Patent Grant
11686594
The present disclosure relates generally to intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) and, in particular, to devices, systems and methods for a cloud-based meter management system.
Monitoring of electrical energy by consumers and providers of electric power is a fundamental function within any electric power distribution system. Electrical energy may be monitored for purposes of usage, equipment performance and power quality. Electrical parameters that may be monitored include volts, amps, watts, vars, power factor, harmonics, kilowatt hours, kilovar hours and any other power related measurement parameters. Typically, measurement of the voltage and current at a location within the electric power distribution system may be used to determine the electrical parameters for electrical energy flowing through that location.
Devices that perform monitoring of electrical energy may be electromechanical devices, such as, for example, a residential billing meter or may be an intelligent electronic device (“TED”). Intelligent electronic devices typically include some form of a processor. In general, the processor is capable of using the measured voltage and current to derive the measurement parameters. The processor operates based on a software configuration. A typical consumer or supplier of electrical energy may have many intelligent electronic devices installed and operating throughout their operations. TEDs may be positioned along the supplier's distribution path or within a customer's internal distribution system. TEDs include revenue electric watt-hour meters, protection relays, programmable logic controllers, remote terminal units, fault recorders and other devices used to monitor and/or control electrical power distribution and consumption. TEDs are widely available that make use of memory and microprocessors to provide increased versatility and additional functionality. Such functionality includes the ability to communicate with remote computing systems, either via a direct connection, e.g., a modem, a wireless connection or a network. TEDs also include legacy mechanical or electromechanical devices that have been retrofitted with appropriate hardware and/or software allowing integration with the power management system.
Typically, an TED is associated with a particular load or set of loads that are drawing electrical power from the power distribution system. The TED may also be capable of receiving data from or controlling its associated load. Depending on the type of TED and the type of load it may be associated with, the TED implements a power management function that is able to respond to a power management command and/or generate power management data. Power management functions include measuring power consumption, controlling power distribution such as a relay function, monitoring power quality, measuring power parameters such as phasor components, voltage or current, controlling power generation facilities, computing revenue, controlling electrical power flow and load shedding, or combinations thereof.
In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, there are provided herein devices, methods and systems for a cloud-based meter management system. The cloud-based meter management system of the present disclosure enables one or more client devices to seamlessly and efficiently manage a plurality of meters or intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) disposed throughout various locations.
In one embodiment, a cloud-based meter management system is provided including at least one meter manager module that collects meter log data from at least one meter and sends the collected meter log data to at least one server via a predetermined format; the at least one server receives and stores the collected meter log data from the at least one meter manager module; and at least one client device that accesses the at least one server to view the meter log data.
In one aspect, the system further includes at least one network enabled meter that sends meter log data to the at least one server via the predetermined format.
In another aspect, the predetermined format is JSON data format.
In a further aspect, the predetermined format is at least of a XML and/or HTML.
In yet another aspect, the at least one server includes a web server for providing a user interface to the at least one client device.
In one aspect, the at least one server includes at least one REST web service that receives at least one request from the at least one client device and provide a response to the at least one request.
In another aspect, the at least one REST web service further receives the collected meter log data from the at least one meter manager module for storage in at least one database.
In still another aspect, the at least one server is configured for autoscaling to add at least one additional server when an increased load of data sent to the at least one server exceeds a predetermined limit.
In another aspect, the system further includes at least one load balancer for distributing the sent data among the at least one server and the at least one additional server.
In a further aspect, the system further includes a message broker for routing communications between the at least one web server, the at least REST web service and the at least one database.
In another aspect of the present disclosure, the system further includes at least one consumer that performs at least one of collecting calls from the at least one REST web service, sending the calls to the at least one database and/or returning data from the at least one database.
In one aspect, the at least one consumer includes a push consumer that captures sent data from the message broker and stores the sent data in the at least one database.
In another aspect, the at least one consumer includes a metadata consumer that receives at least one request from the message broker, sends the at least one request to the at least one database and sends at least one response for presentation on a web site hosted by the at least one server.
In still another aspect, the at least one server generates a key upon registration of a user, wherein the generated key is associated to the at least one meter of the registered user.
In a further aspect, the at least one server verifies the sent data received from the at least one meter via the generated key.
In yet another aspect, the at least one server determines if the sent meter log data from the at least one meter manager module exceeds a predetermined limit and, if the predetermined limit is exceeded, the at least one server excludes the data from being stored in the at least one database.
In one aspect, the at least one server records a count and associated time of day when the data was excluded.
In another aspect, the at least one server presents the count and associated time of day of the excluded data to at least one user via a web page.
In a further aspect, the meter log data includes waveform data, the waveform data including at least one of Trigger Cause, Trigger Time, Recording Start Time, Time per sample, Total duration, Samples per cycle, List of samples per channel and/or List of RMS values for the cycle at the time of the trigger, and the at least one server is further configured send a single waveform recording to the at least one client device in response to a query.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a cloud-based meter management system includes at least one web service enabled meter that pushes meter log data to at least one server via a predetermined format; at least one meter manager module that collects meter log data from at least one non-web service meter and pushes the collected meter log data to the at least one server via the predetermined format; the at least one server receives and stores pushed meter log data from the at least one web service enabled meter and the collected meter log data from the at least one meter manager module; and at least one client device that accesses the at least one server to view the meter log data.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from a consideration of the following Detailed Description considered in conjunction with the drawing Figures, in which:
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the present disclosure in unnecessary detail. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any configuration or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other configurations or designs. Herein, the phrase “coupled” is defined to mean directly connected to or indirectly connected with through one or more intermediate components. Such intermediate components may include both hardware and software based components.
It is further noted that, unless indicated otherwise, all functions described herein may be performed in either hardware or software, or some combination thereof. In one embodiment, however, the functions are performed by at least one processor, such as a computer or an electronic data processor, digital signal processor or embedded micro-controller, in accordance with code, such as computer program code, software, and/or integrated circuits that are coded to perform such functions, unless indicated otherwise.
It should be appreciated that the present disclosure can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, a device, a method, or a computer readable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or a computer network where program instructions are sent over optical or electronic communication links. Additionally, it is to be appreciated that in the drawings any line connecting components, devices, method steps, blocks, etc. that is illustrated as a single headed arrow, i.e., to indicate one way direction, may be interchangeable and/or replaced with a double headed arrow, i.e., to indicate two-way direction.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As used herein, intelligent electronic devices (“IEDs”) can be any device that senses electrical parameters and computes data including, but not limited to, Programmable Logic Controllers (“PLC's”), Remote Terminal Units (“RTU's”), electric power meters, panel meters, protective relays, fault recorders, phase measurement units, serial switches, smart input/output devices and other devices which are coupled with power distribution networks to manage and control the distribution and consumption of electrical power. A meter is a device that records and measures power events, power quality, current, voltage waveforms, harmonics, transients and other power disturbances. Revenue accurate meters (“revenue meter”) relate to revenue accuracy electrical power metering devices with the ability to detect, monitor, report, quantify and communicate power quality information about the power that they are metering.
The IED 100 of
The plurality of sensors 112 sense electrical parameters, e.g., voltage and current, on incoming lines (i.e., phase A, phase B, phase C, neutral N) of an electrical power distribution system 111 e.g., an electrical circuit, that are coupled to at least one load 113 that consumes the power provided. In one embodiment, the sensors 112 will include current transformers and potential transformers, wherein one current transformer and one voltage transformer will be coupled to each phase of the incoming power lines. A primary winding of each transformer will be coupled to the incoming power lines and a secondary winding of each transformer will output a voltage representative of the sensed voltage and current. The output of each transformer will be coupled to the A/D converters 114 configured to convert the analog output voltage from the transformer to a digital signal that can be processed by the CPU 150, DSP1160, DSP2170, FPGA 180 or any combination thereof.
A/D converters 114 are respectively configured to convert an analog voltage output to a digital signal that is transmitted to a gate array, such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) 180. The digital signal is then transmitted from the FPGA 180 to the CPU 150 and/or one or more DSP processors 160, 170 to be processed in a manner to be described below.
The CPU 150 or DSP Processors 160, 170 are configured to operatively receive digital signals from the A/D converters 114 (see
The power supply 116 provides power to each component of the IED 100. In one embodiment, the power supply 116 is a transformer with its primary windings coupled to the incoming power distribution lines and having windings to provide a nominal voltage, e.g., 5 VDC, +12 VDC and −12 VDC, at its secondary windings. In other embodiments, power may be supplied from an independent power source to the power supply 116. For example, power may be supplied from a different electrical circuit or an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).
In one embodiment, the power supply 116 can be a switch mode power supply in which the primary AC signal will be converted to a form of DC signal and then switched at high frequency, such as, for example, 100 Khz, and then brought through a transformer to step the primary voltage down to, for example, 5 Volts AC. A rectifier and a regulating circuit would then be used to regulate the voltage and provide a stable DC low voltage output. Other embodiments, such as, but not limited to, linear power supplies or capacitor dividing power supplies are also contemplated.
The multimedia user interface 122 is shown coupled to the CPU 150 in
The IED 100 will support various file types including but not limited to Microsoft Windows Media Video files (.wmv), Microsoft Photo Story files (.asf), Microsoft Windows Media Audio files (.wma), MP3 audio files (.mp3), JPEG image files (.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .jfif), MPEG movie files (.mpeg, .mpg, .mpe, .m1v, .mp2v .mpeg2), Microsoft Recorded TV Show files (.dvr-ms), Microsoft Windows Video files (.avi) and Microsoft Windows Audio files (.wav).
The IED 100 further comprises a volatile memory 118 and a non-volatile memory 120. In addition to storing audio and/or video files, volatile memory 118 will store the sensed and generated data for further processing and for retrieval when called upon to be displayed at the IED 100 or from a remote location. The volatile memory 118 includes internal storage memory, e.g., random access memory (RAM), and the non-volatile memory 120 includes removable memory such as magnetic storage memory; optical storage memory, e.g., the various types of CD and DVD media; solid-state storage memory, e.g., a CompactFlash card, a Memory Stick, SmartMedia card, MultiMediaCard (MMC), SD (Secure Digital) memory; or any other memory storage that exists currently or will exist in the future. By utilizing removable memory, an IED can be easily upgraded as needed. Such memory will be used for storing historical trends, waveform captures, event logs including time-stamps and stored digital samples for later downloading to a client application, web-server or PC application.
In a further embodiment, the IED 100 will include a communication device 124, also known as a network interface, for enabling communications between the IED or meter, and a remote terminal unit, programmable logic controller and other computing devices, microprocessors, a desktop computer, laptop computer, other meter modules, etc. The communication device 124 may be a modem, network interface card (NIC), wireless transceiver, etc. The communication device 124 will perform its functionality by hardwired and/or wireless connectivity. The hardwire connection may include but is not limited to hard wire cabling e.g., parallel or serial cables, RS232, RS485, USB cable, Firewire (1394 connectivity) cables, Ethernet, and the appropriate communication port configuration. The wireless connection may operate under any of the various wireless protocols including but not limited to BLUETOOTH® interconnectivity, infrared connectivity, radio transmission connectivity including computer digital signal broadcasting and reception commonly referred to as Wi-Fi or 802.11.X (where x denotes the type of transmission), satellite transmission or any other type of communication protocols, communication architecture or systems currently existing or to be developed for wirelessly transmitting data including spread spectrum 900 MHz, or other frequencies, Zigbee, WiFi, or any mesh enabled wireless communication.
The IED 100 may communicate to a server or other computing device via the communication device 124. The IED 100 may be connected to a communications network, e.g., the Internet, by any means, for example, a hardwired or wireless connection, such as dial-up, hardwired, cable, DSL, satellite, cellular, PCS, wireless transmission (e.g., 802.11a/b/g), etc. It is to be appreciated that the network may be a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet or any network that couples a plurality of computers to enable various modes of communication via network messages. Furthermore, the server will communicate using various protocols such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc. and secure protocols such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), Internet Protocol Security Protocol (IPSec), Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Protocol, etc. The server may further include a storage medium for storing a data received from at least one IED or meter and/or storing data to be retrieved by the IED or meter.
In an additional embodiment, the IED 100 may also have the capability of not only digitizing waveforms, but storing the waveform and transferring that data upstream to a central computer, e.g., a remote server, when an event occurs such as a voltage surge or sag or a current short circuit. This data may be triggered and captured on an event, stored to memory, e.g., non-volatile RAM, and additionally transferred to a host computer within the existing communication infrastructure either immediately in response to a request from a remote device or computer to receive said data in response to a polled request. The digitized waveform will also allow the CPU 150 to compute other electrical parameters such as harmonics, magnitudes, symmetrical components and phasor analysis. Using the harmonics, the IED 100 will also calculate dangerous heating conditions and can provide harmonic transformer derating based on harmonics found in the current waveform.
In a further embodiment, the IED 100 will execute an e-mail client and will send e-mails to the utility or to the customer direct on an occasion that a power quality event occurs. This allows utility companies to dispatch crews to repair the condition. The data generated by the meters are used to diagnose the cause of the condition. The data is transferred through the infrastructure created by the electrical power distribution system. The email client will utilize a POP3 or other standard mail protocol. A user will program the outgoing mail server and email address into the meter. An exemplary embodiment of said metering is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,751,563, which all contents thereof are incorporated by reference herein.
The techniques of the present disclosure can be used to automatically maintain program data and provide field wide updates upon which IED firmware and/or software can be upgraded. An event command can be issued by a user, on a schedule or by digital communication that will trigger the IED 100 to access a remote server and obtain the new program code. This will ensure that program data will also be maintained allowing the user to be assured that all information is displayed identically on all units.
It is to be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware, special purpose processors, or a combination thereof. The IED 10 also includes an operating system and micro instruction code. The various processes and functions described herein may either be part of the micro instruction code or part of an application program (or a combination thereof) which is executed via the operating system.
It is to be further understood that because some of the constituent system components and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures may be implemented in software, or firmware, the actual connections between the system components (or the process steps) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present disclosure is programmed. Given the teachings of the present disclosure provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present disclosure.
Furthermore, it is to be appreciated that the components and devices of the IED 10 of
In other embodiment, the IED 100 may be configured as a socket meter 220, also known as a S-base type meter or type S meter, as shown in
In a further embodiment, the IED 100 of
In yet another embodiment, the IED 100 of
It is to be appreciated that other housings and mounting schemes, e.g., circuit breaker mounted, are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
It is to be appreciated that are at least two basic types of networks, based on the communication patterns between the machines: client/server networks and peer-to-peer networks. On a client/server network, every computer, device or IED has a distinct role: that of either a client or a server. A server is designed to share its resources among the client computers on the network. A dedicated server computer often has faster processors, more memory, and more storage space than a client because it might have to service dozens or even hundreds of users at the same time. High-performance servers typically use from two to eight processors (and that's not counting multi-core CPUs), have many gigabytes of memory installed, and have one or more server-optimized network interface cards (NICs), RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Drives) storage consisting of multiple drives, and redundant power supplies. Servers often run a special network OS—such as Windows Server, Linux, or UNIX—that is designed solely to facilitate the sharing of its resources. These resources can reside on a single server or on a group of servers. When more than one server is used, each server can “specialize” in a particular task (file server, print server, fax server, email server, and so on) or provide redundancy (duplicate servers) in case of server failure. For demanding computing tasks, several servers can act as a single unit through the use of parallel processing. A client device typically communicates only with servers, not with other clients. A client system may be a standard PC that is running an OS such as Windows, Linux, etc. Current OSes contain client software that enables the client computers to access the resources that servers share. Older OSes, such as Windows 3.x and DOS, required add-on network client software to join a network. By contrast, on a peer-to-peer network, every computer or device is equal and can communicate with any other computer or device on the network to which it has been granted access rights. Essentially, every computer or device on a peer-to-peer network can function as both a server and a client; any computer or device on a peer-to-peer network is considered a server if it shares a printer, a folder, a drive, or some other resource with the rest of the network. Note that the actual networking hardware (interface cards, cables, and so on) is the same in client/server versus peer-to-peer networks, it is only the logical organization, management and control of the network that varies.
A client may comprise any computing device, such as a server 390, mainframe, workstation, personal computer 391, 392, hand held computer, laptop telephony device, network appliance, an IED 310, Programmable Logic Controller, Power Meter, Protective Relay etc. The client may include system memory, which may be implemented in volatile and/or non-volatile devices, and one or more client applications which may execute in the system memory. Such client applications may include, for example, FTP client applications. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is an application for transfer of files between computers attached to Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) networks, including the Internet. FTP is a “client/server” application, such that a user runs a program on one computer system, the “client”, which communicates with a program running on another computer system, the “server”. In one embodiment, IED 310 includes at least an FTP server.
While FTP file transfer comprises one embodiment for encapsulating files to improve a data transfer rate from an IED to external clients, the present disclosure contemplates the use of other file transfer protocols, such as the Ethernet protocol such as HTTP or TCP/IP for example. Of course, other Ethernet protocols are contemplated for use by the present disclosure. For example, for the purpose of security and firewall access, it may be preferable to utilize HTTP file encapsulation as opposed to sending the data via FTP. In other embodiments, data can be attached as an email and sent via SMTP, for example. Such a system is described in a co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,751,563, titled “Electronic Energy meter”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In the U.S. Pat. No. 6,751,563, at least one processor of the IED or meter is configured to collect the at least one parameter and generate data from the sampled at least one parameter, wherein the at least one processor is configured to act as a server for the IED or meter and is further configured for presenting the collected and generated data in the form of web pages, as will be described in relation to
IED 310 includes a digital sampler 320 for digitally sampling the voltage and current of the power being supplied to a customer or monitored at the point of the series connection in the power grid. Digital sampler 320 digitally samples the voltage and current and performs substantially similar to the A/D converters 114 described above in relation to
A web server program (web server) is contained in memory 360, and accessed through network interface 370. The web server provides real time data through any known web server interface format. For example, popular web server interface formats consist of HTML and XML formats. The actual format of the programming language used is not essential to the present disclosure, in that any web server format can be incorporated herein. The web server provides a user friendly interface for the user to interact with the meter 310. The user can have various access levels to enter limits for e-mail alarms. Additionally, the user can be provided the data in a multiple of formats including raw data, bar graph, charts, etc. The currently used HTML or XML programming languages provide for easy programming and user-friendly user interfaces.
The processor 330 formats the processed data into various network protocols and formats. The protocols and formats can, for example, consist of the web server HTML or XML formats, Modbus TCP, RS-485, FTP or e-mail. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) can also be used to assign IP addresses. The network formatted data is now available to users at computers 390-392 through network 302, that connects to meter 310 at the network interface 370. In one embodiment, network interface 370 is an Ethernet interface that supports, for example, 100 base-T or 10 base-T communications. This type of network interface can send and receive data packets between WAN connections and/or LAN connections and the meter 310. This type of network interface allows for situations, for example, where the web server may be accessed by one user while another user is communicating via the Modbus TCP, and a third user may be downloading a stored data file via FTP. The ability to provide access to the meter by multiple users, simultaneously, is a great advantage over the prior art. This can allow for a utility company's customer service personnel, a customer and maintenance personnel to simultaneously and interactively monitor and diagnose possible problems with the power service.
Although the above described embodiments enable users outside of the network the IED or meter is residing on to access the internal memory or server of the IED or meter, IT departments commonly block this access through a firewall to avoid access by dangerous threats into corporate networks. A firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network, e.g., an internal network of a building, a corporate network, etc. Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria. A firewall may employ one or more of the following techniques to control the flow of traffic in and of the network it is protecting: 1) packet filtering: looks at each packet entering or leaving the network and accepts or rejects it based on user-defined rules; 2) Application gateway: applies security mechanisms to specific applications, such as FTP and Telnet servers; 3) Circuit-level gateway: applies security mechanisms when a TCP or UDP connection is established, once the connection has been made, packets can flow between the hosts without further checking; 4) Proxy server: intercepts all messages entering and leaving the network, effectively hides the true network addresses; and 5) Stateful inspection: doesn't examine the contents of each packet but instead compares certain key parts of the packet to a database of trusted information, if the comparison yields a reasonable match, the information is allowed through, otherwise it is discarded. Other techniques and to be developed techniques are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides for overcoming the problem of not being allowed firewall access to an IED or meter installed within a facility, i.e., the meter is residing on a private network, by enabling an IED to initiate one way communication through the firewall. In this embodiment, the IED or meter posts the monitored and generated data on an Internet site external to the corporate or private network, i.e., on the other side of a firewall. The benefit is that any user would be able to view the data on any computer or web enabled smart device without having to pierce or bypass the firewall. Additionally, there is a business opportunity to host this data on a web server and charge a user a monthly fee for hosting the data. The features of this embodiment can be incorporated into any telemetry application including vending, energy metering, telephone systems, medical devices and any application that requires remotely collecting data and posting it on to a public Internet web site.
In one embodiment, the IED or metering device will communicate through the firewall using a protocol such as HTTP via a port that is open through the firewall. Referring to
The communication device or network interface of the meter (as described above in relation to
The server 524 will provide instructions in computer and/or human readable format to the IED or meter. For instance, the web server 524 might have XML tags that state in computer readable format to provide data for the last hour on energy consumption by 15 minute intervals. The meter 510, 512, 514 will then read those instructions on that web server 524 and then post that data up on the server 524. In this manner, the IED or meter initiates communication in one direction, e.g., an outbound direction, to the server 524.
Another server (or can be in one server) will read the data that the meter 510, 512, 514 posts and will format the meter data into data that can be viewed for humans on a web site or a software application, i.e., UI Server 526. Servers 524, 526 can also store the data in a database or perform or execute various control commands on the data. Clients 528 may access the IED data stored or posted on servers 524, 526 via a connection to the network 522.
Since the meters are only communicating in an outbound direction only, the meters 510, 512, 514 can read data or instructions from an external network application (e.g., server 524), the external network application cannot request information directly from the meter. The server 524 posts the data or instructions on the web site and waits for the meter to check the site to see if there has been a new post, i.e., new instructions for the meter. The meter can be programmed at the user's discretion as to frequency for which the meter 510, 512, 514 exits out to the external network to view the postings.
The meter instruction server 524 will post instructions in a directory programmed/located on the server or into XML or in any fashion that the meter is configured to understand and then the meter will post whatever data it is instructed to do. The meter can also be configured to accomplish control commands. In addition to the meter instruction server 524, a user interface (UI) server 526 is provided that can be used to enable a user interface to the user. The user can provide input on the UI server 526 that might trigger the meter instruction server 524 to produce a message to control the energy next time the meter reads that server.
In another embodiment, the TED or metering device will communicate through the firewall using a server (not shown) disposed on an internal network protected by a firewall. In this embodiment, the server aggregates data from the various IEDs 510, 512, 514 coupled to the internal or private network 516. Since the server and the IEDs 510, 512, 514 are all on the same side of the firewall 518, generally communications and data transfers among the server and the IEDs 510, 512, 514 is unrestricted. The server then communicates or transfers the data from the IEDs to server 524 on the external network on the other side of the firewall 518. The communication between server on the internal network and server 524 may be accomplished by any one of the communication means or protocols described in the present disclosure. The server 524 then posts the data from the IEDs 510, 512, 514 making the data accessible to clients 528 on external networks, as described above.
In a further embodiment, the server disposed on the internal network communicates or transfers the data from the IEDs to clients 528 on the external network on the other side of the firewall 518, without the need to transfer or pass data to a server on the external network.
In another embodiment, each IED 510, 512, 514 may be configured to act as a server to perform the functionality described above obviating the need for a separate server.
Furthermore, in another embodiment, each IED 510, 512, 514 and each client device 528 may be configured as a server to create a peer-to-peer network, token ring or a combination of any such topology.
The systems and methods of the present disclosure may utilize one or more protocols and/or communication techniques including, but not limited to, e-mail, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), HTTP tunneling, SNTP trap, MSN, messenger, IRQ, Twitter™, Bulletin Board System (BBS), forums, Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP) broadcast, UDP unicast, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), etc. Common chat protocols, such as MSN, AIM, IRQ, IRC, and Skype, could be used to send a message, containing the meter's data, to a public chat server which could then route that message to any desired client. A public social server that supports a common web interface for posting information, such as Twitter™, Facebook™, BBS's, could be used to post a status, containing the meter's data, to a user on the public social server for that service, e.g., server 440, 540, 640. This post could then be viewed by the clients to see the meter's data, or read by another server for further parsing and presentation. Hosted data services, such as a hosted database, cloud data storage, Drop-Box, or web service hosting, could be used as an external server to store the meter's data, called Hosting. Each of these Hosts, e.g., server 540, could then be accessed by the clients to query the Hosted Data.
In another embodiment, the IEDs can communicate to devices using Generic Object Oriented Substation Event (GOOSE) messages, as defined by the IEC-61850 standard, the content of which are herein incorporated by reference. A GOOSE message is a user-defined set of data that is “published” on detection of a change in any of the contained data items sensed or calculated by the IED. Any IED or device on the LAN or network that is interested in the published data can “subscribe” to the publisher's GOOSE message and subsequently use any of the data items in the message as desired. As such, GOOSE is known as a Publish-Subscribe message. With binary values, change detect is a False-to-True or True-to-False transition. With analog measurements, IEC61850 defines a “deadband” whereby if the analog value changes greater than the deadband value, a GOOSE message with the changed analog value is sent. In situation where changes of state are infrequent, a “keep alive” message is periodically sent by the publisher to detect a potential failure. In the keepalive message, there is a data item that indicates “The NEXT GOOSE will be sent in XX Seconds” (where XX is a userdefinable time). If the subscriber fails to receive a message in the specified time frame, it can set an alarm to indicate either a failure of the publisher or the communication network.
The GOOSE message obtains high-performance by creating a mapping of the transmitted information directly onto an Ethernet data frame. There is no Internet Protocol (IP) address and no Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). For delivery of the GOOSE message, an Ethernet address known as a Multicast address is used. A Multicast address is normally delivered to all devices on a Local Area Network (LAN). Many times, the message is only meant for a few devices and doesn't need to be delivered to all devices on the LAN. To minimize Ethernet traffic, the concept of a “Virtual” LAN or VLAN is employed. To meet the reliability criteria of the IEC-61850, the GOOSE protocol automatically repeats messages several times without being asked. As such, if the first GOOSE message gets lost (corrupted), there is a very high probability that the next message or the next or the next will be properly received.
The above-described devices, systems and methods enable a cloud-based meter management system, which will be described in greater detail below.
Referring to
The meter cloud system 600, at its most basic, stores meter log data 612 in the cloud, i.e., a meter cloud server 602, so that it is accessible by a web client 608. To achieve this, meter log data 612 is uploaded to the meter cloud server 602 directly by a Meter Cloud Enabled Meter 606, or by a Meter Manager module or software 614 executing on a processor of a computing device (e.g., a server, as will be described below) using log data retrieved from a meter 604. The Meter Cloud Server 602 then stores that data and provides the data to a user with a web browser client 608 when requested.
The techniques of the present disclosure enable the following features: upload meter log data 612 to the Meter Cloud Server 602 using a JSON log data format (or any other suitable format); preform Registration and Unregistration of meters 604, 606, associating meters 604, 606 with the correct customer in the process, simplifying the registration process for the user; provide list to easily identify which meters 604, 606 have been registered to the cloud server 602; and provides direct links to a selected meter in the web browser client 608.
The meter cloud system 600 links meters such as meters 604, 606, log data 612, meter manager module 614, and cloud server 602 into one cohesive mesh, allowing varying levels of data to be accessible from any client 608 coupled to network 610. In one embodiment, a common WebAPI protocol links each of the components, allowing simple interchange of data. In other embodiments, the components are linked using multiple protocols.
Components of the meter cloud system 600 will now be described in more detail below.
Meter Cloud Server 602: The meter cloud server 602 provides storage and retrieval for the Meter Log Data 612, management of Users and Customers, as well as additional meta actions, such as, but not limited to, the generation of reports on the data received from meters 604, 606 (including log data 612). The Meter Cloud Server 602 of the present disclosure provides the following features: provides a Web Service for log data uploads, retrievals, security logins, and meter management; stores meter log data 612 for later retrieval by clients 608; provides user security, such that meters 604, 606 are associated with customers, and only users which have permission for that customer can view the data associated to meter or meters 604, 606; serves web resources that are displayed and can be viewed on web browser client 608; and Single Cloud software, running on the cloud server 602. Cloud server 602 collects meter information and a reduced subset of log data, stores them in a database or other storage medium, and provides a single website and web services that a web client, e.g., 608, can execute and use to query and display the meter data for their location. Meters 604, 606 are organized by customer and location, and log data is pushed up to the cloud server 602 (via web services) by the meter manager module 614 (which provides data from meters 604) and web service enabled meters 606.
Meter Manager Module 614: Meter Manager Module 614 plays two roles in the Meter Cloud system 600. First, it collects meter log data 612 from non-web service enabled meters 604, and pushes the compatible data up to the Cloud server 602. Secondly, it provides full access to the data of meters 604 via its own set of web services, using the same protocols as the Cloud server 602. The web services including registration, upload, and query. To enable this, the Meter Manager Module 614 employs a WebAPI RPC control structure, extended to provide a WebAPI Log Service to log data, as well as including cloud configuration and management tools.
Meter 604: For non-web service enabled meters 604, the meter manager module 614 will perform log collection and upload to the Cloud server 602.
Meter Cloud Enabled Meter 606: Certain meters of the present disclosure are configured to register and upload their own logs to the meter cloud server 602 using a JSON log data format, on an interval, i.e., are configured to push data up to the Cloud server 602 directly (e.g., using at least one processor and at least one communication module), using the same protocol as the meter manager module 614. The meters 606 may perform this automatically, following an initial commissioning phase, that enables the meter for integration with the cloud server 602.
Web Browser Client 608: A web browser client 608 executes and displays the main Meter Cloud User Interface (UI) for managing meters, users, and viewing meter data. The UI is presented as a web page, viewed through a web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, iPhone, Android, etc., that is executed by a processor of the client 608. The web browser client 608 is configured to provide the following features via the execution and display of the Meter Cloud UI: responsive layout, allowing for both small layout browsers such as a phone, and large layout browsers; organizes meters 604, 606 by facility; provides a login page to prevent unauthorized access; provides a create new user option, where the user can create a new customer, or associate themselves with an existing one; provides user management interfaces for admin users, to assign access rights to individual users within a customer; and provides individual meter dashboards for viewing a meter's log data.
Protocol: In one embodiment, all interactions with the meter cloud server 602, including uploading data, configuring meters, and querying meter data, use a single Web API protocol, using JSON for its format. The present disclosure provides a common protocol between all components in the meter cloud system 600. The Web API uses a REST (representational state transfer) style interface, and a JSON body format and provides interfaces for: Uploading Data; Downloading Data; Querying Log Information; and Configuring Meters. In another embodiment, the interactions with meter cloud server 602 may use multiple different protocols specific to a given task or function performed between components of system 600.
Referring to the
Interior to a customer's private network, i.e., LAN 706, reside the meters 604, 606 and servers 702 which collect log data 612, and provide direct access to that data 612. The meter manager module 614 collects data from all the meters, stores full detail logs internally (e.g., in at least one memory), and uploads a reduced subset (e.g., having a predetermined and/or user-configured subset of the data stored on each meter 604, 606 that meter manager 614 determines (e.g., via user-configured preferences) is most important/useful for the user) to the cloud server 602 for consumption by Web Clients 608 on WAN 704. Additionally, it provides Web Service access to clients 708 interior to the LAN 706 using the same protocol as that used on Cloud server 602, allowing for richer clients with access to the full set of data. As shown in
The Meter Cloud System of the present disclosure enables at least, but not limited to, the following features:
It is to be appreciated that system 600 employs a network configuration that enabled load balanced data and communication flow in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, referring to
The network configuration further includes a web application firewall (WAF) 810 (described in greater detail below), logs 808 (including log data from WAF 810 and balancers 112/114/116), and storage 106 (e.g., one or more storage devices or facilities for storing logs 108 and data backups from data in server 602). All requests to any of the services, e.g., service 818, 820, 882, always go through the web application firewall (WAF) 810 first and will be blocked if the firewall has an issue with the incoming request.
The network configuration supports services 818, 820, 822, e.g., REST services. The query service 818 runs throughout the whole cloud management application and also allows application calls to other applications internal to server(s) 602, e.g., requests for data and/or logs. The push service 820 is a webservice that receives meter log data from various sources, such as, an application installed on the LAN 706 (e.g., meter manager module 614 on server 702). Push service 820 is used to upload log date from meters 604, 606 to server(s) 602. The billing service 822 is a billing and management web service of server(s) 602 that is configured to handle any billing or managements issues/matters users may have. It is to be appreciated that services 818, 820, 822 are installed on one or more servers 602 configured for autoscaling such that if the load (e.g., data pushed to server, queries or polling of the server, etc.) on one of the servers 602 is above a predetermined limit, the network and/or server 602 is configured to employ at least one additional server to accommodate for the increased load (alternatively, the network and/or server 602 further decreases the amount of servers in use when the load on the servers 602 is decreased). In one embodiment, the applications in the network configuration (e.g., such as services 818, 820, 822) are deployed on ElasticBeanStalk (i.e., a service for deploying and scaling web applications and services) and Docker (i.e., an open source tool for deploying applications).
It is to be appreciated that although only three (3) services are shown, e.g., services 818, 820, 822, it is contemplated that more than three services may be employed in system 600. As additional services are employed, additional corresponding load balancers may also be employed.
The network configuration of
The network configuration further includes a database 826 (e.g., non-relational database) configured for time series data. Database 826 stores logs from meters 604, 606 in an unstructured format. Database 826 stores History, PQ, Limit, Wave, and System Event Logs from meters 604, 606.
The network configuration further includes a databus or message broker 828, e.g., RabbitMQ™, for routing communications in multiple different protocols between components of the network configuration of
The network configuration further includes a log server 830, which logs all calls made by the webservice and store the calls in logs in server 830. The network configuration also includes consumers 834, 836, 838, 840. Consumer 834 communicates with databus 828 and collects all of the calls from query service 818 and send the calls to database 826 and returns data from the database 826. Push consumer 836 interfaces with the push server 820 and captures push data sent to databus 828 and stores the push data in database 826. Metadata consumer 838 is configured to enables anyone in the network to communication with database 832 without any knowledge about where data is stored. Metadata consumer 838 wraps all of the interactions of database 832 (and makes calls to database 826) for the website generated by server 602 and presented to client device 608. Metadata consumer 838 receives requests from databus 828, sends the requests to the appropriate database, and pushes responses to the requests from the databases to databus 828. Python consumer 840 is configured to get all of the data from the meter logs as well as weather data from a third party weather API and build out prediction models (e.g., billing predictions) that are used.
In one embodiment, database 832 is a relational database and stores data in Tables and Rows. Database 832 is used in the system for ‘structured data’ like facility information, user login/pass, customer information (first/last name, address etc.). Database 826 is a NoDB system (i.e., is known as a Time Series NoDB which is a NoDB focused on time data which is all the meter logs). A NoDB stores unstructured data which can change easily and stores it in a JSON style format. It is not as rigid as a relational database and allows for data to be stored better in the case of logs and things that are not structured. As an example, one wave file can contain 100 pieces of data, while another can contain 34, another 275 etc.
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User registration is done through a webpage provided by the cloud server 602 to a client 608. When a user registers with the cloud server 602 (e.g., via a UI displayed in a web browser of client device 608), they are given the option of creating a new customer, or joining in an existing customer's group of users. If the user creates a new customer, a unique APIKey is generated, to be used by all users of this Customer. Alternatively, when a user registers, they can join an existing customer's group of users, thus accessing that customers meters 604, 606. To join an existing customer's group, the user must acquire and enter that customer's APIKey (generated above, and provided by the user that created the customer to the user desiring to join the group), to verify (by server 602 checking a database including the customer information) they have legitimate access to this customer. Whether the user creates a customer, or joins an existing one, that APIKey is associated with that user account. This APIkey is then used by the meter data push service of server 602 to verify that the upload has legit access to the meter data being modified.
Referring to
The interaction between client devices 608, meter manager module 614, and/or web-enabled meters 606 with the components of cloud server 602 shown in the network configuration of
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In step 3412, consumer 838 sends the user data to databus 828, which sends the data to service 834, in step 3414. In step 3416, service 834 generates a token based on the user data, and, in step 3418, service 834 provides or returns to the token to the cloud UI.
In step 3420, the cloud UI uses an HTTP GET method to get the current user details (e.g., name, user ID, email address, associated client information such as an APIKEY, etc.) from service 834. Responsive to the GET method, service 834 responds with the user data requested and provides the user data to the cloud UI, in step 3422. In step 3424, the cloud UI sends an HTTP GET method to service 834 to request facility data (e.g., facility name, facility ID, facility address and other facility information) associated with meters 604, 606 in a user's fleet. In step 3426, service 834 pushes the request to databus 828, and, in step 3428, databus 828 sends to the request to consumer 838. In step 3430, consumer 838 sends a request to database 832 to determine (e.g., based on the API key and user ID associating users with particular facilities and meters) the facility associated to the user making the request. In step 3432, database 832 responds to the request by providing the facility data to consumer 838. In step 3434, based on the facility data, consumer 838 sends a request for data (e.g., a listing of the meters) associated with the meters 604, 606 at the facility determined to database 832, and, in step 3436, database returns the meter data requested to consumer 838 responsive to the request. In step 3438, consumer 838 sends a facility list with the meters 604, 606 at the particular facility (and/or all facilities for that user with their associated meters) to databus 828, and, in step 3440, databus 828 sends the facility list with the meters 604, 606 to service 834, which provides the list to the cloud UI, in step 3442.
In step 3444, cloud UI sends an HTTP GET method to service 834 to request data or statistics associated with meters 604, 606. In some embodiments the data is requested in a series of asynchronous calls. In step 3446, the request is pushed by service 834 to databus 828, and, in step 3448, databus 828 sends the request to consumer 834. In step 3450, responsive to the request consumer 834 sends a request to database 826 to get a count of events associated with the data or statics requested in step 3444. In step 3452, database 826 responds to the request and sends the count of the events to consumer 834. In step 3454, consumer sends the meter data or statistics requested in step 3444 to databus 828, databus 828 sends the meter data or statistics to service 834, in step 3456, and service 834 sends the meter data or statistics to the cloud UI, in step 3458.
In step 3460, the cloud UI sends an HTTP GET method to services 834 to request meter channel data (e.g., current, voltage, or other data measured and calculated by each meter 604, 606) relating to the meters in the list returned in step 3442. In step 3462, the request is pushed by consumer 834 to databus 828. In step 3464, databus 828 sends the request to consumer 834. In step 3466, consumer 834 sends a request for the channel data to database 826, and, in step 3468, database 826 returns the channel data to consumer 834. In step 3470, the channel data is provided by consumer 834 to databus 828. In step 3472, the channel data is provided by databus 828 to service 834. In step 3474, the channel data is provided by service 834 to the cloud UI.
It is to be appreciated that the sequence of steps 3444, 3446, 3448, 3450, 3452, 3454, 3456, 3458 may be performed several times in succession. Furthermore, it is to be appreciated that steps 3460, 3462, 3464, 3466, 3468, 3470, 3472, 3474 may be performed in parallel with steps 3444, 3446, 3448, 3450, 3452, 3454, 3456, 3458.
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In one embodiment, the web server 904 is IIS, web service handler 906 is ASP.NET, cloud server 602 is hosted on Azure and database will be SqlServer 2016. Historical channels will be stored in one table, with ˜50 pre-allocated channel fields.
In another embodiment, the Cloud Viewer uses RabbitMQ as an internal messaging queue, where the cloud server 602 is hosted on AWS (Amazon Web Services) and the database is InfluxDb.
Referring to
In one embodiment, meter cloud system 600 implements public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates. By placing a PKI certificate on each node in the system, such as the cloud server 602, individual instances of the meter manager module 614, and meters 604, 606 themselves, the meter cloud system 600 can provide a reasonably high level of confidence that each node is talking to legitimate other nodes. By placing a certificate in each meter 604, 606 (and the meter manager module 614), the cloud server 602 can verify that the meter 604, 606 is known and legitimate, preventing false or hijacked posts and queries to the server 602. Certificates can also be used to encrypt data that is transferred between the nodes, the high security transfers, such as firmware transfers, and security actions, such as logging in, and changing security parameters in meters 604, 606. Meter certificates are used to ensure that a meter 604, 606 is legitimate and allowed to interact with the cloud server 602. However, to maintain authenticity, these certificates need to be changed out periodically. This will be handled automatically by the cloud server 602, which will both provision new certificates, and retire old ones. Meter cloud systems 600 includes a certificate management UI for the system admin to review the existing certificates and trigger changes.
In one embodiment, a web application firewall (or WAF) (e.g., web application firewall 810 described above) is provided that filters, monitors, and blocks HTTP traffic to and from the meter cloud server 602. In contrast to a regular firewall, a WAF 810 filters the content of specific web applications while regular firewalls serve as a safety gate between servers. By inspecting HTTP traffic, the WAF 810 of the present disclosure may prevent attacks stemming from web application security flaws, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), file inclusion, and security misconfigurations. The WAF of the present disclosure may be deployed in front of the web applications, described herein, and analyzes bi-directional web-based (HTTP) traffic-detecting and blocking anything malicious. This functionality can be implemented in software or hardware, running in an appliance device, e.g., a client device, or in the server running a common operating system.
The WAF may be a stand-alone device or integrated into other network components. In other words, a WAF can be a virtual or physical appliance that prevents vulnerabilities in the web applications of the present disclosure from being exploited by outside threats. These vulnerabilities may be because the application itself is a legacy type or it was insufficiently coded by design. The WAF addresses these code shortcomings by special configurations of rule-sets, also known as policies.
It is to be appreciated that the WAF 810 of the present disclosure may be deployed inline in three different ways, i.e., transparent bridge, transparent reverse proxy, and reverse proxy. Transparent’ refers to the fact that the HTTP traffic is sent straight to the web application, therefore the WAF is transparent between the client and server. This is in contrast to reverse proxy, where the WAF acts as a proxy and the client's traffic is sent directly to the WAF. The WAF then separately sends filtered traffic to web applications. This provides the additional benefit of IP masking.
The meter cloud system 600 includes a system management interface (described in greater detail below) for use by system administrators (e.g., sales, engineers, admins, etc.) to view and manage the configurations and data of all customers. The system admin user is a special user type, which the meter cloud system 600 enables to access the system management webpages and configure the system on a global level. At the user management level, a user may view and configure all users registered in the system, including the ability to reset/change passwords, disable and ban users, create and delete accounts, and view a user's history. At the customer management level, a user may view and configure all customers in the system, including their billing information, billing history, and enabled features. At a meter management level, a user may view and configure all meters registered in the system, including the ability to add or remove a meter to a customer, change meter settings, and view meter data.
The meter cloud system 600 includes a security audit feature for ensuring the security of a server. Not only does it provide regulatory compliance, it can also be used for digital forensics after a breach, which can increase the confidence of customers. Additionally, it can be used to identify threat actors before they perform a breach, by identifying malicious looking activity. The security audit may be performed at the following levels:
The meter cloud system 600 provides a report generation feature (as will be described in greater detail below with respect to an energy billing module) that allows users to generate various reports, based off of selected and configurable templates, on a schedule or manually. These reports base their data off the meter data which has been stored in the server. A report template configuration UI, schedule configuration UI, and generated report viewer UI are provided. Exemplary reports include:
A Report Viewer UI is generated in cloud server 602 and provided to a client 608, which allows the user to view all the reports they have previously generated, delete old reports, and generate new ones. Storage is provided on the server for reports generated for each customer, with a time limit on age to minimize storage space requirements. A Report Configuration UI is provided, which allows the user to view, edit, and create report templates, as well as to create a list of reports to generate based on the templates. Reports are scheduled and generated by a configurable list of reports to generate, which pairs a report template, set of meters, and schedule to generate on, together.
The meter cloud system 600 provides Energy Billing by adding rate structures and bill generation as an enabled feature, based on the energy readings uploaded to the cloud server. The application of the energy billing is through, for example, the billing module, dashboards and reports. Configurable bill templates allow the user to create a number of bill generation templates, which include channels to bill off of, a schedule and duration, bill format, and rate structures to apply. A UI is provided to create, edit, list, and copy bill templates. Configurable rate structure templates allow the user to create an arbitrary number of configurable rate structures, which can then be applied to bill templates to generate bills. A UI is provided to create, edit, list, and copy rate structures. Customizable rate plugin allows for the variance in regional rate structure requirements, implement rate charges as easy to implement code plugins, with the goal of allowing tech support or software to quickly add rates on customer request, without requiring retesting the whole system.
In one embodiment, Bills are pdf reports which include a set of charges based on a rate structure template, along with basic usage history, and meta data such as customer info, provider info, and user configurable text. Customizable layouts provide the ability to customize the layout of the bill report in the report template. Many customers require alternate labels, additional text, additional fields, and different layouts, to match their expectation of a bill or invoice. User Selectable time range provides the ability to generate bills for a user selected interval, down to an hour resolution.
A Dashboard Feature (implemented by a dashboard module of server 602 described in greater detail below) provides analysis of log data, beyond just presenting the raw log data, in a set of data fields and graphs. A Custom Dashboard Panel creates a dashboard panel that can be customized by the user, to show the information they want. Options includes base dashboard type, source channels or logs, source meters, and analysis types, as appropriate to the dashboard type. Exemplary dashboard types include:
In one embodiment, Dashboard Tiles are provided which are groups of dashboard panels, where the user customizes the size and layout of each panel to suit their needs.
In another embodiment, Analysis Dashboards are a dashboard type that analyzes historical data, and provides summary information on that data, such as aggregations, avg/max/min, usage to date, sums, standard deviation, and deviation between channels. Analysis of channel applies the analysis to a single selected channel, or the aggregation of multiple channels. Analysis of Facility applies the analysis to all the meters with the selected channel at a facility, or the aggregation of all the meters at the facility.
Future Trend Prediction dashboards are a type that analyzes historical data, and provides a forecast of what will happen to that data in the near future. Trends could be expressed as a percentage likelihood of a type of event in the near future, a forecast value in the near future, or a prospective trend over the near future. Comparison dashboards are a type which provides comparisons between different ranges in time, different channels, or between different meters.
Cost dashboards are a type which applies a selected rate structure to a meter or facility, and displays a breakdown of the costs involved. Exemplary cost dashboards include:
Realtime Dashboards are a type which, instead of displaying the historical logged values of a channel, display the current values posted by the meter (or within a reasonable time frame). Exemplary real-time dashboards include:
A meter control feature allows a user to interact and control a meter, via the website. Since the cloud server cannot directly control a meter, the control is performed via a message queue which the meter (or meter manager module) periodically reads. The message queue holds, for example, instructions, commands, etc., to be read (or downloaded) and then executed by a meter. The Meter Control includes a UI interface, which provides both the ability for the user to control a feature, as well as provide feedback on the status and success of the control. A history of all control actions, and their results may be kept and displayed to the user. A Profile Update allows the user to update the profiles of meters. These updates will be put into a queue, along with a status feedback as to when those changes have been accepted, or the reason for being denied. To modify the profile, the current profile is read and stored. The current profile may be uploaded from the meter to the server, and stored along with a modification date. A Profile UI provides a UI that displays all the profile settings, and the ability to change them, e.g., request a settings change for an individual meter, request a common settings change for a group of meters and allows the user to create and store a set of profile templates, which can then be loaded into a single, or multiple, meters.
The meter control feature allows the user to perform resets of energy, demand, max/mins, and various different logs. Manual Reset requests a feature to be reset, and provide an update when it has been performed. For readings, such as energy and demand, the values must be posted to the cloud server before the reset is performed. Similarly, logs must be posted to the cloud server before the reset if performed. Additionally, the user can set up a schedule, such as once a week, or once a month, to perform a reset of a specified feature.
The server 602 is configured to keep track of the firmwares of all the meters, along with the hardware configuration, and provide recommendations to the user on what meters should be upgraded. When the user selects upgrade, the server 602 with transfer the appropriate firmwares to the meter/s in question to be upgraded. Security Updates allow the user to configure security on a meter, including configuring roles, users, and passwords. The ability to configure multiple meters with the same security configuration is included.
The meter cloud system 600 employs centralized security, for example, synchronized security between cloud and meter, such a meter login uses the same parameters as the cloud. Additionally, the meter may use a secondary query to the cloud for login, rather than storing the security internally. User Roles are provided to control feature access. Configurable user roles are added, which can then be assigned to users under a customer by the customer admin, to restrict what features and facilities a user has access to. An extension of user roles, system user roles allows system admin users have restricted access to system features, such as only having read access to all meters or configuring systems, but not allowing the deletion of users or billing information.
In one embodiment, billable extensions may be employed to restrict access to features based on whether the customer has paid for the feature. A Billable Extension Selection UI is provided by server 602 to be displayed on a client device to allow the user to enable or disable what features they want to pay for. The architecture of the system 600 is configured to restrict UI access and usage of billable features, so that they can only be used when enabled (and billed) for this customer.
Meter cloud server 602 is configured to generate and provide power quality analysis reports (e.g., in a PDF or other suitable format). The power quality analysis reports analyze power quality events including limits, power quality, and waveform events, and provide information about those events. Exemplary reports include:
Meter manager module 614 and meter cloud server 602 integration features will now be described, such as, but not limited to, integrating the user configuration, registration, and log upload of meters 604 to the Meter Cloud 602 from the meter manager module 614.
Meter manager module 614 provides a bridge for older (or legacy) meters or IEDs 604 to upload their log data 612 to the cloud server components of the meter cloud server 602. Additionally, the meter manager module 614 simplifies the registration and maintenance of multiple meters 604 with the meter cloud server 602, by automatically registering all found meters 604 with the meter cloud server 602.
The meter manager module/meter cloud integration provides four major components for the user to maintain their portion of the meter cloud system 600:
In one embodiment, the meter manager module 614 will not provide Meter Cloud configuration options, such as customer configuration, user registration, meter configuration (other than those listed), or location configuration. These features may be left to the Log Viewer Cloud web server, and links to the web pages will be provided.
Additionally, the meter manager module 614 is configured to provide some Meter Cloud Server functionality, including registering meters, receiving uploaded log data, and responding to queries for log data. This allows one meter manager module 614 to operate as a server for another device, such as a client device.
The meter manger module 614 is configured with a plurality of features, including, but not limited to, using a user's login to register meters 604, 606 and upload log data, providing links to web pages for configuring customers, locations, accounts, and meters, automatically registering all meters in the meter list to the meter cloud server 602, providing tools for the user to enable or disable a meter in the meter cloud system 600, automatically uploading log data for meters which are enabled in the meter cloud server 602, providing history and status for all registrations and log data uploads, synchronizing the meter manager module information with meter cloud information.
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The Cloud Sync Service 982 of the Meter Manager Service 980 is shown in
The Cloud Sync Service Runner (CSSR) 982 is a queue based actor, similar to the ImportRunner. The CSSR provides most interactions with the Meter Cloud for Meter Manager (the primary exception being the direct cloud config tools provided in the Monitor for editing and verifying User information).
The CSSR is configured with several features listed below:
The Cache 994 of the CSSR 980n includes several modules, such as, Meter Info UID, User Cloud Info, Current Status, and History.
Meter Info module includes features such as cloud configuration, Log Db available, and Cloud Db available. Cloud configuration keeps track of what meters have been registered with the cloud, if upload is enabled, and if the meter is enabled with the cloud. Log Db data is stored to keep track of what log data is available from the meter's log db. A refresh is triggered by log retrieval. Cloud Db data is stored to keep track of what log data has been uploaded to the meter's cloud db. A refresh is triggered by an upload.
User Cloud Info is configured to store data and keep track of the cloud configuration for the configured user, including customer info, logins, enables, locations (if available), and meter configurations.
Current Status module is configured to store data to keep track of the current status of the CSSR for the Status reporting component. The Current Status module includes a current action feature, which provides information about the current action being performed. The current action feature will be blank if the CSSR is currently idle. The Current Status module also includes a queue information feature, which provides a list of all actions that are pending in the CSSR action queue. These action do not include the currently executing action. The Current Status module also includes a Counts feature, which includes counts of actions which succeeded, failed, or were skipped because nothing needed to be done.
The History module is configured to store history of the actions which were attempted, including details on the parameters and results. The data in the History module is kept as an in memory queue of 1000 items.
The Meter Manager Service 980 further includes a Log Server, which provides access to the Log Databases for the meters, both to read data, and to push data into them (as part of meter manager module acting as a meter cloud server).
The Meter Manager system of the present disclosure includes the following RPC commands to support controlling and querying the Cloud Sync Service:
Cloud Info—The following information is configured and cached by the meter manager module 614 to control how the meter manager module 614 interacts with the Meter Cloud 602:
Meter Cloud Info—The following information is configured and cached by meter manager module 614 to control how meter manager module 614 interacts with the meter cloud server 602 for a specific meter (these settings are stored in the meters setting bag):
The meter manager 614 includes a user interface supporting the following features:
The meter registration process notifies the Meter Cloud 602 of a new meter to store meter data, and associates it with a customer, so that customer can view the meter's data. In one embodiment, when the meter first comes online, or when it is first discovered by the Meter Proxy server, it attempts to self-register with the Meter Cloud 602, which returns a Meter UID (user identifier/identification) to be used for uploading meter data. Later, when a user registers as a customer in the Meter Cloud, they are provided with a Customer Key, which they then register with the Meter, or Meter Proxy server. The meter or proxy then associates itself with the customer using the Customer Key. This process is shown in
In another embodiment, an alternate registration method would be for the user to search for their meter's Meter UID or serial through the Meter Cloud as shown in
The meter registration process of the present disclosure provides simplistic registration and association, so that users have to do a minimum of effort to bring their meter online in the meter cloud server 602. In one aspect, meters self-register with the meter cloud server 602, or through a proxy software. To associate the meter, a user enters a customer code to the meter, or a proxy software, to self-associate the meter with a customer; or alternatively, a user links meters to customers by searching for the serial or Meter UID through the meter cloud UI.
