PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15864464
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-01
Publication Date: 2018-10
Patent Classification: ["700", "282000"]

Abstract:
Controlling flow of gas in a gas pipeline network, wherein flow within each pipeline segment is associated with a direction (positive or negative). Minimum and maximum signed flow rates are calculated for each pipeline segment constituting lower and upper bounds, respectively, for flow in each pipeline segment. A nonlinear pressure drop relationship is linearized within the lower and upper flow bounds to create a linear pressure drop model for each pipeline segment. A network flow solution is calculated, using the linear pressure drop model, and includes flow rates for each pipeline segment to satisfy demand constraints and pressures for each of a plurality of network nodes to satisfy pressure constraints. Lower and upper bounds on the pressure constraint comprise a minimum delivery pressure and a maximum operating pressure, respectively. The network flow solution is associated with control element setpoints used by a controller to control one or more control elements.

Claim (Index 1):
A system for controlling flow of gas in a gas pipeline network comprising:\n a gas pipeline network comprising one or more gas production plants each having a minimum and maximum production rate, one or more gas receipt facilities of a customer each having a demand rate, a plurality of pipeline segments, a plurality of pipeline network nodes, and a plurality of control elements, wherein flow of gas within each of the plurality of pipeline segments is associated with a direction, the direction being associated with a positive sign or a negative sign; one or more processors configured to:\n calculate a minimum signed flow rate and a maximum signed flow rate for each pipeline segment as a function of the minimum and maximum production rates of the one or more gas production plants and the demand rates of the one or more gas receipt facilities, the minimum signed flow rate constituting a lower bound for flow in each pipeline segment and the maximum signed flow rate constituting an upper bound for flow in each pipeline segment; \n linearize a nonlinear pressure drop relationship within the lower bound for the flow and the upper bound for the flow to create a linearized pressure drop model for each pipeline segment; and \n calculate a network flow solution, using the linear pressure drop model, comprising flow rates for each of the plurality of pipeline segments to satisfy demand constraints and pressures for each of the plurality of network nodes to satisfy pressure constraints, wherein a lower bound pressure constraint comprises a minimum delivery pressure and an upper bound pressure constraint comprises a maximum operating pressure of the pipeline, the network flow solution being associated with control element setpoints; and \n at least one controller receiving data describing the control element setpoints and controlling at least some of the plurality of control elements using the data describing the control element setpoints.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 1.0
- Percentile: 86.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.24658
- Patent Class: 700.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15490268', '15490344', '15860072', '15490394', '15490308']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.4570211984043583
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.6001312576408252
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.471332204328005
- Mean Citation Score: 445.90862
- Max Citation Score: 515.50684
- Similarity Product: 510.34160601096863

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test