Claims
- 1. A networked-based, extensible metering system, comprising:
(a) a network server; (b) a TCP/IP network coupled to the network server; and (c) a network-enabled meter coupled to the TCP/IP network; wherein the meter collects data and the network server provides at least one metering application to the meter.
- 2. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a database coupled to the network, wherein the meter is programmed to communicate via a predefined protocol, and delivers a protocol interface to the database, whereby the network is able to provide the protocol interface to a user or application requiring information from the meter and the user or application is able to communicate with the meter to access the required information.
- 3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the meter includes a network communicating device.
- 4. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an applications programming interface (API) whereby a meter data user (MDU) is provided with metered data by the meter.
- 5. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising an applications programming interface (API) whereby a meter data user (MDU) is provided with metering applications by the server.
- 6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network comprises the Internet.
- 7. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network comprises an intranet.
- 8. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network comprises a wide area network.
- 9. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising a database server accessible to a meter data user (MDU).
- 10. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein applications reside on a storage medium on the network and are upgradeable on the network.
- 11. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein applications are activated on the meter on a real-time basis.
- 12. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein multiple meter data users can access the same or different applications and/or data for the same meter.
- 13. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the meter consists of a reduced set of internal hardware and firmware required for traditional metering devices.
- 14. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising embedded network-enabling adaptors to allow legacy metering devices to interface with network-level users and applications.
- 15. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising communications adaptors to allow protocol-dependent communication between users and applications and the network-enabled meter.
- 16. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the meter is programmed to communicate via a predefined protocol, and delivers a protocol interface to a storage medium on the network, whereby the network is able to provide the protocol interface to a user or application requiring information from the meter and the user or application is enabled to communicate with the meter to access the required information; further comprising an applications programming interface (API) whereby a meter data user (MDU) is provided with metered data by the meter and the MDU is provided with metering applications by the server; wherein applications reside on the network and are upgradeable on the network; wherein applications are activated on the meter on a real-time basis; wherein multiple MDUs can access the same or different applications and/or data for the same meter; and further comprising communications adaptors to allow protocol-dependent communication between users and applications and the network-enabled meter.
- 17. A networked-based, extensible metering system, comprising a network server, a wide area network coupled to the network server, and a plurality of network-enabled meters coupled to the network; wherein the meters collect data and the network server provides at least one metering application to the meters; wherein the meters are programmed to communicate via a predefined protocol and to deliver a protocol interface to a storage medium on the network, whereby the network is able to provide the protocol interface to users or applications requiring information from the meters and the users or applications are able to communicate with the meters to access the required information.
- 18. A system as recited in claim 17, further comprising an applications programming interface (API) whereby a meter data user (MDU) is provided with metered data by a meter and the MDU is provided with metering applications by the server.
- 19. A system as recited in claim 18, wherein applications reside on the network and are upgradeable on the network.
- 20. A system as recited in claim 19, wherein applications are activated on the meters on a real-time basis.
- 21. A system as recited in claim 20, wherein multiple MDUs can access the same or different applications and/or data for the same meter.
- 22. A system as recited in claim 21, further comprising communications adaptors to allow protocol-dependent communication between users and applications and the network-enabled meters.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/022,718, filed Feb. 12, 1998, titled “Remote Access to Electronic Meters Using a TCP/IP Protocol Suite,” which is hereby incorporated by reference and which claims priority to Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/039,716, filed Feb. 12, 1997.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60039716 |
Feb 1997 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09022718 |
Feb 1998 |
US |
Child |
09798084 |
Mar 2001 |
US |