Secondary electrical power line parameter monitoring apparatus and system
First Claim
1. Sensor apparatus for monitoring voltage of a power line having a conductor surrounded by electrical insulation, said sensor apparatus comprising:
- a sensor housing; and
a voltage clamp mechanism disposed within said sensor housing, said voltage clamp mechanism including an upper support and a lower support sized to cradle the power line there between, and clamping means for forcing said upper support towards said lower support, said lower support being spring biased away from a supporting surface of said sensor housing to which the lower support is affixed and having an insulation piercing voltage sensor disposed in an opening therein, said insulation piercing voltage sensor being fixedly mounted relative to said supporting surface of said sensor housing to which the lower support is affixed and shaped to pierce the electrical insulation surrounding the conductor of the power line when exposed from said lower support, wherein when the power line is cradled between said upper support and said lower support and when the upper support is forced against the power line by said clamping means, the lower support is moved towards the supporting surface of the sensor housing to which the lower support is affixed and the insulation piercing voltage sensor is exposed from the lower support to pierce the electrical insulation and physically contact the conductor of the power line for monitoring voltage thereon.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for unintrusively determining parameters such as current, voltage and power delivered through a service line to a customer for verifying accuracy of the customer'"'"'s entrance meter. The system includes a sensor apparatus for monitoring voltage and current on the power line. A voltage clamp mechanism is disposed within a sensor housing such that an insulation piercing voltage sensor can be manually actuated to pierce the electrical insulation of the power line and contact the conductor. The sensor apparatus also includes a split-core current transformer fabricated to minimize the air gap between the split-core sections when the apparatus is closed about the power line. A pole unit is electrically connected to each sensor apparatus for monitoring the voltage and current, calculating the power consumed in kilowatt-hours and storing calculated kilowatt-hours in memory with an appropriate date/time stamp, for subsequent retrieval and comparison with the customer'"'"'s entrance meter readings. Data retrieval is accomplished via a hand-held ground unit, such as a palm top computer, which communicates via infrared signals with the pole mounted unit.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. Sensor apparatus for monitoring voltage of a power line having a conductor surrounded by electrical insulation, said sensor apparatus comprising:
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a sensor housing; and a voltage clamp mechanism disposed within said sensor housing, said voltage clamp mechanism including an upper support and a lower support sized to cradle the power line there between, and clamping means for forcing said upper support towards said lower support, said lower support being spring biased away from a supporting surface of said sensor housing to which the lower support is affixed and having an insulation piercing voltage sensor disposed in an opening therein, said insulation piercing voltage sensor being fixedly mounted relative to said supporting surface of said sensor housing to which the lower support is affixed and shaped to pierce the electrical insulation surrounding the conductor of the power line when exposed from said lower support, wherein when the power line is cradled between said upper support and said lower support and when the upper support is forced against the power line by said clamping means, the lower support is moved towards the supporting surface of the sensor housing to which the lower support is affixed and the insulation piercing voltage sensor is exposed from the lower support to pierce the electrical insulation and physically contact the conductor of the power line for monitoring voltage thereon. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. Sensor apparatus for monitoring current and voltage of a power line having a conductor surrounded by electrical insulation, said sensor apparatus comprising:
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a sensor housing having an upper portion pivotally connected to a lower portion; a split-core current transformer for monitoring current passing through said power line, an upper half of said split-core current transformer residing within the upper portion of said sensor housing and a lower half of said split-core current transformer residing within the lower portion of said sensor housing; and a voltage sensor for monitoring voltage of said power line, said voltage sensor having an upper support and a lower support sized to cradle said power line when said sensor housing is closed about said power line, the upper support of said voltage sensor residing in the upper portion of the sensor housing and the lower support of said voltage sensor residing in the lower portion of the sensor housing, said voltage sensor further comprising clamping means for forcing the upper support towards the lower support, said lower support being spring-biased away from a supporting surface of the lower portion of said sensor housing and having an insulation piercing member disposed in an opening therein, said insulation piercing member being fixedly mounted relative to the sensor housing and shaped to pierce the electrical insulation surrounding the conductor of the power line when exposed from said lower support as the upper portion of the sensor housing is forced towards the lower portion of the sensor housing with the power line disposed there between, wherein when the power line is cradled between the upper support and the lower support of the voltage sensor and the upper portion of the sensor housing is forced against the power line by the clamping means, the lower support is moved towards the supporting surface of the sensor housing and the insulation piercing member is exposed from the lower support surface to pierce the electrical insulation of the power line and physically contact the conductor such that the sensor housing can be clamped to the power line to simultaneously establish a voltage connection to the conductor of the power line through the insulation piercing member, to monitor voltage of the conductor, and locate the upper half of the split-core current transformer relative to the lower half of the split-core current transformer, to monitor current through the conductor. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. Sensor apparatus for monitoring current of a power line having a conductor surrounded by electrical insulation, said sensor apparatus comprising:
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a sensor housing having an upper portion pivotally connected to a lower portion, said upper portion and said lower portion being sized to receive the power line such that the power line passes through the sensor housing when the sensor housing is closed thereabout; a split-core current transformer for monitoring current passing through said power line, an upper half of said split-core current transformer residing within the upper portion of said sensor housing and a lower half of said split-core current transformer residing within the lower portion of said sensor housing; a controller disposed external to and removed from the sensor housing and having memory and a tandem current transformer; and an electrical cable coupling the split-core current transformer to the tandem current transformer of the controller, said split-core current transformer having a secondary winding connected to a primary winding of said tandem current transformer, said split-core current transformer and said tandem current transformer cooperating to monitor current through the power line over a current range of one to at least 200 hundred amperes. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A sensor system for monitoring a power line consisting of a conductor surrounded by electrical insulation, said sensor system comprising:
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a line-mounted sensor apparatus including (i) a sensor housing, and (ii) a voltage clamp mechanism disposed within the sensor housing, the voltage clamp mechanism including an upper support and a lower support sized to cradle the power line there between, and clamping means for forcing the upper support towards the lower support, the lower support being spring-biased away from a supporting surface of the sensor housing to which the lower support is affixed and having an insulation piercing voltage sensor disposed in an opening therein, the insulation piercing voltage sensor being fixedly mounted relative to the supporting surface of the sensor housing to which the lower support is affixed and shaped to pierce the electrical insulation surrounding the conductor of the power line when exposed from said lower support, wherein when the power line is cradled between the upper support and the lower support and the upper support is forced against the power line by the clamping means, the lower support is moved towards the supporting surface of the sensor housing to which the lower support is affixed and the insulation piercing voltage sensor is exposed from the lower support to pierce the electrical insulation and physically contact the conductor of the power line for monitoring voltage thereof; data memory for storing data representative of monitored voltage of the power line; and control means, electrically coupled to the insulation piercing voltage sensor of the voltage clamp mechanism and to the data memory, for controlling periodic monitoring of voltage on the conductor of the power line and for storing monitored voltage in said data memory such that a history of voltage on the conductor is compiled. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. Sensor apparatus for monitoring current and voltage of a power line having a conductor surrounded by electrical insulation, said sensor apparatus comprising:
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a sensor housing having an upper portion pivotally connected to a lower portion; a split-core current transformer for monitoring current passing through said power line, an upper half of said split-core current transformer residing within the upper portion of said sensor housing and a lower half of said split-core current transformer residing within the lower portion of said sensor housing; a voltage sensor for monitoring voltage of said power line, said voltage sensor having an upper support and a lower support sized to cradle said power line when said sensor housing is closed about said power line, the upper support of said voltage sensor residing in the upper portion of the sensor housing and the lower support of said voltage sensor residing in the lower portion of said sensor housing, said voltage sensor further including an insulation piercing member capable of piercing the electrical insulation of the power line as the upper portion of the sensor housing is forced towards the lower portion of the sensor housing with the power line disposed therebetween; a controller electrically coupled to the split-core current transformer and to the voltage sensor for monitoring current and voltage of the power line at periodic intervals, and memory means coupled to the controller for storing monitored current and voltage readings, said controller and said memory means being disposed external to and removed from the sensor housing, said controller and said memory means being electrically coupled to the split-core current transformer and the voltage sensor via at least one electrical cable; a tandem current transformer connected to the controller and the memory means, said tandem current transformer also being disposed external to and removed from the sensor housing, said tandem current transformer being coupled to said split-core current transformer via the at least one electrical cable such that a secondary winding of the split-core current transformer is connected to a primary winding of the tandem current transformer, said split-core current transformer and said tandem current transformer cooperating to monitor a wide range of potential current in the power line, said wide range of potential current being from approximately 1 ampere to at least 200 amperes; and wherein when the power line is cradled between the upper support and the lower support of the voltage sensor and the upper portion Of the sensor housing is in opposing relation with the lower portion of the sensor housing, the sensor housing can be clamped to the power line to simultaneously establish a voltage connection to the conductor of the power line through the insulation piercing member, such that voltage of the conductor can be monitored, and to locate the upper half of the split-core current transformer relative to the lower half of the split-core current transformer, such that current through the conductor can be monitored.
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Specification