12results about "Remote metering" patented technology

The present application discloses a method and a device for notifying a power disconnection. The invention relates to a method and a device for transmitting a message from a first node device to one or more node devices that are neighbours of said node device, said node devices belonging to a power supply network using power lines and radio communication. According to the invention: - said first node device detects (E40) a disconnection of an electricity supply, - said first node device checks (E42) in a routing table if it is connected to a neighbouring node device by a radio link, - if yes, said first node device sends (E43) a unicast message to said neighbouring node device by said radio link indicating a disconnection of said electricity supply to said first node device, - if no, said first node device sends (E44) a radio broadcast message indicating that said first node device detected a disconnection of said electricity supply.

A transmission method for transmitting a packet from a first node device to a second node device in a power supply network is described.The transmission method includes the following steps implemented by said first node device: - transmit (S100, S102) said unfragmented packet by radio frequency in the case where a utilization rate by the first node device of a radio frequency transmission calculated on a sliding time window with respect to a maximum usage time is less than a first threshold, said first threshold being less than a second threshold beyond which all radio frequency transmission is interrupted; - transmit (S100, S104) said IP packet by power line carrier otherwise and, in the case where said power line carrier transmission fails, transmit (S106, S108) the IP packet by radio frequency in the case where said utilization rate (macDutyCycleUsage_RF) is less than said second threshold (macDutyCycleThreshold_RF).

An electricity meter (1) arranged to measure electrical energy supplied to a facility by a distribution network (2) comprising a plurality of phases (3), the electricity meter comprising: a communication module (5) arranged to enable communication by power line communication; a switching circuit (10) arranged to selectively connect the communication module (5) to one of the phases; a processor unit (6) arranged to control the switching circuit to connect the communication module to an optimized phase of the phases (3), the optimized phase being dynamically selected to optimize a quality of communication by power line communication.

A transmission method is described for transmitting a fragment of an IP packet from a first node device to a third node device via a second node device. The first and second node devices are configured to communicate via power line communication (PLC) and radio frequency (RF). The second and third node devices can only communicate using a single communication medium from among PLC and RF. A first fragment transmitted by the first node device, either via PLC or RF, is received (S10, S100, S204). An acknowledgment message is sent (S12, S102, S206) to the first node device using a second communication medium selected from PLC and RF, such that it is different from the single medium used.Then, said first fragment is transmitted (S14, S104, S208) to said third node device using said single communication medium.

Some embodiments describe a DC meter system that can be placed in-line between a power source and an electrical load. In some embodiments, the DC meter system includes a DC meter that has multiple inputs for receiving electricity from multiple power sources. In some embodiments, the DC meter has one or more outputs, each capable of delivering electricity to a different electrical load. In some embodiments, the DC meter can combine electricity from two or more of the multiple inputs into one of the outputs. In some embodiments, the DC meter has a controller that can enable a user to deliver electricity from a particular input to a particular output. In some embodiments, the DC meter is configured to enable transition of electricity between an input and an output in a bi-directional manner. In some embodiments, the DC meter can record an amount of electricity transmitted in either direction.

A transmission method for transmitting a packet from a first node device to a second node device of an electrical supply network, the transmission method includes the following steps performed by the first node device: transmitting the IP packet by radio frequency in the case where a level of use by the first node device of the transmission by radio frequency calculated on a sliding time window with respect to a maximum use time is below a first threshold, the first threshold being below a second threshold beyond which any transmission by radio frequency is interrupted; transmitting the IP packet by powerline otherwise, and, in the case where the powerline transmission fails, transmitting the IP packet by radio frequency in the case where the level of use is below the second threshold.

Systems and methods for setting a carrier-sensing mechanism in a PLC node are disclosed. In a PLC standard, coexistence is achieved by having the nodes detect a common preamble and backing off by a Coexistence InterFrame Space (cEIFS) time period to help the node to avoid interfering with the other technologies. In one embodiment, a PHY primitive is sent from the PHY to the MAC know that there has been a preamble detection. A two-level indication may be used—one indication after receiving the preamble and other indication after decoding the entire frame. The MAC sets the carrier-sensing mechanism based on the preamble detection.

Electricity meter, arranged to measure electrical energy supplied to an installation by a distribution network comprising a plurality of phases, the electricity meter including a communication module arranged to implement a communication by power-line communication; a switching circuit arranged to selectively connect the communication module to one of the phases; a processing unit arranged to control the switching circuit so as to connect the communication module to an optimised phase, from among the phases, which is selected dynamically to optimise a quality of the communication by power-line communication.

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed toward power outage assessment using customer-site communication devices which are powered by utility power lines and which communicate with a remotely-situated computer server over a broadband network according to certain schedules. The server can receive from the devices, communications indicative of an operating status of each respective communication device as expected according to the schedules. In response to receiving and / or not receiving the respective communications from the devices and taking into account other parameters, the server can assess a possible power outage within one or more regions by comparing the received communications and threshold criteria associated with the schedules. Based on such criteria, the server can detect and report on conditions suggestive of a power outage in regions associated with the communication devices.

The embodiment of the application discloses a method, device and system for information transmission in a PLC network, which are used for transmitting information. The switch control device comprises a switch and a coupling circuit, the coupling circuit is connected in parallel with the switch, and when the switch is turned off, the coupling circuit transmits a first power line communication (PLC) signal to a gateway device. The embodiment of the application also provides a method for information transmission. The embodiment of the application can send a PLC signal to the gateway device when the switch is turned off, and report information such as power failure and tripping to the gateway device.

This application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method includes: A first communication apparatus sends a first communication frame to a second communication apparatus, where the first communication frame is used for channel quality measurement. The first communication apparatus receives a second communication frame from the second communication apparatus, where the second communication frame includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates at least one frequency band whose power spectrum density is to be increased in a robust communication frame, or the first indication information indicates channel quality of at least one frequency band in a robust communication frame. This can improve reliability of power line communication.

A transmission method for transmitting a fragment of an IP packet from a first node device to a third node device through a second node device. The first and second node devices are configured for communicating by powerline and by radio frequency. The second and third node devices can communicate only using a single communication medium from powerline and radio frequency. A first fragment sent by said first node device either by powerline or by radio frequency is received. An acknowledgement message is sent by to said first node device using a second communication medium selected from powerline and radio frequency so that it is different from said single medium. Then said first fragment is transmitted to said third node device using said single communication medium.