KR101881651B1 - Data concentration unit and method for operating the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a data concentrator and a method of operation thereof. To this end, the data concentrator of the present invention includes a communication unit including a power line communication module and a wireless communication module; And a control unit for receiving the first power meter data from the first watt-hour meter to the wired line and for controlling the communication unit to wirelessly receive the second power meter data from the second watt-hour meter, Sequentially searching wireless communication channels of wireless communication channels and second transmission power, classifying first communication candidate channels in descending order of noise level among wireless communication channels of first transmission power, The first wired communication channel and the second wired communication channel are selected to perform wireless communication with the second wired meter.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a data concentrator and a method of operating the same,

The present invention relates to a data concentrator and method of operation thereof, and more particularly to a data concentrator capable of supporting power consumption collection, console service, and IoT service utilizing a single wireless modem and an operation method thereof.

The intelligent remote meter reading infrastructure (AMI) system comprises a meter reading server 10, a data concentrator 20, a repeater 30 and a watt hour meter 40 (see FIG. 1). Here, the data concentrator 20 is a KS X4650-2-based wireless modem (a BCDMA modem (registered trademark)) for console communication for analyzing the operation state of the data concentrator 10 installed in the mobile terminal, ) Are used. To date, power line communication technology has been mainly used to collect metering data. However, as radio wave output power of 900MHz band has been upgraded from 10mW to 200mW, it is necessary to increase the meter reading range in various operating environments such as underground, Band modems will also be applied. In addition, other wireless modems will be applied to provide IoT services such as management of elderly people living alone, monitoring electric pole condition.

However, the data concentrator 20 used in the intelligent meter probe infrastructure may be a console service for collecting power consumption information of a low-voltage customer, a field check of a data concentrator and a firmware upgrade, an IoT service Should support. As shown in FIG. 2, the data concentrator 20 includes a PLC modem and a 900 MHz modem for collecting power consumption, and a BCDMA modem (not shown) is provided for console service such as setting, monitoring, Are modularized and mounted. In addition, data concentrators will add wireless modems to support IoT services, such as managing the elderly alone and monitoring power distribution poles in the future. As described above, since a separate modem is used for providing each service, the size of the data concentrator is increased, data processing of the data concentrator is complicated, and the price of the data concentrator is increased.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2016-0017331 (titled: remote meter reading server)

An object of the present invention is to provide a data concentrator capable of providing a more economical and efficient communication method in constructing an intelligent remote meter-reading infrastructure and an operation method thereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data concentrator comprising: a communication unit including a power line communication module and a wireless communication module; And a control unit for receiving the first power meter data from the first watt-hour meter to the wire and controlling the communication unit to wirelessly receive the second power meter data from the second watt-hour meter, And first communication candidate channels are sorted in descending order of noise level among wireless communication channels of the first transmission power, and the first communication candidate channels are classified into the first communication candidate channels and the second communication candidate channels, Wherein the controller is configured to perform wireless communication with the second watt-hour meter by selecting at least one first wireless communication channel among the channels, and the controller controls at least one of the management of the data concentrator, the firmware upgrade, And performs communication with a console device that performs one function All.

In addition, the control unit may control to perform wireless communication with the second watt-hour meter by periodically broadcasting a beacon frame to the first communication candidate channels and selecting a wireless communication channel selected from the second watt-hour meter receiving the beacon frame .

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The control unit classifies the second communication candidate channels in descending order of the noise level among the wireless communication channels of the second transmission power and selects at least one second wireless communication channel among the second communication candidate channels, So as to perform wireless communication.

In addition, the control unit can control the communication with the object Internet sensor unit supporting the object Internet service through the wireless communication module.

In addition, the controller may control wireless communication with the object internet sensor unit by selecting at least one third wireless communication channel among the first communication candidate channels.

The first wireless communication channel used for communication with the second watt-hour meter may be different from the third wireless communication channel used for communication with the object internet sensor unit.

A communication unit including a power line communication module and a wireless communication module according to the present invention for solving the above problems; And a control unit for receiving the first power meter data from the first watt-hour meter to the wire and controlling the communication unit to receive the second power meter data from the second watt-hour meter wirelessly, the method comprising: Sequentially searching wireless communication channels of the first transmission power and the second transmission power in the initial startup; Classifying the first communication candidate channels in descending order of the noise level among wireless communication channels of the first transmission power by the control unit; And selecting, by the control unit, at least one first wireless communication channel among the first communication candidate channels, wherein the control unit manages the data concentrator through the wireless communication module, And analyzing the meter reading data to perform communication with the console device performing at least one function.

The selecting of the first wireless communication channel may be performed by periodically broadcasting a beacon frame to the first communication candidate channels and selecting a wireless communication channel selected from the second watt-hour meter receiving the beacon frame.

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The step of controlling communication with the console device includes classifying the second communication candidate channels in descending order of the noise level among the wireless communication channels of the second transmission power; And selecting a second wireless communication channel of at least one of the second communication candidate channels.

In addition, the method of operating the data concentrator according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include the step of controlling, by the controller, to perform communication with the object Internet sensor unit supporting the object Internet service through the wireless communication module .

In addition, the step of controlling communication with the object internet sensor unit may be performed by selecting at least one third wireless communication channel among the first communication candidate channels.

The first wireless communication channel used for communication with the second watt-hour meter may be different from the third wireless communication channel used for communication with the object internet sensor unit.

According to the data concentrator and the operation method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention, not only the meter reading information can be collected by wire or wireless through one wireless communication module and one wired communication module, To simplify the operation process of the data concentrator and to minimize the size of the data concentrator than when using the individual radio modules.

In addition, according to the data concentration apparatus and the operation method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of wireless modules while supporting multiple connections, thereby reducing the cost of constructing an intelligent remote meter-reading infrastructure.

1 is a conceptual diagram of an intelligent remote meter reading infrastructure (AMI) system.
2 is a conceptual diagram of a data concentrator according to the prior art.
3 is a block diagram of a data concentrator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a graph illustrating a frequency band used for communication through a data concentrator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of connecting a data concentrator and a watt-hour meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a connection method between a data concentrator and a console device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a connection method between the data concentrator and the object Internet sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a beacon frame used for connection between a data convergence device and another configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, a repeated description, a known function that may obscure the gist of the present invention, and a detailed description of the configuration will be omitted. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shapes and sizes of the elements in the drawings and the like can be exaggerated for clarity.

Hereinafter, a data concentrator 100 and an operation method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

3 is a block diagram of a data concentrator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the data concentrator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is different from the conventional technology in which a plurality of modems corresponding to each configuration are required when performing wireless communication with a plurality of configurations, And performs control to implement communication with a plurality of configurations through the wireless communication module (121). That is, the data concentrator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be a console mode for communicating with the console device 60 when the meter concentrator 100 is normally in the meter reading mode for measuring the amount of electric power, And then converts the channel into a corresponding channel so as to perform wireless communication.

 The data concentrator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit 120 including one wireless communication module 121 and one power line communication module 122, And a control unit 110 for performing control of the control unit 110. In the following description, the controller 110 has been described as one configuration, but this is merely an example, and a plurality of modules may be separately implemented for each function.

The controller 110 controls the communication unit 120 to collect information from the plurality of configurations, that is, the watt-hour meters 40 and 50, the console unit 60, and the object internet sensor unit 70, Function. Here, the watt hour meter 40 transmits the first power meter data to the data concentrator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention by the PLC system, and the watt hour meter 50 calculates the second power meter data To the data concentrator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Further, although the watt hour meter 40 and the watt hour meter 50 are shown in different constructions, it is also possible to transmit the power meter reading data by wire and wireless in one watt hour meter. In addition, the control unit 110 performs radio frequency channel operation and multiple radio access control to perform communication with a plurality of configurations through one radio communication module 121. [

Generally, in the power industry, information is transmitted or collected over a specific frequency band. For example, in the power industry, information can be transmitted or received in the 900 MHz band as shown in FIG. Also, as can be seen in FIG. 4, it can be seen that the wireless communication channel is limited to two transmission power, that is, the first transmission power and the second transmission power. Here, it is assumed that the first transmission power is 10 mW and the second transmission power is 3 mW.

Accordingly, in order to efficiently use the operable channels, it is preferable to use the first transmission power service and the second transmission power service separately. That is, when performing the connection between the data concentrator 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention through the console device 60 in the field, the connection is performed in the vicinity of the data concentrator 100. [ That is, since the transmission distance may be shorter than the electric power meter reading or the object Internet service, it is effective to utilize the wireless communication channel of the second transmission power. In addition, since it is necessary to transmit the firmware image through the console device 60 and collect the data transmission log of the data concentrator 100, it is preferable to operate as an independent channel separately from the bandwidth measurement and the Internet service band. For example, if a wireless communication channel is configured as shown in FIG. 4, it is advantageous to utilize the 19th to 32th channel bands because the long-distance transmission is required for the measurement of the amount of electric power and the Internet service for objects.

5 to 7, a connection between the data concentrator 100 through the controller 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention and each configuration (i.e., a watt-hour meter, a console device, and an object internet sensor unit) A description of the method is provided.

5 is a flowchart of a connection method between the data concentrator 100 and the watt hour meter 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring now to FIG. 5, a connection method between the data concentrator 100 and the watt hour meter 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The connection method in the following description can be controlled by the control unit 110 of the data concentrator 100. [ Further, in the following description, it is assumed that the watt hour meter 50 is configured to include a wireless modem.

In step S101, the data concentrator 100 sequentially searches wireless communication channels of a predetermined band at the time of initial startup. Here, it is assumed that the preset band is 900 MHz and the wireless communication channel has 32 channels (i.e., the first wireless communication channel to the 32nd wireless communication channel). Also, as described above, the radio communication channel can be divided into two transmission power, that is, a first transmission power and a second transmission power.

In step S102, the data concentrator 100 transmits (transmits) the radio waves to the radio communication channels (for example, a channel having a low noise level) in the order of the first transmission power and the second transmission power And selecting a candidate channel.

Step S103 is a step performed by the data concentrator 100 selecting the communication candidate channel, and transmitting the beacon frame to the watt-hour meter 50. [ Here, the beacon frame may be composed of the identifier information of the data concentrator, the usage information of the wireless communication channel, the communication candidate channel information, the channel priority information, the PAN ID, and the like. In addition, the step S103 may be broadcast periodically, that is, according to a predetermined period.

In step S104, the watt-hour meter 50 selects a channel list having a good environment among the available channels for the meter reading purpose (i.e., the channel of the first transmission power) received via the beacon frame, I) to the data concentrator 100. The authentication concentrator 100 transmits the authentication request frame to the data concentrator 100. [ The data concentrator 100 allocates the corresponding channel received through step S104 to the first wireless communication channel for the watt-hour meter. Thereafter, in step S105, the authentication response message for the channel CH # I can be transmitted to the watt-hour meter 50 again.

Wireless channel allocation is performed through the above-described process, and the meter reading data is transmitted and received through the watt-hour meter 50 through steps S106 and S107.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a connection method between a data concentrator and a console device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 6, a connection method between the data concentrator 100 and the watt-hour meter 50 and the console device 60 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The connection method in the following description can be controlled by the control unit 110 of the data concentrator 100. [ In the following description, elements overlapping with those described with reference to FIG. 5 are omitted and explanations thereof are made.

Steps S203 and S204 are steps performed by the data concentrator 100 selecting the communication candidate channel, and transmitting the beacon frame to the watt-hour meter 50 and the console device 60. [ As described above, the beacon frame can be composed of the identifier information of the data concentrator, the usage information of the wireless communication channel, the communication candidate channel information for each use, the channel priority information, the PAN ID, and the like. In addition, steps S203 and S204 may be periodically broadcast, i.e., according to a predetermined period.

The steps of setting the first wireless communication channel and transmitting and receiving the meter reading data through steps S205 to S210 have been described in detail with reference to FIG. 5, and a further description thereof will be omitted.

In step S211, the console device 60 determines whether one of the available channels of the console application (that is, the channel of the second transmission power) received through the beacon frame, that is, one of the second communication candidate channels, In this example, CH # J) is selected.

Step S212 is a step performed after the channel selection by the console device 60. The step S213 is a step of performing an authentication request for the channel CH # J, and in step S213, To the console device (60).

In step S214, the data concentrator 100 allocates the corresponding channel received through step S212 to the second wireless communication channel for the console device 60. [ When the allocation process is completed, console data is transmitted and received through steps S215 and S216. That is, through the steps S215 and S216, the data concentrator 100 can connect to the console device 60 using the channel, and the console device 60 can transfer the firmware image to the data concentrator 100, Data collection log download, and the like.

In the above description, the steps of allocating the first wireless communication channel and the second wireless communication channel (S208 and S214) are performed after each response message is transmitted. However, this is only an example. It is also possible to transmit.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a connection method between the data concentrator and the object internet sensor unit 70 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described above, since the communication between the watt-hour meter 50 and the console device 60 uses different transmission power, a wireless communication channel of the first transmission power and a wireless communication channel of the second transmission power are used for efficiency. However, in the case of the object Internet sensor unit 70, it is preferable that the wireless communication is performed through the wireless communication channel of the first transmission power as in the watt hour meter 50. However, if the wireless communication channel used for communication with the object internet sensor unit 70 is the same as the wireless communication channel used for communication with the watt-hour meter 50, a collision or the like may occur or the communication efficiency may be lowered. Accordingly, the method for operating the data concentrator according to an embodiment of the present invention sets a first wireless communication channel for communication with the watt hour meter 50, and then transmits the first wireless communication channel to the object Internet sensor unit 70, That is, a third wireless communication channel, which is different from the communication channel.

7, a connection method between the data concentrator 100 and the watt-hour meter 50 and the object internet sensor unit 70 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The connection method in the following description can be controlled by the control unit 110 of the data concentrator 100. [ In the following description, elements overlapping with those described with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 are omitted and explanations are made.

Steps S303 and S304 are performed by the data concentrator 100 selecting the communication candidate channel, and transmitting the beacon frame to the watt-hour meter 50 and the object internet sensor unit 70. [ As described above, the beacon frame can be composed of the identifier information of the data concentrator, the usage information of the wireless communication channel, the communication candidate channel information for each use, the channel priority information, the PAN ID, and the like. Also, steps S303 and S304 may be periodically broadcast, i.e., according to a predetermined period.

The steps of setting the first wireless communication channel and transmitting and receiving the meter reading data through steps S305 to S311 have been described in detail with reference to FIG. 5, and a further explanation will be omitted.

In step S312, the object internet sensor unit 70 determines whether or not one of the available channels of the console application (i.e., the channel of the first transmission power) received through the beacon frame, that is, Channel (in this example, CH # K). As described above, since one channel (CH # I) of the first communication candidate channels is already allocated as a channel for the watt-hour meter 50, step S312 is performed to select the first communication candidate channel One of the channels can be selected.

Step S313 is a step performed after the channel selection by the object Internet sensor unit 70 and is a step of performing an authentication request for the channel CH #K. In step S314, And transmits the response message to the object internet sensor unit 70.

In step S315, the data concentrator 100 allocates the channel received through step S313 to the third wireless communication channel for the object internet sensor unit 70. [ When the allocation process is completed, console data is transmitted and received through steps S316 and S317. That is, through the steps S316 and S317, the data concentrator 100 can access the object internet sensor unit 70 using the corresponding channel, and the object internet sensor unit 70 can access the data concentrator 100 Living alone elderly living information, distribution electric pole status information, and the like.

8 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a beacon frame used for connection between a data convergence device and another configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8, the beacon frame includes a frame control field for identifying a message type, a beacon sequence number field for confirming a sequence number of a beacon frame, a source address field for confirming a beacon frame generator, A load field, and a frame check sequence field for confirming the integrity of the beacon frame. At this time, the source address field is an identifier for identifying the data concentrator, and can be used as a computerized numerical address (8 bytes) and a serial number (2 bytes).

