U.S. patent application number 12/751837 was filed with the patent office on 2011-01-06 for systems and methods for location determination of devices using network fingerprints for power management.
This patent application is currently assigned to GridPoint, Inc.. Invention is credited to Jeremy Davis.
Application Number | 20110004406 12/751837 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42982790 |
Filed Date | 2011-01-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110004406 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Davis; Jeremy |
January 6, 2011 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LOCATION DETERMINATION OF DEVICES USING
NETWORK FINGERPRINTS FOR POWER MANAGEMENT
Abstract
A system and methods that enables the determination of the
location of a device using a network fingerprint of a known
location on the electrical grid. A collection of communication
based information is utilized to construct a network fingerprint
that is subsequently used to determine whether a device is at a
previously known or unknown location. By detecting differences in
some or all of this set of information, a system determines whether
an electric car has moved from one known location to another or
otherwise left a known location. Determining a change in the
location of a device, the device or a server take further actions,
such as: notifying a user, notifying another server, initiating a
configuration process, or operating in different modes. Knowledge
about network location assist with assessing the overall load
characteristics of a given area of a power grid, and with
determining billing related matters.
Inventors: |
Davis; Jeremy; (Seattle,
WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLP (DC/ORL)
2101 L Street, N.W., Suite 1000
Washington
DC
20037
US
|
Assignee: |
GridPoint, Inc.
Arlington
VA
|
Family ID: |
42982790 |
Appl. No.: |
12/751837 |
Filed: |
March 31, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61165344 |
Mar 31, 2009 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
701/300 |
Current CPC
Class: |
Y04S 30/12 20130101;
Y02E 60/00 20130101; Y02T 10/72 20130101; Y02T 90/167 20130101;
Y04S 10/126 20130101; B60L 55/00 20190201; B60L 53/665 20190201;
Y02T 90/168 20130101; Y02T 90/16 20130101; B60L 53/64 20190201;
B60L 2240/70 20130101; B60L 53/63 20190201; H02J 2300/10 20200101;
Y02T 90/14 20130101; B60L 53/68 20190201; B60L 53/65 20190201; Y02T
10/7072 20130101; Y02T 90/169 20130101; Y04S 30/14 20130101; B60L
11/184 20130101; B60L 53/305 20190201; H02J 3/381 20130101; H02J
7/00 20130101; Y02T 90/12 20130101; Y02T 10/70 20130101; B60L 53/18
20190201 |
Class at
Publication: |
701/300 |
International
Class: |
G06F 19/00 20060101
G06F019/00 |
Claims
1. A method for determining the location of devices on power flow
management system using network fingerprints, comprising: receiving
network information, wherein the network information is associated
with a plurality of electric devices; generating a network
fingerprint based on the network information; storing the network
fingerprint in a database; detecting a change in device information
of at least one of the plurality of electric devices; comparing the
changed device information of the at least one of the plurality of
electric devices with the network fingerprint; and determining a
location of the at least one of the plurality of electric devices
based on the network fingerprint.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network information is
received by a power flow management system.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the network information is
received by at least one of the plurality of electric devices.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the database is stored by a power
flow management system.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the database is stored by at
least one of the plurality of electric devices.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the network fingerprint is
generated using an approach selected from a group consisting of
Global Positioning System (GPS) or cellular tower based Location
Based Services (LBS).
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the device information of the at
least one of the plurality of electric devices is information
selected from a group consisting of a MAC addresses, IP addresses,
or trace routes.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the changed device information
and the network fingerprint is compared using pattern matching.
9. (canceled)
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the at least one
of the plurality of electric devices is a network reference.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning a random
location identifier.
Description
[0001] This non-provisional patent application claims priority to,
and incorporates herein by reference, U.S. Provisional Patent
Application No. 61/165,344 filed on Mar. 31, 2009. This application
also incorporates herein by reference the following: U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/252,657 filed Oct. 16, 2008; U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/252,209 filed Oct. 15, 2008; U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/252,803 filed Oct. 16, 2008; and U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 12/252,950 filed Oct. 16, 2008.
[0002] This application includes material which is subject to
copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the
facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it
appears in the Patent and Trademark Office files or records, but
otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates in general to the field of
power management systems, and in particular to novel systems and
methods for determining locations of electric vehicles on an
electrical grid using network fingerprints.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Low-level electrical and communication interfaces to enable
charging and discharging of electric vehicles with respect to the
grid is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,270 to Green et al.,
entitled, "Battery powered electric vehicle and electrical supply
system," incorporated herein by reference. The Green reference
describes a bi-directional charging and communication system for
grid-connected electric vehicles.
[0005] Communication parameters can be used to infer a remote
machine's operating system fingerprint. For example, in an IP over
Ethernet based system there are several layers of message framing
all with unique or semi unique characteristics. The MAC address of
the gateway, the number of network peers and their addresses can
all be determined by watching existing network traffic, or by
soliciting such information of the network peers themselves.
Techniques like port scanning are in wide use for determining
network topology. Several techniques exist for determining the host
operating systems of network peers using IP stack
fingerprinting.
[0006] While various other techniques for fingerprinting devices on
a network are known in the art, novel methods are needed to
determine the network location of mobile devices connected to a
power grid in order to provide enhanced techniques for smart
charging. Significant opportunities for improvement exist with
respect to locating electric vehicles on a network that
communications with power grids and various mobile devices. What is
needed are systems and methods that determine the location of a
device with respect to a known location on the electrical grid.
With respect to the statistical nature of the fingerprint, there is
also a need for novel statistical modeling that weighs the
relevance of various pieces of communication based information
collected to construct a network fingerprint. In particular, novel
systems and methods are needed that efficiently determine the
network location of mobile devices on networks for power management
systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In an embodiment, a method for determining the location of
devices on power flow management system using network fingerprints
includes receiving network information. Such network information is
associated with electric devices, such as electric vehicles. The
method includes generating a network fingerprint based on the
network information, and storing the network fingerprint in a
database. Further, the method includes detecting a change in device
information for an electric devices. The changed device information
of the electric devices is compared with the network fingerprint.
The location of the electric device is determined based on the
network fingerprint.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of
the invention will be apparent from the following more particular
description of embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying
drawings, in which reference characters refer to the same parts
throughout the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to
scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles
of the invention.
[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a power aggregation
system.
[0010] FIGS. 2A-2B are diagrams of an example of connections
between an electric vehicle, the power grid, and the Internet.
[0011] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of connections
between an electric resource and a flow control server of the power
aggregation system.
[0012] FIG. 4 is a diagram of an example of a layout of the power
aggregation system.
