# US 8,786,706 B2 · Analog utility meter reading > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,786,706 B2 - Document ID: US8786706B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/222,255 - Filed: 2011-08-31 - Published: 2013-02-28 - Granted: 2014-07-22 - Earliest claimed: 2011-08-31 - Assignees: Next Future, LLC - Applicants: James L. Kennedy; Thomas Baird - Inventors: James L. Kennedy; Thomas Baird - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8786706B2 ## CPC - G01D 4/002: {Remote reading of utility meters} - G06F 18/00: Pattern recognition - G01D 4/00: Tariff metering apparatus (in taximeters G07B13/00; apparatus actuated by coins, cards or the like with meter-controlled dispensing of liquid, gas, or electricity G07F15/00) - G06V 2201/02: Recognising information on displays, dials, clocks - Y02B 90/20: Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector (smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00) - Y04S 20/30: Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading - G01D: MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE; ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEASURING TWO OR MORE VARIABLES NOT COVERED IN A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS; TARIFF METERING APPARATUS; MEASURING OR TESTING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS - Y04S: SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS ## Abstract A method and apparatus to read an analog dial utility meter including a plurality of analog dials, where each dial includes a rotating dial indicator is provided. The apparatus is configured to analyze a digital image of the analog dial utility meter to determine a value of each dial of the utility meter. The method comprises receiving a digital image of the analog dial utility meter, and performing one or more processing and analysis steps to determine a meter reading of the utility meter. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of reading a utility meter with a smart phone having a camera, a processor, and wireless communication transceiver associated therewith, the utility meter having a plurality of analog dials, the plurality of analog dials each having a rotatable dial indicator, the method comprising: taking a digital image of the plurality of analog dials of the utility meter with the camera of the smart phone; analyzing the digital image to identify the dial indicators in the digital image; analyzing the identified dial indicators to determine a value of the dials with the processor of the smart phone, wherein analyzing the identified dial indicators to determine a value of the dials includes determining angles of rotation of the identified dial indicators, and determining the value of the dials based at least in part on the determined angles of rotation of the identified dial indicators with the processor of the smart phone; and transmitting the determined value with the wireless communication transceiver of the smart phone, whereby the utility meter is read with the smart phone. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the digital image to identify the dial indicators in the digital image includes applying a threshold filter to the digital image to produce a bi-level image, and analyzing the bi-level image to identify the dial indicators in the digital image with the processor of the smart phone. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the digital image to identify the dial indicators in the digital image includes converting the digital image to a gray-scale image, inverting the gray-scale image to produce a high contrast image, applying a morphological filter to the high contrast image to produce a smoothed image, applying a top-hat transform to the smoothed image to produce a transformed image, eroding boundaries of regions in the transformed image to produce an eroded image, applying a threshold filter to the eroded image to produce a bi-level image, and analyzing the bi-level image to identify the dial indicators in the digital image with the processor of the smart phone. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the digital image to identify the dial indicators in the digital image includes determining contours in the digital image with the processor of the smart phone. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the identified dial indicators to determine a value of the dials includes determining end-points of the identified dial indicators, and determining the value of the dials based at least in part on the determined end-points of the identified dial indicators with the processor of the smart phone. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the determined value is transmitted to a server of a utility supplier. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6, the method further comprising transmitting the digital image with the wireless communication transceiver to the server of the utility supplier. ### Claim 8 A smart phone configured to read a utility meter having a plurality of analog dials, the plurality of analog dials each having a rotatable dial indicator, the smart phone comprising: a housing; a processor, a memory, and a camera associated with the housing; and an application resident in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor to cause the processor to analyze a digital image of the rotatable dial indicators of the plurality of analog dials of the utility meter received from the camera to identify the dial indicators in the digital image and determine a value of each dial of the identified dial indicators, wherein the application is further configured to cause the processor to determine angles of rotation of the identified dial indicators, and determine the value of the dials based at least in part on the determined angles of rotation of the identified dial indicators, whereby the utility meter is read with the smart phone. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The smart phone of claim 8 further comprising a wireless communication transceiver associated with the housing, wherein the application resident in the memory is further configured to cause the processor to transmit the determined values with the wireless communication transceiver. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The smart phone of claim 8 further comprising a wired communication transceiver associated with the housing, wherein the application resident in the memory is further configured to cause the processor to transmit the determined values with the wired communication transceiver. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The smart phone of claim 8, wherein the application is further configured to cause the processor to generate a utility meter reading using the determined value of each dial. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The smart phone of claim 8, wherein the application is further configured to cause the processor to apply a threshold filter to the digital image to produce a bi-level image, and analyze the bi-level image to identify the dial indicators in the digital image. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The smart phone of claim 8, wherein the application is further configured to cause the processor to convert the digital image to a gray-scale image, invert the gray-scale image to produce a high contrast image, apply a morphological filter to the high contrast image to produce a smoothed image, apply a top-hat transform to the smoothed image to produce a transformed image, erode boundaries of regions in the transformed image to produce an eroded image, apply a threshold filter to the eroded image to produce a bi-level image, and analyze the bi-level image to identify the dial indicators in the digital image. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The smart phone of claim 8, wherein the application is further configured to cause the processor to determine objects in the digital image. ### Claim 15 (depends on 8) The smart phone of claim 8, wherein the application is further configured to cause the processor to determine end-points of the identified dial indicators, and determine the value of the dials based at least in part on the determined end-points of the indentified dial indicators. ### Claim 16 (depends on 8) The smart phone of claim 8, wherein the application is further configured to cause the processor to transmit the determined values to a server of a utility supplier. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The smart phone of claim 16 further comprising a wireless communication transceiver, wherein the application is further configured to cause the processor to transmit the digital image to the server of the utility supplier via the wireless communication transceiver of the smart phone.