MXPA00009032A - Location or inventory system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a location or inventory system for objects which are provided as power consumers with a terminal for a power supply network, and which each comprise an individual object identifier as part of the location and inventory information that can be verified from a central location. A generator for a location identifier is provided in the area of a power network line unit for the energy-receiving system. The source of energy is marked with the location identifier as an additional piece of information. Said location identifier differs from other location identifiers in the power network. The generator is permanently connected to said power network line unit in an interactive manner. The location identifier can only be transmitted from the power network line unit in a direction of the at least one energy-receiving system which is connected to said power network line unit. A receiver for this location identifier is also provided in the energy-receiving system. In addition, a converter is provided which converts the location identifier, together or in association with the object identifier, into a data format which is suited for transmission.

Description

LOCATION OR INVENTORY SYSTEM The invention relates to a location and inventory system for items that as power consumers are provided with a connection for a power supply network and each has a respective individual element of location and inventory information that can be verified from a station central, as set forth in the classification part of claim 1. In location and inventory systems of this type, it is important to detect the presence and location of items. In this regard, systems are already known in which the articles to be inventoried are provided with labels or labels that have a telemetrically searchable identification and that can be detected from a station that is placed in the vicinity and that therefore, by response regular and subsequent consultation, verifies the presence and nature of the articles and thus maintains elements arranged for the location and inventory data of the articles that are in the vicinity. A disadvantage in this regard is that the specific devices have to be supplied as local monitoring stations, the only purpose of which is in the consultation and possible transmission of the identifications of the consulted articles towards a higher order station. It can often happen that radio shadows mean that the devices to be inventoried can not be permanently detected and expensive and extensive installations of special subsidiary centers are necessary in order to allow complete detection. Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an inventory and location system of the general type established in the initial part of this specification, which provides the possibility of detecting items that are in or near the buildings, without the installation of an additional system that is designed specifically for that purpose and in particular without the need for an additional structure or information network. Based on a location and inventory system, as set forth in the classification part of claim 1, this objective is achieved by the features cited in the characterization part of that claim. The invention covers the technical teaching that -especially like most of the devices to be inventoried, are provided with a connection for the power grid- a location and inventory system can be provided that is simple and convenient in handling by means of suitable additions simple, at a low cost level. Additions can be added in a simple way for both the local installation network and for the items to be inventoried. In this way, the power network acquires the additional function of a location transmission facility. This is unnoticed from the point of view of the normal energy user. With properly prepared appliances, the location information is transmitted and transferred without involving additional measures. By virtue of the fact that the installation network is divided into different "information cells" that are separated from each other with respect to the location information to be produced, location regions are provided, with which the different elements of location information are associated. . Each apparatus connected to the power network within such a cell receives with the power energy, the location information that in the additional processing procedure is combined with an individual item identification and is pointed back to a central monitoring station. This system can be manipulated only at considerable costs since the location information is generated in the local energy network that is subdivided into individual regions according to the desired local resolution of the location and inventory information elements to be transmitted. . The connected devices can then also be modified with respect to their installation location, without any additional expense of location and inventory. If this is assumed once the relevant buildings of a corporation or other business unit are provided with the facilities in question, then immediately after moving the items in their new installation location, they can be recognized by the monitoring unit and the monitoring from there you can continue. Unauthorized removal of an item can also be detected and deployed. In this regard, at the central monitoring station, all location and inventory data that respectively comprise location and item identifications can be viewed and evaluated in the context. Signaling data or return receipt of the location and inventory can be made - by using an appropriate procedure - by means of a return channel, making use of the telephone network or a conventional data network in particular compatible with PC. In this regard, a data processing station placed in the vicinity or a telephone is provided, with a receiver for signals that are externally received by the articles and that contain the location and inventory data. If a PC is used as the data processing station, the corresponding addition can be provided, in particular in the form of an expansion card or externally by means of a serial or parallel interface. The location and inventory identifications that are transmitted in association with each other by means of the articles through active or passive communication are installed to form a common data set and passed to the monitoring station in the connected data network. This is particularly advantageous in this aspect for the identification of location to be fixedly attached to the building installation so that the risk of failure is slight. The corresponding consideration applies to devices or articles that carry the individual identification of the article. The entire rest of the system is of a conventional design configuration and neither needs to be particularly individualized for the generation or transmission of the location and inventory data. The essential part of the data transmission is implemented through the power network. However, the system can also be integrated into computer data networks in such a way that local computers are incorporated in the combination of location and inventory in terms of receiving the location and inventory data and transmitting or collecting them as a monitoring station. It will be noted that this function can also be implemented by means of specially designed telephone equipment. This is also further advantageous if the data processing apparatuses by themselves can be inventoried in a simple manner and in this aspect also can be operated without difficulties in different locations with an automatically updated location identification. With respect to the use of the system, it is desirable according to the invention, that in the case of a service operation, the destination of the service engineer is known with respect to the monitoring station from which the engineer is set or can reach . More specifically, it does not happen infrequently that for organizational reasons, complete departments with their associated teams move towards other buildings without this being known to the technical departments that are responsible for the operation and maintenance. The following points are also particularly advantageous with the present system: the system can be implemented quickly and can be used independently of the protocols of the network. In this aspect, It is possible to handle any type of items and also network components without a standard operating system. In another advantageous development, the signaling or acknowledgment of return of the data is also carried out by means of the data network on the basis of the data principle in line of operation, as established in a patent application filed at the same time for the present applicants. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other advantageous developments of the invention are characterized in the appended claims or set forth in greater detail in the following together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 , as an embodiment of the invention, shows a location and inventory system that is based on an energy network with the transmission of location data provided with the measures according to the invention. Figure 2a shows a block circuit diagram of a detail of the embodiment of figure 1 with the parts, which concern the invention, of an apparatus to be inventoried, with respect to a power network with means for the transmission of data of location. Figure 2b shows a circuit diagram of . . ^ -t ** ^ - * ^ *** ^,, r • - .. ,,. ^ .., * ...... **. , *. «****. ****. *. . * £ * **** ... . * "** M ^ .- * ^ ¡, ... x,. j .. ".. blocks of an additional detail of the embodiment of figure 1 with the parts concerning the invention, of a data processing apparatus for connection to a data network, with the transmission of location and inventory data whose location parts they originate from a network of energy. Figure 3a shows a switching device for a power network that modulates a location identification to connect a number of energy-consuming devices in a network AC voltage; and Figure 3b shows an additional apparatus for a power receiving system. for connection to a power network with means for decoding a location identification of a mains voltage ac which was modulated in the energy carrier by means of the switching apparatus shown in figure 3a for connecting several energy consuming apparatuses. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the case of the location and inventory system 1 shown in the form of a block circuit diagram in Figure 1, various portions of the system described subsequently in greater detail are presented in different locations 2 to 5 of the installation. The location and inventory data that is prepared in the system, together with the item identifications that individualize the items in the system, also have additional location identifications that are jointly fed respectively to a monitoring station for evaluation. In the system, on the one hand, data processing systems 6 to 9 are first provided, which are connected by means of data network connections 11 to 15 to a data network 10 which is identified by "D" and by means of of which, along with the normal data operation, the transmission of the location and inventory data is also carried out, as will be described later. Therefore, in this case, the data processing systems serve on the one hand, to deal with usual data processing tasks and on the other hand transmit the location and inventory data. In addition they can also inventory themselves with the system described and monitored with respect to their installation location. The data processing system 8 is the monitoring station in which the location and inventory data are collected. They are available here for evaluation and statistical purposes. This system can be installed in any location in the network, where the data in question are available. Those can j tjtftíMiáÉímál? u include still very remote locations that can only be reached using a telephone or a satellite communication channel. This is not necessarily by itself the object of the inventory, if it is only present as a simple system. In the case that a plurality of data systems can be used alternatively or in parallel relationship as a monitoring station, they can also be provided with additional apparatuses that are present in the other data processing systems. Also shown is an energy network 100 which is identified by "E" and which serves to provide the power supply for the connected appliances. At the same time, it is also provided - in coded form by means of modulation of an HF carrier or other suitable process - for the local provision of location identifications that differentiate the respective location of the installation and which serve to generate the location and inventory data. In this case an identification with respect to the location is modulated in the power network 100 by means of series connection units 