[0013] FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example of control areas in the
power aggregation system.
[0014] FIG. 6 is a diagram of multiple flow control centers in the
power aggregation system and a directory server for determining a
flow control center.
[0015] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example of flow control
server.
[0016] FIG. 8A is a block diagram of an example of remote
intelligent power flow module.
[0017] FIG. 8B is a block diagram of an example of transceiver and
charging component combination.
[0018] FIG. 8C is an illustration of an example of simple user
interface for facilitating user controlled charging.
[0019] FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example of resource communication
protocol.
[0020] FIG. 10 is a flow chart of an example of fingerprinting a
local network for a power management system, in accordance with the
currently disclosed invention.
[0021] FIG. 11 is a flow chart of an example of determining the
location of an electric vehicle using a network fingerprint.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of
the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
[0023] Overview
[0024] Described herein is a power aggregation system for
distributed electric resources, and associated methods. In one
implementation, a system communicates over the Internet and/or some
other public or private networks with numerous individual electric
resources connected to a power grid (hereinafter, "grid"). By
communicating, the system can dynamically aggregate these electric
resources to provide power services to grid operators (e.g.
utilities, Independent System Operators (ISO), etc).
[0025] "Power services" as used herein, refers to energy delivery
as well as other ancillary services including demand response,
regulation, spinning reserves, non-spinning reserves, energy
imbalance, reactive power, and similar products.
[0026] "Aggregation" as used herein refers to the ability to
control power flows into and out of a set of spatially distributed
electric resources with the purpose of providing a power service of
larger magnitude.
[0027] "Charge Control Management" as used herein refers to
enabling or performing the starting, stopping, or level-setting of
a flow of power between a power grid and an electric resource.
[0028] "Power grid operator" as used herein, refers to the entity
that is responsible for maintaining the operation and stability of
the power grid within or across an electric control area. The power
grid operator may constitute some combination of manual/human
action/intervention and automated processes controlling generation
signals in response to system sensors. A "control area operator" is
one example of a power grid operator.
[0029] "Control area" as used herein, refers to a contained portion
of the electrical grid with defined input and output ports. The net
flow of power into this area must equal (within some error
tolerance) the sum of the power consumption within the area and
power outflow from the area.
[0030] "Power grid" as used herein means a power distribution
system/network that connects producers of power with consumers of
power. The network may include generators, transformers,
interconnects, switching stations, and safety equipment as part of
either/both the transmission system (i.e., bulk power) or the
distribution system (i.e. retail power). The power aggregation
system is vertically scalable for use within a neighborhood, a
city, a sector, a control area, or (for example) one of the eight
large-scale Interconnects in the North American Electric
Reliability Council (NERC). Moreover, the system is horizontally
scalable for use in providing power services to multiple grid areas
simultaneously.
[0031] "Grid conditions" as used herein, refers to the need for
more or less power flowing in or out of a section of the electric
power grid, in response to one of a number of conditions, for
example supply changes, demand changes, contingencies and failures,
ramping events, etc. These grid conditions typically manifest
themselves as power quality events such as under- or over-voltage
events or under- or over-frequency events.
[0032] "Power quality events" as used herein typically refers to
manifestations of power grid instability including voltage
deviations and frequency deviations; additionally, power quality
events as used herein also includes other disturbances in the
quality of the power delivered by the power grid such as sub-cycle
voltage spikes and harmonics.
[0033] "Electric resource" as used herein typically refers to
electrical entities that can be commanded to do some or all of
these three things: take power (act as load), provide power (act as
power generation or source), and store energy. Examples may include
battery/charger/inverter systems for electric or hybrid-electric
vehicles, repositories of used-but-serviceable electric vehicle
batteries, fixed energy storage, fuel cell generators, emergency
generators, controllable loads, etc.
[0034] "Electric vehicle" is used broadly herein to refer to pure
electric and hybrid electric vehicles, such as plug-in hybrid
electric vehicles (PHEVs), especially vehicles that have
significant storage battery capacity and that connect to the power
grid for recharging the battery. More specifically, electric
vehicle means a vehicle that gets some or all of its energy for
motion and other purposes from the power grid. Moreover, an
electric vehicle has an energy storage system, which may consist of
batteries, capacitors, etc., or some combination thereof. An
electric vehicle may or may not have the capability to provide
power back to the electric grid.
[0035] Electric vehicle "energy storage systems" (batteries, super
capacitors, and/or other energy storage devices) are used herein as
a representative example of electric resources intermittently or
permanently connected to the grid that can have dynamic input and
output of power. Such batteries can function as a power source or a
power load. A collection of aggregated electric vehicle batteries
can become a statistically stable resource across numerous
batteries, despite recognizable tidal connection trends (e.g., an
increase in the total number of vehicles connected to the grid at
night; a downswing in the collective number of connected batteries
as the morning commute begins, etc.) Across vast numbers of
electric vehicle batteries, connection trends are predictable and
such batteries become a stable and reliable resource to call upon,
should the grid or a part of the grid (such as a person's home in a
blackout) experience a need for increased or decreased power. Data
collection and storage also enable the power aggregation system to
predict connection behavior on a per-user basis.
[0036] An Example of the Presently Disclosed System
[0037] FIG. 1 shows a power aggregation system 100. A flow control
center 102 is communicatively coupled with a network, such as a
public/private mix that includes the Internet 104, and includes one
or more servers 106 providing a centralized power aggregation
service. "Internet" 104 will be used herein as representative of
many different types of communicative networks and network mixtures
(e.g., one or more wide area networks--public or private--and/or
one or more local area networks). Via a network, such as the
Internet 104, the flow control center 102 maintains communication
108 with operators of power grid(s), and communication 110 with
remote resources, i.e., communication with peripheral electric
resources 112 ("end" or "terminal" nodes/devices of a power
network) that are connected to the power grid 114. In one
implementation, power line communicators (PLCs), such as those that
include or consist of Ethernet-over-power line bridges 120 are
implemented at connection locations so that the "last mile" (in
this case, last feet--e.g., in a residence 124) of Internet
communication with remote resources is implemented over the same
wire that connects each electric resource 112 to the power grid
114. Thus, each physical location of each electric resource 112 may
be associated with a corresponding Ethernet-over-power line bridge
120 (hereinafter, "bridge") at or near the same location as the
electric resource 112. Each bridge 120 is typically connected to an
Internet access point of a location owner, as will be described in
greater detail below. The communication medium from flow control
center 102 to the connection location, such as residence 124, can
take many forms, such as cable modem, DSL, satellite, fiber, WiMax,
etc. In a variation, electric resources 112 may connect with the
Internet by a different medium than the same power wire that
connects them to the power grid 114. For example, a given electric
resource 112 may have its own wireless capability to connect
directly with the Internet 104 or an Internet access point and
thereby with the flow control center 102.
[0038] Electric resources 112 of the power aggregation system 100
may include the batteries of electric vehicles connected to the
power grid 114 at residences 124, parking lots 126 etc.; batteries
in a repository 128, fuel cell generators, private dams,
conventional power plants, and other resources that produce
electricity and/or store electricity physically or
electrically.
[0039] In one implementation, each participating electric resource
112 or group of local resources has a corresponding remote
intelligent power flow (IPF) module 134 (hereinafter, "remote IPF
module" 134). The centralized flow control center 102 administers
the power aggregation system 100 by communicating with the remote
IPF modules 134 distributed peripherally among the electric
resources 112. The remote IPF modules 134 perform several different
functions, including, but not limited to, providing the flow
control center 102 with the statuses of remote resources;
controlling the amount, direction, and timing of power being
transferred into or out of a remote electric resource 112;
providing metering of power being transferred into or out of a
remote electric resource 112; providing safety measures during
power transfer and changes of conditions in the power grid 114;
logging activities; and providing self-contained control of power
transfer and safety measures when communication with the flow
control center 102 is interrupted. The remote IPF modules 134 will
be described in greater detail below.
[0040] In another implementation, instead of having an IPF module
134, each electric resource 112 may have a corresponding
transceiver (not shown) to communicate with a local charging
component (not shown). The transceiver and charging component, in
combination, may communicate with flow control center 102 to
perform some or all of the above mentioned functions of IPF module
134. A transceiver and charging component are shown in FIG. 2B and
are described in greater detail herein.
[0041] FIG. 2A shows another view of electrical and communicative
connections to an electric resource 112. In this example, an
electric vehicle 200 includes a battery bank 202 and a remote IPF
module 134. The electric vehicle 200 may connect to a conventional
wall receptacle (wall outlet) 204 of a residence 124, the wall
receptacle 204 representing the peripheral edge of the power grid
114 connected via a residential powerline 206.
[0042] In one implementation, the power cord 208 between the
electric vehicle 200 and the wall outlet 204 can be composed of
only conventional wire and insulation for conducting alternating
current (AC) power to and from the electric vehicle 200. In FIG.
2A, a location-specific connection locality module 210 performs the
function of network access point--in this case, the Internet access
point. A bridge 120 intervenes between the receptacle 204 and the
network access point so that the power cord 208 can also carry
network communications between the electric vehicle 200 and the
receptacle 204. With such a bridge 120 and connection locality
module 210 in place in a connection location, no other special
wiring or physical medium is needed to communicate with the remote
IPF module 134 of the electric vehicle 200 other than a
conventional power cord 208 for providing residential line current
at any conventional voltage. Upstream of the connection locality
module 210, power and communication with the electric vehicle 200
are resolved into the powerline 206 and an Internet cable 104.
[0043] Alternatively, the power cord 208 may include safety
features not found in conventional power and extension cords. For
example, an electrical plug 212 of the power cord 208 may include
electrical and/or mechanical safeguard components to prevent the
remote IPF module 134 from electrifying or exposing the male
conductors of the power cord 208 when the conductors are exposed to
a human user.
[0044] In some embodiments, a radio frequency (RF) bridge (not
shown) may assist the remote IPF module 134 in communicating with a
foreign system, such as a utility smart meter (not shown) and/or a
connection locality module 210. For example, the remote IPF module
134 may be equipped to communicate over power cord 208 or to engage
in some form of RF communication, such as Zigbee or Bluetooth.TM.,
and the foreign system may be able to engage in a different form of
RF communication. In such an implementation, the RF bridge may be
equipped to communicate with both the foreign system and remote IPF
module 134 and to translate communications from one to a form the
other may understand, and to relay those messages. In various
embodiments, the RF bridge may be integrated into the remote IPF
module 134 or foreign system, or may be external to both. The
communicative associations between the RF bridge and remote IPF
module 134 and between the RF bridge and foreign system may be via
wired or wireless communication.
[0045] FIG. 2B shows a further view of electrical and communicative
connections to an electric resource 112. In this example, the
electric vehicle 200 may include a transceiver 212 rather than a
remote IPF module 134. The transceiver 212 may be communicatively
coupled to a charging component 214 through a connection 216, and
the charging component itself may be coupled to a conventional wall
receptacle (wall outlet) 204 of a residence 124 and to electric
vehicle 200 through a power cord 208. The other components shown in
FIG. 2B may have the couplings and functions discussed with regard
to FIG. 2A.
[0046] In various embodiments, transceiver 212 and charging
component 214 may, in combination, perform the same functions as
the remote IPF module 134. Transceiver 212 may interface with
computer systems of electric vehicle 200 and communicate with
charging component 214, providing charging component 214 with
information about electric vehicle 200, such as its vehicle
identifier, a location identifier, and a state of charge. In
response, transceiver 212 may receive requests and commands which
transceiver 212 may relay to vehicle 200's computer systems.
[0047] Charging component 214, being coupled to both electric
vehicle 200 and wall outlet 204, may effectuate charge control of
the electric vehicle 200. If the electric vehicle 200 is not
capable of charge control management, charging component 214 may
directly manage the charging of electric vehicle 200 by stopping
and starting a flow of power between the electric vehicle 200 and a
power grid 114 in response to commands received from a flow control
server 106. If, on the other hand, the electric vehicle 200 is
capable of charge control management, charging component 214 may
effectuate charge control by sending commands to the electric
vehicle 200 through the transceiver 212.
[0048] In some embodiments, the transceiver 212 may be physically
coupled to the electric vehicle 200 through a data port, such as an
OBD-II connector. In other embodiments, other couplings may be
used. The connection 216 between transceiver 212 and charging
component 214 may be a wireless signal, such as a radio frequency
(RF), such as a Zigbee, or Bluetooth.TM. signal. And charging
component 214 may include a receiver socket to couple with power
cord 208 and a plug to couple with wall outlet 204. In one
embodiment, charging component 214 may be coupled to connection
locality module 210 in either a wired or wireless fashion. For
example, charging component 214 may have a data interface for
communicating wirelessly with both the transceiver 212 and locality
module 210. In such an embodiment, the bridge 120 may not be
required.
[0049] Further details about the transceiver 212 and charging
component 214 are illustrated by FIG. 8B and described in greater
detail herein.
[0050] FIG. 3 shows another implementation of the connection
locality module 210 of FIG. 2, in greater detail. In FIG. 3, an
electric resource 112 has an associated remote IPF module 134,
including a bridge 120. The power cord 208 connects the electric
resource 112 to the power grid 114 and also to the connection
locality module 210 in order to communicate with the flow control
server 106.
[0051] The connection locality module 210 includes another instance
of a bridge 120, connected to a network access point 302, which may
include such components as a router, switch, and/or modem, to
establish a hardwired or wireless connection with, in this case,
the Internet 104. In one implementation, the power cord 208 between
the two bridges 120 and 120' is replaced by a wireless Internet
link, such as a wireless transceiver in the remote IPF module 134
and a wireless router in the connection locality module 210.
[0052] In other embodiments, a transceiver 212 and charging
component 214 may be used instead of a remote IPF module 134. In
such an embodiment, the charging component 214 may include or be
coupled to a bridge 120, and the connection locality module 210 may
also include a bridge 120', as shown. In yet other embodiments, not
shown, charging component 214 and connection locality module 210
may communicate in a wired or wireless fashion, as mentioned
previously, without bridges 120 and 120'. The wired or wireless
communication may utilize any sort of connection technology known
in the art, such as Ethernet or RF communication, such as Zigbee,
or Bluetooth.
[0053] System Layouts
[0054] FIG. 4 shows a layout 400 of the power aggregation system
100. The flow control center 102 can be connected to many different
entities, e.g., via the Internet 104, for communicating and
receiving information. The layout 400 includes electric resources
112, such as plug-in electric vehicles 200, physically connected to
the grid within a single control area 402. The electric resources
112 become an energy resource for grid operators 404 to
utilize.
[0055] The layout 400 also includes end users 406 classified into
electric resource owners 408 and electrical connection location
owners 410, who may or may not be one and the same. In fact, the
stakeholders in a power aggregation system 100 include the system
operator at the flow control center 102, the grid operator 404, the
resource owner 408, and the owner of the location 410 at which the
electric resource 112 is connected to the power grid 114.
[0056] Electrical connection location owners 410 can include:
[0057] Rental car lots--rental car companies often have a large
portion of their fleet parked in the lot. They can purchase fleets
of electric vehicles 200 and, participating in a power aggregation
system 100, generate revenue from idle fleet vehicles.
[0058] Public parking lots--parking lot owners can participate in
the power aggregation system 100 to generate revenue from parked
electric vehicles 200. Vehicle owners can be offered free parking,
or additional incentives, in exchange for providing power
services.
[0059] Workplace parking--employers can participate in a power
aggregation system 100 to generate revenue from parked employee
electric vehicles 200. Employees can be offered incentives in
exchange for providing power services.
[0060] Residences--a home garage can merely be equipped with a
connection locality module 210 to enable the homeowner to
participate in the power aggregation system 100 and generate
revenue from a parked car. Also, the vehicle battery 202 and
associated power electronics within the vehicle can provide local
power backup power during times of peak load or power outages.
[0061] Residential neighborhoods--neighborhoods can participate in
a power aggregation system 100 and be equipped with power-delivery
devices (deployed, for example, by homeowner cooperative groups)
that generate revenue from parked electric vehicles 200.
[0062] The grid operations 116 of FIG. 4 collectively include
interactions with energy markets 412, the interactions of grid
operators 404, and the interactions of automated grid controllers
118 that perform automatic physical control of the power grid
114.
[0063] The flow control center 102 may also be coupled with
information sources 414 for input of weather reports, events, price
feeds, etc. Other data sources 414 include the system stakeholders,
public databases, and historical system data, which may be used to
optimize system performance and to satisfy constraints on the power
aggregation system 100.
[0064] Thus, a power aggregation system 100 may consist of
components that:
[0065] communicate with the electric resources 112 to gather data
and actuate charging/discharging of the electric resources 112;
[0066] gather real-time energy prices;
[0067] gather real-time resource statistics;
[0068] predict behavior of electric resources 112 (connectedness,
location, state (such as battery State-Of-Charge) at a given time
of interest, such as a time of connect/disconnect);
[0069] predict behavior of the power grid 114/load;
[0070] encrypt communications for privacy and data security;
[0071] actuate charging of electric vehicles 200 to optimize some
figure(s) of merit;
[0072] offer guidelines or guarantees about load availability for
various points in the future, etc.
[0073] These components can be running on a single computing
resource (computer, etc.), or on a distributed set of resources
(either physically co-located or not).
[0074] Power aggregation systems 100 in such a layout 400 can
provide many benefits: for example, lower-cost ancillary services
(i.e., power services), fine-grained (both temporal and spatial)
control over resource scheduling, guaranteed reliability and
service levels, increased service levels via intelligent resource
scheduling, and/or firming of intermittent generation sources such
as wind and solar power generation.
[0075] The power aggregation system 100 enables a grid operator 404
to control the aggregated electric resources 112 connected to the
power grid 114. An electric resource 112 can act as a power source,
load, or storage, and the resource 112 may exhibit combinations of
these properties. Control of a set of electric resources 112 is the
ability to actuate power consumption, generation, or energy storage
from an aggregate of these electric resources 112.
[0076] FIG. 5 shows the role of multiple control areas 402 in the
power aggregation system 100. Each electric resource 112 can be
connected to the power aggregation system 100 within a specific
electrical control area. A single instance of the flow control
center 102 can administer electric resources 112 from multiple
distinct control areas 501 (e.g., control areas 502, 504, and 506).
In one implementation, this functionality is achieved by logically
partitioning resources within the power aggregation system 100. For
example, when the control areas 402 include an arbitrary number of
control areas, control area "A" 502, control area "B" 504, . . . ,
control area "n" 506, then grid operations 116 can include
corresponding control area operators 508, 510, . . . , and 512.
Further division into a control hierarchy that includes control
division groupings above and below the illustrated control areas
402 allows the power aggregation system 100 to scale to power grids
114 of different magnitudes and/or to varying numbers of electric
resources 112 connected with a power grid 114.
[0077] FIG. 6 shows a layout 600 of a power aggregation system 100
that uses multiple centralized flow control centers 102 and 102'
and a directory server 602 for determining a flow control center.
Each flow control center 102 and 102' has its own respective end
users 406 and 406'. Control areas 402 to be administered by each
specific instance of a flow control center 102 can be assigned
dynamically. For example, a first flow control center 102 may
administer control area A 502 and control area B 504, while a
second flow control center 102' administers control area n 506.
Likewise, corresponding control area operators (508, 510, and 512)
are served by the same flow control center 102 that serves their
respective different control areas.
[0078] In various embodiments, an electric resource may determine
which flow control center 102/102' administers its control area
502/504/506 by communicating with a directory server 602. The
address of the directory server 602 may be known to electric
resource 112 or its associated IPF module 134 or charging component
214. Upon plugging in, the electric resource 112 may communicate
with the directory server 602, providing the directory server 112
with a resource identifier and/or a location identifier. Based on
this information, the directory server 602 may respond, identifying
which flow control center 102/102' to use.
[0079] In another embodiment, directory server 602 may be
integrated with a flow control server 106 of a flow control center
102/102'. In such an embodiment, the electric resource 112 may
contact the server 106. In response, the server 106 may either
interact with the electric resource 112 itself or forward the
connection to another flow control center 102/102' responsible for
the location identifier provided by the electric resource 112.
[0080] In some embodiments, whether integrated with a flow control
server 106 or not, directory server 602 may include a publicly
accessible database for mapping locations to flow control centers
102/102'.
[0081] Flow Control Server
[0082] FIG. 7 shows a server 106 of the flow control center 102.
The illustrated implementation in FIG. 7 is only one example
configuration, for descriptive purposes. Many other arrangements of
the illustrated components or even different components
constituting a server 106 of the flow control center 102 are
possible within the scope of the subject matter. Such a server 106
and flow control center 102 can be executed in hardware, software,
or combinations of hardware, software, firmware, etc.
[0083] The flow control server 106 includes a connection manager
702 to communicate with electric resources 112, a prediction engine
704 that may include a learning engine 706 and a statistics engine
708, a constraint optimizer 710, and a grid interaction manager 712
to receive grid control signals 714. Grid control signals 714 are
sometimes referred to as generation control signals, such as
automated generation control (AGC) signals. The flow control server
106 may further include a database/information warehouse 716, a web
server 718 to present a user interface to electric resource owners
408, grid operators 404, and electrical connection location owners
410; a contract manager 720 to negotiate contract terms with energy
markets 412, and an information acquisition engine 414 to track
weather, relevant news events, etc., and download information from
public and private databases 722 for predicting behavior of large
groups of the electric resources 112, monitoring energy prices,
negotiating contracts, etc.
[0084] Remote IPF Module
[0085] FIG. 8A shows the remote IPF module 134 of FIGS. 1 and 2 in
greater detail. The illustrated remote IPF module 134 is only one
example configuration, for descriptive purposes. Many other
arrangements of the illustrated components or even different
components constituting a remote IPF module 134 are possible within
the scope of the subject matter. Such a remote IPF module 134 has
some hardware components and some components that can be executed
in hardware, software, or combinations of hardware, software,
firmware, etc. In other embodiments, executable instructions
configured to perform some or all of the operations of remote IPF
module 134 may be added to hardware of an electric resource 112
such as an electric vehicle that, when combined with the executable
instructions, provides equivalent functionality to remote IPF
module 134. References to remote IPF module 134 as used herein
include such executable instructions.
[0086] The illustrated example of a remote IPF module 134 is
represented by an implementation suited for an electric vehicle
200. Thus, some vehicle systems 800 are included as part of the
remote IPF module 134 for the sake of description. However, in
other implementations, the remote IPF module 134 may exclude some
or all of the vehicles systems 800 from being counted as components
of the remote IPF module 134.
[0087] The depicted vehicle systems 800 include a vehicle computer
and data interface 802, an energy storage system, such as a battery
bank 202, and an inverter/charger 804. Besides vehicle systems 800,
the remote IPF module 134 also includes a communicative power flow
controller 806. The communicative power flow controller 806 in turn
includes some components that interface with AC power from the grid
114, such as a powerline communicator, for example an
Ethernet-over-powerline bridge 120, and a current or
current/voltage (power) sensor 808, such as a current sensing
transformer.
[0088] The communicative power flow controller 806 also includes
Ethernet and information processing components, such as a processor
810 or microcontroller and an associated Ethernet media access
control (MAC) address 812; volatile random access memory 814,
nonvolatile memory 816 or data storage, an interface such as an
RS-232 interface 818 or a CAN-bus interface 820; an Ethernet
physical layer interface 822, which enables wiring and signaling
according to Ethernet standards for the physical layer through
means of network access at the MAC/Data Link Layer and a common
addressing format. The Ethernet physical layer interface 822
provides electrical, mechanical, and procedural interface to the
transmission medium--i.e., in one implementation, using the
Ethernet-over-powerline bridge 120. In a variation, wireless or
other communication channels with the Internet 104 are used in
place of the Ethernet-over-powerline bridge 120.
[0089] The communicative power flow controller 806 also includes a
bidirectional power flow meter 824 that tracks power transfer to
and from each electric resource 112, in this case the battery bank
202 of an electric vehicle 200.
[0090] The communicative power flow controller 806 operates either
within, or connected to an electric vehicle 200 or other electric
resource 112 to enable the aggregation of electric resources 112
introduced above (e.g., via a wired or wireless communication
interface). These above-listed components may vary among different
implementations of the communicative power flow controller 806, but
implementations typically include: [0091] an intra-vehicle
communications mechanism that enables communication with other
vehicle components; [0092] a mechanism to communicate with the flow
control center 102; [0093] a processing element; [0094] a data
storage element; [0095] a power meter; and [0096] optionally, a
user interface.
[0097] Implementations of the communicative power flow controller
806 can enable functionality including: [0098] executing
pre-programmed or learned behaviors when the electric resource 112
is offline (not connected to Internet 104, or service is
unavailable); [0099] storing locally-cached behavior profiles for
"roaming" connectivity (what to do when charging on a foreign
system, i.e., when charging in the same utility territory on a
foreign meter or in a separate utility territory, or in
disconnected operation, i.e., when there is no network
connectivity); [0100] allowing the user to override current system
behavior; and [0101] metering power-flow information and caching
meter data during offline operation for later transaction.
[0102] Thus, the communicative power flow controller 806 includes a
central processor 810, interfaces 818 and 820 for communication
within the electric vehicle 200, a powerline communicator, such as
an Ethernet-over-powerline bridge 120 for communication external to
the electric vehicle 200, and a power flow meter 824 for measuring
energy flow to and from the electric vehicle 200 via a connected AC
powerline 208.
[0103] Power Flow Meter
[0104] Power is the rate of energy consumption per interval of
time. Power indicates the quantity of energy transferred during a
certain period of time, thus the units of power are quantities of
energy per unit of time. The power flow meter 824 measures power
for a given electric resource 112 across a bidirectional
flow--e.g., power from grid 114 to electric vehicle 200 or from
electric vehicle 200 to the grid 114. In one implementation, the
remote IPF module 134 can locally cache readings from the power
flow meter 824 to ensure accurate transactions with the central
flow control server 106, even if the connection to the server is
down temporarily, or if the server itself is unavailable.
[0105] Transceiver and Charging Component
[0106] FIG. 8B shows the transceiver 212 and charging component 214
of FIG. 2B in greater detail. The illustrated transceiver 212 and
charging component 214 is only one example configuration, for
descriptive purposes. Many other arrangements of the illustrated
components or even different components constituting the
transceiver 212 and charging component 214 are possible within the
scope of the subject matter. Such a transceiver 212 and charging
component 214 have some hardware components and some components
that can be executed in hardware, software, or combinations of
hardware, software, firmware, etc.
[0107] The illustrated example of the transceiver 212 and charging
component 214 is represented by an implementation suited for an
electric vehicle 200. Thus, some vehicle systems 800 are
illustrated to provide context to the transceiver 212 and charging
component 214 components.
[0108] The depicted vehicle systems 800 include a vehicle computer
and data interface 802, an energy storage system, such as a battery
bank 202, and an inverter/charger 804. In some embodiments, vehicle
systems 800 may include a data port, such as an OBD-II port, that
is capable of physically coupling with the transceiver 212. The
transceiver 212 may then communicate with the vehicle computer and
data interface 802 through the data port, receiving information
from electric resource 112 comprised by vehicle systems 800 and, in
some embodiments, providing commands to the vehicle computer and
data interface 802. In one implementation, the vehicle computer and
data interface 802 may be capable of charge control management. In
such an embodiment, the vehicle computer and data interface 802 may
perform some or all of the charging component 214 operations
discussed below. In other embodiments, executable instructions
configured to perform some or all of the operations of the vehicle
computer and data interface 802 may be added to hardware of an
electric resource 112 such as an electric vehicle that, when
combined with the executable instructions, provides equivalent
functionality to the vehicle computer and data interface 802.
References to the vehicle computer and data interface 802 as used
herein include such executable instructions.
[0109] In various embodiments, the transceiver 212 may have a
physical form that is capable of coupling to a data port of vehicle
systems 800. Such a transceiver 212 may also include a plurality of
interfaces, such as an RS-232 interface 818 and/or a CAN-bus
interface 820. In various embodiments, the RS-232 interface 818 or
CAN-bus interface 820 may enable the transceiver 212 to communicate
with the vehicle computer and data interface 802 through the data
port. Also, the transceiver may be or comprise an additional
interface (not shown) capable of engaging in wireless communication
with a data interface 820 of the charging component 214. The
wireless communication may be of any form known in the art, such as
radio frequency (RF) communication (e.g., Zigbee, and/or
Bluetooth.TM. communication). In other embodiments, the transceiver
may comprise a separate conductor or may be configured to utilize a
powerline 208 to communicate with charging component 214. In yet
other embodiments, not shown, transceiver 212 may simply be a radio
frequency identification (RFID) tag capable of storing minimal
information about the electric resource 112, such as a resource
identifier, and of being read by a corresponding RFID reader of
charging component 214. In such other embodiments, the RFID tag may
not couple with a data port or communicate with the vehicle
computer and data interface 802.
[0110] As shown, the charging component 214 may be an intelligent
plug device that is physically connected to a charging medium, such
as a powerline 208 (the charging medium coupling the charging
component 214 to the electric resource 112) and an outlet of a
power grid (such as the wall outlet 204 shown in FIG. 2B). In other
embodiments charging component 214 may be a charging station or
some other external control. In some embodiments, the charging
component 214 may be portable.
[0111] In various embodiments, the charging component 214 may
include components that interface with AC power from the grid 114,
such as a powerline communicator, for example an
Ethernet-over-powerline bridge 120, and a current or
current/voltage (power) sensor 808, such as a current sensing
transformer.
[0112] In other embodiments, the charging component 214 may include
a further Ethernet plug or wireless interface in place of bridge
120. In such an embodiment, data-over-powerline communication is
not necessary, eliminating the need for a bridge 120. The Ethernet
plug or wireless interface may communicate with a local access
point, and through that access point to flow control server
106.
[0113] The charging component 214 may also include Ethernet and
information processing components, such as a processor 810 or
microcontroller and an associated Ethernet media access control
(MAC) address 812; volatile random access memory 814, nonvolatile
memory 816 or data storage, a data interface 826 for communicating
with the transceiver 212, and an Ethernet physical layer interface
822, which enables wiring and signaling according to Ethernet
standards for the physical layer through means of network access at
the MAC/Data Link Layer and a common addressing format. The
Ethernet physical layer interface 822 provides electrical,
mechanical, and procedural interface to the transmission
medium--i.e., in one implementation, using the
Ethernet-over-powerline bridge 120. In a variation, wireless or
other communication channels with the Internet 104 are used in
place of the Ethernet-over-powerline bridge 120.
[0114] The charging component 214 may also include a bidirectional
power flow meter 824 that tracks power transfer to and from each
electric resource 112, in this case the battery bank 202 of an
electric vehicle 200.
[0115] Further, in some embodiments, the charging component 214 may
comprise an RFID reader to read the electric resource information
from transceiver 212 when transceiver 212 is an RFID tag.
[0116] Also, in various embodiments, the charging component 214 may
include a credit card reader to enable a user to identify the
electric resource 112 by providing credit card information. In such
an embodiment, a transceiver 212 may not be necessary.
[0117] Additionally, in one embodiment, the charging component 214
may include a user interface, such as one of the user interfaces
described in greater detail below.
[0118] Implementations of the charging component 214 can enable
functionality including: [0119] executing pre-programmed or learned
behaviors when the electric resource 112 is offline (not connected
to Internet 104, or service is unavailable); [0120] storing
locally-cached behavior profiles for "roaming" connectivity (what
to do when charging on a foreign system or in disconnected
operation, i.e., when there is no network connectivity); [0121]
allowing the user to override current system behavior; and [0122]
metering power-flow information and caching meter data during
offline operation for later transaction.
[0123] User Interfaces (UI)
[0124] Charging Station UI. An electrical charging station, whether
free or for pay, can be installed with a user interface that
presents useful information to the user. Specifically, by
collecting information about the grid 114, the electric resource
state, and the preferences of the user, the station can present
information such as the current electricity price, the estimated
recharge cost, the estimated time until recharge, the estimated
payment for uploading power to the grid 114 (either total or per
hour), etc. The information acquisition engine 414 communicates
with the electric resource 112 and with public and/or private data
networks 722 to acquire the data used in calculating this
information.
