Utility Metering Device Incident Alert Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems lack immediate incident reporting capabilities, which hinders timely preventative actions in response to threats like fires, floods, or chemical spills, potentially leading to further damage or harm.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a communication approach that allows utility metering devices to receive incident-related alerts from safety monitoring systems and react by issuing instructions for disconnection or alerting head-end devices for appropriate actions, enabling immediate responses to potential dangers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional AMI systems are used without incident reporting integration, then system simplicity is maintained, but response time to incidents is delayed and property damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a communication interface as an intermediary component that enables incident reporting between the safety monitoring system and the metering device. This intermediary layer allows the two systems to exchange information without requiring complete system integration, thereby improving incident response reliability while adding minimal complexity to the existing AMI infrastructure.
2Speed
If metering devices automatically take actions without head-end coordination, then response speed is improved, but system control and coordination are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The metering device is configured with pre-programmed disconnection logic that enables it to automatically disconnect utility flow when specific incident conditions are detected. This preliminary action capability allows the device to respond immediately to incidents without waiting for head-end system instructions, thereby improving response speed while maintaining operational simplicity through predetermined response protocols.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive incident data is collected and reported, then incident assessment accuracy is improved, but communication bandwidth and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The communication interface is designed to extract and report only the most critical incident data elements to the head-end system, rather than transmitting all available sensor data. This selective data extraction approach maintains incident detection precision by reporting key incident indicators while reducing communication bandwidth requirements and energy consumption associated with data transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
A metering device and method for assessing an incident detected by a safety monitoring system at a physical site at which the metering device is located, the method including: receiving at the metering device sensor layout information for safety monitoring system sensors, receiving a notification from the safety monitoring system including sensor data, determining an incident type and severity index(es) based on the sensor layout information and the sensor data, evaluating the severity index(es) against predetermined criteria, and taking an action based on the evaluation. The sensor data may include sensor identification as well as smoke intensities, temperatures, water pressure, and/or flood levels, etc., reported by the sensors. The actions taken may include disconnecting flow at the metering device, sending an instruction message to other metering device(s) to disconnect flow, and/or sending an alarm message to a device associated with a utility provider associated with the metering device.