JP2015091085A - Meter reading system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress increase of power consumption, even in a radio environment causing repeat of synchronization and loss of synchronization.SOLUTION: A meter reading system includes: a synchronization determination part 16 for determining synchronization with a base station 300; an open search operation part 17 for performing an open search which is performed at least when the synchronization with the base station 300 is lost and searches for a base station with which the synchronization can be established; an accumulation part 18 for accumulating either the number of synchronization loss, the number of the open search, or the number of LCH occurrence; and a control part 19 for halting the open search if either the accumulated number of synchronization loss, the accumulated number of open search, or the accumulated number of LCH occurrence, obtained by the accumulation part 18, exceeds a predetermined value. The accumulation part 19 accumulates at least either the number of synchronization loss, the number of open search, or the number of LCH occurrence for a predetermined period which includes determination by the synchronization part 16 at least once.

Description

  The present invention relates to a meter reading system for metering a gas or water meter.

  In this type of meter reading system, meter reading data obtained from a gas or water meter is transmitted to a base station by wireless communication using a radio, and the meter reading data is transmitted from the base station via a line to a collection center or the like. What to collect is known.

  Such a meter reading system is configured to determine whether a radio and a base station are synchronized at a predetermined time interval, and when the synchronization is lost, search for a base station that can be synchronized by an open search. .

  Here, an average current of about 0.35 mA is consumed in the above-described synchronization determination. On the other hand, on the above-described open search, an average current of about 90 mA is consumed. From this, it can be seen that the open search consumes much more power than the synchronization determination.

  Therefore, in a radio wave environment in which the radio and the base station are not easily synchronized, the open search time becomes long, resulting in an increase in power consumption. In particular, when the wireless device is operated by a battery, if the power consumption is large, the life of the battery is shortened accordingly, and the battery needs to be frequently replaced in order to maintain the system.

  Therefore, the meter reading system described in Patent Document 1 is configured to measure the time during which the open search is operated, and the open search time is measured between the determination of synchronization and the determination of the next synchronization. When the value exceeds the threshold value, the open search is stopped to prevent an increase in power consumption.

JP 2004-343608 A

  However, in a radio wave environment where loss of synchronization and synchronization are repeated, if synchronization is achieved before the measured value exceeds the threshold, the above-described configuration does not stop open search during this period, and this situation is repeated. If this occurs, power consumption increases, and the above problem cannot be solved.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems all at once, and its main problem is to suppress an increase in power consumption even in a radio wave environment in which out-of-synchronization and synchronization are repeated. Is.

  That is, the meter reading system according to the present invention is a meter reading system that receives meter reading data from a gas or water meter and transmits the meter reading data to a base station by wireless communication, and determines synchronization with the base station at a predetermined time interval. A synchronization determination unit that performs synchronization with an open search operation unit that performs an open search that is an operation for searching for a base station that can be synchronized, and is performed when at least the synchronization determination unit determines that synchronization with the base station has been lost. An accumulating unit that accumulates at least one of the number of out-of-synchronizations, which is the number of times the signal has been lost, the number of open searches that are the number of open searches, and the number of LCHs that are generated during the open search; The integrated value of the out-of-synchronization number obtained by the above, the integrated value of the open search number, or the number of LCH occurrences A control unit that stops the open search when at least one of the arithmetic values is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the integration unit is over a predetermined period including at least one determination by the synchronization determination unit. Then, at least one of the number of out-of-synchronizations, the number of open searches, or the number of occurrences of LCH is integrated.

Such a meter-reading system can suppress an increase in power consumption even in a radio wave environment in which out-of-synchronization and synchronization are repeated.
This is because the integration unit integrates at least one of the number of out-of-synchronizations, the number of open searches, or the number of LCH occurrences over a predetermined period including at least one determination by the synchronization determination unit. This is because, in a radio wave environment, the integrated value obtained by the integrating unit becomes large, and the control unit stops the open search when the integrated value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

  The meter reading system according to the present invention is a meter reading system that receives meter reading data from a gas or water meter and transmits the meter reading data to a base station by wireless communication, and synchronizes with the base station at a predetermined time interval. A synchronization determination unit for determining, an open search operation unit for performing an open search that is an operation for searching for a base station that can be synchronized, which is performed when at least the synchronization determination unit determines that the synchronization with the base station is out of sync; An integration unit that integrates at least one of an out-of-synchronization number that is the number of out-of-synchronization times, an open search number that is the number of open searches, or an LCH occurrence number that is the number of LCHs generated during the open search; Product of the number of times of out-of-synchronization obtained by the unit, the value of the number of times of open search or the number of times of occurrence of LCH An alarm unit for transmitting an alarm signal when at least one of the values is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the integration unit over a predetermined period including at least one determination by the synchronization determination unit, At least one of the out-of-synchronization count, the open search count, or the LCH occurrence count is integrated.

