JP7719007B2 - Centralized management system with system interoperability through data conversion - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a centralized monitoring server that centrally monitors gas, water, and electricity usage at consumer homes via a communications network and provides the monitoring results to gas, water, and electricity supplier devices, and a centralized management system equipped with the centralized monitoring server. More specifically, the present invention relates to a centralized monitoring server that communicates data with multiple supplier devices using different communications protocols.

A variety of centralized management systems of this type are known. For example, one proposed centralized gas management system is one that can collect gas usage fees on a prepaid basis (Patent Document 1). Another gas management system displays gas usage fees as a web-based statement on the gas user's smartphone, eliminating the need for paper bills such as meter reading slips and invoices.

A centralized gas management system generally consists of a gas meter and customer-side communication device installed at each gas customer's home, a gas supplier server installed at the gas supplier's site, and a central monitoring server operated by a management company entrusted with management by the gas supplier. The central monitoring server communicates with each gas supplier's server via the communication networks provided by each telecommunications company, obtains customer information about gas customers managed by each gas supplier, communicates with each gas customer's communication device based on the customer information, reads and monitors gas meters, and provides information such as meter reading and monitoring results and gas charges to each supplier's server via the communication network.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-173684

The data format used in the gas supplier's gas management system, which includes the supplier's server installed on each gas supplier's side, differs from supplier to supplier. Furthermore, the communication protocols for data communication over the communication network may also differ. The central monitoring server of the centralized management system must be configured to enable data communication and data linkage with each supplier's system. Furthermore, each time a new gas supplier is entrusted with management, the central monitoring server must be changed so that it can accommodate the newly added gas supplier's system. The same is true for central monitoring servers and systems that centrally monitor water or electricity usage over a communication network.

In light of this, the object of the present invention is to provide a centralized monitoring server for gas, water, and electricity that can efficiently support various communication protocols and data formats, and a centralized management system equipped with said centralized monitoring server. Furthermore, by connecting multiple centralized management systems to said centralized monitoring server, it is possible to enable the mutual use of consumer-side communication devices, management systems for prepaid gas, etc., or management systems for gas, etc. that include web-based statements.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
A centralized monitoring server that performs data communication using a predetermined communication protocol with a gas, water, or electricity supplier's equipment or a plurality of centralized control systems, acquires consumer information regarding gas, water, or electricity consumers managed by each of the suppliers, monitors consumer conditions including the gas, water, or electricity usage status of each of the consumers based on the consumer information, and provides the monitoring results of each consumer to each of the supplier's equipment;
a plurality of communication modules provided corresponding to the carrier-side devices;
a data conversion unit;
It is equipped with
Each communication module includes a data connector and a communication control adapter;
the data connector has a communication function for performing data communication with the pre-set carrier-side device according to a communication protocol used by the carrier-side device;
the communication control adapter has a communication protocol conversion function that converts received data conforming to the communication protocol received by the data connector into received data in a predetermined common format, and converts transmitted data in the common format into transmitted data conforming to the communication protocol;
The data conversion unit is characterized by having a data format conversion function that converts the received data converted to the common format by the communication control adapter into internal data that conforms to the internal format used inside the centralized monitoring server, and converts internal data for transmission in the internal format into transmission data in the common format.

The centralized control system for gas, water or electricity of the present invention further comprises:
a centralized monitoring server having the above configuration operated by a management company;
a company-side device or a plurality of centralized control systems operated by each of the gas, water, or electricity supply companies and connected to the centralized monitoring server;
a consumer-side device that detects information including the usage status of gas, water, or electricity at each of the gas, water, or electricity consumers managed by each of the businesses and is communicatively connected to the centralized monitoring server;
It is characterized by having:

The centralized monitoring server and system of the present invention allows for the addition of a communications module capable of data communications conforming to the required communications protocol to the centralized monitoring server, making it easy to accommodate new subscriptions to provider-side devices with different data formats or communications protocols, or multiple centralized management systems, and enables the mutual use of consumer-side communications devices, management systems for prepaid gas, or management systems for gas with web-based statements.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a centralized gas control system to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the communication function of a centralized gas monitoring server of the centralized gas management system. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing data linkage between the centralized gas monitoring server and a business-side device or a plurality of centralized control systems. FIG.

