Method of and system for accumulating verifiable energy demand data from remote electricity meters
First Claim
1. A system for accumulating verifiable energy demand data from a remote electricity meter of a type having at least one register indicating accumulated demand and generating pulses corresponding to demand rate, comprising:
- means for detecting pulses generated by said meter;
means for counting the pulses detected by said detecting means during a predetermined measurement interval to develop an interval pulse count;
means for digitally encoding an output of said register;
means for reading an output of said encoding means at the last of a predetermined number of measurement intervals;
solid state memory means for storing data; and
means for storing interval pulse counts and encoded register readings in different addressable locations of said memory means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Pulses generated by the pulse initiator of an electricity meter (30) are counted during successive measurement intervals. The pulse count for each interval is stored in the solid state memory (42) of a recorder (10), to be thereafter transmitted to a central computer and printed and/or displayed to obtain energy demand survey and billing data. The operation of the recorder is controlled by a programmable microprocessor (38). To verify the accuracy of the pulses counted during each interval, the counts are accumulated over a predetermined number of successive intervals constituting a record. The accumulated count is compared with an encoded register reading obtained from the meter (30) at the end of the record. If there is acceptable correlation between the accumulated count and encoded meter reading, the interval pulse counts associated with that record are deemed verified. Power for the recorder (10) is obtained from the powerline, except during power outages in which case a rechargeable battery (28) provides back-up power. Battery charging is under the control of the microprocessor.
29 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A system for accumulating verifiable energy demand data from a remote electricity meter of a type having at least one register indicating accumulated demand and generating pulses corresponding to demand rate, comprising:
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means for detecting pulses generated by said meter; means for counting the pulses detected by said detecting means during a predetermined measurement interval to develop an interval pulse count; means for digitally encoding an output of said register; means for reading an output of said encoding means at the last of a predetermined number of measurement intervals; solid state memory means for storing data; and means for storing interval pulse counts and encoded register readings in different addressable locations of said memory means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of accumulating verifiable energy demand data from a remote electricity meter of a type generating electrical pulses as a function of energy demand at the site of the meter and having at least one register providing an indication of accumulated energy demand, comprising the steps of;
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detecting electrical pulses generated by said meter; counting said pulses during a predetermined measurement interval to develop an interval pulse count; accumulating pulse counts over a predetermined number of intervals constituting a record to obtain an accumulated pulse count; digitally encoding the output of the register; reading the digitally encoded output at the end of each record; and comparing the encoded register reading with said accumulated pulse count to verify the pulse counts developed during the current record. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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Specification