Outage notification, such as fixed network positive outage notification
First Claim
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1. A fixed network positive outage notification system, comprising:
- multiple utility meters that each collect consumption data from a utility, wherein each utility meter includes an outage notification module that wirelessly transmits multiple notification messages upon determining an outage of the utility at the utility meter;
multiple collectors, wirelessly connected to at least some of the utility meters, wherein at least one of the multiple collectors receives at least one of the multiple notification messages from the utility meter, decodes the at least one received notification message to determine contents of the received notification message, and transmits an alarm packet containing an alarm message positively identifying the outage when the determined contents contain a positive indication of the outage at the utility; and
a central collector, communicatively coupled to the multiple collectors, wherein the central collector receives the alarm packet, decodes the alarm packet to extract the alarm message, and transmits the alarm message to an outage management system to begin a process of restoration of the outage.
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Abstract
Methods and systems of providing positive outage notification are described. In some examples, the system determines there is an outage at a facility and transmits multiple messages notifying a utility of the outage. In some examples, the messages are received at multiple message collectors. In some examples, the system determines restoration procedures based on the messages.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A fixed network positive outage notification system, comprising:
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multiple utility meters that each collect consumption data from a utility, wherein each utility meter includes an outage notification module that wirelessly transmits multiple notification messages upon determining an outage of the utility at the utility meter; multiple collectors, wirelessly connected to at least some of the utility meters, wherein at least one of the multiple collectors receives at least one of the multiple notification messages from the utility meter, decodes the at least one received notification message to determine contents of the received notification message, and transmits an alarm packet containing an alarm message positively identifying the outage when the determined contents contain a positive indication of the outage at the utility; and a central collector, communicatively coupled to the multiple collectors, wherein the central collector receives the alarm packet, decodes the alarm packet to extract the alarm message, and transmits the alarm message to an outage management system to begin a process of restoration of the outage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A computer-readable medium storing contents that cause a utility meter to perform a method of notifying a utility provider of an outage at a utility consuming facility associated with the utility meter, the method comprising:
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at the utility meter, detecting the outage of the utility as associated with the utility consuming facility, wherein the detecting includes identifying a state of one or more variables related to consumption of the utility; and at the utility meter, wirelessly transmitting two or more signals, wherein each of the two or more signals each contain information directly related to the outage associated with the utility consuming facility. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of determining an outage of a utility via a fixed network automated utility data collection system, the method comprising:
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receiving at least one of two or more outage notification messages wirelessly sent from a utility meter, wherein the outage notification messages are received by at least one of two or more message collectors located in the fixed network automated utility data collection system, and wherein the two or more message collectors are within wireless range of the utility meter; reviewing, at the message collectors, outage information related to the outage from the received notification messages, wherein the reviewed outage information is transmitted to a central collector located in the fixed network automated utility data collection system; and identifying, at the central collector, the outage based on the reviewed outage information. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24)
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23. A positive outage notification system, comprising:
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an outage determination component, wherein the outage determination component determines a possible outage associated with a utility consuming facility; a message transmission component, wherein the message transmission component transmits multiple messages containing information related to the possible outage. a message reception component, wherein the message reception component receives at least one of the multiple messages; an message information extraction component, wherein the message information extraction component extracts the information related to the possible outage; and an outage confirmation component, wherein the outage confirmation component confirms the possible outage as an outage based on the extracted information.
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25. A method of confirming a restoration of an outage associated with a utility, the method comprising:
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at a utility meter in communication with the utility, wirelessly transmitting two or more signals, wherein each of the two or more signals each contain information directly related to a positive indication of a restoration of the outage associated with the utility; and at two or more signal collectors located in a fixed network automated utility data collection system and located within wireless range of the utility meter, receiving at least one of the two or more signals.
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Specification