Electronic meter for networked meter reading
First Claim
1. A method for relaying meter commodity information to a target node in an automatic meter reading (AMR) data communication network, the method comprising:
- receiving, at a first meter node in the AMR network, a data packet including the meter commodity information, wherein the first meter node comprises a meter configured to measure commodity characteristic data;
determining, at the first meter node, whether the first meter node is the target node based on identifier information in the data packet; and
if the first meter node is not the target node, relaying the data packet to a second node in the AMR network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic meter reading (AMR) data communication network for relaying meter commodity information includes a commodity provider node, a gateway node configured to communicate with the commodity provider node, and meter nodes configured to measure commodity characteristic data and communicate with the gateway node and with other meter nodes. A source node of the meter nodes generates a data packet that includes meter commodity information to be relayed to the commodity provider node, and when a first meter node of the meter nodes receives the source data packet, the first meter node relays the source data packet to a second node. The second node can include another meter node, a repeater node, the gateway node, or the commodity provider node. In an embodiment, the first meter node determines whether the data packet specifies a relay path for relaying the source data packet to the commodity provider node.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. A method for relaying meter commodity information to a target node in an automatic meter reading (AMR) data communication network, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a first meter node in the AMR network, a data packet including the meter commodity information, wherein the first meter node comprises a meter configured to measure commodity characteristic data; determining, at the first meter node, whether the first meter node is the target node based on identifier information in the data packet; and if the first meter node is not the target node, relaying the data packet to a second node in the AMR network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A meter for relaying meter commodity information to a target node in an automatic meter reading (AMR) data communication network having the meter as a first meter node, the meter comprising:
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means for measuring commodity characteristic data; means for receiving a data packet including the meter commodity information; means for processing data packets, wherein the processing means determines whether the first meter node is the target node based on identifier information in the data packet; and means for relaying the data packet to a second node in the AMR network if the first meter node is not the target node. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A meter for relaying meter commodity information to a target node in an automatic meter reading (AMR) data communication network having the meter as a first meter node, the meter comprising:
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a measurement module configured to measure commodity characteristic data; a communications module configured to transmit and receive data packets, wherein the communications module receives a data packet including the meter commodity information; and a processing module configured to process data packets, wherein the processing module determines whether the first meter node is the target node based on identifier information included in the received data packet, and wherein the communications module relays the data packet to a second node in the AMR network if the first meter node is not the target node. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An automatic meter reading (AMR) data communication network for relaying meter commodity information, comprising:
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a commodity provider node; a gateway node configured to communicate with the commodity provider node; and a plurality of meter nodes configured to measure commodity characteristic data and communicate with the gateway node and with other meter nodes, wherein a source node of the meter nodes generates a data packet that includes meter commodity information to be relayed to the commodity provider node, and when a first meter node of the meter nodes receives the source data packet, the first meter node relays the source data packet to a second node of the AMR network. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification