Test pulses for enabling revenue testable panel meters

Abstract

A panel meter including an energy test pulse device that enables the panel meter to be used for revenue applications and eliminates the need for two separate meters, one for panel indication, and the other for energy and revenue applications. The electrical panel meter including at least one sensor configured for measuring an electrical parameter; at least one analog-to-digital converter coupled to the at least one sensor for converting the measured electrical parameter to a digital signal; a display for continuously displaying at least one electrical parameter; a processor configured to receive the digital signal and calculate an amount of energy consumed; and a test pulse circuit configured to receive the calculated amount and generate a plurality of pulses equal to the calculated amount, wherein each of the plurality of pulses is equal to a predetermined amount of energy.

1 . A panel power monitoring device comprising:
 three current sensors configured for measuring current on each of three phases of an electrical distribution system;   three voltage sensors configured for measuring voltage on each of three phases of the electrical distribution system;   six analog-to-digital converters for converting the measured electrical parameters to digital signals, each analog-to-digital converter coupled to one of the three current sensors and three voltage sensors;   a display for continuously displaying at least one electrical parameter; and   a processing module configured to receive the digital signals and calculate an amount of energy consumed,   wherein the six analog-to-digital converters and the processing module are disposed on a single integrated circuit.   
   
   
       2 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein each of the six analog-to-digital converters has 24 bit resolution. 
   
   
       3 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein each of the six analog-to-digital converters has a sampling rate of at least 400 samples per cycle. 
   
   
       4 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein the integrated circuit further comprises a SPI serial interface for outputting the calculated energy consumed. 
   
   
       5 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein the display is configured to continuously and simultaneously display at least three electrical parameters. 
   
   
       6 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein the display further comprising a % load bar display. 
   
   
       7 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein the display is a touch screen. 
   
   
       8 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein the display is a liquid crystal display (LCD). 
   
   
       9 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , furthering comprising audible producing means for alerting of alarms. 
   
   
       10 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , further comprising a communication device for enabling communications to other meters and at least one computing device via at least one communication protocol. 
   
   
       11 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one communication protocol is Modbus, Modbus RTU or DNP. 
   
   
       12 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 1 , wherein the panel metering device is configured to wirelessly communicate to a computing device. 
   
   
       13 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 12 , wherein the wireless communication is performed by an optical port located on the front face of the meter. 
   
   
       14 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 13 , wherein the optical port operates according to at least one IrDA protocol. 
   
   
       15 . An panel power monitoring device comprising:
 a housing including a front face panel configured to facilitate mounting of the panel power monitoring device in a cut-out of an indication panel;   three current sensors configured for measuring current on each of three phases of an electrical distribution system;   three voltage sensors configured for measuring voltage on each of three phases of the electrical distribution system;   six analog-to-digital converters for converting the measured electrical parameters to digital signals, each analog-to-digital converter coupled to one of the three current sensors and three voltage sensors;   a processing module configured to receive the digital signals, calculate an amount of energy consumed for revenue metering and calculate the percent of load on the electrical system at the point of measurement, wherein the six analog-to-digital converters and the processing module are disposed on a single integrated circuit; and   a display disposed on the front face panel of the housing for continuously displaying at least one electrical parameter,   wherein the display further comprising a % load bar display for continuously displaying the calculated percent of load on the electrical system at the point of measurement.   
   
   
       16 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 15 , wherein the display is configured to continuously and simultaneously display at least three electrical parameters. 
   
   
       17 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 16 , wherein the panel power monitoring device is configured to wirelessly communicate to a computing device. 
   
   
       18 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 17 , wherein the wireless communication is performed by an optical port located on the front face panel. 
   
   
       19 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 18 , wherein the optical port operates according to at least one IrDA protocol. 
   
   
       20 . The panel power monitoring device of  claim 19 , further comprising a light emitting diode (LED) located on the front face panel configured for emitting light pulses equal to a predetermined amount of energy accumulated for verifying the accuracy of the panel power monitoring device with an external reference standard device.