Electric Meter State Recovery Using Non-Volatile Input Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric meters suffer from significant data loss during power failures due to the reliance on uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), which increase cost, complexity, and potential failure risks, while simpler meters lose critical measurement data without UPS.
Innovation Solution
An electric meter design that stores meter input data in non-volatile memory and regenerates meter state data using stored input data after power restoration, eliminating the need for a UPS by utilizing a processor to retrieve and update data from non-volatile memory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with battery or capacitors is used to prevent data loss during power failures, then data preservation is improved, but device complexity, cost, and potential failure risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the critical function of data preservation from the complex UPS system and implements it using simple non-volatile memory components already present in the meter. By storing meter state data and input data samples in non-volatile memory, the system achieves data preservation without requiring external battery or capacitor systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a backup copy of meter state data in non-volatile memory before power failure occurs. This copying mechanism ensures that even if volatile memory is lost during power failure, the data can be recovered by regenerating meter state from the stored input data samples and backup copy, eliminating the need for UPS systems.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If a UPS system with battery or capacitors is implemented to maintain operation during power interruptions, then operational continuity is improved, but reliability may decrease due to potential failure of battery or other UPS components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the expensive and potentially unreliable battery-based UPS system with inexpensive non-volatile memory components. The non-volatile memory can retain data indefinitely without power, providing operational continuity functionality without the reliability issues of batteries and capacitors that have finite lifespans and failure modes.
3Loss of information
If prior-art UPS implementations are used to prevent data loss, then data preservation is improved, but cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the data preservation function with the existing non-volatile memory infrastructure of the electric meter. By combining the backup storage and data regeneration capabilities into the meter's standard architecture using non-volatile memory, the system achieves UPS-like data protection without requiring separate battery or capacitor subsystems, thereby reducing manufacturing cost and complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
An electric meter that is configured to regenerate meter state data after a power loss includes a memory with at least one volatile and non-volatile memory device and a processor connected to the memory. The processor is configured to retrieve a backup copy of meter state data and a plurality of meter input data samples that were generated after the backup copy of the meter state data and prior to the power loss from a nonvolatile memory device. The processor is configured to regenerate meter state data by updating the backup copy of meter state data with the plurality of meter input data samples to regenerate the meter state data at the time of a final meter input data sample prior to the power loss.