Method and system for remote metering the consumption of electricity, water or gas

ES 2 636 617 T3

DESCRIPTION

Method and system for remote measurement of electricity, water or gas consumption

The present invention refers to a method and a system for the remote measurement of the consumption of public services distributed through a distribution network, for example an electricity, water or gas distribution network, to a plurality of consumers. The present invention further relates to a concentrator for collecting data related to consumption, especially with respect to the consumption of public services, from a plurality of associated remote meters, as well as to a remote meter to measure the consumption of public services and to provide additional data related to consumption.

In a distribution network to distribute public services such as electricity, water or gas to a large number of consumers spread over a large geographic territory, the consumer sites are normally equipped with a meter to measure the consumption of the public services by the consumer. associated. The metered consumption will then be the basis for the consumer's billing or for any other accounting purpose. Today, there are public distribution networks for public services such as electricity, water and gas, which make these public services available to consumers nationwide. Today, in most existing distribution networks, meters located at the customer's premises require a human operator to read them at regular intervals, for example once a year. Reading metered consumption with the help of human interaction has many obvious disadvantages, due to the fact that human resources are expensive and tend to make mistakes when they repeatedly perform simple tasks such as reading utility meters in a larger number of facilities. customer facilities.

In order to alleviate the problems and costs associated with reading consumption data by human operators, systems have been devised for remote measurement of utility consumption. In a system for remote measurement of utility consumption as described in documents WO 03/055031 A or WO 2005/015890, concentrator devices are provided, each of which manages a certain number of remote meters located in customer premises. . Remote meters report measured usage data to their associated hubs. The concentrators in turn communicate with other higher-level concentration nodes or directly with centralized management facilities that will further process the collected data, send invoices to customers and perform other high-level administrative tasks related to the operation of the network of distribution of public services.

In such a system for remote measurement of utility consumption, each of the concentrators communicates with a plurality of remote meters in order to collect the measured data and perform tasks related to the management of the remote meters associated with the hub. In order to perform the tasks of metering consumption, reporting data to the concentrator, receiving commands from the concentrator, and other activities, a remote meter has a central controller and program memory for executing programs stored in program memory.

WO 2007/030826 A2 describes an RF meter reading system that uses one-way and two-way communication between an end point and a reader. In this case, in response to a specific event (such as, for example, the passage of a certain amount of time), the endpoint enters an active mode of operation, or "wakes up" and transmits an initial message, which it is a relatively short message. By virtue of its short duration, the initial message requires a relatively small amount of energy to travel through the end point. The initial message includes at least a unique identifier of the end point, and any necessary supplementary bits that identify the initial message as a transmission from an end point device to allow its reception by an AMR system receiver. The initial message may include a timing pattern (such as a string of alternating bits), a preamble that a reader can recognize and indicating the presence of an AMR message, and an identification of the particular endpoint, or the initial message may include additional information, such as consumption information. A decision whether to initiate additional communication may be based on the content of the initial message, the system configuration instructions sent from the clearinghouse or central processor, the time of day or date of the billing cycle, the amount of time since the last satisfactory consumption reading received from the particular end point 108, and the like. The subsequent communication is an instruction, such as a command that requests certain additional information from the endpoint, and the amount of information that is exchanged in the subsequent communication can be substantially greater, for example the reader can request a large amount of consumption data or status data.

The present invention has been made to provide further improvements in such remote metering systems, concentrators and remote meters in such systems as well as in the methods for remote metering employed in such systems.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method of remote measurement of the consumption of public services distributed through a public distribution network to a plurality of consumers, each consumer being associated with at least one remote meter, in which each of the plurality of remote meters measures a consumption of said public services and stores data related to consumption to notify such data to

ES 2 636 617 T3 a concentrator associated with said plurality of remote meters, said concentrator communicates with said plurality of remote meters in order to collect data related to consumption and perform tasks related to the administration of its associated remote meters, and each one of said remote meters comprises a program memory, a controller executing programs stored in said program memory and a data element memory for storing data elements related to the consumption of said public services and at least indicative of the consumption of said public services; characterized by a remote meter that transmits a quantity of data related to consumption to said concentrator after a request from said concentrator, said request indicating the quantity of data related to consumption, said quantity being determined based on the status data of said remote meter .

Furthermore, the present invention provides a system for the remote measurement of the consumption of public services distributed through a public distribution network to a plurality of consumers, the system comprising a plurality of remote meters that measure a consumption of public services, each having one of said remote meters a controller and a program memory, said controller executing programs stored in said program memory, and a data element memory for storing data elements related to the consumption of said public services and at least indicative of the consumption of said public services; and a hub that communicates with said plurality of remote meters in order to collect consumption data and perform tasks related to the management of associated remote meters; wherein said remote system meters are adapted to perform the operation of transmitting an amount of data related to consumption to said concentrator upon a request from said concentrator, and wherein said concentrator is adapted to request the amount of data related to consumption and to determine said quantity based on the status data of said remote meter.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a concentrator for collecting data regarding the consumption of public services from a plurality of remote meters, each having a controller and a program memory, said controller executing programs stored in said program memory, and a data element memory for storing data elements related to the consumption of said public services and at least indicative of the consumption of said public services, said concentrator comprising a communication interface for communicating with said plurality of remote meters; a controller for processing the data received from said remote meters through said communication interface; wherein said concentrator is adapted to perform the operations of requesting status data from one of said selected remote meters; calculating an amount of consumption related data to be requested and received from said selected remote meter based on said status data; and receiving said amount of data related to the consumption of said selected remote meter.

Still further, the present invention provides a remote meter for measuring utility consumption, comprising a communication interface for transmitting data regarding measured utility consumption to a concentrator; a consumption data item storage means comprising storage locations for storing data items indicating at least the measured consumption at the time of storage of a respective one of said data items; a temporary value storage means for storing a temporary value corresponding to the storage date / time of said most recent data item; and a controller that is arranged to control the operation of the remote meter with respect to the measurement of utility consumption such that periodically, indicated by a stored time parameter, a data item corresponding to the measured utility consumption is stored in one of said respective rear storage locations of said circular storage medium, and the temporary value stored in said temporary value storage means is updated to correspond to the date / time of storage of said most recent data item; and the transmission of data referring to the metered consumption of public services to said concentrator by means of said communication interface so that after a respective request from said concentrator said temporary value is transmitted to said concentrator, and various data elements stored in said locations storage are transmitted to said concentrator, said number being determined by said concentrator.

According to all aspects of the present invention described above, it is possible to retrieve a specific amount of data, ie consumption data and / or additional data, from the remote meters of a remote metering system. The retrieved data provides a data profile, for example indicative of consumption characteristics over time at the location of a remote meter or, in the case of a power distribution network, indicative of a consumption ratio of active and reactive energy at a remote meter location over time.

The above aspects and advantages of the invention will be further elaborated in the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows an example of a distribution network comprising a hub and remote meters according to the invention.

ES 2 636 617 T3

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of a concentrator according to the invention.

Figure 3 shows a diagram illustrating an example of a communication between a concentrator and a remote meter according to the invention.

Figure 4 shows an embodiment of a remote meter according to the invention.

Figure 5 shows a flow chart illustrating an example of a charging procedure performed by a concentrator and associated remote meters in accordance with the invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail while frequently referring to a remote metering system in which electrical power consumption is measured and respective data is collected at remote meters and transmitted to concentrators. However, it is understood that the invention can be used in very different or relatively similar remote measurement systems and with respect to various kinds of data that are collected on the remote meters of such systems.

As mentioned above, figure 1 shows an embodiment of a system for remote measurement of electricity consumption in an electricity distribution network comprising a high-voltage network part HV, a medium-voltage network part MV as well as a part of LV low voltage network. PP indicates a power plant supplying electrical energy to the HV high-voltage network part for distribution over a large geographic area. TP indicates a primary substation that transforms the high voltage carried in the high voltage network part into a medium voltage in order to supply a section of the medium voltage network part MV. ST indicates a secondary substation, which connects the MV medium voltage network part with a network section 1 in the LV low voltage network part. The secondary substation ST comprises a secondary transformer TS that transforms the medium voltage of, for example, 20 kV into a low voltage of, for example, 220 V for its distribution to a plurality of consumer sites H1, H2, ..., Hn. Each consumer site H1, ..., Hn comprises a remote meter RM that is connected between the low-voltage network section 1 and a power line 2 that distributes the electrical energy in the customer premises to a plurality of consumers of electricity L1, L2, ..., Lk such as lamps, washing machines, dishwashers, television sets in the case of domestic consumers or industrial installations such as machine tools in the case of commercial consumers.

In the embodiment shown in figure 1, the secondary substation ST comprises a concentrator C located at the facilities of the secondary substation ST. The concentrator C is connected to the low-voltage network section fed by the secondary substation ST in order to communicate with the remote meters RM at the customer premises H1, H2, ..., Hn by means of a line carrier of power using the low voltage network section 1 for the transmission of communication signals between the concentrator C and its associated remote meters RM.

AMM indicates a centralized management facility to manage a large number of consumers connected to the electricity distribution network shown in figure 1. This centralized management facility AMM gathers various data, for example consumption data, from the large number of consumers and performs activities such as billing of consumers according to the metered consumption reported by the remote meters RM at the customer premises H1, H2, ..., Hn to concentrator C. The concentrator C collects the reported data, including for example consumption data, from remote meters, appropriately processes and stores the reported data and transmits the data in a suitable format and at a suitable rate to the centralized management facility AMM. The AMM in turn transmits commands, requests, and other data to the C hubs in the network of Figure 1 in order to control and manage the operation of the C hubs and RM remote meters on the network.

In the embodiment of Figure 1, the communication between the concentrators C and the centralized management facilities AMM takes place through a public telecommunications network, which is more preferably a wireless or mobile telecommunications network, such as the GSM network. For this purpose, the concentrator C comprises a GSM modem device not shown in figure 1 which is connected to an antenna A. The modem communicates wirelessly with a base station B which forms a part of the public mobile telephone network PSTN / PLMN in figure 1. The public telephone network PSTN / PLMN is in turn connected to the centralized management facilities AMM. However, the communication between the concentrators C and the centralized management facilities AMM can also be carried out in a different way using alternative communication networks, for example POTS (conventional telephone service), the Internet or the power lines of the distribution network of electricity.

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the concentrator C located in the secondary substation ST of the network shown in figure 1. The concentrator C comprises a controller, for example an MCC microcontroller, which is connected to a program memory MEM through a network bus. data B. In Figure 2, DBC indicates a means for storing data collected by concentrator C from associated remote meters RM as well as other data. DBC data storage medium can be implemented as Random Access Memory (RAM), Hard Disk Drive (HD), Network Attached Storage (NAS) or any other

ES 2 636 617 T3 suitable data storage device, for example a flash memory. The data storage medium DBC is connected to the MCC microcontroller of the concentrator C and the MEM program memory via the data bus B. In Figure 2, M indicates a GSM modem under the control of the MCC microcontroller via the communication bus. data B. The GSM modem M is connected to the antenna A for wired communication in a GSM network.

In figure 2, CIC indicates a communication interface of concentrator C. The communication interface CIC serves to allow concentrator C to communicate with its associated remote meters RM through the power line of the low voltage network section LV to which both the hub and its associated remote meters are connected. The communication interface CIC receives data from the data bus B under the control of the microcontroller MCC for transmission to one, some or all of the associated remote meters in a mode of either unicast, multicast or broadcast depending on the content of the message to be sent. be transmitted. If the data from the hub is intended for transmission to a single particular remote meter (unicast mode), the data message transmitted over the CIC communication interface will contain a specific remote meter address. A message transmitted in multicast mode will contain the address of a group of remote meters that are intended to receive the particular multicast message. In broadcast mode, messages transmitted through the CIC communication interface will carry an identifier that they are broadcast messages intended to be received by any receiver, or they may simply not include a specific destination address. Of course, any type of message protocol is suitable for implementing the ICC which includes the ability to transmit messages in unicast, multicast and / or broadcast modes of transmission. These functions of the CIC communication interface are performed under the control of the MCC microcontroller. The CIC communication interface takes the data to be transmitted from data bus B and converts the data into a suitable physical signal for transmission along low voltage power lines. In addition, the CIC communication interface also acts as a receiver interface to receive power line communication signals from the RM remote meters to which the C concentrator is directed. For this purpose, the CIC communication interface compares the address of messages sent by remote meters in LV network section with its own address. If the CIC communication interface finds a message that is to be directed to hub C, it will receive the message from the LV network section and pass it to the MCC microcontroller and / or other components of hub C for further processing.

Although the concentrator according to the embodiment in figure 2 has an internal GSM modem M, it is of course possible to use an external modem instead. In this case, a separate modem interface can be provided in the hub to connect the external GSM modem, or the IFC interface can be used for this purpose.

