System and method for managing information on connected devices

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a system and method for managing data generated by connected systems and / or devices in connection with energy consumption and / or management decisions. In certain embodiments, a gateway device communicating with one or more connected devices may be configured to receive energy management signaling information and apply one or more policies in connection with the management of the connected devices. Responses generated in connection with such energy management decisions may be securely reported in a manner that respects various stakeholder concerns regarding transparency, confidentiality, privacy, auditability, and / or verification of data origin.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Related Applications This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 831,489, filed April 9, 2019, and entitled “TRANSACTIONAL ENERGY SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] Copyright holder Portions of the disclosure of this patent document may contain material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction of either the patent document or the patent disclosure, as appearing in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for managing data generated by one or more connected systems and / or devices. More specifically, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to managing data generated by connected systems and / or devices in connection with energy usage, management, and / or pricing decisions.

[0004] Energy generation, utilization, and / or pricing may vary significantly over time based, at least in part, on demand conditions. For example, during hot summer days, the need for air conditioning may increase demand on the power grid and associated electricity usage, thereby increasing electricity rates during these periods. Similarly, during winter evenings when home lighting and / or induction heating loads increase, electricity rates may increase. In some cases, electricity rates may be set for periods that may be as short as five minutes, based on applicable demand and / or generation conditions.

[0005] Electric power companies and / or other utility companies may use automated demand management techniques to smooth out highly volatile pricing and / or demand curves. Conventional automated demand response ("ADR") systems may be provided to customers and are often installed at customer business and / or residences in association with higher demand loads to better manage such loads in light of the utility's overall demand. Many ADR systems may engage in certain actions based on automatic control signaling received directly from the utility company. For example, ADR systems may be installed in association with residential air conditioning systems, washer-dryer systems, and the like. Typically, such ADR systems include separate systems and / or devices that are separate from, but otherwise provide power to, a single associated load.

[0006] When certain energy pricing, demand, and / or generation thresholds are reached by the utility, the utility may send a signal to the ADR system to take control action. For example, the utility may signal the ADR system to reduce output from and / or otherwise turn off an associated air conditioning system, turn off an associated washer-dryer unit, and / or the like. In this manner, the utility may temporarily reduce demand by commanding certain loads to turn off and / or otherwise change settings and / or configurations. However, typical ADR systems, once installed, do not allow customers any control, much less fine-grained control, over ADR decisions.

[0007] Many consumer and / or commercial devices are becoming increasingly interconnected. For example, a variety of Internet-connected devices are available to consumers as part of a connected device ecosystem that utilizes the existing Internet infrastructure, sometimes referred to as the "Internet of Things" ("IoT") and / or the "Internet of Everything" ("IoE"). This ecosystem can provide connectivity that makes various computing devices (i.e., things) and / or groups of devices more useful.

[0008] Various industrial systems and devices are also becoming increasingly interconnected. For example, wind turbines (e.g., an array of wind turbines included in a wind farm), solar panels and / or arrays, and / or energy storage devices may be communicatively connected with other networked devices. Connected systems and devices within the IoT also enable the collection of unprecedented amounts of data related to the systems and / or their associated users, which can facilitate understanding of the environment, user behavior, and / or performance of various systems and / or devices.

[0009] The systems and methods disclosed herein facilitate the collection and / or analysis of various data generated by one or more connected systems and / or devices, as well as the control and / or automation of various systems and / or devices responsive to energy management signal information, thereby improving the interaction between the interconnected systems and / or devices. While embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods may further be used in a variety of other suitable applications, contexts, and / or ecosystems, certain embodiments may be applied in the context of a retail energy transaction ecosystem. In some embodiments, various aspects of the disclosed systems and methods may enable energy retailers to transmit energy pricing data and / or related information to customers. Customers may use this information, among other things, to modify their home energy consumption configuration and explicitly and / or implicitly accept pricing for the energy they consume during a particular period of time.

[0010] Various aspects of the disclosed embodiments may further enable retailers to adjust (e.g., collectively, by group and / or region, etc.) system energy loads (e.g., global consumption) and / or forecast future consumption and / or demand elasticities. That is, some embodiments may collect information that helps optimize energy retailers' revenues and / or costs by forecasting demand according to pricing options offered to consumers. Certain embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods may further meet the information needs of multiple stakeholders, including energy retailers, suppliers, consumers, and / or regulators. In some embodiments, data record bifurcation techniques may be used to reconcile various stakeholder concerns regarding transparency, confidentiality, privacy, auditability, and / or verification of data provenance.

[0011] The work body of the present invention will be readily understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a data management ecosystem in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 1 shows a conceptual diagram illustrating a data forking process in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for managing information received by one or more connected devices by a gateway, according to embodiments disclosed herein. [Figure 4] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for accessing public and private components of a data record in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] 1 illustrates an example system that can be used to implement embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Detailed descriptions of systems and methods consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure are provided below. Although several embodiments are described, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to any one embodiment, but instead encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. Numerous specific details are described in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, although some embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these details. Moreover, for the sake of clarity, certain technical material that is known in the relevant art has not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure.

[0014] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be understood by reference to the drawings, in which like parts may be designated with like numerals. The components of the disclosed embodiments can be arranged and designed in a wide variety of configurations, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein. Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the systems and methods of the present disclosure is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure as claimed, but is merely representative of possible embodiments of the disclosure. In addition, the steps of any method disclosed herein do not necessarily have to be performed in any particular order, nor sequentially, nor do steps have to be performed only once, unless otherwise specified.

[0015] The systems and methods disclosed herein facilitate the collection and / or analysis of various data generated by one or more connected systems and / or devices, as well as the control and / or automation of various systems and / or devices. Although certain embodiments are described in the context of an energy management and transaction ecosystem, various aspects of the disclosed systems and methods are not so limited in application. Indeed, aspects of the disclosed systems and methods may be used in connection with a variety of other suitable applications, contexts, and / or ecosystems, including, for example, but not limited to, medical and / or bioinformatics applications.

[0016] Various embodiments enable energy retailers to transmit energy pricing data and / or related information to consumer devices, which can use this information to, among other things, modify their energy consumption, and / or change configurations, etc. In some embodiments, information can be communicated to connected devices that the devices can use to adjust the energy load and / or consumption of the utility system (e.g., collectively, by group and / or region, etc.) and / or to forecast future consumption. This can be useful, among other things, to smooth out highly volatile energy pricing and / or demand curves.

[0017] In certain embodiments, information may be collected and communicated to energy retailers and / or other stakeholders to assist in optimizing energy retailers' revenues and / or costs through predictive demand and / or consumer response modeling. In various embodiments, certain sensitive, protected, secure, and / or other private information may be separated for storage and / or management from less sensitive, unprotected, less secure, and / or more public information. In some implementations, separating less secure and / or sensitive data (e.g., public data) from more secure and / or sensitive data (e.g., private data) for storage and / or management in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments may facilitate a system that provides transparency, confidentiality, privacy, and / or auditability.

[0018] In the context of an energy transaction management system, embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods may, among others, be as follows:

[0019] ■Responsiveness - Consumers can respond to pricing with relatively minimal delay, and retailers can have detailed, load and / or device differentiated (e.g., differentiated at the device level and / or by groups of devices), storage and / or production information.

