Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
  • G01F15/00—Details of, or accessories for, apparatus of groups G01F1/00 - G01F13/00 insofar as such details or appliances are not adapted to particular types of such apparatus
  • G01F15/06—Indicating or recording devices
  • G01F15/068—Indicating or recording devices with electrical means
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
  • G06F1/26—Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof
  • G06F1/32—Means for saving power

Definitions

• the invention relates to the field of autonomously operated electrical devices and installations, and in particular to battery-operated devices for domestic installation technology. It is based on a scanning method, an electrical device, a system and an installation according to the preamble of the independent claims.
• EP 1 278 047 A specifies a sampling method for flowmeters, in which a sampling rate is reduced as a function of a remaining service life of the feed source. This can increase the service life of the feed source at the expense of measurement accuracy.
• JP 10246662 A Patent Abstract, an electronic water meter is disclosed in which a magnetic sensor is present, the sampling rate of which is adjusted as a function of the sensor signal. To reduce energy consumption, the sampling rate is reduced when the sensor signal remains stable or largely unchanged, and increased when changes in the sensor signal occur. A reduction in the energy consumption as a function of other parameters and in particular a remaining service life of the feed source is not provided.
• WO 98/52061 specifies a measuring device or gas meter in which the battery charge status is monitored and the time is determined when the battery is to be replaced.
• the determination of the remaining battery capacity or remaining service life is based, among other things: a counting of the operating days of the battery since it was started up; battery self-discharge; a stand-by Consumption of the measuring device; a count of the number of times certain meter operating modes have been run; an extrapolation of the presumed future energy consumption based on statistics or empirical values; as well as a safety margin to bridge the time between the battery alarm and the actual replacement of the battery. No measures are being taken to extend the battery life.
• Motion detectors are devices that detect people in a defined area or solid angle. They are mainly used in installation technology. They are preferably used to control light sources, fans, heaters or other electrical devices. If a person moves towards a sensor, a relay or a semiconductor switch z. B. switched on a lamp. The sensors are based on an infrared detector, which generates a signal according to the radiated temperature of a moving body. Such devices are typically hard-wired and operated on the low-voltage supply network.
• U.S. Pat. No. 4 '982' 176 discloses an outdoor lighting and alarm system with a passive infrared motion detector.
• the system is powered by a battery that can be recharged using solar cells.
• the battery operation of the lighting or alarm is only activated by an electronic control if the motion detector has detected a moving object. Activation of the system during the day can also be prevented using a daylight detector. There are no measures to reduce power consumption in the motion detector.
• the object of the present invention is to provide a method and a device for extending the functional life of an electrical device which can be operated independently of the network. to admit. According to the invention, this object is achieved by the features of the independent claims.
• the invention consists in a scanning method for an electrical device with an autonomous feed source, wherein a measurement signal is determined by the device by scanning at a specific sampling rate, the sampling of the measurement signal being carried out quasi-continuously in order to reduce the power consumption of the feed source by sampling time windows can be defined during which the sampling is carried out continuously and sampling gaps are allowed between the sampling time windows during which no sampling is carried out. Intermittent sampling gaps are thus permitted in the signal sampling at repeated times. During the sampling time window, the sampling is carried out with sufficient frequency and therefore with a sufficiently defined sampling rate.
• the method reduces the power consumption of an electrical device with signal sampling with at least partially autonomous power supply without the measurement reliability having to be significantly restricted.
• the exemplary embodiments according to claims 2 and 3 ensure that the power consumption is reduced as much as possible and at the same time a high availability of the device is guaranteed.
• Claim 4a allows a statistically advantageous distribution of the sampling gaps in order to keep the effects of the sampling gaps on the measurement reliability low.
• Claims 4b and 5 relate to further improving measures to reduce electricity consumption, which take into account in particular the remaining life of the feed source.
• Claims 6-9 state how the sampling gaps can be optimized as a function of an additional signal. For electronic gas meters, this affects the control of sampling gaps depending on a temperature signal, because the gas consumption to be measured is significant with the ambient temperature. can vary, or depending on an already registered gas consumption, because the gas supply behavior typically varies continuously and not suddenly.
• Claim 10 relates to a motion detector in which sampling gaps are dimensioned and distributed over time so that the motion monitoring is not impaired.
• the invention relates to an electrical device, in particular for executing the above-mentioned method, comprising measuring means and a control unit for generating and evaluating a measurement signal by scanning at a specific sampling rate and comprising an autonomous supply source for at least temporarily supplying at least one power-consuming component of the Electrical device, the device having a quasi-continuous scanning mode with alternating sampling time windows and sampling gaps and switching means for automatically switching the device between a waking time during the sampling time window and a dead time during the sampling gaps.
• the invention also relates to a house installation or a building comprising an electrical device as described above.
• Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a battery operated electronic gas meter.
• FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a battery-operated motion detector with radio connection to an actuator
• 3 schematically shows a power-saving mode of an electrical device with signal sampling and sampling gaps according to the invention
• 4 shows a current consumption of the electrical device as a function of a signal acquisition sampling rate
• Fig. 6 shows a third power saving operation of the electrical device with an externally triggered alternating operating mode.
• FIG. 1 schematically shows an electronic gas meter 1 ', the basic structure of which is known, for example, from EP 1 164 361, which is hereby incorporated by reference into the present description with all the documents cited therein.
• the gas meter 1 ' is typically arranged in a bypass 16 to a gas line 15 and detects an anemometric measurement signal 101b there, which samples the gas flow through the bypass 16 and, because of the defined branching ratio, represents an exact measure of the gas supply through the main line 15.
• the sampling takes place at a specific sampling rate and is carried out in the gas meter 1 'by a control unit 103 for signal detection and signal processing, in particular by a microcontroller 103.
• the gas meter 1 ′ preferably has an electronic CMOS chip 100 for an anemometric gas flow measurement. Since the gas meter l 1 is fully electronic, it can be operated with a battery 105 or an accumulator 105 independently of the network or autonomously.
• the autonomous feed source 105 can be any battery feed, also a rechargeable battery or an accumulator.
• the battery 105 can also be arranged outside the device 1, 1 '.
• the detector 1 comprises measuring means 100, 101, 102 and a control unit 103 for generating and evaluating a measurement signal 100b with which the movement or presence 100a of an object can be detected.
• the movement or presence signal 100b is also detected by scanning.
• the detector 1 comprises an autonomous supply source 105 for at least temporarily supplying at least one current-consuming component 100, 101, 102, 103, 104 of the detector 1.
• the current-consuming components are in particular a motion sensor 100, a data acquisition part or a signal processing unit 101, 102 , evaluation electronics 103 for personal identification and a communication part 104.
• the object to be detected can be a person, an animal, a bicycle, a car or the like.
• the motion detector 1 comprises, for example, a passive infrared detector 1 (PIR), but can also comprise an active infrared detector based on infrared reflection, an active ultrasonic detector based on ultrasonic reflection or Doppler effect, an acoustic sound detector, an active microwave detector or the like.
• PIR passive infrared detector 1
• the widely used passive infrared detector which comprises two pyroelectric crystals A, A ', which are interconnected with opposite polarity, is designated by 100.
• the detector 2 is required to be installed separately by the actuator 2.
• the sensor part 1 should be able to be operated with a battery 105 and the switching command from Sensor 1 to actuator 2 should preferably be transmitted through a wireless connection 3.
• the detector 1 has a transmitter 104 and the actuator 2 has a receiver 204, which can function on the basis of radio waves, microwaves, acoustic waves or the like.
• the actuator 2 has its own microcontroller 203 and a switch 200, in particular a relay or a semiconductor switch 200, for controlling a light source, a blind, a fan, an air conditioning system, a heater or other electrical apparatus.
• back communication 4 to detector 1 can also be present in addition to the forward communication 3 for transmitting commands to the actuator 2.
• the return communication 4 serves to communicate from the actuator 2 to the detector 1 how well the transmission connection works and, if necessary, to level the transmission power to an optimal level and, in particular, to lower it.
• FIG. 3 shows a conventional scanning method 12, in which the scanning of the measurement signal 100b, 101b is carried out continuously 12, and in contrast the scanning method 13 according to the invention, in which the scanning of the measurement signal 101b quasi-continuously to reduce the power consumption I of the autonomous power source 105 13 is performed by defining sample time windows 14 'during which the scan is performed continuously and allowing sample gaps 14 between the sample time windows 14' during which no samples are taken.
• the scan instead of an equidistant or at least continuous scan 12, the scan is carried out in a burst mode 13 by allowing detection or scan gaps 14.
• the sampling rate f remains unchanged or constant, but is temporarily suspended or under broken.
• the burst mode 13 can basically be operated independently of a remaining service life of the battery 105.
• the ratio between a dead time during the sampling gaps 14 and a waking time during the sampling time window 1 ' is to be selected in accordance with a required availability of the measurement signal 101b, 100b, in particular the gas consumption signal 101b or the movement signal 100b.
• the power saving can be achieved by switching off several and preferably all power-consuming components 100, 101, 102, 103, 104 of the electrical device 1, 1 'during the scanning gaps 14 or, if necessary for the automatic activation of the sampling time window 14', to stand by switched.
• a clock runs in the microcontroller 103 which, B. every 0.1 s or ls or 10s wakes up the microcontroller 103 and generates a scanning window 14 '.
• the sampling gaps 14 can be allowed at regular or random intervals. A duration and / or frequency of the scanning gaps 14 can also be increased with an increasing aging of the food source 105. As a result, the battery 1, 1 'remains intermittently available over a long period of time when the availability of the device 1, 1' is decreasing, and the battery life can be additionally extended. The current consumption I can be reduced the more the longer the detection gaps 14 are selected in the burst mode 13. The loss is that the traceability of the measurement signal 100b, 101b becomes worse and the reaction or response time is mainly extended until gas consumption 101a or movement 100a can be detected.
• FIG. 4 shows the current consumption I of a data acquisition system 101-103 or microcontroller 103 as a function of the sampling rate or clock frequency f.
• the total power consumption 11 is composed of a base load 10 and a part dependent on the sampling frequency f.
• the base load 10 is composed of the current consumption I of the microcontroller 103 in sleep mode, the consumption of the amplifier 101 and the sensor 100 (if these cannot be switched off) and leakage currents from other components.
• the frequency-dependent part increases essentially proportionally and at high frequencies f disproportionately to the frequency f. So the power consumption I of a data acquisition system 101-103, z. B. an analog / digital converter 102, can be approximately halved if the sampling rate f is reduced by a factor of two.
• the relevant sampling rates f of the gas meter 1 lie in a range of, for example, 0.1 Hz to 1 Hz.
• the relevant sampling rates f of the infrared motion detector 1 for the evaluation and detection of a person lie in a frequency range between approximately 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz.
• a detection system 1 must therefore have at least twice the sampling rate, ie. H. operated with at least 2 Hz or 20 Hz.
• motion detector 1 even works at 75 Hz. This increases the reliability of the motion detection by the motion detector 1.
• the system 1 can thus continue to be operated for a relatively long time with a relatively slightly reduced detection reliability until the capacity of the battery 105 is completely used up.
• This scanning method in which the scanning rate f lt f 2 , f 3 is reduced with increasing aging or decreasing remaining service life of the feed source 105, can be freely combined with the approval of scanning gaps 14 according to the invention.
• a minimum sampling rate should be guaranteed over a minimum period of time in order to ensure the functionality of the device 1, 1 'at least temporarily.
• Fig. 6 shows a preferred embodiment in which an additional signal 6; 5b, 17b, 18b for detecting an additional parameter 5a, 17a, 18a and depending on the size of the additional signal 6; 5b, 17b, 18b a duration and / or frequency of the sampling gaps 14 is controlled.
• the additional signal 6; 17b, 18b for example, a temperature signal 6, 17b is used, which is generated by a temperature sensor 17 for detecting an ambient temperature 17a, or a gas consumption signal 6, 18b is used, which was measured over a relevant period of time.
• a control unit 103 of the gas meter 1 'advantageously initiates repeated measurement of the ambient temperature 17a and the resulting temperature signal 6, 17b with a temperature threshold value 60; 61, 62 compared, which is particularly subject to hysteresis, and a first operating mode 7 with rare and / or short sampling gaps 14 is activated when the temperature threshold 60; 61, 62 from Temperature signal 6, 17b is undershot, and a second operating mode 8 with frequent and / or long sampling gaps 14 is activated when the temperature threshold 60; 61, 62 is exceeded by the temperature signal 6, 17b.
• the gas consumption signal 6, 18b can also be repeatedly determined by a control unit 103 of the gas meter 1 'and with a gas consumption threshold value 60; 61, 62, which is particularly subject to hysteresis, and a first operating mode 7 with rare and / or short sampling gaps 14 is activated when the gas consumption threshold value 60; 61, 62 is exceeded by the gas consumption signal 6, 18b, and a second operating mode 8 with frequent and / or long sampling gaps 14 is activated when the. Gas consumption threshold 60; 61, 62 is not reached by the gas consumption signal 6, 18b.
• the motion detector 1 In the case of the motion detector 1 (FIG. 2), where the measurement signal 100b is a motion signal 100b for detecting a movement or presence of an object, it is in principle also conceivable that depending on an ambient light signal 5b with which an ambient brightness 5a is detected, the Motion detector 1 between the first operating mode 7, for. B. a night operation 7, and the second operating mode 8, z. B. a day operation 8, is switched. In other words, the light-sensitive element 5 would then generate the ambient light signal 5b for detecting the ambient light 5a, and a duration and / or frequency of the sampling gaps 14 would be controlled as a function of the ambient light signal 5b.
• the additional signal 6 shows two exemplary embodiments for a gas meter 1 'and one exemplary embodiment for a motion detector 1.
• the additional signal 6 provides a temperature profile 17b as a measure of the ambient temperature 17a
• the relevant gas consumption signal 18b as a measure of a relevant one Gas consumption 18a
• an ambient light signal 5b as a measure of an ambient light 5a each as a function of the time of day t (or another parameter).
• the threshold value 60 is exceeded in the morning, the switch is made to the second operating mode 8 and the scanning activity of the device 1, 1 'is thus reduced.
• the system switches to the first operating mode 7 and the scanning activity of the device 1, 1 'is increased.
• the time is chosen only as an example and can also be correlated differently with the scanning activity.
• Scanning activity denotes the duration and / or frequency of the approval of scanning gaps 14.
• a hysteresis is introduced such that in the morning the threshold value 61, increased by a trigger, and in the evening the threshold value 62, decreased by a trigger, serves as a switchover criterion.
• a battery-operated device 1, 1 'can thus approximately half the time in the energy-saving second operating mode 8. The battery life can thereby be extended efficiently.
• the invention also relates to a device 1, 1 'for operating the described scanning method, in particular a gas meter 1' according to FIG. 1 or a motion detector 1 according to FIG. 2.
• a device 1, 1 ' for operating the described scanning method, in particular a gas meter 1' according to FIG. 1 or a motion detector 1 according to FIG. 2.
• Such an electrical device 1, 1 ' comprises measuring means 100, 101, 102 and a control unit 103 for generating and evaluating a measurement signal 100b, 101b by scanning 12, 13 with a specific sampling rate f, f x , f 2 , f 3 and an autonomous supply source 105 for at least temporarily supplying at least one power-consuming component 100, 101, 102, 103, 104 of the electrical device 1, 1 ', the device 1, 1' having a quasi-continuous scanning mode 7, 8 with alternating sampling time windows 14 'and sampling gaps 14 and switching means 103b for automatically switching the device 1, 1' between a waking time during the sampling time window 14 '
• the control unit 103 can comprise the switchover means 103b and preferably a microcontroller 103.
• the switching means 103b represent a control circuit 103b, which can be arranged inside or outside the control unit 103 and with the aid of which the battery life can be extended by repeated switching between scanning windows 14 'and scanning gaps 14.
• Additional means 5, 17, 103 for generating an additional signal 6; 5b, 17b, 18b from an additional parameter 5a, 17a, 18a are present and the switching means 103b comprise control means for controlling a duration and / or frequency of the sampling gaps 14 depending on the size of the additional signal 6; 5b, 17b, 18b.
• the switching means 103b comprise comparator means for comparing the additional signal 6; 5b, 17b, 18b with a predefinable threshold value 60; 61, 62 and the device 1, 1 'has a first operating mode 7 with rare and / or short sampling gaps 14 and a second operating mode 8 with frequent and / or long sampling gaps 14, and the switching means 103b comprise computing means for switching between the first operating mode 7 and the second operating mode 8 as a function of the comparison.
• the measurement signal 101b is a gas meter signal 101b for determining a gas supply 101a and the additional means 17, 103 comprise a temperature sensor 17 for generating a temperature signal 6, 17b from an ambient temperature 17a or measuring means 103 for determining a Gas consumption signal 6, 18b over a relevant period.
• the switching means 103b activate the second operating mode 8 when the temperature signal 6, 17b exceeds a temperature threshold value 60; 61, 62 or if the gas consumption signal 6, 18b is below a gas consumption threshold value 60; 61, 62 lies.
• the invention also relates to a house installation or a building, comprising an electrical device 1, 1 'with the scanning method according to the invention.
• REFERENCE SIGN LIST electrical device, autonomous motion detector 'autonomous gas meter00 motion sensor, pyroelectric detector, passive infrared detector (PIR); Gas flow anemometer00a motion signal, presence signal, heat radiation00b measurement signal, motion signal01a gas supply01b measurement signal, gas meter signal01 signal amplifier02 A / D converter03 control unit, microcontroller, ⁇ C, microprocessor03b switching means04 communication part, transmitter, transceiver05 autonomous power supply source, microprocessor control, microprocessor control, microprocessor controller, microprocessor control unit , Receiver, transceiver communication, command direction return communication light-sensitive element, photoresistor, phototransistora ambient light, daylight, artificial lightb ambient light signal signal for brightness, temperature, gas consumption0 threshold value for brightness, temperature, gas consumption; Trigger1 threshold plus hysteresis2 threshold minus hysteresis First operating mode, night operating mode Second operating mode, day operating mode 9 Power consumption, energy consumption

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• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Measuring Volume Flow (AREA)
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• 2003
  • 2003-12-01 DE DE10356069A patent/DE10356069A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2004
  • 2004-11-29 BR BRPI0417082-2A patent/BRPI0417082A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2004-11-29 CN CNB2004800355287A patent/CN100468287C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2004-11-29 WO PCT/CH2004/000717 patent/WO2005055017A2/de active Application Filing
  • 2004-11-29 AU AU2004295729A patent/AU2004295729A1/en not_active Abandoned
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