TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to electric meter reading equipment but more particularly to an automated remote electric meter reading system using wireless network image processing technology.

BACKGROUND ART

The electric meters are common household and business utility monitoring equipment which requires large number of manpower for periodically reading data in the meters. The traditional manual meter reading, aside from manpower requirement requires financial resources, but also brings inconvenience to each household and business such as offices, schools and other industrial customers.

These meters are often manually read every month, requiring a utility company to send out a human meter-reader. Since the meters are often located in private property areas, the meterreaders may be subject to dog bites, human attack, or other dangers such as the spread of different viruses. Due to the high cost of using human readers, some utilities use estimated bills. With an estimated bill, the utility actually reads the meter only a limited number of times per year, and based on historical records, estimates bills for the months when no reading is taken. This estimation of bills is a stopgap so the utility can save money, and often leads to great consumer dissatisfaction. Utility meters have emerged in recent years that may provide more advanced usage data and may have more advanced communication capabilities. Such meters may connect to a wide area network (WAN) to communicate directly to the customers or to the utility provider's network.

However, at present, most of electric meters are still old analog or digital meters without communication interfaces, and the budget for total replacement is very high. Moreover, the existing meter reading equipment does not have the functions of theft prevention, the power consumption is large, and the data transmission has no versatility.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a safe, quick, versatile, and convenient automated remote electric meter reading system through Internet of Things (loT) that serves as an attachment to an existing electric meter. This unit will convert any traditional electric, either analog or digital meter into an loT enabled electric meter which was created to be a non-invasive cover mount designed to be removably attached and fitted to an existing electric meter.

Still, another object of the present invention is to provide an automated remote electric meter reading system that utilizes a camera module that takes image of the meter and sends that image to the cloud. Upon receiving on the cloud, the image is then processed to get the reading and store the raw data together with the processed data.

Further object and advantages is that the system captures image (actual Reading) as compared to prior technologies that captures pulses only or attaching a separate metering device. Using the same meter that the utility company approves and calibrated, billing disputes and human error reading can be minimized. Clients such as household and business customers have the option to retrieve the actual image if needed for confirmation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, effects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the casing of the automated remote electric meter reading system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cut-away view showing the essential parts of the electric meter reading system according to present invention;

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the hardware process and the essential elements that comprise the main board according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of different communication network capability in sending data captured by the camera and the power source options of the system according to present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is shown in an exemplary embodiment in Fig. 1 an automated remote electric meter reading system generally designated as system 100.

The automated remote electric meter reading system 100 comprises an easy-mount casing 12 configured to removably enclosed an electric meter “M” as shown in Fig. 2 and having a front viewing window 14. In a preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the viewing window 14 being hingely connected to the casing 12 for viewing the meter reading manually.

Still referring to Fig. 2, there is illustrated in an exemplary embodiment a camera 16 secured inside the casing 12 and spacedly disposed in front of the electric meter “M” to be able to capture image of the meter reading and send the data to cloud.

In a preferred embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, there is shown a main board 18 operably connected to the camera 16. The main board 18 comprises a microcontroller unit 20 or may herein referred to as MCU 20, a real time clock (RTC) 22 electrically connected to the microcontroller 20 adapted to wake the microcontroller unit 20 from sleep to collect data captured by the camera 16 at a preset time as illustrated in the hardware process of Fig. 3. The schedule of taking the image depends on the setting as desired by the user. MCU 20 handles all the processing and control of the entire unit and having built-in communication module such as WiFi for the standard remote communication of the device system 100 to a remote computing device such as a laptop, desktop, tablet, or a mobile phone “P” as illustrated in Fig. 4.

Referring back to Fig. 3, there is illustrated a battery input 24 electrically connected to the microcontroller unit 20, the battery input 24 being defined by a primary battery input 26 and a secondary rechargeable battery input 28. The electric meter reading system 100 utilizes a primary battery 34 and a secondary rechargeable battery 36 being operably connected to the primary battery input 26 and secondary rechargeable battery input 28 respectively. In a preferred embodiment, the primary battery 34 is a lithium thionyl chloride (LiSOCI2) battery while the secondary rechargeable battery 36 is a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, there is shown a direct current (DC) input 30 electrically connected to the microcontroller unit 20. The DC input 30 is an external source that could be a power adaptor or solar input electrically connected to the secondary rechargeable battery input 28. The secondary rechargeable battery 36 can be electrically connected to a solar power source 40 or simply solar panel 40. Fig. 4 shows the solar power source 40 which makes the system 100 energy efficient and sustainable.

