JPH10290297A - Automatic meter inspection system device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operation safety by providing a power circuit which obtains electric power for automatic wattmeter inspection from a commercial power source and a communication interface which supplies electric power for automatic meter inspection to a gas meter or water meter. SOLUTION: The power circuit 12 is installed in a wattmeter 2 and obtains electric power for automatic wattmeter inspection from the commercial power source and the communication interface 13 is connected to the power circuit 12 and supplies electric power for automatic meter inspection to the gas meter 3 or water meter 4 through a power supply line E. Further, electric energy data outputted from the wattmeter 2 are sent to NCU 5 through a data signal line 31 and gas amount data and water amount data automatically measured by the gas meter 3 and water meter 4 are sent from the NCU 5 through data transmission lines 32 and 33, and transmitted from the NCU 5 to an automatic meter inspection center through a communication interface 14 and a communication line F. Namely, the DC electric power generated by the wattmeter 2 through rectification from the commercial power source is supplied to the gas meter 3 and water meter 4 through the NCU 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plurality of automatic meter reading meters and meter reading centers, such as electric power, gas and water supply, installed in a single customer, and a terminal for mediating data transmission with these meters. The present invention relates to an automatic meter reading system device in which the device is installed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional automatic meter reading system, for example, a watt hour meter, a gas meter and a water meter are installed in one customer, and a network control unit (NC) is used as a terminal for mediating transmission with a center.
U) is installed to transmit data via a public telephone line. In this type of automatic meter reading meter of this type, a watt hour meter can use a commercial power source, but a gas meter and a water meter are driven by a battery.

For example, a single-phase two-wire watt-hour meter is used, and a power source is obtained by stepping down from a commercial power source by a power supply circuit, rectifying the power, and supplying it to an internal circuit.

In the case of a water meter, the movement of an impeller rotating according to the flow of water is measured and detected by a sensor contained in an electronic circuit, and an attached power source is obtained from a battery.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional automatic meter reading meter, the water meter and the gas meter are driven by a battery, and the meter expiration period is determined for each meter. For example, in the case of a water meter, the expiration date of the test is eight years, and it must be collected and replaced after eight years.

In the case of a conventional mechanical water meter, it can be re-tested and reused. However, since an electronic water meter for automatic meter reading uses a battery, the life of the battery is reduced. There is a problem that it cannot be reused. In addition, even if an attempt is made to replace the battery, it cannot be disassembled or replaced because the battery is generally made in a closed structure, and therefore there is a problem in economical efficiency as a measuring instrument.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic meter reading system for automatically reading an amount of electric power used by a customer, and an automatic meter reading of a gas or water used by the customer. From a gas meter or a water meter, and a network control unit that collects power and gas and water data automatically read by the wattmeter and the gas or water meter and sends it to the automatic metering center. In an automatic meter reading system device, a power supply circuit installed in a watt hour meter to obtain power for automatic meter reading from a commercial power supply, and a power supply for automatic meter reading to a gas meter or a water meter connected to the power source circuit. And a communication interface for supplying.

[0008] The automatic meter reading system device according to the second aspect is characterized in that it is provided in a network control unit, is connected to a communication interface, and has power supply means for external equipment.

The automatic meter reading system according to the third aspect uses a signal line as a power supply path from the watt hour meter, and when no data communication is performed, a DC voltage is output from the watt hour meter via the signal line. The DC voltage is applied to another terminal or a measuring device as a power source.

[0010] In the automatic meter reading system device according to the present invention, a current sensor is provided on a power supply line for supplying power to the measuring device connected to the network control unit. Is provided with a connection determination function for determining

[0011] In the automatic meter reading system device according to the fifth aspect, the network control unit is provided with a shutoff means for shutting off a power supply circuit to the measuring instrument connected to the network control unit, and the power supply is temporarily cut off. Is provided on the measuring device side to detect
The feature is that the forced recovery from a malfunction can be performed from the network control unit.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the automatic meter reading system of the present invention will be described. In FIG.
Is a meter for automatically reading the amount of electric power used by consumers, and a gas meter such as the gas meter 3 and a water meter such as the water meter 4 are meters for automatically reading the amount of gas or water used by the customer. It is.

A network control unit (NC)
U) 5 is an automatic meter reading terminal device that collects power meter data and gas meter data or water meter data automatically read by the wattmeter 2 and the gas meter 3 or the water meter 4 and transmits the collected data to the automatic metering center installed in the center. is there.

The power supply circuit 12 is installed in the watt-hour meter 2 to obtain a power supply for automatic meter reading from a commercial power supply. The communication interface 13 is connected to the power supply circuit 12 and is connected to the gas meter 3 or the power supply line E via the power supply line E. The water meter 4 is supplied with power for automatic meter reading. The electric energy data output from the electric energy meter 2 is transmitted through the data transmission line 31 to the NCU 5.
The gas amount data and the water amount data which are also automatically read by the gas meter 3 or the water meter 4 are transmitted to the NCU 5 via the data transmission lines 32 and 33, respectively, and are transmitted from the NCU via the communication interface 14 and the communication line F. To the automatic meter reading center.

That is, the watt-hour meter 2 is provided with means for rectifying from a commercial power supply to create a DC power supply, and the power supply is an NCU.
The DC power is supplied to the gas meter 3 and the water meter 4 via the power supply 5. However, in preparation for a power outage, the gas meter 3 and the water meter 4 are provided with large-capacity capacitors 3a and 4a,
The operation is not stopped even during a power failure.

According to the present embodiment, even a water meter can be operated without a battery, so that it can be reused even after the expiration date of the test, and the economy as a measuring instrument can be increased.

FIG. 2 uses a data transmission line 31 as a power supply method. The watt hour meter 2 and the NCU 5 are connected by the data transmission line 31. If the communication interface 13 is always in data ON (connection), the line voltage of the data transmission line becomes a voltage value close to the power supply voltage of the data transmission unit of the watt hour meter 2.

This voltage is charged to the capacitor 16 via the diode 15 and supplied to the gas meter 3, the water meter 4, and the like. Charging voltage V ₂ of the voltages V ₁ and a capacitor 16 between the transmission lines is as shown in FIG.

When the voltage between the transmission lines becomes zero during data transmission, the voltage is slightly lowered because the capacitor is discharged. However, since the gas and water meters originally operate for about 10 years even when driven by a battery, the current consumption is not so large. Therefore, during short-term communication, the charge of the capacitor 16 can be sufficiently covered.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which current is supplied to the gas meter 3 and the water meter 4 by the current sensor 17 so as to detect whether or not a terminal is connected. In the current situation, it will take some time for these power, gas and water meters to be automatically metered. Therefore, it is practically meaningful to recognize how much the meter for automatic meter reading is attached to the customer and send it to the center so that it can be checked against the registration status of the center. FIG.
Uses the power supply to attempt to send a return signal to the connected gas meter 3 or water meter 4 in the event that a failure such as no response occurs, the NCU 5 uses the power supply. A transistor 19 for controlling the supply is provided.

On the other hand, for example, the gas meter 3 of the terminal has a photocoupler 22 between transmission lines. Voltage V between transmission lines
If there is _1, the transistor of the photocoupler 22 is ON
(Conduction). However, when the voltage V ₁ disappears, the transistor of the photocoupler 22 is turned off (disconnected). At this time, the capacitor 23 is gradually charged from the voltage charged in the capacitor 21, and the potential Vc increases as shown in FIG. The potential is compared with a reference potential by the comparator 24, and when a certain potential is exceeded, for example, a reset signal H is output to the measuring device so as to escape from the trouble state.

[0022]

According to the present invention, the operational safety of the automatic meter reading system can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an automatic meter reading system device showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial configuration diagram of an automatic meter reading system device showing another embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an automatic meter reading system device showing another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial configuration diagram of an automatic meter reading system device showing another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Watt hour meter 3 Gas meter 4 Water meter 5 NCU 12 Power supply circuit 13 Communication interface 14 Communication interface 31, 32, 33 Data transmission line

Claims (5)

[Claims] An electricity meter for reading the amount of electricity used by a customer, and at least one of a gas meter and a water meter for reading the amount of gas or water used by the customer. In an automatic meter reading system device for transmitting meter reading data read by the watt-hour meter, the gas meter or the water meter to a center via a network control unit, an automatic meter reading from a commercial power source installed in the watt-hour meter An automatic meter reading system device comprising: a power supply circuit for obtaining a power supply for use; and a communication interface connected to the power supply circuit to supply power for automatic meter reading to the gas meter or the water meter. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a power supply unit installed in the network control unit and connected to the communication interface to supply power to an external device.
Automatic meter reading system device described in 1. 3. A signal line is used as a power supply path from the watt-hour meter, and a DC voltage is applied from the watt-hour meter via the signal line when data communication is not performed, 3. The automatic meter reading system device according to claim 1, wherein the DC voltage is used as a power source by another terminal or a measuring instrument. 4. A power supply line for supplying power to the scale connected to the network control unit is provided with a current sensor, and has a connection determination function for determining whether or not there is a connection depending on whether a current is flowing or not. The automatic meter reading system device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. A network control unit, comprising: a shutoff means for shutting off a power supply circuit to a scale connected to the network control unit.
5. The network control unit according to claim 1, wherein a detection means for detecting that power supply is temporarily interrupted is provided on the measuring device side, so that a forced recovery can be performed from the network control unit in the event of a malfunction. An automatic meter reading system device described in any of the above.