Programming of a Demand Triggered Service Disconnect Device from a Threshold in Amps

• US 20100007522A1
• Filed: 06/12/2009
• Published: 01/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Landis+Gyr AG (Landis+Gyr Group AG)
• Original Assignee: Landis+Gyr Inc. (Landis+Gyr Group AG)
• Inventors: Morris, Richard L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,471,724 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/870.20
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/12 Determination or prediction of behaviour, e.g. likely power consumption or unusual usage patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

A first embodiment is an arrangement, such as a meter programming device, that includes a memory, a user interface, a communication interface, and a processing circuit. The user interface arrangement is configured to receive user input. The communication interface is configured to communicate with a corresponding communication interface on a utility meter. The processing circuit is configured by software stored in the memory to: receive a user input at the user interface identifying a disconnect threshold as a measure of current; generate a disconnect threshold value as a function of the user input and a service voltage; and provide the disconnect threshold value to the utility meter via the communication interface.

Claims

1. An arrangement comprising:

a memory;

a user interface arrangement configured to receive user input;

a communication interface configured to communicate with a corresponding communication interface on a utility meter;

a processing circuit, configured by software stored in the memory, to receive a user input at the user interface identifying a disconnect threshold as a measure of current;

generate a disconnect threshold value as a function of the user input and a service voltage;

provide the disconnect threshold value to the utility meter via the communication interface.

2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the communication interface includes an optical transceiver arrangement.

3. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to generate the disconnect threshold value using a first relationship or a second relationship based on information identifying whether an electrical service to which the utility meter is connected is single phase service or multiphase service.

4. The arrangement of claim 3, wherein the processing circuit is configured to obtain service information identifying whether the service is a single phase service or a polyphase service, and is further configured to generate the disconnect threshold value using a first relationship when the service information indicates that or a second relationship based on information identifying whether the service is single phase service or multiphase service.

5. The arrangement of claim 4, wherein the first relationship is W=E*A, wherein A is representative of the user input, E is representative of the service voltage, and W is representative of the disconnect threshold value.

6. The arrangement of claim 5, wherein the second relationship is W=kE*A, wherein k is a constant value greater than 1.5 and less than 2.0.

7. The arrangement of claim 4, wherein the second relationship is W=kE*A, wherein k is a constant value greater than 1.5 and less than 2.0, A is representative of the user input, E is representative of the service voltage, and W is representative of the disconnect threshold value.

8. The arrangement of claim 7, wherein k is 1.73.

9. The arrangement of claim 1, further comprising the utility meter, the utility meter configured to accept demand threshold information based on an energy threshold, the utility meter further comprising a disconnect circuit configured to disconnect electricity service to a load responsive to a measured energy calculation exceeding the energy threshold, and wherein the utility meter is configured to receive the disconnect threshold value and employ the disconnect threshold value as the energy threshold.

10. A method comprising:

a) accepting a user input representative of a current level of a desired disconnect threshold;

b) converting, using a processing device, the user input to a disconnect value, the converting including multiplying a value representative of the user input with a value representative of a service voltage;

c) establishing a communication link with a utility meter via a communication port disposed on the meter;

d) transmitting the disconnect value to the utility meter via the communication link.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein step b) further comprising converting the user input to the disconnect value using a first relationship or a second relationship based on information identifying whether an electrical service to which the utility meter is connected is single phase service or multiphase service.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising accepting user input comprising the information.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising accepting user input identifying the service voltage.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising obtaining information representative of the service voltage from the meter.