【 Weak current College 】 domestic IC card meter status and development trend

IC card water meter has been 10 years old. 10 years, IC card meter has undergone rapid improvement from scratch, and gradually mature. At present, the Chinese have full intellectual property rights of metering and settlement product development can be said to have reached a relatively complete, basic practical phase, as all kinds of smart metering instruments the most mature in technology, market development the most widely used, installed, the simplest and most convenient a product. Its technical capabilities and functional characteristics and the vast majority of regional economic development level of adaptation, one of the other types of smart metering instruments that cannot be compared. Therefore, when other types of smart metering instruments also discuss the pros and cons of the various programmes, IC card meter has a huge user community.

A, and other types of smart metering instruments, IC card meter of advantages and disadvantages

At present, various types of smart metering instruments in the market for beauty. Division of information transmission, can generally be divided into remote meter, IC card meter and code meter. Code meter, information transmission in the original, action, general user not cumbersome does not classify smart metering instruments, this article does not make the comparison.

Large, IC card meter has four distinct advantages are other other types of smart metering instruments that cannot be replaced by:

1. direct user transparency. How much water is used, how many charges deducted, users want to see when they come to see, want to see how long it will take depends on how long the transparency achieved satisfaction makes direct users to feel at ease.
2, direct users to engage in sex. When paying, the number of charges, the initiative has a direct users. No longer is detained for many fastening, the managing departments; early hand cannot, late submission fails completely passive situation.
3. installation of convenience. It's not like the dedicated remote meter needs through wall wiring hole, and you don't have to like a wireless remote metering table requires repeated adjustment concentrator locations, or like a low-voltage power line carrier transmission meter like Powerline lead connections. Basically connected line or lines can be used after.
4. real-time settlement, particularly in available price ladder (or time-of-use pricing, time-of-gas price, etc.) in real time.

On management departments and managers have a deep-seated distrust of direct users, use the machine measurement, machine clearing, holding the card to pay, how much, how many are not subject to management and management control, this is a way of change, is the psychological release, the IC card meter to direct users to the use of value.

IC card meter also has the following to be ignored for birth defects:

1. data feedback is not timely, management cannot use water data in real time statistics.
2. data transmission automation, networking of not enough.

IC card meter of advantages and drawbacks, determines its market orientation and improvement of direction.

Second, the current product status

Overall, the current IC card meter in the entire industry has essentially solved the valve reliability, durability, battery low power circuit design and anti-jamming design consistency issues, trends and the value of products began. Product features are very similar, the gradual convergence. The competition between manufacturers of products, research and development components, production organization, management and quality control of components. The pros and cons of the product quality and stability of the competition, has started production of size, level of modernization of production and management methods of the advanced nature and effectiveness of the decision. This is the sign of the maturing industry.

This maturation is an ever-closer to the goal, much remains to be done. There are three main areas:

1, to really solve the IC card meter of reliability and durability issues;
2. in order to solve data security and data interface standardization;
3, to try to solve data feedback real-time and network problems.

About IC card meter reliability and durability issues, expressed in the first, the complete machine failure rate remains high, the average time between failures (MTBF) less to achieve 5 x 104, unsatisfactory. Second, product batch consistency and coherence of industry can meet advanced standard, quality control costs. Important reason is that many of the parts, components need improvement and innovation.

1, valve. Valve is a key part of IC card meter is long inhibited the development of IC card meter. Domestic IC card meter valve from pilot valve development to electric ball valve and electric ceramic valve, it is now practical problems initially solved. But the required control of energy and power supply still does not match, their long-term stability and reliability are improved and innovative space.
2, power. Power is also the key IC card meter is restricting the part of IC card meter development of bottlenecks. IC card meter now widespread use of the power supply is typically disposable batteries, lithium-battery. This type of battery performance of small current discharge and driven electric ball valve or electric ceramic valve required large current contradictions between. General reconcile method is to activate the battery regularly, keep it can produce high-current status. But the activation energy consumption will shorten battery life. Furthermore, the battery lifetime of late is activated or activation mode is the same with the earlier stage, there are many uncertain factors. Resolving power durability and reliability issues, and to resolve environmental problems, is the power supply IC card meter industry must face an important topic.
3, the base table. Current IC card meter measurement part, remains the traditional speed mechanical water meters. In terms of cost control was very demanding, this is certainly a better able to accept the solution. However, this kind of measurement part accuracy and life, and IC card can not be compared to other parts of water meters. Now the IC card meter and previous mechanical and electrical integration of IC card electricity meters, should only be a yield to the prevailing market and costs of transition. Development of long-life high accuracy, or base tables and long-life high accuracy of full-electronic IC card meter, must surely be the IC card water meters in the direction of the industry.
4. sampling method. Now IC card meter popular picks-Like manner, is still a Reed pipe and Hall devices, known as a magnetic sampling. Cheap, low power consumption, long life, simple, reliable is it to the root causes of the epidemic. Vulnerable to an attack; and measurement of the magnetic base interaction force is big, the launching in flow, base effects is their common shortcomings. Development is not affected by magnetic attacks, and measurement of the base table without forcing or force is small, the effect on the base table Holter monitoring flow ignored and cheap, low power consumption, long life, reliable sampling is a practitioner.

Data security and data interface standardization problem water meter, IC card has not been adequate attention in the industry that the current IC card meter market only to follow the IC card cold water meter "standards, at the expense of data security and data interface standard. Different manufacturers of products that are incompatible with each other, cannot substitute for each other; data security measures and prohibitions, you cannot test, no supervision; product features varied, not common management platform. These are industry is not very mature support, also affect the industry further obstacles to development.

Real-time data feedback and networking is incomplete, the IC card meter 2 structural defects. From the perspective of information transmission, IC card is information carriers, IC card in management information systems and the table with the movement between information constitute an artificial channel. Because of this artificial channel arbitrary and not controllable, causing the two defects. IC card meter industry only face problems, propose solutions to overcome the defects, to open up a broader market. Ostrich policy has no way out. Currently, manufacturers to address this issue than a certain number of attempts. But because of unclear significance testing, plus the pilot scale sufficient to attract attention, show enough, so the effect is not noticeable, not much impact.

Third, the development direction

1, IC card meter represents a management mode. This management model makes management and user interaction, to mobility between user involvement in the management of the initiative, conducive to the rational use of water resources and conservation of water resources. Its advantages are the other management methods (such as remote water meter) is not simple to achieve, and China's economic development and social psychology. IC card meter will continue to rapidly to the advanced stage of development.
2. gradually unified security level. Unified data interface, unified basic functionality, unified transaction process, is an inevitable development of IC card meter. It can be said that the water meter current IC card industry only preliminary reached the usefulness of the device hardware, hardware will continue to improve and innovate software more to engage the specifications and compatibility, a long way to go. Data security, data interfaces, complete with a card transaction process and basic features of reunification, already proposed. At present there are a certain number of requirements in accordance with four integrated manufacturing of CPU card meter is running. Whether from a manufacturing perspective or from the use of perspective, the IC card meter are initially shown vitality. Manufacturers and users from the original on the manufacturing cost concerns, along with SAM module and CPU card costs progressively reduced. Statistics show that this kind of table failure rate and low maintenance, saving the cost of the service may be part of the increase in raw material cost compensation.
3, in the IC card meter data remote install, implement the interface information real-time feedback to enable data transfer automation and networking. Real-time data transfer requires not only the management must also be information society on basic management information sources must, IC Card Designer and producer of the meter cannot and will not shy away from. Therefore, adding data remote transmission interface, increased data remote transmission function is to enhance the vitality of IC card meter, and expand the market share of improvement.

IC card settlement and basic management data remote transmission combination of style, you can have the figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1 shows the system is an IC card settlement and basic management data remote transmission two features of superposition system, product cost IC card meter slightly increased, but the system functioning is not affected by the communication lines (channel), interference or failure, and more reliable.

Figure 2 shows the system is an IC card settlement and basic management data remote transmission two features of the organic integration of concentrator all table with sharing a set of IC card read-write unit and display unit, resulting in a lower-cost, high performance-price ratio, but the system functioning vulnerable communication lines (channel), interference or failure.