Meter reading methods and apparatus
First Claim
1. A meter associated with and disposed at the premises of a customer who is consuming a service or commodity supplied to said premises from a remote location via a service or commodity channel which extends from said remote location to said premises comprising:
- means for determining the rate at which said service or commodity is currently being consumed at said premises;
means for receiving from a remote location an input signal indicative of a maximum allowable rate of consumption of said service or commodity at said premises;
means responsive to said input signal for storing said maximum allowable rate;
means for comparing said rate at which said service or commodity is currently being used with said maximum allowable rate; and
means for producing an output signal indicative of whether or not said rate at which said service or commodity is currently being used is greater than said maximum allowable rate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Meters having a plurality of rotating dials are read automatically by using radiant energy to sense the angular positions of the dials. A single radiant energy detector is time-shared among the several dials to reduce the cost of the meter reading apparatus. The meter can transmit meter readings and other information to remote locations. It can also receive, store, and act upon information received from remote locations. The meter can measure short-term demand, and can produce output signals for indicating and/or controlling demand.
190 Citations
4 Claims
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1. A meter associated with and disposed at the premises of a customer who is consuming a service or commodity supplied to said premises from a remote location via a service or commodity channel which extends from said remote location to said premises comprising:
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means for determining the rate at which said service or commodity is currently being consumed at said premises; means for receiving from a remote location an input signal indicative of a maximum allowable rate of consumption of said service or commodity at said premises; means responsive to said input signal for storing said maximum allowable rate; means for comparing said rate at which said service or commodity is currently being used with said maximum allowable rate; and means for producing an output signal indicative of whether or not said rate at which said service or commodity is currently being used is greater than said maximum allowable rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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Specification