Patent ID: 9546888
Date: 2017-01-17
CPC Classifications: G01D,Y02B,Y04S

Claim:
1. A retrofittable system for automatic reading of a utility meter having a meter housing with at least one transparent meter housing part, said system comprising: an optical sensor unit to detect a signal from a consumption indication of said meter, an optical sensor unit housing of the optical sensor unit adapted to be mounted on said transparent meter housing part of the utility meter housing using an adhesive, wherein said optical sensor unit includes an electrical cable connection comprising an electrical cable adapted to connect the optical sensor unit to a data processing unit remote from the sensor unit, wherein said processing unit includes at least one wireless transmission device adapted to transmit processed data from said data processing unit to a further remote device, said optical sensor unit housing including external markings adapted to, in conjunction with a transparent template, be mounted temporarily on said transparent meter housing part, to facilitate the alignment with the consumption indicator of said utility meter, wherein said transparent template includes a cross-shaped marking indicating vertical and horizontal direction, adapted to be optically aligned with an indicator of the utility meter, and wherein said transparent template comprises perforations defining a central strip, which is removable upon breaking said perforations, so as to leave an opening in said transparent template.