Meter Data Collection

摘要

A metering device may be configured to communicate with other devices in an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system. For example, a metering device may be configured to communicate with a collection device. To enable such communications, a collection device may send a wake-up-tone and/or a request message to a metering device. Based on the request message, a metering device may send data to the collection device. Metering communication networks may be mobile and/or fixed. For example, a mobile collection device may use a wireless signal to interrogate a metering device to retrieve data from the metering device.

主权项

1. A method of interrogating a plurality of metering devices for respective data associated with each of the plurality of metering devices, the method comprising:
assigning a first frequency channel and a first time interval to a first metering device of the plurality of metering devices; assigning a second frequency channel and a second time interval to a second metering device of the plurality of metering devices; encoding, into a signal having a carrier frequency, a first address associated with the first metering device, and a second address associated with the second metering device; sending the signal to the first metering device and the second metering device, such that each of the first metering device and the second metering device wake up from a low powered state when a measured signal strength of the signal is greater than a predetermined threshold, and when the first and second address match wake-up addresses of the first and second metering devices, respectively; sending a request message to the first metering device and the second metering device, the request message indicating the first frequency channel, the first time interval, the second frequency channel, and the second frequency channel; in response to the request message, receiving the respective data from the first metering device, wherein the data associated with the first metering device is received during the first time interval and at the first frequency channel; and in response to the request message, receiving the respective data from the second metering device, wherein the data associated with the second metering device is received during the second time interval and at the second frequency channel.