JP2006340154A - Meter report system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent degradation in serviceability of a meter report system. <P>SOLUTION: The system comprises a gas meter 1, and a communication terminal 2 which communicates with the gas meter 1 and reports the communication information such as metering information of the gas meter 1 and gas abnormality information to a server 5 by way of a wide area IP communication network 6. A living information notifying means 304 of the communication terminal 2 periodically notifies living information to the server 5. If a living information confirming means 505 of the server 5 receives no living information for a specified period, the communication terminal 2 is reported to be in abnormal communication state to a report means 506, for a manager to be notified. So the manager can quickly confirm abnormal communication of the communication terminal 2, for taking a counter measure. Thus, the serviceability of the meter report system is prevented from degrading. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a meter reporting system and a program for communicating with a meter for monitoring the amount of energy used such as gas, electricity, and water, or for monitoring energy usage, and for reporting meter reading and monitoring information to a server.

  In recent years, the Internet has been accelerating, and a system in which a server of a management center collects meter reading values of a gas meter via the Internet has been proposed in an automatic meter reading system of a gas meter.

  Here, the automatic meter reading system connects the gas supplier's center server and each user's gas meter via a communication line, and reports the meter reading value of gas usage measured by the gas meter to the center once a month, The system also has a function to monitor safety by reporting to the center when an abnormality occurs in the gas supply monitored by the gas meter. If necessary, the gas meter can be shut off and the gas supply can be remotely restored from the center.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional automatic meter reading system for a gas meter using the Internet. In this system, a unique private IP address on the router LAN side assigned to a communication terminal connected to the Internet via a router and communicating with a gas meter is assigned to a predetermined global IP address. Thus, a call communication that does not regularly perform data communication is performed, and the global IP address is notified to the server.

The server manages the unique ID of the communication terminal and the global IP address as a set. The communication terminal communicates with the gas meter once a month, and notifies the center of the meter reading value of the amount of gas used.
JP 2004-112298 A

  In an automatic gas meter reading system using the Internet, an ADSL modem and a router are connected to a communication line such as an ADSL line used by a user, and a communication terminal communicating with a gas meter is connected to the router.

  However, in a general communication environment, the router and the devices connected to the router are in the user's house, and the LAN cable that connects the router and the communication terminal that communicates with the gas meter is turned off for the convenience of the user. May be removed. In such a situation, the gas meter can no longer communicate with the Internet via a communication terminal, and it is impossible to report the meter reading value or report a gas abnormality monitored by the gas meter, causing problems for the gas supplier. To do.

  In addition, for the user, there is a problem that the gas supply safety monitoring service cannot be sufficiently received because the occurrence of gas abnormality cannot be reported to the monitoring center.

  In addition, the frequency of communication between the gas meter and the center is only once a month, and even if the router is turned off or a communication terminal malfunctions, the user's communication terminal cannot communicate until one month has passed. There was a problem that the manager of the center could not confirm.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the communication terminal periodically or irregularly transmits a survival information notification to the center server, and the server survival information confirmation means receives the survival information notification for a certain period of time. If this is not possible, a notification will be sent to the server to inform the manager that the communication terminal is in a state where communication is not possible, and it will not be possible to receive an automatic gas meter reading or report a gas abnormality. The purpose is to be able to confirm immediately.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a meter for measuring the amount of energy used for gas, electricity, water, etc., monitoring the usage state, and the meter reading value and monitoring information via the wide-area IP communication network. A server that acquires and manages, a first communication means that communicates with the meter, a second communication means that communicates with the server via the wide area IP communication network, and a survival that notifies the server that communication is possible The survival information notifying unit notifies the server of the survival information regularly or irregularly, and the server is provided with the survival information. When the information confirmation means cannot receive from the communication terminal notification of survival information for a certain period or a certain number of times in a certain period, the information confirming means informs the communication terminal, and the communication terminal communicates A meter reporting system to inform the administrator that it is a function.

  If a certain period of time or a certain number of notifications of survival information cannot be received for a certain period of time, the notification means of the server informs the administrator that the communication terminal is in a communication disabled state, and has not received automatic gas meter reading, The center can confirm that it will not be possible to report abnormalities.

  Therefore, by notifying the communication disabled state, it is possible to prevent the automatic meter reading and the gas abnormality notification from being made, and the serviceability of the service provided by the gas supply company is not deteriorated.

  The meter notification system and the program of the present invention enable the server to check the communication availability status of the communication terminal, and in the meter notification system, it is possible to prevent the notification from being disabled by notifying the communication failure status. It is possible to prevent the deterioration of serviceability of the system.

  A first invention is a meter that measures the amount of energy used for gas, electricity, water, etc., and monitors the usage state, and a server that acquires and manages meter reading values and monitoring information of the meter via a wide-area IP communication network First communication means for communicating with the meter, second communication means for communicating with a server via the wide area IP communication network, and survival information notification means for notifying the server that communication is possible The survival information notifying means notifies the server of the survival information regularly or irregularly, and the survival information confirmation means provided in the server includes: When notification of survival information for a certain period or a certain number of times in a certain period cannot be received from the communication terminal, it is notified by the notification means provided in the server to manage that the communication terminal cannot communicate A meter reporting system to inform the.

  And if it is not possible to receive the survival information notification for a certain period of time, it is notified by the server's notification means, and the administrator is informed that a communication impossible state has occurred at the communication terminal, and that no automatic gas meter reading has been received, The center can immediately confirm that it will not be possible to report. In this way, it is possible to provide a system that prevents the notification from becoming impossible and prevents serviceability from being deteriorated.

  A second invention is a meter that measures the amount of energy used for gas, electricity, water, etc., monitors the usage state, and a server that acquires and manages meter reading values and monitoring information of the meter via a wide-area IP communication network First communication means for communicating with the meter, second communication means for communicating with a server via the wide area IP communication network, and survival information notification means for notifying the server that communication is possible The server comprises a user information database that records a global IP address, a terminal ID, and date / time information notified from the communication terminal, and survival information from the communication terminal. A survival information confirming means for receiving the information, and the survival information confirming means sends a notification of the survival information for a certain period or a certain number of times in the certain period from the communication terminal. When not received, the global IP address of the communication terminal is acquired from the user information database, a survival confirmation request is transmitted to the global IP address, and when the response cannot be received, the notification means notifies the communication terminal, Is a meter reporting system that informs the administrator that communication is impossible.

  If the survival information cannot be received for a certain period of time, a survival confirmation request is sent to the global IP address held by the server, and if the response cannot be received, the server is notified of the abnormality, allowing two-way communication. Since it can be determined that the communication is disabled, it is possible to more accurately determine the communication disabled state. Thus, it is possible to provide a system that prevents the notification from becoming impossible and prevents the serviceability from being deteriorated.

  A third invention is a program for executing at least a part of either the first or second meter notification system. And it can implement | achieve easily with the general purpose apparatus in a home by using a program. Also, the use of a recording medium on which the program is recorded makes it easy to distribute and install the program.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a reporting system for a gas meter using a communication terminal that communicates with the gas meter according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The communication terminal 2 includes a control function of the gas meter 1, an abnormality notification function detected by the gas meter 1, and a meter reading value notification function of the gas usage measured by the gas meter 1.

  In FIG. 1, the gas meter 1 is a network device having a network connection function, and is connected to a wireless device 1 d and has a function of communicating with the communication terminal 2 wirelessly. The wireless device 1d is configured using a specific low-power radio in the 429 MHz band.

  Information that the gas meter 1 reports to the communication terminal 2 includes meter reading information that is the amount of gas used, gas abnormality information such as shut-off control that the gas meter 1 performs when an abnormality in gas supply is detected, and in the gas cylinder in the case of LP gas There are remaining warning information.

  Further, content information (weather, news, regional information, shop information, advertisement information, etc.) is provided from the server 5 to the communication terminal 2 and displayed on the communication terminal 2 for use. In the case of content information created in HTML, browsing is performed with a browser function provided in the communication terminal 2.

  Internet equipment is a concept that shows home appliances and equipment that have the function of connecting to various networks including the Internet, such as refrigerators, microwave ovens, washing machines, air conditioners, water heaters, dryers, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, Gas table, IH equipment, rice cooker, warm water washing toilet seat, electronic lock, various security sensors (human sensor, open / close sensor), net camera, lighting equipment, cogeneration system equipment, fuel cell system equipment, home server, television, video , DVD devices, personal computers, PDAs, mobile phones, faxes, telephones, audio devices, and remote control devices, gas meters, water meters, power meters, and other devices at the user's home. May be controlled from the communication terminal 2.

  In the present embodiment, a system connected to the gas meter 1 will be described. However, in addition to the gas meter 1, the system may function as a controller for the network device.

  The communication terminal 2 is connected to the ISP via the ADSL line via the router 3 and the ADSL modem 4 and is connected to the server 5 via the Internet 6. Further, as a function of the communication terminal 2, a function for mutually converting a communication protocol of the gas meter 1 and an application protocol used in Internet communication is provided.

  The communication terminal 2 holds a user authentication ID, a password, and the like necessary for connecting to the server 5. Further, it holds the ID of the wireless device that communicates with the communication terminal 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the communication terminal 2 includes a CPU 2a, a memory 2b, an external storage device 2c such as a flash ROM (Flash Read Only Memory), a ROM, a wireless device 2d for communicating with the wireless device of the gas meter 1, an Ethernet ( 3, a communication interface 2e such as a registered trademark), and a display 2f hardware resource configured by an LCD or the like, which cooperate with each other to provide wireless communication means 301, notification means 302, outside communication means as shown in FIG. 303, a survival information notifying unit 304, a storage unit 305, a timing unit 306, and a survival confirmation response unit 307 are functioning.

  In FIG. 2, the gas meter 1 includes a CPU 1a, a memory 1b, a sensor 1c, a wireless device 1d, and a shutoff valve 1e.

  Next, the configuration function of the communication terminal 2 will be described in detail. The operation / action will be described later.

  In FIG. 3, the wireless communication means 301 is for performing wireless communication with the wireless device 1 d connected to the gas meter 1. Meter reading information (gas usage information) measured by the gas meter 1 and gas abnormality information (blocking information, etc.) monitored by the gas meter 1 are communicated with the gas meter 1 at predetermined intervals. Similarly, this is a function for wireless communication with other connected devices. Such communication is normally set once a month.

  The reporting unit 302 performs reporting processing such as meter reading information and gas abnormality information reported from the gas meter 1 to the communication terminal 2. Specifically, the information received from the gas meter 1 is subjected to a series of processes up to the reporting process to the server 5, and in the case of the reporting process of the gas abnormality, the function of displaying the contents of the gas abnormality information on the communication terminal 2 is also included. Depending on the report information, it may or may not be displayed.

  The outside communication unit 303 connects the communication terminal 2 to an external communication network such as the Internet 6 and realizes a state where data can be transmitted to and received from the server 5. Specifically, in FIG. 3, the outside communication means 303 connects to an ISP (Internet service provider) via a router 3 and an ADSL modem 4 using a protocol such as PPPoE, PPPoA, and then connects to the server 5 via the Internet 6. / IP, UDP / IP connection.

  The survival information notification unit 304 notifies the server of survival information indicating that the communication terminal 2 is in a communicable state, periodically or irregularly (which is performed by setting). The survival information is notified of information including the terminal ID of the communication terminal and date / time information. This notification function uses the UDP protocol instead of the TCP protocol to reduce communication traffic and lighten the processing.

  The storage unit 305 stores the terminal ID, reads out the terminal ID by the above-described survival information notification unit 304, and generates a survival information packet.

  The time measuring means 306 has a clock function and provides a time measuring function. The survival information notification unit 304 sets the survival information transmission time. For example, in the case of transmission every 3 minutes, 3 minutes are measured and notified.

  If the survival information cannot be received by the server for a set period of time, the survival confirmation response unit 307 receives the survival confirmation request transmitted from the server 5 and sends back a response.

  In this embodiment, although not shown, the ISP is an Internet service provider and provides a service for connecting to the Internet. Communication is performed using IP, TCP, UDP, HTTP, HTTPS, or the like generally used on the Internet as a communication protocol.

  On the other hand, the server 5 determines the type of authentication request, information acquisition request, control request, etc. of the communication terminal 2 transmitted from the communication terminal 2, and transmits the response message of the message. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, hardware resources such as a CPU 5 a, a memory 5 b, an external storage device 5 c, and a communication interface 5 d are provided, and these are cooperated to transmit / receive means 501, user authentication / determination processing means shown in FIG. 5. 502, the user information database 503, the transmission information generation means 504, the survival information confirmation means 505, and the notification means 506 are caused to function.

  The transmission / reception means 501 establishes a transmission / reception state with the communication terminal 2 when there is a TCP / IP connection such as an authentication request, notification information notification, or survival information notification from the communication terminal 2 via the Internet 6.

  The user authentication / judgment processing means 502 performs processing for comparing and authenticating the terminal ID and password, which are authentication information of the communication terminal 2 received from the communication terminal 2 at the time of an authentication request, with the user information managed in the user information database 503. The terminal ID is a serial number uniquely recorded for each communication terminal 2, and is transmitted to the server 5 at the time of user authentication at the time of initial setting of the communication terminal 2, and other user information (phone number, It is managed together with a password (password). Further, the type of data is determined by the data identifier attached to the data. The contents of the survival information notification, meter reading notification, and gas abnormality information notification are also received and processed here. Managed with user information.

  The user information database 503 holds a user name, address, area code, telephone number, password (password), terminal ID, global IP address / port number, service subscription status, and the like. It also manages meter reading information and gas abnormality report history. In addition, a survival information confirmation table for managing notification of survival information is also held. The survival information confirmation table is management table information in which the terminal ID and date / time information notified by each communication terminal 2 are recorded. Also, a plurality of survival information notification histories are held for each communication terminal 2.

  Upon receiving the request message from the communication terminal 2, the transmission information generation unit 504 generates a response message for the request message and responds. Although not described in the present embodiment, when an information acquisition request is received, setting information and content information necessary for the communication terminal 2 are extracted and generated. The setting information is generated from the setting information set in the user information database 503.

  If the survival information confirmation unit 505 determines that the survival information has not been received for a certain period or a certain period and a certain number of times by checking the survival information confirmation table in the user information database 503, the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 is determined. Thus, the global IP address and port number held in the user information database are acquired, and a survival confirmation request message is generated and transmitted.

  The survival information confirmation unit 505 receives the survival information notification that is periodically or irregularly reported from each communication terminal 2 and records the information in the user information database 503. In addition, a function of checking the communication terminal 2 that cannot receive the survival notification within a certain period (for example, within 60 minutes) is provided.

  The notification means 506 is instructed to notify when the survival information confirmation means 505 cannot receive the survival information notification for a certain period of time, and notifies the communication server 2 and the user name that cannot receive the survival information as a list to notify the server 5 of the center. Let the administrator know.

  In FIG. 5, the server 5 is illustrated as a single device, but there may be a plurality of servers, and the user information database 503 is connected to another device or another location via a communication network. It does not matter.

  In the present embodiment, the communication medium is connected via the Internet 6. However, it can be configured to connect via a dedicated line as necessary, and is not limited to the Internet 6.

  Next, in the present embodiment, when the survival information cannot be received for a certain period of time, the operation / action notified by the server will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of notifying the survival information when the communication terminal 2 is informed and the server 5 cannot receive the survival information for a certain period.

  The communication terminal 2 notifies the survival information to the server every time T1 (S601). This communication packet uses IP and performs communication using UDP / IP used together with UDP in order to reduce the problem of communication traffic. Here, the time T <b> 1 is determined in advance by the administrator of the server 5, acquired by communication between the communication terminal 2 and the server 5, and set in the communication terminal 2.

  In addition, T1 can be changed by the administrator of the server 5 through operation in consideration of traffic and the like. Here, description will be made assuming that T1 = 3 minutes, for example.

  Next, when the power of the ADSL modem 4 or the router 3 is turned off, the communication terminal 2 and the server 5 cannot communicate the survival information (S602). The same applies when either the ADSL modem 4 or the router 3 fails or a communication failure occurs, and the same applies when a failure occurs in the Internet Service Provider (ISP), not shown.

  As described above, when an abnormality occurs in any of the paths connecting the communication terminal 2 and the server 5, the notification of the survival information of the communication terminal 2 cannot be sent to the server 5 (S603).

  Normally, the server 5 receives the survival information transmitted from the communication terminal 2 every T1 (3 minutes). The user authentication / judgment processing unit 502 performs authentication / judgment processing based on the terminal ID that is the transmission information.

  When it is confirmed that the information is valid survival information, the survival information confirmation means 505 is passed the terminal ID, global IP address, and date / time information included in the notification information, and the survival information confirmation table in the user information database 503 (FIG. 7). 701). The survival information confirmation table 701 records the survival information of all the communication terminals 2 communicating with the server 5, and is updated each time the survival information is notified.

  The survival information confirmation table 701 is checked by the survival information confirmation unit 505 every predetermined time (for example, 60 minutes) set by the server 5, and notification of survival information is received 60 minutes before the current time. The communication terminal 2 that did not exist is detected. As an example, if the current time is checked at 2005/2/26 11:03, the survival information of each communication terminal 2 is recorded in the time zone from 2005/2/26 10:03 to 2005/2/26 11:03. Check for notifications.

  Then, the current date and time information (current date and time: 2005/2/26 11:03) held in the server 5 and the update date and time information of the survival information of each communication terminal 2 in the survival information confirmation table 701 are acquired. Here, the update date / time information 702 of the communication terminal 2 with the terminal ID: 00001111 is the survival information of 2005/02/26 09:30, and only the survival information before 10:03 (60 minutes or more before) is recorded. Is confirmed (S604).

  Then, the survival information confirmation unit 505 performs confirmation for every communication terminal 2 and generates list information together with the terminal ID that has not received the survival information for a certain period of time and the date and time information that was received last. The list information is notified from the survival information confirmation unit 505 to the notification unit 506, and is notified on the monitor of the administrator terminal of the server 5 to notify the administrator (S605).

  In this way, the communication terminal 2 periodically notifies the server 5 of the survival information, and the server 5 can detect the communication terminal 2 that cannot receive the survival information for a certain period of time and can notify the notification means 506 for management. The person can quickly confirm the communication failure of the communication terminal 2.

  In this embodiment, the survival information notification interval T1 is set to 3 minutes. However, the setting value is not limited to this, and the server 5 sets a fixed period for checking the survival information confirmation table to 60 minutes. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  Further, as a method of confirming the survival information, in addition to whether or not the survival information can be acquired during a certain period, a plurality of (for example, 20) records of the survival information confirmation table 701 can be held for each communication terminal 2. In addition, it is possible to count how many pieces of survival information are received every certain period (60 minutes), and to notify when the number is less than a certain number.

  In the case of this embodiment, T1 (3 minutes) can be received up to 20 during a certain period (60 minutes), so when 10 or more are received, it is notified as normal, and when it is less than that, it is notified as abnormal. You can also By doing so, the administrator of the server 5 can grasp whether the communication is completely impossible, the communication environment is unstable, or the communication environment is bad and it is difficult to receive the survival information. It becomes easy to cope.

  Although the user information database 503 has been described so that the terminal ID, the global IP address / port number, and the date / time information are held in the survival information confirmation table 701 by the notification of the survival information, the user information database 503 and the survival information confirmation There may be a plurality of tables 701 as long as the global IP address / port number of the communication terminal 2 can be searched from the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2. For example, it may be divided and managed into a survival information confirmation table for managing terminal IDs and date / time information, and table information for managing terminal IDs and global IP addresses / port numbers.

