KR101594237B1 - Device server for measuring instrument and the data transmission method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device server for a meter and a data transmission method thereof, wherein the meter device server includes a communication unit for connecting and communicating with a meter in a wired / wireless manner and a communication unit for connection to a TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol Converts the serial data received from the TCP / IP network to serial data and transmits the serial data to the meter through the modem unit and the modem unit, converts the serial data output from the meter into TCP / IP data through the communication unit, And a controller for transmitting the data to the remote meter reading server of the TCP / IP network through the modem unit.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a device server for a meter and a data transmission method therefor. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device server for a meter and a data transmission method thereof, and more particularly to a device server for a meter that receives data from a meter and converts the data into TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) To a device server for a meter and a data transmission method thereof.

Recently, research and development of system for remote meter reading has been increasing.

Here, the remote meter reading means reading the meter reading data of the meter automatically through a line at a center at a remote place without reading the electricity, gas, water meter, etc. at a remote place. A system including devices such as a center server, a communication line, and a meter for the remote meter reading is called an remote meter reading system. At this time, the remote meter reading system is implemented by various countries and power companies according to various data transmission methods (for example, type of transmission data, transmission period of data, data transmission protocol, etc.) according to a desired standard .

Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the electric remote meter reading system will be described as an example for the sake of convenience.

For example, in a conventional electric remote meter reading system, an electronic meter (not shown) for measuring electricity usage (i.e., data) is installed in each customer, and a data collecting device (DCU: Data Concentration Unit) (not shown).

At this time, the electronic meters installed in the respective receptacles are physically connected to the same communication line (i.e., connected in parallel).

Therefore, the data collection device (DCU) acquires the electricity usage amount (i.e., data) sequentially by assigning an ID to each electronic meter. That is, the data collection unit (DCU) collects electricity usage from each electronic meter using a polling method. Here, the polling method is a method of sequentially collecting the electricity usage amount from the electronic meter in accordance with a predetermined time or order.

However, if a failure occurs in the electronic meter and the data collection device (DCU) fails to acquire electricity usage (i.e., data) from the corresponding electronic meter, the data collection device (DCU) , Data) is repeated. Accordingly, the conventional electric remote meter-reading system takes a considerable time to collect electricity consumption (i.e., data). Therefore, the conventional electric remote meter reading system has a difficulty to be applied to a real-time remote meter reading system for imposing real-time usage details and time-based charges.

Moreover, recently, in order to calculate the charge for each usage time, the electronic meter stores data (for example, electricity consumption, instantaneous value, active power, reactive power, peak value, etc.) Is configured to transmit the stored data when polled by the data collection unit (DCU). Therefore, since the polling time in the data collecting unit (DCU) exceeds at least one hour unit per each electronic meter in accordance with the number of the electronic meters connected to the data collecting unit (DCU) and the communication status, It is a situation.

Further, in the conventional electric remote meter reading system, the data collecting device (DCU) stores data received from the electronic meter periodically (for example, every 15 minutes) and then receives data from a computer And to transmit the corresponding data (that is, the data of the corresponding electronic meter) when transmission is requested. Therefore, the data collection unit (DCU) must include a large capacity memory, and is configured to be assigned a public / fixed IP to communicate with a local server of a higher network.

In addition, if the data specification or protocol required by a separate power company in another country is different from that applied to existing devices, the application and firmware of the data acquisition device (DCU) and the electronic meter are also included in the data specification or protocol Therefore, it takes a considerable amount of time to construct an automatic meter reading system, which requires a cumbersome procedure for approval of the corresponding country.

Therefore, this industry requires a device that enables real-time remote meter reading system to be built inexpensively and a method for implementing real-time data transmission. Also, firmware specification or other approval procedure is required in other countries with data specification or protocol. It is necessary to provide a device that can quickly construct a real-time remote meter reading system through a device that can be easily added while using a conventional apparatus (for example, an electronic meter) without any modification.

Background Art [0002] The background art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Registration Practice No. 20-0356997 (registered on July 12, 2004, integrated electronic watt-hour meter for remote meter reading).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for periodically requesting data stored in a meter, converting the received data into TCP / IP data, And to provide a device server and a data transmission method therefor.

The present invention also provides a meter for requesting data from a meter to acquire data of a specific meter from a destination server performing remote meter reading, converting the received data into TCP / IP data and transmitting the data to the destination server in real time, And to provide a data transfer method and a data transfer method therefor.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device server for a meter and a method of transmitting the data to a destination server that periodically grasps the connection and operation status between the device server itself and the meter and performs the remote meter reading.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device server for a meter and a data transmission method thereof for directly transmitting data in a unicast manner to a destination server that receives a private / static IP address through a router and performs remote meter reading have.

A device server for a meter according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a communication unit for connecting and communicating with a meter in a wired / wireless manner; A modem unit connected to a TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) network for communication; And converting the data received from the TCP / IP network to serial data and transmitting the serial data to the meter through the modem unit, converting the serial data output from the meter into TCP / IP data through the communication unit, And a control unit for transmitting to the remote metering server of the TCP / IP network.

In the present invention, the communication unit may communicate with the meter by a wire / wireless communication method, and the wired / wireless communication method may include at least one of IR (Infrared), RS232, RS485 and JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) .

In the present invention, the control unit may include: a PHY connection unit for connecting to the modem unit; And a data conversion unit converting the TCP / IP data into serial data or converting the serial data into TCP / IP data.

In the present invention, the modem unit is a modem connected to the TCP / IP network by at least one of a leased line communication, an optical communication, an optical communication compound wire communication, a power line communication, a short distance wireless communication, and a long distance wireless communication.

The present invention also provides an information processing apparatus, comprising: a command for acquiring data from the meter; an IP address of the remote meter reading server; a cycle for transmitting data to the remote meter reading server; an IP address assigned to the device server; A user interface unit for receiving at least one of configuration information of a domain address (DNS) for a serial communication port, an access environment of a serial communication port, an option, and a password for connection restriction; And a memory for storing information received through the user interface unit.

In the present invention, the control unit may transmit a command for acquiring data from the meter to the meter in accordance with a preset cycle, convert the serial data output from the meter into the TCP / IP data format To the remote metering server through a TCP / IP network in a unicast manner.

In the present invention, when receiving the command of the TCP / IP data format from the remote meter-reading server, the control unit converts the command into a serial data format, analyzes the command, Converts the serial data output from the meter into the TCP / IP data format according to the command, and transmits the converted serial data to the remote meter reading server via the TCP / IP network in a unicast manner .

In the present invention, the control unit detects the state of the device server itself and the state information of the meter according to a predetermined period, converts the state into the TCP / IP data format, and transmits the state information to the remote meter reading server Unicast method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transfer method for a device server for a meter, comprising: periodically fetching an instruction previously stored in a memory by a control unit of a device server; Selecting a meter from which the control unit will acquire data; Transmitting the fetched command to the selected meter; Acquiring serial data output from a corresponding meter to which the command is transmitted; Converting the acquired data into TCP / IP data; And transmitting the converted TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server.

In the present invention, in the step of transmitting the TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server, the controller transmits the TCP / IP data in a unicast manner.

In the present invention, in the step of transmitting the TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server, the controller includes IP information of the device server and ID information of the meter in the TCP / IP data, do.

In the present invention, the command is a data request request for periodically acquiring data of a meter for real-time remote meter reading, and the data of the meter includes at least one of an electricity usage amount, an instantaneous value, an effective power, a reactive power, Or more.

The control unit detects the status of the device server itself and the status information of the meter according to a predetermined cycle, converts the status into the TCP / IP data format, and transmits the converted status information to the remote meter- Casting method according to the present invention.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data transfer method of a device server for a meter, comprising: receiving a command of a TCP / IP data format transmitted from a remote meter reading server by a controller of a device server; Converting the command into a serial data format; Analyzing the command and selecting a specific meter to acquire data from the remote metering server; Transmitting a command converted into the serial data format to the selected meter; Acquiring serial data output from the meter to which the command is sent; Converting the acquired serial data into a TCP / IP data format; And transmitting the converted TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server.

In the present invention, in the step of transmitting the TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server, the controller transmits the TCP / IP data in a unicast manner.

In the present invention, in the step of selecting the specific metering device desired to acquire the data, the control section analyzes the ID information of the metering device included in the TCP / IP data and the IP address information of the device server to select the specific metering device .

The present invention relates to a method and system for periodically requesting data stored in a meter and transmitting the received data to a destination server performing remote meter reading in real time, and when acquiring data of a specific meter from a destination server performing remote meter reading, Request data to a specific meter and transmit the received data to the destination server in real time.

In addition, the present invention periodically grasps the connection and operation status with the meter and delivers it to the destination server performing the remote meter reading in real time, and can directly transmit the data received from the meter to the destination server performing the uni-casting .

The present invention also provides a real-time remote meter reading system through a device that can be easily added while using existing devices (such as an electronic meter) without requiring a firmware modification or a separate approval procedure even in countries where data specifications or protocols are different. Make it cheap and fast to build.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram showing a schematic configuration of a device server for a meter according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
FIG. 2 is an exemplary view showing the network setting screen of the user interface screen in FIG. 1; FIG.
FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing an option setting screen of the user interface screen in FIG. 1; FIG.
4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a modem unit of a device server and a power line 3-phase router according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a flowchart illustrating a data transfer method of a device server for a meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a data transfer method of a device server for a meter according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a device server for a meter and a method for transmitting data thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this process, the thicknesses of the lines and the sizes of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation. In addition, the terms described below are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user, the operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram showing a schematic configuration of a device server for a meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, a device server 100 for a meter according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 110, a modem unit 120, a power unit 130, a communication unit 140, and a user interface unit 150).

The control unit 110 includes a physical layer (PHY) connection unit 111 and a data conversion unit 112. The controller 110 controls the meter 10 to communicate with the controller 10 through a communication unit 140 such as a wireless communication system such as IR or Infrared or a serial communication system such as RS232, RS485, Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) Lt; / RTI > The control unit 110 includes a PHY port for connecting the modem unit 120 through the PHY connection unit 111. The controller 110 converts the data received from the meter 10 into TCP / IP data through the data converter 112.

The memory 160 includes a permanent memory such as FLASH, SRAM, and EEPROM, and a temporary memory, and the memory 160 may be an internal memory or an external memory.

The control unit 110 transmits the data received from the meter 10 through the communication unit 140 to the data conversion unit 112 via the data conversion unit 112, for example, electricity usage amount, instantaneous value, active power, reactive power, Converts the data into TCP / IP data, and transmits the data to the modem unit 120 through the PHY connection unit 111.

The control unit 110 receives a command (e.g., a data request request) received from the modem unit 120 via the PHY connection unit 111 and converts the received command into serial data through the data conversion unit 112 And transmits it to the meter (10) through the communication unit (140).

The modem unit 120 may be connected to the router 20 in at least one of power line communication, short-range wireless communication (e.g., ZigBee, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.) and remote wireless communication (e.g., mobile communication, LTE, 3G, 4G, Respectively.

At this time, if the modem unit 120 is assumed to be a power line modem that communicates through a power line, modulation and demodulation of a carrier frequency are performed to enable communication on a power line.

(Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex), for example, by converting a digital signal (i.e., digital data) received from the controller 110 into an analog signal (i.e., analog data) DMT (Discrete Multi Tone), etc., but communication is performed in parallel with hardware address (MAC).

In this case, the hardware address (MAC) is an address for identifying a power line modem located on the same communication line, and a power line modem located on a communication line has a PHY-MAC, so that an address do. This is for distributing the power line into a three-phase (R, S, T) power supply, and assigning and classifying hardware addresses to virtual networks (VPNs) and other device servers at each phase.

For reference, the output terminal of the modem unit 120 includes a matching transformer (not shown) and a signal transmission capacitor (not shown) for loading a signal (power packet) on the AC power line. That is, the matching transformer can stably transmit a signal by separating the primary coil and the secondary coil, which are matched with different voltages, and the signal transfer capacitor removes the direct current component and passes only the signal (alternating current component) .

The modem unit 120 is connected to a power line communication three-phase router (hereinafter, simply referred to as a router) 20 installed in an upper network so as to transmit the data received from the meter 10 in a power- Thereby enabling communication to be performed. Likewise, power packets transmitted to the power line are also transmitted to all device servers 100 located on the same communication line (i.e., power line).

For example, the data received from the meter 10 is modulated by the modem unit 120 in the device server 100 and transmitted to a power line (i.e., communication line). Accordingly, the power packet is also transmitted to the power line three-phase router 20 installed on the same communication line (i.e., the power line) and the device server 100 connected to the meter 10. [

The control unit 110 receives a command for acquiring data from the meter 10 through the user interface unit 150 such as a data request request and a protocol for each manufacturer of the meter, . The controller 110 transmits the command (for example, a data request request, a protocol for each manufacturer of the meter, etc.) to the meter 10 at a predetermined time interval through the communication unit 140.

