Expansion module for modular meter

Details Expansion module for modular meter Expansion module for modular meter

1999-01-08

2001-08-14

Horabik, Michael (Department: 2635)

Communications: electrical

Continuously variable indicating

With meter reading

C324S142000, C324S110000, C324S156000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06275168

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of metering devices, and in particular, to electrical utility revenue meters.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electrical utility revenue meters, or simply revenue meters, are devices that, among other things, measure electrical energy consumed by a residence, factory, commercial establishment or other such facility. Electrical utilities rely on revenue meters for many purposes, including billing customers and tracking demand for electrical power. A common form of revenue meter comprises an inductive drive that rotates a spinning disk at an angular velocity proportional to the amount of power being consumed. The spinning disk drives mechanical counters that provided an indication of power consumed over time.
Over recent years, electronic meters have been developed that are replacing the spinning disk meter design in several applications. Electronic meters use electronic circuits to measure, quantify and display energy consumption information. In general, electronic meters may be divided into two portions, a sensor portion and a measurement portion. The sensor portion includes sensor devices that are connected to the electrical system of a facility, and more particularly, to the power lines. The sensor devices generate signals that are indicative of the voltage and current in the power lines. In general, the sensor portion of a revenue meter operates with the high voltages and currents that are present on the power lines.
The measurement portion of an electronic meter uses the signals generated by the sensor portion to determine watt-hours, VA, VAR and other information that quantifies the power consumed by the facility. The measurement portion typically also includes a display for displaying the power consumption information. In contrast to the sensor portion, the measurement circuit works with reduced or attenuated voltage and current signals that are compatible with electronic devices, and in particular, digital electronic devices.
Occasionally, revenue meters can malfunction or suffer damage through external forces and require repair or replacement. Repair or replacement of many commonly-used revenue meters presently require an interruption in the electrical power to the facility being metered. In general, power service interruptions are extremely undesirable from the electrical utilities' perspective because they reduce customer satisfaction. Accordingly, there exists a need for a revenue meter that may be repaired or replaced without interrupting power service to the facility being metered.
Another problem that has arisen due to the advent of electronic meters pertains to service upgrades. In general, electronic meters offer a wide variety of features that are facilitated by digital electronics. These features may include power demand monitoring, communications, and power line and meter diagnostics. Because these features are facilitated by the digital circuitry in the measurement portion of the meter, the services or functions available in an electronic-type revenue meter may be altered by replacing digital circuit components in the measurement portion of the meter.
For example, consider a utility that installs several electronic meters without power demand monitoring because it is deemed unnecessary at the time of installation. A year later that utility may determine that it would be desirable to have the power demand monitoring capability in those meter installations. The installed electronic meters may, in theory, be upgraded to provide that capability typically by replacing portions of the electronic portion. The sensor portion components would not need to be replaced.
As a practical matter, however, it is often more convenient to replace the entire meter rather than the individual digital circuit components. Accordingly, enhancement of the capabilities of the metering often requires replacement of the entire meter. Replacement of the entire meter, however, undesirably creates waste by forcing the replacement of relatively costly, and perfectly operable, sensor components.
A meter introduced by Asea Boveri & Brown (“ABB”) addresses this concern by providing a modular meter that includes a sensor portion and a removable measurement portion. The measurement portion may be removed from the sensor module and replaced with another measurement portion having enhanced functionality. The ABB meter, however, has significant drawbacks. For example, the measurement portion of the ABB meter can not be replaced while the sensor portion is connected to an electrical system of a facility because removal of the measurement portion would expose extremely dangerous voltages and currents to a human operator or technician. Thus, although the modular design allows for upgrades, the power to the facility must nevertheless be interrupted to perform such upgrades for safety purposes.
A further problem with the ABB meter arises from its bulkiness. The sensor portion of the ABB meter is enclosed in housing and the measurement portion is enclosed in another housing. Both housings include large areas of unused space that increase the bulkiness of the meter. The bulkiness undesirably increases costs in shipping and storing of the meters both as assembled or in their modular components.
There exists a need, therefore, for a modular meter having modular components that may be removed or replaced without interruption to the electrical power service to the facility to which the meter is connected. There is also a need for a revenue meter having reduced bulkiness. There is a still further need for a modular meter that can be readily upgraded with custom circuit enhancements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the above stated needs, as well as others, by providing a modular safety meter comprising a sensor module, a measurement module, and a removable expansion module. The sensor module and measurement module may be combined to form an electronic utility meter having at least basic metering functions. To provide additional functionality to the meter, the removable expansion module may be combined with sensor module and measurement module. The basic modular construction allows for less expensive replacement of the measurement components because the entire meter need not be replaced. The use of removable expansion modules further provides the ability to easily upgrade the modular meter. Use of one or more modular expansion modules allows end users to custom-configure their meter to suit their own needs. The modular structure facilitates straightforward and intuitive meter upgrade procedures, especially in meters that are already in use.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is an electronic utility meter comprising a sensor module, a measurement module, and a removable expansion module. The sensor module connects to the electrical system of a facility, and includes voltage and current sensors. The voltage and current sensors are operable to receive voltage and current signals from the electrical system and generate measurement signals therefrom. The measurement module includes a measurement circuit operable to receive measurement signals and generate energy consumption data therefrom. The measurement module further includes a device for communicating information relating to the energy consumption data. The measurement module is configured to couple to the sensor module to connect the measurement circuit to the voltage and current sensors. The removable module is interposed between the sensor module and the measurement module. The removable module operably couples the measurement circuit to the voltage and current sensors.
Optionally, the removable module may include an enhancement circuit that enhances the operation of the electronic revenue meter. For example, the enhancement circuit may include a communication circuit, a load profile circuit, a power quality circuit and/or other circuits. In addition, the sensor module optionally includes an electrically safe interface that inhibits human con

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