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EP-3984166-B1 - BATTERY-ASSISTED POWER-OVER-ETHERNET POWERED DEVICE

EP3984166B1EP 3984166 B1EP3984166 B1EP 3984166B1EP-3984166-B1

Inventors

  • CHRISTIE, CARY L.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20200616

Claims (12)

  1. A battery-assisted Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) powered speaker (100), comprising: a port (110) configured to receive an Ethernet cable via which PoE is provided in accordance with a standard; a local battery pack (150) including one or more cells; an amplifier (140) configured to consume power to amplify a low-level audio signal to a power level sufficient to run a driver to provide functionality of playing audio , the consumed power to sometimes exceed an amount of power available via PoE; and a charger/path controller (130) configured to charge the local battery pack (150) during periods of time when the amplifier (140) consumes less power than the amount available via PoE, and to discharge the local battery pack (150) and to drive the amplifier (140) with a combination of PoE and battery power from the local battery pack (150) during periods of time when the amplifier (140) demands more power than the amount of power available via PoE, wherein the charger/path controller (130) is further configured to monitor battery charge level of the local battery pack (150) and compare the battery charge level to a charge threshold, and in response to battery charge level having reached the charge threshold, adjust volume of the amplifier (140) to throttle power consumption.
  2. The battery-assisted PoE powered speaker (100) of claim 1, wherein the charger/path controller (130) is further configured to drive the amplifier (140) with only power from PoE during periods of time when the amplifier (140) consumes less power than the amount available via PoE.
  3. The battery-assisted PoE powered speaker (100) of claim 1, further comprising: a PoE powered device controller (120) configured to communicate via the port (110) and Ethernet cable with power sourcing equipment (PSE) to arrange provision of PoE power according to the standard, wherein the standard is Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.3bt.
  4. The battery-assisted PoE powered speaker of claim 3, wherein the amount of power available via PoE is 71 watts (W) guaranteed continuous power.
  5. The battery-assisted PoE powered speaker (100) of claim 1, wherein the charger/path controller (130) is further configured to: determine a state of health (SOH) of the local battery pack (150), wherein the SOH represents a measure of the local battery pack's ability to store and deliver power in comparison to a new local battery pack, and compare the SOH with a SOH threshold; and in response to the SOH having reached the SOH threshold, provide a signal to a user.
  6. The battery-assisted PoE powered speaker (100) of claim 1, wherein the local battery pack (150) is user-replaceable.
  7. The battery-assisted PoE powered speaker (100) of claim 1, wherein the powered speaker is an in-wall or in-ceiling powered speaker, and the local battery pack (150) is disposed in a wall or ceiling cavity of a structure.
  8. The battery-assisted PoE powered speaker (100) of claim 1, wherein the periods of time when the amplifier (140) demands more power than the amount of power available via PoE are periods of time of peak power coinciding with highs in an audio waveform of audio played by the powered speaker.
  9. A method for operation of a battery-assisted Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) powered speaker (100), comprising: comparing a present power requirement of an amplifier (140) of the battery-assisted PoE powered speaker to an amount of power available via PoE in accordance with a standard; in response to the amplifier (140) requiring less power than the amount available via PoE, driving the amplifier (140) with only power from PoE, and charging a local battery pack (150) using excess power; in response to the amplifier (140) requiring more power than the amount available via PoE, discharging the local battery pack (150), and driving the amplifier (140) with a combination of PoE and battery power; monitoring battery charge level of the local battery pack (150) and comparing battery charge level to a charge threshold; and in response to the battery charge level having reached the charge threshold, adjusting volume of the amplifier to throttle power consumption.
  10. The method of claim 9, wherein the amount of power available via PoE is 71 watts (W) guaranteed continuous power.
  11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining a state of health (SOH) of the local battery pack (150), wherein the SOH represents a measure of the local battery pack's ability to store and deliver power in comparison to a new local battery pack, and comparing the SOH to a SOH threshold; and in response to the SOH having reached the SOH threshold, providing a signal to a user.
  12. The method of claim 9, wherein the battery-assisted PoE powered speaker (100) is an in-wall or in-ceiling powered speaker, and the local battery pack (150) is disposed in a wall or ceiling cavity of a structure.

