Method of remote metering of energy

• US 8,207,865 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2009
• Issued: 06/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kopp, Dieter, Stocker, Klaus, Vanderick, Jonathan, Wagner, Janosch
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Danny
• Application Number:
  US12/396,607
• Publication Number:
  US 20090224938A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,211 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.02, 340/870.01
• US Class Current: 340/870.02
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• 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

The invention concerns a method of remote metering of energy consumed and/or inputted by a plurality of energy consuming and/or inputting units (4) of a power grid (5) as well as a device for remote metering. Each unit (4) comprises at least one meter (2) and/or a meter box (1) connected with one or more meters (2) and the meter boxes (1) and/or the meters (2) are connected with at least one backend platform (3) via a communication network. At least two of the group of meter boxes (1), meters (2) and backend platforms (3) communicate with each other by means of a generic bi-directional resource management protocol on top of an IP protocol stack via the communication network and thereby encode and decode data transferred via the resource management protocol according to a predefined extensible specification comprising a functional group for meter information and control.

Claims

1. A method of remote metering of energy consumed and/or inputted by a plurality of energy consuming and/or inputting units of a power grid, wherein each unit comprises an energy consuming entity as well as at least one meter and/or a meter box connected with one or more meters, the method comprising:

connecting the meter boxes and/or the meters with at least one backend platform via a communication network;

electrically connecting the meters at one end with the power grid and at the other end with the energy consuming entities; and

communicating between at least two of the group of meter boxes, meters and backend platforms by means of a generic bi-directional resource management protocol on top of an IP protocol stack via the communication network and thereby encoding and decoding data transferred via the resource management protocol according to a predefined extensible specification comprising a functional group for meter information and control;

wherein the function group for meter information and control comprises a data element for connecting and disconnecting the unit from the power grid;

wherein the extensible specification comprises a functional group for home automation;

wherein the functional group for home automation comprises a data element for consumption detection and a data element for device control.

2. The method of remote metering of energy according to claim 1, wherein the functional group for meter information and control comprises

a data element for specifying a meter, and

a data element for specifying meter events.

3. The method of remote metering of energy according to claim 2, wherein the data element for specifying the meter comprises

a data element for specifying a medium measured by the meter to be one of electricity, gas, heating or water.

4. The method of remote metering of energy according to claim 2, wherein the data element for specifying the meter comprises

a data element indicating if the unit is a mobile unit.

5. The method of remote metering of energy according to claim 1, wherein the functional group for meter information and control comprises

an extendable data element for specifying data transferable from and to the meter, the extendable data element comprising successive data elements for at least one of measured power, voltage, frequency, total energy, inter meter communication, prepayment and/or charge.

6. The method of remote metering of energy according to claim 1, wherein the functional group for meter information and control comprises

an data element for inter mobile communication.

7. A device for remote metering of energy consumed and/or inputted by one of a plurality of energy consuming and/or inputting units of a power grid, wherein each unit comprises an energy consuming entity, and wherein the device for remote metering of energy consumed and/or inputted by one of the of energy consuming and/or inputting units of the power grid is at the one end electrically connected with the power grid and at the other end electrically connected with the energy consuming entities,

whereby the device comprises communication means is adapted to communicate via an communication network by means of a generic bi-directional resource management protocol on top of an IP protocol stack with a backend platform or with another device for remote metering of energy consumed and/or inputted by one of the plurality of energy consuming and/or inputting units of the power grid and thereby encode and decode the data transferred via the resource management protocol according to an predefined extensible specification comprising a functional group for meter information and control,

wherein the function group for meter information and control comprises a data element for connecting and disconnecting the unit from the power grid,

wherein the extensible specification comprises a functional group for home automation, and

wherein the functional group for home automation comprises a data element for consumption detection and a data element for device control.

8. The device according to claim 7, the functional group for meter information and control comprising:

a data element for specifying a meter; and

a data element for specifying meter events.

9. The device according to claim 8, the data element for specifying the meter comprising:

a data element indicating if the meter is a mobile meter.

10. A method for remote metering of energy in relation to a power grid, comprising:

providing at least one meter at a subscriber unit, each meter connected at one end to a power grid and at another end to at least one of an energy consuming entity and an energy generating entity, each meter adapted to measure energy provided by the power grid and consumed by the energy consuming entity and energy generated by the energy generating entity and provided to the power grid; and

communicating between the subscriber unit and a backend platform using an IP protocol stack via a communication network, wherein data transferred between the subscriber unit and the backend platform relates to energy consumed by the energy consuming entity and energy generated by the energy generating entity and is encoded and decoded using a generic bi-directional resource management protocol on top of the IP protocol stack, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol defined by a predefined extensible specification and comprising a first data element for connecting and disconnecting the at least one meter from the power grid, a second data element for consumption detection, and a third data element for device control.

11. The method according to claim 10, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol further comprising:

a fourth data element for specifying a meter; and

a fifth data element for specifying meter events.

12. The method according to claim 11, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol further comprising:

a sixth data element associated with the meter specified by the fourth data element, the sixth data element for specifying a medium measured by the corresponding meter to be one of electricity, gas, heating or water.

13. The method according to claim 11, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol further comprising:

a sixth data element associated with the meter specified by the fourth data element, the sixth data element for indicating if the corresponding meter is a mobile meter.

14. The method according to claim 10, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol further comprising:

an extendable data element for specifying data transferable from and to the subscriber unit, the extendable data element comprising successive data elements for at least one of measured power, voltage, frequency, total energy, inter meter communication, prepayment, and charge.

15. The method according to claim 10, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol further comprising:

a fourth data element for inter mobile communication.

16. An apparatus for remote metering of energy in relation to a power grid, comprising:

means for connecting on one end to a power grid;

means for connecting on another end to at least one of an energy consuming entity and an energy generating entity;

means for measuring energy provided by the power grid and consumed by the energy consuming entity and energy generated by the energy generating entity and provided to the power grid; and

means for communicating with a backend platform using an IP protocol stack via a communication network, wherein the data transferred to and from the backend platform relates to energy consumed by the energy consuming entity and energy generated by the energy generating entity and is encoded and decoded using a generic bi-directional resource management protocol on top of the IP protocol stack, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol defined by a predefined extensible specification and comprising a first data element for connecting and disconnecting to the power grid, a second data element for consumption detection, and a third data element for device control.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol further comprising:

a fourth data element for specifying a meter; and

a fifth data element for specifying meter events.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol further comprising:

a sixth data element associated with the meter specified by the fourth data element, the sixth data element for specifying a medium measured by the corresponding meter to be one of electricity, gas, heating or water.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol further comprising:

a sixth data element associated with the meter specified by the fourth data element, the sixth data element for indicating if the corresponding meter is a mobile meter.

20. The apparatus according to claim 16, the generic bi-directional resource management protocol further comprising:

an extendable data element for specifying data transferable from and to the subscriber unit, the extendable data element comprising successive data elements for at least one of measured power, voltage, frequency, total energy, inter meter communication, prepayment, and charge.