Communal metering system
First Claim
1. A method of controlling the use of a utility at a plurality of consumer sites comprising:
- supplying the utility to each of said plurality of consumer sites via metering means located at a metering site remote from the consumer sites;
monitoring, at the metering site, consumption of the utility at each consumer site by means of a plurality of respective separate measurement modules;
generating consumption data at the metering site corresponding to the consumption of the utility at each consumer site;
outputting said consumption data from each measurement module to a common control circuit at the metering site which generates display data for transmission to display means at each consumer site;
transmitting the display data to said display at each consumer site; and
generating a display at each consumer site from the display data, indicative of the consumption of the utility at that consumer site.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A communal electricity metering system supplies electricity to consumer sites via metering sites which each comprise a number of separate metering and meaurement devices, and a common control unit. The control unit stores credit data for each consumer site, and monitors the consumption of electricity at each site, interrupting the supply when the respective credit is exhausted. Display units at the consumer sites communicate with the control unit, which transmits status data to each display unit. In addition, a consumer can use the display unit to communicate with a central control station via the control circuit at the metering site, via a combination of mains-borne and radio communication, to purchase additional credits and to receive confirmation of the entering of such credits at the metering site.
54 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of controlling the use of a utility at a plurality of consumer sites comprising:
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supplying the utility to each of said plurality of consumer sites via metering means located at a metering site remote from the consumer sites; monitoring, at the metering site, consumption of the utility at each consumer site by means of a plurality of respective separate measurement modules; generating consumption data at the metering site corresponding to the consumption of the utility at each consumer site; outputting said consumption data from each measurement module to a common control circuit at the metering site which generates display data for transmission to display means at each consumer site; transmitting the display data to said display at each consumer site; and
generating a display at each consumer site from the display data, indicative of the consumption of the utility at that consumer site. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for controlling the use of a utility at a plurality of consumer sites comprising:
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metering means located at a metering site remote from said plurality of consumer sites and arranged to control the supply of a utility to each consumer site; monitoring means comprising a plurality of separate measurement modules located at the metering site and arranged to monitor the consumption of the utility at each respective consumer site and to generate consumption data corresponding to the consumption of the utility at each consumer site; a common control circuit which receives the consumption data from each measurement module and generates display data therefrom for transmission to display means at each consumer site; and display means located at each consumer site and responsive to the display data to generate a display indicative of the consumption of the utility at that consumer site. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification