PORTABLE SELF POWERED LINE MOUNTED HIGH SPEED CAMERA SYSTEM FOR OVERHEAD ELECTRIC POWER LINES

• US 20140176702A1
• Filed: 12/10/2013
• Published: 06/26/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Murray W. Davis
• Original Assignee: Murray W. Davis
• Inventors: DAVIS, Murray W.
• Granted Patent: US 8,913,126 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/135
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 2200/3073 Brush for cleaning specific unusual places not otherwise covered, e.g. gutters, golf clubs, tops of tin cans, corners
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 9/028 Bristle profile, the end of the bristle defining a surface other than a single plane or deviating from a simple geometric form, e.g. cylinder, sphere or cone
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/0616 of coating
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 11/30 Supports specially adapted for an instrument; Supports specially adapted for a set of instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/00 Thermometers specially adapted for specific purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/223 for determining moisture content, e.g. humidity rain detectors on vehicle windows B60S1/0825
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/20 Modifications of basic electric elements for use in electric measuring instruments; Structural combinations of such elements with such instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/22 Tong testers acting as secondary windings of current transformers
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 15/186 using current transformers with a core consisting of two or more parts, e.g. clamp-on type G01R15/142 - G01R15/16 take precedence; tong testers G01R1/22
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/0084 measuring voltage only all subgroups of G01R19/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/0092 measuring current only all subgroups of G01R19/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/08 Locating faults in cables, transmission lines, or networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/086 in power transmission or distribution networks, i.e. with interconnected conductors
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/40 Testing power supplies testing photovoltaic devices H02S50/10
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/14 Rainfall or precipitation gauges measuring volume in general G01F
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/02 Casings
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 27/22 Cooling by heat conduction through solid or powdered fillings
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 38/30 Constructions
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/28 Clamped connections, spring connections made by means of terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits H01R12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 1/02 for overhead lines or cables
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 : Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/50 : Photovoltaic [PV] energy
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 : Conductor or circuit manufacturing

Abstract

A device for attaching to an electric power line conductor includes an electrically conductive housing having an opening for accepting the power line conductor and configured to be grounded to the electric power line conductor. At least one magnetic core is configured to surround the power line conductor and power a power supply electronics module. At least one camera assembly is connected to the housing and configured to capture fault and lightning stroke images along the electric power line conductor.

Claims

1. A device for attaching to an electric power line conductor comprising:

an electrically conductive housing including an opening for accepting the power line conductor and configured to be grounded to the electric power line conductor;

at least one magnetic core configured to surround the power line conductor and power a power supply electronics module; and

at least one camera assembly connected to the housing configured to capture fault and lightning stroke images from the electric power line conductor.

2. The device of claim 1 including an energy storage device configured to power the at least one camera.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the at least one camera assembly includes a first camera assembly and a second camera assembly.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein the first camera assembly and the second camera assembly are mounted on opposite sides of the housing.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the first camera assembly and the second camera assembly point in opposite directions.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the at least one camera assembly is electrostatically shielded for preventing corona discharges when the housing is mounted on the electric power line conductor.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the at least one camera assembly is electrostatically shielded by a transparent material including an electrically conductive substrate mounted within an electrically conducting corona free bezel which is mounted to the housing.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the transparent material is located over an outside of a lens of the at least one camera.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one camera is electromagnetically shielded for preventing interference from the load current and fault current flowing in the electric power line conductor.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the at least one camera is electromagnetically shielded by surrounding the at least one camera with a ferrous material.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the at least one camera includes a telephoto lens.

12. The device of claim 1 including a global positioning sensor and clock for time stamping the fault and lightning stroke images.

13. The device of claim 1 wherein the at least one camera includes an automatic exposure control with low lux sensitivity and very high speed frame rates.

14. A method of locating a fault on a power line conductor comprising:

measuring a change in magnitude from a load current to a fault current with a first “

C”

loop coil through an electric power line conductor;

selecting at least one camera based on a polarity of the load current and the fault current; and

capturing an image with the at least one camera assembly in the direction of a fault.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the at least one camera assembly includes a first camera assembly and a second camera assembly.

16. The method of claim 15 including sending a trigger signal to activate the first camera assembly or the second camera assembly based on the polarity of the load current and the fault current.

17. The method of claim 16 including selecting the at least one camera pointed in the direction of the load current when the polarity of the fault current is positive and in the same direction as the load current.

18. The method of claim 17 including selecting the at least one camera pointed in an opposite direction of the load current when the polarity of the fault current is negative and opposite to the direction of the load current.

19. The method of claim 14, including mounting multiple STR units on the power line conductor and determining the location of the fault by comparing the polarity of a fault current and a load current of each of the plurality of STR units.

20. The method of claim 14 including transmitting the image to a remote location with a transmitter receiver unit and an antenna.

21. The method of claim 20 including transmitting a pre-selected fault current level from a remote location to the transmitter receiver unit mounted on the electric power line conductor via the antenna, wherein the pre-selected levels are used by a sensor electronics module to compare measured current to an expected magnitude of a fault current with an abrupt change in magnitude to determine the presence of a fault on the electric power line conductor.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein pre-selected levels include expected fault current levels and expected depressed voltages which will occur during faults on the electric power line conductor and are used by the sensor electronics module in addition to the measured and expected fault current to determine the presence of a fault on the electric power line conductor.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein a fault current phase angle obtained from a fault current waveform and a fault voltage waveform during a fault is used by the sensor electronics module, in addition to the pre-selected levels to detect the presence of the fault on the electric power line conductor.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein the image is a video image.

25. The method of claim 14 including measuring a lightning stroke current with a second “

C”

loop coil and comparing the load current and a lightning stroke current polarity.

26. The method of claim 25 including comparing a measured positive lightning stroke voltage which can only be created by a measured positive stroke current and a measured negative lightning stroke voltage which can only be created by a measured negative stroke current.

27. The method of claim 26 including determining a direction of the lightning stroke by which camera is initiated to capture the image.