JP2001093073A - Instrument with remote meter reading function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make economically constructible a overall remote meter reading system while minimizing the facility construction cost by making an instrument adaptable to various communication media. SOLUTION: The instrument main body 1 having an outer box 6 in which a power source part, a measuring part, a controlling part, and a displaying part are housed is provided with a housing space 13 opened to the side face so that a radio communication terminal station 14A for a PHS or a specific small power and an optical, coaxial, or pair wire communication terminal station 14B can be selectively and freely inserted or extracted to or from the space 13. Also, a cover 21 for position-fixing and holding the communication terminal station 14A or 14B inserted into the housing space 13 is mounted on the instrument main body 1 so as to be freely attachable and detachable.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is preferably applied mainly to an electronic watt-hour meter. In addition, the present invention is applicable to a gas meter for measuring city gas and tap water consumption, a water meter, and the like. The present invention relates to a meter with a remote meter reading function that can be applied to various meters distributed and installed over a wide variety of areas such as dwelling units.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, research and development on a remote automatic meter reading system for a large number of instruments distributed and installed over a wide range have been actively studied. The use of wired transmission lines such as an optical transmission line, a transmission line using a coaxial cable, and a pair transmission line has been considered as a communication medium therefor.

[0003] Among the above-mentioned communication media, an optical transmission line is provided to a location where a switch of a high-voltage distribution line is installed for the purpose of remote meter reading and transmission of cut-off information for some large consumers. Transmission lines (communication lines) for automation of operation have already been constructed and are now being expanded in area. In some cases, coaxial transmission lines are shared with CATV and automated transmission lines have already been introduced indoors, and instruments installed at customers where such CATVs are introduced. Now, remote meter reading can be easily realized using the automated transmission path.

[0004]

However, in order to transmit the measurement data of all the instruments by using the above-described wired transmission path and to complete the entire remote meter reading system, at present, it is already required. It is necessary to build a new wired transmission line between the existing automated transmission line that has been constructed or the CATV has been pulled in, and each of the instruments installed elsewhere. In addition, the construction requires huge facility construction costs. In particular, in the case of constructing a wired transmission line only to achieve the function of remote meter reading only, the frequency of use and the economic effect on the facility construction cost are small, and it is economical to introduce a full remote meter reading system. Neither functionally effective.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to economically construct a full-scale remote meter reading system while minimizing equipment construction costs by being compatible with various communication media. It aims to provide a meter with a remote meter reading function that can be performed.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, a meter with a remote meter reading function according to the present invention has at least a power supply unit, a measuring unit, a control unit, and a display unit housed and arranged inside an outer box. A storage space that is open to the side of the instrument main body is formed in the instrument main body, and a control unit is connected to the control unit of the instrument main body so that measurement data can be input and output to and from the storage space. A plurality of types of communication terminals including a PHS-based wireless communication terminal, other wireless communication terminals and a wired communication terminal are configured to be selectively inserted and extracted freely, and communication inserted into the storage space. A cover for fixing and holding the terminal station is detachably attached to the instrument body.

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, whether or not a wired transmission line for automation of distribution line operation has already been constructed around the place where the meter is installed, and Depending on the communication medium of the transmission path being used, a PHS-based wireless communication terminal, another wireless communication terminal, and a wired communication terminal are stored in the storage space formed in the meter body. By selectively inserting a plurality of types of communication terminal stations including the communication terminal station, and attaching a cover to the instrument body to hold the inserted communication terminal station in a fixed position, a wired transmission line has already been constructed. If so, it can be used to enable remote automatic meter reading. If a wired transmission path is not established, the PHS-based wireless communication terminal station fixedly held in the instrument and a PHS relay station installed in a nearby communication line can be communicated by PHS. In addition, remote automatic meter reading can be performed without requiring huge facility construction costs such as newly constructing a wired transmission line up to the instrument installation location.

[0008] In particular, when an electronic watt-hour meter is used as a target meter, the introduction has already been promoted by a power company in order to automatically cut off a faulty section and automatically carry out load interchange at the time of a distribution line fault. It is possible to make the most effective use of the communication line that is expanding in size as a transmission line for remote automatic meter reading, and the entire remote meter reading system can be constructed most economically.

Further, in the above meter with a remote meter reading function, a plastic material, particularly, a polycarbonate resin is used as a constituent material of the outer case of the meter body, and the processability of the resin is utilized. By integrating the case portion and the substrate support portion, screwing can be reduced as much as possible, so that the number of assembling steps and time can be reduced, and the cost of a product (instrument) can be reduced.

Further, in the case of an electronic watt-hour meter, the number of mounted components can be reduced by adopting a digital operation method as a power metering method as described in claim 4, and the board can be reduced accordingly. The number of sheets can be reduced,
This makes it possible to reduce the size of the entire instrument while forming the storage space for the communication terminal in the instrument main body.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic watt-hour meter with a remote meter reading function to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a front view in an assembled state, and FIG. 3 is a side view in an assembled state.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes an instrument main body. The instrument main body 1 is formed of polycarbonate resin, and has a power supply section 2 and a measuring section (measuring section) as shown in the block diagram of FIG. Unit) 3, a control unit 4 including a CPU
And an outer box 6 in which the display unit 5 is housed and arranged, and a lid cover 7 which is also formed of polycarbonate resin and is screwed to a front portion of the outer box 6.

As is clear from the cross-sectional structure of FIG. 5, the outer case 6 of the instrument main body 1 has a substrate support 6B integrated with the case 6A by utilizing the workability of the polycarbonate resin. The number of screwing operations has been reduced as much as possible to reduce the number of assembling steps and assembling time, thereby realizing cost reduction. A substrate 8 (see FIG. 4) in which the above-described parts 2 to 5 are integrated and formed at a high density by employing an IC or the like is supported on a substrate supporting part 6B of the outer box 6.

As a measuring method of the electronic watt-hour meter,
Instead of the analog multiplication method called the time division multiplication method,
As shown in the block diagram of FIG.
A digital conversion method for digitizing the signals by A / D converters 9 and 10, respectively, and multiplying and integrating digitally using a digital multiplier 11 and a pulse number integrator / divider 12 composed of a microcomputer. This allows a reduction in the number of mounted components and the number of boards, a reduction in the size of the outer box 6, and a storage space 13 that opens to the side at the upper position of the instrument main body 1. Is formed.

On the other hand, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 denotes a communication terminal station which can be inserted into and removed from the storage space 13 of the instrument main body 1 from the side of the instrument main body 1. Is a PHS wireless communication terminal using PHS and a wireless communication terminal 14A such as a specific low power,
There is a wired communication terminal station 14B corresponding to various communication media such as an optical cable, a coaxial cable and a pair, and these plural kinds of communication terminal stations 14 are configured to be selectively inserted into and withdrawn from the storage space 13. .

The plurality of types of communication terminal stations 14 (14A, 14A,
14B) is a data which enables input and output of weighing data and the like between the control unit 4 of the instrument main body 1 and the inside of the case 15 formed of polycarbonate resin as shown in the block diagram of FIG. The control unit 4 on the instrument body 1 side via an input / output circuit and an interface (not shown)
Control unit 16 and communication interface 17 connected to
Are accommodated, and a modem unit 19 corresponding to various communication media is mounted. Here, in the case of the wireless communication terminal station 14A for PHS and specific low power, the antenna 20 is provided, but in the case of the wired communication terminal station 14B, a normal electric connector (because it is well known) is used instead of the antenna. , Not shown).

The communication terminal 14 (14A, 14B) inserted into the storage space 13 of the instrument main body 1 can be inserted and removed from the upper part of the instrument main body 1 so as to cover the side opening part and the upper part of the storage space 13. By fixing the gate-shaped cover 21 to the instrument main body 1, the position is fixed and held. 2 and 3 show a state in which the wireless communication terminal station 14A is inserted into the storage space 13 and held in a fixed position. The antenna 20 provided in the wireless communication terminal station 14A is provided with an upper side plate of the cover 21. It protrudes upward through a hole 22 formed in the portion.

When introducing an entire remote meter reading system in an area where the electronic watt-hour meter having the above-described configuration is installed, it is necessary to automate the operation of the distribution line around the installation point of each watt-hour meter. And the like, and whether or not the communication medium of the already constructed transmission line is formed, and correspondingly formed on the meter main body 1. A wireless communication terminal station 14A for PHS or specific low power or a wire communication terminal station 14B corresponding to various communication media such as an optical / coaxial cable pair is selectively inserted into the storage space 13 and a cover. 21 is attached to the instrument main body 1 so that the inserted communication terminal station 14A or 14B is fixedly held.

As a result, as shown in the image diagram of FIG.
Is already established, remote automatic meter reading is possible by connecting the wire communication terminal station 14B, which is inserted into the meter main body 1 and fixedly held in accordance with the communication medium, to the existing transmission line A. When a wired transmission path is not constructed, the wireless communication terminal station 14A for PHS or specific low power which is inserted into the meter main body 1 and held fixedly is located nearby. By performing wireless communication with the relay station C installed in the communication line B using a PHS or the like, remote automatic meter reading can be performed without the need for enormous facility construction costs such as constructing a new wired transmission path to the instrument installation location. And a combination thereof makes it possible to introduce a remote metering system over an extensive installation area of the electronic wattmeter very economically.

When an electronic watt-hour meter is used as described in the above embodiment, the electric power company has already introduced the system in order to automatically cut off the fault section and load interchange when a distribution line fault occurs. The most advanced and most economical construction of a remote meter reading system is to be able to make the most of the communication lines that are being developed and expanded in area as a transmission path for remote automatic meter reading. However, besides watt-hour meters, for example, gas meters and water meters, various types of instruments are distributed and installed over a wide range such as dwelling units, and PHS communication is mainly used for each instrument. It is also possible to have a remote automatic meter reading function.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of types of communication terminals including a PHS-based wireless communication terminal, other wireless communication terminals, and a wired communication terminal are provided in a space formed in an instrument body. Can be attached selectively, so if a wired transmission line has already been constructed around the installation location of the meter, a wired communication terminal can be attached to the main unit of the meter to make the existing wired Remote automatic meter reading can be enabled by utilizing the system transmission line. If there is no existing wired transmission line in the vicinity, the PHS-based wireless communication terminal or other wireless communication By installing a station, wireless communication with a nearby relay station by PHS etc. and constructing a new wired transmission path to the instrument installation point is useless,
In addition, remote automatic meter reading can be performed without requiring huge facility construction costs. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to economically realize the introduction of the entire remote meter reading system to a large number of instruments distributed and installed over a wide variety of fields with a minimum facility construction cost.

Further, by using a polycarbonate resin as a constituent material of the outer case of the meter body in the meter having the remote meter reading function as described above, the case portion and the substrate support portion are integrated by utilizing the workability thereof. Therefore, screwing can be reduced as much as possible, so that the number of assembling steps and assembling time can be reduced, and the cost of products (instruments) can be reduced.

Further, in the case of an electronic watt-hour meter, by adopting a digital operation system as a power metering system, the number of mounted components and the number of boards can be reduced, and the communication terminal station is provided in the meter body. Despite forming a storage space, the entire instrument can be made compact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electronic watt-hour meter with a remote meter reading function to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the electronic watt-hour meter in an assembled state.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the electronic wattmeter in an assembled state.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the electronic watt-hour meter.

FIG. 5 is a sectional structural view of an outer box in the electronic watt-hour meter.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a digital operation method adopted as a measurement method of the electronic watt-hour meter.

FIG. 7 is an image diagram of a remote automatic meter reading system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instrument main body 2 Power supply part 3 Measuring part (measurement part) 4, 16 Control part 6 Outer box 6A Case part 6B Board support part 13 Storage space 14 Communication terminal station 14A Wireless communication terminal station such as PHS 14B Wire communication terminal station 21 Cover

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hidehiko Yukawa 3-2-2, Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Kansai Electric Power Company (72) Inventor Tohru Takahata 3-3-1, Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka 22 Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (72) Shinichi Kishio, inventor 3-3-1 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (72) Toshiaki Fukui 3-3-1, Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka 22 Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. (72) Inventor Tsutomu Ono 3-14-40 Senrioka, Settsu-shi, Osaka Toko Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Koichi Shinozaki 3-14-40 Senrioka, Settsu-shi, Osaka Toko Seiki (72) Inventor Shunichi Majima 3-14-40 Senrioka, Settsu-shi, Osaka Toko Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Daisuke Muto 3, Senrioka, Settsu-shi, Osaka No. 14-40 Toko Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Eiichi Yamamoto 3-14-40 Senrioka, Settsu-shi, Osaka Toko Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Hiroyuki Yoshimizu 3-14-40 Senrioka, Settsu-shi, Osaka Toko Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomohiro Sato 3-14-40 Senrioka, Settsu-shi, Osaka Toko Seiki Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2F073 AA07 AA08 AA09 AA19 AB02 AB12 BB00

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An instrument body in which at least a power supply unit, a measuring unit, a control unit, and a display unit are housed and arranged inside an outer box, a storage space opened to a side surface of the instrument body is formed. On the other hand, a plurality of types including a PHS-based wireless communication terminal, a wireless communication terminal, and a wire communication terminal having a control unit for inputting and outputting measurement data between the control unit and the control unit of the instrument main body. The communication terminal station is configured to be selectively inserted and extracted freely, and a cover for fixing the position of the communication terminal station inserted in the storage space is detachably attached to the instrument body. Meter with remote meter reading function. 2. The meter with a remote meter reading function according to claim 1, wherein the target meter is an electronic watt-hour meter. 3. The meter with a remote meter reading function according to claim 1, wherein the outer case of the meter body is formed by integrating a case portion and a substrate supporting portion with a polycarbonate resin. 4. The meter with a remote meter reading function according to claim 2, wherein a digital operation method is adopted as a measuring method for measuring electric power.