181 to 185 after the local branches. In this case the respective series connection unit 183 to 185 goes through the energy of the power network while printing an information element additional local therein, in the direction towards the respective branch 191 to 196 whose information is in each case only available and thus readable there. In this way the installation locations of the devices and data systems can be located by virtue of the position of the connection to the power grid. Therefore, each item provided with a connector to the network requires a position information element which can be transmitted, by virtue of being simply connected to the power network as is familiar to any person. By virtue of the addition of the identification of the station or apparatus, the respective location and inventory information is provided in an additional apparatus that is added to or on the article. In the case of data processing stations 6, 7 and 9 the location data (identified by 1¡DÍ to LD4 depending on the respective location of the establishment) - of which generation and distribution are described below - are derived from the power network 100 by means of the power network connection units 103 to 105 and pass to stations 7 to 9 for the purposes of generating the location and inventory data. These stations form "articles" that would be inventoried in the sense of the invention and that derive their identification of location from the same energy network and supplement with the addition of the identification of the specific article apparatus (denoted here by SD1 to SD3 ) to constitute the identification of location and inventory and send it through the data network to the monitoring station 8. In this case, as described, the derivation of the identification of the network location can be carried out by means of the network connection that is usually present in any case. Items that do not receive any energy from the power network can be provided with an adapter that has a network connector and is also not used to transmit power to the item. The power transmission then occurs in most of the power supplies for the location and inventory modules - which however is generally a little faded. However, this represents an advantage, otherwise an additional battery must be provided there, which must be replaced at regular intervals and therefore requires maintenance. In the illustrated embodiment, the data processing station 6 monitors the inventory procedure of 3-power consuming systems 151 to 153 that transmit their location and inventory data and the .. . ,? *. ? ^ *? a *. . *., **. * * ... *, **. • * *. ~? *. *. *? *****. *. »M? *? E * - * *. *, * .. ...,. d ** ..., .. . - I *. ^ .. location data for transmission in the network 10 to the monitoring station 8. However, it is also possible to provide them for monitoring the inventory procedure with respect to the 5 items or devices that do not form a data processing station. In this case the last form "relay stations" for the communication of location and inventory identifications that are generated by the items with a connection to the power grid. 10 However, articles are also provided that communicate your location and inventory data back to the monitoring station, without the use of a data processing system. This is desirable if the articles are not placed in the vicinity of a processing station of data. In the illustrated modality of a location and inventory system, it is article 161 in the region of location 3. It receives its location identification from the energy network 100 and transmits the identification of location and inventory that expands by identifying the article in the form of data to a telephone terminal connected to a telephone network, preferably an ISDN system. In the case of an ISDN system, those data elements can be transmitted on the D channel or as additional data on the B channel when it is done ígj? af¡tftiUttb. A connection for the connection of the monitoring system 8. This can be communicated through the telephone network connecting the part 103 to the telephone network identified by "F" in order to receive the ID identification data transmitted therefrom. . An additional apparatus 171 provided at location 3 communicates its location and inventory data LD4 + GD5 to data processing station 6 of adjacent location 5. It will be noted that, when location identification is always communicated with the identifications of the article , the location cells with identical location identifications will not spatially match the radio reception areas since the location identification is always decoded separately and transmitted together with the article identification for each item individually as a location identification and inventory. The location and inventory data communicated to the data processing system 6 and the location and inventory data from other data processing systems pass through the data network 10 and the data network connection unit 13 to the data processing system 8. The block circuit diagram in figure 2a * z * ¡.,,. ... ,,. . ** -... "._ ^ .. ÍA .. .. *. *" I,., .. í ** ... t ..- -a ... * ^ gg ^ - of a article provided with the parties concerning the invention and having a capacity of location and inventory, diagrammatically shows an apparatus that receives energy 151 as an article with respect to which an inventory is made. Apparatus 151 has a functional part 221 which is combined to form a single block and which represents the groups of elements and structures that are deposited in an apparatus housing but which are of additional interest in the present as they are only related to the rest of the intended purposes of the article or apparatus. Connected to the functional part 221 is a switching facility 222 that separates the LDX location identification from the energy E that arrives via the power network connection from the local power branch 191. The connection unit is shown by itself in more detail below, with reference to figure 3a. The switching device 222 separates on the one hand the pure energy component of the mixture, supplied by means of 191, of ac voltage energy and of the superimposed location identification and then feeds it to a mixing stage 223. This combines then the LDX location identification with the GO item identification. generated by an item identification generator 225 connected to the apparatus. The ** . * s i. * * - *, .. *. .. - ***. .. - .., * *. *?. * .- * ** -'- -M. ^ i tJi ***. »r? f, * ll, t ^. *. ** - * *. . * > . .. *.

Identification of the item is unique in the system and serves the purposes of identification and respective of the locality. The identification of the item is combined together with the location identification received by means of the network to provide the identification of location and inventory (GD-L + LD- and is radiated by means of a part of the transmitter HF 229, as the data location and inventory that were prepared for the transmission, a data processing station placed in the vicinity, with a part of the appropriate reception, then receives that information - as described - and passes it to the central station. The described units can easily be added to the functional unit 151 as additional apparatuses. This can be done, for example, in the form of a module that can inserted into the network connector. Many devices also have an internal network connection board that is used to connect the network cable. Here, an insulation screw connector is generally provided as the interface. In that location the module can be inserted from desirable way instead of that same terminal or the same contiguous one. Figure 2 also diagrammatically shows a series of connection units 185 as they are connected between the general power network 100 and the branch of the local network 191 and add the location information to the carrier of the network power (network ac voltage) in the branch of the network. (The corresponding apparatus is shown in greater detail in Figure 3b). In this regard, Figure 2a 5 diagrammatically shows a local location generator or transmission facility 220 for the location information. This information is added to the energy of the network by means of a suitable modulator 226. An advantage in this case, is in particular that the series connection units 181 to 185 in Figure 1 - except for the generator or transmission facility that is individually established - may be of a design configuration uniform with each other, for location identification. A point of particular importance with respect to the illustrated vanantes, is that the location data are produced only by the series connection units 185 to the energy reception system connected thereto. This provides that the location data as such be "protected from the general power grid". This can This can be done by appropriate filtering, time selection, commutations or other measures that prevent location data from propagating into the network. In a corresponding manner this is additionally possible by means of additional measures or the same filter to prevent the -. ^^ Mtía ** ^ AriU £ * ÜHH - (- i-? ** **. ****** ...... - lí location data that are generated at a remote location and that are passed to the network by mistake, go beyond the serial connection units 181 to the energy receiving system 151. In figure 2a the energy to be transmitted in the Energy network is denoted by "E". The illustrated series connection unit can be easily added to conventional energy distribution systems - for example in offices and workplaces or studios - or easily included as a standard in current distributors for the connection of appliances or other items provided with a connection to the power network. The block circuit diagram shown in Figure 2b of a data processing system 6 that is suitable for receiving the location and inventory data produced by the unit as shown in Figure 2a and which pass the same to the monitoring station , illustrates a conventional processor system 21 installed to form a single block. Connected to the processor system 21 is a data network connection unit 22 which makes the connection to the data network 10. In this installation the data network connection unit 22 is controlled by the processor system 21 in such a way that the transmission of the data is carried out through the network in accordance with the J "'~' - - *" * "- - -» ... .- ^ ****** J ^ - * ?. *. "ES ****?. * * - *. - ... .. .. .. .. .. .., ..- ^ r - - protocols provided in the network The data processing system 6 is also connected to the localized branch 191 of the network The LDX location identification superimposed on the network energy E is received from there The data processing system 6 has a switching means 28 which effects the separation of the location data of the ac voltage of the network. location identification UD1 goes to a mixing stage 26 in which the location identification LD1 joins the identification of the article SO1 which is queried in the data processing system 6 from a location transmission facility 25. The identifications of location and inventory that are modulated with an HF frequency, from articles 151 to 153 that are in the vicinity, are received by means of a reception unit H F 26 and are joined in an additional mixing stage 29 with an identification of the SD system (corresponding to the identification of location and inventory of the external items to be inventoried). In this way, the illustrated data processing system can independently generate your location and inventory data, with the addition of the SD system identification, so that the location identification of the data processing system position does not coincide with that of the articles, nv • ni-m? i? hi * '* ^ llllttt * - »^ l * -t» -'- «-« - - • - * »- - • - -« .- - - • ^ at * Maa whose location and inventory data are received via the antenna of the receiving part HF 27. In this way the number of different location identifications can be selected to be greater than the number of receiving data processing stations. This also has an advantageous effect on the expenses to be made when the location and inventory system grows according to the invention. A prerequisite is that the radio range is greater than the range of a branch of the power grid, whose branching is provided with the same location identification. In another variant (not shown), it is also possible to previously transmit the location data, with respect to each individual item. However, in this case the items must be in the same location cell as in the receiving or transmitting unit, which then adds the location identification prior to sending the location and inventory data to the monitoring station. In FIG. 2b, the other data that are transmitted in the data network are also identified by "D" and transported in a conventional manner between the data processing system 6 and the network 10 by means of the connection unit to the data network 22. The location and inventory data of the surrounding devices and equipment with connection to the network, J-dt "" «- > Í-M ----- »- ^ > «-« ... - »- ~ l -? L transmit with the data to the remote monitoring station 8 and there they are handled. In the embodiment of figure 3a of a series of connection devices 300 for the superposition of a location information element in the power network, in the case of a network ac voltage to characterize the location in accordance with a binary code, a number of network half-waves is suppressed or deformed, in which case the code communicated in this way forms the location identifications. In this aspect this configuration represents an example of a modality that can be produced with simple means. In this case the location and inventory information to be transmitted is placed in the form of binary code in the waves individual or half waves. Correspondingly, a high-frequency signal can also be superimposed on the alternating current of the network, or a light load on the half-wave forms can be produced, modulating on these independent of the means individual waves of concentrated energy. In this way, the network or energy means contain a detectable information element that remains without any influence on the energy consuming charges. The AC voltage of the network is fed to the device - Serial connection 300, in a collector or main power line 99. This goes to a controllable thyristor unit 301 as an electronic commutator or controllable thyristor which controls the transmission of the half-waves of the network. The binary code of the half-waves to be suppressed is produced, the code that determines the location information by means of a control member 302 which is individually established in the respective location. Two connection adapters to the connector 303 and 304, are connected on the output side of the thyristor unit 301, to which the articles are connected to be inventoried as consuming loads, which is also the destination of transmission of the location identification . Figure 3b shows an additional device or serial connection 311 which is connected in series with a power receiving apparatus 312 in the network line, after a network connector 305 or which is connected to it in some other way. In this case the location information that has come in some way from the power network, is decoded in unit 222, combined with that coming from a generating or transmission unit for individual identification as indicated in 225 and is communicated to a transmitter unit 229 transmitting the same together with an identification of the apparatus to a data processing unit. The ***.? * A ** 1 ..- > .- »-. **** * Identification of location and inventory that is composed of the identification of the device and location is then passed through this to a central monitoring station 8 for detection and updating. More specifically, a binary code forming the identification information is derived in the unit 222 from the sequence of modified or lost half-waves, in the unit 307. That information is added in the mixing step 309 to the identification of the article. In this way, the signals of attached transmitters do not overlap each other; provided on the transmitter unit is a frequency divider 308 that reduces the frequency of the network by the ratio of a prime number (relatively greater) that differs from the rate of reduction of other transmitters supplied. The transmitter 310 is operated in pulsed fashion with the output signal of the frequency divider 308 so as to activate only for comparatively short periods of time at relatively large time intervals. However, the signal sequences produced are sufficient to adequately update the location and inventory information in the monitoring unit, since changes in position are comparatively rare. The invention is not limited in terms of implementation thereof to the preferred embodiments above üü IH-Ü ÉSÜ? Mtfill - ^ ift-, specified. On the contrary, several alternative configurations are possible that make use of the illustrated structure even in configurations of a basically different type.

Claims (8)

1. CLAIMS 1. A location and inventory system is provided for items that are energy consumers with a connection to a power supply network and each has a respective individual item identification as part of an element of a location and inventory information which can be consulted from a central station, characterized in that the transmission facility for a location identification that is printed on the carrier of 10 energy as additional information and which differs from other location identifications in the power network, is provided in the region of a connection unit to the power grid for the energy reception system and is operatively connected in a fixed manner to the The location identification can be issued by means of the energy network connection unit via the power grid exclusively to the at least one energy reception system connected to the power grid connection unit. , and provided in the energy reception system is a means of reception for location identification and a converter that converts the location identification together with or in association with the identification of the article in a data format suitable for transmission and communicates them to a data processing system for evaluation purposes.
2. 2. A location and inventory system as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the location identification is determined by at least one electrical parameter of at least one electrical or electronic component that is provided in the transmission facility for the location identification or which forms the transmission facility.
3. 3. A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transmission installation for the location identification is incorporated in a connector or distributor adapter of a power network.
4. 4. A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the communication of the devices and / or location identification to a data processing system is carried out by means of a radio channel.
5. 5. A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the communication of the devices and / or location identification to a remote monitoring station is carried out by means of a communication or communication network. data
6. 6. A location and inventory system as set forth in claim 5, characterized in that the communication network is an ISDN system.
7. 7. A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims characterized in that the location identification is further modulated in the energy carrier or printed therein in some other form.
8. 8. A location and inventory system as set forth in one of the preceding claims characterized in that a selection device is provided for the separation of the location identification from the energy carrier within the network connector for the connection of an article to be inventoried. ^^ Q * ^ * ^ »