TIME DIVERSIFIED PACKET PROTOCOL
First Claim
1. A method of reporting information from a meter in an automated meter reading system, comprising:
- (a) reading the meter upon a series of reading intervals;
(b) transmitting a packet comprising first and second non-sequential readings and a third reading from said series, and an indicator of time elapsed since each said reading was taken, wherein said packet does not include a reading from said series between said non-sequential readings, and wherein the interval between the third reading and the closest of the first or second readings is not equal to the interval between the first and second readings; and
(c) subsequently transmitting a packet comprising a reading more recent than either of said non-sequential readings and another reading from said series between said first and second non-sequential readings.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of reporting information from a meter interface unit to a receiving device in which a data packet is transferred from the meter interface unit containing meter readings, which are associated with an indicator of the elapsed time since the reading was taken. The receiving device compares this elapsed time value with the actual elapsed time, based upon the internal clock of the receiving device, in order to determine any inaccuracies in the clock of the meter interface unit. In another embodiment, the data packet includes at least two nonsequential meter readings, separated by a multiplicity of reading intervals, on a rolling basis, such that data will not be lost as a result of a temporary obstruction that interferes with the transmission or receipt of meter readings.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of reporting information from a meter in an automated meter reading system, comprising:
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(a) reading the meter upon a series of reading intervals; (b) transmitting a packet comprising first and second non-sequential readings and a third reading from said series, and an indicator of time elapsed since each said reading was taken, wherein said packet does not include a reading from said series between said non-sequential readings, and wherein the interval between the third reading and the closest of the first or second readings is not equal to the interval between the first and second readings; and (c) subsequently transmitting a packet comprising a reading more recent than either of said non-sequential readings and another reading from said series between said first and second non-sequential readings. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of reporting information from a meter in an automated meter reading system, comprising:
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(a) receiving a packet of data from a meter interface unit (MIU) in communication with said meter, said packet containing at least one reading of said meter, each said reading being associated with an indicator reporting the time elapsed since said reading was taken based on a clock of said MIU; (b) associating each reading in said packet with the actual time said reading was taken based upon a clock of said receiving device and said time indicator; (c) repeating the preceding steps with a later packet, said later packet containing at least one of the same readings as said first packet, the elapsed time indicator of said same reading in said later packet being different than the elapsed time indicator of said same reading in said first packet; and (d) comparing the actual time elapsed between said same readings based upon the clock of said receiving device with the reported time elapsed between said same readings based upon said elapsed time indicators.
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15. A method of reporting information from a meter in an automated meter reading system, comprising:
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(a) receiving a first packet of data from a meter interface unit (MIU) that makes readings of said meter upon reading intervals, said packet containing at least two readings of said meter, each said reading being associated with an indicator of the time elapsed since said reading was taken based on a clock of said MIU and wherein at least two of the readings in said packet are non-sequential and the elapsed time between them exceeds a multiplicity of reading intervals; (b) associating each reading in said packet with the actual time said reading was taken based upon a clock of said receiving device and said time indicator; (c) repeating the preceding steps with a later packet, said later packet containing at least one of the same readings as said first packet, the elapsed time indicator of said same reading in said later packet being different than the elapsed time indicator of said same reading in said first packet; and (d) comparing the actual time elapsed between said same readings based upon the clock of said receiving device with the reported time elapsed between said same readings based upon said elapsed time indicators.
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Specification