System and method of high volume import, validation and estimation of meter data

• US 8,730,056 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2008
• Issued: 05/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Inventors: Sonderegger, Robert C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fureman, Jared
• Assistant Examiner(s): THOMAS, LUCY M
• Application Number:
  US12/268,660
• Publication Number:
  US 20100117856A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,016 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.02
• US Class Current: 340/870.02
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/02 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A meter data management system includes one or more application servers configured to receive, validate and estimate received meter data. The one or more application servers may include various memory/media elements for storing raw and transformed meter data as well as software in the form of computer-executable instructions, which are executed by a processor to implement a variety of functions, including establishing a mapping between the plurality of external devices and a plurality of preconfigured processing workbins (e.g., collections of meter channels in the same time zones), transforming the received meter data into a plurality of data files identified by timing parameter and workbin, validating data provided in each data file, estimating missing or invalid data, and automatically writing validated (and optionally estimated) data as import files to a database server. Such clean data files are then imported to one or more dedicated databases installed on the database server.

Claims

1. A system for high volume import, validation, and estimation of meter data comprising:

at least one receiver server configured to;

receive meter data from a plurality of external devices, each external device being assigned to one of a plurality of device groupings;

sort the meter data into a plurality of workbins respectively associated with the plurality of device groupings; and

compress the meter data contained in each workbin into a plurality of data files, each data file being identifiable by workbin;

a plurality of validation and estimation servers configured to;

import, for one workbin at a time, all data files associated with such workbin from the at least one receiver server;

store historic data associated with each workbin;

validate the meter data contained within the data files against the historic data, by comparing such meter data with historic data from comparable prior periods of time;

use stored historic data for a given workbin to estimate replacement values for meter data that is determined to be invalid or missing for such given workbin; and

form the validated and estimated meter data into a plurality of import files;

wherein the plurality of validation and estimation servers operate during a plurality of processing windows, each processing window corresponding to one of the plurality of workbins such that all data files associated with a workbin are processed by the plurality of validation and estimation servers as a batch; and

at least one database server configured to import and store the plurality of import files.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of validation and estimation servers are further configured to establish a mapping between each of the plurality of external devices and the plurality of workbins, which mapping corresponds to a grouping of external devices provided within the same time zone,

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one receiver server is further configured to identify each data file by at least one timing parameter associated with the date on which the selected portions of meter data was read by an external device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of validation and estimation servers are further configured before the validate and estimate functions are implemented to identify data readiness corresponding to when all meter data corresponding to a predefined twenty-four hour period has been received from one or more groupings of external devices.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the meter data received from the plurality of external devices is received in XML format;

and wherein the function implemented by said at least one receiver server the meter data into a plurality of data files comprises forming compressed binary files.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of validation and estimation servers are further configured to revalidate estimated meter data that was previously found to be invalid before it is formed to import files.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each data file compressed by the at least one receiver server is characterized by a predetermined file size, and wherein the file size and population time for data files processed in each workbin are monitored to ensure file efficiency.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each imported data file is structured to provide metadata indicative of one or more factors selected from:

an indication of what meter readings have been received based on external device identifiers, when each meter reading has been received based on one or more timing parameters, what continuous records of data exist for one or more external devices, what meter readings have been processed by said data management method, and historic data identifying prior consumption levels for selected external devices.