In-home display that communicates with a fixed network meter reading system
First Claim
1. A method of providing commodity consumption information to a user via a display, comprising:
- listening to communications traffic at said display;
retrieving said commodity consumption information from a utility meter associated with said display; and
updating said display with said commodity consumption information.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A display system that communicates with existing automated meter reading communications systems to provide information to a user. The display includes a radio that listens to communications between a utility meter and the reading system. When the display recognizes a particular utility meter identifier, it captures meter read information and stores it in memory. The information may then be presented to the user. Alternatively, a broadcast message may be communicated, that when received by the display, causes the display to extract information from the receiver. A manual override button may be provided to allow a user to manually request information from the meter. The display will extract information from the meter upon receipt of the manual request.
154 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of providing commodity consumption information to a user via a display, comprising:
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listening to communications traffic at said display;
retrieving said commodity consumption information from a utility meter associated with said display; and
updating said display with said commodity consumption information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A display that communicates to an automated meter reading system, comprising:
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memory for storing commodity consumption data;
firmware contain executable instructions for receiving said commodity consumption data from said automated meter reading system;
a microcontroller; and
a radio adapted to communicate with a utility meter associated with said display and said automated meter reading system. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An in-home display that provides commodity consumption information, comprising:
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firmware contain executable instructions for receiving said commodity consumption data from a meter associated with said in-home display;
memory for storing said commodity consumption data;
a microcontroller executing said executable instructions; and
a radio in communication said automated meter reading system, wherein said radio receives communications from said meter and said automated meter reading system, and wherein said microcontroller parses data contained said communications to determine if an identifier of said utility meter is present, and if so, stores said commodity consumption data. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification