Intelligent electric meter communication network building method based on Bluetooth Mesh

Abstract

The invention provides an intelligent electric meter communication network building method based on Bluetooth Mesh. The technical scheme is characterized by comprising the following steps: deploying hardware facilities of an electric energy meter and a communication network; designing a network architecture, and constructing a layered network structure; configuring network security, and establishing a key management system; a communication protocol is adapted, and the Bluetooth Mesh is in butt joint with a standard protocol in the power industry; detecting the link quality of each intelligent electric meter, and selecting a routing path for uploading data; performing verification test on the operation of the intelligent electric meter communication network, and establishing an energy consumption management scheme; key indexes during operation of the communication network are monitored, and the communication network is maintained and adjusted through feedback information; the communication stability of the intelligent electric meter can be improved, the network coverage range is expanded, the energy consumption is reduced, and the deployment, management and maintenance of a communication network are simplified.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of smart meter communication technology, and in particular to a method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh. Background Art

[0002] In the field of smart meter communication technology, traditional carrier communication PLC relies on power lines to transmit signals. However, due to the electrical noise and interference of the power lines themselves, this method is easily interfered with in noisy environments, resulting in unstable communication. Communication between meters and concentrators is easily interrupted, affecting the transmission of real-time data and the effectiveness of power management.

[0003] Secondly, traditional communication solutions suffer from limited network coverage. PLC communication typically has a small effective coverage area, resulting in poor device management and network scalability. In larger deployment scenarios, traditional PLC communication may require complex wiring and network setup. Because distribution transformers block power carrier signals, they can only be transmitted within the area of a distribution transformer. Signal attenuation is severe in large buildings, basements, or areas far from main power lines. Furthermore, the use of high-frequency power line communication (HPLC) requires each electricity meter to be equipped with an HPLC carrier module, which is not only costly and power-hungry, but can also exacerbate grid harmonics, which is inconsistent with my country's current green and low-carbon development goals. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To improve the stability of smart meter communications, expand network coverage, reduce energy consumption, and simplify the deployment, management, and maintenance of communication networks, thereby providing a more efficient and reliable communication solution for smart grids, the present invention provides a method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh. The technical solution is as follows: A method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh includes the following steps: deploying hardware facilities for electric energy meters and communication networks; designing a network architecture and building a hierarchical network structure; configuring network security and establishing a key management system; adapting communication protocols and connecting Bluetooth Mesh with standard protocols in the power industry; testing the link quality of each smart meter and selecting a routing path for uploading data; verifying the operation of the smart meter communication network and establishing an energy consumption management plan; monitoring key indicators during the operation of the communication network and maintaining and adjusting the communication network through feedback information.

[0005] Preferably, an integrated Bluetooth Mesh module is configured in the smart meter, a Bluetooth Mesh and Lora or 4G dual-band communication module is configured in the concentrator or gateway, a dedicated repeater is deployed in the signal blind area or signal attenuation area, and a cloud server is configured in the master station.

[0006] Preferably, smart meters equipped with Bluetooth Mesh modules are used as slave nodes to form the terminal device layer; concentrators or gateways are configured as host nodes or relay nodes of the Mesh network to form the network communication layer; a cloud platform is established in the master station as the data management layer; a 16-bit address encoding mechanism is used to encode the addresses of smart meters that form the communication network by region, and a group address is assigned to each region according to the regional division; for newly added smart meter devices, addresses are assigned to the newly added smart meter devices in the concentrator or gateway through the Provisioning service.

[0007] Preferably, a three-layer key structure is set up based on the AES-CCM encryption mode and the network key hierarchical mechanism, the network key NetKey is set when performing device network access authentication and network layer encryption, the application key AppKey is set when encrypting business data, and the device key DevKey is set when performing unique identity authentication for the smart meter device; the authorized smart meter device list is updated and maintained through the concentrator or gateway, and access by unregistered MAC addresses is rejected. At the same time, network access attempts are monitored in real time through the concentrator or gateway, and the cloud platform alarm of the main station is triggered when an illegal network access attempt is detected.

[0008] Preferably, the electricity consumption data periodically reported by the smart meter and the abnormal alarm data triggered by events are encapsulated using the Mesh network layer encapsulation structure, the maximum number of relay forwarding times is set according to the node density of the smart meter, and the content of the application data bytes is encrypted using the application key AppKey, and the content of the application data bytes in the Mesh network layer encapsulation structure is converted into a DLT645 message encapsulation structure.

