Data Plant - A Raw Material Powered Data Generator

Abstract

A “data plant” accepts power-generation-capable raw materials and outputs processed data. The processed data can be delivered to consumers more efficiently than other forms of power transfer, including power transfer through electricity, steam, physical motion, and the like. Consequently, data plants can be located where power-generation-capable raw materials can be obtained inexpensively, for free, or where power-generation-capable raw materials are waste products for which the operator of the data plants can be compensated for processing. Self-powered data plants need not even be continuously fed with power-generation-capable raw materials and, if such data plants receive and output data via wireless communications, the self-powered data plants can require no physical connection or attachment at all. For example, a single piece of silicon comprising a silicon solar cell that generates electrical power and silicon circuitry that consumes it to perform data processing can be a silicon self-powered data plant.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A data plant comprising:
 data processing circuitry performing steps comprising:
 receiving input data from external to the data plant; 
 performing processing, requested by a data consumer located remotely from the data plant, of the input data; and 
 transmitting the output data, generated by the processing of the input data, to the data consumer; 
   a power generator consuming raw materials and generating therefrom direct current electrical power at a native voltage of at least some of the data processing circuitry; and   a single physical enclosing structure comprising both the data processing circuitry and the power generator.   
     
     
         2 . The data plant of  claim 1 , wherein the power generator comprises at least one natural-gas-powered fuel cell. 
     
     
         3 . The data plant of  claim 1 , wherein the power generator comprises at least one solar cell. 
     
     
         4 . The data plant of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one solar cell is constructed onto a same substrate as at least some of the data processing circuitry, the data plant further comprising:
 one or more electrical pathways hosted by the substrate, the electrical pathways electrically connecting the at least one solar cell to the data processing circuitry.   
     
     
         5 . The data plant of  claim 4 , further comprising: wireless data communication circuitry communicationally coupled to the data processing circuitry and also constructed onto the substrate. 
     
     
         6 . The data plant of  claim 1 , wherein the raw materials are either waste products or byproducts of existing processes. 
     
     
         7 . The data plant of  claim 6 , wherein the raw materials are un-captured natural gas from oil or gas wells. 
     
     
         8 . The data plant of  claim 6 , wherein the raw materials are gas generated by a landfill. 
     
     
         9 . The data plant of  claim 1 , further comprising a cooling component powered by the one or more power generation components. 
     
     
         10 . The data plant of  claim 1 , further comprising an airflow generation component generating increased airflow across at least some of the data processing circuitry to provide cooling to the at least some of the data processing circuitry. 
     
     
         11 . The data plant of  claim 10 , wherein the airflow generation component is a heat-driven airflow generation component that utilizes heat generated by the one or more power generation components to generate the increased airflow. 
     
     
         14 . The data plant of  claim 1 , further comprising computer memory comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the data processing circuitry, causes the data plant to provide processing redundancy to at least one other data plant in compensation for unreliable delivery of the power-generation-capable raw materials to the other data plant. 
     
     
         15 . A data plant comprising:
 data processing circuitry performing steps comprising:
 receiving input data from external to the data plant; 
 performing processing, requested by a data consumer located remotely from the data plant, of the input data; and 
 transmitting the output data, generated by the processing of the input data, to the data consumer; and 
   a power generator consuming raw materials and generating therefrom direct current electrical power at a native voltage of at least some of the data processing circuitry;   wherein the power generator is co-located with the data processing circuitry; and   wherein further the data processing circuitry receives power only from the power generator.   
     
     
         16 . The data plant of  claim 15 , wherein the raw materials are either waste products or byproducts of existing processes 
     
     
         17 . The data plant of  claim 16 , wherein the raw materials are either un-captured natural gas from oil or gas wells or gas generated by a landfill. 
     
     
         18 . A data plant comprising:
 data processing circuitry constructed onto a substrate;   at least one solar cell constructed onto the same substrate, the at least one solar cell generating direct current electrical power at a native voltage of at least some of the data processing circuitry;   one or more electrical pathways hosted by the substrate, the electrical pathways electrically connecting the at least one solar cell to the data processing circuitry; and   wireless data communication circuitry communicationally coupled to the data processing circuitry and also constructed onto the substrate.   
     
     
         19 . The data plant of  claim 18 , wherein the data plant is in a form of a roofing tile. 
     
     
         20 . The data plant of  claim 19 , further comprising a cooling component cooling the data processing circuitry and electrically connected to the at least one solar cell.