JPH0230080B2 - MEETASENSA - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention This invention relates to a meter sensor for remotely measuring meter reading values of water meters, gas meters, electricity meters, etc. Concerning meter sensors that can be set or rewritten.

Recently, the introduction of a meter reading system for automatically collecting meter readings of water, gas, electricity, etc. to a central device has been considered. Such a system usually consists of a meter sensor that reads various meter values, an automatic meter reading network control device that transmits the readings of the meter sensor to a central device, a rotating network consisting of power lines or telephone lines, a central device, etc. Ru.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the terminal side configuration of an automatic meter reading system that uses a subscriber telephone line network, in which FIG. 1A shows the case of an individual residence, and FIG. 1B shows the case of an apartment complex. In these figures, 1 is a network control device, 2 is a telephone, 3 is an expander, 4 is a water meter sensor, 4' is a gas meter sensor, 4'' is an electricity meter sensor, and L is a telephone line. That is, in figure a, meter sensors 4, 4', 4'' for water, gas, electricity, etc. are connected to one telephone line L, whereas in figure b, an extender is connected to one telephone line L. At least one or more of various meter sensors are connected via 3. The function of the meter sensor that constitutes such a system is not only to simply output the meter value in response to a meter reading request signal from an external device, for example, a central device.
Meter-specific information (business entity identification code, meter type, machine number code, etc.) is also output, so that meter readings to be collected can be collected separately for each household or business entity. . On the other hand, meter sensors handle different physical quantities depending on whether they are for water, gas or electricity, but their functions after measuring the unit amount are exactly the same, so one of the keys to popularizing automatic meter reading systems is how cheap they can be. It depends on the availability of meter sensors. To achieve this, it is necessary to manufacture and supply a large number of meter sensors with the same function. However, it can be said that providing unique information to each meter sensor in order to maintain the reliability of the system as described above goes against this.

Therefore, conventionally, the problem has been dealt with as follows. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional meter sensor, Fig. 2A is a block diagram showing an example of the unique information setting/storage device shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 2B shows the operation of Fig. 2 or Fig. 2A. It is a waveform diagram for explanation.

In FIG. 2, 11 is an integration device, 12 is a data transmission control device, 13 is an input/output section, 14 is a battery,
15 is a battery consumption detection circuit, 16 is a unique information setting/
A storage device, 17 a meter, and 18 a display device. That is, the integrating device 11 processes the electrical signal from the meter 17 that measures the physical quantity in unit quantities,
Accumulate. The battery depletion detection circuit 15 detects the depletion state of the battery 14 and sends the result to the control device 12. Further, the unique information setting/storage device 16 is a second
As shown in Figure A, it consists of a setting section ₁₆₁ and a reading section ₁₆₂ , and each switch SW of the setting section ₁₆₁
By selecting , unique information such as the business entity code, meter type or machine number is set, and the reading unit 16
₂ to the control device 12. When the data transmission control device 12 receives a data read command signal from an external device such as a center device, it transmits the integrated data from the integration device 11, unique information from the device 16, and battery consumption information from the battery consumption detection circuit 15. The data is converted into an appropriate code, edited into a predetermined format, and sent out via the input/output unit 13. The input/output section 13 adjusts the level of signals given from the meter sensor to the outside or from the outside to the meter sensor. Note that the battery 14 is a power source for supplying current to each of these parts, and the display device 18 is for displaying the integration results by the integration device 11. Therefore, when a data read command is given from the outside as shown in FIG. 2B, the control device 12 monitors whether the command continues for a predetermined time (t ₁ ), and if the command continues for a predetermined time (t 1 ), teeth,
For example, integrated data and unique information as shown by D and N in FIG. 2B are read out from the relevant device and sent to the outside. That is, in this system, setting and storing of unique information such as meter type or machine number is performed by a mechanical switch SW. However, while most of the meter sensor is made up of electrical circuits and can be easily integrated into LSI, the need for mechanical means for setting the specific information increases the total cost. This is undesirable from a certain point of view. In addition, in meter sensors where the meter section and the detection section are integrated, it is generally difficult to program them at the time of installation in order to maintain the waterproofness or airtightness of the meter itself.
If you dare to do so, it will result in a negative impact on reliability. In addition, when the battery of a meter sensor is exhausted and needs to be replaced, setting the old integrated value as the initial value of the new meter sensor is usually not easy at the installation location.
Various measures are required for installing or replacing meter sensors in meter reading systems.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a meter sensor in which initial setting or rewriting of unique information or integrated information can be easily performed without impairing its mass productivity and low cost.

The feature is that the integration device and unique information setting/storage device that make up the meter sensor can be electrically set or rewritten, and the meter sensor can be turned on and off in a predetermined manner while being separated from the meter reading system. When the unique information or cumulative information is received following the information read signal, the unique information or cumulative information is updated based on the received information.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the meter sensor according to the present invention, FIG. 3A is a block diagram explaining the initial setting of the meter sensor or the method for rewriting information, and FIG. 3B is a block diagram for explaining the operation. FIG.

As is clear from FIG. 3, the meter sensor according to the present invention is almost the same as that shown in FIG. They differ in that each new function is added to 16'. That is, the integrating device 11' has a function that allows initial setting or writing of integrated values, the device 16' has a function that allows rewriting or initial setting of unique information, and the control device 12' has a function that allows for initial setting or rewriting of specific information. When unique information or integration information is received following a data read command to turn on and off in a predetermined manner while the
1' or 16' to rewrite its contents. Therefore, when initializing or rewriting specific information, totalization information, etc. in the meter sensor, the setting machine SE is The meter sensor ME and the setting device SE exchange information as shown in FIG. 3B to perform initial setting or rewriting.

Here, as an example, a case will be described in which unique information and integration information are initialized.

First, the meter sensor ME to be initialized is connected to the setting machine SE via line 1 as shown in FIG. 3A. In this state, from the setting machine SE to the meter sensor SE
When a data read command signal as shown in FIG. 3B is given to the meter sensor SE, the meter sensor SE monitors the signal over time, and when the signal continues for a predetermined time (T ₁ ) or more, the data transmission control device 12' activates the integration device. 1
1' and unique information from the unique information setting/storage device 16', and send them to the outside via the input/output section 13 as shown at D and N in FIG. 3B. Note that this function is originally possessed by the meter sensor, and is the same whether it is connected to a setting machine or incorporated into a system. After that, the setting machine SE takes a T ₄ period. Specifically, for example, the data read command signal is cut off for a period of _T4 ,
Thereafter, by interrupting and continuing the command signal, the integrated information D' and unique information N' to be written to the meter sensor ME are sent using the machine intervals T ₅ and T ₆ . After the period _T1 to _T3 , the meter sensor side checks whether the period _T4 exists or not, and when the period _T4 is confirmed, it takes in the setting values sent in the periods _T5 and _T6 ,
After checking if necessary, the unique information and cumulative information are rewritten. In addition, to check whether the initial settings for the meter sensor ME have been performed correctly, send a data read command from the setting machine SE, and the meter sensor ME will send out unique information and integration information in the same way as above. The setting machine
SE can confirm this by comparing the sent information with the information sent from the meter sensor. Although the case where the unique information and the cumulative information are initialized has been described above, the case where only one of these pieces of information is initialized or the information content is rewritten can be performed in the same way. The meter sensor that has been initialized or rewritten in this way is incorporated into the system and operated. Note that when it is incorporated into the system, the operations performed during the above period T ₄ to _{T 6} are not performed, so the information on the meter sensor is not rewritten. Also,
The information sent from the meter sensor to the setting machine and the information given from the setting machine to the meter sensor are generally different, but if they match, the information sent from the meter sensor can be returned as is. be.

As described above, according to the present invention, the initial setting of the meter sensor is performed by transmitting specific information or integration information along with a predetermined signal from the setting device using the line or terminal connected to the meter reading system of the meter sensor. Alternatively, since the information can be rewritten, there is no need to provide a mechanical switch or a dedicated external signal terminal, etc., and unique information or integrated information can be freely set by simply disconnecting from the system. Therefore, it can help popularize meter sensors that can be mass-produced at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the terminal side configuration of an automatic meter reading system using a subscriber telephone line, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a conventional meter sensor, and Figure 2A is the unique information setting of Figure 2.・A configuration diagram showing a conventional example of a storage device, FIG. 2B is similar to FIG. 2 or 2A.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the meter sensor according to the present invention. FIG. 3A is a waveform diagram for explaining the initial setting of unique information and integrated information, or a method for rewriting the information. FIG. 3B is a waveform diagram for explaining the operation of FIG. 3 or FIG. 3A. Code explanation, 1... Network control device, 2... Telephone,
3...Extender, 4...Water meter sensor, 4'
...Meter sensor for gas, 4''...Meter sensor for electricity, 11,11'...Integrator, 12,1
2'...data transmission control device, 13...input/output unit,
14...Battery, 15...Battery consumption detection circuit, 1
6,16'...Unique information setting/storage device, 16 ₁ ...
... Setting section, 16 ₂ ... Reading section, 17 ... Meter,
18... Display device, L... Telephone line, SW... Switch, SE... Setting machine, ME... Meter sensor,
D, D'...accumulation information, N, N'...unique information, l
...Meter sensor connection line.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Meter sensors that are individually connected via power lines or telephone lines to form an automatic meter reading system, which integrate meter readings from meters that are converted into electrical signals and are capable of initializing the integrated value. means, a unique information storage means that stores unique information such as the type or machine number of the meter and is capable of rewriting the stored information; and a unique information storage means that reads out the unique information or the cumulative information when receiving an information read signal from the outside and sets it to a predetermined value. and information transmission control means that converts the code into a code of the meter reading system and transmits the code, and rewrites or initializes the unique information or cumulative information when a predetermined signal is received, and when separated from the meter reading system, the predetermined code is transmitted. On in the manner of
A meter sensor characterized in that when unique information or cumulative information is received following the information readout signal that is turned off, the unique information or cumulative information is updated based on the received information.