Apparatus and methods thereof for power consumption measurement at circuit breaker points
First Claim
1. An apparatus for measuring a current flowing through a circuit breaker and fitting within a circuit breakers'"'"' closet, the current ranging from a maximum current to low currents, the apparatus comprising:
- a current transformer comprising a core to fit around a current wire connected to the circuit breaker, the current wire being a primary winding of the current transformer, and a secondary winding wound around a first portion of the core having first and second terminals, the current through the current wire, when present, being of a fixed frequency;
a resonance capacitor connected in parallel to the secondary winding, wherein a capacitance of the resonance capacitor is selected to achieve resonance at the fixed frequency of the current flowing through the circuit breaker at a low range of current through the circuit breaker and wherein magnetization is at a low non-linear range of a magnetization curve of the core;
a sense resistor;
an energy harvester, the energy harvester including a full wave bridge rectifier connected to the first and second terminals of the secondary winding to supply power to the apparatus responsive of harvesting energy from the secondary winding;
a switching circuitry connected to a first terminal of the secondary winding, the switching circuitry connecting the energy harvester to the first terminal of the secondary winding in a default mode of operation and connecting the sense resistor to the first terminal of the secondary winding in a sensing mode of operation;
a radio frequency transmitter; and
a microcontroller connected to the sense resistor, the energy harvester, the switching circuitry and the radio frequency transceiver, the microcontroller configured to;
a) determine sufficiency of energy in the energy harvester;
b) determine current flowing in the current wire upon determination of at least a first level of energy in the energy harvester;
c) transmit data collected respective of at least the current flowing in the current wire using the radio frequency transmitter upon determination of at least a second level of energy in the energy harvester; and
, d) control the switching circuitry between the default mode and the sensing mode.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods are provided for the measurement of power consumption at points of interest, such as circuit breakers, machines, and the like. Accordingly, means are provided for measurement of power consumption for each electrical sub-network that is controlled by a circuit breaker. Each apparatus is enabled to communicate its respective data, in an environment of a plurality of such apparatuses, to a management unit which is enabled to provide finer granularity power consumption profiles. Challenges of measuring relatively low supply currents, wireless operation in an environment of a large number of apparatuses, and self-powering are addressed.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring a current flowing through a circuit breaker and fitting within a circuit breakers'"'"' closet, the current ranging from a maximum current to low currents, the apparatus comprising:
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a current transformer comprising a core to fit around a current wire connected to the circuit breaker, the current wire being a primary winding of the current transformer, and a secondary winding wound around a first portion of the core having first and second terminals, the current through the current wire, when present, being of a fixed frequency; a resonance capacitor connected in parallel to the secondary winding, wherein a capacitance of the resonance capacitor is selected to achieve resonance at the fixed frequency of the current flowing through the circuit breaker at a low range of current through the circuit breaker and wherein magnetization is at a low non-linear range of a magnetization curve of the core; a sense resistor; an energy harvester, the energy harvester including a full wave bridge rectifier connected to the first and second terminals of the secondary winding to supply power to the apparatus responsive of harvesting energy from the secondary winding; a switching circuitry connected to a first terminal of the secondary winding, the switching circuitry connecting the energy harvester to the first terminal of the secondary winding in a default mode of operation and connecting the sense resistor to the first terminal of the secondary winding in a sensing mode of operation; a radio frequency transmitter; and a microcontroller connected to the sense resistor, the energy harvester, the switching circuitry and the radio frequency transceiver, the microcontroller configured to;
a) determine sufficiency of energy in the energy harvester;
b) determine current flowing in the current wire upon determination of at least a first level of energy in the energy harvester;
c) transmit data collected respective of at least the current flowing in the current wire using the radio frequency transmitter upon determination of at least a second level of energy in the energy harvester; and
, d) control the switching circuitry between the default mode and the sensing mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification