Camera meter reading device

Abstract

The utility model belongs to the technical field of meter reading equipment, and particularly relates to a camera-shooting meter reading device, which comprises a bottom shell, a camera-shooting device and a camera-shooting device, the main shell is welded with the bottom shell; the main shell comprises a battery compartment and a main cavity; the battery compartment is used for mounting a cylindrical lithium thionyl chloride battery, and a waterproof silica gel strip is mounted in a groove in the edge of a battery compartment cover of the battery compartment; the circuit board is installed in the main cavity, and the circuit board comprises a main control MCU, a spring antenna and a camera; according to the technical scheme of the utility model, the independent battery compartment is provided, so that the long-term stable operation of the device is ensured. The battery compartment cover is convenient for replacing the battery when the electric quantity of the equipment battery is too low, and has a better waterproof effect; the antenna protection cover provides an accommodating space for the spring antenna on the circuit board and provides a good protection effect; the to-be-read meter can be automatically shot at regular time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of instrument meter reading devices, and particularly relates to a camera meter reading device. Background Art

[0002] Under the background of current energy shortage and environmental pollution, improving energy efficiency and reducing energy consumption have become one of the important topics for the sustainable development of enterprises. The energy management system is an advanced technical solution aiming to monitor, control, and optimize the use of energy.

[0003] In the related art, there are a large number of old mechanical meters that need to be manually read.

[0004] When manually reading meters, production needs to be stopped, and the cost is relatively high. Moreover, with the increase in labor costs, it has gradually become difficult to implement the daily collection of meter data. Manual meter reading also has problems of insufficient accuracy and low efficiency. Some meters are in harsh environments, making it very difficult to manually read the meters. Therefore, a device capable of automatically taking pictures for meter reading is needed.

[0005] In the existing automatic camera meter reading devices, the communication antenna on the circuit board lacks a protection device, which may lead to the problem that the antenna is damaged and cannot work normally. In addition, there is no independent battery compartment for storing the power supply battery, and long-term stable power supply cannot be guaranteed. Content of the Utility Model

[0006] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a camera meter reading device with an independent battery compartment for storing the power supply battery and an antenna protection cover. Through the main control MCU, spring antenna, and camera on the circuit board, automatic and timed camera shooting can be carried out. The technical solution adopted by the utility model is as follows:

[0007] A camera meter reading device, comprising:

[0008] A bottom shell, arranged on the meter dial to be read;

[0009] A main housing, welded to the bottom shell;

[0010] The main housing includes a battery compartment and a main cavity;

[0011] The battery compartment is used for installing a cylindrical lithium thionyl chloride battery, and a waterproof silica gel strip is installed in the groove at the edge of the battery compartment lid of the battery compartment;

[0012] A circuit board, installed inside the main cavity. The circuit board includes a main control MCU, a spring antenna, and a camera. Among them, the main control MCU can control the camera to shoot the meter dial to obtain an image to be read and upload the image to be read to the server through the communication module;

[0013] An antenna protective cover is provided on the main cavity for placing the spring antenna.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present application, a product identification plate is also provided on the main cavity.

[0015] In some embodiments of the present application, mounting holes are provided in the protruding portion of the main housing.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present application, the circuit board further includes: a left-side supplementary lighting LED lamp, a right-side supplementary lighting LED lamp, a data memory, an NB-IoT communication module, and a PCB Bluetooth antenna.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present application, the camera is a 30w camera and is electrically connected to the main control MCU through an FPC connector.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present application, the surface of the main housing opposite to the battery compartment is an inclined surface, and the inclined surface is a viewing window, and the inclined surface has an included angle of 35° with the plane of the main housing.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present application, there is a protruding direction calibration line on the viewing window.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present application, the shape of the bottom case is square or circular.

[0021] In some embodiments of the present application, the bottom case includes three welded fusion lines, and the bottom case is welded to the main housing.

[0022] In some embodiments of the present application, the spring antenna is an antenna with communication function.

[0023] The beneficial effects of the present application are as follows:

[0024] 1. By providing an independent battery compartment with an independently powered battery inside, the present utility model ensures that the device can work stably for a long time; the battery compartment lid is detachable, facilitating battery replacement when the battery power of the device is too low, and a waterproof silica gel strip is provided in the groove on the edge of the battery compartment lid, having a good waterproof effect.

[0025] 2. By providing an antenna protective cover on the main cavity, the present utility model provides a receiving space for the spring antenna on the circuit board and provides a good protection effect.

[0026] 3. Through the main control MCU, the spring antenna, and the camera on the circuit board, the present utility model can automatically and regularly capture images of the meter to be copied. Description of the Drawings

[0027] Figure 1Isometric front view of a camera meter reading device in the present utility model;

[0028] Figure 2 Structural schematic diagrams of two-shaped bottom shells of a camera meter reading device in the present utility model;

[0029] Figure 3 Isometric left view of the main cavity of a camera meter reading device in the present utility model;

[0030] Figure 4 Exploded view of the structure of a camera meter reading device in the present utility model;

[0031] Figure 5 Front view of the circuit board of a camera meter reading device in the present utility model;

[0032] Figure 6 Rear view of the circuit board of a camera meter reading device in the present utility model;

[0033] Reference numerals in the drawings: 1, main housing; 2, product identification plate; 3, mounting hole; 4, circular bottom shell; 5, square bottom shell; 6, direction calibration line; 7, viewing window; 8, antenna protection cover; 9, battery compartment lid; 10, circuit board; 101, main control MCU; 102, left side fill light LED; 103, right side fill light LED; 104, 30W camera; 105, data storage; 106, FPC connector; 107, NB-IoT communication module; 108, spring antenna; 109, PCB Bluetooth antenna; 11, battery compartment; 12, cylindrical lithium thionyl chloride battery. Detailed implementation manners

[0034] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure can be more thoroughly understood and the scope of the present disclosure can be completely conveyed to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in the present utility model and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Hereinafter, the present utility model will be described in detail with reference to the drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

[0035] As Figure 1 shown, the present embodiment discloses a camera meter reading device, including:

[0036] A bottom shell 4, disposed on the meter dial to be read;

[0037] A main housing 1, welded to the bottom shell.

[0038] Specifically, the material of the main housing 1 is entirely transparent polycarbonate (PC plastic). To meet the manual meter reading requirements of the original meter, transparent PC plastic is used. Among them, the meter to be read can be a dial mechanical water meter. Welding can integrate the main housing 1 and the bottom case into a whole, improving the stability of the camera-based meter reading device.

[0039] The main housing 1 includes a battery compartment and a main cavity;

[0040] As Figure 4 shown, the battery compartment is used to install a cylindrical lithium thionyl chloride battery, and a waterproof silicone strip is installed in the groove on the edge of the battery compartment lid 9 of the battery compartment.

[0041] Specifically, the battery in the battery compartment can be manually replaced when the battery power is too low. The function of the waterproof battery compartment is to prevent damage to the battery in a humid environment and avoid the situation of insects nesting in an enclosed space. Among them, the cylindrical lithium thionyl chloride battery can adapt to a wider temperature range and has a more stable working voltage. The waterproof silicone strip can prevent the battery compartment from getting water in a humid environment and improve the sealing performance of the battery compartment.

[0042] Please continue to refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 , Figure 5 which are the front view of the circuit board, Figure 6 and

[0043] The device in the embodiment of the present application has a circuit board 10, which is installed inside the main cavity. The circuit board 10 includes a main control MCU, a spring antenna 108, and a camera. Among them, the main control MCU can control the camera to take a picture of the dial to obtain the image of the meter to be read and upload the image of the meter to be read to the server through the communication module.

[0044] Specifically, the main control MCU uses a mature processing unit in the prior art and has a function of initiating timed photography. After the photography time arrives, the main control MCU drives the camera to obtain the original image data. At the same time, the main control MCU lights up the fill light LED to assist in night photography. The original image data is processed by a compression algorithm to form a JPEG format picture, and the data is sent to the server through the NB-IoT communication module. If the signal is poor during data upload, it will retry two more times after a 10-minute interval. If all three attempts fail, the main control MCU will store the data in the data memory, and then re-upload the data to the server platform when the next timing arrives. If the data is in a state of being unable to be uploaded for a long time, all the data will be saved in the data memory, and at most 100 picture data can be saved.

[0045] As Figure 3 shown, an antenna protection cover 8 is provided on the main cavity for placing the spring antenna 108.

[0046] Specifically, the antenna protective cover 8 is used to protect the internal spring antenna 108 and ensure the safety of the spring antenna 108 during operation.

[0047] Furthermore, by providing a detachable battery compartment lid 9, the battery can be replaced when the device battery power is too low.

[0048] In some embodiments of the present application, a product identification plate 2 is also provided on the main cavity.

[0049] Specifically, information such as the brand, production time, and manufacturer are marked on the product identification plate to show the brand of the device.

[0050] In some embodiments of the present application, the protruding portion of the main housing 1 is provided with a mounting hole 3.

[0051] In some embodiments of the present application, such as Figure 5 、 Figure 6 shown, the circuit board 10 further includes: a left-side supplementary light LED, a right-side supplementary light LED, a data memory, an NB-IoT communication module, and a Bluetooth antenna.

[0052] In some embodiments of the present application, the camera is a 30W camera and is electrically connected to the main control MCU using an FPC connector.

[0053] The FPC connector is an electronic device with high density and small size, and is used to connect a flexible cable to a circuit on the circuit board.

