General Electric Company

General Electric Corporation Gmbh

Marjorie J Mancuso

Larry A Schmidt

Susan D Dastous

Gregory Paul Lavoie

Robert E Lee, Jr

William O Rector

John Erik Hershey

Warren R Germer

Maurice J Ouellette

Richard A Balch

Mark J Plis

Virginia H Zinkowski

Kenneth W Atherton

Mark E Hoffman

Kevin P Grogan

Mark R Arsenault

Melissa J Pazdon

Donald Naik

Ginger Zinkowski

John J Pazdon, Jr

An electronic electricity meter which, in one embodiment, includes a modem board, or unit, coupled to the meter microcomputer and exchanges information between the meter and a central computer is described. Using signals supplied by the meter microcomputer and the central computer, the modem unit microcomputer can determine whether to exchange information between the meter and the central computer and the proper time at which the information should be exchanged. In an exemplary embodiment, the modem unit detects various conditions within the meter and responds by exchanging information with the central computer at a proper, or pre-defined, time. The modem unit has two different basic modes, or states, of operation. These states of operation are sometimes referred to as the call originate mode and the call answer mode. Call originate refers to the mode of the unit when a condition occurs in meter and information is being transmitted to the central computer from the modem unit utilizing a telephone line. The call is originated upon occurrence, for example of a power outage to the meter. In the call answer mode, the central computer originates a call to the meter. The central computer can then transfer information to the meter, for example a new program can be stored in the modem unit memory.

Electronic electricity meter

An electronic energy meter register which, in one aspect, is configured to perform load profile recording in a manner which eliminates a need for a back-up battery is described. In other aspects, the present invention is a routine of operating a meter register for providing a cost savings and/or productivity gain when a utility customer relocates and for ensuring that load control commands are effectively executed. The register, in one embodiment, is configured to be coupled to a meter including an eddy current disk and shaft which rotate in response to the rate of energy consumption by a load being metered. The register, in the one embodiment, includes a microprocessor, a non-volatile memory, and a disk sensing optics assembly.

Methods and apparatus for performing load profile and load control

In one embodiment, the present invention is an algorithm implemented in a microprocessor-controlled system which, for example, is disposed within an energy meter housing. Particularly, the microprocessor is coupled to a communications interface which receives and transmits messages on a power line or some other external communications media. Upon receipt of a message, the commands contained in the message are read. If a command corresponds to a 'buffer and lock' command, then a timer operated by the microprocessor starts to run. For example, if data to be retrieved from the system is data which is erased from system memory when read therefrom, just prior to reading such data, a buffer and lock command is transmitted by the external communication device. Upon receipt of such command, the microprocessor initiates running of a timer and the data is read from the meter. The data also is copied to a buffer, e.g., a RAM memory location. If the data is 'lost' during transmission, and as long as the timer is running, the data can be copied from the designated buffer and re-transmitted. In this manner, data normally not saved in a meter subsequent to a read operation is saved and, if necessary, re-transmitted.

Electrical metering device and associated method for temporarily storing

A Method and apparatus for identifying events for making changes to a meter register configuration. In the one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of storing event data, including event dates, in a meter register memory, the event data being stored in a floating date format or in a fixed date format, and processing the event data to determine whether a current date corresponds to an event date.

Time-of-use calendar events method and apparatus for a meter register

An energy meter capable of converting from one mode of operation to another mode of operation is described. In the one embodiment, the present apparatus measures energy consumption, and converts operation from a first mode to a second mode.

Electrical energy meter with programmable register component

In one embodiment, the present invention is an encryption/decryption and authentication algorithm. The algorithm has three major steps. The first step is generating cipher text. The second step is generating the authentication field. The third step is encrypting or deciphering the appropriate data in the message. One byte of cipher text is generated for every byte of plain text contained in the message. After all the cipher text is generated, a four byte authentication field is generated using the last four bytes of cipher text. The message is then scanned for data fields which have been encrypted or are to be encrypted and the corresponding byte of cipher text replaces the message bytes. The encryption is accomplished by sending the cipher text instead of message text. To decipher the message, the algorithm operates in a reverse mode to replace the cipher text with the message text, i.e., the algorithm is a self-reversing process.

Method and apparatus for encryption/authentication of data in energy

Growing community of inventors

Exeter, NH, United States of America

Marjorie J Mancuso