Telemetry system and method using single shared address

• US 20060132330A1
• Filed: 06/01/2005
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hunetec Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Hunetec Company Limited
• Inventors: Youn, Young-Han
• Application Number:
  US11/142,868
• Publication Number:
  US 20060132330A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/870.70
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/60 for transmitting utility meters data, i.e. transmission of data from the reader of the utility meter
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/826 where the data is sent periodically
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

Disclosed herein are a telemetry system and method that can communicate with a plurality of telemetric devices, which manage and control watt-hour meters, water or gas meters, or vending machines, using a single shared address. The system includes a group of telemetric devices, a telemetric server and a two-way communication network. The group of telemetric devices are attached to the target devices, respectively, and are assigned a single shared address. The telemetric server remotely manages and controls the group of telemetric devices. The two-way communication network performs data communication between the group of telemetric devices and the telemetric server. The group of telemetric devices includes a plurality of telemetric devices located adjacent to each other in a specific area, one of the group of telemetric devices is set as a master telemetric device and remaining ones are set as slave telemetric devices, and the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices are assigned unique sub-IDs.

Claims

1. A telemetry system for managing and controlling a plurality of target devices, such as vending machines, water meters, gas meters and watt-hour meters, the system comprising:

a group of telemetric devices attached to the target devices, respectively, and assigned a single shared address;

a telemetric server configured to remotely manage and control the group of telemetric devices; and

a two-way communication network configured to perform data communication between the group of telemetric devices and the telemetric server;

wherein the group of telemetric devices comprises a plurality of telemetric devices located adjacent to each other in a specific area, one of the group of telemetric devices is set as a master telemetric device and remaining ones are set as slave telemetric devices, and the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices are assigned unique sub-IDs.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

the master telemetric device communicates with the communication network using the shared address, manages the slave telemetric devices via the communication network, transmits a response providing notification of reception of a message request command and a certain command via the communication network in Radio Frequency (RF) form when the message request command or the certain command is received at the shared address via the communication network, collects and stores information about a target device to which the master telemetric device is attached, manages and controls the target device, and transmits a message containing stored information via the communication network in RF signal form as a message request command requesting the information and a sub-ID of the master telemetric device are received via the communication network;

each of the slave telemetric devices communicates with the communication network using the shared address in RF signal form, collects and stores information about a target device to which the slave telemetric device is attached, manages and controls the target device, and transmits a message containing stored information via the communication network in RF signal form as a message request command requesting the information and a sub-ID of the slave telemetric device are received via the communication network; and

the telemetric server transmits the shared address, the sub-IDs of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices, the message request command and the certain command to the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices via the communication network, and receives commands and messages from the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices via the communication network.

3. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the master telemetric device is set with a master flag that allows a device to function as a master, and the slave telemetric devices are set with slave flags that allow devices to function as slaves.

4. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices stores certain frequency information, and communicates with the communication network using the frequency information.

5. The system as set forth in claim 4, wherein the master telemetric device requests communication registration from the communication network using the frequency information when the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices are not communicatively connected to the communication network and want to perform the communication registration.

6. The system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the slave telemetric devices are automatically and communicatively connected to the communication network without a request for to communication registration when the communication network approves the communication registration request of the master telemetric device and sets up a communication connection with the master telemetric device.

7. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein different frames for transmission and reception are set for the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices for respective sub-IDs, and the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices transmit messages and commands via the set frames.

8. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein a period of transmission of information is set for the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices, and messages containing certain information are automatically transmitted to the telemetric server at intervals corresponding to the set period of transmission.

9. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the master telemetric device stores information about a number of slave telemetric devices.

10. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein only the master telemetric device responds to a communication command transmitted by the communication network when the communication network transmits the communication command to the shared address.

11. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the telemetric server attaches the sub-ID to the message request command or the certain command and transmits the message request command or the certain command with the sub-ID attached thereto.

12. A telemetry method of remotely reading and managing target devices, such as vending machines, water or gas meters, or watt-hour meters, using a telemetric server communicating with a master telemetric device and slave telemetric devices attached to the target devices, respectively, via a two-way communication network, the method comprising;

a step 1 at which at least one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices transmits an transmission request command providing notification of transmission of a message to the communication network using a shared address in advance, and transmits the message containing certain information to the communication network in RF signal form as a transmission approval command approving the transmission of the message to the shared address is received from the communication network in response to the transmission request command;

a step 2 at which at least one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices transmits a normal response command providing notification of normal reception of the message to the communication network in RF signal form as the communication network transmits a message termination command providing notification of termination of reception of the message using the shared address in response to the transmission request command;

a step 3 at which the master telemetric device transmits a reception response command providing notification of reception of a message request command to the telemetric server via the communication network in RF signal form as the telemetric server transmits the message request command requesting information using the shared address and a sub-ID of at least one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices via the communication network; and

a step 4 at which one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices, which has a sub-ID coinciding with the sub-ID transmitted from the telemetric server, executes the message request command transmitted by the telemetric server.

13. The method as set forth in claim 12, further comprising a step 5 at which the master telemetric device transmits a reception response command providing notification of reception of a certain command to the telemetric server via the communication network in RF signal form as the telemetric transmits the certain command via the communication network using the shared address.

14. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein the step 1 comprises:

a step 1-1 at which the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices transmits the transmission request command to the communication network;

a step 1-2 at which the communication network transmits the certain command to the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices in response to the transmission request command;

a step 1-3 at which the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices determines whether the certain command transmitted by the communication network is the transmission approval command;

a step 1-4 at which the process proceeds to the step 2 if, as a result of the determination, the certain command is the transmission approval command;

a step 1-5 at which the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices determines whether the server does not transmit the message request command but transmission approval command is a response to the transmission request command transmitted by it;

a step 1-6 at which the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices transmits the message containing certain information to the communication network if, as a result of the determination at the step 1-5, the transmission approval command is a response to the transmission request command transmitted by it; and

a step 1-7 at which the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices does not transmit the message and terminates communication if, as a result of the determination at the step 1-5, the transmission approval command is not a response to the transmission request command transmitted by it.

15. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein the step 2 comprises:

a step 2-1 at which the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices determines whether the message termination command has been received from communication network;

a step 2-2 at which the process proceeds to the step 3 if, as a result of the determination at the step 2-1, the message termination command has not been received from the communication network;

a step 2-3 at which the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices determines whether the message termination command is a response to the transmission request command transmitted by it if, as a result of the determination at the step 2-1, the message termination command has been received from the communication network;

a step 2-4 at which the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices transmits the normal response command to the communication network if, as a result of the determination at the step 2-3, the message termination command is a response to the transmission request command transmitted by it; and

a step 2-5 at which the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices terminates communication with the communication network if, as a result of the determination at the step 2-3, the message termination command is not a response to the transmission request command transmitted by it.

16. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the step 2 further comprises a step 2-6 at which the one of the master telemetric device and the slave telemetric devices updates a Message Sequence Number (MSN) relating to a reverse channel after transmitting the normal response command.

17. A telemetric device attached to a target device, such as a vending machine, water or gas meter, or a watt-hour meter, and configured to manage and control the target device and exchange messages and various commands with a telemetric server via a two-way communication network, the telemetric device comprising:

storage means for storing a shared address, information about the target device, a sub-ID for identification thereof, frame information for prevention of collisions between transmitted data, a flag for distinguishing between a master and a slave and frequency information for communication with the communication network;

control means for performing control using the frequency information stored in the storage means so that the telemetric device and the communication network communicates in synchronization with each other, storing information, which is provided via the communication network, in the storage means, collecting information about the target device and storing the information about the target device in the storage means, providing the information stored in the storage means and controlling the target device in compliance with a command of the telemetric server received via the communication network, and transmitting information via the frames stored in the storage means; and

Radio Frequency (RF) transmission and reception means for converting an RF signal, which is received from the communication network, into a digital baseband signal and transferring the digital baseband signal to the control means, and converting a digital baseband signal, which is transferred from the control means, into an analog RF signal and transmitting the analog RF signal to the communication network, under control of the control means.

18. The device as set forth in claim 17, wherein the storage means stores a period of transmission at which certain information is automatically transmitted is stored, and the control means automatically transmits the stored information at intervals corresponding to the stored period of transmission.

19. The device as set forth in claim 17 or 18, wherein the control means performs a master function if the flag stored in the storage means is a flag for a master, and performs a slave function if the flag stored in the storage means is a flag for a slave.

20. A telemetry system for managing and controlling a plurality of target devices, such as vending machines, water meters, gas meters and watt-hour meters, having:

a group of telemetric devices attached to the target devices, respectively and assigned a single shared address;

a telemetric server configured to remotely manage and control the group of telemetric devices; and

a two-way communication network configured to perform data communication between the group of telemetric devices and the telemetric server;

wherein the telemetric devices are assigned unique sub-IDs, frames to be transmitted are distinguished according to the assigned sub-IDs, and the telemetric devices and the communication network are newly synchronized and then transmit data whenever they transmit the data.