JP3415982B2 - Wireless meter reading system - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless meter reading system that performs wireless meter reading of a measuring instrument such as a water meter, a gas meter, a wattmeter, and a calorie meter that measures the amount of consumption of electricity and the like and the amount of energy consumption. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of wireless meter reading system,
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a weighing device M is installed for each unit of an apartment house, such as an apartment, with respect to a portable master device a, and a slave device b is connected to each of the weighing devices M. [0003] The master unit a includes a radio transmitting / receiving unit 1 therein.
The wireless transmission / reception unit 1 is connected to the information control unit 2. An input unit 3 for inputting information to the information control unit 2 by, for example, a key / bar code, a display unit 4 for displaying a weighing result or the like on a liquid crystal display or the like, and a printout for printing out a notice sheet or the like of the weighing result. A unit 5, a data storage unit 6 for storing measurement results and the like, and a power supply 7 for driving them are connected. However, at the time of meter reading, the meter reader manually puts the master unit a
For example, the input unit 3 is operated at the entrance to input a meter reading request signal and the like together with the meter number, and the meter reading request signal and the like are transmitted via the wireless communication line to the slave unit b corresponding to the meter number.
Send to Then, the child device b returns a signal such as a measurement result of the measuring device M corresponding to the meter reading request to the parent device a. Master device a stores the weighing result and the like in data storage unit 6 while displaying the result on display unit 4 and, when requested, prints out a notification slip on printout unit 5 based on the weighing result and the like. Was out. [0005] However, in such a wireless meter reading system, the master unit a includes a wireless transmitting / receiving unit 1, an information control unit 2, and a display unit in addition to the input unit 3 as described above. 4, a flint-out unit 5, a data storage unit 6, and a power supply 7, which are heavy and large. For this reason, conventionally, there has been a problem that it is very inconvenient for a meter reader to carry out a meter reading operation while carrying such a main unit a by hand all day. An object of the present invention is to reduce the burden of meter reading work by simplifying the carrying of the master unit in the above-described wireless meter reading system. [0007] Therefore, the invention described in claim 1 is, for example, as described in the following embodiments,
A master unit A and a slave unit B each having a wireless transmission / reception unit 20/27, and a weighing device M connected to the slave unit B, between the master unit A and the slave unit B through the wireless transmission / reception units 20/27. In the wireless meter reading system in which the master device A performs wireless meter reading of the measuring device M by transmitting and receiving signals, the master device A is divided into two, a main unit 10 and an operating device 11, and At least the printout section 1 on the container 10 side
6 and the wireless receiving unit 12, while at least the input unit 22 and the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 20 are provided on the side of the operating unit 11, and the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 20 of the operating unit 11 and the wireless transmitting and receiving unit 27 of the slave unit B A signal is received by the main unit 10 via the wireless receiving unit 12. At the time of meter reading, the user carries the main unit 10 on his / her waist or on his shoulder, for example, and carries the operating device 11 by hand. In addition, only the operation device 11 is carried around with the main device 10 kept in a car, for example. Then, the input unit 22 is operated to transmit a signal S1 such as a meter reading request from the wireless transmission / reception unit 20 to the slave unit B and the main unit 10. On the other hand, the signal S
When 1 is received, the slave unit B transmits a signal S2 such as a measurement result of the weighing device M to the operation device 11, and also transmits the signal S2 to the main device 10. When the signal S2 is received by the wireless receiving unit 12, the main unit 10 prints out the weighing result and the like in the printout unit 16 if requested. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a wireless meter reading system according to the first aspect of the present invention. The wireless meter reading system includes a master unit indicated by reference symbol A in the figure, a slave unit B, and a measuring device M. The master unit A includes a main unit 10 and an operation unit 11.
It is divided into two parts. One main unit 10 has a weight and size that can be carried, for example, attached to the waist or hung on the shoulder, includes a wireless receiving unit 12, and connects the wireless receiving unit 12 to the information control unit 13. The wireless receiving unit 12 raises the receiving antenna 14, and can receive signals S1 and S2 from the later-described wireless transmitting / receiving unit 20 of the operation device 11 and the later-described wireless transmitting / receiving unit 27 of the slave unit B through the receiving-only antenna 14. To The main unit 10 further includes an information control unit 13.