[0009] Preferably, the link quality of each smart meter is detected through a concentrator or gateway, and the serial numbers of the latest 10 data are recorded. The communication routing path is selected based on the link quality, and duplicate frames are discarded based on the serial number of the data to suppress duplicate messages. The smart meter preferentially selects a routing path with high signal strength to upload the encrypted data to the concentrator or gateway, and then the encrypted data is parsed by the concentrator or gateway, and the data is converted into JSON format and uploaded to the cloud platform of the main station.

[0010] Preferably, a spectrum analyzer is used to measure the signal strength distribution of each node area of the communication network to perform a communication coverage test; 3-hop transmission or 5-hop transmission is simulated to detect end-to-end delay data and perform a multi-hop communication test; multiple meters report data simultaneously to detect the data throughput of the concentrator or gateway and perform a concurrent stress test; 20% of the repeaters are randomly shut down to detect the network self-healing time and perform a fault recovery test; the energy consumption management solution is as follows: for smart meters, the Bluetooth Mesh module is periodically awakened and synchronized with the Friend node in the Bluetooth Mesh network, and enters a deep sleep mode when no data needs to be reported; for concentrators or gateways, each smart meter is continuously monitored, the message cache queue is enabled, and the power is adjusted according to the load rate of data transmission; for repeaters, the relay function is activated according to actual needs, and the Sniff mode is entered when idle.

[0011] Preferably, the offline rate of smart meter nodes is monitored in real time through a concentrator or gateway. When the offline rate is greater than 5% and lasts for 10 minutes, automatic topology reconstruction is started; the average delay of each smart meter is periodically detected through a concentrator or gateway. When the average delay is greater than 500ms, the repeater load or routing path is checked, and the routing path for the corresponding smart meter to report data is changed and adjusted; the security events reported by each smart meter are counted through a concentrator or gateway. When the frequency of security events reported by the smart meter exceeds 1 time per hour, key rotation is triggered and suspicious devices are isolated, and relevant staff are notified to conduct on-site inspections.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The present invention provides a method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh. By leveraging the self-organizing and self-managing functions of the Bluetooth Mesh network, each smart meter device in the smart meter communication network is used as a relay node, thereby enabling each smart meter to forward data as a node in the communication network. Utilizing the unique multi-hop forwarding mechanism of Bluetooth Mesh, multi-hop communication expands coverage, improves signal coverage, reduces dependence on power lines, and ensures that smart meters can stably connect to the communication network in complex or large-scale environments and reliably communicate with other communication devices. At the same time, the communication network can be flexibly expanded according to demand, reducing the dependence on centralized controllers or additional routers. This makes the deployment and maintenance of smart meter communication networks easier, especially in environments with a large number of devices and wide distribution, and can effectively reduce installation costs. Moreover, Bluetooth Mesh is a low-power network protocol that can effectively reduce the communication energy consumption of smart meters and extend battery life by optimizing their sleep mode and communication frequency. This is especially true for smart meters that require long-term remote monitoring. The use of Bluetooth Mesh can reduce energy consumption, thereby extending the life cycle of the equipment and reducing maintenance costs. Compared with traditional HPLC communication solutions, this solution can increase network coverage by more than three times and reduce energy consumption by 40% to 60%. It also supports the access of tens of thousands of nodes, thus providing a cost-effective communication foundation for smart grid construction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention will become readily understood by reading the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, several embodiments of the present invention are shown in an illustrative and non-limiting manner, and the same or corresponding reference numerals represent the same or corresponding parts, wherein: Figure 1 A flowchart of the implementation steps of the method for establishing a smart meter communication network; Figure 2 This is the topological structure diagram of the smart meter communication network; Figure 3 Flowchart for adding new smart meters to the communication network; DETAILED DESCRIPTION The technical features of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can understand them.

[0014] A method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh, the implementation process is as follows Figure 1 The specific implementation steps are as follows: Step S1: Deploy the hardware facilities of the energy meter and communication network; Specifically, the deployment of hardware facilities needs to ensure that the hardware equipment meets the communication requirements and the deployment location can cover the target area; configure the integrated Bluetooth Mesh module in the smart meter, including the Bluetooth 5.1+ chip, which is required to support the Mesh protocol stack, with an adjustable transmission power of +10dBm, a receiving sensitivity of -97dBm, and support for DLT645-2007 protocol analysis; configure the Bluetooth Mesh and Lora or 4G dual-band communication module in the concentrator or gateway, including a dual-core processor for communication and data processing, a built-in UPS backup power supply, and a storage capacity of more than 128MB and the ability to cache data. It stores seven days of data and supports 200 concurrent connections. Dedicated repeaters are deployed in signal blind spots or areas with signal attenuation, requiring an omnidirectional antenna design. In humid environments, the repeaters must have an IP65 protection level. A cloud server is configured within the master station, supporting remote firmware upgrades (OTA) and network topology visualization to facilitate subsequent operation and maintenance. Repeaters, as full-function nodes (FFNs), require continuous power supply and are typically deployed in signal blind spots such as basements and long corridors. The deployment spacing is set based on signal attenuation, such as 50 meters, to ensure that the received signal strength of each hop is greater than -80dBm.

[0015] In addition, for densely populated areas, such as commercial complexes, a repeater needs to be deployed in the power distribution shaft on each floor to ensure that the signal penetrates the concrete walls. When installing smart meters in the meter box, an external antenna extension is required to avoid metal shielding. For linear areas, such as large industrial parks, a repeater needs to be deployed every 100 meters or every 50 meters along the power corridor to form a chain topology. At the same time, dual repeaters need to be deployed at fork intersections to ensure redundancy of key nodes and prevent single point failures.

[0016] Step S2: Design the network architecture and build a hierarchical network structure; Specifically, building a hierarchical network structure and clarifying the functions and interaction methods of each layer can ensure the scalability and stability of the network. The topology of the smart meter communication network is as follows: Figure 2As shown in the figure, smart meters equipped with Bluetooth Mesh modules are used as slave nodes to form the terminal device layer, which is used to collect electricity consumption data, execute control instructions, and periodically report data. Concentrators or gateways are configured as host nodes or relay nodes in the Mesh network to form the network communication layer. They are usually deployed and installed in central areas such as distribution rooms and building weak current rooms to forward multi-hop data and communicate with the cloud platform of the master station. A cloud platform is established within the master station as the data management layer to receive and store smart meter data and provide a user interface and API interface. A 16-bit address encoding mechanism is used, 0x0001~0xFFFD, to encode the addresses of smart meters forming the communication network by region. For example, 0x1000~0x1FFF is used as the code for smart meters in area A. Each area is then assigned a group address according to regional division. For example, each building is assigned a group address, such as 0xC101 as the group address for the area of Building 1.

[0017] In addition, the networking process of new smart meters joining the communication network is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, for a newly added smart meter device, an address is allocated to the newly added smart meter device in the concentrator or gateway through the Provisioning service.

[0018] Step S3: Configure network security and establish a key management system; Specifically, the key management system is established to effectively protect the confidentiality and integrity of data transmission, prevent illegal device access and network attacks, and set a three-layer key structure using the AES-CCM encryption mode and network key hierarchical mechanism; set the network key NetKey when performing device network access authentication and network layer encryption, and when updating is required, it can be updated by quarterly rotation and full network broadcasting; set the application key AppKey when encrypting business data, and it can be dynamically updated according to the sensitivity of the transmitted data; set the device key DevKey when performing unique identity authentication for smart meter devices, and it does not need to be updated during the life cycle of the smart meter device.

[0019] In addition, the authorized smart meter device list is updated and maintained through the concentrator or gateway, and unregistered MAC address access is denied. At the same time, network access attempts are monitored in real time through the concentrator or gateway. When an illegal network access attempt is detected, an alarm is triggered on the cloud platform of the master station. When the smart meter is deployed on site, a one-time password can be generated by scanning the meter QR code for network authentication, such as an OTP dynamic verification code with a validity period of 5 minutes, to prevent unauthorized use of illegal devices.

[0020] Step S4: Adapt the communication protocol and connect Bluetooth Mesh with the power industry standard protocol; Specifically, to achieve seamless integration of Bluetooth Mesh and the power industry standard protocol DLT645, it is necessary to first encapsulate the electricity consumption data periodically reported by the smart meter and the abnormal alarm data triggered by events using the Mesh network layer encapsulation structure, set the maximum number of relay forwarding times based on the node density of the smart meter, and encrypt the content of the application data bytes using the application key AppKey, and convert the content of the application data bytes in the Mesh network layer encapsulation structure into the DLT645 message encapsulation structure.

[0021] Specifically, the message encapsulation specifications of the Mesh network layer are: TTL (1 byte), source address (2 bytes), destination address (2 bytes), sequence number (3 bytes), encryption flag (1 byte), application data (N bytes); among them, TTL indicates the maximum number of relay forwarding times allowed, the destination address is the data reporting group pointing to the corresponding concentrator or gateway, and the bytes occupied by the application data are related to the actual data length.

[0022] Step S5: Detect the link quality of each smart meter and select a routing path for uploading data; Specifically, the link quality of each smart meter is detected through the concentrator or gateway, and the serial numbers of the most recent 10 data are recorded. The communication routing path is selected based on the link quality. At the same time, duplicate frames are discarded based on the serial number of the data, and duplicate messages are suppressed to improve the stability of the communication network. Bluetooth Mesh has multi-path redundancy and automatic routing functions, and strong anti-interference ability. Smart meters give priority to routing paths with high signal strength to upload encrypted data to the concentrator or gateway. After the encrypted data is parsed by the concentrator or gateway, the data is converted into JSON format and uploaded to the cloud platform of the main station.

[0023] In addition, remote control commands issued by the master station cloud platform, such as rate switching commands and remote power-off commands, are broadcast through the group address and executed after decryption by the target smart meter.

[0024] Step S6: Verify the operation of the smart meter communication network and establish an energy consumption management plan; Specifically, verification testing of the operation of the smart meter communication network is to ensure that the network operates as designed and can be quickly located and repaired when an operational failure occurs; the verification test plan is: use a spectrum analyzer to measure the signal strength distribution of each node area of the communication network, conduct a communication coverage test, and ensure that the received signal strength in the signal blind area is greater than -85dBm; simulate 3-hop transmission or 5-hop transmission, detect end-to-end delay data, and conduct multi-hop communication tests to ensure that the end-to-end delay is less than 300ms; multiple meters report data simultaneously, detect the data throughput of the concentrator or gateway, and conduct concurrent stress tests to ensure that the data throughput is greater than 100 per second; randomly shut down 20% of the repeaters, detect the network self-healing time, and conduct a fault recovery test to ensure that the network self-healing time is less than 1 minute.

[0025] In addition, an energy management solution was established to reduce energy consumption and extend the life of equipment. The energy management solution is as follows: for smart meters, the Bluetooth Mesh module is periodically awakened and synchronized with the Friend nodes in the Bluetooth Mesh network. When no data needs to be reported, the module enters deep sleep mode, at which point the standby current of the smart meter is less than 50 microamperes. For concentrators or gateways, each smart meter is continuously monitored, the message cache queue is enabled, and power is adjusted according to the data transmission load rate. For repeaters, the relay function is activated according to actual needs, and the module enters Sniff mode when idle, which can save 30% of power.

[0026] Step S7: monitor key indicators of the communication network during operation, and perform maintenance and adjustment on the communication network through feedback information; Specifically, the key indicators of communication network operation are monitored to ensure the long-term stable operation of the system; the offline rate of smart meter nodes is monitored in real time through the concentrator or gateway. When the offline rate is greater than 5% and lasts for 10 minutes, automatic topology reconstruction is started; the average delay of each smart meter is periodically detected through the concentrator or gateway. When the average delay is greater than 500ms, the repeater load or routing path is checked, and the routing path for the corresponding smart meter to report data is replaced and adjusted; the security events reported by each smart meter are counted through the concentrator or gateway. When the frequency of smart meter reporting security events exceeds 1 per hour, key rotation is triggered and suspicious devices are isolated, and relevant staff are notified to conduct on-site inspections.

[0027] In addition, to facilitate remote maintenance, the concentrator or gateway needs to support remote log downloads and firmware upgrades. At the same time, a network topology visualization tool needs to be downloaded from the cloud platform to display node status and link quality in real time.

[0028] The embodiments described in the present invention are merely descriptions of preferred implementations of the present invention and are not limited to the precise structures described above and shown in the accompanying drawings. Various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of protection thereof. Without departing from the design concept of the present invention, various variations and improvements made to the technical solutions of the present invention by engineers and technicians in this field should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh, characterized by: Deployment of hardware facilities for electricity meters and communication networks; Design network architecture and build a hierarchical network structure; configure network security and establish a key management system; adapt communication protocols and connect Bluetooth Mesh with power industry standard protocols; Check the link quality of each smart meter and select the routing path for uploading data; Verify the operation of smart meter communication networks and establish energy consumption management plans; Monitor key indicators of communication network operation and perform maintenance and adjustments on the communication network through feedback information.

2. The method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hardware facilities for deploying electricity meters and various layers of networks include: configuring an integrated Bluetooth Mesh module in the smart meter, configuring Bluetooth Mesh and Lora or 4G dual-band communication modules in the concentrator or gateway, deploying dedicated repeaters in signal blind spots or signal attenuation areas, and configuring a cloud server in the master station.

3. The method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The network architecture is designed to construct a hierarchical network structure, including: using smart meters equipped with Bluetooth Mesh modules as slave nodes to form a terminal device layer; configuring concentrators or gateways as host nodes or relay nodes of the Mesh network to form a network communication layer; establishing a cloud platform in the master station as a data management layer; using a 16-bit address encoding mechanism to encode the addresses of smart meters that form the communication network by region, and assigning a group address to each region according to regional divisions; for newly added smart meter devices, assigning addresses to the newly added smart meter devices in the concentrator or gateway through the Provisioning service.

4. The method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh according to claim 3, characterized in that: The described configuration of network security and establishment of a key management system include: setting a three-layer key structure based on the AES-CCM encryption mode and the network key hierarchical mechanism, setting a network key NetKey when performing device network access authentication and network layer encryption, setting an application key AppKey when encrypting business data, and setting a device key DevKey when performing unique identity authentication for smart meter devices; updating and maintaining a list of authorized smart meter devices through a concentrator or gateway, denying access to unregistered MAC addresses, and simultaneously monitoring network access attempts in real time through the concentrator or gateway, and triggering an alarm on the cloud platform of the master station when an illegal network access attempt is detected.

5. The method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh according to claim 4, characterized in that: The adapted communication protocol connects Bluetooth Mesh with the standard protocol of the power industry, including: encapsulating the electricity consumption data periodically reported by the smart meter and the abnormal alarm data triggered by the event in the Mesh network layer encapsulation structure, setting the maximum number of relay forwarding according to the node density of the smart meter, encrypting the content of the application data bytes using the application key AppKey, and converting the content of the application data bytes in the Mesh network layer encapsulation structure into a DLT645 message encapsulation structure.

6. The method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh according to claim 5, characterized in that: The link quality of each smart meter is detected and a routing path for uploading data is selected, including: detecting the link quality of each smart meter through a concentrator or gateway, recording the serial numbers of the most recent 10 data, selecting a communication routing path based on the link quality, and discarding duplicate frames based on the serial number of the data to suppress duplicate messages; the smart meter preferentially selects a routing path with high signal strength to upload encrypted data to the concentrator or gateway, and then, after parsing the encrypted data through the concentrator or gateway, converts the data into JSON format and uploads it to the cloud platform of the master station.

7. The method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh according to claim 2, characterized in that: The operation of the smart meter communication network is verified and tested, and an energy consumption management plan is established, including: using a spectrum analyzer to measure the signal strength distribution in each node area of the communication network to conduct a communication coverage test; simulating 3-hop or 5-hop transmission, detecting end-to-end delay data, and conducting a multi-hop communication test; multiple meters simultaneously report data to detect the data throughput of the concentrator or gateway and conduct a concurrent stress test; randomly shutting down 20% of the repeaters to detect the network self-healing time and conduct a fault recovery test; the energy consumption management plan is as follows: for smart meters, periodically wake up the Bluetooth Mesh module and synchronize with the Friend node in the Bluetooth Mesh network, and enter deep sleep mode when no data needs to be reported; for concentrators or gateways, continuously monitor each smart meter, enable the message cache queue, and adjust the power according to the load rate of data transmission; for repeaters, activate the relay function according to actual needs, and enter Sniff mode when idle.

8. The method for establishing a smart meter communication network based on Bluetooth Mesh according to claim 3, characterized in that: The monitoring system monitors key indicators during the operation of the communication network and maintains and adjusts the communication network through feedback information, including: real-time monitoring of the offline rate of smart meter nodes through a concentrator or gateway, and initiating automatic topology reconstruction when the offline rate is greater than 5% and lasts for 10 minutes; periodically detecting the average delay of each smart meter through a concentrator or gateway, and when the average delay is greater than 500ms, checking the repeater load or routing path, and replacing and adjusting the routing path for the data reported by the corresponding smart meter; counting the security events reported by each smart meter through a concentrator or gateway, and when the frequency of security events reported by the smart meter exceeds 1 per hour, triggering key rotation and isolating suspicious devices, and notifying relevant staff to conduct on-site inspections.

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