JPH0879392A - Terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a terminal advantageous also to customers by reading a telephone number corresponding to a specific signal and automatically dialing when the specific signal is detected by the use of a line state monitoring section 3. CONSTITUTION: Data for the operation are entered from a data setting section 9 of a terminal 1 and stored in a storage section 7. When a current date and time comes to a date and time of automatic metering, a control section 2 starts a meter 13 to read a metering value. Then a state of a telephone line is entered from a line state monitoring section 3 to check whether or not a telephone set connecting to a telephone set connection section 11 is busy. When it is discriminated that the telephone set is in use, the control section 2 switches the line connection from the telephone set connection section 11 to a dial transmission section 5, which sends a dial signal corresponding to the telephone number. The control section 2 confirms a reply signal of a notice destination and uses a data transmission section 6 to send the metering value with data such as a customer management number added thereto.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal device for monitoring the status of a sensor or meter provided at a remote place by using a telephone line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a system for monitoring a sensor or a meter provided in a remote place by using a telephone line has become widespread. For example, the amount of water, water, electricity, etc. used, including gas, is automatically metered regularly using a telephone line.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of an automatic meter-reading system having a conventional general terminal device.

In the figure, reference numeral 50 is a center device, which is a device for collecting meter reading data of a gas meter 54 installed in a general household, etc., via a telephone line 51, an exchange 52 and a telephone line 57. , Is connected to a terminal device 53 installed in a general home or the like.

Further, the terminal device 53 includes a gas meter 5
4, a telephone 55, and further various external sensors 56 and the like including a gas leak alarm.

The terminal device 53 is registered with data necessary for the system, such as the telephone number of the center to be notified, the management number of the customer, the automatic meter reading date and time, and the automatic meter reading date check and gas leak alarm monitoring. , Constantly monitoring external sensors.

Such a terminal device is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-162.
No. 061, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-56053, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-148753, etc., and are generally known.

[0008]

Since the terminal device used in the above-described system is mainly intended for automatic meter reading, it has a merit such as labor saving for a gas supplier who installs the system. For ordinary households who have installed meters, etc., there is only a merit as an alarm notification such as a gas leak.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention connects a data setting unit for setting data such as a telephone number and a customer management number to an external device such as a meter and an external sensor. The I / O interface unit, a storage unit that stores and stores the data input from the data setting unit and the information input from the I / O interface unit via the control unit, the open / closed state of the telephone line, and various signals of the line. A line status monitoring unit to monitor, a line control unit that controls opening and closing of the telephone line and switching connection to the telephone, and dial transmission that dials the telephone number read from the storage unit after the line control unit closes the telephone line. Section, a data transmission / reception section that confirms the response signal of the dial destination after dialing by the dial transmission section, and transmits data such as meter value and customer management number, and a line control The control unit controls each unit, the dial transmission unit, and the data transmission / reception unit, and the signal from the line state monitoring unit is detected by the line state monitoring unit in the terminal device configured to be input to the control unit. Then, the control unit reads out the telephone number corresponding to the specific signal from the storage unit and automatically dials.

[0010]

By dialing a specific abbreviated number from an ordinary telephone that has been conventionally used, the terminal device connecting the telephone detects the specific abbreviated number from its line state monitoring unit and controls it. The department automatically dials by converting from the memory to the corresponding normal telephone number.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a terminal device, which is connected to a telephone line via a telephone line connection unit 10.

Further, although not shown, it is connected to the monitoring center via an exchange.

On the other hand, the telephone connection section 11 is a connection terminal for connecting a telephone used at home.

The telephone line is connected via the telephone line connection unit 10 to a line state monitoring unit 3 for monitoring the connection / disconnection state of the telephone line and for monitoring various signals of the telephone line. It is input to the control unit 2.

The line status monitoring unit 3 is further connected to a line control unit 4 for closing and opening the telephone line, or connecting and disconnecting the telephone connected to the telephone connection unit 11, and this line control unit 4 Are controlled by the control unit 2.

The line controller 4 is connected to a dial transmitter 5 for dialing a telephone number with a dial pulse or a DTMF signal, and a data transmitter / receiver 6 for transmitting / receiving data to / from a report destination. Is controlled by.

Further, the line control unit 4 is connected to a telephone connection unit 11 for connecting a telephone for making a normal call.

An external sensor 12, such as a gas leak alarm,
Alternatively, the meter 13 is connected to the control unit 2 via the I / O interface unit 8, and the state of the external sensor 12 and the meter value of the meter 13 are stored in the storage unit 7 via the control unit 2.
And is read out as needed.

The data setting section 9 is for inputting data necessary for installation and operation, such as the management number of the customer who installed the terminal device 1 and the telephone number of the callee to be notified by the terminal device 1,
The input data is stored in the storage unit 7 via the control unit 2 and read out as needed.

The data setting unit 9 may be detachable from the terminal device 1.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.

First, the automatic meter reading, which is the original purpose of the terminal device 1, will be described.

As the meter 13, a so-called microcomputer meter having a built-in microcomputer will be assumed and described.

The line control unit 4 of the terminal device 1 is usually connected to the telephone connection unit 11 side so that the connected telephone can be used at any time.

Data necessary for operation such as automatic meter reading date and time, telephone number of report destination, customer management number and the like are input to the terminal device 1 in advance from the data setting unit 9 and stored in the storage unit 7.

The control unit 2 has a clock function and constantly checks whether or not the automatic meter reading date and time has come.

When the current date and time is the automatic meter reading date and time, the control unit 2 activates the meter 13 via the I / O interface unit 8 and reads the meter value.

Next, the state of the telephone line is input from the line state monitoring unit 3 to check whether the telephone connected to the telephone connection unit 11 is in use.

If the telephone is in use, it waits until the call ends.

When it is determined that the telephone is not in use, the control unit 2 controls the line control unit 4 to switch the line connection from the telephone connection unit 11 to the dial sending unit 5 side.
The telephone number of the callee is read from the storage unit 7, and a dial signal corresponding to the telephone number is sent from the dial sending unit 5 at a specified timing.

After sending the dial, the control unit 2 checks, via the data transmission / reception unit 6, whether or not the notification destination has responded. When the response signal of the report destination is confirmed, data such as the customer management number is added to the previously read meter value and the data is transmitted from the data transmitting / receiving unit 6.

As the data to be transmitted, any signal may be used as long as it is a signal used in communication using a telephone line such as a DTMF signal or a modem signal.

After sending the data, the data reception response signal from the callee is checked, and if the data reception response signal is confirmed, the control unit 2 controls the line control unit 4 to switch the telephone line to the dial transmission unit 5. Side to the telephone connection unit 11 side to end the reporting operation.

On the other hand, if the data reception response signal cannot be confirmed within a fixed time after data transmission, the same data transmission is repeated again. Repeat the data transmission several times,
If the data reception response signal cannot be confirmed by repeating the transmission during this period, the cause may be a bad line condition. Therefore, the line control unit 4 is controlled to end the notification once, and after a certain time elapses The notification operation is performed by the same procedure.

Further, if the response destination signal cannot be confirmed within a certain time after dial transmission because the destination line is being used by another notification, the control unit 2 causes the line control unit 4 to operate. After the control, the notification is ended once, and after a certain period of time, the notification operation is performed again by the same procedure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart summarizing the above operation.

Next, the operation of the speed dial as an additional function will be described.

It is necessary to register the desired telephone number in the storage unit 7 from the data setting unit 9 in advance. FIG. 4 shows the key arrangement of the data setting section 9. For example, "03-34
The case of registering a telephone number "56-1234" is as follows.

"* 01" is followed by "03-3456-"
Key in "1234" to enter the shortened number "0
1 ”is registered as a telephone number“ 03-3456-1234 ”and stored in the storage unit 7. The "*" key at the head indicates an instruction to register a shortened number, and the next two-digit number indicates a shortened number corresponding to a telephone number that follows.

Therefore, in the case of two digits, a maximum of 99 shortened numbers can be registered. The number of digits may be set as necessary.

Next, the dialing method using the abbreviated number from the telephone connected to the telephone connection section 11 will be described.

Next, description will be made on the case of dialing "03-3456-1234" stored with the abbreviated number "01" previously registered.

A case where the type of telephone line used is a dial pulse line will be described. When "0901" and the 4-digit dial are operated, the leading 2-digit "09" indicates that the abbreviated number is input, and the subsequent 2-digit "01" indicates the desired abbreviated number.

The normal line control unit 4 is connected to the telephone connection unit 11 side. When the telephone is off-hook and dialed by the dial pulse line, the line is disconnected for a predetermined period of time by the number of operated digits, so that the terminal device 1
The number of the operated dial can be read by monitoring the "connection" state and the "disconnection" state of the line by the line state monitoring unit 3.

Therefore, when the telephone receiver picks up the telephone receiver, goes off-hook, and the line is closed, and the number "0901" is detected from the line state monitoring unit 3, the control unit 2
Determines that the abbreviated number "01" must be dialed.

Therefore, the control unit 2 switches the line control unit 4 to the dial transmission unit 5 side and at the same time opens the line. This is because the dial signal of "0901" is transmitted to the exchange as well, so that if the dial is made in this state, the exchange cannot decode the desired dial number. The line open time is not a fixed value depending on the exchange, but if it is 3 seconds or more, there is no problem even if the call waiting service is used, depending on the published materials.

Next, the control unit 2 reads the telephone number "03-4567-1234" corresponding to the shortened number "01" from the storage unit 7 and controls the line control unit 4 to capture the line. After the capture and a predetermined time has elapsed, the dial sending unit 5 is controlled to send out the dial data of "03-4567-1234" previously read at a specified timing. When the sending of the dial data is completed, the control unit 2 controls the line control unit 4 to reconnect the line to the telephone connection unit 11.
Connect to the other side and make a call.

After that, if the called party answers, the call is made.

In this case, the switching from the dial sending unit 5 to the telephone connection unit 11 side must be performed in a short time so that the line acquisition is not invalidated.

According to the published materials and the like, there is no problem if it is within 0.3 seconds. When using a relay or the like, one having a continuous type contact may be used.

Next, the case of a touch-tone telephone line will be described.

The same operation may be performed in the case of a touch-tone telephone line. However, in this case, the DTMF signal output from the telephone connected to the telephone connection unit 11 detects the shortening instruction data via the DTMF signal detection unit in the line state monitoring unit 3 of the terminal device 1. In response to an instruction from the control unit 2, the dial sending unit 5 sends a DTMF signal to the line.

Note that the line status monitoring unit 3 and the dial sending unit 5 are configured to be compatible with both dial pulse lines and touch-tone lines in this embodiment, but this system is excellent in versatility. On the other hand, because of the high cost, it is possible to prepare a model for each dedicated line in some cases.

In the case of the dial pulse line, since only 10 numbers from "1" to "0" can be handled, the number indicating the speed dial instruction is a special number in consideration of the telephone number normally used. It is desirable to set the number.

Further, the number of digits for the instruction for shortening is 5
If the number of digits is less than a digit, it will not be judged as a local dial.
In the case of a touch-tone telephone line, there are "*" and "#" keys, so these keys may be used, but care must be taken not to be confused with line services such as speed dials such as NTT.

When the speed dial function is not used,
If the desired telephone number is dialed by the same operation as the conventional one, the terminal device 1 does not activate the operation of the abbreviated number, so that the ordinary dialing can be performed.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention, the function of the conventional automatic meter reading system can be used as it is, and for the customer who installed the terminal device,
It is possible to use a general telephone as it is and perform a dial operation using an abbreviated number, and it is possible to provide a terminal device that is advantageous not only to the system installer but also to the customer.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a terminal device showing a conventional example.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a notification process at the time of automatic meter reading in the terminal device showing the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a key layout diagram of a data setting unit of the terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing abbreviated number dialing process in the terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 control unit 3 line status monitoring unit 4 line control unit 5 dial sending unit 6 data transmitting / receiving unit 7 storage unit 8 I / O interface unit 9 data setting unit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Junichi Shimizu 1 3-3 Shinjuyo, Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A data setting unit (9) for setting data such as a telephone number and a customer management number, and an I / O interface unit (8) for connecting an external device such as a meter (13) and an external sensor (12). And the data input from the data setting unit (9) and the I / O interface unit (8)
A storage unit (7) that stores and stores the information input from the control unit (2), a line state monitoring unit (3) that monitors the open / closed state of the telephone line and various signals on the line, and the opening / closing of the telephone line Line control unit (4) that controls and switches the connection to the telephone
A dial sending unit (5) for dialing a telephone number read from the storage unit (7) after the line control unit (4) has closed the telephone line, and a dial destination after dialing by the dial sending unit (5). The data transmission / reception unit (6) for confirming the response signal of, and transmitting the data such as the meter value and the customer management number, the line control unit (4), the dial transmission unit (5) and the data transmission / reception unit (6) are controlled. The signal from the line state monitoring unit (3) is controlled by the unit (2), and a specific signal is detected from the line state monitoring unit (3) in the terminal device configured to be input to the control unit (2). When the answer is given, the control unit (2) reads out a telephone number corresponding to the specific signal from the storage unit (7) and automatically dials the terminal device.