Power collecting device, power measuring device, and power collecting method

• US 8,712,707 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2010
• Issued: 04/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Murakami, Takashi, Sakaguchi, Keiji
• Primary Examiner(s): TSAI, CAROL S W
• Application Number:
  US13/260,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20120022815A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• Field of Search: 702/62, 702/79, 702/188, 709/208, 709/224, 709/221, 709/203, 709/220, 709/226, 709/223, 709/201, 709/230, 709/227, 709/237, 709/228
• US Class Current: 702/62
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 4/002 Remote reading of utility meters
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 22/063 related to remote communication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/30 Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading

Abstract

A power collecting device (101) according to the present invention includes: a polling interval determination unit configured to determine a polling interval (212) as a time interval at which measured data (220) is collected from an appliance (102); a band measurement unit configured to measure a communicable band (711) usable for communication between the power collecting device (101) and the appliance (102); a sampling interval determination unit (710) configured to determine a sampling interval (712) as an interval between measurement times of a plurality of measured values included in the measured data (220) so that a data volume of the measured data (220) becomes equal to or smaller than a data volume that can be communicated at the polling interval (212) by using the communicable band (711); and a data transmission request unit (204) configured to transmit, to the appliance (102) at the polling interval (212), a data transmission request message (213) requesting the appliance (102) for transmitting the measured data (220) including the measured value obtained through the measurement at the sampling interval (712).

Claims

1. A power collecting device being connected to a network and collecting, from an appliance connected to the network, measured data including one or a plurality of pieces of at least one kind of data of current power consumption and accumulated power consumption of the appliance, said power collecting device comprising:

a polling interval determination unit configured to determine a polling interval as a time interval at which the measured data is collected from the appliance;

a band measurement unit configured to measure a communicable band usable for communication between said power collecting device and the appliance;

a sampling interval determination unit configured to determine a sampling interval as an interval between measurement times of a plurality of measured values included in the measured data so that a data volume of the measured data defined by the sampling interval and the polling interval becomes equal to or smaller than a data volume that can be communicated within the polling interval by using the communicable band; and

a data transmission request unit configured to transmit, to the appliance at the polling interval, a request message requesting the appliance for transmitting the measured data including the measured value obtained through the measurement at the sampling interval.

2. The power collecting device according to claim 1,

wherein the appliance determines, based on an upper limit of a data volume of one message, whether or not to divide the measured data for transmission, and when the measured data is to be divided, divides the measured data into a plurality of pieces of division data and transmits the divided plurality of pieces of division data to said power collecting device, and when the measured data is not to be divided, transmits the measured data to said power collecting device without dividing the measured data, and

said sampling interval determination unit is configured:

to determine, when the communicable band is wider than a predefined first band, the sampling interval as the predefined first interval;

to calculate, when the communicable band is narrower than the first band, a division number that permits communication as the number of pieces of division data that can be communicated within the polling interval by using the communicable band, and

to calculate a second interval by dividing the first interval by a ratio of the division number that permits communication with respect to a normal division number as the number of pieces of division data when the first interval is used, and determine the calculated second interval as the sampling interval.

3. The power collecting device according to claim 1, further comprising a target appliance management unit configured to hold the number of connections as the number of the appliances connected to the network,

wherein said polling interval determination unit is configured to determine the polling interval by using the number of connections, communication speed of the network, and network protocol specifications.

4. The power collecting device according to claim 3,

wherein said polling interval determination unit is configured to:

to calculate, by using the communication speed and the network protocol specifications, a measured data acquisition time period as a time period from when said data transmission request unit transmits the request message to when the measured data is acquired; and

to calculate the polling interval by multiplying together the measured data acquisition time period and the number of connections.

5. The power collecting device according to claim 4,

wherein the appliance divides the measured data into a plurality of pieces of division data whose upper limits of data volumes are defined, and transmits the divided plurality of pieces of division data to said power collecting device, and

said polling interval determination unit is configured:

to set a predefined number as a first division number;

to repeat;

calculating, based on the communication speed, a temporary measured data acquisition time period as the measured data acquisition time period when the measured data is transmitted after divided into the first division number of pieces of division data;

calculating a temporary polling interval by multiplying together the temporary measured data acquisition time period and the number of connections;

calculating a temporary data volume as a data volume of the measured data with the temporary polling interval and the first division number;

calculating a second division number by dividing the temporary data volume by a maximum data volume of the division data; and

, when the first division number is different from the second division number, setting the second division number as a new first division number, until when the first division number and the second division number become equal to each other; and

to determine the temporary polling interval as the polling interval when the first division number and the second division number become equal to each other.

6. The power collecting device according to claim 4,

wherein the network protocol specifications include an upper limit of a message size and communication sequence information, and

said polling interval determination unit is configured to calculate the measured data acquisition time period by using the communication speed of the network, the upper limit of the message size, and the communication sequence information.

7. The power collecting device according to claim 4, further comprising:

a data reception unit configured to receive the plurality of pieces of division data obtained by dividing the measured data;

a received data coupling unit configured to couple together the pieces of division data received by the data reception unit;

a missing data determination unit configured to determine, based on a parameter included in the division data, whether or not there is any missing data, and when there is any missing data, request the appliance for transmitting the missing data again; and

a missing data reception unit configured to receive the missing data from the appliance,

wherein said polling interval determination unit is configured to calculate the measured data acquisition time period by multiplying a coefficient that considers occurrence of the missing data by the value calculated based on the communication speed.

8. The power collecting device according to claim 3,

wherein said target appliance management unit is further configured to hold an address or a communication access destination of the appliance.

9. A power collecting device being connected to a network and collecting, from an appliance connected to the network, measured data including a plurality of measured values indicating current power consumption of the appliance for each time measured by the appliance, said power collecting device comprising:

a target appliance management unit configured to hold the number of connections as the number of the appliances connected to the network;

a timer interval determination unit configured to determine, based on the number of connections, communication speed of the network, and network protocol specifications, a timer interval as a time interval at which the appliance transmits the measured data to said power collecting device; and

a data transmission request unit configured to transmit to the appliance a request message requesting the appliance for transmitting the measured data at the timer interval.

10. A power measuring device measuring current power consumption of an appliance and transmitting, to a power collecting device connected to a network, measured data including at least one of the current power consumption and accumulated power consumption, said power collecting device comprising:

a measurement unit configured to measure the current power consumption of the appliance for each time and outputting a measured value obtained through the measurement;

a transmission request reception unit configured to receive a request message transmitted from said power collecting device, the message including a timer interval as a time interval at which said power measuring device transmits the measured data to said power collecting device;

a band measurement unit configured to measure a communicable band usable for communication between said power measuring device and said power collecting device;

a sampling interval determination unit configured to determine a sampling interval as an interval between measurement times of a plurality of measured values included in the measured data so that a data volume of the measured data defined by the sampling interval and the timer interval becomes equal to or smaller than a data volume that can be communicated within the timer interval by using the communicable band; and

a measured data transmission unit configured to transmit, to said power collecting device at the timer interval, the measured data including the measured value obtained through the measurement at the sampling interval.

11. The power measuring device according to claim 10,

wherein the measured data transmission unit is configured to determine, based on an upper limit of a data volume of one message, whether or not to divide the measured data for transmission, and when the measured data is to be divided, divide the measured data into a plurality of pieces of division data and transmit the divided plurality of pieces of division data to said power collecting device, and when the measured data is not to be divided, transmit the measured data to said power collecting device without dividing the measured data, and

said sampling interval determination unit is configured:

to determine the sampling interval as the predefined first interval when the communicable band is wider than a predefined first band;

to calculate, when the communicable band is narrower than the first band, a division number that permits communication as the number of pieces of division data that can be communicated within the polling interval with the communicable band; and

to calculate a second interval by dividing the first interval by a ratio of the division number that permits communication with respect to a normal division number as the number of pieces of division data when the first interval is used, and determine the calculated second interval as the sampling interval.

12. A power collecting method in a power collecting device being connected to a network and collecting, from an appliance connected to the network, measured data including one or a plurality of at least one kind of data of current power consumption and accumulated power consumption of the appliance, said power collecting method comprising:

determining a polling interval as a time interval at which the measured data is collected from the appliance;

measuring a communicable band usable for communication between said power collecting device and the appliance;

determining a sampling interval as an interval between measurement times of a plurality of measured values included in the measured data so that a data volume of the measured data defined by the sampling interval and the polling interval becomes equal to or smaller than a data volume that can be communicated within the polling interval by using the communicable band; and

transmitting, to the appliance at the polling interval, a request message requesting the appliance for transmitting the measured data including the measured value obtained through the measurement at the sampling interval.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a recorded program causing a computer to execute the power collecting method according to claim 12.