Prepayment system for energy meters using contactless intelligent cards with automatic device of energy shut off

Abstract

The present invention refers to the use of a meter completely integrated on a single piece, totally covered and without contact with the exterior that incorporates a prepayment system and a more efficient method to control the electric energy supply and obtains excellent information from the meter by means of contactless intelligent cards.

1 - 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . A prepayment and control of electric energy supply system comprising:
 a contactless smart card for an airtight and watertight electronic meter;   an electronic meter of the type that includes a electric energy measurement board comprising a measurement module that registers the electric energy consumed by the user;   a microcontroller for controlling the operation of the energy measurement module, which has a flash memory to store information generated in the measurement module regarding the energy consumed by the user during the life of the meter and meter tampering;   a liquid crystal display to display information about the state of the meter;   an independent power source for said energy measurement module and said microcontroller;   a network including a terminal of sale point having a pair of security modules, a server connected by a communication interface to a collect system that maintains informed about the clients' bills and of the information stored in the data base of the supplier;   wherein the electronic electricity energy meter comprises:
 a) a contactless prepayment control and energy supply shut off board, wherein the control board including:
 i) a wireless reader-writer element of contactless smart card to: detect the presence of a contactless prepayment smart card; interpret the commands of the contactless prepayment smart card, and generate and send a radiofrequency power signal; wherein the wireless reader-writer element of contactless smart card further includes an encryptation/deencryptation module to: verify and validate the authenticity of the prepayment card; code the transferred data; and verify the validity of the information recorded in the memory of the microcontroller of specific use for prepayment cards of this contactless prepayment card before discharging; 
 ii) a microcontroller to interchange information between the reader-writer element of prepayment cards and the microcontroller of the measurement module of energy of the meter, wherein said microcontroller reads the available amount of electric energy of the user in the energy measurement board; 
 iii) a cross zero detector of the electric energy that sends a command to the microcontroller when a energy failure is presented to avoid the lost of information during the electric supply failure, and opens or closes a relay; 
 iv) a controller of the supply shut off device to open and close this shut off device when the microcontroller requires it by a cutting off or opening command; 
 v) a power source of the prepayment control board, wherein the power source works when there is electric energy supply, and works at most one second when there is a supply failure, time enough to back up the information of any transaction of energy, 
 
 b) an energy supply shut off device; and 
 c) a signal transmission/reception element. 
   
     
     
         27 . The prepayment and control system according to the  claim 26 , wherein the reader-writer means of contactless cards also includes an encryptation/deencryptation module to verifying and validating the authenticity of the prepayment card, coding the transferred data and verifying the validity of the information recorded in the memory of the microcontroller or the printed circuit of specific use for prepayment cards of this contactless prepayment card before discharging it. 
     
     
         28 . The prepayment and control system according to  claim 26 , wherein the information that verifies and validates the contactless reader-writer could be the meter number, contract number, last date of load of the card, security keys, prepaid kWh amount data and/or amount of the prepaid kWh to be transfer to the meter by discharge. 
     
     
         29 . The prepayment and control system according to  claim 26 , wherein the data of the prepaid amount of electric energy discharged from the contactless prepayment control board is stored in the flash memory of the microcontroller of the measurement module. 
     
     
         30 . The prepayment and control system according to  claim 26 , wherein the liquid crystal display of the meter displays the information of the available energy previously paid by the user as well as when could it be discharged the amount of prepaid kWh from a contactless prepayment card and also includes special information that indicates to the user to place the card near the meter to begin the discharge of the amount of prepaid kWh.