Method and apparatus for a demand management monitoring system

• US 9,519,559 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2014
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Power Monitors, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Power Monitors, Inc.
• Inventors: Curt, Walter, Mullins, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): KASENGE, CHARLES R
• Application Number:
  US14/285,671
• Publication Number:
  US 20140257587A1
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: 700/286, 700/291, 700/292, 700/293, 700/295, 702/57, 702/58, 702/59, 702/60, 702/61, 702/62, 702/64, 702/65
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3058 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring environmental properties or parameters of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring of power, currents, temperature, humidity, position, vibrations thermal management in cooling arrangements of a computing system G06F1/206
• 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

A demand management monitoring system including a remote measurement device including a microprocessor for calculating RMS voltage data from digital samples and a wireless communications device, and a server system including a database configured to store the RMS voltage data from the remote measurement device.

Claims

1. An apparatus for a demand management monitoring system comprising:

at least one remote measurement device, the remote measurement device comprising a microprocessor configured to calculate RMS voltage data from digital samples, and

a wireless communications device for transmitting the RMS voltage data to a server system for display on a dynamic web page in at least one of a map format, a graph format, or a tabular data format,

wherein the wireless communications device is configured to transmit the RMS voltage data to the server system for display on the dynamic web page in the map format, wherein the map format comprises at least one marker indicating a location of the at least one remote measurement device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote measurement device further comprises:

a voltage input configured to receive a line voltage from a powerline;

a voltage reducer configured to reduce a voltage of the line voltage; and

an analog to digital (A/D) converter configured to convert the line voltage to the digital samples.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the voltage reducer comprises a transformer.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the voltage reducer comprises a pulse-withstanding divider resistor network.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote measurement device further comprises a low power wireless communications device configured to receive data from external sensors.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the remote measurement device further comprises a signal conditioning circuit configured to receive the line voltage from the voltage reducer and condition the line voltage.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote measurement device is contained in a standard meter base adapter.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication device is adapted to communicate directly with an external utility system.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, where in the external utility system is a SCADA system using at least one of a DNP3 interface, IEC 61850 interface, and another standard SCADA protocol interface.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications device is configured to transmit the RMS voltage data to the server system in real time for display on the dynamic web page in response to receiving a request for real-time updates from the server system.

11. An apparatus for a demand management monitoring system comprising:

a server system comprising a database configured to store the RMS voltage data from at least one remote measurement device,

a listening process configured to receive data comprising the RMS voltage data and other data from the at least one remote measurement device through a network, and

a web server configured to display the RMS voltage data and the other data on a dynamic web page in at least one of a map format, a graph format, or a tabular data format,

wherein the listening process is configured to receive the RMS voltage data into the web server for display on the dynamic web page in the map format, wherein the map format comprises at least one marker indicating a location of the at least one remote measurement device.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the server system further comprises:

a dataset preprocessor configured to decimate and chunk the RMS voltage data.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the server system further comprises:

an alarm process configured to search the other data for alert and event messages.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the server system further comprises:

an email and SMS alert process configured to distribute email and SMS alerts based on the alert and event messages in the other data.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the server system further comprises:

a dataset process configured to access the RMS voltage data and other data in the database and prepare the RMS voltage data and other data for display on the dynamic web page.

16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the server system further comprises:

an external interface configured to access the RMS voltage data and other data in the database and transmit the RMS voltage data and other data to a requesting external utility system.

17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the other data includes environmental data.

18. A method for a remote measurement device in a demand management monitoring system comprising:

receiving a line voltage;

reducing a voltage of the line voltage;

calculating an RMS voltage of the line voltage; and

transmitting the RMS voltage to a server system configured to display the RMS voltage on a dynamic web page in at least one of a map format, a graph format, or a tabular data format,

wherein the remote measurement device transmits the RMS voltage data to the server system for display on the dynamic web page in the map format, wherein the map format comprises at least one marker indicating a location of the remote measurement device.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

conditioning the line voltage.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving environmental data from at least one external sensor; and

transmitting the environmental data.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

detecting an event or alarm condition; and

transmitting an alarm or event message.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the RMS voltage is transmitted to an external utility system.

23. A method implemented by a server system in a demand management monitoring system comprising:

receiving data comprising RMS voltage data;

checking the data for alarm or event messages;

inserting the data into a database implemented on hardware of the server system; and

displaying the RMS voltage data and the other data on a dynamic web page in at least one of a map format, a graph format, or a tabular data format,

wherein the server system is configured to receive the RMS voltage data for display on the dynamic web page in the map format, wherein the map format comprises at least one marker indicating a location of at least one remote measurement device.