Granted Patent B2

US 8,730,042 · App. 13/253,531 · Granted May 20, 2014

Abstract

Claims (41)

1. A method comprising:

detecting either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field associated with a utility meter;

based at least in part on the rate of change or the magnitude of the magnetic field, determining that a magnetic event has occurred;

upon or after occurrence of the magnetic event, receiving additional utility meter information, wherein the additional utility meter information comprises determining whether a disconnect switch has been opened or closed within a predefined period of time;

based at least in part on the magnetic event and the additional utility meter information, determining that meter tampering has occurred; and

generating an event indication for transmission to a utility service or for subsequent review by the utility service.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field associated with a utility meter comprises using at least one of a hall-effect switch, a reed switch, a magnetic sensor, or a magnetoresistive switch to detect the magnetic field.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field comprises detecting a rate of change in the magnetic field greater than about 25 gauss per second.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field comprises detecting a change in magnitude of the magnetic field greater than about 50 gauss.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the event indication comprises at least one of the following: setting an internal flag, or generating an electronic message.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving additional utility meter information further comprises:

determining a past utility consumption rate for a premises associated with the utility meter; and

determining whether a utility consumption rate in a predefined period of time after the magnetic event changes from the past utility consumption rate.

7. A system comprising:

a utility meter;

a sensor operable to detect a magnetic field associated with the utility meter; and

a processor with computer-executable instructions operable to:

detect either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field associated with a utility meter;

based at least in part on the rate of change or the magnitude of the magnetic field, determine that a magnetic event has occurred;

upon or after occurrence of the magnetic event, receive additional utility meter information, wherein the additional utility meter information comprises determining that a disconnect switch has been opened or closed within a predefined period of time;

based at least in part on the magnetic event and the additional utility meter information, determine that meter tampering has occurred; and

generate an event indication for transmission to a utility service or for subsequent review by the utility service.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the computer-executable instructions operable to detect either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field associated with a utility meter comprise using at least one of a hall-effect switch, a reed switch, a magnetic sensor, or a magnetoresistive switch to detect the magnetic field.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the computer-executable instructions operable to detect either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field further comprise computer-executable instructions operable to detect a rate of change in the magnetic field greater than about 25 gauss per second.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the computer-executable instructions operable to detect either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field further comprise computer-executable instructions operable to detect a change in magnitude of the magnetic field greater than about 50 gauss.

11. The system of claim 7 , wherein the event indication comprises at least one of the following: setting an internal flag, or generating an electronic message.

12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the computer-executable instructions are further operable to:

determine a past utility consumption rate for a premises associated with the utility meter; and

determine whether a utility consumption rate in a predefined period of time after the magnetic event changes from the past utility consumption rate.

13. One or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, configure the at least one processor to perform operations for:

detecting either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field associated with a utility meter;

based at least in part on the rate of change or the magnitude of the magnetic field, determining that a magnetic event has occurred;

upon or after occurrence of the magnetic event, receiving additional utility meter information, wherein the additional utility meter data comprises determining that a disconnect switch has been opened or closed within a predefined period of time;

based at least in part on the magnetic event and additional utility meter information, determining that meter tampering has occurred; and

generating an event indication for transmission to a utility service or for subsequent review by the utility service.

14. The computer-readable media of claim 13 , wherein the computer-executable instructions that are operable to detect either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field further comprise computer-executable instructions operable to detect a rate of change in the magnetic field greater than about 25 gauss per second.

15. The computer-readable media of claim 13 , wherein the computer-executable instructions that are operable to detect either a rate of change or change in magnitude of a magnetic field further comprise computer-executable instructions operable to detect a change in magnitude of the magnetic field greater than about 50 gauss.

16. The computer-readable media of claim 13 , wherein the event indication comprises at least one of the following: setting an internal flag, or generating an electronic message.

17. The computer-readable media of claim 13 , wherein the computer-executable instructions are further operable to:

determine a past utility consumption rate for a premises associated with the utility meter; and

determine whether a utility consumption rate in a predefined period of time after the magnetic event changes from the past utility consumption rate.

Assignments (9)