[0054] Specifically, the main control MCU of the circuit board 10 uses an MCU with Bluetooth communication function, and cooperates with a 30W pixel camera to take pictures of the digital display area of the meter, and uploads the compressed JPG format pictures to the cloud using NB-IoT communication for subsequent functions such as image recognition, data analysis, and storage on the cloud server.

[0055] In some embodiments of the present application, the surface of the main housing 1 opposite to the battery compartment is an inclined surface, and the inclined surface is a viewing window 7, and the inclined surface has a 35° angle with the plane of the main housing 1.

[0056] Specifically, in this embodiment, a large viewing window 7 is reserved on the housing. After installing the device, it does not affect the manual meter reading of the original meter. When this device is installed above the dial of a dial-type mechanical water meter, data can be collected by taking pictures at regular intervals. The original image data is processed by a compression algorithm to form JPEG format pictures, and the data can be sent to the server platform through the NB-IoT communication module.

[0057] In some embodiments of the present application, there is a protruding direction calibration line 6 on the viewing window 7.

[0058] Specifically, the direction calibration line calibrates the direction of the visible window, and is mostly used during installation to prompt the installer of the installation direction.

[0059] In some embodiments of the present application, as Figure 2 shown, the shape of the bottom case is square or circular.

[0060] Specifically, the bottom of the main housing 1 provides bottom cases with two different bottom surfaces, a circular bottom case and a rectangular bottom case. The circular bottom case is mostly used for mechanical water meters and mechanical pressure gauges, and the rectangular bottom case is mostly used for electric meters and gas meters. The two different shaped bottom cases basically meet the transformation requirements of most traditional mechanical meters.

[0061] In some embodiments of the present application, the bottom case includes three welded fusion lines, and the bottom case is welded to the main housing 1.

[0062] Optionally, the main housing 1 and the bottom case can be welded by ultrasonic means.

[0063] In some embodiments of the present application, the spring antenna 108 is an antenna with communication function.

[0064] Specifically, the spring antenna 108 can cooperate with the communication module for data communication and send JPEG format pictures to the server platform.

[0065] The beneficial effects of the present application are as follows:

[0066] 1. The present utility model provides an independent battery compartment with an independently powered battery inside, ensuring that the device can work stably for a long time; the battery compartment lid 9 is detachable, facilitating battery replacement when the battery power of the device is too low, and a waterproof silicone strip is provided in the groove on the edge of the battery compartment lid 9, having a good waterproof effect.

[0067] 2. The present utility model provides an antenna protection cover on the main cavity, providing an accommodation space for the spring antenna on the circuit board and providing a good protection effect.

[0068] 3. The present utility model can automatically and regularly capture images of the meter to be read through the main control MCU, spring antenna and camera on the circuit board.

[0069] The working principle of this embodiment can be:

[0070] The staff installs the present utility model above the meter to be read through the installation hole 3. The 30W camera 104 takes timed automatic photos of the digital information area of the meter to be read. The NB-IoT communication module 107 uploads the taken pictures to the server platform. The antenna protection cover 8 protects the spring antenna 108 with communication function. When it is necessary to inspect the water meter on site, the staff can observe and record through the visual window 7. The staff can also replace the power supply battery by removing the battery compartment cover 9.

[0071] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present utility model and are not intended to limit them. Although the present utility model has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: the specific implementation manners of the present utility model can still be modified or equivalently replaced, and any modification or equivalent replacement that does not depart from the spirit and scope of the present utility model should be covered within the protection scope of the claims of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A camera meter reading device, characterized in that, Including: A bottom shell, which is arranged on the dial to be read; A main shell, which is welded to the bottom shell; The main shell includes a battery compartment and a main cavity; The battery compartment is used to install a cylindrical lithium thionyl chloride battery, and a waterproof silica gel strip is installed in the groove on the edge of the battery compartment lid of the battery compartment; A circuit board, which is installed inside the main cavity. The circuit board includes a main control MCU, a spring antenna and a camera. Among them, the main control MCU can control the camera to take an image of the dial to obtain an image to be read and upload the image to be read to the server through a communication module; An antenna protection cover is arranged on the main cavity for placing the spring antenna.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, A product identification plate is also arranged on the main cavity.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, Mounting holes are arranged on the protruding part of the main shell.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The circuit board also includes: a left side supplementary light LED lamp, a right side supplementary light LED lamp, a data memory, an NB-IoT communication module and a PCB Bluetooth antenna.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The camera is a 30w camera and is electrically connected to the main control MCU by an FPC connector.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The surface of the main shell on the side opposite to the battery compartment is an inclined surface, and the inclined surface is a viewing window, and the inclined surface has an included angle of 35° with the plane of the main shell.

7. The device according to claim 6, characterized in that, There is a protruding direction calibration line on the viewing window.

8. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The shape of the bottom shell is square or circular.

9. The device according to claim 8, characterized in that Three welded fusion lines are included on the bottom shell, and the bottom shell is welded to the main shell.

10. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spring antenna is an antenna with communication function.

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