Patent ID: 7937247
Filing Date: 2011-05-03
Classification: G01D,G01R,Y02B,Y04S

Abstract:
1. A method of automatically determining whether an unmonitored portion exists in a utility system, comprising: determining a hierarchy of the utility system, the hierarchy indicating how a number of intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) are linked to one another in the utility system, each of the IEDs monitoring one or more characteristics of a utility; automatically storing a data representation of the hierarchy; identifying, from the hierarchy, a parent IED in the hierarchy that is directly linked to at least one child IED; identifying, from the hierarchy, all of one or more child IEDs that are directly linked in the hierarchy to the parent IED; receiving from the parent IED a measured quantity, P receiving from each of the one or more child IEDs respective measured quantities of the characteristic of the utility measured by each of the one or more child IEDs; adjusting the measured quantities measured by the parent IED and by the one or more child IEDs as a function of respective measurement errors associated with the parent IED and with the one or more child IEDs to produce respective error-adjusted quantities; and based on the error-adjusted quantities, determining whether an unmonitored quantity exists in the utility system, and, if so, storing an indication that a virtual device directly linked to the parent IED exists in the hierarchy.