Cell Site Energy Management for Predictive Power Continuity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing energy autonomous cell sites in cellular networks face challenges in managing power sources and reacting to power demand, leading to potential insufficiencies and failures when power goes off.

Innovation Solution

An on-site energy management system (EMS) that includes a decision logic module for iteratively controlling energy distribution, storage, and reduction, using data acquisition and processing to manage energy supply, storage, and consumption, and sending notifications for emergency services when necessary.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If an energy autonomous cell site uses renewable energy sources (wind, solar, fuel cell) to supply power, then the cell site achieves energy independence, but the system cannot reliably manage power sources and react to power demand, leading to potential power failures

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveenergy independenceVSAvoidpower supply reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The energy management system performs preliminary actions by continuously monitoring energy storage levels and predicting future energy availability. It calculates worst-case discharge times and proactively triggers emergency service notifications before power failures occur, allowing preventive rather than reactive power management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements continuous feedback loops by monitoring energy storage capacity, comparing actual energy levels against predicted levels, and adjusting power distribution accordingly. The feedback mechanism triggers emergency notifications when storage levels indicate potential power failures, enabling dynamic adaptation to changing power conditions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Device complexity

If the cell site relies on allocated energy sources without active management, then the system structure remains simple, but the cell site is easily insufficiently supplied and may fail when power goes off

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem structure simplicityVSAvoidpower supply continuity
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The energy management system enables the cell site to self-manage its power supply by automatically monitoring energy storage, predicting discharge times, and triggering emergency notifications without external intervention. The system serves itself by making autonomous decisions about power distribution and emergency response activation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary assessments of energy storage capacity and predicts worst-case discharge scenarios before power failures occur. By calculating predicted discharge times and comparing them against service response times, the system proactively prepares for potential power interruptions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If the system continuously monitors and manages energy storage capacity with emergency notifications, then power failure prevention is improved, but the system complexity and computational requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepower failure preventionVSAvoidmanagement system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The energy management system is segmented into distinct functional modules: energy storage monitoring, discharge time calculation, service time retrieval, and emergency notification triggering. Each module performs a specific function, making the overall complex system manageable through functional decomposition.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system pre-retrieves service times for different emergency scenarios and stores them for quick access during monitoring operations. By having service time data readily available, the system avoids complex real-time calculations when triggering emergency notifications, reducing computational complexity during critical moments.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4047775B1On-site energy management system for an energy-autonomous cell site
Publication Date: 2025.07.02 DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG
  • EP4047775B1 patent drawingFigure 1

AI summary

The present invention refers to an on-site energy management system, EMS, for an energy autonomous cell site in a cellular network wherein the cell site comprises at least one energy supply unit, at least one energy storage unit, and as at least one consumer at least one radio transceiver unit, wherein the EMS (300) comprises at least a decision logic module with data acquisition means and data processing means and configured to be implemented on a computing device that is a component of the cell site or at least operably coupled to the cell site, and, if implemented, be iteratively executed at a given time interval wherein each iteration initiates at the cell site in parallel controlling energy distribution (300A), energy storage (300B) and energy reduction (300C), by acquiring, using the data acquisition means, at least data about current energy generation and consumption at the cell site, current energy storage capacity at the cell site and current energy reduction commands for the cell site and providing, using the data processing means, respective energy distribution control data, energy storage control data and energy reduction control data. The EMS further comprises an interface module configured to be integrated in or at least operably coupled to the cell site and to detect the respective control data and to initiate, depending on the control data, altering an operating condition of/at the cell site and/or providing a status information about the cell site in response to the control data. The present invention also refers to an energy autonomous cell site and respective matter.