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- Model NO.: KWindow-190
- Open Style: Sliding
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- Security Rating: A
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- Trademark: Kunwei
- Origin: Nanjing, China
- Surface Finishing: Finished
- Position: Exterior
- Color: Customized
- Material: Aluminum Alloy
- Style: Modern
- Sound Insulation: 45
- Screen Netting Material: Stainless Steel
- Specification: SGS
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Door: 2.0mm
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Approximately 1,000 applications and tools are available on the new Azure virtual images store.
This edition features a new performance tool for System Center e, updated auditing software from Netwrix and a WAN-optimization platform to monitor hybrid environments.
Microsoft has established new per-user licensing options for its Windows Software Assurance (SA) and Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) licensing plans.
Microsoft and Dropbox have established a strategic partnership that will enable Microsoft Office and Dropbox's cloud storage service to better integrate.
What your organization can do to get cloud usage under some semblance of control and even turn issues into assets.
Microsoft released a preview this week of a new free service that delivers the latest Internet Explorer browser across Windows, Android and Apple platforms.
Microsoft released a new antimalware solution for its various Azure services, including Virtual Machines.
Dell's new Cloud Platform System running the Microsoft Azure cloud made its debut at TechEd Europe a week after it was announced.
Microsoft is contributing to the Open Compute Project's second-generation Open CloudService specification.
Microsoft gave notice today that it will disable Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 3.0 support in its Internet Explorer browser and in its Online Services, starting on Dec. 1, 2014.
New tools and services launched at TechEd Barcelona today aim to ease deployment and management of apps in cloud environments.
Cloud usage is rising and so are the number of threats to the security and privacy of your organization's information.
Microsoft has announced that it is delivering "unlimited" OneDrive cloud-based storage for all of its Office 365 subscribers, starting as early as today
The open source lightweight Docker runtime environment for Linux could someday supersede the traditional virtual machine. Among its many supporters is Microsoft, which just announced a deep partnership with Docker Inc. to bring containers to the next version of Windows Server.
Disk failures happen. Here's how to get back up and running with minimal effort.
Amazon Web Services has released a new cloud-based identity management solution this week.
Look for IBM WebSphere, DB2 database, MQ middleware and Bluemix to run on Microsoft Azure, while customers will be able to host SQL Server and Windows Server with improved support for Hyper-V in the IBM Cloud.
Microsoft is offering more guidance regarding a Secure Sockets Layer 3.0 security flaw.
Microsoft made several announcements at a press event today about its cloud products, including a new partnership with Dell.
Microsoft has a program that pays for Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) technical support costs.
Microsoft has killed off a few SharePoint Online features.
Microsoft disclosed today that its unified technology event coming in May next year will be called "Microsoft Ignite."
Before making the jump, here are some points to consider.
In a surprise move, Microsoft has partnered with Docker to collaborate with the open source community to develop containers for Windows Server and the Azure cloud service.
Microsoft's Virtual Machine Converter (MVMC )3.0, made available for download Monday, has brought back the ability to do physical-to-virtual (P2V) conversions.
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Northern Illinois University Press has just published Reason, Revelation, and the Civic Order: Political Philosophy and the Claims of Faith. Edited by Paul DeHart (Texas State University) and Carson Holloway (University of Nebraska, Omaha), I am proud to be one of the contributors along with Peter Augustine Lawler (Berry College), Robert C. Koons (University of Texas), J. Budziszewski (University of Texas), James Stoner, Jr. (Louisiana State University), R. J Snell (Eastern University), Ralph C. … [Read more...]
My chapter in the new book, Reason, Revelation, and the Civic Order: Political Philosophy and the Claims of Faith
"Journeys of Faith: Evangelicalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Anglicanism"
That it is the title of the forthcoming book of which I am one of the four main authors. I present an account of my return to Catholicism (touching on several issues not touched on in my 2009 book, Return to Rome: Confessions of An Evangelical Catholic). My chapter is followed by a response by Gregg R. Allison of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I then in turn reply to Allison in a small chapter. The other three authors each provide accounts of their pilgrimages from one Christian t … [Read more...]
To Everyone An Answer now available on Kindle
The 2004 book I co-edited with William Lane Craig and J. P. Moreland, To Everyone An Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview (InterVarsity Press) is now available on Amazon's Kindle. You can find it here. … [Read more...]


text: minxymoo August 14, 2010 Log in or register to post comments Have you tried this yet? I've got a horrible callous type thing on my jaw that keeps coming back no matter what I do. I'm ashamed to say I've started using pins and tweezers to remove it : (


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Well, for me, I would hope that the running in and argument would be enough to get me paying attention to what is happening and convey my concern to my wife so that she could also take the appropriate actions. While descretely observing, by the time he is pulling out his gun and shooting his target, I should also be able to unholster and be ready should he continue the shooting.
I am very hesitant to get into the middle of third party disputes when you don't know the history or the players, but having witnessed a clear aggressor and initiation of the attack, I would have no problem being ready to respond. If he clearly turns and runs, I would probably let him go. If any intention of staying is shown, I will be looking for a clean shot (which may be very difficult in a crowded restraunt). My gun will be in my hand and discretely ready to respond appropriately and quickly. The rest will depend on what he does.


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Field Service Management Expo. 20-22 June 2017. Excel London UKYou are here: >
Field Service Management Expo. 20-22 June 2017. Excel London UK
eBECS are sponsoring Field Service Management Expo is Europes only event dedicated to the service management and field service industries. Showcasing the latest technologies and practices from industry experts all under one roof.
As part of the Protection & Management Series, you'll have not only access to the Field Service Management Expo, but four other shows as well, including; Firex International, IFSEC International, Facilities Show, Safety & Health Expo. The Protection & Management series attracts 45,000 visitors, more than 1,600 exhibitors, and with your Field Service Management Expo badge you will have access to them all.
The increasingly popular Field Service Solutions Theatre returns, taking place at the heart of Field Service Management Expo 2017. Hosting a series of interviews, presentations and panel debates, plus a chance to work with fellow professionals over a drink at the end of each day's education. This theatre is the ideal place to update your core industry knowledge and view bite-sized updates and demonstrations of the very latest inventions and innovations in the Service Management Industry.
Find our more and register here.


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Hi stranger! Signing up for MypetMD is easy, free and puts the most relevant content at your fingertips.
To remove all of the pus and debris that has built up underneath the turtle's eardrum, the veterinarian will anesthetize the animal, cut a hole in the membrane, thoroughly clean and flush out the inner parts of the ear with an antiseptic solution, and pack the area with an antibiotic ointment. In many cases, oral are prescribed in addition to the injectable antibiotics. Meanwhile, the incision will be left to heal on its own.
To prevent an aural abscess from returning, the veterinarian will often recommend vitamin A supplements or modifications to the turtle's diet. Owners will also have to correct any inappropriate environmental conditions within the reptile's terrarium to prevent ear infections from returning or from developing in the first place.
A product made of fluid, cell waste, and cells
Referring to the ear.
Any drug that kills organisms in an animal's tissue or prevents the growth of more.
A localized infection, usually a lesion filled with pus. Can be large or small in size.


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Jefferson's variety of restaurants providing ample group dining, budget conscious menus and convenient bus parking guarantees your team will find everything from down-home southern cooking and burgers to a Louisiana po-boy sandwich. Most restaurants are conveniently located near hotels and venues making planning easy. Private dining rooms, pre-set menus, and specialty menus are available at select restaurants.
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text: I'm trying to figure out what it is about this that I sorta like. It's not the beat which, although it ain't bad, is too recognizable to me from Lauryn Hill's Ex-Factor. It's not the rapping, which again, ain't that it's bad, but it's not exactly moving me. I think it might be the understated positivity. The vibe is positive and the video is them having fun, in direct contrast with the trying-too-hard seriousness that I seem to get bombarded with regularly. In other words, they're chillin, or they're trying to give that impression. And I can dig it. People need to just chill sometimes. I'll leave it to the race mongers to reach and ask why no ethnically diverse women? Maybe they just couldn't afford enough extras. Although I didn't see any there's a red cup vibe thing happening that reminds me of a recent Nore favorite, the majorly slept on Like The Way.


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Peru receives over 2.3 million tourists this year
The number of visitors represents an increase of 7 to 8 percent compared to the same period in 2010,
Peru has received over 2.3 million visitors so far this year, an increase of 7 to 8 percent compared to the same period in 2010, said Deputy Tourism Minister Claudia Cornejo, who expressed confident that the country will reach the goal of 2.5 million tourists by year end.
"The arrival of foreign tourists is going well and I believe we will reach the goal of 2.5 million visitors. We have made progress in important topics such as currency and inbound tourism," she said.
Cornejo noted that the promotion of Peruvian tourist attractions in Latin American countries will improve next year due to the financial crisis in the United States and Europe.
The deputy minister said that nearly 80,000 foreign tourists, mainly from the United States, visit Peru every day.
"Regionally speaking, Latin American provides 50 percent of the foreign tourists in Peru. The countries which provide more tourists are Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile," she said.
Moreover, Cornejo said that the number of tourists from France, Italy, South Korea and Australia in the country has also increased.


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'The Help,' 'The Artist' lead SAG nominations
LOS ANGELES – The Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, one of the clearest handicappers of Oscar's acting races, became the latest awards circle to recognize The Artist and one of the first to fully embrace The Help.
It also found a sense of humor in an eclectic morning of nominations Wednesday that included the Judd Apatow-produced film Bridesmaids and the Brad Pitt-Jonah Hill baseball tale Moneyball.
The Help, the Disney best-seller adaptation, led all movies with four nominations, followed by the silent throwback film The Artist with three.
In addition to a nomination for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, SAG's highest honor, The Help landed a best actress nomination for Viola Davis and supporting actress nominations for Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer. The film, a surprise summer hit that earned $169 million at the box office, is expected to compete in similar categories when the Academy Awards are handed out Feb. 26.
The Artist, meanwhile, continues to clean up among critics and voters. It earned a best picture nomination, along with a lead actor nomination for Jean Dujardin, and a supporting actress nod for Berenice Bejo.
Other lead actor nominees: George Clooney for The Descendants, Demian Bichir for A Better Life,Leonardo DiCaprio for J. Edgar and Brad Pitt for Moneyball.
Among lead actresses, Michelle Williams of My Week with Marilyn will face Glenn Close of Albert Nobbs, Viola Davis of The Help, Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady and Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin, a surprise recognition.
In addition to The Help and The Artist, best picture nominees include Bridesmaids,The Descendants and Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.
Some notable performances went unnoticed by SAG, including Charlize Theron for Young Adult,Michael Fassbender for Shame,Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Albert Brooks for Drive.
The biggest surprise was the success of Bridesmaids, an R-rated comedy critics and audiences have been embracing since its release May 13. The movie has brought in $169 million domestically and earned Melissa McCarthy a nomination for best supporting actress.
J. Edgar,Clint Eastwood's biography on the FBI founder, had a good morning, as well. In addition to DiCaprio's nominations, Armie Hammer nabbed a supporting actor nomination — solid support for a movie blasted by critics and that was a middling box office performer at $35 million.
While not as recognized as the Oscars, the SAG awards are typically one of Oscar's most accurate forecasters. Last year, 17 of the 20 nominees for SAG honors went on to hook Oscar nominations.
The SAG awards are Jan. 28 in Los Angeles.
Posted | Updated


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March 25: Top Trends for Film, TV and Internet; and Box Office Outlook
iHollywood Forum
Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 4:00 PM (PDT)
Event Details
4:00-5:45: Film Marketing, Distribution and Financing Workshop
Jon Reiss, Director and Filmmaker on Marketing and Distribution
Louise Levison, Author and Film Financing Consultant
Workshop on Film Distribution, Marketing and Financing
Jon Reiss, author Think Outside the Box Office, offers a break through, step-by-step nuts and bolts guide to distributing and marketing a film. Each chapter addresses an essential aspect of a film's release and offers specific techniques so filmmakers can take control of their distribution and marketing destiny. You can purchase a copy of the book for the workshop at a discount. Books will be distributed at the event.
5:45-7:10 Networking Dinner and Reception with open bar
7:15-7:45 Top Tech Trends for Film and Production
Presentation: Best Practices for Digital Asset Management (DAM) for Film, TV and Broadband
Presenting Sponsor: Media Distributors
7:45-9:15 Panel: Top Tech Trends for Film, TV and Digital Media; and Box Office Outlook
Featuring Presentations and Panel Discussion:
- JUST ADDED: Jake Zim, VP, Digital Marketing, Twentieth Century Fox Films
- Frank Stirling, Digital Cinema Consultant, Stirling Media
Paul Dergarabedian, President, Hollywood.com Box Office
- David Viviano, National Director of Research & Economics, Screen Actors Guild
- Jim Howe, Digital Assist, Technicolor
- Moderator: Adrian Sexton, Founder, New Medici
Issues we will address:
DETAILS ON PROGRAMS and SPEAKER BIOS:
The Internet has dramatically changed the landscape on how indie producers can get exposure for their content; but learn how it can help you sell for film distribution. How do you sell your idea using these new tools? How do you get your idea produced even if you don't yet have traditional experience? How do you get your film funded, produced and distributed?
In this workshop, you will learn:
- The importance of developing a distribution and marketing strategy for your film, from inception
- What films had the the most successful strategies for advertising and promotion, word of mouth, and social media campaigns? What films failed and why?
- Audience identification and targeting.
- Determining goals for the distribution and marketing for your film.
- The new crew position of the PMD: The Producer of Marketing and Distribution
- Allocating and raising resources for distribution and marketing: the new 50/50
- How to access the increasingly segemented audience through a cross media strategy
Refund policy: We do not issue refunds, but you can transfer tickets to someone else.
Jon Reiss, Award Winning Director and Filmmaker
Named one of "10 Digital Directors to Watch" by Daily Variety, Jon Reiss is a critically acclaimed, award winning filmmaker who has produced and directed three feature films, Better Living Through Circuitry, Cleopatra's Second Husband and most recently Bomb It.
Jon has taught both film directing and production for the last 10 years most recently at the California Institute for the Arts where he created the class "Reel World Survival Skills: Everything I Wish I Had Been Taught in Film School." This course covers the practical aspects of surviving as an independent writer/producer/director in today's economy from finding a job, pitching and script development, to financing and new models of distribution.
Jon also consults and speaks about distribution and marketing for film at festivals and forums throughout the world, including the 2010 Slamdance Screenwriters Summit where 2 lucky filmmakers were given the opportunity to work with him and have their marketing and distribution strategies analyzed and expanded
Jon is the author of Think Outside the Box Office: The Ultimate Guide to Film Distribution in the Digital Era, For more information go to http://jonreiss.com/blog Jon can be contacted at mailto:email@example.com or followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Jon_Reiss.
We encouarge you to purchase the book which covers everything from theatrical, grassroots/community, publicity, sponsorships, live events to DVD sales, affiliates, to social networking/web marketing to monetizing digital rights including YouTube, iTunes, Amazon, to crowd-funding, and audience identification.
Jon will offer highlights from the book with adviace on how to move up in this highly competitive industry and will address the combination of traditional and new media strategies, how to use contacts and introductions, and to reach decision makers for film distribution and marketing.
Includes pitch fest. A few selected members of the audience can give a 3 minutes pitch to the speakers; and hear feedback on their ideas. See what a live pitch meeting is like! At the end of the session, we let several members pitch to Jon in the front of the group. Three will be selected. You can pitch your film idea to Jon and hear feedback. If you are developing a film concept, this is your opportunity to bounce it off a Hollywood producer and director.
Louise Levison, Film Finance Consultant
Louise Levison is President of Business Strategies (moviemoney.com), a consulting firm that specializes in creating business plans for film and consulting on other aspects of independent filmmaking and distribution. She is the author of Filmmakers & Financing: Business Plans for Independents (Sixth Edition, October 2009, Focal Press) and publisher/editor of The Film Entrepreneur: A Newsletter for the Independent Filmmaker and Investors. Ms. Levison's clients have raised money for low-budget films such as The Blair Witch Project, the most profitable independent film in history, and for companies raising as much as $300 million. Other clients' projects include Crimebusters, Bailey, Moving Midway, Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman, Sandstorm, High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story, Protecting the King, The Open Road, Dinner Rush, Paradise (aka Little Chicago), The First of May, Michael Winslow Live and California Dreaming. Among her corporate clients are Danny Glover's Louverture Films (Trouble the Water, a nominee for the 2008 Best Documentary Academy Award, Toussaint) and his Louverture Film Fund I, The Pamplin Film Company, Majestic World Entertainment, WhiteLight Entertainment (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever), Summitworks Film Fund 1, Audience Alliance Motion Picture Studios (Broken Hill), Monterrey Pictures Entertainment, Tokuma International Ltd (Shall We Dance and Princess Mononoke) and the Ilya Salkind Company. Ms. Levison is also an affiliate of the Berlin-based consulting company Peacefulfish (peacefulfish.com) and writes an industry blog for Baseline Research (blssresearch.com), a division of Baseline StudioSystems.
Ms. Levison is an Instructor in the Extension Program at UCLA and has been a Visiting Professor at the Taipei (Taiwan) National University of the Arts, Chapman University (Orange County, CA) and the University of Montana (Missoula). She has presented seminars and/or been on panels for Film Independent (FIND), the Sundance Film Festival, Producer's Guild of America, Galway (Ireland) Film Fleadh, National Association of Broadcasters, Hollywood Black Film Festival, Florida Media Market, American Black Film Festival, National Association Of Latino Independent Producers, Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts, Austin Film Festival, Georgia Film and Video Center, Austin Film Festival, Florida Motion Picture and Television Association, Cincinnati Film Commission, Arizona Film Commission, Independent Cinema Expo, Women in Film, California Lawyers for the Arts, Nashville Film Festival, The Learning Annex (New York and Los Angeles) and others.
Moderator: Adrian Sexton is Co-Founder & CEO of New Medici LLC New Medici LLC is a media + lifestyle consultancy, and niche media network (www.newmedici.com). Prior to New Medici, Mr. Sexton was the Executive Vice President at Participant Media, responsible for running the company's expansion into global media, digital distribution and marketing. Before Participant, he co-founded TAG Strategic, a digital strategy agency with clients including Qualcomm, Lionsgate and Sandisk. Previously, he headed Lionsgate's digital media department, where he oversaw digital marketing and business development, shaping and executing the studio's strategy across broadband, mobile, IPTV and other emerging platforms. Lionsgate's market capitalization rose from $60 million to $1.2 billion during Sexton's tenure; and he was part of the team which secured the $350 million credit facility to acquire Artisan Entertainment. He has worked on campaigns for Academy Award-winning films: An Inconvenient Truth, Crash and Monster's Ball. Sexton is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the Producers Guild of America.
Jake Zim, VP, Digital Media Marketing, Fox Filmed Entertainment
Zim is recognized as one of the brightest and fastest-rising executives in the entertainment industry and his blog is recognized as one of the top blogs in New Media. He oversees the digital marketing campaigns for such titles as X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Night At The Museum 2, Ice Age 3D, Avatar, and Gulliver's Travels. Jake Zim has also served as the Vice President of Online for Fox Atomic, the youth-market film studio. Zim oversaw all aspects of the studio's online and digital presence, including marketing, creative, original and acquired content and digital distribution. Fox Atomic was formed in early 2006 and is headed by Fox Searchlight president Peter Rice, and president of production Debbie Liebling. The studio's aim is to provide theatrical and creative content that specifically target teens and young audiences. It also develops new-media content for the Internet, mobile devices and other emerging technologies.
Paul Dergarabedian, President, Hollywood.com Box Office
Paul Dergarabedian is president of the Hollywood.com Box Office division (formerly Media By Numbers) and
the entertainment industry's foremost expert in box-office tracking and analysis. As the founder of Media By Numbers and former head of Exhibitor Relations Co., Paul has over fifteen years of experience in this field as one of the most widely quoted and respected movie industry analysts. Paul has appeared in hundreds of television and radio news and entertainment programs including CNN's Showbiz Tonight, CNBC's The Wall Street Journal Report With Maria Bartiromo & On the Money, Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Reelz Channel, TV Guide Network, NPR's Morning Edition, The Howard Stern Show, KFWB News 980, KNX News Radio, KABC Radio, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, NBC's Today Show and Access Hollywood. He was a guest on the October 15, 2007 inaugural launch day of the new Fox Business Network to discuss the weekend box-office derby.
Paul also appears in print and on the web every week as the exclusive box-office analyst for The Associated Press, he also appears on Access Hollywood's Box-Office Showdown webisode every week and has a weekly box-office report on KFWB News 980 and KNX News 1070 in Los Angeles. In addition, Paul has appeared in movie related documentaries including This Film Is Not Yet Rated, The Blockbuster Imperative and The Award Show Awards Show. In addition to being featured in the book Open Wide released in late 2004 which focuses on the national fixation with movie box-office revenues and data, in 2007 his life and career was profiled on the national CBS Evening News. Other professional profiles have appeared in MovieMaker Magazine, Film Journal International, The Los Angeles Business Journal and The Los Angeles Times.
Paul received his Masters in Communications from the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications and his Bachelor of Arts in Radio, Television and Film from Long Beach State University in California. He currently resides in Los Angeles. Go to our Box Office section for recent weekend movie analysis.
David Viviano, National Director of Research & Economics,
Screen Actors Guild
David oversees a department of economists, analysts, and researchers who study trends and developments in the business of motion pictures. His research focuses on the production, financing, distribution, licensing, and revenue for theatrical, television, and new media entertainment product. David personally advises the Guild's board and senior leadership on industry issues and their impact on the working lives of actors.
Frank Stirling, Stirling Media
Frank Stirling is an internationally known expert on digital cinema. He is currently on the Board of Directors of Photonica, Inc, a company that has a new technology image-engine for display based upon the science of magneto-photonics. He also serves as the CEO of the CineSky division, focusing upon the digital cinema arena. Photonica is developing flexible and rigid displays for mobile and fixed applications. Previously, Frank was the Director of Boeing Digital Cinema and pioneered the deployment of operational digital cinema systems across the United States and London as the first satellite-delivered digital cinema business starting in 2002. He was also key to formation of several startups, including Air Traffic Safety and High-Altitude Platforms. Frank was an Assistant VP at SAIC, President of Aries Analytics, and served as a senior executive director of major program developments such as Titan IV and SSTS in the USAF.
Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 4:00 PM (PDT)
Add to my calendar
iHollywood Forum


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'Beau Manguier' is a luxurious villa situated in the chic residential area of Grand Bay just next to the Merville Beach Hotel and Around the World Spa and boutiques complex. The famous beach of the Merville bay is just 200m away across the road.\\n\\n The villa has its own private entrance and parking. From the coral layered parking, one enters in the villa garden through an impressive Javanese wooden door. A 10m designed dark tiled swimming pool and a wooden garden kiosk give a zen feel to the place.\\n\\nDesign and modern architecture contrasts with the local elements such as thatch and typical mauritian 'chalis' floors. Bali furniture, wooden openings and marble in bathrooms give an elegant touch to the villa. \\n\\nAn alarm system with intervention service and an electrical gate provide full security. The villa comes with the services of a maid and a gardener.\\n


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If you're facing an employment lawsuit, don't bother probing into the employee's immigration status during the lawsuit's discovery phase. The EEOC has long held that immigration status is irrelevant to any underlying discrimination claims, and a recent federal court ruling supports that stance.
The case involved a female restaurant employee in Minnesota who claimed sexual harassment. The EEOC sued on her behalf. During discovery, the restaurant's attorneys asked about the woman's immigration status. EEOC attorneys objected and the judge agreed, barring any questions designed to elicit whether the woman is in the country legally. (EEOC v. The Restaurant Company)
According to EEOC attorney Tina Burnside, "Certain defense lawyers ... figure that they can put such fear into the hearts of the victims that they will walk away. The line of inquiry has nothing to do with the merits in employment discrimination cases. It's good that the courts are seeing through it and are not permitting it."


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Army Pfc. Chelsea N. Hill has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.
During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.
Hill is the daughter of Robyn Riley and stepdaughter of Abraham Hutchinson, both of Greenwood.
She is a 2011 graduate of Lee's Summit West High School.


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As if the damage to flooded homes in Louisiana's coastal counties were not enough, Hurricane Isaac left behind another cleanup problem: the hurricane's storm surge and wave action uncovered old deposits of spilled oil and tar from 2010's devastating BP oil release. After finding tar balls and oil mats on the beach, Louisiana officials closed several stretches of beach to the public, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported ("La. officials close 12 miles of coastline after Isaac washes up tar balls, oil from BP spill hotspot," by Bob Marshall.
Laboratory testing of oil samples from the affected beaches revealed the oil's chemical fingerprint, confirming the material as BP spill oil: "good solid matches," according to Louisiana State University chemist Ed Overton, who tested the oil for the state of Louisiana. The New York Post has that Associated Press report ("Tests confirm oil found on Louisiana beaches came from 2010 BP spill," by Cain Burdeau). Overton said the quantities of oil were far less extreme than in the original spill, and the oil has weathered to a less harmful condition.
Still, even the weathered oil has the potential to do damage, the Times-Picayune pointed out: "While the most toxic parts of raw oil quickly dissipate, the tar mats, tar balls and viscous sludge that reappear after storms remain a threat to fish, wildlife and humans, state authorities said. They can contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, known carcinogens that can also disrupt endocrine systems in both humans and wildlife."
And Auburn University researcher Joel Hayworth told the Associated Press that this year's event is likely to occur again: "We're in year three and this seems to be the new normal for the Gulf Coast. For some unforeseeable time, this is going to be the new normal for the beach."


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|26 Aug 2008
|Filing date
|14 Apr 2005
|Priority date
|7 May 2003
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Christopher L. Osterloh, Benjamin L. Anderson, Mark K. Cornwall, Jeffrey L. Delamater
|Original Assignee
|Itron, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (70), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (53), Classifications (15), Legal Events (7)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/838,165, filed May 3, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,230,972 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/468,550, filed May 7, 2003, and is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present invention is related to co-pending application assigned to the assignee of the present invention and entitled "Spread Spectrum Meter Reading System Utilizing Low-Speed/High Power Frequency Hopping," filed Jul. 23, 2001, application Ser. No. 09/911,840, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a method and system for collecting data from remote utility meters and, more particularly, to a system and method for improving coverage of an automated meter reading system without substantially increasing the cost of the overall system.
Wireless automatic meter reading (AMR) systems are well known. Typically, each utility meter is provided with a battery-powered encoder that collects meter readings and periodically transmits those readings over a wireless network to a central station. The power limitations imposed by the need for the encoder to be battery powered and by regulations governing radio transmissions effectively prevent direct radio transmissions to the central station. Instead, wireless AMR systems typically utilize a layered network of overlapping intermediate receiving stations that receive transmissions from a group of meter encoders and forward those messages on to the next higher layer in the network as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,107. These types of layered wireless transmission networks allow for the use of lower power, unlicensed wireless transmitters in the thousands of endpoint encoder transmitters that must be deployed as part of a utility AMR system for a large metropolitan area.
Synchronization between a transmitter and a receiver in an AMR system can be accomplished by using an encoded preamble at the beginning of each transmission. A correlator is then used to synchronize an incoming sampled data stream with a known sync pattern once a phasing arrangement partitions the sampled data stream into a first and second sampled sequences. In a wireless meter reading system, for example, where cost and battery power are central concerns, undesirable consequences of stabilization circuitry can erect a significant manufacturing and system design barrier.
One challenge faced by designers of wireless meter reading systems involves providing adequate coverage with transceivers located in the field that are receiving data from metering units that will be transmitted back to the utility. Current meter reading systems use high sensitivity receivers placed on utility poles to read as many meter modules as possible. These receivers are expensive and therefore must cover a large area. Signal multipathing and attenuation due to buildings, fences, and other structures cause holes in the coverage area. In order to fill these holes, additional receivers have to be placed in the coverage area, increasing the cost of the system. Additional transceivers may also be needed to provide reliable communications with meter modules located near the periphery of the coverage area and in only marginal communications range of a presently installed system transceiver. As housing development expands the areas needing communications coverage, utilities can experience the problem of overcapacity—that is, investing in expensive transceivers having high-sensitivity, high-capacity receivers for servicing new developments having far fewer meter modules than such receivers can accommodate. A goal in designing these systems is to achieve a balance of coverage and hardware invested in the meter reading system.
Installation of additional transceivers presents further challenges for utility providers. Typically, system transceivers utilizing high-sensitivity, high-capacity receivers include circuitry that operates continuously, or with high enough duty cycles, and consuming enough power, to require externally supplied electrical energy. In practice, locations determined to be desirable for system transceiver placement often do not have easily accessible line power. Tapping power distribution circuits and running wires dedicated to powering additional system transceivers presents substantial burden and cost for utilities.
Another challenge faced by utilities is the implementation and management of energy-saving load shedding programs. The lack of access to real-time data on the amount of actual energy still being used once load-shedding commands are sent to an electrical load is a typical problem encountered in load shedding program execution. Utilities have no way of knowing if a load shedding command, sent to a designated home or industrial location, has been overridden by the customer. In this example, the utility has no real-time data as to how much energy is actually being preserved in spite of the implementation of load shedding programs.
According to one aspect of the invention, a home gateway radio frequency (RF) module is adapted for use in an automatic meter reading (AMR) system. As part of the home gateway module, a low cost receiver (LCR) circuit is coupled with an antenna adapted for receiving wireless signals from at least one utility meter endpoint. Also, a digital signal processing (DSP) circuit is interfaced with the LCR circuit and configured to correlate received signals with known signal patterns associated with utility meter endpoint signals utilizing a fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based algorithm. A transceiver circuit is interfaced with the DSP circuit and adapted to wirelessly transmit utility meter endpoint data to a remote memory location.
According to another aspect of the invention, an automatic meter reading (AMR) system includes a plurality of utility meter endpoints, each of which includes a radio-frequency (RF) transmitter adapted for transmitting endpoint information. A plurality of transceivers are adapted to read endpoints located throughout a designated coverage area, and each transceiver adapted to receive endpoint information from utility meter endpoints located within a corresponding portion of the designated coverage area. A central storage arrangement is adapted to communicate with each of the transceivers and to store endpoint information in a central database. The AMR system also includes a low cost receiver (LCR) having a communications range that defines a gap-filling coverage area. The LCR is adapted to automatically forward received endpoint information to the central storage arrangement.
According to another aspect of the invention, an automatic meter reading (AMR) communications system has a plurality of endpoints, at least one central reader having a communications range that defines a designated coverage area and adapted to receive information from endpoints located in the designated coverage area, and a utility database adapted for storing at least some of the received endpoint information. A method of improving AMR system coverage includes providing a low cost receiver (LCR) in a fixed location having a communications range that defines a secondary coverage area. The LCR is operated to (a) wirelessly receive information transmitted from any endpoints located in the secondary coverage area, and (b) transmit at least a subset of the received endpoint information for integration into the utility database.
According to another aspect of the invention, a transceiver for use with an automated meter reading (AMR) system includes a low cost receiver (LCR) circuit, a transmitter circuit, and a microcontroller adapted to be coupled to the LCR and the transmitter circuits. The microcontroller is further adapted to execute a software program that causes the auxiliary transceiver to automatically receive endpoint information transmitted by endpoints within communication range of the transceiver, transmit at least a subset of the endpoint information to a utility database, and perform load shedding command activity.
The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The invention is generally directed to a method and a system for collecting data from meter modules that are not read by a corresponding transceiver that is configured to read all of the meter modules in a designated area, wherein the transceiver is assigned by the central utility to the designated area. While the invention is not necessarily limited to such an application, the invention will be better appreciated using a discussion of example embodiments in such a specific context.
In one example embodiment, a system for generating feedback to a central utility station performing selective load shedding of a plurality of electrical loads is disclosed, wherein each of the electrical loads is connected to a meter module adapted to measure the electricity consumed by the electrical load. The system includes a plurality of encoded reader transmitters (ERTs, or endpoints), each associated with a meter module, and at least one receiver module adapted to be communicatively connected to the central utility station and to at least one of the electrical loads via at least one endpoint. The receiver module is associated with at least one electrical load and is adapted to execute a load shed command received from the central utility station. The receiver module also receives consumption data from the meter module post execution of the load shed command and transmits the post execution consumption data to the central utility station.
In another example embodiment, a low-cost receiver (LCR) is placed in close proximity to a meter module for receiving the information; the lower the cost of the receiver the more receivers that can be distributed to improve the coverage area and the reliability read for local modules. Since the modules will be relatively close to the LCR, high sensitivity is not required. The LCR of the invention is comprised of a filter electrically coupled to an amplifier and filter stages feeding a simple diode detector. The diode detector in turn is electrically coupled to a post-detection filter. This approach effectively eliminates the need for the local oscillator and mixer in most current radio designs, thereby substantially reducing the cost of the receiver. In one application the cost of the RF front end is about one-tenth the cost of the regular transceiver. The demodulated signal is then fed to an A/D converter that is coupled to a low-cost digital signal processor (DSP). The DSP decodes the signal using correlation techniques to find the endpoint's preamble and uses RSSI decoding techniques to decode the signal's data packet. A DSP is only one example of many microcontrollers that can be used.
In one application, the receiver is a wide band receiver that is configured to operate without a wake up transmitter. In such a system, the endpoint modules are configured to be bubble-up only modules. If the modules were to be used in a fixed network type installation they could bubble at a slow rate, which would preserve battery life. In a related application, the input of the receiver is closely coupled to power lines, which allows the use of house wiring as an antenna. While it is not appropriate to intentionally put RF energy onto power lines, such energy can nonetheless be recovered. Since there are no oscillators running in the RF front end of the receiver module there is no need to keep the receiver module off of the power lines. In addition, where a wake up transmitter is not used in connection with the receiver module there is no RF energy to couple to the power lines. The receiver is mountable in a collar behind the meter, in a box mounted near the breaker panel, or is configurable to be a module the size of a circuit breaker that snaps into a breaker panel. Mounting close to the electric endpoint and using the house wiring as an antenna would result in very close coupling between the receiver module and the endpoint.
Referring now to
In this example embodiment, there is also disclosed a method for improving gap coverage in data collection in an AMR system that has at least one transceiver that receives data from a plurality of meter modules via endpoints. Transceiver 20 transmits consumption data to a utility station having central utility database 30, database 30 being configured to store a unique identification code for each of the meter modules (and/or endpoints) in the system 10. Consumption data that is collected by the individual endpoints 40A-40D is first transmitted to central utility database 30 via transceiver 20. The consumption data associated with each meter module 40A-40D is correlated with the identification codes in utility database 30 and a determination is then made as to which endpoints 40A-40D, if any, did not respond (i.e., no consumption data was received by the central utility database 30). A data collection error is then assigned to the endpoint 40D, for example, from which data was not received by a central utility server-managing database 30. To fill the gap in data collection coverage, a low cost receiver (LCR) module 50 is positioned adjacent to endpoint 40D assigned the data collection error and LCR 50 transmits the data received from the endpoint 40D to transceiver 20. In this example embodiment, LCR 50 is comprised of a filter followed by an amplifier coupled to filter stages feeding a diode detector. The receiver module 50 can omit a local oscillator and a mixer due to its proximity to the endpoint 40D.
Referring now to
The LCRs 70A-70C can transmit the consumption data via a wired or a wireless network to the utility server running database 30. In a wireless network embodiment, for example, the transmitted signals can be amplitude-modulated signals or frequency modulated signals, depending on the system and the LCR 70A-70C configuration. LCR 70A-70C embodiments are described in further detail below, with reference to
In a related embodiment, system 60 generates feedback to a central utility station 30 performing selective load shedding of a plurality of electrical loads connected to a meter module. Endpoints 80A-80C are each associated with a corresponding meter module while at least one LCR 70A, for example, is adapted to be communicatively coupled to the central utility station 30. LCRs 70A-70C associated with the electrical load are each configured to execute a load-shed command received from the central utility station 30 and to receive consumption data from the meter module post-execution of the load shed command. LCRs 70A-70C are adapted to transmit the post-execution consumption data to the central utility station 30.
In this example, LCR 70A cooperates with the utility station 30 to perform load-shedding activities in a closed loop manner. In particular, a load-shed command is sent to at least one of the electrical loads to transition from a first state (e.g., running at full power) to a second state (e.g., running at reduced power). In response to the load shed command, electricity consumption data of the electrical load in the first state is stored and a transition of the electrical load to the second state is initiated. Consumption data from the meter module connected to the electrical load is received by LCRs 70A-70C and consumption data of the first state is compared with consumption data received post initiation of the load-shed command. Consumption data of the second state of the electrical load is then stored, where the consumption post load-shed initiation is less than the first state consumption data. The second state consumption data is then transmitted to the central utility station 30, thereby indicating that the electrical load is in the second state and confirming the load-shed command. In another application, the second state for the load is to have the load shut off or taken off line.
In another related embodiment, there is disclosed a method of collecting data in an AMR system having a plurality of meter modules and transmitting the data to a central utility database. The method comprises receiving via an LCR a radio frequency signal from at least one of the meter modules disposed adjacent the LCR and decoding the received radio frequency signal via a correlating technique to find a signal preamble. A data packet within the received radio frequency signal is decoded via a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) decoding technique and then a data transfer is initiated from the receiver module to the central utility database. The data transfer includes transmitting decoded data from the receiver module to the central utility database via a communications network.
In a related embodiment, a local receiver behaving as a virtual endpoint would act as a two-way endpoint for any of the endpoints that are in its domain. The receiver would only receive the standard endpoint packet but could be configured to work as a demand meter for advanced meter functionality. The radio, or "Home Gateway," module could perform two-way functions such as disconnects and monitor the effects of load shedding. This would allow a migration path for existing installations. The next-generation infrastructure could be developed from the radio up to a central utility station while today's endpoints continue to be deployed because the modules are low power devices and do not create interference with adjacent installations.
The next requirement is to get the data out of the LCR, which could be done using a "Home Gateway" by calling out on the telephone. Another method of accessing the data uses standard wide area network solutions such as the 802.11 standard or Bluetooth; a proprietary RF link could also be developed for this purpose. This link would be a high power two-way link to a device like a high-powered transceiver. A cellular digital packet data (CDPD) modem could also be used directly from the receiver module. Where the "Home Gateway" approach is used, remote load switching modules can be controlled via a power line carrier, a short haul RF link, or a direct connection. Because the radio could be closely coupled to the electric endpoint, highly reliable reads are attainable. Where readability of the electric endpoint is guaranteed, the reader could implement a virtual demand meter; the demand reset can then occur in the radio module. If the electric endpoint is a 41 series endpoint bubbling at a one second rate, for example, then the time accuracy would be within one or two seconds.
Referring now to
In previous FHSS meter reading systems of the assignee Itron, Inc., the receiver was designed to sample bit sliced data from the detector output to look for endpoint packets. Receiver 102 also samples the output of the detector but without bit slicing the data. The preamble of the endpoint packet is always the same, that is, receiver 102 knows what to look for to see the start of a packet. This allows the receiver to use correlation techniques, as preferably implemented by a correlator. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a correlator comprises a circuit, or a processor or controller, programmed to compare the incoming stream of bits to the known values as designated in the message. In the embodiment shown in
As depicted in
In yet another related embodiment, a low cost receiver is configured to provide the same functionality of LCR 100 while omitting the connection to a host computer and eliminating the need for a microcontroller (such as microcontroller 110) and the need for host computer 114.
Referring to
The components of the receiver board 103 of
When the correlator compares a known data pattern with sampled data, the preferred sampling rate is eight times the data rate, in this example 262.144 kHz. This sampling is done by low-speed 12-bit A/D converter 166 electrically coupled to the RSSI (linear detector) 162 of the IF and the DSP 112. When a correlation occurs, the correlator output is synchronized to within one-eighth of a bit. This starts the timing for decoding the rest of the packet from this time. Decoding of the packet uses the center three quarters of each bit and the first one-eighth and the last one-eighth of each bit is discarded due to uncertainty. One particular advantage of this embodiment is that it enables the invention to accomplish effective data sampling at a rate less than the sampling rate dictated by the Nyquist theorem (i.e., sampling must occur at more than twice the effective data transfer rate). In one sense, the correlator effectively allows the decoder to operate as a synchronous power detector for the wideband signal.
In a related example embodiment, the addition of a high-speed A/D converter 164 and a change to a higher performance DSP for a modest cost allows the receiver 101 to decode endpoints as a channelized receiver. A primary requirement for FCC part 15.247 of the receiver hopping in synchronization with the transmitter can be addressed by using a multiple channel radio to ensure decoding an endpoint on any channel. Use of FFT in the disclosed receiver module results in a channelized radio. Where the receiver is FCC part 15.247 compliant high-powered endpoints can be read, thereby increasing the coverage area.
In another embodiment related to the receiver module 101 of
In another example embodiment, a receiver has a sensitivity of around −103 dBm, which is adequate for reading endpoints in a local area, possibly one house deep. Since the receiver is wide band it can be susceptible to interferes, however such susceptibility is reduced by reducing the sensitivity of the receiver and increasing the power of the endpoint. Other approaches include reducing the sensitivity and accepting a reduced coverage range or adding some cost by increasing the filtering to the RF front end.
Applications for AMR Systems Having Utility Meter Endpoints With Two-Way Communications Capability
One aspect of the invention is directed to communications coverage improvement or extension in AMR systems in which utility meter endpoints have the capability of bi-directional communication.
Central transceiver 206 is not illustrated in
Each intermediate transceiver 208 is installed in a fixed location and has a limited communications range for communicating with utility meter endpoints. Therefore, each intermediate transceiver is capable of communicating only with utility meter endpoints located in its coverage area. As illustrated in
Coverage areas 209 a, 209 b, and 209 c have overlapping portions, such as the coverage area portions that include utility meter endpoints 204 b, 204 c, and 204 i. Each of these utility meter endpoints is within communications range of more than one intermediate transceiver 208, and indeed communicates with more than one intermediate transceiver 208. For example, utility meter endpoint 204 b communicates with intermediate transceiver 208 a via communications link 205 b 1, and with intermediate transceiver 208 b via communications link 205 b 2. Likewise, utility meter endpoint 204 c communicates with intermediate transceiver 208 a via communications link 205 c 1, and with intermediate transceiver 208 b via communications link 205 c 2; and utility meter endpoint 204 i communicates with intermediate transceiver 208 a via communications link 205 i 1, and with intermediate transceiver 208 c via communications link 205 i 2. In one embodiment, each of the intermediate transceivers 208 is unaware of message duplication within the system. Thus, when more than one intermediate transceiver 208 receive the same message containing utility meter information, each intermediate transceiver processes the message in its usual manner, and forwards the utility meter information to central transceiver 206 and database 202, which is ultimately responsible for sorting out redundant units of information. This characteristic of example AMR system 200 permits the use of additional, and potentially duplicative, intermediate-level transceivers.
When communicating with an intermediate transceiver 208, each utility meter endpoint 204 can use unidirectional communication, such as the communications link 2051 from utility meter endpoint 2041 to intermediate transceiver 208 c, or bidirectional, such as communication link 205 m between utility meter endpoint 204 m and intermediate transceiver 208 c. Because the communications modules in the utility meter endpoints 204 are typically battery powered, it is desirable for the AMR system to minimize the number of transmissions required for the utility meter endpoints 204 to transmit their consumption information. To this end, in one embodiment, utility meter endpoints 204 utilize an infrequent bubble-up mode of occasional data transmission where a utility meter automatically wakes up according to a random, quasi-random, or predetermined time interval and begins transmitting its telemetry-gathered data.
Each communication associated with a bubble-up event can itself be either unidirectional or bi-directional. In the case of a bi-directional communication, in one embodiment, the flow of information is usually from the utility meter endpoint 204 to the corresponding intermediate transceiver 208, such that the data bits originating at the intermediate transceiver 208 and received by utility meter endpoint 204 are used for implementing the transport layer protocol (for example, frame preamble bits, parity bits, acknowledgement frames, etc.).
In an alternative embodiment, bidirectional communications are utilized to transmit information from the AMR system infrastructure to one or more utility meter endpoints 204. In another embodiment, as an alternative to a bubble-up scheme, bi-directional communications are used to prompt one or more utility meter endpoints to initiate data transfer of consumption information (or metered data). In another embodiment, utility meter endpoints 204 are capable of operating in one or more differing modes, such as in a bubble-up mode at certain times, and in a prompt-response (or wake-up) mode at other times.
In one embodiment, one of the utility meter endpoints 204 that is receptive to inbound communications includes low-power intermittently-operating receiver circuitry for detecting the presence of a signal having predefined properties characteristic of an inbound communication addressed to a specific meter endpoint or to a group of meters to which that specific meter endpoint (or targeted endpoint) belongs. When such a signal is detected, the receiver circuitry causes the utility meter endpoint to power the receiver circuitry for a sufficient time to receive and decode the inbound communication. In one example embodiment, a utility meter endpoint 204 operates intermittently in a signal detect mode for several milliseconds every 10-20 seconds. Between detection operations, the circuitry is in an extremely low-power-consuming standby mode. In one embodiment, the low-cost receiver circuitry described above with respect to
In example AMR system 200, utility meter endpoints 204 are capable of bubble-up, as well as prompt-response or wake-up modes of communication. In one embodiment, utility meter endpoints 204 typically operate in a bubble-up mode; however, the diversity of available operating modes permits the AMR system to be highly adaptable to any changing operating requirements or conditions. For example, utility meter endpoint 204 g occasionally transmits its consumption information to intermediate transceiver 208 b via communication link 205 g, which occurs at random variations about a predetermined interval. The utility provider may wish to communicate with utility meter endpoint 204 g at an additional instance.
Utility personnel may also operate a mobile communicator 214, also illustrated in
Referring again to
According to one aspect of the invention, one or more low-cost auxiliary transceivers, such as auxiliary transceivers 220 a, 220 b, 220 c, 220 d, and 220 e illustrated in
Auxiliary transceiver 220 differs from the LCR embodiments described above in that certain embodiments have features and operability that enable auxiliary transceiver 220 to interface with utility meter endpoints having two-way communications capabilities, and utilize this ability to operate with sufficiently low power consumption to enable operation without externally-supplied power. In one embodiment, auxiliary transceiver 220 is powered by at least one battery that is on-board, or integrally housed with the auxiliary transceiver. The use of on-board power greatly facilitates locating and installing the auxiliary transceiver in a preferred field location. In one embodiment, a battery-powered auxiliary transceiver 220 can operate for up to ten years without maintenance or human intervention. An auxiliary transceiver 220 according to this embodiment can be installed without having to connect to AC mains or other externally supplied power. Avoiding connection to AC power provides substantial savings in installation costs, makes possible installations in locations where AC power is unavailable, saves the cost of electrical hardware needed to make the electrical connections, and saves the cost of electronic hardware needed to condition and convert the mains power into a form suitable for powering the various circuitry. In one embodiment, on-board battery power is supplemented by solar power cells.
In one example system operation, all utility meter endpoints that receive the prompting signal, respond to the prompt. In another example system operation, the prompting signal includes an indication that the prompting signal originates from an auxiliary transceiver, and only those utility meter endpoint that are configured to respond to prompts from auxiliary transceivers, respond to the prompt. In another example system operation, utility meter endpoints are each assigned to at least one communications group; and the prompting signal includes a communications group ID. Only those utility meter endpoints that have a communications group membership corresponding to the group ID in the prompt, respond.
At 306, the auxiliary transceiver activates its receiver circuitry by exiting a low-power standby mode, and listens for a pre-configured time duration for any transmissions responsive to the broadcast prompt. At 308, if any responsive messages are transmitted, the auxiliary transceiver receives them, and stores them in memory at 310.
At 312, the auxiliary transceiver pauses. In one embodiment, the pause is for a random time duration not exceeding 10 minutes. In one embodiment, during the pause, the auxiliary transceiver energizes its transmitter circuitry in preparation for sending the received information to the AMR system infrastructure. At 314, the auxiliary transceiver retrieves the first stored message from memory, transmits the message to an intermediate transceiver of the AMR system, and deletes the message from its memory. In this embodiment, the transmitted message includes additional forward error correction or other suitable transport layer improvement. In a related embodiment, the transmission by the auxiliary transceiver is in a one-way communications mode, in which the auxiliary transceiver does not require any communication from any intermediate transceiver. In an alternative embodiment, the communications between the auxiliary transceiver and the intermediate transceiver are in a 1.5-way communication mode, in which the auxiliary transceiver requires some degree of responsiveness from the auxiliary transceiver, such as frame receipt acknowledgements (ACKs). In another alternative embodiment, communications between the auxiliary transceiver and the intermediate transceiver are in a two-way communication mode, in which the auxiliary transceiver transmits endpoint information in response to prompting signals from the intermediate transceiver that are directed to utility meter endpoints and seek endpoint data.
If there are more messages in memory (316), the auxiliary transceiver retrieves those messages in sequence, and transmits each message (318) in the same manner as described above at 314. After all messages have been sent, the auxiliary transceiver enters a low-power standby mode and counts down until the next activation cycle (320, 322).
The low power standby mode permits auxiliary transceiver 220 to significantly conserve power. In this example embodiment, auxiliary transceiver 220 is in a low power standby mode for over 50% of the time. For example, auxiliary transceiver 220 can operate in a low power mode more than 99% of the time, and operate in active receiving, transmitting, and processing modes the remaining 1% of the time. In this example embodiment, active operation occurs intermittently, at time intervals similar to those associated with bubble-up events of utility meter endpoints 204.
Auxiliary transceiver 220 a communicates wirelessly with utility meter endpoints 204 d, 204 e, and 204 f as respectively indicated at communications 224 d, 224 e, and 224 f. In one embodiment, at a predetermined time interval (such as hourly, daily, weekly, etc.), auxiliary transceiver 220 a broadcasts an modulated RF prompting signal directed generally at utility meter endpoints 204 located in its area of coverage 222 a. In another embodiment, each prompt is broadcast according to a predetermined time interval, plus or minus a random time interval.
Utility meter endpoints 204 d, 204 e, and 204 f each respond to the prompt by transmitting their consumption and other information destined for utility database 202. Utility meter endpoints 204 transmit their information according to a slotted ALOHA or other suitable mode of transmission. In one embodiment, auxiliary transceiver 220 a receives each utility meter's information and stores it for later transmission. In another embodiment, auxiliary transceiver 220 a receives each utility meter's information and immediately transmits it to the AMR communications infrastructure. One example communications protocol used for such communications is disclosed in U.S. application having Ser. No. 10/915,706, filed on Aug. 10, 2004, entitled "Data Communications Protocol in an Automatic Meter Reading System," which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Auxiliary transceiver 220 a transmits the information obtained from each of the utility meter endpoints 204 d, 204 e, 204 f to the AMR communications infrastructure via communications link 226 a, which are received by intermediate transceiver 208 a. Communications from auxiliary transceivers 220 to the AMR communications infrastructure are generally referred to herein as communications 226. In one embodiment, transmissions of data communications 226 that are transmitted by auxiliary transceiver 220 a are sent according to an ALOHA mode of transmission.
In one embodiment, data communications 226 include separate, discrete transmissions, each corresponding to an individual utility meter's consumption data. Thus, according to this embodiment, data communications 226 a include three discrete transmissions separated in time and respectively corresponding to each of utility meter endpoints 204 d, 204 e, and 204 f. In a related embodiment, each discrete transmission of communications 226 is in the same format as the bubbling-up transmissions from utility meter endpoints 204. One advantage of such an arrangement is that no changes or special configuring is needed of the AMR communications infrastructure to accommodate auxiliary transceivers 220. Stated another way, by mimicking utility meter transmissions, the auxiliary transceivers remain transparent to the existing AMR communications infrastructure.
In another embodiment, communications 226 include separate, discrete transmissions, each corresponding to an individual utility meter's data, but each transmission is reformatted to optimize data transmission to intermediate transceiver 208. For example, each transmission can be encoded according to a Bose-Chaudhuri-Hochquenghem (BCH) scheme. In this embodiment, each intermediate transceiver 208 is preconfigured to receive and process transmissions encoded in this format. In a related embodiment, the transmissions can utilize a Manchester-encoding scheme.
In an alternative embodiment, communications 226 are in a single, condensed, transmission. One benefit of condensing the information is a realization of energy savings relative to transmitting the same information in an uncondensed format. In one embodiment, to accommodate this format of communications 226, the intermediate transceivers are configured to handle such communications from other intermediate transceivers 208 (and auxiliary transceivers 220), in addition to handling communications with utility meter endpoints 204.
Auxiliary coverage area 222 a includes utility meter endpoints 204 e and 204 f that are in coverage gap 218, as well as utility meter endpoint 204 d that is also located within coverage area 209 a. Utility meter endpoint 204 d communicates information to intermediate transceiver 208 a via communication 205 d which, in one embodiment, is transmitted according to a bubble-up scheme. Hence, in the example system operation described above, information from utility meter endpoint 204 d is received twice by the AMR communications infrastructure (first, via communication 205 d directly from the utility meter endpoint 204 d, and second, via a corresponding one of the discrete transmissions in communications 226 a from auxiliary transceiver 220 a). In one embodiment, intermediate transceiver 208 does nothing to address the issue of duplicity, and instead forwards each communication to the central transceiver in the usual manner as if the duplicative communications corresponded to different utility meters. In this embodiment, utility database 202 operates on each of the received communications to sort out the redundant duplicative sets of meter data based on the information contained in each communication, such as a tag identifying the specific utility meter and time stamp. In other embodiments, the sorting takes place at intermediate transceiver 208, or at central transceiver 206.
Auxiliary transceiver 220 b is located in coverage gap 216 in order to provide communications service to utility meter endpoint 204 j. Auxiliary transceiver 220 b has a coverage area 222 b that is sufficient to cover the entire coverage gap 216. However, auxiliary transceiver 220 b is itself located outside of coverage area 209 b. In order to maintain reliable communications with the AMR communications infrastructure via communications 226 b between auxiliary transceiver 220 b and intermediate transceiver 208 b, auxiliary transceiver 220 b can be adapted to communicate at a greater range with intermediate transceiver 208 b, as compared with a typical utility meter endpoint 204. In one embodiment, installed auxiliary transceiver 220 b includes a high-gain directional antenna that is pointed at intermediate transceiver 208 b. In another embodiment, auxiliary transceiver 220 b is installed on a high pole or tower to avoid obstructions that can affect electromagnetic wave propagation. In another embodiment, auxiliary transceiver 220 b has a more powerful RF transmitter amplifier circuit compared to the transmitter amplifier circuit of a typical utility meter endpoint 204.
Auxiliary transceiver 220 c is installed to extend AMR communication system coverage beyond the outside boundary of coverage area 209 in order to provide service to utility meter endpoint 204 k. Auxiliary transceiver 220 c effectively extends AMR communications system coverage to include auxiliary coverage area 222 c. In one embodiment, auxiliary transceiver 220 c is also configured to communicate with more than one intermediate transceiver to ensure reliable communications with the AMR system communications infrastructure. As illustrated in
In the example expansion of coverage area 209 illustrated in
In an example operation, auxiliary transceiver 220 e transmits a prompt according to a preconfigured periodic transmission schedule, and activates its receiver circuitry for reception of data from auxiliary transceiver 220 d for a predetermined amount of time sufficient to receive communications responsive to the prompt. In one embodiment the prompt broadcast from auxiliary transceiver 220 e is identical to a prompt to which utility meter endpoints 204 are responsive. In this embodiment, auxiliary transceivers 220 are configured to not respond to prompts for a predefined time after issuing a prompt themselves. This feature prevents more than one auxiliary transceiver 220 within communications range of one another from endlessly exchanging prompts. The prompt is included in communications 226 d, and is detected by auxiliary transceiver 220 d during one of its intermittent signal detection attempts. In response to the prompt, auxiliary transceiver 220 d broadcasts a utility meter prompt to utility meter endpoints 204 in its coverage area 222 d, and activates its receiver circuitry for reception of data from utility meter endpoints 204 for a predetermined amount of time sufficient to receive communications responsive to the prompt.
In one embodiment, the prompt broadcast from auxiliary transceiver 220 e (intended to evoke a response from another auxiliary transceiver 220) is identical to a prompt to which utility meter endpoints 204 are responsive, such as the prompt broadcast from auxiliary transceiver 220 d. In this embodiment, auxiliary transceivers 220 are configured to not respond to prompts for a predefined time after issuing a prompt themselves. In an alternative embodiment, the prompt broadcast from auxiliary transceiver 220 e (intended to evoke a response from another auxiliary transceiver 220) includes an indication that distinguishes it from a prompt intended to evoke a response from utility meter endpoints 204. Either of these features prevents an oscillatory situation in which, for example, auxiliary transceivers 220 e responds to a prompt from auxiliary transceiver 220 d intended for utility meter endpoints 204 by broadcasting a second prompt, to which auxiliary transceiver 220 d again responds.
Each of utility meter endpoints 204 within area of coverage 222 d responds to the prompt issued by auxiliary transceiver 220 d by transmitting its consumption and other information according to a predefined protocol, such as slotted ALOHA mode. Auxiliary transceiver 220 d receives each utility meter's data, and transmits each set of data to auxiliary transceiver 220 e. In one embodiment, auxiliary transceiver 220 d transmits each set of utility meter endpoint 204 data individually, and in the same format as in which the data was received from the corresponding utility meter endpoint 204.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the essential attributes thereof, therefore, the illustrated embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.
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|U.S. Classification
|340/870.03, 370/338, 340/870.02, 375/130
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|13 May 2005
Owner name: ITRON, INC., WASHINGTON
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|25 Apr 2007
Owner name: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON
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|27 Feb 2012
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