With such a meter-reading system, power consumption continues to increase due to repeated out-of-synchronization and synchronization by an alarm signal transmitted by an alarm unit even at a location away from a gas or water meter. Can be detected.
This is because the integration unit integrates at least one of the number of out-of-synchronizations, the number of open searches, or the number of LCH occurrences over a predetermined period including at least one determination by the synchronization determination unit. Then, the integrated value obtained by the integrating unit becomes large, and if this integrated value becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the alarm unit transmits an alarm signal.

  As a specific embodiment, there is an example in which the accumulating unit accumulates at least one of the out-of-synchronization count, the open search count, or the LCH occurrence count over 24 hours.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, an increase in power consumption can be suppressed even in a radio wave environment in which out-of-synchronization and synchronization are repeated.

The figure which shows typically the structure of the meter-reading system of this embodiment. The functional block diagram which shows the function of the meter-reading system of the embodiment. The figure explaining the synchronous determination and open search of the embodiment. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the meter-reading of the embodiment. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the meter-reading of the embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a meter reading system 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the meter reading system 100 according to the present embodiment acquires meter reading data from a gas or water meter 200 such as city gas or LP gas, and uses a wireless device (not shown) such as a PHS or a mobile phone. The meter reading data is transmitted to the base station 300 by wireless communication. In the present embodiment, the meter reading system 100 is attached to each meter 200, but one meter reading system 100 may be attached to a plurality of meters 200. The meter reading data transmitted to the base station 300 is collected by the information collection center 400 via the line L, for example.
In the present embodiment, a wireless device (not shown) that is driven by a built-in battery is used.

Specifically, the meter reading system 100 physically includes a CPU, a memory, an A / D converter, a D / A converter, and the like, and functionally, as shown in FIG. Unit 11, meter reading data storage unit 12, meter reading data transmission unit 13, synchronization signal reception unit 14, synchronization state data storage unit 15, synchronization determination unit 16, open search operation unit 17, integration unit 18 and control unit 19 It is.
These units are realized by the cooperation of the CPU and its peripheral devices according to the program stored in the memory.

  Each part will be described.

  The meter-reading data acquisition unit 11 is connected to a gas or water meter 200 and acquires meter-reading data from the meter 200. This meter-reading data includes the value itself shown in the meter 200, leak information that is detected based on the value and indicates gas leak or water leak, and the like.

  The meter reading data storage unit 12 is set in a predetermined area of the memory and stores meter reading data acquired by the meter reading data acquiring unit 11.

The meter-reading data transmission unit 13 acquires meter-reading data stored in the meter-reading data storage unit 12 and transmits the meter-reading data to the base station 300 by wireless communication.
More specifically, the meter-reading data transmission unit 13 is configured to transmit meter-reading data to the synchronized base station 300 at a predetermined time interval. Note that the timing at which the meter-reading data transmission unit 13 transmits meter-reading data may be set to transmit at a timing at which a signal from the information collection center 400 is received instead of a predetermined time interval.

  The synchronization signal receiving unit 14 receives a synchronization signal transmitted from the base station 300. In this embodiment, the synchronization signal receiving unit 14 is configured to receive synchronization signals from a plurality of base stations 300 located in a predetermined area. Yes.

  The synchronization state data storage unit 15 attaches synchronization state data indicating the synchronization state between each base station 300 and a radio (not shown) obtained based on the synchronization signal received by the synchronization signal receiving unit 14 to each base station 300, for example. This is classified and stored for each base station 300 using a serial number or the like. Specifically, this synchronization state data is based on whether the synchronization signal received by the synchronization signal receiver 14 is in a state where the base station 300 that transmitted the synchronization signal is synchronized with a radio (not shown). It is data which shows.

  The synchronization determination unit 16 determines whether the base station 300 is synchronized with a wireless device (not shown). The synchronization determination unit 16 refers to the synchronization state data stored in the synchronization state data storage unit 15 to obtain the synchronization described above. It is comprised so that determination may be carried out. More specifically, the synchronization determination unit 16 determines synchronization at a predetermined time interval as shown in the upper part of FIG. 3. In this embodiment, this time interval is set to 3.6 seconds. doing. Hereinafter, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a period from the start of synchronization determination to the next start of synchronization determination is also referred to as a unit interval. The time interval, that is, the length of the unit section can be freely changed.

  When the above-described synchronization determination unit 16 determines that the base station 300 and a radio (not shown) are synchronized, it determines whether or not the synchronization is continued at a predetermined time interval, and the loss of synchronization occurs. When it is determined that they are not synchronized, a signal for operating the open search is transmitted to the open search operating unit 17 described later.

  When the open search operation unit 17 receives the signal from the synchronization determination unit 16, the open search operation unit 17 operates the open search to search for a base station 300 that can be synchronized. In this embodiment, the above-described synchronization state data storage unit 15 is configured to search for a base station 300 that can be synchronized, including the base station 300 that has lost synchronization, by referring to the synchronization state data stored in FIG.

Specifically, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 3, the open search operation unit 17 is configured to operate the open search at a predetermined time interval. In the present embodiment, this time interval is set to 10 milliseconds. doing.
If an LCH that is a kind of error occurs during the open search, the open search stops.

  The accumulating unit 18 accepts the signal from the above-described synchronization determining unit 16 and accumulates the number of out-of-synchronizations that is the number of times the out-of-synchronization has occurred, and accepts the signal from the above-described open search operating unit 17 to perform the open search. The number of times of open search that is the number of times that has been activated and the number of times of occurrence of LCH that is the number of times that LCH has occurred are integrated.

  Thus, the accumulating unit 18 is configured to accumulate the number of out-of-synchronizations, the number of open searches, and the number of LCH occurrences over a predetermined period including at least one synchronization determination by the synchronization determination unit 16. In other words, the accumulating unit 18 accumulates the number of loss of synchronization, the number of open searches, and the number of LCH occurrences across a plurality of unit sections.

More specifically, when a period in which a plurality of synchronization determinations are included, that is, when a plurality of continuous unit sections are set as a predetermined period, the integration unit 18 integrates the number of times of synchronization loss and every time synchronization is lost. The number of open searches to be operated and the number of LCHs generated during the open search are accumulated and accumulated without being reset.
Note that the timing at which the integration unit 18 starts integration can be set freely. In this embodiment, the integration unit 18 is set to start integration when a radio (not shown) is driven.

  In the present embodiment, the predetermined period in which the accumulating unit 18 accumulates the number of out-of-synchronizations, the number of open searches, and the number of LCH occurrences is set to 24 hours. However, the setting can be freely changed according to the radio wave environment or the like. Can do.

  When at least one of the integrated value of the number of out-of-synchronization times, the integrated value of the open search frequency, or the integrated value of the LCH occurrence frequency obtained by the integrating unit 18 becomes a predetermined value or more, the control unit 19 A control signal is transmitted to the search operation unit 17 to stop the open search.

  More specifically, the control unit 19 transmits the control signal to the open search operation unit 17 to put the open search operation unit 17 into a sleep state where the open search is not possible. . Specifically, the control unit 19 of the present embodiment is configured to transmit a control signal when the integrated value of the number of open searches reaches 100, for example.

  The open search actuating unit 17 that has entered a dormant state is automatically in a normal state, for example, by receiving a signal from the control unit 19 after a predetermined set time (1 hour in the present embodiment) has elapsed since entering the dormant state. Is configured to return. In addition, instead of the signal from the control unit 19, for example, the signal may be returned to the normal state by an external signal.

In addition, the meter-reading system 100 of this embodiment has the 2nd integrating | accumulating part which is not shown in figure and the 2nd control part which is not shown in figure.
The second integration unit integrates the number of out-of-synchronizations, the number of open searches, and the number of LCH occurrences in a single unit section.
In addition, the second control unit opens the open search operation unit 17 when the integrated value of the number of out-of-synchronizations, the integrated value of the open search times, or the integrated value of the LCH occurrence times obtained by the second integrating unit becomes a predetermined value or more. A second control signal is transmitted to the terminal to stop the open search.

  Next, the operation of meter reading using the meter reading system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, when a radio (not shown) starts to drive, a timer (not shown) for measuring a predetermined period accumulated by the accumulator 18 is reset, and the number of out-of-sync times obtained by the accumulator 18. The integrated value of the number of open searches and the number of LCH occurrences becomes 0 (S1).

  Next, the open search operation unit 17 performs an open search (S2) and searches for a base station 300 that can be synchronized (S3). If the base station 300 that can be synchronized is not found in S3, the open search operation unit 17 operates the open search again after 10 msec from the previous open search (S4).

  In S3, when a base station 300 that can be synchronized is found, the open search operation unit 17 synchronizes with the base station 300, and then the synchronization determination unit 16 waits for the next synchronization determination time (S5), It is determined whether the base station 300 is synchronized with a radio (not shown) (S8).

  Note that during S5 to S8, a timer monitoring unit (not shown) determines whether the timer time is within the set time (24 hours) (S6), and when the timer time reaches the set time, The timer time is reset, and the accumulated values of the number of out-of-synchronizations, the number of open searches and the number of LCHs accumulated by the accumulator 18 are set to 0 (S7).

  In S8, when the synchronization determination unit 16 determines that synchronization is established, after 3.6 seconds have elapsed from the previous determination, the process returns to S5 again to determine whether synchronization is performed.

  If it is determined in S8 that the synchronization is not established, that is, if it is determined that the synchronization is lost, the integrated value of the number of out-of-synchronizations obtained by the integrating unit 18 is increased by 1 (S9). Then, the control unit 19 determines whether or not the integrated value is equal to or higher than the upper limit value (S10), and when the upper limit value is reached, the open search operation unit 17 is set in a pause state and the open search is stopped (S11).

  If the integrated value does not reach the upper limit value in S10, as shown in FIG. 5, the open search operation unit 17 performs an open search (S12) and searches for a base station 300 that can be synchronized (S14). . At this time, the integrated value of the number of open searches obtained by the integrating unit 18 is increased by 1 (S13).

  If a base station 300 that can be synchronized is found in S14, the process returns to S5, and the synchronization determination unit 16 waits for the next synchronization determination time and determines whether or not the base station 300 is synchronized.

  On the other hand, if the base station 300 that can be synchronized cannot be identified in S14, an LCH confirmation unit (not shown) confirms the occurrence of LCH (S15). When LCH occurs, the integrated value of the number of occurrences of LCH obtained by the integrating unit 18 is increased by 1 (S16), and the control unit 19 determines whether the integrated value is equal to or higher than the upper limit value (S17). If it reaches, the open search operation unit 17 is put into a pause state to stop the open search (S18).

  When the LCH has not occurred in S15, and when the integrated value of the number of LCH occurrences has not reached the upper limit value in S17, the control unit 19 determines whether the integrated value of the open search number is greater than or equal to the upper limit value. If the upper limit is reached (S19), the open search operation unit 17 is put into a pause state to stop the open search (S20).

  In S19, when the integrated value has not reached the upper limit value, the open search operation unit 17 waits for the next open search time (S21), returns to S12, and performs the open search again.

  According to the meter reading system 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the power consumption can be reduced even in a radio wave environment in which an increase in power consumption cannot be suppressed in the related art, that is, in a radio wave environment in which loss of synchronization and synchronization are repeated. Increase can be suppressed.

  Because, in the past, the number of open searches (operation time) was integrated in the interval from the occurrence of loss of synchronization to the next determination of synchronization, and when the synchronization was established, the integrated value was reset. In the radio wave environment where the synchronization loss and synchronization are repeated, the open search is not stopped and the power consumption continues to increase.

  On the other hand, in the meter reading system 100 according to the present embodiment, the accumulating unit 18 accumulates the number of out-of-synchronizations, the number of open searches, and the number of LCH occurrences over a plurality of unit sections without resetting. Even in a radio wave environment where the synchronization and the synchronization are repeated, when the integrated value obtained by the integrating unit 18 exceeds a predetermined value, the control unit 19 reliably stops the open search and increases the power consumption. Can be suppressed.

  Further, since the control unit 19 automatically controls the open search operation unit 17 to stop the open search, for example, an administrator of the meter-reading system 100 or the like uses a wireless device (not shown) to stop the open search. There is no need to go to operate.

  Further, since the meter-reading data storage unit 12 stores the meter-reading data, the meter-reading data storage unit 12 does not need to communicate with the base station 300 because the battery of the wireless device (not shown) is exhausted. If it is moving, meter reading data that is not transmitted is not lost while communication with the base station 300 is not possible.

  In addition, since the second integration unit and the second control unit are included, even when it is difficult to find a base station that can be synchronized in the unit interval, power consumption can be suppressed by stopping the open search.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  For example, in the embodiment, the control unit is configured to control the open search operation unit to stop the open search, but the meter reading system has an alarm unit instead of the control unit, You may comprise so that an alarm signal may be transmitted when the integrated value obtained by an integrating | accumulating part becomes more than predetermined value.

  By configuring in this way, power consumption continues to increase due to repeated out-of-synchronization and synchronization by an alarm signal transmitted by the alarm unit even at a place away from a gas or water meter. Can be detected. Thereby, it can suppress that power consumption continues increasing by stopping an open search by remote operation, for example.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the accumulating unit accumulates the number of open searches that are activated due to out-of-synchronization, but immediately after driving the radio, or in a state where the base station and the radio are synchronized. The number of open search operations may be integrated. In this case, the control unit may be configured to stop the open search when the integrated value of the total number of open searches obtained by the integrating unit becomes a predetermined value or more.

  In the embodiment, the control unit is configured to put the open search operation unit in a dormant state. However, for example, the whole radio (not shown) is cut off by supplying power from a battery (not shown) built in the radio. May be configured to enter a dormant state.

  Further, the upper limit value of the integrated value of the number of out-of-synchronizations, the number of open searches, and the number of LCHs obtained by the integration unit can be freely changed depending on the radio wave environment or the like.

  In addition, it goes without saying 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.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Meter-reading system 200 ... Meter 300 ... Base station 16 ... Synchronization determination part 17 ... Open search operation part 18 ... Integration part 19 ... Control part

Claims (3)

A meter reading system that receives meter reading data from a gas or water meter and transmits the meter reading data to a base station by wireless communication,
A synchronization determination unit that determines synchronization with the base station at a predetermined time interval;
An open search operation unit that performs an open search that is an operation to search for a base station that can be synchronized, which is performed when at least the synchronization determination unit determines that the synchronization with the base station has been lost,
An accumulator for accumulating at least one of the number of times of out-of-synchronization that is out-of-synchronization, the number of times of open search that is the number of times of open search, and the number of times of LCH that is the number of LCHs that occur during the open search;
The open search is stopped when at least one of the integration value of the out-of-synchronization times obtained by the integration unit, the integration value of the open search times, or the integration value of the LCH occurrence times becomes a predetermined value or more. A control unit,
The metering system integrates at least one of the out-of-synchronization count, the open search count, or the LCH occurrence count over a predetermined period including at least one determination by the synchronization determination section. . A meter reading system that receives meter reading data from a gas or water meter and transmits the meter reading data to a base station by wireless communication,
A synchronization determination unit that determines synchronization with the base station at a predetermined time interval;
An open search operation unit that performs an open search that is an operation to search for a base station that can be synchronized, which is performed when at least the synchronization determination unit determines that the synchronization with the base station has been lost,
An accumulator for accumulating at least one of the number of times of out-of-synchronization that is out-of-synchronization, the number of times of open search that is the number of times of open search, and the number of times of LCH that is the number of LCHs that occur during the open search;
An alarm that issues an alarm signal when at least one of the integrated value of the number of out-of-synchronizations obtained by the integrating unit, the integrated value of the open search times, or the integrated value of the LCH occurrence times becomes a predetermined value or more. And
The metering system integrates at least one of the out-of-synchronization count, the open search count, or the LCH occurrence count over a predetermined period including at least one determination by the synchronization determination section. .   The meter reading system according to claim 1, wherein the accumulating unit accumulates at least one of the out-of-synchronization count, the open search count, or the LCH occurrence count over 24 hours.