A meter reading device based on BLE and LORA and a meter communication system

Abstract

The utility model relates to a kind of electric meter reading device and electric meter communication system based on BLE and LORA, and electric meter reading device is used to connect with P1 electric meter to the data of P1 electric meter is transmitted to target gateway equipment by Bluetooth or LORA wireless;Electric meter reading device includes power supply module, data processing module and signal transmission module;Power supply module includes DC converter, switching switch circuit and DC power supply;Data processing module includes mutually electrically connected BLE chip and LORA chip;Signal transmission module includes first transmission channel and second transmission channel, first transmission channel is connected with LORA chip, first transmission channel is provided with RJ12 interface, second transmission channel is connected with LORA chip, and second transmission channel is provided with RS485 interface.The utility model is designed based on BLE and LORA technology, can be quickly connected gateway and long-distance transmission, in addition to through P1 electric meter power supply, external power supply can also be powered.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and in particular to a meter reader and meter communication system based on BLE and LORA. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, existing P1 meter readers read data from P1 meters via RJ12 interfaces and then transmit it to the home gateway for data processing via wired transmission. However, this solution has the following drawbacks: limited communication distance, requiring additional wiring and increasing construction difficulty; lack of data confidentiality, making the bus vulnerable to eavesdropping and posing a risk; poor data real-time performance and stability; the meter reader cannot handle data transmission over longer distances; insufficient power supply to the P1 meter, requiring an external power source; and inability to directly communicate and exchange data with other RS485 bus devices. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address at least one of the aforementioned technical problems, this utility model proposes a meter reader and meter communication system based on BLE and LORA.

[0004] According to some embodiments of this utility model, a meter reader based on BLE and LoRa is provided. The meter reader is used to connect to a P1 meter to wirelessly transmit the data of the P1 meter to a target gateway device via Bluetooth or LoRa. The meter reader includes a power supply module, a data processing module, and a signal transmission module. The power supply module includes a DC-DC converter, a switching circuit, and a DC power supply. The first moving contact of the switching circuit is connected to the DC power supply, the second moving contact of the switching circuit is connected to the P1 meter, and the common contact of the switching circuit is connected to the DC-DC converter. The DC-DC converter is used to convert the DC power supply or the electrical signal from the P1 meter to power the components in the meter reader. The data processing module includes interconnected... A BLE chip and a LoRa chip are used. The BLE chip is connected to the signal transmission module and is used to acquire data from the P1 meter through the signal transmission module. The LoRa chip is used to acquire data from the P1 meter from the BLE chip. The signal transmission module includes a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel. The first end of the first transmission channel is connected to the LoRa chip, and the second end of the first transmission channel is provided with an RJ12 interface for connecting to the P1 meter to acquire its data. The first end of the second transmission channel is connected to the LoRa chip, and the second end of the second transmission channel is provided with an RS485 interface for connecting to external devices or the P1 meter that have an RS485 protocol.

[0005] In some possible implementations, the DC power supply includes a switching power adapter and a TYPEC transmission line. The switching power adapter is used to connect to an external power source to convert the external power source into DC power. A first end of the TYPEC transmission line is connected to the switching power adapter, and a second end of the TYPEC transmission line is connected to a first moving contact of the switching circuit.

[0006] In some possible implementations, the switching circuit includes a transistor, a fuse, and a current-limiting resistor. The emitter of the transistor is connected to a first terminal of the fuse, the second terminal of the fuse is connected to the positive power supply pin of the RJ12 interface, the base of the transistor is connected to a first terminal of the current-limiting resistor, the second terminal of the current-limiting resistor is connected to the power ground pin of the RJ12 interface, the base of the transistor is also connected to a second terminal of the TYPEC transmission line, a Schottky diode is provided between the base and collector of the transistor, and a Schottky diode is also connected to the emitter of the transistor.

[0007] In some possible implementations, the meter reader further includes a reset module, which comprises a watchdog control circuit and a button reset circuit. The watchdog control circuit includes a timer chip, the input and output of which are both connected to the BLE chip. The timer chip is used to monitor the operating status of the BLE chip and control the BLE chip to reset. The button reset circuit includes a three-pin button switch, the first pin of which is connected to both the BLE chip and the DC-DC converter. The second and third pins of the three-pin button switch are both grounded. The first pin of the three-pin button switch is also connected to a Schottky diode.

[0008] In some possible implementations, the meter reader further includes a debugging module, which includes at least one serial communication interface for connecting external debugging equipment to debug the meter reader.

[0009] In some possible implementations, the meter reader further includes a prompting module, which includes at least one LED light connected to the BLE chip. The at least one LED light is used to light up and turn off in response to a control signal from the BLE chip to indicate communication status information.

[0010] According to some embodiments of this utility model, an electricity meter communication system is also provided, including a gateway device, a P1 electricity meter, and an electricity meter reader based on BLE and LoRa as described in any of the above embodiments. The gateway device is a Bluetooth gateway or a LoRa gateway. The electricity meter reader is electrically connected to the P1 electricity meter to obtain the data of the P1 electricity meter. The electricity meter reader is wirelessly connected to the gateway device to send the data of the P1 electricity meter to the gateway device. The gateway device is used to upload the data of the P1 electricity meter to a target terminal device.

[0011] This utility model has the following beneficial effects: (1) The meter reader of this utility model is designed based on BLE technology. Through 2.4GHz BLE technology, it realizes the networking and pairing of products, and can quickly establish a connection with the home gateway, and upload data to the server through the gateway; (2) The meter reader of this utility model is designed based on LORA technology. Through LORA technology of 868MHz or 915MHz, it can realize long-distance transmission with home gateway, thereby realizing fast network pairing and ensuring the real-time performance of long-distance transmission. (3) The meter reader of this utility model is designed based on local RS485 technology, is compatible with and supports wired RS485 acquisition of P1 meter data, supports data forwarding, has good compatibility and many application scenarios; (4) The meter reader of this utility model uses a low-power BLE chip, which can solve the problem of insufficient power supply of P1 meter. At the same time, the meter reader of this utility model has a dual power supply hardware automatic switching circuit design. In addition to being powered by P1 meter, the meter reader can also be powered by an external power supply, which has good compatibility.

[0012] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0013] Other features and aspects of the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions and advantages in the embodiments or prior art of this specification, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this specification. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0015] Figure 1This diagram shows a first structural block diagram of a meter reader based on BLE and LORA according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 A second structural block diagram of a meter reader based on BLE and LORA according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 3 A circuit diagram of a Power-5V / 2W module according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; Figure 4 A circuit diagram of a DC-DC converter according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; Figure 5 A circuit diagram of a switching circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; Figure 6 A circuit structure diagram of a BLE chip according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; Figure 7 A circuit structure diagram of a LORA chip according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; Figure 8 A circuit diagram of an RJ12 interface according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; Figure 9 A circuit diagram of an RS485 interface according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; Figure 10 A circuit diagram of a watchdog control circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown; Figure 11 A circuit diagram of a button reset circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 12 The circuit structure diagram of the serial communication interface of the debugging module according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 13 A circuit diagram of the prompting module according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this specification will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this specification, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this specification, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0017] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this invention are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or server that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0018] Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote elements that have the same or similar functions. Although various aspects of the embodiments are shown in the drawings, they are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated otherwise.

[0019] The term “exemplary” as used herein means “serving as an example, embodiment, or illustration.” Any embodiment illustrated herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as superior to or better than other embodiments.

[0020] In this document, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. Furthermore, the term "at least one" in this document means any combination of at least two of any one or more elements. For example, including at least one of A, B, and C can mean including any one or more elements selected from the set consisting of A, B, and C.

[0021] Furthermore, to better illustrate this utility model, numerous specific details are provided in the following detailed embodiments. Those skilled in the art should understand that this utility model can be implemented without certain specific details. In some instances, methods, means, components, and circuits well-known to those skilled in the art have not been described in detail in order to highlight the main points of this utility model.

