JPS58146994A - Weighing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a measuring instrument, and more particularly to a measuring instrument equipped with a memory for storing measurement data of electricity, water, gas, etc. at predetermined time intervals.

Technical Background of the Invention Recently, usage data of electricity, water, gas, etc., can be collected for example every 15 minutes. Accumulate within a predetermined time limit such as 30 minutes.

A measuring instrument (hereinafter referred to as a meter) has been developed that can sequentially write and store the accumulated data in an IC memory over a predetermined period, such as one month.

This meter is installed at consumers of electricity, water, gas, etc.
The data written in the IC memory of this meter every predetermined period (for example, one power month) is used to calculate the electric power.

The cumulative usage amount is calculated by water, gas, etc. suppliers using portable data collection devices to collect and take home the data, and then processing the data on a computer.

It is possible to obtain basic data on fee transactions such as usage by time zone and maximum usage for each time period.

This type of system can handle cases where the metering time period, demand time limit, etc. differ for each customer, or when these change midway through, simply by changing the computer processing of the collected data. This has the great advantage that there is no need to make any modifications to the meters installed by the customer.

This type of measuring instrument is sometimes used for the purpose of surveying the load status of electricity, gas, water, etc., and therefore the measuring time is necessary only to obtain basic data for single-I-meter transactions. The measurement deadline may be set further than the actual measurement deadline.

For example, if the purpose is to measure the maximum integrated value within a time period, that is, the maximum demand amount, even if I minutes is sufficient for the measurement time, data from a large number of customers can be collected to determine the overall load situation. In order to accelerate this, the measurement time limit is sometimes set to 15 minutes.

Furthermore, although it is not necessary at present, if there is a possibility that the measurement time period may be shortened in the future, it is desirable that the measurement time period be as short as possible in order to accommodate this without any changes.

However, from the viewpoint of reducing the memory capacity in the meter, or increasing the data collection interval if the memory capacity is the same, a longer metering time is advantageous.

The measurement time period of the meter is selected taking both of these requirements into consideration, but conventional meters of this type have one fixed measurement time period, and the measurement values for each predetermined time period are sequentially stored in memory. It was a method of saving money.

Problems with the Background Art Conventional meters as described above have a drawback in that data must necessarily be collected within a certain period of time depending on the memory capacity.

For example, if we assume a meter with a memory capacity that can store data for several days within a 15-minute measurement time period, if the period from the previous data collection to the next collection period has elapsed, the elapsed time will be However, the metering data for the period function cannot be obtained from this meter.

If the continuity of the weighing data is lost in this way, not only will it not be possible to obtain the cumulative amount over the entire period, but even if the maximum total value within the time limit is calculated, it may not be the true value. The validity of the data is greatly reduced.

This is because there is a possibility that a large acid weight value occurred on the day when one data item was lost.

From the above points, the memory capacity of the meter needs to be operated in such a way that there is sufficient margin for the normal data collection interval l, and there is no delay in collection.

Next, if some kind of failure occurs in a part of the memory within the meter, the metering data for the period corresponding to the failure part will be lost.

In this case, the continuity of the measurement data for tc is lost, and the validity of not only the period corresponding to the failure part number but also the entire data is greatly reduced, as in the case described above.

Purpose of the Invention The purpose of the invention is to increase the flexibility of data collection intervals without increasing the capacity of the internal memory of a measuring instrument, and to increase the validity of stored data even in the event of a failure in part of the memory. The purpose is to provide a measuring instrument that cannot be lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In this invention, the above object is achieved by selecting a portion of the data stored in the internal memory of the measuring instrument with a relatively low W* degree and providing a function for performing so-called data pressure.

The details of this invention will be explained below based on examples.

Embodiment of the Invention FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a measuring instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is an input circuit that receives a pulse proportional to a measured value from a measuring instrument with a transmitting device (not shown) and shapes the waveform; 2 is a only memory (RciM) in which a program can be written;
, arithmetic registers, random access memory (RAM)
) A central processing unit (CPU) that implodes the CPU and performs various calculations and controls according to its program; 3 is a clock circuit that generates a time reference signal and a lock signal necessary for the operation of CPU 2; 4 is a clock circuit that generates a lock signal necessary for the operation of CPU 2; A memory for writing and storing integrated data, and 5 an output circuit for outputting the data stored in the meter to a data collection device (not shown).

In the following explanation, the measurement time limit is assumed to be 15 minutes, but the generality is not lost in any way.The memory 4 is configured to be accessible from the CPU 2 in units of 1 byte (8 bits). It is assumed that the data for one time period is written one byte to consecutive addresses one after another as 1-byte data.

It is assumed that the storage capacity of the memory 4 is 3360 bytes so that 35 days of measurement data can be stored.

CPU 2 is 1wll1l#I! It is programmed to count up to 254, which is one less than the maximum number 255 that can represent a minute Hals in 8-bit binary, and write this to the memory 5 as 1-byte data.

Therefore, the measurement data is a numerical value having a value of θ to 254, and the numerical value 255 can be used as a special mark that is not measurement data.

When there is no room left to write new data in the memory 4 and it is time to write the next weighing data, the intelligent CPU 2 moves the memory 4 to addresses 4 to 4, as will be explained in detail later. Address 3゜Address 4 to Address 7, etc. are divided into 4-byte areas ζζ, and the contents are checked, and each 4-byte section is calculated by counting consecutive 2-byte data for each section that meets the predetermined conditions. Compress the data into 2 bytes of total data, use the 2 bytes of total data and the number 255 as a mark indicating the total data (hereinafter referred to as a compression mark), and re-store this total of 3 bytes of data in a predetermined address order. death,
The stored contents after the next break after this one break are block-transferred forward by one address.

It is programmed to write new measurement data into the new data writing space created in this way.

Next, let's talk about compressing stored data! l! will be explained in detail.

A pulse proportional to the measured value from a measuring instrument with an oscillation device (not shown) is sent to the CPU 2 via the input circuit 1.
Counts range from ~254 pulses. The CPU 2 measures time using the clock from the clock circuit 3 and determines the predetermined time @
The weighing data for 15 minutes is sequentially stored in the memory 4. The CPU 2 is programmed to read the weighing data after writing it into the memory 4#ζ, check whether the data has been written correctly, and increase the reliability of the stored data.

Through such an operation tζ, data for each time period is sequentially written into the memory 4. This stored data can be transferred to the data collection device via the output circuit 5 by connecting the portable data collection device to the device for a predetermined period of time, for example, every month.

Next, when the time to write all the data in the memory 4 and write the next new data is reached, the number ζ is CP.
A data compression command is issued from U2.

Such a command occurs when data is not collected for some reason even after a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

The CPU 2 issues a data compression command when there is no more room to write new data in the memory 4 and it is time to write the next measurement data.

Then, in response to this number, the entire area of memory 4 is set to address O.
~Address 3. It is divided into 4-byte areas such as address 4 to address 71, and so on, and the data within each area is checked. The largest 1 of the 4-byte data within one block (hereinafter referred to as a block)
Find a block whose byte data satisfies the condition that it is the smallest among all blocks, and set the largest 1-byte data in that block to a predetermined value that does not exceed 1/2 of the maximum number 255 that can be expressed in 1 byte9. If the condition that the number does not exceed 126 is satisfied, the following data manipulation in the memory is performed.

In other words, two consecutive 4-byte data in that block
Write a total of 3 bytes of data, consisting of two total data of each byte (both are 1 byte data) and a compression mark (1 byte) consisting of the number 255, to the address in the block in a left-justified manner as shown in Figure 2.1. .

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining data compression, with the left side showing the sequentially stored data array, and the right side showing the data storage array after data compression.

DN * DN + I * ... are each stored data.

-N, N+1. . . . each indicates an address.

Next, after compressing the data in this way, the entire block following the block to which the compressed data has been written is transferred forward by one byte. With this operation, only the data in the block is compressed from 4 bytes to 5 bytes including the compression mark, all other data is retained, and 1 byte at the final address of the memory is used as a space to write new data. be able to.

In this new data space, the next measurement data described above is written. Thereafter, every time the predetermined time limit of 15 minutes elapses, the same operation is performed for blocks that meet the conditions except for the portions that have already been compressed by the lζ compression mark, and data is written one after another.

