Two and three wire utility data communications system
First Claim
1. An encoded register for communicating data from a utility meter or the like over at least two wire lines, comprising:
- encoder means, responsive to a quantity of a commodity being measured by the utility meter and to an external interrogate signal applied to the lines, for producing a modulated data signal indicative of the quantity and;
means for applying the modulated data signal to the wire lines, the interrogate signal being modulated by the encoder means so as to vary the current flowing over the wire lines when the encoder means is coupled via two wire lines, so as to produce the modulated data signal, and the interrogate signal being used by the encoder means to generate a data signal whose characteristics are varied when the encoder means is coupled via at least three wire lines, so as to generate the modulated data signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A two wire/three wire utility data communications system for remotely reading utility meter registers. In the two wire version, a hand-held reading unit is inductively coupled over two wires via a port located remotely from a meter register. Alternatively, a meter interface unit (MIU) may be connected directly to the register via three wires. Each register includes one or more wheel position encoders. An AC interrogation signal is applied by the reading unit to encoder circuitry at the meter which powers the circuitry and causes the position of each encoder wheel to be read. In the two wire mode, register display information (e.g. the current meter reading) is transmitted back to the reading unit by varying the load (impedance) presented by the register side of the circuit. This causes a corresponding variation of the amount of current drawn from the reading unit. The current-modulated signal is decoded by the reading unit and converted into a register reading. The system can also operate in a three wire mode and read older fourteen wire encoded registers. Other features include remote programmability of register characteristics, the ability to interrogate multiple registers which share a common data bus, verification of encoder wheel positions before accepting a reading, real-time flow rate/leak detection, pulse output, and the capability of reading compound meters (i.e. meters having two registers to separately measure high/low flow rates).
135 Citations
31 Claims
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1. An encoded register for communicating data from a utility meter or the like over at least two wire lines, comprising:
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encoder means, responsive to a quantity of a commodity being measured by the utility meter and to an external interrogate signal applied to the lines, for producing a modulated data signal indicative of the quantity and; means for applying the modulated data signal to the wire lines, the interrogate signal being modulated by the encoder means so as to vary the current flowing over the wire lines when the encoder means is coupled via two wire lines, so as to produce the modulated data signal, and the interrogate signal being used by the encoder means to generate a data signal whose characteristics are varied when the encoder means is coupled via at least three wire lines, so as to generate the modulated data signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification