RU2790030C2 - Measuring instrument with device for interaction in near field - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: measuring equipment.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a measuring instrument, in particular, for measurement of a filling level, for measurement of a flow rate, or for measurement of pressure, and to an operation method. Measuring instrument (100) contains energy-adjusting unit (220), which is made with the possibility of supply of adjustable current to user (400) connected via controllable switch (250), RFID unit (380). In this case, RFID unit (380) is made with the possibility, according to an external command from external communication device (480), of selective connection or disconnection of user (400) by means of controllable switch (250) or transmission of energy from RFID unit (380) to energy accumulator (200).

EFFECT: possibility of operation in an energy-saving mode with simultaneous possibility of access to a device in both connected and disconnected state.

18 cl, 10 dwg

Description

Link to related applications

This application claims the priority of European Patent Application No. 18 184 810.2, filed on July 20, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The field of technology to which the invention belongs

The invention relates to measuring instruments or indicating instruments, and to a method for operating these instruments, in particular, devices, for example, instruments for measuring the filling level, for determining the limit level, for recording the topology of the surface of the filling material, or for indicating the values measured by these instruments. Examples of such devices are an impedance limit switch, a vibration limit switch, a level gauge with a high frequency input, ultrasonic input or laser input, or an indicator device such as a low energy display. In addition, the invention relates to an application, a program element, and a computer-readable medium.

State of the art

To measure the filling level, for example, in a tank, various types of sensor systems are used. Some of these sensor or indication systems are connected to the electrical network, some are designed as stand-alone devices, that is, these devices are used independently of the electrical network, and therefore equipped with a battery or the like. In some embodiments, they are encapsulated, for example for corrosion protection, so that battery replacement can be cumbersome. Therefore, it is important that these devices operate in an energy-saving mode, and, in addition, that these devices can be accessed both in the on and off state.

The essence of the invention

The object of the invention is to provide a system architecture and a method by which its battery-powered devices can operate in an energy-saving mode as much as possible, while still being accessible both in the on and off state.

This problem is solved by the subject of independent claims. Additional embodiments of the invention follow from the dependent claims and the following description.

The meter or indicator device, in particular a meter or indicator device for measuring fill level, flow rate or pressure, has a radio frequency identification (RFID) unit. At the same time, the RFID unit is designed to exchange data with the memory of the measuring device or indicating device, turn on and off the controlled switch of the measuring device or indicating device, and / or transfer energy to the energy accumulator of the measuring device or indicator device. The measuring device or indicator device is also briefly referred to as "instrument" in the following.

An external communication device - as a type of prescribed data transfer - can send a command to the RFID unit of the instrument. In particular, the instruction may be a digitally encoded instruction or a sequence of binary signals. In particular, the sequence of binary signals may consist of at least two distinct bits. The sequence of binary signals can be transmitted via RFID in known ways. In one embodiment, the RFID block has an RFID antenna and an RFID switching circuit. The RFID antenna may be a coil, which, for example, is embedded in a conductive path or in a switching circuit. The RFID switching circuit may be configured to support multiple protocols, such as the NFC protocol (NFC: Near Field Communication), or a proprietary protocol. The proprietary protocol may be an extension of the standard protocol. In the case of a near field communication connection, the RFID unit may use a connection that supports at least all layers of a standardized near field communication protocol. Near Field Communication is a transmission standard for contactless data exchange by means of electromagnetic induction. It supports transmission over short distances (that is, a few centimeters).

The external communication device may be a dedicated communication device, the transmission and, as the case may be, reception characteristics of which are matched to the device by its special design. The external communication device can also be a smartphone or tablet capable of communicating with the RFID unit and which - for example via an application - is adapted to the specifics of the RFID unit and the device.

According to one embodiment, the RFID block is designed to communicate with the memory of the device. It may be provided for the execution of writing in the memory of the device or reading from it by means of a processor. The memory - at least in part - may be volatile or non-volatile. For example, memory is used for parameterization data, for control information, for measurement results, for time information, and other types of data. In this way, data can be exchanged between the external communication device and the RFID unit, and between the RFID unit and the memory of the device, and thus between the external communication device and the memory of the device. Due to the data exchange, the corresponding information - for example, of the type indicated above - can be read (sent to the RFID unit) and/or modified (received by the RFID unit) both during operation of the device and in the switched off state.

According to one embodiment, the device is designed to turn on and off a controlled switch. To do this, the RFID unit acts on the controlled switch via the control wire. The control wire can act on the controlled switch directly or indirectly, for example through a control unit. The device can be permanently connected to a power source (mains supply), can be additionally equipped with an energy accumulator, or connected exclusively to an energy accumulator.

In one embodiment, the RFID block is formed permanently connected to the managed switch. The permanent connection can be made, for example, by means of a self-locking circuit.

According to one embodiment, the RFID unit is configured to transfer power to or from a power store. To this end, the RFID unit is configured to transmit, by appropriate command, for example, when connecting the charging circuit, energy from the RFID unit to the energy storage unit, that is, to charge the energy storage unit. In addition, the RFID unit can be designed to transfer power from the energy storage device to the RFID unit, that is, to charge an external communication device via the RFID unit. In this case, a power of at least 10 mW, in particular 1000 mW, is transmitted.

In addition, additional commands can be transmitted to the device, for example, to turn on and off an optical signal (for example, a green LED lamp) or an acoustic signal (for example, a buzzer).

For example, due to the fact that the device does not have to be turned on to read and/or change data, the device can operate with very large energy savings. By means of this system architecture of the instrument, it is then no longer required that the entire instrument be switched on continuously, but parts of the instrument can be switched off when no measurement or display is taking place. In some embodiments of the indicator device, portions of the instrument may be turned off until the indication changes. Examples of such embodiments include display devices which use so-called electronic paper (E-paper or e-paper). In addition, the instrument can be switched on or off at any time, if necessary, so that it can be switched very quickly to use all the desired characteristics of the instrument. In addition, charging the instrument ensures a long service life, and charging an external device through the instrument provides versatile and convenient use.

In one embodiment, the meter or indicator device has an energy storage device. It can be formed as a battery, as an accumulator (battery) or a capacitor, as a fuel cell, or as a similar device. The energy storage can be configured as an addition to a permanent power supply, or as part of a stand-alone device, or as a combination of both embodiments.

In one embodiment, the instrument has a measurement input and/or an indicator input. Therefore, the device may have at least two types of input blocks, which are not continuously active, but only when they are connected to the energy storage via a switch, that is, when they are turned on. In this case, the measuring inlet unit is designed to register the measured value, which includes the filling level, flow rate or pressure. For example, the measurement input may be configured as an impedance limit switch, a vibration limit switch, a radar level gauge such as a high frequency input, an ultrasonic input, or a laser input. The indicator input block is designed to indicate the measured value. In the case of an indicating device, parts of the instrument may be switched off when no indication is being made. In some embodiments of the indicator device, portions of the instrument may be turned off until the indication changes.

In addition, the device has a calculation and control unit (hereinafter, briefly also referred to as "computation unit"), which is designed to receive and process the measured value from the measuring input unit, and/or to prepare and transmit the measured value to the indicator input unit. The computing unit is connected to the energy accumulator via a controlled switch, and can therefore also be switched on and off by means of the switch and with the help of the control unit. For example, the calculation and control unit provides pre-processing and/or encoding of the measured data and helps to make the device more flexible and/or applicable to a wide range of applications. The calculation block can also be used to parameterize the measuring input block and/or the indicator input block. In this case, parameterization means the adaptation of a measuring input unit or an indicator input unit to a particular application. Examples in relation to the measuring input block are the standard measurement range or suppression of interference signals, and the indication range in relation to the indicator input block.

In embodiments with a measurement input and/or an indicator input, the instrument system architecture can reduce power consumption by many orders of magnitude, in at least some embodiments, since the measurement or indication lasts clearly less than one second, but the intervals between measurements can last hours or even many days. In addition, even a (mostly) turned off instrument can be accessed by said instrument system architecture. In this case - even when the device is switched off - for example, measured data can be read out and/or parameterization data, software updates, and other types of data can be entered into the memory unit.

The computing and control unit has a storage device. It may be a memory that is connected to the RFID block, but may also be a separate storage device, which in some embodiments, if necessary using a processor, can access the memory of the RFID block. The memory - at least in part - may be volatile or non-volatile. For example, the memory is used for computing operations in the computing unit, but it can also be used for parameterization data, for control information, for measurement results, for time information, and other types of data. The memory can also be used to receive and process a measured value from a measurement input unit, and/or to prepare and transmit a measured value to an indicator input unit.

In one embodiment, the consumer furthermore has a radio unit which is designed to transmit data to and/or receive data from the server. The radio unit is a transmitter and/or receiver of, for example, an energy efficient long-range network. These networks are also referred to as LPWAN (Energy Efficient Long Range Network). The radio unit is used to communicate with other devices or with the server. For example, measurements, parameterization, time information, and other data can be transmitted via the radio unit.

In one embodiment, the user of the device has, in addition, a communication device. The communication device - for example, for reasons of energy saving - may use, for example, a short-range radio technology, for example, a protocol from the Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) family. Examples are connections according to the IEEE 802.15 standard. This can be, for example, a connection using Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, Subscriber Switching System (CSS) and/or Ultra Wideband Radio (UWB) technologies, or a connection using an infrared-based protocol, such as the IrDA (standard for infrared data transmission), or proprietary protocol. A wireless local area network (LAN) (WLAN) can also be used for the connection. The range of this standard is several meters, which makes it possible to conveniently use the device. Since actuation occurs only in a relatively short period of time, the power store can provide increased power supply without appreciable detriment to the discharge of the power store.

In addition, in one embodiment, the device has a remote control, which is either connected by an additional wire to the energy accumulator, or has its own energy accumulator. In this case, the console is intended for switching on and off the controlled switch, in particular, by means of the control unit. The control panel is either connected with an additional wire to the energy accumulator and/or has its own energy accumulator. For example, the remote can be used to turn the instrument on and off, to charge the energy storage (when it is rechargeable), or to update the software.

In one embodiment, the control unit may include a time management unit that is designed to control the switch based on time information via an RFID unit, a radio unit, and/or from a console. In this case, the time information can be specified as an absolute time or a point in time (for example, "11:07"), a relative time or a time difference (for example, "in 4 hours"), as a combination and / or repetition of an absolute or relative time. .

In addition, in one embodiment, the device has an energy control unit, which is designed to supply regulated current to the connected consumer through a controlled switch, and, with more than one consumer, turn on and off consumers either from all consumers connected via the controlled switch at once or individually. In this case, prioritization and/or situation-dependent connection of the consumer can take place. In addition, the power control unit can be configured to provide a constant voltage to one or more consumers even when the energy storage has lost its charge and thus the voltage.

The invention also includes a method for operating a battery powered device as described above. The method has the following steps:

- receiving an external command, in particular from an external communication device, via the RFID unit. A command is a type of data transfer that activates a control unit in the instrument to perform predefined actions.

- When a command involves receiving data, data is transferred from the RFID unit to the memory of the calculation and control unit or to other memory in the device. For example, the data may be parameterization data for control information, for measurement results, for time information, and other types of data.

- When a command involves data transmission, the data is transferred from the memory to the RFID unit. The data may be of the same type as the received data. The data can also be, for example, variable characteristics of the processor, so that - in conjunction with the appropriate send commands - even instrument debugging is possible.

- When the command is to turn the instrument on or off, the controlled switch is turned on and off respectively by the RFID unit and the control unit. In embodiments in which the RFID unit is designed to turn on and off a controlled switch using the control unit, the corresponding command can unlock the control paths intended for this. In one embodiment in which always-on is supported, this can be done, for example, by means of a self-locking circuit.

- When a command calls for charging the instrument's energy storage, energy is transferred from the RFID unit to the energy storage. In embodiments in which the RFID unit is designed to charge the energy storage, the corresponding command can unlock the control and current paths intended for this purpose.

In addition, the invention includes a software element which, when executed on a time management unit and/or on a calculation and control unit, is capable of performing one of the above processes.

In addition, the invention relates to a computer-readable medium in which said program element is stored.

For further clarification, the invention is described by means of the embodiments illustrated in the Figures. These embodiments are to be understood as an example only and not as a limitation.

Description of Figures

Fig. 1 schematically shows a first embodiment of the device;

Fig. 2 schematically shows a further exemplary embodiment of the instrument;

Fig. 3 schematically shows a further embodiment of the instrument;

Fig. 4 schematically shows a further exemplary embodiment of the instrument;

Fig. 5 schematically shows a further embodiment of the instrument;

Fig. 6 schematically shows a further exemplary embodiment of the instrument;

Fig. 7 schematically shows a further exemplary embodiment of the instrument;

Fig. 8 schematically shows a further exemplary embodiment of the instrument;

Fig. 9 shows how the instrument is operated.

Fig. 10 shows another way to operate the instrument.

Fig. 1 shows a standalone fill level radar instrument 100 . The entire electronic circuit is housed in a hermetically sealed housing 101 that completely encloses the electronic circuit, which effectively prevents the ingress of dust or moisture. The housing 101 houses an energy accumulator 200 which powers the entire sensor electronics. The system is activated at pre-configured intervals, such as once a day, for which a controlled switch 250 activates the power supply to the processor 450. After that, the processor 450 is initialized and/or the operating system is loaded. Upon completion of the initialization, the sequential logic built into the processor 450 controls the registration and preparation of a new measured value. To do this, the processor first activates the measured data determination unit 410, which generates, for example, a high-frequency signal, emits it through the antenna 411 through the housing wall and, accordingly, the sensor wall 102, and again receives the signal reflected from the loaded product, processes it, and then directs in digital form to the processor 450 for further processing. The measured data determination unit of the measurement input unit 410 can be deactivated again after the described steps have been carried out. The processor 450 determines the distance to the loaded product from the reflected signals. After activation of the wireless communication device 350, the recorded measured value is wirelessly sent to the higher-level communication network, using in particular energy-optimized wireless technologies such as LoRA (LoRaWAN: Long Range Wide Area Network), Sigfox (proprietary short range network). power of the French company Sigfox on ISM radio bands), or NB-IoT (narrow-band Internet IoT). A characteristic of these standards is that the connection to the higher level communication network does not need to be continuous, but rather that the connection is created essentially at freely selectable times according to need. After transmission of the measured value, the communication channel is immediately closed again and the communication device 350 is deactivated. The processor 450, upon completion of the measurement, opens the controlled switch 250, causing the system components 350, 450, 410, and 411 to be placed in a power-off or power-saving state. The 350 sensor, for reasons of energy saving and cost reduction, has neither an indicator unit nor a control unit, so changing the sensor settings or updating the software by local action is no longer possible. Instrument 100 in the embodiment of FIG. 1, when the switch 250 is open, can no longer be accessed by the wireless communication device 350, since it is then also disabled.

Fig. 2 shows a further exemplary embodiment of the meter 100. The meter 100 within the hermetically sealed housing 101 has an RFID antenna 381 as well as an RFID electronic circuit 382 connected thereto, such as an RFID read-only chip 383. Embedding may also be provided. the above described components or parts, placed in the wall 102 of the housing, for example, by extrusion lining with synthetic material in the injection molding process. The memory 383 of the RFID electronic circuit 382 can read and/or write information in wireless communication with an external reader 480. To do this, the reader 480 inductively couples energy to the coil 381 and thereby to the RFID electronic circuit 382. It supplies the received energy internal switching circuits, and in particular the memory 383, resulting in the possibility of reading sensor-specific information (manufacturer, serial number, approvals, order code, next activation time, etc.). ). In this case, the use of NFC technology, which is based on RFID, is particularly advantageous. Since appropriate switching circuits for reading the NFC chip 382 may be available in many smartphones 480 or tablets 480, by installing a suitable application, a reader for reading information into the memory 383 can be easily formed. Storage of information in the memory 383 can also be provided. , it may be possible to read from the memory 383 the current specific parameterization of the sensor 100, change it in the application, and after establishing a connection to the Internet via the cloud, saving the changed parameterization in it. In addition, the modified parameterization can be stored in memory 383 . Upon subsequent activation of the measurement process and transmission of new measurement results via the communication device 350, an active connection can then be used to transfer the information stored in the cloud to the instrument 100 and store it permanently there. In this way it is possible to change the parameterization of the sensor with a delay in time, without the need to know the exact time of the next re-establishment of the connection via the communication device 350 . At the same time, the parameterization can be read from the memory 383 at any time. By knowing the time of the next activation, it can also be determined at any time whether the already changed sensor parameterization is valid or not yet.

The device according to Fig. 2 and said exemplary method may result in sensor parameterization changes becoming effective in the sensor only with a time delay - for example, one day.

Fig. 3 shows another embodiment that has the advantage of improved user experience. The measuring device 100 according to the invention has, in comparison with that shown in FIG. 2 , an extended electronic RFID circuit 382, which is connected by a connecting wire 385 to a controllable switch 250. If energy is transmitted through the control panel 480 - via the RFID antenna 381 to the switching RFID circuit 382, then this energy or this command through the connecting wire 385 activates controllable switch 250, thereby activating processor 450, which, in particular, actuates communication device 350 to establish a connection to cloud 370. Controller 480 again, in turn, creates a connection to cloud 370, from which it can recall the information provided by the sensor (eg measurement results, parametrization) and display it in the user interface. In addition, it can be provided that the control panel 480 rewrites information in the cloud 370, which again immediately (for example, by cyclic polling) can be called up by a correspondingly configured sensor 100. In this example, the RFID device 381, 382 serves mainly to activate processor 450, thereby creating its own communication channel for the operation of the processor 450 and/or the measuring input block 410 through the existing low power communication device 350. Compared to the embodiment in FIG. 2 , the proposed extension features a distinctly reduced response time, i.e., in the range of a few seconds (due to the operating time of the smartphone through the cloud back to the sensor), which allows interactive sensor action with immediate feedback on status information.

Further improved interaction between control panel 480 and meter 100 is shown in FIG. 4 . Energy or, respectively, the command transmitted from the control panel 480 first causes the switch 250 to be turned on, resulting in initialization and / or loading of the processor 450. Then, energy is supplied to the RFID chip 382 from the energy storage 200, for example, through a wire 386, which is connected to the RFID chip(s) 382. As a result of connecting additional power to the RFID chip 382, it becomes independent of the energy transmitted from the reader 480, which, in particular, makes it possible to directly connect to the processor 450 through the communication line 452 . Thus, the processor 450 can read information directly from the memory 383 of the RFID chip 381, and also write it again, after which it wirelessly transmits it via the antenna 381 to the control panel 480. Compared to communication via the cloud, on the one hand, the achievable data rates are significantly improved, but, on the other hand, the duration of information retrieval is also significantly reduced, which can contribute to an intuitive user interaction with the measuring device. The above communication path is independent of the low power communication device 350, and in particular allows large data sets to be quickly transferred, for example, when updating software. Upon removal of the reader 480, the RFID chip 382, through the wire 385, deactivates the controllable switch 250, causing the system to return to its standby mode and also require only minimal power.

The system as shown in Fig. 4 allows smooth interaction with the measuring device 100. However, from an ergonomic point of view, it turns out to be unfavorable that the distance d between the body 101 of the measuring device 100 and the control panel 480 during the entire sequence of operations must be maintained within the range of a few centimeters (up to a maximum of 10 cm ). Depending on the mounting position of the meter 100, this may result in uncomfortable postures for the user, which reduces the ease of use.

Fig. 5A shows a further embodiment of the meter 100 that further enhances the user experience. The sensor is equipped with a switching RFID circuit 382 as shown in FIG. 3 , which, after energizing coil 381 via connection 385, activates electronic switch 250. Processor 450 is then energized, causing it to re-initialize and/or boot. The processor 450 via the feedback line 251 performs self-locking, that is, it supplies the controlled switch 250 with signals that are suitable for continuous power supply. The control panel 480 can then be further removed from the immediate vicinity (distance d), allowing the user to assume a comfortable service position. Fig. 5b shows the corresponding configuration. The processor 450, upon successful initialization and/or boot via the control and communication wire 459, activates an additional, secondary communication device 390. Unlike the primary communication device 350, which is preferably based on a communication standard from the LPWAN family (e.g., LoRa, Sigfox, NB-IOT) for reasons of energy saving and range, the secondary communication device 390 uses more energy-intensive communication standards from the WPAN family ( e.g. IrDA, Bluetooth) or WLAN. The range of this standard is several meters, which makes it more convenient to use the sensor. Since the maintenance is only performed for a relatively short period of time, the energy storage 200 can easily provide the required increased power supply capacity without appreciable damage in terms of service life. The control panel 490 now communicates via a secondary communication device 390, and via a secondary communication standard with the measuring instrument 100, to, for example, read measurements, parameters or error messages, and/or enter parameters or also software updates to the instrument 100.

An embodiment of the meter 100 according to FIG. 6 has a housing 101 which serves, in particular, to protect the device 100 from atmospheric influences. In some embodiments, the body 101 may be completely enclosed. The device 100 has an energy accumulator 200 . It may be formed as a battery, as a battery (battery), as a fuel cell, or as a similar device. The energy storage 200 is connected by a first wire 205 to the control unit 300. The control unit 300 controls the controllable switch 250 via a control wire or interface 305. The controllable switch 250 is connected to the energy storage 200 by a wire 215. In addition, a computing unit 450 and a sink 400 are connected to the switch 250 by a wire 255. The computing unit 450 is connected to the memory 454 via an interface 455. The memory 454 may be directly or indirectly connected to the memory 383 of the electronic RFID circuit 382, or also partially overlap with it. . For example, consumer 400 may be a measurement input 410 and/or an indicator input 420, or other device. In this way, the controllable switch 250 can completely turn off the power supply to the consumer 400 and the computing unit 450. Through the configuration shown, it is even possible to completely cut off the power of all consumers 400 that are behind the switch 250 ("behind": when viewed from the energy storage 200). Thanks to this system architecture, it is no longer necessary for the entire meter 100 or display device to remain continuously on, but parts of the meter 100 - in the embodiment according to FIG. 6 : Computing unit 450 and one or more consumers 400 may be disabled when no measurement is being taken. With respect to the indicator device, parts of the instrument 100 may be turned off when no indication is being made. Since consumer elements 400 and computing unit 450 consume the bulk of the current of device 100, power consumption can be reduced by many orders of magnitude in the illustrated embodiment; since the measurement or indication or indication update lasts clearly less than a second, but the intervals between measurements or indication changes can be hours or even many days. In one embodiment, the switch 250 may be designed to turn on and off these consumers 400 either together or separately.

In addition, the device 100 has an RFID block 380. For example, the RFID block 380 may be placed in or on the wall 102 of the housing 101. In the exemplary embodiment shown, RFID unit 380 is continuously connected to energy storage 200 by wire 209. In another embodiment, wire 209 may be omitted such that RFID unit 380 is powered solely by an external communication device. In yet another embodiment, instrument 100 may be connected to an external current source, such as an electrical network.

The RFID block 380 has an RFID antenna 381 and an RFID switching circuit 381. The RFID antenna 381 may be formed into a coil. The switching RFID circuit 381 supports the protocol used in the device 100, such as the NFC protocol, or a proprietary protocol. The proprietary protocol may be an extension of the standard protocol. The RFID block 380 is designed to respond to an external command, in particular from an external communication device 480, and, if necessary, communicate with the memory 454 and/or memory 383 of the electronic RFID circuit 382 (not shown here). A command is a data transfer of the type that instructs the control devices, and thus the control components in the instrument 100, to perform predefined actions. The command may be to send data from RFID unit 380 via interface 457 to memory 454 of computing unit 450. The command may be to send data from memory 454 to RFID unit 380. The command may also be to charge the device's energy battery. This can be done via the optional current path 209 (when available in the used embodiment of instrument 100).

An embodiment of the instrument 100 of FIG. 7 has the same elements as in FIG. 6 and also designated by the same position code numbers. Fig. 7 further has an interface 385 through which the RFID unit 380 can set the control unit 300. In this way, the switch 250 can be controlled and the components behind the switch 250 can be turned on and off. In one embodiment, the switch 250 can also be controlled directly by the RFID unit. 380. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the components are a measurement input unit 410 and a compute and control unit 450. The compute unit 450 is connected to the memory 454 such that the memory 454 can communicate with the RFID unit 380 in operation. With the compute unit 450 turned off the data received from the RFID unit 380 into the memory 454 can be used - for control or for calculations, or data that was entered from the computing unit 450 can be read from the RFID unit 380.

An embodiment according to FIG. 8 except for the elements from FIG. 7 shows still other elements of the battery-operated device 100, which is configured as a battery-operated device. The device 100 thus has a radio unit 350, which is connected to the battery 200 energy through the switch 250. The radio unit 350 is designed to transmit and receive information. The radio unit 350 can only be activated when the switch 250 is turned on, and thereby the radio unit 350 becomes connected to the energy accumulator 200 . In particular, the radio unit 350 is also capable of transmitting time information regarding the next measurement via the first interface 355 to the time management unit 301, which may be part of the control unit 300, and/or receive it from the time management unit 301 when the switch 250 is turned on. . The time information may be specified as absolute time, relative time, and/or as a combination or repetition of absolute or relative time. The radio unit 350 can communicate with the server 375, which is located in the cloud 370. In this case, for example, the measurement results or also the time information can be replaced. The radio block 350 can also control - via the time management block 301, which is part of the control block 300 - the control block 300 with time information.

In addition, the exemplary embodiment provides a communication device 390. The communication device 390 may, for example, use a short range radio technology, such as a protocol from the Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) family, an IrDA (Infrared Data Communications Standard) protocol, or a proprietary protocol. A wireless local area network (WLAN) can also be used for the connection. For example, communication device 390 may be used to read measurement data, parameters, or error messages, and/or enter parameters or also software updates, for example, into memory 454 of instrument 100.

The embodiment shown also has a console 360 which is connected by a wire 207 and a connector 208 to the energy storage 200 . Connector 208 may be formed as a plug, and in one embodiment also serves to connect interface 365. Remote control 360 may have its own energy storage (not shown in FIG. 7 ) which may be designed to thereby be able to charge the energy accumulator 200 of the device 100 is when the energy accumulator 200 is configured as rechargeable.

The computing unit 450 can communicate directly with the consumer 400 (respectively, the measuring input unit 410 and/or indicator input unit 420), the radio unit 350, the communication device 390. Computing unit 450 may communicate with RFID unit 380 via memory 454.

In FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a method 500 of operating a battery powered instrument 100 in the form of a Nassi-Schneidermann diagram. At step 501, an external command is received by the device 100 using the RFID unit 380. In particular, the command may be sent by the external communication device 480. In particular, the command may be of the type of data transfer that sets the control devices in the instrument to perform predefined actions. The predefined action is determined at block 502.

When the command is to receive data, step 503 is executed. At step 503, the data is transferred from the RFID unit 380 to the memory 454 of the computation and control unit 450 in the instrument 100. For example, the data may be parameterization data, for control information, for measurement results, for time information, and other types of data.

When the command is to transmit data, step 504 is executed. At step 504, data from memory 454 is transmitted to RFID unit 380. RFID unit 380 may store the data, temporarily store, and/or forward to communication device 480. The data may be of the same type as the received data. The data can also be, for example, measurement results or processor variables, so that - in conjunction with the appropriate send commands - even device debugging is possible.

When the command is to turn the device on or off, step 505 is executed. At step 505, the RFID unit 380 controls the control unit 300 through the interface 385. The control unit 300 in turn controls the controllable switch 205 through the control wire or interface 305 to fully or selectively turn on or off a device that is connected via supply wire 255. In an embodiment that maintains a permanent on, this can be done, for example, by means of a self-locking circuit. In an embodiment that supports always on, this can also be selected and implemented, for example, by means of a self-locking circuit (not shown).

When the instruction is to charge the device's energy storage device, step 506 is executed. In step 506, power is transferred from the RFID unit 380 to the energy storage device 200. In embodiments in which the RFID block 380 is designed to charge the energy storage 200, the control paths intended for this purpose and the current transmission path 209 are unblocked.

Fig. 10 shows a flow chart of the operation of instrument 100. Method 600 starts at initial state 601. At step 602, a check is made to see if a predetermined time interval between two measurements has already elapsed.

If so, then at step 603 the processor is activated, which in this example corresponds to initializing and/or loading and/or exiting the power saving low power mode. In step 604, the processor 450 activates the measured data determination block 410, which, for example, can be configured as a high frequency input block, an ultrasonic input block, or a laser input block. In step 605, the actual measurement is performed to determine the distance to the loaded product, and the result of the measurement is transmitted to the processor 450. In step 606, the measured data determination unit 410 is deactivated again to save power. At step 607, the processor determines the distance to the loaded product and/or values that can be derived from it (volume, fill level, etc.) based on the transmitted data. To transmit this measured value, at step 608, the primary communication device 350 is activated, which at step 609 transmits the measured value using LPWAN technology to the network infrastructure. At step 610, the primary communication device 350 is deactivated again to conserve power. At step 611, processor 450 causes controlled switch 250 to open, thereby deactivating the processor. The process flow proceeds to end state 612. The sequence of process steps described above illustrates the substantially normal flow of measurement that may take place in meter 100.

If at step 602 it was determined that the time period for re-measurement has not yet elapsed, then at step 613 a check is made whether power has been supplied through the antenna 381 from the outside. If this is the case, then at step 614, the processor 450 is powered up and initialization or loading occurs. At step 615, the processor first checks whether the correct access password has been transmitted via the interface 381 to activate the connection. If this has happened and the password is correct, then at step 617 the processor activates the secondary communication device, such as the Bluetooth chip 390. At step 618, the user interacts with the device 100 using an external reader 480, such as a smartphone 480, through the secondary communication device . At block 619, a check is made to see if the user has requested the end of communication, such as by closing the application on the smartphone. If this is the case, then at step 622 the secondary communication device 390 is immediately deactivated before at step 623 the processor is also deactivated by appropriate control signals through the controlled switch 250. whether the user has exceeded the set period of inactivity mode. In this case, at step 621, it is assumed that the regular expiration of the external manual control 480 was missed, whereby the last communication to the outside is canceled so that the sensor returns to its waiting state again. After deactivation 622 of the secondary communication device and deactivation 623 of the processor, the process ends in a final state 612.

In addition, it should be noted that "including" and "having" do not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite articles one" or "one" do not exclude plural entities. In addition, it should be noted that the features or steps that have been described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments can also be applied in combination with other features or steps of other exemplary embodiments described above. Reference positions in claims are not to be construed as limitations.

List of reference positions

100 measuring device, indicator device, device

101 Corps

102 body wall

200 energy accumulator

205, 207, 209, 215 wire

208 connector

220 energy control unit

250 controlled switch

251 feedback lines

255 wire, power wire

300 control unit

301 time management block

305, 355, 365 interface

350 wireless communication device

357 connection

360 remote

370 cloud

375 server

380 RFID block

381 RFID antenna, coil

382 RFID switching pattern

383 RFID block memory

385, 386 wire

390 secondary communication device

400 consumer

410 measuring input block

420 indicator input block

450 computing unit, control unit

452 communication line

454 memory

455, 457 interface

459 control circuit wire

480 external control panel

490 control panel

500 way

501-506 stage

600 way

601 initial state

602-611, 613-622 stage

612 final state

623 deactivation

Claims (49)

1. Measuring device (100) for measuring the level of filling, containing: an energy regulating unit (220), which is configured to supply a regulated current to a consumer (400) connected via a controlled switch (250), RFID unit (380), wherein the RFID unit (380) is configured to, on command from the outside from the external communication device (480), selectively: turn on and off the consumer (400) by means of a controlled switch (250) or transmit energy from the RFID unit (380) to the energy accumulator (200). 2. Measuring device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the RFID block (380) comprises an RFID antenna (381) and an RFID switching circuit (382). 3. Measuring device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, in which the turning on and off of the controlled switch (250) includes the permanent turning on of the controlled switch (250). 4. Measuring device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, moreover, the measuring device (100) has an energy accumulator (200). 5. Measuring device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a computing and control unit (450), which is connected via a controlled switch (250) to an energy accumulator (200) and connected to a memory (454). 6. Measuring device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the RFID unit (380) uses a short range communication connection. 7. Measuring device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, moreover, the consumer (400) additionally has a radio unit (350), which is designed to transmit data to the server (375) and/or to receive from the server (375), and and the radio unit (350) is a transmitter and/or receiver, for example, an energy efficient long-range network. 8. Measuring device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, moreover, the consumer (400) has a communication device (390) that is configured to transmit data to the server (375) and/or to receive from the server (375). 9. Measuring device (100) according to claim 8, wherein the communication device (390) uses a wireless personal area network (WPAN), a wireless local area network LAN (WLAN). 10. Measuring device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: remote control (360), which is either connected to an energy accumulator (200) via an additional wire (207) or has its own energy accumulator, moreover, the panel (360) is designed to turn on and off the controlled switch (250), in particular, by means of the control unit (300). 11. Measuring device (100) according to any of the preceding paragraphs, moreover, the control unit (300) contains a time management unit (301), which is designed to control the switch (250), based on time information, from the RFID unit (380), from the radio unit (350) and / or from the remote control (360 ), wherein the time information is a point in time, a span of time, and/or a time raster. 12. Measuring device (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the energy control unit (220), in the case of more than one consumer (400), is additionally configured to switch consumers (400) on and off either together or separately. 13. Measuring device (100) according to any one of the preceding paragraphs, moreover, the RFID unit (380) is additionally configured to selectively exchange data with the memory (454) on command from the outside from the external communication device (480). 14. Method of operation of the measuring device (100) according to any one of paragraphs. 1-13, containing the steps in which: - receive an external command from an external communication device (480) via an RFID unit (380); - when said command provides for turning on or off the consumer (400), the controlled switch (250) is switched on or off, respectively, by means of the RFID unit (380) and the control unit (300); - when said command provides for charging the energy accumulator (200) of the device (100), the energy is transferred from the RFID unit (380) to the energy accumulator (200). 15. The method according to p. 14, containing additional steps, in which: - when said command provides for receiving data, transmitting data from the RFID unit (380) to the memory (454) in the meter; - when said command involves data transmission, the data is transmitted from the memory (454) to the RFID unit (380). 16. A computer-readable medium on which a software element is stored which, when executed on the computing and control unit (450) of the meter (100), is suitable for carrying out the method of claim 14 or 15. 17. Measuring device (100) for measuring flow, containing: an energy regulating unit (220), which is configured to supply a regulated current to a consumer (400) connected via a controlled switch (250), RFID unit (380), wherein the RFID unit (380) is configured to, on command from the outside from the external communication device (480), selectively: turn on and off the consumer (400) by means of a controlled switch (250) or transmit energy from the RFID unit (380) to the energy accumulator (200). 18. Measuring device (100) for measuring pressure, containing: an energy regulating unit (220), which is configured to supply a regulated current to a consumer (400) connected via a controlled switch (250), RFID unit (380), wherein the RFID unit (380) is configured to, on command from the outside from the external communication device (480), selectively: turn on and off the consumer (400) by means of a controlled switch (250) or transmit energy from the RFID unit (380) to the energy accumulator (200).

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