APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR NETWORK-BASED GRID MANAGEMENT
First Claim
1. An apparatus for providing automatic metering capabilities to a resource grid, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of existing automatic meter reading (AMR) meters, each coupled to a resource consumption point, said each configured to periodically broadcast respective meter readings; and
a plurality of interface devices, each of said plurality of interface devices coupled to a corresponding one of said plurality of existing AMR meters, said each of said plurality of interface devices configured to receive one or more of said respective meter readings, and configured to provide said one or more of said respective meter readings over an existing communications infrastructure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for providing automatic metering capabilities to a resource grid is provided. The apparatus includes a plurality of existing automatic meter reading (AMR) meters and a plurality of interface devices. Each of the plurality of existing automatic meter reading (AMR) meters is coupled to a resource consumption point, the each is configured to periodically broadcast respective meter readings. Each of the plurality of interface devices is coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of existing AMR meters, and each of the plurality of interface devices is configured to receive one or more of the respective meter readings, and is configured to provide the one or more of the respective meter readings over an existing communications infrastructure.
39 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An apparatus for providing automatic metering capabilities to a resource grid, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of existing automatic meter reading (AMR) meters, each coupled to a resource consumption point, said each configured to periodically broadcast respective meter readings; and a plurality of interface devices, each of said plurality of interface devices coupled to a corresponding one of said plurality of existing AMR meters, said each of said plurality of interface devices configured to receive one or more of said respective meter readings, and configured to provide said one or more of said respective meter readings over an existing communications infrastructure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16)
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9. A metering grid, comprising:
an automatic metering infrastructure (AMI) meter, configured to provide for two-way communications to monitor consumption of a resource and to control consumption of said resource, said AMI meter comprising; a first automatic meter reading (AMR) meter, configured to periodically broadcast first meter readings corresponding to consumption of said resource; and a first interface device, configured to receive said first meter readings, and configured to provide said first meter readings over an existing communications infrastructure. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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17. A method for providing automatic metering capabilities to a resource grid, the method comprising:
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first coupling each of a plurality of existing automatic meter reading (AMR) meters to a respective resource consumption point; second coupling each of a plurality of interface devices to the each of a plurality of AMR meters, wherein the each of the interface devices receives meter readings that are broadcast by one or more of the plurality of AMR meters; and transmitting the meter readings over an existing communications infrastructure to a resource provider. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification