Patent ID: 8279081

Claim:
A sensing device for determining the position of the needles of a meter, the meter having a meter needle that rotates about a needle axis, the needle rotating based on the flow of the metered item passing through the meter, said sensing device comprising a directional magnetic field emitter having a north and a south pole that are spaced from one another along a magnetic pole axis, said emitter being secured relative to the needle such that said pole axis is generally perpendicular to said needle axis and centered about said needle axis thereby producing a magnetic field that is generally center about said needle axis and which rotates about the needle axis as the needle rotates; a single position sensor positioned over said emitter, said position sensor detecting the rotational orientation of said magnetic field and the relative strength of the magnetic field; a tamper detection sensor, a processor in communication with said magnetic field sensor and said tamper detection sensor, said processor calculating the position of the needle about the needle axis based on the rotational orientation of said magnetic field; and a transmitter for transmitting data from said sensing device to a remote location.