Antenna for electric meter and method of manufacturing thereof
DCFirst Claim
1. For use with an electric meter chassis having a dielectric housing protruding therefrom, an antenna for allowing electric meter circuitry located in a circuit board rack within said chassis to communicate wirelessly through said dielectric housing, comprising:
- a wireless communication circuit couplable to said electric meter circuitry; and
an antenna element located within said dielectric housing proximate said circuit board rack, said antenna element coupled to said wireless communication circuit.
1 Assignment
Litigations
1 Petition
Reexaminations
Accused Products
Abstract
For use with an electric meter chassis having a dielectric housing protruding therefrom, an antenna for allowing electric meter circuitry within the chassis to communicate wirelessly through the dielectric housing and a method of manufacturing the same. In one embodiment, the antenna includes: (1) antenna elements, located within the dielectric housing and adapted to transmit and receive electromagnetic radiation and (2) a balance circuit, coupled to the antenna elements to cause the antenna elements to act as an antenna and couplable to an unbalanced output port of a wireless communication circuit, that balances an impedance of the unbalanced output port thereby to balance the antenna.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. For use with an electric meter chassis having a dielectric housing protruding therefrom, an antenna for allowing electric meter circuitry located in a circuit board rack within said chassis to communicate wirelessly through said dielectric housing, comprising:
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a wireless communication circuit couplable to said electric meter circuitry; and
an antenna element located within said dielectric housing proximate said circuit board rack, said antenna element coupled to said wireless communication circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
electric meter circuitry located in said dielectric housing; and
an electromagnetic shield located about at least a portion of said electric meter circuitry.
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5. The antenna as recited in claim 1 wherein said antenna element is arcuate and has a flattened lateral cross section.
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6. The antenna as recited in claim 1 wherein said antenna is a dipole antenna.
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7. The antenna as recited in claim 1 wherein said wireless communication circuit has a carrier frequency of between 700 and 950 megahertz.
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8. For use with an electric meter chassis having a dielectric housing protruding therefrom, a method of manufacturing an antenna for allowing electric meter circuitry located in a circuit board rack within said chassis to communicate wirelessly through said dielectric housing, comprising the steps of:
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providing a wireless communication circuit couplable to said electric meter circuitry; and
locating an antenna element within said dielectric housing proximate to said circuit board rack, said antenna element coupled to said wireless communication circuit. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
placing electric meter circuitry in said dielectric housing; and
placing an electromagnetic shield about at least a portion of said electric meter circuitry.
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12. The method as recited in claim 8 further comprising forming said antenna into a metal arc having a flattened lateral cross section.
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13. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said antenna is a dipole antenna.
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14. The method as recited in claim 8 further comprising generating a carrier frequency of between 700 and 950 megahertz in a wireless communication circuit.
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15. An electric meter, comprising:
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an electric meter chassis having a dielectric housing protruding therefrom;
electric meter circuitry located in a circuit board rack within said chassis;
a wireless communication circuit couplable to said electric meter circuitry; and
an antenna element located within said dielectric housing proximate said circuit board rack and coupled to said wireless communication circuit. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
energy usage, power demand, and power factor.
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23. The meter as recited in claim 15 wherein said wireless communication circuit communicates information selected from the group consisting of:
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time of use, and interval recordings of energy usage.
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24. The meter as recited in claim 15 wherein said wireless communication circuit communicates information selected from the group consisting of:
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power quality information, power outage information, site analysis information, and diagnostic information.
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25. The meter as recited in claim 15 wherein said chassis comprises a capacitively backed up power supply that powers said electric meter circuitry and said wireless communication circuit, thereby allowing said wireless communication circuit to communicate power outage information during a loss of power.
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26. The meter as recited in claim 15 further comprising a balance circuit that is a microstrip.
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27. The meter as recited in claim 15 wherein said chassis comprises a flex strip connector that couples said wireless communication circuit to said electric meter circuitry.
Specification