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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8073384 | Optimization of redundancy and throughput in an automated meter data collection system using a wireless network Techniques for optimization of redundancy and throughput in an automated meter data collection system using a wireless network are disclosed herein. The wireless network comprises a central node, a plurality of bi-directional nodes, and a plurality of transmit-only ... | 12/06/2011 |
| 8004810 | Meter having load control unit A load control unit is provided for a meter which can be connected to a meter communication network. The load control unit includes a dual coil solenoid switch that is operable to connect the meter to a load, and disconnect the meter from the load. An electronic swi... | 08/23/2011 |
| 7940679 | Power outage management and power support restoration for devices in a wireless network Techniques for power outage management and power support restoration for devices in a wireless network are disclosed herein. Such a wireless network may include a number of bi-directional nodes in bi-directional wireless communication with one or more central nodes.... | 05/10/2011 |
| 7860672 | Method and apparatus for monitoring voltage in a meter network Methods and systems are provided for monitoring input voltages to meters that are in a wireless metering network. A plurality of entries can be created that include voltage-related information, such as a maximum input voltage or a minimum input voltage. Each meter c... | 12/28/2010 |
| 7821776 | Tamper resistant meter assembly An electrical meter is provided that includes a cover configured for securement onto a base. The meter includes features that resist meter tampering, and features that provide evidence of meter tampering. ... | 10/26/2010 |
| 7772829 | Power meter and method for measuring power consumption A power meter for measuring power consumption and detecting the presence of an unsafe line condition is disclosed. The power meter has a service disconnect switch, which is interposed between load contacts and source contacts, the disconnect switch interrupts the fl... | 08/10/2010 |
| 7772812 | System and method for providing a DC voltage source within a power meter A power meter for measuring power consumption and detecting the presence of an unsafe line condition is disclosed. The power meter has a service disconnect switch, which is interposed between load contacts and source contacts, the disconnect switch interrupts the fl... | 08/10/2010 |
| 7756651 | Fractional sampling of electrical energy A novel method and device for measuring electrical parameters in an energy meter in an electrical system is described. The novel method samples an electrical energy signal and determines a relevant portion of the sampled electrical energy signal. The relevant portio... | 07/13/2010 |
| 7747534 | Utility power meter, metering system and method An electrical utility meter system measures residential energy consumption and automatically communicates this information to a host computer via the Internet. The host computer can then be accessed by the end utility customer or other authorized entities. This Inte... | 06/29/2010 |
| 7746054 | System and method for detecting the presence of an unsafe line condition in a disconnected power meter A method of detecting the presence of an unsafe line condition at a power metering device is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of determining if a disconnect switch is in the open position, and measuring a first voltage at a first load contact. The method me... | 06/29/2010 |
| 7742430 | System for automated management of spontaneous node migration in a distributed fixed wireless network Methods and systems of managing node migration in a wireless network where nodes may spontaneously migrate from a first communication path to a second communication path. The system includes a first collector disposed within the first communication path and a second... | 06/22/2010 |
| 7702594 | System and method for automated configuration of meters A number of meters to be configured according to a particular billing rate. Multiple billing rates may be defined, named, and stored for use. Each such billing rate may include time of use (TOU) configuration parameters and/or demand configuration parameters. Altern... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7696941 | Printed circuit notch antenna The embodiments contemplate a printed circuit board of at least two layers for providing remote wireless communication between a wireless device and a unit, as well as methods of creating an omni-directional radiation pattern for transmitting/receiving information u... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7656649 | Mechanical packaging apparatus and methods for an electrical energy meter An electric meter comprises an electronics housing and a meter base. The electronics housing defines a front panel and includes a first plurality of option board guides. A main meter board is disposed substantially parallel to the front panel. The meter base defines... | 02/02/2010 |
| 7583203 | Programming electronic meter settings using a bandwidth limited communications channel A system for transferring a sequence of actions to an electronic meter through a bandwidth limited communications channel. The sequence of actions is programmed as a program file that is broken into pieces for transmission to the electronic meter. The pieces are rec... | 09/01/2009 |
| 7545285 | Load control unit in communication with a fixed network meter reading system A load control system that communicates with existing automated meter reading communications systems to interrupt and shed loads at a customer location. The system includes a master controller that listens to communications between a utility meter and the reading sy... | 06/09/2009 |
| 7533703 | Determining fuel usage A system, device, and method for quantifying fuel flow from a substantially stationary consumer container is contemplated. The system includes a flow sensor, a communications medium, and a receiver. Both the flow sensor and the receiver are in communication with the... | 05/19/2009 |
| 7505453 | Network-enabled, extensible metering system To allow meter data users to have access to needed information and at the same time address the rapidly shifting requirements of the deregulated marketplace, a new business model employs a common metering device that measures raw data and a system composed of indepe... | 03/17/2009 |
| 7504821 | Auxiliary power supply for supplying power to additional functions within a meter An electronic meter for measuring electricity consumption is provided that includes extra functionality without significantly increasing cost or complexity of the meter. The meter includes a capacitor for storing energy during normal operation of the meter. The outp... | 03/17/2009 |
| 7495578 | Multipurpose interface for an automated meter reading device An improved automated meter reading (AMR) device includes only a single electrical connection rather than multiple electrical connections, thereby reducing potential paths of exposure to natural elements. The AMR device monitors the single electrical connection to d... | 02/24/2009 |
| 7486056 | Input current or voltage limited power supply An apparatus comprises a linear power supply and an auxiliary power supply powered from the linear power supply. The auxiliary power supply comprises a switching regulator connected to receive, at an input thereof, the output voltage of the linear power supply and t... | 02/03/2009 |
| 7427927 | In-home display communicates with a fixed network meter reading system A display system that communicates with existing automated meter reading communications systems to provide information to a user. The display includes a radio that listens to communications between a utility meter and the reading system. When the display recognizes ... | 09/23/2008 |
| 7417420 | Switch to bypass optical diode for reducing power consumption of electrical meters The invention contemplates an electrical power meter and method of operating the electrical power meter. The inventive power meter includes a power supply for converting alternating current (AC) voltage to a direct current (DC) voltage for powering the electronic co... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7365687 | Antenna with disk radiator used in automatic meter reading (AMR) device An antenna for use in an automatic meter reading (AMR) module comprises a pin and a radiator. The radiator may be a disk radiator for example, that comprises an opening which may receive the pin. Desirably, the pin is affixed to the radiator at one end, and is dispo... | 04/29/2008 |
| 7355867 | Power supply for an electric meter having a high-voltage regulator that limits the voltage applied to certain components below the normal operating input voltage Disclosed is an invention relating to a power supply for use in an apparatus for measuring electrical energy, comprising, in one embodiment, a first switching device, a device for storing electrical charge in electrical connection with the first switching device, a ... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7339805 | Power supply having voltage blocking clamp A power supply comprises a rectifier, a transformer, a switching member, a controller and a voltage blocking clamp. A power supply can receive an alternating current (AC) input voltage having any magnitude within a wide range of AC input voltage magnitudes and can p... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7327998 | System and method of providing a geographic view of nodes in a wireless network A geographic view rendering tool receives geographic location data for nodes in a wireless network and renders a geographic view displaying the nodes at their corresponding geographic locations. The geographic view may be displayed overlaying a digital map. The geog... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7315162 | Reducing power consumption of electrical meters The invention contemplates an electrical power meter and method of operating the electrical power meter. The inventive power meter includes a power supply for converting alternating current (AC) voltage to a direct current (DC) voltage for powering the electronic co... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7312721 | Data collector for an automated meter reading system The invention includes an electronic utility meter, a data collector/meter and a method for communicating data in an automated meter reading system. The inventive method includes communicating data with a network and a first electronic utility meter, and communicati... | 12/25/2007 |
| 7308370 | Using a fixed network wireless data collection system to improve utility responsiveness to power outages A system for determining service outages and restorations includes an outage management server (OMS) that generates reports of outages and restoration information for metering endpoints. The outages may be caused by faults at various locations in the distribution ne... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7308369 | Ensuring automatic season change demand resets in a mesh type network of telemetry devices Methods and systems of enforcing a season change demand reset in a meter that communicates via a wireless network. When billing data is received by a server, it is accompanied by a season change demand reset counter. The counter is compared to a counter stored on th... | 12/11/2007 |
| 7301476 | Dynamic self-configuring metering network A dynamic self-configuring system for collecting metering data comprises a collector meter. The collector meter scans for meters that are operable to directly communicate with the collector and registers such meters as level one meters. The collector transmits instr... | 11/27/2007 |
| 7298134 | Electrical-energy meter adaptable for optical communication with various external devices An example embodiment of an electrical-energy meter comprises a transformer for producing an electrical output proportional to an electrical current in a conductor of electrical energy, a circuit board electrically coupled to the transformer for facilitating the cal... | 11/20/2007 |
| 7274187 | Electrical-energy meter A presently-preferred embodiment of an electrical-energy meter comprises a base adapted to be mounted on a supporting surface, a current sensor assembly comprising a plurality of contact blades extending through the base and adapted to electrically contact a conduct... | 09/25/2007 |
| 7262709 | System and method for efficient configuration in a fixed network automated meter reading system Meters are configured using either a program update method or a meter update method. In the program update method, meters associated with a specified configuration program are identified and configured with updated parameters. In the meter update method, a specified... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7239250 | System and method for improved transmission of meter data The system includes a number of first meters, which are typically battery powered transmit only devices. The system includes a number of two-way meters, which are operable to both transmit and receive data. The first meters transmit their data to the collector eithe... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7239125 | Method and apparatus for electronic meter testing An electronic energy meter senses input voltage and current signals and processes the input voltage and current signals to generate measurements of multiple types of power. The meter comprises a processing system for selecting one of the multiple types of power and ... | 07/03/2007 |
| 7236908 | Fuzzy time-of-use metering and consumption monitoring using load profile data from relative time transmit-only devices A system and method provide Time-of-Use (TOU) rate schedules that are bound by windows of time, i.e., a type of fuzzy switch time, which is bounded on both sides, rather than instantaneous switch times. The fuzzy TOU schedule defines the time of a tier switch as the... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7227350 | Bias technique for electric utility meter The invention contemplates an electrical power meter and method of operating the same, where the meter has electronic components (e.g., a power supply and a voltage sensing circuit) and receives alternating current (AC) voltage from an electrical power line. The inv... | 06/05/2007 |
| 7218531 | Switching regulator with reduced conducted emissions A fixed-frequency switching regulator having a noise injection circuit. Noise is injected into the feedback loop of the switching regulator to modify the switching waveform to reduce individual frequency harmonics of the resultant Fourier Series. The reduced frequen... | 05/15/2007 |
