CA1201483A

CA1201483A - Electro-optical sensor for watt-hour meter

Info

Publication number: CA1201483A
Application number: CA000420704A
Authority: CA
Inventors: James R. Hurley; Clyde Gilker
Original assignee: McGraw Edison Co
Current assignee: McGraw Edison Co
Priority date: 1982-03-01
Filing date: 1983-02-01
Publication date: 1986-03-04
Also published as: US4489384A

Abstract

ABSTRACT
The electronic watt-hour meter (10) comprises an electro-optical watt-hour sensor (12) adapted to be coupled to a consumer's connection to a source of elec-tric power for sensing voltage supplied to, and the cur-rent drawn by, the consumer's electric load and for pro-ducing output signals indicative of a quantify of watt-hours of power utilized by the consumer. In the meter (10) a microprocessor (22) is coupled to the sensor (12) for receiving output signals therefrom and a memory (29) is coupled to the microprocessor (22) for receiving and storing data. A power supply (24) supplies D.C. power to the microprocessor (22) and includes a clock signal generator to supply a 60 Hz. clock signal to the micro-processor (22). Also a visual display (30) is coupled to the microprocessor (22) for providing a readout of the power consumed since the last reading of the solid state watt-hour meter. The electro-optical sensor (12) includes a yoke (l4) having a voltage core (62) and at least one current core (66 or 67), an induction disk (16) mounted for rotation in yoke (14), a voltage coil (61) on the voltage core (62) and a current loop (68 or 69) on the current core (66 or 67) for causing, when energized, rotation of the induction disk (16). At least one aper-ture (76) is provided in the disk (16). LED's (71 and 72), positioned on one side of the disk (16), are coupled to the microprocessor (22). Photosensors (81 and 82) are positioned on the other side of the disk (16) for receiv-ing light passing therethrough and for generating an out-put signal which is supplied to a direction sensing and revolution counting circuit (90) for sensing the direction of rotation of the disk (16) and for supplying such infor-mation to the microprocessor (22). A power supply coil (26) is mounted on the yoke (14) for supplying A.C.
voltage to the power supply (24).

Description

.` 1 ELECTRO-OPTICAL SENSOR EOR WATT-HOUR METER
; Technical Field ,. .
The present invention relates to an electronic ` watt-hour meter having an electro-optical watt-hour sen-: sor , a solid state microprocessor and a power supply for the microprocessor operated off o a coil mounted in the sensor.
Background A~t Heretofore various electronic watt-hour meters in-~ corporating a microprocessor therein have been proposed~
;- 10 Such electronic watt-hour meters have provided for the monitoring of and the storing of information related to ~ power demand and power use by a consumer~ Also, such _ meters have included circuitry, programming and switches `~ connected to various consumer loads for enabling the ....
~ 15 microprocessor to switch off o~de-enêrgize certain con--. sumer loads during high electric use periods, e.g., day-time, and to switch on or energize these loads during low .~
electric use periods, e.g. r night-tinle.
Examples of such previously proposed electronic ~:r ' 20 watt-hour meters are disclosed in the following U-S.
patents:
;~ U.S. PATENT NO. PATENTEE
3,505,508 Leyde 3,522,421 Miller -- 25 3,789,201 Carpenter, et al.
4,034,233 Leyde 4,059,747 Brody ^~
~s 4,075,699 Schneider, et al.
~ 4,240,030 Bateman, et al.
'~ 30 4,241,2 7 Paraskevakos, et al.
` 4,253,151 Bouve See also European Patent Application Publication No. 0015666 or: Apparatus for Controlling El~ctric Power Consumption, filed by South Eastern Electricity Board, Queens Gardens Hove, Sussex, England.
Moreover, a solid state watt-hour meter utilizing .

