Two-way electronic kWh meter

Claim 2

A two-way electronic meter for measuring energy consumed in or exported from an electrical system comprising means for generating first and second analog signals, said signals being proportional to a current in said system, said first analog signal being 180° out of phase with respect to said second analog signal; means for generating third and fourth analog signals, said signals being proportional to a voltage in said system, said third analog signal being 180° out of phase with respect to said fourth analog signal; means for generating a relatively high frequency triangular waveform; a comparator, said relatively high frequency triangular waveform being coupled to one input of said comparator; switching means for selectively coupling said third or said fourth analog signal to the other input of said comparator, the output of said comparator being a pulse width modulated signal having a pulse width proportional to the amplitude of said voltage in said system; means for multiplying said pulse width modulated output signal of said comparator with a signal proportional to said first and second current proportional analog signals, the output of said multiplier having an amplitude proportional to the electrical current in said system and having a pulse width proportional to the amplitude of the voltage in said system; an integrator, said integrator being connected to the output of said multiplier, the output of said integrator being proportional to the energy consumed in said system; a pulse generating circuit, the input of said circuit being connected to said integrator to thereby convert the output of said integrator to a pulse train having each pulse proportional to the energy consumed in said system; first means for recording and displaying the energy consumed in said electrical system; second means for recording and displaying the energy exported from said electrical system; means for determining whether energy is being consumed by or exported from said electrical system; and switching means responsive to said determining means for coupling said pulse train to said means for displaying the energy consumed or exported from said electrical system.

Claim 3

The two-way electronic meter of claim 1 wherein said determining means comprises means for deriving the average instantaneous power in said system; and means for determining the polarity of said average instantaneous power, said switching means being responsive to said polarity determining means for selectively coupling said pulse train to said first or said second display means.

Claim 4

The two-way electronic meter of claim 2 further comprising error correction means responsive to the output pulses of said converter for operating said first switching means to alternately selectively couple said third or said fourth analog signals to said comparator to thereby correct offset integration errors in said meter.

Claim 5

The electronic meter of claim 3 further comprising means for inverting said pulse train and for coupling said inverted pulse train to said first switching means when the direction of power flow with respect to said electrical system changes.

Claim 6

The electronic meter of claim 4 wherein said analog-to-pulse rate converter comprises means for determining when the voltage level at the output of said integrator reaches a first predetermined positive level; means for detecting when the output of said integrator reaches a second negative level; and means responsive to said detecting means for generating an output pulse when said predetermined positive and negative levels are reached.

Claim 7

The electronic meter of claim 5 wherein said multiplying means comprises a switch, said switch selectively connecting said first or said second analog signals to said integrator in accordance with the output of said comparator.

Claim 8

A two-way electronic meter for measuring energy consumed in or exported from a polyphase electrical system comprising a plurality of means for generating first and second analog signals, said signals being proportional to the current in each phase of said system wherein said first analog signal is 180° out of phase with respect to said second analog signal; a plurality of means for generating third and fourth analog signals proportional to the voltage in each phase of said system; means for generating a relatively high frequency triangular waveform signal; a plurality of comparators, one for each phase of said polyphase system, said relatively high frequency triangular waveform signal being coupled to one input of each comparator; a plurality of switching means for alternately selectively coupling said third or said fourth analog signals to the other input of said comparator, the output of said comparators being pulse width modulated signals wherein each signal has a pulse width proportional to the amplitude of the voltage in the corresponding phase of the polyphase electrical system; a plurality of means for multiplying said pulse width modulated output signals of said comparators with the corresponding first and second current proportional analog signals for each phase, the output of said multipliers having an amplitude proportional to the amplitude of said electrical current in each phase of said system and having a pulse width proportional to the amplitude of the electrical voltage in each phase of said system; means for summing said outputs of said multiplying means; an integrator, said integrator being connected to the outputs of said summing means, the output of said integrator being proportional to the energy consumed in said system; a pulse generating circuit, the input of said circuit being connected to said integrator to thereby convert the output of said integrator to a pulse train having each pulse proportional to energy consumed in said system; a first means for recording and displaying the energy consumed in said electrical system; a second means for recording and displaying the energy exported from said electrical system; means for detecting whether power is being consumed by or exported from said electrical system; and switching means for selectively coupling said pulse train to said first or second display means dependent upon whether power is being consumed by or exported from said electrical system.

Claim 9

A two-way electronic meter for measuring energy consumed in or exported from a polyphase electrical system comprising a plurality of means for generating first and second analog signals, said signals being proportional to the current in each phase of said system wherein said first analog signal is 180° out of phase with respect to said second analog signal; a plurality of means for generating third and fourth analog signals proportional to the voltage in each phase of said system; means for generating a relatively high frequency triangular waveform signal; a plurality of comparators, one for each phase of said polyphase system, said relatively high frequency triangular waveform signal being coupled to one input of each comparator; a plurality of switching means for alternately selectively coupling said third or said fourth analog signals to the other input of said comparator, the output of said comparators being pulse width modulated signals wherein each signal has a pulse width proportional to the amplitude of the voltage in the corresponding phase of the polyphase electrical system; a plurality of means for multiplying said pulse width modulated output signals of said comparators with the corresponding first and second current proportional analog signals for each phase, the output of said multipliers having an amplitude proportional to the amplitude of said electrical current in each phase of said system and having a pulse width proportional to the amplitude of the electrical voltage in each phase of said system; means for summing said outputs of said multiplying means; an integrator, said integrator being connected to the outputs of said summing means, the output of said integrator being proportional to the energy consumed in said system; a pulse generating circuit, the input of said circuit being connected to said integrator to thereby convert the output of said integrator to a pulse train having each pulse proportional to energy consumed in said system; a first means for recording and displaying the energy consumed in said electrical system; a second means for recording and displaying the energy exported from said electrical system; means for detecting whether power is being consumed by or exported from said electrical system; and switching means for selectively coupling said pulse train to said first or second display means dependent upon whether power is being consumed by or exported from said electrical system.

Claim 10

The two-way electronic meter of claim 7 wherein said detecting means comprises a signal averaging means connected to the outputs of each of said multipliers to derive a signal which is proportional to the average power consumed by or exported from said electrical system; and polarity detection means for determining the polarity of said average power signal, said polarity detection means controlling the position of said switching means for selectively coupling said pulse train to said first or said second display means.

Claim 11

The two-way electronic meter of claim 8 further comprising error correction means responsive to the output pulses of said converter for controlling said first switching means to alternately selectively couple said third or said fourth analog signals to said comparators, said error correcting means correcting the offset integration errors in said meter.

Claim 12

The two-way electronic meter of claim 9 wherein said multiplying means each comprises a switch, said switch selectively connecting said first or said second analog signals to said summing means in acordance with the output of said comparators.

Claim 13

The two-way electronic meter of claim 10 wherein said analog-to-pulse rate converter comprises means for determining when the voltage level at the output of said integrator reaches a first predetermined positive level; means for detecting when the output of said integrator reaches a second negative level; and means responsive to said detecting means for generating an output pulse when said predetermined positive and negative levels are reached.