GB2399707A

GB2399707A - Remote monitoring

Info

Publication number: GB2399707A
Application number: GB0306368A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Antony Roger Daniels
Original assignee: Zarlink Semiconductor Ltd
Current assignee: Microsemi Semiconductor Ltd
Priority date: 2003-03-20
Filing date: 2003-03-20
Publication date: 2004-09-22
Also published as: GB0306368D0

Abstract

A remote monitoring system 2 is provided for the remote monitoring of a remote appliance 10, such as a utility meter. In addition to the appliance 10, the remote monitoring system comprises a control unit 6 in communication with the remote appliance via a local area wireless link 8 and a monitoring unit 20 in communication with the control unit 6 via a telecommunications link 24. The remote appliance 10 transmits monitoring information to the control unit 6 via the local area wireless link 8. The monitoring information is required by the monitoring unit 20 for the purpose of monitoring the remote appliance 10, for example the information may be a meter reading in the case of a utility meter. The control unit 6 transmits such received monitoring information to the monitoring unit 20 via the telecommunications link 24. The control unit 6 may be a digital television, set top box, personal computer, mobile phone or cell phone. The local area wireless link 8 may be Bluetooth (RTM), IEEE 802.11 standard or Wi-Fi (RTM). The telecommunications link 24 may be a telephone line or a mobile telecommunications wireless link.

Description

- 2399707 Remote monitoring system and method The present invention

relates to a remote monitoring system and method, and particularly to a system and method for the remote monitoring and metering of an appliance such as a domestic utility meter.

At present, utility companies monitor gas/electricity/water usage using a variety of means, including supplier readings, customer readings, estimated readings and so on.

None of these mechanisms is ideal, as they are liable to error and/or labour cost.

There are previously-considered systems that allow utility companies to transmit meter readings to local receivers, for example in vehicles that scan a designated residential area or mounted on telegraph poles. However, these technologies are expensive and require additional infrastructure, for example dedicated phone lines or high-powered transmitters to send data for central processing.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a remote monitoring system comprising a remote appliance to be monitored, a control unit in communication with said remote appliance via a local area wireless link, and a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link, wherein said remote appliance is operable to transmit monitoring information to said control unit via said local area wireless link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of monitoring said remote appliance, and said control unit is operable to transmit such received monitoring information to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link.

The telecommunications link may be a long-distance link such as telephone line or a mobile telecommunications wireless link. The local area wireless link may be a arm) (any Bluetoothplink or a WiFipink, or any other local area wireless link conforming to the IEEE 802.1 1 standard. The control unit may compose a digital television system, a set top box for a television system, a personal computer, a mobile phone or a cell phone.

The remote appliance may comprise a utility meter, in which case the monitoring 1 2 information transmitted from the remote appliance may be information relating to a meter reading from the utility meter.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a remote monitoring method for use in a remote monitoring system having a remote appliance to be monitored, a control unit in communication with said remote appliance via a local area wireless link, and a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link, the method comprising: transmitting monitoring information from said remote appliance to said control unit via said local area wireless link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of monitoring said remote appliance, and transmitting such monitoring information from said control unit to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of monitoring a remote appliance from a monitoring site, the remote appliance being located at a remote site, comprising employing a control unit at the remote site to communicate with said remote appliance via a local area wireless link so as to receive monitoring information required for the purpose of monitoring said remote appliance, and employing a monitoring unit at the monitoring site to communicate with said control unit via a telecommunications link so as to receive such monitoring information from said control unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided an appliance for use in a remote monitoring system having a control unit in communication with the appliance via a local area wireless link and a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link, wherein said appliance is operable to transmit monitoring information to said control unit via said local area wireless link for onward transmission to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of the remote monitoring of the appliance.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention there is provided a remote monitoring control unit for use in a remote monitoring system having a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link and an appliance to be monitored in communication with said control unit via a local area wireless link, wherein said control unit is adapted to cause said appliance to transmit monitoring information to said control unit via said local area wireless link and to cause such monitoring information to be transmitted to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of the remote monitoring of the appliance.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided an operating program which, when run on a control unit in a remote monitoring system having a remote appliance to be monitored in communication with said control unit via a local area wireless link, and a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link, causes the control unit to carry out the method of: causing said remote appliance to transmit monitoring information to said control unit via said local area wireless link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of monitoring said remote appliance, and causing said control unit to transmit such received monitoring information to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link.

