Utility meter reading system
US5719564A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 10, 1996 |
| Grant date | Feb 17, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 10, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG08C17/02
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for communicating utility usage-related information from a plurality of meter modules to a plurality of data accumulator units, each of which periodically transmits data to a control computer, including the steps of periodically transmitting from each meter module a first signal indicative of utility usage-related information and wherein the first signal includes a flag for self-configuring the communications network when the meter module is initially installed. The signal strength of the first signals from a meter module received at a data accumulator unit are measured and ranked by the control computer based on received signal strength. The ranking based on signal strength is utilized to enable only a limited number of data accumulators (those which received the strongest first signals) to receive, record and store data from a particular meter module.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.