JPH01138890A - Telemeter system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase number of connection terminal sets by switching an intermittent reception period into a short period when a predetermined period is detected in a system where the intermittent reception period is provided to receive a call signal from a center to each of terminal equipment. CONSTITUTION:When an initial set control signal is sent to all terminal sets with a call signal having a common address, a one month timer 19 is reset initially and a changeover switch 17 is switched to a setting device 18a and a period T1 is set by an intermitten reception set timer 16, set intermittent reception for 5 minute each and a power switch 21 is operated for 10sec by a controller 12. A timer 19 produces a detection output after one month elapses and the switch 17 is switched to a setting device 18b. Then the intermittent reception period is switched into T2=30sec to attain proper state for gas metering. All metering data is collected in 50 minutes for 100 terminal sets and much more terminal sets can be connected to the center.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a telemeter system that employs an intermittent reception method in its terminals.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, as shown in FIG. Terminals 2a to 2n are sequentially and repeatedly called at regular intervals, and the terminals 2a to 2n that have determined that the center call is
deciphers control data sent from center 1 and activates appropriate equipment, and terminal 2 responds to a call from center 1.
A to 2n send back detection data.

By the way, a plurality of terminals 2a to 2n connected to the center 1
Terminals with built-in batteries have been put into practical use because they do not have problems due to power outages and are easy to maintain and manage.These terminals with built-in batteries are designed to reduce power consumption as much as possible to extend battery life. It is necessary to make it longer.

Therefore, in conventional telemeter systems for terminals with built-in batteries, an intermittent reception method is adopted in which the terminal is placed in a reception response operating state only during a fixed period of time in each polling cycle from the center.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, if the polling period from the center to the terminal is T1, then the terminal
Power is supplied to the transmitting/receiving circuit for a certain period of time .DELTA.1 every time, thereby creating a state in which reception can be responded to the center.

Here, the polling cycle T1 is set to T1 = 5 minutes, for example, and the reception response time ΔT for each intermittent reception cycle T1 is set to ΔT = 10 seconds, compared to when the reception response is always enabled. It can significantly reduce battery consumption and extend battery life.

On the other hand, terminal control and terminal information collection using this type of telemeter system include, for example, gas emergency shutoff control for city gas and collection of gas meter reading data.

Here, gas emergency shutoff control is performed only after a gas leak accident occurs, but in order to monitor whether the reception response function of the terminal to the center is normal, gas shutoff control data is included in the steady monitoring state. Monitoring data that is not available is sent to the terminal, and if necessary, confirmation response data is sent back to the center from the terminal, so the emergency gas cutoff control is constantly monitored.

On the other hand, gas meter reading data is collected, for example, on a monthly basis, and at the time of meter reading, the center requests the terminal to respond with the meter reading data, and when the meter reading data collection is completed, the original monitoring data transmission status returns. .

Therefore, the polling cycle for calling the terminal from the center is set, for example, as a polling cycle of T1-5 minutes based on the request from the gas emergency shutoff side, which is constantly monitored. will continue to be used as is.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional telemeter system in which the polling cycle for emergency gas shutoff is directly applied to gas meter reading, for example, the polling cycle T1- When it was set to 5 minutes, it was 24 minutes.
It is possible to collect meter reading data from only 288 terminals per hour, and it takes a lot of time to collect meter reading data.

In addition, it is not desirable for the system to be occupied for gas meter reading for a long period of time, such as 24 hours, from the perspective of gas emergency shutoff control, so the gas meter reading time is limited to, for example, one hour. , in this case,
There was a problem in that gas meter reading data could only be collected from 12 terminals, which limited the number of terminals that could be connected to the center.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and it is possible to connect more terminals to a center even if the terminals adopt an intermittent reception method. The purpose is to provide a telemeter system with

In order to achieve this objective, the present invention connects a plurality of terminals to the center via wireless or wired lines, and the center and each terminal perform monitoring or transmission of control data or reception of responses to terminal data, In a telemeter system in which each terminal is provided with an intermittent reception cycle in which the terminal is in a receiving response operation state only within a certain period of time in order to receive a calling signal sent from a center, a predetermined period is detected for each of the terminals. The intermittent reception period is provided with a period timer and a switching means for switching the intermittent reception period to a shorter period when the detection output of the period timer is obtained.

[Function] In the telemeter system of the present invention having such a configuration, for example, in a steady monitoring state, the center receives a call signal for calling a terminal in order to monitor the terminal in gas emergency cutoff control. Therefore, even if the terminal is performing intermittent reception in which it enters the reception response operation state for a certain period of time every 5 minutes, if the period timer detects a one-month period for collecting meter reading data, the terminal will The intermittent reception period is changed to a period shorter than the normal period, for example, 30 seconds to 1 minute, so that meter reading data can be collected in a short time, and as a result, the number of terminals connected to the center can be increased.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the device configuration of a terminal used in the telemeter system of the present invention, taking a wireless system as an example.

In FIG. 1, 10 is a receiving circuit, and 11 is a transmitting circuit. The receiving circuit 10 receives radio waves transmitted from the center using a receiving antenna 10a, and reproduces a paging signal consisting of a frame structure including a terminal address and control data. . Further, the transmitting circuit 11 modulates response data according to the result of decoding the control data included in the calling signal from the center with a frame structure including the terminal address, and then transmits the response signal to the center from the transmitting antenna 11a.

12 is a controller using a CPU that executes call response control on the terminal side, and connects the receiving circuit 10 and the transmitting circuit 11 with input/output, and also connects the control load 14 and sensor 15 via the input/output interface 13. For example, taking gas emergency shutoff control and collection of gas meter reading data as an example, a gas emergency shutoff valve is provided as the control load 14, and a gas meter is provided as the sensor 15.

The controller 12 is provided with an intermittent reception setting timer 16 for setting an intermittent reception cycle, and the setting time of the intermittent reception setting timer 16 is the setting time TI of setting devices 18a and 18b connected via a changeover switch 17. Depends on T2. Here, the setting device 18a sets an intermittent reception cycle T1 corresponding to a polling cycle for terminal monitoring that is regularly performed after gas emergency cutoff control, and this intermittent reception cycle T1 is, for example, T1 = 5 minutes. becomes. On the other hand, the setting device 18b has an intermittent reception cycle T2 corresponding to a polling cycle when gas meter reading data is collected, for example, on a monthly basis.
This intermittent reception period T2 is set to, for example, T2=30 seconds to 1 minute. Intermittent reception setting timer 1
The changeover switch 17 for changing over the set period T1 or T2 for 6 is controlled by a one-month timer provided as a period timer. The one month timer 19 counts time pulses etc. obtained from the controller 12 upon initial reset when the terminal is operated, and when the one month time count value is reached, the changeover switch 17 is activated for a predetermined gas meter reading data collection time. A switching output is generated to switch from the setting device 18a side to the setting device 18b side.

Furthermore, the terminal has a built-in battery 20 as a power source,
Power is supplied from the battery 20 to the receiving circuit 10 and the transmitting circuit 11 via a power switch 21, which is controlled by the controller 12 based on the cycle set by the intermittent reception setting timer 16 every intermittent reception cycle T1 or T2. It performs intermittent reception control in which it is turned on for a certain period of time Δt to enable reception and transmission operations.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the equipment configuration of a center used in the telemeter system of the present invention.

That is, since this embodiment is intended for gas emergency shutoff control and collection of gas meter reading data, the center is equipped with a gas leak control system 22 and a meter reading system 23, and sends a call signal to the terminal. The gas leak control system 22 and the meter reading system 23 are connected via a multiplexer 26 to a transmitting device 24 and a receiving device 25 that receives a response signal from a terminal.

In the steady monitoring state, the multiplexer 26 switches the transmitting device 24 and the receiving device 25 to the gas leak control system 22 side, sequentially and repeatedly transmits a call signal to the terminal every polling period T1, and receives the response data. In addition to such a terminal monitoring function, if a gas leakage accident occurs, a gas emergency shutoff system is installed as a control load 14 on the terminal side by transmitting a call signal containing control data for gas emergency shutoff. The shutoff valve will be controlled to close.

On the other hand, the meter reading system 23 is switched to the transmitting device 24 and the receiving device 25 by the multiplexer 26 when one month has passed since the initial reset of the center start, and the polling cycle T1 for terminal monitoring in the gas leak control system 22 is switched. On the other hand, the transmission device 24 transmits a call signal including a response request for gas meter reading data with a shorter polling cycle T2, and the gas meter reading data included in the response signal from the corresponding terminal is captured and the gas meter reading data is collected. will begin to do this.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

First, when the center starts operating, for example, a call signal containing a common address and a call signal containing initial reset control information is transmitted to all terminals, and a call signal containing this initial reset control data is sent to all terminals. When all the terminals receive the signal, the one-month timer 19 provided in the terminal is reset to its initial state as shown in FIG. The timer 16 is set with the intermittent reception cycle T1 from the setter 18a, and the controller 12 operates the power switch 21 for ΔT=10 seconds every time the intermittent reception cycle becomes T1=5 minutes to control the receiving circuit 10 and the transmitting circuit 11. Starts intermittent reception control that puts . That is, as shown in the timing chart of FIG.
From the initial reset at o until the one-month timer 19 generates a timer output, each terminal performs an intermittent reception operation in which it is in a transmitting/receiving state for 61 hours every intermittent reception period T1.

In such a state of the terminal with intermittent reception period T1,
The multiplexer 26 of the center device shown in FIG. A response signal containing monitoring information for checking the transmission/reception function of the terminal is transmitted, and if a normal response signal is obtained from the terminal at the receiving device 25, no abnormality is displayed. For example, if no response signal is obtained or an abnormality is detected. When a response signal is obtained, an alarm is displayed to notify the terminal of abnormality.

Furthermore, if a gas leak accident occurs in the area of the monitoring terminal from the center, a response signal containing gas emergency shutoff data is sent to each terminal at a polling cycle T1, and the terminal that receives this gas emergency shutoff control data is the control load 14
As the gas emergency shut-off valve closes, it becomes actuated.

Next, when one month has passed since the initial reset at time to, the one month timer 19 generates a detection output and switches the changeover switch 17 to the setting device 18b side. Therefore, the intermittent reception period by the controller 12 based on the intermittent reception setting timer 16 is changed from T=5 to, for example, T2=30 seconds, and the intermittent reception operation is performed at a shorter period than in the steady monitoring state.

In response to such switching of the intermittent reception cycle T2 on the terminal side, the multiplexer 26 at the center in FIG.
The meter reading system 23 is switched to the transmitting device 24 and the receiving device 25 by offline processing etc., and a call signal including a request to collect gas meter reading data is sent with the same polling cycle T2 as the intermittent reception cycle T2 on the terminal side by sequentially specifying the terminal address. Send. For this reason, for example, if the number of terminals connected to the center is 100, gas meter reading data for all terminals can be collected in 50 minutes, and in the case of the conventional polling cycle T1-5 minutes, gas meter reading data of all terminals can be collected in 50 minutes. The time required to collect gas meter reading data can be significantly shortened compared to the previous 20 minutes.

Conversely, if the collection time for gas meter reading data is determined to be one hour, for example, gas meter reading data from only 12 terminals can be collected in the conventional example, but in the present invention, gas meter reading data can be collected from 120 terminals.
Gas meter reading data from terminals can be collected.

In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiment took as an example a telemeter system intended for gas emergency shutoff control and collection of gas meter reading data, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to water supply, electricity, and even other suitable systems. It can be applied directly to telemeter systems.

Furthermore, although the above embodiment took as an example a telemeter system in which a center and multiple terminals were connected via wireless lines,
Of course, a system connected by a wired line may also be used.

Furthermore, although the above embodiment takes as an example a polling method from a center, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to call a terminal from a center only when the need arises without polling. This method can also be applied as is.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, a plurality of terminals are connected to a center via wireless or wired lines, and the center and each terminal communicate with each other by transmitting monitoring or control data or transmitting terminal response data. In a telemeter system, each terminal has an intermittent reception period in which the reception response is activated only within a certain period of time in order to receive a calling signal sent from a center. The number of terminals that can be connected to the center at a specific polling cycle, etc. is increased by providing a period timer that detects the period during which the data is detected, and a switching means that switches the intermittent reception cycle to a shorter cycle when receiving the detection output of the period timer. is not limited, and more terminals can be connected to the center.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a terminal used in the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a center used in the present invention; FIG. 3 is a timing diagram of the intermittent reception operation of the present invention Chart; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional system; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of conventional intermittent reception. 1: Center 2a to 2n: Terminal 10: Receiving circuit 11: Transmitting circuit 12: Controller 13: Input/output interface 14 2nd control load (gas emergency cutoff valve) 15: Sensor (gas meter) 16: Intermittent reception timer 17: Changeover switch 18a , 13b: Setting device 19: 1 month timer (period timer) 20: Battery 21: Power switch 22: Gas leak control system 23: Meter reading system 24: Transmitting device 25: Receiving device 26: Multiplexer

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of terminals are connected to a center via wireless or wired lines, and the center and each terminal transmit monitoring or control data or receive terminal response data, and each of the terminals In a telemeter system that has an intermittent reception cycle in which the reception response operation is performed only within a certain period of time in order to receive a calling signal sent from a center, each of the terminals is equipped with a period timer for detecting a predetermined period. . A telemeter system comprising: switching means for switching the intermittent reception cycle to a shorter cycle when receiving the detection output of the period timer.