Other elements of figure 2 that correspond to elements already described in relation to figure 1 have been indicated with the same reference numerals so that in this sense reference can be made to the description of figure 1.

When operating a utility distribution network with remote metering facilities as shown in Figure 1, the low-voltage network, although advantageously used for communication between concentrator C and a remote meter RM, is not perfectly suitable for communication purposes as some of the electrical consumers L1, L2, ..., Lk cause disturbances of various kinds that negatively influence communication operations and cause the need for data to be transmitted repeatedly. Due to such negative influences, communication between concentrator C and a remote RM meter should be limited to only the data actually required from the concentrator C or centralized management facilities ANM, especially in view of the relatively high number of remote RM meters normally. managed by a single hub C.

In fact, similar considerations apply with respect to the communication between the concentrator C and the centralized management facilities AMM when they are carried out by means of power lines. Additionally, the communication between the concentrator C and the centralized management facilities AMM is expensive when performed by means of wireless communication systems, for example mobile telephone systems such as GSM. Therefore, any reduction in the volume of communication between all levels of the remote measurement system is generally desirable.

On the other hand, useful information on status and consumption on remote meters should be available at AMM centralized management facilities whenever required. Therefore, the transmission of specific data must be carried out, while such data must be carefully selected to avoid the transmission of redundant or superfluous data.

According to a general aspect of the invention, the concentrator C calculates, based on status data, that the concentrator C requests and receives from a remote meter RM in a first communication process the amount of data, for example data related to consumption, to be requested and received from a remote meter RM in a second communication process. In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the invention, as further described below, samples of collected energy / power related data are transmitted to a remote meter during the second communication process to provide equivalent data.

ES 2 636 617 T3 to a remote meter charge profile. In an electricity distribution network, the profile characterizes the consumption load for the network.

Figure 3 shows a diagram to illustrate by means of a preferred example the communication between the concentrator C and a remote meter RM.

In a first communication operation O1, the concentrator C sends a message to the remote meter RM requesting status data on the basis of which the concentrator C determines the type and amount of data to be requested in a subsequent operation. Upon receipt of said message, the remote meter RM determines the status data in an O2 processing operation, preferably by reading the respective storage locations in a storage device as will be further explained below with respect to an embodiment of a meter. remote according to the invention. The remote meter RM transmits to the concentrator C a message comprising the status data in a second communication operation O3.

Taking into consideration the received status data, the concentrator C determines in a processing operation O4 the amount L of data, for example consumption data, to be requested from the remote meter RM.

In a preferred embodiment, the concentrator C determines the amount L of data by further referring to one or more predetermined values ​​previously received from the centralized management facilities AMM and stored in a suitable storage location on the concentrator C. One of the predetermined values It can be the related time to define a consumption period, that is to say a week, a month, a year, etc., for which the consumption must be obtained. Based on the default values ​​and received status data, the amount L of data to be requested from the remote meter RM is determined by the concentrator C.

In a third communication operation O5, the concentrator C transmits a message to the remote meter RM providing the remote meter RM with the quantity L of data, including especially consumption data, to be transmitted and requests the remote meter RM to transmit the quantity L of data related to consumption. The remote meter RM obtains the requested amount L of data, including especially consumption data, in an O6 processing operation. The remote meter RM determines the requested data, especially consumption data, preferably by reading the respective storage locations in a storage device as will be further explained with respect to an embodiment of a remote meter described later.

In a fourth communication operation O7, the remote meter RM transmits the requested data to the concentrator C. The concentrator C performs further processing of said received data, especially buffering and error checking, and transmits data to the AMM based on the received data, in an O8 processing operation. Alternatively, the hub C may be arranged to allow the AMM to access the data directly so that the data is retrieved by the AMM from a file stored on the hub C's DBC data storage medium, for example by downloading said file. at the AMM.

According to the invention, the actual communication between the concentrator C and one of the specific remote meters RM is reduced since the transmitted data is limited to an amount of data as required with respect to said one of the specific remote meters administered by the Concentrator C. The quantity may differ from one remote meter to another and is therefore determined by the concentrator C taking into account the status data of each individual remote meter. However, under certain conditions, for example when the same or similar information is required for more than one or all of the RM remote meters, the amount L of data calculated by the concentrator C may be identical for said RM remote meters.

On the other hand, the concentrator C can request the remote meter RM to transmit any amount of data, for example consumption data over one or more given time periods, ie time intervals. Regarding electricity distribution networks, the concentrator C can request the remote meter RM to transmit data regarding active and reactive energy or positive / negative reactive energy separately.

The records maintained by the concentrator C with respect to the associated remote meters RM are preferably stored in the data storage medium DBC of the concentrator C (see Figure 2). Typically, records are stored in one or more tables that can be part of a database maintained by Hub C. According to an example of such a table, a record has the following structure.

<td>Remote meter ID</td><td>Time value</td><td>Indicator</td><td>Numerical value</td><td>Measurement values</td>

<td>RM-ID</td><td>TV</td><td>ID</td><td>NM</td><td>MV1, MV2 ... MV (L)</td>

The status data may comprise a time value TV indicating the date and time of a last measured energy / power consumption as long as the energy / power consumption is periodically measured at the remote meter.

ES 2 636 617 T3 and that the measurement results are stored in a storage location on a remote meter storage device. Furthermore, the status data may comprise an ID indicator that indicates the storage location of the last measured consumption value. Still further, the status data may comprise a numerical value NM indicating the number of stored measured consumption values. Preferably, the status data comprises one or more of the above-mentioned values, ie a time value TV, an indicator ID or a numerical value NM.

Preferably, the amount L of consumption data is further determined as a function of a time interval INTERVAL for which consumption data is required, for example a billing period (a week, a month etc.) or a maintenance cycle.

According to a first option, the concentrator C considers the time value TV of said state data as a time value that defines the end of a period of time (time interval) and calculates an initial time value. The concentrator C transmits the initial time value to the remote meter RM which requests measured and stored consumption data with respect to the period defined by said start date / time and said end date / time. The initial time value defines and therefore corresponds to the quantity L of consumption data MV1, MV2 ... MV (L) to be transmitted by the remote meter RM. For this option it is sufficient if the status data transmitted by the remote meter RM comprises only the time value TV.

According to a second option, by reducing the data processing in the remote meter, the concentrator C calculates a number of storage locations of consumption values ​​whose content is to be transmitted by the remote meter RM. By transmitting the L number of storage locations, the receiving RM remote meter can take a reading from the storage location containing the last measured consumption value and from L-1 preceding storage locations containing the previously measured consumption values, respectively. In a further refined alternative to this option, the concentrator C calculates the storage locations or range of storage locations from which the remote meter RM should read said consumption values, so that the status data preferably comprises an indicator which indicates the storage location of the last measured consumption value.

According to a third option, the concentrator C calculates the number L of storage locations of consumption values ​​whose content is to be transmitted by the remote meter RM, but additionally compares the number L with the numerical value of the received state data NM that indicates the number of stored consumption values.

According to all options, the remote meter RM transmits a number of consumption values ​​MV1, MV2 ... MV (L), for example energy consumption samples, which have been measured and stored in several measurements repeated periodically so that the consumption data transmitted by said remote meter RM can be considered as a consumption profile since the transmitted data not only comprise an actual consumption value but also previous consumption values. Furthermore, the amount L of data transmitted from the remote meter RM to the concentrator C and consequently the amount of data transmitted from the concentrator C to the centralized management facilities AMM is reduced compared to the entire RM meter consumption buffer. , since the quantity L is determined by the concentrator C according to the specific requirements / parameters and based on the status data. Specific requirements / parameters are pre-stored within Hub C by the AMM.

Figure 4 shows an embodiment of a remote meter RM located inside or outside the customer premises in the network of figure 1. In figure 4, reference numeral 1 indicates a power line as a part of the section of low voltage network. The power supplied through the power line 1 passes through an energy measurement unit EM that counts the energy consumed by the electrical loads L1, L2, ... shown in figure 1. In Figure 4, MCM indicates a remote meter controller, for example a microcontroller. DBM indicates a data storage device, for example a random access memory, a hard disk drive or the like. PM indicates a program storage location to store a sequence of instructions to be executed by the MCM microcontroller to operate the meter. The microcontroller MCM, the data storage device DBM, the program memory PM and the energy measuring unit EM are connected to each other via a data bus BM provided in a remote meter RM according to the invention.

In the embodiment shown in figure 4, CB indicates a circular buffer that provides storage locations N for storing data elements mv (x), mv (x + 1) ... that indicate the power consumption measured by said unit EM energy measurement. Under the control of the MCM controller, the measured consumption values ​​mv (x), mv (x + 1) ... are stored in respective storage locations Nx, Nx + 1, etc. periodically, for example in cycles of T minutes, where T can be considered a time parameter stored in the remote meter RM. As shown in figure 4, the storage location Nx, in which the MCM controller has written a data item or a data set corresponding to the consumption measured during the last measurement cycle, is identified by an identifier ID, which is stored in an IDSM identifier storage medium, so that in a subsequent cycle the MCM controller stores a new data element corresponding to the consumption measured during the subsequent cycle in a subsequent Nx + 1 of said

ES 2 636 617 T3 storage locations.

If a circular buffer CB is used to store the consumption related data items, the memory requirements of the remote meter are limited and place reduced restrictions on the design of the RM remote meter. The circular buffer CB can be made in various ways, for example a random access memory, preferably of the non-volatile type such as a NAND flash memory. The circular buffer CB need not be realized in a separate component as it is possible for those skilled in the art to implement the circular buffer CB in the remote meter data storage device DBM by means of software under the control of the remote meter. MCM controller, as shown in figure 4.

At the end of each of the previous measurement cycles, the MCM controller updates the identifier ID to point to the next storage location so that the identifier ID indicates the storage location of the last stored data item, which corresponds to the measured consumption. or during said measurement cycle. The identifier ID is stored in said identifier storage location IDSM, preferably a memory location of the data storage device DBM, as shown in Figure 4. Furthermore, a temporary value TV representing the date and time of the storage of the last stored data item is updated and stored in a temporary value storage medium TVSM, preferably a memory location of the data storage device DBM, as shown also shown in figure 4. According to the invention, at the end of each measurement cycle, the data element corresponding to the consumption measurement for that cycle is stored in a storage location that is identified by said ID identifier stored in said IDSM identifier memory location and for which the date and time of the measurement is stored in said temporary value memory location TVSM.

In Figure 4, CIM indicates a remote meter power line communication interface RM. The CIM communication interface listens for data messages on power line 1 and receives broadcast data messages or messages addressed to the remote meter. Such messages will be passed to the CIM communication interface for further processing by the MCM microcontroller and its associated peripheral equipment. Data messages on power line 1 not addressed to the remote meter will be ignored by the CIM power line communication interface or at a later stage during processing by the MCM microcontroller. The messages generated by the remote meter RM are converted by the CIM communication interface into signals suitable for transmission along power line 1. To perform these tasks, the CIM communication interface is connected to the common system bus BM of the remote meter RM and implements any suitable communication protocol according to the communication protocol implemented in the concentrator C.

If a message addressed to the remote meter RM is received from the concentrator C requesting the transmission of the ID identifier and the temporary value TV, that is, of status data, the MCM controller in the remote meter RM reads the respective data from that location identifier memory IDSM and said temporary value memory location TVSM. The MCM controller then supplies the identifier ID and the temporary value TV to the communication interface CIM to be transmitted to the requesting hub C.

According to a first option, if a message addressed to the remote meter RM is received from the concentrator C requesting the transmission of data elements stored in the circular buffer from an initial temporary value to a final temporary value, the MCM controller determines the location storage that corresponds to the initial temporary value, normally based on the temporary value stored in the temporary value storage medium TVSM and the cycle time period T. Then, the controller MCM reads the data items stored in respective storage locations from the circular buffer CB between location calculated storage location and the storage location identified by the identifier ID. Finally, the MCM controller supplies the data elements to the CIM communication interface to be transmitted to the requesting hub C.

According to a second option, if a message addressed to the remote meter RM is received from the hub C requesting the transmission of a number L of data items stored in the circular buffer CB, the controller MCM reads the most recent data item and L -1 data items stored in L-1 storage locations preceding the circular buffer CB. The MCM controller then supplies the L data items to the CIM communication interface to be transmitted to the requesting hub C.

According to a third option, if a message addressed to the remote meter RM is received from the concentrator C requesting the transmission of data items stored in the circular buffer CB starting with a storage location transmitted from the concentrator C, the MCM controller reads the data items from the storage location provided in the hub message to the storage location of the last stored data item from the circular buffer CB. The MCM controller then supplies the data elements to the CIM communication interface for transmission to the requesting hub C.

According to a fourth option, if a message addressed to the remote meter RM is received from the concentrator C requesting the transmission of data elements stored in the circular buffer CB within a

ES 2 636 617 T3 given range of storage locations, information relating to said range being transmitted from the concentrator C, the MCM controller of the remote meter RM reads the data items from the range of storage locations from the circular buffer CB according to it is provided in the hub message. The MCM controller then supplies the data elements to the CIM communication interface for transmission to the requesting hub C.

Obviously, since the exact storage locations are determined by the concentrator C according to the third and fourth options above, it is not necessary for such calculations to be performed by the remote meter RM, so that the requirements regarding the calculation power of the MCM controller in RM remote meter are less rigorous, so the hardware cost of a remote meter can be reduced.

If the concentrator C provides information regarding the exact storage locations, the concentrator C determines this information based preferably on a start time and an end time of the desired measurement period, for example a week, a month or a year, and the cycle time T of the repetitive measurements performed by the remote meter RM, as well as the identifier ID, that is, status data, received from the remote meter.

Figure 5 shows a flow chart according to an embodiment of the invention to illustrate the operations performed by the concentrator C managing several remote meters RM. Concentrator C starts the load profile procedure (operation S1) to obtain consumption data MV1, MV2 ... MV (L) from remote meters RM for a given time interval, that is a profile of data related to consumption .

Concentrator C determines if a selected RMn remote meter is enabled for the load profile procedure (S2 operation). Preferably, the concentrator C determines whether the remote meter RMn is enabled for the charging procedure by consulting a respective entry in a register maintained for the respective remote meter RMn in the concentrator data storage device.

If the RMn remote meter is unable to take part in the charge profile procedure, the concentrator C continues with the determination of whether the last of the RM remote meters associated with the C concentrator has been processed in the charge procedure (step S9 ). If the last remote meter has been processed, concentrator C stops the load profile procedure (step S12). If the last of the RM remote meters has not yet been processed, Concentrator C selects the next RMn + 1 remote meter to be processed (step S10) and returns to the beginning (step S2) of the load profile procedure.

If Hub C determines that a selected RMn remote meter is enabled for the load profile procedure, Hub C reads status data from the RMn remote meter (S3 operation) by transmitting a status data request to the RMn remote meter and receiving data. status of the remote meter RMn (see also operations O1 to O3 in figure 3). The status data may comprise one or more of a time value TV, an identifier ID and a numerical value NV as described above, as well as additional status data.

Based on the received status data, the concentrator C determines (step S4) if there are any data items stored in the remote meter RMn preceding the activation date / time of the charge profile procedure.

If no data item is available, the concentrator C stores a respective M1 mark in the register kept in the concentrator data storage device for the remote meter RMn (step S11a) and continues with the determination of whether the last of the RM remote meters has been processed in the charging procedure (operation S9). If the last RM remote meter has been processed, Hub C stops the load profile procedure (operation S12), but if the last RM remote meter has not been processed yet, Hub C selects the next RMn + 1 remote meter that is to be processed (step S10) and returns to the beginning of the load profile procedure (step S2).

If concentrator C determines that consumption related data items stored in the remote meter RMn are available that precede the load profile procedure activation date / time (operation S4), concentrator C calculates the length of the load profile. load to be requested, ie the number L of data items to be transmitted from the remote meter RMn, based on the time interval (step S5). The concentrator C determines if there are suitable data items for the predetermined time interval and if the total number of storage locations in the storage buffer of the remote meter RMn is sufficient to provide data items for the predetermined time interval (operation S6).

If either or both aspects are not confirmed, the concentrator C stores a respective M2 mark in the registers kept in the concentrator data storage device for the remote meter RMn (step S11b) and continues with the determination of whether the last meter RM remote has been processed in the load profile procedure (operation S9), and if the last remote meter has been processed, the concentrator C

ES 2 636 617 T3 stops the charging procedure (operation S12), but if the last remote meter has not been processed yet, the concentrator C selects the next remote meter RMn + 1 to be processed (operation S10) and returns to the beginning (step S2).

If both aspects are confirmed (operation S6), the concentrator C determines the correct initial storage location in the storage buffer CB of the remote meter RMn, based on the L number and the ID identifier, and obtains the data items from the initial storage location to the storage location identified by the identifier ID (step S7) by transmitting the initial storage location to the remote meter RMn and requesting transmission of the respective data items. After having received the requested consumption related data items MV1, MV2 ... MV (L), the concentrator C saves the data to the concentrator storage medium DBC.