Patent ID: 6657552
Filing Date: 2003-12-02
Classification: G01D,G08C,H04Q,Y02B,Y04S

Abstract:
A system, for collecting and communicating flow data for a commodity including a liquid, a gas, or electricity transported via a metered system, using wireless data transfer, the system comprising:at least one meter positioned in the metered system for detecting the flow of the commodity, the meter having a first housing; an enclosed second housing positioned on each of the meters; a sensor contained within the second housing and configured to output a signal representative of a resource flow rate by measuring an output from said meter; a register contained within the second housing, the register including a processor configured to receive said signal output by said sensor, process said signal in accord with a communication protocol instruction set to adapt said signal for transmission, and store the processed signal in a data storage device; a programming port contained within the second housing and coupled to the processor, such that programming instructions and recorded information can be communicated to and from the processor from external to the second housing through the programming port; a wireless transmitter integrated with the processor and contained within the second housing, the transmitter configured to output said processed signal from the meter independently of the programming port, wherein the processed signal can be received from the register through both the programming port and the wireless transmitter; and an interface device disposed externally to the meter and the second housing and configured to perform at least one of receiving data output from the transmitter and outputting instruction information to the transmitter.