POWER METER HAVING MULTIPLE ETHERNET PORTS

• US 20120226454A1
• Filed: 05/03/2012
• Published: 09/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electro Industries/Gaugetech
• Original Assignee: Electro Industries/Gaugetech
• Inventors: Kagan, Erran
• Granted Patent: US 9,194,720 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/62
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/18 Remote displaying of utility meter readings
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/40 Networks; Topology
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/45 Utility meters networked together within a single building
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/133 by using digital technique
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• 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 20/242 Home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

A power meter or other electrical device is provided having two independent and communicatively isolated Ethernet ports. The first Ethernet port is addressable by a first unique identifier and is configured for enabling full access to the power meter via an internal LAN. This enables a LAN operator to remotely access the power meter via the internal LAN for performing metering functions, such as full telemetry, control and programming. The second Ethernet port is addressable by a second unique identifier and is configured for being connected to the Internet. Since the second Ethernet port is communicatively isolated from the first Ethernet port, a user can access the power meter via the Internet, but cannot access the internal LAN by connecting to the power meter via the Internet.

Claims

1. A method for communicating with at least one electrical metering device comprising the steps of:

providing the at least one electrical metering device with a first Ethernet port having a first unique identifier and a second Ethernet port having a second unique identifier;

connecting said first Ethernet port of the at least one electrical metering device to a first network via a first Ethernet port-first network connection; and

connecting said second Ethernet port of the at least one electrical metering device to a second network via a second Ethernet port-second network connection, wherein said first and second Ethernet ports are communicatively isolated from each other.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

programming the at least one electrical metering device via said first Ethernet port-first network connection; and

accessing data stored within the at least one electrical metering device via at least one of said first Ethernet port-first network connection and said second Ethernet port-second network connection.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

retrieving status data related to at least one measurement performed by the at least one electrical metering device ; and

transmitting at least a portion of said status data to at least one of said first and second networks.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of providing the at least one electrical metering device with at least one monitoring component and a processor configured for receiving data from said monitoring component and transmitting at least a portion of said data through at least one of said first Ethernet port-first network connection and said second Ethernet port-second network connection.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of receiving programming signals by the at least one electrical metering device via said first Ethernet port-first network connection for programming said processor.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said first Ethernet port of the at least one electrical metering device is in operative communication with said processor.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrical metering device further comprises a storage module configured for storing data, wherein said data is accessible via at least one of said first Ethernet port-first network connection and said second Ethernet port-second network connection.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein said data is transmitted via said second Ethernet port-second network connection within at least one webpage.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising at least one display in operative communication with said processor, and wherein data displayed by said at least one display is substantially identical to data transmitted within said at least one webpage.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein said first Ethernet port has read/write access to said storage module.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein said second Ethernet port has read-only access to said storage module.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said first unique identifier is a first MAC address and said second unique identifier is a second MAC address.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said first network is a LAN and said second network is the Internet.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrical metering device is an electrical power meter.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of controlling the operation of the at least one electrical metering device by transmitting control operations and parameters via a corresponding first Ethernet port-first network connection.

16. An electrical metering device comprising:

at least one monitoring component configured for monitoring at least one parameter of an electrical distribution system;

at least one processor configured for receiving data from the at least one monitoring component, storing the received data in a storage module and transmitting at least a portion of the data to at least one of a first and second communication ports;

the first communication port having a first unique identifier and configured for connecting to a first network and the second communication port having a second unique identifier and configured for connecting to a second network; and

a security module configured for preventing access to said first network via a connection of said second communication port to said second network.

17. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein said first communication port has read/write access to said storage module.

18. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein said second communication port has read-only access to said storage module.

19. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein:

the first communication port is coupled to the at least one processor and the storage module;

the second communication port is coupled to the storage module; and

the second communication port is communicatively isolated from said components, the at least one processor, and the first communication port.

20. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein the security module is adapted for providing via the first communication port or the second communication port selective access to information stored in the storage module.

21. The electrical metering device of claim 20, wherein access to the storage module or the information via the second communication port is available on a read-only basis.

22. The electrical metering device of claim 21, wherein said access is regulated per instructions transmitted via the first communication port.

23. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein information accessible via the second communication port is presented in a form of web pages viewable using at least one Internet browser.

24. The electrical metering device of claim 23, wherein the web pages are created using HTML or XML programming languages.

25. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein the security module is configured for providing via the first communication port access to operational functions of the device, said operational functions including programming or re-programming the device and blocking access via the second communication port to the operational functions.

26. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein the first communication port and the second communication port are Ethernet ports.

27. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein the security module includes a firewall configured to isolate the second communication port from said components, the at least one processor, and the first communication port.

28. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein the security module is a software component.

29. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein the security module is a hardware component.

30. The electrical metering device of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is configured as a router of data between the first and second networks.

31. A system comprising at least one electrical metering device of claim 16.

32. A system comprising:

at least one electrical metering device including at least one monitoring component configured for monitoring at least one parameter of an electrical distribution system and at least one processor configured for receiving data from the at least one monitoring component, storing the received data in a storage module and transmitting at least a portion of the data to at least one of a first and second communication ports;

the first and second communication ports being coupled to the at least one electrical metering device, the first communication port having a first unique identifier and configured for connecting to a first network and the second communication port having a second unique identifier and configured for connecting to a second network; and

a security module configured for preventing access to said first network via a connection of said second communication port to said second network.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the security module is a software component.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the security module is a hardware component.

35. The system of claim 32, wherein the security module is a firewall.

36. The system of claim 32, wherein the security module is configured to prevent unauthorized access to the storage module.

37. The system of claim 32, wherein the at least one processor is configured as a router of data between the first and second networks.