KR20230008550A - Communication structure between device and modem in advanced metering infrastructure system and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a communication structure between a device and modem in an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system and an operation method. A pin map structure for communication between a device and removable modem may comprise: two power supply pins placed in opposite directions; three ground power pins; three pairs of communication pins for communication between the device and the removable modem; two pairs of signal pins for power line communication; a connection signal pin for universal serial bus (USB) connection; a transmission/reception conversion signal pin for a transmission/reception mode conversion signal of the removable modem; an operation mode pin for indicating an initial operation mode of the removable modem; a reset pin for resetting the removable modem; and spare pins. The detachable modem and AMI device having a connection unit of the pin map structure can transmit and receive each identification information through the connection unit and determine an operation mode according to the identification information. According to the present invention, by standardizing connection between an AMI device and modem, communication can be performed without distinction between modems.

Description

Communication structure between device and modem in advanced metering infrastructure system and operation method thereof

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication structure and operation method between a device and a communication modem in a remote meter reading infrastructure system.

AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) is an intelligent power metering infrastructure that improves the efficiency of power supply and induces voluntary reduction of power consumption by providing bidirectional power consumption information to suppliers and consumers in real time. The key facilities for building AMI are the smart meter installed on the consumer side, the data concentration unit (DCU) installed on the sub-apartment, the smart meter gateway (SMGW), and the It can be divided into a communication modem and a remote upper level AMI server system.

In AMI, the data concentrator collects data representing power usage information from various smart meters installed in the consumer using Power Line Communication (PLC) and transmits it to the upper system. A communication modem is a facility for exchanging data between a data concentrator and a smart meter, and a modem supporting PLC is mainly used. In existing AMIs, communication modems that are different in form, material, control method, and/or operation method are used for each smart meter and/or each data concentrator.

In the existing AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure), since the communication modems are all different in form, material, control method, and/or operation method, dedicated modems suitable for the device are required even if the same communication method is used for remote meter reading. As a result, the economic feasibility and maintainability of AMI may be deteriorated.

Therefore, in various embodiments of the present disclosure, a structure capable of communicating without discrimination of modems by standardizing a connection between an AMI device and a modem and a method for operating the same are disclosed.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for identifying each other between a modem and an AMI device through a standardized connection unit in a remote meter reading infrastructure system and setting an operation mode is disclosed.

The technical problem to be achieved in the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned technical problem, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. You will be able to.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a pinmap structure for communication between a device and a removable modem in an advanced metering infrastructure system includes two power supply pins disposed in opposite directions, three ground power pins, Three pairs of communication pins for communication between the device and the detachable modem, two pairs of signal pins for power line communication, a connection signal pin for USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection, transmission and reception for a transmission/reception mode conversion signal of the detachable modem A conversion signal pin, an operation mode pin for indicating an initial operation mode of the detachable modem, a reset pin for resetting the detachable modem, and a spare pin may be included.

According to one embodiment, the three pairs of communication pins are a pair of first UART communication used for High Level Data Link Control (HDLC) communication, AT_COMMAND communication, module data communication, or Point to Point Protocol (PPP) communication. pins, a pair of second UART communication pins used for RS-485 multi-drop communication or the AT_COMMAND communication, and a pair of USB ports used as USB ports or for communication between the detachable modem and a module built in the device /UART combined communication pins may be included.

According to one embodiment, the two pairs of signal pins for power line communication include a pair of pins for transmitting and receiving a -signal for power line communication and a pair of pins for transmitting and receiving a + signal for power line communication. can do.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method of operating an AMI device in an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system includes an operation of applying power to a detachable modem through a connection portion composed of 20 pins, and from the detachable modem It may include an operation of obtaining and registering identification information, an operation of transmitting identification information of the AMI device to the removable modem, and an operation of acquiring information about an operation mode of the removable modem.

According to one embodiment, the connection unit includes two power supply pins, three ground power pins, and three pairs of communication pins for communication between the device and the detachable modem disposed in opposite directions to reduce noise of the power supply unit. , two pairs of signal pins for power line communication, a connection signal pin for USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection, a transmission/reception conversion signal pin for a transmission/reception mode conversion signal of the removable modem, and an initial operation mode of the removable modem A pin map including an operation mode pin, a reset pin for resetting the detachable modem, and a spare pin may be included.

According to an embodiment, the AMI device may communicate with the detachable modem using any one pair of pins among the three pairs of communication pins.

According to an embodiment, the method may further include configuring a communication line with the detachable modem using any one pair of pins used to receive identification information of the detachable modem among the three pairs of communication pins.

According to an embodiment, the identification information of the detachable modem is received based on AT_COMMAND communication, and the identification information of the detachable modem may be set to a value corresponding to a communication type of the detachable modem.

According to an embodiment, the identification information of the AMI device is transmitted based on AT_COMMAND communication, and the identification information of the AMI device may be set as a number value for a device type.

According to one embodiment, the device type number is obtained from a device identifier for the device when the AMI device is a device, and the device identifier for the device is a manufacturer number, a device type number, or a serial number. It may include at least one of the numbers.

According to one embodiment, the operating method of the AMI device further includes, when the detachable modem is a detachable trunk modem, changing an operation mode of a built-in wireless modem built into the AMI device to a master mode, wherein the master The mode may be a mode in which the built-in wireless modem of the AMI device operates as a master modem for the built-in wireless modems of peripheral devices.

According to one embodiment, the operating method of the AMI device includes an operation of collecting measurement data of the peripheral instruments using the built-in wireless modem changed to the master mode, and transmitting the collected measurement data to the removable modem More actions may be included.

According to an embodiment, the method of operating the AMI device includes detecting whether the removable modem is attached or not, and changing the built-in wireless modem from the master mode to a basic mode when the attachment or detachment of the removable modem is detected. The basic mode may be a mode in which the built-in wireless modem of the AMI device communicates with the built-in wireless modem provided in the external main line modem.

According to one embodiment, the AMI device may include at least one of a meter, a data concentrator (DCU), or a smart meter gateway (SMGW).

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for operating a detachable modem in an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system includes an operation of receiving power from an AMI device through a connection portion composed of 20 pins, and the AMI device. Transmitting identification information of the detachable modem, receiving identification information of the AMI device from the AMI device, setting an operation mode of the detachable modem based on the identification information of the AMI device, and the set An operation of transmitting information about an operation mode to the AMI device may be included.

According to an embodiment, the operation of setting the operation mode of the detachable modem may include an operation of determining the type of device being accessed by the detachable modem based on the identification information of the AMI device, and an operation of determining the type of device being accessed by the detachable modem. and determining the operation mode according to the method, and the type of the device may include at least one of an instrument, a data concentrator (DCU), and a smart gateway (SMGW).

According to one embodiment, the connection part of the detachable modem includes two power supply pins disposed in opposite directions to reduce power supply noise, three ground power pins, and three pairs for communication between the device and the detachable modem. Indicates communication pins, two pairs of signal pins for power line communication, a connection signal pin for USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection, a transmit/receive conversion signal pin for a transmit/receive mode conversion signal of the detachable modem, and an initial operation mode of the detachable modem. It may include a pin map including an operation mode pin for resetting, a reset pin for resetting the detachable modem, and a spare pin.

According to an embodiment, the detachable modem may communicate with the AMI device using any one pair of pins among the three pairs of communication pins.

According to an embodiment, the identification information of the detachable modem is transmitted based on AT_COMMAND communication, and the identification information of the detachable modem may be set to a value corresponding to a communication type of the detachable modem.

According to an embodiment, the identification information of the AMI device is received based on AT_COMMAND communication, and the identification information of the AMI device may be set as a number value for a device type.

According to one embodiment, the device type number is obtained from a device identifier for the device when the AMI device is a device, and the device identifier for the device is a manufacturer number, a device type number, or a serial number. It may include at least one of the numbers.

According to an embodiment, when the detachable modem is a detachable trunk modem, measurement data of peripheral devices collected by the built-in wireless modem of the AMI device, operation of receiving the measurement data of the AMI device, and the peripheral devices An operation of transmitting the measurement data and the measurement data of the AMI device to a higher communication device may be further included.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, in a remote meter reading infrastructure system, communication can be performed without distinction of modem through standardization of a connection between a device and a modem, thereby obtaining an effect of reducing operating costs by securing interoperability. You can get it. In addition, by standardizing a connection between a device and a modem and proposing an operating method using the same, it is not limited to a specific communication method and can be applied to a new communication method to come in the future. In addition, modems that were previously dualized as a master modem and a slave modem in the remote meter reading system and purchased and managed with the same communication method or different materials can be integrated and operated as a single modem, so material management and purchase costs can be reduced. there is.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, when a detachable trunk modem is mounted on an instrument, the built-in wireless modem of the instrument is operated as a master modem, so that additional trunk modems are added to other instruments existing within the communication range of the built-in wireless modem. without installing, it is possible to collect data from instruments within the corresponding communication range and transmit it to the upper data concentrator, improving cost-benefit.

1 is a schematic structural diagram of an AMI device and a modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
2 is a pin map structure diagram of a connection unit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
3 is a flowchart of signals transmitted and received between an AMI device and a modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
4 is a flowchart of identifying a modem in an AMI device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
5 is a flowchart of setting an operation mode according to an AMI device connected in a modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
6 is a schematic structural diagram of an AMI device equipped with a built-in wireless modem and a detachable trunk modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
7 is a flowchart of signals transmitted and received between an AMI device and a detachable trunk modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
8 is an exemplary diagram of collecting information of a peripheral device by using a built-in wireless modem in an AMI device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
9 is a flowchart of operating an embedded wireless modem in an AMI device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
10 is a flowchart illustrating communication with an AMI device and an upper communication device in a detachable trunk modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
In connection with the description of the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals may be used for the same or similar elements.

Hereinafter, various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Regardless of the reference numerals, the same reference numerals are given to the same or similar components, and overlapping descriptions thereof can be omitted.

The suffixes 'module', 'unit', or 'group' for components used in the following description are given or used interchangeably for ease of writing the specification, and do not have a meaning or role that is distinguished from each other by itself. In addition, a 'module', 'unit' or 'group' means software or a hardware component such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), but is not limited to software or hardware. A 'module', 'unit' or 'group' may be configured to reside in an addressable storage medium and may be configured to reproduce one or more processors. Thus, as an example, a 'module', 'unit' or 'group' includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. A function provided within one component, 'module', 'unit' or 'unit' may be combined into a smaller number of components and 'modules', 'units' or 'units', or may be combined with additional components. It can be further separated into 'modules', 'units' or 'units'.

Steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with some embodiments of the present disclosure may be directly embodied in hardware executed by a processor, a software module, or a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of recording medium known in the art. An exemplary recording medium is coupled to the processor, and the processor can read information from and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the recording medium may be integral with the processor. The processor and recording medium may reside within an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). An ASIC may reside within a user terminal.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first and second, may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

It is understood that when a component is referred to as being 'connected' or 'connected' to another component, it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but other components may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being 'directly connected' or 'directly connected' to another component, it should be understood that no other component exists in the middle.

1 is a schematic structural diagram of an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) device and a modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Some components of FIG. 1 will be described below with reference to FIG. 2 . 2 is a pin map structure diagram of a connection unit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the AMI device 100 may include at least one of a meter, a data concentrator, and a smart meter gateway. The instrument may be a smart meter that measures and displays at least one of voltage, current, power, active power, reactive power, power factor, or frequency. The data concentrator may be a device that collects data measured from various instruments and transmits it to an upper system. A smart meter gateway may be a device that serves to provide various additional services by collecting and applying measurement data from various instruments and/or data concentrators.

The AMI device 100 may include a connection unit 102 for mounting a detachable modem 110.

The detachable modem 110 is a modem detachable from the AMI device 100, and can be mounted and/or connected to the AMI device 100 through the connection unit 112.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the connection unit 102 of the AMI device 100 and/or the connection unit 112 of the removable modem 110 may be standardized to have a specific pinmap structure. For example, the connection unit 102 of the AMI device 100 and/or the connection unit 112 of the detachable modem 110 may be configured to have a pin map structure as shown in FIG. 2 . In various embodiments of the present disclosure, by standardizing the connection to a communication pinmap having 20 pins as shown in FIG. 2, both a power line communication (PLC) modem and/or other various types of modems can be accommodated. Hereinafter, the pin map structure of the connection part of FIG. 2 is a structure in which pins are arranged to support multiple types of communication devices while minimizing the number of physical connection pins between the AMI device 100 and the detachable modem 110.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the pin map of the connection unit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure includes two DC power pins 201 and 215 for a modem and three GND pins 203 and 204 to supply DC power. , 212). DC power pins 201 and 205 for the modem may be arranged in opposite directions to stably supply DC power to the modem. For example, the DC power pins 201 and 205 for the modem may be arranged in opposite directions to reduce noise of the power supply unit. The pin map of the connection part is USB/UART (Universal Serial Bus/Universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter) combined pins USB_DP/UART2_RXD (213) and USB_DM/UART2_TXD (214), and UART-only pins UART1_RXD (205) and UART1_TXD for communication. (207), UART3_RXD (210), and UART3_TXD (205). UART3_RXD (210) and UART3_TXD (205) can be directly connected to the instrument RS 485 controller to enable direct serial communication with instruments and external devices.

The pin map of the connection unit may include TX_SIGN 217, RX_SIGN 218, TX_SIGP 219, and TX_SIGN 220, which are signal pins connected to a voltage line and a coupler for PLC communication.

The pin map of the connection part includes USB_VBUS (216), a pin for USB connection signal, MODE (206), a pin for modem setting, Rx/Tx conversion signal (202), a pin for switching between transmission and reception modes, and Reset (209), a pin for reset. ), and Reserved 208, which is a reserved pin.

Table 1 below shows the role of each pin in the above-described pin map in more detail.

Looking at the pins of FIG. 2 with reference to Table 1, the DC power supplies 201 and 215 for the modem are pins for supplying 3.3V power to the modem, and GNDs 203, 204 and 212 are ground power supplies to the modem pins for

The Rx/Tx conversion signal 202 is a pin for transmitting and receiving a TXEN signal, which is an RS-485 TX/RX conversion signal dedicated to the detachable modem. When the TXEN signal is high, it may indicate switching to the Tx mode, and when the TXEN signal is low, it may indicate switching to the Rx mode. MODE 206 is a pin for transmitting and receiving the MODE signal, which is a signal for identifying the initial operation of the modem. When the modem is installed in the data concentrator, the MODE signal becomes low, and the modem is installed in the instrument. If so, the MODE signal goes high.

UART1_RXD (205) and UART1_TXD (207) are used for communication between the AMI device and the modem, and UART3_RXD (210) and UART3_TXD (211) can be used for RS-485 multi-drop communication or AT_Command communication. USB_DP/UART2_RXD (213) and USB_DM/UART2_TXD (214) are used for USB communication in the case of a detachable LTE modem, and can be used for communication between the detachable modem and the built-in SUN module when the device uses a built-in SUN module. there is.

The Reset 209 is used for transmitting and receiving a reset signal for resetting the modem, and the USB_VBUS 216 can be used for transmitting and receiving a USB connection signal of the LTE modem.

Each of the TX_SIGN 217, RX_SIGN 218, TX_SIGP 219, and TX_SIGN 220 may be used for transmitting and receiving a + signal or a - signal for PLC communication.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a pin map of a connection unit for connection between the AMI device 100 and the modem 110 may be standardized to have a structure as described in FIG. 2 and Table 1.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the AMI device 100 and the modem 110 may perform an identification operation for a connected device through a standardized connection unit as described in FIG. 2 and/or Table 1. there is.

3 is a flowchart of signals transmitted and received between an AMI device and a modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following embodiments, each operation may be performed sequentially, but not necessarily sequentially. For example, the order of each operation may be changed, or at least two operations may be performed in parallel. Here, the AMI device 100 may be the AMI device 100 of FIG. 1 , and the detachable modem 110 may be the detachable modem 110 of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , when the detachable modem 110 is mounted (or connected) to the AMI device 100, the AMI device 100 may apply DC power to the detachable modem 110 in operation 301. For example, the AMI device 100 may apply DC power to the detachable modem 110 using pins for supplying power to the connection unit 102 . The detachable modem 110 may receive DC power from the AMI device 100 using pins for power supply of the connection unit 112 . As described in FIG. 2 and/or Table 1, pins for supplying power may include two DC power supplies 201 and 215 for modems and three GNDs 203, 204 and 212.

When DC power is applied from the AMI device 100, the detachable modem 110 may transmit identification information of the modem in operation 303. Modem identification information (or modem identifier) is information representing the type of the detachable modem 110, and may be composed of, for example, a two-digit number. The detachable modem 110 may generate an AT command as shown in Table 2 below and transmit it to the AMI device 100.

As shown in Table 2, the AT command for transmitting identification information of the modem may be "AT+BEARER", and a modem identifier may be input in <##>. For example, if the detachable modem 110 is "KEPCO AMI SUN modem" and the corresponding modem identifier is "1", the detachable modem 110 is "AT+BEARER=01\01\rOK\r" and The same AT command may be generated and transmitted to the AMI device 100. The modem identifier is a network bearer value representing the communication type of the modem, and may be pre-promised, for example, as shown in Table 3 below.

Table 3 shows that when the network bearer value is 1, the detachable modem 120 is a modem supporting AMI 2.0 SUN MAC profile, and when the network bearer value is 2, the detachable modem 120 is a modem supporting AMI 2.0 SUN IP Profile. can When the network bearer value is 3, the detachable modem 120 is a Logn Term Evolution (LTE) modem, and when the network bearer value is 4, it may indicate that the detachable modem 120 is an IoT PLC modem. If the network bearer value is 5, the detachable modem 120 is a Home Plug Green Phy (HPGP) modem, and if the network bearer value is 99, it indicates that the detachable modem 120 is a C-type Smart Meter Gateway (C_SMGW) modem. can When the network bearer value is 6 to 98, it is an unspecified reserve value and may be set by the operator and/or designer. Table 3 is only an example, and various embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

According to one embodiment, the detachable modem 110 transmits identification information of the modem using at least one of UART1, UART2, UART3 related pins, or USB related pins of the connection part, and the AMI device 100 transmits the UART1 of the connection part, Identification information of the detachable modem 110 may be received using at least one of UART2, UART3 related pins, or USB related pins.

In operation 305, the AMI device 100 may register the identification information of the received modem and register a signal line. For example, the AMI device 100 checks whether identification information of the modem has been received from the detachable modem 110 by using which pin among UART1, UART2, and UART3 related pins or USB related pins of the connection part, and receives the identification information of the modem It is possible to configure a communication line based on the pin used for and store state information.

The AMI device 100 may transmit identification information of the AMI device in operation 307. The identification information of the AMI device is a device identifier representing the type of the corresponding device of the AMI device 100, and may consist of, for example, two-digit numbers. The AMI device 100 may generate an AT command as shown in Table 4 below and transmit it to the detachable modem 110.

As shown in Table 4, the AT command for transmitting device identification information is "AT+METERID", and a device identifier may be input in <##>. For example, when the AMI device 100 is a "one-phase power meter", the device identifier is "51", and an AT command such as "AT+METERID=<51>" is generated and transmitted to the detachable modem 110 there is.

According to one embodiment, when the AMI device 100 is an instrument, the device identifier may be obtained from the device ID of the instrument, configured as shown in Table 5.

As shown in Table 5, the device ID may consist of a manufacturer number, a device type (or device type number), and a serial number. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, number information indicating a device type among number information included in a device ID may be used as a device identifier. Numbers indicating device types may be represented as shown in Table 6 below, for example.

The configuration and device format of the device identifiers in Tables 5 and 6 are only examples for easy understanding, and various embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

In operation 309, the detachable modem 110 may check the type of AMI device to which the detachable modem 110 is connected (or installed) based on the identification information of the AMI device. For example, the detachable modem 110 can distinguish whether the corresponding AMI device is an instrument or a data concentrator based on identification information of the AMI device. Additionally, the detachable modem 110 may check what type of device the connected AMI device is if the device is a device.

In operation 311, the detachable modem 110 may set its own operation mode according to the determined type. For example, if the connected AMI device is a data concentrator, it can set its operation mode to master mode in order to collect data from a plurality of devices, and perform settings to operate in master mode. As another example, if the connected AMI device is an instrument, determine its operation mode as slave mode (or instrument attachment mode) and operate in instrument attachment mode in order to transmit measured data from the connected instrument to the data concentrator. settings can be made for

In operation 313, the detachable modem 110 may transmit setting information about an operation mode to the AMI device 100. The AMI device 100 may store information about the operation mode of the detachable modem 110 in operation 315 to complete registration of the detachable modem 110 . Thereafter, the AMI device 100 may receive data from another AMI device or transmit data to another AMI device using the detachable modem 110 .

4 is a flowchart of identifying a modem in an AMI device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following embodiments, each operation may be performed sequentially, but not necessarily sequentially. For example, the order of each operation may be changed, or at least two operations may be performed in parallel. Here, the AMI device 100 may be the AMI device 100 of FIGS. 1 and 3 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , the AMI device 100 may apply DC power to the detachable modem 110 in operation 401 . For example, when the detachable modem 110 is inserted into the connector 102, the AMI device 100 can supply power to the detachable modem 110 using pins for supplying power to the connector.

In operation 403, the AMI device 100 may receive identification information from the detachable modem 110. For example, as described in Table 2, the AMI device 100 may receive an AT command including identification information of the detachable modem 110.

In operation 405, the AMI device 100 may register the received identification information and signal line information of the detachable modem 110. For example, the AMI device 100 recognizes which pin among UART1 to UART3-related pins or USB-related pins has received an AT command, configures a communication line for the recognized pin, and transmits state information about it to the signal line information can be registered.

In operation 407, the AMI device 100 may transmit identification information of the AMI device to the detachable modem 100. For example, as described in Table 4, the AMI device 100 may transmit an AT command including identification information of the AMI device 100.

In operation 409, the AMI device 100 may receive modem setting information from the detachable modem 110. The setting information of the modem may indicate an operation mode determined according to the identification information of the AMI device 100.

In operation 411, the AMI device 100 stores modem setting information and completes a registration procedure for the detachable modem 110, thereby performing communication with other AMI devices for remote meter reading using the detachable modem 110 can do.

5 is a flowchart of setting an operation mode according to an AMI device connected in a detachable modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following embodiments, each operation may be performed sequentially, but not necessarily sequentially. For example, the order of each operation may be changed, or at least two operations may be performed in parallel. Here, the detachable modem 110 may be the detachable modem 110 of FIGS. 1 and 3 .

Referring to FIG. 5 , the detachable modem 110 may receive DC power from the AMI device 100 in operation 501 . For example, when the connector 112 of the detachable modem 110 is connected to the connector 102 of the AMI device 100, power can be supplied from the AMI device 100 through pins for supplying power to the connector. .

When power is applied from the connected AMI device 100, the detachable modem 110 may transmit identification information of the detachable modem 110 to the connected AMI device 100 in operation 503. For example, as described in Table 2, the removable modem 110 may generate and transmit an AT command including identification information of the removable modem 110 . The detachable modem 110 may transmit an AT command through any one of UART1 to UART3 related pins or USB related pins.

The detachable modem 110 may receive identification information of the AMI device 100 in operation 505 . For example, as described in Table 4, the detachable modem 110 may receive an AT command including identification information of the AMI device 100.

In operation 507, the detachable modem 110 may set an operation mode according to the connected (or mounted) AMI device. According to an embodiment, the detachable modem 110 obtains identification information of the AMI device 100 from the received AT command, and based on the obtained identification information of the AMI device 100, the type of AMI device currently being accessed can be checked. For example, the detachable modem 110 can distinguish whether the currently connected AMI device is an instrument or a data concentrator based on identification information of the AMI device. According to one embodiment, the detachable modem 110 may set its own operation mode according to the determined type of AMI device. For example, if the AMI device being connected is a data concentrator, its operation mode may be determined as master mode, and if the AMI device being connected is an instrument, its own operation mode may be determined as slave mode. The master mode is a mode for collecting data from a plurality of instruments, and the slave mode is a mode for transmitting measured data from a connected instrument to a data concentrator.

In operation 509, the detachable modem 110 may transmit setting information about an operation mode to the AMI device 100. This is to ensure that the AMI device 100 normally completes registration of the detachable modem 110.

6 is a schematic structural diagram of an AMI device equipped with a built-in wireless modem and a detachable trunk modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The AMI device 100 of FIG. 6 may be the AMI device 100 of FIGS. 1 and 3 .

Referring to FIG. 6 , the AMI device 100 may be an instrument including a built-in wireless modem 601 and equipped with a detachable main line modem 602 . The detachable trunk modem 602 may be mounted on and/or connected to the AMI device 100 through the connection unit 102 of the AMI device 100 . The detachable trunk modem 602 may be the detachable modem 110 of FIG. 1 .

When the detachable trunk modem 602 is mounted through the connection unit 102 of the AMI device 100, the AMI device 100 performs the operations described in FIGS. 3 and 4 to connect the detachable trunk modem 602 The identification information of can be obtained.

When the detachable trunk modem 602 is installed in the AMI device 100, the AMI device 100 or the detachable trunk modem 602 sets the operation mode of the built-in wireless modem 601 of the AMI device 100 to the master mode. can be changed The master mode may be a mode operating as a master modem of built-in wireless modems included in peripheral devices. As shown in Table 7, the AMI device 100 or the detachable trunk modem 602 may generate an AT command for setting an operation mode and provide it to the built-in wireless modem 601.

