【導讀】力負荷監(jiān)測、控制系統(tǒng)已在一些地區(qū)投入使用，取得了較好的效果。用戶由于數(shù)量多，地域分布廣，電力公司的抄表工作量相當大。收費自動化和小區(qū)物業(yè)管理智能化的技術(shù)應用。本文討論了數(shù)據(jù)采集器和數(shù)據(jù)集。中器的軟硬件設計，并對低壓電力線網(wǎng)絡的特性等進行了分析。的基本原理的基礎(chǔ)上，較詳細地介紹了電力載波遠程抄表系統(tǒng)的具體實現(xiàn)方案，包括硬件模塊和管理軟件。迅速發(fā)展的通信技術(shù)已經(jīng)成為人。化的一個重要手段和組成部分。通過自動抄表可以實現(xiàn)自動、集中、定時地抄錄。電費結(jié)算，為供電部門的用電監(jiān)察提供服務。人增效、提高經(jīng)濟效益的技術(shù)措施和手段。集中抄表的媒介可以有低壓電力線、雙絞線、同軸電纜等。這些通信線路，雖然通信容量較大，但造價高、維護難，尤其對老。重新架設線路的麻煩，而且可最大限度地發(fā)揮電力系統(tǒng)的優(yōu)勢。量的人力、物力和財力。態(tài)，并由管理中心計算機顯示〔2〕。此外智能采集器預留多個數(shù)字采集端口，可。安全防護系統(tǒng)留有接口。

　　

【正文】 er reading by installing fixed munication works that would allow data to flow from the meter all the way to the host system without human intervention. These fixed munications works can operate using wire line or radio technology. FIG. 1 shows a conventional fixed munication work for automated meter reading AMR technology. As shown in FIG. 1, a fixed munication work having wire line technology in which utility meters 10 are connected to a wide area work WAN consisting of a suitable munications medium, including ordinary telephone lines, or the power lines that feed the meters themselves. One disadvantage of this approach has been that when a number of meters transmit meter data nearly simultaneously, the inherent latency on the wide area work results in packet collisions, lost data, garbled data, and general degradation of integrity across the system. To pensate for the collisions and interference between data packages destined for the central puter, due to the latency inherent in the WAN, various management schemes have been employed to ensure reliable delivery of the meter data. However, while this approach may be suitable for small systems, it does not serve the needs of a utility which monitors thousands or even millions of meters. In an attempt to better manage the traffic in the WAN, approaches have been developed wherein meter control devices similar to those described above have been programmed to transmit meter data in response to mands received from the central puter via the WAN. By limiting the number of meter reading mands transmitted at a given time, the central puter controls the volume of data transmitted simultaneously. However, the additional WAN traffic further aggravated the degradation of data integrity due to various WAN latency effects. Thus, while these approaches may serve to eliminate the need for human meter readers, reliance on the WAN has proven these approaches to be unsatisfactory for servicing the number of meters in the typical service region. Consequently, radio technology has tended to be the medium of choice due to its higher data rates and independence of the distribution work. The latest evolution of automated meter reading systems have made use of outbound RF munications from a fixed source usually the utility39。s central station , directly to RF receivers mounted on the meters. The meters are also equipped with control devices which initiate the transfer of meter data when manded to do so by the fixed source. The meters respond via a WAN as in the previous wirebased example. One disadvantage of these approaches is that there is still far too much interference on the WAN when all of the meters respond at about the same time. Thus, while these approaches reduce some of the WAN traffic by eliminating outbound mands over the WAN , they are still unable to acmodate the large number of meters being polled. It is worthy of note that the wirebased systems typically use a single frequency channel and allow the impedance and transfer characteristics of the transformers in the substation to prevent injection equipment in one station from interfering with receivers in another station. This builtin isolation in the work makes time division multiplexing less critical than for radio based metering systems. Typical fixed work radio systems also utilize a single channel to read all meters but the systems do not have a natural blocking point similar to the substation transformer utilized by distribution line carrier DLC works. Also, the latency inherent in the WAN has contributed significantly to the problems associated with time division multiplexing a single frequency munications systems. As a result, the systems require sophisticated management schemes to time division multiplex the channel for optimal utilization. Therefore, a need exists to provide a system whereby a utility pany can reliably and rapidly read on the order of one million meters in the absence of any significant human intervention. Further, a need exists to provide such a system which acmodates changes to the work as well as changes in operating conditions without significant degradation of performance. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention fulfills these needs by providing an automated meter reading system having a host server interfaced to a plurality of nodes, each node municating with a number of utility meters. In a preferred embodiment, the system has a selection means for selecting a group of noninterfering nodes。 and an outbound RF broadcast channel from the host server for municating with the selected group to initiate the reading of meters that municate with those nodes and the uploading of meter data provided by those meters to those nodes. This outbound RF broadcast channel can be an existing channel currently being used for demand side management. In a preferred embodiment, the system also has a twoway munication link over a wide area work between the host server and each of the nodes. In a more preferred embodiment, the host server receives meter data read from at least one million meters in no more than about five minutes. In yet another preferred embodiment, the system also has a number of gateways, each municating with a plurality of nodes, grouped to form sets of noninterfering gateways. In this embodiment, the system also has a selection means for selecting one of the sets of noninterfering gateways, and a second outbound RF broadcast channel from the host server for municating with the selected set to initiate uploading of meter data from the selected set to the host server. This second outbound RF broadcast channel can be an existing channel currently being used for demand side management. The present invention further fulfills th