~' lZ(~ 83 03 a Hall-effect sensor is disclosed in Canadian application Serial 04 No. 411,602 filed September 16, 1982 and entitled SOLID STATE
05 WATT-HOUR METER, invented by C. Gilker et al.
06 Also, it has been proposed to modify a conventional 07 watt-hour meter by providing a photocell positioned above 08 apertures or notches in the rotating induction disk of the meter 09 in U.S. Patent No. 4,240,030.
As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, 11 the electronic watt-hour meter of the present invention differs 12 from the previously proposed electronic watt-hour meters by 13 providing an electro-optical sensor with direction sensing 14 circuitry. Also, a power supply for the microprocessor in the watt-hour meter is operated off a power supply coil mounted on 16 the yoke of the electro-optical sensor.
17 Although systems for detecting direction of motion 18 have been proposed, see for example U.S. Patent No. 4,157,507, 19 such a system has not been proposed for use in an electro-optical watt-hour sensor. Moreover, the particular 21 sensing circuitry utilized in the sensor of the present 22 invention is believed to be unique and novel, and is simple in 23 design and inexpensive.

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04 The e~ctronic watt-hour meter of the 05 present invention utilizes an electro-optical 06 watt-hour sensor where ligh~ is passed through at 07 least one slot in an induction disk during one 08 revolution of the disX and picked up by a sensor to 09 generate a signal which is supplied to a counter in or connected to a microprocessor, The sensor includes 11 circuitry for sensing the direction of rotation of the 12 disk mounted in a yoke of the sensor. Also, the 13 electronic watt-hour meter of the present invention 14 includes a power supply for supplying D.C. voltage to the microprocessor of the meter, the power supply 16 including a power supply coil mount:ed on the yoke of 17 an induction disk type watt-hour sensor.
18 According to the inventi.on there is 19 provided an electronic watt-hour meter comprising: an electro-optical watt-hour sensor adaptecl to be coupled 21 to a consumer's connection to a source of electric 22 power, for sensing the voltage suppLied to, and the 23 current drawn by, the consumer's electric load and for 24 producing output signals indicative of a quantity of watt-hours of power utilized by the consumer; and 26 power supply means for supplying D.C. power to the 27 electro-optical watt-hour sensor from the consumer's 28 connection, the electro-optical sensor comprising a 29 yoke having a voltage core and at least one current core, an induction disk which is mounted for rotation 31 on the yoke and which has at least one aperture 32 therein, a voltage coil on the voltage core and a 33 -urrent loop on the at least one current core for 34 causing, when energized, rotation of the induction disk, light generating means on one side of the disk, 36 the light generating means comprising first and second 37 light emitting devices, light receiving means, on the -. i 20~ 3 02 other side of the disk, for generating an output 03 signal in response to light passing through the 04 aperture, the light receiving means comprising 05 discrete first and second photosensors, and direction 06 sensing means, coupled to the light receiving means, 07 for sensing the direction of rotation of the disk, the 08 direction sensing means comprising, an up/down counter 09 for counting revolutions of the induction disk, the up/down counter having a down input, an up input and 11 outputs for indicating the quantity of electrical 12 power consumed over an interval of time, a first 13 rising edge triggered flip flop having its output 14 coupled to the down input of the up/down counter, a second rising edge triggered flip flop having its 16 output coupled to the up input of the counter and its 17 clock input coupled to the output of the first 18 photosensor, a first inverting amplifier having its 19 output coupled to the clock input of the first flip flop and its input coupled to the output of the first 21 photosensor, a second inverting amplifier having its 22 input coupled to the second photosensor and its output 23 coupled to the data input of the first flip flop and 24 to the data input of the second flip flop, and an OR
gate having a first input coupled to the output of the 26 first inverting amplifier, a second input coupled to 27 the output of the second inverting ampli:Eier and an 28 output coupled to the reset inputs of each of the flip 29 flops.
Also according to the invention there is 31 provided an electric watt-hour meter comprising an 32 induction disk type watt-hour sensor wherein an 33 induction disk is mounted for rotation within a yoke, 34 a microprocessor and a power supply for the microprocessor which includes a power supply coil 36 mounted on the yoke of the sensor.

~ p P~ 7752 . . 5 ` BRIEF DESCRIPTI~ OF DRAWINGS
-. Fig. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of the -~ electrical circuit of the electronic watt-hour meter~ r with an electro optical sensor constructed according to .''J,'~ 5 the teachings of the present invention.
~ Fig. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of a direc-. . ~ ~
' r~'~ tion sensing cixcuit forming part of the electro-optical .~, watt-hour sensor of the present invention, which circuitry is incoxporated into the microprocessor shown in Fig. 1.

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'.''r_~" Referring now to Fig. 1 there is ilLustrated therein,:.?, .
-~ an electronic watt-hour meter 10. Briefly, the meter 10 ~-~ comprises an electro-optical sensor 12 including a con-~^: 5 ventional yoke 14 with a modified induction disk 16 moun-- ted for rotation therein.
. .
-~iP Output lines 18 and 20 from the sensor 12 are coupled to a micr~processor 22 having built in ROM and RAM and --_ forming the "bxain" of the meter 10. The RCM con-..... ::,~
tains the operation program and decision center for the ;~ meter 10. The RAM is available for "scratchpad workn.
The microprocessor 22 is supplied wlth ~D.C. voltage from a regulated A.C. to D.C. power supply ?4 which is ~ powered by a power supply coil 26 mounted on the yoke 14.
- ;; 15 The power supply 24 also supplies a 60 Hz square wave clock signal via line 27 to the microprocessor 22.
`;~ Connected to the microprocessor 22 is a bus 28 for i coupling the microprocessor 22 to an electrically alterable ROM (EAROM) 29 and a visual display device 30 which is `~. 20 preferably a 6-digit 7-segment L~D display. The EAROM is ~!, a non-volatile memory 29 that is available for storing information that is chanyeable or changing and that must be retained in the event of loss of power. Typically, such information would include the content of the watt-hour register, the demand register and related time, times related to time of day or time of use periods, c libration constants, serial numbers, account numbers, security num-bers, etc.
A power outage timer circuit 32 is coupled to the ` ~ 30 microprocessor 22 for timing any power ou~age that may ~; occur and then supplying a signal, when power is restored ~- arter a power outage, to the microprocessor 22 which signal is indicative of the duration of the power outage so that the microprocessor 22 can update (correct) the rPal time value stored in the EAROM 29.
~-~ Optical meter reading circuitry 36 is provided coup-led to the microprocessor 22 for facilitating rapid ;' `~C5~ 31483 -: 7 .~ optical-electronic meter reading.
Finally, the microprocessor 22 has load control I/O
ports, e.g., ports 41, 42 and 43, which axe coupled to ~
. load control circuits, e.g., circuits 51, 52 and 53 for controlling energization of various consumer loads such ~; as water heaters, air conditioners, electric heating, etc.
The meter 10 can bë programmed so that load control can ^~ be asserted by the customer/consumer or by ~he supplier/
~ electric utility.
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An override switch 60 is coupled to the microprocessor ` ~ 22 and the load control circuits 51, 52, 53, etc. to enable the customer to override the load control function of the microprocessor 22~ By operating the switch 60, e.g., during the day, the customer can energize his hot water heater overriding the microprocessor 22~ Addition-~- ally, the microprocessor 22 and EAROM 29 are connected .rr~ and programmed to reset the switch 60 to the open position thereof during the time (e.g., night-time) of operation of the microprocessor 22 when it sends an energizing signal-to the control circuitry, e.g., circuit 53 to energize ~r the 102d if the switch 60 previously had been operated (closed) by the customer.
The yoke 14 has a voltage core 62 on which is mounted -- a voltage coil 64 connected across the consumer voltage supply linesO ~he yoke further has two current cores 66 and 67 each having thereon one conductor loop(s) 68, 69 -:. of the respective first and sPcond lines of a single phase power supply system to the consùmer. ~ ~
^~ In accordance with the teachings of the present inven--~-t 30 tion, the power supply coil 26 is mounted on the voltage ~ core 62 above t~e voltage coil 64 and away from the induc-- r~i~ tion disk 16 to provide an ine~pensive power supply coil 26 (or secondary winding) thereby eliminating the need for a power supply transformer~ namely a transformer core and transformer primary winding of thousands of turns of fine wire, ~le major cost items of a power supply transformer.
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::- Since a portion of a leakage flux field between the ~ ; voltage coil 64 and tl~e power supply coil 26 can inter--~ cept the disk and interfere with proper registration, the ~: power supply coil 26 (or secondary winding) is kept up -- 5 toward the top paxt of the yoke 14 to minimize such leak-;- age.
Of course, the lag adjustments on the voltage core 62 can be adjusted to compensate for this leakage.
~; Moreover~ if the position of the power supply coil 26 (or secondary winding) and the load thereon are proper-ly adjusted, the leakage 1ux can function as the lag ad-justment and may eliminate the need for auxiliary parts ; nor~ally required in a meter sensor~
- Further according to the teachings of the present in-~ 15 vention ~le conventional timing gears rotated by the in-. _ :
~-~;; duction disk 16 are elminated and in their place there is ; provided the electro-optical sensor 12. The sensor 12 in-"~ cludes a pair of series connected light emitting diodes 71 . and 72 which are situated on one side of the disk 16 and :- ~0 positioned to direct light through an arcuate slot 76 _~j (Fig. 2) in the disk 16 as the disk 16 is rotating. On the other side of the disk 16 are first and second light sens-~ ing devices, 81 and 82, or photosensors, e.g., phototran--~ sistors, which are positioned to sense light passing through the slot 76 and generate electrical pulses which ; are supplied to the microprocessox 22. Both photosensors 81 and 82 sense light passing through respective ends77 and :, .
~ 78 (FigO 2) of the slot 76 when the disk 16 is in the po-- ...
sition shown in Fig. 2.
; 30 This electro-optical sensor 12 makes use of a con-ventional induction disk system, the "electro" part of ~`,e,-~~ , the sensor 12, which has demonstrated accuracy, long life reIia~ility and low cost. The "optical" (and electronic) part of the system resides in the LED5s 71, 72, the slot 76, the photosensitive devices 81 and 82 and disk motion ~ (or direction) sensing and revolution counting circuit -- 90 (Fig. 2) which receives signals from input lines 18 and . ,~;
'~, A

