User-installable power consumption monitoring system
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring power usage from a power meter having a meter socket, a rotating disk disposed within the meter socket and marked with a rotation indicator for indicating movement of the rotating disk, and registers disposed within the meter socket for displaying power usage information, said system comprising:
- a sensor disposed outside the meter socket without obstructing the view of the registers and responsive to the rotation indicator to generate data signals in response to the rotation indicator;
a sensor terminal including a receiver operable to receive the data signals from said sensor, means for processing the received data signals to generate power usage signals indicative of power usage, and a transmitter operable to transmit the power usage signals; and
a data collection unit including a receiver for receiving the power usage signals and means for processing power usage signals to provide power usage information.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for remotely monitoring power usage from a watt-hour meter or power meter. The system may include a sensor, sensor terminal, and data collection unit. The sensor may be disposed external from the power meter and be consumer installable in an unobstructive position for direct viewing of power meter registers. The sensor terminal may be coupled to the sensor and include a receiver and transmitter operable to receive and transmit information indicative of motion of a rotating disk in the power meter sensed by the sensor. A data collection unit in communication with the sensor terminal may include a display to display various information to the consumer, such as current bill and power network notification indicators. The data collection unit further may be communicate with a service center that performs power usage analysis to feedback to the data collection unit to display for the consumer.
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Citations
75 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring power usage from a power meter having a meter socket, a rotating disk disposed within the meter socket and marked with a rotation indicator for indicating movement of the rotating disk, and registers disposed within the meter socket for displaying power usage information, said system comprising:
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a sensor disposed outside the meter socket without obstructing the view of the registers and responsive to the rotation indicator to generate data signals in response to the rotation indicator;
a sensor terminal including a receiver operable to receive the data signals from said sensor, means for processing the received data signals to generate power usage signals indicative of power usage, and a transmitter operable to transmit the power usage signals; and
a data collection unit including a receiver for receiving the power usage signals and means for processing power usage signals to provide power usage information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for measuring power usage from a power meter having a meter socket and a rotating disk disposed within the meter socket and marked with a rotation indicator, said method comprising:
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illuminating the rotating disk at successive positions with an incident beam of light from a position outside the meter socket while exposed to ambient light;
sensing both the ambient light and the light reflected from the incident beam of light to generate a first signal and sensing the ambient light alone to generate a second signal at the successive position;
comparing the two signals to generate a reflection signal indicative of the light reflected from the incident beam of light at the successive positions; and
comparing successive reflective signals to detect the presence of the rotation indicator and generate rotation detect signals in response to revolutions of the rotating disk indicative of the power usage. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A power usage monitor for displaying power usage information at an on-site location, said power usage monitor comprising:
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a receiver operable to receive data from a server associated with a power provider, the received data including at least one data element being indicative of status of a power network;
a display operable to display the at least one data element of the received data, and a processor coupled to said receiver and said display, said processor having software executing thereon to;
receive the data from said receiver;
parse the data including the at least one data element being indicative of the status of the power network; and
communicate the at least one data element to said display to notify a user at the on-site location of the status of the power network. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for displaying power usage information to a consumer of an energy provider of a power network, said method comprising:
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receiving data from the energy provider, the data including at least one data element being indicative of a status of the power network;
parsing the data including the at least one data element being indicative of the status of the power network; and
displaying the at least one data element to notify the consumer of the status of the power network. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A power usage monitor for displaying power usage information to a consumer of an energy provider of a power network, said power usage monitor comprising:
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means for receiving data from the energy provider, the data including at least one data element being indicative of a status of the power network;
means for parsing the data including the at least one data element being indicative of the status of the power network status; and
means for displaying the at least one data element to notify the consumer of the status of the power network.
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28. A system for communicating up-to-date feedback on power usage data to a power usage monitor at an user location, said system comprising:
a server, associated with a power provider, having (i) a receiver operable to receive the power usage data from the power usage monitor, (ii) a storage medium for storing the power usage data, and (iii) a processor coupled to the receiver and the storage medium, the processor having software executing thereon to;
receive the power usage data from the receiver;
analyze the power usage data, the analysis including updating data having at least one data element being indicative of billing rate changes based on status of a power network, and communicate the at least one data element to the power usage monitor to notify a user at the user location of up-to-date power pricing. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for communicating on power usage information to a power usage monitor at a user location, said method comprising:
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receiving power usage data from the power usage monitor;
analyzing the power usage data, the analysis comprising updating data including at least one data element being indicative of billing rate changes based on a status of a power network; and
communicating the status of the power network to the power usage monitor to notify a user at the user location of power constraint schedules. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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37. A method for determining cost savings at a data center associated with a power provider, said method comprising:
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communicating a power network status to a power usage monitor having a display at an on-site location to notify a user of a power constraint period;
determining if power usage performance of the user indicates a reduction in power usage during the power constraint period, the reduction in power usage being determined by the data center;
computing the cost savings resulting from the reduction in power usage during the power constraint period; and
communicating a cost savings notification to the power usage monitor to notify the user at the on-site location of the cost savings. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method for sensing a variation in reflectance of a light source from a rotating disk having a rotation indicator, said method comprising:
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illuminating the rotating disk with the light source for a first duration of time;
measuring the reflectance of the light source from the rotating disk over the first and a second duration of time, the first and second durations of time being substantially consecutive;
determining a maximum reflectance value from at least one measurement during the first duration of time;
determining a minimum reflectance value from at least one measurement during the second duration of time; and
computing the differential output value based on the maximum and minimum reflectance values. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A system for sensing a variation in reflectance of a light source from a rotating disk having a rotation indicator, said system comprising:
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means for illuminating the rotating disk with the light source for a first duration of time;
means for measuring the reflectance of the light source from the rotating disks over the first and a second duration of time, the first and second durations of time being substantially consecutive;
means for determining a maximum reflectance value from at least one measurement during the first duration of time;
means for determining a minimum reflectance value from at least one measurement during the second duration of time; and
means for computing the differential output value based on the maximum and minimum reflectance values.
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51. A method for determining power usage of a utility consumer from a power meter having a rotating disk having a rotation indicator, said method comprising:
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directing a source beam toward a position of the rotating disk capable of intersecting the rotation indicator;
measuring at least one first reflectance value of the source beam reflected from the rotating disk;
measuring at least one second reflectance value absent the source beam from the rotating disk at a predetermined time difference of said measuring the at least one first reflectance value of the source beam; and
computing a value as a function of the at least one first and second reflectance value, the value being indicative of the source beam intersecting the rotation indicator. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A system for determining power usage of a utility consumer from a power meter having a rotating disk having a rotation indicator, said system comprising:
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means for directing a source beam toward a position of the rotating disk capable of intersecting the rotation indicator;
means for measuring at least one first reflectance value of the source beam reflected from the rotating disk;
means for measuring at least one second reflectance value absent the source beam from the rotating disk at a predetermined time difference of said measuring the at least one first reflectance value of the source beam; and
means for computing a value as a function of the at least one first and second reflectance value, the value being indicative of the source beam intersecting the rotation indicator.
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59. An apparatus for determining power usage of a utility consumer from a power meter having a rotating disk having a rotation indicator, said apparatus comprising:
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a timing source operable to generate a timing signal;
a source beam producing element coupled to the timing source, and directed to the rotating disk at a location capable of intersecting the rotation indicator, the source beam producing element operable in response to the timing signal of said timing source;
a source beam receptor operable to react to a source beam produced by said source beam producing element; and
a sampling generator coupled to said source beam receptor, and operable to provide a plurality of samples from said source beam receptor, at least one first sample occurring during operation of the source beam producing element and at least one second sample occurring during the absence of the operation of the source beam producing element, the at least one first and second samples occurring within a time duration that altering lighting conditions are substantially invariant. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. A method for commercializing a remote power meter monitoring system to a consumer of energy resources utilizing a power meter, said method comprising:
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providing a sensor and display/data collector unit, the sensor being installable (i) without requiring recalibration of the power meter and (ii) providing direct viewing of registers of the power meter; and
forming an agreement with the consumer utilizing the display/data collector unit. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69)
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70. A system for commercializing a remote power meter monitoring system to consumers of energy resources utilizing an existing power meter, said system comprising:
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means for providing a sensor and display/data collector unit, the sensor being installable (i) without requiring recalibration of the power meter and (ii) providing direct viewing of registers of the power meter; and
means for forming an agreement with the consumer utilizing the display/data collector units.
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71. A method for providing discounts to a consumer of electric energy usage from a power grid, said method comprising:
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ascertaining information indicative of the status of the power grid;
issuing up-to-date notification to the consumer based on the status of the power grid; and
providing a discount to the consumer based on the consumer altering electric energy usage in response to the up-to-date notification. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74)
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75. A system for providing discounts to a consumer of electric energy usage from a power grid, said system comprising:
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means for ascertaining information indicative of the status of the power grid;
means for issuing up-to-date notification to the consumer based on the status of the power grid; and
means for providing a discount to the consumer based on the consumer altering electric energy usage in response to the up-to-date notification.
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Specification