Meter device

• US 9,726,515 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2005
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Freestyle Technology Pty., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Freestyle Technology Pty., Ltd.
• Inventors: Donaghey, Andrew Paul, McDonald, Ian Kenneth, Beard, David Lewis
• Primary Examiner(s): Benlagsir, Amine
• Application Number:
  US11/571,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20080042871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,428 Days
• Field of Search: 34087001-8703, 702 56, 702 57
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/004 Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/063 related to remote communication
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/10 using digital techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/654 using techniques specially adapted for alterable solid state memories, e.g. for EEPROM or flash memories
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/091 Traffic information broadcasting broadcasting communication H04H
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/092 Coding or decoding of the information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• 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

A utility meter device (1002) including a communications receiver (110) for receiving file fragments for the device, a processing means (150), eg microprocessor, microcontroller, and programmable non-volatile memory means (120), eg flash, EEPROM, for building and storing application and date files from the fragments, and executing a meter application of the device by processing at least one application file and associated data identified by configuration instructions in at least one of the fragments to provide data for reconfiguring a meter through a control interface (1016).

Claims

1. A meter device comprising:

a communications receiver for receiving file fragments for the meter device, the file fragments are received from a server transmission system via a communications device prior to transmission to the meter device, the file fragments being sent to the meter device, each of the file fragments being sent using a first communications protocol of a communication infrastructure and a second communication protocol associated with the meter device, wherein the second communication protocol encodes payloads of the second communication protocol with meter device identification data, the file fragments and a filename for the file fragments; and

a microcontroller system including a microprocessor and a memory system, said microcontroller system being configured of;

using said second communications protocol to identify the file fragments for the meter device using the meter device identification data;

processing said file fragments to build and store application files and data files from said file fragments using said filename; and

executing a meter application of the meter device by processing at least one application file of the application files, wherein the at least one application file is identified by configuration instructions included in at least one of said file fragments, to provide meter data for the meter device.

2. The meter device of claim 1, wherein the second communications protocol is a wireless communications protocol that includes at least one of POCSAG and GSM/SMS.

3. The meter device of claim 1, wherein the meter device is remotely configured by a user accessing a server, such as a web server, and defining the application files, and/or the data files to be sent to the meter device in said file fragments.

4. The meter device of claim 1, wherein the application files include metering rate data for the meter device.

5. The meter device claim 1, wherein the meter device communicates with another meter device and adjusts a metering rate of the meter device based on first data obtained from the other meter device.

6. The meter device of claim 5, wherein the meter device continues metering whilst the metering rate is adjusted based on the data obtained from the other meter device.

7. The meter device of claim 1, wherein the file fragments are broadcast to a plurality of meter devices, and are respectively identified by each meter device of the plurality of meter devices using the second communications protocol as being for said each respective meter device of the plurality of meter devices.

8. The meter device of claim 7, wherein the plurality of meter devices communicate between each other using the second communications protocol.

9. The meter device of claim 1, wherein the meter device stores the application files and the data files for different versions of the meter application and the configuration instructions select the different versions for execution by the meter device.

10. The meter device of claim 1, wherein the configuration instructions include an initial file defining remaining files as being of a type of the application files or the data files, and defining reading of the remaining files.

11. The meter device of claim 1, wherein the memory system has a directory table and builds the application files and the data files from the file fragments by searching the directory table for an incomplete file with the same name as the file fragments for the meter device, determining if the incomplete file is obsolete based on date parameters of the file fragments and the incomplete file, and if not updates the incomplete file with the data files of the file fragments.

12. A meter device, comprising:

a communications receiver for receiving file fragments for the meter device, the file fragments are received from a server transmission system via a communications device prior to transmission to the meter device, the file fragments being sent to the meter device, each of the file fragments being sent using a first communications protocol of a communication infrastructure and a second communication protocol associated with the meter device, wherein the second communication protocol encodes payloads of the second communication protocol with meter device identification data, the file fragments and a filename for the file fragments;

an operating system (OS) for controlling the meter device to identify the file fragments for the meter device using the meter device identification data, build application files and data files from the file fragments, store the application and data files in a memory system, and process at least one application file of the application files included in the file fragments; and

a microcontroller system including a microprocessor and the memory system addressable by the microprocessor, the microcontroller system being configured to;

using said second communications protocol to identify the file fragments for the meter device using the meter device identification data;

process the file fragments to build and store the application files and the data files from the file fragments using the filename; and

execute a meter application of the meter device by processing the at least one application file of the application files, wherein the at least one application file is identified by configuration instructions included in the file fragments, to provide meter data for the meter device.

13. The meter device of claim 12, wherein the received file fragments for the meter device include an initial file defining remaining files of the file fragments as being of a type of application, configuration, or data of the file fragments, and defining reading of the remaining files.

