KR100342781B1 - Method of automatically transmitting data of handy terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an automatic data transmission method of a remote meter reading terminal that allows the remote metered data to be automatically transmitted when the handy terminal is placed on the cradle.

The method of the present invention is a portable terminal which is portable and wirelessly inputs meter reading data, and is connected to the handy terminal via I2C and RS232C methods, and a remote controller is configured to charge a battery of a battery pack mounted on the hand terminal. A meter reading apparatus, comprising: a switch and a modem for sensing that a handy terminal is mounted on the charger, and driving a modem connection program when the switch is turned on; Reading a preset connection information file; Dialing the telephone number set in the connection information file to automatically access and transmitting meter reading data; And disconnecting when the transfer is complete.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is convenient because the metered data can be transmitted through a modem or TCP / IP without going to a remote center. In particular, simply put the handy terminal on the charger, the meter data is automatically transferred to the remote center through the modem is a very convenient advantage.

Description

Method of automatically transmitting data of handy terminal

The present invention relates to a wireless meter reading system using wireless, and more particularly, to an automatic data transmission method of a remote meter reading terminal to automatically transmit the remote meter reading data when the handy terminal is placed on the cradle.

In general, the amount of electricity, gas, and tap water used in each household is measured through an electricity meter, gas meter, water meter, and the like, and the meter reader reads the instructions of the meter to calculate monthly usage and charges for a fee. In this way, when the meter readers read and record the instructions of the meter every day, a lot of manpower and time are required, which increases the cost. In particular, when the meter is located where it is difficult to check the instructions with the eyes or when the customer is absent during the visit, there is a problem that the measurement is difficult to visit again.

In order to solve the difficulty of the meter reading, the remote metering technology using the telephone line has been introduced, but it has not been put into practical use due to the communication cost and the cost for additional equipment.

On the other hand, KEPCO introduces and uses a metering system that allows meter readers to enter guide values while holding hands. In other words, in the conventional meter reading system consisting of a handy terminal, a cradle, and a computer, the meter reader visits each home while carrying a handy terminal, checks and inputs the guidance value of the electricity meter, and when the meter reading is completed, the handy terminal is inserted into the cradle. In addition to charging and loading, the metered data can be transferred to a PC so that the metered data can be processed by a computer.

However, in the conventional meter reading system, the charging device of the handy terminal merely performs a function of charging / discharging the handy terminal, and has no function of transmitting data to a far-away meter reading center. Therefore, in the related art, the meter reader has to visit the center with a handy terminal and download the meter data to the main system. In particular, since the farming and fishing villages had to read meter readings on a weekly basis, they had to visit branch offices and load the data at a time.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic data transmission method of a remote meter reading terminal in which data is transmitted and received when a handy terminal is placed on a charger with a charger connected to a PC and a built-in charger connected to a PC.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a remote meter reading system to which the present invention is applied;

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a handy terminal according to the present invention;

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a cradle according to the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission procedure according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

301,302: LED 304: Buzzer

305: switch

306: charge control IC 308: charge control circuit

310: processor 312: discharge control circuit

314: RS232C Port 320: Modem

In order to achieve the above object, the method of the present invention is a portable terminal capable of inputting meter reading data in a portable and wireless manner, and the battery of a battery pack mounted to the hand terminal by being connected to the handy terminal by I2C and RS232C methods. In the remote meter reading device consisting of a charger for charging, the charger further comprises a switch for detecting that the handy terminal is mounted, a PC and a modem connected via TCP / IP, and when the switch is turned on to drive a connection program ; Reading a preset connection information file; Transmitting meter reading data after automatically accessing the IP or telephone number set in the access information file; When the transmission is complete, characterized in that it comprises the step of disconnecting the connection.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a remote meter reading system to which the present invention is applied.

Referring to FIG. 1, the remote meter reading system wirelessly detects power consumption, gas consumption, and tap water usage. For this purpose, the electricity meter 102, the gas meter 104, and the water meter 106 wirelessly measure the measured values. Must be capable of transmitting. For example, the electricity meter used in the present invention, as shown in Figure 2, the total electricity meter 202 for detecting the amount of electricity, the sensing unit 204 for detecting the metered value of the electricity meter, the power supply unit 206, wireless A transmitter 208, a control unit 210, a storage unit 212, an oscillator 214, a reset unit 216, and a display unit 218 are provided to detect power consumption and store the data in digital data. Upon receiving the request signal from the mobile station, it transmits the read data and unique number wirelessly. These meters are fixed in each user's home or company.

Handy terminal 110 is a device for measuring the amount of usage while the meter is carried by the user, conventionally the user reads the input value of the meter with the eye, but the hand terminal 110 according to the present invention wirelessly transmits the measurement data of the meter Take it and save it automatically. The data stored in this way is returned to the meter reading point is placed on the cradle 120 and transferred to the PC 130, and transmitted to the remote meter reading host system 150 through the network 140.

Cradle 120 and the docking unit 122 is a device that can put the handy terminal 110, charges a removable battery in the handy terminal 110, as well as the data stored in the handy terminal 110 PC ( 130 provides a communication path for transmission. In particular, the docking unit 122 is the same as the cradle 120, but expands the capacity to accommodate a number of handy terminals at once.

The PC 130 performs an application program for meter reading and processes the data collected by the meter reader through the handy terminal 110 and processes the data on its own, and the meter reading data is remotely read through the network 140 through the host. To the system 150. The remote meter reading host system 150 collects the entire remote meter reading data, calculates a fee according to the meter reading amount for each user, and manages the entire system.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a handy terminal according to the present invention, the handy terminal is an RF module 202 and serial port 204, LCD module 206, DRAM 208, flash memory 210, BIOS ROM 212, Second Coprocessor (PIC2: 214), Real Time Clock (RTC: 216), Keyboard 218, Serial I / O 222, First Coprocessor (PIC1: 224), Power Supply ( 226, the battery pack 230. In general, the battery pack 230 is configured to be detachable from the handy terminal, and provides a communication path with the handy terminal when mounted on the cradle in a mounted state.

Referring to FIG. 2, the RF module 202 wirelessly transmits / receives a command for requesting weighing by wirelessly transmitting / receiving with the meters 102, 104, and 106, and receives and demodulates and decodes the measured value from the meter. Pass in 220. That is, the RF module 202 modulates the data of the MCU 220, transmits it wirelessly, demodulates the received radio signal, and provides the decoded data to the MCU 220.

The serial port 204 is an external communication port for the RF module 202, the DRAM 208 is a memory for temporarily storing data or a program during operation according to the present invention, the flash memory 210 is an application program A nonvolatile memory for storing a main program such as the BIOS ROM 212 stores an input / output program for a DOS operating system. The second coprocessor (PIC2: 214) is a kind of auxiliary CPU that performs an operation related to reset, and the RTC 216 generates and provides an accurate time and clock.

The keyboard 218 is a key input unit for manipulating the hand terminal, and includes a numeric key, a function key, a hot key, and the like. The first coprocessor PIC1: 224 is connected to the main processor 220 through the serial I / O 222. ) Is connected. In addition, the battery pack 230 may be detachably attached to the handy terminal body, and is connected to the RS232C method and the I ² C method to provide a communication path with the cradle.

The power supply 226 receives power from the battery pack 230 or the cradle and provides stable power to each part of the handy terminal. The power input from the cradle to the system is 5.3V, which is input via a diode, and the battery pack's main battery outputs a 3.6V DC voltage at steady state. The power supply 226 receives 3.6V DC power of the battery pack and receives DC 5V for BIOS and RF controller, DC I / O and LCD, DC 3.3V for DRAM, and DC 2.9V for CPU core from the voltage stabilization circuit. Supply.

The main processor 220 performs a predetermined metering procedure to store metering data received from the RF module 202 in a memory, download metering-related data from a PC via an RS-232C line, and read a metering file to a PC. send.

3 is a view illustrating a configuration of a cradle according to the present invention, and a connection state between the cradle 120 and the handy terminal 110 is illustrated.

Cradle 120 according to the present invention is the LED1 (301), LED2 (302), the buzzer 304, the charge control IC 306, the charge control circuit 308, the processor 310, the discharge control circuit 312 RS232C port 314, modem 320, and switch 305. The processor 310 is connected to the coprocessor of the handy terminal and the Y pyrom 324a of the battery pack through the I ² C bus, and is connected to the CPU 220 and the PC 130 of the handy terminal in an RS232C manner. The charge voltage of the cradle is applied to the battery cell 230a through a power line, and the battery pack is detachable to the handy terminal 110. The battery pack has a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the battery cell and Y pyrom which stores the battery information. This pyrom communicates with the cradle's processor 310 through the I ² C bus, the temperature sensor value and the battery voltage. Is delivered to processor 310 via coprocessor 324a.

LED1 301 and LED2 302 are red and green light emitting lamps indicating the charging operation status and the failure status, and the buzzer 304 generates a sound to identify a failure. The charging control IC 306 performs various controls related to charging, and the charging control circuit 308 performs a charging operation according to the control of the charging control IC.

The modem 320 is connected to a telephone line and transmits meter reading data of the handy terminal to the remote meter reading center 350 through a public telephone network (PSTN: 340).

The PC transmits the handy terminal meter data to the remote meter center via the Internet.

The switch 305 detects that the handy terminal 110 is placed on the cradle 120 to automatically drive data transmission. When the switch 305 is turned on, the processor 310 determines that the handy terminal is loaded, wakes up the connection program or modem 320 in the PC, and then drives the data transmission program of the handy terminal. In the case of a modem, a program for driving the modem 320 may be installed in the processor 310 in the charger or may be performed by the processor 220 of the handy terminal. In addition, the program sets the phone number of the remote meter reading center 350 to transmit data in advance, and when the program is driven, it automatically transmits meter reading data of a handy terminal without a separate phone number input process.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for automatically transmitting data according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the switch is turned on, the modem is initialized and the preset connection information file is read (401, 402, 403). Subsequently, the modem is dialed by dialing the telephone number set in the access information file, and the set meter data is transmitted (404, 405, 406). When the data transfer is complete, the connection is disconnected and then terminated (407).

As described above, according to the present invention, it is convenient because the data read through the handy terminal can be transmitted through an internet network or a modem without going to a far reading center. In particular, simply put the handy terminal on the charger, the meter data is automatically sent to the remote center, which is very convenient.

Claims (2)

In the remote meter reading device consisting of a portable terminal for portable and wireless input of the meter data and a charger for charging the battery of the battery pack mounted on the hand terminal connected to the handy terminal in the I2C and RS232C method, Further comprising a switch and a modem for detecting a handy terminal mounted on the charger, and driving the access program when the switch is turned on; Reading a preset connection information file; Dialing the telephone number set in the connection information file to automatically access and transmitting meter reading data; And And disconnecting the connection when the transmission is completed. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection program is configured to control the charger connected to the serial port from a remote metering center through an internet network.