JP5874023B2 - Remote meter reading system, relay master station - Google Patents

Description

The present invention collects meter-reading data from each slave station provided in a consumer to the master station at least partially through a communication path by power line carrier communication, and further, the master station uses another communication path to superimpose meter-reading information. The present invention relates to a remote meter reading system that notifies an aggregation server , and a relay master station used in this remote meter reading system .

  In general, a supply medium such as electricity, gas, water, and heat is supplied to a customer from a supplier through a supply facility such as a transmission line, a gas conduit, a water pipe, and a heat conduit. The supply medium consumer measures the amount of supply medium used with a meter, and the supplier confirms the measurement result of the measuring instrument with a meter reader and asks the customer for the amount of supply medium used. You are charging for the price.

  The meter reading work by the meter reader requires labor costs and there are problems such as erroneous reading of the measured value. To solve this kind of problem, the measured value is managed without going through the meter reader. Various techniques have been proposed.

  For example, in an apartment house, a slave station as a communication device is connected to a meter (power meter, etc.) placed in each dwelling unit (customer), and between the master station and the slave station placed in the electrical room or manager room A technique for performing communication by power line carrier communication has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). That is, a technique has been proposed in which a distribution line laid in an apartment house is used for a communication path between a master station and a slave station, and meter reading data measured by a meter is transmitted from the slave station to the master station through the distribution line. Further, the master station can communicate with the upper aggregation server through a communication network such as the Internet, and meter reading data collected from the slave stations can be notified to the upper aggregation server.

  In a detached house, in a customer to whom power is supplied from the secondary side of the pole transformer, a slave station is attached to the meter, and between the master station and the slave station arranged in the vicinity of the pole transformer, It has been proposed to use the distribution line on the secondary side of the pole transformer as a communication path by power line carrier communication.

JP 2006-180021 A

  By the way, generally about 20 to 40 customers receive power from the secondary distribution line of the pole transformer. Further, in apartment houses and tenant buildings, a step-down transformer may be provided in the electrical room instead of the pole transformer, and the customer receives power from the distribution line on the secondary side of the step-down transformer.

  On the other hand, the communication path between the master station and the slave station is also used as the secondary distribution line of the pole transformer and step-down transformer, so a master station is usually required for each pole transformer. become.

  As in Patent Document 1, in a plurality of step-down transformers provided in a building such as an apartment house, a coupler that passes a communication signal used for power line carrier communication is provided between secondary sides, and a slave station and a parent station are passed through the coupler. Techniques for exchanging communication signals with a station have been proposed. Step-down transformers installed in buildings have a relatively small physical distance between the distribution lines on the secondary side, so it is relatively difficult to provide a coupler between the distribution lines on the secondary side of different step-down transformers. Easy. However, since different pole transformers are often arranged several tens of meters or more apart, it is not practical to provide a coupler between the distribution lines on the secondary side.

  On the other hand, it is conceivable to provide a master station for each customer receiving power from the secondary side of each pole transformer. However, the master station has many functions to aggregate the meter reading data (measurement information) acquired from the slave stations and transmit it to the higher level aggregation server as meter reading information. Providing the same number as the vessel leads to an increase in cost. Furthermore, when the number of parent stations that are communication partners of the upper aggregation server is large, traffic on the communication path between the upper aggregation server and the parent station increases, leading to a decrease in communication speed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above reasons, and its purpose is to make it possible to acquire measurement information from a slave station connected to each secondary side of a plurality of transformers in a single master station. To provide a remote meter-reading system that can reduce the number of installed master stations, and consequently reduce the increase in cost and traffic on the communication path between the host aggregation server and the master station. is there. Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide a relay master station used for this remote meter reading system.

In order to achieve the above object, the remote meter reading system according to the present invention includes a plurality of slave stations that acquire the usage amount of a supply medium purchased from a supplier through a supply facility by a consumer, and a plurality of distribution lines. the master station to collect the measurement result of the slave station is obtained by performing power line communication using the distribution line to the communication path between the connected the slave station connected to the distribution line to 1 line of the out When the slave station by performing power line communication using the distribution line to the communication path between said plurality of lines wherein the slave stations connected to the distribution line is connected to the other strains of the distribution lines And the relay master station communicates with the master station using a communication path different from the plurality of distribution lines, so that the slave station Notify the master station of the acquired measurement result Configured urchin, the master station, the meter reading information that aggregates the measurement result, is configured to notify the higher aggregation server through a communication network, said master station and said relay master station, the distribution line of the respective same line Manage the property information set in the connected slave station, and collect the measurement results independently for each of the distribution lines of the multiple systems , the master station and the relay master station, respectively When the measurement result is collected from the slave station, if a slave station having property information different from the property information managed by the master station or the relay master station is detected, the slave station is managed by the slave station It is characterized by deleting from.

  The relay master station desirably has a function of periodically collecting measurement results acquired by slave stations having a common distribution line and notifying the master station of the collected measurement results.

  In addition, when the measurement result of the slave station scheduled to be notified from the relay master station is not notified, the master station requests transmission of the measurement result to the slave station via the relay master station It is desirable to provide.

  When it is detected that the master station and the relay master station have generated crosstalk that enables power line carrier communication with a slave station that does not share the distribution line, the master station and the relay master station It is desirable to have a function of adjusting the timing of power line carrier communication so that power line carrier communication is possible only between the two.

Wherein the parent station and the relay master station, the measurement result acquired from the slave station, it is desirable to have a management information storage unit that stores with unique identification information for identifying the slave station during a communication.
The relay master station according to the present invention is connected to one of a plurality of slave stations and a plurality of distribution lines to obtain the usage amount of a supply medium purchased through a supply facility from a supplier by a consumer. A master station that collects measurement results obtained by the slave station by performing power line carrier communication using the distribution line as a communication path with the slave station connected to the distribution line, and the plurality of distribution lines The measurement results obtained by the slave station are collected by performing power line carrier communication using the distribution line as a communication path with the slave station connected to the other distribution line and the distribution line. A relay master station, and the relay master station communicates with the master station using a communication path different from the distribution line, thereby notifying the master station of the measurement result obtained by the slave station The master station collects the measurement results. The meter reading information, a relay master station for use in a remote meter reading system configured to notify the higher aggregation server through the communication network, property information set in the slave stations are connected to the distribution line of the same strain The property information managed by the relay master station when the measurement results are collected from the slave stations and the measurement results are collected from the slave stations independently. When a slave station set with different property information is detected, the slave station is deleted from the managed slave station .

  According to the configuration of the present invention, it becomes possible to acquire measurement information from a slave station connected to a secondary distribution line of a plurality of transformers in one master station, and the number of installed master stations can be reduced. As a result, there is an advantage that the cost increase can be suppressed and traffic on the communication path between the host aggregation server and the master station can be reduced. Further, since the relay master station requires less hardware resources than the master station, the introduction cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the same number of master stations are arranged as the relay master station.

It is a block diagram which shows embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the slave station used for the same as the above. It is a block diagram which shows the master station used for the same as the above. It is a block diagram which shows the relay master station used for the same as the above. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the whole operation | movement same as the above. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows other operation | movement same as the above. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows other operation | movement same as the above. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing when crosstalk arises in the same as the above. It is a block diagram which shows the operation example in which the slave station was misrecognized in the same as the above. FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of correcting an address in the operation of FIG. 9.

  In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which a consumer occupies one building like a detached house and a plurality of consumers receive power from the secondary side of the pole transformer. However, the same technology is adopted even when there are a plurality of consumers in one building such as an apartment house and the customer receives power from the secondary side of the step-down transformers arranged in the building. It is possible. When there are multiple customers in one building, multiple customers occupy independent spaces (offices, stores) such as tenant buildings used as offices and stores as well as apartment buildings. There is also a case.

  In the present embodiment, a description will be given assuming that the supply company is an electric power company and the supply medium is electricity. Therefore, each consumer measures the amount of power used by a power meter (measuring instrument). Each power meter is provided with a slave station, and the slave station acquires the amount of power used by the consumer from the power meter. Furthermore, the measurement results (hereinafter referred to as “meter reading data”) from the slave station provided to the customer who receives power from the distribution line on the secondary side of the pole transformer are applied to the utility pole provided with the pole transformer. One of the master station and the relay master station is provided for acquisition. The functions of the master station and the relay master station will be described later.

  In an apartment house having a plurality of step-down transformers in a building, either the master station or the relay master station may be provided on the secondary side of each step-down transformer. The master station and the relay master station are arranged in an electrical room or a manager room in the building.

  The slave station communicates with either one of the master station and the relay master station by power line carrier communication using the secondary distribution line of the pole transformer or the step-down transformer as a communication path. By this operation, the master station or the relay master station can acquire meter reading data from the slave station. Further, the relay master station has a function of transferring the meter reading data acquired from the slave station to the master station, and the master station acquires the meter reading data from some slave stations via the relay master station. It becomes possible.

  In this embodiment, electricity is used as the supply medium. However, meter reading data from a meter (measuring instrument) can be transmitted to the master station for supply media such as gas, water, and heat.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the slave station 10 is attached to a power meter 11 that measures the amount of power used for each consumer. Each slave station 10 is set with a slave station ID as unique identification information to be identified during communication. Therefore, the slave station ID can be used for identifying the power meter 11 for each consumer. For identification of the power meter 11, identification information may be set for each power meter 11.

  As described above, one of the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 is arranged on a utility pole (not shown) provided with a pole transformer (not shown). Here, it is not essential to install the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 on the power pole, and the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 are connected to the distribution line 50 on the secondary side of the pole transformer, In addition, as described later, it is only necessary that the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 can communicate with each other. The communication between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 will be described by taking wireless communication (using radio waves or light) as an example. However, optical communication using an optical fiber or wired communication using a separate communication line is adopted. It is also possible to do.

  The slave station 10 causes the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 to acquire meter-reading data by using the secondary distribution line 50 of the pole transformer as a communication path by power line carrier communication. The master station 20 and the relay master station 30 can communicate with each other by wireless communication, and the master station 20 can acquire meter reading data from the slave stations 10 connected to the same distribution line 50. Furthermore, the master station 20 can acquire the meter reading data from the slave station 10 connected to the same distribution line 50 as the relay master station 30 via the relay master station 30. Therefore, meter reading data is transmitted between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 by wireless communication as described above.

  The master station 20 communicates with an upper aggregation server 40 operated by a power company or a service provider that provides a total amount of power through a communication network 51 such as the Internet or a dedicated line for remote meter reading. Thereby, the master station 20 transmits meter reading information based on the meter reading data (measurement result) for each power meter 11 acquired from the slave station 10 to the upper aggregation server 40. That is, the master station 20 aggregates the meter reading data acquired from the slave stations 10 and transmits it to the higher level aggregation server 40 as meter reading information.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the slave station 10 includes a power line communication interface 12 for using the distribution line 50 for communication with the master station 20 or the relay master station 30. Further, as a communication interface, a maintenance communication interface 13 for communicating with a maintenance terminal (not shown) and a meter interface 14 for communicating with the power meter 11 are provided as communication interfaces.

  The power line communication interface 12 is connected to the distribution line 50. Further, the maintenance communication interface 13 is normally used for performing wireless communication with a maintenance terminal used for maintenance of the slave station 10 to check the slave station 10 or change settings. Here, the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 can also wirelessly communicate with the maintenance terminal, and the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 can be maintained and inspected by the maintenance terminal in the same manner as the slave station 10. .

  The wireless communication used in the maintenance communication interface 13 preferably uses radio waves as a transmission medium. Various standards of this type of wireless communication are known, and can be selected from various standards such as WiFi (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), and Bluetooth (registered trademark). The transmission medium can use infrared rays instead of radio waves like IrDA.

  The slave station 10 is also provided with a power meter information storage unit 16 that stores meter reading data acquired from the power meter 11. The power meter information storage unit 16 stores meter-reading data for a certain period (for example, for one day) every certain time (for example, every minute, every five minutes, every ten minutes, etc.). The slave station 10 has a slave station control unit 15 composed of a microcomputer, and the slave station control unit 15 gives various functions to the slave station 10 by executing a program.

  On the other hand, the master station 20 can communicate with a plurality of slave stations 10, and as shown in FIG. 3, a host system communication interface 21 for connecting to a communication network 51 (see FIG. 1) such as the Internet is provided. Prepare. The host system communication interface 21 can perform high-speed and large-capacity communication by using, for example, an optical line as the communication network 51. The master station 20 includes a power line communication interface 22 for communicating with the slave station 10 using the distribution line 50 as a communication path, and a maintenance communication interface 23 for communicating with the maintenance terminal.

  Furthermore, the master station 20 includes a management information storage unit 24 that stores the meter reading data acquired from the slave station 10 together with the slave station ID, and a master station control unit 25 that includes a microcomputer. The master station control unit 25 gives various functions to the master station 20 by executing a program.

  The relay master station 30 can communicate with a plurality of slave stations 10 in the same manner as the master station 20 and communicates with the slave stations 10 using the distribution line 50 as a communication path as shown in FIG. Power line communication interface 32 and a maintenance communication interface 33 for communicating with the maintenance terminal. In addition, the relay master station 30 includes a management information storage unit 34 that stores meter reading data acquired from the slave station 10 together with a slave station ID, and a relay master station control unit 35 that includes a microcomputer. The relay master station control unit 35 gives various functions to the relay master station 30 by executing the program.

  The master station 20 collects and collects meter reading data from the slave station 10 to generate meter reading information, and transmits the generated meter reading information to the upper summarizing server 40. The upper aggregation server 40 has a function of acquiring meter reading data from the slave station 10 via the master station 20 or the master station 2 and the relay master station 30 as necessary. The slave station 10 is provided with a switch (not shown) that can supply and shut off power to the consumer. The upper aggregation server 40 opens and closes the switch via the master station 20. It is also possible to instruct.

  Meter reading data collected by the slave station 10 from the power meter 11 and stored in the power meter information storage unit 16 is periodically collected by the master station 20 and the relay master station 30. For example, the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 perform meter reading on the slave station 10 by power line carrier communication using the distribution line 50 as a communication path at a specified time (for example, 0:00) once a day. The data transmission is requested, and the meter reading data is transferred from the slave station 10. At this time, the meter reading data stored in the power meter information storage unit 16 after the previous request is transferred to the master station 20. Such meter reading performed periodically is hereinafter referred to as “periodic meter reading”.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 request the slave station 10 connected to the same distribution line to obtain meter reading data when it is time to perform periodic meter reading. Perform periodic meter reading. The master station 20 and the relay master station 30 each independently perform periodic meter reading. That is, the relay master station 30 performs periodic meter reading without receiving a trigger for instructing the start of periodic meter reading from another, acquires meter reading data from the slave station 10, and stores it in the management information storage unit 34.

  When the relay master station 30 finishes acquiring meter reading data from all the slave stations 10 connected to the same distribution line by regular meter reading, it transmits the acquired meter reading data to the master station 20. At this time, communication between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 is performed by wireless communication using the maintenance communication interfaces 23 and 33. Communication between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 is shown as “collected data notification” in FIG.

  In this way, the master station 20 detects not only the meter reading data from the slave station 10 connected to the same distribution line 50 but also the meter reading from the slave station 10 connected to the same distribution line 50 as the relay master station 30. Data can also be acquired. After the master station 20 acquires the meter reading data from the slave station 10, the master station 20 aggregates the meter reading data to generate meter reading information, and transmits the meter reading information to the upper aggregation server 40 through the communication network 51.

  Here, when the master station 20 transmits the meter reading data acquired from the slave station 10 to the upper aggregation server 40 by the periodic meter reading, the meter reading data acquired by the upper aggregation server 40 may be leaked depending on the communication state or the like. is there. In preparation for such a case, the upper aggregation server 40 designates the slave station 10 and individually acquires meter-reading data from the specific slave station 10 via the master station 20 or the master station 20 and the relay master station 30. It also has functions. By using this function, it is possible to complement the leaked meter reading data.

  In the above-described configuration, communication is performed between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 using the maintenance communication interfaces 23 and 33. For communication between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30, A communication interface provided separately from the maintenance communication interfaces 23 and 23 may be used.

By the above-described operation, even when the number of slave stations 10 managed by the relay master station 30 is small, the master station 20 collectively manages the meter reading data collected by the relay master station 30. The number of slave stations 10 will be managed. Since only the master station 20 communicates with the upper aggregation server 40 through the communication network 51, the upper aggregation server is compared with the case where the master station 20 is provided on the secondary distribution line of each pole transformer. Thus, the number of master stations 20 communicating with 40 can be reduced. As a result, an increase in traffic in the communication network 51 can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, since the relay master station 30 only needs to handle meter-reading data for the slave stations 10 connected to the same distribution line 50, it is possible to employ a configuration with fewer hardware resources than the master station 20. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the master station 20 is provided on the secondary side of all pole transformers, the facility cost of the remote meter reading system can be reduced.

Further, the relay master station 30 acquires meter reading data from the slave stations 10 connected to the same distribution line 50 regardless of whether or not there is an instruction from the master station 20 in the periodic meter reading. That is, the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 are hierarchized with respect to transmission of meter reading data, but since meter reading data from the slave station 10 can be collected independently, under the control of the master station 20 A certain slave station 10 is divided into a plurality of systems to collect meter reading data. As a result, the time required for acquiring meter reading data can be shortened as compared with the case where meter reading data is acquired from the same number of slave stations 10 using only one master station 20.

By the way, a case is assumed in which the time measured by one of the relay master stations 30 disappears due to a power failure or the like, and the time of the periodic meter reading comes before the time is reset. Here, it is assumed that the relay master station 30 whose clocked time has disappeared is “relay master station 1” in FIG. Since the time is not reset at “relay master station 1”, there is a possibility that periodic meter reading is not performed. On the other hand, the master station 20 acquires meter reading data from the other relay master station 30, but cannot acquire meter reading data from the "relay master station 1". In preparation for such a case, the master station 20, the time constant from the time the start of the periodic meter reading (e.g., 30 minutes) at not receive the meter reading data even after the relay master station 30 (here, "relay Parent For the station 1 "), the meter reading data of the slave station 10 is acquired by the following processing. That is, as described in the lower part of FIG. 6, the master station 20 uses the “relay master station” for the meter reading data from the slave station 10 connected to the same distribution line 50 as the “relay master station 1”. Collect via “1”.

  By this process, even if any relay master station 30 has not acquired the meter reading data of the slave station 10, the master station 20 individually acquires the meter reading data of the slave station 10 managed by the relay master station 30. By doing so, the master station 20 can acquire the meter reading data without omission.

  By the way, not only an event that a failure occurs in the relay master station 30 and the master station 20 cannot acquire meter reading data from the slave station 10, but also a failure occurs in the master station 20 and the upper aggregation server 40 performs meter reading from the master station 20. An event that information cannot be acquired may occur.

  For example, when performing regular meter reading of the master station 20 or the relay master station 30, a situation occurs in which the power line carrier communication is interrupted between the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 and the slave station 10 due to the influence of noise or the like. Assuming that In this situation, meter reading data from some of the slave stations 10 is missing in the meter reading information acquired by the upper aggregation server 40. In this way, when meter-reading data from a specific slave station 10 is missing, as described above, the upper aggregation server 40 is connected to the master station 20 or the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 via the master station 20 or the relay master station 30. Meter reading data can be acquired by communicating with the slave station 10 individually.

  The technology in which the upper aggregation server 40 communicates with the slave station 10 individually operates a switch provided in the customer to stop power supply to the customer who has moved or the customer who is behind with electricity charges. You can also use it when you want. The same applies to the case where the power supply to the consumer is started by operating the switch.

As described above, when the upper aggregation server 40 acquires meter reading data from each slave station 10 or instructs each slave station 10 to control the switch, each slave station 10 is provided. It is necessary to identify the place where it is located. Therefore, it is desirable to set position information indicating the position of the slave station 10 in each slave station 10 and manage the position information of the slave station 10 as management information in the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 together. The position information is selected from property information that identifies a customer's building, position information of the power meter 11, identification information given to the power meter 11, and the like. The position information is hierarchized in the same way as when the master station 20 acquires meter reading data, and the master station 20 manages the position information for all the slave stations 10 managed by each relay master station 30.

  When the upper aggregation server 40 individually requests acquisition of data from one of the slave stations 10 or instructs control, the position information managed by the master station 20 is indexed as shown in FIG. To the master station 20. When the master station 20 receives the request including the position information from the upper aggregation server 40, the master station 20 identifies the identification information of the slave station 10 based on the position information, and the target slave station 10 exists under the management of the master station 20. Then, a request is transmitted from the master station 20 to the slave station 10. The master station 20 transmits a request to the slave station 10 via the relay master station 30 if the target slave station 10 exists under the control of the relay master station 30.

  When the relay master station 30 receives a request from the master station 20, the identification information of the slave station 10 existing under the control of the relay master station 30 is specified, and data is acquired from the target slave station 10. Instruct the control to the target slave station 10. The data acquired by the relay master station 30 from the slave station 10 is notified to the upper aggregation server 40 via the master station 20.

This operation eliminates the need for the host aggregation server 40 to recognize an address used for communication between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 and an address used for communication between the relay master station 30 and the slave station 10. An instruction to the slave station 10 can be given based on the position information of the consumer. That is, the location information of the slave station 10 is converted into the address of the relay master station 30 in the master station 20, and is converted into the address of the slave station 10 in the master station 20 or the relay master station 30, so It is possible to obtain the convenience that there is no need to manage the address for the service.

  By the way, depending on the distance between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30, there is a possibility that wireless communication cannot be performed directly between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30. Therefore, between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30, multi-hop communication using another relay master station 30 for relay is possible, and the relay that cannot communicate directly with the master station 20 is possible. Even the master station 30 can communicate with the master station 20 via another relay master station 30.

  In the above-described operation, it is assumed that the communication signal of the power line carrier communication is transmitted independently in the distribution line 50 on the secondary side of each pole transformer. Since the communication signal is attenuated between the distribution lines 50 on the secondary side of different pole transformers, this assumption is usually established. However, depending on the transmission environment, the communication signal for power line carrier communication may be different on the pole. There is also a possibility of being transmitted by being mixed in the distribution line 50 connected to the secondary side of the transformer. In short, crosstalk may occur in power line carrier communication between different distribution lines 50.

  As an example, as indicated by a broken line at the top of FIG. 8, a communication signal from “child station n” managed by “relay master station 1” is received by “relay master station m”. Or, a communication signal from “slave station 1” under the control of “relay master station m” may be received by “relay master station 1”.

  Thus, in a transmission environment where communication signals for power line carrier communication are transmitted through a plurality of distribution lines 50, collision of communication signals and congestion occur when different relay master stations 30 perform power line carrier communication at the same time. It will be. That is, there is a possibility that a failure occurs in power line carrier communication due to crosstalk (mixing of communication signals).

Therefore, it is desirable to provide the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 with a function of detecting crosstalk and notifying the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 of the occurrence of crosstalk using wireless communication. When the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 are notified of the detection of the crosstalk, the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 adjust the timing of communication with the slave station 10 with the partner in which the crosstalk occurs, thereby causing a communication signal due to the crosstalk. Avoid collisions and congestion. Communication with the slave station 10 is the master station 20 or relay the master station 30 can be performed individually, in the operation example shown in FIG. 8, the master station 20 is the timing of communication of each relay parent station 30 Adopts management behavior.

The operation shown in FIG. 8 shows a case where crosstalk occurs between the distribution lines 50 to which “relay master station 1” and “relay master station m” are connected. However, it is assumed that crosstalk does not occur in the master station 20 and other relay master stations 30. In this case, “relay master station 1” notifies the master station 20 by radio communication that the communication signal of “relay master station m” is mixed (crosstalk). The master station 20 is notified by radio communication that the communication signal of the “master station 1” is mixed (crosstalk).

  On the other hand, when the master station 20 receives the crosstalk notification from the “relay master station 1” and the “relay master station m”, the relay master station 30 (“relay master station 1” “relay master station” in which crosstalk occurs is received. Station m ") gives instructions to adjust the timing for power line carrier communications. For example, when performing periodic meter reading, the master station 20 instructs the timing of permission and stop of power line carrier communication for each of the “relay master station 1” and “relay master station m” in which crosstalk occurs. give. Further, the relay master station 30 that has notified the master station 20 of the detection of the crosstalk does not perform power line carrier communication with the slave station 10 until instructed by the master station 20.

  As described above, in the relay master station 30 in which crosstalk occurs in the power line carrier communication, the master station 20 can prevent the occurrence of communication signal collision and congestion by instructing the timing of the power line carrier communication. In the illustrated example, the master station 20 instructs the “relay master station 1” to permit the power line carrier communication and instructs the “relay master station m” to stop during the periodic meter reading. Thereafter, the master station 20 instructs the “relay master station 1” to stop the power line carrier communication at the timing when the periodic meter reading at the “relay master station m” ends (when a certain time has elapsed from the permission). The permission is given to the relay master station m ”. Furthermore, the master station 20 instructs the “relay master station m” to stop the power line carrier communication at the timing when the periodic meter reading at the “relay master station m” ends (when a certain period of time has elapsed from the permission). .

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the master station 20 instructs each relay master station 30 to permit and stop power line carrier communication, but the relay master stations 30 that have detected crosstalk mutually perform timing. May be adjusted. In this case, one relay master station 30 may notify the start and end of power line carrier communication to the other relay master station 30 to adjust the timing for performing power line carrier communication.

  As described above, when the crosstalk is detected, the interference of communication signals due to the crosstalk can be prevented by adjusting the timing of performing the power line carrier communication, and the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 and the child The communication success rate with the station 10 can be increased. In addition, since a radio signal is used to adjust the timing of performing power line carrier communication, the timing can be adjusted without affecting the communication band of power line carrier communication. In general, the communication band of power line carrier communication used for collecting meter-reading data is narrow, but a wide communication band can be used for wireless communication between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30, so communication for timing adjustment is possible. Does not affect the collection of meter reading data.

When crosstalk is detected, the following operation may be adopted in addition to the above-described operation.
(1) An operation in which the master station 20 performs communication for a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) by giving only the permission of communication to each relay master station 30.
(2) The communication permission information indicated in the time zone is notified from the master station 20 to each relay master station 30 in which crosstalk has occurred, and each relay master station 30 communicates in the time zone notified as the communication permission information. Action to perform. For example, the time zone from 00:00 to 04:59 is notified to the “relay master station 1” as communication permission information, and the time zone from 05:00 to 09:59 is set as “relay master station”. m ”as communication permission information.
(3) An operation in which the master station 20 instructs the relay master station 30 to stop and release the communication. For example, when the master station 20 instructs the “relay master station 1” to stop communication, the “relay master station m” performs communication during this time, and when the stop is released thereafter, the “relay master station 1” performs communication. The communication stop cancellation instruction employs either a technique for instructing to cancel after a certain time upon notification of a communication stop or a technique for instructing a stop cancellation at a timing different from the timing for instructing the communication stop. To do.

  By the way, if the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 automatically assigns the address of the slave station 10 in the power line carrier communication, the trouble of setting the slave station 10 can be saved. Here, when the relay master station 30 assigns the address of the slave station 10, the address of the slave station 10 connected to the same distribution line 50 as the relay master station 30 is automatically assigned, and the assigned slave station 10 address is automatically assigned. To the master station 20 together with the address of the relay master station 30.

  However, as described above, when crosstalk occurs in the communication signal of the power line carrier communication between the different distribution lines 50, there is a possibility that the system to be separated for each distribution line 50 may be erroneously recognized. That is, the master station 20 and each relay master station 30 must manage only the slave station 10 connected to the same distribution line 50. However, when crosstalk occurs, the slave station 10 is connected to a different distribution line 50. There is a possibility that the station 10 is erroneously recognized as a slave station 10 under management.

  FIG. 9 shows a case where crosstalk occurs between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30. Since “slave station 0-2” shown in FIG. 9 is connected to the same distribution line 50 as the master station 20, it is necessary for the master station 20 to recognize the slave station 10 as a slave station 10 under the control of the master station 20. The relay master station 30 may also be recognized as the slave station 10 under management. In the illustrated example, a broken line between the distribution line 50 to which the master station 20 is connected and the “slave station 0-2” indicates that the “slave station 0-2” is a child managed by the master station 20. A state in which the station 10 is not recognized is shown.

  As described above, if the slave station 10 managed by the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 is misrecognized, meter reading data cannot be collected correctly, so that the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 and the slave station 10 are managed. It will be necessary to modify the relationship.

  Therefore, as described above, the property information that groups customers (for example, information in units of apartment buildings) is used as the location information set in each slave station 10, and the master station 20 and each relay master station 30 are used. A function for managing property information is provided. If the property information is set in this way, the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 can associate the managed slave stations 10 without error. That is, when the property information managed in the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 is different from the property information set in the slave station 10 under management, communication is performed to make the slave station 10 a master station. 20 or the relay master station 30 is corrected so as to be correctly associated.

  An operation example will be described with reference to FIG. After the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 respectively acquire meter reading data from the slave station 10 by regular meter reading, the master station 20 acquires meter reading data from the relay master station 30, and the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 and the child station A management relationship with the station 10 is detected. Here, it is assumed that the master station 20 detects “slave station x” in which property information different from the property information managed by the relay master station 30 is set. In this case, the master station 20 instructs the relay master station 30 to delete “slave station x” from the management target. In response to this instruction, the relay master station 30 deletes the address of “slave station x”. Further, the master station 20 sets a corrected address for “slave station x” from which the address has been deleted. FIG. 10 illustrates the case where the property information managed by the master station 20 is set in “slave station x”. In the master station 20, “slave station x” is set as a slave station under the control of the master station 20. 10 is registered.

  In the above-described operation, the case where the managed slave station 10 is erroneously recognized between the master station 20 and the relay master station 30 is illustrated. However, the managed slave station 10 is between the relay master stations 30. Even if it is erroneously recognized, it can be corrected by the same operation. Further, after deleting the address of the slave station 10, an operation of setting an address for the slave station 10 from the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 that should manage the slave station 10 (ie, “slave station x”) is illustrated. However, the address for the slave station 10 from which the address has been deleted may be automatically assigned again. Alternatively, the address may be set by requesting the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 to delete the address and at the same time passing the corrected address assigned to the slave station 10 as an argument.

  In this way, by providing a function for correcting the address based on the property information, even when the master station 20 or the relay master station 30 erroneously recognizes the managed slave station 10 due to crosstalk or the like, correct management is performed. The address of the slave station 10 is automatically corrected so as to be related. As a result, each slave station 10 can be correctly associated with the master station 20 and the relay master station 30, and meter reading data can be collected accurately.

10 slave station 20 master station 30 relay master station 40 host aggregation server 50 distribution line 51 communication network

Claims (6)

A plurality of slave stations that acquire the usage amount of the supply medium purchased from the supply company through the supply equipment in the consumer;
Measurement said slave station has acquired by performing power line communication using the distribution line to the communication path between the connected the slave station connected to the distribution line to one line of the plurality of channels of distribution lines With the master station collecting the results,
Acquired by the slave station by performing power line carrier communication using the distribution line as a communication path with the slave station connected to the other distribution line of the plurality of distribution lines And a relay master station that collects the measured results
The relay master station is configured to notify the master station of the measurement result acquired by the slave station by communicating with the master station using a communication path different from the plurality of distribution lines. ,
The master station is configured to notify meter reading information obtained by aggregating the measurement results to an upper aggregation server through a communication network,
The master station and the relay master station each manage property information set in a slave station connected to a distribution line of the same system, and collect the measurement results for each of the plurality of distribution lines Done independently,
The master station and the relay master station are slave stations in which property information different from property information managed by the master station or the relay master station is set when the measurement results are collected from the slave station, respectively. A remote meter reading system , wherein when detected, the slave station is deleted from a slave station under management .   2. The relay master station has a function of periodically collecting measurement results acquired by the slave stations having the same distribution line and notifying the master station of the collected measurement results. The remote meter reading system described.   When the measurement result of the slave station scheduled to be notified from the relay master station is not notified, the master station requests the slave station to transmit the measurement result via the relay master station. The remote meter reading system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a function.   When it is detected that the master station and the relay master station have generated crosstalk that enables power line carrier communication with the slave station where the distribution line is not common, the distribution line is common. The remote meter reading according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a function of adjusting timing of power line carrier communication so that power line carrier communication is possible only with the slave station. system. The master station and the relay master station include a management information storage unit that stores the measurement result acquired from the slave station together with unique identification information for identifying the slave station during communication. The remote meter reading system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A plurality of slave stations that acquire the usage amount of the supply medium purchased from the supply company through the supply equipment in the consumer ;
Measurement acquired by the slave station by performing power line carrier communication using the distribution line as a communication path with the slave station connected to one of the multiple distribution lines. With the master station collecting the results,
Acquired by the slave station by performing power line carrier communication using the distribution line as a communication path with the slave station connected to the other distribution line of the plurality of distribution lines And a relay master station that collects the measured results
The relay master station is configured to notify the master station of the measurement result obtained by the slave station by communicating with the master station using a communication path different from the distribution line,
The master station is a relay master station used in a remote meter reading system configured to notify a host aggregation server through a communication network of meter reading information obtained by collecting the measurement results ,
Manage the property information set in the slave stations connected to the same distribution line, and collect the measurement results independently for each of the multiple distribution lines,
When the measurement result is collected from the slave station, if a slave station having property information different from the property information managed by the relay master station is detected, the slave station is deleted from the managed slave station A relay master station characterized by

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