US20070050443A1 - Network remote power management outlet strip - Google Patents

Network remote power management outlet strip Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20070050443A1
US20070050443A1 US11/459,011 US45901106A US2007050443A1 US 20070050443 A1 US20070050443 A1 US 20070050443A1 US 45901106 A US45901106 A US 45901106A US 2007050443 A1 US2007050443 A1 US 2007050443A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
power
network
ipt
electrical
bus
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US11/459,011
Inventor
Carrel Ewing
Brian Auclair
Andrew Cleveland
James Maskaly
Dennis McGlumphy
Mark Bigler
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Server Technology Inc
Original Assignee
Server Technology Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Family has litigation
First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=34923518&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=US20070050443(A1) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Priority claimed from US08/685,436 external-priority patent/US5949974A/en
Priority claimed from US09/375,471 external-priority patent/US6711613B1/en
Priority claimed from US09/732,557 external-priority patent/US7099934B1/en
Priority claimed from US09/930,780 external-priority patent/US7043543B2/en
Priority to US11/459,011 priority Critical patent/US20070050443A1/en
Application filed by Server Technology Inc filed Critical Server Technology Inc
Publication of US20070050443A1 publication Critical patent/US20070050443A1/en
Priority to US13/290,944 priority patent/US8601291B2/en
Priority to US14/059,271 priority patent/US20140070628A1/en
Priority to US14/309,786 priority patent/US20140304534A1/en
Priority to US14/864,286 priority patent/US20160011639A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H02GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02JCIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J13/00Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
    • H02J13/00006Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment
    • H02J13/00016Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment using a wired telecommunication network or a data transmission bus
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/26Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/26Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
    • G06F1/266Arrangements to supply power to external peripherals either directly from the computer or under computer control, e.g. supply of power through the communication port, computer controlled power-strips
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/26Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
    • G06F1/32Means for saving power
    • G06F1/3203Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
    • G06F1/3206Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
    • G06F1/3209Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/26Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
    • G06F1/32Means for saving power
    • G06F1/3203Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
    • G06F1/3234Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
    • G06F1/3246Power saving characterised by the action undertaken by software initiated power-off
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/26Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
    • G06F1/32Means for saving power
    • G06F1/3203Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
    • G06F1/3234Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
    • G06F1/3287Power saving characterised by the action undertaken by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F13/00Interconnection of, or transfer of information or other signals between, memories, input/output devices or central processing units
    • G06F13/14Handling requests for interconnection or transfer
    • G06F13/36Handling requests for interconnection or transfer for access to common bus or bus system
    • G06F13/362Handling requests for interconnection or transfer for access to common bus or bus system with centralised access control
    • G06F13/364Handling requests for interconnection or transfer for access to common bus or bus system with centralised access control using independent requests or grants, e.g. using separated request and grant lines
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F13/00Interconnection of, or transfer of information or other signals between, memories, input/output devices or central processing units
    • G06F13/38Information transfer, e.g. on bus
    • G06F13/42Bus transfer protocol, e.g. handshake; Synchronisation
    • G06F13/4282Bus transfer protocol, e.g. handshake; Synchronisation on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01HELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H47/00Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular application of the relay and designed to obtain desired operating characteristics or to provide energising current
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H02GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02JCIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J13/00Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
    • H02J13/00032Systems characterised by the controlled or operated power network elements or equipment, the power network elements or equipment not otherwise provided for
    • H02J13/0005Systems characterised by the controlled or operated power network elements or equipment, the power network elements or equipment not otherwise provided for the elements or equipment being or involving power plugs or sockets
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H02GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02JCIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J3/00Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks
    • H02J3/12Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks for adjusting voltage in ac networks by changing a characteristic of the network load
    • H02J3/14Circuit arrangements for ac mains or ac distribution networks for adjusting voltage in ac networks by changing a characteristic of the network load by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06FELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F2200/00Indexing scheme relating to G06F1/04 - G06F1/32
    • G06F2200/26Indexing scheme relating to G06F1/26
    • G06F2200/261PC controlled powerstrip
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01RELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R25/00Coupling parts adapted for simultaneous co-operation with two or more identical counterparts, e.g. for distributing energy to two or more circuits
    • H01R25/003Coupling parts adapted for simultaneous co-operation with two or more identical counterparts, e.g. for distributing energy to two or more circuits the coupling part being secured only to wires or cables
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H02GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02JCIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J2310/00The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load
    • H02J2310/50The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load for selectively controlling the operation of the loads
    • H02J2310/56The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load for selectively controlling the operation of the loads characterised by the condition upon which the selective controlling is based
    • H02J2310/58The condition being electrical
    • H02J2310/60Limiting power consumption in the network or in one section of the network, e.g. load shedding or peak shaving
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H02GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02JCIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J2310/00The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load
    • H02J2310/50The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load for selectively controlling the operation of the loads
    • H02J2310/66The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load for selectively controlling the operation of the loads one of the loads acting as master and the other or others acting as slaves
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02BCLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B70/00Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
    • Y02B70/30Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
    • Y02B70/3225Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02BCLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
    • Y02B90/00Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02B90/20Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02DCLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE
    • Y02D10/00Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04SSYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04SSYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • Y04S20/14Protecting elements, switches, relays or circuit breakers
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04SSYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S20/00Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
    • Y04S20/20End-user application control systems
    • Y04S20/222Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04SSYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S40/00Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them
    • Y04S40/12Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them characterised by data transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated electrical equipment
    • Y04S40/124Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them characterised by data transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated electrical equipment using wired telecommunication networks or data transmission busses

Definitions

  • the invention relates generally to remote power management systems, and more particularly to electrical power distribution devices and methods for conserving the primary rack-mount spaces in a standard RETMA rack.
  • Network server “farms” and other network router equipment have settled on the use of equipment bays in 19′′ standard RETMA racks. Many of these server and router farms are located at telephone company (TelCo) central equipment offices because they need to tie into very high bandwidth telephone line trunks and backbones. So each TelCo typically rents space on their premises to the network providers, and such space is tight and very expensive.
  • TelCo telephone company
  • the typical network router, server, or other appliance comes in a rack-mount chassis with a standard width and depth.
  • Such chassis are vertically sized in whole multiples of vertical units (U).
  • U vertical units
  • Each rented space in the TelCo premises has only so much vertical space, and so the best solution is to make best use of the vertical space by filling it with the network appliances and other mission-critical equipment.
  • alternating current from an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) or direct from a utility
  • DC direct current
  • TelCo central office battery sets Two kinds of operating power are supplied to such network appliances, alternating current (AC) from an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) or direct from a utility
  • AC alternating current
  • UPS uninterruptable power supply
  • DC direct current
  • Prior art devices have been marketed that control such AC or DC power to these network appliances.
  • Server Technology, Inc. (Reno, N.J.) provides operating-power control equipment that is specialized for use in such TelCo premises RETMA racks. Some of these power-control devices can cycle the operating power on and off to individual network appliances.
  • a vertical-mount network remote power management outlet strip embodiment of the present invention comprises a long, thin outlet strip body with several independently controllable power outlet sockets distributed along its length.
  • a power input cord is provided at one end, and this supplies AC-operating power to relays associated with each of the power outlet sockets.
  • the relays are each addressably controlled by a microprocessor connected to an internal I2C-bus serial communications channel. The power-on status of each relay output to the power outlet sockets is sensed and communicated back on the internal I2C-bus.
  • a device-networking communications processor with an embedded operating system translates messages, status, and controls between external networks, the internal I2C-bus, and other ports.
  • a power manager architecture provides for building-block construction of vertical and horizontal arrangements of outlet sockets in equipment racks.
  • the electronics used in all such variants is essentially the same in each instance.
  • Each of a plurality of power input feeds has a monitor that can provide current measurements and reports on the internal I2C-bus.
  • Each of the power input feeds could be independently loaded with a plurality of addressable-controllable outlets.
  • Each outlet is also capable of measuring the respective outlet socket load current and repotting those values on the internal I2C-bus.
  • Separate digital displays are provided for each monitored and measured load and infeed current.
  • the internal I2C-bus, logic power supply, network interfaces, power control modules and relays, etc. could be distributed amongst several enclosures that have simple plug connections between each, the infeed power source, and the equipment loads in the rack.
  • An advantage of the present invention is that a network remote power management outlet strip is provided that frees up vertical rackmount space for other equipment.
  • Another advantage of the present invention is that a network remote power management outlet strip is provided for controlling the operating power supplied to network appliances over computer networks, such as TCP/IP and SNMP.
  • a further advantage of the present invention is that a network remote power management outlet strip is provided that allows a network console operator to control the electrical power status of a router or other network device.
  • a still further advantage of the present invention is that a network remote power management outlet strip is provided for reducing the need for enterprise network operators to dispatch third party maintenance vendors to remote equipment rooms and POP locations simply to power-cycle failed network appliances.
  • FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a network remote power management outlet strip embodiment of the present invention
  • FIG. 2A is a front diagram of an implementation of the network remote power management outlet strip of FIG. 1 ;
  • FIG. 2B is an assembly diagram of the network remote power management outlet strip of FIG. 2A without the sheetmetal enclosure, and shows the interwiring amongst the AC-receptacles, the power input plug, and the various printed circuit board modules;
  • FIG. 3 is a non-component side diagram of a printed circuit board (PCB) implementation of an intelligent power module IPT-IPM, similar to those of FIGS. 1, 2A , and 2 B, and further illustrates an insulating sheet that is fitted to the back;
  • PCB printed circuit board
  • FIG. 4 is a component-side diagram of a printed circuitboard (PCB) implementation of an intelligent power module IPT-IPM, similar to those of FIGS. 1, 2A , 2 B, and 3 , and further illustrates the bus connections of the power outlet receptacles it sockets onto;
  • PCB printed circuitboard
  • FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an IPT-NetworkPM module embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a circuit that could be used in an implementation of the IPT-PS of FIGS. 1, 2A , and 2 B;
  • FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a network remote power management system embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of an expandable power management system embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a power distribution unit embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of one way to implement the IPT-IPM's in any of FIGS. 1-9 .
  • FIG. 1 represents a network remote power management outlet strip embodiment of the present invention, and is referred to herein by the general reference numeral 100 .
  • the outlet strip 100 provides independently managed power to each of sixteen AC-output receptacles 101 - 116 .
  • a power supply (IPT-PS) module 118 senses and totalizes the combined current delivered to all the AC-output receptacles 101 - 116 from its AC-power input.
  • IPT-PS power supply
  • Peripheral integrated circuits that have to communicate with each other and the outside world can use a simple bi-directional 2-wire, serial data (SDA) and serial clock (SCL) bus for inter-IC (I2C) control developed by Philips Semiconductor.
  • SDA serial data
  • SCL serial clock
  • I2C-bus has become a worldwide industry-standard proprietary control bus.
  • the IPT-PS module 118 digitally encodes the total AC-current information onto an internal I2C-bus 119 .
  • the IPT-PS module 118 supplies DC-operating power for the internal I2C-bus 119 which is derived from the AC-power input.
  • Each of four intelligent power modules (IPT-IPM) 120 - 123 have four relays (K 1 -K 4 ) that switch AC-power from the IPT-PS module 118 to respective ones of the sixteen AC-output receptacles 101 - 116 .
  • Such relays K 1 -K 4 are controlled by a single I2C transceiver daisy-chain connected to others along the internal I2C-bus 119 .
  • Each such I2C transceiver is independently addressable on the I2C-bus 119 , and provides a digitally encoded power-on status indication for all four relays K 1 -K 4 .
  • IPT-I2C I2C-module
  • IPT-I2C receives digital messages on the internal I2C-bus 119 and decodes and displays the totalized combined current, e.g., in AC-amperes, on an LED-readout 126 .
  • a user is thus able to see the effect on the total current caused by plugging or unplugging a load from any or all of the AC-output receptacles 101 - 116 .
  • the Philips 87LPC762 microcontroller is used as an I2C interface to a dual seven-segment display. Port- 0 pins select the illuminated segments of a seven-segment display. Pin P 1 . 7 selects which of the two seven-segment displays is being driven, and alternates between the two seven-segment displays fast enough to avoid flicker.
  • the I2C slave address is configurable. Five commands are supported: STAT (status) RBTN (Read button), RPRB (Read probe), CRST (Clear reset), and WDSP (Write display). A checksum is used on received/sent bytes for data integrity across the I2C-bus.
  • the IPT-I2C microcontroller starts up with the I2C interface in idle slave mode.
  • Main ( ) waits in a loop until the I2C interface is flagged as non-idle. After an I2C start occurs, and the rising edge of SCL sets DRDY (and thus ATN), an I2C interrupt occurs.
  • the I2C ISR disables the I2C interrupt and sets a global I2C non-idle flag.
  • the main loop then proceeds to read in the first byte from the I2C-bus. When seven bits are received, the target I2C is known and is compared to the IPT-I2C microcontroller's own module address. If different, the I2C interface processing stops and waits for another start to begin again.
  • the IPT-I2C microcontroller acknowledges the byte and repeatedly sends a fixed number of response bytes: an address byte, a type byte, one or more data bytes, and a checksum. If a Write, then the IPT-I2C microcontroller acknowledges the byte, and then will read up to four more bytes: a command byte one or more data bytes, and a checksum. As received, the bytes are acknowledged and compared to expected valid commands and data. As soon as a valid command, any data parameters and a valid checksum are received and acknowledged, the command is acted upon.
  • a bus timeout (by Timer 1 interrupt) resets the I2C interface to idle and the I2C processing loop to the appropriate states
  • Timer U also guards the I2C interface with a 5-millisecond inter-clock timeout and a 15 second total I2C timeout. The total I2C timeout is reset when the IPT-I2C microcontroller is addressed on the I2C with its primary address (not the secondary address).
  • the I2C IPT-I2C microcontroller commands include the STAT command which sets the IPT-I2C microcontroller to a read type to STAT. This means that an I2C Read will send four bytes (address, type data checksum) in which the data byte represents the status of the IPT-I2C microcontroller.
  • the RBTN command sets the IPT-I2C microcontroller read type to RBTN. This means that an I2C Read will send four bytes (address, type, data, checksum) in which the data byte represents the status of the button.
  • the RPRB command sets the IPT-I2C microcontroller read type to RPRB. This means that an I2C Read will send five bytes (address, type data, data, checksum) in which the data bytes represent the type of 1-wire bus probe and the probe data.
  • the CRST command clears the Reset Flag (RSTF), Power On Reset Flag (PORF), Brownout Reset Flag (BORF), and WatchDog Reset Flag (WDRF) bits of the IPT-I2C microcontroller status byte.
  • RSTF Reset Flag
  • PORF Power On Reset Flag
  • BORF Brownout Reset Flag
  • WDRF WatchDog Reset Flag
  • the WDSP command sets the values for the dual seven-segment display.
  • the dash-dash blinks until a valid WDSP command is received. After that, if ten seconds pass without receiving a valid WDSP command, the display reverts back to the blinking dash-dash.
  • a read command is started by the master addressing the slave with the R/W bit set.
  • a read command to the slave IPT-I2C microcontroller results in a fixed number of bytes repeatedly being transmitted by the slave (address, type, data 1 . . . dataN checksum).
  • the first byte is the address of the slave.
  • the second byte indicates the type of data in the following data byte(s).
  • the last byte is a checksum of all the previous bytes.
  • a write command is started by the master addressing the slave with the R/W bit cleared. This is followed by the master transmitting multiple bytes to the slave, followed by a stop, or restart.
  • the internal I2C-bus 119 is terminated at a network personality module (IPT-NetworkPM) 128 .
  • IPT-NetworkPM network personality module
  • Such provides an operating system, HTTP-server, and network interface between the internal I2C-bus 119 , an external I2C-bus 130 , an Ethernet 10/100 BaseT 132 , a modem 134 , and a local operator's console 136 .
  • the IPT-NetworkPM 128 preferably uses Internet protocols like TCP/IP and supports simple network management protocol (SNMP).
  • SNMP simple network management protocol
  • the outlet strip 100 could be used in the remote power management environment described by the present inventors in their U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,974, issued Sep. 7, 1999. Such Patent is incorporated herein by reference.
  • Network messages e.g., using TCP/IP and SNMP, are communicated over the Ethernet 10/100 BaseT interface 132 .
  • Such messages are able (a) to independently control the power on-off to each of AC-output receptacles 101 - 116 , (b) to read the power-on status of each, and (c) to report load current supplied by each outlet, or simply the total combined current measured passing through IPT-PS 118 .
  • the power applied to AC-output receptacles 101 - 116 is not allowed by the individual IPT-IPM modules 120 - 123 to be simultaneously applied. Instead, each is allowed to turn on in succession so any instantaneous load in-rush currents can not combine to exceed the peak capabilities of the AC-power input source.
  • the total input current display 126 could be used to advantage by a technician when installing or troubleshooting a RETMA equipment rack by watching how much current change is observed when each network appliance is plugged in and turned on. Unusually high or low currents can indicate particular kinds of faults to experienced technicians. observed when each network appliance is plugged in and turned on. Unusually high or low currents can indicate particular kinds of faults to experienced technicians.
  • FIGS. 2A and 2B represent a network remote power management outlet strip embodiment of the present invention, which is referred to herein by the general reference numeral 200 .
  • the outlet strip 200 provides independently managed power to each of sixteen AC-output receptacles 201 - 216 . These have AC-neutral and AC-ground bussed through two sets of eight, e.g., with 12-gauge wire.
  • a power supply (IPT-PS) module 218 is daisy-chained in an internal I2C-bus 219 to a series of four intelligent power modules (IPT-IPM) 220 - 223 .
  • IPT-PS intelligent power modules
  • the IPT-PS module 218 has, for example, a Philips microcontroller type 87LPC762 that senses and totalizes the combined current delivered on the AC-Line leads to all of four intelligent power modules (IPT-IPM) 220 - 223 .
  • IPT-IPM intelligent power modules
  • the Philips 87LPC762/7 microcontroller is programmed as an I2C 8-bit I/O Expander, with an 8-bit 4-channel A/D converter. Eight pins are individually selectable as either an Input (quasi-bidirectional) or Output (open drain). Four address lines determine the I2C slave address. Eight commands are supported: STAT (Status), RCFG (Read Config) RPRT (Read Port), RADC (Read ADC), CRST (Clear Reset), WCFG (Write Config), WPRT (Write Port), and ADCE (ADC Enable).
  • a checksum is used on received/sent bytes for data integrity across the I2C-bus. Without a valid checksum, a command will not be acted upon.
  • the microcontroller starts up with the I2C interface in idle slave mode.
  • Main( ) waits in a loop until the I2C interface is flagged as non-idle. After an I2C start occurs, and the rising edge of SCL sets DRDY and thus ATN, an I2C interrupt occurs.
  • the I2C ISR disables the I2C interrupt and sets a global I2C non-idle flag.
  • the main loop then proceeds to read in the first byte from the I2C-bus. When seven bits are received, the target I2C is known and is compared to the I/O Expander's own module address. If different, the I2C interface processing stops and waits for another start to begin again.
  • the microcontroller If the same the last bit of the first byte is read, which is the R/W bit. If a Read, then the microcontroller acknowledges the byte, and repeatedly sends a fixed number of response bytes (an address byte, a type byte one or more data bytes, and a checksum). If a Write, then the microcontroller acknowledges the byte and then will read up to three more bytes (a command byte, a data byte, and a checksum). As received, the bytes are acknowledged and compared to expected valid commands and data. As soon as a valid command, any data parameters and a valid checksum are received and acknowledged, the command is acted upon.
  • Timer 1 a bus timeout by Timer 1 interrupt resets the I2C interface to idle and the I2C processing loop to the appropriate state.
  • Timer 0 also guards the I2C interface with a 5-millisecond inter-clock timeout and a 15-second total I2C timeout. The total I2C timeout is reset when the I/O Expander is addressed on the I2C with its primary address, not the secondary address.
  • the I2C microcontroller commands include the STAT command, which sets the I/O Expander read type to STAT.
  • An I2C Read will send four bytes: address, type, data, checksum.
  • the data byte represents the status of the I/O Expander.
  • the RCFG command sets the I/O Expander read type to RCFG. This means that an I2C Read will send four bytes: address, type, data, checksum.
  • the data byte represents the I/O configuration of the eight I/O pins.
  • the CRST command clears the ReSeT Flag (RSTF) Power On Reset Flag (PORF), BrownOut Reset Flag (BORF), and IiiatchDog Reset, Flag (WDRF) bits of the I/O Expander status byte.
  • RSTF ReSeT Flag
  • PORF Power On Reset Flag
  • BORF BrownOut Reset Flag
  • WDRF IiiatchDog Reset, Flag
  • the WCFG command sets the microcontroller I/O configuration of the eight I/O pins.
  • the WCFG command also sets the read type to RCFG.
  • the WPRT command sets the state of the eight I/O pins that are configured as outputs.
  • the WPRT command also sets the read type to RPRT.
  • the ADCE command enables or disables any or all four ADC channels.
  • the ADCE command also sets the read type to RADC.
  • a read command is started by the master addressing the slave with the R/W bit set.
  • a read command to the slave IPT-I2C microcontroller results in a fixed number of bytes repeatedly being transmitted by the slave (address, type, data 1 . . . dataN checksum).
  • the first byte is the address of the slave.
  • the second byte indicates the type of data in the data bytes that follow.
  • the last byte is a checksum of all the previous data bytes.
  • a write command is started by the master addressing the slave with the R/W bit cleared. This is followed by the master transmitting multiple bytes to the slave, followed by a stop or restart.
  • the IPT-PS module 218 digitally encodes the total AC-input current information onto the internal I2C-bus 219 .
  • the IPT-PS module 218 derives DC-operating power from the AC-power input for modules on the internal I2C-bus 219 .
  • Each of the IPT-IPM modules 220 - 223 has four relays (K 1 -K 4 ) that switch the AC-Line from the IPT-PS module 218 to respective ones of the AC-Line connections on each of the sixteen AC-output receptacles 201 - 216 .
  • Such relays K 1 -K 4 are controlled by a single I2C transceiver located on each IPT-IPM 220 - 223 .
  • I2C transceiver could be implemented with a Philips microcontroller type 87LPC762.
  • Each such I2C transceiver is independently addressable on the I2C-bus 219 , and provides a digitally encoded power-on status indication for all four relays K 1 -K 4 .
  • An I2C-module (IPT-I2C) 224 receives digital messages on the internal I2C-bus 219 and decodes and displays the totalized combined current, e.g., in AC-amperes, on an LED-readout 226 .
  • the internal I2C-bus 219 terminates at a IPT-NetworkPM 228 .
  • IPT-NetworkPM 228 includes an operating system, an HTML webpage, and a network interface. Such can connect a remote user or command console with the internal I2C-bus 219 , an external I2C-bus that interconnects with other outlet strips through a RJ-11 socket 230 , an Ethernet 10/100 BaseT RJ-45 type socket 232 , etc.
  • the IPT-NetworkPM 228 preferably uses Internet protocols like TCP/IP and supports simple network management protocol (SNMP).
  • outlet strip 200 allows a family of personality modules to be substituted for IPT-NetworkPM 228 . Each such would be able to communicate with and control the IPT-IPM's 220 - 223 via the internal I2C-bus 219 .
  • IPT-IPM 220 - 223 could be greatly enhanced by making the hardware and software implementation of each the same as the others. When a system that includes these is operating, it preferably sorts out for itself how many IPM's are connected in a group and how to organize their mutual handling of control and status data in and out.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a printed circuit board (PCB) implementation of an intelligent power module IPT-IPM 300 , similar to those of FIGS. 1, 2A , and 2 B.
  • the IPT-IPM 300 On the component side of the PCB, the IPT-IPM 300 has a two-position connector 302 for AC-Neutral, and on the non-component side screw connector 304 for the AC-Line.
  • a PCB trace 306 distributes AC-Line power input to a series of four power control relays, as shown in FIG. 4 .
  • An insulator sheet 310 screws down over the IPT-IPM 300 and protects it from short circuits with loose wires and the sheetmetal outlet strip housing.
  • insulator sheet 310 can be made of MYLAR plastic film and may not necessarily have a set of notches 312 and 314 that provide for connector tabs 302 and 304 .
  • Connector tabs 302 and 304 can alternatively be replaced with a two-position connector with screw fasteners.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates the component side of a PCB implementation of an IPT-IPM module 400 , e.g., the opposite side view of the IPT-IPM module 300 in FIG. 3 .
  • the IPT-IPM module 400 comprises a pair of I2C daisy chain bus connectors 402 and 404 , a PCB trace 406 distributes AC-Line power input from AC-Line screw connector 304 connect at a via 408 to a series of four power control relays 410 - 413 .
  • a microcontroller 414 processes the I2C communications on the internal I2C-bus, e.g., I2C-bus 119 in FIG. 1 and 219 in FIGS. 2A and 2B .
  • FIG. 5 shows the basic construction of an IPT-NetworkPM module 500 , and is similar to the IPT-NetworkPM module 128 of FIG. 1 and 228 of FIGS. 2A and 2B .
  • a NetSilicon (Waltham, Mass.) type NET+ 50 32-bit Ethernet system-on-chip for device networking is preferably used to implement a communications processor 502 .
  • a flash memory 504 provides program storage and a RAM memory 506 provides buffer and scratchpad storage for the communications processor operations.
  • a local I2C-bus is implemented in part with a pair of 2N7002 transistors, for example. It connects into the I2C daisy chain with a J1-connector (CON 4 ) 510 .
  • An external I2C-bus is implemented in part with a pair of 2N7002 transistors, for example. It connects into an external I2C system with an RJ12-type J7-connector 510 . Such external I2C system can expand to one additional outlet strip that shares a single IPT-NetworkPM module 500 and a single network connection.
  • An Ethernet 10/100 BaseT interface with the media access controller (MAC) internal to the communications processor 502 is provided by a physical layer (PHY) device 516 .
  • PHY physical layer
  • An Intel type LXT971A fast Ethernet PHY transceiver could be used together with an RJ45 connector 518 .
  • a pair of RS-232 serial interfaces are implemented in part with an SP3243E transceiver 520 , an RJ45H connector 522 , another SP3243E transceiver 524 , and an IDC 10 connector 526 .
  • the flash memory 504 is preferably programmed with an operating system and HTML-browser function that allow web-page type access and control over the Ethernet channel.
  • An operating system and HTML-browser function that allow web-page type access and control over the Ethernet channel.
  • a complete OS kernel, NET+Management simple network management protocol (SNMP) MIBII and proxy agent, NET+Protocols including TCP/IP, NET+Web HTTP server, and XML microparser, are commercially available from NetSilicon for the NET+ 50 32-bit Ethernet system-on-chip.
  • FIG. 6 represents a circuit 600 that could be used in an implementation of the IPT-PS 118 of FIG. 1 and IPT-PS 218 of FIGS. 2A and 2B .
  • An AC-Line input 602 from the AC-power source is passed through the primary winding of an isolation transformer 604 .
  • a set of four AC-Line outputs 606 are then connected to the four IPT-IPM's, e.g., 120 - 123 in FIG. 1 and 220 - 223 in FIGS. 2A and 2B .
  • the voltage drop across the primary winding of isolation transformer 604 is relatively small and insignificant, even at full load. So the line voltage seen at the AC-Line outputs 606 is essentially the full input line voltage.
  • a voltage is induced into a lightly loaded secondary winding that is proportional to the total current being drawn by all the AC-loads, e.g., AC-receptacles 101 - 116 in FIG. 1 and 201 - 216 in FIGS. 2A and 2B .
  • An op-amp 608 is configured as a precision rectifier with an output diode 610 and provides a DC-voltage proportional to the total current being drawn by all the AC-loads and passing through the primary of transformer 604 .
  • An op-amp 612 amplifies this DC-voltage for the correct scale range for an analog-to-digital converter input (AO) of a microcontroller (uC) 616 .
  • a Philips Semiconductor type P87LPC767 microcontroller could be used for uC 616 .
  • Such includes a built-in four-channel 8-bit multiplexed A/D converter and an I2C communication port.
  • the AO input is read in and digitally converted into an 8-bit report value which is sent, for example, to LED display 126 in FIG. 1 .
  • a prototype of the devices described in connection with FIGS. 1-6 was constructed.
  • the prototype was a combination of new hardware and software providing for a 4-outlet, 8-outlet, or 16-outlet vertical-strip power manager that could be accessed out-of-band on a single RJ45 serial port, or in-band over a 10/100Base-T Ethernet connection by Telnet or an HTML browser.
  • An RJ12 port was connected to a second, nearly identical vertical-strip power manager that was almost entirely a slave to the first, e.g., it could only be controlled by/via the first/master vertical power manager.
  • IPT-PS power supply board the IPT-IPM quad-outlet boards, and IPT-I2C peripheral/display board.
  • new personality module hardware and software was developed for the master vertical power manager. This personality module, trademarked SENTRY3, was based upon the NetSilicon NetARM+20M microprocessor, and provided all of the control and user interface (UI).
  • UI control and user interface
  • a preexisting IPT-Slave personality module was modified slightly to bridge the external and internal I2C-buses. This allowed the master to control the slave vertical power manager exactly the same as the master vertical power manager, with no software or microprocessor needed on the slave. New software could be included to run in a microprocessor on the slave vertical power manager personality module to act as a backup master for load-display and power-up sequencing only.
  • a new SENTRY3 personality module was developed to support an HTML interface for Ethernet, and a command-line interface for Telnet and serial. Multiple users were supported, up to 128.
  • One administrative user existed by default, and will default to having access to all ports.
  • Outlet grouping was supported, with up to 64 groups of outlets.
  • IPT-IPM quad-IPM
  • IPT-IPM quad-IPM
  • IPT-PS smart power supply
  • Each bus had at least one I2C peripheral/display (IPT-I2C) board at I2C address 0 ⁇ 50, and at least one quad-IPM (IPT-IPM) board at I2C address 0 ⁇ 60 (or 0 ⁇ 40).
  • IPT-I2C I2C peripheral/display
  • IPT-IPM quad-IPM
  • I2C peripheral/display boards Up to four IPT-I2C peripheral/display boards were supported at I2C addresses: 0 ⁇ 50, 0 ⁇ 52, 0 ⁇ 54, and 0 ⁇ 56.
  • Power IPT-I2C IPT-IPM v3+ addresses Input address (subtract 0x20 for v2 ⁇ ) A 0x50 0x60, 0x62, 0x64, 0x66 B 0x52 0x68, 0x6A, 0x6C, 0x6E C 0x54 0x70, 0x72, 0x74, 0x76 D 0x56 0x78, 0x7A, 0x7C, 0x7E
  • an addressing scheme for a port must include three fields (a) Bus ID, (b) Input Feed ID, and (c) Relay ID
  • the Bus ID could be regarded as vertical-strip power manager/enclosure ID, since one I2C-bus were for the internal/local I2C vertical power manager components and the other I2C-bus were for the external/remote vertical power manager.
  • Other implementations could use a CAN bus in place of the external I2C-bus.
  • Each enclosure had an address on the bus, e.g., an Enclosure ID.
  • Enclosure ID e.g., an Enclosure ID.
  • the three address fields needed were (a) Enclosure ID, (b) Input Feed ID, and (c) Relay ID.
  • the Enclosure ID was represented by a letter, starting with “A”, with a currently undefined maximum ultimately limited to “Z”. Only “A” and “B” existed for the prototype.
  • the Input Feed ID was represented by a letter, with a range of “A” to “D”.
  • the Relay ID was represented by a decimal number, with a range of “1” to “16”.
  • An absolute identifier was needed for the user to enter commands.
  • a combination of Enclosure ID, Input Feed ID, and Relay ID must be expressed in the absolute ID. This were done with a period followed by two alphabet characters and then one or two numeric characters, e.g.,
  • the first alphabet character represented the Enclosure ID (“A” to “Z”).
  • the second alphabet character represented the Input Feed ID (“A” to “D”).
  • the third and fourth number characters represented the Relay ID (“1” to “16”), e.g., “. ⁇ A Z ⁇ [A D] ⁇ 1 16 ⁇ ”.
  • the input feed ID was optional. If not specified, “A” was assumed. With an absolute ID scheme, a period, letter, and number must always be entered, making it very similar to our current scheme, but allowing for future multiple input feeds. For displaying IDs, the optional input feed ID should only be shown when the port was in an enclosure with 2 or more input feeds.
  • a vertical power manager ID could be specified with just a period and letter.
  • An input feed ID could be specified with a period and two letters.
  • the administrative privilege allows access to all currently-detected outlets and groups without those outlets or groups actually being in the user's outlet or group tables. Lists of outlets or groups for administrative users should include all currently-detected outlets and groups. This allowed administrative privileges to be given or taken away without affecting the users outlet and group tables.
  • Outlets could be added or removed from groups. Outlets, or groups of outlets, could be added or removed from users.
  • An outlet may belong to multiple groups. All user-defined outlet and groups names were unique. This were enforced at the time names were defined by the user. All user-defined names also cannot be the same as any KEYWORDS. For example, they cannot be “GROUP”, “OUTLET”, or “ALL”. This were enforced at the time names were defined by the user. User names were uppercased when stored and displayed, and were compared case-insensitive. Passwords were stored and compared case-sensitive. Separate tables existed for each user's outlet access and group access.
  • ALL When an ADMN user specifies “ALL” it means all currently detected outlets. For non-ADMN users, the “ALL” parameter refers to all of the outlets in the current user's outlet access table. There was no “all” to refer to all groups.
  • All commands that specify outlet IDs need to be bounds-checked against the currently detected number of enclosures, number of input feeds on the target enclosure, and the number of relays on the target enclosure. Power actions could be applied to only one target at a time.
  • the target could be an outlet or a group of outlet.
  • a wakeup state determined the default power-up state of each outlet. Power-on sequencing occurred independently on each vertical power manager and power feed, with each outlet being initialized to its wakeup state two seconds after the previous outlet, e.g., starting with outlet- 1 .
  • Outlet names could be up to 24-characters. These were stored and displayed case-sensitive, but were compared case-insensitive as command parameters. Group names could be up to 24-characters. These were stored and displayed case-sensitive, but were compared case-insensitive as command parameters.
  • a 24-character vertical power manager/enclosure name could be user-defined. This were stored and displayed case-sensitive, but was compared case-insensitive as a command parameter.
  • a 32-character location name could be user-defined. This were stored and displayed case-sensitive.
  • User names could be 1-16 characters, and were case-insensitive. Passwords also could be 1-16 characters, and were case-sensitive. Variable length command parameters were length-checked for validity. An error was displayed if too short or too long, as opposed to and automatic behavior, such as truncating a string that was too long.
  • I2C Address Map Device I2C Address (binary) I2C Address (hex) I2C - 01 0101-000x 0x50 I2C - 02 0101-001x 0x52 I2C - 03 0101-010x 0x54 I2C - 04 0101-011x 0x56 IPT-PS 0101-111x 0x5E IPM - 01 0110-000x 0x60 IPM - 02 0110-001x 0x62 IPM - 03 0110-010x 0x64 IPM - 04 0110-011x 0x66 IPM - 05 0110-100x 0x68 IPM - 06 0110-101x 0x6A IPM - 07 0110-110x 0x6C IPM - 08 0110-111x 0x6E IPM - 09 0111-000x 0x70 IPM - 10 0111-001x 0x72 IPM - 11 0111-010x 0
  • the prototype required several major software components to be constructed for use with the NetSilicon NET+ 50 device
  • the configuration and operational control blocks used in the prototype were described in the following tables. All of the control blocks were readable by all components in the system.
  • the configuration control blocks were written by the user interface tasks. When the configuration control blocks were modified, the modifications were mirrored in EEPROM where copies of these control blocks were stored.
  • the operational control blocks were also accessible to all components for read access, but each operational control block has an “owner” that performs all writes to the operational control blocks. If a non “owner” wishes to change an operational control block, a signal or message was used to let the “owner” know the control block should be updated.
  • the major design tasks for the prototype included designing and documenting the external I2C protocol that was used to communicate to “chained” SENTRY boxes, and the new command line interface commands to support features that were previously available only via the SENTRY SHOW Screen interface.
  • the HTML code was developed for the prototype, as well as the “slave” SENTRY code to run in a personality module of a “chained” SENTRY. Further discrete design efforts were required to code the system initialization, the local I2C task, the external I2C task, the serial port control task, the telnet control task, the user interface task, the power coordination task, the extern user interface (button/LED) control task, and the WEB control task.
  • SenINIT SENTRY initialization procedure. This software was the first SENTRY software that executes. It performs hardware, software (builds the Configuration and Operational global control blocks), and OS initialization. This code spawns the SENTRY operational tasks that provide the system services.
  • TskSER One instance of this task was spawned for each active serial port. In the initial product there was one instance of this task. This task spawns TskUSR when a logon was detected. This task owns the serial port operational array control block in global memory. This control block was updated to reflect the status of the serial port. Once a TskUSR was spawned, this task performs serial port monitoring functions and if modem status signal indicate a lost connection, this task will signal TskUSR (via an OS interface) of this event.
  • TskTELNET One instance of this task was spawned to listen for telnet connections. When a connection was detected, this task spawns TskUSR for the connection.
  • TskFTP One instance of this task was spawned to listen for FTP connections. The function of this task was to provide field software updates for the system. The mechanism used was determined based on the developer kit capabilities.
  • TskWEB This task was to provide WEB access via the system provided WEB server. The mechanism and number of instances of this task was determined based on the developer kit capabilities.
  • TskI2C There were two versions of this task; the local version that controls internal I2C connections and the global version that controls external I2C connections. For the first implementation there were two instances of this task, one to control the single I2C internal connection and one to control the single I2C external connection.
  • These tasks implement the protocol for communicating control requests from the system to the I2C connected devices. Control requests were received via system signals or messages (depending on the OS capabilities) from the power control coordinating task (TskPCntl) for power control requests and from the external user interface task (TskEUI) for LED control requests.
  • This task communicates power control status updates received from the IPM's to TskPCntl and external button status updates to TskEUI using system signals or messages as necessary.
  • TskPCntl This was the power control coordinating task. There was one instance of this task. This task receives power control request from the user interface tasks (TskUSR and TskWEB) via system provided signals or messages and passes them to the correct I2C task (internal or external) using signals or messages. This task receives status updates from the I2C tasks via signals or messages. TskPCntl “owns” the IPMO and PCRO arrays and it updates the status fields in entries in these arrays as necessary.
  • TskEUI This was the external user interface task that handles the push button functions and the LED display functions for the system. This task communicates with the local TskI2C via signals or messages to update the LED. TskI2C sends signals or messages to this task when the state of the external push button changes.
  • TskUSR This command line user interface task was spawned by TskSER and TskTELNET when a user connection was detected. This task verifies the user login and then implements the command line interface. This routine communicates power control commands via signals or messages to TskPCntl. This routine “owns” the active command line user array. Because there were multiple instances of this task, locks were used to serialize access to the active user array.
  • TskSYS This was the general system task. Specific functions for this task were defined as development progressed.
  • the control blocks were globally addressable by all software in the system. Such data structures exist in RAM and were mirrored in EEPROM memory. They were constructed during system initialization using the non volatile versions in EEPROM memory. If the EEPROM memory was empty, the control blocks were built using defaults and the EEPROM memory was initialized using defaults as well. All software has read access to all of the data structures.
  • the data in these control blocks was configuration data and was only changed as a result of configuration updates. The data was mostly static and was written during initialization and when configuration changes occur during an authorized user session. All write access to this data consists of a two step process where the Global RAM copy of the data was updated followed by an update of the EEPROM copy of the data. There were seven global configuration control blocks as illustrated below. The following Tables describe each control block structure used in the prototype. SENTRY Configuration Table (SCT) -- This control block contains global configuration information. There was a single instance of this control block.
  • SCT SENTRY Configuration Table
  • Username/Password Array (UNP) -- This was an array of control blocks with each entry representing a user defined to the system. System locks were used to serialize access to this array when adding/deleting users. There was room for sixty- four entries in this array.
  • IPM Intelligent Power Module
  • PCR Power Control Relay
  • GRP Group Power Control Relay
  • I2C Array This was an array of control blocks with each entry representing an I2C connection. There was room for two entries in this array.
  • the Global RAM Operational Control Block Structures were globally addressable by all software in the system. These data structures exist only in RAM and are lost during a system restart. They were constructed during system initialization using current operational values. All software has read access to all of the data structures. The data in these control blocks was operational data and was changed to reflect the current operational status of devices in the system. Each of these control blocks has an “owner” task that performs updates by writing to the control block. There were six global operational control blocks as illustrated below. Complete descriptions of each control block structure follows. Intelligent Power Module (IPMO) Array -- This was an array of control blocks with each entry representing an IPM defined to the system. There was room for 32 entries in this array. The entries in this array correspond directly to the IPM configuration control block. These control blocks contain dynamic information that changes regularly. The relay coordination task (TskPCntl) “owns” this array.
  • IPMO Intelligent Power Module
  • PCRO Power Control Relay
  • I2C (I2CO) Array This was an array of control blocks with each entry representing an I2C connection. There was room for 2 entries in this array. The entries in this array correspond directly to the I2C configuration control block. These control blocks contain dynamic information that changes regularly.
  • the I2C task (TskI2C) “owns” this array.
  • Serial Port (SERO) Array This was an array of control blocks with each entry representing a serial port that can be used by the system. There was room for two entries in this array. The entries in this array correspond directly to the serial port configuration control block. These control blocks contain dynamic information that changes regularly.
  • the serial port task (TskSER) “owns” this array.
  • Active Command Line User (UCLI) Array This was an array of control blocks with each entry representing a current active command line user of the system. The SCT was room for 5 entries in this array. These control blocks contain dynamic information that changes regularly.
  • the user interface task (TskUSR) “owns” this array. There were multiple instances of TskUSR so locks were used for this array.
  • UHTP Active HTTP Interface User
  • a network remote power management system 700 includes a host system 702 connected over a network 704 to a remote system 706 .
  • a power manager 708 e.g., like outlet strips 100 and 200 of FIGS. 1, 2A , and 2 B, is used to monitor and control the operating power supplied to a plurality of computer-based appliances 714 associated with a network interface controller (NIC) 716 .
  • NIC network interface controller
  • Such computer-based appliances 714 are subject to software freezing or crashing, and as such can become unresponsive and effectively dead. It is also some mission-critical assignment that suffers during such down time. It is therefore the role and purpose of the network remote power management system 700 to monitor the power and environmental operating conditions in which the computer-based appliance 714 operates, and to afford management personnel the ability to turn the computer-based appliance 714 on and off from the host system 702 . Such power cycling allows a power-on rebooting of software in the computer-based appliance 714 to be forced without actually having to visit the site. The operating conditions and environment are preferably reported to the host 702 on request and when alarms occur.
  • the power manager 708 further includes a network interface controller (NIC) 718 , and this may be connected to a security device 720 .
  • NIC network interface controller
  • the security device 720 can be a user password mechanism. Better than that, it could include a discrete network firewall and data encryption.
  • the protocol stack 722 interfaces to a remote power manager 724 , and it converts software commands communicated in the form of TCP/IP datapackets 726 into signals the remote power manager can use. For example, messages can be sent from the host 702 that will cause the remote power manager 724 to operate the relay-switch 712 . In reverse, voltage, current, and temperature readings collected by the sensor 710 are collected by the remote power manager 724 and encoded by the protocol stack 722 into appropriate datapackets 726 . Locally, a keyboard 728 can be used to select a variety of readouts on a display 730 , and also to control the relay-switch 712 .
  • the display 730 and keyboard 728 can be connected as a terminal through a serial connection to the power manager 724 .
  • Such serial connection can have a set of intervening modems that allow the terminal to be remotely located.
  • the display 730 and keyboard 728 can also be virtual, in the sense that they are both emulated by a Telnet connection over the network 704 .
  • the host 702 typically comprises a network interface controller (NIC) 732 connected to a computer platform and its operating system 734 .
  • NIC network interface controller
  • Such operating system can include Microsoft WINDOWS-NT, or any other similar commercial product.
  • Such preferably supports or includes a Telnet application 736 , a network browser 738 , and/or an SNMP application 740 with an appropriate MIB 742 .
  • a terminal emulation program or user terminal 744 is provided so a user can manage the system 700 from a single console.
  • the computer-based appliance 714 is a conventional piece of network equipment, e.g., as supplied by Cisco Systems (San Jose, Calif.), there will usually be a great deal of pre-existing SNMP management software already installed, e.g., in host 702 and especially in the form of SNMP 740 . In such case it is usually preferable to communicate with the protocol stack 722 using SNMP protocols and procedures.
  • the Telnet application 736 can be used to control the remote site 706 .
  • An ordinary browser application 738 can be implemented with MSN Explorer, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Netscape NAVIGATOR or COMMUNICATOR.
  • the protocol stack 722 preferably includes the ability to send hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) messages to the host 702 in datapackets 726 .
  • HTTP hypertext transfer protocol
  • the protocol stack 722 would include an embedded website that exists at the IP-address of the remote site 706 .
  • An exemplary embodiment of a similar technology is represented by the MASTERSWITCH-PLUS marketed by American Power Conversion (West guitarist, R.I.).
  • Cisco Systems routers provide an input that can be supported in software to issue the necessary message and identifier to the system administrator.
  • a device interrupt has been described here because it demands immediate system attention, but a polled input port could also be used.
  • PDU protocol data unit
  • SNMP uses five types of PDU's to monitor a network. Two deal with reading terminal data, two deal with setting terminal data, and one, the trap, is used for monitoring network events such as terminal start-ups or shut-downs.
  • SNMP is used to send out a read PDU to that terminal. If the terminal is attached, a user receives back a PDU with a value “yes, the terminal is attached”. If the terminal was shut off, a user would receive a packet informing them of the shutdown with a trap PDU.
  • UPS uninterruptable power supply
  • a serial communications connection is established. For example, with a terminal or terminal emulation program.
  • Commercial embodiments of the present invention that have been constructed use a variety of communications access methods.
  • the communication software is launched that supports ANSI or VT100 terminal emulation to dial the phone number of the external modem attached to the power manager.
  • a user should see a “CONNECT” message. A user then presses the enter key to send a carriage return.
  • a user For direct RS-232C access, a user preferably starts any serial communication software that supports ANSI or VT100 terminal emulation.
  • the program configures a serial port to one of the supported data rates (38400, 79200, 9600, 4800, 7400, 7200, and 300 BPS), along with no parity, eight data bits, and one stop bit, and must assert its Device Ready signal (DTR or DSR).
  • DTR or DSR Device Ready signal
  • the user For Ethernet network connections, the user typically connects to a power manager 708 through a modem or console serial port, a TELNET program, or TCP/IP interface.
  • the power manager 708 preferably automatically detects the data rate of the carriage return and sends a username login prompt back to a user, starting a session. After the carriage return, a user will receive a banner that consists of the word “power manager” followed by the current power manager version string and a blank line and then a “Username:” prompt.
  • a user logged in with an administrative username can control power and make configuration changes.
  • a user logged in with a general username can control power on/off cycling.
  • Users logged in administrative usernames can control power to all intelligent power modules, a user logged in with a general username may be restricted to controlling power to a specific intelligent power module or set of intelligent power modules, as configured by the administrator.
  • a user at the user terminal 744 is able to send a command to the power manager 724 to have the power manager configuration file uploaded.
  • the power manager 724 concentrates the configuration data it is currently operating with into a file.
  • the user at user terminal 744 is also able to send a command to the power manager 724 to have it accept a power manager configuration file download.
  • the download file then follows. Once downloaded, the power manager 724 begins operating with that configuration if there were no transfer or format errors detected.
  • These commands to upload and download configuration files are preferably implemented as an extension to an already existing repertoire of commands, and behind some preexisting password protection mechanism. HyperTerminal, and other terminal emulation programs allow users to send and receive files.
  • the power manager configuration files are not directly editable because they are in a concentrated format. It would, however be possible to implement specialized disassemblers, editors, and assemblers to manipulate these files off-line.
  • FIG. 8 is a diagram of an expandable power management system 800 that could be implemented in the style of the outlet strip 100 ( FIG. 1 ).
  • a first power controller board 802 is daisy-chain connected through a serial cable 803 to a second power controller board 804 .
  • the second power controller board 804 is connected through a serial cable 805 to a third power controller board 806 . All three power controller boards can communicate with a user terminal 808 connected by a cable 809 , but such communication must pass through the top power controller board 802 first.
  • the user terminal could be replaced by an IP-address interface that provided a web presence and interactive webpages. If then connected to the Internet, ordinary browsers could be used to upload and download user configurations.
  • Each power controller board is preferably identical in its hardware and software construction, and yet the one placed at the top of the serial daisy-chain is able to detect that situation and take on a unique role as gateway.
  • Each power controller board is similar to power controller 208 ( FIG. 2 ).
  • Each power controller board communicates with the others to coordinate actions.
  • Each power controller board independently stores user configuration data for each of its power control ports. A typical implementation had four relay-operated power control ports. Part of the user configuration can include a user-assigned name for each control port.
  • a resynchronization program is executed in each microprocessor of each power controller board 802 , 804 , and 806 , that detects where in the order of the daisy-chain that the particular power controller board is located.
  • the appropriate main program control loop is selected from a collection of firmware programs that are copied to every power controller board. In such way, power controller boards may be freely added, replaced, or removed, and the resulting group will resynchronize itself with whatever is present.
  • the top power controller board 802 uniquely handles interactive user log-in, user-name tables, its private port names, and transfer acknowledgements from the other power controller boards. All the other power controller boards concern themselves only with their private resources, e.g., port names.
  • power controller board 802 begins a complete message for all the power controller boards in the string with the user-table. Such is followed by the first outlets configuration block from power controller board 802 , and the other outlet configuration blocks from power controller boards 804 and 806 .
  • the power controller board 802 tells each when to chime in. Each block carries a checksum so transmission errors could be detected. Each block begins with a header that identifies the source or destination, then the data, then the checksum.
  • power controller board 802 receives a command from a user that says a configuration file is next.
  • the user-name table and the serial-name table is received by power controller board 802 along with its private outlets configuration block and checksum.
  • the next section is steered to power controller board 804 and it receives its outlets configuration block and checksum. If good, an acknowledgement is sent to the top power controller board 802 .
  • the power controller boards further down the string do the same until the whole download has been received. If all power controller boards returned an acknowledgement, the power controller board 802 acknowledges the whole download. Operation then commences with the configuration. Otherwise a fault is generated and the old configuration is retained.
  • embodiments of the present invention provide power-on sequencing of its complement of power-outlet sockets so that power loading is brought on gradually and not all at once. For example, power comes up on the power outlet sockets 2-4 seconds apart. An exaggerated power-up in-rush could otherwise trip alarms and circuit breakers.
  • Embodiments display or otherwise report the total current being delivered to all loads, and some embodiments monitor individual power outlet sockets. Further embodiments of the present invention provide individual remote power control of independent power outlet sockets, e.g., for network operations center reboot of a crashed network server in the field.
  • the power-On sequencing of the power-outlet sockets preferably allows users to design the embodiments to be loaded at 80% of full capacity, versus 60% of full capacity for prior art units with no sequencing. In some situations, the number of power drops required in a Data Center can thus be reduced with substantial savings in monthly costs.
  • FIG. 9 represents a power distribution unit (PDU) embodiment of the present invention, and is referred to herein by the general reference numeral 900 .
  • the PDU 900 allows a personality module 902 to be installed for various kinds of control input/output communication.
  • a NetSilicon type NET+ 50 system-on-a-chip is preferred, otherwise a Philips Semiconductor type P89C644 microcontroller could be used in personality module 902 .
  • the PDU 900 further comprises an I2C peripheral board 904 , and a set of four IPM's 906 , 908 , 910 , and 912 . Such provide sixteen power outlets altogether.
  • a power supply 914 provides +5-volt logic operating power, and a microcontroller with a serial connection to an inter-IC control (I2C) bus 917 .
  • I2C-bus 917 preferably conforms to industry standards published by Philips Semiconductor (The Netherlands). See, www.semiconductor.philips.com. Philips Semiconductor type microcontrollers are preferably used throughout PDU 900 because I2C-bus interfaces are included.
  • a SENTRY-slave personality module 916 could be substituted for personality module 902 and typically includes a Server Technology, Inc. (Reno, Nev.) SENTRY-type interface and functionality through a standard RJ12 jack. See, e.g., website at www.servertech.com.
  • a slave personality module 918 could be substituted for personality module 902 and provides a daisy-chain I2C interface and functionality through a standard RJ12 jack.
  • a terminal-server personality module 920 could be substituted for personality module 902 and provides a display terminal interface, e.g., via I2C through a standard RJ12 jack, or RS-232 serial on a DIN connector.
  • a network personality module 922 preferably provides a hypertext transfer protocol (http) browser interface, e.g., via 10Base-T network interface and a CAT-5 connector.
  • the on-board microcontroller provides all these basic personalities through changes in its programming, e.g., stored in EEPROM or Flash memory devices. All of PDU 900 is preferably fully integrated, e.g., within power distribution outlet strip 100 , in FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 10 illustrates an intelligent power module (IPT-IPM) 1000 and represents one way to implement IPT-IPM's 120 - 123 of FIG. 1 ; IPT-IPM's 220 - 223 of FIGS. 2A and 2B ; IPT-IPM 300 of FIG. 3 ; IPT-IPM 400 of FIG. 4 ; power controller boards 802 , 804 , and 806 of FIG. 8 ; and, 4-port IPM's 906 , 908 , 910 , and 912 of FIG. 9 .
  • the IPT-IPM 1000 comprises an I2C microcontroller 1002 connected to communicate on a daisy-chain I2C serial bus with in and out connectors 1004 and 1006 .
  • An AC-Line input 1008 e.g., from IPT-PS 118 in FIG. 1 , is independently switched under microcontroller command to AC-Line output- 1 1010 , AC-Line output- 2 1011 , AC-Line output- 3 1012 , and AC-Line output- 4 1013 .
  • a set of four relays (K 1 -K 4 ) 1014 - 1017 provide normally open (NO) contacts 1018 - 1021 .
  • DC-power to operate the relays is respectively provided by relay power supplies 1022 - 1025 .
  • Optical-isolators 1026 - 1029 allow logic level outputs from the microcontroller 1002 to operate the relays in response to I2C commands received from the I2C-bus.
  • optical-isolators 1030 - 1033 allow the presence of AC-Line voltages at AC-Line output- 1 1010 , AC-Line output- 2 1011 , AC-Line output- 3 1012 , and AC-Line output- 4 1013 , to be sensed by logic level digital inputs to microcontroller 1002 . These are read as status and encoded onto the I2C-bus in response to read commands.
  • a local user is also provided with a LED indication 1034 - 1037 of the AC-Line outputs.
  • a set of load sensors 1038 - 1041 sense any current flowing through the primaries of respective isolation transformers 1042 - 1045 .
  • a logic level LS 1 -LS 4 is respectively provided to microcontroller 1002 to indicate if current is flowing to the load.
  • remote power management embodiments of the present invention are configurable and scaleable. Such provides for maximum fabricator flexibility in quickly configuring modular components to meet specific customer requests without overly burdening the manufacturing process.
  • the following list of various customer requirements can all be met with minimal hardware, and no software changes: Vertical or Horizontal enclosure mounting; Variable controllable outlet configurations (4, 8, 12, 16 outlets/enclosure); Variable number of power input feed configurations to support redundant power to critical network equipment (up to 4 input feeds); Option of displaying one or more input load currents on a dual 7-segment LED display(s); Ability to reorient the enclosure without having to invert the 7-segment LED display(s); Measuring per outlet load current for individual appliance load reporting; and a Variety of user interfaces that can be substituted at final product configuration time.
  • a modular component concept allows for communications and automated detection of any included modular components over a common communications channel. So a multi-drop, addressable, and extensible bus architecture is used.
  • the Inter-IC (I2C) bus developed by Philips semiconductor is preferred.
  • Each modular component contains a microprocessor capable of interpreting and responding to commands over I2C-bus.
  • An application layer enhancement on top of the standard I2C-protocol allows for data integrity checking. A checksum is appended to all commands and responses. Such checksum is validated before commands are acted upon, and data responses are acknowledged.
  • Each module on the I2C power control bus has either a hard-coded or configurable address to enable multiple components to communicate over the same two wires that comprise the bus. Configuration jumpers on the power supply module are used to select operational items, e.g., #Power input feeds, #four port Intelligent Power Modules (IPM) attached to each input feed, Input feed overload current threshold, and Display inversion.
  • IPM Intelligent Power Modules
  • the main components used in most instances are the power supply board (IPT-PS) that supplies DC voltage on the interconnection bus, and monitors and reports input feed load and enclosure configuration information; the intelligent power module IPM (IPT-IPM) which controls the source of power to each outlet based on I2C commands from the master controller personality module (PM), and that reports whether the outlet is in the requested state and the outlet load current back to the master controller; the display board (IPT-I2C) used to display load current as supplied by the master controller and to monitor user-requested resets, and that can communicate with sensors attached to its Dallas Semiconductor-type “1-wire” bus to the master controller; and, the personality modules that act as an I2C-bus master, e.g., IPT-Serial PM, IPT-Slave PM, and IPT-Network PM.
  • IPT-PS power supply board
  • IPT-IPM intelligent power module
  • PM master controller personality module
  • Such personality module can initialize, issue commands to, and receive responses from the various components on the bus. It also is responsible for executing user power control and configuration requests, by issuing commands on the bus to the various modules that perform these functions.
  • These personality modules support several user interfaces and can be swapped to provide this functionality.
  • the IPT-Serial PM is used for serial only communications.
  • the IPT-Slave PM is used to connect to an earlier model controllers, and allows for a variety of user interfaces, e.g., Telnet, Http, SNMP, serial, modem.
  • the IPT-Network PM has much of the same functionality as a previous model controller, but has all that functionality contained on the personality module itself and requires no external enclosure.
  • Lower-cost power control products can be linked to a more expensive master controller using an IPT-Network PM to configure a large-scale power control network that needs only a single IP-address and user interface.
  • IPT-Network PM to configure a large-scale power control network that needs only a single IP-address and user interface.
  • Such would require a high level, high bandwidth, multi-drop communications protocol such as industry-standard Controller Area Network (CAN).
  • CAN Controller Area Network
  • the CAN bus supports 1-Mbit/sec data transfers over a distance of 40 meters. This would enable serial sessions from a user to serial ports on the device being controlled to be virtualized and thus avoid needing costly analog switching circuitry and control logic.

Abstract

A vertical-mount network remote power management outlet strip embodiment of the present invention comprises a long, thin outlet strip body with several independently controllable power outlet sockets distributed along its length. A power input cord is provided at one end, and this supplies AC-operating power to relays associated with each of the power outlet sockets. The relays are each addressably controlled by a microprocessor connected to an internal I2C-bus serial communications channel. The power-on status of each relay output to the power outlet sockets is sensed and communicated back on the internal I2C-bus. A device-networking communications processor with an embedded operating system translates messages, status, and controls between the internal I2C-bus and an Ethernet port, and other external networks.

Description

    RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PATENTS
  • This Application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/313,314, filed Dec. 6, 2002, and titled NETWORK REMOTE POWER MANAGEMENT OUTLET, which is-a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/930,780, filed Aug. 15, 2001, published as US-2002-0002593-A1 on Jan. 3, 2002, and titled VERTICAL-MOUNT NETWORK REMOTE POWER MANAGEMENT OUTLET STRIP, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/732,557, filed Dec. 8, 2000, titled NETWORK-CONNECTED POWER MANAGER FOR REBOOTING REMOTE COMPUTER-BASED APPLIANCES, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/375,471, filed Aug. 16, 1999, titled REMOTE POWER CONTROL SYSTEM THAT VERIFIES WHICH DEVICES IS SHUT-DOWN BEFORE SUCH ACTION IS COMMITTED TO, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/685, 436, filed on Jul. 23, 1996, titled SYSTEM FOR READING THE STATUS AND CONTROLLING THE POWER SUPPLIES OF APPLIANCES CONNECTED TO COMPUTER NETWORKS, and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,974, issued Aug. 7, 1999, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
  • BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  • 1. Field of the Invention
  • The invention relates generally to remote power management systems, and more particularly to electrical power distribution devices and methods for conserving the primary rack-mount spaces in a standard RETMA rack.
  • 2. Description of the Prior Art
  • Network server “farms” and other network router equipment have settled on the use of equipment bays in 19″ standard RETMA racks. Many of these server and router farms are located at telephone company (TelCo) central equipment offices because they need to tie into very high bandwidth telephone line trunks and backbones. So each TelCo typically rents space on their premises to the network providers, and such space is tight and very expensive.
  • The typical network router, server, or other appliance comes in a rack-mount chassis with a standard width and depth. Such chassis are vertically sized in whole multiples of vertical units (U). Each rented space in the TelCo premises has only so much vertical space, and so the best solution is to make best use of the vertical space by filling it with the network appliances and other mission-critical equipment.
  • Two kinds of operating power are supplied to such network appliances, alternating current (AC) from an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) or direct from a utility, the second kind is direct current (DC) from TelCo central office battery sets. Prior art devices have been marketed that control such AC or DC power to these network appliances. For example, Server Technology, Inc. (Reno, N.J.) provides operating-power control equipment that is specialized for use in such TelCo premises RETMA racks. Some of these power-control devices can cycle the operating power on and off to individual network appliances.
  • Such cycling of operating power will force a power-on reset of the network appliance, and is sometimes needed when an appliance hangs or bombs. Since the network appliance is usually located remote from the network administration center, Server Technology has been quite successful in marketing power managers that can remotely report and control network-appliance operating power over the Internet and other computer data networks.
  • Conventional power management equipment has either been mounted in the tops or bottoms of the server farm RETMA racks, and thus has consumed vertical mounting space needed by the network appliances themselves. So what is needed now is an alternate way of supplying AC or DC operating power to such network appliances without having to consume much or any RETMA rack space.
  • SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
  • Briefly, a vertical-mount network remote power management outlet strip embodiment of the present invention comprises a long, thin outlet strip body with several independently controllable power outlet sockets distributed along its length. A power input cord is provided at one end, and this supplies AC-operating power to relays associated with each of the power outlet sockets. The relays are each addressably controlled by a microprocessor connected to an internal I2C-bus serial communications channel. The power-on status of each relay output to the power outlet sockets is sensed and communicated back on the internal I2C-bus. A device-networking communications processor with an embedded operating system translates messages, status, and controls between external networks, the internal I2C-bus, and other ports.
  • In alternative embodiments of the present invention, a power manager architecture provides for building-block construction of vertical and horizontal arrangements of outlet sockets in equipment racks. The electronics used in all such variants is essentially the same in each instance. Each of a plurality of power input feeds has a monitor that can provide current measurements and reports on the internal I2C-bus. Each of the power input feeds could be independently loaded with a plurality of addressable-controllable outlets. Each outlet is also capable of measuring the respective outlet socket load current and repotting those values on the internal I2C-bus. Separate digital displays are provided for each monitored and measured load and infeed current. The internal I2C-bus, logic power supply, network interfaces, power control modules and relays, etc., could be distributed amongst several enclosures that have simple plug connections between each, the infeed power source, and the equipment loads in the rack.
  • An advantage of the present invention is that a network remote power management outlet strip is provided that frees up vertical rackmount space for other equipment.
  • Another advantage of the present invention is that a network remote power management outlet strip is provided for controlling the operating power supplied to network appliances over computer networks, such as TCP/IP and SNMP.
  • A further advantage of the present invention is that a network remote power management outlet strip is provided that allows a network console operator to control the electrical power status of a router or other network device.
  • A still further advantage of the present invention is that a network remote power management outlet strip is provided for reducing the need for enterprise network operators to dispatch third party maintenance vendors to remote equipment rooms and POP locations simply to power-cycle failed network appliances.
  • These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which are illustrated in the various drawing figures.
  • IN THE DRAWINGS
  • FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a network remote power management outlet strip embodiment of the present invention;
  • FIG. 2A is a front diagram of an implementation of the network remote power management outlet strip of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 2B is an assembly diagram of the network remote power management outlet strip of FIG. 2A without the sheetmetal enclosure, and shows the interwiring amongst the AC-receptacles, the power input plug, and the various printed circuit board modules;
  • FIG. 3 is a non-component side diagram of a printed circuit board (PCB) implementation of an intelligent power module IPT-IPM, similar to those of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, and further illustrates an insulating sheet that is fitted to the back;
  • FIG. 4 is a component-side diagram of a printed circuitboard (PCB) implementation of an intelligent power module IPT-IPM, similar to those of FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, and 3, and further illustrates the bus connections of the power outlet receptacles it sockets onto;
  • FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an IPT-NetworkPM module embodiment of the present invention;
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a circuit that could be used in an implementation of the IPT-PS of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B;
  • FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a network remote power management system embodiment of the present invention;
  • FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of an expandable power management system embodiment of the present invention;
  • FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of a power distribution unit embodiment of the present invention; and
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of one way to implement the IPT-IPM's in any of FIGS. 1-9.
  • DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
  • FIG. 1 represents a network remote power management outlet strip embodiment of the present invention, and is referred to herein by the general reference numeral 100. The outlet strip 100 provides independently managed power to each of sixteen AC-output receptacles 101-116. A power supply (IPT-PS) module 118 senses and totalizes the combined current delivered to all the AC-output receptacles 101-116 from its AC-power input.
  • Peripheral integrated circuits (IC's) that have to communicate with each other and the outside world can use a simple bi-directional 2-wire, serial data (SDA) and serial clock (SCL) bus for inter-IC (I2C) control developed by Philips Semiconductor. The I2C-bus has become a worldwide industry-standard proprietary control bus.
  • The IPT-PS module 118 digitally encodes the total AC-current information onto an internal I2C-bus 119. The IPT-PS module 118 supplies DC-operating power for the internal I2C-bus 119 which is derived from the AC-power input. Each of four intelligent power modules (IPT-IPM) 120-123 have four relays (K1-K4) that switch AC-power from the IPT-PS module 118 to respective ones of the sixteen AC-output receptacles 101-116. Such relays K1-K4 are controlled by a single I2C transceiver daisy-chain connected to others along the internal I2C-bus 119. Each such I2C transceiver is independently addressable on the I2C-bus 119, and provides a digitally encoded power-on status indication for all four relays K1-K4.
  • An I2C-module (IPT-I2C) 124 receives digital messages on the internal I2C-bus 119 and decodes and displays the totalized combined current, e.g., in AC-amperes, on an LED-readout 126. A user is thus able to see the effect on the total current caused by plugging or unplugging a load from any or all of the AC-output receptacles 101-116.
  • The Philips 87LPC762 microcontroller is used as an I2C interface to a dual seven-segment display. Port-0 pins select the illuminated segments of a seven-segment display. Pin P1.7 selects which of the two seven-segment displays is being driven, and alternates between the two seven-segment displays fast enough to avoid flicker. The I2C slave address is configurable. Five commands are supported: STAT (status) RBTN (Read button), RPRB (Read probe), CRST (Clear reset), and WDSP (Write display). A checksum is used on received/sent bytes for data integrity across the I2C-bus.
  • The IPT-I2C microcontroller starts up with the I2C interface in idle slave mode. Main ( ) waits in a loop until the I2C interface is flagged as non-idle. After an I2C start occurs, and the rising edge of SCL sets DRDY (and thus ATN), an I2C interrupt occurs. The I2C ISR disables the I2C interrupt and sets a global I2C non-idle flag. The main loop then proceeds to read in the first byte from the I2C-bus. When seven bits are received, the target I2C is known and is compared to the IPT-I2C microcontroller's own module address. If different, the I2C interface processing stops and waits for another start to begin again. If the same, the last bit of the first byte is read, which is the R/W bit. If a Read, then the IPT-I2C microcontroller acknowledges the byte and repeatedly sends a fixed number of response bytes: an address byte, a type byte, one or more data bytes, and a checksum. If a Write, then the IPT-I2C microcontroller acknowledges the byte, and then will read up to four more bytes: a command byte one or more data bytes, and a checksum. As received, the bytes are acknowledged and compared to expected valid commands and data. As soon as a valid command, any data parameters and a valid checksum are received and acknowledged, the command is acted upon. Without a valid checksum, the command is not acted upon. If an unexpected command or data is received, or more bytes are received than expected, then a negative acknowledge occurs after the next byte is received, and the I2C interface is stopped, and another start is needed to begin again. Throughout the I2C processing loop, a bus timeout (by Timer 1 interrupt) resets the I2C interface to idle and the I2C processing loop to the appropriate states Timer U also guards the I2C interface with a 5-millisecond inter-clock timeout and a 15 second total I2C timeout. The total I2C timeout is reset when the IPT-I2C microcontroller is addressed on the I2C with its primary address (not the secondary address).
  • The I2C IPT-I2C microcontroller commands include the STAT command which sets the IPT-I2C microcontroller to a read type to STAT. This means that an I2C Read will send four bytes (address, type data checksum) in which the data byte represents the status of the IPT-I2C microcontroller.
  • The RBTN command sets the IPT-I2C microcontroller read type to RBTN. This means that an I2C Read will send four bytes (address, type, data, checksum) in which the data byte represents the status of the button.
  • The RPRB command sets the IPT-I2C microcontroller read type to RPRB. This means that an I2C Read will send five bytes (address, type data, data, checksum) in which the data bytes represent the type of 1-wire bus probe and the probe data.
  • The CRST command clears the Reset Flag (RSTF), Power On Reset Flag (PORF), Brownout Reset Flag (BORF), and WatchDog Reset Flag (WDRF) bits of the IPT-I2C microcontroller status byte.
  • The WDSP command sets the values for the dual seven-segment display.
  • At power up, the dash-dash blinks until a valid WDSP command is received. After that, if ten seconds pass without receiving a valid WDSP command, the display reverts back to the blinking dash-dash.
  • A read command is started by the master addressing the slave with the R/W bit set. A read command to the slave IPT-I2C microcontroller results in a fixed number of bytes repeatedly being transmitted by the slave (address, type, data1 . . . dataN checksum). The first byte is the address of the slave. The second byte indicates the type of data in the following data byte(s). The last byte is a checksum of all the previous bytes.
  • A write command is started by the master addressing the slave with the R/W bit cleared. This is followed by the master transmitting multiple bytes to the slave, followed by a stop, or restart.
  • The internal I2C-bus 119 is terminated at a network personality module (IPT-NetworkPM) 128. Such provides an operating system, HTTP-server, and network interface between the internal I2C-bus 119, an external I2C-bus 130, an Ethernet 10/100 BaseT 132, a modem 134, and a local operator's console 136. The IPT-NetworkPM 128 preferably uses Internet protocols like TCP/IP and supports simple network management protocol (SNMP). In one application, the outlet strip 100 could be used in the remote power management environment described by the present inventors in their U.S. Pat. No. 5,949,974, issued Sep. 7, 1999. Such Patent is incorporated herein by reference.
  • Network messages, e.g., using TCP/IP and SNMP, are communicated over the Ethernet 10/100 BaseT interface 132. Such messages are able (a) to independently control the power on-off to each of AC-output receptacles 101-116, (b) to read the power-on status of each, and (c) to report load current supplied by each outlet, or simply the total combined current measured passing through IPT-PS 118.
  • In one embodiment, the power applied to AC-output receptacles 101-116 is not allowed by the individual IPT-IPM modules 120-123 to be simultaneously applied. Instead, each is allowed to turn on in succession so any instantaneous load in-rush currents can not combine to exceed the peak capabilities of the AC-power input source.
  • The total input current display 126 could be used to advantage by a technician when installing or troubleshooting a RETMA equipment rack by watching how much current change is observed when each network appliance is plugged in and turned on. Unusually high or low currents can indicate particular kinds of faults to experienced technicians. observed when each network appliance is plugged in and turned on. Unusually high or low currents can indicate particular kinds of faults to experienced technicians.
  • FIGS. 2A and 2B represent a network remote power management outlet strip embodiment of the present invention, which is referred to herein by the general reference numeral 200. These illustrate one way the network remote power management outlet strip 100 of FIG. 1 could be physically implemented and arranged. The outlet strip 200 provides independently managed power to each of sixteen AC-output receptacles 201-216. These have AC-neutral and AC-ground bussed through two sets of eight, e.g., with 12-gauge wire. A power supply (IPT-PS) module 218 is daisy-chained in an internal I2C-bus 219 to a series of four intelligent power modules (IPT-IPM) 220-223. The IPT-PS module 218 has, for example, a Philips microcontroller type 87LPC762 that senses and totalizes the combined current delivered on the AC-Line leads to all of four intelligent power modules (IPT-IPM) 220-223.
  • The Philips 87LPC762/7 microcontroller is programmed as an I2C 8-bit I/O Expander, with an 8-bit 4-channel A/D converter. Eight pins are individually selectable as either an Input (quasi-bidirectional) or Output (open drain). Four address lines determine the I2C slave address. Eight commands are supported: STAT (Status), RCFG (Read Config) RPRT (Read Port), RADC (Read ADC), CRST (Clear Reset), WCFG (Write Config), WPRT (Write Port), and ADCE (ADC Enable). A checksum is used on received/sent bytes for data integrity across the I2C-bus. Without a valid checksum, a command will not be acted upon.
  • The microcontroller starts up with the I2C interface in idle slave mode. Main( ) waits in a loop until the I2C interface is flagged as non-idle. After an I2C start occurs, and the rising edge of SCL sets DRDY and thus ATN, an I2C interrupt occurs. The I2C ISR disables the I2C interrupt and sets a global I2C non-idle flag. The main loop then proceeds to read in the first byte from the I2C-bus. When seven bits are received, the target I2C is known and is compared to the I/O Expander's own module address. If different, the I2C interface processing stops and waits for another start to begin again. If the same the last bit of the first byte is read, which is the R/W bit. If a Read, then the microcontroller acknowledges the byte, and repeatedly sends a fixed number of response bytes (an address byte, a type byte one or more data bytes, and a checksum). If a Write, then the microcontroller acknowledges the byte and then will read up to three more bytes (a command byte, a data byte, and a checksum). As received, the bytes are acknowledged and compared to expected valid commands and data. As soon as a valid command, any data parameters and a valid checksum are received and acknowledged, the command is acted upon. If an unexpected command or data is received, or more bytes are received than expected, then a negative acknowledge occurs after the next byte is received, and the I2C interface is stopped and another start is needed to begin again. Throughout the I2C processing loop, a bus timeout by Timer 1 interrupt resets the I2C interface to idle and the I2C processing loop to the appropriate state. Timer 0 also guards the I2C interface with a 5-millisecond inter-clock timeout and a 15-second total I2C timeout. The total I2C timeout is reset when the I/O Expander is addressed on the I2C with its primary address, not the secondary address.
  • The I2C microcontroller commands include the STAT command, which sets the I/O Expander read type to STAT. An I2C Read will send four bytes: address, type, data, checksum. The data byte represents the status of the I/O Expander.
  • The RCFG command sets the I/O Expander read type to RCFG. This means that an I2C Read will send four bytes: address, type, data, checksum. The data byte represents the I/O configuration of the eight I/O pins.
  • The RADC command sets the microcontroller read type to RADC. This means that an I2C Read will send eight bytes (address, type, ADCE status, ADC0 data, ADC1 data, ADC2 data, ADC3 data, checksum) in which the data bytes represent the value of the four ADC channels. For ADC channels that are disabled, a value of 0xFF is returned. For enabled ADC channels, the value represents the average of the last eight averages of 64 A/D conversions during the last four AC cycles. All four channels are converted once during each 1.042 ms, about 260 us apart. After four AC (60 Hz) cycles, each channel has be converted 64 times. For each channel these 64 conversions are averaged and stored. The most-recent eight stored averages are then again averaged, making the reported value the truncated average over 64×8=512 AC cycles, which spans just over a half second.
  • The CRST command clears the ReSeT Flag (RSTF) Power On Reset Flag (PORF), BrownOut Reset Flag (BORF), and IiiatchDog Reset, Flag (WDRF) bits of the I/O Expander status byte.
  • The WCFG command sets the microcontroller I/O configuration of the eight I/O pins. The WCFG command also sets the read type to RCFG.
  • The WPRT command sets the state of the eight I/O pins that are configured as outputs. The WPRT command also sets the read type to RPRT.
  • The ADCE command enables or disables any or all four ADC channels. The ADCE command also sets the read type to RADC.
  • A read command is started by the master addressing the slave with the R/W bit set. A read command to the slave IPT-I2C microcontroller results in a fixed number of bytes repeatedly being transmitted by the slave (address, type, data1 . . . dataN checksum). The first byte is the address of the slave. The second byte indicates the type of data in the data bytes that follow. The last byte is a checksum of all the previous data bytes.
  • A write command is started by the master addressing the slave with the R/W bit cleared. This is followed by the master transmitting multiple bytes to the slave, followed by a stop or restart.
  • The IPT-PS module 218 digitally encodes the total AC-input current information onto the internal I2C-bus 219. The IPT-PS module 218 derives DC-operating power from the AC-power input for modules on the internal I2C-bus 219. Each of the IPT-IPM modules 220-223 has four relays (K1-K4) that switch the AC-Line from the IPT-PS module 218 to respective ones of the AC-Line connections on each of the sixteen AC-output receptacles 201-216. Such relays K1-K4 are controlled by a single I2C transceiver located on each IPT-IPM 220-223. For example, such I2C transceiver could be implemented with a Philips microcontroller type 87LPC762.
  • Each such I2C transceiver is independently addressable on the I2C-bus 219, and provides a digitally encoded power-on status indication for all four relays K1-K4. An I2C-module (IPT-I2C) 224 receives digital messages on the internal I2C-bus 219 and decodes and displays the totalized combined current, e.g., in AC-amperes, on an LED-readout 226. The internal I2C-bus 219 terminates at a IPT-NetworkPM 228.
  • Preferably, IPT-NetworkPM 228 includes an operating system, an HTML webpage, and a network interface. Such can connect a remote user or command console with the internal I2C-bus 219, an external I2C-bus that interconnects with other outlet strips through a RJ-11 socket 230, an Ethernet 10/100 BaseT RJ-45 type socket 232, etc. The IPT-NetworkPM 228 preferably uses Internet protocols like TCP/IP and supports simple network management protocol (SNMP).
  • The modular construction of outlet strip 200 allows a family of personality modules to be substituted for IPT-NetworkPM 228. Each such would be able to communicate with and control the IPT-IPM's 220-223 via the internal I2C-bus 219.
  • The manufacturability and marketability of IPT-IPM 220-223 could be greatly enhanced by making the hardware and software implementation of each the same as the others. When a system that includes these is operating, it preferably sorts out for itself how many IPM's are connected in a group and how to organize their mutual handling of control and status data in and out.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a printed circuit board (PCB) implementation of an intelligent power module IPT-IPM 300, similar to those of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B. On the component side of the PCB, the IPT-IPM 300 has a two-position connector 302 for AC-Neutral, and on the non-component side screw connector 304 for the AC-Line. A PCB trace 306 distributes AC-Line power input to a series of four power control relays, as shown in FIG. 4. An insulator sheet 310 screws down over the IPT-IPM 300 and protects it from short circuits with loose wires and the sheetmetal outlet strip housing.
  • For example, insulator sheet 310 can be made of MYLAR plastic film and may not necessarily have a set of notches 312 and 314 that provide for connector tabs 302 and 304. Connector tabs 302 and 304 can alternatively be replaced with a two-position connector with screw fasteners.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates the component side of a PCB implementation of an IPT-IPM module 400, e.g., the opposite side view of the IPT-IPM module 300 in FIG. 3. The IPT-IPM module 400 comprises a pair of I2C daisy chain bus connectors 402 and 404, a PCB trace 406 distributes AC-Line power input from AC-Line screw connector 304 connect at a via 408 to a series of four power control relays 410-413. A microcontroller 414 processes the I2C communications on the internal I2C-bus, e.g., I2C-bus 119 in FIG. 1 and 219 in FIGS. 2A and 2B.
  • FIG. 5 shows the basic construction of an IPT-NetworkPM module 500, and is similar to the IPT-NetworkPM module 128 of FIG. 1 and 228 of FIGS. 2A and 2B. A NetSilicon (Waltham, Mass.) type NET+50 32-bit Ethernet system-on-chip for device networking is preferably used to implement a communications processor 502. A flash memory 504 provides program storage and a RAM memory 506 provides buffer and scratchpad storage for the communications processor operations. A local I2C-bus is implemented in part with a pair of 2N7002 transistors, for example. It connects into the I2C daisy chain with a J1-connector (CON4) 510. An external I2C-bus is implemented in part with a pair of 2N7002 transistors, for example. It connects into an external I2C system with an RJ12-type J7-connector 510. Such external I2C system can expand to one additional outlet strip that shares a single IPT-NetworkPM module 500 and a single network connection.
  • An Ethernet 10/100 BaseT interface with the media access controller (MAC) internal to the communications processor 502 is provided by a physical layer (PHY) device 516. An Intel type LXT971A fast Ethernet PHY transceiver, for example, could be used together with an RJ45 connector 518. A pair of RS-232 serial interfaces are implemented in part with an SP3243E transceiver 520, an RJ45H connector 522, another SP3243E transceiver 524, and an IDC10 connector 526.
  • The flash memory 504 is preferably programmed with an operating system and HTML-browser function that allow web-page type access and control over the Ethernet channel. A complete OS kernel, NET+Management simple network management protocol (SNMP) MIBII and proxy agent, NET+Protocols including TCP/IP, NET+Web HTTP server, and XML microparser, are commercially available from NetSilicon for the NET+50 32-bit Ethernet system-on-chip.
  • FIG. 6 represents a circuit 600 that could be used in an implementation of the IPT-PS 118 of FIG. 1 and IPT-PS 218 of FIGS. 2A and 2B. An AC-Line input 602 from the AC-power source is passed through the primary winding of an isolation transformer 604. A set of four AC-Line outputs 606 are then connected to the four IPT-IPM's, e.g., 120-123 in FIG. 1 and 220-223 in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The voltage drop across the primary winding of isolation transformer 604 is relatively small and insignificant, even at full load. So the line voltage seen at the AC-Line outputs 606 is essentially the full input line voltage.
  • A voltage is induced into a lightly loaded secondary winding that is proportional to the total current being drawn by all the AC-loads, e.g., AC-receptacles 101-116 in FIG. 1 and 201-216 in FIGS. 2A and 2B. An op-amp 608 is configured as a precision rectifier with an output diode 610 and provides a DC-voltage proportional to the total current being drawn by all the AC-loads and passing through the primary of transformer 604. An op-amp 612 amplifies this DC-voltage for the correct scale range for an analog-to-digital converter input (AO) of a microcontroller (uC) 616. A Philips Semiconductor type P87LPC767 microcontroller could be used for uC 616. Such includes a built-in four-channel 8-bit multiplexed A/D converter and an I2C communication port. When a READ ADC command is received on the I2C communication port, the AO input is read in and digitally converted into an 8-bit report value which is sent, for example, to LED display 126 in FIG. 1.
  • A prototype of the devices described in connection with FIGS. 1-6 was constructed. The prototype was a combination of new hardware and software providing for a 4-outlet, 8-outlet, or 16-outlet vertical-strip power manager that could be accessed out-of-band on a single RJ45 serial port, or in-band over a 10/100Base-T Ethernet connection by Telnet or an HTML browser. An RJ12 port was connected to a second, nearly identical vertical-strip power manager that was almost entirely a slave to the first, e.g., it could only be controlled by/via the first/master vertical power manager.
  • Vertical power manager hardware and software was used for the IPT-PS power supply board, the IPT-IPM quad-outlet boards, and IPT-I2C peripheral/display board. For the master vertical power manager, new personality module hardware and software was developed. This personality module, trademarked SENTRY3, was based upon the NetSilicon NetARM+20M microprocessor, and provided all of the control and user interface (UI). On the slave vertical power manager, a preexisting IPT-Slave personality module was modified slightly to bridge the external and internal I2C-buses. This allowed the master to control the slave vertical power manager exactly the same as the master vertical power manager, with no software or microprocessor needed on the slave. New software could be included to run in a microprocessor on the slave vertical power manager personality module to act as a backup master for load-display and power-up sequencing only.
  • A new SENTRY3 personality module was developed to support an HTML interface for Ethernet, and a command-line interface for Telnet and serial. Multiple users were supported, up to 128. One administrative user (ADMN) existed by default, and will default to having access to all ports. Outlet grouping was supported, with up to 64 groups of outlets.
  • There were two I2C-buses that can support up to sixteen quad-IPM (IPT-IPM) boards, across four power inputs, with at most four quad-IPM's per input, and with each input having its own load measurement and display. Each power input was required to have the same number of quad-IPM's that it powered. There was one I2C peripheral/display (IPT-I2C) board for each power input. Each bus had only one smart power supply (IPT-PS) board at I2C address 0×5E. Each bus had at least one I2C peripheral/display (IPT-I2C) board at I2C address 0×50, and at least one quad-IPM (IPT-IPM) board at I2C address 0×60 (or 0×40).
  • Determining what was present on an I2C-bus, and at what address, was done by reading the 8-bit I/O port of the power supply. The eight bits were configured as,
    Bit 0 => Undefined
    Bit
    1 => Display orientation (1 = Upside-Up,
    0 = Upside-Down)
    Bit 2 => Number of quad-IPM's per power input
    Bit
    3 => Number of quad-IPM's per power input
    Bit four => Overload point (1 = 30.5A [244ADC],
    0 = 16.5A [132ADC])
    Bit 5 => Undefined
    Bit 6 => Number of power inputs
    Bit 7 => Number of power inputs

    Bits 2 & 3 together determine how many quad-IPM's there were per power input. Bits 6 & 7 together determine how many power input feeds there were.
  • The I2C address of the quad-IPM's were determined by the version of LPC code on the IPT-PS board, as determined by a read of the STATus byte of the of the IPT-PS.
    Version 3+ => quad-IPM's start @ 0x60 and were 0x60, 0x62,
    0x64, 0x66, 0x68, 0x6A, 0x6C, 0x6E, 0x70,
    0x72, 0x74, 0x76, 0x78, 0x7A, 0x7C, 0x7E.
    Version 2− => quad-IPM's start @ 0x40 and were 0x40, 0x42,
    0x44, 0x46, 0x48, 0x4A, 0x4C, 0x4E, 0x50,
    0x52, 0x54, 0x56, 0x58, 0x5A, 0x5C, 0x5E.
  • Up to four IPT-I2C peripheral/display boards were supported at I2C addresses: 0×50, 0×52, 0×54, and 0×56.
  • There was a direct mapping relationship between power inputs, IPT-I2C peripheral/display boards I2C addresses, and the IPT-IPM boards I2C addresses:
    Power IPT-I2C IPT-IPM v3+ addresses
    Input address (subtract 0x20 for v2−)
    A 0x50 0x60, 0x62, 0x64, 0x66
    B 0x52 0x68, 0x6A, 0x6C, 0x6E
    C 0x54 0x70, 0x72, 0x74, 0x76
    D 0x56 0x78, 0x7A, 0x7C, 0x7E
  • Considering that each input power feed can support up to four quad-IPM's (sixteen ports), and that each bus can have four input feeds, and that there were two I2C-buses, an addressing scheme for a port must include three fields (a) Bus ID, (b) Input Feed ID, and (c) Relay ID
  • The Bus ID could be regarded as vertical-strip power manager/enclosure ID, since one I2C-bus were for the internal/local I2C vertical power manager components and the other I2C-bus were for the external/remote vertical power manager. Other implementations could use a CAN bus in place of the external I2C-bus. Each enclosure had an address on the bus, e.g., an Enclosure ID. Thus, the three address fields needed were (a) Enclosure ID, (b) Input Feed ID, and (c) Relay ID.
  • The Enclosure ID was represented by a letter, starting with “A”, with a currently undefined maximum ultimately limited to “Z”. Only “A” and “B” existed for the prototype. The Input Feed ID was represented by a letter, with a range of “A” to “D”. The Relay ID was represented by a decimal number, with a range of “1” to “16”.
  • An absolute identifier was needed for the user to enter commands. A combination of Enclosure ID, Input Feed ID, and Relay ID must be expressed in the absolute ID. This were done with a period followed by two alphabet characters and then one or two numeric characters, e.g.,
      • “.{enclosure_id}[input_feed_id]{#}[#]”.
  • The first alphabet character represented the Enclosure ID (“A” to “Z”). The second alphabet character represented the Input Feed ID (“A” to “D”). The third and fourth number characters represented the Relay ID (“1” to “16”), e.g., “.{A
    Figure US20070050443A1-20070301-P00001
    Z{ [A
    Figure US20070050443A1-20070301-P00001
    D] {1
    Figure US20070050443A1-20070301-P00001
    16}”. The input feed ID was optional. If not specified, “A” was assumed. With an absolute ID scheme, a period, letter, and number must always be entered, making it very similar to our current scheme, but allowing for future multiple input feeds. For displaying IDs, the optional input feed ID should only be shown when the port was in an enclosure with 2 or more input feeds. A vertical power manager ID could be specified with just a period and letter. An input feed ID could be specified with a period and two letters.
  • Existing outlets were determined by reading the power supply I/O port of the master and slave vertical power manager. One administrative user exists by default, and has access to all outlets and groups. This administrator (ADMN) could be removed, but only if one or more other users with administrative privileges exist. Additional users could be created or removed. Administrative privileges could be given to or removed from added users.
  • The administrative privilege allows access to all currently-detected outlets and groups without those outlets or groups actually being in the user's outlet or group tables. Lists of outlets or groups for administrative users should include all currently-detected outlets and groups. This allowed administrative privileges to be given or taken away without affecting the users outlet and group tables.
  • Groups of outlets could be created or removed. Outlets could be added or removed from groups. Outlets, or groups of outlets, could be added or removed from users. An outlet may belong to multiple groups. All user-defined outlet and groups names were unique. This were enforced at the time names were defined by the user. All user-defined names also cannot be the same as any KEYWORDS. For example, they cannot be “GROUP”, “OUTLET”, or “ALL”. This were enforced at the time names were defined by the user. User names were uppercased when stored and displayed, and were compared case-insensitive. Passwords were stored and compared case-sensitive. Separate tables existed for each user's outlet access and group access.
  • When an ADMN user specifies “ALL” it means all currently detected outlets. For non-ADMN users, the “ALL” parameter refers to all of the outlets in the current user's outlet access table. There was no “all” to refer to all groups.
  • All commands that specify outlet IDs need to be bounds-checked against the currently detected number of enclosures, number of input feeds on the target enclosure, and the number of relays on the target enclosure. Power actions could be applied to only one target at a time. The target could be an outlet or a group of outlet.
  • A wakeup state determined the default power-up state of each outlet. Power-on sequencing occurred independently on each vertical power manager and power feed, with each outlet being initialized to its wakeup state two seconds after the previous outlet, e.g., starting with outlet-1. Outlet names could be up to 24-characters. These were stored and displayed case-sensitive, but were compared case-insensitive as command parameters. Group names could be up to 24-characters. These were stored and displayed case-sensitive, but were compared case-insensitive as command parameters. A 24-character vertical power manager/enclosure name could be user-defined. This were stored and displayed case-sensitive, but was compared case-insensitive as a command parameter. A 32-character location name could be user-defined. This were stored and displayed case-sensitive. User names could be 1-16 characters, and were case-insensitive. Passwords also could be 1-16 characters, and were case-sensitive. Variable length command parameters were length-checked for validity. An error was displayed if too short or too long, as opposed to and automatic behavior, such as truncating a string that was too long.
    Prototype I2C Address Map
    Device I2C Address (binary) I2C Address (hex)
    I2C - 01 0101-000x 0x50
    I2C - 02 0101-001x 0x52
    I2C - 03 0101-010x 0x54
    I2C - 04 0101-011x 0x56
    IPT-PS 0101-111x 0x5E
    IPM - 01 0110-000x 0x60
    IPM - 02 0110-001x 0x62
    IPM - 03 0110-010x 0x64
    IPM - 04 0110-011x 0x66
    IPM - 05 0110-100x 0x68
    IPM - 06 0110-101x 0x6A
    IPM - 07 0110-110x 0x6C
    IPM - 08 0110-111x 0x6E
    IPM - 09 0111-000x 0x70
    IPM - 10 0111-001x 0x72
    IPM - 11 0111-010x 0x74
    IPM - 12 0111-011x 0x76
    IPM - 13 0111-100x 0x78
    IPM - 14 0111-101x 0x7A
    IPM - 15 0111-110x 0x7C
    IPM - 16 0111-111x 0x7E
  • The prototype required several major software components to be constructed for use with the NetSilicon NET+50 device The configuration and operational control blocks used in the prototype were described in the following tables. All of the control blocks were readable by all components in the system. The configuration control blocks were written by the user interface tasks. When the configuration control blocks were modified, the modifications were mirrored in EEPROM where copies of these control blocks were stored. The operational control blocks were also accessible to all components for read access, but each operational control block has an “owner” that performs all writes to the operational control blocks. If a non “owner” wishes to change an operational control block, a signal or message was used to let the “owner” know the control block should be updated.
  • The major design tasks for the prototype included designing and documenting the external I2C protocol that was used to communicate to “chained” SENTRY boxes, and the new command line interface commands to support features that were previously available only via the SENTRY SHOW Screen interface. The HTML code was developed for the prototype, as well as the “slave” SENTRY code to run in a personality module of a “chained” SENTRY. Further discrete design efforts were required to code the system initialization, the local I2C task, the external I2C task, the serial port control task, the telnet control task, the user interface task, the power coordination task, the extern user interface (button/LED) control task, and the WEB control task.
  • The major software components developed for the prototype are listed in the following Tables.
    SenINIT—SENTRY initialization procedure. This software was
    the first SENTRY software that executes. It performs hardware,
    software (builds the Configuration and Operational global
    control blocks), and OS initialization. This code spawns the
    SENTRY operational tasks that provide the system services.
  • TskSER—One instance of this task was spawned for each
    active serial port. In the initial product there was one
    instance of this task. This task spawns TskUSR when a logon
    was detected. This task owns the serial port operational array
    control block in global memory. This control block was updated
    to reflect the status of the serial port. Once a TskUSR was
    spawned, this task performs serial port monitoring functions
    and if modem status signal indicate a lost connection, this
    task will signal TskUSR (via an OS interface) of this event.
  • TskTELNET—One instance of this task was spawned to listen
    for telnet connections. When a connection was detected, this
    task spawns TskUSR for the connection.
  • TskFTP—One instance of this task was spawned to listen for
    FTP connections. The function of this task was to provide
    field software updates for the system. The mechanism used was
    determined based on the developer kit capabilities.
  • TskWEB—This task was to provide WEB access via the system
    provided WEB server. The mechanism and number of instances of
    this task was determined based on the developer kit
    capabilities.
  • TskI2C—There were two versions of this task; the local
    version that controls internal I2C connections and the global
    version that controls external I2C connections. For the first
    implementation there were two instances of this task, one to
    control the single I2C internal connection and one to control
    the single I2C external connection. These tasks implement the
    protocol for communicating control requests from the system to
    the I2C connected devices. Control requests were received via
    system signals or messages (depending on the OS capabilities)
    from the power control coordinating task (TskPCntl) for power
    control requests and from the external user interface task
    (TskEUI) for LED control requests. This task communicates
    power control status updates received from the IPM's to
    TskPCntl and external button status updates to TskEUI using
    system signals or messages as necessary.
  • TskPCntl—This was the power control coordinating task.
    There was one instance of this task. This task receives power
    control request from the user interface tasks (TskUSR and
    TskWEB) via system provided signals or messages and passes
    them to the correct I2C task (internal or external) using
    signals or messages. This task receives status updates from
    the I2C tasks via signals or messages. TskPCntl “owns” the
    IPMO and PCRO arrays and it updates the status fields in
    entries in these arrays as necessary.
  • TskEUI—This was the external user interface task that
    handles the push button functions and the LED display
    functions for the system. This task communicates with the
    local TskI2C via signals or messages to update the LED. TskI2C
    sends signals or messages to this task when the state of the
    external push button changes.
  • TskUSR—This command line user interface task was spawned by
    TskSER and TskTELNET when a user connection was detected. This
    task verifies the user login and then implements the command
    line interface. This routine communicates power control
    commands via signals or messages to TskPCntl. This routine
    “owns” the active command line user array. Because there were
    multiple instances of this task, locks were used to serialize
    access to the active user array.
  • TskSYS—This was the general system task. Specific functions
    for this task were defined as development progressed.
  • The control blocks were globally addressable by all software in the system. Such data structures exist in RAM and were mirrored in EEPROM memory. They were constructed during system initialization using the non volatile versions in EEPROM memory. If the EEPROM memory was empty, the control blocks were built using defaults and the EEPROM memory was initialized using defaults as well. All software has read access to all of the data structures. The data in these control blocks was configuration data and was only changed as a result of configuration updates. The data was mostly static and was written during initialization and when configuration changes occur during an authorized user session. All write access to this data consists of a two step process where the Global RAM copy of the data was updated followed by an update of the EEPROM copy of the data. There were seven global configuration control blocks as illustrated below. The following Tables describe each control block structure used in the prototype.
    SENTRY Configuration Table (SCT) -- This control block
    contains global configuration information. There was a single
    instance of this control block.
  • Username/Password Array (UNP) -- This was an array of control
    blocks with each entry representing a user defined to the
    system. System locks were used to serialize access to this
    array when adding/deleting users. There was room for sixty-
    four entries in this array.
  • Intelligent Power Module (IPM) Array -- This was an array of
    control blocks with each entry representing an IPM defined to
    the system. There was room for 32 entries in this array.
  • Power Control Relay (PCR) Array -- This was an array of
    control blocks with each entry representing an PCR defined to
    the system. There was room for 128 entries in this array.
  • Group Power Control Relay (GRP) Array -- This was an array of
    control blocks with each entry representing an Group of PCRs.
    There was room for 64 entries in this array.
  • Serial Port (SER) Array -- This was an array of control blocks
    with each entry representing a serial port that can be used to
    access the system. There was room for two entries in this
    array.
  • I2C Array—This was an array of control blocks with each
    entry representing an I2C connection. There was room for two
    entries in this array.
  • The Global RAM Operational Control Block Structures were globally addressable by all software in the system. These data structures exist only in RAM and are lost during a system restart. They were constructed during system initialization using current operational values. All software has read access to all of the data structures. The data in these control blocks was operational data and was changed to reflect the current operational status of devices in the system. Each of these control blocks has an “owner” task that performs updates by writing to the control block. There were six global operational control blocks as illustrated below. Complete descriptions of each control block structure follows.
    Intelligent Power Module (IPMO) Array -- This was an array of
    control blocks with each entry representing an IPM defined to
    the system. There was room for 32 entries in this array. The
    entries in this array correspond directly to the IPM
    configuration control block. These control blocks contain
    dynamic information that changes regularly. The relay
    coordination task (TskPCntl) “owns” this array.
  • Power Control Relay (PCRO) Array -- This was an array of
    control blocks with each entry representing an PCR defined to
    the system. There was room for 128 entries in this array.
    The entries in this array correspond directly to the PCR
    configuration control block. These control blocks contain
    dynamic information that changes regularly. The relay
    coordination task (TskPCntl) “owns” this array.
  • I2C (I2CO) Array -- This was an array of control blocks with
    each entry representing an I2C connection. There was room for
    2 entries in this array. The entries in this array correspond
    directly to the I2C configuration control block. These
    control blocks contain dynamic information that changes
    regularly. The I2C task (TskI2C) “owns” this array.
  • Serial Port (SERO) Array -- This was an array of control
    blocks with each entry representing a serial port that can be
    used by the system. There was room for two entries in this
    array. The entries in this array correspond directly to the
    serial port configuration control block. These control blocks
    contain dynamic information that changes regularly. The
    serial port task (TskSER) “owns” this array.
  • Active Command Line User (UCLI) Array -- This was an array of
    control blocks with each entry representing a current active
    command line user of the system. The SCT was room for 5
    entries in this array. These control blocks contain dynamic
    information that changes regularly. The user interface task
    (TskUSR) “owns” this array. There were multiple instances of
    TskUSR so locks were used for this array.
  • Active HTTP Interface User (UHTP) Array -- This was an array
    of control blocks with each entry representing a WEB user.
    There was room for 5 entries in this array. These control
    blocks contain dynamic information that changes regularly.
    The WEB task (TskWEB) “owns” this array.
  • In FIG. 7, a network remote power management system 700 includes a host system 702 connected over a network 704 to a remote system 706. A power manager 708, e.g., like outlet strips 100 and 200 of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B, is used to monitor and control the operating power supplied to a plurality of computer-based appliances 714 associated with a network interface controller (NIC) 716.
  • Such computer-based appliances 714 are subject to software freezing or crashing, and as such can become unresponsive and effectively dead. It is also some mission-critical assignment that suffers during such down time. It is therefore the role and purpose of the network remote power management system 700 to monitor the power and environmental operating conditions in which the computer-based appliance 714 operates, and to afford management personnel the ability to turn the computer-based appliance 714 on and off from the host system 702. Such power cycling allows a power-on rebooting of software in the computer-based appliance 714 to be forced without actually having to visit the site. The operating conditions and environment are preferably reported to the host 702 on request and when alarms occur.
  • The power manager 708 further includes a network interface controller (NIC) 718, and this may be connected to a security device 720. If the network 704 is the Internet, or otherwise insecure, it is important to provide protection of a protocol stack 722 from accidental and/or malicious attacks that could disrupt the operation or control of the computer-based appliance 714. At a minimum, the security device 720 can be a user password mechanism. Better than that, it could include a discrete network firewall and data encryption.
  • The protocol stack 722 interfaces to a remote power manager 724, and it converts software commands communicated in the form of TCP/IP datapackets 726 into signals the remote power manager can use. For example, messages can be sent from the host 702 that will cause the remote power manager 724 to operate the relay-switch 712. In reverse, voltage, current, and temperature readings collected by the sensor 710 are collected by the remote power manager 724 and encoded by the protocol stack 722 into appropriate datapackets 726. Locally, a keyboard 728 can be used to select a variety of readouts on a display 730, and also to control the relay-switch 712.
  • The display 730 and keyboard 728 can be connected as a terminal through a serial connection to the power manager 724. Such serial connection can have a set of intervening modems that allow the terminal to be remotely located. The display 730 and keyboard 728 can also be virtual, in the sense that they are both emulated by a Telnet connection over the network 704.
  • The host 702 typically comprises a network interface controller (NIC) 732 connected to a computer platform and its operating system 734. Such operating system can include Microsoft WINDOWS-NT, or any other similar commercial product. Such preferably supports or includes a Telnet application 736, a network browser 738, and/or an SNMP application 740 with an appropriate MIB 742. A terminal emulation program or user terminal 744 is provided so a user can manage the system 700 from a single console.
  • If the computer-based appliance 714 is a conventional piece of network equipment, e.g., as supplied by Cisco Systems (San Jose, Calif.), there will usually be a great deal of pre-existing SNMP management software already installed, e.g., in host 702 and especially in the form of SNMP 740. In such case it is usually preferable to communicate with the protocol stack 722 using SNMP protocols and procedures. Alternatively, the Telnet application 736 can be used to control the remote site 706.
  • An ordinary browser application 738 can be implemented with MSN Explorer, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Netscape NAVIGATOR or COMMUNICATOR. The protocol stack 722 preferably includes the ability to send hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) messages to the host 702 in datapackets 726. In essence, the protocol stack 722 would include an embedded website that exists at the IP-address of the remote site 706. An exemplary embodiment of a similar technology is represented by the MASTERSWITCH-PLUS marketed by American Power Conversion (West Kingston, R.I.).
  • Many commercial network devices provide a contact or logic-level input port that can be usurped for the “tickle” signal. Cisco Systems routers, for example, provide an input that can be supported in software to issue the necessary message and identifier to the system administrator. A device interrupt has been described here because it demands immediate system attention, but a polled input port could also be used.
  • Network information is generally exchanged with protocol data unit (PDU) messages, which are objects that contain variables and have both titles and values. SNMP uses five types of PDU's to monitor a network. Two deal with reading terminal data, two deal with setting terminal data, and one, the trap, is used for monitoring network events such as terminal start-ups or shut-downs. When a user wants to see if a terminal is attached to the network, for example, SNMP is used to send out a read PDU to that terminal. If the terminal is attached, a user receives back a PDU with a value “yes, the terminal is attached”. If the terminal was shut off, a user would receive a packet informing them of the shutdown with a trap PDU.
  • In alternative embodiments of the present invention, it may be advantageous to include the power manager and intelligent power module functions internally as intrinsic components of an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). In applications where it is too late to incorporate such functionally, external plug-in assemblies are preferred such that off-the-shelf UPS systems can be used.
  • Once a user has installed and configured the power manager 708, a serial communications connection is established. For example, with a terminal or terminal emulation program. Commercial embodiments of the present invention that have been constructed use a variety of communications access methods.
  • For modem access, the communication software is launched that supports ANSI or VT100 terminal emulation to dial the phone number of the external modem attached to the power manager. When the modems connect, a user should see a “CONNECT” message. A user then presses the enter key to send a carriage return.
  • For direct RS-232C access, a user preferably starts any serial communication software that supports ANSI or VT100 terminal emulation. The program configures a serial port to one of the supported data rates (38400, 79200, 9600, 4800, 7400, 7200, and 300 BPS), along with no parity, eight data bits, and one stop bit, and must assert its Device Ready signal (DTR or DSR). A user then presses the enter key to send a carriage return.
  • For Ethernet network connections, the user typically connects to a power manager 708 through a modem or console serial port, a TELNET program, or TCP/IP interface. The power manager 708 preferably automatically detects the data rate of the carriage return and sends a username login prompt back to a user, starting a session. After the carriage return, a user will receive a banner that consists of the word “power manager” followed by the current power manager version string and a blank line and then a “Username:” prompt.
  • A user logged in with an administrative username can control power and make configuration changes. A user logged in with a general username can control power on/off cycling. Users logged in administrative usernames can control power to all intelligent power modules, a user logged in with a general username may be restricted to controlling power to a specific intelligent power module or set of intelligent power modules, as configured by the administrator.
  • A parent case, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/732,557, filed 72/08/2000, titled NETWORK-CONNECTED POWER MANAGER FOR REBOOTING REMOTE COMPUTER-BASED APPLIANCES, includes many details on the connection and command structure used for configuration management of power manager embodiments of the present invention. Such patent application is incorporated herein by reference and the reader will find many useful implementation details there. Such then need not be repeated here.
  • Referring again to FIG. 7, a user at the user terminal 744 is able to send a command to the power manager 724 to have the power manager configuration file uploaded. The power manager 724 concentrates the configuration data it is currently operating with into a file. The user at user terminal 744 is also able to send a command to the power manager 724 to have it accept a power manager configuration file download. The download file then follows. Once downloaded, the power manager 724 begins operating with that configuration if there were no transfer or format errors detected. These commands to upload and download configuration files are preferably implemented as an extension to an already existing repertoire of commands, and behind some preexisting password protection mechanism. HyperTerminal, and other terminal emulation programs allow users to send and receive files.
  • In a minimal implementation, the power manager configuration files are not directly editable because they are in a concentrated format. It would, however be possible to implement specialized disassemblers, editors, and assemblers to manipulate these files off-line.
  • FIG. 8 is a diagram of an expandable power management system 800 that could be implemented in the style of the outlet strip 100 (FIG. 1). In one commercial embodiment of the present invention, a first power controller board 802 is daisy-chain connected through a serial cable 803 to a second power controller board 804. In turn, the second power controller board 804 is connected through a serial cable 805 to a third power controller board 806. All three power controller boards can communicate with a user terminal 808 connected by a cable 809, but such communication must pass through the top power controller board 802 first.
  • Alternatively, the user terminal could be replaced by an IP-address interface that provided a web presence and interactive webpages. If then connected to the Internet, ordinary browsers could be used to upload and download user configurations.
  • Each power controller board is preferably identical in its hardware and software construction, and yet the one placed at the top of the serial daisy-chain is able to detect that situation and take on a unique role as gateway. Each power controller board is similar to power controller 208 (FIG. 2). Each power controller board communicates with the others to coordinate actions. Each power controller board independently stores user configuration data for each of its power control ports. A typical implementation had four relay-operated power control ports. Part of the user configuration can include a user-assigned name for each control port.
  • A resynchronization program is executed in each microprocessor of each power controller board 802, 804, and 806, that detects where in the order of the daisy-chain that the particular power controller board is located. The appropriate main program control loop is selected from a collection of firmware programs that are copied to every power controller board. In such way, power controller boards may be freely added, replaced, or removed, and the resulting group will resynchronize itself with whatever is present.
  • The top power controller board 802 uniquely handles interactive user log-in, user-name tables, its private port names, and transfer acknowledgements from the other power controller boards. All the other power controller boards concern themselves only with their private resources, e.g., port names.
  • During a user configuration file upload, power controller board 802 begins a complete message for all the power controller boards in the string with the user-table. Such is followed by the first outlets configuration block from power controller board 802, and the other outlet configuration blocks from power controller boards 804 and 806. The power controller board 802 tells each when to chime in. Each block carries a checksum so transmission errors could be detected. Each block begins with a header that identifies the source or destination, then the data, then the checksum.
  • During a user configuration file download, power controller board 802 receives a command from a user that says a configuration file is next. The user-name table and the serial-name table is received by power controller board 802 along with its private outlets configuration block and checksum. The next section is steered to power controller board 804 and it receives its outlets configuration block and checksum. If good, an acknowledgement is sent to the top power controller board 802. The power controller boards further down the string do the same until the whole download has been received. If all power controller boards returned an acknowledgement, the power controller board 802 acknowledges the whole download. Operation then commences with the configuration. Otherwise a fault is generated and the old configuration is retained.
  • In general, embodiments of the present invention provide power-on sequencing of its complement of power-outlet sockets so that power loading is brought on gradually and not all at once. For example, power comes up on the power outlet sockets 2-4 seconds apart. An exaggerated power-up in-rush could otherwise trip alarms and circuit breakers. Embodiments display or otherwise report the total current being delivered to all loads, and some embodiments monitor individual power outlet sockets. Further embodiments of the present invention provide individual remote power control of independent power outlet sockets, e.g., for network operations center reboot of a crashed network server in the field.
  • The power-On sequencing of the power-outlet sockets preferably allows users to design the embodiments to be loaded at 80% of full capacity, versus 60% of full capacity for prior art units with no sequencing. In some situations, the number of power drops required in a Data Center can thus be reduced with substantial savings in monthly costs.
  • FIG. 9 represents a power distribution unit (PDU) embodiment of the present invention, and is referred to herein by the general reference numeral 900. The PDU 900 allows a personality module 902 to be installed for various kinds of control input/output communication. For an Ethernet interface, a NetSilicon type NET+50 system-on-a-chip is preferred, otherwise a Philips Semiconductor type P89C644 microcontroller could be used in personality module 902.
  • The PDU 900 further comprises an I2C peripheral board 904, and a set of four IPM's 906, 908, 910, and 912. Such provide sixteen power outlets altogether. A power supply 914 provides +5-volt logic operating power, and a microcontroller with a serial connection to an inter-IC control (I2C) bus 917. Such I2C-bus 917 preferably conforms to industry standards published by Philips Semiconductor (The Netherlands). See, www.semiconductor.philips.com. Philips Semiconductor type microcontrollers are preferably used throughout PDU 900 because I2C-bus interfaces are included.
  • A SENTRY-slave personality module 916 could be substituted for personality module 902 and typically includes a Server Technology, Inc. (Reno, Nev.) SENTRY-type interface and functionality through a standard RJ12 jack. See, e.g., website at www.servertech.com. A slave personality module 918 could be substituted for personality module 902 and provides a daisy-chain I2C interface and functionality through a standard RJ12 jack. A terminal-server personality module 920 could be substituted for personality module 902 and provides a display terminal interface, e.g., via I2C through a standard RJ12 jack, or RS-232 serial on a DIN connector. A network personality module 922 preferably provides a hypertext transfer protocol (http) browser interface, e.g., via 10Base-T network interface and a CAT-5 connector. The on-board microcontroller provides all these basic personalities through changes in its programming, e.g., stored in EEPROM or Flash memory devices. All of PDU 900 is preferably fully integrated, e.g., within power distribution outlet strip 100, in FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 10 illustrates an intelligent power module (IPT-IPM) 1000 and represents one way to implement IPT-IPM's 120-123 of FIG. 1; IPT-IPM's 220-223 of FIGS. 2A and 2B; IPT-IPM 300 of FIG. 3; IPT-IPM 400 of FIG. 4; power controller boards 802, 804, and 806 of FIG. 8; and, 4-port IPM's 906, 908, 910, and 912 of FIG. 9. The IPT-IPM 1000 comprises an I2C microcontroller 1002 connected to communicate on a daisy-chain I2C serial bus with in and out connectors 1004 and 1006. An AC-Line input 1008, e.g., from IPT-PS 118 in FIG. 1, is independently switched under microcontroller command to AC-Line output-1 1010, AC-Line output-2 1011, AC-Line output-3 1012, and AC-Line output-4 1013. A set of four relays (K1-K4) 1014-1017 provide normally open (NO) contacts 1018-1021. DC-power to operate the relays is respectively provided by relay power supplies 1022-1025. Optical-isolators 1026-1029 allow logic level outputs from the microcontroller 1002 to operate the relays in response to I2C commands received from the I2C-bus.
  • Similarly, optical-isolators 1030-1033 allow the presence of AC-Line voltages at AC-Line output-1 1010, AC-Line output-2 1011, AC-Line output-3 1012, and AC-Line output-4 1013, to be sensed by logic level digital inputs to microcontroller 1002. These are read as status and encoded onto the I2C-bus in response to read commands. A local user is also provided with a LED indication 1034-1037 of the AC-Line outputs. A set of load sensors 1038-1041 sense any current flowing through the primaries of respective isolation transformers 1042-1045. A logic level LS1-LS4 is respectively provided to microcontroller 1002 to indicate if current is flowing to the load.
  • In general, remote power management embodiments of the present invention are configurable and scaleable. Such provides for maximum fabricator flexibility in quickly configuring modular components to meet specific customer requests without overly burdening the manufacturing process. The following list of various customer requirements can all be met with minimal hardware, and no software changes: Vertical or Horizontal enclosure mounting; Variable controllable outlet configurations (4, 8, 12, 16 outlets/enclosure); Variable number of power input feed configurations to support redundant power to critical network equipment (up to 4 input feeds); Option of displaying one or more input load currents on a dual 7-segment LED display(s); Ability to reorient the enclosure without having to invert the 7-segment LED display(s); Measuring per outlet load current for individual appliance load reporting; and a Variety of user interfaces that can be substituted at final product configuration time.
  • A modular component concept allows for communications and automated detection of any included modular components over a common communications channel. So a multi-drop, addressable, and extensible bus architecture is used. The Inter-IC (I2C) bus developed by Philips semiconductor is preferred. Each modular component contains a microprocessor capable of interpreting and responding to commands over I2C-bus. An application layer enhancement on top of the standard I2C-protocol allows for data integrity checking. A checksum is appended to all commands and responses. Such checksum is validated before commands are acted upon, and data responses are acknowledged. Each module on the I2C power control bus has either a hard-coded or configurable address to enable multiple components to communicate over the same two wires that comprise the bus. Configuration jumpers on the power supply module are used to select operational items, e.g., #Power input feeds, #four port Intelligent Power Modules (IPM) attached to each input feed, Input feed overload current threshold, and Display inversion.
  • The main components used in most instances are the power supply board (IPT-PS) that supplies DC voltage on the interconnection bus, and monitors and reports input feed load and enclosure configuration information; the intelligent power module IPM (IPT-IPM) which controls the source of power to each outlet based on I2C commands from the master controller personality module (PM), and that reports whether the outlet is in the requested state and the outlet load current back to the master controller; the display board (IPT-I2C) used to display load current as supplied by the master controller and to monitor user-requested resets, and that can communicate with sensors attached to its Dallas Semiconductor-type “1-wire” bus to the master controller; and, the personality modules that act as an I2C-bus master, e.g., IPT-Serial PM, IPT-Slave PM, and IPT-Network PM.
  • Such personality module can initialize, issue commands to, and receive responses from the various components on the bus. It also is responsible for executing user power control and configuration requests, by issuing commands on the bus to the various modules that perform these functions. These personality modules support several user interfaces and can be swapped to provide this functionality. The IPT-Serial PM is used for serial only communications. The IPT-Slave PM is used to connect to an earlier model controllers, and allows for a variety of user interfaces, e.g., Telnet, Http, SNMP, serial, modem. The IPT-Network PM has much of the same functionality as a previous model controller, but has all that functionality contained on the personality module itself and requires no external enclosure.
  • By combining and configuring these components, a variety of power control products can be constructed in many different enclosure forms, each with a variety of power input feed and outlet arrangements.
  • Lower-cost power control products can be linked to a more expensive master controller using an IPT-Network PM to configure a large-scale power control network that needs only a single IP-address and user interface. Such would require a high level, high bandwidth, multi-drop communications protocol such as industry-standard Controller Area Network (CAN). The CAN bus supports 1-Mbit/sec data transfers over a distance of 40 meters. This would enable serial sessions from a user to serial ports on the device being controlled to be virtualized and thus avoid needing costly analog switching circuitry and control logic.
  • Although the present invention has been described in terms of the present embodiment, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be interpreted as limiting. Various alterations and modifications will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art after having read the above disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as covering all alterations and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (12)

1. An electrical power distribution system of the type being connectable to provide power to one or more electrical loads in an electrical equipment rack, the power distribution system comprising:
a power distribution unit (PDU) in power controlling communication with at least one of the plurality of power outputs, the PDU having:
a power distribution unit enclosure;
a power input penetrating the power distribution unit enclosure;
a plurality of power outputs disposed in the power distribution unit enclosure, wherein each of the plurality of power outputs is connectable to a corresponding one of the one or more electrical loads; and
a PDU communications section;
an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) having a UPS communications section; and
a command communications link between the UPS communications section and the PDU communications section.
2. The electrical power distribution system of claim 1, further comprising a network personality module in communication with at least one intelligent power module, wherein each of the at least one intelligent power module is in power control communication with at least one of the plurality of power outputs.
3. The electrical power distribution system of claim 2, wherein the network personality module is removably mounted in the PDU.
4. The electrical power distribution system of claim 2, wherein the network personality module is connected to a network interface.
5. The electrical power distribution system of claim 2, wherein the network personality module supports simple network management protocol (SNMP).
6. The electrical power distribution system of claim 1, wherein the UPS is mounted in the electrical equipment rack.
7. The electrical power distribution system of claim 1, wherein the PDU is mounted in the electrical equipment rack.
8. A method of managing power provided to one or more electrical loads in an electrical equipment rack, the method comprising:
with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) mounted in the electrical equipment rack, providing operating power to the one or more electrical loads;
with a power distribution unit (PDU), managing the operating power provided to the one or more electrical loads; and
with a communications link between the PDU and the UPS, issuing commands from the PDU to the UPS.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of issuing commands comprises issuing a read command.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of issuing commands comprises issuing a write command.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: with a personality module, supplying operating power to a plurality of power outputs, wherein each of the plurality of power outputs provides power to a corresponding one of the one or more electrical loads.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of supplying operating power comprises: with the personality module, supplying DC operating power that is derived from an AC power input.
US11/459,011 1996-07-23 2006-07-20 Network remote power management outlet strip Abandoned US20070050443A1 (en)

Priority Applications (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US11/459,011 US20070050443A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-07-20 Network remote power management outlet strip
US13/290,944 US8601291B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2011-11-07 Power management device with communications capability and method of use
US14/059,271 US20140070628A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-10-21 Network power management system
US14/309,786 US20140304534A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2014-06-19 Network power management system
US14/864,286 US20160011639A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2015-09-24 Network power management system

Applications Claiming Priority (6)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US08/685,436 US5949974A (en) 1996-07-23 1996-07-23 System for reading the status and for controlling the power supplies of appliances connected to computer networks
US09/375,471 US6711613B1 (en) 1996-07-23 1999-08-16 Remote power control system
US09/732,557 US7099934B1 (en) 1996-07-23 2000-12-08 Network-connecting power manager for remote appliances
US09/930,780 US7043543B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2001-08-15 Vertical-mount electrical power distribution plugstrip
US10/313,314 US7171461B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2002-12-06 Network remote power management outlet strip
US11/459,011 US20070050443A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-07-20 Network remote power management outlet strip

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/313,314 Continuation US7171461B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2002-12-06 Network remote power management outlet strip

Related Child Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US13/290,944 Continuation US8601291B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2011-11-07 Power management device with communications capability and method of use

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20070050443A1 true US20070050443A1 (en) 2007-03-01

Family

ID=34923518

Family Applications (15)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/313,314 Expired - Fee Related US7171461B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2002-12-06 Network remote power management outlet strip
US11/125,963 Abandoned US20050223090A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2005-05-09 Network power management system
US11/126,092 Active 2025-09-27 US8489667B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2005-05-09 Network power administration system
US11/458,988 Abandoned US20060259538A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-07-20 Network remote power management outlet strip
US11/459,011 Abandoned US20070050443A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-07-20 Network remote power management outlet strip
US11/548,201 Abandoned US20070140238A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-10-10 Power management device with communications capability and method of use
US11/548,175 Abandoned US20070136453A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-10-10 Networkable electrical power distribution plugstrip with current display and method of use
US11/548,187 Abandoned US20070130243A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-10-10 Electrical power distribution plugstrip with current information display and method of use
US12/965,563 Abandoned US20110167280A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2010-12-10 Network Power Management System
US13/091,082 Expired - Fee Related US8549067B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2011-04-20 Networkable electrical power distribution plugstrip with current display and method of use
US13/214,050 Expired - Fee Related US8549062B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2011-08-19 Network remote power management outlet strip
US13/290,944 Expired - Fee Related US8601291B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2011-11-07 Power management device with communications capability and method of use
US14/059,271 Abandoned US20140070628A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-10-21 Network power management system
US14/309,786 Abandoned US20140304534A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2014-06-19 Network power management system
US14/864,286 Abandoned US20160011639A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2015-09-24 Network power management system

Family Applications Before (4)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/313,314 Expired - Fee Related US7171461B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2002-12-06 Network remote power management outlet strip
US11/125,963 Abandoned US20050223090A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2005-05-09 Network power management system
US11/126,092 Active 2025-09-27 US8489667B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2005-05-09 Network power administration system
US11/458,988 Abandoned US20060259538A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-07-20 Network remote power management outlet strip

Family Applications After (10)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US11/548,201 Abandoned US20070140238A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-10-10 Power management device with communications capability and method of use
US11/548,175 Abandoned US20070136453A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-10-10 Networkable electrical power distribution plugstrip with current display and method of use
US11/548,187 Abandoned US20070130243A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2006-10-10 Electrical power distribution plugstrip with current information display and method of use
US12/965,563 Abandoned US20110167280A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2010-12-10 Network Power Management System
US13/091,082 Expired - Fee Related US8549067B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2011-04-20 Networkable electrical power distribution plugstrip with current display and method of use
US13/214,050 Expired - Fee Related US8549062B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2011-08-19 Network remote power management outlet strip
US13/290,944 Expired - Fee Related US8601291B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2011-11-07 Power management device with communications capability and method of use
US14/059,271 Abandoned US20140070628A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-10-21 Network power management system
US14/309,786 Abandoned US20140304534A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2014-06-19 Network power management system
US14/864,286 Abandoned US20160011639A1 (en) 1996-07-23 2015-09-24 Network power management system

Country Status (1)

Country Link
US (15) US7171461B2 (en)

Cited By (25)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20050203987A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2005-09-15 Server Technology, Inc. Network power administration system
US20060031454A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-02-09 Ewing Carrel W Network-connected power manager for rebooting remote computer-based appliances
US20070016664A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-01-18 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system
US20070076340A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-04-05 Server Technology, Inc. Electrical power distribution device having a current display
US20080093927A1 (en) * 2006-09-20 2008-04-24 Server Technology, Inc. Modular power distribution unit system
US20090236909A1 (en) * 2008-03-19 2009-09-24 Liebert Corporation Adaptive Power Strip
US20090242265A1 (en) * 2008-03-31 2009-10-01 Panduit Corp. Power Outlet Unit
US20100235009A1 (en) * 2009-03-13 2010-09-16 Susan Banks Method and Apparatus for Implementing a Consumer-Configurable Modular Electrical System
US20100306559A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2010-12-02 Server Technology, Inc. Power-manager configuration upload and download method and system for network managers
US20100328849A1 (en) * 2009-06-25 2010-12-30 Ewing Carrel W Power distribution apparatus with input and output power sensing and method of use
US20110195788A1 (en) * 2010-02-10 2011-08-11 Leap Forward Gaming Device health monitoring for gaming machines
US20110195792A1 (en) * 2010-02-10 2011-08-11 Leap Forward Gaming Remote power reset feature on a gaming machine
WO2013040575A1 (en) 2011-09-15 2013-03-21 Electronic Systems Protection, Inc. Power-centric system management
US8814706B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2014-08-26 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Radio candle mount
US8814681B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2014-08-26 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Candle device for generating display interfaces on the main display of a gaming machine
US8968086B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2015-03-03 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Video processing and signal routing apparatus for providing picture in a picture capabilities on an electronic gaming machine
CN104808760A (en) * 2015-04-09 2015-07-29 中国电子科技集团公司第三十二研究所 IPMI redundant power source management system controlled by single power source management
US9240100B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2016-01-19 Leap Forward Gaming Virtual players card
US9489799B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2016-11-08 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Lottery games on an electronic gaming machine
US9703342B2 (en) 2012-02-10 2017-07-11 Server Technology, Inc. System and method for configuring plurality of linked power distribution units in which configuration data of the linked power distribution units are accessible by the remote system
WO2017216715A1 (en) * 2016-06-14 2017-12-21 Energy Re-Connect Ltd. Methods circuits devices assemblies systems and functionally associated computer executable code for detecting a line condition
US9952261B2 (en) 2009-03-04 2018-04-24 Server Technology, Inc. Monitoring power-related parameters in a power distribution unit
US10524377B2 (en) 2018-01-31 2019-12-31 Eaton Intelligent Power Limited Power distribution unit with interior busbars
US10642299B2 (en) 2007-12-28 2020-05-05 Server Technology, Inc. Power distribution, management, and monitoring systems and methods
US11316368B2 (en) * 2007-03-14 2022-04-26 Zonit Structured Solutions, Llc Premises power usage monitoring system