Below, an embodiment of a centralized gas management system to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention can also be applied to centralized water and electricity management systems, and is not limited to centralized gas management systems.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a gas centralized control system according to this embodiment. The gas centralized control system 1 includes a gas meter 3 and a consumer-side communication device 4 installed at each gas consumer's home 2(1), 2(2), 2(3), 2(4), etc., which is a gas consumption location; provider-side devices 6(1), 6(2), etc. installed at each gas supplier 5(1), 5(2), etc.; telecommunications supplier-side centralized control systems 8(1), 8(2), etc. installed at each telecommunications supplier 7(1), 7(2), etc.; and a gas central monitoring server 10 operated by a management company 9 entrusted with management by each gas supplier 5(1), 5(2), etc. In the following explanation, when there is no need to distinguish between gas consumer homes 2(1), 2(2), etc., they will be referred to as gas consumer homes 2; similarly, gas companies 5(1), 5(2), etc. will be referred to as gas companies 5, company-side devices 6(1), 6(2), etc. will be referred to as company-side devices 6, and similarly, telecommunications companies 7(1), 7(2), etc. will be referred to as telecommunications companies 7, and telecommunications company-side centralized control systems 8(1), 8(2), etc. will be referred to as telecommunications company-side centralized control systems 8.

At each gas consumer's home 2, gas can be supplied from an LP gas cylinder (not shown) via a gas meter 3 to each gas appliance (not shown) (heating appliance, stove, water heater, etc.). The gas meter 3 is a so-called microcomputer gas meter. The gas meter 3 measures the gas flowing through an internal gas passage (not shown), and a control unit (not shown) composed mainly of a computer calculates the gas flow rate and accumulated flow rate. The gas meter 3 performs typical telegram communication with the consumer's communication device 4 via a communication cable (not shown), transmitting meter reading information (gas flow rate, accumulated flow rate, etc.), calling the meter, and performing various settings.

The customer-side communication device 4, which is connected to the gas meter 3, is equipped with a meter-side communication unit 4a that communicates with the gas meter 3 via a communication network, and an upper-level communication unit 4b that communicates with the upper-level gas central monitoring server 10. The customer-side communication device 4 mediates two-way communication (meter call notifications, monitoring information including meter reading information, gas meter 3 setting commands, etc.) between the gas meter 3 and the gas central monitoring server 10 via the meter-side communication unit 4a and the upper-level communication unit 4b.

Each gas supplier device 6 installed at each gas supplier 5 includes a communication unit 61 that communicates with the gas central monitoring server 10 via a communication network, a control unit 62 that controls the operation of each unit, and a database 63. The database 63 stores information about each consumer to whom gas is supplied.

Each telecommunications carrier centralized control system 8 installed at each telecommunications carrier 7 includes a communication unit 84 (for linkage) that communicates with the customer-side communication device 4 via the communication network, a communication unit 81 that communicates with the gas central monitoring server 10, a control unit 82 that controls the operation of each unit, a database 83, etc. The database 83 stores meter call notifications, monitoring information including meter reading information, various settings, and information about each customer to whom gas is supplied.

The gas central monitoring server 10 operated by the management company 9 comprises a communication unit 20 that communicates with each customer-side communication device 4, each provider-side device 6, and each telecommunications provider-side centralized control system 8, a centralized monitoring unit 30 that reads and monitors gas meter 3 meter reading information obtained via each customer-side communication device 4, and a management unit (prepaid management unit) 40 that centrally manages customer information, gas usage fees, etc. The centralized monitoring unit 30 centrally monitors gas usage at each gas customer's home 2. The centralized monitoring unit 30 comprises a control unit 31 with centralized monitoring functions and a centralized monitoring database 32. The centralized monitoring database 32 stores customer (gas user) information, gas usage for each customer, the operating status of each gas meter, and other information.

