Devices and systems for distributed power-grid monitoring

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016239010-A1
Application number	US-201514621136-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 12, 2015
Priority date	Feb 12, 2015
Publication date	Aug 18, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A device for monitoring the properties of an electrical grid including an electrical connector for coupling to the electrical grid through a wall socket, a detector for detecting at least one property of electricity provided by the electrical grid, a receiver for receiving clock signals, and a sampler for sampling a respective detected property and recording sampled values in a memory, wherein the variation of the values with time represents a waveform of the respective property and the sampler samples at a rate sufficient to record variations of the property within a period of the waveform, wherein the device associates at least a portion of the sampled values with at least one clock signal.

First claim

1 . A device for monitoring the properties of an electrical grid comprising:
an electrical connector for coupling to the electrical grid through a wall socket; a detector for detecting at least one property of electricity provided by the electrical grid; a receiver for receiving clock signals; and a sampler for sampling a respective detected property and recording sampled values in a memory, wherein the variation of the values with time represents a waveform of the respective property and the sampler samples at a rate sufficient to record variations of the property within a period of the waveform, wherein the device associates at least a portion of the sampled values with at least one clock signal.

2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the electrical connector is a wall socket plug.

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the detector detects voltage and current.

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the rate is sufficient to capture at least one disturbance in the waveform of the respective property in the recorded sampled values.

5 . The device of claim 4 , wherein the at least one disturbance is a transient disturbance with a duration less than the period of the waveform.

6 . The device of claim 4 , wherein the at least one disturbance has a frequency.

7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the waveform has a nominal frequency and the frequency of the at least one disturbance is greater than the nominal frequency.

8 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the frequency of the at least one disturbance is greater than 15 Hz.

9 . The device of claim 4 , wherein the at least one disturbance is a distortion of the waveform.

10 . The device of claim 9 , wherein the distortion is a DC offset, a harmonic, an interharmonic, a noise, or a notching.

11 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the rate is at least 5 kilo-samples-per-second (ksps).

12 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the rate is at least 50 ksps.

13 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the sampler is a component of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

14 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a communication receiver for receiving instructions to program the rate of the sampler.

15 . The device of claim 1 , further comprising a transmitter configured to transmit data to a remote server, a client device, or a mobile device.

16 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit wirelessly to the remote server, the client device, or the mobile device over a communication network.

17 . The device of claim 16 , wherein the transmitter is a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) or a Bluetooth transmitter.

18 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the transmitter transmits at least a portion of the sampled values associated with the at least one clock signal in real-time to the remote server.

19 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the memory is removable from the device.

20 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the memory is configured to store sampled data over a period of at least one hour.

21 . The device of claim 1 , comprising a rechargeable battery.

22 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to be supported by the wall socket.

23 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured to operate without further action by a user after coupling to the electrical grid through the wall socket.

24 . A system for monitoring an electrical grid comprising:
a plurality of portable devices configured to connect to a plurality of respective wall sockets connected to an electrical grid, wherein each of the plurality of portable devices comprises:
an electrical connector for coupling to the electrical grid through a wall socket;
a detector for detecting at least one property of electricity provided by the electrical grid;
a receiver for receiving clock signals; and
a sampler for sampling a respective detected property and recording sampled values in a memory, wherein the variation of the values with time represents a waveform of the respective property and the sampler samples at a rate sufficient to record variations of the property within a period of the waveform,
wherein each of the plurality of portable devices associates at least a portion of the sampled values with at least one clock signal; and
a server that communicates over a network with each of the plurality of portable devices to receive at least a respective portion of the sampled values associated with the at least one clock signal.

25 . The system of claim 24 , wherein the system aggregates received sampled values and associated clock signals by using the associated clock signals as markers to compare the sampled values received from one of the plurality of portable devices with the sampled values received from the others of the plurality of portable devices.

26 . The system of claim 25 , wherein the system detects a feature of the electrical grid by analyzing the aggregated sampled values.

27 . The system of claim 26 , wherein the system determines an area of the electrical grid affected by the feature.

28 . The system of claim 27 , wherein the system determines a location affected by the feature within the area of the grid.

29 . The system of claim 26 , wherein the system detects the feature within a low voltage portion of the electrical grid.

30 . A method for monitoring the properties of an electrical grid comprising:
receiving electricity from the electrical grid through a wall socket; detecting at least one property of electricity provided by the electrical grid; receiving at least one clock signal; sampling a respective detected property and recording sampled values in a memory, wherein the variation of the values with time represents a waveform of the respective property and the sampler samples at a rate sufficient to record variations of the property within a period of the waveform; and associating at least a portion of the sampled values with at least one clock signal.

Assignees

• Mitre Corp

Inventors

• McDANIEL Sean
• Weed Peter

Classifications

• Y04S10/30

  State monitoring, e.g. fault, temperature monitoring, insulator monitoring, corona discharge · CPC title

• H02J3/00 Primary

  Circuit arrangements for AC mains or AC distribution networks · CPC title

• H02J3/381

  Dispersed generators · CPC title

• H02J13/12

  Monitoring network conditions, e.g. electrical magnitudes or operational status · CPC title

• H02J13/333

  the equipment forming part of substations · CPC title