[0020] ■ Transparency and / or Auditability - Information that is publicly available and / or available to regulators and / or other stakeholders may be authenticated and / or auditable. For example, stakeholders can trust that the data is of authentic origin. In some embodiments, stakeholders can cross-check the data against other data to verify consistency.

[0021] ■ Privacy Protection – Consumer privacy and / or consumer confidential information may be protected.

[0022] ■ Protects confidentiality - Retailer confidential information (eg, pricing information and / or strategies) can be kept confidential.

[0023] ■ Relatively Easy Integration - Aspects of the disclosed embodiments may allow for relatively easy integration into a variety of connected devices from many manufacturers.

[0024] ■ Portability - Various embodiments may be resellable and / or portable to different territories as a service and / or as a combination of licensed technology and / or services. For example, the system architecture and / or data management capabilities may be adapted to different regulatory environments.

[0025] Data Management Ecosystem 1 illustrates a data management ecosystem in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. In various embodiments, the ecosystem may include various devices, systems, services, entities, roles, and / or components and / or use a variety of different data objects that may include some, all, and / or a subset of the various devices, systems, services, entities, roles, components, and / or data objects shown and described in connection with FIG. 1 and / or elsewhere herein.

[0026] In various embodiments, the disclosed ecosystem may enable a variety of different types of connected devices 100 to be controlled and / or otherwise managed based at least in part on signals received from a variety of different entities. The connected devices 100 may be controlled directly by such entities, for example, based on the received signals. In further embodiments, the connected devices 100 may engage in control actions responsive to signals received from the various entities in accordance with one or more policies and / or configurations (e.g., customer-defined policies) implemented by the device and / or another system associated with the device.

[0027] For example, as discussed in more detail below, an energy retailer 102 and / or another entity may communicate energy management signals including pricing information signals (e.g., current pricing, future pricing, discount information, forecasted supply indications, forecasted loads, forecasted shortages, rates, associated time periods, and / or rate boundaries, etc.) to one or more connected devices 100 and / or associated systems and / or services, such as associated gateways 104. In response to such signals, a customer may express configuration policies that cause one or more connected devices 100 to engage in one or more specified control actions. For example, a customer may express policies associated with an air conditioning unit and / or associated connected thermostat to instruct the air conditioning unit and / or connected thermostat to power down and / or otherwise reduce air conditioning load if pricing information received from the energy retailer 102 exceeds a certain threshold. In this manner, an energy consumer may better manage the power usage of its connected devices 100, while the energy retailer 102 may better manage pricing and / or incentive programs and grid loads.

[0028] According to various embodiments, the energy management signal may include, for example, but not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0029] ■ Pricing information, which may include current prices, future prices, pricing schedules, discounts, surcharges, surcharges, boundaries (e.g., upper and / or lower limits), and / or any other information that may apply to the consumption, generation, storage (e.g., charging), and / or emission (e.g., discharging) of energy by the connected device 100.

[0030] ■ Address information, which may include a particular device (eg, a device associated with an identifier) ​​and / or a device group and / or a class, identified by a group, type, and / or class identifier, which may be associated with the device.

[0031] ■ Actions and / or names of actions that may directly or indirectly effect and / or suggest a response by a specified device and / or one or more devices that have a particular functional type and / or are members of one or more classes (e.g., authenticated classes).

[0032] ■ A machine-readable statement that may contain the above information and / or a subset thereof in predicate and / or propositional form, with and / or without conditions.

[0033] ■Information statements that do not necessarily invoke a response by a device that may provide information to humans and / or artificial intelligence mechanisms.

[0034] Connected Devices The disclosed embodiments may be used in connection with a variety of connected devices 100, systems, or "things." As used herein, the terms device, connected device, and / or thing may be used interchangeably in certain instances. The disclosed system and method embodiments may be implemented in connection with a diverse ecosystem of connected devices 100 associated with an individual, his / her home, his / her vehicle, his / her workplace, and / or commercial and / or industrial settings, and the like. The disclosed system and method embodiments may be used in connection with a variety of connected devices 100, including, for example, but not limited to, thermostats, heating (e.g., furnaces), ventilation, and air conditioning ("AC") systems, irrigation systems, water controls, pumps, heaters, home utility meters, home network gateways, activity sensors, connected appliances (e.g., refrigerators, washing machines, laundry drivers, televisions, etc.), media devices (e.g., televisions), connected vehicles, connected energy storage systems (e.g., batteries and / or devices including batteries), connected energy generation systems, and / or any other connected devices and associated data stores.

[0035] The connected devices 100 may be associated with various functional categories and / or attributes including, for example, but not limited to, control functions, loads (e.g., energy consuming devices), generators (e.g., energy generating devices), and / or storage (e.g., batteries, etc.). Other functional categories and / or attributes of the devices may further include, for example, but not limited to, timers, status checkers, status indicators, alarms, alarm thresholds, and / or sensor thresholds.

[0036] The connected devices 100 may include devices that consume electricity. In some examples herein, the connected devices 100 that consume energy may be referred to as load devices. The connected devices 100 may further include devices that generate electricity, such as, for example, but not limited to, residential and / or commercial solar panel arrays, wind turbine generators, hydroelectric generators (e.g., micro-hydro systems), and / or any other type of power generation system. The connected devices 100 may also include devices that can store electrical energy, such as, for example, but not limited to, residential and / or commercial battery storage systems, thermal sinks, and / or potential energy generators. In some embodiments, batteries and / or other energy storage devices included in a subsystem of another system, such as, for example, but not limited to, a battery system included in a vehicle, may further be used in connection with the storage of electrical energy and are therefore considered connected devices. In some embodiments, a group of connected devices 100 may include electrical consumption, generation, and / or storage devices that together form a microgrid associated with a customer.

[0037] Certain connected devices 100 may control the operation of other connected devices. For example, a connected thermostat may control the operation of an AC unit. In some embodiments, devices may not necessarily be connected to the Internet and / or local network, but may operate as connected devices by being controlled by a connected device 100. For example, some AC units themselves may not include any local and / or Internet network connectivity capabilities, and these units may be managed as connected devices by being controlled by a connected thermostat.

[0038] Although particular embodiments and / or examples are described herein with reference to a particular type of connected device 100 in a residential setting, it will be understood that a variety of other connected systems and devices may be used in connection with the disclosed systems and methods in a variety of other settings and / or contexts (e.g., commercial contexts such as factories and / or business complexes), and that any suitable type of connected system and / or device in any suitable setting and / or context may be used in connection with the various disclosed embodiments.

[0039] Energy Management Signals and Related Information As described above, energy retailer 102 can generate energy management signals. The energy management signals may include, for example, without limitation, indications of pricing data and / or related information (e.g., current pricing data, future pricing data, discount information, and / or rate boundaries, etc.), projected supply, projected load, projected shortages, rates, time periods, and / or any other type of energy management signal.

[0040] Pricing information may include, for example, without limitation, current energy pricing information, future energy pricing information, energy pricing schedules, discounts, surcharges (e.g., surcharges for consuming more than an agreed upon amount of energy), premiums (e.g., premiums offered for donating power from storage), and / or pricing boundaries (e.g., upper and / or lower price limits that may be applied to the consumption, generation, storage (e.g., charging), and / or emission (e.g., discharging) of energy by one or more connected devices 100). Conditional discounts included in the pricing information may be provided in response to a connected device 100 engaging in a particular control action, such as reducing consumption or storing energy. Similarly, surcharges may be included in the pricing information if power is consumed above an agreed upon amount, and / or premiums may be specified in the pricing information provided when a device donates power from storage.

