Arrangement for electrical measurement

• US 5,124,624 A
• Filed: 11/27/1990
• Issued: 06/23/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Landis & GYR Betriebs AG A Corporation Under The Law of Confederation of Switzerland
• Original Assignee: Landis & GYR Betriebs AG (Landis+Gyr Group AG)
• Inventors: de Vries, Jacob, Lienhard, Heinz
• Primary Examiner(s): Wieder, Kenneth A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BURNS, WILLIAM
• Application Number:
  US07/618,478
• Time in Patent Office: 574 Days
• Field of Search: 324/110, 324/74, 324/113, 324/142, 340/637, 340/653, 364/483
• US Class Current: 324/142
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/001 Measuring real or reactive component; Measuring apparent energy G01R21/01, G01R21/02, G01R21/08, G01R21/10 and G01R21/127 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/08 by using galvanomagnetic-effect devices, e.g. Hall-effect devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/066 Arrangements for avoiding or indicating fraudulent use
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 35/04 of instruments for measuring time integral of power or current

Abstract

An arrangement for electrical measurement ascertains "subordinate" quantities, and is also "main" quantities with great accuracy and safety against falsification. An active energy to be measured is a main quantity, and a subordinate quantity is at least one of the following quantities: effective value of the voltage (u_N) or of the current (i_N), volt hours, volt square hours, ampere hours, ampere square hours, active power, reactive power, reactive energy, apparent output, apparent energy or power factor. The arrangement may comprise a voltage sensor (8), a voltage/current-converter (9), a multiplier (10), a current/voltage-converter (11), two analog/digital-converts (12 and 15), a signal/frequency-converter (13), a counter (14), an interface circuit (4), and an indicator (7), wherein the current/voltage-converter (11) consists of a constant current source (16) and a further multiplier (17).

Claims

1. An electricity consumption measuring arrangement for determining at least two output electrical quantities from the same two input electrical quantities, wherein the output electrical quantities to be determined include at least a main quantity which is an active energy that is determined with a high accuracy and high security against fraud and a subordinate quantity that is determined with a lower accuracy and a lower security against fraud, and wherein said arrangement comprises

first input means for receiving a first of said input electrical quantities in the form of a voltage,

second input means for receiving a second of said input electrical quantities in the form of a current associated with the voltage,

a single common digital computing means for outputting both said main quantity with a high accuracy and high security against fraud and said subordinate quantity with a lower accuracy and lower security against fraud,

low security circuit means including a first analog-to-digital converter for transmitting a signal representative of one of said first or second input electrical quantities at said first or second input means, respectively, to said common computing means to determine said subordinate quantity with a lower accuracy and lower security against fraud,

a first multiplier for multiplying said first and second input electrical quantities to form an output signal representative of the product of said first and second input electrical quantities, and

high security circuit means including a signal-to-frequency converter for receiving said output signal of said multiplier and for transmitting a signal representative of said output signal of said multiplier for enabling said common computing means to determine said main quantity with a high accuracy and high security against fraud.

2. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said output signal of said first multiplier is connected via said first analog-to-digital converter or via a second analog-to-digital converter to said computing means in order to determine a subordinate quantity.

3. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein a signal representative of said current associated with said voltage is transmitted to said computing means via a current-to-voltage converter and an analog-to-digital converter located downstream of the current-to-voltage converter.

4. The arrangement of claim 3 wherein said current-to-voltage converter is a second multiplier comprising a Hall element subjected to a magnetic field produced by said current associated with said voltage, said Hall element having a current input for receiving a constant reference current.

5. The arrangement of claim 3 wherein said current-to-voltage converter comprises a second multiplier having a first input for receiving said current associated with said voltage and a second input for receiving a constant reference current.

6. The arrangement of claim 5 wherein said second multiplier of said current-to-voltage converter comprises a Hall element which is subjected to a magnetic field produced by said current associated with said voltage and which has a current input for receiving said constant reference current.

7. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said voltage is transmitted to said computing means via an analog-to-digital converter.

8. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said first multiplier comprises a Hall element which is subjected to a magnetic field produced by said current associated with said voltage and which has a current input which is supplied via a voltage-to-current converter with said voltage.

9. The arrangement of claim 8 wherein said voltage-to-current converter comprises a resistor.

10. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said computing means comprises a microcomputer.

11. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is said voltage.

12. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is the current associated with said voltage.

13. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is volt-hours.

14. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is volt-square-hours.

15. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is current-square hours.

16. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is reactive power.

17. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is reactive energy.

18. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is apparent power.

19. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is apparent energy.

20. The arrangement of claim 1 wherein said subordinate quantity is a power factor.

21. An arrangement for determining output electrical quantities from at least two input electrical quantities, wherein the output electrical quantities to be determined include at least one main quantity which is an active energy and one subordinate quantity, and wherein said arrangement comprises

first input means for receiving a first of said input electrical quantities in the form of a voltage,

second input means for receiving a second of said input electrical quantities in form of a current associated with the voltage,

computing means,

means including a first analog-to-digital converter for transmitting a signal representative of one of said first or second input electrical quantities at said first or second input means, respectively, to said computing means to determine said subordinate quantity,

a first multiplier for multiplying said first and second input electrical quantities to form an output signal representative of the product of said first and second input electrical quantities, and

means including a signal-to-frequency converter for receiving said output signal of said multiplier and for transmitting a signal representative of said output signal of said multiplier to said computing means to determine said main quantity,

wherein the precision and security of said main quantity is greater than the precision and security of said subordinate quantity,

wherein the output signal of said first multiplier is transmitted by means of a first selector switch to either said signal-to-frequency converter to determine said main output electrical quantity or to an analog-to-digital converter to determine a subordinate output electrical quantity, whereby when said output signal is transmitted to said signal-to-frequency converter said first multiplier receives a signal representative of said voltage via a second selector switch and when said output signal is transmitted to an analog-to-digital converter said first multiplier receives a fixed reference current via a third selector switch.

22. A multifunction electrical meter arrangement for determining a main output quantity which is active energy with a high security against fraud and a subordinate quantity with a lower security against fraud, said arrangement comprising

a first input for receiving a current,

a second input for receiving a voltage,

a low security circuit including an analog-to-digital converter for outputting a low security signal representative of said current or voltage,

a multiplier for multiplying said current and voltage and for outputting a signal representative of the product of said current and voltage,

a high security circuit including a signal-to-frequency converter for outputting a high security signal representative of the output signal of said multiplier, and

a common digital computer for utilizing the high security signal and the low security signal to output said main quantity with a high security against fraud and said subordinate quantity with a lower security against fraud.