Data compression is a two-way process for writing data into memory.
2! The compression can be performed every time the address no longer exists, or it can be performed only during a specific time period. In other words, it is possible to select a time period excluding peak usage times of electricity, gas, water, etc., holidays, nighttime, etc., and configure the data compression to be performed only during this time period.

Furthermore, it is also possible to compress data by specifying only the part where normal data is written in the address part of this memory.

Next, a data compression method like this will be explained.

First, the measurement data is measured and stored from θ to 253, and 255 is used as a compression mark indicating data compression as described above, and 254 is used as an abnormality mark indicating a memory abnormality. When writing data, first check the inside of the memory, and if an abnormality is detected, use the 3 bytes immediately before the abnormal part to write the abnormal mark and 2 bytes of the address immediately after the abnormal part, and do not perform any operations after this part. Instead, only the remaining normal portion may be used, and the same operations as in the embodiment described above may be performed.

In this way, even if a part of the 5 memory fails, it is possible to prevent the continuity of the metering data from being lost at the time of collection as in the case of conventional meters.

Effects of the Invention As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, when there is no new writing space in the memory, the data is compressed by selecting the part with the smallest metric value using a predetermined method. It has the advantage that it is possible to have a golden marriage in the interval until collection.

There does not always exist a condition that enables data compression, that is, a block in which none of 4 consecutive bytes of data exceeds 126 as shown in the embodiment.

However, the amount of electricity, gas, water, etc. used is usually not constant at all times, but tends to be concentrated at certain times of the day, and the full scale of the meter is designed to prevent overflow even during peak times. Therefore, there are many cases where extremely low data continues to occur during off-peak hours, on holidays, at night, etc., and even if you think that the conditions shown in the example will occur in most cases, O In addition, the compression of the measured value is performed at the part with the smallest measured value,
Moreover, since this is done in the least-demanded part from the perspective of the purpose of the measuring instrument, being able to compress this part and write new data has the advantage of high memory efficiency.

Furthermore, the data is compressed so that the data for two consecutive periods is changed to the total data.

Compressed data can also be used as accurate data if the time limit is twice the meter measurement time limit.

Therefore, there is a practical effect when the measurement time limit of the meter is set to one half of the measurement time limit required for the purpose of actual transaction.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a measuring instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining data compression. 1... Input circuit, 2... CPU, 3... Clock circuit. 4...Memory, 5...Output circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a measuring instrument equipped with a memory that divides continuous time into fixed time intervals to define a plurality of time periods and sequentially stores the integrated calculation value for each time period as data, data compression is provided. In response to finger ◆. a first means for dividing the storage contents of the memory into blocks by dividing them into four consecutive time periods, and a memory cell storing any data by inspecting data corresponding to each time period in the block; If it does not exceed a predetermined value set at less than half of the maximum storage capacity of I! F-ζ
calculates the total value of the data for each two consecutive time periods belonging to the block, and returns the block again in the predetermined address order along with screening data to distinguish these two total value data from other data that is not summed. A second means for generating one free address by re-storing the block within the block, and a second means for sequentially transferring data belonging to other blocks following the re-storing block and moving the free address. 1. A measuring instrument comprising: an address next to an address where data belonging to a new meter column time area is stored, and third means for generating a vacant address for storing subsequent data. 2. The measuring instrument according to claim 1, wherein the data compression command is issued every time data is stored in the memory and there are no free addresses. 3. There are multiple blocks in which none of the data corresponding to each time period within the block exceeds a predetermined value determined as less than half the maximum storage capacity of the memory cell storing the data. Sometimes, priority is given to the block to which the data whose maximum value is the smallest belongs to that block number. 2. The measuring instrument according to claim 1, wherein the measuring instrument is responsive to the data compression instruction. 4.41 The measuring instrument according to claim 1, wherein only a plurality of addresses storing data belonging to 1III# respond to the data compression command at a certain time. 5. A claim characterized in that it is checked for each address whether or not data is stored normally, and only addresses where data is stored normally are made to respond to the data pressure ii1 instruction.