[0041] In some embodiments, such pricing data may change over time, for example, based on current and / or forecasted grid demand. For various reasons, the energy retailer 102 may be interested in smoothing out widely fluctuating pricing and / or demand curves, and pricing data may be adjusted and altered by the energy retailer 102 to help achieve this goal. Various embodiments may enable the energy retailer 102 to transmit energy pricing data and / or related information to connected devices 100 (e.g., either directly and / or via one or more customer gateways 104), which can use this information to, among other things, alter their energy consumption, alter their energy generation, alter their energy storage, change their configurations and / or settings, and / or control characteristics related to energy consumption, generation, and / or storage, including altering associated control thresholds, etc.

[0042] In certain embodiments, the energy management signals including pricing data and / or related information may include information that enables a customer and / or its associated connected devices 100 to automatically and / or optimally respond to pricing and / or other energy management signals based on preferences and / or policies set by the customer. For example, in at least one non-limiting example, the pricing data may include a specified price for energy for a specified period of time. The pricing information may further include one or more discounts that may be conditionally and / or otherwise dependent on one or more connected devices 100 taking a specified action (e.g., engaging in a low power mode, powering down, adjusting control and / or operational settings, discharging energy from a storage system to the grid, providing generated energy to the grid, and / or storing energy from the grid, etc.).

[0043] The embodiments disclosed herein may enable an energy retailer 102 to bill customers for energy consumed based on authenticated data received from one or more connected devices 100 in addition to and / or instead of metering information received from an on-premise network-connected meter. The energy retailer 102 may perform certain data analytics based on historical and / or real-time data to better optimize pricing and / or manage loads, thus controlling operational costs.

[0044] Customer Gateway Pricing data and / or other related information (which may be referred to in certain cases as energy management signal information) may be communicated from the energy retailers 102 to one or more customer gateways 104. In some embodiments, the pricing information may be authenticated (e.g., via secure authenticated channels and / or authenticated objects). In certain embodiments, the gateways 104 may include one or more trusted components for metering, sensing, communicating, and / or performing trusted calculations to automate energy consumption and / or storage decisions, collating data, and / or providing secure channels for secure data management and / or container calculations, etc.

[0045] In some embodiments, the gateway 104 may include one or more separate devices that, in certain implementations, may be installed at a customer's premises and configured to communicate with one or more connected devices 100 and / or energy retailer 102. For example, in certain embodiments, the gateway 104 may include a device (or devices) communicatively coupled to a network router associated with a network that communicates with one or more connected devices 100. In further embodiments, the gateway 104 may be cloud-based and / or otherwise a remote system and / or service that performs the functionality of the gateway as described herein.

[0046] In particular embodiments, the functionality of the gateway 104 may be realized by both individual devices that communicate directly with the customer's local network (e.g., devices coupled to a network router) and by a cloud-based remote service. For example, a subset of the connected devices 100 may be managed by an individual gateway device associated with the customer's local network, and another subset of the connected devices 100 may be managed by a cloud-based remote gateway service. In still further embodiments, a particular connected device may be in communication with and / or otherwise managed by both an individual local gateway device and a cloud-based remote gateway service.

[0047] In some embodiments, the gateway 104 can act as a protocol converter to facilitate communication between the various connected devices 100. For example, some connected devices 100 may have more sophisticated reporting capabilities while others may be simpler. The gateway 104 may be configured to convert information received and / or communicated from the various connected devices 100 to better enable communication between the connected devices 100 and / or with other devices, systems, and / or services.

[0048] In accordance with various disclosed embodiments, the customer gateway 104 may receive energy management signals such as pricing information, which may constitute secure signals and / or data received via secure authenticated channels and / or authenticated objects, configurations, rules, thresholds, and / or other input decisions of the various connected devices 100 received from the energy retailer 102 and / or control application 106, connected device and / or IoT configuration information, and / or any other information used in connection with aspects of the disclosed systems and methods.

[0049] The customer gateway 104 may further output control action signals to connected devices 100, decision notifications and / or transaction data to one or more external databases (e.g., the public ledger 114 and / or the private database 116), and / or metered readings (which may or may not be differentiated by device) either as individual data records and / or time series data delivered to external databases, and / or any other suitable information for use in connection with embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods.

[0050] In various embodiments, the gateway 104 may, for example:

[0051] ■ Using the energy management signal input to make decisions regarding energy usage and / or configure and / or execute energy charging and / or discharging schedules, which in some cases may depend on direct contemporaneous customer input but are typically automated.

[0052] ■ Providing energy usage and / or configuration information to external databases (eg, public ledgers 114 and / or private databases 116).

[0053] ■ Transmitting and / or receiving signals from connected devices 100 with energy consumption, generation and / or storage capabilities.

[0054] ■ More generally, it acts as a controller for a "scene" involving multiple devices and / or virtual composite devices. For example, several devices may be conveniently aggregated into a unit with a single interface.

[0055] ■ Includes a reference monitor and / or security association table for connected devices 100 and / or associated networks. This may enable a complete IoT security solution that may include, for example, authenticated commands, encrypted sensor and / or device signal fields, etc.

[0056] ■ Implement a secure update manager and / or secure software self-defense mechanisms.

[0057] As discussed above, the connected devices 100 may communicate with and receive various information from the gateway 104, including, for example, but not limited to, device data (which may be returned to the gateway 104 in response to a control action), transaction data (e.g., actions taken by one or more connected devices 100 in response to signals such as pricing information received from an energy retailer 102 according to a policy), status data, configuration data, and / or control signals. Device data, as used herein, may include any data associated with one or more connected devices 100 and may relate to the maintenance, control, management, and / or operation of the associated connected devices 100. It will be understood that a wide variety of types of transactional, status, configuration, and / or control system data may be generated and / or otherwise associated with the connected devices 100 and communicated to and from the gateway 104, and any suitable type of data and / or other information associated with the connected devices 100 may be used in connection with the various disclosed embodiments.

[0058] In certain embodiments, information including control signals and / or responses and / or associated device data may be communicated directly between a connected device and the gateway 104. In further embodiments, a connected device may communicate indirectly with the gateway 104 through another connected device. For example, an air conditioning unit lacking an Internet network connection may communicate device data to an associated connected thermostat, which may share device data associated with and / or generated by the AC unit with the gateway 104.

[0059] Customer Control Application As shown in FIG. 1 , a customer may interact with the gateway 104 via one or more control applications 106 executing on a customer device 108 (e.g., a computer system, a laptop, and / or a smartphone, etc.). In some embodiments, the control application 106 may include a web-based browser application accessed by the customer device 108. Using the control application 106, the customer may provision the connected devices 100 and / or the gateway 104 with configuration data, which in some embodiments may include policy information, for example. The policy information may manifest one or more policies that may cause one or more connected devices 100 to engage in one or more specified control actions in response to a specified signal received from the energy retailer 102. For example, the customer may manifest a policy associated with an AC unit and / or an associated connected thermostat to instruct the AC unit and / or the connected thermostat to turn off and / or otherwise reduce the AC load if pricing information received from the energy retailer 102 exceeds a certain threshold.

