KR101080949B1 - Apparatus for switching of remote meter system using UART - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a switching device of a remote meter reading system using a UART, by allowing the meter to be remote metered through a single remote meter modem irrespective of the type of UART in an environment where a number of meters are installed in the same building A collective remote meter reading modem that reduces installation costs and installation space. According to the present invention, in an environment where a plurality of digital meters are installed in the same building, a multimode connection such as RS232 and RS232 is supported by using a collective modem having a built-in multiplex switch. A digital meter with an interface that does not have an advantage can be constructed economically by enabling remote meter reading using a single modem.

Description

Apparatus for switching of remote meter system using UART}

The present invention relates to a switching device of a remote meter reading system using a UART, in particular, in an environment in which a plurality of meters are installed in the same building, so that the meter can be remotely read through a single remote meter modem regardless of the type of UART. The present invention relates to a collective remote meter modem that reduces installation costs and installation space.

In the case of a typical multi-family house or a small shopping mall, many electricity meters, gas and water meters are installed in one building in close proximity. In this environment, various inventions have been proposed to reduce the cost of constructing a remote meter by installing one remote meter modem and multiple access to multiple meters.

Low cost RS485 is typically used for multiple access of adjacent meters.

However, in general, the multidrop RS485 / 422 configuration sets a different protocol-identifiable address for each meter and sets the RS485 / 422 address of the electricity meter in the upper remote metering device (central device, server, meter modem). Since the operation and management procedures are complicated, the address setting error of the device frequently occurs, and a lot of operating costs and efforts are put in order to solve the error.

In general, RS485 operates with a short length address of 1 byte or 2 bytes, and the meter operates by having a unique identification structure divided by embedding a unique identifier of several bytes or more.

This structure can be seen from the example in which the international standard metering protocol for electricity, gas, water, etc. is separately mapped to a unique ID and HDLC protocol address and dualized to operate.

Therefore, the address of RS485 is used only in the local area such as a collective remote meter modem or remote meter concentrator. This is a problem separate from the identification of the meter itself. The maintenance of RS485 addresses to avoid duplicate or lost RS485 addresses when replacing a digital meter due to maintenance or a replacement remote meter reading modem is very labor intensive and expensive.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can be applied to all of a variety of universal asynchronous receiver and transmitter (UART), such as RS232 / 422/485 or not supporting multiple access, multiplexing inside Its purpose is to provide a switching device for a remote meter reading system using a UART that provides multiple access by simply placing a switch.

The switching device of the remote meter reading system using the UART according to the present invention for achieving the above object, has a plurality of communication ports connected to correspond to a plurality of meters, a plurality of input and output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports A switch for switching the connection to the plurality of input and output terminals, controlling the switching operation of the switch in accordance with a control command received from a remote meter reading device, to provide the meter reading data read by the plurality of meters to the remote meter reading device And a UART driver for supporting a communication interface environment of signals transmitted and received between the control unit and the switch.

The controller may be connected one-to-one with a meter corresponding to any one of the plurality of ports according to the switching operation of the switch.

The control command includes at least one of upper communication protocol information with the remote meter reading device, a port control command for the switch, and a meter reading protocol information, and the port control command includes at least one of an identifier and an access port number. It is characterized by including.

The switch may connect any one of a plurality of input / output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports with an input / output terminal connected to the control unit based on a connection port number included in the control command.

The switch may maintain a connection with a corresponding input / output terminal for a predetermined time until receiving meter reading data from a meter connected through a communication port corresponding to the input / output terminal.

The switch is characterized in that the connection is maintained with the corresponding input and output terminals until a switching command to the input and output terminals corresponding to the other communication port is input.

On the other hand, the switching device of the remote meter reading system using the UART according to the present invention for achieving the above object, a plurality of communication ports connected to correspond to a plurality of meters, a plurality of input and output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports And a switch for switching a connection to the plurality of input / output terminals, and controlling a switching operation of the switch according to a control command received from a remote meter, and reading the meter data read by any one of the plurality of meters. And a plurality of UART drivers disposed to correspond to the plurality of communication ports, respectively, between the switch and the plurality of communication ports, and supporting a communication interface environment of signals transmitted and received between the switch and the plurality of communication ports. It features.

The plurality of UART drivers are characterized by supporting different communication interface environments for each of the plurality of communication ports.

The controller may be connected one-to-one with a meter corresponding to any one of the plurality of ports according to the switching operation of the switch.

The control command includes at least one of upper communication protocol information with the remote meter reading device, port control command for the switch, and meter reading protocol information, and the port control command includes at least one of an identifier and an access port number. Characterized in that.

The switch may connect any one of a plurality of input / output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports with an input / output terminal connected to the control unit based on a connection port number included in the control command.

The switch may maintain a connection with a corresponding input / output terminal for a predetermined time until receiving meter reading data from a meter connected through a communication port corresponding to the input / output terminal.

The switch is characterized in that the connection is maintained with the corresponding input and output terminals until a switching command to the input and output terminals corresponding to the other communication port is input.

According to the present invention, in an environment where a plurality of digital meters are installed in the same building, a digital modem having an interface that does not support multiple accesses, such as RS232, may be connected to a single modem by using a collective modem having a built-in multiplex switch. There is an advantage that can be economically constructed by enabling remote meter reading.

In addition, the present invention enables the plug & play of the digital meter without the address management required in the multi-access support interface, such as RS485 / 422, it can significantly reduce the manpower, time, cost required for maintenance There is an advantage.

The object of the present invention and the configuration and effects of the present invention to achieve the same will be more clearly understood by the following description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram referred to explain the configuration of a switching device of a remote meter reading system using a UART according to the present invention.

The switching device 200 of the remote meter reading system using the UART according to the present invention is a collective type remote meter reading modem, by selectively switching a plurality of ports provided therein, and transmits and receives a signal with the connected meter 300.

In this case, the remote meter reading is performed by the collective remote meter reading modem autonomously, or through the control of the upper remote meter reading apparatus 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the switching device 200 according to the present invention includes a communication unit 210, a control unit 220, a switch unit 230, and a plurality of communication ports 240.

The communication unit 210 is connected to the remote meter reading apparatus 100 by wire or wirelessly, and receives a control command from the remote meter reading apparatus 100. In addition, the communication unit 210 serves to transmit data read by the at least one meter 300 connected to the switching device 200 to the remote meter reading apparatus (100).

The controller 220 controls the overall operation of the switching device 200, and in particular, controls the operation of the switch unit 230 according to a control command received from the remote meter reading apparatus 100.

The switch unit 230 is a multiplex switch (hereinafter referred to as a 'switch') 235 for switching signals between an input / output terminal connected to the control unit 220 and a plurality of input / output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports 240. It includes.

In this case, the switch unit 230 includes a separate signal input terminal for receiving a switch control signal from the controller 220.

Accordingly, the switch unit 230 is connected to any one of a plurality of input and output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports 240 in accordance with the switch control signal input through the signal input terminal.

The plurality of communication ports 240 correspond to the number of meters 300, and in the embodiment of FIG. 1, N communication ports 240 are provided for convenience.

In other words, when the first meter 310 to the N-th meter 390 is provided for the meter reading, the plurality of communication ports 240 include the first port 241 to the N-th port 249. In this case, the first meter 310 is connected to the first port 241, and the N-th meter 390 is connected to the N-th port 249.

Here, the plurality of communication ports 240 are connected to the plurality of meters 300 in the form of centralized wiring or star configuration. In addition, the plurality of communication ports 240 and the plurality of meters 300 are each connected by wire, but according to the embodiment it is also possible to be connected wirelessly.

In this case, the meter 300 is preferably a digital meter, but is not limited thereto.

2 and 3 are exemplary views referred to for explaining the operation of the switching device of the remote meter reading system using the UART according to the present invention.

First, FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which a UART driver is provided between a controller and a switch as a first embodiment of a switching device.

The switch 235 of the switch unit 230 is connected to the UART port of the control unit 220. In this case, the UART port should be provided to recognize the signal output from the UART port of the controller 220 in the meter 300.

Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the switch unit 230 further includes a UART driver 231. In this case, the UART driver 231 is disposed between the control unit 220 and the switch 235, so that the meter 300 can recognize the signal of the control unit 220 without having a separate UART port.

In other words, the controller 220 outputs a TTL signal to the switch 230. In this case, the TTL signal output through the control unit 220 is applied to the UART driver 231 of the switch unit 230, and the UART driver 231 converts the TTL signal into a form recognizable by the meter 300.

In addition, the controller 220 outputs a switch control signal to the switch 235 before outputting the TTL signal to the switch 230 or at the same time as the TTL signal. In this case, the switch control signal includes control information on the input and output terminals connected to the switch 235 internally.

Accordingly, the switch 235 selects any one of a plurality of input / output terminals O ₁ to O _N based on the switch control signal from the controller 220 and connects it to the I terminal.

For example, when the I terminal and the O ₁ terminal of the switch 235 are connected, the signal output through the UART driver 231 is output to the first meter 310 through the first port 241 connected to O ₁ . do.

Therefore, the first meter 310 starts to read the meter according to the input signal. At this time, the meter reading data by the first meter 310 is transmitted to the control unit 220 through the first port 241 again, the control unit 220 remotely reading the meter reading data through the communication unit 210 To pass.

At this time, the switch 235 maintains the connection state of the switch 235 for a predetermined time or until a switching command to another communication port 240 is input in order to receive meter data from the connected meter 300. do.

3 is a second embodiment of a switching device of a remote meter reading system using a UART according to the present invention, showing an example in which a driver of various methods is provided between a switch and a plurality of communication ports.

In other words, in FIG. 2, one UART driver 231 is disposed between the controller 220 and the switch 235, whereas in FIG. 3, a plurality of input / output terminals and a plurality of communication ports provided in the switch 235 are provided. The drivers 241 to 249 of various communication methods are arranged between the 240.

For example, an RS232 driver 241 is disposed between the first port 241 connected to O ₁ of the input / output terminals of the switch 235, and an RS422 driver 242 is provided between the O ₂ and the second port 242. Place it. In addition, an RS485 driver 249 is disposed between the N-th port 249 connected to O _N of the input / output terminals of the switch 235.

In the case of the second embodiment shown in Fig. 3, by simultaneously embedding various interface drivers 241 to 249 in the collective remote metering modem, there is an advantage in that the selection of the meter connection interface is free.

In other words, the controller 220 outputs a TTL signal to the switch 230. In this case, the TTL signal output through the control unit 220 is applied to the switch 235 of the switch unit 230.

In addition, the controller 220 outputs a switch control signal to the switch 235 before outputting the TTL signal to the switch 230 or at the same time as the TTL signal. In this case, the switch control signal includes control information about an input / output terminal connected to the switch 235 internally, for example, connection interface information.

Accordingly, the switch 235 connects the I / O terminal corresponding to the interface of the communication method among the plurality of input / output terminals O ₁ to O _N based on the switch control signal from the controller 220 and the I terminal.

For example, when the I terminal and the O ₁ terminal of the switch 235 are connected, the first port 241 and the first meter 310 are connected by an RS232 communication method by the RS232 driver 231. Accordingly, the signal output from the controller 220 is output to the first meter 310 through the first port 241 connected to O ₁ .

At this time, the first meter 310 starts the meter reading according to the input signal. At this time, the meter reading data by the first meter 310 is transmitted to the control unit 220 through the first port 241 again, the control unit 220 remotely reading the meter reading data through the communication unit 210 To pass.

At this time, the switch 235 maintains the connection state of the switch 235 for a predetermined time or until a switching command to another communication port 240 is input in order to receive meter data from the connected meter 300. do.

4 is an exemplary view showing a detailed structure of a port control command transmitted from the remote meter reading device to the switching device.

Port control commands do not consist of separate communication packets, but are sent together with the remote metering protocol to be implemented simply and quickly without additional procedures. Therefore, it can be configured transparently without affecting the protocol scheme of the existing digital meter and higher transmission modem.

As shown in FIG. 4, the port control command structure includes a higher communication header area 410, a port control command area 420 to 440, a meter reading protocol area 450 to 470, and a higher communication trailer area 480. It is composed.

The upper communication header area 410 and the higher communication trailer area 480 are areas in which information for higher communication with the remote meter reading apparatus 100 is stored.

Meanwhile, the port control command area includes an identifier area 420 in which an identifier for recognizing a port control command is stored, a port number area 430 in which a port number for switching an internal input / output terminal of the switch unit 230 is stored, And a check sum area 440 in which information for checking an error of a port control command is stored.

At this time, the identifier is set differently from the remote metering protocol identifier of the meter 300, it is possible to distinguish the presence or absence, it is designed to have a fixed length to clearly distinguish the data.

In the upper communication protocol, the port control command area and the remote metering protocol area operate as payloads, and the switching device 200 receiving such a frame determines whether the port control command exists in the controller 220 from the identifier of the port control command area. Determine.

If there is a port control command, the controller 220 generates a control signal to match the transmitted port number and drives the switch 235 of the switch unit 230.

When the connection of the input / output terminal of the switch 235 is completed according to the port control command, after removing the port control command from the received frame, the meter connected to the identifier of the meter reading protocol area, payload, and information stored in the trailer area 450 to 470 Send to 300.

On the other hand, if there is no port control command in the packet received from the upper remote metering apparatus 100, it is determined that the existing selected port is used as it is and performs the remote meter reading communication.

In addition, when the controller 220 receives a response frame from the meter 300 in response to the transmitted remote metering protocol, the controller 220 transmits the response frame to the upper remote metering apparatus 100 according to a suitable protocol and communication method of the upper level communication.

In addition, the upper remote meter reading device 100 collects the ID of the meter 300 by using the remote metering protocol at the beginning or periodically, by building and managing address information related to the corresponding port number, the meter 300 Accurate customer metering information can be collected regardless of the physical port number that is connected.

As described above, the switching device of the remote meter reading system using the UART according to the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the embodiments and the drawings disclosed herein, but the scope of the technical idea is protected. It can be applied in

1 is a block diagram referred to explain the configuration of a switching device of a remote meter reading system using a UART according to the present invention.

2 is an exemplary view showing a first embodiment of a switching device of a remote meter reading system using a UART according to the present invention.

3 is an exemplary view showing a second embodiment of a switching device of a remote meter reading system using a UART according to the present invention.

4 is an exemplary view showing a detailed structure of a port control command transmitted from the remote meter reading device to the switching device.

Claims (13)

A plurality of communication ports connected to correspond to the plurality of meters; A switch having a plurality of input / output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports and switching connections to the plurality of input / output terminals; A control unit which controls the switching operation of the switch according to a control command received from a remote meter reading device, and provides meter reading data read by the plurality of meters to the remote meter reading device; And A UART driver is provided between the switch and the controller to support a communication interface environment of a signal transmitted and received. The control command, At least one of higher level communication protocol information with the remote metering device, a port control command for the switch, and meter metering protocol information; The port control command, Switching device of the remote meter reading system using UART, characterized in that it comprises at least one of an identifier and a connection port number. The method according to claim 1, The control unit, According to the switching operation of the switch, the switching device of the remote meter reading system using the UART, characterized in that one-to-one connection with the meter corresponding to any one of the plurality of ports. delete The method according to claim 1, The switch, Switching of the remote meter reading system using the UART, characterized in that for connecting any one of a plurality of input and output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports and the input and output terminals connected to the control unit based on the connection port number included in the control command. Device. The method according to claim 1, The switch, Switching device of a remote meter reading system using the UART, characterized in that for maintaining a connection with the corresponding input and output terminals for a predetermined time until receiving the meter data from the meter connected through the communication port corresponding to the input and output terminals. The method according to claim 1, The switch, A switching device of a remote meter reading system using a UART, characterized in that the connection with the corresponding input and output terminals is maintained until a switching command to an input / output terminal corresponding to another communication port is input. A plurality of communication ports connected to correspond to the plurality of meters; A switch having a plurality of input / output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports and switching connections to the plurality of input / output terminals; A control unit which controls the switching operation of the switch according to a control command received from a remote meter reading device, and provides meter reading data read by any one of the plurality of meters to the remote meter reading device; And A plurality of UART drivers disposed between the switch and the plurality of communication ports to correspond to the plurality of communication ports, respectively, to support a communication interface environment of signals transmitted and received; The control command, At least one of higher level communication protocol information with the remote metering device, a port control command for the switch, and meter metering protocol information; The port control command, Switching device of the remote meter reading system using UART, characterized in that it comprises at least one of an identifier and a connection port number. The method of claim 7, The plurality of UART drivers, Switching device of the remote meter reading system using the UART, characterized in that for supporting the different communication interface environment for each of the plurality of communication ports. The method of claim 7, The control unit, According to the switching operation of the switch, the switching device of the remote meter reading system using the UART, characterized in that one-to-one connection with the meter corresponding to any one of the plurality of ports. delete The method of claim 7, The switch, Switching of the remote meter reading system using the UART, characterized in that for connecting any one of a plurality of input and output terminals connected to the plurality of communication ports and the input and output terminals connected to the control unit based on the connection port number included in the control command. Device. The method of claim 7, The switch, Switching device of a remote meter reading system using the UART, characterized in that for maintaining a connection with the corresponding input and output terminals for a predetermined time until receiving the meter data from the meter connected through the communication port corresponding to the input and output terminals. The method of claim 7, The switch, A switching device of a remote meter reading system using a UART, characterized in that the connection to the input and output terminal is maintained until a switching command to an input / output terminal corresponding to another communication port is input.

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