Intelligent electronic device with enhanced power quality monitoring and communications capabilities

• US 20090228224A1
• Filed: 03/13/2008
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EI Electronics LLC (Hubbell, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Electro Industries/Gaugetech
• Inventors: Spanier, Joseph, Werner, Andrew J., Slota, Frederick B., Zhu, Hai, Wang, Wei, Siqueira da Silva, Dulciane, Kagan, Erran
• Granted Patent: US 8,190,381 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/60
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/00 Arrangements for measuring currents or voltages or for indicating presence or sign thereof G01R5/00 takes precedence; for measuring bioelectric currents or voltages A61B5/24
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/133 by using digital technique
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/10 using digital techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00

Abstract

An intelligent electronic device IED has enhanced power quality and communications capabilities. The IED can perform energy analysis by waveform capture, detect transient on the front-end voltage input channels and provide revenue measurements. The IED splits and distributes the front-end input channels into separate circuits for scaling and processing by dedicated processors for specific applications by the IED. Front-end voltage input channels are split and distributed into separate circuits for transient detection, waveform capture analysis and revenue measurement, respectively. Front-end current channels are split and distributed into separate circuits for waveform capture analysis and revenue measurement, respectively.

Claims

1. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel,

(c) at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals, and

(d) a processing system including

(i) a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory for storing captured waveform samples from at least one of said at least one analog to digital converter,

(ii) means for detecting and measuring transients on said AC voltage input channels,

(iii) means for generating power measurements,

(iv) means for determining an overall power quality,

(v) means for measuring a harmonic magnitude of individual harmonics of one of the AC voltage or input channels,

(vi) means for measuring voltage fluctuations from one of said AC voltage input channels,

(vii) means for measuring voltage flicker, and

(vii) means for providing a communication output using Ethernet TCP/IP protocol.

2. The IED according to claim 1, wherein said means for generating power measurements uses a lower dynamic range than said means for detecting and measuring transients on said AC voltage input channels.

3. The IED according to claim 1, wherein said means for determining an overall power quality measures a total harmonic distortion of one of said voltage and current input channels.

4. The IED according to claim 1, wherein the processing system includes firmware configured to receive and process the digitized signals output from the at least one analog to digital converter.

5. The IED according to claim 1, wherein the nonvolatile memory includes a compact flash device.

6. The IED according to claim 1, further comprising at least one additional dedicated signal processor and A/D converter.

7. The IED according to claim 1 further comprising a field programmable gate array, which includes at least one dual port memory to facilitate communications.

8. The IED according to claim 1, wherein said means for detecting and measuring transients on said AC voltage input channels further comprises means for measuring transient signals at or above 1 MHz for at least one phase of a multi-phase voltage input.

9. The IED according to claim 1, further comprising means for preventing the introduction of crosstalk between waveform capture and revenue measurement circuits including:

means for laying out circuits in a separate location of a printed circuit board; and

means for configuring each trace in each of said circuits to a preferred width so that each part of one of the circuits does not overlap or lay in close approximation with a part of another of the circuits and each one of each trace is separated from another of the each the trace by a preferred distance.

10. The IED according to claim 9, wherein said preferred distance is in the range of substantially 8 mils to substantially 20 mil.

38. The IED according to claim 1, wherein said A/D data output includes samples for Transient Detection.

39. The IED according to claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to send emails.

40. The IED according to claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to receive emails.

41. The IED according to claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to send emails with incorporated or attached data.

42. The IED according to claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to receive emails with incorporated or attached data.

11. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel,

(c) at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals,

(d) a processing system, and

(e) a field programmable gate array configured to process transient samples.

12. The IED according to claim 11, wherein said processing of said transient waveforms by said field programmable gate array further comprises:

receiving waveform data at said field programmable gate array from at least one of said at least one input channel in waveform sample intervals;

identifying a largest transient value occurring during each waveform sample interval; and

passing the identified largest transient value during each waveform sample interval together with said received waveform data to said at least one central processing unit and said at least one digital signal processor.

13. The IED according to claim 11, further comprising:

prior to said passing step;

converting the transient and waveform data into separate serial data streams; and

time synchronizing the separate serial data streams.

14. The IED according to claim 11, wherein said field programmable gate array is further configured to perform load balancing.

15. The IED according to claim 14, wherein said load balancing further comprises:

routing data in part to said at least one central processing unit and routing data in part to said at least one digital signal processor to load balance calculations otherwise performed by said at least one central processing unit or said at least one digital signal processor in isolation.

16. The IED according to claim 14, wherein said load balancing further comprises configuring the field programmable gate array as an array of configurable memory blocks, each of said memory blocks being capable of supporting a dedicated processor to create processor expansion.

17. The IED according to claim 16, wherein said array of configurable memory blocks are configured as one of a RAM memory, a ROM memory, a First-in-First-Out Memory or a Dual Port memory.

18. The IED according to claim 14, wherein said load balancing further comprises configuring the FPGA as an array of configurable memory blocks, each block capable of supporting multiple dedicated processors, to create processor expansion.

19. The IED according to claim 18, wherein said array of configurable memory blocks are configured as one of a RAM memory, a ROM memory, a First-in-First-Out Memory or a Dual Port memory.

20. The IED according to claim 11, wherein said field programmable gate array is further configured to assume processing tasks.

21. The IED according to claim 14, wherein said assumption of processing tasks, further comprises:

programming the field programmable gate array to perform common processor functions, normally associated with any one of said at least one central processing unit and/or said at least one digital signal processor.

22. The IED according to claim 11, wherein said field programmable gate array is further configured to route data between said at least one input voltage and current channel to said at least one central processing unit and/or said at least one digital signal processor.

23. The IED according to claim 22, wherein said data routing further comprises:

incorporating a frame counter into data blocks transmitted from the FPGA to said at least one central processing unit and said at least one digital signal processor, wherein the frame counter is incremented in each transmitted data block, and

comparing a currently received frame counter value with a previously received frame counter value, and

determining if said currently received frame counter value is incrementally greater than said previously received frame counter.

24. The IED according to claim 11, wherein said FPGA is further configured to receive and execute program updates, wherein said updates are directed to new functionality to be incorporated into said IED in addition to originally intended functionality.

64. The IED according to claim 11, wherein the field programmable gate array further comprises a dual port memory.

65. The IED according to claim 11, wherein the field programmable gate array further comprises a random access memory.

25. An intelligent electronic device (ED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channels,

(c) at least one analog to digital converters for outputting digitized signals,

(d) a processing system, and

(e) a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to incorporate a dual port memory for transferring data between multiple processors.

26. The IED according to claim 25, wherein the FPGA further includes at least two high-speed serial ports.

27. The IED according to claim 26, wherein at least two high-speed serial ports are dedicated channels.

28. The IED according to claim 27, wherein a first dedicated channel is dedicated to waveform data output from a waveform capture circuit.

29. The IED according to claim 28, wherein a second dedicated channel is dedicated to transient A/D data output from a transient detection circuit.

30. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel,

(c) at least one analog to digital converters for outputting digitized signals,

(d) a processing system including, and

(e) a field programmable gate array configured to perform programmable logic to facilitate sampling of said at least one analog to digital converter.

31. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channels,

(c) at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals received from the at least one sensor,

(d) a processing system,

(e) a graphical backlit LCD display,

(f) a field programmable gate array operatively coupled to said at least one analog to digital converter to capture transient waveforms;

(g) means for measuring a harmonic magnitude of individual harmonics of one of the AC voltage or input channels,

(h) means for measuring voltage fluctuations from one of said AC voltage input channels,

(i) means for measuring voltage flicker; and

(j) means for providing a communication output using Ethernet TCP/IP protocol.

32. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channels for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel,

(c) at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals,

(d) a processing system,

(e) a graphical, backlit LCD display, and

(f) a field programmable gate array configured to function with analog to digital converters.

33. The IED according to claim 32, wherein said A/D data output includes samples for transient detection.

34. The IED according to claim 32, wherein the processing system is configured to send emails.

35. The IED according to claim 32, wherein the processing system is configured to receive emails.

36. The IED according to claim 32, wherein the processing system is configured to send emails with incorporated or attached data.

37. The IED according to claim 32, wherein the processing system is configured to receive emails with incorporated or attached data.

43. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel,

(c) at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals,

(d) a processing system,

(e) a graphical, backlit LCD display,

(f) a field programmable gate array, and

(g) a wireless Ethernet communication system

44. The IED according to claim 43, wherein the Ethernet communication consists of file transfer protocol (FTP).

45. The IED according to claim 43, wherein the Ethernet communication consists of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

46. The IED according to claim 43, wherein the Ethernet communication consists of a secured protocol.

47. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel,

(c) at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals,

(d) a processing system

(e) a display,

(f) a removable memory for storing nonvolatile data, and

(g) an Ethernet communication port.

48. The IED according to claim 47, wherein the processing system stores to said memory historical trends for later retrieval to a computer.

49. The IED according to claim 47, wherein the processing system stores to said memory waveform captures for later retrieval to a computer.

50. The IED according to claim 47, wherein the removable memory will be used to upgrade the IED as needed.

52. The IED according to claim 49, wherein the removable memory will be used to upgrade the IED as needed.

53. The IED according to claim 47, wherein the IED will be able to email alarms to a user.

54. The IED according to claim 47, wherein the IED will be able to receive emails.

55. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel,

(c) at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals,

(d) a processing system,

(e) a display,

(f) a removable memory for storing nonvolatile data, and

(g) an Ethernet communication port that can receive emails from an external email source.

56. The IED according to claim 55, wherein the IED will receive emails containing new firmware or new programmable settings.

57. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel,

(c) at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals,

(d) a processing system

(e) a display,

(f) a removable memory for storing nonvolatile data, and

(g) an Ethernet communication capability allowing said IED to initiate communication to a remote server to obtain new updates.

58. The IED according to claim 57, wherein the new updates are programmable settings.

59. The IED according to claim 57, wherein the new updates are new program code.

60. An intelligent electronic device (IED) having enhanced power quality and communications capabilities, the IED comprising:

(a) at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents,

(b) at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel,

(c) at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals,

(d) a processing system

(e) a display, and

(f) at least one analog to digital converter to perform energy measurement and an additional analog to digital converter to measure transient voltages, wherein a frequency of the at least one analog to digital converter is calculated using the output of a comparator and the said processor computes the duration between each transition to determine the frequency.

61. The IED according to claim 60, further comprising an auto-calibration circuit.

62. The IED according to claim 60, wherein the at least one input channel for receiving AC voltages and currents, the at least one sensor for sensing the at least one input voltage and current channel, the at least one analog to digital converter for outputting digitized signals, the processing system and the at least one analog to digital converter to perform energy measurement and an additional analog to digital converter to measure transient voltages are disposed on a single printed circuit board, the printed circuit board being partitioned into more than one segment.

63. The IED according to claim 60, wherein the transient detector detects the peak magnitude and the duration of the transient.