Data collection method and related apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a data collection method and a related apparatus. The method comprises: a first management sub-station receiving first information from a management station, wherein the first information is used for indicating that a plurality of management sub-stations acquire collected data within a first slot, and the plurality of management sub-stations comprise the first management sub-station; and the first management sub-station receiving the first information, and sending a first scheduling message, which is used for indicating that at least one sub-station reports the collected data within the first slot. By using the method, a plurality of management sub-stations with non-conflicting resources concurrently acquire collected data within the period of time of a slot level, thereby improving the data collection efficiency; moreover, message collision and data loss possibly caused by concurrent acquisition of the collected data by the plurality of management sub-stations are avoided, thereby improving the reliability of data transmission.

Description

Data collection method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 23, 2023, with application number 202311584781.9 and invention name “Data Acquisition Method and Related Devices”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of smart grid technology, and in particular to a data acquisition method and related devices. Background Art

[0003] In the construction of smart grids, remote data collection and interaction with smart meters are crucial for electricity consumption. The user electricity consumption data collection system consists of a master station, a concentrator (field terminal), and meters. The communication channels between the master station and the concentrator are wireless, such as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and fiber optics. Local meter reading channels at the concentrator are primarily carrier, wired 485, and micropower wireless, with over 90% of these channels being carrier channels.

[0004] In addition, a central coordinator (CCO) is installed inside the concentrator, and a station (STA) is installed inside the collector or electricity meter. Both the CCO and STA are physically connected to the power line, thus forming a communication network based on the power line carrier (PLC). The concentrator communicates directly with the carrier meter through the PLC communication network, or communicates with the 485 meter through the collector.

[0005] PLC technology has been widely used in low-voltage substations. However, with the business expansion and deepening of technical applications of new power systems such as user electricity consumption collection, photovoltaics, and charging piles, there is an increasing demand for full collection of data from the end-point of the power grid and real-time data at the "minute level". The current high-speed power line carrier (HPLC) communication technology has become increasingly difficult to achieve, becoming a bottleneck for the access of new equipment and the development of new services.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a data collection method and related devices. By configuring time slot-level reporting instructions for sites, each site can efficiently and collision-free report electricity consumption data, fully utilize channel resources, and improve the speed of reading electricity meters.

[0008] In the first aspect, the present application provides a data collection method, which is applied to a first sub-management site. The method includes: receiving first information from the management site, the first information is used to instruct multiple sub-management sites to obtain collected data within a first time slot; sending a scheduling message, the scheduling message is used to instruct at least one sub-site to report the collected data within the first time slot.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present application, a collaborative scheduling indication is sent by a management site to multiple sub-management sites whose resources do not conflict. This indication enables multiple sub-management sites to obtain the collected data of the sub-site using different frequency domain resources or spatial domain resources in the same time slot, thereby improving data collection efficiency and avoiding message collisions or channel interference that may occur when the sub-site reports the collected data, thereby improving data transmission reliability.

[0010] In some possible implementations, the at least one sub-site includes a first sub-site, and the method further includes: receiving first data reported by the first sub-site in a first time slot.

[0011] In some possible implementations, the at least one sub-site includes a second sub-site, and the method further includes: receiving first feedback information reported by the second sub-site in a first time slot, where the first feedback information does not include the collected data.

[0012] In some possible implementations, after receiving the first data reported by the first sub-station in the first time slot, the method further includes: sending second feedback information to the first sub-station, where the second feedback information is used to indicate that the first data has been received.

[0013] The above-mentioned interactive process setting ensures the integrity of the communication interaction between the management site and the sub-management site, and avoids the communication process being stalled or signaling being wasted due to the management site or sub-management site not receiving feedback information, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0014] In some possible implementations, the first information is further used to instruct the second sub-management site not to acquire the collected data within the first time slot.

[0015] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving second information from the management site, the second information being used to instruct the third sub-management site to obtain collected data in a second time slot, the second time slot being earlier than the first time slot; and forwarding the second information to the third sub-management site.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present application, for a sub-management site that is directly connected to a management site, or a sub-management site that is connected through multiple layers of subordinate management sites, the time slot for obtaining collected data set for the latter is earlier than the time slot for obtaining collected data set for the former. This ensures that whether it is the STA that directly obtains the collected data or the lower-level PCO that needs to summarize the collected data of the STA, the management sub-site can obtain the collected data from it in a timely manner within the first time slot, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the management site's scheduling of the sub-management site.

[0017] In some possible implementations, the management site is a central coordinator CCO, the sub-management site is a proxy coordinator PCO, and the sub-site is a PCO or a site STA.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the management station, the sub-management station, and the sub-station support Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology.

[0019] In a second aspect, the present application provides a data collection method, applied to a first sub-site, the method comprising: receiving a first scheduling message, the first scheduling message being used to instruct acquisition of collected data within a first time slot; and reporting first data to the sub-management site within the first time slot.

[0020] In some possible implementations, reporting the first data to the first sub-management site includes: reporting the first data to the first sub-management site via a first message, wherein the first message also includes second data reported by the third sub-site.

[0021] In this embodiment of the present application, the different resource units uploaded by multiple sub-sites are combined into a first message and uploaded to the sub-management site. This saves time in reporting collected data to the sub-management site, improving data collection efficiency. Furthermore, because the sub-sites aggregate the multiple data reported to the sub-management site into a single message, the probability of message conflicts within the sub-management site is further reduced, thereby improving data transmission reliability.

[0022] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided, the device comprising:

[0023] a transceiver unit, configured to receive first information from a management site, the first information being used to instruct a plurality of sub-management sites to acquire collected data in a first time slot, the plurality of sub-management sites including the first sub-management site;

[0024] The transceiver unit is further configured to send a first scheduling message, where the first scheduling message is used to instruct at least one sub-station to report collected data within a first time slot.

[0025] In some possible implementations, the at least one sub-site includes a first sub-site, and the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first data reported by the first sub-site in a first time slot.

[0026] In some possible implementations, the at least one sub-site includes a second sub-site, and the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first feedback information reported by the second sub-site in a first time slot, where the first feedback information does not include the collected data.

[0027] In some possible implementations, after receiving the first data reported by the first sub-station in the first time slot, the transceiver unit is further configured to: send second feedback information to the first sub-station, where the second feedback information is used to indicate that the first data has been received.

[0028] In some possible implementations, the first information is further used to instruct the second sub-management site not to acquire the collected data within the first time slot.

[0029] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit is also used to: receive second information from the management site, the second information is used to instruct the third sub-management site to obtain collected data in a second time slot, the second time slot is earlier than the first time slot; and forward the second information to the third sub-management site.

[0030] In some possible implementations, the management site is a central coordinator CCO, the sub-management site is a proxy coordinator PCO, and the sub-site is a PCO or a site STA.

[0031] In some possible implementations, the management station, the sub-management station, and the sub-station support Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology.

[0032] According to a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device comprising:

[0033] a transceiver unit, configured to receive a first scheduling message, wherein the first scheduling message is used to instruct reporting of collected data within a first time slot;

[0034] The transceiver unit is further configured to report the first data to the first sub-management site within the first time slot.

[0035] In some possible implementations, reporting the first data to the first sub-management site includes: reporting the first data to the first sub-management site via a first message, wherein the first message also includes second data reported by the third sub-site.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor coupled to a memory. When the processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, the method of any embodiment of the first aspect is executed, or the method of any embodiment of the second aspect is executed.

[0037] Optionally, the device further comprises a memory.

[0038] Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0039] Optionally, there are one or more processors and one or more memories.

[0040] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be provided separately from the processor.

[0041] Optionally, the transceiver may include a transmitter (transmitter) and a receiver (receiver).

[0042] In one implementation, the communication device is a terminal device. When the communication device is a terminal device, the communication interface may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Alternatively, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Alternatively, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0043] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. When the device is a chip or a chip system, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip or chip system. The processor can also be embodied as a processing circuit or a logic circuit.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes the data acquisition device of the third aspect and the transmission device of the fourth aspect.

[0045] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions), which, when run, enables the computer to execute the method in any possible implementation of the first or second aspect above.

[0046] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions) which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method in any one of the possible implementations of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0047] In a ninth aspect, the present application further provides a circuit comprising: a processor and an interface for executing a computer program or instruction stored in a memory, and executing a method in any possible implementation of the first to second aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the power system architecture used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG3A is a flow chart of an electric power meter reading method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG3B is another flow chart of electricity meter reading provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG4A is a flow chart of a data collection method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG4B is a schematic diagram of a power communication system divided into management blocks according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG4C is a schematic diagram of a time slot setting provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG4D is a flowchart of a PCO and STA interaction process provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG4E is a schematic diagram of a communication link of a power system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG4F is a schematic diagram of the structure of a first message provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0061] The terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," etc., in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish between different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including," "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0062] References herein to "embodiments" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it constitute an independent or alternative embodiment that is mutually exclusive of other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

[0063] "Multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions is used to indicate any combination of the listed items; for example, at least one of A, B and (or) C can represent the following situations: A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, B and C exist at the same time, A and C exist at the same time, and A, B and C exist at the same time, where A, B, and C can be single or multiple.

[0064] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the power consumption system architecture used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the user power consumption information collection system includes a concentrator and electricity meters, where the electricity meters can include carrier meters and 485 meters. A CCO is installed in the concentrator, and an STA is installed in the collector or carrier meter. The CCO and STA communicate via a PLC communication network, or further communicate with the 485 meter via the collector. The concentrator collects data from the carrier meter or 485 meter, which is called the power meter reading process. This process can be used for: equipment status monitoring. Specifically, for example, on-site calculation and analysis, statistics on equipment operating status, such as meter inaccuracy and module presence detection; support for collector access to sensors to obtain real-time operating condition information; etc. This process can also be used for: power quality monitoring. Specifically, for example, real-time voltage, current, and three-phase imbalance over-limit statistics; support for load imbalance and timely phase change and load balancing adjustment; statistics on voltage qualification rate information, and low voltage alarm reporting.

[0065] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 2, the communication architecture includes devices (or modules) that communicate using a PLC communication network. Specifically, it includes a CCO, a proxy coordinator (PCO), and an STA. Among them, the STA can communicate directly with the CCO, for example, STA7 is connected to the CCO. It can also communicate with the CCO through the PCO, for example, STA1 and STA2 are connected to the CCO through PCO1. The PCO can be connected to the CCO directly, or it can be connected to the CCO through multiple levels of PCOs, for example, PCO4 is connected to the CCO through PCO3.

[0066] The following is an introduction to the existing technology.

[0067] Please refer to FIG3A , which is a flow chart of an electric power meter reading method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3A , in this technical solution, the process of the concentrator reading the meter via the power line carrier is as follows:

[0068] (1) The concentrator sends a meter reading command to the CCO.

[0069] It should be noted that the CCO is a communication module in the concentrator, and the concentrator performs carrier communication with the STA through the CCO.

[0070] (2) The CCO forwards the command to the STA via the power line.

[0071] The STA can be a collector or a communication module in a carrier table, and is used to perform carrier communication with the CCO.

[0072] (3) After receiving the command from CCO, STA sends the meter reading message to the meter.

[0073] The electricity meter can be the 458 meter in Figure 1. In this case, the STA is located in the collector, which sends the meter reading message to the 485 meter via the 485 bus. Alternatively, the electricity meter can be a carrier meter. In this case, the STA in the carrier meter sends the meter reading message to the carrier meter where it is located.

[0074] (4) After the meter responds, it sends the message to the STA.

[0075] (5) STA sends the meter's response message to CCO.

[0076] (6) The CCO sends the response message to the concentrator.

[0077] The concentrator reads each meter data item through the above process, and can only read one data item at a time, making the reading speed very slow. It can only guarantee basic meter reading functions such as daily frozen energy consumption and cannot meet the needs of multi-service expansion.

[0078] Please refer to FIG3B , which is another flow chart of electric power meter reading provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3B , in this technical solution, the process of the concentrator reading the meter via the power line carrier is as follows:

[0079] (1) The concentrator sends a meter reading command to the CCO, but does not wait for the meter reading result response. Instead, it continues to send multiple meter reading frames until it receives a negative response from the CCO because the concurrent pool is full and cannot be processed. Then it stops sending meter reading frames to the CCO.

[0080] (2) The CCO temporarily stores the received meter reading commands from the concentrator in its own concurrent pool, and then encapsulates multiple messages into HPLC protocol frames and sends them to multiple different STAs at the same time, or to the PCO, which then sends them to one or more STAs under its management.

[0081] (3) After receiving the command from CCO, STA sends the meter reading message to the meter.

[0082] (4) After the meter responds, it sends the message to the STA.

[0083] (5) STA sends the meter response message to CCO. Assuming that STA is connected to CCO through PCO, STA sends the meter response message to PCO, which then sends it to CCO.

[0084] (6) The CCO sends the response message to the concentrator.

[0085] (7) At this time, the concentrator sends a new meter reading frame to fill the vacant position in the CCO concurrent pool, reaching the maximum concurrent number.

[0086] The concentrator reads meter data items through the above process and can read data from multiple meters concurrently during the same time period, greatly improving the reading speed. Compared with the technology in Figure 3A, this technology can significantly improve the speed; however, it also has obvious disadvantages and shortcomings:

[0087] 1. When scheduling message sending, steps (2) and (5) above do not have a scheduling mechanism adapted to the channel characteristics and do not take into account the conflict domain relationship of multiple STAs. They rely entirely on the conflict detection mechanism. The probability of collision is high during concurrent reading, and the bandwidth cannot be fully utilized. The channel utilization rate is low, and minute-level data collection is very difficult.

[0088] 2. When transmitting messages between STAs and PCOs, multiple points queue up and compete for transmission serially, which does not fully utilize spectrum resources and leads to low channel utilization.

[0089] Based on this, please refer to FIG4A , which is a flow chart of a data collection method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0090] 101. A first sub-management site receives first information from a management site, where the first information is used to instruct multiple sub-management sites to acquire collected data in a first time slot.

[0091] The multiple sub-management sites include a first sub-management site.

[0092] In the embodiment of the present application, the management site refers to a site used for general management scheduling, which can specifically refer to a CCO. A sub-management site refers to a site that receives general management scheduling information and schedules other sub-sites according to the scheduling information, which can be a PCO. A sub-site refers to a site STA that specifically collects meter data, or it can also refer to a lower-level PCO that has collected meter data in advance and is waiting to be scheduled by the PCO. The management site sends a first message to multiple sub-management sites that it manages (directly connected) to instruct multiple sub-management sites to report the collected data within the first time slot. As shown in Figure 2, when the CCO is the management site, the corresponding multiple sub-management sites are PCO1, PCO2, and PCO3, and the sub-sites corresponding to PCO1 include STA1 and STA2. The sub-sites corresponding to PCO3 include STA4 and PCO4.

[0093] The first information sent by the management site can be specifically sent to certain sub-management sites among the multiple sub-management sites connected to the management site. Alternatively, the first information can be sent to all sub-management sites connected to the management site. Assuming that the first information is sent to all sub-management sites, the sub-management site that receives the first information can read the instruction information related to itself from it.

[0094] The first information instructs multiple sub-management stations to acquire collected data during the first time slot. This means that the management station can schedule non-conflicting sub-management stations in parallel. Alternatively, the first information can instruct other sub-management stations to acquire collected data during other time slots. This means that the management station can schedule conflicting sub-management stations sequentially. Non-conflict means that the airspace resources of multiple sub-management stations do not overlap, while conflict means that the airspace resources of the sub-management stations overlap.

[0095] In addition, the same sub-management site manages multiple sub-sites, and the same sub-management site and the multiple sub-sites it manages can be divided into a management block. Please refer to Figure 4B, which is a schematic diagram of a power communication system divided into management blocks provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4B, the block divided by the matrix is ​​a management block, and one management block can include a sub-management block. For example, the management block corresponding to PCO3 includes the sub-management block corresponding to PCO4. If there is no conflict between multiple STAs in the same management block, the STA supports orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technology, and the frequency domain resources between multiple STAs in the same management block do not overlap. Therefore, (strong) conflict between management blocks can also refer to the overlap of spatial domain resources of management blocks, and the frequency domain resources also overlap a lot. Weak conflict can refer to the overlap of spatial domain resources of multiple management blocks, and the frequency domain resources of some STAs have a small overlap. No conflict can also refer to the overlap of spatial domain resources of management blocks, but the frequency domain resources do not overlap at all.

[0096] The management station may send the first information to instruct that multiple management blocks that do not conflict or have weak conflicts are scheduled in parallel; and multiple management blocks that have strong conflicts are scheduled sequentially, not concurrently.

[0097] The first sub-management site is included in the multiple sub-management sites indicated by the first information. The first information can be used to instruct the first sub-management site to obtain collected data within the first time slot. On the other hand, the first information can be used to instruct the second sub-management site not to obtain collected data within the first time slot. The methods of indication include explicit indication and implicit indication. Explicit indication means that the first information includes clear information indicating that the second sub-management site does not obtain collected data within the first time slot. Implicit indication means that the first information does not have a clear information indication, but it is inferred from the existing information that the second sub-management site does not obtain collected data within the first time slot. For example, the second sub-management site receives the first information and reads that the second sub-management site is not included in the multiple sites that obtain collected data within the first time slot indicated by the first information. Or, for example, the first information is only sent to multiple sites that obtain collected data within the first time slot, and the fourth sub-management site is not included in the multiple sites.

[0098] In the above description, the first information is used to indicate that a sub-management site reports collected data. Specifically, the terminal equipment identity (TEI) of the sub-management site can be used to refer to it. Alternatively, the inherent identifier of other terminal devices or a newly named logical identifier can be used to refer to the site, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0099] Optionally, the management site and the sub-management site can agree on a group timeslot beacon entry, which instructs the management site to send a reserved timeslot to the sub-management site to schedule the sub-management site to report collected data (hereinafter, the management site is the CCO and the sub-management site is the PCO). A beacon entry is information included in the beacon frame sent by the management site. If the beacon frame includes the group timeslot beacon entry, other PCOs can read the group timeslot beacon entry when establishing a communication connection with the CCO. This group timeslot beacon entry is used to allocate group timeslots and is therefore also called a group timeslot allocation entry.

[0100] Please refer to Table 1:

[0101] Table 1

[0102] As shown in Table 1, it is a schematic table of information included in a beacon frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. The table includes a newly added group time slot allocation entry, which is represented by the value 0xC1.

[0103] For further information, please refer to Table 2:

[0104] Table 2

[0105] Table 2 shows a message configuration method for a group timeslot allocation entry, provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Table 2, the message may include the following fields: timeslot start, timeslot end, number of TEI groups, and the specific TEI group. The definitions in the table describe the message field configuration and are not included in the message content.

[0106] The "Time Slot Start" field and the "Time Slot End" field are used to define the start and end positions of the time slot in which the site acquires collected data. The time slot in which the collected data is acquired is referred to as a reserved time slot. For example, the first time slot indicated in the aforementioned first information is a reserved time slot. In addition, a reserved time slot (or first time slot) does not necessarily refer to a complete time slot, but rather refers to the duration of the reserved time slot at the time slot level (or it can be said that the duration of the reserved time slot is less than or equal to the duration of a time slot). The units corresponding to the time slot start position and the time slot end position can be microseconds (us) or milliseconds (ms), etc.

[0107] For the "Number of TEI Groups" field, for example, if the binary value of this field is 00000010, it means that two TEI groups can use the reserved time slot defined by this message (acquiring collected data within the reserved time slot). Each TEI group has a corresponding reserved time slot. Each TEI group can include TEIs of multiple PCOs, and these PCOs have no conflict or weak conflict with each other. For example, the TEI groups are PCO1 and PCO2 in Figure 4B, and the corresponding reserved time slot is the first time slot, indicating that the management block corresponding to PCO1 and the management block corresponding to PCO2 both acquire collected data within the first time slot. Assuming this field is empty (null), it means that the PCO connected to the CCO will not actively acquire collected data within the reserved time slot.

[0108] The "TEI Group" field indicates the TEIs corresponding to the sub-management sites included in the TEI group. For example, if the TEI corresponding to PCO1 is 1 and each TEI corresponds to 8 bits, the TEI Group field contains the binary value 00000001, indicating that PCO1 can obtain collected data within the reserved time slot.

[0109] 102. The first sub-management site sends a first scheduling message, where the first scheduling message is used to instruct at least one sub-site to report collected data within the first time slot, where the at least one sub-site includes the first sub-site.

[0110] After receiving the first message from the CCO, the first PCO can directly obtain collected data in the first time slot. Specifically, it can obtain collected data from the STA connected to it, or from a lower-level PCO connected to it (not directly connected to the CCO, but connected to the CCO through the first PCO). For example, in Figure 4B, the collected data obtained by PCO3 also comes from PCO4.

[0111] Optionally, the method may further include step 103: the first sub-site receives the first scheduling message, and reports the first data to the first sub-management site in the first time slot.

[0112] After receiving the scheduling message, the STA can report collected data. As described above, the STA can be located at the carrier meter, in which case the STA obtains and reports the meter data from the carrier meter. Alternatively, the STA can be located at the collector, in which case the STA obtains and reports the meter data from the 485 meter via the 485 bus. The lower-level PCO can also report collected data after receiving the scheduling message. The collected data in the lower-level PCO may have been obtained in advance from the STAs to which it is connected.

[0113] After the first PCO obtains the collected data reported by the sub-station, it can send it to the CCO after receiving the CCO's scheduling message. Alternatively, assuming that the airspace resources between PCOs do not overlap, the PCO can also proactively send the collected data to the CCO after obtaining it. This embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0114] It can be seen that in an embodiment of the present application, a collaborative scheduling indication is sent by the management site to multiple sub-management sites whose resources do not conflict, so that multiple sub-management sites obtain the collected data of the sub-sites using different frequency domain resources or spatial domain resources in the same time slot, thereby improving data collection efficiency and avoiding message collisions or channel interference that may occur when the sub-sites report the collected data, thereby improving data transmission reliability.

[0115] Optionally, the method further includes: 104. The third sub-management site receives second information from the management site, the second information being used to instruct the third sub-management site to obtain collected data within a second time slot, the second time slot being earlier than the first time slot; 105. The third sub-management site sends a second scheduling message, the second scheduling message instructing at least one sub-site to report the collected data to the second sub-management site within the second time slot. 106. The third sub-site receives the second scheduling message and reports the collected data to the second sub-management site within the second time slot.

[0116] As described above, a third PCO (which may be called a subordinate PCO of the first PCO) connected to the CCO via the first PCO may be included. In order for the first PCO to acquire the collected data of the third PCO within the first time slot, the CCO needs to instruct the third PCO to acquire the collected data in advance.

[0117] Please refer to Figure 4C, which shows a schematic diagram of a time slot configuration according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4C, assuming PCO3 is the first PCO and PCO4 is the third PCO, the CCO first sends a second message to PCO4, instructing PCO4 to acquire collected data during the second time slot. PCO4 acquires and stores the collected data from STA5 and STA6 during the second time slot. The CCO then sends a first message to PCO3, instructing PCO3 to acquire collected data during the first time slot. PCO3 then acquires and aggregates the collected data from STA4 and PCO4 during the first time slot, reporting it to the CCO based on the CCO's schedule or proactively. The second time slot is earlier than the first time slot. This means that the farther the communication distance between a sub-management station and the top-level management station, the earlier the corresponding time slot for acquiring collected data.

[0118] It can be seen that in the embodiment of the present application, for the sub-management site directly connected to the management site, or the sub-management site connected through multiple layers of subordinate management sites, the time slot for obtaining the collected data set for the latter is earlier than the time slot for obtaining the collected data set for the former. This ensures that whether it is the STA that directly obtains the collected data or the lower-level PCO that needs to summarize the collected data of the STA, the management sub-site can obtain the collected data from it in time within the first time slot, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the management site's scheduling of the sub-management site.

[0119] Optionally, the at least one sub-site includes a second sub-site, and the method further includes: the first sub-management site receiving first feedback information reported by the second sub-site in a first time slot, wherein the first feedback information does not include the collected data.

[0120] Optionally, after receiving the first data reported by the first sub-station in the first time slot, the method further includes: the first sub-management station sending second feedback information to the first sub-station, where the second feedback information is used to indicate that the first data has been received.

[0121] As described above, the same management block may include a PCO and multiple sub-stations (STAs) connected to the PCO.

[0122] Please refer to FIG. 4D , which is a flowchart of a PCO and STA interaction process provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4D , the PCO and STA interaction process includes the following steps:

[0123] 1031. The PCO sends a scheduling message to the STA.

