Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
Methods, Apparatus, Media, and Signals for Controlling Supply of a Utility
Service to a Load
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of Invention
[0003] This invention relates to apparatus, methods, media, and signals for
managing
utility usage, in particular for controlling excessive or non-optimized usage
of a utility,
controlling a supply of a utility service to a load, facilitating monitoring
of subscriber
usage of a utility service, and billing a subscriber for utility service
usage.
[0004] 2. Description of Related Art
[0005] With the increasing prospect of rising natural gas prices, energy
shortages, and
water shortages looming on the horizon, there is a need for smart management
of utility
service usage. As national and worldwide energy resources dwindle, there is an
increasing need to manage the efficiency of energy and water use. Recent years
have
seen an increased prevalence of energy blackouts, brownouts, and water
restrictions
during certain times of the year in order to conserve available resources of
energy and
water. As we move into the twenty first century the conservation of energy and
water
will gain increasing importance, requiring careful management of utilities.
[0006] Many existing systems used to manage utilities do so for control in
disaster or
abnormal conditions. For example some systems involve shutting off the supply
of
utilities during an emergency, such as in an earthquake or in response to leak
detection
or a short circuit. These systems generally monitor for faults or leaks in the
utility system
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and respond by turning off a circuit breaker or shutting off valves and
evacuating gases
and water in order to prevent further damage to a dwelling or building
[0007] However, in these systems there is no monitoring of utility usage and
there is no
subsequent controlling of utility supply in response to measurements made
while
monitoring the utility usage. Underscoring that need is the increased
advantage of
minimizing utility usage costs for inefficient use of energy, and the added
safety
precautions the system would present when utilizing appliances which have not
been
optimized for energy usage. Moreover, monitoring the usage of utilities would
also
naturally facilitate the tracking of utility expenditures, and would provide
an opportunity
to incorporate monitoring and controlling utilities with a billing process to
provide
payment for utility usage.
[0008] What would be desirable therefore are methods and apparatus which
manage
usage of a utility service.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention addresses the above needs by providing methods,
apparatus, media, and signals for managing utility usage
[0010] In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a
method of
controlling usage of a utility including receiving a representation of a
utility service
usage at a load, receiving and storing a usage range representation, and
producing a
control signal for use by a utility service interrupter, when the usage is
outside of the
usage range representation. The control signal is operable to cause the
utility service
interrupter to interrupt a supply of the utility service to the load.
[0011 ] The method may include transmitting the control signal to the utility
service
interrupter, receiving user input specifying the usage range representation
and/or
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receiving a message from a communications system and extracting the usage
range
representation from the message according to a network protocol.
[0012] The method may also include receiving a plurality of representations of
the utility
service usage representing the utility service usage at the load, and
receiving and
storing a plurality of usage range representations.
[0013] The method may also include producing a derived representation from the
plurality of representations of the utility service usage and producing the
control signal
when the derived representation is outside of the usage range representation.
The
method may also include comparing the representations of the utility service
usage with
respective usage range representations and producing the control signal when a
set of
representations of the utility service usage is outside of a corresponding set
of usage
range representations.
[0014] The method may also include storing the representation of utility
service usage,
displaying the representation of utility service usage, storing an indication
of whether or
not the control signal is active, and displaying the indication.
[0015] The method may also include transmitting the representation of the
utility service
usage to a remote location.
[0016] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a
computer
readable medium for providing instruction codes executable by a programmable
device,
for directing the programmable device to receive a representation of a utility
service
usage at a load, receive and store a usage range representation, and produce a
control
signal for use by utility service interrupter, when the usage is outside of
the usage range
representation.
[0017] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
computer
data signal embodied in a carrier. The computer data signal includes code
segments for
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directing a programmable device to receive a representation of utility service
usage at a
load, receive and store a usage range representation, and produce a control
signal for
use by a utility service interrupter, when the usage is outside of the usage
range
representation.
[0018] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided an
apparatus for controlling usage of a utility including a communications device
operable
to receive a representation of a utility service usage at a load and operable
to receive a
usage range representation, a data storage device operable to store the usage
range
representation, and a controller, in communication with the communications
device and
the data storage device. The controller is operable to produce a control
signal for use by
a utility service interrupter, when the usage is outside of the usage range
representation. The control signal is operable to cause the utility service
interrupter to
interrupt the supply of the utility service to the load.
[0019] The controller may further include a control signal generator operable
to produce
the control signal, or a processor circuit incorporating the control signal
generator.
[0020] The communications device may be operable to transmit the control
signal to the
utility service interrupter, to receive user input specifying the usage range
representation, to receive a message from a communications system containing
the
usage range representation, to be extracted from the message by the processor
circuit
according to a network protocol.
[0021] The communications device may be operable to receive a plurality of
representations of the utility service usage representing the utility service
usage at the
load, and operable to receive a plurality of usage range representations. The
data
storage device may be operable to store the plurality of usage range
representations.
[0022] The processor circuit may be operable to produce a derived
representation from
the plurality of representations of the utility service usage, and operable to
cause the
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control signal generator to produce the control signal when the derived
representation is
outside of the usage range representation. The processor circuit may also be
operable
to compare the representations of the utility service usage with respective
usage range
representations and may be operable to cause the control signal generator to
produce
the control signal when a set of representations of the utility service usage
is outside of
a corresponding set of usage range representations.
[0023] The data storage device may be operable to store the representation of
utility
service usage, or to store an indication of whether or not the control signal
is active
[0024] The apparatus may further include an annunciation device operable to
display
the representation of the utility service usage, and the processor circuit may
be
operable to direct the annunciation device to display the indication of
whether or not the
control signal is active.
[0025] The communications device may also be operable to transmit the
representation
of utility service usage to a remote location
[0026] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a
method of
controlling a supply of a utility service to a load including receiving a
control signal
indicating that a usage of the utility service at the load is outside of a
usage range
representation, and interrupting the supply of the utility service to the load
in response
to the control signal. The control signal may be received at a communications
device in
communication with a utility service interrupter, and interrupting may include
actuating a
valve or a switch.
[0027] The method may also include producing a representation of the usage of
the
utility service by the load, for use by a controller operable to produce the
control signal,
and transmitting the representation to the controller.
[0028] The method may also include measuring the usage of the utility service
by the
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load to produce a measurement value representing usage of the utility service
by the
load, and producing the representation from the measurement value
[0029] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
computer
readable medium for providing instruction codes executable by a programmable
device,
for directing the programmable device to receive a control signal indicating
that usage of
the utility service at the load is outside of a usage range representation,
and to interrupt
the supply of the utility service to the load in response to the control
signal.
[0030] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
computer
data signal embodied in a carrier wave, the signal including code segments for
directing
a programmable device to receive a control signal indicating that a usage of
the utility
service at the load is outside of a usage range representation, and to
interrupt the
supply of the utility service to the load in response to the control signal.
[0031 J In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided
an
apparatus for controlling a supply of utility service to a load including a
communications
device operable to receive a control signal indicating that a usage of the
utility service at
the load is outside of a usage range representation, and a utility service
interrupter, in
communication with the communications device. The utility service interrupter
is
operable to interrupt a supply of utility service to the load in response to
the control
signal, and may be operable to actuate a valve or a switch.
[0032] The apparatus may also include a processor circuit operable to produce
a
representation of the usage of a utility service by the load, for use by a
controller
operable to produce the control signal. The communications device may be
operable to
transmit the representation to the controller.
[0033] The apparatus may also include a measurement device in communication
with
the processor circuit. The measurement device may be operable to measure the
usage
of the utility service by the load to produce a measurement value representing
the
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usage of the utility service by the load, and the processor circuit may be
operable to
produce the representation from the measurement value
[0034] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a
method
facilitating monitoring of subscriber usage of a utility service including
producing a
measurement of usage of the utility service at a subscriber location, and
transmitting the
measurement from the subscriber location to an entity for monitoring the
subscriber
usage of the utility service.
[0035] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a
computer
readable medium for providing instruction codes executable by a programmable
device,
for directing the programmable device to produce a measurement of usage of the
utility
service at a subscriber location, and transmit the measurement from the
subscriber
location to an entity for monitoring the subscriber usage of the utility
service.
[0036] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
computer
data signal embodied in a carrier wave. The signal includes code segments for
directing
a programmable device to produce a measurement of usage of the utility service
at a
subscriber location, and transmit the measurement from the subscriber location
to an
entity for monitoring the subscriber usage of the utility service.
[0037] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided
an
apparatus for monitoring usage of a utility service by a subscriber including
a utility
service measurement device operable to produce a measurement of usage of the
utility
service at a subscriber location, and a transmitter, in communication with the
utility
service measurement device, operable to transmit the measurement from the
subscriber location to an entity for monitoring the subscriber usage of the
utility service.
[0038] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
method of
billing a subscriber for utility service usage including producing a
measurement of usage
of the utility service at a location, receiving rate information for the
utility service,
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applying the rate information to the measurement to produce a billing value,
and
producing a billing signal representing a bill bearing the billing value, for
use by an
output device at a subscriber location for producing a bill at the subscriber
location.
[0039] The method may also include causing the bill to be printed or displayed
at the
subscriber location in response to the billing signal, or produced at a
location
designated by the subscriber.
[0040] The method may also include receiving the rate information at the
subscriber
location, and applying the rate information at the subscriber location
[0041 ] The method may also include requesting the rate information from a
server, by
establishing a communications connection to a remote server, and transmitting
the
measurement or a value derived from the measurement to a remote server. The
method
may also include transmitting utility service usage information to a server.
[0042] The method may also include producing and storing a plurality of
measurements
of usage of the utility service, measuring usage of a plurality of utility
services, obtaining
rate information for at least some of the utility services, applying the rate
information to
the at least some of the utility services to produce at least some billing
values for the at
least some utility services, and causing at least some bills to be produced,
bearing the
at least some billing values. The method may also include producing the
billing signal in
response to a request for the bill to be produced.
[0043] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provide a
computer
readable medium for providing instruction codes executable by a programmable
device
and a computer data signal including respective code segments embodied in a
carrier
wave. The computer readable medium provides instruction codes executable by a
programmable device and the computer data signal contains respective code
segments
for directing a programmable device to produce a measurement of usage of the
utility
service at a location, to receive rate information from the utility service,
to apply the rate
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information to the measurement to produce a billing value, and to produce a
billing
signal representing a bill bearing the billing value, for use by an output
device at a
subscriber location for producing a bill at the subscriber location
[0044] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided an
apparatus for billing a subscriber for utility service usage including a
utility service
measurement device operable to measure the utility service usage at a
location, a
communications device operable to receive rate information for the utility
service, a
processor circuit, in communication with the communications device, and
operable to
apply the rate information to the measurement to produce billing value and to
generate
a billing signal representing a bill bearing the billing value, for use by an
output device at
a subscriber location for producing a bill at the subscriber location.
[0045] The apparatus may further include an annunciation device responsive to
the
billing signal for producing the bill bearing the billing value. The
annunciation device
may further include a printer to print the bill at the location or a printer
at a remote
location to print the bill at a remote location.
[0046] The communications device may further include a receiver operable to
receive
the rate information at the location. The processor circuit may be operable to
apply the
rate information at the location.
[0047] The communications device may be operable to establish communications
with
either a server or a remote server to request the rate information from the
server or the
remote server, and further may include a transmitter operable to transmit
either the
measurement or a value derived from the measurement to a remote server. The
transmitter may be operable to transmit utility service usage information to a
server.
[0048] The apparatus may further include a data storage device operable to
store the
measurement of utility service usage.
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[0049] The apparatus may also include a plurality of utility service
measurement devices
operable to produce a plurality of measurements of the utility service usage.
[0050] The plurality of utility service measurement devices may be operable to
measure
usage of a plurality of utility services, and the communications device may be
in
communication with the plurality of the utility service measurements and
operable to
obtain rate information for at least some of the utility services.
[0051 ] The processor circuit may be operable to apply the rate information to
the at
least some of the utility service measurements to produce at least some
billing values
for the at least some utility services.
[0052] The annunciation device may be operable to cause at least some bills to
be
produced, bearing the at least some billing values and may be operable to
produce the
billing signal in response to a request for the bill to be produced.
[0053] Other aspects and features of the present invention will become
apparent to
those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description
of specific
embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0054] In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention:
[0055] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for managing utility usage
according
to a first embodiment of the invention.
[0056] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a utility management apparatus for
controlling a
supply of a utility service, as part of the system shown in FIG. 1.
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[0057] FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting a process effected by a processor
circuit of the
utility management apparatus shown in FIG. 2.
[0058] FIG. 4 is a tabular representation of a measurement/status record
produced by a
processor circuit executing the process shown in FIG. 3.
[0059] FIG. 5 is a tabular representation of a look-up table read by the
processor circuit
of the utility management apparatus shown in FIG. 2.
[0060] FIG. 6 is a tabular representation of a test record recording the
status indicators
for a plurality of measurement/status records shown in FIG. 4.
[0061] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a control device of the system shown
in FIG. 1.
[0062] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a control device, according to an
alternate
embodiment, of the system shown in FIG. 1.
[0063] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a billing system incorporating part of
the system
shown in FIG. 1.
[0064] FIG. 10 is a flowchart depicting a process effected by a processor
circuit of the
billing system shown in FIG. 9.
[0065] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a bill produced according to the
process
shown in FIG. 10, by the billing system shown in FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0066] Referring to FIG. 1 a system for managing utility usage, according to a
first
embodiment of the invention, is shown generally at 10. In this embodiment, the
system
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includes a utility management apparatus 12, a plurality of measurement devices
13, 14,
15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21 and a plurality of control devices 26, 28, and 30.
[0067] The plurality of measurement devices 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21
measure
utility usage parameters, such as electrical power, water, and gas used by
loads 20, 22,
and 24, respectively, for example, and the control devices 26, 28, and 30 may
be valves
or relays, for example, for controlling the supply of utility services to the
respective
loads. The load may include appliances connected to a supply of gas, water, or
electricity, for example, or other types of utilities.
[0068] The measurement devices 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21 measure the
usage
of the utility service by their respective loads to produce a measurement
value
representing the usage of the utility service by the respective load. The
measurement
devices 14 and 16, for example, may be flow meters or flow switches to measure
or
sense the flow of gas and water to loads 20 and 22, respectively, and
measurement
devices 13, 15, 17, 19, and 21 may measure the amount of gas, water, heat,
and/or
other secondary by products exhausted from the respective loads.
Alternatively, or in
addition, measurement device 18 may be operable to measure the electric power
consumed by respective electric load 24, and measurement device 21 may be
operable
to measure the continuity through the load to determine if the electric load
is connected
to a supply of utility service. In general, any other measurement devices able
to
determine the usage of a utility by a load may be used. Moreover, the
measurement
devices may comprise individual devices or any combination of measurement
devices
may be grouped together to determine an appropriate measurement of the usage
of a
utility service by a load.
[0069] The measurement value is a representation of the usage of the utility
service by
the respective loads or may be used to produce such a representation. The
representation of utility service usage may be a signal representative of a
measurement
of flow of water or gas through an appliance, the amount of electric power or
thermal
energy used by an appliance, for example, or other types of measurements which
can
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be used to determine the usage of a utility service. The representation of
utility service
usage may represent the usage of a single utility by an appliance, or may
represent the
usage of a plurality of utilities by various appliances.
[0070] The control devices 26, 28, and 30 are operable to interrupt a supply
of utilities to
their respective loads in response to respective control signals. A control
signal may be
a voltage signal in the 0-5V range, a current signal in the 4-20 mA range, or
a computer
data signal, for example. Generally, the control signal may be represented by
a change
in any feature of an electrical signal, for example.
[0071] The utility management apparatus 12 includes a communications device
32, a
data storage device 34, and a utility service controller 36 in communication
with the
communications device and the data storage device. The utility management
apparatus
12 receives, at the communications device 32, the representations of utility
service
usage at loads 20, 22, and 24, from the measurement devices 13, 14, 15, 16,
17, 18,
19, and 21, respectively.
[0072] The communications device 32 is also operable to receive a usage range
representation, which serves as a range of values in determining whether there
is
excessive or non-optimized usage of a utility by a load, and stores the usage
range
representation in the data storage device 34. The data storage device--34 may
store a
single usage range representation pertaining to a single load, or may
alternatively store
a plurality of usage range representations for various loads. The utility
service controller
36 compares the representation of utility service usage at a load to the
corresponding
usage range representation stored in the data storage device 34. If the
utility service
controller 36 determines that the usage of a utility by a particular load 24
is outside of
the usage range representation for that load, the utility service controller
produces a
control signal for use by the control device 30 to interrupt the supply of the
utility service
to the respective load 24.
[0073] Management Apparatus
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[0074] Referring to FIG. 2, to achieve the above function, in this embodiment,
the utility
management apparatus 12 includes a processor circuit shown at 38 as part of
the utility
service controller 36. In this embodiment, the processor circuit 38 includes a
control
signal generator 40 for producing the control signal when the usage is outside
of the
usage range representation, for use by the control devices 26, 28, and 30
shown in FIG.
1, to interrupt a supply of the utility service to the respective loads.
Alternatively, the
control signal generator 40 may be separate from the processor circuit 38.
[0075] In this embodiment, the utility service controller 36 also includes a
block of
instruction codes provided by a processor readable medium accessible by the
processor circuit 38. In this embodiment, the processor readable medium
includes a
program memory device 42 and a random access memory device 44. Alternatively,
the
processor readable medium may be a memory device such as a disc drive or CD-
ROM,
or EPROM, for example, but could alternatively be a communications link to the
communications device 32 of the utility management apparatus 12, where the
communications device is operable to communicate with a remote device. The
communications link may include the Internet, for example.
[0076] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the data storage device 34 is
shown
as a memory device separate from the utility service controller 36.
Alternatively, the
data storage device 34 may be incorporated in the program memory device 42,
the
random access memory device 44, or a CD-ROM, for example. Moreover, the data
storage device 34 may be alternatively housed in the utility service
controller 36, as
shown in the embodiment in FIG. 1.
[0077] Referring to FIG. 2, the communications device 32 is operable to
receive from
the measurement devices 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21 the representations
of the
utility service usage representing the utility service usage at respective
loads 20, 22,
and 24, and pass the representations to an input port 46 of the utility
service controller
36 to be read by the processor circuit 38. Alternatively, the communications
device 32
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may store the representations of utility service usage at the data storage
device 34, to
be read by the processor circuit 38 of the utility service controller 36 as
shown in FIG. 1.
[0078] Still referring to FIG. 1, the communications device 32 may also be
operable to
transmit the representation of utility service usage via a transmitter 55,
such as a
modem, for example, over a communications system to a remote location, such as
a
group of utility service suppliers 53 supplying the utility services or any
other entity, for
monitoring the usage of the utility service. The transmitter 55 is shown in
FIG. 1 as
separate from the utility management apparatus 12 and the communications
device 32,
but alternatively may be part of the communications device of the management
apparatus. The communications system may include a computer network such as
the
Internet 57 or may include a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 52, for
example,
or a private network or other communications system configured to deliver
messages to
contain the representation of the utility service usage.
[0079] The communications device 32 is also operable to receive input
specifying the
usage range representations of the respective loads. The usage range
representation
may be a signal derived by a processor in the communications device or other
device,
from input representing a maximum amount of power, voltage or current
allowable to be
used by a load 24, or a maximum amount of water or gas allowable to be used by
loads
22 or 20, respectively. Alternatively, the usage range representation may
represent an
efficiency rating, a flow rating, a maximum and/or minimum utility service
usage amount,
a secondary by-product amount, or generally any other criteria which can be
used to
compare with the measured usage of a utility service by a load to determine if
the usage
by the load is excessive or not optimized to allow for maximum or efficient
performance
of an appliance connected to the load.
[0080] The input may be provided by a user from a keyboard 48, or may be
provided in
a message from a communications system, which may be the Internet 57 or the
PSTN
52, shown in FIG. 1. For example, a user managing the utility usage may want
to
specify the maximum amount of power to be used by a load for a certain time,
or may
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want to change the maximum amount criteria to accommodate changes in the power
demand due to holidays or extreme weather or general environmental conditions.
Alternatively, the utility service suppliers 53 or other entity may set or
change a
maximum water usage criteria in response to drought conditions, or may set a
total
power consumption limit during times of high power demand, for example. Or,
for
example, the utility service suppliers 53 or other authorities may set
different
temperature limits for cooling or heating devices in different buildings.
[0081] Alternatively, certain appliances may be equipped with information
message
transmitting ability, such as ID chips, which can communicate information
messages
about expected power consumption, for example, to the communications device 32
to
provide input specifying the usage range representation. Referring back to
FIG. 2, the
processor circuit 38 may be operable to extract the usage range
representations from
the messages and may store the usage range representations in the data storage
device 34.
[0082] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the utility service controller 36 is
connected
to an annunciation device 50, such as a monitor, television screen, speaker,
or printer,
for example, which is operable to annunciate by producing sound, printing, or
displaying
representations of the utility service usage by respective loads.
Alternatively, signals
produced by the utility service controller 36 for use by the annunciation
device 50 may
be transmitted to an annunciation device at a remote location, such as at the
utility
service suppliers 53 or at a location of an owner of a building using the
utilities. This
provides the user of the utilities, or the one responsible for the usage of
the utilities, or
the utility suppliers with real-time information relating to utility usage by
individual loads
or a plurality of loads.
[0083] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart 60 depicting a process effected by the block
of
instruction codes stored in the program memory device 42 which cooperates with
the
processor circuit 38 shown in FIG. 2, to function as the control signal
generator 40.
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[0084] Separate, similar processes are simultaneously executed by the
processor circuit
38, for each load for which usage is monitored. The process is invoked
periodically,
such as every thirty seconds, to determine if there is an excessive or non-
optimized
usage of a utility by a load, and measurement of status records for each load
are
updated to hold current measurements and status of usage of the utility at the
load.
[0085] Block 62 causes the processor circuit 38 to measure the flow of the
utility to the
load. To do this the processor circuit 38 may cause the communications device
32 to
transmit a requesting signal to the measurement devices 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
18, 19, or
21 shown in FIG. 1 to produce a measurement value. In response the measurement
devices 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 21 produce a measurement value
representing
the usage of the utility service by respective loads, or the measurement value
may be
provided without the need for a requesting signal. The measurement value may
represent the flow of water or gas through an appliance, the amount of
electric power or
thermal energy used by an appliance, for example, or other types of
measurements
which can be used to determine the usage of a utility service. For example, if
load 20 is
used by a gas fireplace device, the amount of usage of the gas utility by the
load can be
determined from measurement device 14, which measures the amount of flow of
gas
into the fireplace device. In addition, the measurement value may represent
the amount
of heat or carbon dioxide or any other secondary by-product produced by the
fireplace
device 20 as measured by measurement device 13. Alternatively, measurement
devices
16 and 17 may measure the pressure or temperature of water in two separate
sections
of a pipe leading to a faucet 22, respectively, and the measurement value may
be the
difference in pressure or heat values to determine if the pipe has undesirable
transmission capacity.
[0086] The measurement value obtained at the I/O port 46 of the processor
circuit 38 is
then stored at the data storage device in the corresponding measurement/status
record,
such as the disk drive 34 or memory device 44, for example. In addition to the
measurement value, other information of relevance to the determination of
utility usage
V80581 CA\VAN-LAW\ 243779\2 17
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
may be stored. For example, additional information to be stored could include
a start
period of the measuring process, a time duration of the measuring process, the
total
consumption used by a load, and identification numbers corresponding to a
specific
appliance using the utility or specifying the utility supplier. The processor
circuit 38 then
receives the measurement value at an I/O port 46. The measurement value as
measured by measurement device 14 or 16 may represent the flow of gas or water
to
loads 20 or 22, respectively.
[0087] Block 64 then causes the processor circuit 38 to determine whether the
utility
service is supplied to the load. To do this, the processor circuit 38
determines whether
the measured flow is non-zero or exceeds minimum threshold criteria and if so
the
processor circuit determines that utility service is supplied to the
respective load.
[0088] Further, the processor circuit 38 may be operable to produce a derived
representation from a plurality of representations of the utility service
usage. The
derived representation may represent the efficiency of usage of a load derived
from the
utility service usage measurements, or may represent the consumption rate or
exhaust
rate of utility service usage by the load, for example. Alternatively, the
derived
representation may represent the efficiency of usage of the utility by the
load, which, for
example, may be determined by using measurement device 15 to measure the
temperature change of a room heated by the fireplace device 20 to determine
the heat
produced, and then dividing the heat produced by the fireplace device by the
thermal
heat equivalent of gas delivered into the load. In addition, the derived rate
may also
represent the burning efficiency of gas as determined from measured carbon
dioxide
value or other secondary by-product value and the amount of gas supplied to
the load
20, for example.
[0089] Referring back to FIG. 3, once the measurement value is obtained, block
66
directs the processor circuit 38 to compare the representations of the utility
service
usage with respective usage range representations. If a representation of the
utility
service usage is within the corresponding usage range representation, block 68
directs
V80581 CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 1$
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
the processor circuit 38 to report the representation of utility service usage
to the
annunciation device 50, and/or to store the representation in the
measurement/status
record in the data storage device 34. In addition, a status indicator
indicating that the
utility service usage is within the corresponding usage range representation
may be
stored in the measurement/status record. The processor circuit 38 updates the
status
indicator information whenever block 66 has been entered and the
representations have
been compared. The processor circuit 38 may then direct the annunciation
device 50 to
display the updated status indicator. The process is then repeated by re-
entering block
62 of the flowchart. In addition, the measurement value may also be displayed
at the
annunciation device 50. The processor circuit 38 may access other instruction
codes
stored in the program memory device 42 or other memory device 44, for example,
to
provide a graphical display at the annunciation device 50 to provide a user
with a
presentation of utility usage details, including the measurement values
obtained.
[0090] If at block 66 it has been determined that a representation of the
utility service
usage is outside of a corresponding usage range representation, block 68
directs the
processor circuit 38 to update the status indicator in the measurement/status
record to
indicate that the usage range has been exceeded and to store the usage
representation
and the status indicator and report the status indicator and the
representation of utility
service usage to the annunciation device 50. The processor circuit 38 is then
directed
back to block 62 and the process is repeated. Alternatively, at block 66 the
processor
circuit 38 may determine if a set or group of a plurality of representations
of utility
service usage is outside of a corresponding set of usage range
representations, and if
so, block 68 stores and reports the representation of utility service usage,
and updates,
stores, and reports the updated status indicator.
(0091 ] If at block 64 it is determined that the utility service is not being
supplied to a
load, the processor circuit 38 is immediately directed to block 68 to report
to the
annunciation device 50 and store in the measurement/status record an updated
status
indicator indicating that no utility service is being drawn from the load.
V80581 CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 1 g
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[0092] As stated above, separate similar processes are simultaneously executed
by the
processor circuit 38 for each load for which utility service usage is
measured.
Consequently, as a result of executing all of these processes, a plurality of
measurement/status records corresponding to respective loads is continually
updated to
reflect the instantaneous current status of the supply of the utility service
to the load.
[0093] Referring to FIG. 4, an example of a measurement/status record is shown
generally at 200 and includes a plurality of measurement fields 202, usage
range fields
204, status indicator fields 206, and a control signal field 208. The
measurement fields
202 hold values representing measurements acquired from measurement devices
13,
14 and 15, respectively, for example, and may further include a field 203 for
holding a
derived value, such as energy consumption, computed from measured values. The
usage range fields 204 hold values representing usage ranges for each
measurement
device 13, 14 and 15 and may include an additional field 205 or fields for
derived
representations representing energy usage ranges, for example.
[0094] The status indicator fields 206 include a primary field 144 indicating
whether
utility service is delivered to the load, a secondary field 146 indicating
whether the
usage of the utility is within the corresponding usage range representation,
and a
response field 148 indicating whether the supply of the utility service to the
corresponding load may be interrupted. Each field may take a binary value, a
range of
integer values indicating, for example, a priority ranking of whether a
particular load
could be interrupted, or any number of bytes needed to represent the status
indicator for
a respective load.
[0095] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the primary field 144 is 0(1 ) if
the supply of
utility service is not (is) delivered to the load, the secondary field 146 is
O(1 ) when the
usage of the utility service is outside of (within) the usage range
representation, and the
response field 148 is 0(1 ) if the load may not (may) be interrupted. The
response field
148 may be set by a user of the utility, or alternatively a utility service
supplier 53, to
V80581CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 2~
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
make sure that certain loads, such as a furnace for heating or a stove for
cooking, may
not be interrupted regardless of whether or not the usage is outside of the
usage range
representation.
[0096] The control signal field 208 indicates whether or not a control signal,
produced by
utility service controller 36 shown in FIG. 1, is active. For example the
control signal
field 208 is 0(1 ) if a control signal is not (is) active to cause a control
device 26, 28 or 30
to interrupt a supply of utility service to a corresponding load.
[0097] Once the updated measurement/status records resulting from the
processes
depicted at 60 in FIG. 3 are stored in the data storage device 34, the
processor circuit
38 then employs the contents of the status indicator fields 206, in a look-up
table shown
generally at 70 in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the look-up table 70 is stored
in the data
storage device 34. Alternatively, the look-up table 70 may be stored in the
program
memory device 42, the random access memory device 44, or other appropriate
data
storage device for example.
[0098] The look-up table 70 includes rows 72 indicating all possible
combinations of
status indicators 206 associated with respective loads. To use the look-up
table 70 the
processor circuit 38 produces a test record as shown generally at 220 in FIG.
6, by
copying the status indicators 206 for each load into separate fields in a row.
[0099] For example, in FIG. 6 the test record 220 gives a representation of a
particular
combination of status indicators 206 for an electric motor load 164, a gas
stove load
170, a gas fireplace load 168, a water faucet load 166 and a gas furnace load
172. For
example, the status indicator 164 for the electric motor has a 1 from the
primary field
144 indicating that the electric motor is using electricity supplied by an
electric utility, a 1
from the secondary field 146 indicating that the usage of the electric utility
is within the
corresponding usage range representation, and a 1 from the response field 148
indicating that the load would be interruptible if the utility service usage
were outside of
the usage range representation. The status indicators 166-172 associated with
the
V80581 CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 21
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
remaining loads include a set of values 166 representing the status of a
faucet using
water utility service. In this embodiment, the set has the value 101 and
indicates that the
faucet is using water outside of the usage range representation, and that the
water
service to the faucet may be interrupted. Similarly, sets of values 168 and
170 for the
fireplace and the stove, respectively, which use the gas utility service are
both 100,
indicating that both the fireplace and the stove are using the gas utility
service outside of
the usage range representation, but the supply of gas is not to be interrupted
to these
appliances. In addition, a set of values 172 indicates that the gas furnace is
using gas
within the desired range representation and is not to be shut off.
[0100] In this embodiment each particular set of values has three status
indicators
resulting in eight combinations of status. It will be appreciated that more or
less status
indicators may be used without loss of generality.
[0101 J To use the look-up table 70 shown in FIG. 5, the processor circuit 38
searches
rows 72 thereof to find a configuration of status indicators 206 matching the
configuration in the test record 220 shown in FIG. 6. Once a match is found,
the
processor circuit 38 locates a corresponding control value 152 which contains
a
sequence of control fields 154, 156, 158, 160, and 162, each of which
comprises a
binary value of 0 or 1 to indicate which, if any, supply of utility service to
a
corresponding load is to be interrupted. A 0 (1 ) in a control field indicates
that the supply
of utility service to the load should (should not) be interrupted.
Alternatively, the control
fields 154-162 may take on any other values indicating, for example, a
priority order of
which loads to interrupted, or any other labeling or numbering system readable
by the
processor circuit 38 to manage a plurality of utility services at respective
loads.
[0102] In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, if the configuration of
status
indicators in the test record 220 is 111100100101110, for example, the
corresponding
control value 152 in the look-up table 70 sequence is 11101. The 1 in the
electric motor
control field 162, stove control field 160, fireplace control field 158, and
furnace control
field 154 indicate that the supply of corresponding utility services to those
loads are not
V80581CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 22
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
to be interrupted, while the 0 in the faucet control field 156 indicates that
the supply of
water to the faucet should be interrupted. As another example, if the
configuration of
status indicators in the test record is 101100100101110, the control value
sequence is
01101, which indicates that the supply of utility service to the stove,
fireplace, and
furnace are not to be interrupted, while the supply of utility service to the
electric motor
and faucet is to be interrupted.
[0103] The processor circuit 38 causes the control signal generator 40 to
produce
control signals for use in interrupting the supply or continuing the supply of
the utility
services to respective loads, in response to the control value sequence which,
as seen
above, is produced in response to the representation of utility service at the
load and
the usage range representation.
[0104] Referring back to FIG. 2, once the processor circuit 38 has caused the
control
signal generator 40 to produce the control signals, the processor circuit
directs the
transmitter 47 to transmit the control signals to the control devices 26, 28,
and/or 30
shown in FIG. 1 to interrupt the supply of the utility to the respective loads
20, 22, or 24.
In addition, the control signal field 208 in the measurement/status record 200
shown in
FIG. 4 is updated to 1 to indicate that the control signal is active. The
communication
device 32, or alternatively the processor circuit 38, reports at the
annunciation device 50
that the control signal is active and the supply of service has been
interrupted to the
corresponding loads.
[0105] Control Devices
[0106] In general, each of the control devices includes a communications
device and a
utility service interrupter. The communications device is operable to receive
a control
signal and actuate the utility service interrupter to interrupt the supply of
the utility
service to the load in response to a control signal. The communications device
may
simply be a screw terminal on a motorized valve to directly use the control
signal to
actuate the valve, or may be a relay, transistor, microprocessor, computer, or
any other
V80581CA\VAN LAW\243779\2 23
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
device capable of receiving a control signal. The utility service interrupter
may include a
switch, a relay, a circuit breaker, a valve, a pneumatic device, a hydraulic
device, and/or
a motorized device, or generally any mechanism that prevents or restricts the
passage
of a utility service to a respective load.
[0107] Referring to FIG. 1, for electric loads such as load 24, the control
device may be
used to simply interrupt the supply of the utility to the load. However, since
electrical
loads can be replaced relatively easily, it is desirable to be able to restore
electrical
power to an electrical circuit when the load is changed. To do this, a special
control
device 30 is used and an enhancement to the flowchart 60 shown in FIG. 3 is
made.
[0108] Referring to FIG. 7, the special control device 30 employs a screw
terminal as
the communication device 39 and a relay 45 as the utility service interrupter
41. In this
embodiment the relay 45 has a coil 43 which causes first and second wipers 73
and 74
to move in unison to connect the load 24 to supply contacts 75 and 76 or to
sense
contacts 77 and 78. In the normal, de-energized state, the load 24 is
connected to the
supply contacts 75 and 76. When the control signal is received at the coil 43,
the load
24 is connected to the sense contacts 77 and 78, which completely isolates the
load
from the supply for safety, and permits the sense contacts to be used.
[0109] The enhancement to the flowchart 69 is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3.
This
enhancement is only used for electrical loads 24 along with the control device
30 shown
in FIG. 7. The enhancement is invoked after block 66 of the flowchart 60 shown
in FIG.
3, when it has been determined that the usage of an electric utility service
by the electric
load 24 is outside of the corresponding usage range, and a control signal has
been sent
by the control signal generator 40 to the control device 30 shown in FIG. 7.
The control
signal energizes the coil 43 to move the wipers 73 and 74 to cause the load 24
to be
disconnected from the supply contacts 75 and 76 and connected to the sense
contacts
77 and 78. The load 24 is thus isolated from the utility service supply.
[0110] Block 63 then directs the processor circuit 38 to perform a continuity
test to test
V80581 CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 24
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
for continuity through the load 24 to detect when a user replaces the load. To
do this,
the processor circuit 38 directs the utility service controller 36 to send a
DC sense signal
through the load 24, using the sense contacts 77 and 78. The current through
the load
24 is sensed by the measurement device 21 which provides a measurement value
to
the communications device 32 at the utility management apparatus 12 shown in
FIG. 2.
This measurement value is then stored in the measurement field 202 of the
measurement/status record 200 shown in FIG. 4.
[0111 ] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the processor circuit 38 monitors the
measurement field 202 whenever a 1 is stored in the corresponding control
signal field
208 to determine whether or not there is a break in continuity. If the
electric load 24 is
removed from the circuit, then measurement device 21 measures no current and
returns
a zero value to the utility management apparatus 12, indicating a break in
continuity.
This would occur for example, when a user disconnects the defective or
inefficient
appliance responsible for using electric utility service outside of its usage
range and
wishes to replace it with a more efficient appliance.
[0112] Referring back to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 7, when the load 24 is removed
from the
circuit, block 65 directs the processor circuit 38 to cause the control signal
generator 40
to cease sending the control signal to the control device 30, which de-
energizes the coil
43 of the relay 45 to cause the load to be reconnected to the supply contacts
75 and 76
to receive power from the electric utility service. In addition, block 65
directs the
processor circuit 38 to reset the control signal field 208 of the
measurement/status
record 200 to 0, and block 68 is then executed by the processor circuit to
store and
report the information provided during the process 60. Thus, when the user
connects a
new load, power from the electric utility supply is immediately available to
the load. If the
user reconnects the old load, the out-of-range condition will once again be
detected and
the supply of electric utility service will again be interrupted.
[0113] If at block 63 the processor circuit 38 determines that continuity is
still
established, that is, the offending load remains connected, then the control
signal field
V80581 CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 25
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
208 is unchanged and the coil 43 of the relay 45 remains energized, keeping
the load
24 isolated from the utility service supply.
[0114] Referring to FIG. 8, a control device 79, according to an alternative
embodiment
of the invention incorporates both measurement and control functions for
electrical
loads. In this embodiment the control device 79 includes a processor circuit
80, a
communications device 81, an I/0 device 82 and a utility service interrupter
41 which
includes a relay 45 which functions as described in the embodiment shown in
FIG. 7.
[0115] In this embodiment, the communications device 81 facilitates two-way
communications between the processor circuit 80 and the utility management
apparatus
12 shown in FIG. 1. The communications device 81 may form part of a Bluetooth~
communications system, for example, or may simply be hardwired to the utility
management apparatus 12. The communications device 81 may even be operable to
communicate with the utility management apparatus 12 using the Internet or a
wireless
communication device, for example. Communications between the processor
circuit 80
and the utility management apparatus 12 may involve the utility management
apparatus
sending messages to the processor circuit, requesting a measurement from the
measurement device 18 and/or continuity sensor 21, or requesting operation or
status
of the utility service interrupter 41, and the processor circuit may send a
message back
to the utility management apparatus with the representation of the measurement
or
status of the utility service interrupter.
[0116] The I/O device 82 is operable to receive signals from the measurement
device
18 and a continuity sensor 21. In addition, the I/O device 82 is operable to
provide the
continuity sense signal to the load 24 through sense contacts 77 and 78 of the
relay 45,
and the coil 43 of the relay is controlled by a signal produced by the I/O
device 82.
[0117] The processor circuit 80 is operable to communicate with the I/O device
82 to
receive a measure of the usage of the utility service by the load 24, to
produce a
measurement value representing the usage of the utility service by the load.
The
V80581CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 26
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
measurement value is received from the measurement device 18, at the I/O
device 82,
and is passed to the processor circuit 80, which in turn produces a
representation of the
usage of the utility service by the load 24 from the measurement value. The
processor
circuit 80 then passes the representation to the communication device 81 for
transmission back to the utility management apparatus 12, shown in FIG. 1.
[0118] The control device 79 is used in conjunction with the enhancement to
the
flowchart shown in FIG. 3, but instead of the utility service controller 36
sending a
control signal directly to the control device, a message including the control
signal is
sent. This message is interpreted by the processor circuit 80 and, in
response, the
processor circuit causes the I/O device 82 to issue a signal to the relay 45
to energize
the coil 43 to facilitate continuity sensing. The processor circuit 80 then
executes a
routine (not shown) which causes it to continuously or periodically transmit a
continuity
sense measurement to the utility management apparatus 12 for use in
conjunction with
the flowchart at the utility management apparatus.
[0119] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the measurement devices 13, 14, 15,
16, 17,
18, 19, and 21 and the control devices 26, 28, and 30 are shown as individual
measurement and control devices, but some may alternatively be coupled
together and
sold as a unit in a common housing. Similarly, the utility management
apparatus 12 and
the utility service controller 36 may be housed in a common housing, as in the
embodiment shown in FIG. 1, or may be packaged and sold as separate units.
[0120] Billing
[0121] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a
billing
apparatus for billing a subscriber for utility service usage, shown generally
at 90 in FIG.
9. The billing apparatus includes a utility service measurement device 92, a
communications device 94, and a processor circuit 96.
[0122] The utility service measurement device 92 measures the utility service
usage at
V80581CA\VAN LAW\243779\2 27
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
a location where the utility service is being used. The utility service
measurement device
92 may measure usage of a single utility or a plurality of utilities, and
further may
comprise a single measurement device or a plurality of measurement devices to
produce a measurement or a plurality of measurements of utility usage. The
utility
service measurement devices may be any or all of the measurement devices 13,
14, 15,
16, 17, 18, 19, or 21 shown in FIG. 1, to measure the usage of gas, water or
electricity,
or any other utility, for example, or may include utility service inlet
devices (not shown).
[0123] The communication device 94 is operable to receive rate information for
the
utility service used as measured by the utility service measurement device 92.
Rate
information may be provided by a user of the service at a user interface such
as a
keyboard 99 for example, or may be provided by utility service suppliers 53.
The rate
information may be transmitted via the Internet 57, PSTN 52, a private
network, or any
other communications network connecting the rate provider with the
communications
device 94, to provide rate information. To do this, the communications device
94 may
include a receiver 106 and a transmitter 108.
[0124] The processor circuit 96 is operable to apply the rate information
received at the
communications device 94 to the measurement produced by the utility service
measurement device 92 to produce a billing value and to generate a billing
signal
representing a bill bearing the billing value. The billing signal may be used
by an output
device 110 or 118 at a subscriber location for producing the bill at the
subscriber
location, or may be transmitted to a remote location to generator a bill at a
remote
location.
[0125] To achieve this functionality, a block of instruction codes, stored in
the program
memory 98, is executed to start the billing process. The instruction codes may
be
provided from any computer readable medium, such as a CD-ROM, or downloaded
over the Internet 57 from a remote server 120, for example. A flowchart
depicting the
billing process provided by the block of instruction codes is shown generally
at 100 in
FIG. 10.
V80581CA\VAN LAW\243779\2 2$
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
[0126] Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the process is initiated at block 102,
which directs
the utility service measurement device 92 to receive a measure of utility
service usage
at a location. The measurement may be stored by the processor circuit 96 on a
data
storage device, which may include the program memory 98, a random access
memory
109, or a disk drive, for example.
[0127] Block 104 then directs the communication device 94 to receive rate
information
from the rate provider. For example, the communications device 94 may
establish
communications with the server 120, and cause a rate request to be transmitted
to the
server. The server 120 may be a remote server, such as a server located at a
utility
service supplier for example, or may be located at a subscriber's location or
any other
location that provides the rate information to a subscriber of the utility.
[0128] The receiver 106 of the communications device 94 receives the requested
rate
information from the server 120 and once the rate information is received,
block 112
directs the processor circuit 96 to produce the billing value from the
measurement
values and the rate information for the corresponding utility measured. The
processor
circuit 96 applies the rate information to the measurement of utility usage to
produce the
billing value. The billing value may represent costs for utility service usage
of a single
utility service or a plurality of utility services. The processor circuit 96
may produce the
billing value, for example, by multiplying the kilowatt-hours of utility used
by a rate per
kilowatt-hour, or by multiplying the volume of water or gas used by an
appropriate billing
rate.
[0129] Block 114 then directs the processor circuit 96 to produce a billing
signal from
the billing value. The billing signal may contain the measurement value of
usage of the
utility service, a start time period for the measurement, a time duration
period of the
measurement, and/or identification numbers identifying the user and/or the
supplier of
the utility service, for example. The billing signal may be a voltage signal
in the range of
0-10V, for example, or may be a message encoded in a TCP/IP protocol operable
to be
V80581CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 2g
CA 02551854 2001-12-06
sent over a communications network such as the Internet 57, for example, to a
remote
location. In this embodiment, the processor circuit 96 transmits the billing
signal to an
output device such as a monitor 110, a printer 118, or any other output device
responsive to the billing signal for annunciating the billing value.
[0130] An example of a bill produced at the output device 110 or a printer 118
is shown
generally at 121 in FIG. 11. In this embodiment, the bill 121 includes various
portions
identifying the details of utility usage. For example, a utility field 122
identifies the utility
supplier, and a user display portion 124 identifies information pertaining to
the user of
the utilities. The user display portion 124 may contain a site field 126
identifying the
location of utility usage, and name 128, address 130, and account number 132
fields of
a subscriber of the utility service. A consumption field 134 may present the
total usage
amount of the utility used between dates specified in a duration period field
136. A rate
area 138 may present a rate or a compendium of rates used to calculate the
bill
amount, and a charge area 140 may present charges for the utility service
used. The
charge area may list the amount due, due date, and gross charges for utilities
used plus
additional surcharges, such as tax or connection charges, for example. Other
types of
display formats may be used which present similar information in any
appropriate
display format.
[0131] While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and
illustrated
such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and
not as
limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying
claims.
V80581CA\VAN LAW\ 243779\2 3~