The operating program may be carried on a carrier medium, which may be a transmission medium or a storage medium. The operating program may be a Java) program.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention there is provided a digital television system comprising a remote monitoring control unit according to the fifth aspect of the present invention.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention there is provided a utility meter being an appliance according to the fourth aspect of the present invention.

Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram providing an overview of a remote monitoring system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a block diagram providing an overview of a remote monitoring system according to a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a block diagram showing in more detail the main parts of the digital television part of Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the software components required for a typical MHP implementation in the digital television part of Figure 2.

Figure 1 is a block diagram providing an overview of a remote monitoring system 2 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The remote monitoring system 2 comprises a monitoring unit 20 located at a monitoring site 18, and a control unit 6 and a remote appliance 101ocated at a remote site 4. The monitoring unit 20 is in communication with the control unit 6 via a telecommunications link 24 and the control unit 6 is in communication with the remote appliance 10 via a local area wireless link 8.

An embodiment of the present invention as shown in Figure 1 allows the remote appliance 10 to transmit monitoring information to the control unit 6 via the local area wireless link 8. The monitoring information is required by the monitoring unit 20 for the purposes of monitoring the remote appliance 10. The control unit 6 transmits such received monitoring information to the monitoring unit 20 via the telecommunications link 24.

Figure 2 is a block diagram providing an overview of a remote monitoring system 2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, various parts correspond to like-numbered parts in Figure 1, and in this embodiment the control unit 6 is a digital television (DTV) system 6, the appliance 10 is a utility meter 10, and the remote monitoring system 2 as a whole can be considered to be a remote metering system 2. The monitoring information in this embodiment is information relating to a meter reading from the utility meter.

In a remote metering system 2 according to the second embodiment, the monitoring unit comprises a modem unit 22 in communication with a modem control unit 30. The In) digital television system 6 comprises a modem unit 12 and a Bluetoothadio interface unit 14 in communication with a DTV control unit 26. The utility meter 10 comprises a tn1 Bluetoothradio interface unit 16 in communication with a utility meter (UM) control unit 28. In this embodiment the telecommunications link 24 is a telephone line.

The key technical aspect of the second embodiment of the present invention is therefore Act) the use of a Bluetoothpink 8 between the utility meter 10 and the digital television system 6. Further detail concerning the architecture within the digital television system 6 is provided below, and it would be straightforward for a person skilled in the art to BROW) implement such Bluetoothlcapability in such a digital television system 6 by embedding Stat a Bluetoothtcompliant software or hardware module into the DTV control unit 26.

Indeed it will be common in future for digital television systems to be designed with And Bluetoothtcapability as standard, even if only to replace infra-red remote controls.

Likewise it would be a straightforward for a person skilled in that art to embed similar (.) (am) Bluetoothfunctionality into a utility meter 10. A Bluetoothtcompliant software or hardware module would be embedded into the UM control unit 28 of the utility meter 10, such that the utility meter can be accessed from the customer's digital television system 6.

Digital television service providers are currently looking for ways to expand the interactive aspects of their service and most offer a limited form of web-browsing via an HTTP-compliant modem link 24. This would allow customers to access the utility provider's interactive television website which would then take control of the Bluetoothth) module within the digital television system 6 to communicate with the utility meter 10.

This process is be facilitated by the DTV control unit 26 of the digital television system 6 having an embedded Java engine that allows direct communication with the system's peripherals such as the Bluetootradio interface unit 14, as will be described in more detail below.

There are currently two main sets of standards for terrestrial multimedia DTV broadcasts. The first, adopted by ISO (International Organization for Standardization), is commonly known as MHEG (Multimedia and Hypermedia Information coding Expert Group). The second, adopted by ETSI (European Telecommunication Standards Institute), is known as DVB-MHP (Digital Video Broadcasting Multimedia Home Platform) or more commonly simply as MHP. The second embodiment will be described within the context of the MHP standard, although it will be appreciated that other embodiments are not limited to this.

MHP defines a mechanism by which an interactive digital television (DTV) 6 (or equivalently a set-top box for use with an analogue television system) can download small applications either off-air or using an HTML link such as the telecommunications link 24 shown in Figure 2 (via modems 12 and 22). These applications (or Xlets) are written using the Javalpriogramming language and executed as Javabyte code via a Javatftn) Virtual Machine located on DTV 6, for more of which see below.

The MHP specification defines a core set of classes and associated hardware resources that these Xlets have access to on the DTV 6, including general hardware I/O. The latter would allow an Xlet with Bluetoothlcapability to communicate with a Blue tooth (an) hardware module such as the Bluetoothlradio interface 14. Such communication could be by way of a DTV industry standard Common Interface (CI)). MHP also provides Bunt classes for permanent storage, since Javatbased Xlets can be fairly large, allowing the user to save downloaded Xlets to disk for future use. This would present itself to the user as a prompt once the initial download had completed.

In addition, MHP defines a mechanism for passing data back to a central server via a Return Channel which, in most cases, will be via a telephone line such as the Ml 7 telecommunications link 24 shown in Figure 2 (using modems 12 and 22). This would allow meter readings (or any other readings using this approach) to be passed back to I the monitoring unit 18 under control of the utility company requiring the information.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing in more detail the main hardware components in the digital television system 6 of Figure 2, including the components needed to support MHP functionality.

An RF input (e.g. from a satellite disk, cable or aerial) is transported to a tuner/demodulator 32, which demodulates the signal into an MPEG-2 stream. A demultiplexer 33 splices the MPEG-2 stream into its video, audio, subtitle, and data I streams. Before being presented to users, the video and audio are decompressed by either hardware or software modules 34 and 35. Subtitle data, usually image files with transparent backgrounds, is passed to a dedicated rendering engine 36 with direct access to the on-screen display (OSD) of the DTV 6. The data stream is parsed for content such as system information, digital teletext, or MHP data objects, then routed to hardware/software modules 37 for interpretation and/or execution.

The central processing unit (CPU) 42, via a specific operating system, controls all software and hardware modules in the DTV 6. In addition to those mentioned above, these include video/graphics engines, Javal virtual machines (JVMs) 40, and human interface components.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the software components required for a typical MHP implementation in the DTV 6. Software components corresponding to hardware components shown in Figure 3 are given the same respective reference numerals. MHP also defines tools 48 for conditional access (CA), including the DVB Common I Scrambling Algorithm for the encryption of transport streams like pay-per-view programs. In Figure 4, EPG refers to an Electronic Program Guide. I The DSM-CC (Digital Storage Media- Command and Control) stack 46 provides a mechanism for acquiring data objects from the transmission stream. DSM-CC is an I open protocol for delivering multimedia services over distributed client/server networks. Because DSM-CC is open, it is not affected by underlying transport layers, and can therefore be used to convey a huge variety of multimedia content.

The data objects acquired from the transmission stream include data specific to MHP, which is transferred to the Application Manager 38. MHPspecific data falls into two categories: (a) applications - comprising compiled Javalclasses (Javalbyte code) and associated data components, such as content or images, that can be executed by the JVM 40 - this type of MHP data is updated infrequently; and (b) content - such as Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) page descriptions and embedded data objects.

If the content changes, DSM-CC allows previously-downloaded data to be updated.

Xlets comprise either application data or combinations of application and content data.

The Application Manager 38, usually written in Java controls the lifecycle of resident or off-air Xlets, and ensures content is managed correctly through techniques such as caching. The JVM 40 supplies a level of security by relieving the host OS of direct executions of application code, and by providing code portability between a range of CPU architectures. Bluetoothlalso provides various levels of data encryption in order to remove the possibility of unwanted access to remote devices that are being interrogated.

MHP content, for example digital teletext, is usually transported in XML, mainly due to the inefficiency and inherent inflexibility of HTML. XML and HTML both enclose data within tags, but HTML limits the number of predefined tags. XML has no such limit. This allows broadcasters to evolve applications and content by adding/extending

tag descriptions within an XML parser class.

Once an active Xlet receives a user request for a block of data, the Application Manager 38 parses and displays the associated XML content. This parsing can be executed in two ways: (a) through a simple API for XML (SAX), an event- initiated parsing approach where the XML file is read in a linear manner from beginning to end; when sequential XML syntax constructions are recognised, these data blocks are fed back to the Application Manger; or (b) through a document object module (DOM), where the entire XML file is read, translated, and saved as a document tree. Unlike SAX, DOM allows random access to specific data sections, making it far more efficient approach if the XML file contains a vast amount of data.

