JP2787175B2 - Terminal network controller - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, remote automatic meter reading systems using general subscriber telephone lines have been widely used in order to automate supply management of household LPG, city gas, etc., gas charge management or safety management such as gas leakage. It is being introduced. The present invention extends the life of the battery by activating the battery used in such a system, and provides a maintenance device that prevents communication failure when the battery runs out of capacity by repeating activation. The present invention relates to a terminal network control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional remote automatic meter reading system.

[0003] The center device 30 includes a host computer 21 and a center-side network control device (C-NCU) 22. The center-side network control device 22 is connected to a center-side telephone exchange 23 via a telephone line 31. On the other hand, the terminal device 25 includes a terminal-side network control device (T-NCU) 26, meters 27 and 28 such as gas meters, and a telephone 29. The terminal-side network control device 26 has a no-ringing incoming call function and a terminal automatic calling function, and is connected to the terminal-side telephone exchange 24 via a telephone line 33. A no-ringing trunk 34 is connected to the terminal-side telephone exchange 24. Center-side telephone exchange 23 and terminal-side telephone exchange 24
Are connected to each other by a telephone line 32.

In the no-ringing communication system, the center-side network controller 22 calls a no-ringing trunk 34 in response to a command from the host computer 21, inverts the polarity of a line 33 holding the same, and then sends a no-ringing call signal (NRS signal) to the terminal. This is given to the side network control device 26. When detecting the NRS signal, the terminal-side network control device 26 connects, for example, the meter 27 to the telephone line 33 without ringing the telephone 29. Thus, data communication is performed between meter 27 and center device 30.

[0005] On the other hand, at the time of terminal automatic transmission, a call is automatically made from the terminal side network control device 26 to the center side network control device 22 at a predetermined time or when a call is made from the meter. In this case, the terminal side network control device 26
After checking the vacancy of the telephone line 33, the telephone 29 is disconnected and connected to the center side network controller 22 via the telephone lines 33, 32 and 31 by sending a dial, and the meter 27 is turned off.
Is transmitted to the host computer 21 via the center-side network control device 22. The host computer 21 calculates a fee based on the meter reading information and performs a tallying process. Thereafter, the terminal-side network control device 26 restores after connecting the telephone 29.

[0006] These arrangements are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 60-1.
24140, JP-A-63-159785, etc., and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Conventionally, power has been supplied from a commercial power supply or an adapter as a main power supply for the terminal network control device. However, recent technological innovations have reduced the power consumption of ICs, improved the performance of primary batteries, and extended the life of primary batteries. As a result, a battery has been used as a main power source of a terminal network control device. For example, using a thionyl chloride lithium battery or the like and reducing the current consumption during standby (standby) and communication as much as possible, the life of the terminal network control device has been extended.

When a thionyl chloride lithium battery is used in a terminal network control device, a lithium chloride film (hereinafter referred to as a chloride film) is formed on the anode of the battery when the discharge current is about 0 to 10 μA in order to extend the life. Self-discharge is reduced. This discharge current depends on the standby current. However, the growth of the chloride film also causes the internal resistance of the battery to increase.

Conventionally, a thionyl chloride lithium battery has been
Generally, it was used for the purpose of backing up memory of equipment. In the case of memory backup, discharge current is several μA
To about 10 μA, the chloride film may grow large and the internal resistance may increase to about several hundred ohms. However, since the discharge current was about several μA to about 10 μA, there was no problem because the influence on the battery terminal voltage was very small.

[0010]

When the aforementioned thionyl chloride-based lithium battery is used in the terminal network control device, the discharge current is not constant at a very small current as in the memory backup, and the operation mode is one month. There are a communication operation mode in which the discharge current is about 20 mA for about one minute, and a standby operation mode (standby) in which most of the other discharge currents are about 10 μA, and the discharge current changes by three digits. Further, since most of the operation modes are in the standby mode, the chloride film continues to grow during that period as described above. That is, the internal resistance of the battery increases. For this reason, when the communication operation mode is entered once a month, the internal terminal resistance increased by the standby causes a problem that the terminal voltage of the battery drops during the discharge and the terminal network controller runs away even if the battery capacity is sufficient. was there.

The internal resistance of a thionyl chloride-based lithium battery, that is, the chloride film formed on the anode is activated (refreshed) by decreasing the internal resistance by increasing the discharge current. However, it is necessary to increase the discharge current unnecessarily. Is
Reduce the service life of the device and increase maintenance costs. Alternatively, in order to satisfy the service life, the battery capacity needs to be increased, which increases the cost. In order to prevent excessive growth of the chloride film, the present applicant has filed a Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
Japanese Patent Application No. 20204 proposes, for example, an invention for activating the current consumption once a day at a predetermined level every predetermined period.

However, since the growth rate of the chloride film of a thionyl chloride-based lithium battery changes depending on the ambient temperature,
When the refresh operation is uniformly performed, a long discharge time is required depending on the season, which adversely affects the life of the battery.

Further, when the battery is almost exhausted due to repeated use due to long use, the telephone relay is disconnected at the time of calling from the terminal network control device, that is, at the time of calling the terminal, or the telephone at the end of communication. When the relay is switched back, a large current flows, the terminal voltage of the battery drops extremely, the terminal network controller runs away, and in some cases, the telephone relay remains disconnected and even if a general user wants to use the telephone, it cannot be done There was a possibility.

In some terminal network control devices, a line disconnecting device is built-in, and when the terminal network control device holds the telephone in a disconnected state, the disconnecting device is operated. There are those that make the use state, but in this case, since the general user does not operate the cutting machine by himself,
It took time to restart the telephone line, and there was a possibility that costs would be incurred.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal network control device capable of increasing or decreasing the number of refreshes depending on the season to extend the life of the battery, and using the telephone even when the battery capacity is reduced by repeated activation. To get.

[0016]

The terminal network control device of the present invention is provided with control means having a calendar function, whereby the frequency of activation of the battery by the discharge means is adjusted according to the season. When the battery capacity falls below a certain limit, the control means can transmit data without disconnecting the telephone at the time of calling the terminal.

[0017]

The control circuit can change the frequency of activation depending on the season, so that the effect of the chloride film of the battery is reduced, and the battery can be used efficiently. Also, at the end of battery life, the telephone is not kept disconnected from the line.

[0018]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

A battery 1 requiring activation, such as a thionyl chloride lithium battery, is connected to a constant voltage circuit 2 and a battery voltage detector 9. The constant voltage circuit 2 is connected to the microcomputer 3, the meter interface (I / F) 5 and 6, and the emitters of the transistors 7 and 8. The collector of the transistor 7 is connected to the tone decoder unit 11, the base is connected to the emitter via a resistor 16, and the transistor 7 is connected to the microcomputer 3 via a resistor 17. The microcomputer 3 is provided with a calendar function including a timing function.

The collector of the transistor 8 is connected to the modem 12
The base is connected to the emitter via a resistor 18 and to the microcomputer 3 via a resistor 19.

The terminal unit 15 is connected to the telephone line L, the meters M1 and M2, and the telephone TEL. The terminal unit 15 transmits and receives information from the meters M1 and M2 to and from the microcomputer 3 via the I / Fs 5 and 6. Is sent to the tone decoder unit 11, modem unit 12, and tone dialer unit 13 connected to the microcomputer 3 via the polarity inversion detection unit 4, the line control and coupling unit 14, and the like.

The microcomputer 3 is connected to the battery voltage detecting section 9 and further to the polarity inversion detecting section 14 and the line control and coupling section 14. The telephone disconnecting section 20 is connected to the terminal section 15 and controlled by the microcomputer 3.

First, an embodiment in which the frequency of battery activation is changed according to the season will be described. In FIG. 1, in a standby state of the terminal network control device, the voltage of a battery 1 is made constant by a constant voltage unit 2 and supplied to a microcomputer unit 3, a polarity inversion detection unit 4, and meter I / Fs 5 and 6.

The discharge current from the battery in the standby state is usually 10 μA. In the case of the no-ringing communication, the signal from the telephone line L is input to the polarity reversal detection unit 4, and the instruction INT from there causes the microcomputer unit 3 to change from the standby state to the operation state. It operates to supply power to the tone decoder section 11 and enters a signal receiving state.

The reception of the no-ringing call signal by the tone decoder section 11 is output to the microcomputer section 3. When the no-ringing communication is started, the transistor 8 is operated by the microcomputer section 3, and the power is supplied to the modem section 12 and the tone dialer section 13. Supply.

At this time, the discharge current of the battery 1 is 20 mA. Since the meter reading is performed, for example, once a month, most of the operation states of the terminal network control device are in a standby state, and the chloride film of the battery grows between one activation and the next activation.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart for activating the chloride film of the battery 1 by changing the frequency of current consumption in the standby state by the microcomputer 3 according to the seasonal temperature change.

The terminal network control device is mostly in a standby state, and executes a time calculation process by a calendar function incorporated in the microcomputer unit 3 (S1, S2).

The internal timer of the microcomputer unit 3 compares whether the current time is 0:00 (S3). When the time reaches 0:00, a refresh operation for activation is performed (S4). The refresh operation is performed by operating the transistor 7 of FIG. 1 to increase the circuit current consumption corresponding to the current consumption after the previous refresh.

If the current time is not 0:00, then it is compared whether it is 8:00 or 16:00 (S
5).

When the time reaches 8:00 or 16:00, it is determined whether the current month is June, July, or August (S6), and the current month is determined to be June, July, or August. If either,
A refresh operation is performed (S4). The current month is June,
If it is not July or August, return to the standby state (S
1).

If the current time is not 8:00 or 16:00, then a comparison is made to see if it is 12:00 (S
7). If it reaches 12:00, the current month is March, April,
Whether it is May, September, October, or November is compared (S8), and if any of them, the refresh operation is performed (S4). If it is not any of those months or if the current time is not 12:00, the process returns to the standby state (S1).

As described above, December to February is one day a day.
2 times a day every 12 hours from March to May and September to November
Refreshes can be performed three times a day every eight hours from June to August. This interval can be appropriately changed.

In the case where a terminal call is made while the battery 1 is in a normal state, if a call cause such as regular or regular occurs from the meter I / F 5 or 6 or by counting up the timer in the microcomputer unit 3, first, The microcomputer section 3 issues a telephone disconnection instruction to the telephone disconnection section 20. Thereafter, the line control and coupling unit 14 and the transistor 8
Is operated to supply power to the modem unit 12 and the tone dialer unit 13 to transmit a dial to the telephone line, and enter a terminal communication state by receiving a response signal from the center.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart in the case where the reduction in the capacity of the battery at the time of transmission from the terminal is considered. After the start of the program, after the RAM of the microcomputer unit 3 is cleared and various initializations (for example, input / output processing of ports) (S11), the terminal network control device enters a standby state (S12). When the standby is released by no ringing or a meter or the like, the activation factors are checked (S13, S14), and the processing shifts to each processing. In the case of no ringing, the flow shifts to no ringing communication processing (S15) to check the communication processing and the battery voltage.

The detection of the battery voltage during the no-ringing communication is performed as follows. The microcomputer unit 3 constantly monitors the output of the battery voltage detecting unit 9 and sets a dead battery flag when a dead battery occurs, and sends a dead battery message to the center.

On the other hand, at the time of calling the terminal, first, a battery dead flag is checked (S16). When the battery voltage is normal, the telephone is disconnected (S17), and a terminal calling process is performed (S18). When the battery voltage is normal, after the on-hook process (S19), the telephone is connected (S20) and the apparatus enters standby.

During the terminal call processing (S18), various communication controls such as line off-hook processing are performed, and the microcomputer unit 3 constantly monitors the output of the battery voltage detection unit 9 as in the no ringing communication. If the battery runs out, a battery running out flag is set.

Here, it is assumed that a battery exhaustion flag is generated during the communication processing. Then, the terminal network control device is restarted after being restored once. Check the activation factor (S13, S1
4) Start the terminal calling operation. At this time, since the out-of-battery flag has been generated, the terminal call processing (S21, the contents are the same as S18) is executed without disconnecting the telephone, and then the processing shifts to standby after the on-hook processing (S22) is executed.
Therefore, the telephone does not go out of control due to runaway.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, the refresh operation, which has been performed uniformly in the past, is changed according to the month of each season which is clocked inside the network control device. The life of the battery can be further extended. Also, at the end of the battery life, not only can the telephone be kept disconnected from the line and the telephone can be prevented from becoming unusable, but there is no need to operate the separator,
No time is required until the telephone line is restarted, and general users are not anxious.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of activation according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart at the time of calling a terminal according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional remote automatic meter reading system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Battery 2 Constant voltage part 3 Microcomputer part 4 Polarity inversion detection part 5, 6 Meter I / F 7, 8 Transistor 11 Tone decoder part 12 Modem part 13 Tone dialer part 14 Line control and coupling part 15 Terminal part 16-19 Resistance

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-55998 (JP, A) JP-A-63-274256 (JP, A) JP-A-58-133132 (JP, A) JP-A 64-64 77432 (JP, A) JP-A-5-122868 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Application Sho 57-72732 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H04M 11/00-11 / 10 H02J 7/00 302 H04M 19/08

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A control device connected to a telephone line, data measuring means and communication means, comprising a battery which requires activation, a discharging means for activation, and control means for each of the above means. The terminal network control device is characterized in that the means adjusts the frequency of battery activation by the discharging means according to the season by means of a timekeeping and calendar function. 2. A control device connected to a telephone line, data measuring means, and communication means, comprising a battery which requires activation, a discharging means for activation, and control means for each of the above means. The terminal network control device, wherein the means transmits data without disconnecting the telephone at the time of terminal transmission when the capacity of the battery is below a certain limit.