KR20180074240A - Smart meter equipped scalable DLMS/COSEM protocol - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a function expansion type smart meter. The function expansion type smart meter is provided to enable installation of various application programs by mounting a platform, which can be independently operated, on an energy meter for using device language message specifications and companion specifications for energy metering (DLMS/COSEM) protocols. The platform is mounted on the energy meter by porting and provides a software development kit (SDK) or the like, thereby providing an environment for easily developing various application programs including functions desired by users or functions provided by suppliers in accordance with payment plans and functionality when the common platform is mounted to hardware even while the model hardware and manufacturers differ as well as providing a method for installing, removing, updating, and upgrading the application programs through an operating server. Newly added DLMS/COSEM protocols can update objects dynamically from the operating server without terminating the application programs operated in the meter, thereby providing an environment for having all parts applied to the energy meter.

Description

Smart meter equipped with scalable DLMS / COSEM protocol {Smart meter equipped scalable DLMS / COSEM protocol}

The present invention relates to a smart meter capable of expanding DLMS / COSEM (Device Language Message Specification / COmpanion Specification for Energy Metering) protocol, wherein data measured by an energy amount measuring unit is based on OBIS (Object Identification) (Software Development Kit), which can be used to control and manage the platform separately on an object basis, and to facilitate application development on the platform. It supports development tools and API (Application Programming Interface) And a function expandable smart meter capable of developing and installing related applications.

Among various energy meters using the DLMS / COSEM, a watt-hour meter will be described below as an example.

Recently, as the construction of Smart Grid system has become active, the establishment of AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) such as remote meter reading and differentiation of electricity rates by time zone is being promoted all over the world, As a result of international efforts, new renewable energy and various power supply methods are expanding. Generally, a watt-hour meter is an apparatus for measuring electric energy. It is difficult to respond to a smart grid system in which a watt-hour meter performs only specific functions originally programmed at the beginning, and its functions are added or changed very quickly and change rapidly.

In order to add or modify a new function in a conventional watt-hour meter, it is necessary to understand a system called firmware which is mounted on a watt-hour meter according to each manufacturer, but the process is complicated and takes a long period of time There is a problem to be done. Also, even if a third operator, not a manufacturer, wants to install an application program for adding a new function to such a watt-hour meter, the firmware used for each manufacturer is different and is not open to the outside, so that a third operator installs a new application program in the watt- It is practically impossible to perform desired power addition service.

As described above, in the conventional watt-hour meter, in order to add a new function, it is necessary to know the firmware version for each manufacturer and model. For this reason, it is necessary to understand firmware of each manufacturer and model for upgrading for new functions, and separate development should be included in development of each system. Firmware upgrade methods are also problematic in that they require a lot of processes such as unsealing, product disassembly, JTAG emulator connection, firmware update, product reassembly and seal reinstallation. In order to overcome these drawbacks, if only the function expandable platform is installed regardless of the hardware structure and firmware, it is possible to easily implement various function application programs that can be run on the platform, and install, delete and update It is easy to do.

In addition, when the update is required to the new DLMS / COSEM standard, the object can be downloaded from the operation server to the platform, and the object can be dynamically created and updated without stopping the running application program.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a system for installing a platform on a meter and providing an SDK, It is to provide an environment that can easily create various application programs such as functions and functions provided by the provider.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for a newly added DLMS / COSEM protocol, which can update the object from the operation server without generating an application program running in the meter, There is a way to do that.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a very simple upgrade method such as installation, removal, and update of an application program through an operation server.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an environment that can be applied not only to a watt hour meter for measuring electricity but also to an energy meter using the DLMS / COSEM protocol.

In order to achieve the above object, a function expandable smart meter of the present invention includes an application program for performing various functions of an energy meter; And a platform for supporting SKD and the like so that the application program can be normally operated and developed; Hardware for generating metering data on an energy meter; And includes an operation server portion capable of installing and deleting a program, and the like.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the application program can be developed in a hardware independent manner using an SDK provided by the platform; Examples of applications that can be developed include 5-meter (power, gas, water, hot water, calorie) applications using the DLMS / COSEM protocol, billing (prepaid plans, Response application and an energy monitoring system (EMS) application, which can be installed, deleted and updated by a management server.

In the present invention, the hardware includes a watt-hour meter, a gas meter, a water meter, and the like capable of performing DLMS / COSEM communication with an energy meter, and measures energy usage in a hardware portion.

In the present invention, the platform may include a data collection unit for collecting and managing the metered data; A control unit for controlling the operation of the meter; A communication unit for communicating with the operation server; A data processing unit for managing, expanding and registering DLMS / COSEM data; An SDK for supporting the application program development; And a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) that enables hardware independent operation.

In the present invention, the hardware abstraction layer of the platform is characterized by providing a platform that operates independently of hardware by providing an API so that it can interface with hardware so that the hardware abstraction layer can perform functions regardless of the manufacturer-specific hardware.

In the present invention, the data processing unit of the platform may include an object extraction unit for extracting an OBIS code based on an OBIS code class number of a DLMS / COSEM protocol, an object control unit for controlling the extracted OBIS code, An object communication unit for requesting and downloading a new OBIS code item to the operation server, an object file management unit for storing a newly downloaded object, and an object generation unit for dynamically generating the object.

In the present invention, the operating server may include an application management system (AMS) data collection unit (DCU), a remote meter reading server, Device, authentication and security server, and it is possible to satisfy the confidentiality of data transmission / reception through encryption with the communication unit of the platform.

In the present invention, the DLMS / COSEM communication standard is IEC 62056 DLMS standard.

The smart meter capable of extending the DLMS / COSEM protocol according to the present invention has a structure capable of developing a hardware independent application program due to the characteristics of the mounted platform, thereby facilitating the construction of a charging system and a remote meter reading system for various power systems, Market participation can be made easier.

In addition, it supports DLMS / COSEM protocol and provides necessary SDK for application development, so that it can easily enter new companies and produce various application programs.

In addition, it is possible to extend the protocol without updating the application program by requesting the information to the operation server for the newly defined DLMS / COSEM protocol which is not built in the watt-hour meter and receiving and registering the object.

In addition, since application programs can be installed and updated through an operation server, various payment application programs such as a prepaid type charge system and a pay-per-rate system can be provided.

In addition, it is possible to easily develop various application programs by utilizing the SDK and DLMS / COSEM protocol provided by the platform. Demand Response, Energy Monitoring System (EMS) It is also possible to participate in third-party providers such as

1 is a block diagram of the entire system.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the function-expanding smart meter and the operation server.
3 is a diagram for explaining a data processing unit in a platform.
4 is a dynamic object creation scenario for returning corresponding data when requesting data using the DLMS protocol.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention.

Terms including ordinals such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited by such terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one component from another.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of a function expanding watt-hour meter system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the function expanding watt-hour meter system according to the present embodiment may include an operation server 150.

The hardware 140 of FIG. 1 refers to an energy metering device, such as a power meter, a gas meter, or a water meter, and corresponds to any meter supporting the DLMS / COSEM protocol. Then, the measured metering data can be transmitted to the data collection unit 127 on the platform 120.

The operating system 130 may correspond to an operating system such as Linux, Win CE, Android, and RTOS. Porting of the platform 120 and the HAL 129 may be performed independently of the hardware 140 It can be made operative.

The control unit 126 of the platform 120 can be regarded as a part for directly controlling the functions of the meter such as On / Off, parameter value setting, reset, and the like as a setting part of the meter.

The communication unit 128 can perform encrypted communication with the operation server 150. The communication unit 128 can satisfy the confidentiality of data transmission and reception through encryption and satisfy the mutual authentication through mutual certificate exchange. The data integrity can also be met by applying an anti-tamper algorithm to prevent transmission message tampering. Communication may include PLC (Power Line Communication), TCP / IP, Wifi, Narrowband Internet (NB-IoT), and the like.

The application program 110 can freely develop a program using the SDK 121 provided by the platform 120. [ The SDK 121 providing the development environment of the application program includes a DLMS / COSEM 122 for providing an interface of the DLMS / COSEM protocol, a Meter Control API 123 for providing an interface for setting and controlling the meter, A GUI API for providing a Display interface, and other APIs 124 for providing APIs necessary for an application program such as an I / O (Input Output) API.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a data transmission method of a function-extending smart meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The operation server 150 of FIG. 2 can transmit and receive data such as metering information for power meter reading to the function expanding watt-hour meter 100. [ The operation server 150 may be a data concentrator (DCU), a remote meter reading server, a host device for remotely communicating with the watt hour meter, an application management system (AMS), an authentication and security server, and the like .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a data processing unit of a function expanding watt-hour meter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a data processing unit of a function expanding watt-hour meter according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. And registering the object dynamically with the corresponding data and returning the value. The extension and data transmission method of DLMS / COSEM protocol of the function expandable watt-hour meter according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to this.

4, when the data request using the DLMS / COSEM protocol is received (S401), the object extracting unit 124a extracts the corresponding class number and determines whether there is a corresponding class number in the object store 130d (S402) The OBIS code can be extracted from the object store 130d in step S403 and the presence or absence of the OBIS code can be determined in the object control part 124b. The OBIS code of the class number can be extracted and the object control unit 124b can determine the presence or absence of the OBIS code.

The OBIS data requested here may not be composed of one data, but each individual information may be configured in object units, and this communication standard may be IEC 62056 DLMS standard, which is the international standard of the metering protocol.

If there is no OBIS code, the object control unit 124b determines whether or not the OBIS code is present. If there is no OBIS code, the operation server 150 requests the object of the OBIS code (S406)

The object of the new OBIS code that has been downloaded is added by the object file management unit 124f (S408), and the class number is also updated in the object store 130d.

The object management unit 124f dynamically creates an object of the object in the object creation unit 124c in step S410 and extracts the OBIS data in step S410 and returns it.

 On the other hand, the object control unit 124b can control the controller 126 to operate the corresponding command in response to a request for controlling the meter, a setting value, or the like, as well as a request for returning a value of a requested OBIS code.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is understandable.

100: Functional watt-hour meter 110: Application
120: Platform 121: Software Development Kit (SDK)
122: DLMS / COSEM 123: Meter Contorl API
124: Other API 125: Data processor
126: control unit 127:
128: Communication unit 129: HAL: Hardware Abstraction Layer
130: Operating system 140: Hardware
150: Operation server

Claims (7)

A smart meter that includes an application that performs various functions of an energy meter, a platform that supports an SDK to allow the application to operate and develop normally, and hardware that generates metering data on an energy meter. The method according to claim 1,
The application program includes various application programs that can be independently developed using the SDK provided by the platform, and can be installed, deleted and updated through the application server. The method according to claim 1,
The hardware includes a watt-hour meter, a gas meter, a water meter, etc. capable of DLMS / COSEM communication with an energy meter and a hardware The method according to claim 1,
The platform includes a data collection unit for collecting and managing the metered data, a control unit for controlling the operation of the meter, a communication unit for communicating with the operation server, a data processing unit for managing and expanding and registering the DLMS / COSEM data, A system that includes an SDK to support development, and a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) that enables hardware independence 5. The method of claim 4,
The HAL provides an API such that the platform can perform its functions irrespective of the manufacturer-specific hardware, thereby enabling the HAL to operate independently of the hardware.
5. The method of claim 4,
The data processing unit of the platform includes an object extracting unit for extracting an OBIS code based on the OBIS code class number of the DLMS / COSEM protocol, an object controlling unit for controlling the extracted OBIS code, an object storing unit storing a class number for the object, An object communication unit for requesting and downloading a new OBIS code item to the operation server, an object file management unit for storing a newly downloaded object, and an object generation unit for dynamically generating the object.
5. The method of claim 4,
The operation server includes an application management system (AMS) data collection unit (DCU), a remote meter reading server, a host device for remotely communicating with a watt-hour meter, an authentication and security A system that includes the functionality of a server.

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