Radio frequency device within an energy sensor system

• US 7,412,338 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2005
• Issued: 08/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Power Measurement Ltd. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Power Measurement Ltd. (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Hancock, Martin A., Wynans, Arthur B., Gunn, Colin N., Loewen, Daniel N., Haight, Eric K., Teachman, Michael E., Cumming, Daniel Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Cosimano; Edward R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kundu; Sujoy K
• Application Number:
  US11/083,909
• Publication Number:
  US 20050206530A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 702 60- 61, 702/187, 702/188, 702/122, 702/124, 361/65, 700/22, 700/9, 700/286, 700/291, 700/293, 700295-296, 324/74, 324/113, 324/118, 324141-142
• US Class Current: 702/61
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/006 Remote reading of utility meters to a non-fixed location, i.e. mobile location
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/063 related to remote communication
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/10 using digital techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/15507 Relay station based processing for cell extension or control of coverage area, network planning with network coordinated processing with regard to cell extension H04W16/26; network topologies using dedicated repeater stations H04W84/047; terminal devices adapted for relaying to or from an other terminal H04W88/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/10 Current supply arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/34 Smart metering supporting the carbon neutral operation of end-user applications in buildings
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

An energy measurement system including a radio frequency (“RF”) device powered by a solar panel. The RF device comprising a wireless communication port operative to transmit and receive communication over a wireless network of additional RF devices. The energy measurement system able to transmit energy parameters of the RF device over the wireless network.

Claims

1. A system for measuring the delivery of energy from an energy supplier to a consumer through an energy distribution system, said system comprising:

a first energy sensor configured to measure a first energy parameter of an energy distribution system, said first energy sensor further configured to wirelessly transmit and receive a plurality of communication packets that are selectively configurable by said first energy sensor to include energy data representative of said first energy parameter;

a second energy sensor configured to be in wireless communication with said first energy sensor, said second energy sensor configured to measure a second energy parameter of said energy distribution system, said second energy sensor further configured to wirelessly transmit and receive said communication packets, and selectively include energy data representative of said second energy parameter sensed by said second energy sensor in said communication packets;

a radio frequency repeater configured to be in wireless communication with said second energy sensor but out of range for wireless communication with said first energy sensor;

said first and second energy sensors comprising an adjustable radio frequency transmission power, said first energy sensor further configured to automatically adjust said adjustable radio frequency transmission power to enable wireless communication with said second energy sensor, but he out of range for wireless communication with said radio frequency repeater, and

said second energy sensor is further configured to automatically adjust said adjustable radio frequency transmission power to wirelessly pass communication packets being transmitted wirelessly between said first energy sensor and said radio frequency repeater.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said radio frequency repeater comprises a wireless transceiver configured to wirelessly transmit communication packets to said second energy sensor and said wireless transceiver is further configured to receive communication packets from said second energy sensor.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said radio frequency repeater is configured to wirelessly transmit communication packets to said second energy sensor that are destined for said first energy sensor, and, said radio frequency repeater is further configured to receive communication packets from said second energy sensor that were transmitted from said first energy senor.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein said radio frequency repeater is operative to wirelessly retransmit said communication packets to another radio frequency device.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said first and second energy sensors each comprise at least one measurement coupling device configured to he coupled with said energy distribution system and operative to sense at least one energy parameter in said energy distribution system, said first and second energy sensors each configured to generate said energy data therefrom.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said first energy sensor comprises a first communication port configured to wireless transmit said communication packets and a second communication port in communication with said first communication port, wherein said second communication port is configured to be in wired communication with at least one intelligent electronic device.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said first energy sensor further comprises a processor configured to direct transmission and receipt of messages between said first communication port and said second communication port.

32. The system of claim 1 further comprising a solar panel electrically coupled with said radio frequency repeater to supply electric power to said radio frequency repeater.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein said radio frequency repeater comprises a power supply coupled with a wireless transceiver and said solar panel, and an energy storage device coupled with said power supply, wherein said power supply is operable to store in said energy storage device an electric charge suppliable from said solar panel.

34. The system of claim 32 wherein said radio frequency repeater further comprises a processor coupled with said power supply, and a data memory coupled with said processor, wherein said power supply is configured to indicate to said processor when insufficient power is supplied by said power supply, said processor configured to store said communication packets in said data memory in response to said indication, said processor further configured to enable transmission of said stored communication packets when said power supply ceases said indication.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein said processor is further configured to direct wireless transmission of at least one communication packet that includes indication of insufficient power supplied by said power supply.

