Patents by Inventor Thomas Lee McDougall, JR.

Thomas Lee McDougall, JR. 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: 11972674
    Abstract: An electric utility meter including a Hall Effect sensor configured to sense a magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter. The electric utility meter also includes a controller having an electronic processor, the controller configured to receive a signal indicative of a magnitude of the magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter from the sensor, determine whether the magnitude of the magnetic field exceeds a first magnitude threshold and whether a threshold flag has been set, set the threshold flag when the threshold flag has not been set and the magnitude exceeds the first magnitude threshold, determine an amount of time for which the magnitude has exceeded the first magnitude threshold when the threshold flag has been set, and generate an alert indicative of a magnetic tamper event when the amount of time exceeds a time threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: Aclara Technologies LLC
    Inventors: Thomas Lee McDougall, Jr., Charles Andrew Waters
  • Publication number: 20240061028
    Abstract: An electrical meter including a housing including a socket interface operable to connect to a facility. The meter further including a sensor configured to sense a characteristic of the electrical meter. The meter further including a controller having an electronic processor and a memory. The electronic processor is configured to receive, from the sensor, a signal indicative of the electrical characteristic, determine, based on the signal, presence of a hot socket, and output an alert based on determining presence of the hot socket.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 16, 2023
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Inventors: Thomas Lee McDougall, JR., Curtis Whitmore Crittenden, Charles Andrew Waters
  • Patent number: 11789050
    Abstract: An electrical meter including a housing including a socket interface operable to connect to a facility. The meter further including a sensor configured to sense a characteristic of the electrical meter. The meter further including a controller having an electronic processor and a memory. The electronic processor is configured to receive, from the sensor, a signal indicative of the electrical characteristic, determine, based on the signal, presence of a hot socket, and output an alert based on determining presence of the hot socket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Aclara Technologies LLC
    Inventors: Thomas Lee McDougall, Jr., Curtis Whitmore Crittenden, Charles Andrew Waters
  • Publication number: 20230290241
    Abstract: An electric utility meter including a Hall Effect sensor configured to sense a magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter. The electric utility meter also includes a controller having an electronic processor, the controller configured to receive a signal indicative of a magnitude of the magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter from the sensor, determine whether the magnitude of the magnetic field exceeds a first magnitude threshold and whether a threshold flag has been set, set the threshold flag when the threshold flag has not been set and the magnitude exceeds the first magnitude threshold, determine an amount of time for which the magnitude has exceeded the first magnitude threshold when the threshold flag has been set, and generate an alert indicative of a magnetic tamper event when the amount of time exceeds a time threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 13, 2023
    Publication date: September 14, 2023
    Inventors: Thomas Lee McDougall, JR., Charles Andrew Waters
  • Patent number: 11631314
    Abstract: An electric utility meter including a Hall Effect sensor configured to sense a magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter. The electric utility meter also includes a controller having an electronic processor, the controller configured to receive a signal indicative of a magnitude of the magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter from the sensor, determine whether the magnitude of the magnetic field exceeds a first magnitude threshold and whether a threshold flag has been set, set the threshold flag when the threshold flag has not been set and the magnitude exceeds the first magnitude threshold, determine an amount of time for which the magnitude has exceeded the first magnitude threshold when the threshold flag has been set, and generate an alert indicative of a magnetic tamper event when the amount of time exceeds a time threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Aclara Technologies LLC
    Inventors: Thomas Lee McDougall, Jr., Charles Andrew Waters
  • Publication number: 20220327907
    Abstract: An electric utility meter including a Hall Effect sensor configured to sense a magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter. The electric utility meter also includes a controller having an electronic processor, the controller configured to receive a signal indicative of a magnitude of the magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter from the sensor, determine whether the magnitude of the magnetic field exceeds a first magnitude threshold and whether a threshold flag has been set, set the threshold flag when the threshold flag has not been set and the magnitude exceeds the first magnitude threshold, determine an amount of time for which the magnitude has exceeded the first magnitude threshold when the threshold flag has been set, and generate an alert indicative of a magnetic tamper event when the amount of time exceeds a time threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2022
    Publication date: October 13, 2022
    Inventors: Thomas Lee McDougall, JR., Charles Andrew Waters
  • Patent number: 11393322
    Abstract: An electric utility meter including a three-axis Hall Effect sensor configured to detect the presence of a magnetic field in two or more directions surrounding the electric utility meter. The electric utility meter also includes a controller having an electronic processor. The controller is configured to receive a signal indicative of an abnormal magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter from the three-axis Hall Effect sensor, determine an amount of time for which the abnormal magnetic field has been detected, and log a magnetic field tamper event in an event log when the amount of time for which the abnormal magnetic field has been detected exceeds a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2022
    Assignee: Aclara Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Thomas Lee McDougall, Jr., Charles Andrew Waters
  • Publication number: 20210278448
    Abstract: An electrical meter including a housing including a socket interface operable to connect to a facility. The meter further including a sensor configured to sense a characteristic of the electrical meter. The meter further including a controller having an electronic processor and a memory. The electronic processor is configured to receive, from the sensor, a signal indicative of the electrical characteristic, determine, based on the signal, presence of a hot socket, and output an alert based on determining presence of the hot socket.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Publication date: September 9, 2021
    Inventors: Thomas Lee McDougall, JR., Curtis Whitmore Crittenden, Charles Andrew Waters
  • Publication number: 20210248898
    Abstract: An electric utility meter including a three-axis Hall Effect sensor configured to detect the presence of a magnetic field in two or more directions surrounding the electric utility meter. The electric utility meter also includes a controller having an electronic processor. The controller is configured to receive a signal indicative of an abnormal magnetic field proximate the electric utility meter from the three-axis Hall Effect sensor, determine an amount of time for which the abnormal magnetic field has been detected, and log a magnetic field tamper event in an event log when the amount of time for which the abnormal magnetic field has been detected exceeds a threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 4, 2021
    Publication date: August 12, 2021
    Inventors: Thomas Lee McDougall, JR., Charles Andrew Waters