Method for collecting data and sensor, data collector and measurement data information network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11425473-B2
Application number	US-201916715060-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 16, 2019
Priority date	Dec 14, 2018
Publication date	Aug 23, 2022
Grant date	Aug 23, 2022

Abstract

A method collects data via a sensor being part of a supply network which distributes a consumable. The sensor contains a measuring element which provides elementary measuring units, which correspond to a variable or a parameter, as raw measurement data, where consumption data are generated from the elementary measuring units. The sensor has a communication device and a storage device. To determine the measurement resolution of the sensor, the conditions for generating time stamps are determined using a correlation model. Time stamps of successive raw measurement data are generated in the sensor based on the correlation model, the time stamps are transmitted via a wired connection and/or via a radio path, with the result that the raw measurement data acquired by the measuring element are reconstructed and evaluated on the basis of the time stamps using the correlation model. The consumption data are transmitted in parallel with the time stamps.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for collecting data during operation of at least one local sensor being part of a supply network intended to distribute a consumable, wherein the at least one local sensor containing a communication device, a storage device, and a measuring element providing elementary measuring units corresponding to at least one physical or physico-chemical variable or at least one physical or physico-chemical parameter, as raw measurement data, which comprises the steps of:
generating consumption data from the elementary measuring units;
determining conditions for generating time stamps in advance using a correlation model in order to determine a measurement resolution of the at least one local sensor;
generating the time stamps of the raw measurement data in the at least one local sensor on a basis of the correlation model;
transmitting the time stamps via a wired connection and/or via a radio path, with a result that the raw measurement data acquired by the measuring element are reconstructed and evaluated on a basis of the time stamps using the correlation model;
transmitting, via a primary communication path, the consumption data in parallel with the time stamps, the at least one local sensor being connected to a data collector via the primary communication path;
providing a tertiary communication path between the data collector and a head end;
at least one of collecting, storing or evaluating the time stamps and/or the consumption data transmitted by the at least one local sensor and/or consumption meters in the data collector and/or the head end;
transmitting the time stamps and the consumption data via different transmission paths or via different radio paths, a plurality of the time stamps being transmitted as a data packet along the primary communication path, the time stamps being compressed; and
carrying out a new data transmission in a form of a message or a telegram as soon as a predefined quantity of the time stamps since a previous transmission has been reached.

2. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises packaging the time stamps by formatting them in data packets of a predetermined fixed size, wherein, each time an accumulated data reach a size of a data packet or a predefined interval of time has expired, a new transmission is initiated.

3. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises:
determining a particular value, a particular value change or a particular value difference of the at least one physical or physico-chemical variable or the at least one physical or physico-chemical parameter within a scope of the correlation model for an assignment of a time stamp; and
triggering and storing the time stamp in the storage device of the at least one local sensor if the particular value, the particular value change or the particular value difference is captured by the measuring element.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a gradually or incrementally increasing meter reading and/or a value table is/are represented by means of the time stamps within a scope of the correlation model.

5. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises providing the time stamps with a sign.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein an elementary measuring unit of the elementary measuring units generates a time stamp as soon as the elementary measuring unit receives a pulse.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the compression of the time stamps is carried out in a loss-free manner.

8. The method according to claim 7 , which further comprises storing compressed time stamps in a head end and the time stamps are decompressed as necessary.

9. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises carrying out a compression of the time stamps with a predefined permissible loss level.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the consumption data are not compressed.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the physical or chemico-physical parameters are characteristic of a quantity, quality and/or composition of a fluid which flows through the local sensor or with which contact is made by the latter.

12. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises transmitting the consumption data to a mobile reading module and transmitting the time stamps to a data collector via a primary communication path.

13. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises combining the consumption data and the time stamps.

14. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises carrying out a data transmission with redundancy.

15. The method according to claim 14 , which further comprises achieving the redundancy in the data transmission by repeatedly transmitting same ones of the time stamps and/or repeatedly transmitting a same data packet in a plurality of successive transmission operations.

16. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises comparing the consumption data and the time stamps in order to carry out a consistency check.

17. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises using the consumption data to compensate for missing and/or incorrect time stamps.

18. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the elementary measuring units are electrical voltage or current intensity.

19. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a measured physical variable relates to a supply medium.

20. The method according to claim 1 , which further comprises generating a raw measurement data stream on a basis of the time stamps arriving at the data collector and/or at the head end using the correlation model.

21. The method according to claim 20 , which further comprises evaluating the raw measurement data stream in a further course of data processing, on a time-historical basis without a time gap irrespective of the measurement resolution of the local sensor.

22. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the raw measurement data stream has a temporal resolution which is determined or conditioned by a sensor sampling rate or measuring element sampling rate or a multiple thereof.

23. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the raw measurement data stream is continuous and/or complete taking a continuous temporal resolution as a basis.

24. A measurement data information network, comprising:
a head end; and
at least one local sensor for generating and/or forwarding time stamps of raw measurement data on a basis of a correlation model, measured values from the raw measurement data are evaluated in said head end, said at least one local sensor configured to operated in accordance with the method according to claim 1 .

25. The measurement data information network according to claim 24 , further comprising at least one data collector configured to perform the method according to claim 1 .

26. The measurement data information network according to claim 24 , wherein a raw measurement data stream to be evaluated in said head end is continuous and/or complete taking a continuous temporal resolution as a basis.

27. A data collector configured to perform the method according to claim 1 .

28. A sensor configured to perform the method according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Diehl Metering Systems Gmbh
• Diehl Metering S A S

Inventors

• Joppich-Dohlus Petra
• Kauppert Thomas
• Schmidt Achim
• Schmitz Stefan
• Sosna Christoph
• Gottschalk Klaus
• Bach Guy
• Breton Aster

Classifications

• G01D9/005

  Solid-state data loggers · CPC title

• H04Q2209/60

  for transmitting utility meters data, i.e. transmission of data from the reader of the utility meter · CPC title

• G08C17/02 Primary

  using a radio link · CPC title

• H04Q2209/40

  using a wireless architecture · CPC title

• H04W84/18

  Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks · CPC title