36. The system of claim 1 wherein a sleep interval, a transmit interval, and a sample interval of said first and second energy sensors are configurable by a user so that an average power required by said first and second energy sensors is adjustable.

37. The system of claim 1 wherein said adjustable radio frequency transmission power of each of said first and second energy sensors is dynamically adjustable in accordance with an intended destination, or a next intended hop of one of said plurality of communication packets being transmitted.

45. the system of claim 1, wherein said first energy sensor and said second energy sensor are configured to independently self adjust said adjustable radio frequency transmission power.

46. The system of claim 1, wherein said first energy sensor is configured to slowly increase a power level of said adjustable radio frequency transmission power only until a message is successfully received by said second energy sensor.

8. A system for measuring the delivery of energy from an energy supplier to a consumer through an energy distribution system, said system comprising:

a wireless network;

at least a first energy sensor and a second energy sensor coupled with said wireless network, said first and second energy sensors operative to transmit and receive a communication packet over said wireless network wherein said communication packet comprises energy data representative of at least one energy parameter of said energy distribution system;

a radio frequency repeater coupled with said wireless network, said radio frequency repeater comprising;

a communication port operative to wirelessly transmit and receive said communication packet over said wireless network; and

a processor operatively coupled with said communication port;

said first energy sensor comprising a radio frequency power control operative to minimize a radio frequency transmission power of said first energy sensor so that said first energy sensor is out of radio frequency range and unable to directly communicate with said radio frequency repeater while wireless communication with said second energy sensor is maintained; and

said second energy sensor further operative to receive said communication packet from said first energy sensor and retransmit said communication packet to said radio frequency repeater.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said radio frequency repeater is operative to retransmit said communication packet to another radio frequency device over said wireless network.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein said communication port is a first communication port, said processor is a first processor, and said second energy sensor comprises:

at least one measurement coupling device configured to be coupled with said energy distribution system and operative to sense at least one energy parameter in said energy distribution system and generate at least one analog signal indicative thereof;

at least one analog to digital converter coupled with said at least one measurement coupling device and operative to convert said at least one analog signal to at least one digital signal representative thereof;

second processor coupled with said at least one analog to digital converter and operative to generate said at least one energy parameter from said at least one digital signal; and

a second communication port coupled with said second processor.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said second energy sensor further comprises an adjustable radio frequency power control coupled with said second communication port and operative to limit an effective radio frequency range of said first communication port.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein said radio frequency repeater further comprises an adjustable radio frequency power control coupled with said communication port and operative to limit an effective radio frequency range of said communication port to enable communication with said second energy sensor but be out of range of communication with said first energy sensor.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said adjustable radio frequency power control is further coupled with said processor, wherein said processor is further operative to adjust a radio frequency power used by said communication port to enable communication with minimized power usage by said radio frequency repeater.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein said processor is further operative to compute a forward error correcting code for at least a portion of said communication packet;

wherein said forward error correcting code is included within said communication packet to enable correction of corrupted information included in said communication packet.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein said radio frequency repeater is further operative to analyze said forward error correcting code from said communication packet and apply at least one bit of correction based on said forward error correcting code to said communication packet before retransmission of said communication packet on said wireless network.

38. The system of claim 8, wherein said radio frequency repeater comprises a power supply coupled with said communication port and said processor, and a solar panel coupled with said power supply operative to provide power to said radio frequency repeater.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein said power supply further comprises an energy storage device configured to store an electric charge suppliable from, said solar panel.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein said radio frequency repeater is further operative to transmit a communication packet indicative of an insufficient energy supply from said energy storage device and said solar panel.

41. The system of claim 38, wherein said radio frequency repeater further comprises a data memory coupled with said processor wherein said data memory is operative to store at least a portion of said communication packet.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein said radio frequency repeater further comprises a low power flag indicative of an insufficient energy supply to said power supply, wherein said data memory is operative to store said communication packet when energy supplied to said power supply is below an energy threshold and said communication port is operative to transmit said stored communication packet when energy supplied to said power supply is above said energy threshold.

47. The system of claim 8, wherein said first energy sensor is configured to independently self adjust said radio frequency transmission power.

48. The system of claim 8, wherein said first energy sensor is configured to slowly increase a power level or said radio frequency transmission power only until a message is successfully received by said second energy sensor.