The management unit (prepaid management unit) 40 of the gas central monitoring server 10 includes a control unit 41 with the function of managing gas charges for both prepaid and postpaid systems, a management database 42, and other components. The management database 42 stores information such as information on each gas supplier (gas company), customer information (consumer information) for each gas supplier, and the billing history of each customer. The customer information also includes information such as a pre-registered customer code (central monitoring code or supplier-side management code). Based on this information, the control unit 41 manages the identification information, billing information, payment information, and other information for each customer for each gas company. New customer information is registered in the gas central monitoring server 10 by the supplier-side device 6 of the gas supplier 5.

The visualization management unit 50 of the gas central monitoring server 10 includes a control unit 51 with the function of displaying gas usage charges and invoices as web details, a management database 52, and other components. The management database 52 stores information on each gas supplier (gas company), customer information (consumer information) for each gas supplier, and gas usage and billing information for each customer. The customer information also includes information such as a pre-registered customer code (central monitoring code or supplier management code). Based on this information, the control unit 51 manages the identification information and billing information for each customer for each gas company. New customer information is registered in the gas central monitoring server 10 from the supplier-side device 6 of the gas supplier 5 or the telecommunications supplier-side centralized management system 8.

Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the portion of the communication unit 20 of the gas central monitoring server 10 that communicates with the carrier-side devices 6. The following describes communication with the carrier-side devices 6, but the same applies to communication with the telecommunications carrier-side centralized control system 8, so that description will be omitted. The communication unit 20 of the gas central monitoring server 10 includes multiple communication modules 21(1), 21(2), 21(3), etc., each corresponding to one of the carrier-side devices 6, and a data conversion unit 24. Each of the communication modules 21(1), 21(2), 21(3), etc. includes a data connector 22 and a communication control adapter 23. These are functions realized, for example, by software. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the communication modules 21(1), 21(2), 21(3), etc., they will be referred to as communication modules 21.

In each communication module 21, the data connector 22 has a communication function that performs data communication with the communication unit 61 of the pre-set provider device 6 using the data format (WSDL, Json, telegram, etc.) and communication protocol used by the provider device 6. The communication control adapter 23 has a communication protocol conversion function that converts received data that conforms to a predetermined communication protocol (SOAP, RestAPI, WebSocket, UDP, TCP (KHK), TCP (eDRX), etc.) received by the data connector 22 into received data in a predetermined common format, and converts transmitted data in the common format into transmitted data that conforms to the communication protocol used by the communication unit 61 of the provider device 6.

The data conversion unit 24 has a data format conversion function that converts received data converted to a common format by the communication control adapter 23 into internal data that conforms to the internal format used within the centralized gas monitoring server 10, and converts internal data for transmission that conforms to the internal format into transmission data in the common format.

Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing data linkage between the business-operator device 6 and the gas central monitoring server 10. Data conforming to a preset data format and communication protocol is provided to the gas central monitoring server 10 from the communication unit 61 of the business-operator device 6 via a communication network. The communication unit 20 of the gas central monitoring server 10 receives the data via the data connector 22 of the communication module 21, which is pre-assigned to the communication unit 61 of the business-operator device 6. The received data is converted into data in a common format by the communication control adapter 23 and temporarily stored in the internal memory 23a. The data in the common format is passed to the data conversion unit 24, where it is converted into data conforming to the internal format used by the gas central monitoring server 10. The converted data is passed to the centralized monitoring unit 30 and registered in the centralized monitoring database 32. Alternatively, the centralized monitoring unit 30 transfers the data to the management unit 40 and registers it in the management database 42.

On the other hand, data transmitted from the gas centralized monitoring server 10 to the provider-side device 6 is transferred from the centralized monitoring unit 30 to the data conversion unit 24 of the communication unit 20, where it is converted from an internal format to data conforming to a common format. This is then converted by the communication control adapter 23 of the communication module 21 into transmission data conforming to the communication protocol used by the provider-side device 6, and transmitted to the provider-side device 6 via the data connector 22.

When a new business-side device 6, for example, business-side device 6(k) shown in phantom lines in Figure 2, is added as a client to the gas central monitoring server 10 of the gas central control system 1 of this example, a communications module 21(k) that is compatible with the data format and communications protocol of the business-side device 6(k) can be designed and added to the communications unit 20 of the gas central monitoring server 10 to enable data communication and data linkage with the business-side device 6(k) of that gas business.

The data connector 22 of the added communication module 21(k) has a communication function for communicating data with the new provider-side device 6(k) in accordance with the data format and communication protocol used by that provider-side device 6(k), and the communication control adapter 23 has a communication protocol conversion function for converting data received by the data connector 22 into received data in a predetermined common format and converting transmitted data in the common format into transmitted data in accordance with the communication protocol used by the new provider-side device 6(k). The data conversion unit 24 only needs to have its settings changed so that it can exchange data with the newly added communication module 21(k). There is essentially no need to change or redesign any components of the gas central monitoring server 10 other than the communication unit 20.

If the communication protocol of the newly subscribed carrier device 6(k) is the same as the communication protocol used by the existing carrier device 6, then it is easy to design and add a communication module 21(k) using a communication control adapter 23 with the same specifications as the communication control adapter 23 in the communication module 21 installed in correspondence with this carrier device 6.

Furthermore, if one of the gas companies ceases to provide management services, the communication module 21 associated with that company's device 6 and installed in the communication unit 20 of the gas central monitoring server 10 can be deleted, and the settings required for sending and receiving data to and from the deleted communication module 21 can be deleted in the data conversion unit 24. Even in this case, this can be handled with simple operations.

1 Gas centralized control system 2, 2 (1), 2 (2) Gas consumer's home 3 Gas meter 4 Consumer-side communication device 4a Meter-side communication unit 4b Upper-side communication unit 5, 5 (1), 5 (2) Gas supplier 6, 6 (1), 6 (2), 6 (k) Supplier-side device 7, 7 (1), 7 (2) Telecommunications supplier 8, 8 (1), 8 (2) Telecommunications supplier-side centralized control system 9 Management company 10 Gas centralized monitoring server 20 Communication unit 21, 21 (1), 21 (2), 21 (3), 21 (k) Communication module 22 Data connector 23 Communication control adapter 23 a Internal memory 24 Data conversion unit 30 Centralized monitoring unit 31 Control unit 32 Centralized monitoring database 40 Management unit (prepaid management unit)
41 Control unit 42 Management database 50 Visualization management unit 51 Control unit 52 Management database 61 Communication unit 62 Control unit 63 Database 81 Communication unit 82 Control unit 83 Database 84 Communication unit

Claims (3)

A centralized monitoring server having a function of performing data communication with a gas, water, or electricity supplier's equipment using a predetermined communication protocol, acquiring customer information relating to gas, water, or electricity customers managed by each of the suppliers, a function of monitoring customer conditions including the gas, water, or electricity usage status of each of the customers based on the customer information, and a function of providing the results of monitoring each customer to each of the supplier's equipment;
a plurality of communication modules provided corresponding to the carrier-side devices;
a data conversion unit;
It is equipped with
Each communication module includes a data connector and a communication control adapter;
the data connector has a communication function for performing data communication with the pre-set carrier-side device according to a communication protocol used by the carrier-side device;
the communication control adapter has a communication protocol conversion function that converts received data conforming to the communication protocol received by the data connector into received data in a predetermined common format, and converts transmitted data in the common format into transmitted data conforming to the communication protocol;
The centralized monitoring server is characterized in that the data conversion unit converts the received data converted to the common format by the communication control adapter into internal data that conforms to the internal format used within the centralized monitoring server, and is equipped with a data format conversion function that converts internal data for transmission in the internal format into transmission data in the common format. In claim 1,
The communication modules include at least first and second communication modules,
the communication protocol preset in the first communication module is a first communication protocol;
The centralized monitoring server, wherein the communication protocol preset in the second communication module is the first communication protocol or a second communication protocol different from the first communication protocol. The centralized monitoring server according to claim 1, which is operated by a management company;
a business-side device operated by each of the gas, water, and electricity supply businesses and communicatively connected to the centralized monitoring server;
a consumer-side device that detects information including the usage status of gas, water, or electricity at each of the gas, water, or electricity consumers managed by each of the businesses and is communicatively connected to the centralized monitoring server;
A centralized control system comprising: