WO2020070889A1

WO2020070889A1 - Central processing device, data collecting system, and data collecting method

Info

Publication number: WO2020070889A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/037440
Authority: WO
Inventors: 範行小林
Original assignee: 三菱電機株式会社
Priority date: 2018-10-05
Filing date: 2018-10-05
Publication date: 2020-04-09
Also published as: TWI717023B; CN112806032A; CN112806032B; JP6498375B1; JPWO2020070889A1; TW202015389A

Abstract

A central processing device (1) according to the present invention collects meter-reading values from a smart meter (2-1) constituting a multi-hop network, and is provided with: a reception unit (10) that receives meter-read values regularly transmitted from the smart meter (2-1), and receives, from the smart meter (2-1), radio communication quality information indicating the communication quality between the smart meter (2-1) and the central processing device (1); a storage unit (19) that stores the received meter-read value and the received radio communication quality information; a re-collection processing unit (15) that executes a process of re-collecting a missing meter-read value; a radio communication quality determination unit (16) that, when the re-collection process is failed, determines, on the basis of the radio communication quality information, whether a high-quality time period is present in which the communication quality is better than in a re-collection time which is a scheduled time for the next re-collection process; and a re-collection time change unit (17) that, when a high-quality time period will come, changes the next re-collection time to the high-quality time period.

Description

Central processing unit, data collection system and data collection method

The present invention relates to a central processing unit that collects data from a terminal device, a data collection system, and a data collection method.

The data collection system employing the multi-hop communication system includes a smart meter as a terminal device, an aggregation device, and a head-end system as a central processing device. The smart meter transmits, to the central processing unit, a meter reading value that is data indicating a measurement result of the electric energy. The meter reading is transferred by the smart meter and the aggregation device by the multi-hop communication method and arrives at the central processing unit. The central processing unit thus collects meter readings from the smart meter. The meter readings are collected periodically, and the data collection cycle is, for example, 30 minutes.

On the other hand, since the smart meter transmits the meter reading value by wireless communication, the meter reading value may not reach the central processing unit depending on the communication environment. In such a case, the central processing unit requests the smart meter to retransmit the meter reading. Patent Literature 1 discloses a data collection system that, when an automatic meter reading server as a central processing unit has a meter reading value that cannot be acquired by periodic collection, requests a corresponding smart meter to individually retransmit. .

JP-A-2005-88858

In the data collection system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, retransmission is requested after determining that there is a meter reading that could not be obtained by periodic collection, and if the meter reading could not be obtained even by retransmission, the data was collected again. Perform retransmission. For example, if the wireless communication quality in a certain time period is lower than usual due to a shield such as a vehicle, communication will not be performed normally each time retransmission is performed even if continuous retransmission is performed, and the central processing unit will read the meter reading value. May not arrive. Therefore, if retransmission is performed in a state where the wireless communication quality is not good, the retransmission is repeated, and the wireless band is wasted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has as its object to provide a central processing unit capable of suppressing the number of retransmissions.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a central processing unit according to the present invention is a central processing unit that collects data from terminal devices constituting a multi-hop network, and transmits data periodically from the terminal devices. And a receiving unit that receives, from the terminal device, communication quality information indicating communication quality of a path in the multi-hop network between the terminal device and the central processing unit. The central processing unit further includes a storage unit that stores the data and the communication quality information received by the receiving unit, and a recollection processing unit that performs a process of recollecting missing data. The central processing unit further includes, when the recollection process fails, based on the communication quality information, a high quality time zone in which the communication quality is better than the recollection time that is the scheduled time for the next recollection process. A communication quality determination unit that determines whether there is a high quality time zone, and a recollection time change unit that changes the recollection time to a high quality time zone when a high quality time zone exists.

(4) The central processing unit according to the present invention has an effect that the number of retransmissions can be suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a data collection system according to the present invention. Diagram showing a configuration example of a central processing unit and a smart meter Diagram showing a configuration example of first data Diagram showing an example of data collection timing Diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system that realizes a central processing unit 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a wireless communication quality management processing procedure in the central processing unit. Diagram showing an example of wireless communication quality for each time zone Flowchart showing an example of the overall processing procedure for re-collection in the central processing unit Flow chart showing an example of the processing procedure of the re-collection processing Sequence diagram showing periodic collection in the data collection system Sequence diagram showing reacquisition in the data acquisition system

Hereinafter, a central processing unit, a data collection system, and a data collection method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the data collection system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a data collection system according to the present embodiment includes a central processing unit 1 called a head end system (HES), and smart meters 2-1 to 2-N as terminal devices. , Is provided. N is an integer of 2 or more. However, in the example shown in FIG. 1, N is 4 or more. Hereinafter, when each of the smart meters 2-1 to 2-N is shown without distinction, it is described as a smart meter 2. The number of each device shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the number of each device is not limited to the example shown in FIG. Note that a centralizing device (not shown) may be provided between the central processing unit 1 and the smart meter 2.

Each of the smart meters 2-1 to 2-N is installed in a home, a business, or the like, measures the amount of power in the home, a business, or the like, and sends a meter reading, which is a measurement result, to the corresponding central processing unit 1. To send. The smart meters 2-1 to 2-N perform communication by a wireless multi-hop communication method. The smart meters 2-1 to 2-N are terminal devices constituting a wireless multi-hop network. The smart meters 2-1 to 2-N periodically exchange control messages in accordance with a path control protocol, and hold path information, that is, information on a connection position in a wireless multi-hop network, as path information. An example of the routing protocol is RPL (IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Network), but the routing protocol is not limited to this. Hereinafter, the direction of communication from the smart meters 2-1 to 2-N to the central processing unit 1 is referred to as an upward direction, and the direction of communication from the central processing unit 1 to the smart meters 2-1 to 2-N is referred to as a downward direction. Call. Hereinafter, a wireless multi-hop network will be described as an example. The multi-hop network constituted by the smart meters 2-1 to 2-N is a multi-hop network using a line other than a wireless line such as a PLC (Power Line Communication). It may be.

Specifically, the route information held by each of the smart meters 2-1 to 2-N stores information indicating the next smart meter 2-1 to 2-N on the upward route. . Regarding the downstream route, when the central processing unit 1 transmits data to each of the smart meters 2-1 to 2-N, the information indicates the downstream route, that is, the smart meters 2-1 to 2-N that pass through. Information is stored in the data.

When the smart meter 2 detects a communication failure, it performs a route search according to the route control protocol. In the present embodiment, a route search is performed periodically. There is no particular limitation on the period in which the route search is performed. For example, the route search is performed once a day. It is also assumed that an upper limit is set for the number of hops in a wireless multi-hop network. The upper limit of the number of hops is, for example, 20, but the upper limit of the number of hops is not limited to this.

In the present embodiment, the central processing unit 1 holds a main route and one or more sub routes as route information as a communication route with each smart meter 2. FIG. 1 shows a main route and a sub route between the smart meter 2-3 and the central processing unit 1 as an example. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the main path between the smart meter 2-3 and the central processing unit 1 is, in the case where the central processing unit 1 is the starting point, the smart meter 2-1 and the smart meter 2-2 in order. This is a route that reaches the smart meter 2-3 via the Internet. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the sub route between the smart meter 2-3 and the central processing unit 1 reaches the smart meter 3 via the smart meter 2-1 when the central processing unit 1 is a starting point. It is a route to do.

(4) The central processing unit 1 collects data from the smart meter 2, which is a terminal device constituting the multi-hop network. The data is, for example, a meter reading of the amount of power also called meter data. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the central processing unit 1 collects the meter reading of the electric energy from the smart meter 2 as the terminal device, but the data collected by the central processing unit 1 is the meter reading of the electric energy. The present invention is not limited to this, and may be a gas meter reading value, data detected by a sensor, or the like.

The central processing unit 1 is connected to a not-shown meter data management system (MDMS (Meter Data Management System)). The central processing unit 1 collects meter readings from the smart meters 2-1 to 2-N and transmits the meter readings to the meter data management system. The meter reading is used for calculating the electricity bill. In addition, the meter reading value is transmitted to the consignment system, and may be used in formulating a power generation plan and trading the amount of power in the power market.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the central processing unit 1 and the smart meter 2 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the central processing unit 1 includes a receiving unit 10, a data storage unit 11, a collection status management unit 12, a recollection target extraction unit 13, a transmission unit 14, a recollection processing unit 15, a wireless communication quality determination unit. 16, a re-collection time change unit 17, a communication control unit 18, and a storage unit 19.

The receiving unit 10 receives data from the smart meter 2 and outputs the received data to the data storage unit 11. The data received from the smart meter 2 includes first data that includes a meter reading and is transmitted periodically, second data that includes wireless communication quality information, and meter reading that is transmitted in response to a recollection request. And third data. That is, the receiving unit 10 receives the meter reading periodically transmitted from the smart meter 2, and uses the communication quality information indicating the communication quality of the route in the multi-hop network between the smart meter 2 and the central processing unit 1. A certain wireless quality information is received from the smart meter 2. If the received data is the third data, the receiving unit 10 outputs the third data to the data storage unit 11 and to the re-collection processing unit 15. The first data and the second data will be described later.

When the data received from the receiving unit 10 is the first data, the data storing unit 11 stores the first data in the storage unit 19 as meter reading value information and outputs the first data to the collection status managing unit 12. When the data received from the receiving unit 10 is the second data, the data storage unit 11 stores the second data in the storage unit 19 as wireless communication quality information. When the data received from the receiving unit 10 is the third data, the data storage unit 11 stores the third data in the storage unit 19 as meter reading value information.

The collection status management unit 12 manages the collection status of meter readings for each smart meter 2 based on the first data received from the data storage unit 11. Specifically, based on the first data received from the data storage unit 11 and the meter-reading value information stored in the storage unit 19, the collection status management unit 12 determines whether or not there is a missing meter-reading value. Judgment is made, and the judgment result is stored in the storage unit 19 as collection status information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the first data. The first data includes an ID (IDentifier) that is identification information of the smart meter 2, a record number, and a meter reading value. The record number is a serial number given for each meter reading value. In the example shown in FIG. 3, an example is shown in which the first data includes two meter reading values, that is, two meter reading values of the latest meter reading value and the previous meter reading value. In this way, by including the meter reading values for a plurality of times in the first data, even if the central processing unit 1 fails to receive the first data once, if the next data can be received normally, the retransmission is performed. That is, re-collection is unnecessary. The number of meter reading values included in the first data is not limited to two, and may be one or three or more. By referring to the record number in the first data received so far and the record number received this time, the collection status management unit 12 can obtain a missing meter reading value, that is, a meter reading value that has failed to be received. The collection status management unit 12 may record, as the collection status information, the record number of the missing meter reading value for each smart meter 2, or record the success or failure of reception for each record number for each smart meter 2. Is also good. Hereinafter, an example in which the record number of the missing meter reading value is recorded for each smart meter 2 as the collection status information will be described.

Returning to the description of FIG. 2, the recollection target extraction unit 13 obtains a meter reading value to be recollected, that is, a missing meter reading value, based on the collection status information stored in the storage unit 19. Notify the collection processing unit 15. For example, the recollection target extraction unit 13 notifies the recollection processing unit 15 of the record number corresponding to the meter reading value to be recollected. The recollection processing unit 15 performs a process of recollecting the missing meter readings. Specifically, based on the notification from the recollection target extraction unit 13, a recollection request that requests recollection is generated and transmitted to the corresponding smart meter 2 via the transmission unit 14. Further, when the re-collection processing unit 15 does not receive the third data corresponding to the re-collection request from the data storage unit 11 even after a certain period of time has elapsed after transmitting the re-collection request to the smart meter 2, It is determined that the re-collection has failed, and if the re-collection failure is less than the threshold, the re-collection process is performed again. In addition, the re-collection processing unit 15 determines that re-collection has failed, and instructs the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 to determine the wireless communication quality when the number of times of re-collection failure is equal to or greater than the threshold. The threshold is an integer of 1 or more. When receiving the third data corresponding to the recollection request from the data storage unit 11, the recollection processing unit 15 updates the collection status of the storage unit 19. Details of the re-collection processing of the present embodiment will be described later.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of data collection timing according to the present embodiment. The first data including the meter reading is collected at each collection cycle T. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the first Ｔ T period in the collection cycle T is a period for periodic collection (hereinafter, also referred to as “periodic collection”), and is the last １／ T in the collection cycle T. Is a period for re-collection. The period of the periodic collection and the re-collection is not limited to the example shown in FIG. In the collection period T, when it is determined that there is a missing meter reading value based on the received first data during the period of the periodical collection, first, the recollection process is performed during the period of the period of recollection in the same period. Done. If the re-collection fails, and if the number of re-collection failures is less than the threshold, the re-collection is performed again in the re-collection period in the next collection cycle. If the number of recollection failures is equal to or greater than the threshold, the recollection time is changed if the wireless communication quality is not good.

The wireless communication quality determining unit 16 serving as the communication quality determining unit uses the plurality of second data stored as the wireless communication quality information in the storage unit 19 to determine the wireless communication quality of each smart meter 2 for each time zone. Is calculated, and the wireless communication quality for each time zone is stored in the storage unit 19 as a part of the wireless communication quality information. The wireless communication quality information stored in the storage unit 19 includes the second data received from each smart meter 2 and the wireless communication quality for each time zone. The second data indicates the wireless communication quality of each wireless link between the smart meter 2 and the central processing unit 1. The wireless communication quality is, for example, the strength of a received radio wave, and a larger value indicates better quality. For example, when the path between the smart meter 2 and the central processing unit 1 is a path of 10 hops, it includes the wireless communication quality of 10 wireless links. The wireless communication quality determining unit 16 calculates, for each smart meter 2, an average value of the wireless communication qualities of the plurality of wireless links for each time slot as the wireless communication quality for each time slot. Alternatively, the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 may use the minimum value of the wireless communication quality of the plurality of wireless links for each time zone as the wireless communication quality for each time zone for each smart meter 2.

When the re-collection process fails, the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 determines, based on the wireless communication quality information, a high quality time zone in which the communication quality is better than the re-collection time that is the scheduled time for the next re-collection process. It is determined whether there is a time zone. Specifically, when the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 is instructed by the recollection processing unit 15 to determine the wireless communication quality, the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 uses the communication quality for each time zone in the wireless communication quality information to perform the next recollection. It is determined whether the wireless communication quality during the re-collection time, which is the scheduled processing time, is good, that is, whether there is a high-quality time zone in which the communication quality is better than the re-collection time. If there is a high quality time zone, the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 instructs the recollection time change unit 17 to change the recollection time. At this time, the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 also notifies the recollection time change unit 17 of a high quality time period, which is a time period in which the wireless communication quality is better than the currently set recollection time. The re-collection time is stored in the storage unit 19 as re-collection time information for each smart meter 2.

Since the re-collection process is set to be performed in each collection cycle as an initial state, the time from the re-collection process to the next re-collection process is about the collection cycle. Assuming that the collection cycle is about 30 minutes and the change in the wireless communication quality during this period is small, the wireless communication quality of the re-collection time is the current wireless communication quality, that is, the wireless communication quality when the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 is performing the determination processing. Quality may be used. For example, the current wireless communication quality is obtained from the current time and the wireless communication quality for each time zone, and the current wireless communication quality is compared with the wireless communication quality for each time zone. If there is no time zone with good communication quality, it is determined that the current wireless communication quality is good. Alternatively, the average value of the wireless communication quality in each time zone is obtained, the current wireless communication quality is compared with the average value, and if the current wireless communication quality is equal to or higher than the average value, the current wireless communication quality is increased. You may judge that it is good. When instructing the re-collection time change unit 17 to change the re-collection time, the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 notifies the re-collection time change unit 17 of a time zone having better wireless communication quality than the currently set re-collection time. I do.

When the re-collection time change unit 17 is instructed to change the re-collection time by the wireless communication quality determination unit 16, the re-collection time of the corresponding smart meter 2 is set in the time zone notified from the wireless communication quality determination unit 16, The re-collection time is changed based on the high quality time zone, and the re-collection time after the change is stored in the storage unit 19 as re-collection time information. Specifically, of the re-collection times for each smart meter 2 stored in the storage unit 19, any of the time zones notified of re-collection of the corresponding smart meter 2 from the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 Change to time. Note that the initial value of the recollection time is arbitrarily determined for each smart meter 2. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the initial value of the re-collection time is determined for each collection cycle.

