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EP-4127557-B1 - VARIABLE RATE MONITORING IN FLOW-BASED METERING SYSTEMS

EP4127557B1EP 4127557 B1EP4127557 B1EP 4127557B1EP-4127557-B1

Inventors

  • RADGOWSKI, John

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210319

Claims (15)

  1. A method of reporting a resource flow at a metering device (101-104, 200), the method comprising: measuring the resource flow of a resource through the metering device (101-104, 200) by measuring one or more of a pressure or a flow rate of the resource; setting a reporting rate to a default reporting rate, wherein the reporting rate indicates a time interval for communicating with an external device (140); transmitting, at the default reporting rate and to the external device (140), communications indicating the measured resource flow; detecting seismic activity at the metering device (101-104, 200); determining that the seismic activity exceeds a seismic threshold; in response to determining that the seismic activity exceeds the seismic threshold; starting a predetermined event time period, wherein the predetermined event time period has a predetermined length and starts after determining that the seismic activity exceeds the seismic threshold; adjusting the reporting rate to an event reporting rate that is different than the default reporting rate; during the predetermined event time period, transmitting, at the event reporting rate and to the external device (140), the communications indicating the measured resource flow; and in response to determining that the predetermined event time period is complete, transmitting to the external device (140) and at the default reporting rate, the communications indicating the measured resource flow.
  2. The method of claim 1, wherein said detecting the seismic activity at the metering device (101-104, 200) comprises: accessing sensor data comprising a measurement of movement of the metering device (101-104, 200) in one or more dimensions; and determining that the measurement of the movement is greater than a movement threshold.
  3. The method of claim 1, wherein the measured resource flow is a measure of gas flow through the metering device (101-104, 200).
  4. The method of claim 1, wherein the event reporting rate is greater than the default reporting rate.
  5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: during the predetermined event time period, determining that the resource flow exceeds a flow threshold; and in response to determining that the resource flow exceeds the flow threshold; adjusting the reporting rate to an exception reporting rate, wherein the exception reporting rate is different from the event reporting rate; and for an exception time period, transmitting, to the external device (140), additional communications indicating the measured resource flow at the exception reporting rate.
  6. The method of claim 5, further comprising responsive to receiving a command to reset the reporting rate, resetting the reporting rate to the default reporting rate and ending the predetermined event time period or the exception time period.
  7. The method of claim 5, wherein the event reporting rate is greater than the default reporting rate and wherein the exception reporting rate is greater than the event reporting rate.
  8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: accessing additional sensor data comprising an additional measurement of movement in one or more dimensions; and in response to identifying, from the additional measurement of the movement, an additional seismic event, setting the predetermined event time period as expired and resetting the reporting rate to the default reporting rate.
  9. A metering device (101-104, 200) comprising: a radio (203) configured to communicate with an external device (140); a seismic sensor (205) configured to measure movement of the metering device (101-104, 200) in one or more dimensions; a flowrate sensor (202) configured to measure a resource flow of a resource through the metering device (101-104, 200) by measuring one or more of a resource flow rate or pressure of the resource; and a processor (502) configured to perform operations comprising: receiving, from the flowrate sensor (202), a measurement of the resource flow by measuring the one or more of the resource flow rate or the pressure of the resource; setting a reporting rate to a default reporting rate, wherein the reporting rate indicates a time interval for communicating with the external device (140); causing the radio (203) to transmit, to the external device (140) at the reporting rate, communications indicating the measurement of the resource flow; receiving, from the seismic sensor (205), a measurement of seismic activity at the metering device (101-104, 200); determining that the measurement of the seismic activity exceeds a seismic threshold; and in response to determining that the measurement of the seismic activity exceeds the seismic threshold; starting a predetermined event time period, wherein the predetermined event time period has a predetermined length and starts after determining that the measurement of the seismic activity exceeds the seismic threshold; adjusting the reporting rate to an event reporting rate that is different than the default reporting rate; during the predetermined event time period, causing the radio (203) to transmit, to the external device (140) at the event reporting rate, the communications indicating the measurement of the resource flow; and in response to determining that the predetermined event time period is complete, transmitting to the external device (140), the communications indicating the measurement of the resource flow at the default reporting rate.
  10. The metering device (101-104, 200)of claim 9, wherein the seismic sensor (205) is an accelerometer.
  11. The metering device (101-104, 200) of claim 9, wherein said receiving, from the seismic sensor (205), the measurement of the seismic activity at the metering device (101-104, 200) comprises: accessing: from the seismic sensor (205), sensor data comprising a measurement of movement of the metering device (101-104, 200) in the one or more dimensions; and determining that the measurement of the movement is greater than a movement threshold.
  12. The metering device (101-104, 200) of claim 9, wherein the measurement of the resource flow is a measure of gas flow through the metering device (101-104, 200).
  13. The metering device (101-104, 200) of claim 9, the operations further comprising: during the predetermined event time period, determining that the measurement of the resource flow exceeds a flow threshold; and in response to determining that the measurement of the resource flow exceeds the flow threshold; adjusting the reporting rate to an exception reporting rate, wherein the event reporting rate is greater than the default reporting rate; and for an exception time period, transmitting additional communications indicating the measurement of the resource flow to the external device (1400 at the exception reporting rate.
  14. The metering device (101-104, 200) of claim 13, the operations further comprising: upon in response to receiving a command to reset the reporting rate, resetting the reporting rate to the default reporting rate and ending the predetermined event time period or the exception time period.
  15. The metering device (101-104, 200) of claim 9, the operations further comprising: accessing additional sensor data comprising an additional measurement of movement in the one or more dimensions; and in response to identifying, from the additional measurement of the movement, an additional seismic event, resetting the reporting rate to the default reporting rate.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to flow-based resource distribution systems and more specifically to metering systems that can dynamically adjust a frequency of flow rate reporting based on seismic activity or flow rate. BACKGROUND Flow-based metering devices are used to measure consumption of resources like gas and water and to resource consumption to an external device such as a head end system. In some cases, metering devices can be installed in geographic locations that have a risk of seismic activity. But seismic activity can damage distribution lines, for example, by causing a gas line to break, creating a risk of fire or explosion. Therefore, a need exists for metering devices that can detect seismic activity. The document US2019101411 A1 discloses a gas meter with a seismic sensor. SUMMARY Certain aspects and features include techniques for reporting resource flow at a metering device. In an example, a metering device measures resource flow by measuring one or more of a pressure or a flow rate. The metering device sets a reporting rate to a default reporting rate. The metering device transmits communications indicating the measured resource flow to an external device at the reporting rate. The metering device detects seismic activity at the metering device. The metering device determines that the seismic activity exceeds a seismic threshold. The metering device, in response to determining that the seismic activity exceeds the seismic threshold, adjusts the reporting rate to an event reporting rate, and starting an event time period. The metering device, transmits communications indicating the measured resource flow to the external device at the event reporting rate during the event time period. In another example, a metering device measures resource flow. The metering device measures one or more of a pressure or a flow rate. While operating in a default mode, the metering device performs operations. The operations include setting a reporting rate to a default reporting rate. The operations further include transmitting communications indicating the measured resource flow to an external device at the reporting rate. The operations further include detecting seismic activity at the metering device. The operations further include determining that the seismic activity exceeds a seismic threshold. The operations further include in response to determining that the seismic activity exceeds the seismic threshold, beginning to operate in an event mode. While operating in the event mode, the metering device adjusts the reporting rate to an event reporting rate and transmits communications indicating the measured resource flow to the external device at the event reporting rate. In another example, a metering device includes a radio configured to communicate with an external device, a seismic sensor configured to measure movement of the metering device in one or more dimensions, a flowrate sensor configured to measure one or more of flow rate or pressure and a processor. The processor is configured to perform operations. The operations include receiving, from the flowrate sensor, a measurement of resource flow by measuring one or more of a pressure or a flow rate. The operations further include setting a reporting rate to a default reporting rate. The operations further include causing the radio to transmit a communications indicating the measured resource flow to an external device at the reporting rate. The operations further include receiving, from the seismic sensor, a measurement of seismic activity at the metering device. The operations further include determining that the measurement of seismic activity exceeds a seismic threshold. The operations further include in response to determining that the measurement of seismic activity exceeds the seismic threshold, adjusting the reporting rate to an event reporting rate, and starting an event time period. The operations further include during the event time period, causing the radio to transmit communications indicating the measured resource flow to the external device at the event reporting rate. These illustrative examples are mentioned not to limit or define the disclosure, but to provide examples to aid understanding thereof. Additional examples and further description are provided in the Detailed Description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure are better understood when the following Detailed Description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, where: Figure 1 is a schematic of an exemplary network of metering systems, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.Figure 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary metering system, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for reporting resource flow, according to an aspect of this disclosure.Figure 4 is an event-flow chart depicting an example r