18497 results about "Power capacity" patented technology

A method of controlling an inductive charging system on those occasions in which the combined power requests of a plurality of secondary devices exceed the power capacity of the power supply. The method includes at least one of (a) powering each device at a level below its requested level, (b) powering each device sequentially, and/or (c) powering each device in a repetitive pattern (e.g. time multiplexing). Also disclosed is a method of controlling an inductive charging system at least partially as a function of information received from the power management unit (PMU) of each secondary device.

In an electric power amount information output device for a vehicle, a control section checks whether a remaining electric power amount of a battery of a motor-driven vehicle at a departure point is less than a total electric power amount required for the vehicle to travel to a destination point. The control section drives an output section to output insufficiency information indicating that the remaining electric power amount of the battery is insufficient, if the remaining electric power amount is less than the required total electric power amount.

A system manages consumption of power supplied by at least one electric utility to multiple power consuming devices. Power flow to the power consuming devices is enabled and disabled by controllable devices controlled by one or more client devices. According to one embodiment, a group of one or more client devices to which to communicate a power control message is determined. The power control message indicates at least one of an amount of electric power to be reduced and an identification of one or more controllable devices to be instructed to disable a flow of electric power to one or more associated power consuming devices. The power control message is communicated to the determined group of client devices to initiate a power reduction event. Subsequent to initiation of the power reduction event, a determination is made that at least one controllable device has prematurely exited the power reduction event.

A method for pay-per-use, self-service charging of electric storage power systems of electric automobiles, said automobiles charged via electrical connections to a provided curbside charging station, said charging station automatically modifying grid electricity to be suitable for charging an array of said automobiles, said charging station also automatically securing electricity at off-peak rates when available and storing same for subsequent use.

This invention relates to a wireless charging electronic cigarette case and an electronic cigarette device. The electronic cigarette case comprises a case body to accommodate at least one electronic cigarette, a wireless charging transmitter disposed in the case body, and a first rechargeable battery disposed in the case body to supply power for the wireless charging transmitter. The wireless charging transmitter comprises a transmitting unit to transmit electromagnetic signals, a display unit electrically connected with the first rechargeable battery to test, measure and display quantity of electricity of the first rechargeable battery, and a first circuit processing module electrically connected with the transmitting unit, the display unit and the first rechargeable battery. An electronic cigarette case of the present invention has advantages of convenient use and providing functions of displaying quantity of electricity of rechargeable batteries of the electronic cigarette case and charging multiple electronic cigarettes simultaneously.

A load control device for controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load is operable to conduct enough current through a thyristor of a connected dimmer switch to exceed rated latching and holding currents of the thyristor. The load control device comprises a controllable-load circuit operable to conduct a controllable-load current through the thyristor of the dimmer switch. The load control device disables the controllable-load circuit when the phase-control voltage received from the dimmer switch is a reverse phase-control waveform. When the phase-control voltage received from the dimmer switch is a forward phase-control waveform, the load control device is operable to decrease the magnitude of the controllable-load current so as to conduct only enough current as is required in order to exceed rated latching and holding currents of the thyristor.

Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for distributing a resource (such as electricity) using a resource allocation system. In one exemplary embodiment, a plurality of requests for electricity are received from a plurality of end-use consumers. The requests indicate a requested quantity of electricity and a consumer-requested index value indicative of a maximum price a respective end-use consumer will pay for the requested quantity of electricity. A plurality of offers for supplying electricity are received from a plurality of resource suppliers. The offers indicate an offered quantity of electricity and a supplier-requested index value indicative of a minimum price for which a respective supplier will produce the offered quantity of electricity. A dispatched index value is computed at which electricity is to be supplied based at least in part on the consumer-requested index values and the supplier-requested index values.

A method and system to monitor and determine energy consumption and energy efficiency of devices that use electrical and/or gas power is described. In one embodiment, a power monitoring system is configured to monitor electrical and/or gas power consumption of devices such as refrigerators, air-conditioners, washers, dryers, hot tubs, etc. Power consumption of the device is processed by the power monitoring system to determine the amount of power the device is consuming and the device's energy efficiency. In one embodiment, the power monitoring system transmits data associated with the device's power consumption, such as power efficiency, power cost, power usage, etc., to the device user and/or to a power supplier such as a utility company supplying the gas and/or electricity to the device. In one configuration, when the power efficiency of the device exceeds a predefined threshold, the user and/or power supplier is notified. The power monitoring system may be configured to be integral with and/or attached to the device being measured. The power monitoring system may provide an output on a display apparatus associated with the power monitoring system attached to the device being monitored and/or the output may be part of a graphics display on a computer monitor, for example.

An advertising compliance monitoring system is provided that includes a tag affixed to a sign or marketing material or shopper ID card, the tag communicating with a reader on a periodic basis. The tag includes a memory for storing tag data, a transmitter and a receiver. The tag uses sleep modes to conserve power. The tag transmits tag data to a reader in response to an interrogation request, or automatically on a periodic basis. The tag data includes an identification number used to identify the tag associated with a particular sign, price, marketing material or shopper, status data (e.g., delivered, displayed), and time and date information. This data is processed by a central server to determine compliance with and/or exposure to a particular advertising program.

There are provided a mobile device that is equipped with a musical composition-reproducing section and capable of curtailing the battery drain as much as possible, and a mobile device that prevents the quality of reproduced musical tones from being degraded even if the voltage level of the battery lowers. A battery voltage detector monitors an voltage level of a battery. The musical composition-reproducing section is controlled such that the number of parts of the musical composition reproduced by the musical composition-reproducing section is reduced when the monitored voltage level of the battery becomes lower than a reference value. In other forms of the invention, when the monitored voltage level of the battery becomes lower than a reference value, a first predetermined number of parts of the musical composition data are assigned to intrinsic ones of a larger second predetermined number of parts that correspond to the first predetermined number of parts of said musical composition, as well as to other ones of the second predetermined number of parts than the intrinsic ones, for reproduction of the musical composition, or the gain of a variable-gain amplifier is increased to compensate for the lowering of the volume of the reproduced parts.

An equipment interface module that can operate one or more pieces of HVAC equipment in accordance with instructions received from a properly operating thermostat, yet can also operate the HVAC equipment when communications between the thermostat and the HVAC controller are lost due to, for example, low battery power at the thermostat, malfunctioning thermostat sensor(s), malfunctioning communication and/or thermostat circuitry, electrical interference, and the like. In some instances, the equipment interface module may regulate the HVAC equipment in accordance with a signal from a remote sensor when communication with the thermostat is lost.

A wireless remote-control transmitter includes means for entering an identification code so that only an authorized operator can use the device. Use as a keyless entry system provides the owner of a wireless receiver with an additional keypad-operated transmitter which may be vehicle mounted to perform some or all of the same functions as those available through an existing remote. In this embodiment, the keypad may be mounted behind a small section of the vehicle's window glass, with command inputs being sensed using electrical, magnetic, or optical detection techniques. To save on battery power, the system automatically powers down during periods of non-use, with some form of wake-up signal being used to enter operational modes requiring increased power consumption. The transmitter may also be mounted in the trunk, preferably with an illuminated or glow-in-the-dark trunk unlock button and without the need for entry of an authorization code, thereby enabling a child, for example, to unlock the trunk from within without having to hardwire the car for this capability.

A load control system for a building having a lighting load, a window, and a heating and cooling system comprises a lighting control device for controlling the amount of power delivered to the lighting load, a daylight control device (such as a motorized window treatment) for adjusting the amount of natural light to be admitted through a window, and a controller for adjusting a setpoint temperature of the heating and cooling system to thus control a present temperature in the building. In response to receiving a demand response command, the controller controls the lighting control device, the daylight control device, and the heating and cooling system so as to decrease a total power consumption of the load control system. The load control system may comprise a controllable switching device for disconnecting power to or disconnecting the control lines to one or more components of the heating and cooling system.

A system and method for combining power from DC power sources. Each power source is coupled to a converter. Each converter converts input power to output power by monitoring and maintaining the input power at a maximum power point. Substantially all input power is converted to the output power, and the controlling is performed by allowing output voltage of the converter to vary. The converters are coupled in series. An inverter is connected in parallel with the series connection of the converters and inverts a DC input to the inverter from the converters into an AC output. The inverter maintains the voltage at the inverter input at a desirable voltage by varying the amount of the series current drawn from the converters. The series current and the output power of the converters, determine the output voltage at each converter.