  The notification of the global IP address / port number of the communication terminal 2 to the server 5 may not be included in the notification information of the survival information.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, when the survival information in the second embodiment cannot be received for a certain period of time, the operation / action notified by the server will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the second embodiment, the same operations as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In the second embodiment, the difference from the first embodiment is that when the survival information is not received for a certain period, the server 5 transmits a survival confirmation request to the communication terminal 2, and the communication terminal It is the point which judges 2 abnormalities.

  When the survival information confirmation unit 505 of the server 5 confirms the communication terminal 2 in which only the survival information of 60 minutes or more before is recorded, the survival information confirmation unit 505 sends the transmission information generation unit 504 to the terminal of the communication terminal 2 Notify ID. Then, the transmission information generation unit 504 acquires a global IP address and a port number from the terminal ID of the communication terminal 2 from the user information database 503, generates a survival confirmation request message, and transmits it to the address.

  At this time, the port 3 transmitted together with the IP address is converted into a local IP address by the router 3, and a survival confirmation request message is transmitted to the communication terminal 2. At this time, when the detected communication terminals 2 are plural, they are respectively transmitted to the plural communication terminals 2 (S801).

  When the ADSL modem 4 and the router 3 are turned off, the survival confirmation request cannot be transmitted to the communication terminal 2. Further, even when the ADSL modem 4 and the router 3 are operating normally, even when the communication terminal 2 is not connected to the router 3 or when an operation abnormality has occurred in the communication terminal 2, the existence confirmation is performed. The request response message is not received by the server 5 (S802).

  When the ADSL modem 4 and the router 3 can normally communicate and the communication terminal 2 is also operating normally, the communication terminal 2 that has received the survival confirmation request message from the server 5 generates a survival confirmation response message. At this time, in order to confirm whether the communication with the gas meter 1 connected by the wireless communication means 301 is normal, the survival confirmation response means makes a meter confirmation request to the wireless communication means 301.

  The wireless communication means 301 communicates via the wireless device 1d of the meter 1, performs test communication with the gas meter 1, and notifies the survival confirmation response means 307 of the success / failure of the communication. The survival confirmation response unit 307 sets the success / failure information of communication of the meter 1 connected to the wireless communication unit 301 and the terminal ID in the response message of the survival confirmation request message, and transmits a response message to the server 5. .

  In this way, by checking whether there is a communication failure in the processing of each communication path from the server 5 to the communication terminal 2 and from the communication terminal 2 to the gas meter 1 by the survival confirmation request, where on the meter notification system It is possible to check whether a communication failure has occurred.

  In addition, when the survival confirmation request is received, the communication terminal 2 can check whether the internal program is operating normally, thereby checking the abnormality of the communication terminal 2 as well. Can be improved.

  Then, the server 5 generates list information of the communication terminals 2 that cannot receive the response message within a certain time (60 minutes in the present embodiment) after transmitting the existence confirmation request, and the list information is the existence information confirmation means. 505 notifies the notification means 506, notifies the administrator terminal of the server 5 of the notification, and notifies the administrator (S605).

  By doing in this way, since it can confirm that the communication failure has occurred by transmission / reception from the communication terminal 2 to the server 5 and from the server 5 to the communication terminal 2, the communication failure occurring in the communication terminal 2 can be more accurately detected. Therefore, it is possible to quickly handle failures with accurate information.

  Although the communication terminal 2 and the server 5 have been described as being connected via the Internet 6 using an ADSL line, the present invention is not limited to this. The communication line may be ISDN, xDSL, CATV, FTTH (optical cable), wireless LAN, Ethernet (registered trademark), or the like.

  Moreover, although the description was made with the gas meter reporting system, it may be configured with a power and water reporting system.

  Moreover, although the specific low power radio | wireless was demonstrated as a communication means of the communication terminal 2 and the gas meter 1, power line communication, Ethernet (trademark), wireless LAN, etc. may be sufficient. The home communication protocol may be IP instead of the network device communication protocol.

  Moreover, although the communication terminal 2 demonstrated as a communication apparatus for enabling the gas meter 1 and the server 5 to communicate via the internet 6, the form may be what kind of form, if the said function is provided, It may be in the form of an information terminal that receives an information service, or a remote control of various home appliances or equipment.

