Cascading metrology apparatus and methodology

• US 7,904,262 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2006
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Inventors: Lancaster, Andrew, Decaux, Pierre
• Primary Examiner(s): Barbee; Manuel L
• Application Number:
  US11/473,391
• Publication Number:
  US 20070073497A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,719 Days
• Field of Search: 702 60- 62, 702/122, 702/187, 324/107, 324/108, 324/113, 324/114, 324/140.R, 324/141, 324/142, 324/140.D, 700/291, 700/295
• US Class Current: 702/62
• 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 method for monitoring energy, comprising:

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

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

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

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

2. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 1, wherein the single phase energy related data provided by each single phase metrology board comprises energy consumption data.

3. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 1, wherein the energy related data provided by each metrology board comprises energy generation data.

4. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 1, further comprising:

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

5. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 4, further comprising:

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

6. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 4, further comprising:

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

7. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 4, further comprising:

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

8. A method for monitoring energy as in claim 4, further comprising:

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

9. 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 multiphase 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.

10. Methodology for cascading data from single-phase metrology blocks to produce a multiphase metrology design as in claim 9, wherein the data is transmitted from metrology block to metrology block along the daisy-chain configuration via a single wire.