Device for remote reading of a meterbox display
The present invention relates to a device for remote reading of a meterbox display, especially remote reading of a meterbox that registers consumption of electricity, water or gas, wherein the display composes a row of digits intended for manual reading by an operator
Background
Elimination of monopolies regarding services related to electricity, water and gas, and/ or increased competition within these sectors, has lead to a desire or a need for more frequent readings These readings may not be made at fixed intervals to register consumption of such commodities/ services
At the same time new technology has enabled simplified routines of such readings so that they require less manual work than previously possible
In the past it was considered sufficient to invoice payments on account for all yearly terms except the last one, and a manual reading made of the actual consumption at the end of the year This situation has changed drastically of late With regard to electricity customers may change supplier with relatively short notice m many markets, depending upon the agreement entered with the current supplier, and it is feasible to change supplier more than once a year This has lead to an increased frequenc} of readings and a wish to be able to conduct such readings with as little manual labour as possible
Previously known technology
Different solutions have been suggested both with respect to the reading itself and to the transfer of the data registered
Additional equipment has been devised for inclusion m existing meterboxes from ABB ®, counting the turns of the metering device, wherein the equipment mav be connected to a computer that is able to pass on the information This requires "surgery" withm the meterbox where the new counter is arranged and a cable connection into the meterbox
Such equipment is for the time being only available for meterboxes manufactured by ABB.
There are also strictly digital meters with built-in digital counters that may again be read by a computer, whereafter the information is transmitted through a communications network. To implement such equipment the entire existing meterbox must be replaced. In addition comes the requirement of suitable communication equipment.
The aforementioned systems are excellent where a continuous registration is required. If the need, however, can be satisfied by readings at certain intervals, such systems are unjustifiably expensive.
Objectives
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for remote reading of a display e.g. for consumption of electricity, water or the like which is being registered at the consumers location.
It is an object to provide a device of the kind mentioned above, wherein the currently used equipment and the information already available at the consumers location is utilized, thereby keeping the costs of the system at a moderate level.
It is further an object to transfer the remotely read data in a cheap and convenient manner to a central memory unit in an inexpensive and convenient manner.
The invention The aforementioned objects are achieved by means of a device as defined by claim 1.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed by the dependent claims.
By use of the device according to the invention, reading of a meterbox may be obtained at certain moments in time which may be regular or at will. The equipment previously installed is utilized for this purpose and it is not required that complicated equipment for continuous monitoring is installed where this is not needed.
The registration/ recordal of the meterbox display as such is most conveniently achieved by means of optical chips of the kind used in digital cameras, but with particular optics allowing close-ups, e.g. at a distance of 15-20 mm from the object, and defining a narrow and elongate field in the area of about 10 x 50 mm.
Convenient optical chips based on CMOS technology are available commercially, and are popularly denoted "Digital Camera-On-a-Chip". Such chips are able to read optically under very low light conditions, even down to e.g. 0,004 lux. For applications in closed cabinets, additional light may still be required, e.g. from a light-emitting diode. A chip of the relevant type may be PB 0100® as provided by Photobit Corp in the U.S.A.
In many relevant types of meterboxes the display is protected by a glass cover. The glass cover may in such cases be used for the attachment of the optical chip, as the chip may simply be glued to the glass cover straight above the display. If there is no glass cover available or if it is desired not to cover the display completely, the chip may be mounted on a bracket holding the chip at a fixed distance from the display, in a way allowing manual reading of the display as normal.
In the following, the invention is described more in detail in terms of a preferred, non- limiting example of an embodiment, and with reference to the enclosed drawings.
Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the principles for the device according to the invention as part of a complete system, Fig. 2a and 2b show a preferred embodiment of the invention in two different positions.
Fig. 1 shows a system comprising the device according to the invention. A meterbox 1 comprising a display (a row of digits) 2 covered by a glass cover 3. An optical chip 4 is arranged on or close to the glass cover 3, said chip is connected to a local control unit 5 which again is connected to local communication unit 6. The local communication unit 6 may transmit information to a central communication unit 7 that through a control unit 8 transmits data to a memory unit 9. It is readily understood that the control unit 8 and the memory unit 9 need not constitute physically separate hardware, but may constitute
logical functions integrated in a computer, controlled by adequate software. It is particularly emphasized that the software does not constitute any part of the invention, as this may be accommodated by any skilled programmer.
Information may be transmitted in both directions in the system according to the invention, so that at a point in time where a registration of the display of the meterbox is requested, an initiation signal is transmitted from the control unit 8. The signal may be controlled by the computer alone, based on dates (e.g. monthly intervals) or other controlling logics, or it may be initiated by a computer operator. The signal from the computer is transmitted through a network, e.g. the GSM network, to the control unit 5 at the meterbox, ordering the optical chip 4 to momentarily take a snapshot of the display 2. With the described functionality it is understood that the readings of the meterbox are controlled remotely.
The signal from the optical chip, which is basically a digital photograph, may either be transmitted in this form to be converted centrally to a number from which the consumption is calculated, or the local control unit 5 may include the technology required to convert the signal locally in real time to a number (or letters) e.g. by utilizing OCR technology. The advantage of transmitting the photograph non-converted is that less functions are required locally and the possibility of performing quality assurance of the information is improved. The disadvantage is that significantly more information has to be transmitted.
The central computer 9 may be the same computer used for billing the customers, or it may be a computer connected to such a computer.
Fig. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention where a unit 4' comprises both the optical chip and the required control and communication units, i.e. the units 4, 5 and 6 of fig. 1. The unit 4' is adapted to be attached directly to the glass cover of a meterbox with double-sided tape or by utilizing more advanced industrial gluing techniques. Preferably the unit 4' comprises a frame or the like (not shown) allowing the unit to be tilted away for simplified manual reading of the display, so that the consumer may confirm that the amount he is invoiced is correct.
It is also possible to attach only the chip 4 or a frame/ holder for holding the chip 4 front of the display, and to use a cable connection to the remainder part of the local units 5 and 6 (fig 1) Independent of the embodiment, the total dimensions of the local equipment 4, 5 and 6 will be small enough to be contained m e g a normal fuse box
With the present developments in mobile telephony it will be natural to utilize such a technology for transmitting the information It is of course also possible to transmit the information over a cable based network It is preferable that the signals from the central unit are sent through the same networks as the readings are returned through, but this is not a mandatory feature of the invention
If the information is transmitted as a photograph the transmittal time based on ISDN technology is less than 2 seconds, while it is in the range between 1 and 10 seconds with today's GSM technology, depending e g on the resolution If the information is transmitted after conversion to a stnng of digits, the transmittal time will be less than a second even with GSM technology
Most commonly the registration of the display will be conducted by remote control from the same central computer that receives and registers data, but it is also possible that the remote control function is performed from a different site or based on a functionality built-into the local control unit
It is furthermore preferred that the local equipment (4, 5, 6) is assigned a particular identity code, numerically or alphanumeπcally, which is unchangeable, and which is always transmitted along with the display reading to the central unit The identity code is unique for each particular local installation This way any possible mix-up of data from different local installations are avoided, even if the telephone system should temporanly break down The way the identity code is assigned to the equipment may vary, but a safe and convenient way of doing it is by etching the code into a chip of the control unit 5