KR20020062709A - A distant checking device by telephone for the amount of electric power, gas, water etc - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: Provided is a remote meter reading device for gas and hot water by reading light and dark concentration with the photo-sensor, converting the red numerical value to tone pulse by microcomputer and double frequency DTMF and sending it to the double frequency DTMF of the reading organization using telephone line in ARS system. CONSTITUTION: The device comprises: a remote meter reading instrument(C) containing a double frequency DTMF and a microcomputer, being installed at the top of the cover(12); a photo-sensor(9), which is connected to the microcomputer of the above meter reading instrument(C) and is placed inside the cover(12); and a meter(10) and the numerical board(11) for reading by the light and black concentration or their width and narrowness.

Description

A distant checking device by telephone for the amount of electric power, gas, water etc}

The present invention relates to a remote meter reading device using a telephone that reads the amount of electricity, water or gas using an optical sensor and transmits it to a meter reading engine with a two-frequency composite numeric transceiver (DTMF).

In the past, a person in charge visited to inspect monthly usage of electricity, water, and gas of each household or company, but the meter reading method is a premodern method, and the burden of labor cost due to meter reading Occurred a lot.

Although the remote meter reading method has been known to improve the meter reading method, this method has a lot of inconvenience in management, such as a high installation cost and frequent failures, the light sensor reflecting surface on the meter wheel The method of accumulating the pulse signal quantity and reading the meter, or by reading light through the hole on one side of the wheel on which the value is recorded, requires a continuous supply of electricity. Especially, in case of power failure or when the battery is completely exhausted, there are many disadvantages due to failure to accumulate the pulse signal value, which is a change value, and the numerical area of the counter pulse of the totalizer which improved the above method is scanned by the image sensor (CCD camera). In addition, a method has been developed for converting a photographed integrated digital numeric image into a numeric code by a character recognition module. It was an optical system carrying a lot of installation costs required a lot of power loss problems for passing a number to the image sensor.

The present invention was devised to solve the above problems, and the gist of the present invention is that the DTMF embedded in the remote meter (C) on the receiving side when the meter reading command is transmitted from the meter reading engine (A) through the DTMF (2) by the ARS method of the telephone. (7) receives this and operates the optical sensor (B) through the microcomputer (8) to inform the microcomputer (8) of the read reflection value from the unit to the unit of ten thousand. The value is calculated by numerical value and the value is transferred from DTMF (7) to DTMF (2) of meter reading engine (A) by telephone. Remote meter (C) attached to receiving meter (10) has DTMF (7) and micro The computer 8 is built-in, the micro sensor 8 is connected to the optical sensor 9 which inputs code numbers such as electricity, water and gas into the DTMF 7, and reads the light and dark of the number plate 11, Each unit of the meter 10 is stepped into a partition thickness between the units. The five levels from 10,000 to 10,000 are separated from each other, and the numbers from 0 to 9 of each unit are arranged with black and white contrasts, and the contrast varies according to the shape of each number, so that the number plate is compensated for. (11) is made not to be a straight line, but to be formed in a lump, and the number of black spots and white spots may be displayed differently instead of the contrast of the number plate (11).

In addition, the present invention is to reduce the power loss by reducing the power loss, so that not only the remote meter reading, but also the meter reader can be read directly with the naked eye.

1 is a perspective view of the present inventor remote meter installed on the meter

2 is an open perspective view of FIG. 1

3 is an exemplary view of the meter reading plate of the meter

4 is a remote meter reading system using a telephone

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

A-reading instrument B-meter meter C-remote reading instrument

1-answering machine (ARS) 2-2 frequency composite numeric transceiver (DTMF)

3-computer 4-printer 5-telephone line 6-telephone

7-2 Frequency Synthetic Numeric Transceiver (DTMF) 8-microcomputer (μ-computer)

9-light sensor 10-meter 11-digit

12-lid

This will be described in detail based on the drawings.

Remote meter (c), which is assigned a separate code number according to the metering item such as electricity, water, and gas, is installed in the meter lid 12, in which the DTMF (7) and the microcomputer (8) Built-in and also equipped with an optical sensor (9) to read the value and the number plate 11 of the meter (10) is distinguished by the thickness of the partition formed between each unit of five stages from the unit to ten thousand units The base of the number plate 11 forms a reflective surface so that the light sensor 9 can read the contrast, and the number plate 11 can be rotated to distinguish the numbers from 0 to 9 for each unit. As formed so as to have a ring shape, the rotating numeral plate 11 displays a number from 0 to 9, which can be directly read by the naked eye as well as “A” of FIG. 3 for remote reading by the optical sensor 9. Distinguish the dial (11) by black and white contrast, White numbers are displayed on the background and black numbers are displayed on the white background from 5 to 9 so that the light sensor (9) can be distinguished by black and white contrast when reading the numbers. By compensating the light and dark portions according to the shape of the number, the black and white pattern formed in the diagonal direction is not a straight line, but becomes a painful curved shape.

In the method of "B" of FIG. 3, 0 to 9 numbers are displayed in black on a white background, but 0 on the upper side has many black spot marks and 9 on the lower side shows fewer black spots, and "C" of FIG. Instead of the numeral display, "0" is one black spot, "1" is two black spots, "2" is three black spots, "3" is four black spots, "4" is five black spots, "5" represents one white point, "6" represents two white points, "7" represents three white points, "8" represents four white points, and "9" represents five white points. The optical sensor 9 was made readable. The optical sensor 9 is composed of two sets of lamps that emit light and lamps that absorb light.

Here's how it works.

1) A metering institution (A) such as electricity, water, and gas makes a metering call to an answering machine (AR) on a billing merchant (B) on a set metering date every month. In the meter reading engine A, a meter reading command is arbitrarily determined. (E.g. water 123, electricity 456, gas 789)

2) The telephone of the customer (home, office, factory, etc.) (B) rings and at the same time, the DTMF (7) and the microcomputer (8) built in the remote meter (C) are activated.

3) The DTMF (2) of the meter reading engine (A) (for example, randomly assigns a code number of 123 for water, 456 for electricity, and 789 for gas) sends the above-mentioned randomly determined reading command number as a tone pulse. Accordingly, the DTMF 7 and the microcomputer 8 in the remote meter reader C on the consumer side B receive this tone pulse signal, and when the signal transmitted is 123, the microcomputer 8 receives an optical sensor 9 on the water meter reader. ) And the remaining electricity 456 or gas 789 is a number that does not match the magnetic code by identifying the microcomputer 8 so that the light sensor 9 is turned into black and white contrast formed on the reflecting surface of the number plate 11. Doesn't work. At the same time, the ARS will send the call to ARS via automated message (Hello, I'm reading the water. You can cut it. Thank you.) At this time, the B's phone is in a call state.

4) As described above, the microcomputer 8 of the customer B who is instructed to read the water meter operates the optical sensor 9. The optical sensor 9 is a black and white contrast formed on the reflecting surface of the number plate 11, and reads the five-level reflection value from single to ten thousand units and informs the microcomputer 8 again. Calculate

Ex) Read value is single unit 2 × 1

If 10 units are 3 × 10, then the meter

One hundred units would be 8 × 100 99,832.

Thousands × 9 × 1,000

10,000 units 9 × 10,000

5) Since 99,832, which is the final calculated value of the microcomputer 8, is notified to the DTMF (7) in the remote meter (C), the value of 99,832 is sent to the DTMF (2) of the meter reading engine (A).

6) The meter reading institution (A) receives this and prints out the invoice according to the usage amount of the customer (B). In the remote meter reading device as described above, the power required is to use the power supplied from the telephone station to the telephone line 5.

In addition, when a general call is received from a customer who does not need a meter reading, the light sensor does not work because there is no code number.

The present invention as described above may use ultrasonic waves or magnetics instead of the optical sensor 9, in the case of using ultrasonic waves, instead of the light and dark of the number plate 11 of the meter 10, as shown in FIG. If the sensor is formed and detected by ultrasonic waves, and the magnetic is used, the difference in the magnetic force may be detected by returning the magnetic force as shown in FIG. 3.

As described above, the present invention reads the amount of electricity, water, and gas with the optical sensor 9 installed in the meter, and then calculates this value in decimal from the microcomputer 8 built in the remote meter C. Since it is a remote meter reading device using a telephone which transmits to the meter reading authority A through the telephone line 5, it is simple and inexpensive to install. In addition to the economic advantages, there is a practical utility that can be read by the meter readers with the naked eye.

Claims (3)

A remote frequency meter (C) incorporating a two-frequency composite numeric transceiver (DTMF) 7 and a microcomputer 8 is installed above the meter lid 12 and an optical sensor 9 inside the lid 12. Is installed, the optical sensor 9 is configured to be connected to the microcomputer 8 of the remote meter (C) and remote meter reading using a telephone, characterized in that to read the number plate 11 contrast of the meter 10 Device. The remote meter reading device using a telephone according to claim 1, wherein the width of black and white light and shade formed on the number plate (11) of the meter (10) is light and narrow. The remote meter reading device using a telephone according to claim 1, characterized in that the number plate (11) of the meter (10) has a difference in concentration between black and white light and dark.