JP6915475B2 - Remote meter reading system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a remote meter reading system.

Remote meter reading that has a center device, a master unit, and multiple slave units, and reports the meter reading value of each slave unit (meter reading value of a gas meter, water meter, etc. connected to each slave unit) to the center device via the master unit. There is a system (Patent Document 1).

In this remote meter reading system, as a method of reporting the meter reading value when the center device reads the meter of each slave unit, that is, when collecting the meter reading value of each slave unit, the center device calls one unit at a time (report request). There is a method of reporting according to the situation, and a method of voluntarily reporting to the center device one by one.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-87761

However, in any of the above methods, since the slave unit reports the meter reading value one by one, the meter reading time and the number of notifications increase in proportion to the number of installed slave units. For this reason, there is a limit to the number of slave units that can be accommodated in one master unit.

In order to increase the number of slave units accommodated in one master unit, the communication time required for collecting the meter reading values of all the slave units accommodated in one master unit may be limited. However, in the case of having a slave unit having a multi-stage configuration, the communication time becomes longer as the number of relay stages increases. Therefore, if the communication time is limited, the number of relay stages is limited. Therefore, it is not possible to expand the area of the slave unit accommodated in one master unit.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to have a center device, a master unit, and a plurality of slave units, and to transfer the meter reading value of each slave unit to the center device via the master unit. In the remote meter reading system for reporting, the center device shortens the communication time required for collecting the meter reading values of all the slave units housed in the master unit.

The present invention is a remote meter reading system having a center device, a master unit, and a plurality of slave units, and reporting the meter reading value of each slave unit to the center device via the master unit. The center device is each slave unit. Location information, identification information of the directly superior terminal that is the reporting route of each slave unit, and reporting route information acquisition means for acquiring the electric field strength information of the radio wave from the directly superior terminal, and each slave unit and the master unit from the slave unit. An electric field strength information calculation means that calculates electric field strength information between a slave unit other than the reporting route up to and from the relationship between the distance between each slave unit and the slave unit other than the reporting route and the electric field strength, and the electric field. From the calculation result by the strength information calculation means, the communicable area calculation means for calculating the communicable area of each slave unit, and from the calculation result by the communicable area calculation means, each of the plurality of slave units is directly connected to the master unit. It has one central slave unit for communication and a grouping means for grouping into a plurality of groups including a plurality of peripheral slave units housed in the central slave unit, and the central slave unit is a peripheral slave unit of the peripheral slave unit. The grouping means has a meter reading value acquiring means for sequentially acquiring meter reading values and a meter reading value reporting means for collectively reporting a plurality of the meter reading values acquired sequentially, and the grouping means executes the methods a to f below. By doing so, the remote meter reading system is grouped so that the central slave unit can accommodate more peripheral slave units and the number of the groups is smaller based on the position information and the electric field strength information of each slave unit. Is.
a: All slave units whose reporting route is the master unit are the main slave unit candidates.
b: The slave units in the communicable area of the above-mentioned central slave unit candidate (which is the reporting route or is not the reporting route but is installed within the range where reporting is possible) are the peripheral slave units of each central slave unit candidate. Make it a candidate.
c: n groups consisting of "center slave unit candidate + peripheral slave unit candidate" composed of the results of a and b are designated as the first provisional group.
d: Of the n groups that make up the first provisional group, the number of accommodation slave unit candidates (“centriole candidate + peripheral slave unit candidate”) is the smallest, and all accommodation slave unit candidates are other groups. If it also overlaps with, the group is dissolved, the central slave unit candidate and the peripheral slave unit candidate in the group are distributed to other groups, and the (n-1) group composed as a result is the second group. As a temporary group of.
e: By repeating the method of d in the same manner, the number of groups is reduced to (n-2) and (n-3).
f: Grouping is finalized when the number of groups cannot be reduced.

According to the present invention, in a remote meter reading system having a center device, a master unit, and a plurality of slave units and reporting the meter reading value of each slave unit to the center device via the master unit, the center device is collected by the master unit. It is possible to shorten the communication time required to collect the meter reading values of all the handsets.
Further, according to the present invention, when grouping into a plurality of groups consisting of one central slave unit, each of which directly communicates with the master unit, and a plurality of peripheral slave units housed in the central slave unit, the central slave unit is used. Can accommodate more peripheral handsets and can be grouped so that the number of groups is smaller.

It is a figure which shows an example of the schematic structure of the remote meter reading system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the center apparatus in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of grouping in the remote meter reading system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of grouping processing in the remote meter reading system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the contents before grouping of the information held in the terminal information table of the database of a center apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the temporary grouping in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the contents after grouping of the information held in the terminal information table of the database of a center apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the information held in the group information table of the database of a center apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the meter reading procedure in the remote meter reading system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram corresponding to the meter reading procedure shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<Outline configuration of remote meter reading system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a remote meter reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This communication system is used, for example, in an automatic meter reading system for gas and water meters, and is connected to the center device 1 and the center device 2 via a public communication line NW such as a mobile phone line. It is composed of n slave unit groups G1 ... Gn housed in the master unit 2, that is, under the control of the master unit 2 (n is an integer of 2 or more).

The slave unit group G1 includes the slave unit 3-1 and the six slave units 3-11, 3-12, 3-13, 3-14, 3-15, 3-16 housed in the slave unit 3-1. Consists of. In addition, the slave unit group Gn includes the slave unit 3-n1 and the seven slave units 3-n1,3-n2,3-n3,3-n4,3-n5,3 housed in the slave unit 3-n1. It consists of −n6 and 3-n7.

Here, the master unit 2 and the slave units 3-1 ... 3-n directly communicate with each other by a specific low power radio. In addition, the slave units 3-11, 3-12, 3-13, 3-14, 3-15, and 3-16 housed in the slave unit 3-1 relay the slave unit 3-1 which is the immediate higher terminal. As a slave unit, it communicates with the master unit 2 by a specific low power radio. Similarly, the slave units 3-n1, 3-n2, 3-n3, 3-n4, 3-n5, 3-n6, 3-n7 housed in the slave unit 3-n are the slave units that are directly superior terminals. Using 3-n as a relay slave unit, it communicates with the master unit 2 by a specific low power radio.

That is, in this remote meter reading system, the meter reading values of the slave units 3-1 ... 3-n are reported to the center device 1 via the master unit 2. On the other hand, the meter reading value of the slave unit housed in the slave units 3-1 ... 3-n is notified to the center device 1 via the slave units 3-1 ... 3-n and the master unit 2.

Here, for convenience of illustration, the number of stages of the slave units of the slave unit groups G1 and Gn is set to 2 and the number of slave units in the second stage is set to 6 and 7, but this is an example and often has a large number of stages and more. It may have the number of slave units of.

<Outline configuration of center device>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the center device in FIG.
The center device 1 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a network control unit 13, a display unit 14, and an operation input unit 15, each of which is connected to the control unit 11.

The control unit 11 is composed of, for example, a microprocessor and peripheral circuits thereof, and controls the entire center device 1 and performs arithmetic processing and the like.
The storage unit 12 includes a non-volatile memory such as a ROM, a rewritable non-volatile memory such as a flash memory or a hard disk, and a volatile memory such as a RAM. The ROM stores a control program and the like necessary for operating the center device 1. In addition, each program being executed by the control unit 11 and information necessary for executing the program are stored in the RAM. In addition, the rewritable non-volatile memory is necessary for communication, such as a management data table consisting of the terminal number of each handset registered and information about external devices connected to each handset, and the terminal number of the base unit 2. In addition to information on various systems, data of external devices transmitted from the master unit 2 and the like are stored. Here, the database 121 including the terminal information table and the group information table is illustrated.
The network control unit 13 communicates with the master unit 2 via the public communication line NW.
The display unit 14 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), and displays information on the remote meter reading system, information on an external device connected to the slave unit, an operation screen at the time of input to the center device 1, and the like. The operation input unit 15 has input means such as a keyboard and a mouse for inputting various data and commands to the center device 1 from the outside.

