WO2001089185A1

WO2001089185A1 - Arrangement for remote reading of at least one supply meter

Info

Publication number: WO2001089185A1
Application number: PCT/EP2001/005567
Authority: WO
Inventors: Willi Klement; Guido Fromm
Original assignee: Ria-Btr Produktions Gmbh
Priority date: 2000-05-18
Filing date: 2001-05-16
Publication date: 2001-11-22
Also published as: DE10024544A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement comprising at least one data acquisition device coupled to at least one supply meter. Said device allocates an absolute time value to these received supply data and generates transmission data from these supply data. The transmission data comprise time data and supply data associated to each other and are transmitted via a remote transmission link to a data processing device which stores and evaluates the supply data according to the time data.

Description

description

Arrangement for remote reading of at least one consumption meter

The invention relates to an arrangement for remote reading of at least one consumption meter.

The consumption of electricity, water, gas and the like is usually determined by means of appropriate consumption counters. The liberalization of the energy market, for example, enables end consumers to purchase electricity from any supplier. The end consumer will therefore change suppliers and their tariffs faster than before. With the usual reading of the counters by appropriate personnel, it is difficult or impossible to react to short-term changes, and / or considerable personnel expenditure is necessary.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide an arrangement for the remote reading of consumption meters, in which an automatic reading and further processing of the consumption quantities is possible.

The object is achieved by an arrangement according to claim 1. Refinements and developments of the inventive concept are the subject of dependent claims.

The arrangement according to the invention not only has the advantage that remote reading is generally made possible, but also that different, in particular time-dependent, consumption quantities can be processed automatically. Farther it is advantageous that existing remote transmission devices can be used for reading. The outlay required for the remote reading according to the invention can thus be kept relatively low.

This is achieved in detail in an arrangement according to the invention for the remote reading of at least one consumption meter by means of a data acquisition device which is coupled to the consumption meter, which receives consumption data corresponding to the consumption meter, assigns the consumption data an absolute time quantity and generates the transmission data therefrom, the transmission data have associated time data and consumption data. A remote transmission link for transmitting the transmission data over a greater distance is connected downstream of the data acquisition device.

Finally, a data processing device for receiving and evaluating the transmission data, which detects the consumption data as a function of the time data, is coupled to the remote transmission link.

The coupling of the data acquisition device and consumption meter can be such that the data are transferred directly from the consumption meter to the data acquisition device, for example via a corresponding bus. However, a coupling of the data acquisition device and consumption meter reading devices can be provided in the same way, which enables, for example, the conversion of data in different formats or an optical reading. The data acquisition device assigns a corresponding absolute time variable (eg time of day) to the respective consumption data, that is to say, for example, the current meter reading and / or day of the week) and uses this to calculate the transmission data (for example by subtracting the penultimate consumption data from the last consumption data) in order, for example, to assign the consumption determined in a specific time window to the corresponding time. In this way, different, in particular time-dependent, consumption quantities can be applied to the respective consumption without great effort.

Already existing transmission lines are preferably used as the long-distance transmission line, such as ISDN data transmission lines, Internet connections, analog telephone connections, radio links and other suitable data transmission paths. The data processing device, for example, evaluates the data thus obtained according to time and consumption and / or stores it in a database. In this way, the time profile of consumption and / or the amount to be paid can also be determined.

The data acquisition device preferably has a storage device which collects the intermediate data, stores them temporarily and transmits the collected data to the data acquisition device. The advantage here is that the long-distance transmission link does not have to be used permanently and therefore does not have to be operated permanently, in that the data is not transmitted individually but collectively to the data processing device. The transmission of the collected data can take place at specific times, can be coupled to specific events or from the data processing device or from the data acquisition device

(e.g. for a certain amount of data in the data acquisition facility) can be initiated.

In a development of the invention, in addition to the transmission data, identification data for identifying and identifying the consumption meters are also transmitted from the data acquisition device to the data processing device. This allows the individual meters to be easily identified when a large number of consumption meters are connected to a single data processing device. This is particularly advantageous if the long-distance transmission link itself does not permit unambiguous identification of the respective data acquisition device and associated consumption meter.

In another development of the invention, it can be provided that the data acquisition device can be controlled by the data processing device. For example, the data processing device can control the data acquisition device at which time intervals the data acquisition device polls or receives the consumption data. In addition, the data processing device can, for example, determine how much transmission data is stored in the data acquisition device.

Preset with fixed values, the data acquisition device can receive consumption data from the consumption meter at certain time intervals or at fixed times. Between the times at which consumption data are transmitted from the consumption meter to the data acquisition device, the data acquisition device can either be controlled by itself or, for example, by the data processing device of these time intervals are in a stand-by mode, ie the data acquisition device is largely passive, the power consumption being reduced to a minimal amount.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in the figures of the drawing. It shows:

Figure 1 shows a general first embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention and

Figure 2 shows a more detailed second embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, the throughput of water, gas, electricity or other and thus the respective consumption is determined by means of a consumption counter 1. The respective meter reading is queried via an interface 2 at certain times by a data acquisition device 3 and, together with the time of the query, is stored in a memory 4 as a corresponding table. To check the data acquisition device 3, a service interface 5 is provided, to which a load profile display can be connected for checking purposes on the basis of a corresponding interface (e.g. RS 232).

The data records received by the data acquisition device 3 are received and evaluated in the data processing device 7 and / or (processed or unprocessed) are stored in a database implemented by a storage device. sets. While the data acquisition device 3 has an internal time base 9, the data processing device 7 is supplied with an external, highly accurate time base 10.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, three consumption meters 11, 12, 13 are connected to a data acquisition device 14. The consumption counter 11 outputs the consumption data via a corresponding interface 17 (for example SO), which is converted by an interface converter 15 into an interface 18 (for example M-Bus). The interface 18 is suitable for controlling the data acquisition device 14. Furthermore, the consumption meter 12 is connected directly to the data acquisition device 14 since it uses the correct interface 18 (eg M-BUS). Finally, the consumption meter 13 is coupled via an optical coupling 19 to an optical reading head 16, which also uses the interface 18 (eg M-Bus) at its output. The optical reading head 16 receives suitable optical signals from the consumption meter 13, which each reflect the current meter reading. These optical signals are evaluated in the optical read head 16 and coded according to the interface 18.

The counter readings of the supply counters 11, 12 and 13 are preferably either queried at fixed time intervals by the data acquisition device 14 or are sent by the supply counters 11, 12 and 13 to the data acquisition device 14 each time the counter reading changes. The data obtained in this way are selected, evaluated and further processed. In particular, each consumption date intended for further processing is assigned a time date. net and stored in a buffer 20 (z. B. Random Access Memory). The data records stored in the buffer store 20 are then fed via a local area network (LAN = Local Area Network) 21 to a wide area network (WAN) 22 or directly to the wide area network 22.

The wide area network 22 communicates with the local network 21 and the data processing device 14 by means of a suitable interface protocol 25 (e.g. PPP = point-to-point protocol, ISDN). Furthermore, the wide-area network 22 communicates by means of the interface protocol 25 with a router 23, which in turn exchanges its data with a server 24 via an interface protocol 26 (eg Internet protocol IP). The data acquisition device 14 finally communicates with the local network 21 by means of a protocol 28 (eg Ethernet).

In the present embodiment, the counters 11, 12, 13 are read out, for example, every 15 minutes and stored in the detection device 14. The detection device 14 automatically sends the stored data to the server 24 after a certain time window. The time window can be programmed, for example, on site via a service interface (as in FIG. 1, for example) or by the server as in the present exemplary embodiment become. The frequency of data transmission is also kept variable. In the present case, all activities are controlled by the server 24 serving as the center. For example, certain data, such as load profile or energy consumed, are stored in the detection device 14 for at least one year per meter. In the present example For this purpose, the following data is transmitted to the server:

Load profile data (such as time and energy average of a time period); - Number of pulses (to calculate the energy consumed depending on the application);

Meter data (such as meter number, type, medium, meter manufacturer).

In addition, the detection device can create a log of self-generated telephone or data line costs.

The data acquisition device with its devices for data storage and data backup can include an interface to the M-Bus, an internal database, a service module and an interface for the host process. In the host process, for example, the data can be transmitted consistently in an Internet format (TCP / IP format). If the start-up and the diagnosis are not carried out via the server 24, a service interface can be provided for the start-up and the diagnosis of the data acquisition device on site, as in the exemplary embodiment according to FIG.

For example, the initialization during commissioning, the control of the entire system and the provision of data via the service interface can be influenced via a service interface. When commissioning, in particular the setting of the pulse factor, the setting of the module address and the setting of the absolute Meter reading can be made. The interface to the supply meters (M-Bus), the transmission protocol (eg ISDN) and the hardware can be checked as control functions (system check). Furthermore, it can be provided that the data records stored in the data acquisition device and in particular the load profile are read out via the service interface.

Furthermore, an existing internal time base could be set. However, time and date are preferably set by server 24.

In order to reduce power consumption, parts or the entire data acquisition unit are switched to a standby mode (sleep mode). If necessary, such as requesting meter data or sending load profiles, etc., the data acquisition device is woken up again. This takes place in particular in the case of data acquisition devices of a processor 29. In addition, memory modules for the internal memory can also be deactivated in the idle state.

The data transmission between data acquisition device 14 and server 24 can take place via different communication interfaces, depending on the requirement and application. Analog telephone connections, ISDN connections, Internet network connections, powerline connections and radio transmission are considered, for example. Thanks to a modular structure, you can work with different communication peers, for example. The interfaces listed below are preferred.

The transmission between the data acquisition device 14 and the server 24 provided as a data processing device can take place, for example, via an ISDN interface (ISDN = Integrated Services Digital Network) in the B channel. The SO interface is used here. The data exchange is based on the TCP / IP protocol. The data acquisition device 14 is thus network-compatible and can also be connected to the Internet as shown. With the TCP / IP protocol, communication is also possible via the a / b interface of an analog telephone when using a modem, for example according to the V24 standard. The connection to the different transmission media is made possible, for example, by a modular structure, taking into account various hardware and software components.

The M-bus is preferably provided for the communication between the supply counters 11, 12, 13 and the data acquisition device 14. However, an S0 pulse interface or another interface can be provided in the same way.

A preferred service interface works according to the RS 232 standard.

A potential-free switch contact can be provided for general error signaling. This is used to control external signaling. Various displays can be used and all error states can be log file. If the power supply fails, the data acquisition device cannot be addressed. However, the saved data is retained. The duration of the power failure is logged and can be called up at any time. After a power failure, for example, the data acquisition device requests the current date and the current time and transmits a message to the data processing device that a power failure has occurred. The internal memory cells for the counter data are filled with zeros from the beginning of the power failure. It is therefore always possible to see how long the power failure has taken place. The interface protocols used here are in particular the TCP protocol and the IP, PPP protocol. (PPP = point-to-point protocol).

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 consumption meter

2 Interface 3 data acquisition device

4 memory

5 service interface

6 Remote data transmission device

7 data processing device 8 storage device

9 time base

10 time base

11 consumption meters

12 consumption counters 13 consumption counters

14 Data acquisition device

15 interface converters

16 Optical read head

17 interface 18 interface

19 Optical coupling

20 buffers

21 Local network

22 Wide area network 23 Router

24 servers

25 interface protocol

26 Interface protocol

27 Processor 28 Interface protocol

Claims

claims

1. Arrangement for remote reading of at least one consumption meter

a data acquisition device (3, 14), which is coupled to the consumption counter (1, 11, 12, 13), which receives consumption data corresponding to the consumption, which assigns an absolute time quantity to the consumption data and which generates transmission data therefrom, the transmission data being associated with one another Have time data and consumption data,

one of the data acquisition devices (3, 14) downstream transmission link (6, 21, 22, 23) for transmission of the transmission data over a greater distance and

a data processing device (7, 24) coupled to the remote transmission link (3, 21, 22, 23) for receiving and evaluating the transmission data, which detects the consumption data as a function of the time data.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the data acquisition device (3, 14) contains a storage device (4, 20) which collects the transmission data and transmits the collected data to the data acquisition device (3, 14).

3. Arrangement according to claim 2, in which the transmission of the collected data is initiated by the data acquisition device (3, 14). '

4. Arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the transmission of the collected data is initiated by the data processing device (24).

5. Arrangement according to one of claims 2 to 4, in which the transmission of the collected data takes place at specific times.

6. Arrangements according to one of the preceding claims, in which in addition to transmission data also identification data of the consumption meter (11, 12, 13) from the data acquisition device

(14) are transmitted to the data processing device (24).

7. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, in which the data acquisition device (14) can be controlled by the data processing device (24).

8. Arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, in which the data acquisition device (3, 14) receives consumption data from the consumption meter (1, 11, 12, 13) at certain time intervals.

9. Arrangement according to claim 8, in which the data acquisition device (3, 14) is in a standby mode during the specific time intervals.