IP Library Granted Patent US 12,584,766
Granted Patent B2
US 12,584,766 · App. 18/415,543 · Granted Mar 24, 2026

Utility restriction compliance monitoring and mitigation

Inventor: James Lee Kann (Mica, WA)
Assignee: Itron, Inc.
G01D4/004G06Q50/06G08C17/02H04Q2209/60
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,584,766
App. No.
18/415,543
Granted
Mar 24, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Techniques for obtaining and processing utility consumption data (e.g., gas, water, electricity, etc.) of a utility network to determine if a violation has occurred with respect to a restriction schedule associated with a service site. By way of example, a number of utility restriction schedules associated with a number of service sites may be generated that indicate, for example, a type of restricted activity and/or event (e.g., irrigation), seasons and/or which days activity is allowed or not allowed, duration activity is allowed, and/or mitigation to take place if a violation is detected. A device (e.g., a smart utility meter, a router, etc.) may monitor utility consumption and detect a particular usage activity (e.g., irrigation) via data disaggregation. The device may compare the activity to the restriction schedule for that particular service site and perform automatic mitigation if a violation is detected.

Claims (40)

1 . A method, comprising:

obtaining utility consumption data;

determining, based at least in part on a utility restriction schedule, that the utility consumption data indicates a violation of the utility restriction schedule;

determining, based at least in part on at least one of a number of previous violations, a frequency of previous violations, or a magnitude of previous violations exceeding a threshold value, to restrict access to a utility at a service site; and

based at least in part on determining to restrict access to the utility at the service site, at least one of controlling a quantity of the utility provided to the service site, controlling a time at which the utility is provided to the service site, or discontinuing provision of the utility to the service site.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a plurality of utility restriction schedules associated with a plurality of service sites, wherein each utility restriction schedule of the plurality of utility restriction schedules is associated with a different period of time.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising disaggregating the utility consumption data to obtain a representation of a rate of utility consumption corresponding to a determined usage of the utility.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the determined usage includes outdoor irrigation, and the violation of the utility restriction schedule is determined in response to the determined usage including outdoor irrigation.

5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the determined usage includes operation of an electrical appliance, and the violation of the utility restriction schedule is determined in response to the determined usage including usage of the electrical appliance.

6 . The method of claim 3 , wherein restricting access to the utility at the service site comprises reducing a flow rate of the utility at the service site such that the utility is unable to be utilized for outdoor irrigation.

7 . The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising:

generating a notification indicating the violation of the utility restriction schedule and indicating that access to the utility has been restricted; and

transmitting the notification to a utility provider.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

monitoring consumption of the utility at a first sampling rate prior to determining the violation of the utility restriction schedule; and

monitoring consumption of the utility at a second sampling rate in response to determining the violation of the utility restriction schedule, the second sampling rate being greater than the first sampling rate.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the obtaining is performed at:

a server at a central office;

a data processing component of a device at the service site; or

a node within a mesh network of smart utility meters.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the obtaining is performed at a data processing component of a device at the service site, the device comprising a smart utility meter.

11 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configure a computing device to perform acts comprising:

obtaining utility consumption data;

determining, based at least in part on a utility restriction schedule, that the utility consumption data indicates a violation of the utility restriction schedule;

determining, based at least in part on at least one of a number of previous violations, a frequency of previous violations, or a magnitude of previous violations exceeding a threshold value, to restrict access to a utility at a service site; and

based at least in part on determining to restrict access to the utility at the service site, at least one of controlling a quantity of the utility provided to the service site, controlling a time at which the utility is provided to the service site, or discontinuing provision of the utility to the service site.

12 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 11 , wherein the acts further comprise generating a plurality of utility restriction schedules associated with a plurality of service sites, wherein each utility restriction schedule of the plurality of utility restriction schedules is associated with a different period of time.

13 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 11 , wherein the acts further comprise disaggregating the utility consumption data to obtain a representation of a rate of utility consumption corresponding to a determined usage of the utility.

14 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 13 , wherein the determined usage includes outdoor irrigation, and the violation of the utility restriction schedule is determined in response to the determined usage including outdoor irrigation.

15 . A device, comprising:

a processor and memory configured with instructions, which when executed perform acts comprising:

obtaining utility consumption data;

determining, based at least in part on a utility restriction schedule, that the utility consumption data indicates a violation of the utility restriction schedule;

determining, based at least in part on at least one of a number of previous violations, a frequency of previous violations, or a magnitude of previous violations exceeding a threshold value, to restrict access to a utility at a service site; and

based at least in part on determining to restrict access to the utility at the service site, at least one of controlling a quantity of the utility provided to the service site, controlling a time at which the utility is provided to the service site, or discontinuing provision of the utility to the service site.

16 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the acts further comprise generating a plurality of utility restriction schedules associated with a plurality of service sites, wherein each utility restriction schedule of the plurality of utility restriction schedules is associated with a different period of time.

17 . The device of claim 15 , wherein the acts further comprise disaggregating the utility consumption data to obtain a representation of a rate of utility consumption corresponding to a determined usage of the utility.

18 . The device of claim 17 , wherein the determined usage includes outdoor irrigation, and the violation of the utility restriction schedule is determined in response to the determined usage including outdoor irrigation.

19 . The device of claim 17 , wherein the determined usage includes operation of an electrical appliance, and the violation of the utility restriction schedule is determined in response to the determined usage including usage of the electrical appliance.

20 . The device of claim 17 , wherein restricting access to the utility at the service site comprises reducing a flow rate of the utility at the service site such that the utility is unable to be utilized for outdoor irrigation.

Assignments (1)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 15, 2025
From: ITRON, INC.
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 072870/0873 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 17901961 · Sep 2, 2022
Related Publication 20240151555A1 · May 9, 2024
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