  In addition, although it has been described that the notification of the survival information is periodically performed, the regular communication interval may be changed by setting the server, or may be irregular.

  Further, the communication terminal 2 has been described as having a display function, but it may or may not have a display means.

  The specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  As described above, the survival information is periodically transmitted from the communication terminal 2 to the server 5, and the survival information confirmation unit 505 of the server 6 receives the survival information notification for a certain period or a certain number of times in a certain period. If it is detected that there is no communication, the notification means 506 of the server notifies the administrator that the communication terminal 2 has a communication failure, and the automatic gas meter reading cannot be received or a gas abnormality cannot be reported. This makes it possible to confirm this at the center, and prevents a decrease in system serviceability.

  In addition, when the survival information cannot be received for a certain period, a survival confirmation request is transmitted to the global IP address of the communication terminal 2, and when the response cannot be received, the server 5 is notified of the abnormality, thereby communicating bidirectionally. Since it is possible to determine that the communication is disabled, it becomes possible to determine the communication failure more accurately, thereby preventing the serviceability of the system from being deteriorated.

  In addition, the present embodiment provides the same function as a program for causing a computer to function as all or part of the means of the communication terminal 2 and the server 5. By using the program, it can be realized as a partial function of a microcomputer, a personal computer, or another device, and convenience and versatility are improved and a system can be easily constructed. In addition, the program can be distributed and installed easily by recording on a recording medium or distributing the program using a communication line.

  As described above, the meter notification system and the program of the present invention can be applied to a system where the service providing side needs to manage the state of the communication terminal, and the automatic notification of gas, electricity, and water that regularly reports. It can be applied to a meter reading system, or a security system that communicates with a security sensor or a disaster prevention sensor and reports when an abnormality occurs.

The system block diagram of the notification system of the gas meter in Embodiment 1 of this invention 1 is a block diagram of a communication terminal and a gas meter according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The block block diagram which shows the function of the communication terminal of Embodiment 1 of this invention The block block diagram which shows the server of Embodiment 1 of this invention. The block block diagram which shows the function of the server of Embodiment 1 of this invention Operation sequence diagram of Embodiment 1 of the present invention The figure which shows the survival information confirmation table of Embodiment 1 of this invention Operation sequence diagram of Embodiment 2 of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Gas meter (meter)
2 Communication terminal 5 Server 301 Wireless communication means (first communication means)
303 Outside communication means (second communication means)
304 Survival information notification means 503 User information database 505 Survival information confirmation means 506 Notification means

Claims (3)

Meters that measure energy usage such as gas, electricity, and water, monitor usage,
A server that acquires and manages meter reading values and monitoring information via a wide area IP communication network;
A first communication unit that communicates with the meter; a second communication unit that communicates with the server via the wide area IP communication network; and a survival information notification unit that notifies the server that communication is possible. A system composed of communication terminals,
The survival information notification means notifies the server of survival information regularly or irregularly, and the survival information confirmation means provided in the server notifies the server of survival information for a certain period or a certain number of times. Is notified by an informing means provided in the server when it cannot be received from the communication terminal, and notifies the administrator that the communication terminal cannot communicate. Meters that measure energy usage such as gas, electricity, and water, monitor usage,
A server that acquires and manages meter reading values and monitoring information via a wide area IP communication network;
A first communication means that communicates with the meter; a second communication means that communicates with a server via the wide area IP communication network; and a survival information notification means that notifies the server that communication is possible. A system composed of terminals,
The server includes a global IP address notified from the communication terminal, a terminal ID, and a user information database that records date and time information, and a survival information confirmation unit that receives survival information from the communication terminal,
When the survival information cannot be received from the communication terminal for a certain period of time or a certain number of times of survival information in the certain period, the global IP address of the communication terminal is acquired from the user information database, and the global IP address is Then, a meter notification system that transmits a survival confirmation request and notifies the administrator that the communication terminal is incapable of communication by notifying the notification when the response cannot be received. The program for performing at least one part of the meter notification system of any one of Claim 1 or 2.

Images