The user interface unit 150 may include a time interval for periodically transmitting the status of the device server 100 to a destination server 30 that performs remote meter reading, (DNS), the connection environment (data rate, data conditions, etc.) of the serial communication port, and the password setting for restricting access to the IP address, the subnet, the gateway address and the Internet connection (Or changing) the MAC and the IP (see Figs. 2 and 3).

Generally, the power line distributes 229,000 V of medium voltage (M / V) for transmission efficiency and uses 3-phase voltage of 380V / 60Hz by using a voltage drop transformer (transformer) The voltage drops and is supplied to the R phase, the S phase, the T phase, and the N phase type three-phase four-wire type which is a neutral point. In order to distribute the current evenly to each phase, one of the N phase, R phase, S phase, and T phase is supplied to the customer through a meter (10) in a single phase of 220V.

Accordingly, in the present invention, a power line communication three-phase router 20 is installed in the vicinity of a transformer (not shown) where three phases are located, that is, the lower end of a transformer, and the router 20 and the device server 100 are communicatively connected And connects the device server 100 and the meter 10 so that the amount of power supplied to each customer can be checked. Typically, the router 20 can perform energy meter inspection of at least 20 to 30 households and more than 200 households.

At this time, the communication line for connecting the router 20 and the device server 100 may be connected to the Internet or the upper network 100 by using at least one of a power line, an optical communication (optical communication), an optical communication compound line (OPGW) To a wide area network (WAN). The communication line is determined according to the type of the modem unit 120.

The device server 100 is connected to a power line three-phase router 20 installed near a transformer through two virtual LANs (LANs).

For example, the two virtual LANs use a WAN as an upper network and a LAN as a lower network, wherein the power line three-phase router 20 configured in the LAN is connected to a power line modem block (not shown) The power packet of each virtual network is placed on each single phase of 220 V 3 phase, and the IP address and the port forwarding technique supplied from the power line 3-phase router 20 are classified into the different virtual networks corresponding to the respective phases, To at least one device server 100 in sequence.

The device server 100 transmits an IP address, a subnet, a gateway address, a domain address, a communication environment setting, an option, and an instruction for obtaining data from the meter 10 : A data request request, a meter manufacturing company protocol, etc.). A user can access a user via a predetermined port (e.g., a LAN port, a serial port, a JTAG, a USB port, or the like) using an application program (e.g., a user interface connection program) provided in advance via a computing means such as a portable computer or a desktop computer And can access the interface unit 150 to input the information.

The power supply unit 130, which is not described here, supplies driving power to the device server 100.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are exemplary diagrams showing a user interface screen for setting information necessary for driving the device server in FIG. That is, FIG. 2 is an example of a network setting screen of the user interface screen in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an example of an option setting screen of the user interface screen in FIG.

The user interface screen is a screen displayed on the computing means of the user. The control unit 110 receives at least one of the information and stores the received information in the memory 160 through the user interface unit 150. At this time, since the user interface screen is described as an example, it may be designed differently according to the remote meter-reading system.

When the meter server 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention is connected to a meter 10 installed in each customer and the device server 100 is connected to a power line Phase router 20 on the power line network 20 to be connected to the power line network set in the MAC / PHY (not shown) of the device server 100 by assigning the IP address supplied from the router 20.

4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a modem unit of a device server and a power line 3-phase router according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an exemplary diagram showing a configuration in the case where the modem unit is a power line modem.

When the modem unit 120 of the device server 100 is a power line modem, the power line modem 20 has the same configuration as the power line modem block (not shown) of the power line communication three-way router 20, A power line communication signal including a transformer 121, a line drive, an AFE, and a PHY-MAC, and from a single-phase power line branched from three phases, finds a good network by an application program provided for implementing the present invention, And a digital signal is transmitted from the power line communication three-phase router 20 through the hardware communication port 122 of the meter 10 connected to the device server 100 by the modulation / demodulation function (for example, Data request request) is transmitted to perform the remote meter reading function to achieve in the present embodiment.

