JPH09212782A - Radio metering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the burdens of a metering operation by a metering person by reducing the movement for a metering part as much as possible in a radio metering device for transferring signals between a master unit and a slave unit and performing the metering of a metering instrument connected to the slave unit. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a repeater 12 for relaying and transferring metering request signals sent from the master unit 10 to the slave unit 11 and relaying and transferring metering result signals from the slave unit 11 to the master unit 10. The repeater 12 transfers the metering request signals from the master unit 10 to the slave unit 11 when the metering result signals from the slave unit 11 for the metering request signals are not received for a fixed time after receiving the metering request signals from the master unit 10. Then, when the metering result signals for the metering request signals are received from the slave unit 11, the metering result signals are transferred to the master unit 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless meter reading device for wirelessly metering a measuring instrument such as a gas meter, a water meter, a power meter, a calorimeter, or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, a wireless meter-reading device of this type is composed of a portable base unit a and a slave unit b installed in each unit of an apartment such as an apartment. Each of the slaves b was connected to the weighing machine M of each house.

At the time of meter reading, the meter-reading staff carries the master unit a, operates the master unit a at the entrance, for example, and sends a meter-reading request signal together with a meter-specifying signal for specifying the meter-M for which meter reading is desired. Then, the child device b, to which the weighing device M corresponding to the weighing device specifying signal is connected, transmits the meter reading result signal to the parent device a. When the meter reading result signal is received, the master a
Then, the meter reading result was displayed, and when there was a request, a notice sheet was printed out based on the meter reading result and the like.

[0004]

By the way, conventionally,
As described above, signals are directly exchanged between the master unit a and the slave unit b, but the reach of radio waves is limited. Therefore, in a vast housing complex or a super high-rise apartment, it may not be possible to perform meter reading on all the measuring instruments M at one meter reading point. In that case, the meter-reader must move to a plurality of locations and perform the remaining meter-reading again.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the movement of the meter-reading portion as much as possible to reduce the burden of the meter-reading work by the meter-reading personnel.

[0006]

Therefore, the present invention described in claim 1 has, for example, the following features:
When a meter-reading request signal is transmitted from the master device 10 and the meter-reading request signal is received, the weighing device M connected from the slave device 11 to it
In the wireless meter-reading apparatus A that transmits the meter-reading result signal of, and receives the meter-reading result signal in the master unit 10, the wireless meter-reading apparatus A receives the meter-reading request signal from the master unit 10 and then responds to the meter-reading request signal. When the meter reading result signal from the slave unit 11 is not received, the meter reading request signal from the master unit 10 is transferred to the slave unit 11, and the meter reading result signal corresponding to the meter reading request signal is sent from the slave unit 11 to the master unit 1.
It is characterized by comprising a relay device 12 for transferring to 0.

When the repeater 12 receives the meter reading request signal from the master unit 10 during meter reading, after receiving the meter reading request signal, the meter reading result signal from the slave unit 11 for the meter reading request signal is relayed. If the device 12 does not receive the signal, the meter reading request signal is transferred from the relay device 12 to the child device 11. When the relay device 12 receives the meter reading result signal from the slave device 11 in response to the meter reading request signal, the relay device 12 transfers the meter reading result signal from the relay device 12 to the master device 10.

[0008]

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 including the wireless meter reading device according to claim 1.

This wireless meter-reading system is provided in, for example, a vast housing complex, and a measuring instrument M installed for each door of the housing complex,
It is configured with a wireless meter reading device A that measures the meter M. Among them, the wireless meter-reading apparatus A is composed of a master device 10, a slave device 11 connected to the weighing device M, and a relay device 12, respectively.

The master device 10 can be carried by a meter reader by hand, for example, a radio transmitter / receiver unit with a transmitter / receiver antenna set up inside, not shown, an input unit for inputting by key / bar code / voice, etc. A display unit for displaying the results on a liquid crystal display or the like, a printout unit for printing out a notice of the meter reading results, and the like are provided.

Each of the slave units 11 together with the measuring device M,
The housing is provided for each door, and a radio transmitter / receiver with a transmitter / receiver antenna is provided inside the housing (not shown). Then, the meter-reading request signal from the parent device 10 and the meter-reader specifying signal for specifying the meter-reading device M for which the meter-reading is desired are received via the wireless transmission / reception unit, and the meter-reading result signal from the meter M is transmitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the repeater 12 is provided with a radio transmitter / receiver 20 having an antenna for both transmission and reception, and the radio transmitter / receiver 20 is connected to a controller 21. The wireless transmission / reception unit 20 receives the meter-reading request signal from the master device 10 and the meter-specifying signal, and also receives the meter-reading result signal from the slave device 11. When receiving the meter-reading request signal together with the meter-reading request signal from the parent device 10, the signals are relayed and transmitted to the child device 11, and when the meter-reading result signal is received from the child device 11, the signal is relayed and the parent device 10 is received. Send to.

When the wireless transmitter / receiver unit 20 receives the meter-specifying signal together with the meter-reading request signal from the master unit 10 and does not receive the meter-reading result signal from the slave unit 11 for a certain period of time, the controller unit 21 reads the meter-reading signal from the master unit. The meter specifying signal is transferred from the wireless transmitting / receiving unit 20 to the slave 11 together with the request signal. When the wireless transmission / reception unit 20 receives the meter-reading result signal from the child device 11, the wireless-transmission / reception unit 20 transfers the meter-reading result signal to the master device 10.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned wireless meter-reading apparatus A,
When the meter-reader stands at the meter-reading location in the housing complex with the master device 10, the slave devices 11 'and 11 "in or near the housing complex enter the transmission / reception range α of the repeater 12, as shown in FIG. The relay device 12 is installed at a position of course, of course, the installation position of the relay device 12 is within the transmission / reception range β of the master device 10.

In the case of performing meter reading using the wireless meter reading device A having the above-described structure, the meter-reading staff holds the parent machine 10 and operates the input section of the parent machine 10 at the above-mentioned meter-reading location to send a meter-reading request signal. A meter-specifying signal for specifying the meter M for which the meter reading is desired is input and these signals are transmitted.

In this case, the slave unit 1 of the measuring instrument M for which the meter reading is desired.
When 1 ″ is within the receivable / transmittable range β of the master device 10 shown in FIG. 3, the meter reading request signal and the like are received by the slave device 11 ″ and the relay device 12.

Upon receiving these signals, the handset 11 "transmits the meter-reading result signal of the measuring instrument M to the parent machine 10. Upon receiving the meter-reading result signal, the parent machine 10 displays the meter-reading result and the like on the display section. If there is a request, the notice sheet etc. is printed out in the printout section based on the result of meter reading.

On the other hand, when the repeater 12 receives the meter reading result signal from the slave 11 ″ within a fixed time after receiving the meter reading request signal from the master 10 and the meter reading result signal, the slave 11 ″ is received. Determines that the master device 10 can communicate with the master device 10 and makes no response to the master device 10.

Next, when the meter-reading member stands at the above-mentioned meter-reading position as it is and performs meter-reading of the measuring device M connected to the slave unit 11 'shown in FIG. Since it is outside β, even if the repeater 12 receives the meter reading request signal or the like transmitted from the master 10, the slave 11 ′ does not receive it.

However, when the repeater 12 receives the meter-specifying signal together with the meter-reading request signal from the parent machine 10 and does not receive the meter-reading result signal from one of the child machines 11 'for a certain period of time, the child machine 11'. It judges that communication between the master unit 10 and the master unit 10 is impossible, and transfers those signals from the master unit 10 to the slave unit 11 '.

Then, in the slave unit 11 ′, the meter M sends a meter reading result signal to the relay unit 12. Upon receiving the meter reading result signal, the relay device 12 transfers the meter reading result signal from the wireless transmission / reception unit 20 to the master device 10. Upon receiving the meter-reading result signal, the parent device 10 displays the meter-reading result and the like and prints out the notice slip and the like as described above.

It should be noted that each of the above-mentioned slaves 11 has one
Although the measuring devices M are connected individually, a plurality of measuring devices M may be connected to one child device 11.

[0023]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, even when the slave unit cannot directly send and receive signals to and from the master unit, the relay unit relays the meter reading request signal sent from the master unit. In order to relay the meter reading result signal from the child machine to the parent machine so that it can be transferred to the parent machine, when measuring the meter of each house in a super high-rise apartment building or a vast housing complex, The number of meter reading points is small, and as a result,
It is possible to reduce the load of the meter reading work by the meter reading staff by minimizing the movement of the meter reading point.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a wireless meter reading system including a wireless meter reading device according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration explanatory block diagram of a relay device provided in the wireless meter reading device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the positional relationship among the relay device, the master device, and the slave device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a wireless meter reading system including a conventional wireless meter reading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Master unit 11 Slave unit 12 Repeater A Wireless meter reading device M Measuring instrument

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A meter reading request signal is transmitted from a master unit, and when the meter reading request signal is received, a slave unit sends a meter reading result signal of a meter connected to it and the meter reading result signal is received by the master unit. In the wireless meter reading device that performs meter reading by doing, when receiving the meter reading request signal from the master unit and not receiving the meter reading result signal from the slave unit for the certain period of time after receiving the meter reading request signal, the slave unit to the parent unit A wireless meter-reading device comprising a relay device for transferring a meter-reading request signal from the same and a meter-reading result signal corresponding to the meter-reading request signal from the slave unit to the master unit.