Meter Registration—When a meter starts up, or is detected by the Meter Proxy server, if it finds that it does not have a Meter UID for the meter, it attempts to register the meter with the Meter Cloud. Once registered, the Meter UID is stored for further use.
In general, the registration process preforms the following steps:
Customer Association—When a user registers as a new customer, they must first search and register for access to their meters before they can view them, using a UI provided to them via the Meter Cloud UI. Once found, they confirm that the meter is theirs, and it is added to their meter list, so that when they enable it, they can view data.
In general, the association process preforms the following steps:
Details on the user sub-system of the Meter Cloud, including registration, access levels, and deactivation will now be described. Referring to
The main features of user management will be described below:
In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the following features are enabled via cloud 602:
In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the following use cases are enabled by system 600:
A customer is a group in the Meter Cloud, under which multiple locations, meters, and users are configured. One user is designated as the Customer Owner, usually the user which created the customer. All customers are isolated, such that User A of Customer A can only access the meter data associated with Customer A, and User B of Customer B can only access the meter data associated with Customer B. User A would not be able to view the data of Customer B, and vice versa. Additionally, users can only be associated with one Customer.
Server 602 enables the association of a user with customers in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Several features of user/customer association are described below:
Several features of the meter cloud system 600 for Logs will now be described in greater detail. The cloud server 602 supports receiving via upload and storing several types of data log types, including Historical Logs, Waveform Logs, System Event Logs, Limit Logs, and Power Quality (PQ) Logs.
Historical Logs include historical data including a time series set of recorded data, organized by channel, and, in some embodiments, recorded at a specific interval. The table below includes exemplary historical data stored in Historical Logs:
Waveform Logs include waveform recordings events which are triggered by monitored conditions, such as a surge in voltage. When such an event occurs and is detected, the meter is triggered to record the individual samples which make up the monitored readings, along with the trigger information, and logs this in a waveform recording. Multiple channels are recorded, as well as the samples for cycles before and after the event. The shape of this waveform is later used for quality analysis of the event.
For example, in one embodiment, the waveform data stored is represented as a graph with the y-axis relating to voltage and the x-axis relating to time (e.g., in milliseconds). One such exemplary representation of waveform data is shown in the graph 1000 of
System Event Logs (e.g., stored in server 602 or a server/memory accessible via server 602) include system events, which are recorded whenever an event which effects the operation of the meter occurs. The system events stored may include events such as log retrieval, power loss, settings changes, security events, and time changes. These system events are often used for auditing what is occurring with the meter. The table below represents an exemplary system event that may be stored in the Log Cloud:
Limit Logs (e.g., stored in server 602 or a server/memory accessible via server 602) include limit events which are recorded whenever a reading channel (the same set of channels as used in historical data) exceeds a configured limit, such as voltage going above 140v or below 72v. When the reading returns to within a predetermined limit, the end of the event is recorded. This allows the computation of a start time and duration of the event, as well as the worst excursion value for the event. The table below represents an exemplary limit event that may be stored in the Log Cloud:
PQ event logs (e.g., stored in server 602 or a server/memory accessible via server 602) include power quality events, which are recorded whenever a high speed reading (the same set of channels as used in waveform data) exceeds a configured or predetermined limit, such as the 1 cycle voltage an exceeding 200v. When the reading returns to within the predetermined limit, the end of the event is recorded. This allows the computation of a start time and duration of the event, as well as the worst excursion value for the event. The table below represents and exemplary power quality event that may be stored in Log Cloud:
It is to be appreciated that PQ records are often taken at the same time as a waveform recordings, and, in some embodiments, the two recordings may be linked. In addition, information about the meters themselves shall be stored by the Log Cloud, to be used by the UI, reporting, and analysis packages.
The meter cloud system 600 includes several security features. The security features are implemented because the cloud server 602 may support multiple customers simultaneously, and, therefore, the security features prevent users from one customer from accessing (intentionally or otherwise), data from another customer.
The meter cloud system 600 also is configured with several storage features to support that increasing number (e.g., tens of thousands of meters being deployed word wide and, in some instances, thousands just at one customer). The meter cloud system 600 storage features support scalability and expansion of the system to store many data records for many meters, with little reconfiguration or performance impact on the system.
The different data types and data logs that meter cloud system 600 is configured to support (e.g., via being uploaded to the cloud server 602) will be described in greater detail below.
Meter cloud system 600 supports several types of Meter data and/or features associated with interfacing with meters, including settings, uniqueness, time, and query, each of which will be described now.
Settings: Each meter includes settings associated to that meter. These settings will be queried by reporting, UI, and the uploader, to determine how to manipulate the Log Data. The supported meter data stored by Log Cloud includes, Meter Name (The display name of the meter), Meter Serial (The unique identifier of the physical meter), Meter Type (The hardware type of the meter), and Meter UID (The unique identifier of the meter in the cloud system).
Uniqueness: Each meter includes a unique identifier (UID) in the Log Cloud system, separate from the serial number of the meter. When meters are replaced in service, the serial number may change, but the UID will remain the same. This shall provide a continuity of measured data at a location.
Time: Meters are installed all across the world, and thus the Log Cloud system storage and representation of these timestamps is configured to support multiple timezones. Timezone support may be implemented at any layer, so long as it is self consistent. Meters times may be changed, which means duplicate timestamps may occur for different chronological data. Both records must be preserved. Historical records which occur during the rollback period of daylight savings time are preserved by the Log Cloud system as distinct values.
Query: Log Cloud system is configured to provide a query to read the settings for each meter. The Log Cloud system is also configured to provide a query to list all meters which the executing user has access to.
Historical Logs and Historical Data implementation within the meter cloud system 600 will now be described.
Historical data includes a time series set of recorded data, organized by channel, and, in some embodiments, recorded at a specific interval. The supported channels may include one or more of:
It is to be appreciated that meter cloud system 600 is configured to support an increase in the set of channels supported to accommodate for future developments. In some embodiments, all meters will upload a similar set of channels. Channels may be at different logging intervals. For example, voltage may be every 1 minute, and energy every 5 minutes. In some embodiments, an arbitrary sub-set of the supported channels may be uploaded from a meter, as not every meter will be configured to log every value.
With respect to data uploaded to the cloud server 602, no assumptions should be made about the order of channel data uploaded. For example, the meter cloud system is designed to support various changing upload scenarios: Data may be uploaded in time sequence order, but need not be. Channels for a specific time range may be uploaded in the same post, but need not be. The interval between data uploads may be around one day, but may be much slower (1 month), or much faster (15 minutes). Channels may be uploaded separately. Channels may be uploaded together. Data may be uploaded in pages, repeatedly posting to cover large ranges of time. The meter cloud system 600 is configured such that each page will be an independent post of data, fully self-consistent, and include all details necessary to store the included data. The cloud server 602 is configured such that separate channels may be uploaded in separate pages, as it cannot guaranteed that all data for all channels will be available at the time of the upload for a specified point in time.
The cloud server 602 may be configured to implement a predetermined upload format. For example, an exemplary upload format is shown below:
The predetermined upload format is a format that associates a timestamp with one or more channel values. The format is selected such that the format can be generated by an embedded device, thus complicated and proprietary communications stacks are avoided in the making the format selection. The upload format is selected such that the format can easily be transmitted over TCP and through a corporate firewall with minimum configuration on the part of IT. The upload format is selected such that it supports ‘empty’ values, positions in the data array which are not filled in, and do not need to be stored in the server. In one embodiment, the format is configured such that ‘empty’ values are not represented by a valid value, such as zero. In this embodiment, where a value is used, a invalid number is used, such as NaN.
Limits: The cloud server 602 makes certain assumptions about the data being uploaded in Historical records. For example, it is assumed that Historical records shall be logged no faster than at One Minute intervals. If the recorded data is faster, the uploader will reduce the data to one minute intervals. Interval Energy computation period is configured as the logging interval.
All Historical values include the following formatting conditions: (1) All values shall be formatted as primary; (2) All values shall be formatted as doubles; (3) % values shall be formatted as 1=100%.
Cloud server 602 is configured with several storage features with respect to Historical data. For example, in one embodiment, Historical data is stored according to one or more of the following conditions:
The cloud server 602 implements the following settings with respect to the Historical data:
The cloud server 602 is configured to support sending/receiving several queries with respect to Historical data. Query speed for large ranges of time is of paramount importance. Therefore, in one embodiment, the system is configured such that multiple channels are queried in one session. Multiple channels may be requested in one query. In one embodiment, the system is configured such that multiple months may be queried in one session. Long ranges of time may be requested in a single query. In one embodiment, supports a query which lists all channels recorded for a meter. In another embodiment, the system supports a query which gets the time range for each channel of a meter. The end time of each channel may be used by the uploader to determine what data needs to be uploaded.
Waveform Logs and Waveform Data implementation within the cloud system 600 will now be described.
As described above, Waveform Logs include waveform recording events which are triggered by monitored conditions, such as a surge in voltage. When such an event occurs and is detected, the meter is triggered to record the individual samples which make up the monitored readings, along with the trigger information, and logs this in a waveform recording. Multiple channels are recorded, as well as the samples for cycles before and after the event. The shape of this waveform is later used for quality analysis of the event.
The cloud system 600 is configured to support at least the following channels in any waveform recording, though not required for every recording:
The triggers for recording waveform recording include:
The cloud system 600 may be configured such that waveform recordings are uploaded one recording at a time. The uploads for waveform recordings may be in a predetermined format. An exemplary predetermined format for waveform recording uploads is shown below:
The predetermined waveform record upload format may include the following information: Trigger Cause, Trigger Time, Recording Start Time, Time per sample, Total duration, Samples per cycle, List of samples per channel, List of RMS values for the cycle at the time of the trigger. In some embodiments, the time resolution is at least 1 ms. In some embodiments, the time resolution is at least 100 μs. A time need not be associated with each sample, as the time of the sample can be computed from the time of the start of the capture, and the time per sample. In one embodiment, the cloud system is configured such that Analog Channels (Voltage, Current) are encoded as arrays of doubles in primary and Digital Channels (Digital Inputs) are encoded as arrays of arrays of 0s and 1s, representing the binary state nature of digital inputs. In the cloud system, the Trigger block describes the data structure of the information during the cycle of the trigger, including RMS values, sample times, and any triggers that occurred during. The “waveform_trigger” in the exemplary predetermined format shown above is a list of triggers that occurred during the triggering cycle and is the list of triggers for this waveform recording.
The storage within cloud system 600 of waveform records is such that waveform recordings are quickly accessible for at least a predetermined period of time (e.g., 1 month) and slower access is acceptable for waveform recordings that are at least a second predetermined period of time old (e.g., 1 year old). Waveform records older than the second predetermined period of time (e.g., a year old) are stored in long term cold storage for analysis purposes.
Limiters: The cloud server 602 makes certain assumptions about the data being uploaded. For example, it is assumed that there shall be no more than 2048 samples per channel per recording. If there are more than 2048 samples per channel per recording (or whether the data received exceeds any other predetermined limit), the software on cloud server 602 will attempt to truncate the recording (or other type of data received) to one cycle before the trigger, and as many after as available. Another assumption is that a sample rate of up to 256 samples per cycle shall be supported. If the sample rate is higher, the software will attempt to down sample the recording to 256 samples per cycle. Another assumption is that the number of waveform recordings in a given period of time shall be limited. For example, in one embodiment, the following limits are implemented: (1) No more than 1 recording per second; (2) No more than 5 recordings per minute; (3) No more than 25 recordings per hour; (4) No more than 50 recordings per day.
The cloud system 600 implements the following settings with respect to the waveform records: Nominal Frequency, CTPT Ratio, Current Class, Fullscales.
The cloud system 600 is configured to send/receive a query to list all recordings during a specified period of time. Responsive to the query the system returns a list including the following for each record:
The cloud system 600 is configured to send/receive a query to read back a single waveform recording. The format of the response may be similar to the upload format. The format may be a format easily usable in JavaScript for rendering on a UI. The query will use information from the list query to determine which recording to return.
System Event Logs and System Event Data implementation within the cloud system 600 will now be described.
System Events include values, where the following field may be recorded: Time, Event Code, Description. The event types may include, but not me be limited to,
In one embodiment, System Events may be uploaded in a predetermined upload format. An exemplary predetermined upload format for System Events is shown below:
The predetermined upload format for System Events is selected such that the format associates a single event with a timestamp and multiple events may have the same timestamp.
Limits: The cloud system makes certain assumptions about the data being uploaded in System Events. For example, it is assumed that Log Retrieval Events will not be uploaded.
The cloud System is configured to support sending/receiving several queries with respect to System Events. For example, the system supports a query which provides all events for a specified time range. A specifier for specific event codes to return may be included in the query. The format of the query response may be the same proposed upload format above. The format is configured to be easily readable by JavaScript for listing on a UI.
Limit Logs and Limit Event Data implementation within the cloud system will now be described.
Limit Logs include limit events which are recorded whenever a reading channel (the same set of channels as used in historical data) exceeds a configured limit, such as voltage going above 140v or below 72v. When the reading returns to within a predetermined limit, the end of the event is recorded. This allows the computation of a start time and duration of the event, as well as the worst excursion value for the event.
The values that may be included in a limit event include:
In one embodiment, limit events may be uploaded in a predetermined upload format. An exemplary predetermined upload format for limit events is shown below:
Limits: The cloud system makes certain assumptions about the data being uploaded in limit events. For example, it is assumed that only paired limit events shall be uploaded. Unpaired records shall be uploaded when they become paired. Unpaired start records shall be uploaded if no possible end unpaired record is possible. It is also assumed that the number of PQ records in a given period of time shall be limited to (1) No more than 2 records per second; (2) No more than 10 records per minute; (3) No more than 50 records per hour; (4) No more than 100 records per day.
The cloud system is configured to support sending/receiving several queries with respect to Limit Events. For example, the system supports a query which provides all events for a specified time range. A specifier for specific limits to return may be included in the query. The format of the query response may be the same proposed upload format above. The format is configured to be easily readable by JavaScript for listing on a UI.
The cloud system may support Fullscales settings with respect to limit events.
Power Quality Log and Limit Quality Event implementation within the cloud system will now be described.
PQ event logs include PQ events, which are recorded whenever a high speed reading (the same set of channels as used in waveform data) exceeds a configured or predetermined limit, such as the 1 cycle voltage an exceeding 200v. When the reading returns to within the predetermined limit, the end of the event is recorded. This allows the computation of a start time and duration of the event, as well as the worst excursion value for the event.
The values that may be included in a PQ event include:
In one embodiment, PQ events may be uploaded in a predetermined upload format. An exemplary predetermined upload format for PQ events is shown below:
Limits: The cloud system makes certain assumptions about the data being uploaded in PQ events. For example, it is assumed that only paired events shall be uploaded. Unpaired records shall be uploaded when they become paired. This means that PQ records may be uploaded out of order. Unpaired start records shall be uploaded if no possible end unpaired record is possible. Another assumption is that the number of PQ records in a given period of time shall include predetermined limits such that (1) No more than 10 records per second; (2) No more than 30 records per minute; (3) No more than 100 records per hour; (4) No more than 200 records per day.
The cloud system is configured to support sending/receiving several queries with respect to PQ Events. For example, the system supports a query which provides all events for a specified time range. A specifier for specific limits to return shall be included in the query. The format of the query response may be the same proposed upload format above. The format is configured to be easily readable by JavaScript for listing on a UI.
The cloud system may support Fullscales settings with respect to PQ events.
The cloud system is configured with several security features. The cloud system is configured such that querying data and configuring the system is only allowed by authorized user. The requirement for user authorization is enforced at the API layer and not the UI layer. The cloud server 602 is further configured such that all user and meters are organized under customers and a user may be associated with one or more meters. The user association may be configured such that a user may only be associated with meters for the customer they belong to and/or a user may only query data for meters they are associated with. The cloud server 602 is configured to provide a mechanism to prevent data from being uploaded from unauthorized users for a meter. In one embodiment, the cloud system is configured such that at least one user is designated as the administrator for a customer. The cloud system is configured such that the customer administrator is able to configure all the meters for the customer, enable or disable the usage of a meter in the cloud for billing purposes, delete data associated with a meter, and/or view the data for all meters for a customer. In on embodiment, the cloud system is configured such that at least one user is designated as the administrator for the system. The cloud system is configured such that the system administrator has access to configure and view all meters for all customer, to configure and view all users for all customers, and to configure and view all customers.
The cloud system 600 is configured to support the increasing number of meters deployed world-wide (e.g., thousands just at one customer). The cloud system is configured to be easily expandable and scalable by being designed such that minimal reconfiguration to increase the number of supported meters is required and minimal performance impact occurs with increasing quantities of data. Each meter in cloud system 600 is associated to a specific customer.
Each meter in the cloud system 600 is configured to employ several storage requirements to make the meter cloud system easily scalable and functional. In one embodiment, each meter in meter cloud system is configured to record at least 30 channels of historical data, at least 15 minute intervals for historical data at least 10 waveform records per day, at least 20 limit records per day, at least 20 system event records per day, at least 50 PQ event records per day. In one embodiment, each meter is configured to store at least 6 months of recorded data. The storage each meter employs is optimized for fast query of large ranges of time series data.
The meter cloud system is designed to store the data of tens of thousands of meters, including historical channels, system events, PQ, limits, and waveforms. However, this storage is limited, and some configurations can lead to hundreds of thousands of these records in a single day, which if left running for too long, would quickly exceed the capability of the storage. While there are some circumstances where this data is legitimate, in most cases this is poor configuration, or only for debug purposes.
To counter this, the meter cloud system 600 limits the number of logs and/or records that can be uploaded in any particular period of time. However, without good feedback to the user that data may be missing from the data they view on the website, the user would only think that the system is broken or some type of error occurred.
A Limitor Notification is provided, which is a propagation of the counts and times of skipped data, up to the cloud server 602, so that the website can display error count notifications to the user. An overview of the Limitor Notification module 1050 is shown in
When the meter log data is loaded by Loader 1052 from meter log database 1051, it is passed through a Limitor filter 1053, which keeps track of various conditions, and if the data violates that condition, it is either modified or dropped, i.e., excluded from being uploaded. For example, in one implementation, those conditions could include the number of records in a single hour. As another example, waveform records could be limited to only 20 per day. As another example, waveform records could be modified to use a lower sample rate, or less cycles. As another example, historical records could be limited to at the fastest every 1 minute. A count of limit violations each day, is kept per log.
All log data which passes the Limitor 1053 are included in a Data Page 1054, which includes Limit Information 1055 about what was modified, which will detail the number of records skipped during the period of that data page. This package is then uploaded to cloud server 602, which splits and stores the information separately as Data 1058, and Limit Counts 1057. UI notification 1059 is then displayed to the user whenever any data 1058 has corresponding Limit Counts 1057. When displaying a range of log data, whether it be historical, system events, or pq/waveform, the UI notification 1059 displays an indication, e.g., an exclamation mark, if the limitor count exceeds 0. Additionally, queries for the log data will also include the exception count for the range in question.
The Limitor Notification of the present disclosure provides for the following features: detect and count daily log record limitor exceeded conditions, and upload those counts to the server; store the limitor exceeded counts on the server; and display those counts to the user, for the meter, log, and time range they are currently viewing. It is to be appreciated that the associated meter is not modified, nor the local meter log database, if the upload is affected by the limitor. The limitor only modifies what is uploaded to the cloud server 602. The meter log data that is not uploaded may be accessed from the meter, at a later time via various methods.
In one embodiment, cloud server 602 is configured to determine if meter data (e.g., log data) pushed from meters 604, 606 and/or meter manager 614 to cloud server 602 exceeds a predetermined limit (e.g., in data size) and, if the predetermined limit is exceeded, server 602 excludes the meter data from being stored in at least one database of server 602 or a database server 602 is in communication with. In one embodiment, server 602 is configured to store only a predetermined portion of the meter data (e.g., a portion at or below the predetermined limit) in the database if server 602 determines the meter data is above the predetermined limit. Server 602 is configured to record a count and associated time of day when the meter data was excluded, such that the count and associated time of day of the exclusion of data can be presented to the user via a web page (e.g., provided to client device 608).
In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the meter cloud server 602, includes an energy billing module 1100. The energy billing module 1100 is configured to provide bill analysis and cost report generation for a plurality of IEDs coupled to the meter cloud system of the present disclosure using energy data uploaded to the meter cloud server. The block diagram of the energy billing module 1100 is shown in
Energy billing module 1100 includes four components or modules:
In one embodiment, the log data is configured to enable a user to keeping track of invalid billing values and enable the user to enter in corrections (e.g., via user input to a UI of energy billing module) to existing data entries stored in log data module. In another embodiment, log data module may be configured to aggregate or organize data stored within log data module based on one or more characteristics or properties of the data stored. For example, in one embodiment, log data module may be configured to aggregate energy usage data values for all IEDs or meters at a specific location or a group of locations. Other characteristics or properties may include dates/times, groups of meters (regardless of locations), load types, etc.
In one embodiment, dashboard module 1106 is configured to generate summaries and analysis of energy values. The summaries and analysis generated may include:
Reporting generator or module 1108 is configured to generate fully configurable reports (e.g., according to user settings stored in settings editor). The reports may be generated on a schedule (once a day, month, etc.).
The data stored in log data module 1104 may be organized into Customers, Locations, and Meters. Customers are the top level, and contain a list of Locations. Each Location contains a list of Meters. Virtual Meters (e.g., data holders or containers) for each location aggregate the data for all the meters at a location. Software Usage Accumulation is performed on the Virtual Meters to provide previous and current usage values for Virtual Meters (e.g., summing the interval energy for all meters as a location and using the sum as a single value) to be used in Bills and Custom Reports. Meter data can be marked as negative, to subtract the usage from the Virtual Meter aggregation. It is to be appreciated that Temperature Data logged for each location may be used by dashboard module and provided in customized reports generated by reporting module.
In one embodiment, each meter or TED can load the data for a number of channels, mapping those data channels to billing commodities. Meters in energy billing module 1100 need not have a one-to-one mapping with actual physical meters. Imports can be performed by energy billing module 1100 from a CSV file, or multiple meters can be imported by energy billing module from a single physical meter's database.
In one embodiment, energy billing module 1100 is configured to automatically detect errors in meter data stored or received. The errors are flagged for user attention before bill are generated from that data. The meter data can be modified via user input to energy billing module to correct errors, and this is reflected in cost analysis and reports. However, the original value (i.e., the value flagged as being erroneous or incorrect) is retained, for auditing purposes.
Reporting generator or module 1108 is configured such that billing is applied to commodities, applying a configurable Rate Structure to the commodity data. Rate Structures include Fixed Charges, which are summary charges: including Tiered Rates, Peak Demand, Taxes, Flat Rates, and Coincidental Peak Demand. Rate Structures include Rate Charges, which are Time of Use based charges, configured using a perpetual calendar, and applied to the time of day the usage occurs within. The billing may be divided into separate time intervals, e.g., up to 12 seasons (or any other divisible time interval) to allow for separate rate charges at different times of year.
The energy billing module 1100 includes several features, which will be described below.
The energy billing module 1100 is configured to use energy data imported into the meter cloud server 602 to generate cost dashboards and reports. The imported data may be marked by energy billing module 1100 to generate cost dashboards and reports. The data channels may be marked by the energy billing module 1100 as negative to subtract from location usage aggregations performed by reporting module. For example, a user may mark or apply a negative to a channel so these values may be removed from the sum. The energy billing module may further be configured to analyze energy data for errors that would prevent generating a correct bill. If one or more errors are detected by energy billing module, one or more users may be provided with a notification that the error(s) detected need correcting.
The energy billing module 1100 includes a settings configuration module having an interface (e.g., viewable via dashboard module) for the configuration of perpetual rate structure to be applied by energy billing module to locations for cost analysis and report generation. Reporting module 1108 is configured to automatically generate Monthly Bill Reports for each location that has a rate structure configured, and email (or otherwise provide) to the configured users. Reporting module 1108 is configured to automatically generate Monthly Executive Summary Usage Reports for each location, and email (or otherwise provide) to the configured users. The energy billing module 1100 includes an interface (e.g., dashboard module 1106) for the configuration of custom usage reports). Reporting module is configured to automatically generate Custom Usage Reports, and email (or otherwise provide) the generated reports to the configured users.
The dashboard module 1106 is configured to show (via an output to a display) the energy usage for each meter and the summary energy usage for each location. The dashboard module 1106 is configured to show the cost breakdown for each meter and location (using the rate structure for the location), weather information logging on an hourly basis for each location, and notifications when usage and cost exceeds a configured limit within a period. In one embodiment, the energy usage for a particular meter over an adjustable period of time may be illustrated as a heatmap, as shown in
Energy billing module 1100 is configured to be useful in a variety of use cases, each of which are described in greater detail below.
Cost Trending: Report module 1108 is configured to generate reports including cost analysis and cost trending (e.g., forecasting future energy costs based on current energy consumption data). The cost analysis features may be used to compare the usage between locations (such as buildings on a campus), and over time, to provide a sense of competition, and incentive to reduce usage. The dashboard module 1106 may be used to view the analyzed data to compare the usage across all locations, trends of individual locations over time, usage analysis reports comparing the qualities and costs of all the locations, and alarms when usage exceeds configured limits. In these scenarios, there may be many users that would login under a read only role, to view their dashboard information in dashboard module. Such users often prefer to see additional usage meta-analysis, such as usage per day, average peak times, carbon footprint, temperature comparisons, and track commodities other than just electricity, such as BTU's and gallons of steam. Each of the usage meta-analysis data described above may be generated by reporting module and displayed in dashboard module 1106 to be viewed by one or more users.
Sub-Metering: Reporting module 1108 is configured to provide several features that may be useful in sub-metering contexts (e.g., Malls, office buildings, etc.). For example, some property managers, which sub-let out parts of buildings (such as malls), or entire buildings (such as office buildings), use the billing features of reporting module 1108 to generate cost invoices, that are forwarded by energy billing module to the renter to specify the portion of the energy usage that the renter is responsible. In addition to costing, these users often want to see daily usage reports emailed for tracking purposes. The energy billing module 1100 is configured to provide the reports generated (including daily usage reports) to one or more users via email or any other protocol via one or more communication networks.
Event Hosting: Reporting module 1108 is configured to provide several features that may be useful in event hosing contexts (Corporate Events, Concerts, etc.) For example, a sub-category of property managers, these users sub-let out their property for short periods of time: sometimes a couple days, sometimes only a couple hours. They need to generate a cost invoice for specific short periods of time, with changing customers receiving the invoice. Reporting module is configured to provide reports for event hosting contexts by generating reports including cost invoices for specific short periods of time for changing customers. The reports including the invoices are then sent to the desired customers (e.g., the customers being billed for the short periods of time of energy usage).
External Billing Package: Reporting module 1108 is configured to provide several features that may be useful in event hosing contexts (Large Companies, etc.) For example, some companies have their own billing packages that they use, but that require usage values to be entered in for costing and analysis. Reporting module 1108 is configured to enable these users to use a custom reports module to generate a monthly report that they can import.
The cloud system 600 integrates an enabled usage-based payment or licensing system in the cloud server 602, with an internal cloud management software. The act of billing and account management will be handled by an automatic billing system. The automated billing system will use the cloud management software to enable the meters a customer desires. At the beginning of each year, or when a user's account is first enabled, a usage report will be generated that can be fed into the software that an accounting system uses for invoices. If the customer does not pay the yearly invoice by the expiration date, the meter will automatically be disabled. After the customer's account has been set up, the number of meters a customer has enabled can be increased or decreased.
Referring to
The accounting system enables the following features: Certificates used to ensure security between software and server; ability to enable and disable meters on a per customer basis; ability for tech support to review and manage customers, users, and meters; ability to query and generate monthly usage reports for each customer, for accounting billing purposes, on demand. The user may request any month at any time; process document provided for accounting and tech support for how to manage billing.
It is to be appreciated that each meter will have an expire date, and charges will be on the number of months in a year the meter shall be enabled for. Customers will pay for the upcoming months they plan on using. Charges will be prorated for the remainder of the month in question, since enable. Meters will automatically be disabled if the expiration period elapses, without being renewed. Customers will be billed via an invoice from the accounting system, which bases the charge off a usage report generated from the management software. The expiration date of each meter will be presented in the management software, so that accounting can determine when to ask customers for renewals. An upcoming renewals feature will list the renewals that are necessary in the next month.
In general, there are two types of API calls, which are restricted by who is capable of calling them, and the results when they are called by different levels users. The at least two user levels are:
Below are exemplary commands with the user level in brackets:
The meter cloud system 600 includes a meter cloud user interface (UI) configured to enable a user to view, navigate, configure, and interact with the various components of Meter Cloud.
In one embodiment, the UI works from a drill-down, single meter, viewpoint; however, in other embodiments, the UI operates from a multi-device point of view.
As stated above, a number of program modules and data files may be stored in the system memory 1306. While executing on the processing unit 1304, program modules 1308 (e.g., Input/Output (I/O) manager 1324, other utility 1326 and application 1328) may perform processes including, but not limited to, one or more of the stages of the operations described throughout this disclosure. For example, program modules 1308 may include energy billing module 1100, settings editor module 1102, internal log data module 1104, dashboard viewer module 1106, reporting module 1108, among others. Other program modules that may be used in accordance with examples of the present disclosure may include electronic mail and contacts applications, word processing applications, spreadsheet applications, database applications, slide presentation applications, drawing or computer-aided application programs, photo editing applications, authoring applications, etc.
Furthermore, examples of the present disclosure may be practiced in an electrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing a microprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements or microprocessors. For example, examples of the present disclosure may be practiced via a system-on-a-chip (SOC) where each or many of the components illustrated in
The computing device 1302 may also have one or more input device(s) 1312 such as a keyboard, a mouse, a pen, a sound input device, a device for voice input/recognition, a touch input device, etc. The output device(s) 1314 such as a display, speakers, a printer, etc. may also be included. The aforementioned devices are examples and others may be used. The computing device 1304 may include one or more communication connections 1316 allowing communications with other computing devices 1318 and/or meters/IEDs 1319. Examples of suitable communication connections 1316 include, but are not limited to, a network interface card; RF transmitter, receiver, and/or transceiver circuitry; universal serial bus (USB), parallel, and/or serial ports.
The term computer readable media as used herein may include computer storage media. Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, or program modules. The system memory 1306, the removable storage device 1309, and the non-removable storage device 1310 are all computer storage media examples (i.e., memory storage.) Computer storage media may include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other article of manufacture which can be used to store information and which can be accessed by the computing device 1302. Any such computer storage media may be part of the computing device 1302. Computer storage media does not include a carrier wave or other propagated or modulated data signal.
Communication media may be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that has one or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media.
It is to be appreciated that the computing device 1320 may, in certain embodiments, be a mobile computing device, for example, a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a personal data assistant, a tablet personal computer, a phablet, a slate, a laptop computer, and the like, with which examples of the present disclosure may be practiced.
It is to be appreciated that the various features shown and described are interchangeable, that is a feature shown in one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment.
While non-limiting embodiments are disclosed herein, many variations are possible which remain within the concept and scope of the present disclosure. Such variations would become clear to one of ordinary skill in the art after inspection of the specification, drawings and claims herein. The present disclosure therefore is not to be restricted except within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
Furthermore, although the foregoing text sets forth a detailed description of numerous embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of the present disclosure is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One could implement numerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims.
It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/752,740, filed Oct. 30, 2018, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/869,532, filed Jul. 1, 2019, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. This application is also a continuation-in-part application to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/278,760, filed Feb. 19, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 62/631,660, filed Feb. 17, 2018, and 62/752,740, filed Oct. 30, 2018, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/644,877, filed Oct. 4, 2012,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/799,832, filed Mar. 13, 2013,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/836,671, filed Mar. 15, 2013,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/742,302, filed Jun. 17, 2015, the contents of each of the above listed applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
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