KR20010109229A - Image Based Meter reading system using image sensor and external integrator with intermittent power along by gas distribution pipe - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is an image metering system consisting of an image sensor installed along the gas pipe path and an external integrated aggregator for intermittent power supply.

According to the present invention, an image sensor attached to the upper part of various meters, such as a gas meter, an electric meter, a water meter, a calorimeter, and a hot water meter, installed in each customer, receives a request for remote meter reading from a billing processing computer, and integrates each of the corresponding meters. When the number plate is photographed and the corresponding image data is transmitted to an external integrated counting machine (MRT, numeric recognition and transmission device), the external integrated counting machine processes and digitizes the image data.

According to the present invention, after reading numerical data for each utility, the remote meter reading system transmits the result of each meter reading to the billing processing server of each designated utility supplier (gas, electricity, water, hot water, heat supplier) through wired / wireless public network. To provide.

The utility provider can solve the problem of remote meter reading of all utilities by using a single standard solution. It can be used as a basic data for billing by periods by being provided with accurate and accurate usage information for each period, and each customer can check their utility usage and fee information all the time.

Description

Image-based meter reading system using image sensor and external integrator with intermittent power along by gas distribution pipe}

The present invention relates to a remote meter reading system using an image sensor, and more particularly, an image sensor attached to each of various meters such as a gas meter, a water meter, an electric meter, a hot water meter, and a calorimeter installed in each consumer. In response to a request for remote meter reading from a computer, the integrated numerical plate of each meter is photographed with an image sensor, and the corresponding image data is processed by the MRT, and only the numerical data is charged through the public communication network. When transmitting to the processing server, MC reprocesses the received numerical data and stores it for each utility, and the meter reading result for each customer is sent to the billing processing server of each designated utility supplier (gas, electricity, water, hot water, heat supplier). The present invention relates to an integrated telemetering technology for batch transmission via a package.

The conventional method of using the telephone line as the communication line among the remote metering systems has the advantage that it is easy to install, but when the system is expanded, the exchange matching device is enlarged and the subscriber matching device must be operated by calling each customer every time the reading is performed. If the meter reading speed is slow, and the user cannot use the meter when using the telephone, the subscriber matching device does not have a display device for the user. There is a hassle to check, and there is a flaw that can't quickly cope with time-differentiated tariffs.

In addition, the method of using the power line as a communication medium is a technology of transmitting the stored meter reading data when a transmission request signal of usage data is input, and is a defect in the technology of communicating meter reading data using an existing telephone line as a communication medium. In order to solve the problem or to communicate the meter reading data from the meters installed in each consumer, cumbersome devices and methods such as hardware devices and software are required, which imposes an economic burden on the user.

In addition, these methods have the following problems.

first ; There is a problem in that the meter reading has to be performed with a unique solution for each method and a utility for implementing the remote metering (adoption technology from the meter to the billing server).

second ; There is a cost burden on customers due to the need to replace the meter or to install additional equipment on the meter.

third ; Since the meter structure is different and the metering technology is different according to the property of the utility, each utility needs to have a separate metering facility. Therefore, from the standpoint of operating the billing server, one operator cannot run various types of utility metering business. There is this.

The present invention for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems

The primary purpose is to provide a utility provider with the usage and fee information of each customer quickly and accurately by remote metering all the utilities in the same way in a single standardized manner.

The second object is to independently solve the problem of transmission of power and meter readings, which are supplied to the metering devices commonly held in the related art, without burdening each customer's facility.

The third purpose is to provide each customer with an information service that can check their utility usage and billing information at all times.

The fourth object is to economically transmit the reading results of multiple subscribers at a time by using the short message service (SMS) function of the wireless / wireless public network. This is fundamentally different from attaching a meter reading and communication device to an image sensor, which is a problem of the conventional method. In the present invention, the image sensor has only a minimum of individual functions, and most common functions (image processing, power supply, and transmission of recognition values) are implemented in one common equipment (MRT), thereby improving reliability of the entire system and maintaining total and Significantly reduce administrative costs

1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an image reading system composed of an image sensor connected to a gas pipe path according to the present invention and an external integrated accumulator (hereinafter referred to as MRT, meter number recognition and transmission device) for intermittent power supply.

Figure 2 is a plane, side, perspective view of an image sensor according to the present invention

3 is a representative exemplary block diagram of a meter wiring installation shape according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

10: meter 20: video detection cable

11: Image sensor 21: Camera

12: meter selector 22: lighting device

13: network 23: meter canopy

14: external integrated counting unit 24: image sensor housing

(MRT, meter number recognition and transmitter) 30: Meter selector for stepped apartments

15: billing computer 31: meter selector for corridor apartment

16: metering center 32: townhouse selector

Features of the present invention for achieving the above object

Through the modular line connected to the gas pipeline unique to the present invention at the same time to solve the power and communication, and in accordance with the metering request command to the remote meter reading system to remotely read the value accumulated in the various meters installed in each customer In order to photograph the number plates of the various meters 10 installed in each customer, the plurality of image sensors 11 and the image sensors attached to each of the image sensors receive a remote reading request command to photograph the integrated number plates of each meter installed in the corresponding customers. One image data is collected through the modular network 13 unique to the present invention, and the MRT 14 interprets and digitizes it and transmits the processed image information and numerical information to the billing processing computer 15 through the wired / wireless public network. The billing processing server 15 processes this and generates billing data and updates the DB for each utility company.

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

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an image reading system consisting of a camera connected to the gas pipe path of the present invention and the MRT to supply intermittent power.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes various meters such as a gas meter, an electric meter, a water meter, a hot water meter, and a calorimeter installed in each customer.

(11) is a small image camera and lighting device connected to the modular line installed in each consumer as an image sensor, so that the number plate of various meters can be photographed, and the intermittent power is supplied to the camera and the lighting device only during measurement. It also has a canopy that covers half of the meter's number plate for visual inspection by the meter reader. The camera of the image sensor operates under the control of a billing computer, which will be described later, and transmits the photographed meter digital image data to the MRT 14.

Denoted at 12 is a meter selector arranged in each consumer meter group, the device selects the meter according to the metering request command of the billing server, and delivers the command to the image sensor 11 accurately. There are various construction methods according to the structural characteristics of the consumer group, but there are typical meter selectors for stepped apartments (30), meter selectors for corridor apartments (31), and meter selectors for townhouses (32). There are various meter selectors.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a modular line unique to the present invention, in which an individual image sensor simplifies line wiring by allowing only one image sensor to be selected at a time.

(14), as the MRT, controls the meter selector (MS) 12, which is controlled by the remote billing server and controlled through the network 13, to perform the work ('work and rework'), the main task of which is Is

First, to recognize the meter reading image data sent by the meter selector 12

Second, transmitting the processed numerical data to the billing server using a public communication network

Third, power is supplied only to the camera 21 and the lighting device 22 of the image sensor 11 when photographing.

Numeral 15 denotes a charging processing server constructed by a predetermined program to perform remote meter reading, and is the central control apparatus of the present invention.

It requests remote meter reading to each customer's meter and receives normal information (image information and numerical information) processed by MRT 14 through wired / wireless public network and performs secondary processing (billing data generation by customer and DB by customer). Updater and image analysis determined to be error).

(16) is a billing server (15) and a central management unit (MC) including the customer database (Metering Center) to produce the billing data (per customer / period / time period) for the customer (utility supplier).

The first effect is to use a single standard solution to remotely read all of the above utilities in the same manner so that utility providers can quickly and accurately provide usage and pricing information for each customer.

The second effect is to independently solve the problem of transmission of the power supply to the meter reading device which the conventional method has in common and the reading result without burdening each customer's facility.

The third effect is to provide each customer with an information service that can check their utility usage and billing information at all times.

The fourth effect is that, in the case of wired and wireless public networks, in particular, it is possible to economically transmit meter reading results of multiple subscribers at a time by using a short message service (SMS) function of a wireless communication network. This is fundamentally different from attaching a meter reading and communication device to an image sensor, which is a problem of the conventional method.

The fifth effect is that in the present invention, the image sensor has only a minimum of individual functions, and most common functions (image processing, power supply, and recognition value transmission) are implemented in one common equipment (MRT), thereby ensuring the reliability of the entire system. Significantly reduce upgrades and total maintenance and management costs.

The sixth effect is that when the image sensor devised in the present invention is applied to the water meter, it is possible to measure and detect leaks, thereby contributing to the saving of water resources of the water supply source.

Claims (3)

A metering system comprising a method of connecting a power sensor and a signal through a modular line by constructing a gas pipe along a path connecting a simple function metering sensor and a complex function MRT. In the meter reading system of claim 1, in the case of the image reading sensor, the scan power is only supplied to the camera which is a simple image sensor. At this time, power on camera and lights The device attached to the various meters by metering and supplying power from a separate MRT used in claim 1 is composed of a simple function camera, lighting and connecting lines only, and has a window that can be visually read directly from a consumer instrument. A structure that enables manual meter reading in MRT without visiting.