[0125] The types of information gathered from the electric resource
112 can include an electric resource identifier (resource ID) and
state information like the state of charge of the electric resource
112. The resource ID can be used to obtain knowledge of the
electric resource type and capabilities, preferences, etc. through
lookup with the flow control server 106.
[0126] In various embodiments, the charging station system
including the UI may also gather grid-based information, such as
current and future energy costs at the charging station.
[0127] User Charge Control UI Mechanisms. In various embodiments,
by default, electric resources 112 may receive charge control
management via power aggregation system 100. In some embodiments,
an override control may be provided to override charge control
management and charge as soon as possible. The override control may
be provided, in various embodiments, as a user interface mechanism
of the remote IPF module 134, the charging component 214, of the
electric resource (for example, if electric resource is a vehicle
200, the user interface control may be integrated with dash
controls of the vehicle 200) or even via a web page offered by flow
control server 106. The control can be presented, for example, as a
button, a touch screen option, a web page, or some other UI
mechanism. In one embodiment, the UI may be the UI illustrated by
FIG. 8C and discussed in greater detail below. In some embodiments,
the override is a one-time override, only applying to a single
plug-in session. Upon disconnecting and reconnecting, the user may
again need to interact with the UI mechanism to override the charge
control management.
[0128] In some embodiments, the user may pay more to charge with
the override on than under charge control management, thus
providing an incentive for the user to accept charge control
management. Such a cost differential may be displayed or rendered
to the user in conjunction with or on the UI mechanism. This
differential can take into account time-varying pricing, such as
Time of Use (TOU), Critical Peak Pricing (CPP), and Real-Time
Pricing (RTP) schemes, as discussed above, as well as any other
incentives, discounts, or payments that may be forgone by not
accepting charge control management.
[0129] UI Mechanism for Management Preferences. In various
embodiments, a user interface mechanism of the remote IPF module
134, the charging component 214, of the electric resource (for
example, if electric resource is a vehicle 200, the user interface
control may be integrated with dash controls of the vehicle 200) or
even via a web page offered by flow control server 106 may enable a
user to enter and/or edit management preferences to affect charge
control management of the user's electric resource 112. In some
embodiments, the UI mechanism may allow the user to enter/edit
general preferences, such as whether charge control management is
enabled, whether vehicle-to-grid power flow is enabled or whether
the electric resource 112 should only be charged with clean/green
power. Also, in various embodiments, the UI mechanism may enable a
user to prioritize relative desires for minimizing costs,
maximizing payments (i.e., fewer charge periods for higher
amounts), achieving a full state-of-charge for the electric
resource 112, charging as rapidly as possible, and/or charging in
as environmentally-friendly a way as possible. Additionally, the UI
mechanism may enable a user to provide a default schedule for when
the electric resource will be used (for example, if resource 112 is
a vehicle 200, the schedule is for when the vehicle 200 should be
ready to drive). Further, the UI mechanism may enable the user to
add or select special rules, such as a rule not to charge if a
price threshold is exceeded or a rule to only use charge control
management if it will earn the user at least a specified threshold
of output. Charge control management may then be effectuated based
on any part or all of these user entered preferences.
[0130] Simple User Interface. FIG. 8C illustrates a simple user
interface (UI) which enables a user to control charging based on
selecting among a limited number of high level preferences. For
example, UI 2300 includes the categories "green", "fast", and
"cheap" (with what is considered "green", "fast", and "cheap"
varying from embodiment to embodiment). The categories shown in UI
2300 are selected only for the sake of illustration and may instead
includes these and/or any other categories applicable to electric
resource 112 charging known in the art. As shown, the UI 2300 may
be very basic, using well known form controls such as radio
buttons. In other embodiments, other graphic controls known in the
art may be used. The general categories may be mapped to specific
charging behaviors, such as those discussed above, by a flow
control server 106.
[0131] Electric Resource Communication Protocol
[0132] FIG. 9 illustrates a resource communication protocol. As
shown, a remote IPF module 134 or charging component 214 may be in
communication with a flow control server 106 over the Internet 104
or another networking fabric or combination of networking fabrics.
In various embodiments, a protocol specifying an order of messages
and/or a format for messages may be used to govern the
communications between the remote IPF module 134 or charging
component 214 and flow control server 106.
[0133] In some embodiments, the protocol may include two channels,
one for messages initiated by the remote IPF module 134 or charging
component 214 and for replies to those messages from the flow
control server 106, and another channel for messages initiated by
the flow control server 106 and for replies to those messages from
the remote IPF module 134 or charging component 214. The channels
may be asynchronous with respect to each other (that is, initiation
of messages on one channel may be entirely independent of
initiation of messages on the other channel). However, each channel
may itself be synchronous (that is, once a message is sent on a
channel, another message may not be sent until a reply to the first
message is received).
[0134] As shown, the remote IPF module 134 or charging component
214 may initiate communication 902 with the flow control server
106. In some embodiments, communication 902 may be initiated when,
for example, an electric resource 112 first plugs in/connects to
the power grid 114. In other embodiments, communication 902 may be
initiated at another time or times. The initial message 902
governed by the protocol may require, for example, one or more of
an electric resource identifier, such as a MAC address, a protocol
version used, and/or a resource identifier type.
[0135] Upon receipt of the initial message by the flow control
server 106, a connection may be established between the remote IPF
module 134 or charging component 214 and flow control server 106.
Upon establishing a connection, the remote IPF module 134 or
charging component 214 may register with flow control server 106
through a subsequent communication 903. Communication 903 may
include a location identifier scheme, a latitude, a longitude, a
max power value that the remote IPF module 134 or charging
component 214 can draw, a max power value that the remote IPF
module 134 or charging component 214 can provide, a current power
value, and/or a current state of charge.
[0136] After the initial message 902, the protocol may require or
allow messages 904 from the flow control server 106 to the remote
IPF module 134 or charging component 214 or messages 906 from
remote IPF module 134 or charging component 214 to the flow control
server 106. The messages 904 may include, for example, one or more
of commands, messages, and/or updates. Such messages 904 may be
provided at any time after the initial message 902. In one
embodiment, messages 904 may include a command setting, a power
level and/or a ping to determine whether the remote IPF module 134
or charging component 214 is still connected.
[0137] The messages 906 may include, for example, status updates to
the information provided in the registration message 903. Such
messages 906 may be provided at any time after the initial message
902. In one embodiment, the messages 906 may be provided on a
pre-determined time interval basis. In various embodiments,
messages 906 may even be sent when the remote IPF module 134 or
charging component 214 is connected, but not registered. Such
messages 906 may include data that is stored by flow control server
106 for later processing. Also, in some embodiments, messages 904
may be provided in response to a message 902 or 906.
[0138] Mobile Resource Locator
[0139] Referring back to FIG. 1, the exemplary power aggregation
system 100 also includes various techniques for determining the
electrical network location of a mobile electric resource 112, such
as a plug-in electric vehicle 200 as illustrated in FIG. 2A.
Electric vehicles 200 can connect to the grid 114 in numerous
locations and accurate control and transaction of energy exchange
can be enabled by specific knowledge of the charging location. Some
of the exemplary techniques for determining electric vehicle
charging locations include: [0140] querying a unique identifier for
the location (via wired, wireless, etc.), which can be: [0141] the
unique ID of the network hardware at the charging site; [0142] the
unique ID of the locally installed smart meter, by communicating
with the meter; [0143] a unique ID installed specifically for this
purpose at a site; and [0144] using GPS or other signal sources
(cell, WiMAX, etc.) to establish a "soft" (estimated geographic)
location, which is then refined based on user preferences and
historical data (e.g., vehicles tend to be plugged-in at the
owner's residence 124, not a neighbor's residence).
[0145] Location Determination Using A Network Fingerprint
[0146] The presently disclosed systems and methods can solve the
problem of determining the location of a device with respect to a
known location on the electrical grid or a known physical location
(e.g. my home, my office) associated with a location on the
electrical grid. Traditional approaches of using the Global
Positioning System (GPS) or cellular tower based Location Based
Services (LBS) are not sufficient. Limitations in GPS and cellular
resolution make the precise determination of a location difficult,
especially in cases where two locations are overlapping or in close
proximity. When two locations are too close to distinguish and
resolve their locations using GPS and/or cellular information, or
in cases where GPS and cellular information is not available
because of the lack of a transceiver or the lack of signal, the
device described herein uses a collection of other communication
based information to construct a network fingerprint of a known
location that is subsequently used to determine whether a device is
at a previously known or unknown location.
[0147] In one embodiment, the disclosed methods determine whether
an electric car, or other electrical equipment such as a charging
station that may be semi or completely mobile, has moved from one
known location to another or otherwise left a known location. This
is crucial when determining billing related matters; for example,
when deciding whether to bill my home or my office for the electric
power used or produced. It is also important to have knowledge
about which devices are located on a network when establishing the
overall load characteristics of a given area of the grid. In one
example, such knowledge is useful in determining whether charging a
device affects, or will affect, the overall load of my home
neighborhood or my office neighborhood.
[0148] To address the issue of location resolution, a device may
contain one or more communications adapters, such as Ethernet,
Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Cellular, LBS, or GPS. The device may use some or
all of these communications mediums in a combination of active or
passive modes to extract information that is unique to a given
location. Various techniques fingerprinting devices on a network
may be combined to construct an overall fingerprint of the
surrounding network as a whole.
[0149] Once a network location fingerprint is collected and stored
it may be associated with a known location (e.g. home, or office,
or parking lot space #12), or it may be assigned an otherwise
random location identifier. The fingerprint may be stored in a
database for later use when trying to determine a device's
location.
[0150] The disclosed system can also take into account the dynamic
nature of such information. A portion of the fingerprint may be
expected to change over time. For example, the list of network
peers may change as new peers are added or removed from the
network. The MAC address of devices may change as they are replaced
with new hardware. Host operating system information collected in
IP stack fingerprinting may change as operating systems are
upgraded. As such, the fingerprint of a location may change over
time and the database can record the last fingerprint. The database
may also record the entire history of fingerprints of a location in
cases where the variation over time is itself useful in identifying
the location. For example, a given home location may have three
network peers in the evenings while various people are home from
work with their networked laptops and phones, but may have only one
peer during the workweek while they are at work. Depending on the
time that the network location fingerprint is compared, this sort
of dynamic information can be used to resolve the location
name.
[0151] Pattern matching can be used to match one location
fingerprint against another. Based on the statistical nature of the
fingerprint, the disclosed system is capable of making a location
determination in the presence of partial or changing fingerprints
by applying any number of statistical methods, such as regression
analysis, logistic regression, Bayesian, pattern matching, or ad
hoc weighting of various parts of the fingerprint. For example, the
likelihood that a given location will replace the communications
gateway that a car would connect to (and thus a change in the MAC
address present in IP traffic from the gateway) is probably low in
comparison to the probability of adding or removing of peers to the
same network.
[0152] In an embodiment, the disclosed method uses a process by
which a device connected to a network can query network peers and
collect and store a set of identification information, such as MAC
address, IP address, and trace routes. The method may utilize other
various pieces of information to construct a fingerprint of the
device's current location such as ping latencies to gateways, other
network peers, cell tower information, or GPS information. As such,
the method constructs a location fingerprint that is the
aggregation of various sources of information, and may further use
a statistical model weighting the relevance of the various pieces
of information. The information can be stored on a server or the
device.
[0153] When a device subsequently performs the fingerprint process,
the device can subsequently detect whether the device has changed
locations by detecting differences in some or all of this set of
information. Upon detecting that the device has returned to a known
location, or that the device is at a new location, the device or a
server can take certain actions. Such actions may include:
notifying a user, notifying another server, initiating a
configuration process, or operating in different modes.
[0154] According to an embodiment, a user plugs in a device to
their home network, and the device scans for and records the MAC
addresses of the user's router, home PC and printer. The device
transmits this information to a server, such that a fingerprint is
associated with the location. The user may move the device to a new
location, e.g. the user's office. The device detects a different
fingerprint from the MAC of a new router, and several dozen work
computers. Another information relating to the new location is
stored in the server so that the fingerprint is associated with the
location. When the user returns the device to the home network, the
device recognizes it is at home. The device can recognize a
location even if some, but not all, of the fingerprint has changed.
For example, a printer may no longer be present.
[0155] FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of fingerprinting a local
network for a power management system. Network information from
devices, such as electric vehicles, is collected 1010 in order to
generate a network fingerprint 1020, which is stored 1030 in a
database. As shown in FIG. 11, according to an embodiment, a change
in the location of a device is detected 1110 and compared with a
network fingerprint 1120 in order to determine 1130 the location of
an electric vehicle.
CONCLUSION
[0156] Although systems and methods have been described in language
specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is
to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended
claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts
described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as
examples of implementations of the claimed methods, devices,
systems, etc. It will be understood by those skilled in the art
that various changes in form and details may be made therein
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *