Electrical System Commissioning With Automated Pass/Fail Verification

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Solution Overview

Problem

The manual commissioning of electrical systems in industrial and commercial settings, such as data centers, is prone to human errors, safety risks, and inefficiencies, leading to inconsistent results and increased safety hazards due to the need for human commissioning agents to physically interact with potentially dangerous electrical equipment.

Innovation Solution

An automated commissioning system that uses automated data collection devices and software to collect and analyze commissioning data over a network, comparing it to pass/fail criteria to generate reports, thereby reducing human intervention and enhancing safety and consistency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If manual commissioning is performed by human agents physically interacting with electrical equipment, then commissioning can be completed with simple equipment, but human errors and safety risks increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommissioning accuracyVSAvoidsafety hazards
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces automated data collection devices as intermediaries between human commissioning agents and electrical equipment. These devices physically interact with the equipment to collect commissioning data, while human agents only need to review data remotely, eliminating direct physical exposure to hazardous electrical equipment while maintaining commissioning capabilities

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection and testing with automated electronic data collection systems. Automated devices perform measurements and data gathering functions that previously required physical human interaction with electrical equipment, thereby eliminating safety hazards while improving commissioning reliability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Productivity

If manual commissioning is performed, then equipment complexity remains low, but productivity and efficiency decrease

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecommissioning efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the commissioning system into separate functional modules: automated data collection devices for data gathering, communication networks for data transmission, and software systems for data analysis. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while working together to improve overall commissioning efficiency

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The automated data collection devices perform data gathering and measurement functions autonomously without requiring continuous human intervention. The system automatically collects commissioning data, transmits it through the network, and enables remote analysis, allowing the commissioning process to proceed with minimal human labor while maintaining low operational complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Loss of time

If automated data collection devices are used, then data collection efficiency increases, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata collection timeVSAvoidautomation system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The automated data collection devices are designed to perform multiple commissioning data gathering functions through a single integrated platform. The devices can collect various types of electrical parameters and system data, reducing the need for multiple specialized tools while minimizing overall system complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The communication network acts as an intermediary that handles the complexity of data transmission and device communication. This allows automated data collection devices to focus solely on data gathering without needing to incorporate complex communication protocols, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining fast data collection capabilities

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS11016475B2Automated electrical system commissioning
Publication Date: 2021.05.25 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • US11016475B2 patent drawing
  • US11016475B2 patent drawing
  • US11016475B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Aspects extend to methods, systems, and computer program products for automatically commissioning an electrical system in industrial/commercial settings (e.g., a data center) to increase the likelihood that the electrical system functions as intended when released into production. Automated data collection devices can collect commissioning data related to electrical and other characteristics of electrical equipment. Automation software can access commissioning data from the automated data collection devices over a computer network. The commissioning data can be stored in a database for analysis. The commissioning data can be compared to pass/fail criteria and a commissioning report can be generated.