14. The meter device of claim 13, wherein the operating system includes a number of tasks to control basic processes performed by the microprocessor and the tasks include an interface task for controlling the communication receiver and processing the file fragments received by the communication receiver according to a device transfer protocol and at least one of:

(i) a clock task for implementing a real time clock and calendar;

(ii) a virtual machine task for initiating a virtual machine, and causing reading of the initial file; and

executing of a file;

(iii) a command task for establishing device commands for production testing and initial configuration;

(iv) an I/O task for processing of input and output signals for I/O peripherals, such as input buttons or display elements of the meter device;

(v) a GPS receiver task to control a GPS receiver of the meter device to generate location data;

(vi) a voice task to control a voice processor of the meter device to generate audio announcements; and

(vii) a file system task for processing the file fragments, removing redundant files and building the application files and data files from the file fragments by searching a directory table of the memory system for an incomplete file with the same name as the file fragments of the meter device, determining if the incomplete file is redundant based on date parameters of the file fragments and the incomplete file and if not, updating the incomplete file with the data files of the file fragments.

15. The meter device of claim 14, wherein the operating system includes a scheduler to allocate each task of the tasks to be processed by the microprocessor, and allocates semaphores to resources of the meter device to allow the microprocessor to identify the resources of the meter device allocated to a running task.

16. The meter device of claim 12, wherein the file fragments are broadcast to a plurality of meter devices, and are respectively identified by each meter device of the plurality of meter devices using the second communications protocol as being for each respective meter device of the plurality of meter devices.

17. A server transmission system for generating and transmitting file fragments for a meter device comprising:

a communications receiver for receiving the file fragments for the meter device, the file fragments are received from the server transmission system via a communications device prior to transmission to the meter device, the file fragments being sent to the meter device, each of the file fragments being sent using a first communications protocol of a communication infrastructure and a second communication protocol associated with the meter device, wherein the second communication protocol encodes payloads of the second communication protocol with meter device identification data, the file fragments and a filename for the file fragments; and

a microcontroller system including a microprocessor and a memory system, the microcontroller system being configured to;

using the second communications protocol to identify the file fragments for the meter device using the meter device identification data;

processing the file fragments to build and store application files and data files from the file fragments using the filename; and

executing a meter application of the meter device by processing at least one application file of the application files, wherein the at least one application file is identified by configuration instructions included in at least one of the file fragments, to provide meter data for the meter device.

18. The server transmission system of claim 17, further comprising a server for providing a user interface allowing a user to submit instructions used to determine the application files and the data files, to be sent to the meter device in the file fragments.

19. The server transmission system of claim 17, further comprising a server for providing a user interface allowing a user to submit a meter identifier, the server transmission system selecting the meter device on a basis of the meter identifier.

20. The server transmission system of claim 17, wherein the memory system has a directory table and builds the application files and the data files from the file fragments by searching the directory table for an incomplete file with the same name as the file fragments for the meter device, determining if the incomplete file is obsolete based on date parameters of the file fragments and the incomplete file, and if not updates the incomplete file with the data files of the file fragments.

21. A communications device for transmitting file fragments to a meter device, the meter device comprising:

a communications receiver for receiving the file fragments for the meter device, the file fragments are received from a server transmission system via the communications device, the file fragments being sent to the meter device, each of the file fragments being sent using a first communications protocol of a communication infrastructure and a second communication protocol associated with the meter device, wherein the second communication protocol encodes payloads of the second communication protocol with meter device identification data, the file fragments and a filename for the file fragments; and

a microcontroller system including a microprocessor and a memory system, the microcontroller system being configured for;

using the second communications protocol to identify the file fragments for the meter device using the meter device identification data;

processing the file fragments to build and store application files and data files from the file fragments using the filename; and

executing a meter application of the meter device by processing at least one application file of the application files, wherein the at least one application file is identified by configuration instructions included in at least one of the file fragments, to provide meter data for the meter device;

wherein the file fragments are received by the communications device from a server transmission system prior to transmission to the meter device.

22. The communications device of claim 21, wherein the server transmission system comprises a server for providing a user interface allowing a user to submit instructions used to determine the application files and the data files, to be sent to the meter device in the file fragments.

23. The communications device of claim 21, wherein the server transmission system comprises a server for providing a user interface allowing a user to submit a meter identifier, the server transmission system selecting the meter device on a basis of the meter identifier.

24. The communications device of claim 21, wherein the memory system has a directory table and builds the application files and the data files from the file fragments by searching the directory table for an incomplete file with the same name as the file fragments for the meter device, determining if the incomplete file is obsolete based on date parameters of the file fragments and the incomplete file, and if not updates the incomplete file with the data files of the file fragments.