US-12621589-B2 - Self-tuning current transformer

Abstract

An electricity usage monitor may include a coupling component to attach the electricity usage monitor to an electrical circuit to monitor electricity usage of the electrical circuit, an analog-digital converter (ADC) configured to convert analog current readings captured by the electricity usage monitor into digital values, a processor operably coupled to the ADC, and a non-transitory, computer-readable medium operably coupled to the processor and comprising instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operations may include determining a standard deviation of the digital values, based on the standard deviation, adjusting a gain of the ADC, and transmitting a signal to a server comprising the digital values.

Inventors

• Micheal M. Austin
• Kody Shook Brown

Assignees

• VUTILITY, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240613

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A method of electricity usage monitoring, comprising: receiving a plurality of readings captured by an electricity usage monitor; converting, by an analog-digital converter (ADC) of the electricity usage monitor, the plurality of readings to digital values; determining a standard deviation of the plurality of readings captured by the electricity usage monitor, based on the digital values; adjusting a gain of the ADC based on the standard deviation; and transmitting a digital communication comprising the digital values and the adjusted gain of the ADC.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the gain of the ADC is adjusted to be proportional to a multiple of the standard deviation of the digital values.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the gain of the ADC comprises adjusting the gain based on an average of the digital values.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising decoding the digital values using the adjusted gain of the ADC.
5. 5 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising receiving an acknowledgement indicating that the gain was adjusted at a remote computing device based on the standard deviation before the adjusting the gain of the ADC at the electricity usage monitor.
6. 6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the digital communication further comprises ADC buckets associated with the digital values.
7. 7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining a new standard deviation of the plurality of readings; and based on the new standard deviation, updating the adjusted gain of the ADC.
8. 8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining a difference between the standard deviation and a standard deviation threshold; and updating the adjusted gain of the ADC based on the difference.
9. 9 . A method of electricity usage monitoring comprising: receiving, by a server system, from an electricity usage monitor, a digital communication comprising readings captured by the electricity usage monitor converted into digital values by an analog-digital converter (ADC) of the electricity usage monitor; receiving, by the server system, an adjusted gain of the ADC; updating the server system based on the adjusted gain of the ADC; and decoding, by the server system, the digital values based on the adjusted gain.
10. 10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the electricity usage monitor utilizes a first lookup table for converting the readings into digital values.
11. 11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the first lookup table is based on the adjusted gain of the ADC.
12. 12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the server system stores a second lookup table.
13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein updating the server system comprises adjusting the second lookup table based on the digital communication, such that the second lookup table matches the first lookup table.
14. 14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the first lookup table and the second lookup table comprise ADC buckets associated with the digital values.
15. 15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein decoding the digital values comprises referencing the second lookup table to determine measurement values.
16. 16 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising: transmitting, by the server system, an acknowledgement of the adjusted gain of the ADC.
17. 17 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the adjusted gain of the ADC is proportional to a multiple of a standard deviation of the digital values.
18. 18 . A method of electricity usage monitoring comprising: receiving, by a server system, from an electricity usage monitor, a digital communication comprising a plurality of readings captured by the electricity usage monitor converted into digital values by an analog-digital converter (ADC) of the electricity usage monitor; determining a standard deviation of the plurality of readings, based on the digital values; adjusting a gain of the ADC based on the standard deviation; and transmitting, to the electricity usage monitor, the adjusted gain of the ADC.
19. 19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising decoding, by the server system, the digital values using the adjusted gain of the ADC.
20. 20 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising receiving an acknowledgement indicating that the gain has been adjusted at a remote computing device based on the standard deviation before the adjusting the gain of the ADC at the server system.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/949,070, entitled SELF-TUNING CURRENT TRANSFORMER, filed Sep. 20, 2022, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/261,401, entitled RELATIVE ADAPTIVE DECODING OR SELF-TUNING CURRENT TRANSFORMER, filed Sep. 20, 2021, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure is directed to methods and devices that measure electrical properties of a conductor and report those measurements, and more particularly to monitoring methods and devices that self-tune to enhance resolution of measurement reporting. BACKGROUND Monitoring electricity usage can provide better information about energy consumption to help manage critical assets, mitigate unnecessary energy or equipment loss, and improve overall efficiencies (saving money and conserving valuable resources). Monitoring electricity can also facilitate understanding and insights of energy consumption by different portions of a given electrical system (e.g., individual units of a multi-unit apartment complex). The enhanced information obtained through monitoring electricity usage can enhance decision making. Better information can improve decisions. Electricity monitoring devices that communicate monitoring information (measurement information) wirelessly and/or over a communication network such as the Internet can significantly enhance available information. The proliferation of the Internet-of-Things (IOT) has included proliferation of such electricity monitoring devices that communicate monitoring information wirelessly. In order to transmit an electrical measurement, an electrical monitoring device may utilize an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to convert the analog reading to a digital value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 depicts an electrical system including electrical monitoring, in accordance with one or more embodiments. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a housing of a split-core current transformer, according to one embodiment. FIG. 3 is an example lookup table (LUT) associated with an analog-digital converter (ADC) of a self-tuning current-monitoring device, according to one embodiment. FIG. 4 is another example LUT associated with an analog-digital converter (ADC) of a self-tuning current-monitoring device, according to one embodiment. FIG. 5 is yet another example LUT associated with an analog-digital converter (ADC) of a self-tuning current-monitoring device, according to one embodiment. FIG. 6 is an example LUT centered on a mean current reading and associated with an ADC of a self-tuning current-monitoring device. FIG. 7 is another example LUT centered on a mean current reading and associated with an ADC of a self-tuning current-monitoring device. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a process for adjusting a gain of an analog-digital converter (ADC) of an electricity usage monitor, according to one embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process for monitoring electricity, according to another embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for adjusting a gain of an ADC of an electricity usage monitor, according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Active electrical monitoring requires less than 2% error in order to be “revenue grade.” Reporting accuracy at this level usually requires high precision data with numbers represented with multiple positions beyond the decimal point (for KW or KWh). Devices according to the present disclosure and/or devices implementing methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure can measure Amp-hour data in nano-Amp-hours and milli-Amp-hours across a wide range of current values. For example, an electricity monitoring device may be capable of measuring current from 0 to 4000 amps. However, covering such a large range of current values may result in coarse measurements. The present disclosure is directed to devices, methods, and techniques to automatically tune an electricity monitoring device to provide accurate current measurements with fine granularity, and to do so across a wide range of current values. FIG. 1 depicts an electrical system 100 including electrical monitoring, in accordance with one or more embodiments. The electrical system 100 may include or otherwise involve an electrical grid 10. A station 12 (e.g., a substation) interconnects to the electrical grid 10 at one or more electrical mains 11. The station 12 provides utility electricity service to one or more consumers (e.g., customers), such as an industrial consumer 30, a commercial or high-density residential consumer 32, and/or a residential consumer 34, via service lines 14, 16, 18. (A transformer 20 may be interposed to step down a voltage on service line 18 for delivery over a service drop line 22 to the residential consumer 34). Electricity monitoring devices 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e, 110f, 110g, 110h, 110k (collectively electricit