Cascading metrology apparatus and methodology

• US 20070073497A1
• Filed: 06/23/2006
• Published: 03/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Inventors: Lancaster, Andrew, Decaux, Pierre
• Granted Patent: US 7,904,262 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/60
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/2513 Arrangements for monitoring electric power systems, e.g. power lines or loads; Logging
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/10 using digital techniques

Abstract

Apparatus and methodology are provided for measuring energy, particularly in a useful way for a multiphase system. Individual, like single-phase metrology blocks are provided to monitor energy in selected phases of a multiphase system. Individual data from a relatively upstream metrology block is passed to a relatively downstream metrology block, with the data stream being concatenated as the stream tracks from one metrology block to another. Energy data is coded as a predetermined small quantum of energy such that the last metrology block in a seriatim configuration of such metrology blocks may compute total energy consumption in the effective multiphase system by simple addition of the energy quantum data arriving at such last metrology block.

Claims

1. A metrology device, comprising:

a first data combiner;

a metrology board configured to produce energy related data; and

a second data combiner;

wherein said first data combiner is configured to serially combine data from a data source with data generated by said metrology board, and

wherein said second data combiner is configured to combine combined data from said first data combiner so as to provide composite energy related data.

2. A metrology device as in claim 1, wherein said metrology board is configured to produce energy consumption data.

3. A metrology device as in claim 1, wherein said metrology board is configured to produce energy generation data.

4. A metrology device as in claim 1, wherein said metrology board is configured to produce quantized energy data corresponding to measurement of a predetermined quantity of energy.

5. A metrology device as in claim 4, wherein:

said first data combiner is configured to concatenate energy related data from said metrology board with data from a data source; and

wherein said second data combiner is configured so as to produce data related to total energy consumption based on said concatenated data.

6. A multiphase metrology system, comprising:

a plurality of metrology devices connected in seriatim, each of said metrology devices comprising;

a first data combiner;

a metrology board configured to produce energy related data; and

a second data combiner,

wherein said first data combiner of each of said plurality of metrology devices is configured to combine data from a metrology device relatively upstream therefrom with energy related data generated by said metrology board, and wherein said second data combiner is configured to optionally combine combined data from said first data combiner with further data.

7. A multiphase metrology system as in claim 6, wherein each said metrology board of said plurality of metrology devices is configured to produce energy consumption data.

8. A multiphase metrology system as in claim 6, wherein each said metrology board of said plurality of metrology devices is configured to produce energy generation data.

9. A multiphase metrology system as in claim 6, wherein each said metrology board of each of said plurality of metrology devices is configured to produce quantized energy data corresponding to measurement of a predetermined quantity of energy.

10. A multiphase metrology system as in claim 9, wherein:

said first data combiner of each of said plurality of metrology devices is configured to concatenate energy related data from a metrology board relatively upstream therefrom with data from a data source; and

wherein

said second data combiner is configured to produce data related to total energy consumption based on said concatenated data.

11. A multiphase metrology system as in claim 10, wherein said first metrology device of said plurality of metrology devices is configured to initiate a synchronization signal to which a metrology block relatively downstream therefrom may be synchronized.

12. A multiphase metrology system as in claim 10, wherein the last metrology device of said plurality of metrology devices in seriatim is configured to produce data related to total energy consumption by algebraically adding said concatenated data.

13. A method for monitoring energy, comprising:

providing a plurality of energy monitoring devices, each of such energy monitoring devices comprising a first data combiner, a metrology board for generating energy related data, and a second data combiner;

connecting the plurality of energy monitoring devices in a seriatim configuration;

combining a signal from a first data combiner in a first of the plurality of energy monitoring devices in the seriatim configuration with energy related data from the metrology board of a second of the plurality of energy monitoring devices in the seriatim configuration; and

determining total monitored energy by monitoring an output from the second data combiner in a second of the plurality of energy monitoring devices in the seriatim configuration.

14. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 13, wherein the energy related data provided by each metrology board comprises energy consumption data.

15. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 13, wherein the energy related data provided by each metrology board comprises energy generation data.

16. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 13, further comprising:

concatenating data from a first data combiner in a first of the plurality of energy monitoring devices in the seriatim configuration with data from a first data combiner in a second of the plurality of energy monitoring devices in the seriatim configuration.

17. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 16, further comprising:

configuring each of the metrology boards to provide energy related data corresponding to energy quantum data.

18. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 16, further comprising:

configuring the first metrology device of the plurality of metrology devices in the seriatim configuration to initiate a synchronization signal to synchronize the metrology blocks in the seriatim configuration relatively downstream therefrom.

19. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 16, further comprising:

configuring the last metrology device of the plurality of metrology devices in the seriatim configuration to algebraically add the concatenated data to produce data related to total energy consumption.

20. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 16, further comprising:

supplying additional data to one or more of the second data combiners of the plurality of energy monitoring devices in the seriatim configuration.

21. Methodology for cascading data from single-phase metrology blocks to produce a multiphase metrology design, comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of single-phase metrology blocks in a daisy-chain topology configured such that the first metrology block in the chain initiates a synchronization header to enable the synchronization of the next metrology block in the chain;

sending data downstream from a metrology block so as to include such metrology block'"'"'s own data concatenated with the data received from any previous metrology block, with energy measurements represented by the metrology blocks being encoded in discrete quantums of very small amounts of energy; and

using the last metrology block in the daisy-chain topology to compute the energy of all upstream metrology blocks, thereby producing an output used to obtain data representative of the polyphase energy, such that processing of the stream of data does not require arithmetic and logic units but rather only a basic adder to compute the multiphase energy.

22. Methodology for cascading data from single-phase metrology blocks to produce a multiphase metrology design as in claim 21, wherein the data is transmitted from metrology block to metrology block along the daisy-chain configuration via a single wire.