A display unit 15 for displaying weighing results and the like on a liquid crystal display or the like, a printout unit 16 for printing out a notice of weighing results and the like, a data storage unit 17 for storing weighing results and the like, A power supply 18 including a battery or the like for driving is provided. The other operation device 11 has a wireless transmission / reception section 20 having a weight and size that can be easily carried by one hand and having a transmission / reception antenna 19, and connects the wireless transmission / reception section 20 to the information control section 21. Further, an input unit 22 connected to the information control unit 21 for inputting by a key, a bar code, a voice, or the like, a display unit 23 for displaying a weighing result or the like on a liquid crystal display or the like, a battery for driving them, etc. And a power supply 24 comprising: The slave unit B is provided together with the weighing device M for each house of an apartment house such as an apartment. And FIG.
As shown in the figure, a wireless transmission / reception unit 27 having a transmission / reception antenna 26 is provided therein. The wireless transmission / reception unit 27 is connected to an information control unit 28, and the information control unit 28 is connected to a power supply 29.
And a weighing instrument M connected by a wire 30 as shown in FIG. Note that the slave unit B may be attached to the measuring device M instead of being externally attached to the measuring device M as shown in the drawing, that is, built in the measuring device M. In order to carry out meter reading of this multi-family housing, the user carries the main unit 10 on his / her waist or on his shoulder, for example, while carrying the operation device 11 by hand. Further, for example, it is possible to carry out the work while carrying only the operation device 11 with the main device 10 placed in a car. Then, for example, the input unit 22 of the operation unit 11 is operated at the entrance, and a meter reading request and the like are input together with the meter number and transmitted as a signal S1 from the wireless transmission / reception unit 20. Then, the same signal S1 is received by the wireless transmission / reception unit 27 of the slave unit B corresponding to the measuring instrument number, and the main unit 1
0 is also received by the wireless receiving unit 12. In the slave unit B, the measurement result of the measuring instrument M and the like are transmitted as a signal S2 to the wireless transmission / reception unit 20 of the operation unit 11 in accordance with the content of the received signal S1, and at the same time, the wireless reception of the main unit 10 is performed. Also transmitted to the unit 12. In the main unit 10, the signal S1
After receiving the signal S2, when the signal S2 is received from the slave unit B, the information control unit 13 determines whether or not the signal S2 is a normal response to the signal S1. While being stored in the unit 17, it is displayed on the display unit 15.
If there is a request, a notice sheet or the like is printed out by the printout unit 16 based on the measurement result or the like. On the other hand, in the operating device 11, the signal S
When receiving the signal 2, the information control unit 21 determines whether or not the signal S2 is a normal response to the signal S1, and if there is no abnormality, the weighing result and the like are displayed on the display unit 23. Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the master unit is divided into two parts, the main unit and the operation unit, and at least the main unit has a relatively heavy printout unit and a wireless unit. While the receiver is provided, the operation unit eliminates at least the printout part, making it easier to carry the master unit and reducing the burden of meter reading work compared to the case of carrying the master unit by hand as before. it can. Further, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the main unit is provided with a wireless receiving unit, and a signal such as a weighing result of the measuring device sent from the slave unit is directly transmitted to the main unit without passing through the operation device. , Data communication time such as measurement results can be saved and the efficiency of meter reading can be increased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a wireless meter reading system which is an embodiment of the invention described in claim 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a slave unit provided in the wireless meter reading system. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional wireless meter reading system. [Description of Signs] 10 Main unit 11 Operation unit 12 Wireless reception unit 16 Printout unit 20/27 Wireless transmission / reception unit 22 Input unit A Master unit B Slave unit M Measuring devices S1 and S2 Signal

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Shoichi Kato 2-28-24 Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi Rico-Elemex Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-147599 (JP, A) JP-A-6-84089 (JP, A) JP-A-7-134793 (JP, A) JP-A-58-155497 (JP, A) JP-A-5-2260 (JP, U) JP-A-6-11034 ( JP, U) 4-4-281 (JP, Y2) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G08C H04Q 9/00 H04B 7/00

Claims (1)

(57) Claims 1. A master unit and a slave unit each having a wireless transmission / reception unit, and a scale connected to the slave unit, and the master unit and the child unit are connected to each other through the wireless transmission / reception units. In a wireless meter reading system that performs signal transmission and reception between machines to perform wireless meter reading of the weighing device with the master, the master is divided into two parts, a main unit and an operation unit, and the main unit is arranged on the main unit side. While at least a printout unit and a wireless receiving unit are provided, the operating unit is provided with at least an input unit and a wireless transmitting / receiving unit, and the wireless receiving unit receives signals from the wireless transmitting / receiving unit of the operating unit and the wireless transmitting / receiving unit of the slave unit. A wireless meter reading system, which is received by the main unit via a unit.