Method and system for remote updates of meters for metering the consumption of electricity, water or gas
First Claim
1. A method of remote metering consumption of utilities distributed to a plurality of consumers, each consumer being associated with at least one remote meter, wherein:
- each remote meter measures a consumption and reports the measured consumption to a concentrator associated with a plurality of remote meters;
the concentrator communicates with the plurality of remote meters associated with the concentrator in order to collect consumption data and to perform tasks related to the administration of the associated remote meters;
each remote meter includes a host controller and a program memory, the host controller executing programs stored in the program memory;
the concentrator transmits program data including information defining a sequence of program instructions to at least one of the plurality of remote meters associated with the concentrator, the concentrator successively transmitting program data messages, each program data message including a portion of the program data;
each remote meter receives the program data;
the concentrator queries each associated meter whether the queried meter has received the successively-transmitted program data messages including different portions of the program data; and
if a queried meter reports one or more missing or incorrectly received program data messages, then the concentrator retransmits in a broadcast mode the one or more program data messages reported by the queried meter to be incorrect or missing;
each associated meter receives those one or more program data messages during the retransmission which the respective meter has missed or incorrectly received; and
each associated meter updates at least a portion of the programs stored in the program memory in accordance with the received program data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a method and system of remote metering the consumption of utilities like electricity, water or gas, each of a plurality of remote meters (RM) measures a consumption and reports the measured-consumption to a concentrator (C). The concentrator (C) communicates with a plurality of remote meters (RM) in order to collect consumption data and perform tasks related to the administration of its associated remote meters (RM). Each remote meter (RM) has a host controller (MCM) and a program memory storing programs for execution by the host controller (MCM). In order to update some or all of the application programs running on the host controller (MCM) of the remote meters (RM), the concentrator (C) transmits program data to the remote meters (RM), and the remote meters (RM) receive the program data and update at least a portion of the program stored in the program memory in accordance with the received program data.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of remote metering consumption of utilities distributed to a plurality of consumers, each consumer being associated with at least one remote meter, wherein:
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each remote meter measures a consumption and reports the measured consumption to a concentrator associated with a plurality of remote meters; the concentrator communicates with the plurality of remote meters associated with the concentrator in order to collect consumption data and to perform tasks related to the administration of the associated remote meters; each remote meter includes a host controller and a program memory, the host controller executing programs stored in the program memory; the concentrator transmits program data including information defining a sequence of program instructions to at least one of the plurality of remote meters associated with the concentrator, the concentrator successively transmitting program data messages, each program data message including a portion of the program data; each remote meter receives the program data; the concentrator queries each associated meter whether the queried meter has received the successively-transmitted program data messages including different portions of the program data; and if a queried meter reports one or more missing or incorrectly received program data messages, then the concentrator retransmits in a broadcast mode the one or more program data messages reported by the queried meter to be incorrect or missing; each associated meter receives those one or more program data messages during the retransmission which the respective meter has missed or incorrectly received; and each associated meter updates at least a portion of the programs stored in the program memory in accordance with the received program data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A concentrator for collecting data regarding the consumption of utilities from a plurality of associated remote meters, each associated remote meter having a host controller and a program memory for storing a program to be executed by the host controller of the remote meter, the concentrator comprising:
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a communication interface for communicating with the plurality of associated remote meters; a microcontroller for processing data received from the associated remote meters through the communication interface; the microcontroller being programmed to transmit program data including information defining a sequence of program instructions to at least one of the associated remote meters for updating at least a portion of the programs stored in the program memory of the at least one associated remote meter; wherein the concentrator is arranged to; transmit the program data by successively transmitting program data messages, each successive program data message including a portion of the program data, successively query whether each associated remote meter has received the successively-transmitted program data messages including different portions of the program data; and if a queried remote meter reports one or more missing or incorrectly received program data messages, retransmit in a broadcast mode to the associated remote meters the one or more program data messages reported by the queried remote meter to be incorrect or missing. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A remote meter for measuring the consumption of utilities, comprising:
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a communication interface for transmitting data concerning the measured consumption of utilities to a concentrator; a host controller and a program memory, the host controller being arranged to execute programs stored in the program memory relating to measuring of the consumption of the utilities and administration of the remote meter; wherein the remote meter is arranged to; receive program data including information defining a sequence of program instructions transmitted in the form of program data messages, each program data message including a portion of the program data from the concentrator through the communication interface, receive a query from the concentrator whether the remote meter has received the successively-transmitted program data messages including different portions of the program data; send a report to the concentrator when one or more of the program data messages is missing or incorrectly received; receive a broadcast from the concentrator with one or more program data messages reported by the remote meter or at least one other report meter to be incorrect or missing; and update at least a portion of the programs stored in the program memory in accordance with the received program data. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification