AU751186B2

AU751186B2 - Location or inventory system

Info

Publication number: AU751186B2
Application number: AU35211/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Dirk Herrmann; Thorsten-Uwe Mey
Original assignee: Bb Data Inf & Komm Syst GmbH
Current assignee: BB-DATA GESELLSCHAFT fur INFORMATIONS-UND KOMMUNIKATIONSSYSTEME MBH
Priority date: 1998-03-18
Filing date: 1999-03-18
Publication date: 2002-08-08
Anticipated expiration: 2019-03-18
Also published as: DE19812909A1; EP1240633A2; AU3521199A; BR9908828A; ATE240566T1; JP2003506905A; RU2000124066A; WO1999048177A2; WO1999048177A3; KR20010074449A; EP1240633B1; ZA200004885B; DE59905597D1; CN1398388A; CA2322841A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a location or inventory system for objects which are provided as power consumers with a terminal for a power supply network, and which each comprise an individual object identifier as part of the location and inventory information that can be verified from a central location. A generator for a location identifier is provided in the area of a power network line unit for the energy-receiving system. The source of energy is marked with the location identifier as an additional piece of information. Said location identifier differs from other location identifiers in the power network. The generator is permanently connected to said power network line unit in an interactive manner. The location identifier can only be transmitted from the power network line unit in a direction of the at least one energy-receiving system which is connected to said power network line unit. A receiver for this location identifier is also provided in the energy-receiving system. In addition, a converter is provided which converts the location identifier, together or in association with the object identifier, into a data format which is suited for transmission.

Description

Berlin Our ref: Applicants/proprietors: Office ref: 17 March 1999 BB8078 HC/oe BB-Data Gesellschaft fir Informations- und Kommunikationssysteme mbH New application BB-Data Gesellschaft fCr Informations- und Kommunikationssysteme mbH Brunnenstr. 111, D-13355 Berlin Location or inventory system The invention relates to a location and inventory system for articles which as energy consumers are provided with a connection for an energy supply network and each have a respective individual item of location and inventory information which can be verified from a central station, as set forth in the classifying portion of claim 1.

In location and inventory systems of that kind, it is important to detect the presence and the location of articles. In that respect systems are already known in which the articles which are to be inventoried are provided with labels or tags which have a telemetrically interrogatable identification and which can be detected from a station which is disposed in the proximity and which therefore, by regular response and subsequent interrogation, checks the presence and the nature of the articles and thus keeps ready items of location and inventory data of the articles which are in the proximity.

A disadvantage in that respect is that specific apparatuses have to be afforded as local monitoring stations, the sole purpose of same lying in interrogation and possibly transmission of the interrogated article identifications to a higher-order station. It can frequently happen that radio shadows mean that the apparatuses to be inventoried cannot be permanently detected, and the expensive and extensive installation of special subsidiary centers is necessary in order to permit complete detection.

Therefore the object of the present invention is to provide a location and inventory system of the general kind set forth in the opening part of this specification, which affords the possibility of detecting articles which are in buildings or in the proximity thereof, without the installation of an additional system which is specifically designed for that purpose and in particular without the need for an additional information structure or network.

Based on a location and inventory system as set forth in the classifying portion of claim 1, that object is attained by the features recited in the characterizing portion of that claim.

The invention embraces the technical teaching that especially as most apparatuses to be inventoried are provided with a connection for the power network a location and inventory system which is simple and convenient to handle can be provided by simple suitable additions, at a low level of cost. The additions can be added in a simple manner both to the local installation network and also to the articles to be inventoried. In that way the power network acquires the additional function of a location transmitting assembly. That is unnoticed from the point of view of the normal power user. With the apparatuses being suitably prepared, the location information is transmitted and transferred, without involving further measures.

By virtue of the installation network being divided into different "information cells" which are separated from each other in respect of the locating information to be outputted, local regions are provided, with which different items of location information are associated. Each apparatus connected to the energy network within such a cell receives, with the power energy, the location information which in the further processing procedure is combined with an individual article identification and signaled back to a central monitoring station.

This system can be manipulated only at considerable cost as the location information is generated in the local energy network which is subdivided into individual regions in accordance with the desired local resolution of the items of location and inventory information which are to be transmitted. The connected apparatuses can then also be modified in respect of their location of installation, without any additional location and inventory expenditure. If it is once assumed that the relevant buildings of a corporation or another commercial unit are provided with the installations in question, then immediately after the move the article at its new location of installation can be recognized by the monitoring unit and monitoring thereof can be continued. Unauthorized removal of an article can thus also be detected and displayed.

In that respect, at the central monitoring station, all of the location and inventory data, respectively comprising the location and article identifications, can be interrogated and evaluated in context.

Return signaling or acknowledgment of the location and inventory data can then be effected by using a suitable procedure by way of a return channel, making use of the telephone network or a conventional, in particular PC-compatible data network. In that respect a data processing station disposed in the proximity or a telephone is provided with a receiver for signals which are to be externally received by the articles and which contain the location and inventory data. If a PC is used as the data processing station the corresponding addition can be provided in particular in the form of an expansion card or externally by way of a serial or parallel interface. The location and inventory identifications which are transmitted in association with each other by the articles by active or passive communication are assembled to form a common data set and are passed to the monitoring station in the connected data network.

It is particularly advantageous in that respect for the location identification to be fixedly linked to the building installation so that the risk of a failure is slight. A corresponding consideration applies to the apparatuses or articles carrying the individual article identification. The whole of the rest of the system is of a convention design configuration and also does not need to be particularly individualized for generation or transmission of the location and inventory data. The essential part of data transmission is implemented by way of the energy network. The system can however also be integrated into computer data networks in such a way that local computers are incorporated into the location and inventory combination insofar as they receive location and inventory data and transmit it or collect it as a monitoring station. It will be noted that this function can also be implemented by especially designed telephone equipment.

It is also further advantageous if the data processing apparatuses themselves can be inventoried in a simple fashion and in that respect can also be operated without difficulties at different locations with an automatically updating location identification.

It is desirable in regard to use of the system according to the invention that in the case of a service operation, the destination of the service engineer is known in regard to the monitoring station from which the engineer sets out or which he can reach. More specifically, it not infrequently happens that, for organizational reasons, entire departments with their associated equipment move into other buildings without this being known to the technical departments which are responsible for operation and maintenance.

The following points are also particularly advantageous with the present system: the system can be quickly implemented, and can be used independently of network protocols. In this respect it is possible to manage any kind of articles and also network components without a standard operating system.

In another advantageous development return signaling or acknowledgment of the data is also effected by way of the data network on the basis of the data-on-powerline principle, as is set forth in a patent application filed at the same time to the present applicants.

Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the appendant claims or are set forth in greater detail hereinafter together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 as an embodiment of the invention shows a location and inventory system which is based on an energy network with the transmission of location data, provided with the measures in accordance with the invention, Figure 2a shows a block circuit diagram of a detail of the embodiment of Figure 1 with the parts, which concern the invention, of an apparatus to be inventoried, with connection to an energy network with means for the transmission of location data, Figure 2b shows a block circuit diagram of a further detail of the embodiment of Figure 1 with the parts, which concern the invention, of a data processing apparatus for connection to a data network with the transmission of location and inventory data whose location part originates from an energy network, Figure 3a shows a switching apparatus for an energy network which modulates on a network ac voltage a location identification for a number of energy-consuming apparatuses to be connected, and Figure 3b shows an additional apparatus for an energy-receiving system for connection to an energy network with means for decoding a location identification of a network ac voltage which was modulated on the energy carrier by the switching apparatus shown in Figure 3a for a number of energy-consuming apparatuses to be connected.

In the case of the location and inventory system 1 shown in the form of a block circuit diagram in Figure 1, various system portions which are described in greater detail hereinafter are present at different locations 2 through 5 of installation. The location and inventory data which are to be prepared in the system, besides the article identifications which individualize the articles in the system, also have additional location identifications which are respectively jointly fed to a monitoring station for evaluation.

Provided in the system are firstly on the one hand data processing systems 6 through 9 which are connected by way of data network connections 11 through 14 to a data network 10 which is identified by "D" and by way of which, besides normal data operation, the transmission of location and inventory data is also effected, as will be described hereinafter. In this case therefore the data processing systems serve on the one hand to deal with usual data processing tasks and on the other hand to transmit the location and inventory data. In addition they can also be inventoried themselves with the described system, and monitored in respect of their location of installation.

The data processing system 8 is the monitoring station at which the location and inventory data are collected. They are available here for evaluation and statistical purposes. This system can be arranged at any location in the network where the data in question are to be available.

That can involve even very remote locations which can only be reached using a telephone or a satellite communication path. It does not itself need to be the subject of inventory if it is only present as a single system.

In the event that a plurality of data systems can be used alternatively or in parallel relationship as a monitoring station, they are also provided with the additional apparatuses which are present in the other data processing systems.

Also shown is an energy network 100 which is identified by and which serves to provide the power supply for the connected apparatuses.

At the same time it also provides in encoded form by modulation of an HF-carrier or another suitable process for the local provision of location identifications which differentiate the respective location of installation and which then serve to generate the location and inventory data.

In this case a respective location identification is modulated on the energy network 100 by way of series connection units 181 through 185 after local branches. In this case the respective series connection unit 183 through 185 is passable for the energy of the energy network while an item of local additional information is impressed thereon in the direction towards the respective branch 191 through 196, which information is in each case only available and thus readable there. In that way the locations of installation of the apparatuses and data systems can be located by virtue of the position of the connection to the energy network. Each article provided with a network plug therefore requires an item of position information which can be transmitted, by virtue of simply being connected to the energy network, as is familiar to anyone. By virtue of the addition of the station or apparatus identification, the respective location and inventory information is then afforded in an additional apparatus which is added to or on the article.

In the case of the data processing stations 6, 7 and 9 the location data (identified by LD 1 through LD 4 depending on the respective location of establishment) the generation and distribution of which are described hereinafter are derived from the energy network 100 by way of energy network connection units 103 through 105 and passed to the stations 7 thr'ough 9 for the purposes of generating the location and inventory data.

Those stations form "articles" which are to be inventoried in the sense of the invention and which derive their location identification from the energy network and supplement same with the addition of the apparatus-specific article identification (here denoted by SD1 through SD3) to constitute the location and inventory identification, and then send same by way of the data network to the monitoring station 8. In this case, as described, derivation of the location identification from the network can be effected by way of the network connection which is generally present in any case.

Articles which do not receive any energy from the power network can be provided with an adapter which has a network plug and which moreover is not used for energy transmission to thearticle. Energy transmission then occurs at most for the power supply for the location and inventory module that however is generally vanishingly small. It does however represent an advantage if no additional battery has to be provided there, which must be replaced at regular intervals and therefore requires maintenance.

In the illustrated embodiment the data processing station 6 monitors the inventory procedure of three energy-consuming systems 151 through 153 which transmit their location and inventory data and location data for transmission on the network 10 to the monitoring station 8.

It is however also possible to provide for monitoring of the inventory procedure in respect of articles or apparatuses which do not form a data processing station. In this case the latter form "relay stations" for the communication of location and inventory identifications which are generated by articles with an energy network connection.

There are however also provided articles which communicate their location and inventory data back to the monitoring station, without the use of a data processing system. That is desirable if articles are not disposed in the proximity of a data processing station. In the illustrated embodiment of a location and inventory system, that is the article 161 in the region of the locality 3. It receives its locating identification from the energy network 100 and transmits the location and inventory identification which is expanded by the article identification in the form of data to a telephone terminal connected to a telephone network, preferably an ISDN system. In the case of an ISDN system those items of data can be transmitted in the D-channel or as additional data in the B-channel when a connection is made for connection of the monitoring system 8. That can communicate by way of the telephone network connecting portion 103 to the telephone network identified by in order to receive the identification data ID transmitted therefrom.

A further apparatus 171 provided at the locality 3 communicates its location and inventory data LD4+GD5 to the data processing station 6 of the adjacent locality 5. It will be seen that, when the locating identifications are always communicated with the article identifications, the locating cells with identical location identifications do not have to spatially coincide with the radio reception areas as the location identification is always decoded separately and transmitted together with the article identification for each article individually as a location and inventory identification.

The location and inventory data communicated to the data processing system 6 and the location and inventory data from the other data processing systems pass by way of the data network 10 and the data network connection unit 13 to the data processing system 8.

The block circuit diagram in Figure 2a of an article provided with the parts concerning the invention, and having a location and inventory capability, diagrammatically shows an energy-receiving apparatus 151 as an article in respect of which an inventory is to be made. The apparatus 151 has a functional portion 221 which is combined to form a single block and which represents the elements and structural groups which are disposed in an apparatus housing but which are of no further interest herein as they are only related to the rest of the intended purpose of the article or apparatus.

Connected to the functional portion 221 is a switching assembly 222 which separates from the energy E the loication identification LD 1 arriving by way of the energy network connection from the local energy branch 191. The connection unit itself is shown in greater detail hereinafter with reference to Figure 3a. The switching assembly 222 separates on the one hand the pure energy component of the mix, supplied by way of 191, of ac voltage energy and superimposed location identification, and then feeds same to a mixer stage 223. This then combines the location identification LDi with the article identification GD 1 generated by an article identification generator 225 connected to the apparatus. The article identification is unique in the system and serves for identification purposes, irrespective of the locality. The article identification is combined together with the location identification received by way of the network to afford the location and inventory identification (GDi+LD,) and is radiated by way of an HFtransmitter portion 229, as location and inventory data which are prepared for transmission. A data processing station disposed in the proximity, with a suitable receiving portion, then receives that information as described and passes it to the central station. The described units can be easily added to the functional unit 151 as additional apparatus. That can be effected for example in the form of a module which can be inserted into the network plug. Many apparatuses also have an internal network connection board which serves for connection of the network cable. Here an insulating screw connector is generally provided as the interface. At that location the module can be desirably inserted instead of that terminal or adjoining same.

Figure 2a also diagrammatically shows a series connection unit 185 as is connected between the general energy network 100 and the local network branch 191 and adds the location information to the carrier of the network energy (network ac voltage) in the network branch. (The corresponding apparatus is shown in greater detail in Figure 3b.) In this respect Figure 2a diagrammatically shows a local location generator or transmitting assembly 220 for the location information. That information is added to the network energy by means of a suitable modulator 226.

An advantage in this case is in particular that the series connection units 181 through 185 in Figure 1 except for the generator or transmitting assembly which is to be set individually can be of a uniform design configuration with each other, for location identification. A point of particular significance in regard to the illustrated variant is that the location data are outputted by the series connection unit 185 only towards the energy-receiving system connected thereto. That provides that the location data as such are "shielded from the general energy network".

That can be effected by suitable filtering, time selection, switches or other measures which prevent the location data from being propagated towards the network. In a corresponding manner it is additionally also possible by means of further or the same filter measures to prevent location data which are generated at a remote location and which are passed into the network by mistake from passing beyond the series connection unit 181 to the energy-receiving system 151. In Figure 2a the energy to be transmitted in the energy network is denoted by The illustrated series connection unit can easily be added to conventional. energy distribution systems for example in office rooms and workplaces or studies or easily included as standard in current distributors for the connection of apparatuses or other articles provided with an energy network connection.

The block circuit diagram shown in Figure 2b of a data processing system 6 which is suitable for receiving the location and inventory data outputted by the unit as shown in Figure 2a and passing same to the monitoring station illustrates a conventional processor system 21, assembled to form a single block. Connected to the processor system 21 is a data network connection unit 22 which makes the connection to the data network 10. In this arrangement the data network connection unit 22 is controlled by the processor system 21 in such a way that transmission of the data is effected by way of the network in accordance with the protocols provided in the network.

The data processing system 6 is also connected to the localized branch 191 of the energy network. The location identification LD 1 superimposed on the network energy E is received from there. The data processing system 6 has a switching means 28 which effects separation of the location data from the network ac voltage. The location identification

LD

1 goes to a mixer stage 26 in which the location identification LD, is assembled with the article identification SD 1 which was interrogated in the data processing system 6 from a location transmitting assembly 25. The location and inventory identifications, which are modulated with an HFfrequency, of the articles 151 through 153 which are in the proximity are received by way of an HF-receiving unit 26 and assembled in a further mixer stage 29 with a system identification SD (corresponding to the location and inventory identification of external articles to be inventoried).

In that way the illustrated data processing system can independently generate its location and inventory data, with the addition of the system identification SD, so that the location identification of the position of the data processing system does not have to coincide with that of the articles whose location and inventory data are received by way of the antenna of the HF-receiving portion 27. In that way the number of different location identifications can be selected to be greater than the number of receiving data processing stations. That also has an advantageous effect on the expenditure to be incurred when building up the location and inventory system according to the invention. A prerequisite is that the radio range is greater than the range of a branch of the energy network, which branch is provided with the same location identification. In another variant (not shown), it is also possible to forego transmission of the location data, in regard to each individual article. In that case however the articles must be in the same location cell as the receiving or transmitting unit which then adds the location identification prior to dispatch of the location and inventory data to the monitoring station.

In Figure 2b the other data which are to be transmitted in the data network are also identified by and are transported in the usual manner between the data processing system 6 and the network 10 by way of the data network connection unit 22. The location and inventory data of the surrounding apparatuses and equipment with network connection are transmitted with the data to the remote monitoring station 8 and managed there.

In the Figure 3a embodiment of a series connection device 300 for superimposition of an item of location information on the energy network, in the case of a network ac voltage for characterizing the location in accordance with a binary code a number of network half-waves is suppressed or deformed, in which case the code which is communicated in that way forms the location identification. In this respect, this configuration represents an example of an embodiment which can be produced with simple means. In this case the location and inventory information to be transmitted is disposed in binary-coded form in the individual waves or half-waves. In a corresponding manner, a highfrequency signal can also be superimposed on the network alternating current or a slight change in the half-wave forms can be produced in another fashion, being modulated thereon independently of the individual half-waves of the power concerned. In that way the power network or mains contains an item of detectable information which remains without any influence on the energy-consuming loads.

The network ac voltage is fed to the series connection device 300 on a collecting or power mains line 99. There it goes to a controllable thyristor unit 301 as a controllable electronic switch or thyristor which controls transmission of the network half-waves. The binary code of the half-waves to be suppressed, the code determining the location information, is produced by a control member 302 which is to be individually set to the respective locality.

Connected on the output side of the thyristor unit 301 are two plug connection sockets 303 and 304 to which articles to be inventoried are connected as consumer loads, which are also the destination of transmission of the location identification.

Figure 3b shows a series connection or additional device 311 which is connected in series with an energy-receiving apparatus 312 in the network line after a network plug 305 or which is connected thereto in some other manner. In this case the location information which has come in by way of the energy network is decoded in a unit 222, combined with that from a transmitting or generator unit for the individual identification as indicated at 225 and communicated to a transmitter unit 229 which transmits same together with an apparatus identification to a data processing unit. The location and inventory identification which is composed of location and apparatus identification is then passed thereby to the central monitoring station 8 for detection and updating. More specifically, a binary code which forms the location identification is derived in the unit 222 from the sequence of missing or modified half-waves, in the unit 307. That information is added in the mixer stage 309 to the article identification. So that the signals of adjacent transmitters are not mutually superimposed, provided in the transmitter unit is a frequency divider 308 which reduces the network frequency by the ratio of a (relatively great) prime number which differs from the reduction ratios of other supplied transmitters. The transmitter 310 is operated in pulsed fashion with the output signal of the frequency divider 308 so that it is active only for comparatively short periods of time at relatively great intervals of time. The outputted signal sequences however are sufficient to adequately update the location and inventory information at the monitoring unit as changes in position are comparatively rare.

The invention is not limited in terms of implementation thereof to the above-specified preferred embodiments. On the contrary, a number of alternative configurations are possible, which make use of the illustrated structure even in configurations of a basically different kind.

07F r'

Claims

1. A location and inventory system for articles which as energy consumers are provided with a connection for an energy supply network and each have a respective individual article identification as part of an item of location and inventory information which can be interrogated from a central station, characterized in that a transmitting assembly for a location identification which is impressed on the energy carrier as additional information and which differs from other location identifications in the energy network is provided in the region of an energy network connection unit for the energy-receiving system, and is fixedly operatively connected to same, the location identification can be emitted by the energy network connection unit by way of the energy network exclusively towards the at least one energy-receiving system connected to said energy network connection unit, and provided in the energy-receiving system is a receiving means for said location identification, and a converter which converts the location identification together with or in association with the article identification into a data format suitable for transmission and communicates same to a data-processing system for evaluation purposes.

2. A location and inventory system as set forth in claim 1 characterized in that the location identification is determined by at least one electrical parameter of at least one electrical or electronic component which is provided in the transmitting assembly for the location identification or which forms the transmitting assembly.

3. A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims characterized in that the transmitting assembly for the location identification is incorporated into a plug or distributor socket of the energy network.

4. A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims characterized in that communication of the apparatus and/or location identification to a data processing system is effected by way of a radio path.

A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims characterized in that communication of the apparatus and/or location identification to a remote monitoring station is effected by way of a data or communication network.

6. A location and inventory system as set forth in claim characterized in that the communication network is an ISDN system.

7. A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims characterized in that the location identification is additionally modulated on the energy carrier or impressed thereon in some other fashion.

8. A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims characterized in that there is provided a selection device for separation of the location identification from the energy carrier within the network plug for connection of an article to be inventoried.