On the other hand, the power line communication three-phase router 20 includes all the lines (R, S, T) supplied from a transformer (Trans) that receives high voltage from a high-voltage line to supply a household single-phase power source (AC 220V) A plurality of device servers 100 may be connected to a power line network provided by a power line communication technology by utilizing a switching technology of a PHY instead of providing a power line communication signal to only one device server 100 by a power line communication power packet .

Hereinafter, an overall operation performed by the device server 100 will be described.

The device server 100 according to the present embodiment may be connected to the outside of the meter 10 or integrated into the meter 10. Also, the device server 100 according to the present embodiment connects to the router 20 installed near the transformer (not shown) through the modem unit 120.

For example, in order to connect the modem unit 120 to the router 20, an IP is assigned to a PHY of a chip equipped with a TCP / IP function, and TCP / IP data transmitted from the router 20 Converts it into serial data, and sends the data to the meter (10). The serial data received from the meter 10 is converted into TCP / IP data.

If the modem unit 120 is a power line modem, a modulation scheme such as OFDM or DMT is used as a Power Line Communication Network (PLC) technology for loading a digital signal on a power line, So that communication is performed.

The control unit 110 of the device server 100 stores in the memory 160 a command for acquiring data from the meter 10 (e.g., a data request request, a protocol for each manufacturer). The command may be set by the user through the user interface unit 150 in advance. For example, if the manufacturer of the meter 10 is different and the instruction to acquire data from the meter 10 is different, the corresponding command can be input through the user interface unit 150 and reset.

The control unit 110 periodically transmits the command (e.g., a data request request, a protocol for each meter manufacturing company) to the meter 10 at a predetermined time interval in the memory 160 and outputs it to the meter 10 (Eg, electricity usage, instantaneous value, active power, reactive power, peak value, etc.).

The controller 110 converts the data received from the meter 10 into TCP / IP data and transmits the converted TCP / IP data to the router 20 through the modem unit 120 as a client function The router 20 searches the received TCP / IP data for the optimal path and transmits the TCP / IP data to the remote meter reading server 30 connected to the upper network (WAN) in a unicast manner.

Meanwhile, the device server 100 according to the present embodiment can connect at least one or more meters 10 to the same line in parallel. In this case, an ID for identifying each meter may be written separately and data of each meter may be sequentially . For example, when the device server 100 and the plurality of meters 10 are connected by the RS485 method, data can be acquired from a maximum of 32 meters.

The data transmitted from the device server 100 according to the present embodiment is transmitted to a router 20 (a router set as a destination by a fixed IP) and searches for an optimal route to the upper network (WAN) through the router 20 (For example, a remote meter reading server) 30 on which an application program (e.g., a remote meter reading program) is loaded. Conversely, when a power packet (for example, a request for requesting data of a specific meter) is transmitted from the remote meter reading server 30 through the router 20, the power packet is transmitted to all device servers connected on the same line It is transmitted only to the corresponding device server 100 set as the destination by the fixed IP.

In addition, the device server 100 according to the present embodiment can transmit its status and status information (i.e., status message) of the meter to the remote meter reading server 30 when the device server 100 is connected to the network through the modem unit 120 . At this time, the status message may be transmitted to the messenger function. In addition, the remote meter reading server 30 may access the desired specific meter 10 through the router 20 and the device server 100 as a client function.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a data transfer method of a device server for a meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, the control unit 110 of the device server 100 periodically fetches commands (e.g., data request requests, protocol for each manufacturer) stored in the memory 160 periodically ).

For example, the command is an instruction to periodically obtain data (e.g., electricity usage amount, instantaneous value, active power, reactive power, peak value, etc.) of the meter 10 for real-

Then, the control unit 110 selects the meter 10 from which data is to be acquired (S102).

For example, when a plurality of meters are connected to the device server 100 via the same communication line (e.g., a power line), one of the meters is selected to acquire data from the meters.

The controller 110 transmits the command fetched from the memory 160 to the selected meter 10 (S103).

For reference, the command transmitted from the device server 100 to the meter 10 is a serial data format that the meter 10 can recognize.

The meter 10 receiving the command outputs data corresponding to the command (data in a serial data format).

Accordingly, the control unit 110 acquires the serial data output from the meter 10 (S104) and converts the acquired data into the TCP / IP data format (S105).

