G01D2204/18

Signal activated switch for meters equipped with automatic meter reading output capability
11041738 · 2021-06-22 ·

A signal activated switch for meters equipped with automatic meter reading output capability which allows a single water or gas meter to be interrogated by two or more meter interrogation units or meter reading devices without interference. The art of the present invention senses an interrogation by a meter interrogation unit and switches the meter interrogation unit onto the meter circuit for a brief period in order to read the internally stored data of the meter via an industry standard automatic meter reading communication protocol. The signal activated switch may integrate a display which allows display of internally stored consumption data, rate-of-flow, or water meter serial number. The signal activated switch also defaults to a first or primary meter interrogation unit should power be interrupted to the signal activated switch.

Sensor hub and method for operating the same
10816521 · 2020-10-27 · ·

The present disclosure relates a sensor hub that allows users to visually and easily check the air environment and power consumption of a room, and a method for operating the same. The sensor hub may include a housing having ventilation ports on lateral and rear sides. A fine dust sensor may be provided to sense a concentration of fine dust introduced through the ventilation ports. A CO.sub.2 sensor may be provided in the housing that senses a concentration of CO.sub.2. A display plate and a display unit and an illumination plate including a plurality of light emitting units may be provided in the housing. A main board and processor may be disposed in the housing to control the plurality of light emitting units and the display unit based on data on the fine dust concentration and the CO.sub.2 concentration received respectively from the fine dust sensor and the CO.sub.2 sensor.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTION AND ALERT OF ENERGY RESOURCE OUTAGES

A system that detects energy resource outages includes: resource monitors, each disposed within radio range of resource meters that transmit corresponding radio signals indicative of meter identifiers and current readings, where the resource monitors are configured to receive and decode the radio signals to obtain one or more of the meter identifiers and current readings, and where the each of the resource monitors transmits the one or more of the meter identifiers and current readings over the internet cloud; and a resource server, operatively coupled to the resource monitors via the internet cloud, configured to receive the one or more meter identifiers and current readings from the resource monitors, and configured to employ the current readings to detect an outage within a geographic area, and configured to send alerts to a resource provider that correspond to the outage.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INSTANTANEOUS ENERGY RESOURCE USE MONITORING AND CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

A system for resource monitoring includes: resource monitors, each disposed within radio range of corresponding resource meters that transmit corresponding radio signals indicative of corresponding meter identifiers and current readings, where the each of the resource monitors receive and decode one or more of the corresponding radio signals to obtain one or more of the corresponding meter identifiers and current readings, and where the each of the resource monitors transmit the one or more of the corresponding meter identifiers and current readings over the internet cloud; and a resource server, operatively coupled to the resource monitors via the internet cloud, configured to receive the one or more of the corresponding meter identifiers and current readings from the each of the resource monitors, and configured to employ the corresponding current readings to detect unusual patterns of resource consumption, and configured to send alerts corresponding to the unusual patterns of resource consumption.

INSTANTANEOUS ENERGY RESOURCE USE MONITORING AND CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT SERVER

A system for resource monitoring includes: a resource server that monitors use of a resource, the server including: a meter reading processor, that communicates with resource monitors disposed within radio range of resource meters, where the resource meters transmit radio signals indicative of meter identifiers and current readings, and where the each of the resource monitors receives and decodes one or more of the radio signals to obtain one or more of the meter identifiers and current readings, and where the each of the resource monitors transmits the one or more of the meter identifiers and current readings over the internet cloud, and where the meter reading processor updates corresponding records in a resource database that indicate resource consumption of corresponding facilities; and an engagement processor, that causes alerts to be transmitted to client devices based on analyses of resource consumption that notify users of the unusual patterns of consumption.

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TRANSLATING AUTOMATIC METER READING SIGNALS TO INSTANTANEOUS METER READINGS

A resource monitor for monitoring consumption of a resource includes: a commissioning processor, configured to pair with a client device via a Bluetooth link, and configured to receive WIFI network credentials from the client device, and configured to transmit the credentials to commission the resource monitor onto the WIFI network, and configured to initiate communications with a resource server over the internet cloud; and a meter reading processor, that receives meter identifiers from the resource server via the internet cloud for resource meters within radio range, and that tunes a meter receiver to narrowband frequency channels to detect and decode radio signals transmitted by resource meters to extract the meter identifiers along with corresponding meter readings, and that periodically transmits the meter identifiers along with the corresponding meter readings to the resource server over the internet cloud.

DEVICES, SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR A CLOUD-BASED METER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
20200064153 · 2020-02-27 ·

Devices, systems and methods for a cloud-based meter management system are provided. The present disclosure includes a meter cloud server, a plurality of IEDs or meters, and one or more clients 608 (e.g., a web browser client), which are coupled together via a network (e.g., via various wireless and/or hardwired communication networks). The various components and modules of the present disclosure provide a plurality of functions to enable one or more users to manage a plurality of IEDs or meters via the at least one client device.

System and method for home energy monitor and control

The invention generally concerns systems and methods for monitoring and controlling the power consumption of a power-consuming device. The system and method may connect to a power source and a power-consuming device, connecting the power-consuming device to the power source. The power usage of the power-consuming device may then be measured and monitored. This monitoring data may then be stored and optionally sent to a controlling device on a data network. The location of the power-consuming device may also be determined, recorded, and sent to a controlling device. The system may also control the power usage of the power-consuming device. In some cases, a remote server may connect multiple energy monitoring systems in order to gain additional efficiencies and foster a community-based social network.

INTERFACING TO RESOURCE CONSUMPTION MANAGEMENT DEVICES

The subject disclosure provides a communications architecture for managing/relaying utility information, such as energy, water or gas information. In one aspect, the system includes a hub having a first communications interface for receiving consumption data of a predetermined energy load and a second communications interface for communicating with a metering device. The second communications interface is configured to transmit the consumption data to the metering device and to receive control signals from the metering device where the consumption data is communicated using a first protocol and wherein the control signals are communicated using a second protocol.

Electrical power switch control with shopping function
10359298 · 2019-07-23 ·

A device to be connected to first electrical power wiring and for displaying electrical power usage information of at least one first electrical load connected to the first electrical power wiring, the device including terminals to electrically connect to the first electrical power wiring of a building, a controller to receive information representing at least a current to the at least one first electrical load, determine first electrical power usage information of the at least one first electrical load using the received information, a user interface to display the determined first electrical power usage information of the at least one first electrical load, and a communications interface to transmit the determined first electrical power usage information to at least one second electrical device for display, and receive determined second electrical power usage information of at least one second electrical load from the at least one second electrical device for display.