CONSUMER CONSUMPTION MONITORING SYSTEM
A consumer consumption monitoring system includes a plurality of measurement devices disposed in corresponding supply paths of coupled consumer devices located within a building. A network node circuit coupled to the plurality of measurement devices retrieves measurement data from the plurality of measurement devices, and stores and analyzes the measurement data over time to develop one or more consumer device consumption profiles.
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The present U.S. Utility Patent Application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §120 as a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/512,942, entitled “Current Measuring Apparatus,” filed May 31, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes, which application is a 371 of International Application No. PCT/GB2010/052000, entitled “Current Measuring Apparatus,” filed Dec. 1, 2010, which claims benefit of International Application No. GB 0921107.9, entitled “Current Measuring Apparatus,” filed Dec. 2, 2009.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to current measuring apparatus for measuring current drawn from a mains electricity supply.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTIONIncreasing energy costs and an increase in environmental consciousness have given rise to an increase in interest in the monitoring of electricity consumption in the home and the workplace.
Mains current monitoring devices are known. For example, it is known to provide a resistive element in series with a mains connector of a consumer product to provide a measurement of mains current drawn by the consumer product. Such a resistive element is incorporated in the consumer product or forms part of an adapter that is plugged into a mains socket and to which the consumer product is connected.
It is an object for the present invention to provide an improved current measuring apparatus that is operative to measure current drawn from a mains electricity supply.
STATEMENT OF INVENTIONAccording to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided current measuring apparatus comprising:
a consumer unit comprising at least one interrupting device operative to interrupt a mains electricity supply when an excess current flows;
a mains current circuit in the mains electricity supply path; and
a measurement circuit that is operative to measure a voltage drop across the mains current circuit.
Consumer units are known. Such consumer units are operative to interrupt a mains electricity supply when an excess current flows. According to the present invention, a mains current circuit is provided in the mains electricity supply path and a measurement circuit is operative to measure the voltage drop across the mains current circuit. Measurement of the voltage drop enables the drawn current to be determined to thereby provide for current measurement. Measurement of current at the consumer unit confers advantages over measurement of current at individual consumer products, i.e. at distributed locations. More specifically, measurement of current at the consumer unit provides for measurement at a central location, which obviates the need to collate and aggregate measurements made at the distributed locations. The term consumer unit as used herein covers domestic consumer units and commercial electrical distribution boards.
Alternatively or in addition, the interrupting device may be one of a fuse and a circuit breaker. The consumer unit may comprise a plurality of interrupting devices, the consumer unit being configured such that each interrupting device is operative with a different mains circuit, e.g. first and second 15 Amp ring mains circuits, first and second 5 Amp lighting ring circuits and a 30 Amp circuit. The interrupting device may be contained within an enclosure. The consumer unit and the enclosure may be configured for repeated removal of the enclosure from and reattachment of the enclosure to the consumer unit, with the mains current circuit being contained within the enclosure. Thus, the current measuring apparatus may be readily installed in a consumer unit or replaced.
More specifically, the circuit breaker may be a Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB). The MCB may be operable in dependence on mains current sensed by means of at least one of a thermal technique and a thermal-magnetic technique.
Alternatively or in addition, the mains current circuit may comprise a passive mains current circuit.
More specifically, the passive mains current circuit may comprise at least one of a resistor and a coil. The coil may be an inductor.
Alternatively or in addition, the coil may have an inductance of less than 100 mH. More specifically, the coil may have an inductance of less than 50 mH. Alternatively or in addition, the coil may have an inductance between substantially 100 mH and substantially 500 μH. Alternatively or in addition, the coil may have an inductance between substantially 50 mH and substantially 10 μH. For example, the coil may have an inductance of substantially 33 mH, substantially 150 μH or substantially 10 μH.
In a first form, the mains current circuit may be in series with the at least one interrupting device.
More specifically, the mains current circuit may be disposed on an output side of the interrupting device, i.e. on a same side as a mains circuit, such as a ring main, to which mains electricity is being supplied.
In a second form the mains current circuit may form part of the interrupting device. Thus, the present invention may make use of an existing component of the consumer unit.
More specifically, the mains current circuit may be a coil in the interrupting device, such as a coil of a solenoid when the interrupting device is an MCB.
Alternatively or in addition, the measurement circuit may comprise a passive measurement circuit. More specifically, the passive measurement circuit may comprise a measurement coil. Where the mains current circuit comprises a coil, the measurement coil may be disposed in relation to the coil such that current passing through the coil is inductively coupled to the measurement coil.
Alternatively or in addition, the measurement coil may have an inductance of less than 100 mH. More specifically, the measurement coil may have an inductance of less than 50 mH. Alternatively or in addition, the measurement coil may have an inductance between substantially 100 mH and substantially 500 μH. Alternatively or in addition, the measurement coil may have an inductance between substantially 50 mH and substantially 10 μH. For example, the measurement coil may have an inductance of substantially 33 mH, substantially 150 μH or substantially 10 μH.
Alternatively or in addition, the measurement circuit may comprise a current to voltage converter, such as a transimpedance amplifier, that is operative to receive current induced in the measurement coil and to convert the received current to a measured voltage, e.g. in the range zero to five volts, for subsequent processing.
Alternatively or in addition, the current measuring apparatus may further comprise a voltage processing circuit that is operative to sample a measured voltage. More specifically, the voltage processing circuit may comprise an analogue-to-digital circuit that is operative to convert a measured analogue voltage to a digital form.
Alternatively or in addition, the current measuring apparatus may further comprise a home networking node, which is operative to receive the measured voltage. In use, the home networking node may be used to store and convey the measured voltage or current to another location, such as another node within a home network for display to a user or for storage and subsequent read out to the user. Providing for such networked current measurement may make it more likely that a user of the current measuring apparatus utilizes the current measurements compared with the known approach of making measurements and providing read out of current measurements at the consumer product. Alternatively or in addition, the home networking node may be used to store and convey the measured voltage or current to the supply side of the consumer unit, e.g. for conveyance to the electricity supply company for electricity consumption monitoring and charging purposes.
Alternatively or in addition, the current measuring apparatus may be configured to measure and store a series of discrete current measurements. The current measuring apparatus may be operative to output, e.g. to a user, a plot of measured current over time. More specifically, the current measuring apparatus may be configured to analyze the series of stored discrete current measurements. A deduction may be made in dependence upon the analysis. For example, the current measuring apparatus may be operative to determine at least one peak measured current and a time of said at least one peak. Such a deduction may be used to inform a user as to when peaks in power consumption occur. Alternatively, current measuring apparatus may be operative to detect a characteristic profile over time of a series of stored discrete current measurements. Such a characteristic profile may be indicative of removal of a mains current circuit (e.g. as part of the interrupting device) or other such circuit from the consumer unit and thereby provide an indication of tampering with the consumer unit.
Alternatively or in addition, the current measuring apparatus may be configured to receive a measurement of at least one of water consumption and gas consumption. More specifically, the current measuring apparatus may be configured to receive and store an electrical signal, e.g. a voltage level, corresponding to one of water and gas consumption.
Alternatively or in addition, a mains signal in the context of the present invention may be an AC voltage of 50 VRMS or greater according to standards defined by the International Electrotechnical Commission. Alternatively or in addition, a mains signal may have a frequency of less than 500 Hz, such as a frequency of substantially 60 Hz or substantially 50 Hz for domestic mains or a frequency of substantially 400 Hz for mains in ships.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a networking apparatus comprising a current measuring apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention and at least one networking node.
Embodiments of the second aspect of the present invention may comprise one or more features of the first aspect of the present invention.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following specific description, which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Current measuring apparatus 10 according to the present invention is shown in
A first embodiment of current measuring apparatus is shown in part in
A second embodiment of current measuring apparatus is shown in part in
A third embodiment of current measuring apparatus is shown in part in
The network node apparatus of
As described above, current, gas and water measurements are stored in the fourth network node 22, 78. The stored measurements are then transmitted to the communications controller 72 for storage there and subsequent read out to the user. Thus measurements are made at the fourth network node 22, 78 and conveyed to a central location for ease of reference by the user. Alternatively, the measurements are read out to the user at the fourth network node 22, 78. In addition, the communications controller 72 is operative to analyze a series of stored discrete measurements, such as current measurements. The communications controller 72 is operative to determine at least one peak measured current and a time of said at least one peak, with the deduction being used to inform a user as to when peaks in power consumption occur. Also, the communications controller 72 is operative to detect a characteristic profile over time of a series of stored discrete current measurements. Such a characteristic profile is indicative of removal of an enclosure, such as the first or second enclosure from the consumer unit, to thereby provide an indication of tampering with the consumer unit. The communications controller 72 is operative to perform the above described analyses and deductions by means of firmware resident in and operative on a microcontroller of the communications controller 72. The design of such firmware is within the scope of the ordinary design skills of the skilled person.
Claims
1. A home networking node comprising:
- a control circuit coupled to one or more consumption measurement devices coupled to one or more respective home devices, the control circuit operable to: retrieve measurement data from the one or more consumption measurement devices; store and analyze a series of the measurement data; and communicate one or more of the stored and analyzed series of measurement data to at least one remote device via a network interface.
2. The home networking node of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more consumption measurement devices measures power consumption.
3. The home networking node of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more consumption measurement devices measures water consumption.
4. The home networking node of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more consumption measurement devices measures gas consumption.
5. The home networking node of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the one or more consumption measurement devices collectively measure power, water and gas consumption.
6. The home networking node of claim 1, wherein the plurality of consumption measurement devices comprises one of fuses or circuit breakers with current detection.
7. The home networking node of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the one or more respective home devices comprise an interconnected network of nodes.
8. The home networking node of claim 1, wherein the analyzed series of measurement data includes consumer device consumption profiles.
9. The home networking node of claim 1, wherein the retrieved measurement data is retrieved with powerline communications.
10. A consumer consumption monitoring system comprising:
- a plurality of measurement devices disposed in corresponding supply paths of coupled consumer devices located within a building;
- a network node circuit coupled to the plurality of measurement devices, the network node circuit operable to: retrieve measurement data from the plurality of measurement devices; store and analyze the measurement data over time to develop one or more consumer device consumption profiles.
11. The consumer consumption monitoring system of claim 10, wherein the one or more consumer device consumption profiles include at least one of power, water or gas consumption.
12. The consumer consumption monitoring system of claim 10, wherein the coupled consumer devices comprises an interconnected network of nodes.
13. A method comprising:
- detecting one or more supply flows for each of a plurality of consumer devices disposed in corresponding supply paths within a building;
- measuring at least one of the one or more supply flows for at least one of the plurality of consumer devices disposed in the corresponding supply paths with measurement devices coupled to the corresponding supply paths;
- converting the measurements to a digital format;
- collecting and storing consumption data in at least a first network node memory based on the converted measurements; and
- communicating the stored consumption data to at least one remote device via a communications network interface.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the measuring of at least one of the one or more supply flows measures electrical power consumption.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the measuring of at least one of the one or more supply flows measures water consumption.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the measuring of at least one of the one or more supply flows measures gas consumption.
17. The method of claim 13 further comprising measuring a plurality of the one or more supply flows to collectively measure power, water and gas consumption.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein the stored consumption data is processed to create consumer device consumption profiles.
19. The method of claim 13, wherein the collecting includes powerline communications.
20. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of consumer devices comprises an interconnected network of nodes.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 30, 2014
Publication Date: Jan 15, 2015
Applicant: BROADCOM EUROPE LIMITED (London)
Inventors: Jonathan Ephraim David Hurwitz (Edinburgh), Dale Stubbs (Edinburgh)
Application Number: 14/501,318
International Classification: G01R 21/06 (20060101); G01F 3/00 (20060101);