JPH08273088A - Radio meter-inspecting method by radio wave - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To simplify a starting telegraphic message, to facilitate operations, to reduce power consumption and to eliminate the failure of communication concerning the radio meter-inspecting method for simultaneously inspecting city water meters corresponding to radio waves. CONSTITUTION: When simultaneously inspecting seven meters M1...M5, M8 and M9 among ten meters within a meter-inspectable range A of a meter- inspector 1, two digits of 9th and first digits in an ID number composed of 10 digits or more of respective meters are successively arranged in a meter- inspecting request telegraphic message and transmitted as the digits of ID to be referred to. At each meter where this meter-inspecting request telegraphic message (starting telegraphic message) is received, when those digits are matched with the digits of its own ID to be referred to, the meter-reading values of meters are successively transmitted by radio waves at the intervals of decided delay time for two seconds. In the telegraphic message, numerals 10, 11, 12...14, 17 and 18 are the numerals of the digits of ID to be referred to for the meters M1...M5, M8 and M9 as meter-inspecting objects.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a method of wirelessly measuring a meter (hereinafter simply referred to as a meter) such as a water meter or a gas meter by using radio waves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of wirelessly performing batch meter reading on some of the meters installed in an apartment house or the like, a time-division or frequency-division method is used to measure the meter reading from a plurality of meters to be measured. It is possible to communicate with the centralized meter reading board at the same time, but the structure is complicated and it is technically and costly unsuitable for meter reading.

Therefore, when performing batch meter reading, which is a meter reading method in which a plurality of meters responds to one activation message from a meter reading device or a centralized meter reading board, conventionally, the meter reading order of the meters to be metered is determined in advance. In addition, a method is adopted in which the meter reading value (data) is wirelessly transmitted to the meter reading device or the centralized meter reading plate by radio waves by shifting the time for each meter.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the above conventional technique,
Whether each meter is subject to batch meter reading, and if it is subject to batch meter reading, the meter is called after receiving the activation message from the meter reading order or the centralized meter reading board. It is necessary to set the delay time up to, and there is a problem that a large number of man-hours are required for that.

Further, after the installation of the system is completed and the operation is started, if the number of meters is increased or decreased or the ID of each meter is changed, it is necessary to review the whole each time, and quick response cannot be made (eg, In a system in which 10 meters are collectively read, if the second meter is not subject to the batch reading, there is a problem that the meter reading has a vacant time.

Furthermore, the ID of each meter is usually 1
Since a number sequence of 0 or more digits of 0 is used, if ID is used to specify the batch meter reading of a large number of meters, the electronic statement configuration for specifying the batch meter reading becomes complicated and not only the transmission time becomes long. However, there is a problem in that the electric field strength fluctuates due to a disturbance caused by passage of a vehicle or the like, and an error easily occurs in the communication telegram, resulting in a high rate of communication failure.

Furthermore, if an ID of 10 or more digits in decimal is inserted in a telegram and a large number of meters are collectively read, the communication time becomes long and the power consumption of the meter and the centralized meter reading board increases,
There is also a problem that the life of the power battery is shortened.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless meter reading method for a meter which can solve the above problems.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 has a specific small number digit in which a meter number to be subjected to batch meter reading is designated in a meter reading request message. The meter that responds is specified by sequentially inserting only the numbers and transmitting, and the meter that received the meter reading message is transmitted when the ID of the designated digit matches the ID of the digit corresponding to itself. The wireless meter reading method by radio waves is characterized in that meter reading values are returned in order according to the order of IDs.

In the present invention, when the meter receives the numerical value of the digit of the ID number sequentially entered in the meter reading request message and matches the ID of the digit corresponding to itself, it follows the ID number specified in the meter reading request message. Each meter returns the meter reading value as a telegram.

The invention according to claim 2 is the wireless meter reading method by radio wave according to claim 1, characterized in that the delay time according to the order of IDs when returning from the meter is set in advance in the meter. Is.

In the present invention, the delay time, which is the interval at the time of reply, is determined according to the numerical value preset in the meter. The invention according to claim 3 is the wireless meter reading method using radio waves according to claim 1, characterized in that a delay time according to the order of IDs when returning from the meter is specified in the meter reading request message.

According to the present invention, the delay time, which is the interval at the time of reply, is determined by the numerical value specified in the meter reading request message. A fourth aspect of the present invention is the radio wave wireless reading method according to the first or second aspect, wherein a code designating a digit position of the specific digit of the ID number of the meter to be subjected to the batch reading is inserted in the meter reading request message. It is characterized by having done.

According to the present invention, the meter to be subjected to the batch meter reading is determined by the combination of the code designating the specific digit position of the ID number and the specific small number digit of the ID number in the meter reading request message. It

[0015]

EXAMPLE As shown in FIG. 1 (a), ten meters M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ , M ₄ , M ₅ are set within a communicable range A in which the meter ₁ can be used for communication. M ₆ , M ₇ , M ₈ , M
₉ and M ₁₀ are installed, two meters M ₁₁ and M ₁₂ are installed outside the meter reading distance from the meter 1, and 7 out of 10 meters within the meter reading range A are installed. Meters M ₁ and M
_In the case of collectively reading ₂ , M ₃ , M ₄ , M ₅ , M ₈ and M ₉ , the meter reading request message shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the 9th and 10th digits of the ID number of the meter to be metered this time are inserted in the meter reading request message in the order of meter reading. Before and after the meter reading request message,
STX, ETX and BCC are added. Then, the message is, after the batch meter reading code, the digit of the referenced ID,
That is, in this case, a code indicating the ninth digit and the tenth digit is inserted. After that, the 9-digit and 10-digit two-digit numerical sequences of the ID numbers of the seven meters are arranged in the order of meter reading.

In FIG. 1A, the ID number of the meter M ₁ is 9
The 10th digit and the 10th digit are entered under M _{1 in} the figure.
Is. Similarly, the 2-digit IDs at the 9th and 10th digits of the meters M _{2 to} M ₅ and M ₈ and M ₉ are 11, 12 and, respectively.
Since there are 13, 14, 17 and 18, the digits of the ID referred to in this order, that is, the 9th and 10th digit sequences are arranged in the order of meter reading.

When the meter 1 sends the meter-reading request message shown in FIG. 1 (b), the ten meters M ₁ ... M ₁₀ that have received the message indicate the 9th and 10th digits of their ID numbers. It is judged whether or not it matches the numerical value of the ID number specified in the meter reading request message of 1 (b), and the seven matched meters M _{1 to} M ₅ and M ₈ and M
₉ starts transmitting meter readings in order.

At this time, the transmission interval (transmission delay time) is 2
If each meter is set to be seconds, the meter M ₁ transmits immediately after receiving the meter reading request message, the meter M ₂ transmits 2 seconds after receiving the meter reading request message, and the meter M ₃ transmits the meter reading request message. 4 seconds after receiving, meter M ₄ transmits 6 seconds after receiving the meter reading request message, meter M ₅ transmits 8 seconds after receiving the meter reading request message, meter M ₈ 10 seconds after receiving the meter reading request message After sending, meter M ₉ displays 12 after receiving the meter reading request message.
Since the meter reading value is transmitted after each second, the meter reading device receives and stores the meter reading values sequentially sent.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the operation of each meter at the time of receiving the batch meter-reading message. When the radio wave from the meter 1 is received, the receiving unit (not shown) connected to the meter determines whether the content is a batch meter reading or a telegram of other individual meter reading request or the like. As shown in FIG. 1B, in this case, since the batch meter reading code is included,
It can be judged that it is a batch meter reading.

In the case of a message other than the batch meter reading request message, it is judged whether the ID of the sent message and its own ID match all digits. If they do not match, the process returns to the reception standby state, and if they match, the request is made. Send data corresponding to the content.

In case of batch meter reading request, target ID
It is determined whether or not the digit of (the digit of the referenced ID) matches with its own ID. In this embodiment, the second digit of the ninth digit and the tenth digit of the ID
Refer to the digit and the ID of this part is 10-14 or 17, 1
If it is 8, the meter is a target meter for batch meter reading. If the ID is any other ID, the ID is out of the scope of the object and the reception standby state is returned.

When it is determined that the batch meter reading is to be performed, it is determined what position the own ID is, and the transmission delay timer (not shown) is operated. For example, if the meter reading interval is set to 2 seconds, the meter M ₁ transmits the meter reading value immediately after receiving the batch meter reading request message.

After 2 seconds, the meter M ₂ , after 4 seconds, the meter M ₃ , after 6 seconds, the meter M ₄ , and after 8 seconds, the meter M ₅ ,
The meter M ₈ transmits the meter reading value after 10 seconds and the meter M ₉ after 12 seconds, and the entire batch meter reading ends. The transmission delay time (interval) may be determined in advance for each system as in the present embodiment (claim 2), or may be specified and set in a telegram as in claim 3. Good.

The needle detector 1 operates as shown in the flow chart of FIG. That is, after the batch meter reading request message is transmitted, the meter reading data from the meter sent at intervals of 2 seconds is sequentially received and stored. Wakashi, if there is a meter error or the like can not meter reading occur in the message, after the reception of the meter reading data last meter M _9, may be needle separately for meter could not be needle.

Next, eleven meters M _{1 to} M ₁₁ are installed within the range where the radio waves from the meter are reaching, and the ID number of each meter is a 10-digit number as shown in Table 1. An embodiment will be described in the case where all the meters configured as described above are collectively metered.

[0027]

[Table 1]

As shown in FIG. 4, next to STX, the code I representing the batch meter reading is displayed, and then the first digit of the ID to be referred to,
That is, the 9th digit 9 which is the head of the designated digit, and the 2nd digit from the 9th digit where the next digit of the ID to be referred to next is the head.
Designate that it is the digit, and then arrange the meter ID numbers (two digits) in the order of meter reading.

Finally, ETX and BCC are added. Since the 9th digit and the 10th digit have different ID numbers,
Since it is sufficient to specify only these two digits and the transmission order is from the younger ID number, it is sufficient to specify the IDs in the order of M ₁ → M ₂ ... The batch meter reading request message is as shown in FIG. .

FIG. 5A shows a general example of the structure of the batch meter reading request message. The STX, the code I representing the batch meter reading, the _first digit position n _{1 of} the referenced ID, and the referenced ID are shown.
The number of digits n ₂ , the ID numbers of m meters to be metered,
It is composed of ETX and BCC codes.

In FIG. 3B, the referenced IDs are at the 7th and 8th digits, and the ID numbers targeted for batch meter reading are 1 in the order of meter reading.
It shows a specific configuration of a batch meter reading request message in the case of 0, 11, 13, 28, 30.

The data such as the ID number of the meter to be meter-read may be input by operating the key of the meter at the site where the meter is read, but it is input in advance to the RAM card or the like for each meter-reading area. Alternatively, the corresponding RAM card may be inserted into the meter reading device at the site to perform the meter reading operation.

In the above embodiment, the batch wireless meter reading method using the meter reading device is described. However, even in the case of the batch meter reading method using the central meter reading plate instead of the meter reading device and the central meter reading plate and the meter. It can be carried out in a similar procedure.

[0034]

According to the radio wave wireless meter reading method of the present invention, the reaching distance of radio waves such as specific small electric power used for meter reading is 100 m.
In order to identify meters in this range, even if the ID of a normal meter has 10 digits or more, you need to specify at most 2 or 3 digits for the ID of the meter that is the target of batch meter reading. Can be identified sufficiently. Therefore, even if the IDs of several meters are designated as the target of the batch meter reading, the telegram does not become so long, and the communication does not fail.

Further, it is possible to quickly and easily deal with the increase or decrease of the meter for meter reading and the change of the ID. Further, since the meter reading values are sent by shifting the time in the order of the ID designated by the meter, the meter reading device or the centralized meter reading board on the receiving side only needs to normally perform the receiving operation and does not need to perform complicated processing.

Since the number of meters to be meter-read and the order of meter-reading are specified in the telegram, even if the meter-reading area or the number of meters is changed, only the meter-reader or the centralized meter-reader side needs to handle it. Flexible system operation allows meter reading of any meter in any order. Furthermore, since the configuration of the batch meter reading request message is simple and the transmission time is short, power consumption is reduced and communication reliability is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an arrangement of a meter reading device and a meter, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of a batch meter reading request message according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the meter.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the meter.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a batch meter reading request message according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a batch meter reading request message according to the present invention, in which (a) is a general configuration and (b) is a diagram of a specific embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... needle detector M _1, ~, M ₁₂ ... meter

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A meter to be responded to is specified by sequentially inserting only a specified small number of digits of an ID number of a meter to be subjected to a batch meter reading in a meter reading request message and transmitting the meter. The meter that received the message is the ID of the designated digit.
When the ID matches the ID of the digit corresponding to itself, the wireless meter reading method by radio waves is characterized in that the meter reading values are sequentially returned in the order of the transmitted IDs. 2. The wireless meter reading method by radio waves according to claim 1, wherein a delay time according to the order of IDs when returning from the meter is set in the meter in advance. 3. The wireless meter reading method by radio waves according to claim 1, wherein a delay time according to the order of IDs when returning from the meter is specified in the meter reading request message. 4. The wireless meter reading method by radio waves according to claim 1, wherein a code designating the specific digit position of the ID number of the meter to be subjected to the batch meter reading is inserted in the meter reading request message. .