<grouping>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of grouping in the remote meter reading system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the white star is the master unit, the black circle is the central slave unit, and the white circle is the peripheral slave unit. The center device 1 selects and groups the centriole from the possessed slave unit installation location information (position information) and electric field strength information.

Here, the central slave unit is a slave unit that directly communicates with the master unit, and the peripheral slave unit is a slave unit that is housed in the central slave unit and communicates with the master unit via the central slave unit. That is, the central slave unit corresponds to the slave units 3-1 ... 3-n in FIG. 1, and the peripheral slave units are the slave units 3-11 to 3-16 ... 3-n1 in FIG. It is a slave unit corresponding to 3-n2,3-n3,3-n4,3-n5,3-n6,3-n7.

As shown in the figure, the total number of slave units of the remote meter reading system is 46, and they are grouped (grouped) into five groups G1 to G5.
The central slave unit of Group G1 is the slave unit 10, and the peripheral slave units are slave units consisting of slave units 8, 9, 16, 29, 30, 31, and 32. Hereinafter, this will be referred to as "G1: 10 ... 8,9,16,29,30,31,32". The groups G2, G3, G4, and G5 are expressed as follows by this notation.
"G2: 17 ... 1,2,11,12,18,33,34,35,43,44"
"G3: 19 ... 3,13,14,15,20,36,37,45"
"G4: 22 ... 21,23,24,38,39,40,41"
"G5: 25 ... 4,5,6,7,26,27,28,42,46"

<Grouping of slave units>
Next, the method of grouping the slave units will be described. In the present embodiment, the central slave unit is selected so that the central slave unit can accommodate more peripheral slave units and the number of groups is smaller, and the peripheral slave units are grouped.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of grouping processing in the remote meter reading system according to the embodiment of the present invention. This process is executed by the control unit 11 of the center device 1 using the program and data stored in the storage unit 12 after the installation of all the slave units is completed. Further, as a premise that the control unit 11 executes this process, the terminal information table of the database 121 in the storage unit 12 holds the terminal ID, position information, electric field strength, etc. of each slave unit acquired in advance by a known method. Has been done. Therefore, before explaining the process shown in FIG. 4, the terminal information table of the database 121 will be described.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the contents before grouping of the information stored in the terminal information table of the database of the center device, that is, the terminal information of the database 121 before the control unit 11 executes the process shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the information held in a table.

As shown in the figure, the terminal information table is provided for the master unit under the slave unit, that is, the ID of the master unit accommodating the slave unit (here, 00000001), and the terminal ID and position information of the slave unit. , Report route, electric field strength, and group setting status are retained. Here, since the contents of the terminal ID, the position information, the reporting route, the electric field strength, and the acquisition method thereof are well known (for example, JP-A-2006-997651 and JP-A-2006-287468), the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the process shown in FIG. 4 will be described.
First, the control unit 11 extracts the position information of each slave unit under the same master unit from the terminal information table of the database 121, and maps the positional relationship of the slave units (step ST1). Next, the control unit 11 extracts the route information (report route) of each slave unit from the terminal information table of the database 121, and maps the electric field strength between each slave unit whose positional relationship is mapped in step ST1 (step ST2). ..

Next, the control unit 11 calculates the electric field strength between the slave units having no electric field strength information from the results of steps ST1 and ST2 (relationship between the distance and the electric field strength) (step ST3). Next, the control unit 11 calculates the communicable area of each slave unit from the result of step ST3 (step ST4).

Next, the control unit 11 temporarily groups each slave unit based on the result of step ST4 (step ST5). Next, the control unit 11 extracts from the temporary group created in step ST5 a combination in which all the slave units under the master unit can be selected in the minimum number of groups (step ST6).

Here, steps ST5 and ST6 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Steps ST5 and ST6 are performed, for example, according to the procedures a to f below.
a: All slave units whose reporting route is the master unit are the core slave unit candidates.
b: A slave unit in the communicable area of the centriole candidate of a (which is a reporting route or is not a reporting route but is installed within a range where reporting is possible) is accommodated by each centriole candidate. Make it a machine candidate.
c: n groups consisting of "center slave unit candidate + peripheral slave unit candidate" composed of the results of a and b are designated as the first provisional group.
d: When the number of accommodated slaves is the smallest among the n groups constituting the first provisional group, and all accommodated slaves (including the centriole) overlap with other groups (FIG. 6). The group is disbanded into the upper center group in the above group, and the central slave unit and the peripheral slave units in the group are distributed to other groups (see the lower group in FIG. 6), and the result is composed (n). -1) Let the group be the second provisional group.
e: By repeating the method of d in the same manner, the number of groups is reduced to (n-2) and (n-3).
f: Grouping is finalized when the number of groups cannot be reduced.

Finally, from the result of step ST6, the control unit 11 sets the central slave unit and the accommodating slave unit of each group in the group information table of the database 121, and sets the group setting state of the terminal information table (step ST7). Finish the process shown in this figure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents after grouping of the information held in the terminal information table of the database of the center device, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the information held in the group information table of the database of the center device. It is a figure which shows an example. That is, FIGS. 7 and 8 are tables created by executing the process shown in FIG.

The terminal information table shown in FIG. 7 is obtained by changing the group setting state of the terminal information table shown in FIG. 5 to set. Further, the group information table shown in FIG. 8 holds the group ID of each group, the terminal ID of the central slave unit of each group associated with the group ID, and the terminal ID of the accommodating slave unit of each group. .. This group information table represents the grouping shown in FIG.

<Meter reading procedure>
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a meter reading procedure in the remote meter reading system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram corresponding to the meter reading procedure shown in FIG. An example of the meter reading procedure in the remote meter reading system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to these figures.

When the center device 1 starts the group meter reading, the center device 1 transmits a meter reading request signal to the master unit 2 (procedure S1). When the master unit 2 receives the meter reading request signal from the center device 1, it acquires the meter reading value of each slave unit of the slave unit group G1. Therefore, the master unit 2 reads the meter of the slave unit 10 which is the central slave unit of the slave unit group G1. The request signal is transmitted (procedure S2). When the central slave unit (slave unit 10) receives the meter reading request signal from the master unit 2, the central slave unit (slave unit 10) broadcasts a meter reading request signal to the peripheral slave units in the slave unit group G1 (procedure S3).

After receiving the meter reading request signal, the peripheral slave unit responds to the central slave unit (slave unit 10) at a random time-waited timing generated by the built-in random number generator (terminal ID and meter reading as meter reading data). (Including the value) is returned (procedures S4 to S10). Therefore, the response signals from the peripheral slave units are sequentially transmitted to the central slave unit (slave unit 10) at random timings. The central slave unit (slave unit 10) holds the meter reading data included in the received response signal in a built-in storage unit (procedure S11).

When the central slave unit (slave unit 10) detects the completion of meter reading data collection (procedure S12), it collectively transmits all the retained meter reading data to the center device 1 via the master unit 2 (procedures S13 and S14). ). At this time, the centriole (slave unit 10) also transmits its own meter reading data. The completion of collection of meter reading data is detected, for example, based on a timeout from the broadcast of the meter reading request signal.

This completes the meter reading for the slave unit group G1. After that, the center device 1 can collect the meter reading data of all the slave units under the master unit 2 by repeating the above-mentioned procedure for the slave unit groups G2, G3, G4, and G5. The terminals for which meter reading data could not be obtained are acquired one by one from the center device 1 via the reporting route of the terminal information table in the database 121 by the conventional method.

As described in detail above, according to the remote meter reading system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the following effects (1) to (4) can be obtained.
(1) Conventionally, the meter reading values are collected for each slave unit, but in the present embodiment, the meter reading values of a plurality of slave units are collected collectively for the slave unit group, so that the meter reading time can be significantly shortened. ..
(2) Since the number of communications between the master unit and the center device can be reduced, power consumption and communication charges can be reduced.
(3) Since the limit on the number of master units that can be accommodated is relaxed, the number of master units installed in the child confidential area can be reduced.
(4) In the case of a multi-stage relay system, the limitation on the number of relay stages is relaxed, so that the communication area of the slave unit in one master unit can be expanded.

<Modification example>
Next, a modification of the present invention will be described. The present invention can be modified from the following (i) to (vi) with respect to the above embodiment.
(I) The central slave unit transmits to the center device at a preset notification date and time so that the notification dates and times of the central slave units do not overlap.
(Ii) Since it is conceivable that the peripheral handset receives the meter reading request signal broadcast from the center handset of both the own group and the adjacent group, it is possible to perform processing such as responding once and not responding from the second time onward. This prevents duplicate acquisition of meter reading values of the same terminal by multiple groups.
(Iii) Instead of acquiring the meter reading value of the peripheral slave unit by broadcasting, it may be acquired by multicast. In this case, the central slave unit stores the terminal IDs of the peripheral slave units of the group set from the center device. In this case, duplicate acquisition of meter reading values does not occur.
(Iv) If there is a change in the installation status due to the addition or removal of terminals during operation, or if a handset meter reading error occurs, the central handset is reselected for the group including the handset and the peripheral groups. / Perform regrouping.
(V) The number of stages of the central slave unit can be selected even if it is not the first stage slave unit directly under the master unit. In this case, the center slave unit of the second stage or lower communicates with the master unit via the center slave unit of the first stage.
(Vi) The central slave unit does not transmit the meter reading data of the peripheral slave units all at once, but transmits a plurality of meter reading data in a plurality of times.

1 ... Center device, 2 ... Master unit, 3-1 ... 3-n, 3-1-13-16, 3-n1-3-n7 ... Slave unit, 11 ... Control unit, G1-Gn ... Slave unit group.

Claims (2)

It is a remote meter reading system that has a center device, a master unit, and a plurality of slave units, and reports the meter reading value of each slave unit to the center device via the master unit.
The center device includes a reporting route information acquisition means for acquiring the position information of each slave unit, the identification information of the directly superior terminal which is the reporting route of each slave unit, and the electric field strength information of the radio wave from the directly superior terminal, and each child. An electric field that calculates electric field strength information between a machine and a slave unit other than the reporting route from the slave unit to the master unit from the relationship between the distance between each slave unit and the slave unit other than the reporting route and the electric field strength. From the calculation results of the strength information calculation means and the electric field strength information calculation means, the communicable area calculation means for calculating the communicable area of each slave unit, and the calculation results of the communicable area calculation means, the plurality of slave units. Each has one central slave unit that directly communicates with the master unit, and a grouping means for grouping into a plurality of groups including a plurality of peripheral slave units housed in the central slave unit.
The centriole has a meter reading value acquiring means for sequentially acquiring the meter reading values of the peripheral slave units, and a meter reading value reporting means for collectively reporting a plurality of the meter reading values acquired sequentially.
By executing the methods a to f below, the grouping means can accommodate a larger number of peripheral slave units based on the position information and electric field strength information of each slave unit, and the grouping means can accommodate more peripheral slave units. Grouping to a smaller number,
Remote meter reading system.
a: All slave units whose reporting route is the master unit are the main slave unit candidates.
b: The slave units in the communicable area of the above-mentioned central slave unit candidate (which is the reporting route or is not the reporting route but is installed within the range where reporting is possible) are the peripheral slave units of each central slave unit candidate. Make it a candidate.
c: n groups consisting of "center slave unit candidate + peripheral slave unit candidate" composed of the results of a and b are designated as the first provisional group.
d: Of the n groups that make up the first provisional group, the number of peripheral slave unit candidates (“centriole candidate + peripheral slave unit candidate”) is the smallest, and all accommodation slave unit candidates are other groups. If it also overlaps with, the group is dissolved, the central slave unit candidate and the peripheral slave unit candidate in the group are distributed to other groups, and the (n-1) group composed as a result is the second group. As a temporary group of.
e: By repeating the method of d in the same manner, the number of groups is reduced to (n-2) and (n-3).
f: Grouping is finalized when the number of groups cannot be reduced. In the remote meter reading system according to claim 1,
The meter reading value acquisition means has a means for broadcasting a meter reading request signal and a means for receiving a meter reading value transmitted from the peripheral slave unit at a random timing in response to the reception of the meter reading request signal. system.

Images