The communication control unit 18 controls communication with the smart meter 2. The communication control unit 18 also manages a down route to the smart meter 2, and stores route information indicating a route for each smart meter 2 in the storage unit 19. The down route is determined based on, for example, a route control protocol. As described above, in the present embodiment, the main route and the sub route are held as the down route for each smart meter 2. In the present embodiment, the recollection request that requests recollection includes information that specifies a downstream route.

The communication control unit 18 also instructs the smart meter 2 to transmit wireless communication quality, for example, periodically. The transmission of the wireless communication quality may be periodically and spontaneously performed by the smart meter 2, and in this case, there is no need to instruct the transmission of the wireless communication quality. Note that this instruction may be performed by an aggregation device (not shown) instead of being performed by the central processing unit 1. When the aggregation device issues this instruction, the central processing unit 1 acquires the wireless communication quality of each smart meter 2 from the aggregation device.

As described above, the storage unit 19 stores the meter reading value received by the receiving unit 10 as meter reading value information, and stores the wireless communication quality information received by the receiving unit 10. The storage unit 19 stores the collection status information, the route information, and the re-collection time information as described above.

Next, the configuration of the smart meter 2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the smart meter 2 includes a weighing unit 21 and a wireless communication unit 22. FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration of the smart meter 2-1, but the configuration of the other smart meters 2 is the same as that of the smart meter 2-1. The measuring unit 21 is a watt-hour meter that measures the amount of electric power, and includes a measured value storage unit 211 that stores a meter reading as a measurement result. The meter value storage unit 211 can store meter reading values every 30 minutes, for example, meter reading values for 45 days, but the capacity of the meter value storage unit 211 is not limited to this.

The wireless communication unit 22 includes a reception unit 221, a wireless communication information storage unit 222, a transmission unit 223, and a communication control unit 224. The receiving unit 221 receives a wireless signal from another smart meter 2, the central processing unit 1, or an aggregation device (not shown). Generally, a centralized device (not shown) is provided between the smart meter 2 and the central processing unit 1. The aggregation device and the smart meter 2 perform wireless communication. The communication line between the aggregation device and the central processing unit 1 may be a wireless line or a wired line. The receiving unit 221 outputs the received wireless signal to the communication control unit 224.

The communication control unit 224 performs an operation according to the path control protocol, and stores the path information, which is information on the path constructed by the operation according to the path control protocol, in the wireless communication information storage unit 222. When the wireless signal received from the receiving unit 221 is addressed to the own device, the communication control unit 224 performs an operation according to the content of the wireless signal. If the wireless signal received from the receiving unit 221 is addressed to another device, the communication control unit 224 sends the wireless signal to the destination according to the route information stored in the wireless communication information storage unit 222 via the transmitting unit 223. Transmit the wireless signal. In addition, the communication control unit 224 causes the receiving unit 221 to measure the wireless communication quality, which is the reception quality of the received wireless signal, periodically or when instructed by the central processing unit 1 or an aggregation device (not shown). To instruct. The reception quality of this radio signal is, for example, the received radio wave intensity. The receiving unit 221 stores wireless communication quality information indicating the measured wireless communication quality in the wireless communication information storage unit 222. The communication control unit 224 stores the latest wireless communication quality information as the second data as the second wireless communication information periodically, or when there is an instruction to transmit the wireless communication quality from the central processing unit 1 or an aggregation device (not shown). The information is read from the unit 222 and transmitted to the central processing unit 1. Note that, when receiving a wireless communication quality transmission instruction from the aggregation device, the smart meter 2 transmits the second data to the aggregation device. When receiving the second data from another device, the communication control unit 224 adds the latest wireless quality information read from the wireless communication information storage unit 222 to this data, and transmits the second data via the transmission unit 223. And sends it to the central processing unit 1.

The communication control unit 224 periodically transmits the meter reading value stored in the weighing value storage unit 211 as first data to the central processing unit 1 via the transmission unit 223 for periodic collection. I do. The transmission for the periodic collection may be performed spontaneously by the smart meter 2 by the communication control unit 224 using a timer or the like, or the central processing unit 1 may periodically transmit the transmission instruction and transmit the smart meter 2 May be transmitted based on the instruction. When re-collection is performed, the central processing unit 1 specifies a meter reading value to be transmitted. In this case, the communication control unit 224 reads the meter reading value instructed by the central processing unit 1 from the weighing value storage unit 211, and sends the read meter reading value as third data to the central processing unit 1 via the transmission unit 223. To send. Note that the meter reading value is identified by, for example, a record number, as described above. Note that the meter reading value may be identified by another method such as identification based on the measurement time instead of identification based on the record number.

The transmission unit 223 transmits data to another smart meter 2, the central processing unit 1, or a not-shown aggregation device according to the instruction of the communication control unit 224.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the number of failures in the re-collection process is equal to or greater than the threshold, the re-collection time is changed if the wireless communication quality is not good, so that the collection process is performed in a state where the wireless communication quality is good. Is more likely to be performed, and the number of retransmissions that are recollections can be reduced. For example, the quality of wireless communication may be degraded when a commercial truck stops near a business office at a substantially fixed time. In such a case, using the past wireless communication information, it is possible to know the time zone where the wireless communication quality is poor and the time zone where the wireless communication quality is good. The re-collection success probability is higher than when re-collection is performed during a time period of poor quality.

Next, the hardware configuration of each device according to the present embodiment will be described. The central processing unit 1 is specifically a computer system, that is, a computer. The computer system functions as the central processing unit 1 by executing a program in which processing executed by the central processing unit 1 is described on the computer system. This program includes a program for causing a computer to execute the processing in the central processing unit 1 among the processing for realizing the data collection method of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a computer system that realizes the central processing unit 1 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the computer system includes a control unit 101, an input unit 102, a storage unit 103, a display unit 104, a communication unit 105, and an output unit 106, which are connected via a system bus 107. I have.

In FIG. 5, the control unit 101 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 101 executes a data collection program that is a program for realizing the data collection method according to the present embodiment. The input unit 102 includes, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and is used by a user of the computer system to input various information. The storage unit 103 includes various memories such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a storage device such as a hard disk, and programs to be executed by the control unit 101 and necessary programs obtained in the course of processing. Store data and the like. The storage unit 103 is also used as a temporary storage area for programs. The display unit 104 includes an LCD (liquid crystal display panel) and displays various screens for a user of the computer system. The communication unit 105 is a communication circuit that performs communication processing. The communication unit 105 may be configured by a plurality of communication circuits respectively corresponding to a plurality of communication schemes. The output unit 106 is an output interface that outputs data to an external device such as a printer or an external storage device. FIG. 5 is an example, and the configuration of the computer system is not limited to the example of FIG.

Here, an operation example of the computer system until the data collection program according to the present embodiment becomes executable will be described. In the computer system having the above-described configuration, for example, a data collection program is stored from a CD-ROM drive or a DVD-ROM set in a CD (Compact Disc) -ROM or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) -ROM drive (not shown). Installed in the unit 103. Then, when the data collection program is executed, the data collection program read from the storage unit 103 is stored in the storage unit 103. In this state, the control unit 101 executes the processing as the central processing unit 1 according to the present embodiment according to the program stored in the storage unit 103.

In the above description, a program describing the processing in the central processing unit 1 is provided using a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM as a recording medium. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a program provided via a transmission medium such as the Internet via the communication unit 105 may be used according to the capacity of the communication unit 105.

受信 The receiving unit 10 and the transmitting unit 14 shown in FIG. The storage unit 19 illustrated in FIG. 2 is realized by the storage unit 103. 2 except for the receiving unit 10, the transmitting unit 14, and the storage unit 19 are realized by the control unit 101.

Next, the hardware configuration of the smart meter 2 will be described. The measuring unit 21 shown in FIG. 2 is realized by a measuring meter for measuring the amount of electric power and a memory. The weighing value storage unit 211 is realized by a memory. The receiving unit 221 and the transmitting unit 223 are realized by an antenna and a communication circuit. The wireless communication information storage unit 222 is realized by a memory, and the communication control unit 224 is realized by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be a dedicated circuit or a control circuit including a processor and a memory.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, management of wireless communication quality in central processing unit 1 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a management processing procedure of wireless communication quality in central processing unit 1 of the present embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 6 is performed for each smart meter 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the receiving unit 10 of the central processing unit 1 receives second data, that is, wireless communication quality information from the smart meter 2 (Step S1). As described above, the transmission of the second data from the smart meter 2 may be transmitted based on an instruction from the central processing unit 1 or an aggregation device (not shown), or may be transmitted periodically by the smart meter 2. Is also good.

Next, the central processing unit 1 stores the received wireless communication quality information (step S2). Specifically, the wireless communication quality information received by the receiving unit 10 is output to the data storage unit 11, and the data storage unit 11 stores the received wireless communication quality information in the storage unit 19.

Next, the wireless communication quality determining unit 16 of the central processing unit 1 refers to the storage unit 19, and determines whether wireless communication quality information for a certain period has been stored (step S3). The storage of the wireless communication quality information for a certain period of time indicates that the wireless communication quality information not to be processed in step S4 described later has been stored for a certain period of time. When the wireless communication quality information for a certain period is stored (step S3 Yes), the wireless communication quality determining unit 16 calculates the wireless communication quality for each time zone based on the wireless communication quality information for a certain period (step S4). ). As described above, for example, the wireless communication quality for each time zone may be an average value or a minimum value of the wireless communication quality for each time zone. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of wireless communication quality for each time zone. In FIG. 7, the wireless communication quality every two hours is calculated. FIG. 7 is an example, and the length of the time zone is not limited to two hours. Further, the wireless quality for each time zone may be calculated according to the day of the week. For example, the radio quality for each time zone may be calculated separately for weekdays from Monday to Friday and holidays for Saturday, Sunday and holidays. The wireless communication quality determination unit 16 stores the wireless communication quality for each time zone in the storage unit 19 as a part of the wireless communication quality information (step S5). After step S5, the process returns to step S1.

If the wireless communication quality information for a certain period is not stored (No at Step S3), the process returns to Step S1. Here, the wireless communication quality for each time period is calculated using the wireless communication quality information stored for a certain period at regular intervals. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Every time the wireless communication quality information, that is, the second data is received, the section is updated so that new data is added to the processing target and the oldest data is excluded from the processing target, and the wireless communication quality for each time zone is calculated. May be. In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 6, after steps S1 and S2, steps S4 and S5 are performed through the determination of step S3, but steps S1 and S2 and steps S4 and S5 are performed asynchronously. Is also good.

First, the overall processing related to re-collection in the central processing unit 1 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an overall processing procedure regarding re-collection in the central processing unit 1 of the present embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 8 is performed for each smart meter 2. When the re-collection processing time comes, the re-collection processing unit 15 of the central processing unit 1 determines whether there is any omission in the meter reading value based on the collection status information in the storage unit 19 (step S11). The recollection processing time for each smart meter 2 is stored in the storage unit 19 as recollection processing time information. The recollection processing unit 15 determines the arrival of the recollection processing time with reference to the recollection processing time information. The initial value of the reacquisition processing time is, for example, the last 1 / 3T period in each acquisition cycle as illustrated in FIG. Therefore, the initial value of the re-collection processing time is set as the time in the last 1 / 3T period in each collection cycle. As described later, the recollection processing time may be changed, and when the recollection processing time is changed, the recollection processing time after the change is stored as recollection processing time information.

(4) As described above, the collection status information stores the determination result as to whether or not the meter reading is missing or missing. Here, a method of determining whether there is a missing meter reading value will be described. As described with reference to FIG. 4, in the data collection system of the present embodiment, first data including meter reading values is collected from each smart meter 2 as periodic collection. The first data includes, for example, the latest meter reading value and the previous meter reading value as shown in FIG. In this case, even if the periodic collection fails once due to a communication failure or the like, if the first data can be normally received in the next periodic collection, the meter reading value will not be lost. However, if the periodic collection fails twice consecutively, the meter reading will be lost. The collection status management unit 12 can determine that there is a gap in the meter reading value based on the fact that the record number of the received meter reading value is not continuous with the record number received in the past.

For example, when the collection cycle is 30 minutes, at 10:00, the first data including the meter reading value of the record number "1" and the meter reading value of the record number "2" is transmitted from the smart meter 2, and the first data is transmitted. It is assumed that the data is normally received by the central processing unit 1. Next, at 10:30, the first data including the meter reading value of the record number “2” and the meter reading value of the record number “2” is transmitted from the smart meter 2, and this first data is transmitted due to a communication failure. It is assumed that the central processing unit 1 has not been reached. Further, at 11:00, the first data including the meter reading value of the record number "3" and the meter reading value of the record number "4" is transmitted from the smart meter 2, and the first data is also transmitted to the central unit due to the communication failure. Suppose that it did not reach the processing device 1.

Next, at 11:30, the first data including the meter reading value of the record number “4” and the meter reading value of the record number “5” is transmitted from the smart meter 2, and the first data is transmitted to the central processing unit. It is assumed that 1 has been normally reached. At this time, the collection status management unit 12 determines that the record number of the latest meter reading value among the previously received meter reading values is “2”, while the oldest meter reading value of the first data received this time is “2”. Since the record number is “4”, it can be determined that the meter reading value of the record number “3” is missing, that is, the record number “3” is missing. The collection status management unit 12 stores information indicating that the record number “3” is missing in the storage unit 19 as collection status information. As described above, when receiving the first data from the smart meter 2 via the reception unit 10 and the data storage unit 11, the collection status management unit 12 determines whether there is a missing meter reading value, If there is a missing value, information indicating the missing meter reading value is stored in the storage unit 19 as collection status information. Further, when the missing meter reading can be received by the re-collection process, the collecting status management unit 12 deletes the information indicating that the meter reading is missing from the collecting status information.

8, returning to the description of FIG. 8, when the recollection processing unit 15 determines that there is a missing meter reading value (step S11: Yes), the recollection processing unit 15 performs a recollection process (step S12). In the re-collection process, a meter reading value to be re-collected is designated, and the smart meter 2 is instructed to transmit the meter reading value. Details of the recollection process will be described later.

(4) The re-collection processing unit 15 determines whether the re-collection processing has succeeded (step S13). Specifically, the re-collection processing unit 15 receives the third data including the meter reading value to be re-collected via the reception unit 10 within a specified time after instructing the smart meter 2 to perform re-collection. If this is the case, it is determined that the recollection process was successful. The re-collection processing unit 15 determines that the re-collection processing has failed if the third data is not received from the corresponding smart meter 2 within a specified time after instructing the smart meter 2 to re-collect.

(4) If the re-collection processing section 15 succeeds in the re-collection processing (step S13: Yes), the processing ends. If the re-collection processing unit 15 fails in the re-collection processing (No in step S13), the re-collection processing unit 15 determines whether the number of failures in the re-collection processing corresponding to the smart meter 2 is equal to or greater than a threshold (step S14). When the number of failures in the re-collection processing is equal to or greater than the threshold (Yes in step S14), the re-collection processing unit 15 instructs the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 to determine the wireless communication quality. It is determined whether the communication quality is good (step S15). Specifically, for example, the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 regards the wireless communication quality stored in the latest second data in the wireless communication quality information as the current wireless communication quality, and The quality is compared with the wireless communication quality for each time zone in the wireless communication quality information. The wireless communication quality determination unit 16 determines that the wireless communication quality is good unless there is a time zone where the wireless communication quality is better than the current wireless communication quality. Alternatively, when the current wireless communication quality is equal to or more than the average value of the wireless communication quality in each time zone, the wireless communication quality may be determined to be good. Further, by adding the wireless quality to the first data, the wireless communication quality added to the latest first data may be used as the current wireless communication quality. Alternatively, the wireless communication quality determination unit 16 may refer to the wireless communication quality for each time zone in the wireless communication quality information and set the wireless communication quality in the time zone corresponding to the current time as the current wireless communication quality.

If the wireless communication quality is not good (No at Step S15), the wireless communication quality determining unit 16 refers to the wireless communication quality information and notifies the re-collection time changing unit 17 of a time zone where the wireless communication quality is better than now. The recollection time change unit 17 changes the recollection processing time based on the notified time zone (step S16), and the processing from step S12 is repeated. If the wireless communication quality is good (step S15 Yes), the processing from step S12 is repeated.

If the number of failures in the re-collection process is less than the threshold (step S14: No), the process is repeated from step S12. If there is no omission in the meter reading value (No at Step S11), the process ends.

Next, the recollection process in step S12 will be described. The re-collection process may be performed by a general method, but here, first, the re-collection process is performed on the main route, and if the re-collection process on the main route fails, the re-collection process is performed on the sub route. Will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the re-collection processing. As shown in FIG. 9, when the re-collection process is started, the central processing unit 1 re-collects meter reading values along the main route (step S21). Specifically, the re-collection processing unit 15 instructs the communication control unit 18 to transmit a re-collection instruction on the main route, and the communication control unit 18 indicates a downstream main route from the route information in the storage unit 19. The information is acquired, and the acquired information is instructed to the transmitting unit 14. The transmission unit 14 transmits a re-collection request to the smart meter 2 to add re-collection information to the smart meter 2 by adding information indicating the down-stream main route instructed by the communication control unit 18. As a result, a recollection request is transmitted to the smart meter 2 on the downstream main route. In addition, the central processing unit 1 instructs the smart meter 2 to make the up route the same route as the down main route, specifically, the reverse route of the down main route. Here, both the up and down routes are specified, but only the down route may be specified.

The central processing unit 1 determines whether or not the re-collection process has succeeded (step S22), and if the re-collection process has succeeded (step S22 Yes), updates the collection status information (step S23), and ends the process. I do. Specifically, when the determination in step S22 is Yes and step S23 is performed, the recollection processing unit 15 reads the meter reading value to be recollected from the smart meter 2 to which the recollection request is transmitted. When the third data including the data is received, the information that the meter reading is missing is deleted from the collection status information in the storage unit 19.

If the recollection process has failed (No at Step S22), the central processing unit 1 recollects the meter reading values along the sub route (Step S24), and proceeds to Step S23. Specifically, in step S24, the re-collection processing unit 15 instructs the communication control unit 18 to transmit a re-collection instruction on the sub route, and the communication control unit 18 The information indicating the sub route is acquired, and the acquired information is instructed to the transmission unit 14. The transmitting unit 14 transmits a re-collection request to the smart meter 2 to add re-collection information to the smart meter 2 by adding information indicating the downstream sub-path specified by the communication control unit 18. In addition, the central processing unit 1 instructs the smart meter 2 to set the up route to the same route as the down sub route, specifically, the reverse route of the down sub route. When step S23 is performed via step S24, in step S23, the collection status information is updated according to the result of the re-collection of the meter reading values in the sub route. When the re-collection of the meter reading value in the sub route fails, it is determined that the re-collection process shown in step S12 of FIG. 8 has failed.

As described above, the storage unit 19 stores the information indicating the main route and the sub route as the route between the smart meter 2 and the central processing unit 1 as the route information. Then, in the re-collection processing, the re-collection processing unit 15 controls the re-collection request for re-collection to be transmitted to the smart meter 2 via the main route, and does not receive a response to the re-collection request for a specified time. Then, the re-collection request is transmitted to the smart meter 2 via the sub route. By changing the route and performing the re-collection processing, the success probability of the re-collection processing can be increased.

Next, an example of data transmission and reception in the data collection system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating periodic collection in the data collection system according to the present embodiment. Each of the smart meters 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 transmits the first data including the meter reading value (described as meter reading value data in FIG. 10) to the central processing unit 1 (steps S31, S33, and S36). ). Here, it is assumed that the meter reading value data is transmitted along the main path shown in FIG. 1, and the meter reading value data # 1 transmitted from the smart meter 2-1 is transmitted to the central processing unit without passing through another smart meter 2. Arriving at 1. In the central processing unit 1, a determination process # 1 that is a process corresponding to the smart meter 2-1 is performed (step S32). The determination process # 1 includes a process of determining whether there is a missing meter reading value and updating the collection status information, and a process illustrated in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the re-collection time is an initial value.

The meter reading value data # 2 transmitted from the smart meter 2-2 is transferred by the smart meter 2-1 (step S34) and arrives at the central processing unit 1. In the central processing unit 1, a determination process # 2, which is a process corresponding to the smart meter 2-2, is performed (step S35). The determination process # 2 is the same as the determination process # 1 except that the smart meter 2 to be processed is different.

The meter reading data # 3 transmitted from the smart meter 2-3 is transferred by the smart meter 2-2 and the smart meter 2-1 (steps S37, S38) and arrives at the central processing unit 1. In the central processing unit 1, determination processing # 3, which is processing corresponding to the smart meter 2-3, is performed (step S39). The determination process # 3 is the same as the determination process # 1 except that the smart meter 2 to be processed is different.

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing re-collection in the data collection system of the present embodiment. FIG. 11 shows a periodic collection, in which the central processing unit 1 finds that there is no missing meter reading value transmitted from the smart meter 2-2 and no missing meter reading value transmitted from the smart meter 2-1 or 2-3. The example of the operation of the re-collection when it is determined that there is is shown. When the central processing unit 1 determines that the meter reading value transmitted from the smart meter 2-1 is missing (Yes in step S11 shown in FIG. 8), the central processing unit 1 starts the re-collection process shown in step S12 ( Step S41: Re-collection processing start # 1). Then, as shown in step S21 of FIG. 9, re-collection request # 1 is transmitted on the main route (step S42). The smart meter 2-1 transmits the third data including the meter reading value to be recollected to the central processing unit 1 as a response to the recollection request # 1 transmitted on the main route (step S43). In this example, it is assumed that the central processing unit 1 has successfully received the response to the recollection request # 1 transmitted on the main route, and the recollection process for the smart meter 2-1 ends in step S43.

When the central processing unit 1 determines that there is a missing meter reading value transmitted from the smart meter 2-3 (Yes in step S11 shown in FIG. 8), the central processing unit 1 starts the recollection processing shown in step S12 ( Step S44: Re-collection processing start # 3). Then, as shown in step S21 of FIG. 9, re-collection request # 3 is transmitted on the main route (step S45). The recollection request # 3 is transferred by the smart meters 2-1 and 2-2 (steps S46 and S47). However, it is assumed that the recollection request # 3 transferred by the smart meter 2-2 has not arrived at the smart meter 2-3, as indicated by the mark x in FIG. In this case, the central processing unit 1 transmits the re-collection request # 3 via the sub route as shown in step S24 of FIG. 9 (step S48). The smart meter 2-1 transfers the recollection request # 3 to the smart meter 2-3 (Step S49). In the example shown in FIG. 11, since the smart meter 2-3 has received the recollection request # 3 on the sub route, the smart meter 2-3 outputs the third data including the meter reading value to be recollected as a response to the recollection request # 3. The data is transmitted to the central processing unit 1 (step S50). The smart meter 2-1 transfers the third data to the central processing unit 1 (Step S51).

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the number of failures of the re-collection process is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is determined whether the wireless communication quality is good. If the wireless communication quality is not good, the re-collection process is performed. The recollection time, which is the time, is changed to a time when the wireless communication quality is good. This makes it possible to reduce the number of retransmissions. Further, in the present embodiment, in the re-collection process, the re-collection process is performed on the main route, and when the re-collection fails on the main route, the re-collection process is performed on the sub route. As described above, by changing the route and performing the re-collection processing, the success probability of the re-collection processing can be increased.

1 {central processing unit, 2-1 to 2-N} smart meter, 10,221 {reception unit, 11} data storage unit, 12} collection status management unit, 13} recollection target extraction unit, 14,223} transmission unit, 15} recollection processing unit , 16 wireless communication quality determination unit, 17 recollection time change unit, 18, 224 communication control unit, 19 storage unit, 21 weighing unit, 22 wireless communication unit, 211 metric value storage unit, 222 wireless communication information storage unit.

Claims

A central processing unit for collecting data from terminal devices constituting a multi-hop network,
Receiving the data transmitted periodically from the terminal device, and receiving from the terminal device communication quality information indicating communication quality of a path in the multi-hop network between the terminal device and the central processing unit. A receiving unit,
A storage unit that stores the data and the communication quality information received by the receiving unit,
A re-collection processing unit for performing a re-collection process of the missing data;
If the recollection process fails, based on the communication quality information, whether there is a high quality time zone in which the communication quality is better than the recollection time that is the scheduled time for the next recollection process A communication quality determining unit for determining whether
When there is the high-quality time zone, a re-collection time change unit that changes the re-collection time to the high-quality time zone,
A central processing unit comprising:
The central processing unit according to claim 1, wherein the data is a meter reading of an electric energy.
The storage unit stores, as route information, information indicating a main route and a sub route as a route between the terminal device and the central processing unit,
The re-collection processing unit controls the re-collection process to transmit a re-collection request for re-collection to the terminal device via the main path, and does not receive a response to the re-collection request for a specified time. The central processing unit according to claim 1, wherein in such a case, control is performed to transmit the recollection request to the terminal device via the sub route.
The communication quality determination unit calculates communication quality for each time period using the communication quality information stored in the storage unit, and uses the communication quality for each time period to determine whether the high quality time period is high. The central processing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein it is determined whether or not there is a central processing unit.
The central processing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the multi-hop network is a wireless multi-hop network, and the communication quality is a received radio field intensity on the route.
The communication quality determination unit, when the re-collection process fails a plurality of times, based on the communication quality information, whether there is a high quality time zone that is a time zone where the communication quality is better than the re-collection time The central processing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the central processing unit performs a process of judging.
A terminal device constituting a multi-hop network;
A central processing unit that collects data from the terminal device;
With
The central processing unit,
Receiving the data transmitted periodically from the terminal device, and receiving from the terminal device communication quality information indicating communication quality of a path in the multi-hop network between the terminal device and the central processing unit. A receiving unit,
A storage unit that stores the data and the communication quality information received by the receiving unit,
A re-collection processing unit for performing a re-collection process of the missing data;
If the recollection process fails, based on the communication quality information, whether there is a high quality time zone in which the communication quality is better than the recollection time that is the scheduled time for the next recollection process A communication quality determining unit for determining whether
When there is the high-quality time zone, a re-collection time change unit that changes the re-collection time to the high-quality time zone,
A data collection system comprising:
A terminal device constituting a multi-hop network, and a central processing unit for collecting data from the terminal device, a data collection method in a data collection system comprising:
The central processing unit,
A first step of receiving the data periodically transmitted from the terminal device;
A second step of receiving communication quality information indicating communication quality of a path in the multi-hop network between the terminal device and the central processing unit from the terminal device;
A third step of storing the data and the communication quality information;
A fourth step of re-collecting the missing data;
If the recollection process fails, based on the communication quality information, whether there is a high quality time zone in which the communication quality is better than the recollection time that is the scheduled time for the next recollection process A fifth step of determining whether
A sixth step of changing the re-collection time to the high quality time zone, if there is the high quality time zone;
A data collection method comprising: