Power sensing via quantum phenomenon detection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025035676-A1
Application number	US-202218066162-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 14, 2022
Priority date	Dec 14, 2022
Publication date	Jan 30, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

Detecting a level of current in a conductor such as a power line can be accomplished using sensing devices that are coupled to the line. Such devices can have a clamshell or briefcase-style shape and close about the line. The line passes through a channel between the sides of the device. A quantum substance made of a material having a phonon decay sideband is arranged nearby the channel, and a light source and a scanning source work in tandem to cause the substance to emit light that can be analyzed to determine a magnitude of a magnetic field on the substance. By distributing such sensing devices about a grid or other electrical distribution network, current throughout the network can be collected and analyzed to ascertain the presence and location of interferences with the grid.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A sensing device for detecting a level of current in a conductor, the sensing device comprising:
a housing having a first half and a second half, wherein the first half and the second half of the housing are coupleable to one another to define a channel therebetween; a substance made of a material having a phonon decay sideband and arranged in the housing adjacent to the channel; a light source configured to emit a light at an energy level sufficient to excite electrons of the substance from a ground state to an energized state; a scanning source configured to emit a scanning light, wherein the scanning light has a controllable wavelength lower than that of the light source; one or more focusing optics arranged to receive the light from the light source and the scanning light from the scanning source and direct the light and the scanning light to the substance; and a photodetector arranged to receive the light emanating from the substance and determine, based upon an intensity of the light as a function of the controllable wavelength of the scanning light, a magnitude of a magnetic field on the substance.

2 . The sensing device of claim 1 , further comprising a power supply operatively connected to the light source, the scanning source, and the photodetector.

3 . The sensing device of claim 2 , wherein the power supply is one or more elements chosen from a group consisting of: a rechargeable battery, a replaceable battery, and a photovoltaic cell.

4 . The sensing device of claim 1 , wherein the substance is a nitrogen vacancy (NV) in a carbon diamond lattice.

5 . The sensing device of claim 4 , wherein the scanning source is a radio frequency (RF) source.

6 . The sensing device of claim 5 , wherein the RF source is controllable to emit wavelengths corresponding to an energy level between:
the ground state of an electron of the substance when the electron has a spin m s =0, and the energy level of the electron of the substance when the electron has a non-zero spin.

7 . The sensing device of claim 6 , wherein the energy level of the electron of the substance having the non-zero spin can be one of a plurality of quantized energy levels, including both a first energy level of the electron having a spin m s =±1, and a second energy level of the electron having a spin m s =−1, wherein the first energy level is different from the second energy level in the magnetic field.

8 . The sensing device of claim 1 , further comprising a transmitter coupled to the photodetector to transmit a signal based on a sensed magnetic field at the substance.

9 . The sensing device of claim 1 , wherein the substance comprises a plurality of NV centers.

10 . A method for power grid management, the method comprising:
coupling a sensing device to a power transmission line, wherein the sensing device includes:
a housing having a first half and a second half, and wherein the first half and the second half of the housing are coupleable to one another to define a channel around the power transmission line therebetween;
a substance made of a material having a phonon decay sideband and arranged in the housing adjacent to the channel;
illuminating the substance with a light, the material having the phonon decay sideband, wherein with the light has an energy level sufficient to excite electrons of the substance from a ground state to an energized state; illuminating the substance with a scanning light, wherein the scanning light has a controllable wavelength lower than that of the light; collecting an emanated light from the substance at a photodetector; and determining, based upon an intensity of the light as a function of the controllable wavelength of the scanning light, a magnitude of a magnetic field created by the power transmission line.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the substance is a nitrogen vacancy (NV) in a carbon diamond lattice.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the scanning light is produced by a radio frequency (RF) source.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising controlling the RF source to emit wavelengths corresponding to an energy level between:
the ground state of an electron of the substance when the electron has a spin m s =0, and the energy level of the electron of the substance when the electron has a non-zero spin.

14 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising transmitting the magnitude of the magnetic field to a remote location.

15 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising comparing the magnitude of the magnetic field over a time period to a plurality of fingerprints.

16 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising taking a remediating action to stabilize the power grid based upon the determining.

17 . A system for detecting mechanical interference or electrical interference with a power distribution grid, the system comprising:
a plurality of sensing devices, each of the plurality of sensing devices comprising:
a housing having a first half and a second half, wherein the first half and the second half of the housing are coupleable to one another to define a channel therebetween;
a substance made of a material having a phonon decay sideband and arranged in the housing adjacent to the channel;
a light source configured to emit a light at an energy level sufficient to excite electrons of the substance from a ground state to an energized state;
a scanning source configured to emit a scanning light, wherein the scanning light has a controllable wavelength lower than that of the light source;
one or more focusing optics arranged to receive the light from the light source and the scanning light from the scanning source and direct the light and the scanning light to the substance;
a photodetector arranged to receive the light emanating from the substance and determine, based upon an intensity of the light as a function of the controllable wavelength of the scanning light, a magnitude of a magnetic field on the substance;
a central console communicatively coupled to each of the plurality of sensing devices to receive the determination from each of the plurality of sensing devices; and a processor configured to detect a network interference state by comparing the determination from each of the plurality of sensing devices and carry out a remediating action based on the network interference state.

18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein each of the plurality of sensing devices comprises a port and each port is capable of either or both of power transfer and data transfer.

19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the network interference state is determined by comparison of the determination from each of the plurality of sensing devices to a database of fingerprints.

20 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the network interference state is indicative of either or both of the mechanical interference and the electrical interference.

Assignees

• Wells Fargo Bank Na

Inventors

• Bordow Peter
• Beltinoff Boris
• Miller Dale C
• Stefanski Charlee Alexandra
• Toohey Richard Orlando

Classifications

• G01R33/26

  using optical pumping · CPC title

• H02H5/005

  responsive to ionising radiation; Nuclear-radiation circumvention circuits (radiation detectors G01T; nuclear-explosion detection G21J5/00) · CPC title

• H02H3/48

  responsive to loss of synchronism · CPC title

• H02H1/0007

  concerning the detecting means (in general G01R or other subclasses of G01; reed switches H01H71/2445) · CPC title

• H02H3/00

  Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection (specially adapted for specific types of electric machines or apparatus or for sectionalised protection of cable or line systems H02H7/00; systems for change-over to standby supply H02J9/00 ){; integrated protection (for motors H02H7/0822)} · CPC title