[0124] The PCO may send a scheduling message to the STA after receiving the time slot reservation message from the CCO (such as the first information received by the first PCO mentioned above).

[0125] 1032. The STA sends a data collection message to the PCO.

[0126] Assuming that the STA collects meter data, it can report it to the PCO through the data collection message.

[0127] 1033. The PCO sends a data acquisition reception confirmation message to the STA.

[0128] After receiving the first data collection report from the STA, the PCO can send a Selective Acknowledgement (SACK) message to the STA, indicating that it has received the data collection message. If the PCO only receives a portion of the data collection message, the PCO can send a retransmission instruction to the STA. Alternatively, after receiving the first data collection report from the STA, the PCO can send the next scheduling message to the STA to facilitate the acquisition of the next data collection.

[0129] 1034. The STA sends a next data acquisition message or a no data acquisition message to the PCO.

[0130] If the PCO sends the next scheduling message to the STA, the STA can send the next data collection message to the PCO. Alternatively, if the STA does not collect meter data, it can send a "no data collection" message to the PCO. A "no data collection" message can manifest in the following ways: a. Not sending any message; b. Sending a message indicating no data to report; c. Sending an empty data collection message, meaning the data collection message contains no payload data.

[0131] It should be noted that steps 1031 to 1034 are merely examples. In the implementation of the method, only some of the steps may be included. For example, after step 1032, the PCO may no longer send an SACK after receiving the data acquisition message reported by the STA. This is not limited in the present embodiment. The above interaction process may also be the interaction process between the CCO and a directly connected STA, and is not further described here.

[0132] It can be seen that the above-mentioned interactive process setting ensures the integrity of the communication interaction between the sub-management site and the sub-sites, and avoids the sub-management site or the sub-site from causing the communication process to stagnate or signaling to be wasted due to the sub-management site or the sub-site not receiving feedback information, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0133] Optionally, the first sub-site reporting the first data to the first sub-management site includes: the first sub-site reporting the first data to the first sub-management site via a first message, wherein the first message also includes the second data reported by the third sub-site.

[0134] The frequency domain resources of multiple sub-sites connected to the PCO do not overlap. Please refer to Figure 4E, which is a schematic diagram of a communication link for a power system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4E, the CCO or PCO sends a message to the STA via a downlink (DL) OFDMA link, and the STA sends a message via an uplink (UL) OFDMA link. Alternatively, the link between the CCO and the relay PCO can also be an OFDMA link, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0135] In an OFDMA link, STAs occupying different frequency domain resources can be time-division multiplexed. As shown in Figure 4E , STA1 reports first data (referred to as the first RU message in the figure) using the first resource unit (RU), and STA2 reports second data (referred to as the second RU message in the figure) using the second RU. The first RU message and the second RU message form the first message, which is reported to PCO1.

[0136] Please refer to Figure 4F, which is a structural diagram of a first message provided in an embodiment of the present application. As described in Figure 4F, after the first sub-management site receives the first information, it sends a first scheduling message (trigger message) to multiple sub-sites, corresponding to the triggering stage in Figure 4F, that is, the first sub-management site performs sub-site access processing through the preamble (preamble), performs frame control (FC) detection, etc. Then comes the inter-frame space (IFS) stage. After that, multiple sub-sites perform UL OFDMA transmission. Including RUs transmitted by multiple sub-sites (U0~U3) on different frequency bands, their load (payload, PL) is the collected data reported by the sub-site. These different RUs transmitted in the same time slot are combined into a first message and sent to the first PCO.

[0137] Optionally, the multiple sub-sites of the first sub-management site include a third sub-management site, and the first message further includes collected data reported by the third sub-management site.

[0138] As described above, the third PCO has acquired the collected data in the second time slot. The first PCO can schedule the third PCO to report the collected data in the first time slot. The collected data reported by the third PCO is combined with the collected data reported by other STAs into a first message for upload.

[0139] As can be seen, in this embodiment of the present application, the different resource units uploaded by multiple sub-sites are combined into a first message and uploaded to the sub-management site. This saves time in reporting collected data to the sub-management site, improving data collection efficiency. Furthermore, because the multiple data reported by the sub-sites to the sub-management site are aggregated into a single message, the probability of message conflicts sent to the sub-management site is further reduced, thereby improving data transmission reliability.

[0140] Optionally, the format of the scheduling message sent by the CCO or PCO in the embodiment of the present application can be referred to Table 3:

[0141] Table 3

[0142] As previously described, the terminal device that collects data is a STA. The STA can connect directly to the CCO or to the PCO. The CCO or PCO can send a scheduling message to the STA to obtain collected data. The message format sent to the STA can be as shown in Table 3.

[0143] The "Type" field is included to indicate the corresponding message type. The value of this field can be fixed to "2", indicating that the corresponding message type is "Acknowledgement Frame". Of course, this field can also have other values, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0144] A "Link Access Type" field may also be included to indicate the link access type between the PCO and the STA. In the embodiment of the present application, the value of this field may include "0" to indicate a MAC protocol data unit (MPDU).

[0145] A "network identifier (NID)" field may also be included to identify devices and information flows in the network. For example, in an embodiment of the present application, the NID of the network may represent the PCO and STA and information flows in the communication network.

[0146] A "source TEI" field may also be included, indicating the TEI of the station that sends the message.

[0147] The "target TEI" field may also be included to indicate the TEI of the station of the message. The source TEI or target TEI field may be the TEI corresponding to the PCO or STA.

[0148] The "Message Type" field can also be included to define the type of the dispatch message. A value of "0" indicates a dispatch message sent to the destination TEI site. A value of "1" indicates a data acquisition confirmation message sent by the source TEI site. A value of "2" indicates a non-data acquisition message sent by the destination TEI site, etc.

[0149] The above message may also include other fields, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0150] The embodiment of the present application sets the format of the dispatch message sent to the sub-site through the above Table 3, so that the dispatch message can carry the key information required to represent the collected data from the sub-site, thereby ensuring the effectiveness of the communication process.

[0151] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when the management station schedules the sub-management stations to report collected data, the corresponding time slot is the first time slot, meaning that the management station's scheduling is at the time slot level. However, it should be understood that the time slot level is merely an example of a smaller time unit. Therefore, the time slot in the above embodiment can also be replaced by other smaller time units, such as minutes, seconds, milliseconds, microseconds, etc., or at the symbol level.

[0152] In the above embodiment, STAs support OFDMA technology, and each station can be scheduled in parallel. However, if the STA does not support OFDMA technology, each station can be scheduled serially, and the PCO managing multiple STAs can also be scheduled in parallel by the CCO using reserved time slots. In other words, the above embodiment can also be applied to STAs that do not support OFDMA technology. The relevant description can be found above and will not be repeated here.

[0153] As shown in FIG5 , a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1100, which can be a terminal device, or can be used for, but is not limited to, a terminal device. The communication device 1100 includes a unit for executing the method described in FIG4A to FIG4F . Specifically, the communication device 1100 may include a transceiver unit 1101, which is applied to a first sub-management site, and can be specifically applied to a proxy coordinator PCO.

[0154] The transceiver unit 1101 is configured to receive first information from a management site, where the first information is configured to instruct multiple sub-management sites to acquire collected data within a first time slot;

[0155] The transceiver unit 1101 is further configured to send a first scheduling message, where the first scheduling message is used to instruct at least one sub-station to report collected data within a first time slot.

[0156] Optionally, the at least one sub-site includes a first sub-site, and the transceiver unit 1101 is further configured to receive first data reported by the first sub-site in a first time slot.

[0157] Optionally, the at least one sub-site includes a second sub-site, and the transceiver unit 1101 is further configured to receive first feedback information reported by the second sub-site in a first time slot, where the first feedback information does not include the collected data.

[0158] Optionally, after receiving the first data reported by the first sub-station in the first time slot, the transceiver unit 1101 is further configured to: send second feedback information to the first sub-station, where the second feedback information is used to indicate that the first data has been received.

[0159] Optionally, the first information is further used to instruct the second sub-management site not to acquire the collected data in the first time slot.

[0160] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1101 is further used to: receive second information from the management site, the second information is used to instruct the third sub-management site to obtain collected data in a second time slot, the second time slot is earlier than the first time slot; and forward the second information to the third sub-management site.

[0161] Optionally, the management site is a central coordinator CCO, the sub-management site is a proxy coordinator PCO, and the sub-site is a PCO or a site STA.

[0162] Optionally, the management site, the sub-management site and the sub-site support Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology.

[0163] Alternatively, the communication device 1100 may be applied to a first sub-site, wherein:

[0164] The transceiver unit 1101 is configured to receive a first scheduling message, where the first scheduling message is used to instruct reporting of collected data within a first time slot;

[0165] The transceiver unit 1101 is further configured to report first data to the first sub-management site within a first time slot.

[0166] Optionally, reporting the first data to the first sub-management site includes: reporting the first data to the first sub-management site through a first message, wherein the first message also includes second data reported by the third sub-site.

[0167] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1101 may be deployed in a unit or module capable of transmitting and receiving information, such as a transceiver, a transceiver antenna, an input / output interface, etc. The communication device 1100 may further include a processing unit 1102, which may be or may be deployed in a processor.

[0168] As shown in FIG6 , FIG6 shows a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device 1300 in an embodiment of the present application. The structure of the communication device 1100 can refer to the structure shown in FIG6 . The communication device 1300 includes: a processor 111 and a transceiver 112, wherein the processor 111 and the transceiver 112 are electrically coupled;

[0169] The processor 111 is configured to execute part or all of the computer program instructions in the memory. When the part or all of the computer program instructions are executed, the device executes the method described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0170] The transceiver 112 is used to communicate with other devices; for example, the central coordinator CCO sends first information, and the first information is used to instruct multiple sites to report collected data in the first time slot, and the multiple sites include the first site.

[0171] Optionally, a memory 113 is also included for storing computer program instructions. Optionally, the memory 113 (memory #1) is located within the device, the memory 113 (memory #2) is integrated with the processor 111, or the memory 113 (memory #3) is located outside the device.

[0172] It should be understood that the communication device 1300 shown in FIG6 may be a chip or circuit. For example, the chip or circuit may be provided within a terminal device or a communication device. The transceiver 112 may also be a communication interface. A transceiver includes a receiver and a transmitter. Furthermore, the communication device 1300 may also include a bus system.

[0173] Among them, the processor 111, memory 113, and transceiver 112 are connected via a bus system. The processor 111 is used to execute instructions stored in the memory 113 to control the transceiver to receive and transmit signals, thereby completing the steps of the transmitting end or the receiving end in the implementation method involved in this application. The memory 113 can be integrated into the processor 111 or set separately from the processor 111.

[0174] As an implementation method, the functions of the transceiver 112 can be implemented by a transceiver circuit or a dedicated transceiver chip. The processor 111 can be implemented by a dedicated processing chip, a processing circuit, a processor, or a general-purpose chip. The processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor can further include a hardware chip or other general-purpose processor. The above-mentioned hardware chip can be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The above-mentioned PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), and other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc., or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0175] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0176] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program includes instructions for executing the method corresponding to the first device or the second device in the above embodiment.

[0177] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method corresponding to the first device or the second device in the above embodiment.

[0178] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0179] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0180] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0181] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0182] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0183] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0184] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0185] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A data collection method, characterized in that: Applied to the first sub-management site, the method includes: Receiving first information from a management site, the first information is used to instruct multiple sub-management sites to acquire collected data in a first time slot, the multiple sub-management sites including a first sub-management site; A first scheduling message is sent, where the first scheduling message is used to instruct at least one sub-station to report collected data in the first time slot.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The at least one sub-site includes a first sub-site, and the method further includes: receiving first data reported by the first sub-site in the first time slot.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The at least one sub-site includes a second sub-site, and the method further includes: receiving first feedback information reported by the second sub-site in the first time slot, wherein the first feedback information does not include the collected data.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: After receiving the first data reported by the first sub-station in the first time slot, the method further includes: Second feedback information is sent to the first sub-station, where the second feedback information is used to indicate that the first data has been received.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The first information is also used to instruct the second sub-management site not to acquire collected data within the first time slot.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving second information from the management site, where the second information is used to instruct the third sub-management site to acquire collected data in a second time slot, where the second time slot is earlier than the first time slot; The second information is forwarded to the third sub-management site.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The management site is a central coordinator CCO, the sub-management site is a proxy coordinator PCO, and the sub-site is a PCO or a site STA.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The management site, the sub-management site and the sub-site support Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology.

9. A data collection method, characterized in that: Applied to the first subsite, the method includes: receiving a first scheduling message, wherein the first scheduling message is used to instruct to report collected data in a first time slot; Report first data to the first sub-management site within the first time slot.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The reporting the first data to the first sub-management site includes: The first data is reported to the first sub-management site through a first message, and the first message also includes the second data reported by the third sub-site.

11. A data acquisition device, characterized in that: Applied to the first sub-management site, the device comprises: a transceiver unit, configured to receive first information from a management site, wherein the first information is used to instruct a plurality of sub-management sites to acquire collected data in a first time slot, wherein the plurality of sub-management sites include the first sub-management site; The transceiver unit is further used to send a first scheduling message, where the first scheduling message is used to instruct at least one sub-station to report collected data within the first time slot.

12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that The at least one sub-site includes a first sub-site, and the transceiver unit is further used to: receive first data reported by the first sub-site in the first time slot.

13. The device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that The at least one sub-site includes a second sub-site, and the transceiver unit is further used to: receive first feedback information reported by the second sub-site in the first time slot, wherein the first feedback information does not include the collected data.

14. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that: After receiving the first data reported by the first sub-station in the first time slot, the transceiver unit is further used to: Second feedback information is sent to the first sub-station, where the second feedback information is used to indicate that the first data has been received.

15. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that: The first information is also used to instruct the second sub-management site not to acquire collected data within the first time slot.

16. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that: The transceiver unit is also used for: receiving second information from the management site, where the second information is used to instruct the third sub-management site to acquire collected data in a second time slot, where the second time slot is earlier than the first time slot; The second information is forwarded to the third sub-management site.

17. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that: The management site is a central coordinator CCO, the sub-management site is a proxy coordinator PCO, and the sub-site is a PCO or a site STA.

18. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 17, characterized in that: The management site, the sub-management site and the sub-site support Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology.

19. A data acquisition device, characterized in that: Applied to the first sub-site, the device includes: receiving a first scheduling message, wherein the first scheduling message is used to instruct to report collected data in a first time slot; Report first data to the first sub-management site within the first time slot.

20. The device according to claim 19, characterized in that The reporting the first data to the first sub-management site includes: The first data is reported to the first sub-management site through a first message, and the first message also includes the second data reported by the third sub-site.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 9 to 10.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium comprises instructions, which, when executed, enable the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 to be implemented, or enable the method according to any one of claims 9 to 10 to be implemented.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, which, when executed, enable the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 to be implemented, or enable the method according to any one of claims 9 to 10 to be implemented.

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