Patents by Inventor Robert C. Sonderegger

Robert C. Sonderegger has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9835662
    Abstract: Determination of electrical network topology and connectivity are described herein. A zero-crossing is indicated at a time when the line voltage of a conducting wire in an electrical grid is zero. Such zero-crossings may be used to measure time within a smart grid, and to determine the connectivity of, and the electrical phase used by, particular network elements. A first meter may receive a phase angle determination (PAD) message, including zero-crossing information, sent from a second meter, hereafter called a reference meter. The first meter may compare the received zero-crossing information to its own zero-crossing information. A phase difference may be determined between the first meter and the reference meter from which the PAD message originated. The first meter may pass the PAD message to additional meters, which propagate the message through the network. Accordingly, an electrical phase used by meters within the network may be determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2017
    Assignee: Itron, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy James Driscoll, Hartman Van Wyk, Robert C Sonderegger, Christopher M Higgins
  • Publication number: 20160154040
    Abstract: Determination of electrical network topology and connectivity are described herein. A zero-crossing is indicated at a time when the line voltage of a conducting wire in an electrical grid is zero. Such zero-crossings may be used to measure time within a smart grid, and to determine the connectivity of, and the electrical phase used by, particular network elements. A first meter may receive a phase angle determination (PAD) message, including zero-crossing information, sent from a second meter, hereafter called a reference meter. The first meter may compare the received zero-crossing information to its own zero-crossing information. A phase difference may be determined between the first meter and the reference meter from which the PAD message originated. The first meter may pass the PAD message to additional meters, which propagate the message through the network. Accordingly, an electrical phase used by meters within the network may be determined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2014
    Publication date: June 2, 2016
    Inventors: Timothy James Driscoll, Hartman Van Wyk, Robert C. Sonderegger, Christopher M. Higgins
  • Patent number: 9273983
    Abstract: A meter data management system includes one or more application servers configured to receive, validate and estimate received meter data. The one or more application servers may include various memory/media elements for storing raw and transformed meter data as well as software in the form of computer-executable instructions, which are executed by a processor to implement a variety of functions, including establishing a mapping between the plurality of external devices and a plurality of preconfigured processing workbins (e.g., collections of meter channels in the same time zones), transforming the received meter data into a plurality of data files identified by timing parameter and workbin, validating data provided in each data file, estimating missing or invalid data, and automatically writing validated (and optionally estimated) data as import files to a database server. Such clean data files are then imported to one or more dedicated databases installed on the database server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2016
    Inventor: Robert C. Sonderegger
  • Publication number: 20140257757
    Abstract: A meter data management system includes one or more application servers configured to receive, validate and estimate received meter data. The one or more application servers may include various memory/media elements for storing raw and transformed meter data as well as software in the form of computer-executable instructions, which are executed by a processor to implement a variety of functions, including establishing a mapping between the plurality of external devices and a plurality of preconfigured processing workbins (e.g., collections of meter channels in the same time zones), transforming the received meter data into a plurality of data files identified by timing parameter and workbin, validating data provided in each data file, estimating missing or invalid data, and automatically writing validated (and optionally estimated) data as import files to a database server. Such clean data files are then imported to one or more dedicated databases installed on the database server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2014
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: ITRON, INC.
    Inventor: Robert C. Sonderegger
  • Patent number: 8730056
    Abstract: A meter data management system includes one or more application servers configured to receive, validate and estimate received meter data. The one or more application servers may include various memory/media elements for storing raw and transformed meter data as well as software in the form of computer-executable instructions, which are executed by a processor to implement a variety of functions, including establishing a mapping between the plurality of external devices and a plurality of preconfigured processing workbins (e.g., collections of meter channels in the same time zones), transforming the received meter data into a plurality of data files identified by timing parameter and workbin, validating data provided in each data file, estimating missing or invalid data, and automatically writing validated (and optionally estimated) data as import files to a database server. Such clean data files are then imported to one or more dedicated databases installed on the database server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 20, 2014
    Assignee: Itron, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert C. Sonderegger
  • Publication number: 20100117856
    Abstract: A meter data management system includes one or more application servers configured to receive, validate and estimate received meter data. The one or more application servers may include various memory/media elements for storing raw and transformed meter data as well as software in the form of computer-executable instructions, which are executed by a processor to implement a variety of functions, including establishing a mapping between the plurality of external devices and a plurality of preconfigured processing workbins (e.g., collections of meter channels in the same time zones), transforming the received meter data into a plurality of data files identified by timing parameter and workbin, validating data provided in each data file, estimating missing or invalid data, and automatically writing validated (and optionally estimated) data as import files to a database server. Such clean data files are then imported to one or more dedicated databases installed on the database server.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2008
    Publication date: May 13, 2010
    Applicant: Itron, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert C. Sonderegger
  • Patent number: 7089125
    Abstract: A method of determining an energy load on a power distribution component, and a system for storing such method are presented. The method entails collecting meter data (in various formats) and weather data. The meter data and the weather data are correlated to generate tuning equations, each of which is associated with at least one of the meters and indicates a weather sensitivity of that meter. Any meter data that is in the hourly or daily format are normalized to generate normalized hourly loadshapes that are independent of weather conditions and weekly variations. These normalized hourly loadshapes are combined with the tuning equations to generate a set of model coefficients for each of the meters. The set of model coefficients reflects weather conditions and weekly variations for one of the meters, and is useful for determining an energy load on the power distribution component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Itron, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert C. Sonderegger