Hot stick power analyzer

• US 9,347,976 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2013
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: C07 Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Foster-Miller Incorporated (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Inventors: Mason, Timothy J., Meeker, David C., Godfrey, James F., Travis, Jeffrey C., Leary, William G., Post, Alexander E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Vincent Q
• Application Number:
  US14/061,128
• Publication Number:
  US 20140125354A1
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 324/126, 324/127, 324/117.R, 324/72.5
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 15/142 Arrangements for simultaneous measurements of several parameters employing techniques covered by groups G01R15/14 - G01R15/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 15/16 using capacitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/06 by measuring current and voltage G01R21/08 - G01R21/133 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 35/005 Calibrating; Standards or reference devices, e.g. voltage or resistance standards, "golden" references G01R33/0035, G01R35/002 take precedence

Abstract

A hot stick power analyzer includes a housing mounted on a pole and a channel for a power line. A ground line extends from the housing and there is a power line conductive contact. A voltage sensor includes voltage sensing circuitry connected to the power line conductive contact and the ground line. There is a high voltage capacitance between the ground line and the voltage sensing circuitry. A current sensor includes windings about and spaced from the power line. A processing subsystem is responsive to the voltage sensing circuitry and to the current sensor and is configured to compute power analysis metrics.

Claims

1. A power analyzer system comprising:

a housing mounted on a pole and including a channel for a power line;

a ground line extending from the housing;

a power line conductive contact;

a voltage sensor including voltage sensing circuitry connected to the power line conductive contact and the ground line;

a high voltage capacitance between the ground line and the voltage sensing circuitry;

a current sensor including windings about and spaced from the power line; and

a processing subsystem responsive to the voltage sensing circuitry and the current sensor and configured to compute power analysis metrics.

2. The system of claim 1 further including a housing stem unit with the ground wire therein forming one electrode of the high voltage capacitance, an insulator about the ground wire, and a conductor about the insulator forming the other electrode of the high voltage capacitance coupled to the voltage sensing circuitry.

3. The system of claim 2 in which the housing stem unit further includes an insulator about the conductor and a case about said insulator forming a second capacitance connected between the power line conductive contact and the voltage sensing circuitry.

4. The system of claim 1 in which the processing subsystem is within the housing.

5. The system of claim 4 further including a transmitter controlled by the processing subsystem for wirelessly sending said computed power analysis metrics to a computer.

6. The system of claim 1 in which the power line conductive contact includes a portion of the housing which is wired to the voltage sensing circuitry.

7. The system of claim 6 further including a line mounted sensor calibrated by the computed power analysis metrics.

8. The system of claim 1 in which said power analysis metrics include RMS voltage, RMS current, real power, reactive power, a power factor, a phase angle, total harmonic distortion, instantaneous voltage waveforms, and/or instantaneous current waveforms.

9. A hot stick power analyzer comprising:

a pole;

a housing mounted on the pole and including a ground line and a power line conductive contact;

a voltage sensing circuit in the housing connected to the ground line and the conductive contact;

a high voltage capacitor between the ground line and the voltage sensing circuit; and

a current sensor including windings inside the housing spaced from the power line.

10. The analyzer of claim 9 in which the housing includes a channel for the power line.

11. The analyzer of claim 10 further including a transmitter controlled by the processing subsystem for wirelessly sending said computed power analysis metrics to a computer.

12. The analyzer of claim 9 in which the housing further includes a processing subsystem in the housing responsive to the voltage sensing circuit and the current sensor and configured to compute power analysis metrics.

13. The analyzer of claim 9 further including a stem mounted to the housing with the high voltage capacitor therein.

14. The analyzer of claim 13 in which the ground wire terminates in the stem forming one electrode of the high voltage capacitor, and further including an insulator about the ground wire and a conductor about the insulator forming the other electrode of the high voltage capacitor coupled to the voltage sensing circuit.

15. The analyzer of claim 14 in which the stem unit further includes an insulator about the conductor and a case about said insulator forming a second capacitor connected between the power line conductive contact and the voltage sensing circuit.

16. A method of calibrating the output of a non-grounded power line mounted sensor, the method comprising:

using a hot stick meter to connect to a voltage sensing circuit connected to a power line conductive contact and a ground line and a high voltage capacitance coupled between the ground line and the voltage sensing circuit and to sense current in the power line using current sensor windings spaced from the power line;

computing power analysis metrics from a voltage level sensed by the voltage sensing circuit and a current level sensed by the current sensor; and

using said computed power analysis metrics to calibrate the output of the non-grounded power line mounted sensor.

17. The method of claim 16 in which the computed power analysis metrics are wirelessly transmitted from the hot stick meter to a computer.

18. The method of claim 17 in which said power analysis metrics are further wirelessly transmitted from the computer to a collector in wireless communication with the non-grounded line mounted sensor.