As shown in Table 7, the AT command for setting the operation mode of the built-in wireless modem 601 may be "AT+LISTEN", and a control code may be input in <#>. Control code 1 may indicate setting to master mode, and 0 may indicate master mode release. For example, when the AMI device 100 or the detachable trunk modem 602 wants to set the built-in wireless modem 601 to the master mode, it generates an AT command message such as "AT+LISTEN: <1>\r" and can be transmitted to the built-in wireless modem 601. As another example, when the AMI device 100 or the detachable trunk modem 602 wants to release the master mode of the built-in wireless modem 601, an AT command message such as "AT+LISTEN: <0>\r" is generated to It can be transmitted through the built-in wireless modem 601. When the AMI device 100 does not normally communicate with the detachable trunk modem 602 due to detachment (or detachment) of the detachable trunk modem 602, the master mode of the built-in wireless modem 601 is released and set to the basic mode can be controlled to

When the built-in wireless modem 601 receives an AT command message to set to the master mode from the AMI device 100 or the detachable trunk modem 602, it can change the setting to the master mode and communicate with other nearby devices. there is. When the built-in wireless modem 601 is changed to the master mode, it can operate as a master modem for built-in wireless modems included in peripheral instruments. The built-in wireless modem 601 operates as a master modem of the built-in wireless modems of the peripheral devices, and can collect data measured by the peripheral devices. The collected data of other instruments and/or the data measured by the AMI device 100 may be transmitted to the detachable trunk modem 610 under the control of the AMI device 100.

7 is a flowchart of signals transmitted and received between an AMI device and a detachable trunk modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following embodiments, each operation may be performed sequentially, but not necessarily sequentially. For example, the order of each operation may be changed, or at least two operations may be performed in parallel. Here, the AMI device 100 is the AMI device 100 of FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 6, and the detachable trunk modem 602 is the detachable modem 110 of FIGS. 1, 3, and 5; and the detachable trunk modem 602 of FIG. 6 . Here, when the detachable trunk modem 602 is installed in the AMI device 100, the AMI device 100 and the detachable trunk modem 602 may perform the procedure shown in FIG. 3 . Hereinafter, the operations of FIG. 7 may be operations after the operation of FIG. 3 is performed. Operations indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 7 may be omitted according to embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the detachable trunk modem 602 may instruct the built-in wireless modem 601 of the AMI device 100 to change the mode in operation 700 . For example, in operation 309 and operation 311 of FIG. 3 and/or operation 507 in FIG. It can be recognized that it is an AMI device 100 that does. In this case, the detachable main line modem 602 uses the AT command as shown in Table 7 to change the mode of the built-in wireless modem 601 of the AMI device 100 being connected to the master mode. 601) may be instructed to change the mode. According to one embodiment, operation 700 may be omitted. According to an embodiment, operation 700 may be performed at least temporarily at the same time as operation 313 of FIG. 3 and/or operation 509 of FIG. 5 or may be performed at different times.

The built-in wireless modem 601 of the AMI device 100 may change the mode in operation 701. According to one embodiment, the built-in wireless modem 601 can change from the basic mode to the master mode by receiving a mode change command from the AMI device 100 or the detachable trunk modem 602 . For example, when the detachable trunk modem 602 is installed, the AMI device 100 may change the operation mode of the internal wireless modem 601 after completing registration of the removable trunk modem 602 . The operation mode of the built-in wireless modem 601 can be changed using AT commands as shown in Table 7. For example, when the AMI device 100, which is an instrument, detects the installation of a detachable trunk modem 602 capable of communicating with the data concentrator, the operation mode of the built-in wireless modem 601 built in the AMI device 100 is changed to the surroundings. You can change to master mode to collect instrument data. When the AMI device 100 detects the detachable trunk modem 602 and changes the operation mode of the internal wireless modem 601, operation 700 may be omitted.

The AMI device 100 may collect data of peripheral devices using the built-in wireless modem 601 whose mode is changed in operation 703 . For example, the AMI device 100 may collect data of the peripheral devices by communicating with the peripheral devices using the built-in wireless modem 601 operating in the master mode. The data collected from the peripheral devices may include data measured by the peripheral devices and identification information of the peripheral devices. According to one embodiment, the peripheral instruments may be other instruments included within the consumer aggregation instrument box.

The AMI device 100 may transmit the collected peripheral device data and the AMI device 100 data to the detachable trunk modem 602 in operation 705 . Data of the AMI device 100 may include data measured by the AMI device 100 and identification information of the AMI device 100.

The detachable trunk modem 602 may transmit the data received from the AMI device 100 to the upper device in operation 707 . For example, the detachable trunk modem 602 may transfer data received from the AMI device 100 being connected to a data concentrator, which is an upper communication device.

8 is an exemplary diagram of collecting information of a peripheral device by using a built-in wireless modem in an AMI device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8 , device 2 820 changes the mode of the built-in wireless modem 821 from the basic mode to the master mode when mounting of the detachable trunk modem 822 is detected as described in FIGS. 6 and/or 7 . can be changed to

The built-in wireless modem 821 changed to the master mode communicates with the built-in wireless modems 811 and 831 of instrument 1 810 and instrument 3 830 located nearby, and instrument 1 810 and instrument 3 ( 830) measurement data may be collected. Instrument 1 810, instrument 2 820, and instrument 830 may all be instruments included in the same customer aggregation instrument box. The built-in wireless modem 821 may transmit data collected from peripheral devices to the detachable trunk modem 822 .

The detachable trunk modem 822 can communicate with the detachable modem 2 842 of the upper communication device 840 . The upper communication device 840 may be a data concentrator. The detachable main line modem 822 may transmit the data measured by device 2 and the measurement data of peripheral devices acquired through the built-in wireless modem 821 to the data concentrator 840 .

The upper communication device 840 may transmit measurement data of instruments obtained through the removable modem 2 842 to the upper system 850 through the removable modem 1 841.

As described above, when a device is equipped with a detachable trunk modem, by operating the device's built-in wireless modem as a master modem, other devices within the communication range of the built-in wireless modem do not install additional trunk modems, and the corresponding communication Data can be collected from instruments within range and transmitted to a higher-level data concentrator, improving cost-benefit.

In FIGS. 9 and 10 , the case where the AMI device changes the mode of the built-in wireless modem will be described as an example. However, some operations of FIGS. 9 and 10 described below (eg, operations 905 to 911 and operations 1001 and 1003) are the same even when the detachable trunk modem installed in the AMI device changes the mode of the built-in wireless modem. can be applied

9 is a flowchart of operating an embedded wireless modem in an AMI device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following embodiments, each operation may be performed sequentially, but not necessarily sequentially. For example, the order of each operation may be changed, or at least two operations may be performed in parallel. Here, the AMI device 100 may be the AMI device 100 of FIGS. 1, 3, and 6.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the AMI device 100 may detect a detachable trunk modem 602 in operation 901 . The detachable trunk modem 602 can detect as described in FIGS. 3 and 4 .

In operation 903, the AMI device 100 may change the operation mode of the internal wireless modem 601 to the master mode in response to the detection of the detachable trunk modem 602. The operation mode of the built-in wireless modem 601 can be changed using AT commands as shown in Table 7.

In operation 905, the AMI device 100 may detect whether the detachable trunk modem is detached (or detached) from the AMI device 100. The AMI device 100 may determine that the detachable trunk modem 602 is detached when normal communication with the detachable trunk modem is impossible through the connection unit 102 .

When the detachable main line modem 602 is not detachable from the AMI device 100 and is in a mounted state, the AMI device 100 collects data of peripheral devices using the built-in wireless modem 601 in operation 907, and in operation 909 Data collected in may be transmitted to the detachable trunk modem 602.

When the detachable trunk modem 602 is detached from the AMI device 100, the AMI device 100 may change the operation mode of the built-in wireless modem 601 from the master mode to the basic mode in operation 911. The built-in wireless modem changed to the basic mode can communicate with the built-in wireless modem included in the external trunk modem. For example, the built-in wireless modem changed to the basic mode is a built-in wireless modem included in an external trunk modem and can transmit data measured by the AMI device 100.

10 is a flowchart illustrating communication with an AMI device and an upper communication device in a detachable trunk modem according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In the following embodiments, each operation may be performed sequentially, but not necessarily sequentially. For example, the order of each operation may be changed, or at least two operations may be performed in parallel. Here, the detachable trunk modem 602 may be the detachable modem 110 of FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, and the detachable trunk modem 602 of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the detachable trunk modem 602 may acquire measurement data from the AMI device 100 in operation 1001 . The acquired measurement data may include data collected by the built-in wireless modem 601 of the AMI device 100 and data directly measured by the AMI device 100.

The detachable trunk modem 602 may transmit the data acquired in operation 1003 to the upper communication device. For example, the detachable trunk modem 602 may transfer data received from the AMI device 100 being connected to a data concentrator, which is an upper communication device.

As described above, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, by standardizing the connection between the AMI device and the modem, it is possible to communicate regardless of the modem, thereby securing interoperability and reducing operating costs effect can be obtained. In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, through an identification method and an operating method between an AMI device and a modem, it is not limited to a specific communication method and can be applied to various communication methods.

100: AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) device
102: connection unit 110: detachable modem
112: connection part 201, 215: DC power supply for modem
202: Rx/Tx switching signal 203, 204, 212: GND
205: UART1_RXD 206: MODE
207: UART1_TXD 208: Reserved
209: Reset 210: UART3_RXD
211: UART3_TXD 213: USB_DP/UART2_RXD
214: USB_DM/UART2_TXD 216: USB_VBUS
217: TX_SIGN 218: RX_SIGN
219: RX_SIGP 220: RX_SIGP
601: built-in wireless modem

Claims (22)

In the pin map structure for communication between a device and a removable modem in an advanced metering infrastructure system,
two power supply pins disposed in opposite directions;
three ground power pins;
three pairs of communication pins for communication between the device and the detachable modem;
two pairs of signal pins for power line communication;
Connection signal pin for USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection;
a transmission/reception switching signal pin for a transmission/reception mode conversion signal of the detachable modem;
an operation mode pin indicating an initial operation mode of the detachable modem;
a reset pin for resetting the detachable modem; and
A pin map structure comprising spare pins.
According to claim 1,
The three pairs of communication pins,
a pair of first UART communication pins used for High Level Data Link Control (HDLC) communication, AT_COMMAND communication, module data communication, or Point to Point Protocol (PPP) communication;
a pair of second UART communication pins used for RS-485 multi-drop communication or the AT_COMMAND communication; and
A pin map structure that is used as a USB port or includes a pair of USB/UART combined communication pins for communication between the removable modem and a module embedded in the device.
According to claim 1,
Two pairs of signal pins for the power line communication,
-A pair of pins for transmitting and receiving signals for power line communication; and
A pin map structure including a pair of pins for transmitting and receiving + signals for power line communication.
In the method of operating an AMI device in an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system,
Applying power to the detachable modem through a connection portion composed of 20 pins;
obtaining and registering identification information from the removable modem;
Transmitting identification information of the AMI device to the detachable modem; and
and obtaining information about an operation mode of the detachable modem.
According to claim 4,
The connection part,
Two power supply pins disposed in opposite directions to reduce noise of the power supply unit;
three ground power pins;
three pairs of communication pins for communication between the device and the detachable modem;
two pairs of signal pins for power line communication;
Connection signal pin for USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection;
a transmission/reception switching signal pin for a transmission/reception mode conversion signal of the detachable modem;
an operation mode pin indicating an initial operation mode of the detachable modem;
a reset pin for resetting the detachable modem; and
A method comprising a pinmap comprising spare pins.
According to claim 5,
The method of claim 1 , wherein the AMI device communicates with the detachable modem using any one pair of pins among the three pairs of communication pins.
According to claim 5,
The method further comprising configuring a communication line with the detachable modem by using any one pair of pins used to receive identification information of the detachable modem among the three pairs of communication pins.
According to claim 4,
The identification information of the detachable modem is received based on AT_COMMAND communication,
The identification information of the detachable modem is set to a value corresponding to the communication type of the detachable modem.
According to claim 4,
The identification information of the AMI device is transmitted based on AT_COMMAND communication,
The identification information of the AMI device is set to a number value for the device type. Way.
According to claim 9,
The number for the device type is obtained from the device identifier for the device when the AMI device is a device,
The device identifier for the device includes at least one of a manufacturer number, a device type number, or a serial number.
According to claim 4,
When the detachable modem is a detachable trunk modem, further comprising an operation of changing the operation mode of the built-in wireless modem built into the AMI device to a master mode,
The master mode is a mode in which the built-in wireless modem of the AMI device operates as a master modem for built-in wireless modems of peripheral devices.
According to claim 11,
collecting measurement data of the peripheral instruments using the built-in wireless modem changed to the master mode; and
The method further comprising transmitting the collected measurement data to the removable modem.
According to claim 11,
detecting whether the detachable modem is detached; and
Further comprising changing the built-in wireless modem from the master mode to a basic mode when the detachment of the detachable modem is detected;
The basic mode is a mode in which the built-in wireless modem of the AMI device communicates with a built-in wireless modem provided in an external trunk modem.
According to claim 4,
The method of claim 1, wherein the AMI device includes at least one of a meter, a data concentrator, and a smart meter gateway.
In the method of operating a detachable modem in an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system,
An operation of receiving power from an AMI device through a connection composed of 20 pins;
Transmitting identification information of the detachable modem to the AMI device;
Receiving identification information of the AMI device from the AMI device;
Setting an operation mode of the detachable modem based on the identification information of the AMI device; and
and transmitting information on the set operation mode to the AMI device.
According to claim 15,
The operation of setting the operation mode of the detachable modem,
determining a type of device to which the detachable modem is connected based on the identification information of the AMI device; and
determining the operation mode according to the type of the connected device;
The type of device includes at least one of an instrument, a data concentrator, or a smart meter gateway.
According to claim 15,
The connection part,
Two power supply pins disposed in opposite directions to reduce noise of the power supply unit;
three ground power pins;
three pairs of communication pins for communication between the device and the detachable modem;
two pairs of signal pins for power line communication;
Connection signal pin for USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection;
a transmission/reception switching signal pin for a transmission/reception mode conversion signal of the detachable modem;
an operation mode pin indicating an initial operation mode of the detachable modem;
a reset pin for resetting the detachable modem; and
A method comprising a pinmap comprising spare pins.
According to claim 17,
The detachable modem communicates with the AMI device using any one pair of pins among the three pairs of communication pins.
According to claim 15,
The identification information of the detachable modem is transmitted based on AT_COMMAND communication,
The identification information of the detachable modem is set to a value corresponding to the communication type of the detachable modem.
According to claim 15,
The identification information of the AMI device is received based on AT_COMMAND communication,
The identification information of the AMI device is set to a number value for the device type.
According to claim 20,
The number for the device type is obtained from the device identifier for the device when the AMI device is a device,
The device identifier for the device includes at least one of a manufacturer number, a device type number, or a serial number.
According to claim 14,
When the detachable modem is a detachable trunk modem, receiving measurement data of peripheral instruments collected by the built-in wireless modem of the AMI device and measurement data of the AMI device; and
The method further comprising transmitting the measurement data of the peripheral devices and the measurement data of the AMI device to a higher communication device.

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