Patent ID: 9161246
Filing Date: 2015-10-13
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A system for managing cost in a wireless enabled advanced metering infrastructure, the system comprising: (a) a remote server; (b) a wide area network coupled to the remote server; (c) one or more access points coupled to the remote server through the wide area network, (d) at least one neighborhood area network that includes one or more wireless enabled meters; (e) one or more datasink nodes wherein each datasink node is configured to have a datasink function, to be a data coordinator, to receive metering information from the one or more wireless enabled meters, to process metering information, and to transmit metering information to at least one access point; (f) wherein each wireless enabled meter is configured to be a node, wherein the node is at least one of a routing node and an endpoint node; (g) wherein a first set of wireless enabled meters are configured to be one or more routing nodes and a second set of wireless enabled meters are configured to be one or more end point nodes based on a graph theoretic algorithm and each wireless enabled meter is set to a minimum power level based on a bridging distance to a neighboring meter; (h) wherein implementing the graph theoretic algorithm results in generating a spanning tree that increases a ratio of wireless enabled meters to access points.