JPH11252263A - Automatic meter reading system and automatic meter reading device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the automatic meter reading system and automatic meter reading device that do not required many man-hours and much cost. SOLUTION: The system consists of a controller consisting of a display device 3, an input device 4, a control section 5, a storage section 6, a meter reading set communication section 12, and a center communication section 7 that makes authentication with a center 8 and conducts sure and secure communication, of a meter reading set 1 that communicates a meter reading result and of the center 8 that collects data of the controller from each house and conducts control of deduction from a bank and transmission of a receipt or the like. Through the configuration above, even when the center 8 or the controller makes a call, the meter reading set 1 connects to the call surely and securely and displays the utility charge or the like sent from the center 8 and serves information as to the consumed amount and the charge at an optional time for the user by a desired method according to the operation of an entry means of the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a utility company which automatically performs meter reading for each household to check usage fees, notification of usage fees based on usage, and receipt of usage fees.
The present invention relates to an automatic meter reading system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to carry out meter reading, an operator goes around each door, distributes meter reading results, and bills for usage charges are sent by billing, separately collecting money or automatically debiting from a bank account. A series of payment processing was performed from meter reading.

[0003]

The automatic meter reading system is
Although some have been proposed, the meter reading is performed by control from the center, and a method for securely and securely connecting to the center has not been proposed. Also, when not connected to the center, the user could not monitor.

[0004] The present invention provides a method for safely and reliably connecting to a center, and when a center is not connected, a controller displays a meter reading result when the user desires, collates past data, An object of the present invention is to provide a service such as comparison with the usage amount in the past month to reduce a user's psychological burden on usage charges and to reduce a series of operation costs including communication costs.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, even if a call is made from either the center or the controller, the connection is made securely and securely, and the usage fee and the like sent from the center are reduced. In addition to displaying the information, the apparatus is configured to provide information on the usage amount and the fee in a desired manner at an arbitrary time of the user in accordance with the operation of the input means of the user.

[0006] Further, by performing authentication using the caller ID, it is possible to securely and securely connect to the center. Even when the center is not connected, the usage fee can be determined at any time and a series of operations including communication costs can be performed. Cost can be reduced.

[0007]

Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a basic processing flow of the automatic meter reading will be described. All the processing is performed by executing the program stored in the storage unit 6 by the control unit 5. The user gives an instruction from the input unit 4 to confirm the usage fee for this month. The data of the meter reader 1 is received by the meter reader communication unit 2, and based on the difference from the previous meter reading value stored in the storage unit 6, without connecting to the center 8, the charge of the usage fee is stored in the stored program. The calculation is performed and displayed on the display device 3.

When the program is updated, it can be downloaded from the center 8 to the storage unit 6 by the control unit 5 via the center communication unit 7, and the usage fee can be revised by downloading the program. Can also respond.

On the meter reading date, the meter reading result is sent to the center 8. The center 8 side reliably obtains a correct meter reading result by using the caller number for customer authentication. Also,
Even when the program is downloaded from the center 8, the authentication can be performed using the caller number of the center 8, so that the program can be surely and safely updated.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the controller according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a key button 18 is a means for a user to check past data and check the status of bank payment. LCD14
Is a display means for confirming the contents of the instruction and for confirming the result, and the CPU 11 (central processing unit)
A program read from the OM 12 (read only memory) and the RAM 13 (random access memory) is executed, and the controller is controlled using the RAM.

The power line modem 15 is means for reading the meter reading result from the meter reader 1. The modem 16 with the caller number identification function extracts the caller number from the incoming call, compares the telephone number of the center 8 stored in the RAM 13 in advance with the incoming call number with the CPU 11,
After the authentication is performed, the program stored in the RAM 13 is updated. Conversely, the center 8 authenticates the meter reader of each house by using the caller number from the controller.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention. The operation of the automatic meter reading system of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

In the present description, it is assumed that the telephone number of the center 8 has been set in advance by, for example, inputting by a user at the time of initial use.

When a call is received or a user operation is performed, the controller starts operation (step 2).
0, step 30).

First, when a call is received, the caller ID is retrieved and the center 8 stored in the storage unit 6 in advance is obtained.
(Step 21). If the telephone numbers are different, normal telephone processing is performed (step 22).

By this collation, authentication is performed and the center 8
(Step 23), the meter reading result is read from the meter reader 1, the meter reading result is transmitted to the center 8 via the center communication unit 7, and the meter reading value is stored in the storage unit 6. (Step 24, Step 2
5).

If the request from the center 8 is a download (step 26), the program is downloaded to the storage unit 6 via the center communication unit 7 (step 2).
7).

Other than that, in the case of a request from the center 8,
The same processing is performed (step 28). If the communication is completed (step 29), the process returns to the initial state.

Next, if a user operation is performed on the input unit 4 and the operation is an instruction to display the current usage fee (step 31), the meter reading result is read from the meter reading machine 1 and compared with the previous meter reading value. The usage fee is calculated from the difference, and the usage fee is displayed on the display device 3 (Step 32, Step 33, Step 34).

Similar processing is performed for other user processing (step 35). In the above description, the case where the center 8 is connected to the controller is shown. However, it is obvious that the controller 8 can be connected to the center 8 and the authentication at the center 8 can be performed in the same manner as the authentication at the controller. It is.

(Embodiment 2) In the above description, the case where connection is made using a telephone has been described. However, since the controller has a function of connecting to the Internet, communication with the center 8 via the Internet is also possible. it can.

In this case, the authentication can be realized by encrypting the caller number received by the Internet provider (not shown) and communicating with the center 8.

By connecting the automatic meter reading system to the center 8 via the Internet in this way, the equipment on the center 8 side can be simplified and the number of center equipment can be further reduced.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, authentication can be performed safely and reliably, and automatic meter reading can be performed.

In addition, the present invention provides a secure and reliable connection regardless of whether a call is made from a center or a controller, not only displays the usage fee and the like sent from the center, but also allows the user to operate the device using input means. At any time of the user and in a desired manner, information about usage and charges can be provided.

Further, by performing authentication based on the caller ID, it is possible to securely and securely connect to the center. Even when the center is not connected, the usage fee can be determined at any time and a series of operations including communication costs can be performed. Cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 meter reader 2 meter reader communication unit 3 display device 4 input unit 5 control unit 6 storage unit 7 center communication unit 8 center 11 CPU 12 ROM 13 RAM 14 LCD 15 power line modem 16 modem with caller identification function 17 touch panel 18 key buttons

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A meter reading device capable of communicating a meter reading result, a display unit for displaying the meter reading result, a control unit for controlling display and communication based on the meter reading result, a program for operating the control unit, and a meter reading. A storage unit that stores the results, an input device, a meter reader, a meter reader communication unit that communicates with a center (hereinafter, referred to as a utility company) such as an electric power company or a gas company, a controller including a center communication unit, and a controller from each house. An automatic meter reading system that consists of a center that controls data collection, debiting from banks, sending receipts, etc., and authentication based on the caller ID when calling from the center and the controller. 2. The utility company according to claim 1, wherein the caller ID is encrypted and added to the center communication as authentication data and the Internet is used, so that the utility company can realize the facilities of the center at low cost. Automatic meter reading system. 3. An automatic meter reading device connected to a meter reading means, wherein the meter reading result receiving means receives a meter reading result from the meter reading means, an input means for inputting a user operation, and the meter reading result receiving means. A display unit for displaying the received meter reading result, a center communication means for communicating with a center for requesting the meter reading result and performing billing corresponding thereto, and the meter reading when the center requests the meter reading result. Receiving the meter reading result from the means via the meter reading result receiving means,
While transmitting the received meter reading results to the center,
Control means for controlling the display means to display information on the meter reading result in response to a request from the input means. 4. The automatic meter reading device according to claim 3, further comprising a caller number identification means, and transmitting a meter reading result only when a call is made from the caller number of the center. 5. A meter reading machine, a meter reading result receiving means for receiving a meter reading result from the meter reading means, an input means for inputting a user operation, and a display unit for displaying a meter reading result received by the meter reading result receiving means. And a controller having a center communication means for communicating with the center, and a center for requesting a meter reading result to the controller and charging a user corresponding to the meter reading,
An automatic meter reading system having a meter reading result from the center, the controller receives a meter reading result from the meter reading machine via the meter reading result receiving means, and receives the received meter reading result in the center. The automatic meter reading system transmits the information on the meter reading result on the display unit in response to a request from the input unit. 6. The center and the controller further include a caller number identification means, wherein the controller transmits a transmission result to the center only when a call is made from the caller number of the center, The automatic meter reading system according to claim 5, wherein a user of the controller is specified by a caller number from the controller.