16. A method of measuring the delivery of energy from an energy supplier to a consumer through an energy distribution system, the method comprising:

measuring at least one first energy parameter with a first energy sensor;

measuring at least one second energy parameter with a second energy sensor;

automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power of said second energy sensor to provide enough radio frequency transmission power to wirelessly communicate a second communication packet that includes data representative of said second energy parameter from said second energy sensor to a radio frequency repeater;

automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power of said first energy sensor to provide only enough radio frequency transmission power to wirelessly communicate a first communication packet that includes data representative of said first energy parameter from said first energy sensor to said second energy sensor, while keeping said radio frequency repeater outside a communication range of said first energy sensor;

said second energy sensor wirelessly relaying said first communication packet to said radio frequency repeater; and

said radio frequency repeater forwarding said first communication packet and said second communication packet for receipt by an energy management system.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising supplying an electric charge from a solar panel to a power supply included in said radio frequency repeater, storing said electric charge in an energy storage device coupled with said power supply, and supplying power with said power supply to a transceiver, a processor and a data memory included in said radio frequency repeater.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising indicating to said processor with said power supply when insufficient power is supplied by said power supply, said processor storing in said data memory a communication packet to be transmitted in response to said indication, said processor enabling transmission of said stored communication packet when said power supply ceases said indication.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said processor storing said communication packet further comprises said processor directing wireless transmission of at least one communication packet that includes indication of insufficient power supplied by said power supply.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising wirelessly transmitting a communication packet that is destined for said first energy sensor from said radio frequency repeater to said second energy sensor, and said radio frequency repeater wirelessly receiving a communication packet from said second energy sensor that was transmitted from said first energy sensor.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising said radio frequency repeater wirelessly retransmitting a received communication packet to another radio frequency device.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power of said first energy sensor comprises said first energy sensor wirelessly communicating said communication packet that includes said first energy parameter with a first communication port, and said first energy sensor performing wired communication with at least one intelligent electronic device with a second communication port that is in communication with said first communication port.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising directing transmission and receipt of messages between said first communication port and said second communication port with a processor included in said first energy sensor.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein said first energy sensor, said second energy sensor and said radio frequency repeater are operable to communicate communication packets over a wireless network.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein measuring at least one first energy parameter with a first energy sensor and measuring at least one second energy parameter with a second energy sensor comprises:

sensing at least one energy parameter in said energy distribution system with at least one measurement coupling device that is configured to be coupled with said energy distribution system;

generating with said at least one measurement coupling device at least one analog signal indicative of said at least one energy parameter;

converting said at least one analog signal to at least one digital signal representative thereof with at least one analog to digital converter; and

generating said communication packet that includes said first energy parameter or said second energy parameter from said at least one digital signal.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power of said second energy sensor comprises adjusting a radio frequency power control included in said second energy sensor to limit an effective radio frequency range of a communication port also included in said second energy sensor.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein adjusting a radio frequency power control further comprises automatically increasing said radio frequency power control with a processor only until said first energy sensor and said radio frequency repeater are in communication range of said second energy sensor.

28. The method of claim 16, further comprising adjusting a radio frequency power control included in said radio frequency repeater to limit an effective radio frequency range of a communication port also included in said radio frequency repeater to communicate with said second energy sensor, but not said first energy sensor.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein adjusting a radio frequency power control further comprises automatically adjusting said radio frequency power control with a processor to minimize power consumption but still enable wireless communication with said second energy sensor.

30. The method of claim 16, further comprising computing a forward error correcting code for a communication packet, wherein said forward error correcting code is included within said communication packet to enable correction of corrupted information also included therein.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein said radio frequency repeater is further operative to analyze said forward error correcting code included in said communication packet and apply at least one bit of correction based on said forward error correcting code to said communication packet before retransmission of said communication packet.

43. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power comprises dynamically modifying said radio frequency transmission power in accordance with an intended destination or a next intended hop of a communication packet to be transmitted.

44. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power comprises limiting a range of a radio frequency transmission to be within a predetermined radio frequency zone that includes other participating radio frequency devices.

49. The method of claim 16, where automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power of said first energy sensor comprises said first energy sensor independently self adjusting said radio frequency transmission power, and automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power of said second energy sensor comprises said second energy sensor independently self adjusting said radio frequency transmission power.

50. The method of claim 16, where automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power of said first energy sensor comprises said first energy sensor slowly increasing a power level of said radio frequency transmission power only until said first communication packet is successfully received by said second energy sensor.

51. The method of claim 50, where automatically adjusting a radio frequency transmission power of said second energy sensor comprises said second energy sensor slowly increasing a power level of said radio frequency transmission power only until said second communication packet is successfully received by said radio frequency repeater.