Advanced metering infrastructure network visualization

• US 9,030,333 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2010
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Southern Company Services, Inc. (Southern Company)
• Original Assignee: Southern Company Services, Inc. (Southern Company)
• Inventors: Garrett, Joseph John, Lundy, Brandon Keith, Rhoades, Derl Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): Benlagsir, Amine
• Application Number:
  US12/908,499
• Publication Number:
  US 20120101749A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,665 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.01, 340/870.02
• US Class Current: 340/870.02
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/18 Remote displaying of utility meter readings
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2204/45 Utility meters networked together within a single building
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/063 related to remote communication
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/10 using digital techniques
• 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

Systems and methods for visualization of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) deployments are disclosed. A status associated with communications towers or metering devices in an AMI deployment can be monitored based on alarms generated by a metering vendor system or based on thresholds specified in the AMI operations database. A user interface can be generated that allows the AMI deployment to be visualized, with status indicators associated with statuses overlaid on a map. The user interface can further facilitate visualization of progress of tasks associated with AMI operations.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

at least one computing device; and

an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) application executable in the at least one computing device, the AMI application comprising;

logic that receives a metering data stream from a metering database, the metering data stream comprising a plurality of messages regarding a plurality of communications towers and a plurality of metering devices in an AMI deployment;

logic that stores the plurality of messages in an AMI operations database;

logic that extracts from one of the plurality of messages a value associated with one of a plurality of statistics associated with the AMI deployment;

logic that determines a status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices based at least upon the value further associated with the one of the plurality of messages and data retrieved from the AMI operations database, wherein the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices comprises;

a normal status, a door tamper status, a power failure status, a slot error status, a low battery status, a communication error status, a temperature error status, a message overload status, a low message status, and an insufficient statistics status, wherein the low battery status generates a low battery alarm when a backup battery associated with one of the plurality of communications towers is lower than a threshold battery level, wherein the door tamper status generates a door tamper alarm when the one of the plurality of communications towers detects unauthorized entry or tampering;

logic that updates the plurality of statistics associated with the AMI deployment based at least in part upon the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices;

logic that renders a user interface displaying a status indicator associated with the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices;

logic that determines whether the value causes the one of the plurality of statistics to fall outside of at least one predetermined threshold;

logic that updates the status indicator and generates an alarm when the value causes the one of the plurality of statistics to fall outside of the at least one predetermined threshold; and

logic that, in response to the value not causing the one of the plurality of statistics to fall outside of the at least one predetermined threshold, updates the one of the plurality of statistics in the AMI operations database.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

logic that determines a location associated with the one of the plurality of communications towers and one of the plurality of metering devices;

logic that renders the user interface displaying the status indicator associated with a location indicator associated with the location; and

logic that updates the status indicator when the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices changes.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the status indicator comprises at least one of:

a colored indicator and a shaped indicator.

4. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

logic that monitors at least one task associated with the AMI deployment; and

logic that updates the user interface with a task status indicator corresponding to the at least one task.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the task status indicator further comprises at least one of:

a completion indicator, an overdue indicator, or an in-progress indicator.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the logic that monitors the at least one task comprises:

logic that determines a completion progress of a task;

logic that determines an expected completion time for the task;

logic that determines a task deadline associated with the task; and

the logic that determines the completion progress of the task and the logic that determines the expected completion time for the task, whether the task will be completed by the task deadline.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the task comprises at least one of:

a request to retrieve usage data associated with a plurality of metering devices in the AMI deployment, a request to reconcile requested usage data and reported usage data associated with the plurality of metering devices in the AMI deployment, and a request to report the usage data associated with the plurality of metering devices in the AMI deployment.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the at least one task comprises determining whether a retrieval of usage data associated with the plurality of metering devices in the AMI deployment is complete.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the logic that renders the user interface displaying the status indicator associated with the location indicator associated with the location comprises logic that overlays the status indicator on a map interface, the status indicator placed on a map location corresponding to the location associated with the one of the plurality of communications towers and one of the plurality of metering devices.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic that determines the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices based at least upon the value further associated with the one of the plurality of messages and the data retrieved from the AMI operations database comprises logic that retrieves a metering alarm message from the metering data stream.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic that determines the status associated with the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices based at least upon the value further associated with the one of the plurality of messages and the data retrieved from the AMI operations database comprises logic that retrieves a metering alarm message from the metering data stream.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the temperature error status generates a temperature sensor alarm when a temperature sensor associated with the one of the plurality of communications towers detects a temperature outside of a predefined threshold, wherein the communication error status generates the alarm when the one of the plurality of communications towers communicates with the metering database.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of statistics comprises an average number of messages per hour received, a number of messages received per a frequency slot, and a number of peer-to-peer messages.

