COMBINED CATHODIC PROTECTION AND METER READING MONITORING SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A telemetry system for transmitting data related to cathodic protection operational conditions and utility usage between user locations and a centralized data collection facility, said system comprising:
- a plurality of utility metrology means and associated endpoint devices, situated at respective locations of utility consumption, for transmitting utility consumption data associated with a respective location;
at least one cathodic protection telemetry device respectively associated with at least one of such locations having an associated cathodic protection system device, for monitoring predetermined cathodic protection operational conditions at such telemetry device location and providing data related thereto to an endpoint device associated with such location for transmission by such endpoint device;
a main communications network;
at least one collector, for communications with said endpoint devices and said main communications network; and
a head end processor for communications with said main communications network, such that utility consumption data and cathodic protection operational conditions data are collected and communicated to said head end processor via said main communications network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are apparatus and related methodologies for increasing functionality of gas metrology devices used in a supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) network by combining the collection of meter data with cathodic protection (CP) monitoring data in a single system. Per present subject matter, CP monitoring data may be collected at individual metrology locations and combined with data otherwise bubbled up to SCADA data collectors for transmission to the network head end. CP data collection and transmission with the bubbled up metrology data provides a significant increase in the amount of CP data collected and offers the advantage of relatively earlier detection of CP installation related problems in addition to significant reduction in data collection costs.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A telemetry system for transmitting data related to cathodic protection operational conditions and utility usage between user locations and a centralized data collection facility, said system comprising:
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a plurality of utility metrology means and associated endpoint devices, situated at respective locations of utility consumption, for transmitting utility consumption data associated with a respective location; at least one cathodic protection telemetry device respectively associated with at least one of such locations having an associated cathodic protection system device, for monitoring predetermined cathodic protection operational conditions at such telemetry device location and providing data related thereto to an endpoint device associated with such location for transmission by such endpoint device; a main communications network; at least one collector, for communications with said endpoint devices and said main communications network; and a head end processor for communications with said main communications network, such that utility consumption data and cathodic protection operational conditions data are collected and communicated to said head end processor via said main communications network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A bidirectional gas AMI/SCADA network for transmitting data related to cathodic protection operational conditions and gas usage between user locations and a centralized data collection facility, said network comprising:
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a plurality of combined gas metrology/endpoint devices for obtaining and transmitting gas usage data associated with its respective location; a plurality of cathodic protection monitoring devices, respectively associated with selected of said metrology/endpoint device locations, for monitoring at least one preselected condition related to cathodic protection status at such selected location, and providing cathodic protection status data to the associated metrology/endpoint device for transmittal therefrom; a WAN; a plurality of data collection devices, for bidirectional communications with selected of said metrology/endpoint devices and said WAN; and a centralized data collection facility in bidirectional communication with said WAN, for receiving and processing gas usage data and cathodic protection status data. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for gathering data for monitoring gas consumption and data for cathodic protection operational conditions associated with a gas pipeline of a gas utility provider, comprising:
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transmitting gas consumption data from a plurality of endpoint devices associated with respective locations of gas utility usage; monitoring for preselected cathodic protection operational conditions at selected of such gas utility usage locations, and creating data for such monitored conditions; transmitting the gas consumption data and monitored conditions data to at least one collector; and communicating such data to a head end processor via such collector and a main communications network, such that gas consumption data and cathodic protection operational conditions data are collected and communicated to a central location for processing, to permit efficient monitoring of gas utility usage and associated gas pipeline protection conditions by a gas utility provider. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification