General Electric Company

Warren R Germer

Maurice J Ouellette

Richard A Balch

Ansell W Palmer

David Dean Elmore

Donald F Bullock

Virginia H Zinkowski

Gregory Paul Lavoie

Robert E Lee, Jr

Mark J Plis

Mehrdad Negahban-Hagh

Peter F Coryea

Peter F Losapio

Raymond E Fearnley

Patrick Joseph Horan

Curtis Whitmore Crittenden

Larry A Schmidt

Leslie J Rosenau

David H Masury

Mark E Hoffman

Thomas H Stevens

Rajiv D Katwala

Jacob M Stillwagon

Bertram White

Daniel Arthur Staver

Milan Zarko Ilic

Marjorie J Mancuso

Andrius A Keturakis

David J Miller

Kenneth W Atherton

Thomas Maehl

Roland J Provost

Mark R Arsenault

Carol Ann Cummiskey

William O Rector

Ellen D Edge

Albert R Varney, Jr

Jeffrey W Mammen

Gerard Chevalier

Jokin Galletero

Arthur C Burt

Sivarama Seshu Putcha

Raymond B Ridley

John J Pazdon, Jr

Mehrdad N Hagh

Melissa J Pazdon

Donald Naik

Peter E Coryea

The present invention, in one embodiment, is a method for operating an electronic electric meter having current and voltage sensors configured to generate measurements of current and voltage, respectively; a microcomputer coupled to the current and voltage sensors and having on-chip masked read only memory (ROM); and a nonvolatile, alterable memory coupled to the microcomputer. The method includes steps of: storing vectors pointing to program portions of the ROM in the non-volatile memory; and using the stored vectors to operate the microcomputer to execute the program portions stored in the ROM to control operation of the meter.

Methods and apparatus for updating firmware in an electronic electricity meter

The present invention, in one embodiment, is a method for input/output (I/O) board addressing and communications in an electronic electric meter having a microcomputer. The method includes steps of providing interchangeable I/O boards of an electronic electric meter with type identifiers; and determining, using a microcomputer of the meter and the type identifier of the I/O board, a type of interchangeable I/O board being utilized in the meter.

Methods and apparatus for meter I/O board addressing and communication

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

The present invention, in one embodiment, is a method for metering energy consumption with an electric meter. The method includes steps of: generating metering quantities for a plurality of phase voltages from a multiphase voltage source, including generating revenue-related data; monitoring voltage changes on at least one of the phase voltages; and performing a predetermined task in response to a voltage change on at least one of the phase voltages while continuing to generate revenue-related data.

Methods and apparatus for metering energy consumption

A voltage isolator connector is described for a printed circuit board. The connector includes an end wall; a first side wall extending from the end wall, and a second side wall extending from the end wall. The first and second side walls form an isolator compartment with the end wall, and the end wall and the first and second side walls are configured for attachment to the printed circuit board.

Voltage isolator connector device for printed circuit board assembly

A base barrier for an electronic meter assembly including a base assembly having a plurality of wire leads extending therefrom and a revenue guard board for monitoring phases of a meter power supply. The base barrier includes a body configured for mounting to the base assembly and further configured for retaining the revenue guard board thereto. In her aspect, the base barrier includes at least one wire management member therein.

Modular meter with base barrier

A method for measuring electricity usage that includes steps of: coupling a sensor to a power source; converting a signal from the sensor to a digital measurement signal; using a microcomputer to determine quantities indicative of electricity consumption from the digital measurement signal; and using a nonvolatile, reprogrammable memory coupled to the microcomputer to control the microcomputer in determining the quantities indicative of electricity consumption.

High function, user configurable electricity meter

A dc-to-dc converter is provided with overvoltage protection circuitry while still providing normal output voltage. Such overvoltage protection circuitry does not require resetting. The overvoltage protection circuitry includes a first switching device connected between the input bridge and a dc output voltage bus and further includes an overvoltage current path. The overvoltage current path includes a complementary switching device in series with Zener diode circuitry having a predetermined breakdown voltage, and further has a transition current path. The first switching device is closed for nominal input voltage and is open for overvoltages. When the input voltage exceeds the Zener diode breakdown voltage, the transition current path conducts current. When the threshold voltage of the complementary switching device is exceeded, the complementary switching device turns on and conducts current through the overvoltage current path. After the overvoltage transient condition subsides and the input voltage decreases back to the nominal range, the complementary switching device turns off, and normal converter operation resumes.

Low-power dc-to-dc converter having high overvoltage protection

An electric meter cover of an integrally molded construction which reduces cost of manufacture and increases performance by reducing number of seals required. The cover of the invention includes provision for an optic probe, a viewing window and a reset arrangement allowing the meter to be reset without removing the cover and in a one movement operation, which simplifies the reset operation.

Electric meter cover

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

A wide range single-phase/polyphase switching power supply is presented. The power supply comprises first and second full wave bridge circuits. The rectified outputs of the bridge circuits are connected to a preregulator circuit, i.e., a FET circuit, where the primary input voltage from bridge circuits is limited. The output of the preregulator circuit is presented to a filter circuit. A current mode controller circuit operates at a fixed frequency with a variable duty cycle. An output of the current mode controller circuit drives the gate of a switching FET, at the fixed frequency and variable duty cycle. The aforementioned filtered voltage signal and the drain of the switching FET are connected across a first winding on the primary side of a flyback transformer. A second winding on the primary side of the flyback transformer is connected across Vcc, the supply voltage of the current mode controller circuit. The winding on the secondary side of the flyback transformer is connected to a voltage and filter circuit. Feedback is provided by an opto-isolator from the output voltage back to the compensation input of the current mode controller circuit. A voltage reference V.sub.REF is used in the feedback by an error correction amplifier to provide the feedback signal. The power supply of the present invention is particularly well suited for use with electronic electricity meters as such allows a common voltage reference for the power supply and the meter to be used. In a preferred embodiment, the second full wave bridge circuit is carried on a separate circuit board. The attachment of the second bridge circuit board on the main power supply circuit board converts the power supply from a single phase power supply to a polyphase power supply.

Wide range single-phase/polyphase switching power supply

An apparatus for measuring electrical energy includes an electrical energy meter having built-in gain and power factor calibration circuits. The calibration circuits can be factory set so that the meter accurately measures the actual energy consumed by an energy user during the lifetime of the meter and does not need to be field calibrated. The gain calibration circuit preferably includes a bank of parallel-connected resistors which are arranged as a resistance ladder. These resistors facilitate calibration of the full load gain of the meter because they are connected as the input resistor to the meter's full load gain amplifier. By disconnecting one or more of the resistors from the ladder, the full load gain of the meter can be adjusted so that approximately 100% full load registration is achieved. The power factor calibration circuit also includes two pairs of antiparalled-connected diodes. These diodes can also be disconnected from the meter during factory calibration so that a range of sixteen different possible phase delays between the sampling time of the line voltage and the line current can be achieved. In this manner, the non-unity power factor response of the meter can be calibrated.

Electrical energy meters having factory set calibration circuits therein

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

An electronic watthour meter is digitally configurable to operate as several different types of watthour meters for metering electrical energy from a variety of different electric utility services. Automatic scaling of line input currents is provided to scale the voltage input to an analog to digital converter over selected ranges such that low level and high level input signals are measured in an optimum range. A digital signal processor is employed to calculate values for metered electrical energy and output pulses, each proportional to a quantum of energy flowing in the circuit being metered. The processor calculates the value of DC offset errors inherent in the various analog circuits of the meter and uses that value in the calculation of metered electrical energy to compensate for such offset errors. The meter employs automatic and manually initiated test functions for testing the operation of the processor and other critical circuits in the meter.

Electronic watthour meter

Growing community of inventors

Dover, NH, United States of America

Warren R Germer