The controller 110 transmits the converted data to the TCP / IP data format to the IP address of the remote meter reading server 30 (S106).

For example, the device server 100 transmits the data converted into the TCP / IP data format to the remote meter reading server 30 in a unicast manner. At this time, the data can be transmitted to the remote meter reading server 30 via the router 20, and the data includes information of the device server 100 and information of the corresponding meter.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a data transfer method of a device server for a meter according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6, the control unit 110 of the device server 100 receives the TCP / IP data transmitted from the remote meter reading server 30 (S201).

At this time, the TCP / IP data can be received from the remote meter reading server 30 via the router 20. When the communication line through which the TCP / IP data is transmitted is a power line, data transmitted and received through the device server 100 may be referred to as a power packet. The power packet (or TCP / IP data) received from the remote meter-reading server 30 may be a request for requesting data of a specific meter.

The controller 110 converts the TCP / IP data into a serial data format (S202).

In addition, the controller 110 analyzes the TCP / IP data and selects a specific meter to acquire data from the remote meter-reading server 30 (S203).

For example, the controller 110 may determine a specific meter to acquire data by using the ID information of the meter included in the TCP / IP data. Also, the TCP / IP data received from the remote meter reading server 30 may include IP address information of the target device server 100.

Then, the control unit 110 transmits the data converted into the serial data format to the selected specific meter (S204).

The meter 10 receiving the command outputs data corresponding to the command (data in a serial data format).

Thereafter, the operation described with reference to FIG. 5 is repeatedly performed.

That is, the control unit 110 acquires the serial data output from the meter 10 (S104), converts the acquired data into the TCP / IP data format (S105), and converts the data into the TCP / IP data format And transmits the data to the IP address of the remote meter-reading server 30 requesting the data (S106).

The control unit 110 notifies the remote meter reading server 30 of the status of the device server 100 itself and the status information of the meter 10 periodically . Accordingly, when a failure occurs in the meter 10 and the device server 100, the remote monitoring server 30 can respond immediately.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, instead of installing the data collection unit (DCU), the data output from the meter can be converted into TCP / IP data and transmitted to the remote meter reading server 30 in a unicast manner .

In the embodiment of the present invention, a specific command (a data request request which can be identified by the meter) is stored in advance in a memory as a HEX value, and the command is transmitted to the meter 10 at predetermined time intervals, The meter server 10 outputs the data and the device server 100 converts the data output from the meter 10 into the TCP / IP data by the client function and transmits it to the remote meter reading server 30 in a unicast manner .

In the embodiment of the present invention, the connection path information of the network to which the modem unit 120 of the device server 100 is connected is automatically transmitted to the remote meter reading server 30 at a designated time or when the connected network changes, And provides a path through which the individual meter 10 can be connected at the hour meter reading server 30. Accordingly, the remote meter-reading server 30 automatically collects the meter reading data by using the server function, and when the data is lost or when necessary, the remote meter reading device can remotely access the individual meters through the device server, Provides remote meter reading function of communication.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the connection with the meter having a different protocol for the remote meter reading can be performed without changing the firmware of the meter, without installing the upper data collection unit (DCU) So that it can be implemented.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, I will understand the point. Accordingly, the technical scope of the present invention should be defined by the following claims.

10: Meter 20: Router
30: remote meter reading server 100: device server
110: control unit 111: PHY connection unit
112: data conversion unit 120: modem unit
121: matching transformer 122: communication port
130: power supply unit 140:
150: user interface unit 160: memory

Claims (16)

A communication unit for connecting and communicating with the meter in a wired / wireless manner;
A modem unit connected to a TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) network for communication; And
Converts serial data received from the TCP / IP network to serial data and transmits the serial data to the meter through the modem unit, converts the serial data output from the meter to TCP / IP data through the communication unit, / IP network to a remote meter reading server of the IP network,
Wherein,
A command for acquiring data from the meter through the user interface unit, an IP address of the remote meter reading server, a period for transmitting data to the remote meter reading server, an IP address assigned to the device server, a subnet, a gateway address, (DNS), a connection environment of a serial communication port, an optional item, and a password setting information for access restriction, all of the information input through the user interface unit is stored in the memory, Acquires data by connecting to the meter, and transmits the acquired data to the remote meter reading server in a unicast manner,
Wherein the controller transmits the TCP / IP data including the IP information of the device server and the ID information of the meter to the TCP / IP data when the TCP / IP data is transmitted to the IP address of the remote meter reading server.
The communication apparatus according to claim 1,
Communicating with the meter in a wire / wireless communication manner,
Wherein the wired / wireless communication method includes at least one of IR (Infrared), RS232, RS485, and JTAG (Joint Test Action Group).
The apparatus of claim 1,
A PHY connection unit for connecting to the modem unit; And
And a data converter for converting the TCP / IP data into serial data or converting the serial data into TCP / IP data.
The apparatus of claim 1,
Wherein the modem is a modem connected to the TCP / IP network in at least one of a dedicated line communication, an optical communication, an optical communication multiple branch line communication, a power line communication, a short distance wireless communication, and a long distance wireless communication.
delete The apparatus of claim 1,
Transmitting a command for acquiring data from the meter to the meter in accordance with a preset cycle, converting the serial data output from the meter into the TCP / IP data format according to the command, And transmits it to the meter reading server in a unicast manner.
7. The apparatus of claim 6,
Converting the command into a serial data format when the command is received from the remote meter-reading server and analyzing the command to convert the command into a serial data format converted into the serial data format to a specific meter, And converting the serial data output from the meter according to the command into a TCP / IP data format and transmitting the converted serial data to the remote meter reading server via a TCP / IP network in a unicast manner. .
7. The apparatus of claim 6,
Detecting a state of the device server itself and state information of the meter according to a predetermined period, converting the state into the TCP / IP data format, and transmitting the converted state to the remote metering server through the TCP / IP network in a unicast manner. Device server for meters.
Periodically fetching an instruction previously stored in a memory by a control unit of the device server;
Selecting a meter from which the control unit will acquire data;
Transmitting the fetched command to the selected meter;
Acquiring serial data output from a corresponding meter to which the command is transmitted;
Converting the acquired data into TCP / IP data; And
And transmitting the converted TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server,
Wherein,
A command for acquiring data from the meter through the user interface unit, an IP address of the remote meter reading server, a period for transmitting data to the remote meter reading server, an IP address assigned to the device server, a subnet, a gateway address, (DNS), a connection environment of a serial communication port, an optional item, and a password setting information for access restriction, all of the information input through the user interface unit is stored in the memory, Acquires data by connecting to the meter, and transmits the acquired data to the remote meter reading server in a unicast manner,
Wherein the control unit transmits the TCP / IP data including the IP information of the device server and the ID information of the meter to the TCP / IP data when transmitting the TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server. Way.
The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein, in the step of transmitting the TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server, the controller transmits the TCP / IP data in a unicast manner Way.
delete 10. The method of claim 9,
The command is a data request request for periodically obtaining data of a meter for real-time remote meter reading,
Wherein the data of the meter includes at least one of electricity usage amount, instantaneous value, active power, reactive power, and peak value.
10. The method of claim 9,
The control unit detects the status of the device server itself and the status information of the meter according to a predetermined period, converts the status into the TCP / IP data format, and transmits the TCP / IP data format to the remote meter reading server via a TCP / IP network The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:
Receiving a command in a TCP / IP data format sent from a remote meter reading server by a control unit of the device server;
Converting the command into a serial data format;
Analyzing the command and selecting a specific meter to acquire data from the remote metering server;
Transmitting a command converted into the serial data format to the selected meter;
Acquiring serial data output from the meter to which the command is sent;
Converting the acquired serial data into a TCP / IP data format; And
And transmitting the converted TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server,
Wherein,
A command for acquiring data from the meter through the user interface unit, an IP address of the remote meter reading server, a period for transmitting data to the remote meter reading server, an IP address assigned to the device server, a subnet, a gateway address, (DNS), a connection environment of a serial communication port, an optional item, and a password setting information for access restriction, all of the information input through the user interface unit is stored in the memory, Acquires data by connecting to the meter, and transmits the acquired data to the remote meter reading server in a unicast manner,
When transmitting the TCP / IP data to the IP address of the remote meter reading server, the control unit transmits the TCP / IP data including the IP information of the device server and the ID information of the meter,
In the step of selecting a specific meter for which the data acquisition is desired,
Wherein the control unit analyzes the ID information of the meter included in the TCP / IP data and the IP address information of the device server to select the specific meter.
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