Modular smart meter device with electricity theft prevention monitoring

Abstract

The application belongs to the technical field of intelligent electric energy metering and electric safety monitoring, in particular to a modularized intelligent electric meter device with electricity larceny prevention monitoring, comprising a sampling unit, a main control and metering unit, a safe storage unit and a communication linkage unit; the output end of the sampling unit is connected with the input end of the main control and metering unit, the output end of the main control and metering unit is connected with the input end of the safe storage unit, and the output end of the communication linkage unit is bidirectionally connected with the input end of the main control and metering unit; the sampling unit comprises voltage sampling, current sampling, zero line independent sampling, a magnetic sensor and cover opening detection; and the main control and metering unit comprises a main control chip and a metering chip. The application integrates multiple source information to realize fault judgment and state recognition with an accuracy of more than 99%; a triple tamper prevention system prevents illegal operation; 0.5-grade high-precision sampling is adopted, and strong anti-interference and environmental adaptability are achieved; full-link data is traceable; flexible installation is supported, and mainstream electric meters and acquisition systems are compatible.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent electricity metering and electricity safety monitoring technology, and in particular to a modular intelligent meter device with anti-theft monitoring. Background Technology

[0002] Smart meters, as core terminal devices in electricity user information collection systems, are widely used in residential, commercial, and industrial electricity metering scenarios. With the advancement of smart grid construction, smart meters not only need to perform basic electricity metering and remote meter reading functions, but also must possess intelligent capabilities such as anti-theft monitoring, load identification, and event logging. Electricity theft not only causes huge economic losses to power supply companies, but also seriously disrupts electricity consumption order and can even cause safety accidents such as fires. Therefore, anti-theft functionality has become a standard requirement for smart meters.

[0003] Currently, smart meters with anti-theft monitoring mainly adopt the following technical solutions: First, they use mechanical anti-tamper switches or magnetic induction sensors to detect the open state of the meter casing, triggering an alarm record when the meter cover is opened; second, they use metering chips to monitor electrical parameters such as voltage, current, and power factor in real time, and determine suspected electricity theft when voltage loss, current reversal, abnormal phase angle, or sudden load change is detected.

[0004] Existing smart meters have a relatively simple structure and rely on a single parameter to determine electricity theft. This results in problems such as a high false alarm rate, difficulty in tracing the source due to the lack of an event black box, weak resistance to magnetic interference and tampering, and insufficient communication and linkage response capabilities, making it impossible to quickly handle electricity theft incidents. Summary of the Invention

[0005] 1. Technical problems to be solved

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to solve the problems of existing technologies that rely on a single parameter to judge electricity theft behavior, such as high false alarm rate, lack of event black box leading to difficulty in tracing, weak anti-magnetic interference and anti-tampering ability, and insufficient communication and linkage response capability. Therefore, this invention proposes a modular smart meter device with anti-theft monitoring.

[0007] 2. Technical Solution

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0009] In a first aspect, this application provides a modular smart meter device with anti-theft monitoring, including a sampling unit, a main control and metering unit, a secure storage unit, and a communication linkage unit;

[0010] The output of the sampling unit is connected to the input of the main control metering unit, the output of the main control metering unit is connected to the input of the secure storage unit, and the output of the communication linkage unit is bidirectionally connected to the inputs of the main control and metering units.

[0011] The sampling unit includes voltage sampling, current sampling, independent neutral wire sampling, magnetic sensor, and cover opening detection; the main control metering unit includes a main control chip and a metering chip, and the metering chip integrates an anti-theft algorithm.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the anti-theft algorithm includes a current imbalance criterion, a power and phase criterion, a magnetic disturbance and cover opening criterion, and a harmonic fingerprint criterion.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the metering chip is a dedicated anti-theft metering chip that supports dual-channel active power metering, forward and reverse metering, and harmonic monitoring.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the voltage sampling includes a voltage divider resistor and an isolation operational amplifier module, and the voltage sampling range is AC 165–265V single-phase and AC 342–456V three-phase.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the current sampling includes a manganese-copper shunt, a Rogowski coil, and a high-precision CT with a range of 0–100A and an accuracy of 0.5 class.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the independent sampling of the neutral wire is used to compare the current of the phase wire and the neutral wire in real time to identify bypass power theft, and the cover opening detection includes a mechanical micro switch and an anti-tamper pin for triggering and latching the event.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the main control and metering unit further includes a temperature monitoring module, which is an NTC (Network Temperature Controller) that provides early warnings for abnormal wiring and illegal loads when the temperature is ≥60℃.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the secure storage unit has a storage capacity of ≥512KB, can store ≥10,000 events, and can be stored for ≥12 months; it uses AES-128 data encryption to prevent tampering and data reading.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the communication linkage unit includes a local communication unit and a remote communication unit. The local communication unit includes an RS485 communication module and an infrared communication module. The remote communication unit includes power line carrier, HPLC, LoRa, 4G, and NB-IoT.

[0020] Secondly, this application provides a monitoring method for a modular smart meter device with anti-theft monitoring, comprising the following steps:

[0021] S1: Real-time sampling: voltage, current, neutral current, temperature, magnetic field, and open / closed status;

[0022] S2: Feature Calculation: Calculates the effective values ​​of voltage and current, active power, reactive power, apparent power, phase difference between voltage and current, three-phase current imbalance, and harmonic content of voltage and current; Multi-dimensional Fusion Decision: Through multi-dimensional data fusion analysis, it eliminates interference from normal operating conditions such as load changes and inrush current, effectively reducing the false alarm rate.

[0023] S3: Event Handling: Latch the time, address, exception data, and state snapshot of the event;

[0024] S4: Reporting and linkage: local audible and visual alarms, remote information push, and optional tripping or blocking operations.

[0025] 3. Beneficial effects

[0026] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of this invention are:

[0027] ( ) Multi-source fusion judgment mechanism: By comprehensively integrating multiple information sources such as current differential, power fluctuation, phase shift, magnetic field disturbance, harmonic distortion and open cover status detection, it can achieve comprehensive and accurate fault judgment and status identification, ensuring that the overall identification accuracy rate reaches more than 99%.

[0028] ( ) Triple anti-tampering protection system: The design includes three layers of security barriers, including physical structure anti-disassembly protection, electrical circuit interlocking control and encrypted data transmission storage, which effectively prevents illegal operation and data tampering.

[0029] ( ) High precision and high reliability assurance: Adopting 0.5-level high-precision sampling technology, it maintains stable measurement performance over a wide temperature range and has excellent anti-electromagnetic interference and environmental adaptability.

[0030] ( ) Full-chain traceability support: Completely record the timestamp of the event, instantaneous data snapshot and related device address information to form an auditable data chain, which facilitates subsequent auditing and historical tracing.

[0031] (5) Easy to deploy and widely compatible: It supports two installation methods: embedded integration or external independent installation. It can be adapted to the current mainstream smart meters and various data acquisition systems, making it flexible to implement and easy to integrate. Attached Figure Description

[0032] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the system composition of a modular smart meter device with anti-theft monitoring proposed in this invention;

[0033] Figure 2This is a flowchart of a monitoring method for a modular smart meter device with anti-theft monitoring proposed in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments.

[0035] Reference Figure 1 A modular smart meter device with anti-theft monitoring includes a sampling unit, a main control and metering unit, a secure storage unit, and a communication linkage unit.

[0036] In this embodiment, the output of the sampling unit is connected to the input of the main control and metering unit, the output of the main control and metering unit is connected to the input of the secure storage unit, and the output of the communication linkage unit is bidirectionally connected to the input of the main control and metering unit. This ensures the integrity and consistency of data in all stages of acquisition, processing, storage, and communication, effectively preventing data tampering or loss in intermediate stages.

[0037] In this embodiment, the main control and metering unit, as the core coordination module, can verify the rationality of the sampled data in real time and quickly trigger a secure storage mechanism when abnormal electricity consumption is detected, thus solidifying and preserving key evidence and providing a reliable basis for subsequent investigations. Furthermore, the bidirectional interaction capability of the communication linkage unit supports remote command response and status feedback, improving the system's dynamic monitoring and emergency response efficiency.

[0038] In this embodiment, voltage sampling includes a voltage divider resistor and an isolation operational amplifier module. The voltage sampling range is AC 165–265V single-phase and AC 342–456V three-phase. Current sampling includes a manganin shunt, a Rogowski coil, and a high-precision current transformer (CT), with a range of 0–100A and an accuracy of 0.5 class. This allows for high-precision metering across a wide voltage and high current range, effectively covering typical residential and commercial electricity consumption scenarios. Furthermore, the combination of the isolation operational amplifier module and various current sensing elements not only enhances anti-interference capabilities but also strengthens the sensitivity to abnormal waveforms and transient signals, providing a hardware foundation for accurate identification of electricity theft.

[0039] In this embodiment, the independent sampling of the neutral wire is used to compare the current of the phase wire and the neutral wire in real time to identify bypass power theft. The cover opening detection includes a mechanical micro switch and an anti-tamper pin, which are used to trigger and latch the event. The main control and metering unit also includes a temperature monitoring module.

[0040] In this embodiment, the temperature monitoring module is an NTC (Network Temperature Controller). A temperature ≥60℃ triggers an early warning for abnormal wiring and unauthorized loads, effectively preventing overheating risks caused by loose wiring or unauthorized connection of high-power equipment, thus reducing electrical fire hazards. Simultaneously, this temperature monitoring mechanism is linked to the main control unit, promptly recording events and uploading alarm information when abnormal temperature rises occur, assisting maintenance personnel in quickly locating fault points and improving electrical safety management.

[0041] In this embodiment, the sampling unit includes voltage sampling, current sampling, independent neutral wire sampling, a magnetic sensor, and cover opening detection; the main control metering unit includes a main control chip and a metering chip. The metering chip is a dedicated anti-theft metering chip that supports dual-channel active power metering, forward and reverse metering, and harmonic monitoring. The metering chip integrates an anti-theft algorithm.

[0042] In this embodiment, the anti-electricity theft algorithm includes current imbalance criteria, power and phase criteria, magnetic disturbance and cover-opening criteria, and harmonic fingerprint criteria. Through multi-dimensional criterion fusion analysis, the accuracy of identifying various covert electricity theft behaviors is significantly improved. The current imbalance criterion effectively captures abnormal differences between the phase and neutral lines; the power and phase criteria are used to identify abnormal load characteristics or phase-shifting electricity theft; the magnetic disturbance and cover-opening criteria sense external magnetic field interference and illegal disassembly in real time; and the harmonic fingerprint criteria identify disguised electricity usage patterns based on characteristic harmonics generated by nonlinear loads. These criteria work collaboratively to form a closed-loop verification mechanism, reducing the probability of false alarms and missed alarms, and enhancing system robustness.

[0043] In this embodiment of the application, the current imbalance criterion is specifically as follows:

[0044] Phase-neutral current difference >5% >10min Bypass / Grounding electricity theft Meter current - Primary side current >2% >5min Table tampering / short circuit

[0045] In this application embodiment, the power and phase criteria are as follows: reverse power is continuously present and >1% of the rated power → reverse wiring for electricity theft; voltage without current / current without voltage → voltage / current loop abnormality; active power >1000W and power factor <0.5 → suspected illegal inverter equipment.

[0046] In this embodiment of the application, the criteria for determining magnetic disturbance and opening the lid are as follows: magnetic sensitivity trigger → strong magnetic interference event; opening the lid trigger → illegal opening event; both trigger → highest level alarm.

[0047] In this embodiment of the application, the harmonic fingerprint criterion is as follows: monitoring the 2nd to 31st harmonics, the 5th harmonic accounting for more than 15% → suspected clock reversal device / harmonic interference.

[0048] In this embodiment of the application, the secure storage unit has a storage capacity of ≥512KB, can store ≥10,000 events, and can be stored for ≥12 months; it uses AES-128 data encryption to prevent tampering and reading of data.

[0049] In this embodiment, the communication linkage unit includes a local communication unit and a remote communication unit. The local communication unit includes an RS485 communication module and an infrared communication module; the remote communication unit includes power line carrier, HPLC, LoRa, 4G and NB-IoT.

[0050] In the embodiments of this application, reference is made to Figure 2 A monitoring method for a modular smart meter device with anti-theft monitoring includes the following steps:

[0051] S1: Real-time sampling: voltage, current, neutral current, temperature, magnetic field, and open / closed status;

[0052] S2: Feature Calculation: Calculates the effective values ​​of voltage and current, active power, reactive power, apparent power, phase difference between voltage and current, three-phase current imbalance, and harmonic content of voltage and current; Multi-dimensional Fusion Decision: Through multi-dimensional data fusion analysis, it eliminates interference from normal operating conditions such as load changes and inrush current, effectively reducing the false alarm rate.

[0053] S3: Event Handling: Latch the time, address, exception data, and state snapshot of the event;

[0054] S4: Reporting and linkage: local audible and visual alarms, remote information push, and optional tripping or blocking operations.

[0055] In this embodiment of the application, the multi-source fusion decision mechanism integrates multiple information sources such as current differential, power fluctuation, phase shift, magnetic field disturbance, harmonic distortion, and open cover status detection to achieve comprehensive and accurate fault judgment and status identification, ensuring that the overall identification accuracy reaches more than 99%.

[0056] In this embodiment, a triple anti-tampering protection system is designed, which includes three layers of security barriers: physical structure anti-disassembly protection, electrical circuit interlocking control, and encrypted data transmission storage, effectively preventing illegal operations and data tampering.

[0057] In this embodiment, high precision and high reliability are guaranteed: 0.5-level high-precision sampling technology is adopted to maintain stable measurement performance over a wide temperature range, and it has excellent anti-electromagnetic interference and environmental adaptability.

[0058] In this embodiment of the application, end-to-end traceability supports: complete recording of the timestamp of the event, instantaneous data snapshot and related device address information, forming an auditable data chain, which facilitates subsequent auditing and historical tracing.

[0059] In this embodiment, it is easy to deploy and widely compatible: it supports both embedded integration and external independent installation methods, and can be adapted to the current mainstream smart meters and various data acquisition systems, making it flexible to implement and easy to integrate.

[0060] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or modifications made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A modular smart metering device with electricity tamper monitoring, characterized by, It includes a sampling unit, a main control and metering unit, a secure storage unit, and a communication linkage unit; The output of the sampling unit is connected to the input of the main control metering unit, the output of the main control metering unit is connected to the input of the secure storage unit, and the output of the communication linkage unit is bidirectionally connected to the inputs of the main control and metering units. The sampling unit includes voltage sampling, current sampling, independent neutral wire sampling, magnetic sensor, and cover opening detection; the main control metering unit includes a main control chip and a metering chip, and the metering chip integrates an anti-theft algorithm.

2. A modular smart metering device with tamper detection as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The anti-theft algorithm includes current imbalance criteria, power and phase criteria, magnetic disturbance and cover opening criteria, and harmonic fingerprint criteria.

3. The modular smart metering device with tamper detection as claimed in claim 1 wherein, The metering chip is a dedicated anti-theft metering chip that supports dual-channel active power metering, forward and reverse metering, and harmonic monitoring.

4. The modular smart metering device with tamper detection according to claim 1, wherein, The voltage sampling includes a voltage divider resistor and an isolation operational amplifier module. The voltage sampling range is AC 165–265V single-phase and AC 342–456V three-phase.

5. The modular smart metering device with tamper detection as claimed in claim 1 wherein, The current sampling includes a manganese-copper shunt, a Rogowski coil, and a high-precision CT, with a range of 0–100A and an accuracy of 0.5 class.

6. The modular smart metering device with tamper detection according to claim 1, wherein, The independent sampling of the neutral wire is used to compare the current of the phase wire and the neutral wire in real time to identify bypass power theft. The cover opening detection includes a mechanical micro switch and an anti-tamper pin, which are used to trigger and latch the event.

7. The modular smart metering device with tamper detection according to claim 1, wherein, The main control and metering unit also includes a temperature monitoring module, which is an NTC module that provides early warnings for abnormal wiring and illegal loads when the temperature is ≥60℃.

8. The modular smart metering device with tamper detection according to claim 1, wherein, The secure storage unit has a storage capacity of ≥512KB, can store ≥10,000 events, and can be stored for ≥12 months; it uses AES-128 data encryption to prevent tampering and data reading.

9. The modular smart metering device with tamper detection according to claim 1, wherein, The communication linkage unit includes a local communication unit and a remote communication unit. The local communication unit includes an RS485 communication module and an infrared communication module. The remote communication unit includes power line carrier, HPLC, LoRa, 4G and NB-IoT.

10. The method of claim 1-9, wherein the method further comprises: Includes the following steps: S1: Real-time sampling: voltage, current, neutral current, temperature, magnetic field, and open / closed status; S2: Feature Calculation: Calculates the effective values ​​of voltage and current, active power, reactive power, apparent power, phase difference between voltage and current, three-phase current imbalance, and harmonic content of voltage and current; Multi-dimensional Fusion Decision: Through multi-dimensional data fusion analysis, it eliminates interference from normal operating conditions such as load changes and inrush current, effectively reducing the false alarm rate. S3: Event Handling: Latch the time, address, exception data, and state snapshot of the event; S4: Reporting and linkage: local audible and visual alarms, remote information push, and optional tripping or blocking operations.

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