General Electric Company

Aclara Meters LLC

Curtis Whitmore Crittenden

Gregory Paul Lavoie

Robert E Lee, Jr

Wayne Alfrede Therrien

Warren R Germer

David Dean Elmore

Donald F Bullock

John J Jamison

Daniel Arthur Staver

Maurice J Ouellette

Didier G Rouaud

Mark J Plis

Kenneth W Atherton

Mark E Hoffman

Roland J Provost

Thomas Maehl

Rajaiah Karanam

Ellen D Edge

Jason Ignasi Subirana

Jeffrey W Mammen

Guy P Lafond

Sachin Kurkure

Gerard Chevalier

Jokin Galletero

Arthur C Burt

Sivarama Seshu Putcha

Didier Gilbert Rouaud

Jason I Subirana

One embodiment describes a utility metering system that includes metering infrastructure that facilitates data communication within the utility metering system in accordance with an expected metering platform, and a utility meter communicatively coupled to the metering infrastructure. The utility meter operates in a native mode when a native metering platform is compatible with the expected metering platform, in which the utility meter operates in a first manner in accordance with the native metering platform. The utility meter operates in an emulation mode when the native metering platform is not compatible with the expected metering platform and an emulation metering platform is compatible with the expected metering platform, in which the utility meter operates in a second manner in accordance with the emulation metering.

Utility meter emulation mode system and method

The present disclosure relates to a system and method for evaluating the adequacy of a connection between a utility line and a utility meter. In one embodiment, a force sensing unit is disposed between a first half and a second half of a first terminal of the utility meter and is configured to measure a contact force between the first terminal and a socket jaw.

System for measuring contact force in a utility meter

Systems for disconnecting and/or connecting service between a utility network and a utility meter are disclosed. In one embodiment, a switch system includes: an actuator connected to a sliding cam for moving the sliding cam between a first position and a second position, the sliding cam slidingly receiving a terminal blade of the utility meter and including a pair of camming surfaces for disengaging a pair of conductors from the terminal blade in response to being moved from the first position to the second position by the actuator.

Utility meter service switch

An electronic residential electricity meter includes a base assembly having a main body with a current transformer mounted thereto. A first conductor is mounted through a window of the current transformer. The current transformer being operable in the presence of a direct current. The meter also includes an electronic module that has only one printed circuit board and a microcomputer for executing meter data operations. The current transformer and the first conductor are in electrical communication with the electronic module.

Electronic electricity meter and method of assembly

An electricity meter which, in one embodiment, includes a detection circuit, or unit, coupled to the meter microcomputer and supplies a detection signal to the microcomputer indicative of the data source is described. Using the signal supplied by the detection unit, the microcomputer can determine whether to allow access to metering data and other data stored in the meter. In an exemplary embodiment, the detection unit has three different modes, or states, of operation. These states of operation are sometimes referred to as the steady state, the optical port data transmit state, and the option board connector transmit state. The steady state refers to the condition of the unit when no data is being transmitted to the meter microcomputer from either optical port or the option board. In the steady state, the detection signal supplied to the microcomputer is high. In the optical port data transmit state, the detection signal transitions, as least momentarily, from a high state to a low state. In the option board connector transmit state, the detection signal remains in the high state even though data is being communicated to the microcomputer. The microcomputer, by detecting the state of the detection signal as well as the presence of data on the data supply line, can determine the source of the data. The microcomputer can the respond as appropriate.

Electricity meter data source identification circuit

An electricity meter which, in one embodiment, includes a microcomputer coupled to both a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an optical port. The LCD includes an on board controller and an LCD random access memory (RAM), and in accordance with the present invention, the microcomputer is programmed to communicate the contents of the LCD RAM to the optical port during selected times of meter operation. Generally, and in an exemplary embodiment, when the LCD RAM data is updated by the microcomputer during meter operation, the microcomputer communicates such updated data to the optical port. In one specific implementation, a user selectable flag may be set to 1 or 0. If the user sets the flag to 0, then the communications feature is not enabled. If the flag is set to 1, then the communications feature is enabled. In operation, and upon receipt of a display quantity command, the microcomputer writes data to the LCD RAM. The microcomputer then checks whether the communications feature is selected (i.e., whether the flag is set to 0 or 1), and if the feature is not selected, processing proceeds as is known. If the flag is set to 1, then the microcomputer reads the data stored in the LCD RAM and communicates such data to the optical port.

Automated communication of electricity meter data

Line voltage and line current signals are sensed on a power line having at least one conducting path. The sensed line voltages and line currents are converted into a digital signal. A phase-to-neutral voltage signal and phase current signal are computed from the digital signal to thereby define a phase of the power line. An interval of orthogonality is determined from the sensed voltage and current signals, coinciding with passage of an integral number of cycles of a fundamental frequency reference signal which is computed from the computed phase-to-neutral voltage signal. A vector metering quantity is computed for the determined interval of orthogonality from the computed phase-to-neutral voltage signal and the computed phase current signal. The vector metering quantities to be computed may be identified and computed based upon an associated detent. The vector metering quantity is also computed based on an identified circuit topology.

Vector electricity meters and associated vector electricity metering

An apparatus and method for measuring electrical energy and quadergy and for performing line frequency compensation includes a compensation integrated circuit for adjusting the determined reactive load quadergy, based on variations between the actual line frequency and the rated line frequency of the meter. Reactive load quadergy is determined by phase-shifting the line voltage by a fixed time interval, based on the rated line frequency of the meter. The determined reactive load quadergy is adjusted to compensate for variations in line frequency. Because the determined reactive load quadergy is output by an electric meter as a continuous pulse train, adjustment to the determined reactive load quadergy is performed by adding or subtracting state changes from the pulse train and then registering the adjusted reactive load quadergy.

Apparatus and method for measuring electrical energy and quadergy and

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Dover, NH, United States of America

Curtis Whitmore Crittenden