Electrical service disconnect having tamper detection
First Claim
1. An apparatus for determining tampering in an electricity meter arrangement comprising:
- a service disconnect switch operable to controllably disconnect electrical power lines from a load, the load including at least first and second feeder lines;
a voltage sense circuit coupled to sense voltage on the first and second feeder lines, the voltage sense circuit operable to generate a single voltage detection signal based on a first voltage on the first feeder line and a second voltage on the second feeder line, the voltage detection signal having a characteristic representative of whether line voltage from the electrical power lines is present on the first and second feeder lines; and
a processing circuit operably connected to the voltage sense circuit to receive the voltage detection signal, the processing circuit operable to selectively generate a tamper flag based on whether the characteristic of the voltage detection signal indicates the presence of voltage on the first and second feeder lines when the service disconnect switch has disconnected the electrical power lines from the first and second feeder lines.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tamper detection arrangement in a meter having a service disconnect switch employs a voltage sense circuit that requires only a single connection to digital processing circuitry for the feeder lines of typical residential service. In one embodiment, the voltage sense circuit includes an isolation device that electrically isolates the processing device from the line voltages. The voltage sense circuit senses a voltage on the feeder lines and is operable to generate a voltage detection signal having a characteristic representative of whether line voltage from the electrical power lines is present on the feeder lines. A processing circuit is operably connected to the voltage sense circuit to receive the voltage detection signal and to selectively generate a tamper flag based on whether the characteristic of the voltage detection signal indicates the presence of voltage on the first and second feeder lines when the service disconnect switch has disconnected the electrical power lines from the first and second feeder lines.
75 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining tampering in an electricity meter arrangement comprising:
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a service disconnect switch operable to controllably disconnect electrical power lines from a load, the load including at least first and second feeder lines; a voltage sense circuit coupled to sense voltage on the first and second feeder lines, the voltage sense circuit operable to generate a single voltage detection signal based on a first voltage on the first feeder line and a second voltage on the second feeder line, the voltage detection signal having a characteristic representative of whether line voltage from the electrical power lines is present on the first and second feeder lines; and a processing circuit operably connected to the voltage sense circuit to receive the voltage detection signal, the processing circuit operable to selectively generate a tamper flag based on whether the characteristic of the voltage detection signal indicates the presence of voltage on the first and second feeder lines when the service disconnect switch has disconnected the electrical power lines from the first and second feeder lines. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for determining tampering in an electricity meter arrangement comprising:
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a housing containing a metering circuit; a service disconnect switch disposed within the housing, the service disconnect switch operable to controllably disconnect electrical power lines from a load, the load including at least first and second feeder lines; a voltage sense circuit coupled to sense voltage on at least one feeder line, the voltage sense circuit including an isolation mechanism interposed between the at least one feeder line and an output to provide electrical isolation therebetween, the voltage sense circuit operable to generate a voltage detection signal having a characteristic representative of whether line voltage from the electrical power lines is present on the at least one feeder line, the voltage sense circuit operable to provide the voltage detection signal to the output; and a processing circuit operably connected to the output to receive the voltage detection signal, the processing circuit operable to selectively generate a tamper flag based on whether the characteristic of the voltage detection signal indicates the presence of voltage on the at least one feeder line when the service disconnect switch has disconnected the electrical power lines from the first and second feeder lines. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method comprising:
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a) disconnecting, using a service disconnect switch, at least one feeder line of a load from at least one electrical power line, the service disconnect switch disposed within an electricity meter housing; b) employing a voltage sense circuit that is operably connected to the at least one feeder line to generate a voltage detection signal having a characteristic representative of whether line voltage from the electrical power lines is present on the at least one feeder line; c) providing the voltage detection signal to an output that is electrically isolated from the at least one feeder line; d) employing a processing circuit to receive the voltage detection signal and generate a tamper flag if the characteristic of the voltage detection signal indicates the presence of line voltage on the at least one feeder line. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification