Central Water Meter Display With Secure Multi-Tenant Access

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing solutions for monitoring hot and cold water consumption in rented apartments are costly due to the need for individual radio modules and displays for each meter, violating cost-effectiveness and sustainability, while ensuring tenant access and privacy.

Innovation Solution

A centralized inhome display device that encrypts and processes consumption data from multiple meters via a single radio module and gateway, allowing secure retrieval on a central display using user identification or biometrics, with data management through a remote backend server.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a radio module and display are installed for each water meter, then tenants can visually read their water meters to verify consumption data, but the installation and operational costs become extremely high

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelegal compliance for visual verificationVSAvoidnumber of displays and radio modules

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple water meters (cold and hot water meters from different apartments) are merged into a single display unit. The central display consolidates readings from multiple meters, allowing tenants to view their consumption data without requiring individual displays at each meter location. This reduces the total number of displays from hundreds to one or a few centralized units.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

A radio module is introduced as an intermediary device to transmit consumption data wirelessly from water meters to the central display. This mediator eliminates the need for direct visual access to meters installed in inaccessible locations (walls and ceilings), while also reducing the need for multiple display units by consolidating data presentation at a central location.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of manufacture

If water meters are installed in walls and ceilings, then space is saved and installation is simplified, but tenants cannot visually read the meters to verify consumption

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinstallation simplicity and space utilizationVSAvoidaccessibility for visual reading

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

A radio module serves as an intermediary that bridges the gap between inaccessible meter installations and tenant verification needs. The radio module reads data from meters installed in walls/ceilings and transmits it wirelessly to a central display, allowing tenants to verify consumption without direct visual access to the physical meters.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The mechanical/visual reading system (direct line-of-sight to meter displays) is replaced with a wireless electronic transmission system. Instead of tenants physically viewing meter dials or displays at meter locations, consumption data is transmitted radio-frequency to centralized displays, eliminating the need for visual access to physically installed meters.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Ease of operation

If multiple displays are installed for each water meter, then consumption data is accessible to tenants, but the cost and sustainability of the solution deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccessibility of consumption dataVSAvoidnumber of displays and associated costs

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the function of multiple individual meter displays into a single centralized display unit. This central display consolidates consumption data from multiple water meters (cold and hot water meters serving different apartments), reducing the quantity of display devices from many individual units to one or a few centralized units, thereby reducing costs and improving sustainability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

4Ease of operation

If a central display is made generally accessible, then all tenants can read water meters, but privacy protection is compromised without authentication

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccessibility of water meter readingVSAvoidprivacy violation of consumption data

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

User authentication is performed as a preliminary action before allowing access to consumption data. The system requires tenants to authenticate (e.g., enter apartment number, use biometric verification, or provide other identification) before displaying their specific water meter readings. This preliminary authentication step ensures that while the display is physically accessible to all, only authorized users can view their own consumption data, protecting privacy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS12607482B2Central multi-user inhome display device for water meters

Publication Date: 2026.04.21 GFW AG

AI summary

An inhome display device and method are provided for reading and monitoring consumed hot and cold water that includes a plurality of water meters which measure hot and cold water consumption and encrypt the consumption data, one internal or external radio module per water meter for transmitting the encrypted consumption data, a gateway for one or multiple water meters for receiving and transmitting the encrypted consumption data to a remote backend server. The consumption data is decrypted, processed and made available in the remote backend server. The consumption data of a water meter is retrievable from the remote backend server via at least one central inhome display and displayed on the at least one central inhome display.