JP5963604B2 - Terminal network controller - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery-driven terminal network control device that performs remote meter reading of gas meters, water meters, etc. using a public network such as a general telephone line, and in particular, information necessary for meter reading by the terminal network control device at the center. Is a switching device for disconnecting a communication device such as a telephone / FAX (hereinafter referred to as a backward connection device) connected to the rear from the public network.

  In terminal network control devices that perform remote meter readings such as gas meters and water meters via public networks, telephones and faxes are used to ensure stable communication and to ensure that information necessary for meter reading is transmitted and received. Built-in switching means such as a relay for disconnecting the back connection equipment from the public network, especially battery-powered terminal network control equipment so that it can be easily installed in various places in the home without any power construction In, for example, a latching relay that can maintain a switching state without using electric power is used.

In addition, the terminal network control device that is normally battery-powered has a function of notifying the center device that the battery voltage has dropped when the voltage drops below a certain battery voltage. Battery exchange and terminal network control device exchange.
However, there is a case where the battery is not exchanged even if there is a notification, and further, the battery voltage drop proceeds, so that a terminal network control device that cannot guarantee normal operation is left on the line.

In this case, the battery is replaced when the battery voltage of the terminal network controller drops until it becomes inoperable in the state where the back connection device is disconnected from the public network by the above-described latching relay, such as during communication with the center. Until then, it becomes impossible to switch the latching relay, and the backward connection device remains disconnected from the public network, and thereafter, the backward connection device cannot receive and transmit from the public network.
In the case of a store or the like, for example, if the telephone line for accepting an order is disconnected, the order that was originally received may be lost, and sales may be greatly damaged. Especially when it is used exclusively for incoming calls, it is difficult to notice, and there is a risk that it will cause a great deal of damage.
For these reasons, the terminal network control device must be prevented from becoming inoperable when the rear connection device is disconnected even when the terminal network control device is left inoperable after being notified of the battery voltage drop.

  Therefore, in Patent Document 1 below, a disconnection prohibition voltage for the rear connection device is provided, and when the voltage falls below that voltage, the disconnection of the rear connection device is prohibited, and the number of times and the time limit are set for subsequent notification operations. Has been proposed.

JP-A-9-153960

However, the battery voltage does not decrease monotonously, but varies depending on the remaining battery capacity, temperature characteristics, load characteristics, and the like. For example, even if the voltage drops below a predetermined voltage due to a temporary low temperature, the voltage recovers as the temperature rises. Even if the battery voltage temporarily decreases due to a load such as a communication operation, the voltage may be recovered when a low load state such as a standby state is entered.
In this way, when the reset voltage of the terminal network control device temporarily falls below, according to Patent Document 1, the microcomputer of the terminal network control device is reset once and restarted, and disconnection of the back connection device is not prohibited. Operation starts in normal mode. Thereby, although the battery is in a low state, the disconnection operation of the rear connection device is performed, and then the battery voltage decreases again, and the operation may be stopped while the rear connection device is disconnected from the public network. There was a problem that there was sex.

In order to solve the above problems, the terminal network control device of the present invention has taken the following technical means. That is,
(1) Communication means such as remote meter reading of the meter device via the center device and the public network, and when performing communication with the center device, switching means for disconnecting the communication device such as a telephone connected later from the public network is provided. Further, in the terminal network control device that drives the battery as a power source, when the voltage of the battery drops below a first voltage higher than the reset voltage of the microcomputer that is the control unit of the terminal network control device, the switching means The communication device was immediately connected to the public network, and the operation of the switching means by the microcomputer was prohibited.

(2) When the voltage of the battery drops below the first voltage and then exceeds a second set voltage that is higher than the first voltage, the microcomputer causes the communication device to publish the communication device by the switching means. The operation is resumed in the mode connected to the network.

According to the terminal network control device of (1) above, even when the battery built in the terminal network control device drops below the first voltage higher than the reset voltage of the microcomputer, the back connection device is connected to the public network by the latching relay. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the operation from being stopped in a state where it is disconnected from the device.
Further, according to the terminal network control device of (2), even when the battery voltage is exhausted to the vicinity of the first voltage, the battery is not frequently prohibited from being repeatedly prohibited and restarted. Stable communication is possible until it is finally consumed.

It is a block diagram which shows embodiment of the terminal network control apparatus in Example 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the terminal network control apparatus in Example 1 of this invention. It is a processing flow figure in the terminal network control apparatus concerning Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the change of the battery voltage, switching prohibition, and restart in Example 2 of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Example 1]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a terminal network control apparatus according to the first embodiment.
The terminal network control apparatus 103 according to the present embodiment is communicably connected to the center apparatus 101 via a public network 102 such as a telephone line. Behind the terminal network control apparatus 103 is a back connection device 104 such as a telephone or FAX. Are connected to the public network 102 so as to be physically connected, and are connected to the meter device 105 via a wired communication.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the terminal network control apparatus of this embodiment.
The terminal network control apparatus 103 includes a battery 201, a battery voltage detection unit 202, a latching relay 203, a control unit 204, a communication unit 205, and a meter I / F unit 206. Further, the control unit 207 has a low voltage detection unit 207. The terminal network control apparatus 103 is connected to the public network 102, and the public network 102 is connected to the control unit 204 so that communication is possible via the communication unit 205. Further, the rear connection device 104 is connected to the public network 102 via the latching relay 203.

