Electronic type watthour meter including automatic measuring-error correcting function

• US 5,248,935 A
• Filed: 02/21/1992
• Issued: 09/28/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Sakoyama, Mitsuhiro, Takeda, Masaharu, Suzuki, Naohide
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, VINH P
• Application Number:
  US07/838,946
• Time in Patent Office: 585 Days
• Field of Search: 324/141, 324/142, 324/103 R, 324/116, 324/140 R, 364/483, 364/481, 340/637, 340/652, 340/660
• US Class Current: 324/142
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/133 by using digital technique
• CPC Class Codes: G06G 7/02 Details not covered by G06G7/04 - G06G7/10, e.g. monitoring, construction, maintenance

Abstract

An electronic type watthour measuring apparatus equipped with an automatic measuring-error correcting circuit. The electronic type watthour measuring apparatus includes: a power-to-voltage (W/V) converter for converting electrical power supplied from a power source into a voltage signal corresponding to the electrical power; a voltage-to-frequency converter for converting the voltage signal derived from the W/V-converter into a frequency signal corresponding to the voltage signal and indicative of the electrical power with an error; a calculator for calculating a difference between the frequency of the frequency signal and a frequency of a reference signal derived from a reference watthour meter while measuring the same electrical power from the power source; and a controller for controlling the voltage signal outputted from the W/V-converter based on the difference in the frequencies of both the frequency signal and reference signal so as to eliminate the error contained in the electric power measured by the electronic type watthour measuring apparatus.

Claims

1. An electronic watthour measuring apparatus comprising:

power-to-frequency (W/F) converting means for converting electrical power supplied from a power source into a first frequency signal having a first frequency and a measuring error, corresponding to the electrical power;

frequency dividing means for dividing the first frequency of the first frequency signal in accordance with a controlled dividing rate to obtain a second frequency signal having a second frequency lower than the first frequency of the first frequency signal;

means for calculating a difference between the first frequency of the first frequency signal and a reference frequency contained in a reference signal derived from a reference watthour meter while measuring the same electrical power from the power source; and

means for setting said controlled dividing rate and applying said controlled dividing rate to the frequency dividing means in accordance with the difference between the first frequency and the reference frequency, whereby frequency-dividing operation by the frequency dividing means is controlled based on the dividing rate set by the setting means so as to eliminate the measuring error contained in the electrical power measured by the electronic type watthour measuring apparatus.

2. An electronic watthour measuring apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

storage means for storing therein said dividing rate set by the setting means.

3. An electronic watthour measuring apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said storage means is constructed of a non-volatile memory device.

4. An electronic watthour measuring apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said non-volatile memory device is selected from one of EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) and EEPROM (Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

5. An electrical watthour measuring apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein both of said difference calculating means and said setting means include:

a first counter for counting up a reference pulse indicative of said reference signal derived from the reference watthour meter and for producing a carry signal when a first count value thereof reaches a predetermined count value;

a second counter with a latch function, for counting a power-measuring pulse signal indicative of the first frequency signal derived from the W/F-converting means, and for latching a second count value thereof in response to said carry signal; and

a central processing unit for calculating said difference between the first frequency and the reference frequency, and also for calculating said correction coefficient based on the difference; and

said measuring apparatus further comprising an AND gate for AND-gating said second frequency signal derived from said frequency dividing means, and said dividing rate set by said setting means, whereby only the second frequency signal from which the measuring error has been eliminated is outputted from the AND gate.