[0022] Currently, existing P1 meter readers read data from P1 meters via RJ12 interfaces and then transmit it to the home gateway for data processing via wired transmission. However, this solution has the following drawbacks: limited communication distance, requiring additional wiring and increasing construction difficulty; lack of data confidentiality, making the bus vulnerable to eavesdropping and posing a risk; poor data real-time performance and stability; the meter reader cannot handle data transmission over longer distances; insufficient power supply to the P1 meter, requiring an external power source; and inability to directly communicate and exchange data with other RS485 bus devices.

[0023] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this utility model provides a meter reader based on BLE and LoRa. The meter reader connects to a P1 meter to wirelessly transmit the P1 meter's data to a target gateway device via Bluetooth or LoRa. The target gateway device can be a home gateway device or other gateway devices, and it is used to send the P1 meter's data to a server or terminal service platform.

[0024] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The meter reader includes a power supply module, a data processing module, and a signal transmission module.

[0025] In this embodiment, the power supply module includes a DC-DC converter, a switching circuit, and a DC power supply, wherein, Figure 2 The DC / DC converter in the text is a direct current converter. Figure 2 The switch circuit in the text is the switching circuit. Figure 2 The Power-5V / 2W module is used to connect to a DC power supply. Its function is to regulate voltage and limit current to limit power. The first moving contact of the switching circuit is connected to the DC power supply, the second moving contact is connected to the P1 meter, and the common contact is connected to the DC-DC converter. The DC-DC converter converts the DC power supply or the electrical signal from the P1 meter to power the components in the meter reader. In one specific implementation, the circuit structure of the Power-5V / 2W module is as follows: Figure 3 As shown.

[0026] In some possible implementations, the DC power supply includes a switching power adapter and a TYPEC transmission line. The switching power adapter is used to connect to an external power source to convert the external power source into DC power. A first end of the TYPEC transmission line is connected to the switching power adapter, and a second end of the TYPEC transmission line is connected to a first moving contact of a switching circuit. Figure 2 The Type-C module mentioned above is the TYPEC transmission line; the switching power adapter is not shown in the figure.

[0027] This embodiment does not limit the specific selection of the DC-DC converter or the circuit structure. For some specific embodiments, please refer to... Figure 4 The circuit structure of the DC-DC converter is as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the DC-DC converter is model JW5017 or JW5026. These models can convert an input voltage of 4.5V to 28V into a target voltage. In the actual circuit, the input voltage of the DC-DC converter is 5V, and the output voltage is 3.3V.

[0028] This embodiment does not limit the specific circuit structure of the switching circuit. That is to say, the switching circuit can be implemented based on a single switching device, such as a single-pole double-throw switch, or it can be implemented based on a semiconductor switching circuit or an integrated switching chip.

[0029] In one specific embodiment, the switching circuit is implemented based on a transistor circuit. Please refer to... Figure 5 The switching circuit includes a transistor, a fuse, and a current-limiting resistor. The emitter of the transistor is connected to the first end of the fuse, the second end of the fuse is connected to the positive power pin of the RJ12 interface, the base of the transistor is connected to the first end of the current-limiting resistor, the second end of the current-limiting resistor is connected to the power ground pin of the RJ12 interface, the base of the transistor is also connected to the second end of the TYPEC transmission line, a Schottky diode is provided between the base and collector of the transistor, and a Schottky diode is also connected to the emitter of the transistor.

[0030] In this embodiment, the data processing module includes a BLE chip and a LORA chip that are electrically connected to each other. The BLE chip is connected to the signal transmission module. The BLE chip is used to obtain data from the P1 meter through the signal transmission module, and the LORA chip is used to obtain data from the P1 meter from the BLE chip.

[0031] This embodiment does not limit the specific models of BLE and LoRa chips. In some implementations, the BLE chip can be, for example, Figure 2 The BL702 chip shown can be replaced with the RA-01SCH chip for LORA. This embodiment does not limit the specific circuit structure of the BLE and LORA chips; the specific circuit structure is determined by the chip model. In one specific implementation, the BLE chip circuit is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, the circuit of the LORA chip is as follows: Figure 7 As shown.

[0032] In this embodiment, the signal transmission module includes a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel. Please refer to... Figure 2 , Figure 2In this context, P1 meter refers to the data from meter P1, and the COM communication line connected to meter P1 is the first transmission channel. Figure 2 The COMto RS485 communication line is the second transmission channel.

[0033] The first end of the first transmission channel is connected to the LoRa chip, and the second end of the first transmission channel is provided with an RJ12 interface. The RJ12 interface is used to connect to the P1 meter to obtain data from the P1 meter. In a specific implementation, please refer to... Figure 8 , Figure 8 The specific circuit connection structure of the RJ12 interface is shown.

[0034] The first end of the second transmission channel is connected to the LoRa chip, and the second end of the second transmission channel is equipped with an RS485 interface. The RS485 interface is used to connect to external devices or P1 meters that have RS485 protocol. In a specific implementation, please refer to... Figure 9 , Figure 9 The specific circuit connection structure of the RS485 interface is shown.

[0035] In some possible implementations, the meter reader also includes a reset module, which includes a watchdog control circuit and a button reset circuit. The watchdog control circuit is used for automatic detection and reset, while the button reset circuit is used for manual reset. The watchdog control circuit and the button reset circuit are configured together to ensure the operational stability of the meter reader.

[0036] Please refer to Figure 10 The watchdog control circuit includes a timer chip. Both the input and output terminals of the timer chip are connected to the BLE chip. The timer chip monitors the operating status of the BLE chip and controls its reset. The first input terminal of the timer chip is connected to the power supply pin of the BLE chip, and the second input terminal is connected to the WDI pin of the BLE chip to receive the WDI signal. The output terminal of the timer chip is connected to the reset pin of the BLE chip. When the timer chip detects a low power supply signal from the BLE chip or that the BLE chip is not sending a WDI signal correctly, the timer chip sends a reset signal to the BLE chip.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 11 The button reset circuit includes a three-pin button switch. The first pin of the three-pin button switch is connected to the BLE chip and the DC-DC converter respectively. The second and third pins of the three-pin button switch are both grounded. The first pin of the three-pin button switch is also connected to a Schottky diode.

[0038] In some embodiments, the meter reader further includes a debugging module, which includes at least one serial communication interface. The serial communication interface is used to connect an external debugging device to debug the meter reader. That is, the serial communication interface is a DWUART communication interface, which is used to implement debugging and testing of the chip.

[0039] For some specific implementation methods, please refer to Figure 12 , Figure 12 Connectors J3, J4, and J8 are all serial communication interfaces. External debugging devices connect to the BLE chip through J3, J4, and J8, and complete the parameter settings of the BLE chip based on J3, J4, and J8.

[0040] In some embodiments, the meter reader further includes a prompting module, which includes at least one LED light connected to a BLE chip. The at least one LED light is used to light up and turn off in response to a control signal from the BLE chip to indicate communication status information.

[0041] For some specific implementation methods, please refer to Figure 13 The indicator module includes two LEDs, which are used to display the communication status of the P1 meter and the Wi-Fi communication connection status, respectively. It should be understood that the type of information the LEDs display depends on which pin of the BLE chip the LED is connected to. In other cases, the LEDs can also be used to display the status of either the BLE chip or the LoRa chip.

[0042] This utility model embodiment also provides an electricity meter communication system, including a gateway device, a P1 electricity meter, and an electricity meter reader based on BLE and LoRa according to any of the above embodiments. The gateway device is a Bluetooth gateway or a LoRa gateway. The electricity meter reader is electrically connected to the P1 electricity meter to obtain the data of the P1 electricity meter. The electricity meter reader is wirelessly connected to the gateway device to send the data of the P1 electricity meter to the gateway device. The gateway device is used to upload the data of the P1 electricity meter to the target terminal device.

[0043] The various embodiments of the present invention have been described above. These descriptions are exemplary and not exhaustive, nor are they limited to the disclosed embodiments. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein is chosen to best explain the principles, practical applications, or technical improvements to the embodiments in the market, or to enable others skilled in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A meter reader based on BLE and LORA, characterized in that, The meter reader is used to connect to the P1 meter to wirelessly transmit the data of the P1 meter to the target gateway device via Bluetooth or LoRa; the meter reader includes a power supply module, a data processing module, and a signal transmission module. The power supply module includes a DC converter, a switching circuit, and a DC power supply. The first moving contact of the switching circuit is connected to the DC power supply, the second moving contact of the switching circuit is connected to the P1 meter, and the common contact of the switching circuit is connected to the DC converter. The DC converter is used to convert the electrical signal of the DC power supply or the P1 meter to power the components in the meter reader. The data processing module includes a BLE chip and a LORA chip that are electrically connected to each other. The BLE chip is connected to the signal transmission module. The BLE chip is used to obtain data from the P1 meter through the signal transmission module, and the LORA chip is used to obtain data from the P1 meter from the BLE chip. The signal transmission module includes a first transmission channel and a second transmission channel. The first end of the first transmission channel is connected to the LORA chip, and the second end of the first transmission channel is provided with an RJ12 interface. The RJ12 interface is used to connect to the P1 meter to obtain data from the P1 meter. The first end of the second transmission channel is connected to the LORA chip, and the second end of the second transmission channel is provided with an RS485 interface. The RS485 interface is used to connect to external devices or the P1 meter that have the RS485 protocol.

2. A meter reader based on BLE and LORA according to claim 1, characterized in that, The DC power supply includes a switching power adapter and a TYPEC transmission line. The switching power adapter is used to connect to an external power source to convert the external power source into DC power. The first end of the TYPEC transmission line is connected to the switching power adapter, and the second end of the TYPEC transmission line is connected to the first moving contact of the switching circuit.

3. A meter reader based on BLE and LORA according to claim 2, characterized in that, The switching circuit includes a transistor, a fuse, and a current-limiting resistor. The emitter of the transistor is connected to the first end of the fuse, the second end of the fuse is connected to the positive power pin of the RJ12 interface, the base of the transistor is connected to the first end of the current-limiting resistor, the second end of the current-limiting resistor is connected to the power ground pin of the RJ12 interface, and the base of the transistor is also connected to the second end of the Type-C transmission line. A Schottky diode is provided between the base and the collector of the transistor, and a Schottky diode is also connected to the emitter of the transistor.

4. A meter reader based on BLE and LORA according to claim 1, characterized in that, The meter reader also includes a reset module, which includes a watchdog control circuit and a button reset circuit. The watchdog control circuit includes a timer chip, the input and output terminals of which are connected to the BLE chip. The timer chip is used to monitor the operating status of the BLE chip and control the BLE chip to reset. The button reset circuit includes a three-pin button switch. The first pin of the three-pin button switch is connected to the BLE chip and the DC-DC converter, respectively. The second and third pins of the three-pin button switch are both grounded. The first pin of the three-pin button switch is also connected to a Schottky diode.

5. A meter reader based on BLE and LORA according to claim 1, characterized in that, The meter reader also includes a debugging module, which includes at least one serial communication interface for connecting external debugging equipment to debug the meter reader.

6. A meter reader based on BLE and LORA according to claim 1, characterized in that, The meter reader also includes a prompting module, which includes at least one LED light connected to the BLE chip. The at least one LED light is used to light up and turn off in response to the control signal of the BLE chip to indicate communication status information.

7. A communication system for electricity meters, characterized in that, The device includes a gateway device, a P1 electricity meter, and a meter reader based on BLE and LoRa according to any one of claims 1-6. The gateway device is a Bluetooth gateway or a LoRa gateway. The meter reader is electrically connected to the P1 electricity meter to obtain data from the P1 electricity meter. The meter reader is wirelessly connected to the gateway device to send the data from the P1 electricity meter to the gateway device. The gateway device is used to upload the data from the P1 electricity meter to a target terminal device.

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