Continuous Waveform Streaming

Abstract

A method of operating an electrical power metering system is provided, the metering system including an electronic energy meter and a metering application host, the method including the electronic energy meter receiving an analog signal associated with electrical power transmitted using alternating current, the electronic energy meter converting the analog signal to a digital signal, the electronic energy meter generating processed data and a continuous stream of waveform data, a continuous waveform data stream module of the metering application host receiving the continuous stream of waveform data, a first metering application hosted by the metering application host requesting at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data, and the continuous waveform data stream module forwarding at least the first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to the first metering application.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates generally to power signal processing, and more particularly to providing continuous waveform streaming data or processed data to metrology applications. [Background technology]

[0002] Service providers utilize distributed networks to provide service to customers across large geographic areas. For example, electric power companies use distribution lines to transmit power from one or more generating stations (power plants) to residential and commercial customer premises. The generating stations transmit power over long distances via the distribution lines using alternating current (AC). Long distance transmission can be accomplished using relatively high voltages. Substations located near the customer premises provide the step-down of the high voltage to a lower voltage (e.g., using transformers). The distribution lines transmit this lower voltage AC from the substations to the end point device customer premises.

[0003] Typically, electronic energy meters are installed at customer premises to monitor energy consumption by the customer. The electronic energy meters track the amount of energy consumed by the customer, typically measured in kilowatt-hours ("kWh"). Service providers use the energy consumption information for billing and other purposes, such as resource allocation forecasting. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] More advanced metering applications may require more detailed data collection, and therefore there is a need to improve the availability, flexibility, and use of data collected by electronic energy meters. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] Certain aspects and features include systems and methods for providing continuous waveform streaming data or processed data to a metrology application.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of operating a power metering system, the power metering system including an electronic energy meter and a metering application host, the method comprising the steps of: an electronic energy meter receiving an analog signal associated with power transmitted using alternating current (AC); an electronic energy meter converting an analog signal to a digital signal; an electronic energy meter generating a continuous stream of processed data and waveform data; a continuous waveform data stream module of a measurement application host receiving a continuous stream of waveform data; a first measurement application hosted by the measurement application host requesting at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data; a continuous waveform data stream module transferring at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to a first measurement application; a second metrology application hosted by the metrology application host requesting at least a second portion of the continuous stream of waveform data that is different from the first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data; A continuous waveform data stream module transfers at least a second portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to a second metrology application. In one embodiment, the analog signals are analog polyphase signals and the digital signals are digital polyphase signals. In another embodiment, the analog signal is an analog single-phase signal and the digital signal is a digital single-phase signal.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a power metering system, the power metering system including an electronic energy meter and a metering application host interfacing therewith. Electronic energy meters are an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to convert an analog signal associated with the transmitted power using alternating current (AC) into a digital signal; The power signal processor is configured to generate the processed data and a continuous stream of waveform data. The measurement application host is a continuous waveform data stream module configured to receive a continuous stream of waveform data; and a first measurement application configured to receive at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data from the continuous waveform data stream module. In one embodiment, the analog signals are analog polyphase signals and the digital signals are digital polyphase signals. In another embodiment, the analog signal is an analog single-phase signal and the digital signal is a digital single-phase signal.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of operating a power metering system, the power metering system including an electronic energy meter and a metering application host, the method comprising the steps of: an electronic energy meter receiving an analog signal associated with power transmitted using alternating current (AC); an electronic energy meter converting an analog signal to a digital signal; an electronic energy meter generating a continuous stream of processed data and waveform data; a continuous waveform data stream module of a measurement application host receiving a continuous stream of waveform data; a first measurement application hosted by the measurement application host requesting at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data; a continuous waveform data stream module transferring at least a portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to a first measurement application; A first metrology application includes receiving at least a portion of the processed data. In one embodiment, the analog signals are analog polyphase signals and the digital signals are digital polyphase signals. In another embodiment, the analog signal is an analog single-phase signal and the digital signal is a digital single-phase signal.

