Intelligent receptacle

• US 10,309,800 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2017
• Issued: 06/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Inventors: Knuth, John Jay, DeVries, Richard Nolan, Johnson, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Everett, Christopher E.
• Application Number:
  US15/585,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20170234698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/12 Determination or prediction of behaviour, e.g. likely power consumption or unusual usage patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/45 Utility meters networked together within a single building
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/60 for transmitting utility meters data, i.e. transmission of data from the reader of the utility meter
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

An intelligent receptacle (or receptacle device) enables individually monitoring and/or controlling consumption of utility service by one or more loads through a supply outlet that is associated with the receptacle device. A client device may enable a user to remotely control a provision of the utility service from the supply outlet through the receptacle device. Furthermore, a utility metering device may include a virtual metering device instance that is configured to collect utility consumption data associated with the supply outlet from the receptacle device and help calibration or synchronization of utility consumption readings of the receptacle device.

Claims

1. A metering device comprising:

a metrology unit configured to measure an amount of a utility service provided to a plurality of receptacle devices via the metering device;

a processor communicatively coupled to the metrology unit; and

memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory storing;

a plurality of virtual receptacle device instances configured to;

communicate data with the plurality of receptacle devices; and

remotely control and monitor consumption of the utility service of a plurality of loads through a plurality of supply outlets that are associated with the plurality of receptacle devices;

wherein a first virtual receptacle device instance of the plurality of virtual receptacle device instances that is associated with a receptacle device of the plurality of receptacle devices is in communication with the receptacle device and a second virtual receptacle device instance of the plurality of virtual receptacle device instances is also in communication with the receptacle device.

2. The metering device of claim 1, wherein at least one virtual receptacle device instance of the plurality of virtual receptacle device instances is configured to perform an operation different than operations of at least one other virtual receptacle device instance of the plurality of virtual receptacle device instances, the operation of the at least one virtual receptacle device instance comprising at least one of:

processing of the data for a billing purpose;

determining whether the data is utility delivery or consumption information associated with the plurality of supply outlets or the plurality of loads;

or

monitoring a quality of the utility service delivered through the plurality of supply outlets or to the plurality of loads.

3. The metering device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of receptacle devices comprises an adapter to be placed between an output of a supply outlet of the plurality of supply outlets and an input associated with a respective load of the plurality of loads.

4. The metering device of claim 1, wherein remotely controlling the consumption of the utility service of the plurality of loads comprises one or more of individually starting, stopping or limiting a supply of the utility service to individual ones of the plurality of loads.

5. The metering device of claim 1, wherein remotely monitoring the consumption of the utility service of the plurality of loads comprises individually recording an amount of the utility service consumed by individual ones of the plurality of loads within a period of time.

6. The metering device of claim 1, the memory further storing a determination module configured to determine a total amount of utility consumption by the plurality of loads that are associated with the plurality of receptacle devices.

7. The metering device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of receptacle devices comprises an electric vehicle charger.

8. The metering device of claim 1, wherein the metering device is configured to:

receive an instruction from a mobile device of a user or a home area network device; and

perform an operation according to the instruction.

9. The metering device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of virtual receptacle device instances comprise a first receptacle device instance having a first operating system and a second receptacle device instance having a second operating system, different than the first operating system.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending utility consumption data monitored by the plurality of receptacle devices to a mobile device of a user or to a remote computing device.

11. A metering device comprising:

a metrology unit configured to measure an amount of a utility service provided to a first receptacle device and a second receptacle device via the metering device;

a processor communicatively coupled to the metrology unit; and

memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory storing;

a first virtual receptacle device instance having a first operating system and being in communication with the first receptacle device to remotely monitor consumption of the utility service of a first load at the first receptacle device; and

a second virtual receptacle device instance having a second operating system, different than the first operating system, and being in communication with the second receptacle device to remotely monitor consumption of the utility service of a second load at the second receptacle device, wherein the first virtual receptacle device instance is also in communication with the second receptacle device to remotely monitor consumption of the utility service of the second load at the second receptacle device.

12. The metering device of claim 11, wherein the first virtual receptacle device instance is further configured to perform one or more of individually starting, stopping, or limiting a supply of the utility service to the first load;

and

the second virtual receptacle device instance is further configured to perform one or more of individually starting, stopping, or limiting a supply of the utility service to the second load.

13. The metering device of claim 11, wherein the first virtual receptacle device instance is configured to perform a first operation on first data communicated with the first receptacle device and the second virtual device instance is configured to perform a second operation on second data communicated with the second receptacle device, different than the first operation, the first and second operations comprising at least one of:

processing of the first or second data for a billing purpose;

determining whether the first or second data is at least one of utility delivery or consumption information associated with the first load or utility delivery or consumption information associated with the second load;

or

monitoring a quality of the utility service delivered through at least one of the first load or the second load.

14. The metering device of claim 11, wherein the metering device is configured to:

receive an instruction from a mobile device of a user or a home area network device; and

perform an operation according to the instruction.

15. The metering device of claim 11, wherein at least one of the first receptacle device comprises an electric vehicle charger or the second receptacle device comprises an electric vehicle charger.

16. A method performed by a metrology unit configured to measure an amount of a utility service provided to a plurality of receptacle devices via a metering device, the method comprising:

storing, in a memory of the metering device, a plurality of virtual receptacle device instances configured to;

communicate, by a first virtual receptacle device instance of the plurality of virtual receptacle device instances, data with a first receptacle device of the plurality of receptacle devices;

perform, by the first virtual receptacle device instance, operations on the data communicated by the first receptacle device;

communicate, by a second virtual receptacle device instance of the plurality of virtual receptacle device instances, data with the receptacle device of the plurality of receptacle devices; and

perform, by the second virtual receptacle device instance, operations on the data communicated by the receptacle device, wherein the operations performed by the first virtual receptacle device instance are different than the operations performed by the second virtual receptacle device instance.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the operations comprise at least one of:

processing of the data for a billing purpose;

determining whether the data is utility delivery or consumption information associated with a plurality of supply outlets or a plurality of loads;

or

monitoring a quality of the utility service delivered through a plurality of supply outlets or to a plurality of loads.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of virtual receptacle device instances are further configured to remotely control and monitor consumption of the utility service of a plurality of loads through a plurality of supply outlets that are associated with the plurality of receptacle devices.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises identifying a receptacle device of the plurality of receptacle devices that is in error by obtaining respective degrees of correlation for the plurality of receptacle devices.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein at least one of the plurality of receptacle device instances comprises an independent operating system.