Xlets, primarily written in JavalbJte code, require access to system resources, which can compromise system integrity. MHP solves this problem by using a JVM 40 to provide a secure level of abstraction between Xlets and the OS 42. If)

In general, Javats very portable, allowing the same embedded Applet to execute whether its parent web page is viewed using a browser running on a Windowst UNIX' or Macibased OS. For DTV manufacturers, this portability is attractive because it (and allows compiled JavalXlets, in the form of classes containing byte code, to be executed on any host architecture. JavaXIets do not directly access system resources, but are executed by the JVM 40 using Java byte codes as instruction sets. The key function of the JVM is to load classes when required, manage class lifecycles, and free allocated memory when no longer required.

Xlets can be either reside on the DTV or be loaded from DSM-CC object and data carousels. The Application Manager 38 oversees Xlet life cycles, code checking, and memory management. Unlike the JVM 40, which is typically passive, the Application Manager 38 maintains full control over Xlet loading, running, pausing, and termination.

MHP applications generally fall into three categories: (a) broadcast only, such as digital teletext and personal video recording (PVR), which supports local interactivity only and obtain required data from the broadcast stream; (b) unidirectional interactive, such as online voting and advertisement response, which allows users to provide response data in a single direction, with no direct reply from the return path server; and (c) bi- directional interactive, such as email, web browsing, and online gaming, which allows users to acquire data from sources outside of the broadcast stream, such as a return-path server. Darn)

In the second embodiment, therefore, a suitable JavalXlet can be uploaded by the utility company from the monitoring unit 20 via the telecommunications link 24 to the control (1 unit 6 and loaded into the DTV control unit 26. This Javallet would control interactions between the user of the DTV 6 (e.g. via the screen and input device of the An) DTV), the Bluetoothlradio interface 14 and the modem 12 in order to obtain metering (monitoring) infommation such as meter readings from the utility meter 10 via the Bluetooth link 8. This infommation would then be transmitted to the monitoring unit 20 via the telecommunications link 24.

There are many ways in which the metering infommation can be requested. For example, the user of the DTV 6 could access the utility company's interactive website which would then take control of the Bluetoothlmodule in the DTV 6 to communicate with the utility meter 10 to obtain the meter reading. Alternatively, the user could himself initiate the communication with the utility meter to obtain the meter reading and then only subsequently transmit this reading to the monitoring unit 20. Or the utility company could send an email to the user containing an HTTP link to click on, and having done this the monitoring unit would take control as above to collect the required metering infommation. With an always-on telecommunications link 24 it would also be possible for the monitoring unit 20 actively to request the metering information without any input from the user, for example once every quarter or before a bill is due to be sent to the user. Alternatively, the EM control unit 28 within the utility meter 10 could cause a meter reading to be taken automatically and communicated to the monitoring unit 20. It will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that many other schemes possible for the collection of monitoring infommation from the remote appliance (utility meter) 10.

Although the second embodiment has been described above in which the control unit 6 is implemented as a digital television system, it will be appreciated that the same approach can also be used in any other system that is capable of using Javalmodules, for example mobile phones and personal computers.

It is also not essential that Javabased programs are used; any other type of programming interface is also possible. Also, although the above description has referred to an operating program such as a Java,et stored on a device-readable medium such as a disk, it will be appreciated that an operating program embodying the present invention need not be stored on a device-readable medium and could, for example, be embodied in a signal such as a downloadable data signal provided from an Internet website. The appended claims are to be interpreted as covering an operating program by itself, or as a record on a carrier, or as a signal, or in any other form. Din)

It will be appreciated that instead of a Bluetoothpocal area wireless link, any other type of local area wireless link could be used, for example anything conforming to the IEEE A) 802.11 wireless protocol standard such as WiFii The local area wireless link is preferably one that has a maximum range of 100 metres, or more preferably a maximum range of 50 metres, or more preferably a maximum range of 25 metres, or more preferably a maximum range of 5 metros.

The telecommunications link 24 may be a telephone line as described above but this is not essential. It may instead be a mobile telecommunications channel or optical fibre link or any other type of communications link capable of communicating signals over a long distance, for example preferably over one kilometre. It is therefore possible for a personal computer to provide the local wireless connection functionality of the control unit and a separate mobile phone connected to the personal computer to provide the telecommunication connection functionality of the control unit. Alternatively a digital television system could provide the local wireless connection functionality of the control unit and a separate personal computer with a modem could provide the telecommunication connection functionality of the control unit. Other such combinations are conceivable.

A remote monitoring method embodying the present invention is also not limited to the remote metering of domestic utility meters. Any other type of appliance can instead be monitored. For example, the method would allow the monitoring of such appliances as a burglar alarm/security system (e.g. to check whether the alarm has been activated, or to view remotely the output of a CCTV camera or listen to the output from a microphone), a central heating system (e.g. to monitor the temperature), or any other type of domestic appliance such as cookers and fridges. The method is also not limited to the domestic environment but may be used for the remote monitoring of, for example, factory devices and appliances. r

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A remote monitoring system comprising a remote appliance to be

monitored, a control unit in communication with said remote appliance via a local area wireless link, and a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link, wherein said remote appliance is operable to transmit monitoring information to said control unit via said local area wireless link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of monitoring said remote appliance, and said control unit is operable to transmit such received monitoring information to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link.
2. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunications link is a telephone line.
3. A system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunications link is a mobile telecommunications wireless link.
4. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said telecommunications link is a long-distance link.
5. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said local area wireless (is) link is a Bluetoothpink.
6. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said local area wireless link is a WiFiJink.
7. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said local area wireless link conforms to the IEEE 802.11 standard.
8. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said control unit comprises a digital television system or a set-top box for a television system. r
9. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said control unit comprises a personal computer.
10. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said control unit comprises a mobile phone or cell phone.
11. A system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said remote appliance comprises a utility meter.
12. A system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said monitoring information transmitted from said remote appliance is information relating to a meter reading from said utility meter.
13. A remote monitoring method for use in a remote monitoring system having a remote appliance to be monitored, a control unit in communication with said remote appliance via a local area wireless link, and a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link, the method comprising: transmitting monitoring information from said remote appliance to said control unit via said local area wireless link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of monitoring said remote appliance, and transmitting such monitoring information from said control unit to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link.
14. A method of monitoring a remote appliance from a monitoring site, the remote appliance being located at a remote site, comprising employing a control unit at the remote site to communicate with said remote appliance via a local area wireless link so as to receive monitoring information required for the purpose of monitoring said remote appliance, and employing a monitoring unit at the monitoring site to communicate with said control unit via a telecommunications link so as to receive such monitoring information from said control unit.
15. An appliance for use in a remote monitoring system having a control unit in communication with the appliance via a local area wireless link and a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link, wherein said appliance is operable to transmit monitoring information to said control unit via said local area wireless link for onward transmission to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of the remote monitoring of the appliance.
16. A remote monitoring control unit for use in a remote monitoring system having a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link and an appliance to be monitored in communication with said control unit via a local area wireless link, wherein said control unit is adapted to cause said appliance to transmit monitoring information to said control unit via said local area wireless link and to cause such monitoring information to be transmitted to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of the remote monitoring of the appliance.
17. An operating program which, when run on a control unit in a remote monitoring system having a remote appliance to be monitored in communication with said control unit via a local area wireless link, and a monitoring unit in communication with said control unit via a telecommunications link, causes the control unit to carry out the method of: causing said remote appliance to transmit monitoring information to said control unit via said local area wireless link, said monitoring information being required by said monitoring unit for the purpose of monitoring said remote appliance, and causing said control unit to transmit such received monitoring information to said monitoring unit via said telecommunications link.
18. An operating program as claimed in claim 17, carried on a carrier medium.
19. An operating program as claimed in claim 18, wherein the carrier medium is a transmission medium. *
20. An operating program as claimed in claim 18, wherein the carrier medium is a storage medium.
21. An operating program as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 20, being a Java ARTS program.
22. A remote monitoring system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
23. A remote monitoring method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
24. A remote monitoring control unit substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
25. A digital television system comprising a remote monitoring control unit as claimed in claim 16 or 24.
26. An appliance substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
27. A utility meter being an appliance as claimed in claim 15 or 26.