' '7 , . .
, .; g ` 20 connected to the photosensors 81 and 82.
.. . Referring now to Fig. 2 there is illustrated therein ~ the disk 16 with the arcuate slot 76 therein positioned ^.;` beneath the photosensors 81 and 82 such that the photo~
o:: 5 sensor ~1 is at the end 77 of the slot 76 and the photo-sensor 82 is at the end 78 of the slot 76. In this posi-tion, light is received through both ends 77 and 78 of -............... the slot 76 and impinges upon the photosensors 81 and 82 thereby supplying a logic 1 signal on lines 18 and 20 to the inputs ~ and B of inverting amplifiers 91 and 92.
i The logic l's are then converted at the outputs A' and B' of the inverting amplifiers 91 and 92 to logic O's.
The logic O at A' is supplied to the clock input Cl of a ~-~. rising edge triggered flip flop 101. The logic O at out-:: 15 put B' is supplied to a data input D2 of a second rising_~r edge triggered flip flop 102. Typically, the rising edge triggered flip flops 101 and 102 are each realized by 1/2 of a 7474 edge triggered flip flop each of which has .... .
a data input Dl -or D2, an output Ql or Q2 and an active low reset Rl or R2.
The A' output of the inverting amplifier 91 is also :. ~ supplied to one input of an OR gate 103.
The B' output of the inverting ampliier 92 is also supplied to an input of the OR gate 103.
At the particular point in time illustrated in Fig.
: : 2 with logic O's at A' and B', the output of the OR gate ~ 103 is a logic O which is supplied to the resets Rl and ~, R2.
The logic 1 on the input line 18 supplied to the in-put A of the inverting amplifier 91 is also supplied to the clock input C2 o the flip flop 102 as shown.
i~ The Ql output from the rising edge triggered flip flop 101 is supplied to a down input DN of an up/down counter 108 and the Q2 output of the flip flop 102 is -.~ 35 supplied to an up input UP of the counter 108. Typically, ~ the up/down counter 108 is a 74193 up/down counter which .
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,. 10 totalizes net clockwise revolutions and which is trig-gered on a rising edge signal at the down input DN or .` the up input UP.
.~ The inverting amplifiers 91, 92, the OR gate 102 and .;~ 5 flip flops 101 and 102 are connected in the circuit 90 so . that one clockwise pulse is produced by the flop flop 102 : when the photosensor 82 is blocked by the disk 16 and the end 78 of the slot 76 uncovers photosensor 81 such that a logic O is supplied to the ~ input resulting in a logic 1 - ~ 10 at the B' output ~nd a rising ede signal (logic O to log-ic 1) is generated at the ~ input by the movement of the slot 76, namely the end 78 thereof, over the photosensor 81 ~n a clockwise rotation of the disk 16.
The flip flop 101 produces a counterclockwise pulse at . ~ .
the Ql output that is supplied to the down input DN of the .'~,7;, counter 108 when a falling edge of the signal (logic 1 to . logic ) at the A input to the inverting amplifier 81 oc-~:- curs creating a rising edge signal (logic O to logic 1) at clock input Cl while the photosensor 82 is covered such :~
, 20 ~hat there is a logic O at the B input of the inverting am-plifier 92 to establish a logic 1 input to OR gate 103 so resets Rl and R2 are at logic 1.
Counting iB inhibited when light i5 sensed by the photo-sensor 82 and a logic 1 signal is supplied to ~he B input of the inverting amplifier 92. This prevents false counts from any jiggling or oscillation that may occur when the slot 76, namely the end 78 or 77 thereof, has partially un covered one or both of the photosensors 81 or 82. If de-~ sired, additional slots similar to the slot 76 can be pro-~` 30 vided.
Also it is important to note that the signal at the ~:~ output Ql or Q2 of the flip flops 101 and 102 cannot change - unless there is a rising edge signal at the clock input Cl or C2 which :t~en transfers the logic signal at the data inputs Dl or D2 to the output Ql or Q2. The output Ql or Q2 is also changed or reset to O when there is a logic 1 -~ / supplied to the reset Rl or R2. 1.
;- In illustrating how circuit 90 functions to count ~ , .
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l2~ 3 :;-. 11 -- clockwise rotations and to subtra~t countercl~ckwise ro-~ tations, set forth below are the different logic values ....
.. ~ at different positions of the disk 16 and slot 76 there--- in relative to ~he phQtosensors 81 and 82 as t~e disk 16 rotates clockwise.
L Photosensors 81 and 82 covered by disk 16.
A A' Rl Cl D Ql (On counterclockwise rotation 0 1 1 1 1l 0 of d sk 16, Q~ - 1 - 1 down B B' R2 C2 D2 Q2 -~. 0 1 1 0 1 0 II. Photosensor 81 uncovered and photosensor 82 covered.
A A~ R C D Q ~On counterclockwise rotation 1 1 1 1 of disk 16, Q2 = ) ~; 1 0 1 0 1 0 .. . .
~; B R ~ R2 C2 D2 Q2 :';.`' 0 1 1 1 1 1 = 1 up count to counter 108 r,;. '~
~,~c 15 III. Photosensors 81 and 82.. uncovered.
A A' Rl C1 Dl Ql :i.i. 1 0 B B' ~2 C2 D2 Q2 0 :.0 1 0 0 IV. Photosensor 81 covered and photosensor 82 uncovered.
A A' Rl Cl Dl Ql B B' R2 C2 D2 Q2 --;', 25 V. Photosensors 81 and 82 covered by disk 16.
A A' Rl Cl Dl Ql 0 1 1 1: 1 0 B B~ R2 C2 D2 Q2 ,, .~ . - .
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. Conditions I through V set forth above describe the .:: various logic conditions that occur as the disk 16 rotates ,. .; .
~. clockwise from a position covering both photosensors 81 .. and 82 (condition I) througn a position where both photo-sensors 81 and 82 are uncovered by the slot 76 (condition . III) and then to a position where both photosensoxs 81 and 82 are again covered by the disk 16 (condition V).
.. - It will be seen that startins with condition I where ~~ . both photosensors 81 and 82 are covered there is a logic 0 at the Ql output and a logic 0 at the Q2 output. Now when .;~ photosensor 81 is uncovered and photosensor 82 is stillcovered, the logic value at the clock input C2 goes from logic 0 to logic 1. At the same time, there is supplied a logic 1 to the data input D2 which is transferred to the - . 15 output Q2 by reason of the rising edge signal (logic 0 to .~ logic 1) at the clock input C2 causing the Q2 output togo from logic 0 to logic 3. This rising edge signal from ~............... logic 0 in condition I to logic 1 in condition II at the .~ Q2 output causes the inputting of a count (or rising edge signal) in the UP input of the counter 108. Then, when both photosensors 81 and 82 are uncovered (condition III~
there is a reset input of logic o which resets the Ql and ` Q2 inputs to 0~ Also at this time both clock inputs Cl ~ and C2 are at logic 0 and both data inputs are at logic 0 thereby ensuring a logic 0 at the outputs Ql and Q2 Now, in condition IV, when photosensor 81 is covered and photosensor 82 is uncovered, the value of the signal ~-. at the clock input C1 goes from logic 0 to logic 1, a . , -. rising edge. However, the data input is at logic 0 so the signal at Ql remains at logic 0.
Then, when photosensors 81 and 82 are both covered again, (condition V~ by the disk 16, the signal at clock input C2 remains at 0 as it was in conditions III and IV
and the signal at the clock input Cl stays at logic 1 ~-.-~ 35 with no transfer of the signal at the data input Dl to Ql Thus, the signal at outputs Ql and Q2 remain at logic 0.
, , . . .
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, 13 . . .
- It will be appreciated that if the disk 16 is jig-gled while the slok 76 is over the photosensors 81 and 82 ~ .
~;.;; so as to go from condition II to condition I, there is a rising edge signal (logic 0 to logic 1) at the clock in-S put Cl and the logic 1 at the data input Dl is trans-ferred to the output Ql and a rising edge (logic 0 to logic 1) is generated resulting in the inputting of a down -- count at the down input D~ of the counter 108.
. Also going backward or counterclockwise from condi-tion V to condition I, it will be noted that in going from t!; condition V to condition IV there is no reset signal (no logic 0 at Rl or R2) and tnere is no rising edge at the ~!^. clock inputs Cl or C2, clock input C2 remaining at logic .~ 0 and clock input Cl remaining at logic 1. Then, in going ~ 15 from condition IV to condition III, there is a falling .t., edge signal at clock input Cl (logic 1 to logic 0) and a .ii rising edge signal (logic 0 to logic 1~ at clock input C2.
Also at this time there is a reset signal of logic 0 which serves to reset the signal at outputs Ql and Q2 to logic -.~ 20 o. Thus, although the signal at clock input C2 is a ris-....
ing edge signal (logic 0 to logic 1), data .input D2 is at logic 0 so as to transfer only a logic 0 from data input . ~
`- D2 to output Q2. Additionally, the logic 0 reset ~ signal at reset R2 forces Q2 to 0.
:~ 25 Then, in going from condition III to condition II
the signal at clock input C2 remains at 0 resulting in no :~ change in the signal at output Q2 The signal at clock input Cl remains at logic 0 re-.. sulting in no change in the signal at output Ql .-~;. 30 Now, in going from condition II to condition I, a risinggedge signal is genexated at clock input Cl (logic 0 to logic 1). At the same time, there is a logic 1 sig-nal at the data input Dl which is then transferred to the output Ql and a rising edge signal to the DN input to .~ 35 counter 108 resultins in the inputting of one downcount or reverse rotation count into counter 108~
. - Tne circuit 90 is shown in Fig. 2 as a separate cir-~, '~, 3 ~0~ 33 02 cuit. Data on the outputs 110 from khe counter 108 is then 03 supplied to the microprocessor 22. However, in the preferred 04 embodiment, the circuit 90 is incorporated into and forms part 05 of the microprocessor 22.
06 The counts of clockwise revolutions are indicative of 07 the watt-hours consumed by the consumer and are processed by the 08 microprocessor 22, i.e., stored in EAROM 29.
09 Except for the sensor 12, the meter 10 is very similar to the SOLID STATE WATT-HOUR METER disclosed in copending 11 application Serial No. 411,602 filed on September 16, 1982.
12 The meter 10 has no battery and derives its time from 13 the power line, namely the 60 Hz clock signal. Since the meter 14 10 must accurately keep real time to support its time-of-day functions, loss of electrical power to the meter 10 would 16 destroy the time-of-day functions. To keep time without system 17 voltage, the power outage timer circuit 32 is included in the 18 meter 10.
19 The timer circuit 32 is based on an R-C network, comprising resistor 112 connected across capacitor 114, where 21 the recharge time is proportional to the outage time. If the 22 recharge time indicates the outage has been greater than 6 hours 23 then the time is not recoverable and default conditions must be 24 used. In that case, the corrected time in the meter 10 is reloaded during the next meter reading operation by a meter 26 reading ~nit.
27 As shown in Fig. 1, the power outage timer circuit 32 28 has oth~r components which will now be described and is one of 29 several timer circuits that can be used, such other timer circuits being of the type disclosed in copending application 31 Serial No. 411,053 filed September 9, 1982 entitled: SOLID STATE
32 WATTHOUR METER, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein 33 by reference.
34 The timer circuit 32 has a voltage supply line 116 from the microprocessor 22 which charges the capacitor 114 36 through a diode 118 and resistor 120 to a voltage level at 37 junction 122 related to the voltage supply. The .~

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voltage at junction 122 is coupled to one input of a com-.-`. parator 123. Another voltage supply line 124 from the microprocessor 22 supplies a voltage through a diode 125 ~ to voltage divider resistors 126and127. A point ~junction) '.. -'.'. 5 128 in the divider resistors 126andl27 is coupled to an-other input of the comparator 123 and has a normal voltage which is equal to or slightly less than the normal voltage . on the capacitor 114. The output of the comparator 123 ~' is connected to the microprocessor 22.
After a power outage, the time from the reestablish- .
ment o the A.C. supply voltage to the time the voltage .~ at junction 122 equals ox exceeds the voltage at point 128 is converted by the microprocessor 22 to the real time ;,,~ elapsed and added to the real time value in the EAROM 29 "i~ir 15 to correct the rPal time value therein.
~ ., A meter reading unit (not shown) particularly adapted for use with the meter 10 is provided with an optical plug, . .;.-. .
.-'~. terminal or wand which is adapted to be placed over the , I/O ports of the meter 10 behind which is located the op-,~, 20 tical meter reading circuitry 36 which includes a photo-~;,.`. transistor 132 and an LED 134. Inside the unit is a microprocessor and associated computer components to form a microprocessor system which includes an optical input/
utput pair identical to the input/output pair 132 and-.25 J'~ 134 coupled by fiber optics to the wand.
-'', ~,j.','`,,,.. - `'~;'~`~ An important feature of the meter 10 is the optical pling available wi~h the meter reading unit which is t~ effected by placing the wand over the I~O ports. Communi---cation can then take place optically such that the large amount of information which can be genexated by the meter . , ;,. .", ~- .. . .
'10 can be quickly read by the meter reading unit 40.
- After the meter 10 is installed, the microprocessor 22 is designed to restart after power outages and to be operating properly within about three seconds, The arri-val of A.C. power starts the power supply 24 by energizing ,,-.,~ coil ~6 to cause the microprocessox 22 to initialize it-,. self and all related ~unctions by calling data from its i , ROM and EAROM 29. It also counts each restart operation .: ..
.: -,:, . :
` 16 as part of a power theft detection meansO
~ One of the last steps in initialization is for the -- microprocessor 22 to note the voltage at the output of the comparator 123 that senses the voltage on timer capac-itor 1140 The microprocessor 22 then causes the capaci-tor 114 to charge in such a way that the comparator's out-put voltage will change when its threshold voltage at point 128 is crossed~ The time to this change is measured.
~_ From this time, the duration of the outage is calculated.
If the calculated outage exceeds 6 hours, the microproces-sor 22 then calls for a default condition rather than ;~ trying to establish an undependable time.
-'3 The microprocessor 22 performs several interrupt rou-;:- tines~ one of which is: Watthour Pulse Reception. ~ere, ~,~ 15 the microprocessor 22 watches for pulses from the counter -~j 108 indicating that a fixed quantity of watt-hours has passed. The software can track pulses at a rate up to ~;-; 133 pulses per second, as well as apply a preselected -;'` calibration factor. These features permit a large varia-tion in manufacturiny variations of the wa~t-hour sensor ,.~ ~ .-12.
Another interrupt routine is: Three Millisecond Timer.
~-,i Every three milliseconds, the microprocessor checks to de-termine if (1) a sixty Hertz (60 Hz) square wave has changed polarity for keeping up the real time clock or

(2) the phototransistor 132 has changed state to note if a communication effort with the meter 10 has been started.
~_ Further, the three millisecond clock is used to control -~; the timing d the display function on display 30.
~ 30 The third interrupt routine is: Main Task Loop. The -,~ key task of the meter 10 is to count watt-hours into the proper time-of-use register. The meter 10 will also cal-culate peak demands on a 15-minute running average and the time of the peak demand for each time-of-use period.
The meter 10 must keep an accurate time-of-day clock to ' do these calculations. The Main Task Loop aYso controls ' ., -" .
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~ .

~01~3~33 03 the information that is kept in the EAROM 29 to ensure that no 04 important information is lost on a loss of voltage situation.
05 This function of the meter 10 also controls the data that is to 06 be presented on the display 30.
07 From the foregoing description it is apparent that the 08 electronic watt-hour meter 10 of the present invention has a 09 number of advantages some of which have been described above and others of which are inherent in the invention. Also 11 modifications can be made to the meter 10 without departing from 12 the teachings of the invention. Accordingly the scope of the 13 invention is only to be limited as necessitated by the 14 accompanying claims.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An electronic watt-hour meter, comprising: an electro-optical watt-hour sensor, adapted to be coupled to a consumer's connection to a source of electric power, for sensing the voltage supplied to and the current drawn by the consumer's electric load and for producing output signals indicative of a quantity of watt-hours of power utilized by the consumer and power supply means for supplying D.C. power to said electro-optical watt-hour sensor from said consumer's connection, said electro-optical sensor comprising:
a yoke having a voltage core and at least one current core, an induction disk which is mounted for rotation on said yoke and which has at least one aperture therein, a voltage coil on said voltage core and a current loop on said at least one current core for causing, when energized, rotation of said induction disk, light generating means on one side of said disk, said light generating means comprising first and second light emitting devices, light receiving means, on the other side of said disk, for generating an output signal in response to light passing through said aperture, said light receiving means comprising discrete first and second photosensors, and direction sensing means, coupled to said light receiving means, for sensing the direction of rotation of said disk, said direction sensing means comprising, an up/down counter for counting revolutions of said induction disk, said up/down counter having a down input, an up input and outputs for indicating the quantity of electrical power consumed over an interval of time, a first rising edge triggered flip flop having its output coupled to said down input of said up/down counter, a second rising edge triggered flip flop having its output coupled to said up input of said counter and its clock input coupled to the output of said first photosensor, a first inverting amplifier having its output coupled to the clock input of said first flip flop and its input coupled to the output of said first photosensor, a second inverting amplifier having its input coupled to said second photosensor and its output coupled to the data input of said first flip flop and to the data input of said second flip flop, and an OR gate having a first input coupled to the output of said first inverting amplifier, a second input coupled to the output of said second inverting amplifier and an output coupled to the reset inputs of each of said flip flops.

2. The electronic watt-hour meter according to claim 1, wherein said power supply means include a power supply coil mounted on said yoke of said electro-optical sensor.

3. The electronic watt-hour meter according to claim 2, wherein said power supply coil is mounted on said voltage core.

4. The electronic watt-hour meter according to claim 1, further including:
a microprocessor, coupled to said watt-hour sensor, for receiving said output signals;
memory means, coupled to said microprocessor, for receiving and storing data supplied thereto;
a voltage coil, carried by and electromagnetically coupled to said yoke, for supply power to said power supply means and to said microprocessor;
clock signal generating means, coupled between the consumer line voltage and said microprocessor, for supplying a 60 Hz clock signal to said microprocessor; and readout means, coupled to said microprocessor and said direction sensing means, for providing a readout of the power consumed since the last reading of said electronic watt-hour meter.