On-line web accessed energy meter

• US 10,641,618 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: EI Electronics LLC (Hubbell, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Electro Industries/Gauge Tech
• Inventors: Wang, Wei, Kagan, Erran
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Albert K
• Application Number:
  US14/093,644
• Publication Number:
  US 20140085103A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,346 Days
• Field of Search: 34087001-87003, 3408531-8564
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• 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 electrical metering system capable of performing multiple metering functions, collecting data, and wirelessly provides the collected metering data to a utility operator. In the electrical metering system, at least one computing device for initiating a request for data. A first modem connects the computing device to an infrastructure. A wireless embedded modem for wirelessly connects an electric meter to an infrastructure, and the wireless electric modem receives a request from the computing device and wirelessly transmits the metering data to the computing device, thereby initiating the request.

Claims

1. A system for collecting electrical metering data from at least one monitored point of an electrical power distribution system and wirelessly providing the collected electrical metering data to a remote operator, the system comprising:

at least one computing device for initiating a request for data;

at least one first communications device for connecting the at least one computing device to a communication infrastructure, the communication infrastructure including a wide area network and at least one wireless access point; and

at least one metering device comprising;

a digital sampler configured for sampling voltage and current at the at least one monitored point of the electrical power distribution system;

at least one processor configured to collect the sampled voltage and current and generate power consumption data from the sampled voltage and current, wherein the at least one processor is configured to act as a server for the at least one metering device and is further configured for formatting the collected and generated data in at least one of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and/or Extensible Markup Language (XML); and

a wireless communications device coupled to the at least one processor and for wirelessly connecting the at least one metering device to the wide area network via a wireless communications protocol, the wireless communications device connects to the wide area network via the at least one wireless access point,

wherein the wireless communications device receives a request from a first computing device and wirelessly transmits the collected and generated data to the first computing device initiating the request via a web browser, and the wireless communications device receives a second request from a second computing device and wirelessly transmits the collected and generated data to the second computing device initiating the request via Modbus TCP.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication infrastructure further comprises a carrier network infrastructure coupled to the wide area network, the carrier network infrastructure including a broadcasting means operating on at least one carrier network protocol.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the wide area network is the Internet.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing device is selected from one of a desktop personal computer, a laptop computer, a cell phone, a hand held computing device.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a communication means for connecting the wireless communications device to the at least one processor, the communication means being selected from hard wired or wireless means.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the hard wired means is selected from one of a serial connection, the Ethernet, and a universal serial bus (USB).

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the wireless means utilizes 802.11 protocol.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor utilizes metering protocols selected from Modbus remote terminal unit (RTU) and DNP to communicate to the wireless communications device.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one carrier network protocol is selected from the group consisting of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) to communicate.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications protocol is a 802.11 protocol.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the wide area network is Ethernet-based.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the wide area network uses Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to assign an IP address to the wireless communications device.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the wide area network operates on TCP/IP.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one metering device is at least one of a socket-type meter, a panel mounted meter, a switchboard meter and/or a circuit breaker mounted meter.

14. An electrical metering device for measuring electrical metering data from at least one monitored point of an electrical power distribution system, the device comprising:

a digital sampler configured for sampling voltage and current at the at least one monitored point of the electrical power distribution system;

at least one processor configured to collect the sampled voltage and current and generate power consumption data from the sampled voltage and current, the at least one processor includes a web server that formats the collected and generated data via at least one programming language, the at least one programming language includes at least one of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and/or Extensible Markup Language (XML) ; and

a wireless communications device for wirelessly connecting the metering device to a communication infrastructure via a 802.11 protocol, the communication infrastructure including a wide area network and at least one wireless access point, the wireless communications device connects to the wide area network via the at least one wireless access point;

wherein the wireless communications device wirelessly transmits the formatted collected and generated data to an external computing device on the communication infrastructure via Modbus TCP.

15. The device as in claim 14, further comprising a network protocol converter that formats the collected and generated data into the at least one network protocol.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the communication infrastructure further includes a carrier network infrastructure coupled to the wide area network, the carrier network infrastructure including a broadcasting means operating at least one carrier network protocol.

17. The device of claim 14, wherein the wide area network is the Internet.

18. The device of claim 14, wherein the wide area network is Ethernet-based.

19. The device of claim 18 wherein the wide area network uses Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to assign an IP address to the wireless communications device.

20. The device of claim 14, wherein the external computing device includes at least one of a desktop personal computer, a laptop computer, a cell phone, and/or a hand held computing device.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the external computing device uses a web browsing program to initiate a request for data.

22. The device of claim 14, further comprising a communication means for connecting the wireless communications device to the at least one processor, the communication means being selected from hard wired or wireless means.

23. The device of claim 22, wherein the hard wired means is selected from one of a serial connection, the Ethernet, and a universal serial bus (USB).

24. The device of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor utilizes metering protocols selected from Modbus remote terminal unit (RTU) and DNP to communicate to the wireless communications device.

25. The device of claim 14, further comprising an external device interface coupled to the at least one processor to receive data from at least one external metering device.

26. The device of claim 14, wherein the wireless communications device is further configured to operate on a cellular network protocol.

27. The device of claim 16, wherein the wireless communications device is further configured to operate on at least one of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and/or Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) to communicate.

29. The device of claim 14, wherein the electrical metering device is at least one of a socket-type meter, a panel mounted meter, a switchboard meter and/or a circuit breaker mounted meter.

30. An electronic metering device comprising:

a digital sampler configured for sampling voltage and current at the at least one monitored point of an electrical power distribution system;

at least one processor configured to collect the sampled voltage and current and generate power consumption data from the sampled voltage and current, wherein the at least one processor is configured to act as a server for the electronic metering device and is further configured for formatting the collected and generated data in at least one of Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and/or Extensible Markup Language (XML); and

a wireless communications device coupled to the at least one processor and for wirelessly connecting the electronic metering device to a wide area network via a 802.11 protocol,

wherein the wireless communications device receives a first request from a first computing device on the wide area network and wirelessly transmits the collected and generated data to the first computing device initiating the request via a web browser, and the wireless communications device receives a second request from a second computing device on the wide area network and wirelessly transmits the collected and generated data to the second computing device initiating the request via Modbus TCP.

31. The device of claim 30, further comprising an external device interface coupled to the at least one processor to receive data from at least one external, electronic metering device.

32. The device of claim 30, wherein the electronic metering device is at least one of a socket-type meter, a panel mounted meter, a switchboard meter and/or a circuit breaker mounted meter.