operation or related to communication or information technologies
    • Y04S50/10—Energy trading, including energy flowing from end-user application to grid

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to methods and systems for pay-per-use of appliances.
  • a power control system for an appliance comprising:
  • an intermediary power switch apparatus comprising:
  • electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to the at least one appliance from the power source; a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal detectable by the user device;
  • At least one network interface for receiving a trigger signal from an external computing device to enable power to the at least one appliance
  • control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance for a predetermined time.
  • an intermediary power switch apparatus comprising:
  • electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to an appliance from the power source;
  • a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal detectable by a user device; at least one network interface for receiving a trigger signal from an external computing device to enable the at least one power relay;
  • control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance for a predetermined time.
  • the intermediary power switch apparatus comprises:
  • electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to the at least one appliance from the power source;
  • a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal via power management computing device, accepting payment of a pay-per-use fee for use of the at least one appliance; and issuing a trigger signal to the intermediary power switch apparatus upon a successful payment transaction, the trigger signal comprising a command to provision power to the at least one appliance;
  • control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance.
  • the present methods and systems enable operation of appliances on a pay-per-use basis, and permit monitoring of appliance usage.
  • Figure 1 shows a schematic of an operating environment of an exemplary power monitoring system
  • Figure 2a shows an exemplary intermediary power switching module
  • Figure 2b shows an interior of the intermediary power switching module housing
  • Figure 3 shows a top-level component architecture diagram of the power monitoring system
  • Figure 4 shows a flowchart outlining exemplary steps for controlling the intermediary power switching module
  • Figure 5 shows a flowchart outlining exemplary steps taken by a user of the power monitoring system.
  • FIG. 1 shows a schematic of an operating environment of a power monitoring system, generally identified by numeral 10, in an exemplary embodiment.
  • the power monitoring system 10 comprises an intermediary power switch apparatus 12 communicatively coupled to power management server 14 and mobile computing devices or user devices 15 via communication network 16.
  • Intermediary power switch apparatus 12 is electrically coupled to power source 17, such as an AC power source, and is controllable to provision power to device 18, such as an appliance.
  • Intermediary power switch apparatus 12 comprises housing 20 which accommodates printed circuit board 22 with electronic circuitry 24 comprising analog circuits, digital circuits and mixed-signal or hybrid circuits.
  • Housing 20 comprises front housing portion 26 having sockets 28 for receiving pins 30 of plug 32 electrically coupled to appliance 18, as shown in Figures 2a and 2b.
  • Electronic circuitry 24 associated with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 comprises a processing unit, such as microprocessor 40, memory 42, control module 44 and power relay circuitry 46.
  • the components of electronic circuitry 24 may be coupled by interconnection mechanism, which may include one or more buses enables communications (e.g., signals, data, instructions) to be exchanged between components of electronic circuitry 24, including traces and/or wires.
  • a number of input/output (I/O) devices may be coupled to control module 44, such as, display, status indicators 47 e.g. LEDs, or a speaker, USB port, etc.
  • Communications interface 48 provides networking capabilities via a wired or wireless connection, such as, Bluetooth ® , Ethernet, WiFi ® , GSM, RF, and/or other suitable network format, to enable connection to one networked devices, such as power management server 14 or mobile computing device 15 associated with a user or client, via communications network 16 such as the Internet.
  • Communications interface 48 also comprises transceiver 51 such as an advertising transmitter or beacon.
  • Management server application 49 and power management server 14 are configured to receive user identification, appliance request order identification, and other data contained in a service request from mobile computing device 15 via an HTTP Application Programming Interface (“API”) 50.
  • Server API 50 and power management server 14 provide programmatic and web interfaces respectively to, one or more application servers hosting one or more marketplace applications and payment applications.
  • Power management server 14 is coupled to one or more databases servers that facilitate access to one or more databases 78.
  • Power management server 14 includes a secure payment system 60 with payment processor 62 for processing payments of pay-per-use fees for use of appliance 18 from mobile computing devices 15.
  • data is communicated between mobile computing device 15 and payment processor 62, such as order data (e.g., order identifier information, one or more product selections associated with a particular order, etc.), payment data (e.g., credit card information, payment token information, etc.).
  • order data e.g., order identifier information, one or more product selections associated with a particular order, etc.
  • payment data e.g., credit card information, payment token information, etc.
  • payment processor 62 issues and authorization code or signal to the user or client to facilitate usage of appliances 18.
  • intermediary power switch apparatus 12 include actions of: receiving at least one control signal via communications interface device 50 to activate a power relay circuitry 46 to provide power to appliance 18 for a predetermined time, and place appliance 18 in an operational state; sending a status signal associated with appliance 18 when mobile computing device 15 is in proximity with appliance 18, as will be described later.
  • appliance 18 is placed in an operating state when the at least one control signal is received by intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and the presence of mobile computing device 15 is detected when mobile computing device 15 is in proximity with appliance 18 and/or intermediary power switch apparatus 12.
  • Mobile computing device 15 comprises computing system comprising microprocessor 70, memory 72, power source, and I/O interface 74 with input means and output means coupled thereto, such as user interface comprising a keyboard, touch screen and/or display screen, speaker, and communication interface adapter, among others.
  • Memory 72 includes an application with a set of instructions comprising a plurality of lines of code executable by microprocessor 70 to at least: present a user interface on display screen, allow input of personal user data to create a user profile, input payment details, such as credit card information, loyalty points, gift card information etc., display content on the display screen and provide visual and auditory feedback to the user, and display usage data or statistical data, user location data and intermediary power switch apparatus 12 data and appliance 18 data.
  • FIG. 4 shows a flowchart outlining exemplary steps for controlling intermediary power switch apparatus 12 for provisioning metered power to appliance 18.
  • intermediary power switch apparatus 12 initiates the hardware components of electronic circuitry 24, such as communication interface device 46, control module 44 and analog to digital converters (ADCs) and conducts a self-testing routine, step 102.
  • ADCs operate to convert selected analog quantities to a digital format for data transmission over a selected communication line.
  • One of the outputs of control module 44 is connected to control power relay circuitry 46 to disable or enable the stop or start signal output to provision power to appliance 18.
  • transmitter or beacon 51 associated with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 broadcasts an advertising signal comprising an identifier, which is subsequently detected by mobile computing device 15 when it is in proximity with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and/or appliance 18.
  • the beacon or advertising signal may include an identifier of the particular intermediary power switch apparatus 12 that emitted the beacon signal or advertising signal. The user may select appliance 18 to use by moving the mobile computing device 15 into proximity with transmitter or beacon 51.
  • Mobile computing device 15 may detect the beacon signal or advertising signal through a wireless network interface of mobile computing device 15 and, based on the received signal level being at least a threshold level, the application on mobile computing device 15 may determine that mobile computing device 15 is within a threshold distance of appliance 18. In some cases, this movement of mobile computing device 15 into proximity with appliance 18 may be described as a bump, and may include user device coming into physical contact with transmitter or beacon 51. While in proximity with intermediary power switch apparatus 12, hence appliance 18, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 serves advertising messages to mobile computing device 15 based on location of the mobile computing device 15 and user profile.
  • intermediary power switch apparatus 12 waits for a trigger command signal to enable power relay circuitry 46 in order to provision power to appliance 18.
  • the trigger command signal may be received directly from power management server 14 via communication network 52 or from mobile computing device 15, following successful payment processing by payment processor 62.
  • power relay circuitry 46 monitors ADC channels for particular signal patterns for activating secondary circuitry for provisioning power to appliance 18, and determines whether a trigger command signal has been received. Once the trigger command signal is received, and the advertising signal has been received by mobile computing device 15, then power to appliance 18 is provisioned via power relay circuitry 46 and status indicator LEDs 47 display an active operating status of intermediary power switch apparatus 12, and hence the active operating status of appliance 18, in step 108.
  • step 110 power relay circuitry 46 continues to monitor ADC channels and once the predetermined operational time expires control module 44 issues an end-of-cycle command signal to power relay circuitry 46 to disable power to or from intermediary power switch apparatus 12, in step 112, which effectively shuts down appliance 18.
  • step 200 user registers to take advantage of the pay-per-use service managed via power management server 14. Accordingly, the user creates a user profile via the user interface associated with an application executable on mobile computing device 15.
  • the user profile comprises user details, such as name, age, residential address, email address(es), profile picture, government issued identity document details, biometric data e.g. fingerprint or voice print, username and password.
  • the profile data is stored in one or more database 78 associated with power management server 14.
  • Database 78 may be any type of data repository or combination of data repositories, which store records or other representations of data comprising user profile data.
  • step 202 once registered, the user is presented with a login screen and upon authentication of user credentials, the user profile is retrieved from database 78.
  • Power management server 14 displays a list and location of intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and associated appliances 18 coupled thereto, in step 204.
  • the user may request availability information for one or more appliances 18 that are currently available for use at one or more facilities, step 206.
  • the availability information may also indicate appliances 18 which are currently unavailable, e.g., in use or reserved for use.
  • the availability information may indicate currently available appliances 18 in proximity to the current location of the user.
  • the availability information may be presented in the UI of the application, in a map and/or other suitable UI element that indicates the location with currently available appliances 18.
  • the user is able to select or reserve a desired appliance 18 based on location of the user and/or appliance 18, step 208.
  • user selects a time period for which intermediary power switch 12 should be active, in step 210.
  • payment processor 62 processes the transaction, and upon successful completion of the transaction a trigger command signal is issued by power management server 14 to intermediary power switch apparatus 12.
  • An application on mobile computing device 15 determines whether advertising signals from intermediary power switch apparatus 12, including a unique identifier associated with intermediary power switch apparatus 12, are detectable, in step 212.
  • step 216 a determination is made whether the pay-per-use operational time for appliance 18 has expired. Once the predetermined pay-per-use operational time has expired an end of cycle signal is transmitted from power management server 14 and power relay circuitry 46 is caused to disable power to or from intermediary power switch apparatus 12, an inactive operating status of appliance 18 is displayed on mobile computing device 15, and power management server 14 is updated accordingly, step 218.
  • the indication that mobile computing device 15 is in proximity with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 comprises receiving a request from intermediary power switch apparatus 12, such as an identifier or code associated the intermediary power switch apparatus 12.
  • intermediary power switch apparatus 12 monitors the operating state of appliance 18 through current measurement using at least one hall effect sensor or similar component.
  • intermediary power switch apparatus 12 is used in a laundry services comprising laundry machines 80, such as washers and dryers, at various locations.
  • laundry machines 80 may be reserved for a particular user via power management server 14 and made available for use based on the proximity of the particular user to laundry machine 80, that is, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 associated with laundry machine 80.
  • Each location may include any number of laundry machines 80, such as washers and dryers or combined.
  • the reservation request may indicate a number of laundry machines 80 to be reserved at the user-selected laundry machine(s) location.
  • one or more management modules executing on the management server devices 14 may reserve one or more available laundry machines 80 in the user-selected laundry machine(s) location for a predetermined period of time. Reserving the laundry machines 80 may include updating the status information (e.g.,“available for use”,“in use”, or“reserved”) that indicates a current status of the various laundry machines 80 managed by the power management server 14.
  • the status information e.g.,“available for use”,“in use”, or“reserved”
  • Reserving laundry machine 80 may also include sending one or more control signals that cause a status indicator on the reserved laundry machine 80 to indicate the status of laundry machine 80 as reserved.
  • the control signal(s) may also cause the power to laundry machine 80 to turn off until laundry machine 80 is requested by a user with a reservation.
  • Power management server 14 may also send a reservation response to mobile computing device 15 to inform the user that the requested number of laundry machines 80 has been reserved at the user- selected laundry machine(s) location.
  • the reservation may be valid for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 15 minutes) e.g. a buffer time to allow the user sufficient time to reach the selected laundry machine(s) 80.
  • each intermediary power switch apparatus 12 may be configured to include a status indicator that indicates a current status of the laundry machine 80.
  • intermediary power switch apparatus 12 allows for more efficient use and allocation of laundry machines 80 in various locations, and avoid the requirement that a large number of excess laundry machines 80 be present in a laundry facility in order to support expected customer usage. Accordingly, power management server 14 matches a dynamic demand for the laundry machines 80 with a dynamic supply in real-time.
  • intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and power management server 14 track the usage patterns for laundry machines 80 at various locations, and compile related statistics. Accordingly, historical data may be employed to predict future usage and determine an appropriate number of machines 80 to be placed at various locations, or in some applications define the required number of laundry units 80. Moreover, because machines 80 may also be activated only when needed based on received reservations and/or the presence (e.g., at the laundry machines 80 location or other location of machined 80 of particular users who intend to use the machines 80, implementations of intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and power management server 14 results in a laundry service that consumes less power and makes more efficient use of laundry machines 80 compared to traditional laundry services with commercial laundry machines.
  • updates, verifications, calibration and other more advanced feature to intermediary power switch apparatus 12 may be performed over-the-air via communication network interface 48.
  • a USB port may be included with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 to perform updates, verifications, calibration and other more advanced features.
  • the pay-per-use fees for the appliance are dependent on at least one of type of the appliance, location of the appliance, power rating of the appliance, selected time of day for use, duration of use, user habits, and demand for the appliance.
  • device 18 includes any one of a dishwasher, air conditioning unit, furnace, water heater, space heater, fan, stove, oven, griller, among others.
  • memory 42 stores rules associated with the relaying power through intermediary power switch apparatus 12, such as a power delivery policy.
  • rules can include but are not limited to controlling the time periods of the day in which power may be relayed through intermediary power switch apparatus 12, and a maximum duration of an operation session in which power can be relayed to a connected appliance 18, and the maximum power to be provisioned via intermediary power switch apparatus 12.
  • power management server 14 may be associated with one or more content provider servers for generating and providing content that is presented on a user interface (UI) of mobile computing device 15.
  • content provider servers may communicate information to user mobile computing device 15, and such information may be presented within an application (e.g., a mobile application) executing on user mobile computing device 15.
  • the application may enable a user to create a user account with the laundry service via power management server 14 and/or content provider servers.
  • power management server 14 may be a computing device which executes a web server application, examples of which may include but are not limited to: Microsoft IIS, or Apache® Webserver, that allows for HTTP (i.e., HyperText Transfer Protocol) access to server computer 14 via communication network 16.
  • a web server application examples of which may include but are not limited to: Microsoft IIS, or Apache® Webserver, that allows for HTTP (i.e., HyperText Transfer Protocol) access to server computer 14 via communication network 16.
  • Communications network 16 can include a series of network nodes (e.g., the clients and servers) that can be interconnected by network devices and wired and/or wireless communication lines (such as, public carrier lines, private lines, satellite lines, etc.) that enable the network nodes to communicate.
  • network nodes e.g., the clients and servers
  • wired and/or wireless communication lines such as, public carrier lines, private lines, satellite lines, etc.
  • Network 16 may be connected to one or more secondary networks, examples of which may include but are not limited to: a local area network; a wide area network; or an intranet, for example.
  • Mobile computing device 15 and server 14 may communicate with each other using network-enabled code.
  • Network enabled code may be, include or interface to, for example, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Dynamic HTML, Extensible Markup Language (XML), Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL), Document Style Semantics and Specification Language (DSSSL), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMWL), Wireless Markup Language (WML), JavaTM, C, C++, Perl, UNIX Shell, Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML), Python, or other compilers, assemblers, interpreters or other computer languages or platforms.
  • HTML HyperText Markup Language
  • XML Extensible Markup Language
  • XSL Extensible Stylesheet Language
  • DSSSL Document Style Semantics and Specification Language
  • CSS Cascading Style Sheets
  • SCS Cascading Style Sheets
  • SMWL Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language
  • WML JavaTM
  • C C
  • Memory 42 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising or storing the program for use by or in connection with the instructions executable by components of system 10.
  • the non-transitory computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device.
  • non-transitory computer-readable medium More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the non-transitory computer-readable medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) or DVD (optical).
  • RAM random access memory
  • ROM read-only memory
  • EPROM or Flash memory erasable programmable read-only memory
  • CDROM portable compact disc read-only memory
  • the software and software logic described above comprises an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions, can be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer- based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.
  • Mobile computing device 15 include any device, such as, a personal computer, laptop, tablet, personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular phone, smartphone, or smart watch.
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • Various aspects of the invention may be distributed among one or more computer systems (e.g., servers) configured to provide a service to one or more client computers, or to perform an overall task as part of a distributed system.
  • various aspects of the invention may be performed on a client-server, hybrid client-server, or multi-tier system that includes components distributed among one or more server systems that perform various functions according to various embodiments of the invention.
  • These components may be executable, intermediate (e.g., IL) or interpreted (e.g., Java) code which communicate over a communication network (e.g., the Internet) using a communication protocol (e.g., TCP/IP).
  • a communication network e.g., the Internet
  • a communication protocol e.g., TCP/IP

