Wireless intelligent electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11009922-B2
Application number	US-201816101936-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 13, 2018
Priority date	Feb 27, 2015
Publication date	May 18, 2021
Grant date	May 18, 2021

Abstract

An intelligent electronic device (IED) is provided. The IED includes a metering sub-assembly and an input base module sub-assembly. The metering sub-assembly is hinged to the input base module sub-assembly, where when in an open position, various cables, connectors, and input/output cards/modules are accessible. Various input/output cards/modules are interchangeable to add/change functionality and/or communication capabilities to the IED. In one embodiment, a communication card is provided with at least one antenna disposed internal or external to a housing of the IED.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An intelligent electronic device for monitoring power usage of an electrical circuit comprising:
a housing;
at least one sensor coupled to the electric circuit, the at least one sensor measures at least one parameter of the electrical circuit and generates at least one analog signal indicative of the at least one parameter;
at least one analog to digital converter coupled to the at least one sensor, the at least one analog to digital converter receives the at least one analog signal and converts the at least one analog signal to at least one digital signal;
at least one processor that receives the at least one digital signal and calculates at least one power parameter of the electrical circuit;
a first antenna having a first length and disposed at a first position of the housing;
a second antenna having a second length and disposed at a second position of the housing, such that the second antenna is disposed a predetermined distance apart from the first antenna, the first antenna and the second antenna being positioned in parallel planes along their respective lengths and at a predetermined angle relative to each other; and
a communication device that receives the calculated at least one power parameter and wirelessly transmits the calculated at least one power parameter to a remote computing device via the first antenna and/or the second antenna.

2. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first antenna is configured as a main antenna and the second antenna is configured as a diversity antenna.

3. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first position is opposite to the second position.

4. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the first antenna is disposed on an inner surface of the housing at the first position and the second antenna is disposed on the inner surface of the housing at the second position.

5. The intelligent electronic device of claim 4 , further comprising a first antenna mount and a second antenna mount, the first antenna mount configured to mount the first antenna to the inner surface of the housing at the first position and the second antenna mount configured to mount the second antenna to the inner surface of the housing at the second position.

6. The intelligent electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the first antenna mount includes a first slot for receiving the first antenna and the second antenna mount includes a second slot for receiving the second antenna, the first slot and the second slot configured such that the first antenna extends lengthwise at the predetermined angle relative to the second antenna.

7. The intelligent electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the predetermined angle is about 90 degrees.

8. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined distance is determined by a wavelength used to transmit the calculated at least one power parameter.

9. The intelligent electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the predetermined distance is about a ¼ of the wavelength.

10. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined distance is about a ¼ of a wavelength used to transmit the calculated at least one power parameter and the predetermined angle is about 90 degrees.

11. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined angle is about 90 degrees.

12. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the housing is selected from the group consisting of a socket type meter housing, a panel meter type housing, a switchboard type meter housing and A-base type meter housing.

13. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the communication device wirelessly transmits via at least one of 2G communication protocol, 3G communication protocol and/or 4G/LTE communication protocol.

14. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one memory that stores a IP stack with TCP and/or UDP protocols.

15. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the communication device is configured to communicate wirelessly via at least one protocol, wherein the at least one protocol includes Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), cdmaOne, CDMA2000, Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), Digital AMPS (IS-136/TDMA) and/or Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN).

16. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the communication device receives at least one signal via the first antenna and/or the second antenna and the at least one processor determines which of the first and second antenna is receiving a strongest at least one signal and selects the determined antenna for communications to at least one other device.

17. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the communication device receives at least one signal via the first antenna and/or the second antenna and the at least one processor combines the at least one signal receive from the first and second antenna to produce a single signal, the single signal being a stronger signal than the at least one signal being received at the first and second antenna.

18. The intelligent electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the communication device receives at least a portion of a signal via the first antenna and the second antenna and the at least one processor multiplies the received signals to generate a single composite signal, the single composite signal having improved characteristics than the received at least a portion of the signal.

19. The intelligent electronic device of in claim 1 , wherein the first and second antennas are configured as a MIMO (multiple in and multiple out) type antenna system.

20. The intelligent electronic device as in claim 1 , wherein the first and second antenna is tuned to at least one predetermined frequency bands, the first and second antenna being positioned to optimize correlation patterns therebetween.

21. The intelligent electronic device of in claim 1 , wherein one of the first and second antennas transmits data and the other antenna of the first and second antennas receives data.

22. An intelligent electronic device for monitoring power usage of an electrical circuit comprising:
a housing;
at least one sensor coupled to the electric circuit, the at least one sensor measures at least one parameter of the electrical circuit and generates at least one analog signal indicative of the at least one parameter;
at least one analog to digital converter coupled to the at least one sensor, the at least one analog to digital converter receives the at least one analog signal and converts the at least one analog signal to at least one digital signal;
at least one processor that receives the at least one digital signal and calculates at least one power parameter of the electrical circuit;
a first antenna configured in a generally flat rectangular shape extending from a first end to a second end and disposed at a first position of the housing;
a second antenna configured in a generally flat rectangular shape extending from a first end to a second end and disposed at a second position of the housing, wherein the second antenna extends in a plane that has a parallel relationship to a plane of the first antenna, and the second antenna extends at a predetermined angle relative to the first antenna;

Assignees

• Electro Industries/Gauge Tech
• Electro Industries/Gaugetech

Inventors

• Spanier Joseph
• Banhegyesi Tibor
• Martinez Edward

Classifications

• H01Q1/2233 Primary

  used in consumption-meter devices, e.g. electricity, gas or water meters · CPC title

• H02J50/005

  Mechanical details of housing or structure aiming to accommodate the power transfer means, e.g. mechanical integration of coils, antennas or transducers into emitting or receiving devices · CPC title

• G06F1/1683 Primary

  for the transmission of signal or power between the different housings, e.g. details of wired or wireless communication, passage of cabling · CPC title

• H02J50/05

  using capacitive coupling · CPC title

• H01Q1/38

  formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support {(patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface  H01Q15/142)} · CPC title