RU221063U1 - Energy metering and monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to the field of process automation in the electric power industry, in particular to devices designed for automated collection, accounting, consolidation and transmission of electricity consumption data to an automated system for accounting and management of energy resources in industry and utilities. The technical problem that the claimed utility model solves is to increase the number of connected energy metering devices, provide continuous software monitoring and automated control of metering devices connected to the utility model, provide simultaneous access, polling and transit from the device of collected data on energy consumption on five different digital interfaces over eight channels. A device for accounting and monitoring energy resources, containing a processor module with a microcontroller, a module with five RS-485 interface converters, a discrete input unit, a non-volatile memory module, a packet data transmission unit, a non-volatile clock with a calendar up to 2100, five external load power outputs with protection from short circuit and high capacitive load, GSM wireless communication module and Ethernet local network port, button for manually transmitting commands to the device, AC/DC module for powering the device from an AC network with protection against short circuit and excess power consumption, module for powering the device from DC network, lithium battery with charging modules, output voltage stabilization and heating for operation in negative temperature ranges, characterized in that five independent RS-485 interfaces with five external load power supply outputs are capable of connecting up to five hundred metering devices to the device simultaneously , and also that the processor module is capable of automated collection and consolidation of data on energy consumption, as well as generating reports and transmitting data via GSM/Ethernet communication channels to automated accounting and management systems.

Description

The utility model relates to the field of process automation in the electric power industry, in particular to devices designed for automated collection, accounting, consolidation and transmission of electricity consumption data to an automated system for accounting and management of energy resources in industry and utilities. Modern automated energy metering systems solve the important tasks of collecting data from remote metering devices and transferring them to information and computing centers for storing and processing data on energy consumption.

A device is known for monitoring a remote unattended object and transmitting data on consumed electricity, described in the utility model patent RU No. 147253, containing an input distribution device installed in a telecommunications cabinet, characterized by the fact that the object controller connected to an electricity meter is made with the ability to monitor source parameters uninterruptible power supply, reading electricity meter readings, transmitting information about facility events and consumed electricity to the monitoring center and receiving control commands from the monitoring center to influence the facility controller and uninterruptible power supply. When using this device to communicate with the monitoring center via a wired communication channel, a switch is installed in the telecommunications cabinet, to the Ethernet connector of which the facility controller is connected, and to communicate with the monitoring center via a wireless communication channel, a modem is installed in the telecommunications cabinet, to which the facility controller is connected, when In this case, the device is configured to monitor switch freezing and receive control commands from the monitoring center to influence the switch. The disadvantage of this device is the presence of an external uninterruptible power supply and a block of sockets, which necessitate additional switching for the operation of the device, which results in a loss of power and increases the overall characteristics of the device. An additional disadvantage of the known device is the need to connect additional equipment for communication with the monitoring center via a wireless communication channel - an external modem and an Ethernet switch, which increases the cost of the device.

For the prototype, as the closest to the declared utility model, a device for collecting and transmitting energy metering data, described in the utility model patent RU No. 162964, was selected. In this GSM/GPRS device, the module is configured to receive CMC short messages from a remote server, and the microcontroller module includes a pulse input connected through a contact bounce filter, which provides data reception from energy metering devices equipped with a pulse output, controlled power outputs for transmission to actuators of commands received from a remote server, as well as an external power supply, digital interfaces RS-232 and RS-485 are connected to the microcontroller through a digital interface signal conversion module, and the microcontroller module is designed to connect additional equipment to it, for example, security devices - fire alarms or leakage sensors, the housing also contains an RF module connected to the microcontroller, which provides data reception from energy metering devices equipped with a radio module, while the microcontroller is equipped with non-volatile memory and a real-time clock, and LED indicators are located on the device body. The disadvantage of the device described in the utility model patent RU No. 162964 is the limited location of use, since the GSM/GPRS module of this device for transmitting information about energy resource consumption to the information collection center cannot receive signals in places with difficult access to a GSM network wireless connection (basements, panel boards, etc.). In such cases, the most effective backup channel is a wired Ethernet connection. But utility model RU No. 162964 does not have an Ethernet port. Communication between the prototype and the remote server via short CMC messages greatly limits the amount of data transferred. Equipment designed to collect and transmit data in the current operating mode transmits significant amounts of data collected from a large number of metering devices. Considering the tariffs charged by telecom operators for each short SMS message, the use of such a data transmission channel is an expensive and ineffective method. Moreover, the GSM/GPRS module of the known device supports the 2G network standard, and modern network standards in the field of automated accounting and management systems require support for 3G/LTE standards. An additional disadvantage of the prototype is that it is technically impossible to connect more than two hundred and fifty metering devices simultaneously to the known device without the use of additional hardware, since one RS-485 interface, when working with metering devices from different manufacturers connected to the same RS-485 line, cannot provide correct operation of data collection and transmission. In this regard, the likelihood of equipment malfunctions, data transmission errors, and data exchange failures increases. The presence of a pulse input and an RS-232 interface in the prototype will also not solve this problem, since the interfaces do not imply the ability to connect more than one device to the bus. The prototype is equipped with an external power supply and its design does not provide for the possibility of connecting to DC networks; accordingly, it does not provide a solution to one of the main tasks of such devices - uninterrupted operation of the device when the external power supply is unstable.

The technical problem that the claimed utility model solves is to increase the number of connected energy metering devices, provide continuous software monitoring and automated control of metering devices connected to the utility model, provide simultaneous access, polling and transit from the device of collected data on energy consumption on five different digital interfaces over eight channels. The solution to this problem is achieved by the claimed utility model due to a set of distinctive features.

An energy resource metering and monitoring device (hereinafter referred to as UMME), consisting of a single plastic case, inside of which is placed a processor module with a microcontroller, which, using built-in software, digitalizes and programmatically processes data on energy consumption received through a serial interface unit and a packet data transfer unit from connected metering devices. The UMME contains a module with five independent RS-485 interfaces, five external load power outputs, protected from short circuits and high capacitive loads, thanks to which it is possible to connect up to five hundred metering devices with appropriate interfaces to the UMME, including those from other manufacturers, while the UMME provides correct and uninterrupted operation of the equipment without the use of additional hardware. To manage and monitor data collected by UMME from connected metering devices, UMME software capabilities ensure compatibility with the main software used in automated energy metering systems (RoMonitoring.NET, “Pyramid 2000”, “Pyramid 2.0”, “Pyramid-networks”, “ AlfaCENTER", "Enforce" ASKUE, AIIS KUE "PUMA" ("AYSIBIKOM"), etc.), and the processor module supports data transfer protocols (MQTT, SMTP, HTTP, RTU-327, JSON, Modbus RTU, text protocol) .

Data on energy consumption are recorded in the reading archive, the UMME event log and stored in a non-volatile memory module. The software capabilities of the UMME allow you to remotely read from the non-volatile memory module information about the consumption of energy resources collected from metering devices, configure and set up the UMME and all connected equipment, check the completeness of the received data and subsequently generate a message according to the protocol of the connected equipment. Then, according to the schedule recorded in the non-volatile memory module, the UMME transmits the data received from the metering devices through the serial interface unit and the data transmission unit according to the specified protocol. The UMME continuously monitors the state of the data transmission unit and waits for commands to arrive from the control center, and upon receiving the appropriate command, logically combines the data transmission unit and the serial interfaces unit into a “transparent mode” of data transmission, to broadcast all data from metering devices to the monitoring center and back to metering devices. To prevent unauthorized access, the UUMA authorizes all connections to it. In UMME, up to eight servers are created for simultaneous access and polling of UMME via eight channels, for example, simultaneous polling of data via text protocol, RTU-327 protocol and transit on five different digital interfaces. The UMME processor module transmits data on energy resource consumption to packet transmission units, which can use both the GSM wireless communication module channel that supports 2G/3G/LTE standards and the local Ethernet network to transmit data to the monitoring center. Moreover, the local Ethernet network, depending on the installation location of the UUME, can be used as a backup, additional or main channel for transmitting data on energy consumption. The functionality of the UMME ensures the transfer of parameters collected from metering devices to the central console for collecting information on the serial numbers of metering devices, current readings with detailed characteristics (accumulated active and reactive energy of the forward and reverse directions, cumulatively from the moment the meter is reset for each tariff and the amount of tariffs, voltage for each phase, current for each phase, active, reactive and apparent power for each phase and sum of phases, network frequency, values of angles between phase voltages, time according to meter clocks, etc.), as well as requests from input/output controllers discrete signals of the current state of channels (up to 32 channels). The UMME contains a non-volatile clock and a preset calendar until the year 2100, which provide time measurement, assignment of UMME time stamps to data received from connected metering devices with missing real-time clocks, correction and simultaneous time synchronization of the UMME and the metering devices connected to it. For non-volatile, uninterrupted operation, the UUME is equipped with a backup power supply module from a 12 V DC network, an AC/DC module for powering the device from an AC network, and a lithium battery with charging, output voltage stabilization and heating modules for operation in negative ambient temperature ranges. The AC/DC module is protected against short circuits and over-power consumption. The UMME is also equipped with a button for manual control and transmission of commands to the UMME: turning off the power, resetting the device settings to its initial state and updating the firmware. The UMME receives commands through the external control unit and performs the corresponding actions. The UMME display block displays three main indicators of the operating mode and an additional indicator (displaying transmission via the Ethernet packet data interface).

