Optimization of redundancy and throughput in an automated meter data collection system using a wireless network

• US 8,073,384 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2006
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elster Electricity LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Elster Electricity LLC (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Shuey, Kenneth C., Borleske, Andrew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Corsaro, Nick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Choo, Munsoon
• Application Number:
  US11/610,546
• Publication Number:
  US 20080144548A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,818 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310, 455/7, 455/9, 455/405, 455/428, 34087001-87003, 324/110
• US Class Current: 455/7
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

Techniques for optimization of redundancy and throughput in an automated meter data collection system using a wireless network are disclosed herein. The wireless network comprises a central node, a plurality of bi-directional nodes, and a plurality of transmit-only meters. Each of the bi-directional nodes is in bi-directional wireless communication with the central node and has a wireless communication path to the central node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate bi-directional nodes serving as relay nodes. The transmit-only meters wirelessly transmit meter data that is then relayed by one or more bi-directional nodes to the central node. Each of the bi-directional nodes is assigned one or more authorized transmit-only meters, and each of the bi-directional nodes is configured to relay meter data only from its authorized transmit-only meters, thereby providing an optimum level of redundancy and throughput in the network.

Claims

1. A wireless network comprising:

a central node;

a plurality of bi-directional nodes in bi-directional wireless communication with the central node, each of the bi-directional nodes having a wireless communication path to the central node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate bi-directional nodes serving as relay nodes; and

a plurality of transmit-only meters that wirelessly transmit meter data that is then relayed by one or more bi-directional nodes to the central node,

the central node configured to receive information concerning the one-way communication performance between a bi-directional node and each of a set of transmit-only meters in range of the bi-directional node, to compile a list of a subset of the transmit-only meters from which data is permitted to be relayed by said bi-directional node, and to transmit the list to said bi-directional node.

2. The wireless network of claim 1, wherein each bi-directional node has a single, designated path to the central node.

3. The wireless network of claim 1, wherein each bi-directional node has multiple, dynamic paths to the central node.

4. A method for optimizing redundancy and throughput in a wireless network comprising a central node, a plurality of bi-directional nodes in bi-directional wireless communication with the central node, and a plurality of transmit-only meters that wirelessly transmit meter data that is then relayed by one or more bi-directional nodes to the central node, wherein each of the bi-directional nodes has a wireless communication path to the central node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate bi-directional nodes serving as relay nodes, the method comprising the following steps performed at a first bi-directional node:

storing a list of transmit-only meters from which the bi-directional node is permitted to receive and relay meter data, the list comprising a subset of said plurality of transmit-only meters, the list having been compiled based on results of a scan process that evaluates the one-way communications performance of each of a set of transmit-only meters in communication range of the bi-directional node;

receiving meter data from a first transmit-only meter;

determining whether or not the first transmit-only meter is in the stored list; and

relaying the meter data received from the first transmit-only meter if the first transmit-only meter is in the stored list, but not relaying the meter data if the first transmit-only meter is not in the stored list.

5. The method of claim 4, comprising relaying the meter data to the central node indirectly through one or more intermediate bi-directional nodes serving as relay nodes.

6. The method of claim 4, comprising relaying the meter data directly to the central node as part of a single data packet that includes meter data from multiple transmit-only meters included in the stored list.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising stripping load profile data from the meter data from the multiple authorized transmit-only meters.

8. A method for optimizing redundancy and throughput in a wireless network comprising a central node, a plurality of bi-directional nodes in bi-directional wireless communication with the central node, and a plurality of transmit-only meters that wirelessly transmit meter data that is then relayed by one or more bi-directional nodes to the central node, wherein each of the bi-directional nodes has a wireless communication path to the central node that is either a direct path or an indirect path through one or more intermediate bi-directional nodes serving as relay nodes, the method comprising:

receiving results of a scan process involving a set of transmit-only meters in communication range of a bi-directional node, the results comprising data that reflects a one-way communications performance of each of the set of transmit-only meters in communication range of the bi-directional node;

selecting, based on the results of the scan process, less than all of the transmit-only meters in the set of transmit-only meters and storing an identifier of each selected transmit-only meter in a list;

receiving meter data from a transmit-only meter;

determining whether or not an identifier of the transmit-only meter from which the meter data was received is in the stored list; and

relaying the meter data received from the transmit-only meter if the transmit-only meter is in the stored list, but not relaying the meter data if the first transmit-only meter is not in the stored list.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising dynamically updating the list based on updated results from a repeatedly performed scan process.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said selecting comprises selecting transmit-only meters that communicate with the bi-directional node with a received signal strength exceeding a threshold level.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said selecting comprises selecting a pre-determined number of transmit-only meters with a best communication performance relative to one another.

12. The method of claim 8, each transmit-only meter may be included in the stored lists of a predetermined maximum number of bi-directional nodes, and wherein the method further comprises:

not selecting and not storing in the list a transmit-only meter from the set of transmit-only meters in communication range of the bi-directional node if it is determined that transmit-only meter has already been included in the stored lists of the predetermined maximum number of other bi-directional nodes.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising ensuring that each transmit-only meter in the set of transmit-only meters is stored in the list of at least one bi-directional node.