Electricity Meter Self-Test via Power Consumption Modulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional Powerline Communication (PLC) methods face challenges such as power losses, the need for dedicated receiving devices, interference from normal loads, and inefficiencies in existing power grids, which hinder reliable data transmission and measurement accuracy in electricity meters.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that modulate active or reactive consumption patterns to transmit data through the power grid, allowing commercially available electricity meters to function as receivers without special requirements, and include self-testing capabilities to ensure measurement accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional PLC methods use power packs and amplifiers to feed power at deviating frequencies into the power grid, then data transmission is enabled, but power losses occur in the power pack and amplifier
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the power pack and amplifier components from the transmission device. Instead of using these power-consuming components to feed power at deviating frequencies, the invention directly modulates the active or reactive consumption of the transmission device itself, thereby removing the source of power losses while maintaining data transmission capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmission device performs self-service by modulating its own consumption patterns (active or reactive power) to encode and transmit data. This eliminates the need for separate power conversion and amplification components, allowing the device to communicate while consuming minimal additional power beyond its normal operational consumption.
2Reliability
If conventional PLC methods use dedicated receiving devices to detect voltage signals, then data reception is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the electricity meter multi-functional by enabling it to perform both its traditional measurement function and data reception function. The meter detects consumption modulations directly from the power grid using its existing measurement capabilities, eliminating the need for separate dedicated receiving devices. This universal approach allows standard electricity meters to serve dual purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the data reception function into the electricity meter itself. Instead of having separate transmission and reception devices, the system combines communication and metering functions in a single integrated approach where the meter both measures power consumption and detects data encoded in consumption modulations.
3Reliability
If conventional PLC methods transmit at multiples or fractions of mains frequency, then communication is enabled, but interference from normal loads causes communication to standstill
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the modulation parameter from frequency-based modulation (multiples or fractions of mains frequency) to consumption-based modulation (modulating active or reactive power consumption). By encoding data in the pattern of power consumption rather than in frequency deviations, the system can transmit data through normal load variations without being disrupted by them, as the meter detects intentional consumption patterns rather than frequency shifts.
Data Source
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AI summary
Device for transmitting signals and/or data via an existing power grid with a modulating power consumer and an electricity meter designed to generate billing data, characterized in that consumption values and/or power values are determined from measured values of a measuring unit of the electricity meter and that signals and/or data transmitted by the modulating power consumer are reconstructed from these consumption values and/or power values.