Electricity meter
First Claim
1. A meter for measuring electricity usage for a given load, said meter comprising:
- a housing;
a first light source and a second light source, each of said light sources being disposed in said housing and configured to output light therefrom;
a first light receiver and a second light receiver, each of said light receivers being disposed in said housing, such that a first light path is defined between said first light source and said first light receiver and a second light path is defined between said second light source and said second light receiver, and wherein each of said light receivers is configured to receive light from its respective said light source and to output a signal responsively thereto; and
a rotatable member disposed in said housing and being rotatable responsively to said electricity usage, said rotatable member being disposed so as to intercept each of said first light path and said second light path as said rotatable member rotates.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A meter for measuring electricity usage for a given load includes a housing and two light sources disposed in the housing and configured to output light at a predetermined frequency. Two light receivers are disposed in the housing so that a light path is defined between each light source and its respective light receiver. Each light receiver is configured to receive the light from its light source and to output a signal responsively thereto. A rotatable member is disposed in the housing in the light paths and is rotatable responsively to the electricity usage. The member has a first portion and a second portion. The first portion transmits incident light while the second portion blocks light. The first portion and the second portion are defined on the member so that the member modulates the light as it rotates. A filter circuit in communication with the light receiver is configured to receive the output signal from the light receiver and to detect therefrom modulation of the light by the rotatable member.
-
Citations
30 Claims
-
1. A meter for measuring electricity usage for a given load, said meter comprising:
-
a housing;
a first light source and a second light source, each of said light sources being disposed in said housing and configured to output light therefrom;
a first light receiver and a second light receiver, each of said light receivers being disposed in said housing, such that a first light path is defined between said first light source and said first light receiver and a second light path is defined between said second light source and said second light receiver, and wherein each of said light receivers is configured to receive light from its respective said light source and to output a signal responsively thereto; and
a rotatable member disposed in said housing and being rotatable responsively to said electricity usage, said rotatable member being disposed so as to intercept each of said first light path and said second light path as said rotatable member rotates. - 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)
-
-
28. A meter for measuring electricity usage for a given load, said meter comprising:
-
a housing;
a first light source and a second light source, each of said light sources being disposed in said housing and configured to output light at a predetermined frequency;
a first light receiver and a second light receiver, each of said light receivers being disposed in said housing, such that a first light path is defined between said first light source and said first light receiver and a second light path is defined between said second light source and said second light receiver, and wherein each of said light receivers is configured to receive light from its respective said light source and to output a signal responsively thereto at a frequency related to said predetermined frequency by a predetermined relationship; and
a rotatable member disposed in said housing and being rotatable responsively to said electricity usage, said rotatable member defining a first portion and a second portion so that said first portion and said second portion alternatingly intercept each of said first light path and said second light path as said rotatable member rotates. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
-
Specification