摘要 |
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To collect data from a remote utility meter without increasing costs. <P>SOLUTION: A method for communicating with automatic meter reading (AMR) endpoints in adjacent cells, when the endpoints are arranged in a cell pattern similar to a cellular telephone system, is disclosed. A Frame ID is identified as corresponding to a particular receive frequency that a system reader (receiver/collector) uses when listening for endpoint responses. In this example embodiment of the AMR network model, all endpoints in the network listen on the same control frequency to receive commands sent out from the readers. To allow for a relatively fast network read cycle, cells that are spaced far enough away from each other as to not interfere with each other are allowed to transmit at the same time. Cells with the same Frame ID are configured to be spaced a safe distance from each other so as not to interfere with each other's endpoint population. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI |