JPS5833990B2 - data collection device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a battery-powered portable data collection device that collects metric data from a terminal device that stores metric data for each customer, and in particular, distinguishes and confirms multiple operating states of the device using sound. This invention relates to a data collection device that is easy to use.

Generally, data collection is accomplished by connecting a data collection device to each consumer terminal device that stores measurement data such as electricity, and then issuing a data request signal to extract the measurement data from the terminal device and record it on magnetic tape. We are collecting data.

By the way, this data collection device has a control circuit section that divides the data sent from the terminal device into multiple batches, temporarily stores them in a recording section, and then reads them out and checks the data. It also includes a tape running control section that records data on the magnetic tape and controls the running of the tape.

The reason why the control circuit unit repeatedly stores and reads out the measurement data in multiple steps is as follows.

Generally, data retrieval devices use magnetic tape cassettes, so the capacity of the storage circuit in the control circuit section is particularly reduced due to the demand for compactness and portability.

For example, the terminal device is capable of storing about 40 days of measurement data, but the storage circuit of the control circuit section has a storage capacity of about one-hundredth of that.

When the measurement data is stored in the memory circuit of the control circuit section, the magnetic tape of the tape running control section is stopped, and when the data is sufficiently stored in the memory circuit, the magnetic tape is run and the control circuit section The measurement data of the storage circuit is recorded on the magnetic tape of the reading tape running control section.

Therefore, in the apparatus configured as described above, the magnetic tape is intermittently run to record the measurement data on the magnetic tape.

Therefore, conventionally, when checking the operation of the device, the objective is to visually check the running of the tape.

However, visually checking the tape running causes eye fatigue and increases the workload of the data collector.

In addition, abnormal operation of the data collection device can include the occurrence of data errors and a drop in battery voltage, but these cases are often detected by visual inspection, so even if an abnormality occurs, the data collector may not notice it. There is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points of view, and allows a single notification unit to distinguish and notify operational states such as tape running, data collection error, and battery voltage drop, thereby making it possible to notify data The present invention provides a battery-powered portable data collection device that enables reliable confirmation of the operating state without placing any burden on the collector.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the figure, 10 is a terminal device provided for each consumer.

This terminal device 10 includes a meter-reading meter with a transmitter that generates a pulse for each unit consumption of electricity, gas, water, etc., a counter that measures the pulses generated from the meter-reader with a transmitter, and measurement data of this counter. It consists of a storage section that stores the information.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a data collection device for collecting measurement data from the terminal device 10, and a magnetic tape cassette is used for this.

21 is a control circuit section, which includes a small capacity storage circuit 21a, a control circuit 21b, and a check circuit 2.
Built-in 1c etc.

The storage capacity of this storage circuit 21a is, for example, about 1/100 of the storage capacity of the terminal device 10.

The control circuit 21b stores measurement data in the storage circuit 21a.
The system detects when the tank is full and performs reading, and outputs various control signals as necessary.

The check circuit 21c is connected from the terminal device 10 to the control circuit section 21.
Errors in data transfer to the tape drive controller 22, errors in writing to the tape running control unit 22, etc. are checked.

23 is a battery power source; 24 is a battery voltage detection circuit that detects the voltage of the battery power source 23 and outputs a signal when the voltage value is below a predetermined value; 25 is a battery voltage detection circuit 24 and a check circuit 2;
This is an OR circuit that passes the output signal of 2c.

26 is an alarm signal generation circuit, and 27 is a notification section consisting of a speaker.

On the other hand, the tape running control unit 22 intermittently runs the magnetic tape in response to the running command signal from the control circuit unit 21 as described above, but takes out the tape running command signal at this time and inputs it to the operation confirmation signal generation circuit 28. .

The output signal of this operation confirmation signal generation circuit 28 is
9 and is supplied to the notification section 27.

Next, the operation of the data collection device as described above will be explained.

First, after connecting the data collection device 20 to the terminal device 10, a power switch (not shown) is turned on to supply battery power 23 to the control circuit section 21 and tape running control section 22.

After completion of preparation, when a data request signal is sent from the control circuit unit 21 to the terminal device 10 side, the terminal device 10
Since the measurement data is transferred from the control circuit section 21, this data is stored in the storage circuit 21a of the control circuit section 21.

When the storage circuit 21a becomes full, the control circuit 21b detects this and sends a tape travel command signal to the tape travel control section 22, and then reads out the measurement data from the storage circuit 21a and sends it to the tape travel control section 22.

When the tape running control section 22 detects this tape running command signal, it sends this signal to the operation confirmation signal generation circuit 28, where it is converted into an appropriate signal, attenuated by a variable resistor 29, and then notified by the notification section 27.

Therefore, the tape running state can be confirmed by the sound generated from the notification section 27.

On the other hand, if the check circuit 21c detects a data transfer error or the like, the circuit 21c generates an error signal.

This signal passes through an OR circuit 25 and enters an alarm signal generation circuit 26.

Therefore, the circuit 26 sends an alarm signal to the notification section 27, which generates an audio signal.

Normally, the volume of the error signal sound is set higher than the tape running confirmation sound, so the two can be easily distinguished from this volume.

Next, the voltage of the battery power source 23 is constantly detected by a battery voltage detection circuit 24.

When the battery voltage drops below a predetermined value, the battery voltage detection circuit 24 detects this and generates a signal, which is supplied to the subsequent alarm signal generation circuit 26.

Therefore, the alarm signal generation circuit 26 outputs a continuous alarm signal and causes the notification section 27 to generate an audio signal.

In this case, the alarm sound due to a decrease in battery voltage is issued for a longer time than the error signal sound, so it can be distinguished from the error state.

In this way, in this apparatus, not only the tape running condition but also abnormal conditions such as data errors and low battery voltage can be easily confirmed by sound.

As detailed above, according to the present invention, the battery-powered portable data storage device records the metering data of electricity, gas, water, etc. measured by each consumer terminal device on the magnetic tape of a magnetic tape cassette for data processing. Since the data collection device detects data error states and battery voltage drops and notifies them with sound, it is possible to reliably inform data collectors of these states.

Therefore, there is no longer a situation where the data collector does not notice the result of visual inspection, as was the case in the past.

In addition, these data errors and battery voltage drops can be reliably distinguished and confirmed depending on whether the sound is temporary or continuous.

Further, since the tape running command signal of the magnetic tape cassette is detected and the tape running confirmation sound is generated in synchronization with the running state, the operation can be confirmed without particularly burdening the data collector.

Moreover, this operation check, detection and notification of data errors and low battery voltage, etc., are performed using the device's operation timing and the length and height of the sound, so a single notification unit can be used to detect and notify the sound. Notifications can be made with clear differences, and data collectors can accurately confirm the operating status of the device without wasting effort.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figure is a configuration diagram showing an example of a data collection device according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Consumer terminal device, 20... Data collection device, 21... Control circuit section, 21a... Storage circuit, 21
b...Control circuit, 21c...Check circuit, 22...Tape running control section, 23...Battery power supply,
24...Battery voltage detection circuit, 26...Alarm signal generation circuit, 27...Notification section, 28...Operation confirmation signal generation circuit, 29...Variable resistor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a battery-powered portable data collection device that is removably connected to a consumer terminal device that stores measurement data and that collects the measurement data, a storage circuit that has a storage capacity smaller than that of the terminal device; A data request signal is sent to cause the measurement data sent from the terminal device to be written into the storage circuit, and at an appropriate time, the writing to the storage circuit is stopped and a tape running command signal is sent. a control circuit section having a control circuit that outputs a signal; a tape running control section that receives a tape running command signal output from the control circuit section, reads out the contents of the storage circuit and stores it on a magnetic tape; a check circuit for checking data transfer errors to the memory circuit and write errors from the memory circuit to the tape running control unit; and a battery voltage detection circuit for detecting the voltage of the battery power source and outputting a signal when the voltage is below a predetermined value. , an alarm signal generation circuit that receives an output signal from either this circuit or the check circuit and outputs an alarm signal of different length; and an alarm signal generation circuit that receives the tape running command signal and outputs an operation confirmation signal of a lower level than the alarm signal. The present invention is equipped with an operation confirmation signal generation circuit that outputs an operation confirmation signal, and a notification section that converts the operation confirmation signal, an error signal from the check circuit, and a detection signal from the battery voltage detection circuit into an audio signal and outputs the same. Characteristic data collection device.