The UUM works as follows:

After turning on the power of the UMME, its initial self-tuning (configuration) occurs, then the UMME goes into normal operation mode. In normal operation mode, the UUME processor module performs automated collection and consolidation of data on energy resource consumption, performing the following actions (operations):

1. According to the prescribed configuration, the UMME polls the metering devices connected to the serial interface unit to read the information specified in the configuration. Polling on all interfaces is carried out by the UUME simultaneously.

2. According to the prescribed configuration, the UMME generates a set of data for transmission through the wireless data transmission module and the packet data transmission unit according to the established schedule to the monitoring center.

3. Monitors the state of the discrete input block, storing information in a non-volatile memory module and transmitting it to the monitoring center according to a given schedule.

4. According to the prescribed configuration, the UME waits for external commands in the wireless data transmission module and the packet data transmission block to transmit or transit information from the monitoring center to the connected equipment and back, write the configuration or request data from the non-volatile memory module.

5. Waits for commands on the external control unit for their execution.

6. Monitors the condition and charge of the lithium battery for uninterrupted operation in the event of a power failure from the DC or AC network.

7. Signals about the current operating mode of the UMME through the display unit.

A distinctive feature of the claimed utility model is the control of the built-in relay of connected metering devices to completely or partially limit consumption and resume the supply of energy resources for consumption.

Another feature of the UUME is automated self-monitoring through a block of discrete inputs, namely checking the presence of a main and backup power source, the state of the lithium battery, data transmission channels, opening the device cover, the presence of a short circuit at the output of the external load power supply, which allows the energy resource accounting and management system to respond to emergency situations with a minimum guaranteed delay.

Using the totality of all proposed and known features of UMME allows you to connect up to five hundred metering devices to the device simultaneously, provide continuous software monitoring and automated control of metering devices connected to UMME, as well as provide simultaneous access, interrogation and transit of collected data on energy consumption on five different digital interfaces on eight channels.

The presented information about the claimed utility model, described in the independent claim and description, indicates the possibility of its use in automated accounting and management systems for energy resources in industry and utilities. Consequently, the claimed utility model meets the condition of industrial applicability.

Sources cited:

1. RF patent for utility model No. 147253 “System for monitoring remote unattended objects and collecting data on consumed electricity - hardware and software complex “Electron”.

2. RF patent for utility model No. 162964 “Device for collecting and transmitting metering data for consumed energy resources.”

Claims (1)

A device for accounting and monitoring energy resources, containing a processor module with a microcontroller, a module with five RS-485 interface converters, a discrete input unit, a non-volatile memory module, a packet data transmission unit, a non-volatile clock with a calendar up to 2100, five external load power outputs with protection from short circuit and high capacitive load, GSM wireless communication module and Ethernet local network port, button for manually transmitting commands to the device, AC/DC module for powering the device from an AC network with protection against short circuit and excess power consumption, module for powering the device from DC network, lithium battery with charging modules, output voltage stabilization and heating for operation in negative temperature ranges, characterized in that five independent RS-485 interfaces with five external load power supply outputs are capable of connecting up to five hundred metering devices to the device simultaneously , and also that the processor module is capable of automated collection and consolidation of data on energy consumption, as well as generating reports and transmitting data via GSM/Ethernet communication channels to automated accounting and management systems.