JP2014078091A - Meter reading system and meter reading method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a meter reading system and a meter reading method allowing a meter reader to easily find a building of a customer only by using a meter reading terminal.SOLUTION: An office server transmits to a meter reading terminal a neighborhood map of a specified customer read from a meter reading map database on the basis of specific information of the customer of a meter reading target transmitted from the meter reading terminal. The meter reading terminal receives the neighborhood map of the specified customer and stores it in recording means. Then, a control part included in the meter reading terminal controls a map switching part so as to cause a display part to display a wide range map including a location of the customer and a present position of the meter reading terminal specified by a GPS unit part when the present position is outside the range of the neighborhood map of the customer, and cause the display part to display the neighborhood map of the specified customer stored in the recording means when the present position of the meter reading terminal is within the range of the neighborhood map of the customer.

Description

  The present invention relates to a meter reading system and a meter reading method, and more particularly, to a meter reading system and a meter reading method that enable even an inexperienced meter reader to perform a meter reading operation reliably and easily.

  The details of meter reading work by electric power companies, etc., are as follows: Dedicated meter readers have portable meter reading terminals and the measured values obtained by checking the electricity meters installed in each customer's building It is to post a notice slip that is input and printed with the measured numerical value (equivalent to the amount used in the month) to the customer's mailbox. The meter reading work is performed once a month, and the customer's building to be metered does not change, so the meter reading work is efficiently performed by employing a dedicated meter reader.

  The measured values of each customer input to the meter reading terminal are recorded in the ROM and other recording means of the meter reading terminal, and when the meter reader returns to each sales office, the data is taken out from the meter reading terminal recording means. The work is completed by sending it to the office. The business office collects data transmitted from each business office and stores it in a customer database or the like. Patent Document 1 discloses a meter reading system in which a meter reading terminal having a wireless communication unit and a GPS unit is connected to a server in an office via an external network to prevent an erroneous operation of a meter reading person.

  In the above-described meter reading work, when a full-time meter reader rests for convenience, an alternative meter reader performs the meter reading work. However, since the meter reading terminal does not include map information, an alternative meter reader prepares a map to be used for meter reading work and records the course of meter reading work and precautions in advance on the map. Can be performed efficiently.

JP 2010-128590 A

  As mentioned above, the meter reading work is a monthly routine work, but in the event that an unforeseen situation occurs such as when a full-time meter reader suddenly decides to take a day off due to sudden illness, etc. There is not enough time to create a map or the like for meter reading, and it is difficult for an alternative meter reader to find the customer's building and perform the meter reading work smoothly. Similarly, in the case of a newcomer, he / she is unfamiliar with the meter reading work, so it is difficult to find the customer's building and perform the meter reading work smoothly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a meter reading system and a meter reading method by which a meter reader can easily find a customer's building only by using a meter reading terminal.

  The meter-reading system according to claim 1, which solves the above problem, includes a portable meter-reading terminal for inputting and transmitting a measured value obtained by a meter-reader confirming each customer's watt-hour meter, and the meter-reading terminal; A meter server that collects the measured numerical values transmitted from the meter-reading terminal and is connected via a wireless network so that transmission / reception can be performed between the meter server and the site server includes list information of all customers And a meter reading map database in which a neighborhood map indicating a predetermined range in the vicinity of each customer is recorded, and the meter reading terminal displays information transmitted from the office server A GPS unit that receives a signal from a GPS satellite and identifies the current position, and the customer obtained via the wireless network. A map switching unit for switching the display on the display unit between a wide area map including the location of the customer and a customer's neighborhood map read from the meter reading map database in the business site server, and the business site server includes the meter reading terminal The customer's neighborhood map read from the meter-reading map database is transmitted to the meter-reading terminal based on the meter-reading customer's identification information transmitted from the meter-reading terminal, and the meter-reading terminal After receiving and storing a neighborhood map, when the current location of the meter reading terminal specified by the GPS unit is outside the range of the neighborhood map of the customer, a wide area including the location of the customer and the current location When the map is displayed on the display unit and the current position of the meter reading terminal is within the vicinity map of the customer, the case is displayed. And having to the control unit for controlling the map switching section to the neighboring map of the customer to be displayed on the display unit with, the.

  With this configuration, the meter reader carrying the meter reading terminal can identify the current position of the meter reading terminal when the current position is outside the range of the specified customer's neighborhood map read from the meter reading map database. A wide area map including the location of customers is available. This wide area map is a map that can be obtained via a wireless network. Therefore, the meter reader can reach the vicinity of the identified customer while checking the wide area map. When the meter reader enters the range of the specified customer neighborhood map, the specified customer neighborhood map read from the meter reading map database is displayed on the display unit of the meter reading terminal. This map is specially prepared for the meter reading work by the business office, and the meter reading route is described so that the meter reading work can be performed efficiently. Therefore, the meter reader can access the vicinity of the customer's building by the wide area map displayed using only the meter reading terminal, and the customer's building can be surely found by the customer's neighboring map displayed after that. This makes it possible to perform the meter reading work efficiently.

  The meter-reading system according to claim 2 is the meter-reading system according to claim 1, wherein the meter-reading map database further includes additional information regarding the building of each customer, the installation position of the watt-hour meter, and the like. When the establishment server receives a request signal for additional information of the identified customer from the meter reading terminal, the office server reads the additional information of the identified customer read from the meter reading map database. , And the control unit of the meter-reading terminal displays the additional information of the identified customer on the display unit. Therefore, since the meter reader can confirm the additional information of the customer displayed on the meter reading terminal, the customer's building can be found more reliably and the meter reading operation can be performed quickly.

  The meter-reading method according to claim 3, which solves the above-mentioned problem, uses a portable meter-reading terminal to obtain a measured value obtained by a meter-reader confirming each customer's watt-hour meter, and to connect the meter-reading terminal and the wireless network. In the meter-reading method that transmits the measured numerical values transmitted from the meter-reading terminal, the specific information of the meter-reading target customer from the meter-reading terminal is transmitted to the business-site server connected via the meter-reading terminal. The customer's neighborhood map read from the meter reading map database in the business site server based on the customer metering target specific information sent from the meter reading terminal. To the meter reading terminal, and the meter reading terminal receives the specified customer neighborhood map and stores it in the recording means. When the current position of the meter reading terminal specified by the built-in GPS unit is outside the range of the customer's neighborhood map, the meter reading terminal displays a wide area map including the customer's location and the current position. When the current position of the meter reading terminal is within the range of the customer's neighborhood map, the specified customer's neighborhood map stored in the recording means is displayed on the display portion. It is characterized by.

  By this method, if the current position during the meter reading work is outside the range of the specified customer's neighborhood map, the meter reader uses the wide area map including the current position and the specified customer's location to Can access the neighborhood of the building. Then, when entering the range of the specified customer neighborhood map, the customer neighborhood map recorded in the meter-reading database can be used. Therefore, even an inexperienced meter reader can reliably find the customer's building using only the meter reading terminal and perform meter reading work.

  According to the meter reading system and the meter reading method of the present invention, the meter reader can use the wide area map including the current position and the specified customer location and the specified customer neighborhood map during the meter reading operation. It is possible to find the identified customer building using only the meter reading terminal. Therefore, even an inexperienced meter reader can efficiently perform the meter reading operation, and the working time of the meter reading operation can be shortened and the cost can be reduced.

It is a schematic block diagram of the meter-reading system of this invention. It is a functional block diagram of the terminal for meter-reading. It is a functional block diagram of an office server. It is a flowchart in the case of performing a meter-reading operation | work. The example of the wide area map containing the location and current position of the identified customer displayed on the terminal for meter-reading is shown. The example of the neighborhood map of the identified customer displayed on the terminal for meter-reading is shown. The example of the additional information of the identified customer displayed on the terminal for meter-reading is shown.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of a meter reading system according to the present invention. The meter-reading system 10 includes a meter-reading terminal 14 carried by a meter-reading worker for meter-reading work, a business office server 16, and a wireless network 12. The meter-reading terminal 14 and business office server 16 include a wireless network 12. Via each other. Further, an employee who is not a meter reader can access the office server 16 via the wireless network 12 using the personal computer 20 to check the progress of the meter reading work of the meter reader. Further, the meter reading terminal 14 is configured to receive a signal from the GPS satellite 18.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the meter-reading terminal 14. A display unit 21 for displaying various information transmitted from the office server 16, an input unit 22 for inputting the confirmed measurement numerical value, and a GPS unit that receives a signal from a GPS satellite and identifies the current position Unit 24, wireless communication unit unit 26 for connecting to wireless network 12, map switching unit 28 for switching display of a wide area map and a customer's neighborhood map, which will be described later, and the identified customer transmitted from establishment server 16 Recording means 29 for recording the neighboring maps. These are collectively controlled by the control unit 30 and stored in a portable housing. The display unit 21 is configured using a liquid crystal LED or the like, and is configured to be able to display a map for performing meter reading work, an image such as customer information, character information, and the like.

  The map switching unit 28 switches the display between the wide area map and the customer's neighborhood map. The control of the switching is performed by the control unit 30. Here, the wide area map is, for example, map data existing in a predetermined server on a wide area network such as the wireless Internet, and the map data is accessed using a predetermined application program installed in the meter reading terminal 14, It can be displayed on the display unit 21. In particular, in the present embodiment, the map is a wide area including the location of the identified customer and the current position of the meter-reading terminal 14, and various kinds of such wide area maps are used. For example, Google map (registration) Trademark) is preferred.

  On the other hand, the customer's neighborhood map is a narrow area map originally created at the business office stored in the meter reading map database 34 to be described later, and is a map containing various information for smooth meter reading work. is there.

  When the current position of the meter reading terminal 14 specified by the GPS unit 24 is outside the range of the specified customer neighborhood map, the control unit 30 of the meter reading terminal 14 The map switching unit 28 is controlled so that a wide area map including the position is displayed on the display unit 21 of the meter reading terminal 14. In addition, when the current position of the meter reading terminal 14 specified by the GPS unit 24 is within the range of the specified customer neighborhood map, the map is displayed on the display unit 21 to display the specified customer neighborhood map. The switching unit 28 is controlled.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the office server 16. A communication means 32 for connecting to the wireless network 12 and communicating with the meter-reading terminal 14, a customer database 34 in which customer list information such as names, addresses, and contract numbers of all customers is recorded, and a map of the customer's neighborhood are recorded The meter reading map database 36 is provided. Moreover, it has the display part 41 for displaying the content of the information transmitted / received by the communication means 32. FIG.

  Furthermore, a writing means 43 for receiving the measured numerical value transmitted from the meter reading terminal 14 by the communication means 32 and writing it in the customer database 34 is provided. The communication unit 32, customer database 34, meter reading map database 36, display unit 41, and writing unit 43 are collectively controlled by the control unit 44.

  The customer database 34 is a database in which customer list information such as names, addresses, and contract numbers of all customers is recorded as described above. The meter-reading map database 36 is a database that records a customer's neighborhood map as described above. The customer's neighborhood map is a narrow area map specialized for meter reading work by a business office, and a route or the like is written in the customer's building for efficient meter reading work.

  The meter-reading map database 36 further includes additional information relating to each customer's building, watt-hour meter installation position, etc., and the establishment server 16 requests the customer's additional information request signal specified from the meter-reading terminal 14. Is received, the additional information of the specified customer read from the meter reading map database 36 is transmitted to the meter reading terminal 14 and the contents are displayed on the display unit 21 of the meter reading terminal 14. ing. This control is also performed by the control unit 30. The meter reader can more reliably and quickly find the customer's building by looking at the additional information of the identified customer displayed on the meter-reading terminal 14.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart when the meter reader performs the meter reading operation. However, it is assumed that the meter reader is located away from the vicinity of the building of the customer who performs the meter reading work first. When starting the meter reading operation, the meter reader inputs customer specific information, for example, the customer's name and address, to the input unit 22 of the meter reading terminal 14 (step S10). Upon receipt of the signal, the office server 16 refers to the customer database 34 to identify the customer, and transmits the specified customer neighborhood map read from the meter-reading map database 36 to the meter-reading terminal 14. The meter-reading terminal 14 receives the specified customer neighborhood map and stores it in the recording means 29.

  Here, when the current position of the meter reading terminal 14 specified by the GPS unit 24 is outside the range of the customer neighborhood map, the control unit 30 of the meter reading terminal 14 includes a wide area including the customer's location and current position. A map is displayed on the display unit 21, and when the current position of the meter reading terminal 14 is within the range of the customer's neighborhood map, the specified customer's neighborhood map stored in the recording means 29 is displayed on the display unit 21. The map switching unit 28 is controlled. Since the meter reader is located at a location away from the vicinity of the building of the customer performing the meter reading operation, a wide area map including the customer's location and current position is displayed on the display unit 21 (step S12). The meter reader searches for the neighborhood of the identified customer using this wide area map and moves toward the neighborhood area (step S14).

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the wide area map. The current location of the meter reader (shown with a star and a wide area map including the location of the identified customer is shown. Here, a predetermined range of the identified customer's neighborhood map is indicated by neighborhood K. In other words, a predetermined range of the identified customer neighborhood map is defined as neighborhood area K. Fig. 5 also shows the location of sales office E, and the neighborhood of the customer identified from sales office E. The recommended route to the area K is shown.The meter reader can access the specified area K of the customer from the sales office E using a transportation means such as a motorcycle. The GPS unit 24 is used to instantly display the current position of the meter reader on this wide area map. For example, the current position is indicated by a star in the wide area map of FIG. , This star symbol is in conjunction with the movement of the meter reader Moving.

  After the wide area map is displayed, the meter reader moves toward the neighborhood area K of the customer identified by carrying the meter reading terminal 14 as described above, but the control unit 30 of the meter reading terminal 14 The current position of the meter reading terminal 14 that changes every moment is specified by the unit 24, and it is determined whether or not the current position of the meter reading terminal 14 is within the specified customer neighborhood area K (step S16). If the zone K is entered, the map switching unit 28 is controlled to display the specified map of the customer's neighborhood on the display unit 21 of the meter reading terminal 14 (step S18). If it is outside the specified customer's neighborhood K, it continues to search for the specified customer's neighborhood K (step S14).

  When the meter reader enters the neighborhood area K, that is, within the range of the specified customer neighborhood map, the control unit 30 causes the display unit 21 to display the customer neighborhood map as described above. 28 is controlled. That is, when the meter reader enters the neighborhood area K of the customer, the specified customer neighborhood map stored in the recording means 29 of the meter reading terminal 14 is read and displayed on the display unit 21 of the meter reading terminal 14. The

  In the present embodiment, after displaying the customer's neighborhood map, it is determined whether or not the meter reader has left the customer's neighborhood area K (step S20). A wide area map including the current position is configured to be displayed on the display unit 21 of the meter reading terminal 14. This control is performed by the control unit 30 of the meter reading terminal 14. In other words, if the meter reader once arrives at the customer's neighborhood area but gets lost and leaves the customer's neighborhood area, the wide area map is displayed again. It is possible to return and discover the identified customer building reliably. If it is not out of the neighborhood, it will continue to search for the customer's building (step S22).

  FIG. 6 shows a display example of the specified customer neighborhood map. The neighborhood map shows a building (for example, K1 to K7) of a customer who performs meter-reading work and a route for meter-reading the building. When the identified customer's building is found (step S22), the numerical value displayed on the watt hour meter is confirmed, and the measured numerical value is input to the input unit 22 of the meter reading terminal 14 (step S24). The input measured numerical value is transmitted from the meter reading terminal 14 to the business office server 16 and is written in the monthly usage amount column of the customer database 34 in the business office server 16. Here, the past average usage is recorded in the customer database 34. If the input numerical value is abnormally high or low, a warning message that there is a possibility of erroneous input is sent to the meter reading terminal 14. It is also possible to send it back. In addition, the meter reader posts a notice slip on which the measured numerical value is printed at the meter reading terminal 14 to the customer's mailbox.

  In the present embodiment, when a meter reader finds a customer's building, a request signal for the customer's additional information can be transmitted from the meter-reading terminal 14 to the office server 16. When receiving the request, the office server 16 transmits additional information of the identified customer read from the meter reading map database 36 and is displayed on the display unit 21 of the meter reading terminal 14. Yes. This control is also performed by the control unit 30.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of additional information of the identified customer. The outline of the building K7 and the state of the site are shown. For example, it is possible to confirm that the building is a specific customer looking for by having three trees planted beside the building K7 and keeping a dog. In addition, the position of the electricity meter attached to the building K7 and the position of the mailbox where the notices are posted are shown, so even inexperienced meter readers can easily find the customer's building and proceed with the meter reading work. is there.

  In this way, alternative meter readers or inexperienced meter readers cannot find the customer's building only with the customer's address information etc. be able to. Then, by referring to the customer's neighborhood map stored in the meter reading map database 36, it is possible to easily find the customer's building and efficiently perform the meter reading operation. That is, it is possible to perform the meter reading work efficiently only with the meter reading terminal.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the meter reading operations of all the customers in the neighborhood area of the identified customer displayed on the display unit 21 of the meter reading terminal 14 are finished (step S26). If not finished, the next customer's building is searched according to the route indicated on the map of the specified customer's neighborhood, and the meter reading operation is advanced. On the other hand, when all the meter reading operations of the identified customer in the neighborhood map are completed, it is determined that all the meter reading operations for today are completed (step S28), and if not yet completed, It is possible to input the specific information, for example, the name and address to the input unit 22 of the meter reading terminal 14 and proceed with the meter reading operation as described above.

  The progress of the meter-reading work is as follows: how far the meter-reading work has been completed by other employees, etc. accessing the establishment server 16 via the personal computer 20 and examining the measurement values written in the customer database 34 after the meter-reading work is completed, for example. Can be investigated.

  According to the meter reading system of the present embodiment, the discovery of the customer's building at the time of meter reading work is displayed by assisting the discovery by displaying the wide area map and the customer's neighborhood map on the meter reading terminal. It is possible to find the customer's building reliably and perform the meter reading work smoothly only by using. As a result, the time required for the meter reading work can be shortened and the cost can be reduced.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, each database is configured separately, but may be configured as one.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Meter-reading system 12 Wireless network 14 Meter-reading terminal 16 Office server 18 GPS satellite 24 GPS unit part 28 Map switching part 30 Control part 34 Customer database 36 Meter-reading map database

Claims (3)

The meter reading is connected to the portable meter reading terminal for inputting and transmitting the measured value obtained by checking the watt-hour meter of each customer and the meter reading terminal so as to be able to transmit and receive between the meter reading terminal. An office server that collects the measured numerical values transmitted from the terminal for use,
The office server is
A customer database in which list information of all customers is recorded, and a meter reading map database in which a neighborhood map indicating a predetermined range of neighborhood of each customer is recorded,
The meter reading terminal is
A display unit for displaying information transmitted from the office server, a GPS unit unit for receiving a signal from a GPS satellite and specifying a current position, and a location of the customer obtained through the wireless network. A map switching unit that switches display on the display unit with a wide-area map including the customer's neighborhood map read from the meter-reading map database in the office server;
The business office server transmits to the meter-reading terminal a map of the specified customer read from the meter-reading map database based on the meter-reading customer specific information transmitted from the meter-reading terminal, and the meter-reading terminal. After the terminal receives and stores the neighborhood map of the identified customer,
When the current position of the meter reading terminal specified by the GPS unit is outside the range of the customer's neighborhood map, the display unit displays a wide area map including the customer's location and the current position, When the current position of the meter reading terminal is within the range of the customer's neighborhood map, a control unit that controls the map switching unit to display the stored customer's neighborhood map on the display unit;
A meter reading system characterized by comprising: The meter-reading map database further includes additional information relating to each customer's building, watt-hour meter installation position, etc., and the business establishment server stores the specified customer additional information from the meter-reading terminal. When the request signal is received, the additional information of the identified customer read from the meter reading map database is transmitted to the meter reading terminal,
The control unit of the terminal for meter reading is
The meter reading system according to claim 1, wherein additional information of the identified customer is displayed on the display unit. A meter reading person transmits a measured value obtained by checking each customer's watt hour meter to the office server connected to the meter reading terminal via a wireless network using a portable meter reading terminal, and the office In the meter reading method in which the server aggregates the measured numerical values transmitted from the meter reading terminal,
Send customer specific information from the metering terminal to the office server,
Based on the identification information of the meter-reading customer transmitted from the meter-reading terminal, the office server reads the specified customer neighborhood map read from the meter-reading map database in the site server to the meter-reading terminal. Send
After the meter reading terminal receives and stores the specified customer neighborhood map in the recording means,
When the current position of the meter reading terminal specified by the built-in GPS unit is outside the range of the customer's neighborhood map, the meter reading terminal displays a wide area map including the customer's location and the current position. When the current location of the meter reading terminal is within the range of the customer neighborhood map, the specified customer neighborhood map stored in the recording means is displayed on the display unit. A meter reading method characterized by displaying.

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