Families Citing this family (168)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7047338B1 (en) * 2000-07-18 2006-05-16 Igt Configurable hot-swap communication
US9627888B2 (en) * 2000-12-08 2017-04-18 Server Technology, Inc. Electrical power distribution device having a current display
TWI454008B (en) * 2011-01-04 2014-09-21 Delta Electronics Inc Power distribution unit and power management system employing the same
US7550870B2 (en) * 2002-05-06 2009-06-23 Cyber Switching, Inc. Method and apparatus for remote power management and monitoring
US20040162898A1 (en) * 2003-02-14 2004-08-19 Rich Jason H. Dedicated networked device monitoring system
US8060589B1 (en) * 2003-06-10 2011-11-15 Logiclink Corporation System and method for monitoring equipment over a network
US7458028B2 (en) * 2003-07-18 2008-11-25 Avinash Chidambaram Graphical interface for configuring a power supply controller
US7414329B2 (en) 2003-10-30 2008-08-19 Server Technology, Inc. Polyphase power distribution and monitoring apparatus
WO2005043362A2 (en) * 2003-10-30 2005-05-12 International Power Switch Power switch
KR100810515B1 (en) * 2003-12-13 2008-03-10 삼성전자주식회사 Management system of display
US8138634B2 (en) * 2004-07-31 2012-03-20 Server Technology, Inc. Transfer switch with arc suppression
US20060049694A1 (en) * 2004-09-03 2006-03-09 Lawrence Kates Method and apparatus for load management in an electric power system
US20060052906A1 (en) * 2004-09-03 2006-03-09 Lawrence Kates Method and apparatus for load management metering in an electric power system
TW200627976A (en) * 2004-09-20 2006-08-01 American Power Conv Corp Equipment rack data/power distribution
EP1806011A4 (en) * 2004-10-04 2010-06-02 Server Tech Inc Communication network
US7400493B2 (en) * 2004-11-01 2008-07-15 Server Technology, Inc. Circuit breaking link status detection and reporting circuit
US7318009B2 (en) * 2005-01-18 2008-01-08 American Power Conversion Corporation Event customization
US20060198208A1 (en) * 2005-03-07 2006-09-07 Lantronix, Inc. Publicasting systems and methods
US9172275B2 (en) * 2005-07-11 2015-10-27 Minesh Bhakta Power monitoring and control system and method
US20070089163A1 (en) * 2005-10-18 2007-04-19 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for controlling security of a remote network power device
WO2007056116A2 (en) * 2005-11-02 2007-05-18 Server Technology, Inc. Power distribution load shedding system and method of use
TW200723632A (en) * 2005-12-15 2007-06-16 Inventec Corp Current overload status-informing system and the method
US7554796B2 (en) * 2006-01-20 2009-06-30 Adc Telecommunications, Inc. Modular power distribution system and methods
US7627401B2 (en) * 2006-02-07 2009-12-01 Glenbrook Associates, Inc. System and method for remotely regulating the power consumption of an electric appliance
US7631221B2 (en) * 2006-02-24 2009-12-08 Zippy Technology Corp. Method for identifying power supply modules
US20070299562A1 (en) * 2006-06-26 2007-12-27 Lawrence Kates Method and apparatus for temperature-based load management metering in an electric power system
KR100801992B1 (en) * 2006-06-30 2008-02-12 주식회사 넥스지 Auto power controller of external equipment on valid check
US7533191B2 (en) * 2006-06-30 2009-05-12 Intel Corporation Methods and arrangements for devices to share a common address on a bus
US8537027B2 (en) * 2006-07-24 2013-09-17 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method for controlling an electronic device and electronic device
US20080062003A1 (en) * 2006-08-07 2008-03-13 Christian Paetz Wireless controllable power control device molded into a power cable
US7860955B2 (en) * 2006-12-08 2010-12-28 Liebert Corporation Self-configuring IP addressable devices utilizing two ethernet protocol IP ports
EP2095203B1 (en) * 2006-12-08 2013-02-13 Liebert Corporation User managed power system with security
US7969156B2 (en) * 2007-03-30 2011-06-28 Liebert Corporation Method and apparatus for monitoring a load
US7783910B2 (en) * 2007-03-30 2010-08-24 International Business Machines Corporation Method and system for associating power consumption of a server with a network address assigned to the server
US7857214B2 (en) * 2007-04-26 2010-12-28 Liebert Corporation Intelligent track system for mounting electronic equipment
US8132035B2 (en) 2007-05-25 2012-03-06 Raven Technology Group, LLC Ethernet interface
US20090124864A1 (en) * 2007-11-09 2009-05-14 Steven Bruce Alexander Information and pneumatic architecture for a patient care and treatment device
EP2284649A4 (en) 2007-12-25 2011-10-05 Herling Chang A network power source distributing device
US8014902B2 (en) * 2008-02-22 2011-09-06 Lawrence Kates Method and apparatus for energy-efficient temperature-based systems management
US8671294B2 (en) * 2008-03-07 2014-03-11 Raritan Americas, Inc. Environmentally cognizant power management
US8605091B2 (en) * 2008-04-18 2013-12-10 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. Enhanced power distribution unit with self-orienting display
US8713342B2 (en) * 2008-04-30 2014-04-29 Raritan Americas, Inc. System and method for efficient association of a power outlet and device
US8886985B2 (en) * 2008-07-07 2014-11-11 Raritan Americas, Inc. Automatic discovery of physical connectivity between power outlets and IT equipment
US20100010683A1 (en) * 2008-07-14 2010-01-14 Lawrence Kates Method and apparatus for power-limiting electrical access
US20100019575A1 (en) * 2008-07-22 2010-01-28 Christopher Eugene Verges System and method for creating and controlling a virtual power distribution unit
EP2356483B1 (en) * 2008-10-20 2023-05-03 Sunbird Software, Inc. System and method for automatic determination of the physical location of data center equipment
WO2010048316A1 (en) 2008-10-21 2010-04-29 Raritan Americas, Inc. Methods of achieving cognizant power management
FR2938949B1 (en) * 2008-11-25 2011-01-21 Thales Sa ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT FOR SECURING EXCHANGES OF DATA BETWEEN A COMPUTER STATION AND A NETWORK.
US8335574B2 (en) * 2008-12-09 2012-12-18 Andy Middlemiss Power controlling device and methods of use
TWI379200B (en) * 2008-12-12 2012-12-11 Via Tech Inc Methods for preventing transaction collisions on a bus and computer system utilizing the same
FR2939926B1 (en) * 2008-12-17 2010-12-10 St Microelectronics Rousset TRANSMISSION ON I2C BUS
ES2423555T3 (en) * 2009-01-07 2013-09-23 Abb Research Ltd. Substation automation device and system
US20100198535A1 (en) * 2009-02-03 2010-08-05 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. Power distribution unit monitoring network and components
DE102009009639B4 (en) * 2009-02-19 2015-04-23 Rittal Gmbh & Co. Kg Control cabinet or rack
DE102009009641B4 (en) * 2009-02-19 2015-01-08 Rittal Gmbh & Co. Kg Control cabinet or rack
CN102379070B (en) * 2009-03-31 2014-01-22 惠普开发有限公司 Determining power topology of a plurality of computer systems
KR20110006978A (en) * 2009-07-15 2011-01-21 한국전자통신연구원 System of central management computing device
CN102549851A (en) * 2009-08-07 2012-07-04 松下电器产业株式会社 Plug receptacle
US20110062780A1 (en) * 2009-09-17 2011-03-17 Cyber Switching, Inc. Power distribution unit with support for human interface and communication
US8212395B2 (en) 2009-10-29 2012-07-03 American Power Conversion Corporation Systems and methods for optimizing power loads in a power distribution unit
US8463453B2 (en) * 2009-11-13 2013-06-11 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. Intelligent metering demand response
US8324761B2 (en) * 2009-11-13 2012-12-04 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. Electrical switching module
US8755944B2 (en) * 2009-11-13 2014-06-17 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. Electrical switching module
EP2333638A1 (en) * 2009-12-03 2011-06-15 Racktivity NV Data centre management unit with protection against network isolation
US20110169447A1 (en) 2010-01-11 2011-07-14 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. Electric vehicle supply equipment
US8558504B2 (en) 2010-01-11 2013-10-15 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. Electric vehicle supply equipment with timer
GB2478025A (en) * 2010-02-17 2011-08-24 Stewart John Robert Jackson Power supply having a constant supply circuit and a timed supply circuit
US8427007B2 (en) * 2010-02-24 2013-04-23 Schneider Electric It Corporation Field replaceable management module
US8543714B2 (en) * 2010-03-05 2013-09-24 Delta Electronics, Inc. Local power management unit and power management system employing the same
CA2795625C (en) * 2010-04-07 2019-12-31 The Wiremold Company Customizable bus systems
US8723653B2 (en) * 2010-05-27 2014-05-13 Schneider Electric It Corporation Asset identification and management method and system
US20110313583A1 (en) * 2010-06-22 2011-12-22 Unified Packet Systems Corp. Integrated Wireless Power Control Device
US9331524B1 (en) * 2010-07-03 2016-05-03 Best Energy Reduction Technologies, Llc Method, system and apparatus for monitoring and measuring power usage
US9007186B1 (en) 2010-07-03 2015-04-14 Best Energy Reduction Technologies, Llc Method and apparatus for controlling power to a device
US9760140B1 (en) 2010-07-03 2017-09-12 Best Energy Reduction Technologies, Llc Method, system and apparatus for monitoring and measuring power usage by a device
US7964989B1 (en) 2010-09-09 2011-06-21 Green Power Technologies, Llc Method and system for controlling power to an electrically powered device
US8093751B1 (en) 2010-07-03 2012-01-10 Green Power Technologies, Llc Method and system for controlling power to an electrically powered device
US8464080B2 (en) 2010-08-25 2013-06-11 International Business Machines Corporation Managing server power consumption in a data center
US8600575B2 (en) * 2010-09-24 2013-12-03 Synapsense Corporation Apparatus and method for collecting and distributing power usage data from rack power distribution units (RPDUs) using a wireless sensor network
US8811377B1 (en) 2010-08-30 2014-08-19 Synapsense Corporation Apparatus and method for instrumenting devices to measure power usage using a multi-tier wireless network
KR101132163B1 (en) * 2010-10-14 2012-05-08 주식회사 마스터소프트 Power Management System and Method Thereof
US9197949B2 (en) * 2010-12-02 2015-11-24 Tenrehte Technologies, Inc. Self-organizing multiple appliance network connectivity apparatus for controlling plurality of appliances
CN201904797U (en) * 2010-12-20 2011-07-20 特通科技有限公司 Network connector module with switch function
US8633678B2 (en) 2011-05-10 2014-01-21 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. Electric vehicle supply equipment with over-current protection
US8587950B2 (en) 2011-05-31 2013-11-19 Server Technology, Inc. Method and apparatus for multiple input power distribution to adjacent outputs
TWI433420B (en) * 2011-07-20 2014-04-01 Delta Electronics Inc Active power management architecture and managing method thereof
TWI448886B (en) 2011-07-28 2014-08-11 Quanta Comp Inc Rack server system and control method thereof
US9292056B2 (en) * 2011-07-28 2016-03-22 Schneider Electric It Corporation Systems and methods for wireless communication of power distribution information
US9742127B2 (en) * 2011-08-31 2017-08-22 Kimball P. Magee, Jr. Power strips
US9736045B2 (en) * 2011-09-16 2017-08-15 Qualcomm Incorporated Systems and methods for network quality estimation, connectivity detection, and load management
CN103179221A (en) * 2011-12-21 2013-06-26 英业达股份有限公司 Servo system and method for setting address of distribution unit
US8664886B2 (en) 2011-12-22 2014-03-04 Leviton Manufacturing Company, Inc. Timer-based switching circuit synchronization in an electrical dimmer
US8736193B2 (en) 2011-12-22 2014-05-27 Leviton Manufacturing Company, Inc. Threshold-based zero-crossing detection in an electrical dimmer
TWI462691B (en) * 2011-12-26 2014-11-21 Inventec Corp Rack server and management method of the same
US8882536B2 (en) 2012-01-27 2014-11-11 Chatsworth Products, Inc. Power distribution unit with interchangeable outlet adapter types
US20130215581A1 (en) 2012-01-27 2013-08-22 Chatsworth Products, Inc. Board-mounted circuit breakers for electronic equipment enclosures
US9054449B2 (en) 2012-01-27 2015-06-09 Chatsworth Products, Inc. Cable retention system for power distribution unit
US8972753B2 (en) 2012-02-14 2015-03-03 International Business Machines Corporation Determining suitability for disconnection from power outlet of a power distribution unit based on status of power supplies of a hardware device
US8897896B2 (en) * 2012-02-21 2014-11-25 Cyber Power Systems Inc. Controlling system for power distribution
CN102594602B (en) * 2012-02-23 2016-08-10 浪潮电子信息产业股份有限公司 A kind of location management design method of multi-node cloud computing server
US20130226363A1 (en) * 2012-02-23 2013-08-29 Cyber Power Systems Inc. Shut-down controlling system for power distribution unit
KR20130102406A (en) 2012-03-07 2013-09-17 삼성디스플레이 주식회사 Backlight unit and display apparatus having the same
WO2013138292A1 (en) 2012-03-12 2013-09-19 Byrne, Norman, R. Electrical energy management and monitoring system, and method
US20130246816A1 (en) * 2012-03-19 2013-09-19 Hung-Ming Hsieh Power distribution unit and method using a single internet protocol address to control multiple power distribution units
US9756756B2 (en) * 2012-03-26 2017-09-05 Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Drive cage and wires
US20130294014A1 (en) * 2012-05-02 2013-11-07 Server Technology, Inc. Relay with integrated power sensor
KR101353585B1 (en) * 2012-06-11 2014-02-11 강릉원주대학교산학협력단 wireless sensor network system and node, sensing message prosess method
TW201351920A (en) * 2012-06-14 2013-12-16 Jian-Zhi Chen Power socket with wireless network and power management function
US20140032938A1 (en) * 2012-07-27 2014-01-30 Texas Instruments Incorporated Power Management
WO2014031798A2 (en) * 2012-08-21 2014-02-27 N2 Global Solutions Incorporated A system and apparatus for providing and managing electricity
US9360908B2 (en) 2012-12-12 2016-06-07 Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Sequential power up of devices in a computing cluster based on device function
US9411407B2 (en) 2012-12-12 2016-08-09 Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Sequential power up of devices in a computing cluster based on relative commonality
JP6206788B2 (en) * 2012-12-21 2017-10-04 パナソニックIpマネジメント株式会社 Flasher
US20140218844A1 (en) * 2013-02-07 2014-08-07 Ching-Chao Tseng Rack for Electronic Devices
US9436248B2 (en) * 2013-07-31 2016-09-06 Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. Data processing system with protocol determination circuitry
US10268219B1 (en) 2013-08-07 2019-04-23 Oliver Markus Haynold Thermostat adapter
US9965007B2 (en) 2013-08-21 2018-05-08 N2 Global Solutions Incorporated System and apparatus for providing and managing electricity
TWI475371B (en) * 2013-09-13 2015-03-01 Ind Tech Res Inst Electronic device and power management method thereof
TWI579790B (en) * 2013-09-18 2017-04-21 Zhong-Zi Wang Floating Adjustment of Energy Distribution and Controlled Energy Supply System and Its Implementation
TR201311489A2 (en) * 2013-10-01 2014-12-22 Canovate Elektronik Enduestri Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi Smart power distribution unit with energy consumption meter
WO2015050520A2 (en) * 2013-10-02 2015-04-09 Canovate Elektronik Endustri Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi Smart power distribution unit for server cabinets
WO2015099726A1 (en) * 2013-12-26 2015-07-02 Schneider Electric It Corporation Systems and methods for determining input current of a power distribution unit
US9699933B2 (en) * 2014-03-06 2017-07-04 Dell Products, Lp System and method for providing AC jumper management and identifying AC jumper topology
WO2015171805A1 (en) * 2014-05-06 2015-11-12 Pce, Inc. Apparatus for distributing power
US9531126B2 (en) 2014-06-05 2016-12-27 Chatsworth Products, Inc. Electrical receptacle with locking feature
US10008880B2 (en) 2014-06-06 2018-06-26 Bj Services, Llc Modular hybrid low emissions power for hydrocarbon extraction
US9681526B2 (en) 2014-06-11 2017-06-13 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc. Power efficient line synchronized dimmer
US10678204B2 (en) 2014-09-30 2020-06-09 Honeywell International Inc. Universal analog cell for connecting the inputs and outputs of devices
US10402358B2 (en) 2014-09-30 2019-09-03 Honeywell International Inc. Module auto addressing in platform bus
US10042375B2 (en) 2014-09-30 2018-08-07 Honeywell International Inc. Universal opto-coupled voltage system
US10288286B2 (en) 2014-09-30 2019-05-14 Honeywell International Inc. Modular flame amplifier system with remote sensing
US10175870B1 (en) * 2014-11-13 2019-01-08 Marvell International Ltd. Prototyping apparatus with configurable pins and corresponding methods
US9652222B1 (en) * 2014-11-13 2017-05-16 Marvell International Ltd. Prototyping apparatus with built-in programming facility and corresponding methods
WO2016090222A1 (en) * 2014-12-04 2016-06-09 Server Technology, Inc. Magneto-resistive sensor device and magnetic bias regulator circuit, along with systems and methods incorporating same
WO2016100252A1 (en) * 2014-12-15 2016-06-23 Eaton Corporation Modular uninterruptible power supply and power distribution system
TWI521826B (en) * 2015-02-04 2016-02-11 碩天科技股份有限公司 Power apparatus with outlet identification capability and outlet identification method of power apparatus
US10663558B2 (en) 2015-05-22 2020-05-26 Schneider Electric It Corporation Systems and methods for detecting physical asset locations
TWI552475B (en) * 2015-09-16 2016-10-01 碩天科技股份有限公司 Power distribution unit having capability for remaining power management
US10042342B1 (en) 2015-10-08 2018-08-07 Best Energy Reduction Technologies, Llc Monitoring and measuring power usage and temperature
US20170111451A1 (en) * 2015-10-15 2017-04-20 LiThul LLC Methods and Apparatus For Remotely Monitoring Access To Rack Mounted Server Cabinets
US9772663B2 (en) 2015-10-15 2017-09-26 LiThul LLC System and method for distributing power to rack mounted servers
WO2017106855A1 (en) * 2015-12-18 2017-06-22 Noid Tech, Llc Control system, method and apparatus for utillity delivery subsystems
US10554519B2 (en) * 2016-02-08 2020-02-04 Cray Inc. System and method for dampening power swings in distributed computer environments
US20180011523A1 (en) * 2016-07-08 2018-01-11 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Power adapter with i/o ports
US10705566B2 (en) 2016-09-09 2020-07-07 Targus International Llc Systems, methods and devices for native and virtualized video in a hybrid docking station
US10200259B1 (en) * 2016-09-21 2019-02-05 Symantec Corporation Systems and methods for detecting obscure cyclic application-layer message sequences in transport-layer message sequences
BR102017021521A2 (en) 2016-10-07 2018-06-12 R. Byrne Norman ELECTRICAL POWER CORD, AND METHOD OF SELECTIVE ENERGIZATION AND DEENERGIZATION OF AN ENERGY OUTPUT
WO2018076063A1 (en) * 2016-10-26 2018-05-03 Targus Australia Pty Ltd Power management device
WO2018151699A1 (en) * 2017-02-14 2018-08-23 AKCess Pro Limited Expandable sensor and electrical assembly
US11231448B2 (en) 2017-07-20 2022-01-25 Targus International Llc Systems, methods and devices for remote power management and discovery
US10663498B2 (en) 2017-07-20 2020-05-26 Targus International Llc Systems, methods and devices for remote power management and discovery
CN108336821B (en) * 2018-01-25 2021-03-09 北京航天发射技术研究所 Power supply and distribution control system based on bus information fusion
US10547145B2 (en) 2018-02-05 2020-01-28 Chatworth Products, Inc. Electric receptacle with locking feature
US10352972B1 (en) * 2018-08-27 2019-07-16 Siemens Industry, Inc. Programmable multi-sensor measurement and control system addressing expandable modules
EP3899688A4 (en) 2018-12-19 2022-08-31 Targus International LLC Display and docking apparatus for a portable electronic device
TWI684914B (en) * 2018-12-25 2020-02-11 技嘉科技股份有限公司 Electronic device for updating on-board data of power off status and electronic device package assembly
US11360534B2 (en) 2019-01-04 2022-06-14 Targus Internatonal Llc Smart workspace management system
US11017334B2 (en) 2019-01-04 2021-05-25 Targus International Llc Workspace management system utilizing smart docking station for monitoring power consumption, occupancy, and usage displayed via heat maps
US11424561B2 (en) 2019-07-03 2022-08-23 Norman R. Byrne Outlet-level electrical energy management system
CA3148974A1 (en) 2019-08-22 2021-02-25 Targus International Llc Systems and methods for participant-controlled video conferencing
FR3100349B1 (en) * 2019-08-28 2022-07-08 Stmicroelectronics Grand Ouest Sas Communication on I2C bus
AU2020346791A1 (en) 2019-09-09 2022-03-24 Targus International Llc Systems and methods for docking stations removably attachable to display apparatuses and docking stand assemblies
FI20205450A (en) * 2020-05-04 2021-11-05 Riot Innovations Oy A modular apparatus to monitor and control energy usage
TWI767668B (en) * 2021-04-26 2022-06-11 康舒科技股份有限公司 Inverter device and output synchronization method thereof
US11669141B2 (en) 2021-05-28 2023-06-06 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Computing system including power nodes
US11539204B1 (en) * 2021-08-31 2022-12-27 Eaton Intelligent Power Limited Intelligent circuit breaker with dynamic coordination system
US20230075279A1 (en) * 2021-09-07 2023-03-09 Micron Technology, Inc. Serial interface for an active input/output expander of a memory sub-system
WO2023121748A1 (en) * 2021-12-23 2023-06-29 Lunar Energy, Inc. Load shedding

Citations (49)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4638175A (en) * 1984-07-03 1987-01-20 United Technologies Corporation Electric power distribution and load transfer system
US4644320A (en) * 1984-09-14 1987-02-17 Carr R Stephen Home energy monitoring and control system
US4674031A (en) * 1985-10-25 1987-06-16 Cara Corporation Peripheral power sequencer based on peripheral susceptibility to AC transients
US4719364A (en) * 1985-10-01 1988-01-12 Pulizzi Engineering, Inc. Multiple time delay power controller apparatus
US4769555A (en) * 1985-10-01 1988-09-06 Pulizzi Engineering Inc. Multi-time delay power controller apparatus with time delay turn-on and turn-off
US4918562A (en) * 1989-01-30 1990-04-17 Pulizzi Engineering, Inc. Power controller with voltage-controlled circuit breaker
US5424903A (en) * 1993-01-12 1995-06-13 Tandy Corporation Intelligent power switcher
US5440301A (en) * 1990-05-14 1995-08-08 Evans; Wayne W. Intelligent alerting and locating communication system
US5506573A (en) * 1993-05-13 1996-04-09 Server Technology, Inc. Remote sensor and method for detecting the on/off status of an automatically controlled appliance
US5534734A (en) * 1993-12-09 1996-07-09 Compusci, Inc. Power shedding device
US5577205A (en) * 1993-03-16 1996-11-19 Ht Research, Inc. Chassis for a multiple computer system
US5642002A (en) * 1993-10-29 1997-06-24 Alpha Technologies Apparatus and methods for generating uninterruptible AC power signals
US5650800A (en) * 1995-05-15 1997-07-22 Inelec Corporation Remote sensor network using distributed intelligent modules with interactive display
US5650771A (en) * 1995-04-25 1997-07-22 Lee; Chung-Cheng Electrical socket with monitoring unit for monitoring operating conditions
US5661463A (en) * 1995-04-17 1997-08-26 Communications Test Design, Inc. D.C. battery plant alarm monitoring remote apparatus
US5736847A (en) * 1994-12-30 1998-04-07 Cd Power Measurement Limited Power meter for determining parameters of muliphase power lines
US5748870A (en) * 1990-11-07 1998-05-05 Non-Stop Networks Limited Fault-tolerant networkable computer software with access locking
US5761083A (en) * 1992-03-25 1998-06-02 Brown, Jr.; Robert J. Energy management and home automation system
US5774979A (en) * 1996-07-10 1998-07-07 Kraft; James L. Modular cabling system and method for installing same
US5887194A (en) * 1992-04-30 1999-03-23 Intel Corporation Locking protocol for peripheral component interconnect utilizing master device maintaining assertion of lock signal after relinquishing control of bus such that slave device remains locked
US5923103A (en) * 1997-03-31 1999-07-13 Pulizzi Engineering, Inc. Switched-output controller apparatus with repeater function and method for constructing same
US5949974A (en) * 1996-07-23 1999-09-07 Ewing; Carrell W. System for reading the status and for controlling the power supplies of appliances connected to computer networks
US5982645A (en) * 1992-08-25 1999-11-09 Square D Company Power conversion and distribution system
US5995911A (en) * 1997-02-12 1999-11-30 Power Measurement Ltd. Digital sensor apparatus and system for protection, control, and management of electricity distribution systems
US6008805A (en) * 1996-07-19 1999-12-28 Cisco Technology, Inc. Method and apparatus for providing multiple management interfaces to a network device
US6011329A (en) * 1998-08-28 2000-01-04 Mcgovern; Patrick T. Electrical circuit cycling controller
US6095345A (en) * 1998-10-22 2000-08-01 Dell Usa L P Electronics rack alignment structures
US6160873A (en) * 1998-03-30 2000-12-12 Micro Computer Technology, Inc. System and method for remotely initializing, operating and monitoring a general-purpose computer
US6229691B1 (en) * 1998-11-13 2001-05-08 Hewlett-Packard Company Apparatus and method for mounting a power distribution unit within an equipment enclosure
US20020004913A1 (en) * 1990-06-01 2002-01-10 Amphus, Inc. Apparatus, architecture, and method for integrated modular server system providing dynamically power-managed and work-load managed network devices
US6381700B1 (en) * 1997-07-07 2002-04-30 Fukiko Yoshida Remote network device for controlling the operation voltage of network devices
US6388854B1 (en) * 1999-12-09 2002-05-14 International Business Machines Corporation Load balancing and distributing switch-on control for a circuit breaker, an appliance, a device, or an apparatus
US6408334B1 (en) * 1999-01-13 2002-06-18 Dell Usa, L.P. Communications system for multiple computer system management circuits
US20020120676A1 (en) * 2001-02-23 2002-08-29 Biondi James W. Network monitoring systems for medical devices
US6476729B1 (en) * 2000-08-22 2002-11-05 Daniel Liu Power monitoring module with display unit for electrical power source device
US6507273B1 (en) * 1999-10-08 2003-01-14 Digipower Manufacturing Inc. Network-based remotely-controlled power switch device
US6628009B1 (en) * 2000-10-06 2003-09-30 The Root Group, Inc. Load balanced polyphase power distributing system
US6684343B1 (en) * 2000-04-29 2004-01-27 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, Lp. Managing operations of a computer system having a plurality of partitions
US6711613B1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2004-03-23 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system
US6741442B1 (en) * 2000-10-13 2004-05-25 American Power Conversion Corporation Intelligent power distribution system
US6826036B2 (en) * 2002-06-28 2004-11-30 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Modular power distribution system for use in computer equipment racks
US20050203987A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2005-09-15 Server Technology, Inc. Network power administration system
US6968465B2 (en) * 2002-06-24 2005-11-22 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Multiple server in-rush current reduction
US20060031454A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-02-09 Ewing Carrel W Network-connected power manager for rebooting remote computer-based appliances
US20060031453A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-02-09 Ewing Carrel W Vertical-mount electrical power distribution plugstrip
US20060072531A1 (en) * 2004-10-04 2006-04-06 Ewing Carrel W Communication network
US20060186739A1 (en) * 2005-02-01 2006-08-24 System Engineering International Power over ethernet battery backup
US7119676B1 (en) * 2003-10-09 2006-10-10 Innovative Wireless Technologies, Inc. Method and apparatus for multi-waveform wireless sensor network
US7349956B2 (en) * 1998-09-22 2008-03-25 Avocent Huntsville Corporation System and method for accessing and operating personal computers remotely

Family Cites Families (63)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT1047329B (en) 1975-09-30 1980-09-10 C Olivetto E C S P A Ing REMOTE IGNITION AND INITIALIZATION DEVICE OF A TERMINAL
JPS5244387A (en) 1975-10-06 1977-04-07 Hitachi Ltd Power source switch circuit used for a remote-controlled electric apparatus
US4206444A (en) 1979-01-02 1980-06-03 Honeywell Information Systems Inc. Remote power controller utilizing communication lines
US4356545A (en) 1979-08-02 1982-10-26 Data General Corporation Apparatus for monitoring and/or controlling the operations of a computer from a remote location
FR2497373B1 (en) 1980-12-30 1986-09-05 Bull Sa MICROPROGRAMMABLE POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR A DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM HAVING A SERVICE PANEL FOR MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS AND METHODS OF OPERATING THIS SERVICE PANEL
US4442319A (en) 1981-02-26 1984-04-10 Treidl Bernhard L Telephone accessible appliance control system
US4611289A (en) 1983-09-29 1986-09-09 Coppola Anthony F Computer power management system
FR2564651B1 (en) * 1984-05-17 1988-06-10 Spie Batignolles INTERFACE DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING AND CONTROLLING DISTRIBUTION PANELS
US4814941A (en) * 1984-06-08 1989-03-21 Steelcase Inc. Power receptacle and nested line conditioner arrangement
US4701946A (en) 1984-10-23 1987-10-20 Oliva Raymond A Device for controlling the application of power to a computer
US4647721A (en) 1985-03-19 1987-03-03 Dynatech Computer Power, Inc. Telephone activated power controller
US4729375A (en) * 1985-05-02 1988-03-08 Sun Time, Inc. Modular control for tanning beds
DE3526364A1 (en) 1985-07-19 1987-01-22 Siemens Ag CIRCUIT FOR THE NETWORK-FREE POWER SUPPLY OF A DISTRIBUTION DEVICE FOR DATA STATIONS CONNECTED TO A BUS NETWORK
US4709318A (en) 1986-10-22 1987-11-24 Liebert Corporation UPS apparatus with control protocols
JP2659981B2 (en) 1988-02-03 1997-09-30 富士重工業株式会社 Power generator load detector
US5198806A (en) 1990-12-31 1993-03-30 Lord & Sebastian, Inc. Remote control and secure access for personal computers
US5412645A (en) 1991-08-09 1995-05-02 Westinghouse Electric Corporation Distributed processing telecommunication switch with standardized switch units
FR2682528B1 (en) 1991-10-15 1997-01-31 Alsthom Gec DEVICE FOR DETERMINING THE CONDITION OF AN APPARATUS AND PARTICULARLY THE OPEN OR CLOSED CONDITION OF AN ELECTRIC APPARATUS USING AUXILIARY CONTACTS.
US5282114A (en) * 1991-11-05 1994-01-25 Codar Technology Inc. Ruggedized computer assembly providing accessibility and adaptability to, and effective cooling of, electronic components
WO1993010615A1 (en) 1991-11-15 1993-05-27 Server Technology, Inc. Systeme for protecting and restarting computers and peripherals at remote sites which are accessible by telephone communication
US5410713A (en) 1992-01-02 1995-04-25 Smith Corona/Acer Power-management system for a computer
US5481730A (en) 1992-01-24 1996-01-02 Compaq Computer Corp. Monitoring and control of power supply functions using a microcontroller
US5270576A (en) * 1992-03-06 1993-12-14 Compulog Corporation Electrical connector network
US5341503A (en) * 1992-04-16 1994-08-23 International Business Machines Corporation Battery operated computer having improved battery gauge and system for measuring battery charge
US5319571A (en) 1992-11-24 1994-06-07 Exide Electronics UPS system with improved network communications
EP0604138B1 (en) * 1992-12-25 1998-12-02 Omron Corporation Control device
DE4318189A1 (en) 1993-06-01 1994-12-08 Abb Management Ag Device and method for monitoring a switch position
US5495607A (en) 1993-11-15 1996-02-27 Conner Peripherals, Inc. Network management system having virtual catalog overview of files distributively stored across network domain
DE69432661T2 (en) * 1994-01-14 2004-03-25 Sun Microsystems, Inc., Mountain View Intelligent switch
US5485576A (en) 1994-01-28 1996-01-16 Fee; Brendan Chassis fault tolerant system management bus architecture for a networking
US5596628A (en) 1994-02-09 1997-01-21 Klein; Jon Method and apparatus for initiating loading of software in a personal computer in response to an incoming signal
CA2145921A1 (en) 1994-05-10 1995-11-11 Vijay Pochampalli Kumar Method and apparatus for executing a distributed algorithm or service on a simple network management protocol based computer network
US5689242A (en) * 1994-07-28 1997-11-18 The General Hospital Corporation Connecting a portable device to a network
US5595494A (en) * 1994-10-05 1997-01-21 Damac Products Inc Universally mounted power strip
JPH08115281A (en) 1994-10-19 1996-05-07 Hitachi Ltd Information processing system and communication service board
US5717934A (en) 1994-10-28 1998-02-10 Deltec Electronics Corporation Sequential computer network shutdown system and process therefor
US5652893A (en) 1994-12-13 1997-07-29 3Com Corporation Switching hub intelligent power management
US5563455A (en) * 1995-02-27 1996-10-08 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Method and apparatus for sequencing and controlling power distribution
US5862391A (en) 1996-04-03 1999-01-19 General Electric Company Power management control system
US6266713B1 (en) * 1996-04-03 2001-07-24 General Electric Company Field upgradeable dynamic data exchanger server
US7254781B1 (en) * 1996-07-19 2007-08-07 Cisco Technology, Inc. Method and apparatus for providing multiple management interfaces to a network device
US5761084A (en) 1996-07-31 1998-06-02 Bay Networks, Inc. Highly programmable backup power scheme
US6839775B1 (en) 1996-11-15 2005-01-04 Kim Y. Kao Method and apparatus for vending machine controller configured to monitor and analyze power profiles for plurality of motor coils to determine condition of vending machine
US6557170B1 (en) * 1997-05-05 2003-04-29 Cybex Computer Products Corp. Keyboard, mouse, video and power switching apparatus and method
US6078182A (en) * 1998-04-21 2000-06-20 Illinois Tool Works Inc Resistance measuring meter with voltage multiplier
US6086397A (en) 1998-04-27 2000-07-11 American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. High reliability raised floor power strip
KR100345876B1 (en) * 1998-08-20 2002-10-31 삼성전자 주식회사 Computer system with power management mode and control method of the same
US6218796B1 (en) * 1998-10-06 2001-04-17 Mobile Design Corporation Storage cart for rechargeable devices
US20010010032A1 (en) * 1998-10-27 2001-07-26 Ehlers Gregory A. Energy management and building automation system
US6711163B1 (en) * 1999-03-05 2004-03-23 Alcatel Data communication system with distributed multicasting
US7171542B1 (en) * 2000-06-19 2007-01-30 Silicon Labs Cp, Inc. Reconfigurable interface for coupling functional input/output blocks to limited number of i/o pins
TW459425B (en) * 2000-06-23 2001-10-11 Primax Electronics Ltd Power socket apparatus
US6518724B2 (en) * 2000-08-02 2003-02-11 Simple Devices Wall switch device and power outlet device
US20020052940A1 (en) * 2000-10-27 2002-05-02 Jenny Myers Method and system for using wireless devices to control one or more generic systems
US6906617B1 (en) * 2000-11-17 2005-06-14 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Intelligent appliance home network
JP3800402B2 (en) * 2001-08-08 2006-07-26 株式会社日立製作所 Liquid crystal display
US6642852B2 (en) 2002-03-01 2003-11-04 Universal Electronics Inc. Remote control device with appliance power awareness
US7912958B2 (en) 2002-08-21 2011-03-22 American Power Coversion Corporation Method and apparatus for automatic IP allocation bootstrapping of embedded network management cards used in networked uninterruptible power supplies and other supported devices
US20040059903A1 (en) * 2002-09-25 2004-03-25 Smith John V. Control system and method for rack mounted computer units
US20040221181A1 (en) 2003-04-30 2004-11-04 Tsung-I Yu Computer power control device
US7860966B2 (en) 2003-09-23 2010-12-28 American Power Conversion Corporation User interface provisioning
US7368830B2 (en) * 2003-10-30 2008-05-06 Server Technology, Inc. Polyphase power distribution and monitoring apparatus
US7414329B2 (en) * 2003-10-30 2008-08-19 Server Technology, Inc. Polyphase power distribution and monitoring apparatus

Patent Citations (59)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4638175A (en) * 1984-07-03 1987-01-20 United Technologies Corporation Electric power distribution and load transfer system
US4644320A (en) * 1984-09-14 1987-02-17 Carr R Stephen Home energy monitoring and control system
US4719364A (en) * 1985-10-01 1988-01-12 Pulizzi Engineering, Inc. Multiple time delay power controller apparatus
US4769555A (en) * 1985-10-01 1988-09-06 Pulizzi Engineering Inc. Multi-time delay power controller apparatus with time delay turn-on and turn-off
US4674031A (en) * 1985-10-25 1987-06-16 Cara Corporation Peripheral power sequencer based on peripheral susceptibility to AC transients
US4918562A (en) * 1989-01-30 1990-04-17 Pulizzi Engineering, Inc. Power controller with voltage-controlled circuit breaker
US5440301A (en) * 1990-05-14 1995-08-08 Evans; Wayne W. Intelligent alerting and locating communication system
US20020004913A1 (en) * 1990-06-01 2002-01-10 Amphus, Inc. Apparatus, architecture, and method for integrated modular server system providing dynamically power-managed and work-load managed network devices
US5748870A (en) * 1990-11-07 1998-05-05 Non-Stop Networks Limited Fault-tolerant networkable computer software with access locking
US5761083A (en) * 1992-03-25 1998-06-02 Brown, Jr.; Robert J. Energy management and home automation system
US5887194A (en) * 1992-04-30 1999-03-23 Intel Corporation Locking protocol for peripheral component interconnect utilizing master device maintaining assertion of lock signal after relinquishing control of bus such that slave device remains locked
US5982645A (en) * 1992-08-25 1999-11-09 Square D Company Power conversion and distribution system
US5424903A (en) * 1993-01-12 1995-06-13 Tandy Corporation Intelligent power switcher
US5577205A (en) * 1993-03-16 1996-11-19 Ht Research, Inc. Chassis for a multiple computer system
US5506573A (en) * 1993-05-13 1996-04-09 Server Technology, Inc. Remote sensor and method for detecting the on/off status of an automatically controlled appliance
US5642002A (en) * 1993-10-29 1997-06-24 Alpha Technologies Apparatus and methods for generating uninterruptible AC power signals
US5534734A (en) * 1993-12-09 1996-07-09 Compusci, Inc. Power shedding device
US5736847A (en) * 1994-12-30 1998-04-07 Cd Power Measurement Limited Power meter for determining parameters of muliphase power lines
US5661463A (en) * 1995-04-17 1997-08-26 Communications Test Design, Inc. D.C. battery plant alarm monitoring remote apparatus
US5650771A (en) * 1995-04-25 1997-07-22 Lee; Chung-Cheng Electrical socket with monitoring unit for monitoring operating conditions
US5650800A (en) * 1995-05-15 1997-07-22 Inelec Corporation Remote sensor network using distributed intelligent modules with interactive display
US5774979A (en) * 1996-07-10 1998-07-07 Kraft; James L. Modular cabling system and method for installing same
US6008805A (en) * 1996-07-19 1999-12-28 Cisco Technology, Inc. Method and apparatus for providing multiple management interfaces to a network device
US20050223090A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2005-10-06 Server Technology, Inc. Network power management system
US7171461B2 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-01-30 Server Technology, Inc. Network remote power management outlet strip
US20060031454A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-02-09 Ewing Carrel W Network-connected power manager for rebooting remote computer-based appliances
US7010589B2 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-03-07 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system
US20050203987A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2005-09-15 Server Technology, Inc. Network power administration system
US7043543B2 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-05-09 Server Technology, Inc. Vertical-mount electrical power distribution plugstrip
US5949974A (en) * 1996-07-23 1999-09-07 Ewing; Carrell W. System for reading the status and for controlling the power supplies of appliances connected to computer networks
US7099934B1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-08-29 Ewing Carrel W Network-connecting power manager for remote appliances
US7702771B2 (en) * 1996-07-23 2010-04-20 Server Technology, Inc. Electrical power distribution device having a current display
US6711613B1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2004-03-23 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system
US20060259538A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-11-16 Server Technology, Inc. Network remote power management outlet strip
US20060031453A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-02-09 Ewing Carrel W Vertical-mount electrical power distribution plugstrip
US20070016664A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-01-18 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system
US7162521B2 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-01-09 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system
US5995911A (en) * 1997-02-12 1999-11-30 Power Measurement Ltd. Digital sensor apparatus and system for protection, control, and management of electricity distribution systems
US5923103A (en) * 1997-03-31 1999-07-13 Pulizzi Engineering, Inc. Switched-output controller apparatus with repeater function and method for constructing same
US6381700B1 (en) * 1997-07-07 2002-04-30 Fukiko Yoshida Remote network device for controlling the operation voltage of network devices
US6160873A (en) * 1998-03-30 2000-12-12 Micro Computer Technology, Inc. System and method for remotely initializing, operating and monitoring a general-purpose computer
US6011329A (en) * 1998-08-28 2000-01-04 Mcgovern; Patrick T. Electrical circuit cycling controller
US7349956B2 (en) * 1998-09-22 2008-03-25 Avocent Huntsville Corporation System and method for accessing and operating personal computers remotely
US6095345A (en) * 1998-10-22 2000-08-01 Dell Usa L P Electronics rack alignment structures
US6229691B1 (en) * 1998-11-13 2001-05-08 Hewlett-Packard Company Apparatus and method for mounting a power distribution unit within an equipment enclosure
US6408334B1 (en) * 1999-01-13 2002-06-18 Dell Usa, L.P. Communications system for multiple computer system management circuits
US6507273B1 (en) * 1999-10-08 2003-01-14 Digipower Manufacturing Inc. Network-based remotely-controlled power switch device
US6388854B1 (en) * 1999-12-09 2002-05-14 International Business Machines Corporation Load balancing and distributing switch-on control for a circuit breaker, an appliance, a device, or an apparatus
US6684343B1 (en) * 2000-04-29 2004-01-27 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, Lp. Managing operations of a computer system having a plurality of partitions
US6476729B1 (en) * 2000-08-22 2002-11-05 Daniel Liu Power monitoring module with display unit for electrical power source device
US6628009B1 (en) * 2000-10-06 2003-09-30 The Root Group, Inc. Load balanced polyphase power distributing system
US6741442B1 (en) * 2000-10-13 2004-05-25 American Power Conversion Corporation Intelligent power distribution system
US7141891B2 (en) * 2000-10-13 2006-11-28 American Power Conversion Corporation Intelligent power distribution system
US20020120676A1 (en) * 2001-02-23 2002-08-29 Biondi James W. Network monitoring systems for medical devices
US6968465B2 (en) * 2002-06-24 2005-11-22 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Multiple server in-rush current reduction
US6826036B2 (en) * 2002-06-28 2004-11-30 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Modular power distribution system for use in computer equipment racks
US7119676B1 (en) * 2003-10-09 2006-10-10 Innovative Wireless Technologies, Inc. Method and apparatus for multi-waveform wireless sensor network
US20060072531A1 (en) * 2004-10-04 2006-04-06 Ewing Carrel W Communication network
US20060186739A1 (en) * 2005-02-01 2006-08-24 System Engineering International Power over ethernet battery backup

Cited By (66)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7702771B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2010-04-20 Server Technology, Inc. Electrical power distribution device having a current display
US20070076340A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-04-05 Server Technology, Inc. Electrical power distribution device having a current display
US8489667B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-07-16 Server Technology, Inc. Network power administration system
US20070016664A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-01-18 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system
US9450386B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2016-09-20 Server Technology, Inc. Vertical-mount electrical power distribution plugstrip
US20070130243A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-06-07 Server Technology, Inc. Electrical power distribution plugstrip with current information display and method of use
US20070136453A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-06-14 Server Technology, Inc. Networkable electrical power distribution plugstrip with current display and method of use
US20100306559A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2010-12-02 Server Technology, Inc. Power-manager configuration upload and download method and system for network managers
US20070245012A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-10-18 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system with tickle capability
US8510424B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-08-13 Server Technology, Inc. Network-connected power manager for rebooting remote computer-based appliances
US8527619B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-09-03 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system with tickle capability
US8549067B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-10-01 Server Technology, Inc. Networkable electrical power distribution plugstrip with current display and method of use
US20060259538A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-11-16 Server Technology, Inc. Network remote power management outlet strip
US20060031454A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2006-02-09 Ewing Carrel W Network-connected power manager for rebooting remote computer-based appliances
US20070140238A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2007-06-21 Server Technology, Inc. Power management device with communications capability and method of use
US9104393B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2015-08-11 Server Technology, Inc. Power-manager configuration upload and download method and system for network managers
US20110167280A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2011-07-07 Ewing Carrel W Network Power Management System
US20050203987A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2005-09-15 Server Technology, Inc. Network power administration system
US8601291B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-12-03 Server Technology, Inc. Power management device with communications capability and method of use
US20110197080A1 (en) * 1996-07-23 2011-08-11 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system with tickle capability
US8560652B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-10-15 Server Technology, Inc. Remote power control system
US8549062B2 (en) 1996-07-23 2013-10-01 Server Technology, Inc. Network remote power management outlet strip
US20080093927A1 (en) * 2006-09-20 2008-04-24 Server Technology, Inc. Modular power distribution unit system
US11316368B2 (en) * 2007-03-14 2022-04-26 Zonit Structured Solutions, Llc Premises power usage monitoring system
US10642299B2 (en) 2007-12-28 2020-05-05 Server Technology, Inc. Power distribution, management, and monitoring systems and methods
US7982335B2 (en) 2008-03-19 2011-07-19 Liebert Corporation Adaptive power strip
US20090236909A1 (en) * 2008-03-19 2009-09-24 Liebert Corporation Adaptive Power Strip
US8264099B2 (en) 2008-03-19 2012-09-11 Liebert Corporation Portable display for adaptive power strip
US8207627B2 (en) 2008-03-19 2012-06-26 Liebert Corporation Adaptive power strip
US20110237097A1 (en) * 2008-03-19 2011-09-29 Liebert Corporation Adaptive Power Strip
US8876548B2 (en) 2008-03-31 2014-11-04 Panduit Corp. Rack unit outlet spacing for power outlet units
US20090242265A1 (en) * 2008-03-31 2009-10-01 Panduit Corp. Power Outlet Unit
US9952261B2 (en) 2009-03-04 2018-04-24 Server Technology, Inc. Monitoring power-related parameters in a power distribution unit
US8145327B2 (en) * 2009-03-13 2012-03-27 Susan Banks Method and apparatus for implementing a consumer-configurable modular electrical system
US20100235009A1 (en) * 2009-03-13 2010-09-16 Susan Banks Method and Apparatus for Implementing a Consumer-Configurable Modular Electrical System
US9898026B2 (en) 2009-06-25 2018-02-20 Server Technology, Inc. Power distribution apparatus with input and output power sensing and method of use
US8305737B2 (en) * 2009-06-25 2012-11-06 Server Technology, Inc. Power distribution apparatus with input and output power sensing and method of use
US20100328849A1 (en) * 2009-06-25 2010-12-30 Ewing Carrel W Power distribution apparatus with input and output power sensing and method of use
US20110195792A1 (en) * 2010-02-10 2011-08-11 Leap Forward Gaming Remote power reset feature on a gaming machine
US9489799B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2016-11-08 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Lottery games on an electronic gaming machine
US8814706B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2014-08-26 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Radio candle mount
US8814681B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2014-08-26 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Candle device for generating display interfaces on the main display of a gaming machine
US8696430B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2014-04-15 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Device health monitoring for gaming machines
US8882589B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2014-11-11 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Device health monitoring for gaming machines
US8968086B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2015-03-03 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Video processing and signal routing apparatus for providing picture in a picture capabilities on an electronic gaming machine
US9022861B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2015-05-05 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Device health monitoring for gaming machines
US8371937B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2013-02-12 Leap Forward Gaming Gaming device and method for wireless gaming system providing non-intrusive processes
US11107323B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2021-08-31 Igt Virtual players card
US20110195788A1 (en) * 2010-02-10 2011-08-11 Leap Forward Gaming Device health monitoring for gaming machines
US9240100B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2016-01-19 Leap Forward Gaming Virtual players card
US8336697B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2012-12-25 Leap Forward Gaming Device health monitoring for gaming machines
US8696449B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2014-04-15 Leap Forward Gaming, Inc. Gaming device and method for wireless gaming system providing non-intrusive processes
US9564010B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2017-02-07 Igt Virtual players card
US10249129B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2019-04-02 Igt Video processing and signal routing apparatus for providing picture in a picture capabilities on an electronic gaming machine
US10102714B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2018-10-16 Igt Virtual players card
US8460091B2 (en) * 2010-02-10 2013-06-11 Leap Forward Gaming Remote power reset feature on a gaming machine
US8479908B2 (en) 2010-02-10 2013-07-09 Leap Forward Gaming Device health monitoring for gaming machines
US9577473B2 (en) 2011-09-15 2017-02-21 Electronic Systems Protection, Inc. Power-centric system management
WO2013040575A1 (en) 2011-09-15 2013-03-21 Electronic Systems Protection, Inc. Power-centric system management
EP2756576A4 (en) * 2011-09-15 2015-06-17 Electronic Systems Prot Inc Power-centric system management
US9703342B2 (en) 2012-02-10 2017-07-11 Server Technology, Inc. System and method for configuring plurality of linked power distribution units in which configuration data of the linked power distribution units are accessible by the remote system
US10983578B2 (en) 2012-02-10 2021-04-20 Server Technology, Inc. Systems and methods for configuring a power distribution unit
CN104808760A (en) * 2015-04-09 2015-07-29 中国电子科技集团公司第三十二研究所 IPMI redundant power source management system controlled by single power source management
WO2017216715A1 (en) * 2016-06-14 2017-12-21 Energy Re-Connect Ltd. Methods circuits devices assemblies systems and functionally associated computer executable code for detecting a line condition
US10524377B2 (en) 2018-01-31 2019-12-31 Eaton Intelligent Power Limited Power distribution unit with interior busbars
US11109504B2 (en) 2018-01-31 2021-08-31 Eaton Intelligent Power Limited Power distribution unit with interior busbars

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US8489667B2 (en) 2013-07-16
US20110296224A1 (en) 2011-12-01
US20050203987A1 (en) 2005-09-15
US20110167280A1 (en) 2011-07-07
US20030126253A1 (en) 2003-07-03
US8601291B2 (en) 2013-12-03
US8549062B2 (en) 2013-10-01
US20060259538A1 (en) 2006-11-16
US20140304534A1 (en) 2014-10-09
US20160011639A1 (en) 2016-01-14
US20070130243A1 (en) 2007-06-07
US20120042180A1 (en) 2012-02-16
US20120117396A1 (en) 2012-05-10
US20050223090A1 (en) 2005-10-06
US7171461B2 (en) 2007-01-30
US20070140238A1 (en) 2007-06-21
US20070136453A1 (en) 2007-06-14
US20140070628A1 (en) 2014-03-13
US8549067B2 (en) 2013-10-01

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US8549062B2 (en) Network remote power management outlet strip
US9450386B2 (en) Vertical-mount electrical power distribution plugstrip
US8543714B2 (en) Local power management unit and power management system employing the same
US9627888B2 (en) Electrical power distribution device having a current display
EP2901231B1 (en) Automatic local electric management system
AU2013234884B2 (en) Power usage monitoring of power feed circuits using power distribution units
US20150355695A1 (en) Power-manager configuration upload and download method and system for network managers
WO2013120088A1 (en) Systems and methods for configuring a power distribution unit
TW201216036A (en) Power distribution unit, communication device used with same, and power distribution system
WO1993007558A1 (en) Power management system
KR20230028199A (en) power distribution panel

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION