Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
METHODS, APPARATUS, MEDIA, AND SIGNALS FOR BILLING UTILITY USAGE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of Invention
[0002] 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.
Description of Related Art
[0003] 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 watery se. 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.
[0004] 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 and
respond by taming off a circuit breaker or shutting off valves and evacuating
gases and water
in order to prevent further damage to a dwelling or building.
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0005] However, i:n 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.
[0006] What would be desirable therefore are methods and apparatus which
manage usage of a utility service.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention addresses the above needs by providing methods,
apparatus, media, and signals for managing utility usage.
[0008) 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.
[0009) The method may include transmitting the control signal to the utility
service interrupter, receiving; user input specifying the usage range
representation and/or
receiving a message from a communications system and extracting the usage
range
representation from the message according to a network protocol.
[0010] 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.
[0011] 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
2
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
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.
[0012] 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.
(0013] The method may also include transmitting the representation of the
utility
service usage to a remote location.
(0014] 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.
[OOIS] 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 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.
(0016] 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 commutucation 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_
[0017] The controller may further include a control signal generator operable
to
produce the control signal, or a processor circuit incorporating the control
signal generator.
[0018] The communications device may be operable to transmit the control
signal
to the utility service interrupter, to receive user input specifying the usage
range
3
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
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.
(0019] 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.
[0020] 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
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 c~f representations of the utility service usage is
outside of a
corresponding set of usage range representations.
(0021] 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.
[0022] 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.
[0023] The communications device may also be operable to transmit the
representation of utility service usage to a remote location.
[0024] 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.
4
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0025] 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.
[0026] The method may also include measuring the usage of the utility service
by
the load to produce a measurement value representing usage of the utility
service by the load,
and producing the representation from the measurement value.
[0027] 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 utilLity service to the load in response to the
control signal.
[0028] 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.
[0029] 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.
[0030] 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.
[0031] 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 usage of the
S
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
utility service by the load, and the processor circuit may be operable to
produce the
representation from the meas~.irement value.
(0032) 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.
[0033] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a
computer readable medium l:or 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.
[0034) 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.
[0035] 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 measwement
device, operable to 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
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,
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.
6
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0037] 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.
(0038) The method may also include receiving the rate information at the
subscriber location, and apply2ng the rate information at the subscriber
location.
[0039] 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 utilivty service usage information to a server.
[0040] 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.
[0041] 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 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.
[0042] 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
7
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
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:
[0043) 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.
[0044) 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.
[0045] 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 infomlation to a server.
[0046] The apparatus may further include a data storage device operable to
stare
the measurement of utility service usage.
[0047] The apparatus may also include a plurality of utility service
measurement
devices operable to produce a plurality of measurements of the utility service
usage.
[0048] 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.
[0049] The proce ssor 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.
[0050] 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.
8
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0051] Other aspE;cts 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
[0052) In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention:
[0053] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for managing utility usage
according to a first embodiment of the invention.
[0054] Figure 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
Figure 1.
[0055] Figure 3 is a flowchart depicting a process effected by a processor
circuit
of the utility management apparatus shown in Figure 2.
[0056] Figure 4 is a tabular representation of a measurement/status record
produced by a processor circuit executing the process shown in Figure 3.
[0057] Figure 5 is a tabular representation of a look-up table read by the
processor circuit of the utilith management apparatus shown in Figure 2.
[0058] Figure 6 is a tabular representation of a test record recording the
status
indicators for a plurality of measurementJstatus records shown in Figure 4.
[0059] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a control device of the system shown
in
Figure 1
[0060] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a control device, according to an
alternate embodiment, of the system shown in Figure 1. ,
[0061] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a billing system incorporating part
of
the system shown in Figure 1.
[0062] Figure 10 is a flowchart depicting a process effected by a processor
circuit
of the billing system shown in Figure 9.
[0063] Figure I1 is a schematic diagram of a bill produced according to the
process shown in Figure 10, by the billing system shown in Figure 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(0064] Referring to Figure 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
9
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
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.
[0065] The plurality of measurement devices 13, 14, 1 S, 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.
[0066] 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 15, 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 1>y a load.
[0067] 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 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.
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0068] The control devices 26, 28, and 30 are operable to interrupt a supply
of
utilities to their respective Ioads in response to respective control signals.
A control signal
may be a voltage signal in the 0-SV 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.
[0069] 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, I5, 16, 17, 18, I9,
and 21,
respectively.
[0070) The comirnnications 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.
[0071 ] Management Apparatus
(0072] Refernng to Figure 2, to achieve the above function, in this
embodiment,
the utility management apparatus 12 includes a processor circuit shown at 38
as pad of the
utility service controller 36. 1n 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
Figure I, 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.
11
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0073] In this emt~odiment, 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.
[0074] In the embodiment shown in Figures I 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 Figure I.
[0075] Referring vto Figure 2, the communications device 32 is operable to
receive
from the measurement devices 13, 14, I5, 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 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 Figure
1.
[0076] Still referring to Figure l, 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 Figure 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 (PSTT~ 52, for example, or a private network or
other
12
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
communications system configured to deliver messages to contain the
representation of the
utility service usage_
[0077] T'he 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.
[0078] 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 Figure I. 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 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.
[0079] 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
Figure 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.
13
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0080] In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the utility service controller 36
is
connected to an annunciation device S0, 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 armunciation 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-titre information relating to utility usage by
individual loads or a
plurality of loads.
[0081 ) Figure 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 Figure 2, to function as the control signal
generator 40.
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.
[0082] Block 62 causes the processor circuit 38 to measure the flow of the
utility
to the toad. 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 Figure 1 to produce. a measurement value. In response the measurement
devices 13,
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and ;? 1 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 measwements 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 flov~r 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
14
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
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 prE;ssure or heat values to determine if the pipe has
undesirable
transmission capacity.
[0083) The measurement value obtained at the 1/0 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
may be stored. For
example, additional informaCion 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 1/0
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.
[0084] 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.
[0085] 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.
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0086] Referring back to Figure 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 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 rnay 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.
[0087] 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 measuremenilstatus
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 517. 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 ser,~ice usage, and updates, stores, and reports the
updated status
indicator.
[0088) 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.
16
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0089] 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.
[0090] Referring to Figure 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 exampile, 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 fiE:ld 205 or fields for derived representations
representing energy
usage ranges, for example.
[0091] 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 f eld 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.
(0092] In the embodiment shown in Figure 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 0(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 make sure
that certain loads, such as a fiurnace 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.
[0093] The control signal field 208 indicates whether or not a control signal,
produced by utility service controller 36 shown in Figure l, is active. For
example the control
17
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
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.
[0094] Once the updated measuremendstatus records resulting from the processes
depicted at 60 in Figure 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 Figure 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.
[0095j 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 Figure 6,
by copying the status indicators 206 for each load into separate fields in a
row.
[0096] For example, in Figure 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 fiimace
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 I 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 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 l0l 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 I00, 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.
18
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
[0097] 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.
[0098] To use the look-up table 70 shown in Figure 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 Figure 6. Once a match is found,
the processor
circuit 38 locates a corresponding control value 152 which contains a sequence
of control
fields 154, I Sb, 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.
(0099] In the embodiments shown in Figures 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
fiirrtace control field
154 indicate that the supply of corresponding utility services to those loads
are not 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 1011001001101110, 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.
[0100] 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 thf; representation of utility service at the load
and the usage range
representation.
(0101] ~ Referring lback to Figure 2, once the processor circuit 38 has caused
the
control signal generator 40 to produce the control signals, the processor
circuit directs the
19
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
transmitter 47 to transmit the control signals to the control devices 26, 28,
and/or 30 shown in
Figure I to interrupt the supply of the utility to the respective loads 20,
22, or 24. In addition,
the control signal field 208 in the measurementlstatus record 200 shown in
Figure 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.
[0102) . Control Devices
[0103] 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 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.
[0104] Referring to Figure 1, for electric loads such as load 24, the control
device
may be used to simply intemtpt 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 Figure 3 is made,
[0105] Referring to Figure 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, wruch completely isolates the load from the supply
for safety, and
permits the sense contacts to be used.
[0106) The enhancement to the flowchart 69 is shown in dotted lines in Figure
3.
This enhancement is only used for electrical loads 24 along with the control
device 30 shown
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
in Figure 7. The enhancement is invoked after block 66 of the flowchart 60
shown in Figure
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 Figure 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.
[0107] Block 63 then directs the processor circuit 38 to perform a continuity
test
to test 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
Figure 2. This
measurement value is then stored in the measurement field 202 of the
measurementlstatus
record 200 shown~in Figure 4.
[0108] Referring to Figures I, 2, and 4, the processor circuit 38 monitors the
measurement field 202 whernever 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.
[0109] Referring back to Figures 2, 3, 4, and 7, when the load 24 is removed
from
the circuit, block 6S directs t:he 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 7S and
76 to receive
power from the electric utility service. In addition, block 6S 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
21
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
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.
[0110] 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 208 is
unchanged and the coil 43 of the relay 45 remains energized, keeping the load
24 isolated
from the utility service supply.
[0111] Referring to Figure 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 110 device 82 and a utility service interrupter
41 which
includes a relay 45 which functions as described in the embodiment shown in
Figure 7.
[0112] In this embodiment, the communications device 81 facilitates two-way
communications between the; processor circuit 84 and the utility management
apparatus 12
shown in Figure 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 intemet 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.
[0113] The I/0 device 82 is operable to receive signals from the measurement
device 18 and a continuity sensor 21. In addition, the I/0 device 82 is
operable to provide the
continuity sense signal to thE; Ioad 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/0 device
82.
[0114] The processor circuit 80 is operable to communicate with the UO 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
22
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
measurement value is received from the measurement device 18, at the 1/0
device 82, and is
passed to the processor circuit 80, which in tum 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 tlae communication device 81 for transmission
back to the utility
management apparatus 12, shown in Figure 1.
[0115] The control device 79 is used in conjunction with the enhancement to
the
flowchart shown in Figure 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 UO 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.
[0116] In the embodiment shown in figure l, 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
Figure 1, or may be packagef. and sold as separate units.
[0117] Billing
[0118) 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
Figure 9. The billing apparatus includes a utility service measurement device
92, a
communications device 94, and a processor circuit 96.
[0119] The utility service measurement device 92 measures the utility service
usage at 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 2I shown
23
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
in Figure 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).
[0120] 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 intemet 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 I08.
[0121] 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.
[0122] To achieve this functionality, a block of instruction codes, stored in
the
program memory 98, is executed to start the billing.pmcess. 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 I20, for example. A flowchart depicting the
billing process
provided by the block of instruction codes is shown generally at 100 in Figure
10.
[0123] Refernng to Figures 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.
[0124] 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 miry be a remote server, such as a server located
at a utility service
24
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
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.
[0125] The receiver 1 06 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.
[0126] 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. ~~Che billing signal may be a voltage signal in
the range of 0-l OV,
for example, or may be a message encoded in a TCP/IP protocol operable to be
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 I 10, a printer 118, or any other output device responsive to the
billing signal for
annunciating the billing value.
[0127] An example of a bill produced at the output device 110 or a printer 118
is
shown generally at 121 in Figure 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 I40 may
present charges for the utility service used. The charge area may list the
amount due, due
CA 02552603 2001-12-06
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. 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.
26
