Adapter for a meter

• US 20040061623A1
• Filed: 06/10/2002
• Published: 04/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tantalus Systems Corp
• Original Assignee: Tantalus Systems Corp
• Inventors: Tootoonian Mashhad, Mohammad, Jones, Stephen Geoffrey
• Granted Patent: US 7,019,666 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/870.02
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/008 Modifications to installed utility meters to enable remote reading
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/00 Arrangements for measuring time integral of electric power or current, e.g. electricity meters
• 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 adapter is interposed between a standard resource meter and its socket, to provide RF-capabilities. Communications between meter and adapter are effected by optical technology. The adapter has emergency battery back-up capabilities.

Claims

1. An electrical resource metering system, comprising:

(a) a standard meter with power pins, that measures an attribute of the electrical resource presented at said pins, and provides information related to the resource or meter and its operating environment, based on said measured attribute;

(b) a standard meter socket connectable to the electrical resource, having power contacts releasably couplable with said meter power pins;

(c) adapter releasably interposable between said meter and said meter socket, having;

(1) power coupling means for coupling said meter power pins to said socket power contacts; and

(2) RF communications means for transmitting messages; and

(d) optical communications means for sending said messages with said information, from said meter to said adapter via electrically isolated, optical communications means.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said optical communications means further includes means for sending messages from said adapter to said meter via electrically isolated, optical communications means.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said standard meter has a disk mechanism whose rotation is indicative of an attribute of the resource presented at said pins, further comprising optical transformation means, connected to said optical communications means, for reading the rotation and transforming it into a sequence of optical pulses.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein said standard meter has means to produce a sequence of electronic signals indicative of an attribute of the resource presented at said pins, further comprising optical transformation means, connected to said optical communications means, for reading the rotation and transforming it into a sequence of optical pulses.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein said adapter further comprises means for transforming said optical pulses into a form appropriate for processing by said RF communications means.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said optical communications means comprises a pair of opposed light radiator and light detector for sending and receiving respectively, said optical signals.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said light radiator is located at the back of said standard meter and said light detector is located at the front of said adapter.

8. The system of claim 7, where said adapter RF communications means has means to receive a message.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising an upstream station with RF communication means that has messages to send to said meter adapter'"'"'s RF communications means;

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising another station that has information about another resource meter and that has RF communication means to send that information to said meter adapter'"'"'s RF communications means for transmission.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said adapter has an antenna connected to said RF communications means, and the outer shell/shape of said adapter is profiled to enclose said antenna with a smooth surface having no sharp angles.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said adapter has a first battery bay and a corresponding first battery pack, both being in identical, approximate parallelepiped shape.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said first battery pack comprises a plurality of cylindrical batteries connected in series.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein said first battery pack has six batteries arranged in two columns of three batteries each.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said first battery bay has two leads of opposite polarities, and said first battery pack has a plurality of exposed contacts arranged in pairs of opposite polarities, whereby regardless of orientation of said pack with respect to said bay, once inserted into said first battery bay, said battery leads and said first bay contacts are in alignment for electrical connection.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said plurality of exposed contacts has two effective leads of opposite polarities, with another two being connected to said effective leads.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a second battery bay having the same shape and orientation as said first battery bay and being disposed in said adapter with the same orientation, and a second battery pack being identical to said first battery pack.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein said first battery bay has a wall with three indents and said battery bay leads are two battery clips disposed in outer indents

19. A resource metering system, comprising:

(a) a resource meter that measures and provides information on the metered resource;

(b) a meter socket connected to the resource to be measured;

(c) an adapter interposed between said meter and said socket, having wireless communications means for transmitting messages;

(d) means for sending said metered resource information from said meter to said adapter via electrically-isolated optical communications means.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein said optical communications means includes sending and receiving optical signals over free space.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said resource is electricity.

22. A method of sending information from a resource meter to an upstream station, comprising the steps of:

(a) sending resource meter information by a first RF-communication technology;

(b) receiving the sent information of step (a) and transforming it and sending it by an optical-communication technology; and

(c) receiving the sent information of step (b) and transforming it and sending it by a second RF-communication technology.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the sending by an optical technology of step (b) is effected in part over free-space.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the resource is electricity.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein steps (b) and (c) are effected by a station upstream from the resource meter having an adapter also connected to the resource.

26. A method of sending information from a resource meter to an RF-transmitter mechanically coupled with the meter, comprising the steps of:

(a) transforming the information into optical signals;

(b) sending said optical signals over free space; and

(c) transforming said optical signals into RF-signals.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the meter is a standard watthour meter having a rotating disk indicative of resource consumption, further comprising the step of reading resource consumption information from said rotating disk and then proceeding with steps (a), (b) and (c).

28. An adapter to be interposed between a resource meter and its socket connected to the resource to be measured, comprising:

(a) first communications means for communicating over free space, resource meter information between said meter and said adapter via electrically-isolated optical communications technology; and

(b) second communications means for transmitting said resource meter information via RF technology.

29. A battery bay and battery pack combination, comprising:

(a) a plurality of cylindrical batteries connected in series and arranged in an approximate parallelepiped shaped first pack; and

(b) a first battery bay profiled to snugly receive said first battery pack.

30. The combination of claim 29, wherein said first battery pack has six batteries arranged in two columns of three batteries each.

31. The combination of claim 30, wherein said first battery bay has two leads of opposite polarities, and said first battery pack has a plurality of exposed contacts arranged in pairs of opposite polarities, whereby regardless of orientation of said pack with respect to said first battery bay, once inserted into said bay, said battery leads and said bay contacts are in alignment for electrical connection.

32. The combination of claim 31, wherein said plurality of exposed contacts has two effective leads of opposite polarities, with another two being connected to said effective leads.

33. The combination of claim 32, further comprising a second battery bay having the same shape and orientation as first battery bay, and a second battery pack being identical to said first battery pack.

34. The combination of claim 33, wherein said first battery bay has a wall with three indents and said battery bay leads are two battery clips disposed in outer indents

35. A method of testing the moisture-resistance of an adapator, where the adapter has a plurality of components attachable to each other to form an outer shell, comprising the steps of:

(a) applying a thin coat of moisture-reactive powder to the interior surface of the various components of the adapter;

(b) assembling the various components;

(c) subjecting the assembled components to an adverse environment that includes moisture;

(d) opening and inspecting for any trace of moisture with respect to powder.

36. An adapter with moisture-reactive powder on its inner surface to detect moisture leakage.