[0060] The policies and / or other configuration information communicated from the control application 106 may further include gateway configuration information, connected device configuration information, rules, thresholds, and / or any other suitable type of information used in connection with the disclosed systems and methods. In particular embodiments, a customer may be provided with status, control, and / or notifications associated with the connected devices 100 and / or gateways 104 via the control application 106.

[0061] A customer may further use the control application 106 to receive and / or otherwise interact with notifications and / or other information issued by the energy retailer 102. For example, in some embodiments, the retailer 102 may provide a customer with retailer-supported analytics (e.g., comparison data with other customers, etc.) for managing their personal home energy usage.

[0062] In particular embodiments, one or more of the connected devices 100 may be configured and / or otherwise controlled directly via the control application 106. In further embodiments, one or more of the connected devices 100 may be configured and / or otherwise controlled by the control application 106 via the gateway 104.

[0063] Communications between the control application 106, the gateway 104, and / or any other systems, stores, and / or entities (e.g., the energy retailer 102) may be authenticated and / or otherwise trusted. For example, in some embodiments, the control application 106 may include a trusted component that has a security association (e.g., dual-authenticated keys, including keys that may be used to establish secure authenticated channels and / or communicate secure authenticated messages, etc.) with the gateway 104, the connected devices 100, the energy retailer 102, and / or one or more data stores 114, 116 and / or associated systems. In this manner, communications with the control application 106 may be trusted.

[0064] Identity and Credential Management In particular embodiments, the identity and / or credential management service 110 (or multiple such services) may be used to issue secure identities, credentials, and / or keys to one or more connected devices 100, energy retailers 102, and / or other systems and / or entities in the ecosystem (e.g., customer devices 108 and / or control applications 106, gateways 104, regulator and / or other third party systems 118, trusted partner systems 120, etc.). In some embodiments, the identity and / or credential management service 110 may provide system-wide cryptographic key management services that may enable secure peer-to-peer and / or client-server communications, data authentication, secure control of connected devices 100, and / or secure data access permissions.

[0065] In some implementations, the identity and / or credential management service 110 can issue secure identities, credentials, and / or keys directly to one or more connected devices 100. In further embodiments, the identity and / or credential management service 110 can issue secure identities, credentials, and / or keys to one or more device suppliers 112, which can provision such information, credentials, and / or keys to connected devices 100 (e.g., during manufacture, etc.).

[0066] In particular embodiments, device manufacturers may directly provision one or more connected devices 100 with their own secure identities, credentials, and / or keys. Such manufacturer-provisioned keys may be submitted to and / or otherwise registered with a trusted directory service, such as the identity and / or credential management service 110. Other parties in the ecosystem may contact the trusted directory service when deciding whether to trust the device as part of the ecosystem. In particular embodiments, the identity and / or credential management service 100 may maintain such a registry of devices in a trusted, immortal and / or immutable assertion ledger, which in some examples may be implemented using a blockchain ledger.

[0067] In various embodiments, the identification and / or credential management service 110 may provide trusted and / or otherwise authenticated classifications and / or attributes for one or more connected devices 100, such that pricing and other energy management information can be addressed to devices that belong to a particular class, group, and / or have particular attributes. In some embodiments, such information can be used to generate and / or manage "scenes" involving multiple devices. These classifications can also be used by audit systems (e.g., regulators and / or third party agencies 118) that can independently verify that a device or an owner or associated entity of a device is entitled to the treatment described in pricing and other energy management signals.

[0068] In accordance with various disclosed embodiments, secure identities, credentials, and / or keys may be provisioned to trusted components and / or elements contained in the various connected devices 100, gateways 104, control applications 106, and / or other participating systems and / or services. For example, in certain embodiments, the identity and / or credential management service 110 may support a retailer-supported multi-vendor device authentication program for trusted elements in the gateways 104 and / or connected devices 100, such that a wide variety of connected devices can be trusted to accurately and securely report device data, transactions, status, configuration, measurements, and / or other trusted information. The use of trusted components and / or elements contained in devices and / or systems may facilitate scalability and enable measurement of trust and reliance on devices and / or systems that include such components and / or elements.

[0069] In various embodiments, the provisioned secure identities, credentials, and / or keys may be used to establish secure connections and / or enable secure messaging and / or communication between various devices, systems, services, and / or entities. For example, in some embodiments, messages may be signed with the provisioned keys and authenticated based on the associated secure signatures. Secure messaging, communication, and / or identity management in accordance with aspects of the disclosed embodiments may enable the gateway 104 to trust the integrity and / or authenticity of information received from one or more connected devices 100, energy retailers 104, and / or control applications 106. Such techniques may further enable trust in the integrity and / or authenticity of information communicated from the gateway 104 to one or more other systems (e.g., connected devices 100, and / or data stores 116, 114, etc.).

[0070] In particular embodiments, the identity and / or credential management service 100 may support a wealth of identifiers and / or credentials that indicate the roles, capabilities, and / or compliance assertions of system elements, thereby enabling security, privacy, and / or integrity to be achieved, etc. In this regard, the identity and / or credential management service 110 may, among other things:

[0071] ■ Providing identity and / or credential information to various ecosystem devices, services, entities, elements, and components as discussed above.

[0072] ■ Enables efficient verification of identity and credentials, including the source of command and response data, trusted processing of the data (e.g., governance), the role and / or authority of the entity requesting the data and / or making assertions about the data, and / or the ability to authenticate the authority of other entities.

[0073] ■ Supports secure P2P (eg, between various connected devices 100) and client / server communication capabilities.

[0074] ■ Allows for rapid revocation and / or replacement of compromised credentials, making them highly renewable.

[0075] ■Allows the addition of new types of credentials and / or identity assertions as new policies emerge.

[0076] ■ Supporting the identity of equipment, software, and / or services from multiple suppliers and / or supporting compliance certification systems regarding the capabilities of various device types and the robustness of those capabilities.

[0077] Public and private data bifurcation A variety of information may be received by the gateway 104, including, for example, but not limited to, responses received from the connected devices 100, device data, transactions, status, and / or configuration information, energy management signals including pricing information received from the energy retailer 102, and / or configuration and / or other policy information from a control application 106 associated with a customer. The gateway 104 may engage in certain control decisions in response to the received energy management signals, pricing information, policy and / or configuration information, and / or various other information received from the connected devices 100. For example, the gateway 104 may signal one or more connected devices 100 to engage in a control action (e.g., change configurations, and / or settings, etc.) in response to pricing information received from the energy retailer 102. The gateway 104 may further receive responses from the signaled connected devices 100 to confirm and / or otherwise indicate whether the connected devices 100 successfully implemented the specified control action and / or auxiliary information regarding the device's operational response to the received signal.

[0078] In certain embodiments, the gateway 104 may receive one or more audit history information from the connected devices 100 indicating that a control action has been implemented and / or sustained for a period of time (e.g., sustained for a specified period of time and / or otherwise engaged) and / or that a subset of a specified set of control actions has been implemented. For example, a connected device including an electric vehicle may be triggered by the gateway 104 to store electric energy for a specified period of time and / or store a specified amount of energy. The vehicle may store energy for a period of time (e.g., 95% of the specified period of time), after which the owner of the vehicle may need to use the vehicle. The audit history information may be shared with the gateway device 104 to determine the relative amount and / or degree of compliance with the specified control actions.

[0079] Information received and / or generated by the gateway 104 in response to control decisions and / or information transmitted from the gateway 104 to connected devices 100 and / or other systems and / or services may be communicated and / or stored in one or more data stores 114, 116. In some embodiments, such information may be stored as part of an energy management decision record. In certain embodiments, the data stores 114, 116 may be associated with a single system. In further embodiments, the data stores 114, 116 may be essentially distributed across any suitable number of systems.

[0080] In accordance with embodiments disclosed herein, public databases, which in some examples and in various examples described herein may include a public ledger 114, and private databases 116 may be used in connection with methods for bifurcating record information in a consistent manner for storage that preserves desired privacy characteristics and requirements of various stakeholders, while also providing a means for determining provenance. Although a single private database 116 and public ledger 114 are illustrated in connection with FIG. 1, it will be understood that several private databases 116 and public ledgers 114 may be used in other implementations. For example, a first private database and public ledger may store various device, transaction, state, and / or configuration data from the connected devices 100, the gateway 104, and / or the control application 106 that is generated based on and / or otherwise associated with pricing information received from a first energy retailer, and a second private database and public ledger may store various device, transaction, state, and / or configuration data from the connected devices 100, the gateway 104, and / or the control application 106 that is generated based on and / or otherwise associated with pricing information received from a second energy retailer. Additionally, although various embodiments are described herein in connection with public databases, including the public ledger 114, it will be understood that any suitable public databases and / or database structures may be used in connection with the disclosed embodiments, including various information stores that do not use ledger and / or blockchain structures.

[0081] In some embodiments, one or more private databases 116 and / or public ledgers 114 may be associated with one or more device suppliers 112 and / or identification and / or credential information management services 110. For example, a device supplier 112 may store private customer registration data in a private database and store public serial number, configuration, and / or authentication data in a public database and / or ledger. Similarly, an identification and / or credential information management service 110 may store private authentication and / or activation status information that may be associated with a corresponding public database that stores the related public information.

[0082] The public ledger 114 may include a database and / or ledger in which authenticated pricing and / or non-sensitive and / or other insecure consumption data and / or other statistics and information may be stored and / or accessed. In some embodiments, the public ledger 114 may be designed to support secure, public monitoring and / or auditing of the information reported by the gateway 104 without necessarily revealing more individual customer and / or retailer information. In certain embodiments, data stored in the public ledger 114 may be securely correlated with data stored in the private database 116. Data provided by the gateway 104 to the public ledger 114 may be anonymized and / or otherwise obfuscated. For example, names, addresses, and / or identifiers may be removed by the gateway 104 before reporting the data to the public ledger 114.

[0083] The private database 116 may be configured to store more private and / or sensitive data. For example, the data stored by the private database 116 may include more private, sensitive, and / or otherwise secure customer and / or retailer specific data, including, for example, but not limited to, private device and / or pricing data, transaction information (e.g., actions engaged by the device 100 and / or gateway 104 in response to received pricing information according to customer-specified policies and / or configurations), status data, and / or configuration data, etc. In certain embodiments, the information stored by the private database 116 may be used for things such as billing, analysis of the effectiveness of various pricing and / or energy demand management strategies, forecasting capabilities of energy loads, demand elasticity, and / or device and / or system failures and / or other metrics. In certain embodiments, the data stored in the private database 116 may be maintained in a manner such that it is consistently correlated with the data stored in the public ledger 114.

[0084] In certain embodiments, the private database 116 may enable sharing of information with trusted members of different classes of stakeholders, such as, for example, but not limited to, regulators and / or other third parties 118, trusted partners 120, and / or wholesalers. Such sharing may be accomplished in a manner that respects the privacy rights of customers.

[0085] In accordance with various disclosed embodiments, in some implementations, even though a match may be made between the public ledger 114 and a private database 116 (which may receive such secure information), the public ledger 114 may not receive information that directly identifies the customer as the source of the information and / or that can be used to directly identify the customer. In certain circumstances, certain consumption patterns and / or device data may be associated with a unique behavioral signature of the customer. For example, the identity of an unusually large energy consumer in a relatively small community may be readily identifiable and / or inferable based on information indicating that other anonymous customers consume significantly more energy than their surrounding community, even if the information related to such consumption does not include any information that directly identifies the consumer. Thus, additional anonymization may be used to help protect the privacy of certain public data and / or records that may be disclosed in the public ledger 114. For example, in some embodiments, a proxy 122 may be used to analyze and / or scan for usage patterns that may be used to identify and / or otherwise infer the identity of individual customers, among other anonymized data communicated from the gateway 104 to the public ledger 114, and respond with additional anonymization and / or obfuscation as necessary.

[0086] In particular embodiments, trust may be distributed to one or more gateways 104. Based on the trusted gateways 104, stakeholders can rely on the gateways to perform the correct calculations on the correct data and communicate the appropriate information to the public ledger 114 and / or private databases 114.

[0087] As discussed above, data bifurcation can be used to reconcile various concerns related to transparency, confidentiality, privacy, auditability, and / or verification of data provenance. FIG. 2 illustrates a conceptual diagram 200 illustrating a data bifurcation process in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a data record R may include a public component N and a confidential component C. In some embodiments, the data record may include records received and / or otherwise generated by the gateway as described above, such as energy management decision data records. Record R may be expressed as R=(N:C).

[0088] The data record forking process 202 may generate a cryptographic hash of the entire data record h(R). The hash of the entire data record along with the public component of the data record (h(R):N) may be sent to the public ledger 114 for storage. In certain embodiments, a hash function such as SHA-256 may be used to generate the hash of the data record, although other suitable hashes and / or other cryptographic functions may also be used. The entire data record R may be sent to the private database 116 for storage. In some embodiments, the hash of the entire data record h(R) may also be sent to the private database 116 and associated with the entire data record R for indexing purposes. In further embodiments, the private database 116 may calculate a hash of the entire data record h(R) and associate it with the entire data record R for indexing purposes.

[0089] In particular embodiments, the partition schema of the data record R may be known to the private database 116 so that systems with permission to access the private database 116 (e.g., energy retailers, partners, auditors, regulators, and / or other trusted third parties) may be able to compute the hash and use it for efficient indexing within the private database 116 as well as locating the record in the public ledger 114.

[0090] In certain embodiments, customers can search any records they generate in both databases 114, 116, and regulators, auditors, and / or other trusted third parties can continuously and / or longitudinally audit the private database 116 (in certain implementations using automated processes). For example, trusted regulators, auditors, and / or third parties can audit the private database 116 over time and across a customer base to check for consistency against the public ledger 114.

[0091] Although various embodiments herein are described in the context of an energy management and transaction ecosystem, aspects of the disclosed systems and methods may be used in connection with a variety of other suitable applications, including, for example, but not limited to, medical information, health data, and / or bioinformatics applications. For example, embodiments of the disclosed data bifurcation process may be used to manage public and private aspects of health information while balancing privacy, security, and data integrity and / or auditing goals.

[0092] In at least one non-limiting example, a health data record may have certain private data components, including personally identifiable information and lesser private data components. The private components, including personally identifiable information, may be stored in a private database, while private and / or personal generalized patient demographic information (e.g., age, sex) and / or other generalized diagnostic information (e.g., positive and / or negative test results for a particular infectious disease) may be stored in a public ledger. Data stored in a private database may be indexed with information stored in private databases of authorized entities, according to various aspects of the disclosed embodiments.

[0093] Returning to FIG. 1 , in some embodiments, the public ledger 114 may include a blockchain and / or other cryptographic ledger. For example, in some embodiments, the public ledger 114 may be anchored to a blockchain using a schema in which hashes are entered into Merkle trees and the root of each tree may be recorded in the blockchain ledger. The public ledger 114 may be used to record pricing data, including, for example, without limitation, pricing data received from the energy retailer 102 (which may be the same data received from the energy retailer 102 and / or derived from data provided by the energy retailer 102), including price-related signals, thresholds, and / or conditions that may affect customer decisions and / or configuration and / or control action decisions (automated decisions or otherwise) of the associated connected devices 100, as well as any other signals and / or information that may be used in connection with customer decisions and / or configuration and / or control action decisions (automated decisions or otherwise) of the associated connected devices 100. The use of hash indexes and blockchain entries can, in some embodiments, provide an authenticated and public record of system transactions that can be correlated with a retailer's private records and used for publicly calculated and referenced analytics.

[0094] In various embodiments, the functionality of the private database 116 may be distributed across multiple databases and / or other components and / or implemented in other manners. As discussed in more detail above, the private database 116 may store one or more of specific detailed customer transaction and / or energy usage decision information (with reference to the public ledger 114 via a hash index), specific customer energy device identification information, and / or digital twins of the gateway 104 and / or connected devices 100.

[0095] In some embodiments, the information contained in the public database 116 may be used by the hosting system to provide data processing capabilities to various customer and / or partner dashboards. For example, where permitted by applicable policies and / or authorization conditions, the customer control applications 106, the energy retailers 102, one or more trusted partners 120, and / or trusted regulators and / or third party stakeholders 118 may access the information contained in the private database 116 and / or the public ledger 114 in connection with various data processing and / or analysis processes. For example, a service associated with the private database 116 may host data analysis capabilities for proprietary energy load, production, storage, and / or price elasticity forecasts that may be accessed and / or otherwise used by various stakeholders with the necessary authorizations. To facilitate such capabilities, the private database 116 may implement extensive data governance, access control, and / or policy management capabilities that enable policy-managed access from authorized entities (e.g., authorized customers, retailers 102, trusted partners 120, trusted regulators and / or third party stakeholders 118, and / or the like).

[0096] Bifurcating data between the public ledger 114 and the private database 116 with a hash index that allows for reconciliation between the databases as described herein may provide an effective and secure function that supports several potentially conflicting goals, including transparency, privacy, auditability, and / or appropriate allocation of public and / or proprietary analytical functions. By providing functions that stakeholders can trust without excessive complexity and / or other burdens, the demands on the ecosystem's trustworthiness may not be significantly greater than those of metering and / or metering notification functions. Bifurcating data by the gateway 104 may further decentralize trust and / or reduce the likelihood of systemic failures. Using the public ledger 114 to record public information sourced directly from customer sources (e.g., devices 100 connected via the gateway 104) may increase the trust provided by the public and / or regulators.

[0097] Trusted Data Flows and Trusted Components In accordance with embodiments disclosed herein, communications between various devices, systems, services, entities, roles, components, and / or stakeholders may include trusted data flows. Such trusted data flows may include, for example, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

[0098] ■ Energy management signals and / or pricing data communicated from the energy retailers 102 to the gateway 104 and / or the public ledger 114 .

[0099] ■ Energy management decision records and / or other data records (which may include time series data) communicated from the gateway 104 to the public ledger 114 and / or private database 116. This may include data records communicated from the gateway 104 to the public ledger 114 outside of the transaction ecosystem (e.g., connected device data that the customer wants the energy retailer 102 to manage, such as backup configurations and / or other information).

[0100] ■ Information communicated from the gateway 104 to the customer control application 106 and / or to another database sponsoring the control application 106.

[0101] ■ Messages issued by the Identity and Credential Management Service 110 that establish trust and security between various devices, systems, services, entities, roles, components, and / or stakeholders (e.g., key management messages such as Security Association Management Protocol messages).

[0102] ■Authenticated assertions from authorities for credential proofing and / or public key authentication associated with various devices, systems, services, entities, roles, components, and / or stakeholders.

[0103] In particular embodiments, various information (e.g., pricing information, device, transaction, status, and / or configuration data, etc.) may be collected, generated, communicated, and / or managed by one or more trusted components, systems, services, entities, roles, components (e.g., applications), and / or stakeholders executing on the connected device 100, the gateway 104, and / or any other devices. In some embodiments, the trusted components may be installed on the associated systems and / or devices at the time of manufacture. In further embodiments, the trusted components may be installed on the connected device 100 and / or other devices and / or systems at the command of an associated user. Among other things, the trusted components may be configured to establish secure connections between the various devices, systems, services, entities, roles, components, and / or stakeholders to enable secure communication of information related to various applicable data flows.

[0104] In certain embodiments, trusted components, which may include personal agents running on one or more connected devices 100, gateways 104, customer control applications 106, and / or associated systems and / or services, such as those described in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 12 / 785,406, filed May 21, 2010, may be used to collect, store, and / or otherwise manage the various collected and / or generated data. In certain embodiments, privacy considerations may be maintained because only the personal agents have direct access to certain sensitive information. Users and / or stakeholders of such data may be able to control the information that is disclosed from the personal agents to other entities.

[0105] The personal agent may be implemented in a variety of manners to collect, store, and / or manage sensitive data. In some embodiments, the personal agent may be implemented as an agent running locally on the connected device 100, such as a background service configured to monitor events and collect information from various sources. In further embodiments, the personal agent may be implemented as a network service that operates services to collect various information of interest.

[0106] In some embodiments, information collection and / or sharing through the personal agent may be controlled to protect the user's privacy. The user's privacy may be protected in a variety of ways. The personal agent may support an interface through which the system and user can specify policies that define what data can be obtained and / or for what purposes the information can be used. For example, in some embodiments, the personal agent may provide the user with the ability to opt out of operational data collection and / or to draw certain inferences from collected operational data.

[0107] Data may be stored and / or managed in a secure manner by the personal agent. For example, the personal agent may utilize an encrypted database and / or data store to store collected operational data. Additionally, a personal agent service running in the cloud may protect the operational data using enterprise service level security. By interfacing with the personal agent associated with their connected device 100 (e.g., using the control application 106, etc.), users may view, edit, and / or remove their data from storage and / or collection, consent to sharing their data, provide terms associated with such sharing, view the data they have shared, identify who they are sharing with, and / or see the value provided in the exchange, etc.

[0108] The connected devices 100, energy retailers 102, gateways 104, customer devices 108, identity and / or credential information management services 110, device suppliers 112, public ledgers 114, private databases 116, regulators and / or third parties 118, trusted partners 120, and / or any other devices, systems, services, entities, roles, and / or components illustrated and described in connection with FIG. 1 may include and / or be otherwise associated with a variety of computing devices and / or systems, including any computing system(s) suitable for implementing the systems and methods disclosed herein. For example, the connected devices 100, energy retailers 102, gateways 104, customer devices 108, identity and / or credential information management services 110, device suppliers 112, public ledgers 114, private databases 116, regulators and / or third parties 118, trusted partners 120, and / or any other devices, systems, services, entities, roles, and / or components may include a variety of computing devices and systems, including laptop computer systems, desktop computer systems, server computer systems, distributed computer systems, smartphones, and / or tablets, etc.

[0109] The connected device 100 may further include any of the types of devices disclosed herein. It will be understood that any suitable configuration of computing systems and storage media may be used in connection with the system, including, but not limited to, a single server, or a cluster of servers, or a distributed collection of heterogeneous computer systems connected by various networks (such as, for example, the Internet, public and / or private networks, and / or the like).

[0110] In certain embodiments, the various devices, systems, services, entities, roles, and / or components may include at least one processor system configured to execute instructions stored on an associated non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. As discussed in more detail below, the various devices, systems, services, entities, roles, and / or components may further include a secure processing unit ("SPU") configured to perform sensitive operations such as managing trusted credential information and / or keys, managing and / or enforcing secure policies, and / or other aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein. The devices, systems, services, entities, roles, and / or components may further include software and / or hardware configured to enable electronic communication of information between the devices, systems, services, entities, roles, and / or components over one or more networks (e.g., networks) using any suitable communications technology and / or standard.

[0111] In certain embodiments, the various devices, systems, services, entities, roles, and / or components may be communicatively coupled via one or more network connections (e.g., network connections of a network). The network connections may include various network communication devices and / or channels and may utilize any suitable communication protocols and / or standards that facilitate communication between the various systems. The network connections may include the Internet, local area networks, virtual private networks, and / or any other communication networks utilizing one or more electronic communication technologies and / or standards (e.g., Ethernet, etc.). In some embodiments, the network may include a wireless carrier system, such as a personal communication system ("PCS"), and / or other suitable communication systems incorporating any suitable communication standards and / or protocols. In further embodiments, the network connections may include analog mobile communication networks and / or digital mobile communication networks utilizing, for example, Code Division Multiple Access ("CDMA"), Global System for Mobile Communications or Group Special Mobiles ("GSM"), Frequency Division Multiple Access ("FDMA"), and / or Time Division Multiple Access ("TDMA") standards. In certain embodiments, the network connection may incorporate one or more satellite communication links. In still further embodiments, the network connection may utilize the IEEE 802.11 standard, Bluetooth, Ultra-Wideband ("UWB") Zigbee, and / or any other suitable standard or specifications.

[0112] It will be appreciated that numerous variations may be made to the architecture and relationships presented with respect to Figure 1 within the scope of the present body of work. For example, and not by way of limitation, in some embodiments, some or all of the functionality performed by the illustrated devices, systems, services, entities, roles, and / or components may be performed by a single system and / or any suitable combination of systems. It will therefore be appreciated that Figure 1 is provided for purposes of illustration and description, and not limitation.

[0113] 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 300 for managing information received by one or more connected devices by a gateway according to embodiments disclosed herein. The illustrated method 300 may be implemented in a variety of manners, including using software, firmware, hardware, and / or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, various aspects of the method 300 may be performed by a gateway device in conjunction with a customer system and / or control application, one or more connected devices, an energy management system (e.g., an energy retailer system), and / or one or more data stores (e.g., public ledgers and / or private databases), and / or any other suitable system and / or combination of systems.

[0114] At 302, policy information may be received at the gateway device from a customer system. For example, a customer may operate a control application running on an associated system to provide policy and / or other configuration information to the gateway device. In some embodiments, the policy information may specify one or more control actions to be performed by one or more connected devices associated with the customer in response to the occurrence of one or more conditions.

[0115] In some embodiments, the connected devices may include one or more load devices, such as, but not limited to, a connected thermostat, a connected furnace, a connected AC system, a connected irrigation control system, a pump system, a network gateway, a media system, a connected appliance, and a connected vehicle. The connected devices may further include one or more energy generation systems, such as, but not limited to, a solar energy generation system, a wind energy generation system, and a hydroelectric energy generation system. In certain embodiments, the one or more connected devices may include at least one energy storage system, such as, but not limited to, a battery storage system, a thermal sink, and a potential energy storage system. In still further embodiments, the connected devices may include at least one control device (e.g., a thermostat controlling an AC unit, etc.) configured to control a separate connected device.

[0116] The gateway device may further receive energy management signal information at 304 from an energy management system, such as, for example, an energy retailer system. In some embodiments, this signal information may include pricing data and / or related information (e.g., current pricing data, future pricing data, and / or discount information, etc.). In some embodiments, such pricing data may change over time and / or be otherwise associated with a temporal component and / or time period, for example, based on current and / or forecasted grid demand.

[0117] A determination may be made at 306 whether the received energy management signal information triggers one or more conditions associated with the received policy information. If a policy condition is not triggered, the method 300 may end. However, if a policy condition is triggered, the method may proceed to 308.

[0118] At 308, the gateway device may identify at least one control action of the one or more control actions specified in the policy information based on one or more conditions specified in the received policy information triggered by the received energy management signal information. For example, the energy management signal information may include pricing data indicating a price of energy for a particular time period. The policy information may specify a condition that one or more connected devices should be powered down and / or otherwise commanded to enter a power saving mode if the received pricing signal indicates a price of energy that exceeds a threshold.

[0119] In some embodiments, the gateway device may implement one or more "software circuit breakers" in the form of programs that evaluate possible actions to determine whether they fall within safe parameters (e.g., parameters that may be associated with the device) and / or whether they comply with policies established by and / or on behalf of the user. These circuit breakers may evaluate the status and / or recent history of a collection of devices monitored by the gateway device to determine whether certain actions should be disabled and / or modified.

[0120] In at least one non-limiting example, pricing data received by the gateway device may vary from 9.99 to 10.04 cents / kwh. Policies associated with connected devices managed by the gateway device may be triggered at 10 cents / kwh. However, for certain connected devices including equipment such as large motors, refrigeration equipment and / or associated compressors, or large industrial ovens, frequently changing control settings and / or triggering control actions may not be cost effective or, in the worst case, may even damage the equipment from sudden on / off fluctuations triggered by the policy. In accordance with various aspects disclosed herein, the gateway device may take into account technical policy data that may be configured by the customer and / or otherwise associated with the device (e.g., programmed at manufacture) and / or obtained from a trusted manufacturer source to provide additional data for the gateway device to make intelligent and informed policy decisions.

[0121] In response to the identified control action, the gateway device may generate and transmit a control signal to at least one connected device of the one or more connected devices at 310. For example, in various embodiments, the control signal may instruct the at least one connected device to implement the at least one control action identified at 308.

[0122] At 310, a secure response may be received from the at least one connected device in response to the issued control signal. In some embodiments, the secure response may indicate that the at least one connected device has performed the identified control action included in the control signal sent to the device. In particular embodiments, the secure response may be authenticated by the gateway based at least in part on verification of a cryptographic signature securely associated with the response. In some embodiments, commands and / or other operational requests issued by the gateway device may include an identifier that can be referenced by the connected device when the connected device provides a response, subsequent response, and / or other notification announcing a change in operation (e.g., immediate and / or subsequent) in response to the command and / or request.

[0123] Energy management transaction data records are generated and securely stored at 312. In accordance with various disclosed embodiments, the energy management decision data records may include one or more of energy management signal information, secure responses, associated policy information, control action information, identification information associated with the connected device being controlled, and / or any other device data described herein, pricing data, transaction data, status data, configuration data, and / or any other associated data.

[0124] In some embodiments, the data management transaction records may be stored in one or more remote data stores. In certain embodiments, the data management transaction records may include a confidential component, which may be stored in a private database, and a public component, which may be stored in a public ledger, which may include a blockchain ledger. In some embodiments, storing the confidential component may include storing the entire energy management transaction data record in the private database. In further embodiments, storing the public component may include storing a hash of the public component and the entire energy management transaction data record in the public ledger.

[0125] 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 400 for accessing public and private components of a data record in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. The illustrated method 400 may be implemented in a variety of manners, including using software, firmware, hardware, and / or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, various aspects of method 400 may be performed, for example, by a trusted partner, an authorized regulator, and / or a customer interested in accessing information contained in a data management decision record.

[0126] At 402, the public components of the data record and a cryptographic hash of the complete data record may be accessed from the public ledger by the system. The system may authenticate the access using the private database at 404 (e.g., by presenting valid authentication credentials, etc.). Once authenticated, at 406, the hash of the complete data record may be used to identify the complete data record in the private database using an index that associates the hash with the complete data record.

[0127] 5 illustrates an example system 500 that can be used to implement embodiments of the systems and methods of the present disclosure. The particular elements associated with the illustrated example system 500 may be included in one or more systems configured to perform particular energy and / or other transaction management methods in connection with one or more connected devices in accordance with embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods. For example, the various elements included in the illustrated system 500 may be included in a gateway device configured to receive policies, energy management signal information, and responses from connected devices, generate control signals based on applicable policies, and report various collected and / or generated information to a secure data store.

[0128] As shown in FIG. 5, system 500 may include a processing unit 502; a system memory 504 including high-speed random access memory ("RAM"), non-volatile memory ("ROM"), and / or one or more bulk non-volatile non-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g., hard disk, flash memory, etc.) that stores programs and other data for use and execution by the processing unit; a port 506 for interfacing with removable memory 508 including one or more diskettes, optical storage media, and / or other non-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g., flash memory, thumb drives, USB dongles, compact discs, DVDs, etc.); a network interface 510 for communicating with other systems over one or more network connections 516 using one or more communications technologies; a user interface 512 which may include a display and / or one or more input / output devices such as, for example, a touch screen, keyboard, mouse, track pad, etc.; and one or more buses 514 for communicatively coupling the elements of system 500.

[0129] In some embodiments, the system 500 may alternatively or additionally include an SPU 518 that is protected from tampering by users of the system or other entities by utilizing secure physical and / or virtual security techniques. The SPU 518 may help to enhance security of sensitive operations such as personal information management, trusted credential and / or key management, privacy and policy management, and other aspects of the systems and methods disclosed herein. In certain embodiments, the SPU 518 may be configured to operate in a logically secure processing domain and to protect and manipulate sensitive information as described herein. In some embodiments, the SPU 518 may include an internal memory that stores executable instructions or programs configured to enable the SPU 518 to perform secure operations as described herein.

[0130] Operation of the system 500 may generally be controlled by the processing unit 502 and / or SPU 518, which operate by executing software instructions and programs stored in the system memory 504 (and / or other computer-readable medium, such as the removable memory 508). The system memory 504 may store various executable programs or modules for controlling the operation of the system 500. For example, the system memory 504 may include an operating system ("OS") 520, which at least in part manages and coordinates system hardware resources and provides common services for the execution of various applications, and a trust and privacy management system 522 for implementing trust and privacy management functions, including protection and / or management of personal data through management and / or enforcement of associated policies. The system memory 504 may further include communications software 524 configured to enable, in part, communication with and by the system, including establishing secure communications channels with other systems (e.g., connected devices, energy management systems, customer systems, data stores, etc.); one or more applications; policies 528 and / or other configuration information; records 5230, which may include energy management decision records; and / or a record storage management module 532 for securely storing records in one or more data stores (e.g., private and / or public databases and / or ledgers) according to the disclosed embodiments; and / or any other information, modules, and / or any other applications configured to implement embodiments of the systems and methods disclosed herein.

[0131] The systems and methods disclosed herein are not inherently related to any particular computer, device, service, or other apparatus, and may be implemented by any suitable combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware. A software implementation may include one or more computer programs including executable code / instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method defined at least in part by the executable instructions. The computer programs may be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and may be deployed in any form, such as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. Furthermore, the computer programs may be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed multiple sites, interconnected by a communications network. Software embodiments may be implemented as a computer program product including a non-transitory storage medium configured to store a computer program and instructions that, when executed by a processor, are configured to cause the processor to perform a method in accordance with the instructions. In certain embodiments, the non-transitory storage medium may take any form capable of storing processor-readable instructions on the non-transitory storage medium. The non-transitory storage medium may be embodied by a compact disc, a digital video disc, an optical storage medium, a flash memory, an integrated circuit, or any other non-transitory digital processor memory device.

[0132] Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the system and the method described herein. Thus, the present embodiments should be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the present invention is not limited to the details described herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. 1. A method for managing energy usage of one or more connected devices implemented by a gateway device, the gateway device comprising: a processor; and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the gateway device to implement the method, the method comprising: receiving, at the gateway device, policy information from a customer system that specifies one or more control actions to be taken by the one or more connected devices in response to one or more conditions regarding energy available from a provider; receiving energy management signal information from an energy management system at the gateway device; identifying, by the gateway device, at least one control action of the one or more control actions applicable to the one or more connected devices based on the one or more conditions specified in the received policy information or the received energy management signal information; generating, by the gateway device, a control signal instructing at least one connected device of the one or more connected devices that includes a trusted component to perform the at least one identified control action; transmitting the control signal from the gateway device to the at least one connected device; receiving, by the gateway device, from the at least one connected device, a secure response including an indication of at least one action performed by the at least one connected device in response to the control signal, the secure response being generated by the trusted component of the one or more connected devices and cryptographically signed using a secure key associated with the trusted component; generating an energy management transaction data record including the energy management signal information and the secure response; generating a public record of the energy management transaction data record, the public record including a public component of the energy management transaction data record and a hash of the entire energy management transaction data record; storing the public record of the energy management transaction data records in a public ledger and a confidential record of the energy management transaction data records, including the entirety of the energy management transaction data records, in a private database.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the energy management transaction data record includes one or more of the policy information, the at least one identified control action, and identification information associated with the at least one connected device.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the public ledger and the private database comprises one or more remote data stores.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the public ledger comprises a blockchain ledger.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the energy management system is associated with an energy retailer.

6. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising authenticating the secure response based, at least in part, on verifying a cryptographic signature associated with the secure response.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more connected devices includes at least one energy loading device.

8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one energy load device comprises at least one of a connected thermostat, a connected furnace, a connected air conditioning system, a connected irrigation control system, a pump system, a network gateway, a media system, a connected appliance, and a connected vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more connected devices include at least one energy generation system.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the at least one energy generation system comprises at least one of a solar energy generation system, a wind energy generation system, and a hydroelectric energy generation system.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more connected devices include at least one energy storage system.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one energy storage system includes at least one of a battery storage system, a thermal sink, and a potential energy storage system.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more connected devices includes at least one control device.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the at least one control device comprises a device configured to control a separate connected device.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the control signal is configured to instruct the at least one control device to change a configuration of the separate connected device.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the at least one control device includes a connected thermostat.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the secure response further includes information regarding an operational response of the one or more connected devices to the control signal.

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