[0009] These illustrative examples are mentioned not to limit or define the disclosure, but to provide examples to aid in its understanding. Additional examples and further explanations are provided in the Detailed Description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary power measurement system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary power signal processing device 106 shown in FIG. [Figure 3A] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary data structure. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary field 302a shown in FIG. 3A. [Figure 3C] 3B illustrates an example field 302b shown in FIG. 3A when the value of subfield DATA_ID is 0, indicating continuous waveform data. [Figure 3D] FIG. 3B illustrates an example field 302b shown in FIG. 3A when the value of subfield DATA_ID is 1, indicating processed data. [Figure 3E] FIG. 3B illustrates an example field 302e shown in FIG. 3A. [Figure 4A]FIG. 1 is a flow chart diagram illustrating a method of operating a power metering system including an electronic energy meter and a metering application host. [Figure 4B] FIG. 11 is a flow chart diagram illustrating another method of operating a power metering system including an electronic energy meter and a metering application host. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a computing system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will be better understood when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to providing continuous waveform streaming data and processed data to metering applications. Conventional electronic energy meters typically sample voltage and current values ​​and aggregate these values ​​over time to provide values ​​for basic metering functions. For basic metering functions, the type and format of data required may be predetermined. As the types of metering functions grow and the use of metering applications expand, additional flexibility is needed regarding the type and format of data provided and continuous real-time data is required. For example, some metering applications may require a continuous stream of waveform data, some applications may require processed data, and some applications may require both. Additionally, some applications may require time domain data, some applications may require frequency domain data, and some applications may require both.

[0013] According to some aspects of the disclosure, the metering application host may host one or more metering applications and may facilitate the transfer of data required by each of the metering applications. The data is based on data acquired and processed by the meter and includes both continuous waveform data and processed data. The continuous waveform data includes waveform data based on current and voltage measurement data collected by the meter and processed by the meter. The waveform data is continuous because the meter is constantly generating data. The meter does not require a trigger to begin collecting or processing data. The continuous waveform data includes frequency domain data and time domain data. The processed data is also referred to herein as periodic data and includes sampled data associated with a time period.

[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary power metering system 100. The power metering system 100 includes, among other things, an electronic energy meter 102 and a metering application host 110. The electronic energy meter 102 includes, among other things, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 104, a power signal processor 106, and a communication module 114. The metering application host 110 includes a continuous waveform data stream module 112, a communication module 116, and one or more metering applications 108. In one embodiment, the metering application host 110 is integrated into the electronic energy meter 102. In another embodiment, the metering application host 110 is located in a device separate from, but in close proximity to, the electronic energy meter 102, and both the electronic energy meter 102 and the device on which the metering application host 110 is located are located near a customer premises. It should be understood that these embodiments are illustrative and not limiting.

[0015] The electronic energy meter 102 is connected to an electric distribution line that carries alternating current (AC) to a customer premises (e.g., a residential or commercial premises). The meter may be a single-phase or polyphase meter. If the meter is a polyphase meter, an analog polyphase signal 142 is received directly or indirectly by the ADC 104. For a three-phase meter, the analog polyphase signal has three voltage components (phase A line voltage, phase B line voltage, and phase C line voltage) and three current components (phase A line current, phase B line current, and phase C line current). Among the voltage and current components, one of the line voltages is used as a reference (sometimes called a "reference channel"). Throughout this disclosure, an analog three-phase signal is used as an example, but is not intended to be limiting. The techniques described herein are also applicable to single-phase meters, for example. The ADC 104 converts the analog polyphase signal 142 into a digital polyphase signal 144.

[0016] The power signal processor 106 is directly or indirectly connected to the ADC 104. In some embodiments, a compensation and conditioning device is connected between the ADC 104 and the power signal processor 106. The compensation and conditioning device is for calibration and temperature adjustment of the digital multi-phase signal 144 output by the ADC 104.

[0017] The power signal processor 106 is configured to process the digital multi-phase signal 144 received from the ADC 104. The power signal processor 106 may generate and output both a continuous stream of waveform data 132 and processed data 134. In one embodiment, the power signal processor 106 is a microcontroller device (MCU). It is fabricated on an integrated circuit (IC) chip and includes one or more CPUs along with memory and programmable input / output peripherals. In one embodiment, the memory includes an embedded flash random access memory (RAM).

[0018] Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary power signal processing device 106 shown in Figure 1. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the power signal processing device 106 includes, among other components, a fundamental frequency detector 206, a sampling rate converter 208, a fast Fourier transform (FFT) bank 210, and a metrology measurement calculator 212. It should be understood that these components are exemplary and not limiting, and that the power signal processing device 106 may include other components in other embodiments.

[0019] As mentioned above, the digital multiphase signal 144 is sampled at a first sampling rate (also called the “ADC sampling rate”) F ADC and provided to a fundamental frequency detector 206. The fundamental frequency detector 206 detects the fundamental frequency (i.e., line frequency) F of the analog polyphase signal 142 based on the converted digital polyphase signal 144. L In one embodiment, the fundamental frequency detector 206 includes a bandpass filter and a zero-crossing detector.

[0020] Fundamental frequency F L After the fundamental frequency F L is provided to a sampling rate converter 208, which converts the second sampling rate (also called the "output sampling rate" or "resampling rate") F S is determined. The output sampling rate F S is the fundamental frequency F L Based on and tracking the fundamental frequency F L When deviates from its nominal value, the output sampling rate F S is adjusted proportionally. Therefore, the output sampling rate F S is the fundamental frequency F L In other words, the power signal processor 106 includes a frequency locked loop 222 as shown in FIG. S is the fundamental frequency F L is an integer multiple of

[0021] The sampling rate converter 208 also receives the digital multi-phase signal 144. The sampling rate converter 208 then converts the digital multi-phase signal 144 into an output sampling rate F S Therefore, the digital multiphase signal is resampled at the ADC sampling rate F ADC to output sampling rate F S The resampling ratio R is converted to F S / F ADC In one embodiment, the resampling process performed by the sampling rate converter 208 includes, among other operations, an interpolation (also called "upsampling") operation and a decimation (also called "downsampling") operation, as described above. In one embodiment, the resampling process performed by the sampling rate converter 208 is by using a polyphase resampler having a polyphase filter bank.

[0022] The FFT bank 210 receives the resampled digital multiphase signal (after being buffered) and converts it to a frequency domain signal using an FFT. In one embodiment, the FFT is performed simultaneously on six channels (i.e., three voltage channels corresponding to the three voltage components and three current channels corresponding to the three current components). In one embodiment, the FFT includes an N-point Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT).

[0023] A metrology measurement calculator 212 receives the frequency domain signal and can calculate voltage, current, and / or energy measurements such as DC voltage measurements, DC current measurements, fundamental RMS squared measurements, fundamental phase measurements, fundamental watt measurements, etc. Among other things, the phase angle of a reference voltage component (e.g., phase A line voltage) may be calculated. The resampled digital signal is then adjusted by compensating for the calculated phase angle. In one embodiment, the calculated phase angle is converted to delta samples. After adjustment, using the calculated phase angle, the zero crossing of the reference voltage component (e.g., phase A line voltage) is phase locked to a fixed position in the output sample stream, and all other voltage components (e.g., phase B line voltage and phase C line voltage) and current components (e.g., phase A line current, phase B line current, and phase C line current) are phase adjusted with the reference channel such that all channels are phase locked together. Thus, the power signal processor 106 includes a phase-locked loop 224 as shown in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, a phase angle is calculated and used to adjust the resampled digital polyphase signal for each cycle of the resampled digital polyphase signal.

[0024] The resampled and conditioned digital polyphase signal is then phase locked and converted to an updated frequency domain signal by FFT bank 210. Metrology measurement calculator 212 may then calculate one or more measurements based on the updated frequency domain signal, which are processed data 134. Again, it should be understood that the components and their operations shown in FIG. 2 are illustrative and not limiting.

[0025] 1 , the communications module 114 of the electronic energy meter 102 is configured to interface with a communications module 116 of the metering application host 110. A continuous stream of waveform data 132 and processed data 134 are transferred from the electronic energy meter 102 to the metering application host 110 via the communications modules 114 and 116. Various instructions, commands, or requests may be communicated between the electronic energy meter 102 and the metering application host 110 via the communications modules 114 and 116. In one embodiment, the communications modules 114 and 116 interface with each other via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) protocol. It should be understood that other communications protocols may be used as desired.

[0026] In one embodiment, the metrology application host 110 includes, among other components, one or more microprocessors and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), such as DDR5 SDRAM. DRAM typically has a large storage capacity, such as several gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB), allowing it to store a continuous stream of waveform data 132. It should be understood that other implementations may be used as well.

[0027] The continuous waveform data stream module 112 is configured to receive the continuous stream of waveform data 132 output by the power signal processing device 106. The continuous waveform data stream module 112 acts as a hub or buffer that stores the continuous stream of waveform data 132 for one or more measurement applications 108. Each of the one or more measurement applications 108 may subscribe to a different set of the continuous stream of waveform data 132. In other words, the architecture between the continuous waveform data stream module 112 and each of the one or more measurement applications 108 is a publish / subscribe pattern, where each of the one or more measurement applications 108 (acting as a subscriber) requests one or more sets of the continuous stream of waveform data 132 from the continuous waveform data stream module 112 (acting as a publisher). In this manner, the continuous stream of waveform data 132 is managed in a centralized manner by the metering application host 110 and individual metering applications 108 are not required to separately obtain the continuous stream of waveform data 132 from the electronic energy meters 102.

[0028] Meanwhile, intermediate measurements, which may be the same or different from the processed data 134, may be derived from the continuous stream of waveform data 132 by each of the one or more metrology applications 108. In this way, the one or more metrology applications 108 have the flexibility to utilize both the processed data 134 provided by the power signal processor 106 and intermediate measurements derived by themselves from the continuous stream of waveform data 132. For example, one metrology application 108 may require some intermediate measurements that are not included in the processed data 134 provided by the power signal processor 106. With the continuous stream of waveform data 132 available, the metrology application 108 may derive intermediate measurements that are not included in the processed data 134.

[0029] The one or more instrumentation applications 108 may run on a variety of operating systems, such as an operating system based on the Linux kernel. The one or more instrumentation applications 108 may be, for example, one of a Java type application and a native Linux application. It should be understood that these examples are not intended to be limiting.

[0030] 1, there are four metering applications 108: application A 108a, application B 108b, application C 108c, and application D 108d. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, application A 108a is a power quality application, application B 108b is a voltage flicker application, application C 108c is a redundant metering application, and application D 108d is a load disaggregation application 108d.

[0031] Some of the metrology applications 108 may request the entire continuous stream of waveform data 132. Some of the metrology applications 108 may request a collection of the continuous stream of waveform data 132. Different metrology applications 108 may request different portions of the continuous stream of waveform data 132. For example, a first metrology application 108 may request a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data 132, while a second metrology application 108 may request a second portion of the same continuous stream of waveform data 132.

[0032] In one embodiment, the power quality application 108a may monitor the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the voltage as received from the processed data 134. If the THD exceeds a trigger threshold, the power quality application 108a subscribes or requests a collection or portion of the continuous stream of waveform data 132. The collection or portion of the continuous stream of waveform data 132 is received and stored by the power quality application 108a until it is unsubscribed or stopped at its request, which may occur if the THD falls below the trigger threshold. The portion of the continuous stream of waveform data 132 received by the power quality application 108a may then be analyzed to determine, for example, the duration and type of events that may occur during the period in which the THD exceeds the trigger threshold.

[0033] In the same power metering system 100, the voltage flicker application 108b is configured to record flicker events. The voltage flicker application 108b may monitor the RMS value of the voltage. When a criterion associated with observable flicker for a light source connected to the monitored voltage occurs, the voltage flicker application 108b subscribes or requests waveform data over two cycles, i.e., a collection or portion of the continuous stream of waveform data 132, and then unsubscribes or stops with the request. The waveform data is then associated with the flicker event in a log of the power metering system 100, where the collection of these flicker events is stored with the corresponding waveform data. The collection of flicker events and the corresponding waveform data may be transmitted, for example, to a central processing system, for example, via communication module 116 or 106.

[0034] In another embodiment, in addition to the power quality application 108a and the voltage flicker application 108b described in the above embodiment, another measurement application 108 is configured to continuously access the continuous stream of waveform data 132 and store it in a circular buffer. The size of the circular buffer ensures that the most recent 60 line cycles of waveform data can be stored in it. Instead of accessing the waveform data itself, the power quality application 108a and the voltage flicker application 108b described in the above embodiment request data at a specific offset from the most recent 60 line cycles of waveform data stored in the circular buffer.

[0035] Additionally, different metrology applications 108 may request the same portion of the continuous stream of waveform data 132 in different domains. For example, a first metrology application 108 may request a portion of the continuous stream of waveform data 132 in the time domain, while a second metrology application 108 may request the same portion of the continuous stream of waveform data 132 in the frequency domain.

[0036] Different metrology applications 108 may derive different types of intermediate measurements from the continuous stream of waveform data 132. For example, load decomposition application 108d is configured to shed some loads if the line frequency deviates from 60 Hz by more than a threshold (e.g., 2 Hz) and derives line frequency from the continuous stream of waveform data 132. Power quality application 108a derives voltage harmonics and current harmonics from the continuous stream of waveform data 132.

[0037] Different metrology applications 108 may or may not use the processed data 134. If the processed data 134 provided by the power signal processor 106 does not include some intermediate measurements required by the metrology application 108, the metrology application 108 derives those intermediate measurements from the continuous stream of waveform data 132. For example, a first metrology application 108 may derive all intermediate measurements required from the continuous stream of waveform data 132 and not use any of the processed data 134 provided by the power signal processor 106, while a second metrology application 108 may use some of the processed data 134 and derive some intermediate measurements from the continuous stream of waveform data 132.

[0038] A portion of the processed data 134 may be forwarded to the metering application 108 in response to some trigger event. For example, when an anomaly in the continuous stream of waveform data 132 is observed, a trigger event in this example, the power quality application 108a may send a request for a time domain waveform acquisition to the electronic energy meter 102, and the power signal processor 106 then forwards the requested time domain waveform acquisition to the power quality application 108a.

[0039] Additionally, the metering application 108 may request the power signal processor 106 to add new types of processed data to the existing processed data 134. For example, the existing processed data 134 may not include peak voltages, and the metering application 108 may request the power signal processor 106 to add peak voltages to the existing processed data 134. In one embodiment, the metering application 108 may send a customization request to the electronic energy meter 102 to customize the processed data 134.

[0040] Additionally, the entire or a collection of continuous streams of waveform data 132 may be transferred to more than one metrology application 108 simultaneously.

[0041] FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary data structure 300 for both continuous waveform data and processed data. It should be noted that the data structure 300 is generally applicable to and independent of metrology applications, although the data link and physical layers of the application may vary depending on the use and hardware. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3A, the data structure 300 includes multiple fields 302a-302j (collectively "302"). Each field 302 has its own size (i.e., number of bits).

[0042] Field 302a is an ID field having a size of 8 bits. FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary field 302a. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3B, the ID field includes three subfields: a DATA_ID subfield having a size of 4 bits, a TIME_FREQ subfield having a size of 1 bit, and a PROTOCOL_VERSION subfield having a size of 3 bits. If the value of the DATA_ID subfield is 0, it indicates that the data is a continuous stream of waveform data 132. If the value of the DATA_ID subfield is 1, it indicates that the data is processed data 134. The value of the DAT-ID subfield affects the definition of the other fields and subfields. Values ​​2-15 of the DATA_ID subfield are reserved for future use.

[0043] The TIME_FREQ subfield corresponds to the domain of the output data. When the value of the TIME_FREQ subfield is 0, it indicates that the data output is in the time domain. When the value of the TIME_FREQ subfield is 1, it indicates that the data output is in the frequency domain. If the DATA_ID subfield indicates continuous waveform data, only a value of 1 is valid for the TIME_FREQ subfield. Each sample in the frequency domain has two components, a magnitude component and a phase component. Two registers are used for each sample in the frequency domain, corresponding to the magnitude component and the phase component, respectively.

[0044] The PROTOCOL_VERSION subfield supports up to eight versions of the protocol. If the PROTOCOL_VERSION subfield has a value of 0, it indicates that the initial version of the protocol is being used. Values ​​1 through 7 are reserved for future versions.

[0045] Field 302b is an INFO field having a size of 8 bits, providing some additional static data regarding the type of meter and the version of the data format. FIG. 3C illustrates an example field 302b when the value of subfield DATA_ID is 0, indicating continuous waveform data. FIG. 3D illustrates an example field 302b when the value of subfield DATA_ID is 1, indicating processed data. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3C, the INFO field includes four subfields: a METER_TYPE subfield having a size of 1 bit, a SAMPLING_TYPE subfield having a size of 1 bit, a DATA_TYPE subfield having a size of 2 bits, and a NUM_CHNLS subfield having a size of 4 bits. If the value of the METER_TYPE subfield is 0, it indicates that the electronic energy meter 102 is a single-phase meter. If the value of the METER_TYPE subfield is 1, it indicates that the electronic energy meter 102 is a polyphase (e.g., three-phase) meter. If the value of the SAMPLING_TYPE subfield is 1, it indicates fixed sampling per second. In other words, the number of samples per second is fixed. If the SAMPLING_TYPE subfield has a value of 0, it indicates a fixed, cycle-by-cycle sampling. In other words, the number of samples per AC cycle is fixed. If the DATA_TYPE subfield has a value of 0, it indicates the data type is 32-bit floating-point waveform data. Values ​​1-3 are reserved for future use. The NUM_CHNLS subfield has a value ranging from 1 to 15, corresponding to channels 1-15. For a three-phase meter, there may be six channels corresponding to phase A voltage, phase B voltage, phase C voltage, phase A current, phase B current, and phase C current.

[0046] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3D, the METER_TYPE field includes three subfields: a METER_TYPE subfield having a size of 1 bit, a SAMPLING_TYPE subfield having a size of 1 bit, and a PERIODIC_DATA_VER subfield having a size of 6 bits. The METER_TYPE and SAMPLING_TYPE subfields are the same as those shown in FIG. 3C. The value of the PERIODIC_DATA_VER subfield ranges from 0 to 63, corresponding to 64 versions. The periodic data may evolve over time or change for different measurement applications 108, in which case different versions of the periodic data may be used. For example, a first version of the periodic data may include line frequency and apparent power, while a second version of the periodic data may include line frequency, apparent power, and reactive power. An example of periodic data is shown below with reference to Table 1.

[0047] Field 302c is a SAMPLE_RATE field having a size of 16 bits. If the DATA_ID subfield has a value of 0, indicating waveform data, the sampling rate is expressed in Hz or samples per cycle depending on the SAMPLING_TYPE subfield. If the DATA_ID subfield has a value of 1, indicating processed data, the sampling rate is the rate at which the processed data is updated at the nominal line frequency, expressed in milliseconds.

[0048] Field 302e is a STATUS field having a size of 8 bits, which indicates information about the data and its integrity. FIG. 3E illustrates an exemplary field 302e. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3E, the STATUS field includes four subfields: a TIME_ADJUST subfield having a size of 1 bit, a RESTART subfield having a size of 1 bit, a TEST_MODE subfield having a size of 1 bit, and a RESERVED subfield having a size of 5 bits. If the TIME_ADJUST subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that a clock adjustment has occurred that may affect the timestamp of the set of samples for adjacent updates. Under this condition, the data can be assumed to be accurate. The RESTART subfield is set to 1 after a reboot or power-on of the electronic energy meter 102. The SEQUENCE_NUMBER field 302g restarts from 0 after a reboot or power-on. If the TEST_MODE subfield has a value of 1, it indicates that the electronic energy meter 102 is in a test mode. Bits #3 to #7 are reserved for future use.

[0049] Field 302g is a SEQUENCE_NUMBER field having a size of 32 bits. If the value of the DATA_ID subfield is 0 (i.e., for a continuous stream of waveform data 132), each sample has a sequence number associated with it. The sequence number in this frame (i.e., packet) is associated with the first sample in the frame in field 302j (i.e., the DATA field). The DATA field is described in more detail below. If the value of the DATA_ID subfield is 1 (i.e., for processed data 134), one periodic data set is transmitted in each frame, and therefore the sequence number increases by 1 for each periodic data set being transmitted. For both scenarios, the value of the SEQUENCE_NUMBER field rolls over to 0 when it overflows.

[0050] Field 302h is a TIMESTAMP field having a size of 64 bits. Each sample has a timestamp associated with it. The timestamp in this frame is associated with the first sample in the frame. In one embodiment, the value of the TIMESTAMP field is expressed in μS since 1 / 1 / 1970 GMT.

[0051] Field 302j is a DATA field with dynamic size. If waveform data is included, this field contains data. If processed is included, this field contains data as shown in Table 1. Fields 302f and 302i are reserved for future use and may make the header word-aligned. It should be understood that the data structures 300 and fields 302 of the data structures described above are exemplary and not limiting, and other data structures or fields may be used as desired.

[0052] If the value of the DATA_ID subfield is 1 (ie, for processed data 134), the data group, type, name, item size, item number, and total size of the periodic data are shown in Table 1 below.

[0053] [Table 1] [Table 2]

[0054] Figure 4A is a flow chart diagram illustrating a method 400 of operating a power metering system including an electronic energy meter and a metering application host. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 4, the method 400 includes operations 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, 414, and 416. Additional operations may be performed.

[0055] In operation 402, an electronic energy meter (e.g., electronic energy meter 102 shown in FIG. 1) receives an analog polyphase signal (e.g., analog polyphase signal 142 shown in FIG. 1) associated with power transmitted using AC.

[0056] In operation 404, the electronic energy meter converts the analog polyphase signal to a digital polyphase signal (eg, digital polyphase signal 144 shown in FIG. 1).

[0057] In operation 406, the electronic energy meter generates processed data (eg, processed data 134 shown in FIG. 1) and a continuous stream of waveform data (eg, continuous stream of waveform data 132 shown in FIG. 1).

[0058] In operation 408, a continuous waveform data stream module (eg, continuous waveform data stream module 112 shown in FIG. 1) of a metrology application host (eg, metrology application host 110 shown in FIG. 1) receives the continuous stream of waveform data.

[0059] At operation 410, a first metrology application (eg, metrology application 108a shown in FIG. 1) hosted by the metrology application host requests at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data.

[0060] In operation 412, the continuous waveform data stream module transfers at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to a first metrology application.

[0061] In operation 414, a second metering application hosted by the metering application host (e.g., metering application 108b shown in FIG. 1) requests at least a second portion of the continuous stream of waveform data. The first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data is different from the second portion of the continuous stream of waveform data.

[0062] In operation 416, the continuous waveform data stream module then transfers at least a second portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to a second metrology application.

[0063] 4B is a flow chart diagram illustrating a method 400 of operating a power metering system including an electronic energy meter and a metering application host. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4B, the method 400' includes operations 452, 454, 456, 458, 460, 462, and 464. Additional operations may be performed.

[0064] In operation 452, an electronic energy meter (e.g., electronic energy meter 102 shown in FIG. 1) receives an analog polyphase signal (e.g., analog polyphase signal 142 shown in FIG. 1) associated with power transmitted using AC.

[0065] In operation 454, the electronic energy meter converts the analog polyphase signal to a digital polyphase signal (eg, digital polyphase signal 144 shown in FIG. 1).

[0066] In operation 456, the electronic energy meter generates processed data (eg, processed data 134 shown in FIG. 1) and a continuous stream of waveform data (eg, continuous stream of waveform data 132 shown in FIG. 1).

[0067] In operation 458, a continuous waveform data stream module (eg, continuous waveform data stream module 112 shown in FIG. 1) of a metrology application host (eg, metrology application host 110 shown in FIG. 1) receives the continuous stream of waveform data.

[0068] In operation 460, a first metrology application hosted by the metrology application host (eg, metrology application 108a shown in FIG. 1) requests at least a portion of the continuous stream of waveform data.

[0069] In operation 462, the continuous waveform data stream module transfers at least a portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to the first metrology application.

[0070] In operation 464, the first instrumented application receives at least a portion of the processed data in response to the trigger event.

[0071] An example of a computing system according to some embodiments Any suitable computing system or group of computing systems may be used to perform the operations described herein. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates an example computing system 500.

[0072] The illustrated embodiment of a computing device 500 includes a processor 502 communicatively coupled to one or more memory devices 504. The processor 502 executes computer-executable program code stored in the memory devices 504, accesses information stored in the memory devices 504, or both. Examples of the processor 502 include a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit ("ASIC"), a field-programmable gate array ("FPGA"), or any other suitable processing device. The processor 502 may include any number of processing devices, including a single processing device.

[0073] The memory device 504 also includes any suitable non-transitory computer readable medium for storing program code 514 (e.g., code used for various operations of the power metering system 100 shown in FIG. 1), program data 516 (e.g., data structure 300 shown in FIG. 3), or both. The computer readable medium may include any electronic, optical, magnetic, or other storage device capable of providing computer readable instructions or other program code to a processor. Non-limiting examples of computer readable media include magnetic disks, memory chips, ROM, RAM, ASICs, optical storage devices, magnetic tape or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium from which a processor can read instructions. These instructions may include processor-specific instructions generated by a compiler or interpreter from code written in any suitable computer programming language, including, for example, C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, Java, Python, Perl, JavaScript, and ActionScript.

[0074] Computing device 500 executes program code 514 that configures processor 502 to perform one or more of the operations described herein. The program code may reside in memory device 504, or any suitable computer-readable medium, and may be executed by processor 502, or any other suitable processor.

[0075] In some embodiments, the one or more memory devices 504 store program data 516 including one or more data sets described herein. In some embodiments, one or more of the data sets, models, and functions are stored in the same memory device (e.g., one of the memory devices 504). In additional or alternative embodiments, one or more of the programs, data sets, models, and functions described herein are stored in a different memory device 504 accessible via a data network. The computing system 500 also includes one or more buses 506. The buses 506 communicatively couple one or more components of each one of the computing devices 500.

[0076] In some embodiments, computing system 500 also includes a network interface device 510. Network interface device 510 includes any device or group of devices suitable for establishing a wired or wireless data connection to one or more data networks. Non-limiting examples of network interface device 510 include Ethernet network adapters, modems, etc. Computing system 500 can use network interface device 510 to communicate with one or more other computing devices over a data network.

[0077] The computing system 500 may also include a number of external or internal devices, such as input device(s) 520, presentation device(s) 518, or other input or output devices. For example, the computing system 500 is shown with one or more input / output ("I / O") interfaces 508. The I / O interface 508 is capable of receiving input from an input device or providing output to an output device. The input device(s) 520 may include any device or group of devices suitable for receiving visual, auditory, or other suitable input that controls or affects the operation of the processor 502. Non-limiting examples of the input device(s) 520 include a touch screen, a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, a separate mobile computing device, and the like. The presentation device 518 may include any device or group of devices suitable for providing visual, auditory, or other suitable sensory output. Non-limiting examples of the presentation device 518 include a touch screen, a monitor, a speaker, a separate mobile computing device, and the like.

[0078] 5 depicts the input device 520 and presentation device 518 as being local to the computing device, other implementations are possible. For example, in some implementations, one or more of the input device 520 and presentation device 518 may comprise remote client computing devices that communicate with the computing system 500 via the network interface device 510 using one or more data networks.

[0079] Overall consideration Numerous specific details are set forth herein to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, apparatus, or systems that would be known by one of ordinary skill in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the claimed subject matter.

[0080] The features described herein are not limited to any particular hardware architecture or configuration. A computing device may include any suitable device of components that provide a result conditioned on one or more inputs. Suitable computing devices include general-purpose microprocessor-based computer systems that access stored software (i.e., computer-readable instructions stored on the computer system's memory) that programs or configures the computing system from a general-purpose computing device to a specialized computing device that implements one or more aspects of the subject matter of this application. The software used to program or configure the computing device may use any suitable programming, scripting, or other type of language, or combination of languages, to implement the disclosure contained herein.

[0081] Aspects of the methods disclosed herein may be implemented in the operation of such a computing device. The order of the blocks presented in the above examples may be changed, e.g., the blocks may be rearranged, combined, and / or divided into sub-blocks. Certain blocks or operations may be performed in parallel.

[0082] Use of "adapted to" or "configured to" herein is intended to be open and inclusive, not excluding apparatus adapted or configured to perform additional tasks or steps. Furthermore, use of "based on" is intended to be open and inclusive, in that a process, step, calculation, or other action "based on" one or more recited conditions or values ​​may in fact be based on additional conditions or values ​​beyond those recited. Headings, lists, and numbers contained in this application are for ease of description only and are not intended to be limiting.

[0083] While the subject matter of the present application has been described in detail with respect to certain embodiments thereof, it will be recognized that those skilled in the art, upon understanding the foregoing, may readily make modifications, variations, and equivalents of such embodiments. It is therefore to be understood that the present disclosure is presented for purposes of illustration and not limitation, and is not intended to exclude inclusion of such modifications, variations, and / or additions to the subject matter of the present application as would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

Claims

1. 1. A method of operating an energy metering system comprising an electronic energy meter and a metering application host, the method comprising: an electronic energy meter receiving an analog signal associated with power transmitted using alternating current (AC); said electronic energy meter converting said analog signal to a digital signal; said electronic energy meter generating a continuous stream of processed data and waveform data; a continuous waveform data stream module of the metrology application host receiving the continuous stream of waveform data; a first metrology application hosted by the metrology application host requesting at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data; the continuous waveform data stream module transferring at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to the first metrology application; a second metrology application hosted by the metrology application host requesting at least a second portion of the continuous stream of waveform data that is different from the first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data; the continuous waveform data stream module transferring at least a second portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to the second metrology application. method.

2. the continuous stream of waveform data being in the time domain; The method of claim 1.

3. the continuous stream of waveform data being in the frequency domain; The method of claim 1.

4. the first metrology application further comprising deriving intermediate measurements from at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data. The method of claim 1.

5. the first metrology application further comprising receiving at least a portion of the processed data. The method of claim 1.

6. the processed data includes one or more of a voltage measurement, a current measurement, and an energy measurement; The method of claim 1.

7. detecting a fundamental frequency of the analog signal based on the digital signal; resampling the digital signal at a resampling rate based on and tracking the fundamental frequency. The method of claim 1.

8. and the first metering application sending a customization request to the electronic energy meter to customize the processed data for the first metering application. The method of claim 1.

9. 1. An electric power metering system comprising an electronic energy meter and a metering application host, The electronic energy meter is an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to convert an analog signal associated with the transmitted power using alternating current (AC) to a digital signal; a power signal processor configured to generate the processed data and a continuous stream of waveform data; said metering application host interfaces with said electronic energy meter; The measurement application host is a continuous waveform data stream module configured to receive the continuous stream of waveform data; a first metrology application configured to receive at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data from the continuous waveform data stream module; a second metrology application configured to receive from the continuous waveform data stream module at least a second portion of the continuous stream of waveform data different from the first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data. Power measurement system.

10. the continuous stream of waveform data being in the time domain; The power measurement system according to claim 9.

11. the continuous stream of waveform data being in the frequency domain; The power measurement system according to claim 9.

12. the first metrology application is further configured to derive intermediate measurements from at least a first portion of the continuous stream of waveform data. The power measurement system according to claim 9.

13. the first metrology application is further configured to receive at least a portion of the processed data. The power measurement system according to claim 9.

14. the processed data includes one or more of a voltage measurement, a current measurement, and an energy measurement; The power measurement system according to claim 9.

15. The power signal processing device includes: detecting a fundamental frequency of the analog signal based on the digital signal; further configured to resample the digital signal at a resampling rate based on and tracking the fundamental frequency. The power measurement system according to claim 9.

16. the metering application host is a Universal Serial Bus (USB) host; The power measurement system according to claim 9.

17. 1. A method of operating an energy metering system comprising an electronic energy meter and a metering application host, the method comprising: an electronic energy meter receiving an analog signal associated with power transmitted using alternating current (AC); said electronic energy meter converting said analog signal to a digital signal; said electronic energy meter generating a continuous stream of processed data and waveform data; a continuous waveform data stream module of the metrology application host receiving the continuous stream of waveform data; a first metrology application hosted by the metrology application host requesting at least a portion of the continuous stream of waveform data; the continuous waveform data stream module transferring at least a portion of the continuous stream of waveform data to the first metrology application; the first metrology application receiving at least a portion of the processed data in response to a trigger event. method.

18. the first metrology application further comprising deriving intermediate measurements from at least a portion of the continuous stream of waveform data.

20. The method of claim 17.

19. the intermediate measurements are not included in at least a portion of the processed data; 20. The method of claim 18.

20. and the first metering application sending a customization request to the electronic energy meter to customize the processed data for the first metering application.

20. The method of claim 17.

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