Detecting the removal of modular communication cards from utility meters

Abstract

The described technology enables a modular communication card to warn of its removal from a device. The method described herein includes monitoring power failure signals received from a card on a utility meter at a modular communication card used for sending communications from the utility meter. According to the method, when the modular communication card is installed on the utility meter, the modular communication card monitors power signals supplying power to its components. The method includes detecting changes in the power failure signal indicating power loss. The method also includes detecting that the power signal is outside the operating voltage range. The method further includes determining, in response to the change and the power signal being outside the range, that the modular communication card has been removed from the utility meter. Additionally, the method includes sending an alarm indicating the removal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The implementation described herein relates to utility meters, and more specifically, to detecting the removal of a modular communication card from a utility meter. Background Technology

[0002] Utility meters measure the consumption of resources associated with a property. Typically, the utility meter sends consumption data describing the measured consumption to a centralized headend system. The utility service provider can then charge the users associated with the property based on the consumption data received at the headend system. Therefore, to ensure accurate billing, the utility meter needs to be able to communicate with the headend system. In some cases, utility meters utilize modular communication cards to facilitate this communication.

[0003] Communication technologies are constantly evolving and improving, and utility meters may have a lifespan exceeding the prevalence of a particular communication technology. Modular communication cards can be used to provide easily changeable and upgradeable communication technologies in utility meters. A modular communication card implements one or more communication technologies and can be installed in a utility meter to enable the meter to utilize one or more of these technologies. For example, a modular communication card enabling 5G communication can be installed in a utility meter not built for 5G, thus enabling the meter to communicate over a 5G network. When a utility service provider wants to upgrade the communication technology of a utility meter, they can have field technicians replace the modular communication card with a different modular communication card implementing a different communication technology. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Some embodiments described herein include a method for alerting the removal of a modular communication card from a utility meter. The method includes monitoring a power failure signal received from the card at the utility meter at the modular communication card, which is configured to transmit communications on behalf of the utility meter. The method also includes monitoring a power signal at the modular communication card, wherein the power signal supplies power to components of the modular communication card when the modular communication card is installed on the utility meter. The method includes detecting a change in the power failure signal, wherein the change in the power failure signal indicates a power loss. The method also includes detecting that the power signal is outside the operating voltage range. The method further includes determining that the modular communication card has been removed from the utility meter in response to the change in the power failure signal and the power signal being outside the operating voltage range. Additionally, the method includes transmitting an alarm indicating the removal of the modular communication card from the utility meter via a radio device of the modular communication card.

[0005] In some implementations, the modular communication card is configured to send communications on behalf of a device such as a utility meter. The modular communication card includes a power failure input, a power input, a radio, and a controller. The power failure input is configured to receive a power failure signal from the device, such as a utility meter. The power input is configured to receive a power signal from the device that powers the components of the modular communication card when it is installed on the device. The controller is configured to detect a change in the power failure signal and to detect that the power signal is outside the operating voltage range, wherein the change in the power failure signal indicates a power loss. The controller is also configured to determine that the modular communication card has been removed from the device in response to a change in the power failure signal and the power signal being outside the operating voltage range. The controller is further configured to instruct the radio to send an alarm indicating the removal of the modular communication card from the device.

[0006] In some embodiments, a system includes a utility meter and a modular communication card. The utility meter is configured to measure resource consumption and is also configured to utilize a module mounted on the utility meter. The modular communication card is configured to transmit communications on behalf of the utility meter. The modular communication card includes a power failure input, a power input, a radio device, and a controller. The power failure input is configured to receive a power failure signal from the utility meter. The power input is configured to receive a power signal from the utility meter that powers components of the modular communication card when the modular communication card is mounted on the utility meter. The controller is configured to detect a change in the power failure signal and to detect that the power signal is outside the operating voltage range, wherein the change in the power failure signal indicates power loss. The controller is also configured to determine that the modular communication card has been removed from the utility meter in response to a change in the power failure signal and the power signal being outside the operating voltage range. The controller is also configured to instruct the radio device to send an alarm indicating the removal of the modular communication card from the utility meter.

[0007] These illustrative aspects and features are mentioned not to limit or restrict the subject matter currently described, but to provide examples to aid in understanding the concepts described in this application. Other aspects, advantages, and features of the subject matter currently described will become apparent upon review of the entire application. Attached Figure Description

[0008] These and other features, aspects and advantages of this disclosure can be better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0009] Figure 1 The diagram shows a utility meter and a modular communication card according to some embodiments described herein, wherein the modular communication card can be installed in the utility meter.

[0010] Figure 2 This is a diagram of an alarm system for a modular communication card according to some embodiments described herein.

[0011] Figure 3 This is a diagram of a method for generating alarms using an alarm system based on some embodiments described herein, using a modular communication card.

[0012] Figure 4 This is a diagram of a utility meter configured to utilize a modular communication card with an alarm system, according to some embodiments described herein. Detailed Implementation

[0013] Traditionally, there is no automatic mechanism to detect when a modular communication card (also referred to herein as a communication card) is removed from a utility meter. Therefore, a user can remove the communication card from the utility meter, and the utility meter will be unable to send some or all communications, potentially including communications related to resource consumption measured by the utility meter. Since some information about consumption is not sent to the headend system, this could result in a reduction in charges for that consumption. Furthermore, when the communication card is removed, the user may further tamper with the meter, and since the meter cannot access the communication card, such tampering will not be transmitted to the headend system.

[0014] In some embodiments, the alarm system described herein is integrated into a modular communication card, thereby enabling the modular communication card to detect removal from the utility meter and send an alarm indicating such removal. For example, the alarm system may include an energy storage device, detection circuitry, a determination engine, and a boost circuit, wherein the detection circuitry and determination engine may be integrated into the microcontroller unit of the modular communication card. Typically, the energy storage device (such as a supercapacitor) provides power so that the alarm system can operate when the communication card stops receiving power from the utility meter; the detection circuitry detects changes in a power failure signal, indicating power loss; the determination engine determines whether the power loss is due to the removal of the communication card from the utility meter; and the boost circuitry boosts the voltage from the energy storage device to provide sufficient voltage for the communication card to send a removal alarm. The embodiments described herein provide an improvement in the field of utility meters by enabling the communication card of a utility meter to send an alarm indicating its own removal; without a conventional automatic mechanism to warn the front-end system that the communication card has been removed.

[0015] Figure 1The figures are of a utility meter 110 and a modular communication card 130 according to some embodiments described herein, wherein the modular communication card 130 can be installed in the utility meter 110. In some embodiments, the utility meter 110 (also referred to as meter 110) measures the consumption of resources on a building and sends consumption data describing that consumption to a headend system.

[0016] To measure resource consumption, instrument 110 may include Figure 1 The metering engine, not shown, is also called a metering card. In some embodiments, the metering engine measures resource consumption and stores an indication of that consumption in consumption data. The meter 110 can periodically send this consumption data to the headend system. For this purpose, the meter 110 can utilize a communication card 130, as further described below.

[0017] In some implementations, as a supplement to or alternative to consumption data, utility meter 110 transmits various other information to the headend system, such as information about the health status of the network to which utility meter 110 is connected. The headend system can provide various services to utility meter 110. For example, the headend system can collect consumption data from various utility meters (such as utility meter 110 described herein) to bill users associated with those meters, or the headend system can manage the health status of the network to which utility meter 110 is connected.

[0018] Utility meter 110 may include one or more module slots 115 or other engagement devices (e.g., cables) configured to engage with modular devices to mount the modular devices onto the utility meter 110. In some embodiments, module slots 115 are configured to receive modular devices, enabling the modular devices to be mounted into the utility meter 110. When the modular devices are mounted in the utility meter 110, the utility meter 110 can utilize the functionality of the modular devices, such as by inserting them into or otherwise engaging with module slots 115 or other engagement devices of the utility meter 110. However, in some embodiments, when the modular devices are removed from the utility meter 110, such as by removing or detaching them from module slots 115 or other engagement devices, the functionality of the modular devices is no longer available to the meter 110.

[0019] In some implementations, such as Figure 1As shown, the modular communication card 130 is a modular device configured to be installed in a utility meter 110 or another device, such as by engaging with a module slot 115 of the utility meter 110. The modular communication card 130 (also referred to herein as communication card 130) implements one or more specific functions (e.g., communication) and can be installed in or removed from the meter 110 to install or remove the specific functions implemented by the communication card 130, respectively. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the communication card 130 is configured to be easily installed (e.g., in module slot 115) and removed, such that the communication card 130 can be installed, removed, or interchanged with another modular device as needed by the utility service provider.

[0020] In some implementations, the communication card 130 has a wireless device 135 capable of implementing one or more communication technologies. For example, the wireless device 135 is configured to communicate using one or more of the following or other communication technologies: 4G, 5G, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, or Wi-Fi Smart Ubiquitous Network (Wi-SUN). The communication card 130 can be configured to engage with and thus connect to the utility meter 110 to install the communication card 130 into the utility meter 110. When the communication card 130 is installed on the utility meter 110, the meter 110 can access the functionality of the communication card 130, specifically, the ability to transmit communications using the wireless device 135. For this purpose, when the communication card 130 is installed on the meter 110, the communication card 130 and the metering engine of the utility meter 110 can communicate with each other through the meter interface, which allows power and digital signals to be transferred between the metering engine and the communication card 130. Therefore, the communication card 130 can represent the utility meter 110, and more specifically, the metering engine or other components of the utility meter 110, to send transmissions, such as the transmission of consumption data.

[0021] When installed on the meter, the communication card 130 can be used as a wireless device for the meter 110, thus enabling the meter 110 to communicate with the headend system or other devices to transmit consumption data. However, if the user tamperes with the meter 110 by removing the communication card 130, the meter 110 may be unable to reach the headend system. For example, the meter 110 may not be able to obtain the headend system consumption data determined by the metering engine.

[0022] In some implementations, such as Figure 1As shown, the communication card 130 includes an alarm system 100 configured to detect and alert upon removal of the communication card 130 from the utility meter 110. An alert for removal enables the utility service provider to take remedial action against the utility meter 110 or against the user account associated with that utility meter 110. It should be understood that, as Figure 1 As shown, the location of the alarm system 100 on the communication card 130 is provided for illustrative purposes only, and various aspects of the alarm system 100 may be located in other locations or distributed across multiple locations on the communication card 130.

[0023] In some embodiments, the communication card 130 is implemented as a hardware device, which may include hardware, software (e.g., firmware), or a combination of hardware and software. For example, the communication card 130 may include program code stored in a computer-readable medium, which may be volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or both. In some embodiments, the computer-readable medium is a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The processing unit or controller of the communication card 130 may execute the program code to perform the operations described herein, such as operations performed to transmit communication via the radio device 135. In some embodiments, the alarm system 100 is integrated with the communication card 130 and is implemented on the communication card 130 as hardware, software (e.g., firmware), or a combination of hardware and software. The alarm system 100 may run on the communication card 130 such that the alarm system 100 can utilize the capabilities of the communication card 130 to detect the removal of the communication card 130 from the instrument 110 and send an alarm indicating the removal of the communication card 130. For example, in some implementations, the processing unit of the communication card 130 is a microcontroller unit (MCU) that includes logic implemented as hardware or stored as program code in a computer-readable medium to perform aspects of the alarm system 100 described herein.

[0024] like Figure 1As shown, in some embodiments, utility meter 110 includes a power supply 140 that receives AC power from the AC power line and converts that AC power into DC power to power various internal devices of utility meter 110. For example, power supply 140 provides power to communication card 130 to enable standard operation of communication card 130, such as receiving and transmitting data from meter 110. Furthermore, when communication card 130 experiences a power failure that prevents it from receiving power from meter 110, power supply 140 can charge an energy storage device (such as a supercapacitor) that may be included in alarm system 100 to power communication card 130, thereby powering alarm system 100 itself. Communication card 130 may experience such a power failure due to a power outage at meter 110 (such as a power outage caused by a failure in the power grid of meter 110) or due to removal of communication card 130 from utility meter 110.

[0025] In either case, during a power failure, communication card 130 receives an indication of the power failure from the meter, specifically, in some embodiments, in the form of a change in the power failure signal from the meter. As described in detail below, based on the change in the power failure signal, communication card 130 can activate alarm system 100, which can determine whether the power failure was due to the removal of communication card 130 from utility meter 110 or due to a power outage at utility meter 110. Alarm system 100 can then send one or more alarms indicating the cause of the power failure (e.g., the removal of communication card 130) to headend systems or other remote devices.

[0026] although Figure 1 An instrument 110 with a specific shape factor (which is typically rectangular) is shown, but the embodiments described herein are not limited to an instrument 110 having that shape factor. For example, instrument 110 may be an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) instrument or another instrument with a similar shape to an ANSI instrument, having a cylindrical shape. Furthermore, although as... Figure 1 The module slot 115 for instrument 110 is shown as being external to the housing of instrument 110. However, in alternative embodiments, instrument 110 may include the module slot 115 internal to the housing of instrument 110, which may require opening instrument 110 to install or remove communication card 130. Therefore, the connection between instrument 110 and communication card 130 can be either internal or external to the housing of instrument 110. Various embodiments are within the scope of this disclosure.

[0027] Furthermore, although this disclosure specifically refers to the communication card 130 as being installed in and removable from the utility meter 110, the embodiments described herein are not limited to this context. Instead, the communication card 130 can be installed in other devices, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. In this case, the alarm system 100 of the communication card 130 can enable the communication card 130 to detect removal from the device in which the communication card 130 is configured to be installed. Therefore, it should be understood that the reference to the utility meter 110 herein is for illustrative purposes only.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a diagram of an alarm system 100 for a communication card 130 according to some embodiments described herein. Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments, the alarm system 100 includes an energy storage device, such as a supercapacitor 220 in this example; a detection circuit 230; a determination engine 240; and a boost circuit 250 or alternatively a buck voltage regulator (not shown). Typically, the supercapacitor 220 can provide the power required for the alarm system 100 to perform the tasks described herein, the detection circuit 230 can detect changes in a power failure signal 280 indicating power loss, the determination engine 240 can determine whether the power loss is due to the removal of the communication card 130 from the utility meter 110, and the boost circuit 250 can boost the voltage from the supercapacitor 220 to provide sufficient voltage for the communication card 130 to send one or more alarms. As mentioned above, the alarm system 100 can reside on the communication card 130; therefore, in some embodiments, the supercapacitor 220, detection circuit 230, determination engine 240, and boost circuit 250 reside on the communication card 130, as... Figure 2 As shown.

[0029] Each of the detection circuit 230 and the determination engine 240 may be implemented as hardware, software (e.g., firmware), or a combination of both. For example, each of the detection circuit 230 and the determination engine 240 may be a dedicated hardware device integrated with the communication card 130, one or more software functions configured to run on the communication card 130, or some combination of these or other hardware or software. In some embodiments, such as in... Figure 2 In the example, the detection circuit 230 and the determination engine 240 are integrated with the controller (specifically, the MCU 260) of the communication card 130. Therefore, in this example, tasks described herein as being performed by the detection circuit 230 (e.g., detecting a power failure signal 280 and thus detecting changes in the power failure signal 280) or by the determination engine 240 (e.g., determining the cause of the power failure) are performed by the MCU 260. Additionally, in Figure 2In the example, the radio device 135 is integrated with the MCU 260 of the communication card 130. In alternative embodiments, one or both of the detection circuit 230 and the decision engine 240 may be implemented as devices separate from the MCU 260. Various embodiments are within the scope of this disclosure.

[0030] Figure 2 The electrical and digital connections between the metering engine 210 of the meter 110 and the communication card 130 of the meter 110, and within the communication card 130, are shown according to some embodiments. Figure 2 The following description provides non-limiting examples for illustrative purposes only. Electrical connections are shown with solid lines, and digital data and control connections are shown with dashed lines. For example, a power fault signal 280 received at the power fault input 285 of the communication card 130 is shown as a dashed line, and a power signal 290 received at the power input 295 of the communication card 130 is shown as a solid line. Additionally, in Figure 2 In the diagram, for illustrative purposes, the boost circuit 250 and the charging circuit 225 for the supercapacitor 220 share the same frame.

[0031] like Figure 2 As shown, the meter interface 215, integrated with the metering engine 210, connects the meter engine 210 of the meter 110 to the communication card 130 of the meter 110. In some embodiments, the meter interface 215 delivers power and digital information between the metering engine 210 and the communication card 130.

[0032] When meter 110 is powered on, the AC power line supplies power to power supply 140 of meter 110. Then, the microcontroller of metering engine 210 checks that the input power of power supply 140 is stable. Once the input power is stable, metering engine 210 supplies power to communication card 130 via power signal 290 from power supply 140, where power signal 290 is received at power input 295 of communication card 130. For example, power signal 290 can be 5 volts. Additionally, the microcontroller of metering engine 210 sends a power failure signal 280 to communication card 130 (in...) Figure 2 The symbol (marked as / PF) changes from low to high. Then, the communication card 130 begins normal operation. During normal operation (i.e., when the instrument 110 is turned on and the communication card 130 is installed in the instrument 110), such as Figure 2 As shown, power signal 290 is connected to various components of communication card 130 to provide power to these various components.

[0033] In some implementations, upon receiving a power signal 290, the MCU 260 of the communication card 130 initiates charging of the supercapacitor 220. In this example, the charging of the supercapacitor 220 is... Figure 2The general input / output control is labeled OS-Charge. Specifically, in order to charge the supercapacitor 220, the MCU 260 changes the state of OS-Charge from low to high, and therefore, the charging circuit 225, which receives the power supply signal 290, begins to charge the supercapacitor 220.

[0034] During normal operation of the utility meter 110, which has communication card 130 installed, the MCU 260 of communication card 130 communicates via analog-to-digital converter pins (which are located at...). Figure 2 The communication card 120 monitors the supercapacitor voltage (labeled OS-Vsense). The communication card 120 continues to charge the supercapacitor 220 until its voltage reaches a threshold voltage, such as 2.1 volts. In response to the supercapacitor 220 reaching the threshold voltage, the MCU 260 of the communication card 130 pulls the OS-Charge signal from high to low, causing the charging circuit 225 to stop further charging of the supercapacitor 220. The MCU 260 is configured to use... Figure 2 The OS-Discharge signal shown is used to initiate the discharge of the supercapacitor 220, for example, at high temperatures.

[0035] In an alternative implementation, the MCU 260 changes the state of OS-Charge from low to high instead of from high to low in response to the supercapacitor 220 reaching a threshold voltage, and in this case, the MCU 260 previously caused the charging circuit 225 to start charging the supercapacitor 220 by changing the state of OS-Charge from high to low. It should be understood that these and other levels mentioned in this example are for illustrative purposes only, and various implementations are possible and within the scope of this disclosure.

[0036] When meter 110 experiences a power outage, the microcontroller of metering engine 210 alters the power failure signal 280, for example, by pulling the power failure signal 280 from high to low. As described above, in some embodiments, the detection circuit 230 of alarm system 100 detects the change in power failure signal 280; for example, the detection circuit 230 may be hardware circuitry configured to detect the falling edge of the power failure signal 280 transmitted from meter 110 via meter interface 215. Figure 2 In the example, the detection circuit 230 is integrated with the MCU 260 of the communication card 130. Thus, in Figure 2 In the example, the MCU 260 of the communication card 130 changes the power failure signal 280 low as an indication of power loss (i.e., power failure). In response to detecting the change in the power failure signal 280, the MCU 260 of the communication card 130 enables the boost circuit 250 by changing the OS-Enable state from low to high.

[0037] Additionally, in response to a change in the power failure signal 280, the MCU 260 of the communication card 130 checks the health status of the power signal 290 from the meter 110, which can be a 5-volt input. Initially, after detecting a change in the power failure signal 280 during a power outage, the MCU 260 of the communication card 130 sees a healthy voltage (i.e., a voltage within the operating voltage range), such as 5 volts, from the meter 110 via the power signal 290 for a short period (which can be at least two hundred milliseconds). After this short period, the metering engine 210 no longer supplies power to the communication card 130.

[0038] In this example, the determination engine 240 integrated with the MCU 260 can determine the cause of a power failure based on whether the power signal 290 remains healthy. Specifically, in some implementations, the determination engine 240 determines whether the power failure is due to a power outage at meter 110 or due to the removal of communication card 130 from meter 110. In this case, the determination engine 240 can determine that the power failure is caused by a power outage at meter 110 because communication card 130 continues to receive a healthy power signal 290 for a short period of time (e.g., at least two hundred milliseconds) after the power failure signal 280 changes.

[0039] Meter 110 can be configured to continue supplying power to its internal components for a short period (e.g., two hundred milliseconds) after a power loss via the AC power line. For example, even after the AC power line stops supplying power, the capacitor on the line side of the regulator in power supply 140 can provide voltage-regulated energy to the communication card 130. Thus, if the AC power line stops supplying power, such as in the event of a power outage, meter 110 will continue to supply a healthy power signal 290 to the communication card 130 for that short period. Therefore, in some embodiments, whether the power signal 290 is detected shortly after the power failure signal 280 changes is an indication of whether the communication card 130 is still installed in meter 110 or has been removed. If the communication card 130 is still installed in meter 110, the power signal 290 will be healthy; if the communication card 130 has been removed, the power signal 290 will abruptly end and will not be healthy (i.e., it will be outside the operating voltage range). In this case, a power failure occurs due to a power outage of the meter, therefore, the power signal 290 is detected as healthy.

[0040] The boost circuit 250 is enabled by the OS-Enable signal from the MCU 260 of the communication card 130. Therefore, when the power supply signal 290 drops to a low threshold (e.g., 3.7 volts), the boost circuit 250 begins to switch, at which point it starts regulating its output voltage. The boost circuit 250 remains active while the voltage of the supercapacitor 220 increases to a minimum operating voltage sufficient to operate the boost circuit 250. In some embodiments, the boost circuit 250 boosts the supercapacitor voltage at this time.

[0041] Radio device 135 may require a specific voltage input, and without the boost circuit 250, the supercapacitor voltage may be insufficient for the operation of radio device 135. Therefore, as described above, the boost circuit 250 can boost the supercapacitor voltage and can output the boosted voltage. The boosted voltage can be input to radio device 135. In some embodiments, the boosted voltage is sufficient to enable radio device 135 to send one or more alarms. Additionally or alternatively, supercapacitor 220 can provide a higher voltage than required by radio device 135, and in this case, MCU 260 can activate a buck voltage regulator to down-convert the supercapacitor 220 voltage to a lower voltage input to radio device 135. However, this technique may be less efficient than using the boost circuit 250 to boost the voltage. Additionally or alternatively, alarm system 100 can use a battery-boost combination instead of... Figure 2 The supercapacitor-boost combination shown is applicable. Other embodiments are possible and are within the scope of this disclosure. After the instrument loses power, the communication card 130 can be used... Figure 2 The architecture shown continued to send alerts about the power failure via radio device 135 for more than two minutes.

[0042] In contrast to the activities described above that occur when meter 110 loses power, once communication card 130 is removed from meter 110 during normal operation, connectivity regarding both power failure signal 280 and power signal 290 is lost. Due to an external pull-down of power failure signal 280 (i.e., outside of MCU 260), MCU 260 of communication card 130 sees a high-to-low transition on power failure signal 280. In response to the change in power failure signal 280, MCU 260 of communication card 130 changes its OS-Enable state from low to high to enable boost circuit 250.

[0043] In some implementations, if no power signal 290 is detected after a power failure signal 280 is detected, the determination engine 240 can determine that the power failure is due to removal from the instrument cluster 110. In this example, the MCU 260 of the communication card 130 is no longer able to detect the minimum voltage on the power signal 290, and therefore, the MCU 260 determines that the communication card 130 has been removed from the instrument cluster 110. The boost circuit 250 is activated by the OS-Enable signal from the MCU 260 of the communication card 130, so when the power signal 290 drops to a low threshold (e.g., 3.7 volts), the boost circuit 250 begins to switch, at which point the boost circuit 250 begins to regulate its output voltage. This allows the output of the boost circuit 250 to power the MCU 260 of the communication card 130 to send an alarm for communication card removal using the radio device 135.

[0044] Therefore, in some implementations, regardless of whether the power loss is due to a power outage or the removal of the communication card 130 from the meter 110, the alarm system 100 detects a change in the power failure signal 280 and activates the boost circuit 250. However, the timing for activating the boost circuit 250 can be varied based on the cause of the power failure. For example, when a power outage occurs at the meter 110, the power signal 290 remains healthy for a short period, and therefore, the power signal 290 remains above a low threshold, and the boost circuit 250 is not activated until the end of this short period. However, when the communication card 130 is removed from the meter 110, the power signal 290 suddenly drops to the low threshold without the delay of this short period, and therefore, in this case, the boost circuit 250 is activated more quickly.

[0045] Figure 3 This is a diagram of a method 300 for generating an alarm or notification indicating a power failure due to a power outage or the removal of communication card 130, according to some embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, the alarm system 100 of communication card 130 executes method 300 or a similar method when a change in power failure signal 280 is detected.

[0046] At block 305, communication card 130 detects a change in power failure signal 280. In some embodiments, changing the power failure signal 280, such as a transition from high to low or from low to high, indicates to communication card 130 that a power failure has occurred; for example, meter 110 is experiencing a power outage, or communication card 130 has been removed from meter 110. In some embodiments, the change in power failure signal 280 triggers alarm system 100, which may perform the remainder of method 300.

[0047] In some implementations, in response to a change in the power failure signal 280, the determination engine 240 determines the cause of the power failure indicated by the power failure signal 280. To this end, at determination block 310, the determination engine 240 determines whether the communication card 130 is still receiving a healthy power signal 290 (i.e., above a low threshold) from the meter 110. If the communication card 130 is removed from the meter 110, the power signal 290 will abruptly stop and therefore will not be detected during method 300. However, in the event of a power outage at the meter 110, the power signal 290 will remain healthy for a short period after the change in the power failure signal 280.

[0048] If power signal 290 is detected as healthy, method 300 proceeds to block 315. However, if power signal 290 is not detected as healthy, method 300 jumps forward to block 330.

[0049] Block 315 marks the start of a set of activities performed by the alarm system 100 of communication card 130 based on the determination that power signal 290 is still being received and remains healthy. As described above, the input from power supply 140 indicates an ongoing connection with instrument 110, and therefore, the determination engine 240 determines that a power outage has occurred. Therefore, at block 315, communication card 130 can activate boost circuit 250 after a short period, for example, when power signal 290 is finally deemed unhealthy (i.e., considered outside the operating voltage range). In some embodiments, in the event of a power outage, power signal 290 remains healthy for a short period, for example, for at least the first two hundred milliseconds after power failure signal 280 changes, after which boost circuit 250 is activated. When activated, boost circuit 250 can boost the voltage from supercapacitor 220, thereby providing sufficient voltage for communication card 130 to transmit data, such as one or more alarms.

[0050] At box 320, communication card 130 awaits the duration of a sustained power outage, which can be predefined and pre-programmed within communication card 130. In some implementations, the sustained power outage duration is used to ensure that meter 110 has indeed lost power and that the power loss has a length for which reporting is useful. For example, the sustained power outage duration can be on the order of seconds or minutes.

[0051] At box 325, when the duration of the continuous power outage ends, communication card 130 can send an alarm indicating that power has been lost at instrument 110. For example, communication card 130 can send the alarm to the headend system. In some embodiments, communication card 130 repeatedly sends the alarm indicating the power outage as long as supercapacitor 220 allows (e.g., until supercapacitor 220 lacks the energy to support the transmission of another alarm) or until the power outage ends.

[0052] Block 330 marks the start of a set of activities performed by the communication card 130 based on the determination that the power signal 290 is unhealthy. As described above, the lack of a health input indication from the power supply 140 results in a loss of connection with the instrument 110, and therefore, the determination engine 240 determines that the communication card 130 has been removed from the instrument 110. Therefore, at block 330, the communication card 130 can activate the boost circuit 250, for example, immediately or without waiting for a short delay. In some embodiments, the boost circuit 250 may require a short duration (e.g., less than one hundred microseconds) to start and regulate its output voltage after activation.

[0053] At block 335, communication card 130 awaits a sustained tampering duration, which can be predefined and pre-programmed within communication card 130. In some implementations, the sustained tampering duration is used to ensure that communication card 130 has indeed been removed, and that removal has reached a length for which reporting is useful. For example, the sustained tampering duration can be on the order of seconds or minutes. In some implementations, the sustained tampering duration does not need to be equal to the sustained power outage duration applied at block 320.

[0054] At box 340, when the duration of the continuous power outage ends, communication card 130 can send an alarm indicating that communication card 130 has been removed from meter 110. For example, communication card 130 can send the alarm to the headend system. In some embodiments, communication card 130 repeatedly sends the removal alarm as long as supercapacitor 220 allows it or until communication card 130 returns to meter 110.

[0055] Figure 4 This is a diagram of a utility meter 110 according to some embodiments described herein. For example, the utility meter 110 may be a water meter, a gas meter, or another type of meter that measures the consumption of resource 410 and communicates with a headend system or some other remote device. In some embodiments, the utility meter 110 is a modular meter 110, which is configured to utilize installed modules, such as a communication card 130 with an alarm system 100, as described herein.

[0056] like Figure 4 As shown, an exemplary utility meter 110 measures the consumption of resource 410 occurring on a house 420. For this purpose, the utility meter 110 may include a metering engine 210, also known as a meter card, which detects signals indicating the use of resource 410 and determines, based on these signals, the amount of resource 410 consumed on the house 420. In some embodiments, the metering engine 210 is a modular device mounted on the meter 110.

[0057] The metering engine 210 of the utility meter 110 may include a processing unit, such as a microcontroller unit 430, which may include integrated computer-readable media, such as volatile memory 440, or non-volatile storage device 450, or both. Although the volatile memory 440 and non-volatile storage device 450 of the metering engine 210 are shown and described herein as being integrated into the MCU 430 of the metering engine 210, it should be understood that alternative implementations are possible within the scope of this disclosure; for example, the volatile memory 440 and non-volatile storage device 450 may differ from the processing unit of the metering engine 210.

[0058] In some embodiments, when the communication card 130 is installed in the meter 110, the metering engine 210 utilizes the communication card 130 to receive or send messages, which is embodied in hardware logic or program instructions stored in a computer-readable medium. In some embodiments, the computer-readable medium is a non-transitory computer-readable medium. This computer-readable medium is, for example, the volatile memory 440 or non-volatile storage device 450 of the metering engine 210. The MCU 430 of the metering engine 210 can execute the hardware logic or program instructions to perform the operation using the communication card 130 or other tasks that may be necessary for the normal operation of the utility meter 110.

[0059] In some implementations, such as Figure 4 As shown, meter 110 may include an installed communication card 130, which may be modular and may include an alarm system 100 as described herein. In some embodiments, communication card 130 serves as a wireless device for utility meter 110. For example, communication card 130 may receive consumption data from metering engine 210, wherein the consumption data describes resource consumption, and communication card 130 may transmit the consumption data to a headend system. In addition to communication card 130, utility meter 110 may, but does not need to, include another wireless device, such as another communication card 130 or a built-in wireless device.

[0060] For example, in some embodiments, the utility meter 110 includes at least two modular communication cards 130, including a first communication card 130 and a second communication card 130. In this case, one or more of such communication cards 130 may include a corresponding alarm system 100 as described herein. In one example, only one of the communication cards 130 is active and configured to send transmissions at a given time, and in this case, the corresponding alarm system 100 of the active communication card 130 may send an alarm in response to a power failure as described herein, while the inactive communication card 130 does not need to send such an alarm. Alternatively, each communication card 130 having a corresponding radio device 135 and a corresponding alarm system 100 may send an alarm in response to the detection of a power failure; in this case, redundancy using multiple instances of the alarm system 100 can ensure that the alarm is sent. Various embodiments are possible and are within the scope of this disclosure.

[0061] The communication card 130 may include the MCU 260 as described above. Furthermore, the MCU 260 may include a computer-readable medium, which may be non-transitory, such as volatile memory 470, or non-volatile storage device 480, or both. In some embodiments, the alarm system 100 is implemented as executable program instructions stored on a computer-readable medium (such as volatile memory 470 or non-volatile storage device). The computer-readable medium may hold executable program instructions implementing various aspects of the alarm system 100, such as controlling the OS-Charge, OS-Discharge, OS-Vsense, and OS-Enable signals. However, additionally or alternatively, the alarm system 100 may be implemented as hardware logic. Although the volatile memory 470 and non-volatile storage device 480 of the communication card 130 are shown and described herein as integrated into the MCU 260 of the communication card 130, it should be understood that alternative implementations are within the scope of this disclosure; for example, the volatile memory 440 and non-volatile storage device 450 may differ from the processing unit of the communication card 130.

[0062] In some implementations, a system bus, such as meter interface 215, connects metering engine 210 and communication card 130 of utility meter 110 to enable communication between metering engine 210 and communication card 130. Additionally, meter interface 205 can connect one or both of metering engine 210 and communication card 130 to one or more other devices of meter 110, such as other modular devices mounted on meter 110.

[0063] This document sets forth numerous specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the claimed subject matter can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, apparatus, or systems known to those skilled in the art have not been described in detail to avoid obscuring the claimed subject matter.

[0064] The features discussed herein are not limited to any particular hardware architecture or configuration. A computing device can include any suitable arrangement of components that provide a result conditioned on one or more inputs. Suitable computing devices include multi-purpose microprocessor-based computer systems that access stored software (i.e., computer-readable instructions stored in the memory of a computer system) that programs or configures the computing system from a general-purpose computing device to a special-purpose computing device that implements one or more aspects of the subject matter of this disclosure. The teachings contained herein can be implemented in software used to program or configure the computing device using any suitable programming, scripting, or other type of language or combination of languages.

[0065] The aspects of the methods disclosed herein can be executed in the operation of such a computing device. The order of the boxes presented in the above examples can be changed; for example, the boxes can be reordered, grouped, and / or divided into sub-boxes. Some boxes or procedures can be executed in parallel.

[0066] The use of “suitable for” or “configured to” in this document implies an open and inclusive language, which does not exclude devices that are suitable for or configured to perform additional tasks or steps. Furthermore, the use of “based on” implies an open and inclusive nature, because processes, steps, calculations, or other actions “based on” one or more of the stated conditions or values ​​may in practice be based on additional conditions or values ​​beyond those stated. The headings, lists, and numbering included in this document are for ease of interpretation only and are not intended to be limiting.

[0067] While the subject matter of this disclosure has been described in detail with respect to specific aspects, it should be understood that changes, modifications, and equivalents of these aspects can be readily made by those skilled in the art upon understanding the foregoing. Therefore, it should be understood that this disclosure is presented for illustrative purposes rather than for limitation, and does not exclude the inclusion of such modifications, alterations, and / or additions to the subject matter of this disclosure, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A method for warning of the removal of a modular communication card from a utility meter, the method comprising: Digital power fault signals received from the utility meter's card are monitored at a modular communication card configured to send communications on behalf of the utility meter. A power signal is monitored at the modular communication card, wherein when the modular communication card is installed on the utility meter, the power signal supplies power to the components of the modular communication card; When the modular communication card is installed on the utility meter, the supercapacitor is charged at the modular communication card using power received from the power signal; Detect changes in the digital power fault signal, wherein the change in the digital power fault signal indicates power loss; In response to the detection of the power supply signal being outside the operating voltage range immediately after the change in the digital power fault signal is detected: The power loss was determined to be due to the removal of the modular communication card from the utility meter; The operation of the boost circuit is enabled to boost the voltage from the supercapacitor to provide the boosted voltage to the radio device of the modular communication card; Waiting for the duration of continuous tampering, which is predefined and preprogrammed in the modular communication card; The radio device of the modular communication card sends an alarm indicating that the modular communication card has been removed from the utility meter; Following the change in the digital power fault signal, the power supply signal within the operating voltage range continues to be received for at least two hundred milliseconds. It was determined that the power loss was caused by a power outage; In response to the power signal being outside the operating voltage range, the boost circuit is activated to boost the voltage from the supercapacitor to provide the boosted voltage to the radio device of the modular communication card; Waiting for the duration of continuous tampering, which is predefined and preprogrammed in the modular communication card; The radio device of the modular communication card sends an alarm indicating a power outage.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising down-converting the voltage output of the supercapacitor to provide a down-converted voltage output to the radio device of the modular communication card.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending one or more additional alarms instructing the modular communication card to be removed from the utility meter until the supercapacitor lacks the energy to support another alarm.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Detect a second change in the digital power fault signal, wherein the second change in the digital power fault signal occurs before the change in the digital power fault signal and indicates a second power loss prior to the power loss; The power supply signal is detected to be within the operating voltage range; In response to the second change of the digital power fault signal and the power supply signal being within the operating voltage range, it is determined that a power outage has occurred at the utility meter. as well as The radio device of the modular communication card sends a second alarm indicating the power outage at the utility meter.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising: When the modular communication card is installed on the utility meter, the supercapacitor is charged at the modular communication card using power received from the power signal; In response to a power outage at the utility meter, the operation of the boost circuit on the modular communication card is activated; as well as In response to the power signal falling outside the operating voltage range, the supercapacitor and the boost circuit provide a boosted voltage to the radio device of the modular communication card.

6. A modular communication card configured to transmit communications on behalf of a device, the modular communication card comprising: A power fault input, configured to receive a digital power fault signal from the device; A power input configured to receive a power signal from the device, which supplies power to the components of the modular communication card when the modular communication card is installed on the device; Supercapacitor; A charging circuit configured to charge the supercapacitor when the modular communication card is installed on the device; A boost circuit is configured to provide a boosted voltage to a radio device by boosting the voltage output of the supercapacitor; The radio device; as well as The controller is configured as follows: Monitor the voltage associated with the supercapacitor and control the charging circuit to charge the supercapacitor until the voltage reaches a threshold voltage; and Detect changes in the digital power fault signal, wherein the change in the digital power fault signal indicates power loss; In response to the detection of the power supply signal being outside the operating voltage range immediately after the change in the digital power fault signal is detected: The power loss was determined to be due to the removal of the modular communication card from the utility meter; The operation of the boost circuit is enabled to boost the voltage from the supercapacitor to provide the boosted voltage to the radio device of the modular communication card; Waiting for the duration of continuous tampering, which is predefined and preprogrammed in the modular communication card; The radio device of the modular communication card sends an alarm indicating that the modular communication card has been removed from the utility meter; Following the change in the digital power fault signal, the power supply signal within the operating voltage range continues to be received for at least two hundred milliseconds. It was determined that the power loss was caused by a power outage; In response to the power signal being outside the operating voltage range, the boost circuit is activated to boost the voltage from the supercapacitor to provide the boosted voltage to the radio device of the modular communication card; Waiting for the duration of continuous tampering, which is predefined and preprogrammed in the modular communication card; The radio device of the modular communication card sends an alarm indicating a power outage.

7. The modular communication card of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to: in response to the digital power failure signal being in a first state and the power signal being within the operating voltage range, when the modular communication card is installed on the device, enable the charging circuit to charge the supercapacitor.

8. The modular communication card according to claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to: Detect a second change in the digital power fault signal, wherein the second change in the digital power fault signal indicates a second power loss; The power supply signal is detected to be within the operating voltage range; In response to the change in the digital power fault signal and the power supply signal being within the operating voltage range, it is determined that the device has experienced a power outage; as well as The radio device is instructed to send a second alarm indicating the power outage.

9. The modular communication card according to claim 8, further comprising: The controller is also configured to enable the operation of the boost circuit in response to the power outage.

10. The modular communication card of claim 6, wherein the controller directs the radio device to send one or more additional alarms instructing the modular communication card to be removed from the device until the supercapacitor lacks the energy to support another alarm.

11. The modular communication card of claim 6, wherein the device is a utility meter, and wherein the radio device sends the alarm to the headend system of the utility meter.

12. A utility metering system, comprising: A utility meter, configured to measure the consumption of resources, and further configured to utilize a module installed on the utility meter; as well as The modular communication card according to claim 6.

13. The utility meter system of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to enable the charging circuit to charge the supercapacitor when the modular communication card is installed on the utility meter, in response to the digital power fault signal being in a first state and the power signal being within the operating voltage range.

14. The utility metering system of claim 13, wherein the controller of the modular communication card is further configured to: Detect a second change in the digital power fault signal, wherein the second change in the digital power fault signal indicates a second power loss; The power supply signal is detected to be within the operating voltage range; In response to the change in the digital power fault signal and the power supply signal being within the operating voltage range, it is determined that the utility meter has experienced a power outage; as well as The radio device is instructed to send a second alarm indicating the power outage.

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