Description

BACKGROUND Technical Field The present disclosure relates generally to audio, video and automation devices in and about residential and commercial structures, and more specifically to Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) powered devices. Background Information PoE is becoming an increasingly popular method of powering audio devices (e.g., speakers, amplifiers, receivers, etc.), video device (e.g., televisions, monitors, video decoders. etc.), automation devices (e.g., controllers, cameras, door locks, lighting devices, motor-actuated devices, etc.) and other types of powered devices in and about residential and commercial structures. Using PoE technology, power sourcing equipment (PSE), such as a PoE switch, delivers both power and data to a powered device over twisted pair Ethernet cabling (e.g., Cat 5 cabling, Cat 6 cabling, etc.). Providing both power and data over Ethernet cabling can greatly simply wiring installation and save cost. Different PoE standards have been released by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) to regulate the amount of power delivered to powered devices. These standards include IEEE 802.3af, 802.3at and 802.3bt. IEEE 802af was the first PoE standard, being introduced in 2003. It provided 12.95-15.4 watts (W) of continuous power per port, which at the time was sufficient for the capabilities of powered devices. However, as technology developed, many devices demanded more power. For that reason, IEEE 802.3at was released in 2009, which specified 25-30W of continuous power per port. However, again new technology demanded more power. In 2018, IEEE 802.3bt was developed, which further increased continuous power per port to 51W-100W, depending on the variant. One variant of IEEE 802.3bt, referred to as Type 3 PoE, can carry up to 60W of continuous power per port, with a minimum ensured continuous power on each port of 51W. Another variant of IEEE 802.3bt, referred to as Type 4 PoE, can carry up to 100W of continuous power per port, with a minimum ensured continuous power on each port of 71W. While the 71W of ensured continuous power of Type 4 PoE is an improvement over past standards, even at its time of release it is insufficient for some devices that could benefit from PoE technology. For example, some audio device, such as speakers, may have a peak power requirement that exceeds 71W at the highs in the audio waveform. Likewise, some home automation devices, such as motor-actuated devices, may draw inrush current that exceeds 71W when energized. In general, audio, video, home automation devices and other devices may require large amounts of power during at least some periods of their operation. As technology progresses, it is likely more and more devices will demand more power, causing Type 4 PoE to lose its viability, much like its predecessors. While additional standards may be developed to supersede IEEE 802.3bt, that provide more than 71W of ensured continuous power, ever increasing standards are not a long term solution. As technology marches forward, power demands are likely to go up and up, while there are theoretical limits on how much continuous power can be passed over Ethernet cabling. At some point, new standards will be unable to further increase continuous power that can be sent over Ethernet cabling. While other cabling may support greater continuous power, there is a massive pre-installed base of legacy cabling, and installers are familiar with its installation procedures. Accordingly, shifting to a new cabling technology may not be a desirable solution. Accordingly, there is a need for new techniques for addressing the power requirements of PoE powered devices, that can address the problem in a different way. Patent application WO 2017/062995 A1 describes an example of battery powered deployed PoE audio amplifier having rechargeable batteries that are configured for producing instantaneous power to faithfully power the networked PoE device, wherein the power level of the PoE device is greater than the power level of the PoE standard. SUMMARY In various example embodiments, a battery-assisted PoE powered device is provided that includes a local battery pack for providing a burst of power to a device load in excess of the continuous power available via PoE. A charger/path controller charges the local battery pack during periods of time when the device load consumes less power than available via PoE (e.g., consumes less than the 71W of guaranteed continuous power under IEEE 802.3bt). During periods of time when the device load demands more power than available via PoE (e.g., when peak power is demanded by an audio speaker, when inrush occurs in a motor, or for various types of intermittent devices when they are activated) the charger/path controller discharges the battery pack, to drive the device load with a combination of PoE and battery power. The charger/path controller may monitor battery charge level, and upon reaching a charge threshold, throttle power