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Finance (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Computing Systems (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Medical Informatics (AREA)
  • Economics (AREA)
  • Strategic Management (AREA)
  • General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Development Economics (AREA)
  • Remote Monitoring And Control Of Power-Distribution Networks (AREA)

Abstract

A power control system for at least one appliance, the system comprising: a user device; a power management computing device; an intermediary power switch apparatus comprising: a control module; a connection to a power source; electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to the at least one appliance from the power source; a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal detectable by the user device; at least one network interface for receiving a trigger signal from the power management computing device to enable power to the at least one appliance; wherein, following receipt of the trigger signal and detection of the advertising signal by the user device, the control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance for a predetermined time.

Description

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PAY-PER-USE APPLIANCES
FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for pay-per-use of appliances. BACKGROUND
[0002] With the proliferation of short-term rental services such as Airbnb™, hosts are faced with the problem of short-term guests abusing their laundry privileges. For instance, some short term guests run several loads of laundry, often without asking or paying, or even when booked for a one-night stay. Hosts typically state the guidelines or policies for use of appliances in their listing, for example, with respect to laundry privileges, guests staying for three nights or longer are permitted use the machines as needed, otherwise, there are additional charges per load. However, these guidelines or policies are often ignored by the guests, and these guidelines or policies may also be difficult to enforce. Having no other means to restrict access to their machines, or monitor usage of their machines, most of the hosts often resort to tip-jars and laundry locks, or simply rely on the honor code.
[0003] Most hosts are not willing to take on the prohibitive expenses associated with installing commercial-use type washers with coin-operated, bill operated, and/or card reader devices for pay- per-use of the laundry machines. Other disadvantages of commercial-use type washers are fraud due to counterfeit bills, coins or tokens, substantially high maintenance and operating costs, such as manpower for collecting bills, coins and tokens.
[0004] It is an object of the present disclosure to mitigate or obviate at least one of the above- mentioned disadvantages.
SUMMARY
[0005] In one of its aspects, there is provided a power control system for an appliance, the system comprising:
a user device;
an intermediary power switch apparatus comprising:
a control module;
a connection to a power source;
electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to the at least one appliance from the power source; a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal detectable by the user device;
at least one network interface for receiving a trigger signal from an external computing device to enable power to the at least one appliance;
wherein, following receipt of the trigger signal and detection of the advertising signal by the user device, the control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance for a predetermined time.
[0006] In another of its aspects, there is provided an intermediary power switch apparatus comprising:
a control module;
a connection to a power source;
electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to an appliance from the power source;
a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal detectable by a user device; at least one network interface for receiving a trigger signal from an external computing device to enable the at least one power relay;
wherein, following receipt of the trigger signal and detection of the advertising by the user device, the control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance for a predetermined time.
[0007] In another of its aspects, there is provided a method for provisioning power to at least one appliance, the method comprising the steps of:
electrically coupling an intermediary power switch apparatus between the at least one appliance and a power source; wherein the intermediary power switch apparatus comprises:
a control module;
a connection to a power source;
electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to the at least one appliance from the power source;
a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal; via power management computing device, accepting payment of a pay-per-use fee for use of the at least one appliance; and issuing a trigger signal to the intermediary power switch apparatus upon a successful payment transaction, the trigger signal comprising a command to provision power to the at least one appliance;
at the intermediary power switch apparatus, receiving a trigger signal from the power management computing device;
at a user device, detecting the advertising signal;
whereby, following receipt of the trigger signal and detection of the advertising signal by the user device, the control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance.
[0008] Advantageously, the present methods and systems enable operation of appliances on a pay-per-use basis, and permit monitoring of appliance usage.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Several exemplary embodiments of the methods and systems will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the appended drawings in which:
[0010] Figure 1 shows a schematic of an operating environment of an exemplary power monitoring system;
[0011] Figure 2a shows an exemplary intermediary power switching module;
[0012] Figure 2b shows an interior of the intermediary power switching module housing;
[0013] Figure 3 shows a top-level component architecture diagram of the power monitoring system;
[0014] Figure 4 shows a flowchart outlining exemplary steps for controlling the intermediary power switching module; and
[0015] Figure 5 shows a flowchart outlining exemplary steps taken by a user of the power monitoring system.
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0016] The detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention herein makes reference to the accompanying block diagrams and schematic diagrams, which show the exemplary embodiment by way of illustration and its best mode. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented.
[0017] Moreover, it should be appreciated that the particular implementations shown and described herein are illustrative of the invention and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of the methods and systems in any way. Indeed, for the sake of brevity, certain sub-components of the individual operating components, conventional data networking, application development and other functional aspects of the systems may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system.
[0018] Figure 1 shows a schematic of an operating environment of a power monitoring system, generally identified by numeral 10, in an exemplary embodiment. The power monitoring system 10 comprises an intermediary power switch apparatus 12 communicatively coupled to power management server 14 and mobile computing devices or user devices 15 via communication network 16. Intermediary power switch apparatus 12 is electrically coupled to power source 17, such as an AC power source, and is controllable to provision power to device 18, such as an appliance.
[0019] Intermediary power switch apparatus 12 comprises housing 20 which accommodates printed circuit board 22 with electronic circuitry 24 comprising analog circuits, digital circuits and mixed-signal or hybrid circuits. Housing 20 comprises front housing portion 26 having sockets 28 for receiving pins 30 of plug 32 electrically coupled to appliance 18, as shown in Figures 2a and 2b.
[0020] Looking now at Figure 3 there is shown a top-level component architecture diagram of system 10. Electronic circuitry 24 associated with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 comprises a processing unit, such as microprocessor 40, memory 42, control module 44 and power relay circuitry 46. The components of electronic circuitry 24 may be coupled by interconnection mechanism, which may include one or more buses enables communications (e.g., signals, data, instructions) to be exchanged between components of electronic circuitry 24, including traces and/or wires. A number of input/output (I/O) devices may be coupled to control module 44, such as, display, status indicators 47 e.g. LEDs, or a speaker, USB port, etc. Communications interface 48 provides networking capabilities via a wired or wireless connection, such as, Bluetooth®, Ethernet, WiFi®, GSM, RF, and/or other suitable network format, to enable connection to one networked devices, such as power management server 14 or mobile computing device 15 associated with a user or client, via communications network 16 such as the Internet. Communications interface 48 also comprises transceiver 51 such as an advertising transmitter or beacon. Management server application 49 and power management server 14 are configured to receive user identification, appliance request order identification, and other data contained in a service request from mobile computing device 15 via an HTTP Application Programming Interface (“API”) 50. Server API 50 and power management server 14 provide programmatic and web interfaces respectively to, one or more application servers hosting one or more marketplace applications and payment applications. Power management server 14 is coupled to one or more databases servers that facilitate access to one or more databases 78.
[0021] Power management server 14 includes a secure payment system 60 with payment processor 62 for processing payments of pay-per-use fees for use of appliance 18 from mobile computing devices 15. For example, data is communicated between mobile computing device 15 and payment processor 62, such as order data (e.g., order identifier information, one or more product selections associated with a particular order, etc.), payment data (e.g., credit card information, payment token information, etc.). Upon successful completion of a payment transaction, payment processor 62 issues and authorization code or signal to the user or client to facilitate usage of appliances 18.
[0022] Generally, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 include actions of: receiving at least one control signal via communications interface device 50 to activate a power relay circuitry 46 to provide power to appliance 18 for a predetermined time, and place appliance 18 in an operational state; sending a status signal associated with appliance 18 when mobile computing device 15 is in proximity with appliance 18, as will be described later. Alternatively, appliance 18 is placed in an operating state when the at least one control signal is received by intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and the presence of mobile computing device 15 is detected when mobile computing device 15 is in proximity with appliance 18 and/or intermediary power switch apparatus 12. [0023] Mobile computing device 15 comprises computing system comprising microprocessor 70, memory 72, power source, and I/O interface 74 with input means and output means coupled thereto, such as user interface comprising a keyboard, touch screen and/or display screen, speaker, and communication interface adapter, among others. Memory 72 includes an application with a set of instructions comprising a plurality of lines of code executable by microprocessor 70 to at least: present a user interface on display screen, allow input of personal user data to create a user profile, input payment details, such as credit card information, loyalty points, gift card information etc., display content on the display screen and provide visual and auditory feedback to the user, and display usage data or statistical data, user location data and intermediary power switch apparatus 12 data and appliance 18 data.
[0024] Figure 4 shows a flowchart outlining exemplary steps for controlling intermediary power switch apparatus 12 for provisioning metered power to appliance 18. In step 100, once plugged into power source 17, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 initiates the hardware components of electronic circuitry 24, such as communication interface device 46, control module 44 and analog to digital converters (ADCs) and conducts a self-testing routine, step 102. ADCs operate to convert selected analog quantities to a digital format for data transmission over a selected communication line. One of the outputs of control module 44 is connected to control power relay circuitry 46 to disable or enable the stop or start signal output to provision power to appliance 18.
[0025] In step 104, transmitter or beacon 51 associated with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 broadcasts an advertising signal comprising an identifier, which is subsequently detected by mobile computing device 15 when it is in proximity with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and/or appliance 18. Transmitter or beacon 51 communicatively coupled to intermediary power switch apparatus 12, and may be included within housing 20 or may be external of housing 20. Accordingly, transmitter or beacon 51 emits an advertising signal or beacon signal that conforms to a wireless communication protocol, such as Bluetooth® Low Energy, or other radio frequency communications protocols. The beacon or advertising signal may include an identifier of the particular intermediary power switch apparatus 12 that emitted the beacon signal or advertising signal. The user may select appliance 18 to use by moving the mobile computing device 15 into proximity with transmitter or beacon 51. Mobile computing device 15 may detect the beacon signal or advertising signal through a wireless network interface of mobile computing device 15 and, based on the received signal level being at least a threshold level, the application on mobile computing device 15 may determine that mobile computing device 15 is within a threshold distance of appliance 18. In some cases, this movement of mobile computing device 15 into proximity with appliance 18 may be described as a bump, and may include user device coming into physical contact with transmitter or beacon 51. While in proximity with intermediary power switch apparatus 12, hence appliance 18, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 serves advertising messages to mobile computing device 15 based on location of the mobile computing device 15 and user profile.
[0026] Next, in step 106, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 waits for a trigger command signal to enable power relay circuitry 46 in order to provision power to appliance 18. The trigger command signal may be received directly from power management server 14 via communication network 52 or from mobile computing device 15, following successful payment processing by payment processor 62. Accordingly, power relay circuitry 46 monitors ADC channels for particular signal patterns for activating secondary circuitry for provisioning power to appliance 18, and determines whether a trigger command signal has been received. Once the trigger command signal is received, and the advertising signal has been received by mobile computing device 15, then power to appliance 18 is provisioned via power relay circuitry 46 and status indicator LEDs 47 display an active operating status of intermediary power switch apparatus 12, and hence the active operating status of appliance 18, in step 108. Next, in step 110, power relay circuitry 46 continues to monitor ADC channels and once the predetermined operational time expires control module 44 issues an end-of-cycle command signal to power relay circuitry 46 to disable power to or from intermediary power switch apparatus 12, in step 112, which effectively shuts down appliance 18.
[0027] The exemplary steps taken by a user for metered-use of appliance 18 will now be described with reference to a flowchart shown in Figure 5. In step 200, user registers to take advantage of the pay-per-use service managed via power management server 14. Accordingly, the user creates a user profile via the user interface associated with an application executable on mobile computing device 15. The user profile comprises user details, such as name, age, residential address, email address(es), profile picture, government issued identity document details, biometric data e.g. fingerprint or voice print, username and password. The profile data is stored in one or more database 78 associated with power management server 14. Database 78 may be any type of data repository or combination of data repositories, which store records or other representations of data comprising user profile data. In step 202, once registered, the user is presented with a login screen and upon authentication of user credentials, the user profile is retrieved from database 78. Power management server 14 then displays a list and location of intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and associated appliances 18 coupled thereto, in step 204. Via the user interface of the application executing on the mobile computing device 15, and the user may request availability information for one or more appliances 18 that are currently available for use at one or more facilities, step 206. The availability information may also indicate appliances 18 which are currently unavailable, e.g., in use or reserved for use. In some implementations, the availability information may indicate currently available appliances 18 in proximity to the current location of the user. The availability information may be presented in the UI of the application, in a map and/or other suitable UI element that indicates the location with currently available appliances 18. Next, the user is able to select or reserve a desired appliance 18 based on location of the user and/or appliance 18, step 208. Once selected, user selects a time period for which intermediary power switch 12 should be active, in step 210. Using user profile data and payment information, payment processor 62 processes the transaction, and upon successful completion of the transaction a trigger command signal is issued by power management server 14 to intermediary power switch apparatus 12. An application on mobile computing device 15 determines whether advertising signals from intermediary power switch apparatus 12, including a unique identifier associated with intermediary power switch apparatus 12, are detectable, in step 212.
[0028] Once the trigger command signal is received by intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and the transmitter or beacon signal has been detected by mobile computing device 15, then power relay circuitry 46 is enabled, and power is provisioned to appliance 18, step 214. The active operating status of intermediary power switch apparatus 12, and hence the active operating status of appliance 18, is displayed on mobile computing device 15, and the operating status of appliance 18 is updated at power management server 14, step 216. While in proximity with intermediary power switch apparatus 12, hence appliance 18, mobile computing device 15 receives advertising messages from intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and/or power management server, step 216. The advertising messages may be based on the location of the mobile computing device 15, user profile, type of appliance 18 and related consumables, nearby retail stores or specialty stores, or nearby services.
[0029] In step 216, a determination is made whether the pay-per-use operational time for appliance 18 has expired. Once the predetermined pay-per-use operational time has expired an end of cycle signal is transmitted from power management server 14 and power relay circuitry 46 is caused to disable power to or from intermediary power switch apparatus 12, an inactive operating status of appliance 18 is displayed on mobile computing device 15, and power management server 14 is updated accordingly, step 218.
[0030] In another exemplary embodiment, the indication that mobile computing device 15 is in proximity with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 comprises receiving a request from intermediary power switch apparatus 12, such as an identifier or code associated the intermediary power switch apparatus 12.
[0031] In another implementation, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 monitors the operating state of appliance 18 through current measurement using at least one hall effect sensor or similar component.
[0032] In yet another exemplary embodiment, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 is used in a laundry services comprising laundry machines 80, such as washers and dryers, at various locations. As described previously, laundry machines 80 may be reserved for a particular user via power management server 14 and made available for use based on the proximity of the particular user to laundry machine 80, that is, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 associated with laundry machine 80. Each location may include any number of laundry machines 80, such as washers and dryers or combined. The reservation request may indicate a number of laundry machines 80 to be reserved at the user-selected laundry machine(s) location. On receiving the reservation request, one or more management modules executing on the management server devices 14 may reserve one or more available laundry machines 80 in the user-selected laundry machine(s) location for a predetermined period of time. Reserving the laundry machines 80 may include updating the status information (e.g.,“available for use”,“in use”, or“reserved”) that indicates a current status of the various laundry machines 80 managed by the power management server 14.
[0033] Reserving laundry machine 80 may also include sending one or more control signals that cause a status indicator on the reserved laundry machine 80 to indicate the status of laundry machine 80 as reserved. In some cases, the control signal(s) may also cause the power to laundry machine 80 to turn off until laundry machine 80 is requested by a user with a reservation. Power management server 14 may also send a reservation response to mobile computing device 15 to inform the user that the requested number of laundry machines 80 has been reserved at the user- selected laundry machine(s) location. In some implementations, the reservation may be valid for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 15 minutes) e.g. a buffer time to allow the user sufficient time to reach the selected laundry machine(s) 80. Accordingly, each intermediary power switch apparatus 12 may be configured to include a status indicator that indicates a current status of the laundry machine 80.
[0034] Advantageously, implementations of intermediary power switch apparatus 12 allows for more efficient use and allocation of laundry machines 80 in various locations, and avoid the requirement that a large number of excess laundry machines 80 be present in a laundry facility in order to support expected customer usage. Accordingly, power management server 14 matches a dynamic demand for the laundry machines 80 with a dynamic supply in real-time.
[0035] In yet another exemplary implementation, intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and power management server 14 track the usage patterns for laundry machines 80 at various locations, and compile related statistics. Accordingly, historical data may be employed to predict future usage and determine an appropriate number of machines 80 to be placed at various locations, or in some applications define the required number of laundry units 80. Moreover, because machines 80 may also be activated only when needed based on received reservations and/or the presence (e.g., at the laundry machines 80 location or other location of machined 80 of particular users who intend to use the machines 80, implementations of intermediary power switch apparatus 12 and power management server 14 results in a laundry service that consumes less power and makes more efficient use of laundry machines 80 compared to traditional laundry services with commercial laundry machines.
[0036] In another exemplary implementation, updates, verifications, calibration and other more advanced feature to intermediary power switch apparatus 12 may be performed over-the-air via communication network interface 48.
[0037] In another exemplary implementation, a USB port may be included with intermediary power switch apparatus 12 to perform updates, verifications, calibration and other more advanced features. [0038] In another exemplary implementation, the pay-per-use fees for the appliance are dependent on at least one of type of the appliance, location of the appliance, power rating of the appliance, selected time of day for use, duration of use, user habits, and demand for the appliance.
[0039] In some implementations, device 18 includes any one of a dishwasher, air conditioning unit, furnace, water heater, space heater, fan, stove, oven, griller, among others.
[0040] In some implementations, memory 42 stores rules associated with the relaying power through intermediary power switch apparatus 12, such as a power delivery policy. For example, rules can include but are not limited to controlling the time periods of the day in which power may be relayed through intermediary power switch apparatus 12, and a maximum duration of an operation session in which power can be relayed to a connected appliance 18, and the maximum power to be provisioned via intermediary power switch apparatus 12.
[0041] In yet another exemplary embodiment, power management server 14 may be associated with one or more content provider servers for generating and providing content that is presented on a user interface (UI) of mobile computing device 15. For example, content provider servers may communicate information to user mobile computing device 15, and such information may be presented within an application (e.g., a mobile application) executing on user mobile computing device 15. The application may enable a user to create a user account with the laundry service via power management server 14 and/or content provider servers.
[0042] In yet another exemplary embodiment, power management server 14 may be a computing device which executes a web server application, examples of which may include but are not limited to: Microsoft IIS, or Apache® Webserver, that allows for HTTP (i.e., HyperText Transfer Protocol) access to server computer 14 via communication network 16.
[0043] Communications network 16 can include a series of network nodes (e.g., the clients and servers) that can be interconnected by network devices and wired and/or wireless communication lines (such as, public carrier lines, private lines, satellite lines, etc.) that enable the network nodes to communicate. The transfer of data between network nodes can be facilitated by network devices, such as routers, switches, multiplexers, bridges, gateways, etc., that can manipulate and/or route data from an originating node to a server node regardless of dissimilarities in the network topology (such as, bus, star, token ring, mesh, or hybrids thereof), spatial distance (such as, LAN, MAN, WAN, Internet), transmission technology (such as, TCP/IP, Systems Network Architecture), data type (such as, data, voice, video, multimedia), nature of connection (such as, switched, non-switched, dial-up, dedicated, or virtual), and/or physical link (such as, optical fiber, coaxial cable, twisted pair, wireless, etc.) between the correspondents within the network. Network 16 may be connected to one or more secondary networks, examples of which may include but are not limited to: a local area network; a wide area network; or an intranet, for example.
[0044] Mobile computing device 15 and server 14 may communicate with each other using network-enabled code. Network enabled code may be, include or interface to, for example, HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Dynamic HTML, Extensible Markup Language (XML), Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL), Document Style Semantics and Specification Language (DSSSL), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMWL), Wireless Markup Language (WML), Java™, C, C++, Perl, UNIX Shell, Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML), Python, or other compilers, assemblers, interpreters or other computer languages or platforms. It should be understood that the invention is not limited to a particular computer system platform, microprocessor, operating system, or network. Also, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to a specific programming language or computer system. Further, it should be appreciated that other appropriate programming languages and other appropriate computer systems could also be used.
[0045] Memory 42 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising or storing the program for use by or in connection with the instructions executable by components of system 10. The non-transitory computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the non-transitory computer-readable medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) or DVD (optical). The software and software logic described above comprises an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions, can be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer- based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.
[0046] Mobile computing device 15 include any device, such as, a personal computer, laptop, tablet, personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular phone, smartphone, or smart watch. Various aspects of the invention may be distributed among one or more computer systems (e.g., servers) configured to provide a service to one or more client computers, or to perform an overall task as part of a distributed system. For example, various aspects of the invention may be performed on a client-server, hybrid client-server, or multi-tier system that includes components distributed among one or more server systems that perform various functions according to various embodiments of the invention. These components may be executable, intermediate (e.g., IL) or interpreted (e.g., Java) code which communicate over a communication network (e.g., the Internet) using a communication protocol (e.g., TCP/IP).
[0047] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, no element described herein is required for the practice of the invention unless expressly described as "essential" or "critical."
[0048] The preceding detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show the exemplary embodiment by way of illustration. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process claims may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented. Further, the methods and systems may be practiced using one or more servers, as necessary. Thus, the preceding detailed description is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation, and the scope of the invention is defined by the preceding description, and with respect to the attached claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:
1. A power control system for at least one appliance, the system comprising:
a user device;
a power management computing device;
an intermediary power switch apparatus comprising:
a control module;
a connection to a power source;
electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to the at least one appliance from the power source;
a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal detectable by the user device;
at least one network interface for receiving a trigger signal from the power management computing device to enable power to the at least one appliance;
wherein, following receipt of the trigger signal and detection of the advertising signal by the user device, the control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance for a predetermined time.
2. The power control system of claim 1, wherein the at least one appliance is associated with at least one operating status.
3. The power control system of claim 2, wherein the at least one appliance is selectable for operation by a user via a user interface of the user device.
4. The power control system of claim 3, wherein the at least one operating status comprises at least one of in-use, available-to-use, reserved and out-of-order.
5. The power control system of claim 4, wherein the at least one operating status is displayed at the power management computing device.
6. The power control system of claim 4, wherein the at least one operating status is displayed at the intermediary power switch apparatus.
7. The power control system of claim 2, further comprising a payment processor associated with the power management computing device for the accepting payments of a pay-per-use fee for use of the at least one appliance.
8. The power control system of claim 7, wherein the pay-per-use fee is dependent on at least one of type of the at least one appliance, location of the at least one appliance, power rating of the at least one appliance, selected time of day for use, duration of use, user habits, demand for the at least one appliance.
9. The power control system of claim 8, wherein the trigger signal is issued following a successful payment of the pay-per-use fee.
10. The power control system of claim 8, wherein the advertising signal comprises a unique identifier is associated with the intermediary power switch apparatus.
11. The power control system of claim 10, wherein user device receives unique identifier when within a predetermined distance of the intermediary power switch apparatus.
12. The power control system of claim 4, wherein power management computing device provides a list and location of the intermediary power switch apparatus and the at least one appliance associated therewith.
13. The power control system of claim 12, wherein the user selects or reserves the at least one appliance based on location of the user and/or location of the at least one appliance and availability.
14. The power control system of claim 13, wherein a reservation for the at least one appliance comprises a buffer time to allow the user sufficient time to reach the selected appliance.
15. The power control system of claim 14, wherein the power management computing device matches a dynamic demand for the at least one appliance with a dynamic supply in real-time.
16. The power control system of claim 13, wherein the power management computing device tracks usage patterns of the at least one appliance at the various locations.
17. The power control system of claim 16, wherein the power management computing device employs the usage patterns of the at least one appliance to predict future demand and future usage of the at least one appliance.
18. The power control system of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the power management computing device comprises a processor and a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions executable by the processor to cause the power management computing device to issue at least one control signal to the intermediary power switch apparatus to control delivery of power to the at least one appliance.
19. The power control system of claim 18, wherein the at least one control signal dictates at least one time period in which power is relayed through intermediary power switch apparatus.
20. The power control system of claim 18, wherein the at least one control signal dictates a maximum duration of an operation session in which power is relayed to the at least one appliance.
21. The power control system of claim 20, wherein the at least one control signal dictates the maximum power to be provisioned via the intermediary power switch apparatus.
22. The power control system of claim 1, wherein the power management computing device activates the at least one appliance only when required to be in service based on the reservations and/or presence of the user in the vicinity of the at least one appliance.
23. The power control system of any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the at least one appliance is at least one of a washer, dryer, dishwasher, air conditioning unit, furnace, water heater, space heater, fan, stove, oven, and a griller.
24. An intermediary power switch apparatus comprising:
a control module;
a connection to a power source;
electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to an appliance from the power source;
a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal detectable by a user
device;
at least one network interface for receiving a trigger signal from an external computing device to enable the at least one power relay;
wherein, following receipt of the trigger signal and detection of the advertising by the user device, the control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance for a predetermined time.
25. The intermediary power switch apparatus of claim 24, comprising at least one operating status indicator.
26. The intermediary power switch apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one operating status indicator corresponds to at least one of in-use, available-to-use, reserved and out-of-order.
27. The intermediary power switch apparatus of claim 24, wherein the at least one control signal dictates at least one time period in which power is relayed through intermediary power switch apparatus.
28. The intermediary power switch apparatus of claim 24, wherein the at least one control signal dictates a maximum duration of an operation session in which power is relayed to the at least one appliance.
29. The intermediary power switch apparatus of claim 24, wherein the at least one control signal dictates the maximum power to be provisioned via the intermediary power switch apparatus.
30. The intermediary power switch apparatus of any one of claims 24 to 29, wherein the at least one appliance is at least one of a washer, dryer, dishwasher, air conditioning unit, furnace, water heater, space heater, fan, stove, oven, and a griller.
31. A method for provisioning power to at least one appliance, the method comprising the steps of:
electrically coupling an intermediary power switch apparatus between the at least one appliance and a power source; wherein the intermediary power switch apparatus comprises:
a control module;
a connection to a power source; electronic circuitry comprising at least one power relay controllable to provision power to the at least one appliance from the power source;
a transmitter for a transmitting an advertising signal;
via power management computing device, accepting payment of a pay-per-use fee for use of the at least one appliance; and issuing a trigger signal to the intermediary power switch apparatus upon a successful payment transaction, the trigger signal comprising a command to provision power to the at least one appliance;
at the intermediary power switch apparatus, receiving a trigger signal from
the power management computing device;
at a user device, detecting the advertising signal;
whereby, following receipt of the trigger signal and detection of the advertising
signal by the user device, the control module issues at least one control signal to the at least one power relay to provision power to the at least one appliance.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein the pay-per-use fee is dependent on at least one of type of the at least one appliance, location of the at least one appliance, power rating of the at least one appliance, selected time of day for use, duration of use, user habits, demand for the at least one appliance.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the power is provisioned for a
predetermined time.
34. The method of claim 32, comprising a further step of, via the user device, selecting the at least one appliance based on at least one of availability, location and the pay-per-use fee.
35. The method of claim 31, comprising a further step of determining usage patterns of the at least one appliance.
36. The method of claim 31, comprising a further step of determining usage patterns of the at least one user.
37. The method of claim 35 or 36, comprising a further step of associating at least one of the intermediary power switch apparatus and the at least one appliance with at least one operating status indicator; and wherein at least one operating status is updated based on an operational state of the at least one appliance.
38. The method of any one of claims 31 to 37, wherein the at least one appliance is at least one of a washer, dryer, dishwasher, air conditioning unit, furnace, water heater, space heater, fan, stove, oven, and a griller.
PCT/CA2020/050394 2019-04-01 2020-03-26 Methods and systems for pay-per-use appliances WO2020198851A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA3038549A CA3038549A1 (en) 2019-04-01 2019-04-01 Method and system enables pay-per-use of laundry machines
CA3038549 2019-04-01
US201962904158P 2019-09-23 2019-09-23
US62/904,158 2019-09-23

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2020198851A1 true WO2020198851A1 (en) 2020-10-08

Family

ID=72664370

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/CA2020/050394 WO2020198851A1 (en) 2019-04-01 2020-03-26 Methods and systems for pay-per-use appliances

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2020198851A1 (en)

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20130131883A1 (en) * 2010-06-25 2013-05-23 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Electricity management system for efficiently operating a plurality of electric appliances, electric appliance therefor, central control unit, computer program and storage medium thereof, and method of managing electric appliances by the central control unit
US20150280410A1 (en) * 2014-03-26 2015-10-01 Elbex Video Ltd. Intelligent Support Box for Electric Hybrid Switches, Power Outlets and Combinations Thereof
US20150302854A1 (en) * 2009-01-30 2015-10-22 Altorr Corporation Smartphone control of electrical devices
US20160037332A1 (en) * 2014-07-29 2016-02-04 Cellco Partnership D/B/A Verizon Wireless Method and apparatus for controlling home appliances over lte

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20150302854A1 (en) * 2009-01-30 2015-10-22 Altorr Corporation Smartphone control of electrical devices
US20130131883A1 (en) * 2010-06-25 2013-05-23 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Electricity management system for efficiently operating a plurality of electric appliances, electric appliance therefor, central control unit, computer program and storage medium thereof, and method of managing electric appliances by the central control unit
US20150280410A1 (en) * 2014-03-26 2015-10-01 Elbex Video Ltd. Intelligent Support Box for Electric Hybrid Switches, Power Outlets and Combinations Thereof
US20160037332A1 (en) * 2014-07-29 2016-02-04 Cellco Partnership D/B/A Verizon Wireless Method and apparatus for controlling home appliances over lte

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
EP3231157B1 (en) Provisioning platform for machine-to-machine devices
US10833947B2 (en) Remotely assigned, bandwidth-limiting internet access apparatus and method
EP3051747B1 (en) Apparatus and method by which user device in home network system transmitshome-device-related information
JP2018524719A (en) Control method, terminal and system of self-service washing machine
CN108198026B (en) Household appliance sharing method, terminal and computer readable storage medium
CN108198298A (en) Unlocking method, terminal and the computer readable storage medium of shared household electrical appliances
KR20160096202A (en) Network payment method, apparatus and system
CN107862803A (en) Leased equipment unlocking method, Cloud Server, device end, equipment and system
JP2018033823A (en) Self-laundry system
KR20200049559A (en) System and method of charging electric car using gateway having platform
US10365623B2 (en) Server, user terminal, and program
KR20180116873A (en) Smart home controller and smart home service method, system and service server using it
US20200074430A1 (en) Device control system and device control method
KR101069744B1 (en) Method for Managementing of Application and System thereof
US20210029543A1 (en) Method and device for authenticating device using wireless lan service
WO2020198851A1 (en) Methods and systems for pay-per-use appliances
US20190089808A1 (en) User preference assignment using nfc tags in hospitality applications
CN106228702A (en) For the method and apparatus controlling storage facilities
US20220414623A1 (en) System, communication terminal, method, and recording medium
CN111030900A (en) Authentication-free login method and device and electronic equipment
CN113596030B (en) Equipment network distribution method and device, storage medium and electronic equipment
CN115617823A (en) Map updating data downloading method, device, equipment and readable medium
KR102310220B1 (en) Integrated vending machine system with multiple sales modules
KR102268513B1 (en) Unattended payment method for a self apparatus
CN104978838B (en) It is a kind of applied to the method for intelligent remote controller, intelligent remote controller and control system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 20782244

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 20782244

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1