4G-based low-power-consumption hybrid meter reading device

Abstract

The utility model discloses a low-power-consumption hybrid meter reading device based on 4G. The low-power-consumption hybrid meter reading device comprises a shell and a circuit part arranged in the shell, the circuit part comprises a main control chip, a battery, a system power supply circuit and a communication module, the communication module comprises a 4G module, a 485 module and an MBUS module which are respectively connected with the main control chip, and a potentiometer and a motor for controlling the potentiometer are arranged in a sending part of a downlink MBUS communication circuit of the MBUS module. And a plurality of slotted holes for placing the module circuit board are formed in the shell. According to the utility model, each communication module and the system power supply circuit employ an independent module circuit board, and each module circuit board is installed in an independent slotted hole, thereby reducing the signal interference between each module, and facilitating the replacement of each module. The position of the collected voltage can be changed by adjusting the potentiometer through the motor, so that the voltage difference is within a reasonable range, and the conditions of power consumption increase and meter reading failure caused by unreasonable voltage difference are avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to a meter reading device, in particular to a hybrid meter reading device based on 4G. Background Art

[0002] Currently, household meters commonly use MBUS or 485-based meters. These meters are plentiful in variety and have diverse parameters, making meter reading more difficult. Furthermore, complex field environments in some areas may require outdoor meter reading or meter reading without power. To address these issues, various hybrid meter reading devices have been proposed in the field. Chinese utility model patent application number CN211207480U discloses an NB-IoT meter reading gateway device, which includes a Bluetooth MCU, an NB-IoT communication module, an MBUS / 485 / 232 interface module, a Bluetooth interface, and a battery. It can read MBUS, 485, and 232-based meters and can be powered by batteries. Chinese utility model patent application number CN205050335U discloses a multifunctional remote centralized meter reading device that communicates with a host computer via RS-232, the Internet, GPRS / CDMA wireless networks, 3G / 4G, and Wi-Fi, and with meters via wired RS-485 and MBUS.

[0003] However, existing hybrid meter reading devices still have the following drawbacks: First, the communication modules in existing meter reading devices are all concentrated on a single circuit board, resulting in signal interference and inconvenient replacement and maintenance. Second, when connecting multiple MBUS meters, due to differences between meters from different manufacturers, the data state current of the meters ranges from 12 to 25 mA, and the idle state current ranges from 0.78 to 3 mA. This inconsistency in current and varying load capacity can cause the voltage difference between the data state and idle state collected at the sampling resistor of the meter reading device to be excessively large or insufficient. A large voltage difference increases the power consumption of the meter reading, while a small voltage difference makes comparison impossible, resulting in meter reading failure. Utility Model Content

[0004] The utility model proposes a low-power hybrid meter reading device based on 4G, the purpose of which is: 1. to solve the problem of mutual interference and inconvenient maintenance among communication modules; 2. to solve the problem of excessive or insufficient voltage difference collected due to mismatch between sampling resistor and actual working current.

[0005] The technical solution of this utility model is as follows:

[0006] A 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device comprises a housing and a circuit portion mounted therein. The circuit portion comprises a main control chip, a battery, a system power supply circuit, and a communication module. The input end of the system power supply circuit is connected to the battery, and the output end is used to power the main control chip and each communication module. The communication module comprises a 4G module, a 485 module, and an MBUS module, each of which is connected to the main control chip. A sampling resistor connected to the MBUS bus is provided in the transmitting portion of the downlink MBUS communication circuit of the MBUS module. The system power supply circuit, 4G module, 485 module, and MBUS module are each disposed on an independent module circuit board.

[0007] The housing includes a shell and a front cover installed at the front opening of the shell. The inner side wall of the shell is provided with four U-shaped partitions. The four partitions and the inner side wall of the shell form four independent slots. The four slots correspond to four module circuit boards one by one, and each module circuit board is placed in a corresponding slot.

[0008] The main control chip is arranged on the main circuit board, and the main circuit board and the battery are installed in the middle of the inner cavity of the shell; the circuit boards and the batteries are electrically connected through wiring terminals and cables;

[0009] The sampling resistor is a potentiometer, a first fixed end of the potentiometer is connected to the MBUS bus, a second fixed end of the potentiometer is grounded, and a sliding end of the potentiometer is connected to the main control chip to collect voltage;

[0010] The MBUS module also includes a motor and a drive circuit; the motor is mounted on a module circuit board of the MBUS module, and its output shaft is mechanically connected to the adjustment shaft of the potentiometer; the main control chip is connected to the drive circuit, and the output end of the drive circuit is connected to the motor for controlling the rotation of the motor.

[0011] As a further improvement of the 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device: a glue-filled sealing body for wrapping the sealing module circuit board is further provided in the slot.

[0012] As a further improvement of the 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device: the front cover is a transparent plastic cover;

[0013] The low-power hybrid meter reading device further comprises a display screen connected to the main control chip, and the display screen is installed on the inner side of the front cover.

[0014] As a further improvement of the 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device: a closed sealing groove is provided on the front face of the housing surrounding the inner cavity thereof, and a threaded hole on the front face of the housing for mounting the front cover is located outside the closed sealing groove;

[0015] A sealing ring is installed in the closed sealing groove.

[0016] As a further improvement of the 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device, a battery voltage detection circuit for detecting the battery voltage is also included.

[0017] As a further improvement of the 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device: the 4G module includes a 4G power supply circuit and an uplink 4G communication circuit.

[0018] As a further improvement of the 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device: the MBUS module also includes an MBUS power supply circuit.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0020] 1. In the present invention, each communication module and system power supply circuit adopts an independent module circuit board. Each module circuit board is installed in an independent slot, which reduces the signal interference between modules and facilitates the replacement of each module.

[0021] 2. The utility model uses a potentiometer as a sampling resistor and adjusts the position of the collected voltage through a motor so that the collected voltage difference is within a reasonable range, avoiding the situation where the power consumption is too high and the meter reading cannot be done normally due to the unreasonable collected voltage difference.

[0022] 3. Glue is poured into the slots to improve the sealing of the module circuit board, protect the circuit components and improve the protection level.

[0023] 4. A sealing ring is provided at the front end of the shell to prevent rainwater from entering the shell through the joints, further improving the waterproof sealing of the equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 This is a side view of the appearance of the utility model;

[0025] Figure 2 is a front view of the shell;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the circuit structure of the utility model;

[0027] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the circuit that powers the system;

[0028] Figure 5 This is the schematic diagram of the battery voltage detection circuit;

[0029] Figure 6 This is the schematic diagram of the downlink 485 communication circuit;

[0030] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of MBUS power supply circuit;

[0031] Figure 8 This is the schematic diagram of the sending part of the downlink MBUS communication circuit;

[0032] Figure 9 This is the schematic diagram of the receiving part of the downlink MBUS communication circuit;

[0033] Figure 10 This is the schematic diagram of the driving circuit;

[0034] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of the 4G power supply circuit;

[0035] Figure 12 This is the schematic diagram of the uplink 4G communication circuit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments.

[0037] A 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device comprises a housing and a circuit part installed in the housing.

[0038] like Figure 1 and 2 The housing includes a shell 2 and a front cover 1 mounted on the front opening of the shell 2 by screws. The shell 2 is made of non-transparent plastic, and a hanging plate 2-3 is provided on the top of the back plate. The hanging plate 2-3 is provided with hanging holes for convenient wall mounting. The front cover 1 is made of transparent plastic. A closed sealing groove is provided on the front surface of the shell 2 surrounding its inner cavity, and the threaded hole on the front surface of the shell 2 for mounting the front cover 1 is located on the outside of the closed sealing groove. A sealing ring 2-4 is installed in the closed sealing groove to achieve a seal between the shell 2 and the front cover 1.

[0039] Four U-shaped partitions 2 - 1 are provided on the inner side wall of the shell 2 , and the four partitions 2 - 1 and the inner side wall of the shell 2 form four independent slots 2 - 2 .

[0040] like Figure 3 The circuit part includes a main control chip, a battery, a storage circuit, a display screen 3, a system power supply circuit and a communication module.

[0041] The input end of the system power supply circuit is connected to the battery, and the output end is used to supply power to the main control chip and each communication module. Figure 4 As shown, the system power supply circuit is based on the ME6214 voltage regulator. The circuit part also includes a battery voltage detection circuit for detecting the battery voltage. The circuit structure is as follows Figure 5The communication module includes a 4G module, a 485 module and an MBUS module which are connected to the main control chip respectively.

[0042] The system power supply circuit, 4G module, 485 module and MBUS module are respectively arranged on independent module circuit boards. Figure 1 and 2 The four slots 2-2 correspond to the four module circuit boards one by one, and each module circuit board is placed in the corresponding slot 2-2. The slots 2-2 are also provided with a glue-filled sealing body for wrapping and sealing the module circuit boards.

[0043] The main control chip is mounted on a main circuit board, which is installed in the center of the inner cavity of the housing 2 along with the battery. The display screen 3 is mounted inside the front cover 1 and displays collected data. The circuit boards and battery are electrically connected via terminals and cables. Through holes are also provided in the side walls of the housing 2 to electrically connect the internal module circuit boards to external devices.

[0044] Furthermore, the 485 module includes Figure 6 The downlink 485 communication circuit shown is used to read the 485 meter. The MBUS module includes Figure 7 The MBUS power supply circuit and the downlink MBUS communication circuit shown in FIG. 4 include the following: Figure 8 The sending part shown in FIG and the receiving part shown in FIG are used to read the MBUS meter. The read data is stored in the storage circuit and then uploaded to the system platform by the 4G module. The 4G module includes Figure 11 The 4G power supply circuit shown and Figure 12 The 4G communication circuit shown.

[0045] Furthermore, if Figure 8 A potentiometer serving as a sampling resistor is provided in the transmitting part of the downlink MBUS communication circuit. The first fixed end of the sampling resistor is connected to the MBUS bus, the second fixed end of the potentiometer is grounded, and the sliding end of the potentiometer is connected to the main control chip to collect voltage.

[0046] The MBUS module also includes a motor and a drive circuit. The motor is mounted on the module circuit board of the MBUS module, and its output shaft is mechanically connected to the adjustment shaft of the potentiometer. The main control chip is connected to the M_A and M_B terminals of the drive circuit, and the output terminals M+ and M- of the drive circuit are connected to the motor. The main control chip controls the rotation of the motor through the drive circuit, thereby changing the position of the collected voltage.

[0047] During on-site installation, the meter reading device is connected to each meter. For MBUS meters, the data state current and idle state current may differ between different manufacturers, resulting in different bus currents. Furthermore, varying loads can also cause variations in bus currents, ultimately leading to excessively high or low voltage differentials across the sampling resistor (the difference between the voltages collected in the data state and the idle state, which is equal to the product of the difference in total current between the data and idle states and the sampling resistor value). The sampling resistor in this meter reading device is a potentiometer. Adjusting the sampling voltage position can adjust this voltage differential to the ideal value, ensuring proper meter reading. The specific adjustment method is: Set the MBUS to the data state and measure the current voltage V1 across the sampling resistor. Then, set the MBUS to the idle state and measure the voltage V2 across the sampling resistor. The difference between V1 and V2 is compared with the theoretical voltage differential of 100mV. Based on this difference, the motor is controlled to move forward or reverse. The sampling voltage position is adjusted, and V1 and V2 are measured again. This process is repeated until the difference approaches 100mV. The above process can be automatically implemented by the program inside the main control chip, or the debugging personnel can achieve rapid adjustment by setting the rotation angle of the motor according to actual conditions and experience.

[0048] It should be noted that it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above exemplary embodiments, and that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims rather than the above description.

Claims

1. A 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device, comprising a housing and a circuit portion mounted therein, the circuit portion comprising a main control chip, a battery, a system power supply circuit, and a communication module; the system power supply circuit having an input connected to the battery and an output for supplying power to the main control chip and each communication module; the communication module comprising a 4G module, a 485 module, and an MBUS module, each connected to the main control chip; a sampling resistor connected to the MBUS bus in a transmitting portion of a downlink MBUS communication circuit of the MBUS module; and characterized in that: The system power supply circuit, 4G module, 485 module and MBUS module are respectively arranged on independent module circuit boards; The housing comprises a shell (2) and a front cover (1) mounted at the front opening of the shell (2); four U-shaped partitions (2-1) are provided on the inner side wall of the shell (2); the four partitions (2-1) and the inner side wall of the shell (2) form four mutually independent slots (2-2); the four slots (2-2) correspond to four module circuit boards one by one, and each module circuit board is placed in a corresponding slot (2-2); The main control chip is arranged on a main circuit board, and the main circuit board and the battery are installed in the middle of the inner cavity of the housing (2); the circuit boards and the batteries are electrically connected via wiring terminals and cables; The sampling resistor is a potentiometer, a first fixed end of the potentiometer is connected to the MBUS bus, a second fixed end of the potentiometer is grounded, and a sliding end of the potentiometer is connected to the main control chip to collect voltage; The MBUS module also includes a motor and a drive circuit; the motor is mounted on a module circuit board of the MBUS module, and its output shaft is mechanically connected to the adjustment shaft of the potentiometer; the main control chip is connected to the drive circuit, and the output end of the drive circuit is connected to the motor for controlling the rotation of the motor.

2. The 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The slot (2-2) is also provided with a glue-filled sealing body for wrapping the sealed module circuit board.

3. The 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front cover (1) is a transparent plastic cover; The low-power hybrid meter reading device further comprises a display screen (3) connected to the main control chip, and the display screen (3) is mounted on the inner side of the front cover (1).

4. The 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front end surface of the shell (2) is provided with a closed sealing groove arranged around its inner cavity, and the threaded hole on the front end surface of the shell (2) for mounting the front cover (1) is located outside the closed sealing groove; A sealing ring (2-4) is installed in the closed sealing groove.

5. The 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: A battery voltage detection circuit for detecting the battery voltage is also included.

6. The 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The 4G module includes a 4G power supply circuit and an uplink 4G communication circuit.

7. The 4G-based low-power hybrid meter reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The MBUS module also includes an MBUS power supply circuit.

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