Meter reading device and system
First Claim
1. A device for reading a meter that includes a display area covered by a display cover, the device comprising:
- an electronics assembly including an image sensor for capturing an image of the display area of the meter, the image sensor including a lens having a field of view;
a housing including a cover coupled to a base member including an aperture, the base member for communicating with the display cover of the meter, the electronics assembly being retained between the base member and the cover such that the lens is aligned with the aperture; and
a fastening member including a hollow section accommodating a top portion of the cover to pass therethrough, the fastening member further including a mechanism for attaching the fastening member to a portion of the meter so as to maintain the display area of the meter in the field of view of the lens and bring the base member into communication with the display cover.
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Abstract
A remote unit includes an electronics assembly, a housing, and a fastening member. The electronics assembly includes a communications module and an image sensor, having a lens with a field of view, that captures images of a display of a meter. The housing includes a cover coupled to a base member. The base member couples to the meter and includes an aperture. The electronics assembly is retained between the base member and the cover, such that the lens aligns with the aperture. The fastening member receives a portion of the housing in a hollow section. A mechanism of the fastening member attaches to a portion of the meter, maintaining the display in the field of view. The communications module transmits image data, derived from the captured images, to a hub unit. The hub unit processes the image data, and forwards information extracted from the image data to a remote server.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A device for reading a meter that includes a display area covered by a display cover, the device comprising:
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an electronics assembly including an image sensor for capturing an image of the display area of the meter, the image sensor including a lens having a field of view; a housing including a cover coupled to a base member including an aperture, the base member for communicating with the display cover of the meter, the electronics assembly being retained between the base member and the cover such that the lens is aligned with the aperture; and a fastening member including a hollow section accommodating a top portion of the cover to pass therethrough, the fastening member further including a mechanism for attaching the fastening member to a portion of the meter so as to maintain the display area of the meter in the field of view of the lens and bring the base member into communication with the display cover. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for reading a meter that includes a display area covered by a display cover, the system comprising:
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a remote unit including; an electronics assembly retained in a housing for communicating with the display cover of the meter, the electronics assembly including an image sensor for capturing images of the display area of the meter, and a remote unit communications module configured to transmit, over a first communications channel, image data derived from the images captured by the image sensor, and a fastening member for coupling the electronics assembly to the meter by passing a top portion of a cover of the housing through a hollow section of the fastening member so as to bring a base member of the housing into communication with the display cover, such that a lens of the image sensor is aligned with an aperture of the housing to view the display area of the meter through the aperture; and a hub unit including; a first hub unit communications module configured to receive the transmitted image data from the remote unit communications module over the first communications channel, and a hub unit processing unit including at least one processor coupled to a storage medium configured to; analyze the received image data to extract information from the image data, the information including at least an identifier of the meter and a meter reading of the meter for each of the images captured by the image sensor. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification