Title of Invention

THE SYSTEM FOR MEASURING AND REPORTING RESOURCE USAGE

Abstract

A new System for measuring and reporting usage of resource like electricity, water, cooking gas etc. This System comprises of a digital electronic SMART meter (11) comprising of a resource usage measuring component (1), resource control unit (2), user interface (3), communicating module (4), data storage module (5) and processor (6), which measures all energy consumption in identifiable ! prescribed units of measurement and transfers the data on the usage! consumption through dedicated communication medium(12) using messages encoded in proprietary format across from the consumer end to the provider end and a set of Computer Server machines( 11) comprising a Transmitter!Receiver(7) for transmitting and receiving data, a software application for Data processing (8) and a database for storing the data (9) which will analyze the data at the provider end, helps generating billing. Details regarding the process is made available with the complete specification.

Full Text

Introduction This invention relates to The System for Measuring and Reporting Resource Usage. Any Provider having consumers distributed across a geographical area can adopt Ms new process. Various manufactures provide Digital Electronic meters with or without comrnunication facilities for measuring energy. However, an entire resource management system that uses the technologies mentioned in the docuntent does not exist. The system is constructed using readily available hardware components in the market The unique interaction between each component, associated software, proprietary management solution is unique to this system. Thfe uniqueness in process and methodology warrants us to patent this technology This document describes the overall layout of this new methodology and elaborates the system in detail. This methodology is implemented using the following components: • An Electronic SMART Meter which is capable of sending and receiving resource usage data • A single or a set of SMART Computer Server Machines capable of sending and receiving data • Medium for communication between the SMART Meter and the SMART Computer Server • Auxiliary support systems for data management The following sections describe the proposed methodology in detail. Definitions and Acronyms Resource Any measurable form of energy such as Electricity, Water, Gas or any flowing fluid can be termed as an Energy Resource. Provider A Provider is an individual or a group of individuals or a State Agency who produces and distributes Energy resource. Consumer An individual or a set of Individuals or an establishment who consumes the Energy Resource distributed by a Provider. Distribution Network A network represents a group of customers consuming the resource supplied by a Provider. Consumers shall possess a SMART Meter for measuring their resource consumption. All the SMART Meters in a network communicate the consumption details with a SMART Computer Server/Servers possessed by the Provider. Brief Description about the Diagram Figure 1 represents SMART Meter Figure 2 represents SMART Server Figure 3 represents the System SMART Meter It comprises of the following Components 1. Resource Usage Measurement It is the point of contact between the Meter and the Distribution Point. It is a hardware component that calculates resource usage. 2. Resource Control This is a module that controls the resource usage. The Provider, if desired can disconnect or reconnect the resource from the distribution point to the consumer site. 3. User Interface The user interface consists of a module to enable the consumer to interact with the SMART Meter. The visual section displays measurement and reporting informatics. It also displays the real-time usage, billing information and any server originated or local messages, e.g., faults, over usage, bill overdue information. Input section allows the user to control user-interface related activities, e.g., scroll messages, view stored messages, view operational parameters. 4. Communication Module This module provides a communication channel between the SMART Meter and the Server. 5. Data Storage This is a module that stores the data required for the SMART Meter. The data consists of configuration and operational information pertaining to the SMART Meter, which includes the current reading, messages, Provider specific information. Meter state and information pertaining to the consumer. 6. Processor This is the core component of the Meter. It performs the following functionalities with the help of auxiliary modules mentioned in the prior sections • It receives the resource usage information from the Resource Measurement module, and displays this to the consumer using the User interface module. • The resource usage information is collated and sent to the SMART Computer Server at periodic intervals using the Communication module. • It receives control messages from the SMART Computer Server and acts upon these information. • It receives billing information from the Server and displays it to the user. • It interacts with the user when user uses the input module and performs requited actions. • Downloads any software upgrades and restarts irself. SMART Server The Transmitter / Receiver (7) residing in the SMART Computer Server Machine processes the information received from the SMART Meters and will be stored in the database (9).The data processing is done using the data processing (8) software application in the server. Thrs is then urthersent to the other Computer Server machines for processing and billing purpose. This SMART Computer Server also handles control and imformational tesks, e.g., sending billing messages or management data to the associated SMART Meter. Some messages are displayed to the users while other messages are used to control the SMART Meter activities. Communication Network The communication network consists of the two-way communication between individual SMART Meters (10), Servers (11) using any of the media mentioned below Communicating Using Wireless Technology The SMART Meter of each Consumer sends and receives information to/from the SMART Computer Server and communicates using GSM and/or CDMA wireless communication technology. Database This is a server machine that stores all data pertaining to consumers, units, billing, usage and payment. All SMART Computer Servers and payment nodes are connected to the database to manipulate data related to the role. For example, the payment node will process billing and payment information. Communication protocol Various sub-systems communicate with each other to exchange data related to its operation. This is divided into inter-Server communication and communication between SMART Meters and SMART Computer Servers. Any device that participates in the system is referred to as, a node in this section. The information passed between each node depends on its function. A SMART Meter passes usage and operational information to the SMART Computer Server. The Server node passes control, billing and information message to the SMART Meter. The Server passes billing and payment information to the payment machines. The server also communicates bulk data to other seevers to facilitate load balancing. Messages between Server and Unit Generic message format Although the physical channel consists of a various methods mentioned In the previous section, the actual content is limited to the following Types of message INITIAUZATION MESSAGE This message is used to initialize the Meter and set basic parameters on the Saver and the Meter. This information contains Consumer information, Meter location and Meter parameters. Once set. the Server can monitor and manage data from the Meters CONTROL MESSAGE This message is sent from the Server to control the Meters USAGE MESSAGE This message is sent perfodically from the Meter to the Server INFORMAHONAL MESSAGE This message is sent from the Server to the Meter and used to display information to the consumer Messages between Server and Payment nodes Data exchange between the Server and payment nodes are implemented using widely available TCP/IP. Using a secure channel, a diaiup or LAN connection is established between each Server and payment nodes. The payment node is used to lookup consumer's data and their associated bills. Once the payment is made, this information is updated at the central database. Inter Server messages The SMART Meter communicates measurement updates with the SMART Computer Server at pre-configured intervals. All the SMART Severs exchanges this information among themselves to keep the data synchronized amongst them. Data Storage and State Management Individual Meters need to store various operational states and should not be susceptible to variations in environment or supply conditions. For example, If an electrical usage reading is recorded, the reading should remain even if the power supply is disconnected. If a consumer is disconnected, the resource should remain disconnected until a reconnect order is issued. To implement this, the SMART Meter uses proprietary state-management algorithms with the use of hardware and software component. Claims I Claim, 1. The system for measuring and reporting resource usage comprising SMART Meter (10), SMART Server (11) and the medium for communication (12) wherein the SMART Meter comprises of a resource usage measuring component (1), resotrce cont'd unit (2), user interface (3), communicating module (4), data storage module (5) and processor (6), which measures all energy consumption in identifiable / prescribed units of measurement and transfers the data on the usage/ consumption through dedicated communication channels across from the consumer end to the provider end. 2. The system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the SMART Server is one or a set of computer SMART server Machines (11) comprising a Transmitter/Receiver (7) for transmitting and receiving data, a software application for Data processing (8) and a database for storing the data (9). which will analyze the data at the provider end, helps generating billing details and other particulars and transfer back the bill details along with other instruction to the consumer for him to get the details over his SMART Meter itself. 3). The system as claimed in claim1 sends and receives information to and from the SMART Computer Server and communicates using messages encoded in proprietary format

Documents:

716-che-2003-abstract.pdf

716-che-2003-claims filed.pdf

716-che-2003-claims granted.pdf

716-che-2003-correspondnece-others.pdf

716-che-2003-correspondnece-po.pdf

716-che-2003-description(complete)filed.pdf

716-che-2003-description(complete)granted.pdf

716-che-2003-drawings.pdf

716-che-2003-form 1.pdf

716-che-2003-form 19.pdf

716-che-2003-other document.pdf

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