KR20050118748A - System and method for inspecting of a meter for weighing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a meter reading system and method for reading the current month's instructions, the current usage of the meter, and issuing a bill according to the current month's guidelines.

The meter meter reading system according to the present invention includes a meter having a built-in RF ID chip in which a meter ID, which is an identification code for identifying a meter, is recorded, and an RF ID reader unit for reading the meter ID from the RF ID chip in an RF manner. It characterized in that it comprises a hand terminal having an input unit for receiving the current month's instructions from the meter reader to read, the calculation processing unit for calculating the usage fee according to the current month's instructions, and a printer for outputting a bill in which the usage fee is recorded.

Description

Meter reading system and method {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INSPECTING OF A METER FOR WEIGHING MACHINE}

The present invention relates to a meter reading system and method, and more particularly, to a meter reading system and method for reading the current month's instructions, the current usage of the meter and issuing a bill according to the current month's guidelines.

Referring to the operation of the conventional meter reading system and the bill issuing process as follows.

Step 1: The meter reader or apartment security guard walks through the household, investigates the current month's instructions (accumulated use up to the current month), writes the current month's instructions to the hand or hand terminal, and then returns to the head office or the competent office. Come back.

Step 2: The head office or competent business office enters the current month's instructions using the computer terminal provided here.

Step 3: Using the current month's guidelines entered, calculate the current month's usage in comparison with the previous month's guidelines (accumulated use up to the previous month) and issue a corresponding notice.

Step 4: The issued bills will be mailed to each household or the meter reader will return to each household and deliver the issued bill directly.

However, when using the conventional method as described above, since the meter reader uses the metering method of inputting the current instructions into the handwriting or the hand terminal while traveling through each household, there is a problem that the current instructions may be incorrectly recorded due to the mistake of the meter reader. . In addition, due to the moral hazard of the meter readers there was a problem that can be input randomly without meter reading without a generational visit. This is because the meter reads the expected amount of use without having to visit each month by using similar electricity / water / gas usage every month for each household. Therefore, due to this, the wrong usage fee is imposed and causes a complaint and causes distrust of the meter reading administration. Accordingly, the cost used for the meter reading is a factor of national waste.

In addition, the conventional method does not process at the time of the usage survey and bill issuance at least twice, so that the meter readers have the inconvenience of having to visit two times for each household for the survey of cumulative usage and the bill issuance. But this has caused a problem that increases the labor and costs consumed.

Therefore, recently, in order to solve this problem, a digital meter with a remote data transmission device is installed in each electricity / water / gas meter as a remote meter reading method, and the meter reader does not visit the meter one by one. A method of calculating the usage fee using the transmitted numerical value by transmitting the read meter data to a remote server has been proposed.

However, in the case of the remote meter reading method described above, the economic burden of replacing all existing meters already installed or the installation of auxiliary equipment (wiring transmission equipment, etc.) other than the meter is large, and an error may occur in the process of transmitting the read data values. In addition, due to the infrastructure construction and line failure due to the installation of such a digital meter, there is a problem that may be the case that the wrong meter reading or reading is impossible. In addition, even if the inconvenience of having to visit each customer for meter reading disappears, it is necessary to visit and check the meter customer regularly for the management and inspection of the meter, which is a national asset. Since the drastically increased compared to the conventional meter may require a manpower for additional meter management.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a meter reading system and method in which the meter reader cannot input the cumulative use of the current month without each meter visit. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a meter reading system and method for preventing the meter reader from entering the amount of usage without directly visiting the meter of the consumer.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a meter reading system and method capable of meter reading and bill issuance in the field with a single site visit of the meter reader.

In order to achieve the above object, the meter reading system according to the present invention is a meter reading system that reads the current month's instructions of the current month of the meter and issues a bill according to the current month's instructions, the meter ID being an identification code for identifying the meter. A meter with a built-in RF ID chip, an RF ID reader unit that reads the meter ID from the RF ID chip in an RF manner, an input unit for receiving current instructions from the meter reader that reads the meter, and a usage fee according to the current instructions. And a hand terminal having an arithmetic processing unit and a printer for outputting a bill in which the usage fee is recorded.

Preferably, the hand terminal further comprises a charge accounting table for storing charge calculation information including a usage fee according to the unit usage. In addition, the hand terminal stores processing results for the meter visited by the meter and the meter reading and billing statement, which store meter information including the meter ID, the address of the customer where the meter is installed, and the name of the payer. Further comprising a communication unit for transmitting, the meter reading system includes a local meter database for storing the meter information for a plurality of meters installed in a predetermined area, the terminal receiving the processing result from the communication unit and stored in the local meter database It further includes a device. In addition, the meter reading system includes a wide meter database for storing the meter information for a plurality of meters installed throughout the wide area, and further comprises a server device for receiving the processing results from the terminal device to store in the wide meter database It is preferable.

In addition, in order to achieve the above another object, the meter reading method according to the present invention, the built-in RF ID chip recorded the meter ID, which is an identification code for identifying the meter and the current usage amount for the meter installed for each customer A meter reading method that reads the current month's instructions and issues a bill according to the current month's instructions, comprising: a first step of reading the meter ID from the RF ID chip in an RF manner; a second step of receiving the current month's instructions from the meter reading meter The third step of calculating the usage fee according to the current month's instructions, the meter information from a predetermined storage unit storing the meter information including the meter ID, the address of the customer where the meter is installed, and the name of the payer, with the read meter ID as a key; And a fifth step of printing the calculated usage fee and meter information on the bill. And, it characterized in that the fourth step is carried out independently of the second step and the third step of the sequence.

Preferably, prior to the first step, a first fee information for calculating usage fee information including a usage fee for each unit of use is provided for the entire regional area jurisdiction of the meter in comparison with the amount of guidance guided in the previous month and the supply amount of the whole regional area. The method further includes a first step and a second step of receiving and storing the fee information, and in the third step, the fee is calculated based on the fee information. Further, before the first step, the meter may further include steps 1 to 3 that receive meter information about the meter to be visited and store it in the storage unit, and after the first step, store the time of reading the meter ID. It further comprises steps 1-4. Further, after the fifth step, the method further includes a fifth step of storing the time of printing the usage fee and the meter information on the bill, and further comprising transmitting and storing the meter reading and the processing result of the bill. It is desirable to further include six steps.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the advantages, features and preferred embodiments of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram of a meter reading system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the meter reading system according to the present invention includes a meter 10 having an RF ID chip 11 on which an ID of a meter is recorded, an RF ID reader unit for reading a meter ID from an RF ID chip; It includes a hand terminal 20 having a printer, a terminal device 30 and a server device 50 to communicate with the hand terminal 20 in a wired or wireless manner.

The meter 10 according to the present invention is a meter installed in each consumer, so that the RF ID chip 11 is built into the main body constituting the meter like a lid. The RF ID chip is a chip in which a meter ID, which is an identification code of a corresponding meter, is recorded. If the RF ID chip 11 is detachably provided to the meter 10, the meter reader removes the RF ID chip 11 attached to the meter 10 and then uses it without visiting each household. Can be input arbitrarily. Therefore, in order to prevent such a problem from occurring, the meter according to the present invention is configured to embed an RF ID chip in a part of a lid or the like constituting the meter 10.

In addition, by using the RF ID chip 11 to recognize the meter, it is possible to read the meter ID only by approaching a short distance without directly contacting the RF ID chip and the RF ID reader of the hand terminal 20. Therefore, in general, the RF ID chip 11 can be easily read on a building structure of Korea where the water / gas / electric meter 10 is installed in a corner and a narrow area.

The hand terminal 20 according to the present invention is a device for the meter reader to input the current month's instructions of the meter and output a bill, and includes a printer for outputting an RF ID reader and a bill for reading the meter ID of the RF ID chip 11. Equipped. The hand terminal 20 also includes a memory for storing information about the meter to be visited by the meter reader and the billing information. Specifically, the hand terminal 20 reads the meter ID recorded on the RF ID chip 11 to identify the meter 10 and receives the current month's instructions from the meter reader. In addition, the hand terminal 20 immediately outputs / issues a bill through a printer using the inputted month's instructions, and the processing result of the current month's instructions and the issued bill is issued through the wired / wireless communication network. 50) to update. The hand terminal 20 according to the present invention is provided with a communication unit for transmitting the processing result to the terminal device (30).

The terminal device 30 according to the present invention is a computer terminal installed in each station, which is provided between the server device 50 and the hand terminal 20 to mediate data transmission, and provides information on the meter of the area that the station has jurisdiction over. That is, a local meter database 31 for storing local meter information is provided.

The server device 50 according to the present invention manages and operates the wide area meter information and the usage status according thereto, and includes a wide area meter database 51 for storing the wide area meter information.

2 is a block diagram of a hand terminal according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the hand terminal 20 according to the present invention includes an arithmetic processing unit 21, an input unit 22, a display unit 23, an RF ID reader unit 24, a printer 25, and a memory. Part 29 is included.

The RF ID reader 24 is a component that reads the meter ID of the RF ID chip 11 embedded in the meter 10, and the input unit 22 is a component that receives the current month's instructions from the meter reader. In addition, the calculation processing unit 21 is a component that calculates the current month's fee based on the current month's instructions of the meter. Specifically, the calculation processing unit 21 extracts information about the corresponding meter from the visiting meter database 27 of the memory unit 29 using the meter ID recognized by the RF ID reader unit 24, and inputs it from the meter reader. The current month's usage fee is calculated by referring to the current month's instructions and the fee calculation table 26 of the memory unit 29. The calculation processing unit 21 transmits the output request signal of the bill to the printer 25 together with the calculated current month usage fee.

The display unit 23 is a component that displays the operation state and output data of the hand terminal 20 to the meter reader, and may use a liquid crystal display device or the like. In addition, the printer 25 receives the current month usage fee and bill output request signal from the arithmetic processing unit 21, and the information (address, payer's name, delinquent details, etc.) of the meter and the calculated current month usage fee are included in the bill. Output At this time, the customer information is information extracted from the visit meter database 27. The communication unit 40 is a component that communicates with an external terminal in a wired or wireless manner, and transmits the processing result (the current month's instructions and a bill issuance result, etc.) by the hand terminal 20 to the terminal device 30.

The memory unit 29 includes a temporary storage unit 28, a charge calculation table 26 and a visiting meter database 27 for storing information about the meter that the meter reader wants to visit. The temporary storage unit 28 temporarily stores the current month's instructions input by the meter reader or temporarily stores the result processed by the calculation processing unit 21. The charge calculation table 26 is a storage unit for storing information which is referred to when the calculation processing unit 21 calculates a fee with respect to each meter, and stores information such as a basic fee and a usage fee according to the usage amount. For example, the unit price per ton stores information such as commercial unit price (for example, 300 won / 1 ton), and household unit price (for example, 500 won / 1 ton).

The visit meter database 27 according to the present invention is a storage unit for storing information about the meter to be visited by the meter reader, an example of which is shown in FIG. 3. The visit meter database will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is an illustration of a visit meter database in accordance with the present invention. As shown in Fig. 3, the visited meter database 27 according to the present invention includes a meter ID which is an identification code for identifying each meter, a management position of the meter, an installation place, user information (information for bill payment), and a payer. The type of usage (use type), the previous month's instructions, current month's instructions, usage fee, meter ID reading time, bill issuance and bill issuance time. Here, the previous month's instructions are stored the instructions read by the meter reader in the previous month, the current month's instructions are stored directly input the current month's instructions entered by the reader. In addition, the usage fee is the amount calculated by the arithmetic processing unit 21 according to the current month's instructions, and the meter ID reading time is the RF ID chip 11 of the meter 10 by the RF ID reader 24 of the hand terminal 20. Indicates the time when the meter ID is read. In addition, the bill issuance unit indicates whether the bill is issued through the printer 25 after inputting the current month's instructions, and the bill issuing time indicates the bill issuing time through the printer. The bill issuance can be manually input by the meter reader or automatically checked when the bill is printed through the printer. In addition, the meter ID reading time and the bill issuing time are automatically stored by the timer in the hand terminal 20 when reading the meter ID through the RF ID reader and printing the bill through the printer.

Referring to each of the data shown in Fig. 3, the first data (meter ID: XXXX4321) is a state in which the meter inputs instructions for the current month and a bill is issued, and the meter ID is read at 10:20 on June 10, 2004. This is an example of a bill issued at 10:22 on the same day. In addition, the second (meter ID: XXXX4322) and the third data (meter ID: XXXX4323) represent a state in which the meter reading has not yet been performed.

4 is a flowchart of a meter reading process according to the present invention. Referring to Figure 4, it will be described with respect to the meter reading process according to the present invention.

The server device 50 according to the present invention calculates a criterion for calculating the usage fee by interlocking the customer asset accounting program (ST100). In this case, the usage fee calculation standard includes a usage fee for each usage, and may include a basic fee. In addition, the usage fee for each usage in the ST100 stage is calculated by comparing the total amount of the guided amount from each consumer in the corresponding regional area with the total energy supplied to each consumer (water, gas, electricity, etc.).

The usage fee information calculated by the server device 50 is received and stored by the terminal device 30 (ST105).

The hand terminal 20 according to the present invention downloads and stores meter information of a region to be visited by the meter reader from the terminal device 30 (ST110). Specifically, among the meter information of the corresponding region stored in the local meter database 31 of the terminal device 30, information of the meter to be visited by the meter reader is transmitted, and the transmitted meter information is the visited meter database 27 of the hand terminal 20. ) In addition, the hand terminal 20 downloads the fee information from the terminal device 30 and updates the fee calculation table 26 (ST115). Steps ST110 and ST115 are performed in any order.

The meter reader has a hand terminal 20 and visits the meter of each customer, and brings the hand terminal 20 to the meter to be metered. The RF ID reader 24 reads the ID of the meter from the RF ID chip 11 embedded in the meter 10, and the read ID of the meter is compared with the value of the meter ID field stored in the visiting meter database 27. It is determined whether it is a valid RF ID (ST120, ST125). On the other hand, the meter ID is read by the RF ID reader 24 and the reading time is stored in the visit meter database 27 (ST135).

If the meter ID is not a valid meter ID in ST125, an error message is output through the display unit 23 of the hand terminal 20 (ST130). In this case, an alarm sound may be output through a separate sound output unit (not shown) of the hand terminal.

If it is determined that the legitimate meter ID in ST125, the meter reads the meter usage and inputs the current month's instructions through the input unit 22 (ST140). The current month's instructions entered are stored in the temporary storage unit 28 and displayed on the display unit 23.

When the meter reader inputs the current month's instructions and presses a separate calculation button (not shown) of the hand terminal 20, the calculation processing unit 21 loads the current month's instructions stored in the temporary storage unit 28, and the fee calculation table 26 ), The current month's usage fee is calculated (ST145). The calculated usage fee is stored in the temporary storage unit 28 and displayed on the display unit 23.

In addition, the calculation processing unit 21 transmits the output signal of the bill to the printer 25 together with the calculated current month usage fee, and the printer receives the data and outputs the bill (ST150). At this time, information of the payer (address, name, delinquent details, etc.) output on the bill is extracted from the visited meter database 27 using the meter ID read by the RF ID reader 24. In addition, the printer 25 issues a bill and the bill issuing time is stored in the visiting meter database 27 (ST155).

Meanwhile, the hand terminal 20 transmits the processing result including the current month's instructions, bill issuance, meter ID reading time, and bill issuance time to the terminal device 30 through the wired / wireless communication network to update the local meter database 31. The terminal device 30 transmits the received processing result to the server device 50 to update the wide area meter database 51 (ST160). Transmission of the processing result from the hand terminal 20 is made through the barrel 40, and may be performed together with or after the output of the bill. In addition, the processing result of the hand terminal 20 may be transmitted directly from the hand terminal to the server device 50 without being transmitted to the server device through the terminal device.

When the server apparatus 50 according to the present invention receives all the current month's instructions of the respective customers in the corresponding wide area, the server device 50 interlocks with the customer asset accounting program to newly calculate the usage fee information and stores it in the wide area meter database 51 (ST165). .

As described above, the meter reading system and method according to the present invention has a remarkable effect of improving the reliability of the meter reading stroke and improving the efficiency of the work.

In other words, the meter reading system and method according to the present invention,

First, by embedding the RF ID chip in which the meter ID is recorded to identify the meter in the main body of the meter, it prevents the meter reader from entering the current month's instructions without visiting the customer where the meter is installed. In addition, the information on the time of accessing the meter ID and the bill output can be recorded to accumulate data on the efficiency of meter reading and the management of meter reading.

Second, the meter ID recorded on the RF ID chip can be read simply by bringing the hand terminal close to the meter, without directly contacting the meter, thus facilitating meter reading in a building structure in Korea where the meter is mainly installed in the corner of the building. Can and

Third, the meter will calculate the usage fee and print out and issue bills on the monthly instructions entered by the meter reader, so that the meter does not have to visit the customer again or send a mail to issue the bill. Can,

Fourth, the stored and transmitted data can be processed and efficiently managed at the same time in connection with the use-related database on the customer (customer) management program and the accounting asset program.

Lastly, the results of the current month's instructions and bills are sent and updated directly to the terminal devices and server devices of each station, thereby providing efficient management and enhanced services for each meter and customer. In addition, the trends in usage and billing and electricity water gas usage caution and billing are immediately inputted and outputted, and asset management and accounting are easy, increasing management efficiency.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described using specific terms, such descriptions are for illustrative purposes only, and it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims. Should be done.

1 is a block diagram of a meter reading system according to the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of a hand terminal according to the present invention;

3 is an illustration of a visit meter database.

4 is a flow chart of a meter reading process in accordance with the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawing ***

10: meter 11: RF ID chip

20: hand terminal 30: terminal device

50: server device

Claims (11)

A meter reading system that reads the current month's instructions, the current usage of the meter, and issues a bill according to the current month's guidelines. The meter incorporating an RF ID chip in which a meter ID, which is an identification code for identifying the meter, is recorded; And An RF ID reader unit for reading the meter ID from the RF ID chip in an RF manner, an input unit for receiving the current month's instructions from the meter reader that reads the meter, an arithmetic processing unit calculating the usage fee according to the current month's guidelines, and the usage fee And a hand terminal having a printer for outputting the recorded bill. The method of claim 1, The hand terminal, The meter reading system further comprises a charge calculation table for storing charge calculation information including the usage fee according to the unit usage. The method of claim 1, The hand terminal, A visit meter database for storing the meter information including the meter ID, the address of the customer where the meter is installed, and the name of the payer, for the meter visited by the meter reader; And The meter reading system further comprises a communication unit for transmitting the processing result for the meter reading and the bill issuance. The method of claim 3, wherein The meter reading system, And a local meter database for storing the meter information of the plurality of meters installed in a predetermined area, and further comprising a terminal device for receiving the processing result from the communication unit and storing the result of the processing in the area meter database. Meter reading system. The method of claim 4, wherein The meter reading system, And a wide range meter database for storing the meter information for the plurality of meters installed in the entire wide area, and further comprising a server device for receiving the processing result from the terminal device and storing the result of the processing in the wide range meter database. Meter reading system. As a meter reading method that has a built-in RF ID chip that records the meter ID, which is an identification code for identifying the meter, and reads the current month's instructions for the meters installed for each customer and issues a bill according to the current month's guidelines. A first step of reading the meter ID from the RF ID chip in an RF manner; A second step of receiving the current month's instructions from the meter reader who reads the meter; A third step of calculating a usage fee according to the inputted month guide; Extracting the meter information from a predetermined storage unit storing the meter information including the meter ID, the address of the customer where the meter is installed, and the name of the payer, using the read meter ID as a key; And A fifth step of printing the calculated usage fee and the meter information on a bill; And the fourth step is performed irrespective of the order of the second step and the third step. The method of claim 6, Before the first step, A step 1-1 of calculating usage fee information including a usage fee for each unit of use in comparison with the guide amount guided in the previous month and the supply amount of the entire metropolitan area for the entire metropolitan area jurisdiction of the meter; And Further comprising the first and second steps of receiving and storing the usage fee information, In the third step, The meter reading method, characterized in that for calculating the fee based on the fee information. The method of claim 6, Before the first step, And measuring the first to third meter information about the meter to be visited by the meter reader and storing the meter information in the storage unit. The method of claim 6, After the first step, The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing the time of reading the meter ID. The method of claim 6, After the fifth step, And a fifth step of storing the usage fee and the time when the meter information is printed on the bill. The method of claim 6, And a sixth step of transmitting and storing the result of processing of the meter reading and the bill issuance.