The battery voltage detection unit 202 has a function of monitoring the voltage value of the battery 201 and notifying the control unit 204 of the voltage value of the battery 201.
The latching relay 203 has a function of disconnecting and connecting the back connection device 104 from the public network 102 under the control of the control unit 204.
The meter I / F unit 205 is connected to the meter device 105 under the control of the control unit 204 and has a function of performing data communication such as meter value data.

The low voltage detection unit 207 has a function of immediately notifying the control unit of the power supply voltage drop when the power supply voltage supplied to the control unit 204 drops to near the power supply voltage at which the operation becomes impossible.
In the terminal network control apparatus 103, when the battery voltage of the battery 201 falls below a predetermined reporting voltage, the center apparatus 101 is notified of a decrease in battery voltage.
The notification voltage is set to a voltage value when the battery capacity is consumed by 90% or more, for example, and thereafter, the terminal network control device 103 can operate at least continuously for one month.

Normally, a battery voltage drop notification is received, and the operator replaces the battery during an operable period. If this battery replacement operation is not performed over a long period of time, the terminal network control device becomes inoperable. Battery consumption will progress.
In this case, if the terminal network control device 103 becomes inoperable with the latching relay 203 disconnected from the back connection device 104 as described above, the back connection device 104 becomes unable to communicate, which is a serious problem.

In order to prevent this, a first voltage lower than the notification voltage and higher than the operable voltage of the control unit 204 is set, and the battery voltage is further lowered from the notification battery voltage. When the control unit 204 detects that the voltage is equal to or lower than the first voltage, the control unit 204 temporarily disconnects the backward connection device 104 from the public network 102 and the terminal network control device 103 to the public network 102. Even in the connected state, the switching operation of the latching relay 203 is prohibited after the switching is performed so that the backward connection device 104 is immediately connected to the public network 102. As a result, it is possible to prevent the backward connection device 104 from becoming incapable of communication even when the battery is exhausted and the terminal network control device 103 becomes inoperable.
As an example, when a 3V battery is used and the operable voltage of the control unit (microcomputer) 204 is 1.8V, the notification voltage for reporting the battery voltage drop is first switched to around 2.4V. It is preferable to set the first voltage for prohibiting the current to around 1.9V.

[Example 2]
According to the first embodiment, since the switching operation of the switching relay 203 is immediately prohibited even when the battery voltage becomes equal to or lower than the first voltage, the rear connection device 104 is securely connected to the public network 102 thereafter. It can be kept connected.
However, since the battery voltage changes depending on the temperature condition and the load condition, it may be lower than the first voltage and exceed the voltage value even after the control unit (microcomputer) 204 becomes inoperable.

In particular, when the battery 201 is gradually depleted and the voltage becomes close to the first voltage, the battery voltage instantaneously increases to the first voltage, such as when the load temporarily increases or the temperature suddenly decreases. If such a factor disappears, it will again exceed the first voltage.
In such a case, the terminal network control apparatus 103 can operate until the battery 201 reaches the final life and the battery voltage does not exceed the first voltage again.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, when the battery voltage exceeds the first voltage, the prohibition of the switching operation by the switching relay 203 is canceled, and the latching relay relay 203 is switched from the state in which the rear connection device 104 is connected to the public network 102. It is conceivable to resume the switching control and continue the switching operation by the latching relay 203 to the maximum extent until the original battery life.
However, when the battery 201 is exhausted to the vicinity of the first voltage, for example, at the moment when the latching relay 203 is operated, the battery voltage falls below the first voltage, and each time the switching operation by the latching relay 203 is prohibited. This is frequently repeated, and normal communication may not be performed.

For this reason, in Example 2, when the battery voltage recovers until the battery voltage once falls below the first voltage and then rises again and exceeds the second voltage higher than the first voltage, the control unit (microcomputer ) 204, the RAM area data is retained and a startup process is performed at the time of reset recovery to resume the operation.
As an example, when a 3V battery is used and the operable voltage of the control unit (microcomputer) 204 is 1.8V, the notification voltage for reporting the battery voltage drop is about 2.4V, and the switching operation is first performed. The first voltage for prohibiting may be set to about 1.9V, and the second voltage for restarting the switching operation may be set to about 2.2V.
The configuration of the terminal network control device is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and the processing in the low voltage detection unit 207 and the processing in the control unit (microcomputer) 20 are partially different from those in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a processing flow diagram of this embodiment.
In step 1 (S1) activated at regular intervals, the battery voltage detector 202 detects the battery voltage.
In step 2 (S2), it is determined whether the detected battery voltage is equal to or lower than the notification voltage. If the detected voltage is higher than the notification voltage, the process returns to step 1 (S1).
When the battery voltage becomes equal to or lower than the notification voltage, in step 3 (S3), the terminal network control device 103 notifies the center that the battery needs to be replaced.

Thereafter, in step 4 (S4), the battery voltage detection unit 202 detects the battery voltage again. In step 5 (S5), it is determined whether the battery voltage is equal to or higher than the first voltage lower than the notification voltage. When the voltage is lower than the voltage, the latching relay 203 resets the latching relay 203 in step 6 (S6) and immediately prohibits the switching operation. The latching relay 203 temporarily disconnects the rear connection device 104 from the public network 102. Even in a state where the terminal network control device 103 is connected to the public network 102, the switching is immediately performed so that the rear connection device 104 is connected to the public network 102, and then the process returns to step 4 (S 4) again. The detection of the battery voltage by the voltage detection unit 202 is repeated.
If it is determined in step 5 (S5) that the battery voltage is equal to or higher than the first voltage, it is determined in step 7 (S7) whether the battery voltage is equal to or higher than the second voltage higher than the first voltage. When the voltage is lower than the second voltage, the process returns to step 6 (S6) and the prohibition of the switching operation by the latching relay 203 is continued.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the battery voltage is equal to or higher than the second voltage, the prohibition of the switching operation is canceled, and the backward connection device 104 is resumed from the state where it is connected to the public network 102 in step 6 (S6). Reset processing is performed to restart the switching operation. If the prohibition of the switching operation has already been cancelled, the cancellation of the switching operation is continued.
That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the battery voltage (battery voltage with an initial voltage of 3V in the above example) decreases with the passage of days of use and falls below the notification voltage (for example, 2.4V), When the battery voltage drop is reported and the battery voltage further falls below the forbidden voltage (eg, 1.9 V), the latching relay 203 is reset and the switching operation is immediately prohibited.
Thereafter, even if the battery voltage exceeds the prohibition voltage, if the restart voltage (for example, 2.2 V) is not reached, the prohibition of the switching operation is continued.
However, if the battery voltage further rises and becomes equal to or higher than the restart voltage, the switching operation is restarted, and then the switching operation is continued until the battery voltage falls below the prohibited voltage again.

  With the above processing flow, the reset process of the control unit (microcomputer) 204 can be performed while keeping the clock data and setting information, and the operation can be resumed with the rear connection device 104 connected. In addition, when the battery is not further replaced and the battery voltage falls below the first set voltage again, the above-described control is performed again, and the switching of the latching relay 203 is performed with the rear connection device 104 connected to the public network 102. Since the operation is stopped, it becomes possible to use the rear connection device 104 to the limit of the battery life while reliably preventing the rear connection device 104 from being uncontrollable while being disconnected from the public network 102. .

  Thus, by setting the hysteresis between the first voltage value for stopping the switching operation of the latching relay 203 and the second voltage value for restarting, the battery voltage decreases in the vicinity of the first voltage value. Even when the ascent is repeated, chattering of the latching relay 203 is effectively prevented, a reliable switching operation is realized, and transmission / reception between the rear connection device 104 and the public network 102 can be stabilized.

  In the above embodiment, the low voltage detection unit 207 is included in the control unit (microcomputer) 204, but may be provided outside the control unit 204.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the battery voltage drops below the first voltage higher than the reset voltage of the microcomputer that is the control unit of the terminal network control device, the communication device is immediately made public by the switching means. Since the operation of the switching means by the microcomputer is prohibited by connecting to the network, the terminal is disconnected from the public network even when the battery voltage drops without incurring the cost increase due to the addition of special equipment. Since the operation of the switching means can be continued to the limit of the battery life after reliably preventing the operation of the network control device from stopping, it can be expected to be widely adopted as a low-cost and highly reliable terminal network control device. .

101 Center device 102 Public network 103 Terminal network control device 104 Back connection equipment (telephone etc.)
105 Meter Device 201 Battery 202 Battery Voltage Detection Unit 203 Latching Relay 204 Control Unit (Microcomputer)
205 Communication Unit 206 Meter I / F Unit 207 Low Voltage Detection Unit

Claims (1)

A battery comprising switching means for performing communication such as remote meter reading of a meter device via a center device and a public network, and disconnecting a communication device such as a telephone connected behind from the public network when communicating with the center device In the terminal network control device that is driven by
Mains voltage of said battery, when falls below a first voltage higher than the reset voltage of the microcomputer which is a control unit of the terminal network control device, the microcomputer, the public network to the communication device in real by the switching means thereby inhibiting the operation of said switching means the following holds the setting information,
If the voltage of the battery is equal to or lower than a second set voltage that is higher than the first voltage after the voltage drops to the first voltage or lower, the microcomputer maintains the prohibition of the operation of the switching means and the setting. Keep information,
A mode in which the communication device is connected to the public network by the switching means while retaining the setting information when the voltage of the battery exceeds the second setting voltage after being lowered to the first voltage or less. The terminal network control device, wherein the operation is resumed at .

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