Invalidity dossier
US 5473322
Apparatus and method for sensing tampering with a utility meter
Current assignee: Itron Inc
Added 9/23/2026, 10:29:52 AM
Active provider: DeepSeek · deepseek-flash
Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US5473322A
Title: Apparatus and method for sensing tampering with a utility meter
Patent number / application: US5473322A (application US07/918,105)
Inventor: Murray C. Carney
Original assignee: Schlumberger Industries Inc.; current assignee listed as Itron Inc.
Key dates: Priority/filing 1992-07-24; granted/publication 1995-12-05; anticipated expiration 2012-12-05; status "Expired – Lifetime."
Purpose: Utility meters (power, gas, water) are used for billing, and customers may tamper with them. Existing tilt-switch approaches were unreliable: overly sensitive switches produce false tamper alerts from ordinary events such as a branch striking the meter, while insufficiently sensitive switches let someone remove the meter from its socket carefully without triggering detection. The stated objects are to detect metering-device tampering while minimizing false alerts, to provide a sensitive system not easily defeated by careful handling, and to give remote indication of tampering.
Plain-language scope (per the excerpt): The invention senses multiple events associated with removing a utility meter from its socket. A tilt switch is mounted to be very sensitive to motion and feeds an edge-triggered logic element, so any momentary change of state triggers it; a timer then defines a power-loss sensing period. An early power failure detection (EPFD) circuit monitors the AC line supply and outputs a signal indicating impending loss of DC power when voltage falls below a threshold. Sensitivity depends on logic switching levels and the power-supply filter time constant; that time constant is chosen to hold the DC supply at an operational level long enough for an orderly shutdown. If impending power loss is sensed within a predetermined period after tilt-switch activation, tampering is indicated (the excerpt is truncated at this point).
Classification: G01R22/06, G01R22/061, G01R22/066 (arrangements for avoiding or indicating fraudulent use).
What the excerpt does not establish: It does not contain the full claims, complete description, cited prior-art references, prosecution history, or the remainder of the tamper-detection logic. It does not establish litigation, ownership-transfer effect, validity, or claim scope beyond the quoted passages.
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/[US5473322](/patent/US5473322)/en
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:54:11 PM
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PTAB challenges
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Assignment history
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Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
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