Smart meter system architecture

• US 9,383,223 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2014
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Technological University
• Original Assignee: International Technological University
• Inventors: Wang, Karl L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, An T
• Application Number:
  US14/330,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20160011005A1
• Time in Patent Office: 722 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/145 Payments according to the detected use or quantity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/00 Coin-freed apparatus with meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas or electricity
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 50/12 Billing, invoicing, buying or selling transactions or other related activities, e.g. cost or usage evaluation

Abstract

A smart meter system architecture comprises of a local server, a coordinator, and a plurality of smart meters in a one-to-many data communication system configuration is disclosed. The invention discloses the architecture for a coordinator-server interface control register, data registers, routing table, non-volatile memory, parameter register, non-interruptible battery backup subsystem, and a low-power energy calculation and calibration method for resistive loads.

Claims

1. A data communication system comprises:

a local server,

a plurality of smart meters; and

a coordinator coupled to the local server;

wherein the local server sends commands to the coordinator via a control register;

wherein the control register is utilized to coordinate activities of the plurality of smart meters;

the coordinator includes a data register system;

wherein the data register system comprises a pair of registers configured such that performance of data transfer is enhanced by eliminating the chance of collision when both read and write operations are accessing a same register;

wherein when the local server places each of the plurality of smart meters in a calibration mode, a calibration voltage is applied across a resistor connected as a load in a power line of each of the plurality of smart meters;

a voltage scaling factor is calculated by dividing a calibration voltage root-mean-square value by a measured average voltage root-mean-square of N-samples, a current scaling factor is calculated by dividing calibration current root-mean-square by a measured average current root-mean-square of N-samples and an effective time period is calculated by dividing a calibration energy value measured in a time period by a measured power and a number of samples in the time period.

2. The data communication system of claim 1, wherein the local server is connected by wires to the coordinator.

3. The data communication system of claim 1, wherein the coordinator is connected wirelessly to the plurality of smart meters.

4. The data communication system of claim 1, wherein the control register comprises a plurality of bytes, wherein the plurality of bytes have associated control functions, energy reset value, address, and calibration parameters.

5. The data communication system of claim 1, wherein the control register comprise commands for parameter register read enable, parameter register write disable, control register write, energy calculation reset, relay enable, network discovery enable, routing table read, control register read, data register read, calibration enable, energy calculation reset value, address of a smart meter, and calibration values.

6. The data communication system of claim 5, wherein the coordinator resets the control register to a default state upon completion of the execution of the commands.

7. The data communication system of claim 6, wherein during rest the local server reads the control register to determine when a command is completed and then issues another command.

8. The data communication system of claim 1, wherein the data register system comprise ping and pong registers.

9. The data communication system of claim 8, wherein while ping register is waiting for data from a first smart meter, the data in the pong register sent from a second smart meter is read by the local server and vice versa.

10. The data communication system of claim 1, wherein all the addresses of the plurality of smart meters in communication with the coordinator are stored in a routing table.

11. The data communication system of claim 10, wherein the routing table is updated periodically by a route discovery command sent from the local server and executed by the coordinator.

12. The data communication system of claim 1, wherein the parameters that are used for power and energy calculations are stored in non-volatile memories and parameters registers of the coordinator and the plurality of smart meters.

13. The data communication system of claim 12, wherein data is copied from non-volatile memory to parameter register by system synchronization operations comprises of get parameter and set parameter commands.

14. The data communication system of claim 12, wherein the coordinator sends a get data command sequentially to all the plurality of smart meters that are listed in a routing table with a constant time delay in between sending commands.

15. The data communication system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of smart meter can be powered by a battery subsystem in the event of a power failure to enable a power failure detection in the plurality of smart meter.