14. A method, comprising:

receiving, in at least one computing device, a metering data stream from a metering database, the metering data stream comprising a plurality of messages regarding a plurality of communications towers and a plurality of metering devices in an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) deployment;

storing, via the at least one computing device, the plurality of messages in an AMI operations database;

extracting, via the at least one computing device, from one of the plurality of messages a value associated with one of a plurality of statistics associated with the AMI deployment;

determining, via the at least one computing device, a status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices based at least upon the value further associated with the one of the plurality of messages and data retrieved from the AMI operations database, wherein the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices comprises;

a normal status, a door tamper status, a power failure status, a slot error status, a low battery status, a communication error status, a temperature error status, a message overload status, a low message status, and an insufficient statistics status, wherein the low battery status generates a low battery alarm when a backup battery associated with one of the plurality of communications towers is lower than a threshold battery level;

updating, via the at least one computing device, the plurality of statistics associated with the AMI deployment based at least in part upon the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices;

rendering, via the at least one computing device, a user interface, wherein the user interface displaying a status indicator associated with the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices;

determining, via the at least one computing device, whether the value causes the one of the plurality of statistics to fall outside of at least one predetermined threshold; and

updating, via the at least one computing device, the status indicator when the value causes the one of the plurality of statistics to fall outside of the at least one predetermined threshold; and

updating, via the at least one computing device, in response to the value not causing the one of the plurality of statistics to fall outside of the at least one predetermined threshold, the one of the plurality of statistics in the AMI operations database.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining, via the at least one computing device, a location associated with the one of the plurality of communications towers and one of the plurality of metering devices;

rendering, via the at least one computing device, the user interface, wherein the user interface comprising displaying the status indicator associated with the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices and a location indicator associated with the location; and

updating, via the at least one computing device, the status indicator when the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices changes.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

monitoring, via the at least one computing device, at least one task associated with the AMI deployment; and

updating, via the at least one computing device, the user interface with a task status indicator corresponding to the at least one task.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the task status indicator comprises at least one of:

a completion indicator, an overdue indicator, or an in-progress indicator.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said monitoring the at least one task comprises:

determining, via the at least one computing device, completion progress of a task;

determining, via the at least one computing device, an expected completion time for the task;

determining, via the at least one computing device, a task deadline associated with the task; and

said determining, via the at least one computing device, the completion progress of the task and said determining, via the at least one computing device the expected completion time of the task, whether the task will be completed by the task deadline.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the task comprises at least one of:

a request to retrieve usage data associated with the plurality of metering devices in the AMI deployment, a request to reconcile requested usage data and reported usage data associated with the plurality of metering devices in the AMI deployment, and a request to report the usage data associated with the plurality of metering devices in the AMI deployment.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one task comprises determining usage data regarding the plurality of metering devices in the AMI deployment.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein said rendering the user interface comprises overlaying, via the at least one computing device, the status indicator on a map interface, the status indicator placed on a map location corresponding to the location associated with the one of the plurality of communications towers and the one of the plurality of metering devices.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein the status indicator comprises at least one of:

a colored indicator and a shaped indicator.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein said determining, via the at least one computing device, the status of the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices based at least upon the value further associated with the one of the plurality of messages and the data retrieved from the AMI operations database comprises logic that retrieves a metering alarm message from the metering data stream.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein said determining, via the at least one computing device, the status associated with the plurality of communications towers and the plurality of metering devices based at least upon the value further associated with the one of the plurality of messages and the data retrieved from the AMI operations database comprises logic that retrieves a metering alarm message from the metering data stream.