Apparatus And Methods To Mirror A Battery Operated Instrument

• US 20130211753A1
• Filed: 02/10/2012
• Published: 08/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aclara Meters LLC (Hubbell, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Ree, Bradley Richard, Boot, John Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 9,689,709 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/62
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 13/00002 characterised by monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/00 Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/30 State monitoring, e.g. fault, temperature monitoring, insulator monitoring, corona discharge
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods, apparatuses, and systems for mirroring instruments. In an embodiment, a plurality of mirror capable devices may report their capability. A mirror capable device may be selected from the plurality of mirror capable devices based on signaling conditions associated with the utility device'"'"'s power consumption.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining the signaling conditions of mirror capable devices;

selecting a mirror capable device based on the signaling conditions associated with power consumption of a utility device; and

forming a mirror between the selected mirror capable device and the utility device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting data from the utility device to the selected mirror capable device in regular or irregular periods.

3. The method of claim 1, the utility device is a battery powered device.

4. The method of claim 3, the battery powered device is a meter.

5. The method of claim 1, further selecting the mirror capable device based on the power source of the mirror capable device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising registering the mirror capable device with an energy service interface.

7. A utility device configured to:

determine the signaling conditions of mirror capable devices;

select a mirror capable device based on the signaling conditions associated with power consumption of transmitting data to the mirror capable device; and

transmit data to the selected mirror capable device.

8. The utility device of claim 7, the data transmitted periodically to the selected mirror capable device.

9. The utility device of claim 7, the utility device is a battery powered device.

10. The utility device of claim 9, the battery powered device is a meter.

11. The utility device of claim 7, further configured to select the mirror capable device based on the power source of the mirror capable device.

12. The utility device of claim 7, the mirror capable device is registered with an energy service interface.

13. The utility device of claim 7, the determination of the signaling condition including the utility device pinging each mirror capable device to determine radio frequency signal strength to each mirror capable device.

14. A system comprising:

a utility device; and

a mirror capable device selected from a plurality of mirror capable devices, the selected mirror capable device configured to receive data from the utility device, the received data mirrored by the selected mirror capable device, the selection based on power consumption of the utility device associated with signaling conditions between the utility device and the selected mirror capable device.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising an energy service interface communicatively coupled with the selected mirror capable device.

16. The system of claim 15, the energy service interface configured to receive data from the selected mirror capable device.

17. The system of claim 14, the utility device further configured to:

transmit data to the selected mirror capable device.

18. The system of claim 14, the utility device is a battery powered meter.

19. The system of claim 15, the energy service interface configured to determine the selected mirror capable device.

20. The system of claim 14, the selected mirror capable device configured to periodically transmit the received utility device data to an energy service interface mirror.