Electricity meter with power supply load management
First Claim
1. A method of managing the load on a power supply in an electricity meter having a power supply operable to convert service line power to regulated dc power using circuitry including a storage capacitor having an unregulated voltage across its terminals, metering circuits coupled to the power supply output and utilizing a controller to acquire data and memory to store data, and a plurality of peripheral devices each configured to be selectively coupled to the power supply output when mounted within the meter, the method comprising the steps of:
- sensing the presence of the unregulated voltage;
selecting one of the plurality of peripheral devices and mounting the selected peripheral device in the meter;
comparing using the controller the sensed unregulated voltage to a threshold value;
deciding using the controller whether to couple the selected peripheral device to, or decouple the selected peripheral device from, the power supply based on the outcome of the comparing step;
coupling the selected peripheral device to, or decoupling the selected peripheral device from, the power supply based on the outcome of the deciding step; and
repeating the comparing, deciding and coupling or decoupling steps.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electricity meter for monitoring electric power consumed from a service line is disclosed. The electricity meter includes a power consumption metering system for measuring the amount of power consumed from the service line, a peripheral device providing a non-critical function, a power converter, and a load management system. The metering system includes a controller and data storage for storing power consumption data. The power converter provides an unregulated voltage output at the terminals of a capacitor for powering the metering system. The load management system selectively couples and decouples the peripheral device from the power converter. The load management system senses the unregulated voltage to determine whether to couple or decouple the peripheral device. A load management system for an electricity meter and a method of managing the loads on the power system of an electricity meter are also disclosed.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method of managing the load on a power supply in an electricity meter having a power supply operable to convert service line power to regulated dc power using circuitry including a storage capacitor having an unregulated voltage across its terminals, metering circuits coupled to the power supply output and utilizing a controller to acquire data and memory to store data, and a plurality of peripheral devices each configured to be selectively coupled to the power supply output when mounted within the meter, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing the presence of the unregulated voltage; selecting one of the plurality of peripheral devices and mounting the selected peripheral device in the meter; comparing using the controller the sensed unregulated voltage to a threshold value; deciding using the controller whether to couple the selected peripheral device to, or decouple the selected peripheral device from, the power supply based on the outcome of the comparing step; coupling the selected peripheral device to, or decoupling the selected peripheral device from, the power supply based on the outcome of the deciding step; and repeating the comparing, deciding and coupling or decoupling steps. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method of managing the load on a power supply line in an electricity meter, the electricity meter including at least one peripheral device, the method comprising the steps of:
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a) sensing the presence of an unregulated voltage; b) comparing the sensed unregulated voltage to a threshold voltage; c) coupling the at least one peripheral device to the power supply if the unregulated voltage is greater than the threshold voltage; and d) decoupling the peripheral device from the power supply if the unregulated voltage is less than the threshold voltage. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification