Commodity meter

Abstract

A commodity meter. The meter includes a power/meter circuit board, a communication circuit board, and an antenna. The power/meter circuit board is configured to electrically sense a plurality of parameters of electricity flowing through terminals of the meter. The communication circuit board is configured to transmit one or more commodity parameters received from the power/meter circuit board. The antenna is coupled to the communications circuit board and positioned within the meter.

1 . A commodity meter, the meter comprising:
 a meter base;   a cover attached to the meter base; and   self-contained within an internal volume formed by the meter base and the cover,
 a power/meter circuit board configured to electrically sense a plurality of 
   parameters of electricity flowing through terminals of the meter,
 a communication circuit board configured to transmit one or more commodity 
   parameters received from the power/meter circuit board, and
 an antenna coupled to the communications circuit board. 
   
     
     
         2 . The commodity meter of  claim 1 , wherein the communication circuit board includes an RF transceiver sub-assembly. 
     
     
         3 . The commodity meter of  claim 2 , wherein the RF transceiver sub-assembly includes a communication microcontroller, a spread spectrum processor, and an RF transceiver. 
     
     
         4 . The commodity meter of  claim 1  wherein the cover includes a transparent section. 
     
     
         5 . The commodity meter of  claim 4 , further comprising an LCD sub-assembly having an LCD, wherein the LCD can be viewed through the transparent section of the cover. 
     
     
         6 . The commodity meter of  claim 4 , further comprising a common backplane that couples the power/meter circuit board, the communication circuit board, and the LCD sub-assembly, wherein the position of each is interchangeable. 
     
     
         7 . The commodity meter of  claim 1 , further comprising a pair of terminals extending from the base, the pair of terminals configured to complete a connection between a power line and the meter. 
     
     
         8 . The commodity meter of  claim 1 , further comprising a network module. 
     
     
         9 . The commodity meter of  claim 8 , wherein the network module is replaced with a second network module to change a data communication network. 
     
     
         10 . A commodity meter, the meter comprising:
 a meter base;   a cover attached to the meter base; and   self-contained within an internal volume formed by the meter base and the cover,
 a power/meter circuit board configured to electrically sense a plurality of 
   parameters of electricity flowing through terminals of the meter,
 a communication circuit board configured to transmit one or more commodity 
   parameters received from the power/meter circuit board,
 an antenna coupled to the communications circuit board, and 
 means for receiving the power/meter circuit board and the communication circuit board, and for allowing interchangeability of position of the power/meter circuit board and communication circuit board. 
   
     
     
         11 . The commodity meter of  claim 10 , further comprising an LCD sub-assembly and a network module. 
     
     
         12 . The commodity meter of  claim 11 , wherein the receiving means is further for receiving the LCD sub-assembly and the network module. 
     
     
         13 . The commodity meter of  claim 12 , further comprising means for replacing and interchanging the power/meter circuit board, communication circuit board, the LCD sub-assembly, and the network module. 
     
     
         14 . A method of manufacturing a commodity meter, the method comprising:
 inserting a communication circuit board in the meter;   inserting a power/meter circuit board, configured to electrically sense a plurality of parameters of electricity flowing through terminals of the meter, in the meter;   coupling an antenna to the communication circuit board; and   enclosing the power/meter circuit board, the communication board, and the antenna inside the meter.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the communication circuit board includes an RF transceiver sub-assembly. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising inserting an LCD sub-assembly having an LCD in the meter. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the enclosing act includes placing a top cover, including a transparent section through which the LCD can be viewed, over the power/meter circuit board, the communication board, and the antenna. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the power/meter circuit board and the communication board are inserted into a common backplane. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising inserting a network module in the meter. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising removing the network module from the meter and inserting a second network module in the meter to change a data communication network.