The beacon payload field includes information on available data concentrator (DCU) channels such as period, channel usage, channel number, and priority. The wireless terminal can determine when the next beacon message is generated through the beacon period and change the sleep mode when the next beacon is not needed until the next occurrence of the beacon, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the wireless terminal. Through the channel use field and the channel number field, it is possible to know which channel is available for each service, and confirm a channel having a good communication environment with the data concentrator through the priority field.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 8, the console device 60 is configured such that CH # I and CH # K are used for meter reading, and CH # J and CH # L are used for console service . Also, the console device 60 can confirm that the communication environment of the data concentrator among CH # J and CH # L is better than CH # J is CH # L. Therefore, the console device 60 confirms the noise levels of CH # J and CH # L, selects a channel having a higher priority from the channels capable of communicating with the data concentrator, and transmits an authentication request frame to the data concentrator Be made

In addition, the above-described multiple wireless access method may vary depending on communication technology and implementation examples. Further, the multi-radio access method proposed by the present invention can be utilized in various fields such as an electric car, a demand reaction (DR) system as well as an intelligent remote meter-reading infrastructure.

As described above, an optimal embodiment has been disclosed in the drawings and specification. Although specific terms have been employed herein, they are used for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined in the claims or the claims. Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

100: Data Concentrator
110: control unit 120: communication unit
121: Wireless communication module 122: Power line communication module

Claims (14)

A communication unit including a power line communication module and a wireless communication module; And
And a control unit for receiving the first power meter data from the first watt-hour meter to the wired line and controlling the communication unit to receive the second power meter data from the second watt-
The control unit sequentially searches wireless communication channels of the first transmission power and the second transmission power at the time of initial startup and sequentially searches the wireless communication channels of the first transmission power for the first communication candidate And to control wireless communication with the second watt-hour meter by selecting at least one first wireless communication channel among the first communication candidate channels,
Wherein the control unit controls the communication unit to perform communication with at least one of the management of the data concentration device, the firmware upgrade, and the metering data analysis through the wireless communication module. The method according to claim 1,
The control unit controls to perform wireless communication with the second watt hour meter by periodically broadcasting a beacon frame to the first communication candidate channels and selecting a wireless communication channel selected from the second watt hour meter receiving the beacon frame Features a data concentrator. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the controller classifies the second communication candidate channels in descending order of the noise level among the wireless communication channels of the second transmission power and selects at least one second wireless communication channel among the second communication candidate channels, So as to perform wireless communication. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the controller controls to communicate with the object Internet sensor unit supporting the object Internet service through the wireless communication module. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the controller controls wireless communication with the object internet sensor unit by selecting at least one third wireless communication channel among the first communication candidate channels. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the first wireless communication channel used for communication with the second watt-hour meter is different from the third wireless communication channel used for communication with the object internet sensor unit. A communication unit including a power line communication module and a wireless communication module; And a control unit for receiving the first power meter data from the first watt-hour meter to the wired line and controlling the communication unit to wirelessly receive the second power meter data from the second watt-hour meter,
Sequentially searching for wireless communication channels of the first transmission power and wireless communication channels of the second transmission power at the initial startup by the controller;
Classifying the first communication candidate channels in descending order of the noise level among wireless communication channels of the first transmission power by the control unit; And
And selecting, by the control unit, at least one first wireless communication channel among the first communication candidate channels,
Further comprising controlling by the control unit to perform communication with a console device performing at least one of functions of managing the data concentrator, firmware upgrade, and analyzing meter reading data through the wireless communication module Method of operation of a concentrating device. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the selecting of the first wireless communication channel is performed by periodically broadcasting a beacon frame to the first communication candidate channels and selecting a wireless communication channel selected from a second watt-hour meter receiving the beacon frame A method of operating a data concentrator. delete 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the step of controlling communication with the console device comprises:
Classifying the second communication candidate channels in descending order of the noise level among the wireless communication channels of the second transmission power; And
And selecting at least one second wireless communication channel among the second communication candidate channels. 9. The method of claim 8,
Further comprising the step of controlling, by the control unit, communication with an object internet sensor unit supporting the object Internet service through the wireless communication module. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the step of controlling communication with the object internet sensor unit comprises:
And selecting at least one third wireless communication channel among the first communication candidate channels. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the first wireless communication channel used for communication with the second watt-hour meter and the third wireless communication channel used for communication with the object internet sensor unit are different from each other.

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