General Electric Company

Samuel G Hardy

Maurice J Ouellette

Richard G Farnsworth

Donald F Bullock

Anthony P Bogacki

Paul B Robinson

Charles A Stutt

Albert R Varney, Jr

John Raymond Hawley

Dale M Bickford

Joseph L Peterson

A method and apparatus of the present invention includes a common node of a power line communications system for individually performing the register functions for a plurality of electrical metering devices operably connected to the node. The power line communications system includes at least one node having a plurality of registers, a respective one of which is associated with a respective electrical metering device. The electrical metering devices connected via the power lines to the node measure the power consumption of the electrical load associated therewith and transmit a signal indicative of the measured power consumption to the node and, in particular, to the respective register of the node associated with the electrical metering device. The node individually determines the power consumed by each electrical load operably connected to the node based upon the received signals. The results of such calculations are stored in the register associated with each respective electrical metering device. The stored results are also periodically transmitted to the system control center of the power line communications system. Thus, the register functions for a plurality of relatively simple electrical metering devices may be centralized at a common node.

Method and apparatus for performing the register functions for a

A method of operating a meter to perform the steps of generating a measure of real energy consumed, generating a measure of reactive energy consumed, and generating, from the real energy and reactive energy measures, a measure of apparent energy consumed. In one embodiment, the real energy and reactive energy measures are provided as integer quantity inputs. Particularly, assume S=kVAh, P=kWh, Q=kVARh, and R=Residue. Respective registers store values of P, [2P+1], Q, [2Q+1], and the sum [P.sup.2 +Q.sup.2 ]. Initially, the P, Q, and [P.sup.2 +Q.sup.2 ] registers are set to zero, while the [2P+1] and [2Q+1] registers are initialized to 1. At the arrival of a P pulse, the value in the [2P +1] register is added to the [P.sup.2 +Q.sup.2 ] register, then the P register is incremented by 1 and the [2P+1] register is incremented by 2. Exactly the same steps are carried out subsequent to receipt of a Q pulse. A set of registers also is used to store the S and [2S+1] data, and generation of the S pulses is determined as follows. After arrival of either a P or Q pulse, a trial subtraction of [2S+1] is made from the [P.sup.2 +Q.sup.2 ] register. If the subtraction does not cause an underflow, an S pulse is generated, the S register is incremented by 1, and the [2S+1] register is incremented by 2. If the subtraction causes an underflow, the [P.sup.2 +Q.sup.2 ] register is reset to its previous value, the other registers are not incremented, and no S pulse is generated.

Method for determining electrical energy consumption

Redundant pulses generated by independently operable pulse sources in an electricity meter are accumulated as pulse counts in a pair of channels of a multi-channel recorder. The pulse counts are compared to verify the accuracy of the pulses counted by each channel. If the difference between the values of the pulse counts exceeds a predetermined threshold value, a trouble indicator is turned on and a telephone call is initiated by the recorder to notify a data center that a system malfunction has occurred which is disrupting the accumulation of pulses in one of the channels of the recorder. The pulse counts are stored in the recorder as substantially duplicate independent measures of energy usage by a load connected to the electricity meter, to be thereafter retrieved from the recorder to obtain energy survey and billing data. The recorder also maintains a system status error log which records the time and date of each malfunction and the identification of the channel pair where the malfunction occurred. In one embodiment, the operation of the recorder is controlled by a programmable microprocessor. Combinations of independent power sources for powering the recorder and the pulse sources are employed to enhance system reliability by making each of the pulse sources and the recorder substantially independently operable.

Redundant pulse monitoring in electric energy metering system

A cyclometer register in an electric watthour meter includes a free counterweight for producing a kinetic-energy kick for advancing superior cyclometer drums. A drum counterweight, affixed to the units cyclometer drum, is disposed 180 angular degrees out of phase with the free counterweight. The drum counterweight has a moment equal to one-half the moment of the free counterweight, whereby the maximum sum of moments and the peak-to-peak moment is reduced by half. A harmonic counterweight rotates at twice the angular rate of the units cyclometer drum and reflects one-quarter of the moment of the free counterweight back to the driving elements. The harmonic counterweight reduces further the maximum moment as seen by the driving elements and also increases the minimum moment so that the variability in moment is reduced, thereby enabling an offsetting constant increase in meter torque and reducing metering error.

Loading compensation in cyclometer register

An automatic meter reading and control system for communicating with remote terminal points includes a central station which selectively communicates with a transponder controller unit at each terminal point via a plurality of distribution units, each serving several transponder controller units. The distribution controller units are responsive to various commands issued by the central station to selectively route the commands to specified transponder controller units to direct the transponder controller units to selectively carry out a load control operation, a meter reading operation or transfer of previously stored meter data from the transponder units to the central station in accordance with functions specified by the various commands.

Automatic remote meter reading and control system

A restraining means of mildly magnetic material is adjustably implanted in the rotor disc of a conventional watthour meter. The restraining means interacts with a magnetic field generated by the meter's damping magnet to stop the disc from turning when the rate of energy consumption in the metered circuit is below a predetermined rate. The predetermined rate can be altered by varying the radial distance between the center of the disc and the restraining means and by varying the amount of magnetic material passing through the field of the damping magnet.

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New Durham, NH, United States of America

Samuel G Hardy