System 100 has an alternating current (AC) input 31 electrically connected to the microcontroller unit 20 as shown in Fig. 3. An external communication input 32 is electrically connected to the microcontroller unit 20 configured for transmitting the data captured by the camera 16. External communication input 32 is a separate input to expand the communications port of the meter. User will have the option to use GSM/4G/GPRS, WiFi or Narrowband-Internet of Things (NBIoT).

Referring both to Fig. 3, there is shown the external communication input 32 which can be a combination of WiFi and NB-loT. It can also work through either WiFi or NB-loT alone. Another possible network communication capability of the system 100 is that the external communication input 32 can be a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Fig. 4 shows the network diagram of transmitting data to a computing device such as mobile phone “P”.

In a preferred embodiment shown in Fig. 3, the main board 18 has an anti-theft sensor 33 electrically connected to the microcontroller unit 20 such that when the casing 12 is removed from the actual meter “M”, the sensor 33 will send an alarm to the mobile phone “P” that indicates that the meter “M” is being tampered or stolen.

The following device configurations will explain the versatility of the remote automated electric meter reading system 100 in terms of power source options and network communication capability.

First, the primary configuration is called WiFi Battery Operated. In this setup the system 100 doesn’t have any external power module connected. The Unit communicates via WiFi. The design of the unit is always on sleep mode to conserve battery life. If it is already scheduled to read the meter “M”, the real time clock (RTC) 22 will wake the camera 16 and it will then capture the image and save it to the SD card, if it is available, then the unit will connect to the existing WiFi and will send the data to the cloud. Upon confirmation that the image has been sent and processed, the system 100 or herein referred to as the “unit” will go back to sleep and wait for the new schedule.

The second configuration is called GSM Battery Operated. This configuration is designed for areas without WiFi reception. The process is similar to the WiFi Battery Operated or primary configuration, except that it uses the GSM for communication.

The third configuration is called Combined GPRS and WiFi Battery Operated. In this configuration, the device is set to have the WiFi as its primary connectivity. If the WiFi is not available, it will revert to GSM connectivity to send the data.

The fourth configuration is called WiFi AC Operated. In this mode, the unit functions and communicates via WiFi only. It has the option to have a rechargeable battery 36 with DC source. If there is a power interruption, the unit will not be affected since it will have its rechargeable battery 36. On the AC mode, the unit can be set to always ON for continuous reading or continue with the sleep mode, similar to the battery-operated configurations.

The fifth configuration is called GSM AC Operated. Similar to the other AC operated configuration, this will have both the features of battery and AC as its power source. The good thing of having AC source with rechargeable battery 36 is that even during power failure, it can still read and transmit data via GSM connectivity. Most often WiFi may not be available during power outage or power failure, but the GSM connectivity may surely be expected to be accessible. AC operated device is also ideal for analog power meters.

The sixth configuration is called GSM and WiFi AC Operated. This configuration is a combination of WiFi, GSM, battery and AC source operated device.

The seventh configuration is called WiFi Solar Operated. This configuration is ideal for situation of clustered metering where there will be a WiFi Gateway for multiple devices. With this mode, there is no need to tap on AC source line. This configuration is a non- invasive approach on the meters. Primary battery 34 can also be included together with the rechargeable battery 36 and solar panel 40. On this mode, the secondary rechargeable battery 36 will be the main source of power. The solar panel 40 will charge the rechargeable battery 36 upon use. The primary battery 34 (Lithium Thionyl) will be the backup power source on situations that the life of battery is fully drained and there is not enough sunlight to charge it.

The eighth configuration is called GSM Solar Operated. Similar to other solar operated devices, the unit is recommended to have the primary 34 and the rechargeable battery 36 connected.

The last configuration is called GSM and WiFi Solar Operated. In this mode the unit is installed outside with the abundance of the sun. If the WiFi signal is poor or there is no connection, the device may shift to GSM connectivity for transmitting the data.

As additional feature, the unit may have expansion board which means that it may utilize not just WiFi but also NBIoT or both at the same time. The unit may have a backup system which means that the NBIot may continue to send the data even if the WiFi connectivity fails. Expansion of connectivity of the unit is not limited to NBIoT, but it may also be integrated to Lorawan network (low power wide area network).

Moreover, the type of readings that may be captured by the device is not limited to electrical meters. It may also capture meter readings for water supply, gas, and other consumables that use rate meter.

The present invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments incorporating details to facilitate the understanding of the principles of construction and operation of the invention. Such reference herein to specific embodiments and details thereof is not intended to limit the scope of the claims appended hereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made in the embodiment chosen for illustration such as shape, contour and configuration, material, and quantities without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.