Apparatus and method for data preservation and power loss recovery in electricity meters

Abstract

An electricity meter configured to regenerate meter state data after a loss of power includes a memory having at least one volatile and non-volatile memory device, and a processor coupled to the memory. The processor is configured to: retrieve a backup copy of the meter state data and a plurality of meter input data samples from the non-volatile memory device, the plurality of meter input data samples being in the meter state data Generated after the backup copy and before power loss. The processor is configured to regenerate the meter state data by updating a backup copy of the meter state data with the plurality of meter input data samples, thereby regenerating a final meter input data sample prior to power loss. Meter state data at time.

Description

technical field [0001] The present disclosure relates generally to electric meters and, more particularly, to electric meters that minimize data loss in the event of a power failure without requiring the use of an uninterruptible power supply. Background technique [0002] A power meter is a device that measures and / or meters aspects of energy provided to a load. The load may be a residence, business, or even part of a larger power distribution system. Commonly available meters include electromechanical meters and electronic meters. Electromechanical meters employ a rotating disk that rotates in response to electric and magnetic fields induced by power delivered to a load. As is known in the art, the rotational speed of the disk is a function of the amount of power delivered to the load. A mechanical counter accumulates the number of disk revolutions, which is an indication of the energy consumed by the load. In some cases, electromechanical meters may employ processing ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0005] While prior art UPS implementations reduce the possibility of data loss in the electricity meter due to unanticipated loss of electrical power, these devices increase the cost and complexity of the electricity meter while increasing the power consumption and potentially reduce the reliability of the electricity meter

In some cases, the possibility of a battery or other component failure in the UPS may actually increase the likelihood that the electricity meter will experience a failure and be unable to monitor the wires, since the underlying reason for including the UPS is to improve electricity Meter reliability, so this is actually counterproductive

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