Patent Publication Number: US-2020295964-A1

Title: Gas fee notification method based on compound internet of things (iot) and iot system

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to the field of Internet of Things (IoT), and in particular to a gas fee notification method based on a compound IoT and an IoT system. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In order to advocate the social spirit of energy conservation and environmental protection, a tiered pricing policy is pushed forward by the government for gas charging to encourage a citizen and an enterprise to save gas. However, in the process of a gas user to use the gas, the user cannot get to know directly in time when a gas consumption amount enters a next pricing tier, and knows which tier the gas consumption is located only when settling a gas fee every month or every quarter, which does not have obvious effect to advocate the gas saving. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of this, an objective of the present invention is to provide a gas fee notification method based on a compound IoT and an IoT system to notify a user in time when a charging standard for a gas consumption amount of the user changes. 
     To this end, the technical solutions adopted by the present invention are as follows: 
     According to a first aspect, the present invention provides a gas fee notification method based on a compound IoT; the method is applied to an IoT system; the IoT system comprises a user platform, a plurality of service sub-platforms, a management platform, a sensor network platform and a plurality of object sub-platforms; each of the object sub-platforms comprises a gas meter; and the method comprises: 
     capturing, by the management platform, a latest tiered pricing policy from the plurality of service sub-platforms at a preset time interval; 
     obtaining, by the management platform, a pricing rule according to the captured tiered pricing policy; 
     sending, by the management platform, the pricing rule to each of the gas meters via the sensor network platform; 
     judging, by each of the gas meters, whether or not a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes according to the read gas data and received pricing rule; 
     when a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes, sending, by a gas meter, a change signal to the management platform via the sensor network platform, where the change signal includes gas data read by the gas meter; and 
     in response to the change signal, sending, by the management platform, tiered pricing change information to the user platform via at least one of the plurality of service sub-platforms. 
     Further, the method includes: 
     sending, by each of the object sub-platforms, gas data of a gas meter to the management platform via the sensor network platform according to predetermined time; 
     collating, by the management platform, gas data of a plurality of gas meters to obtain a gas consumption chart; 
     respectively labeling, by the management platform, gas data of each gas meter in the gas consumption chart to generate a customized gas consumption chart of each gas meter; and 
     sending, by the management platform, each of the customized gas consumption charts to the user platform via at least one of the plurality of service sub-platforms. 
     Further, the gas consumption chart includes a gas data average value, a gas data maximum value and a gas data minimum value for the plurality of data meters in a unit time. 
     Further, the plurality of service sub-platforms include at least one of a gas company service platform, a government service platform or a social operator service platform. 
     Further, each of the gas meters corresponds to an identifier, and the change signal includes an identifier of the gas meter. 
     According to a second aspect, the present invention further provides an IoT system; the IoT system includes a user platform, a plurality of service sub-platforms, a management platform, a sensor network platform and a plurality of object sub-platforms; the plurality of object sub-platforms are communicatively connected with the management platform via the sensor network platform; the management platform is communicatively connected with the plurality of service sub-platforms; the plurality of service sub-platforms are communicatively connected with the user platform; and each of the object sub-platforms includes a gas meter; 
     the management platform is configured to capture a latest tiered pricing policy from the plurality of service sub-platforms at a preset time interval, obtain a pricing rule according to the captured tiered pricing policy, and send the pricing rule to each of the gas meters via the sensor network platform; 
     each of the gas meters is configured to judge whether or not a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes according to the read gas data and received pricing rule; 
     when a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes, a gas meter sends a change signal to the management platform via the sensor network platform, where the change signal includes gas data read by the gas meter; and 
     the management platform sends, in response to the change signal, tiered pricing change information to the user platform via at least one of the plurality of service sub-platforms. 
     Further, each of the object sub-platforms is further configured to send gas data of a gas meter to the management platform via the sensor network platform according to predetermined time; and 
     the management platform is configured to collate gas data of a plurality of gas meters to obtain a gas consumption chart, respectively label gas data of each gas meter in the gas consumption chart to generate a customized gas consumption chart of each gas meter, and send each of the customized gas consumption charts to the user platform via at least one of the plurality of service sub-platforms. 
     Further, the gas consumption chart includes a gas data average value, a gas data maximum value and a gas data minimum value for the plurality of data meters in a unit time. 
     Further, the plurality of service sub-platforms include at least one of a gas company service platform, a government service platform or a social operator service platform. 
     Further, each of the gas meters corresponds to an identifier, and the change signal includes an identifier of the gas meter. 
     The present invention provides a gas fee notification method based on a compound IoT and an IoT system. The IoT system includes a user platform, a plurality of service sub-platforms, a management platform, a sensor network platform and a plurality of object sub-platforms; and each of the object sub-platforms includes a gas meter. The method includes: capturing, by the management platform, a latest tiered pricing policy from the plurality of service sub-platforms at a preset time interval; obtaining, by the management platform, a pricing rule according to the captured tiered pricing policy; sending, by the management platform, the pricing rule to each of the gas meters via the sensor network platform; judging, by each of the gas meters, whether or not a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes according to the read gas data and received pricing rule; when a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes, sending, by a gas meter, a change signal to the management platform via the sensor network platform, where the change signal includes gas data read by the gas meter; and in response to the change signal, sending, by the management platform, tiered pricing change information to the user platform via at least one of the plurality of service sub-platforms. By obtaining the latest tiered pricing policy and in combination with a gas consumption amount of a user to judge whether or not a pricing tier for the gas consumption amount of the user at present changes, and to remind the user when the pricing tier changes, the present invention helps the user know a gas consumption condition in time and plan the gas usage, thereby advocating the spirit of energy conservation and environmental protection. 
     To make the above objectives, characteristics and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, preferred embodiments are set forth hereinafter and are described below in detail in combination with accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, a clear and complete description of the technical solutions in the present invention will be given below in combination with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the embodiments described below are a part, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Generally, a component, described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in the embodiments of the present invention may be disposed and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description concerning the embodiments of the present invention and provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit a claimed scope of the present invention, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention. All of the other embodiments, obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without any inventive efforts, fall into the protection scope of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a compositional schematic diagram of an IoT system provided by an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a flowchart of a gas fee notification method based on a compound IoT provided by an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a diagram of an application scenario of a gas fee notification method based on a compound IoT provided by an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a diagram of an application scenario of a gas fee notification method based on a compound IoT provided by an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Numerals in the drawings:  100 -IoT system;  10 -user platform;  20 -service sub-platform;  30 -management platform;  40 -sensor network platform;  50 -object sub-platform. 
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     A clear and complete description of the technical solutions in the present invention will be given below in combination with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the embodiments described below are a part, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Generally, a component, described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in the embodiments of the present invention may be disposed and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description concerning the embodiments of the present invention and provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit a claimed scope of the present invention, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention. All of the other embodiments, obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without any inventive efforts, fall into the protection scope of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a gas fee notification method based on a compound IoT provided by an embodiment of the present invention is applied to an IoT system  100 . The IoT system  100  includes a user platform  10 , a plurality of service sub-platforms  20 , a management platform  30 , a sensor network platform  40  and a plurality of object sub-platforms  50 . Herein, the plurality of object sub-platforms  50  may be communicatively connected with the management platform  30  via the sensor network platform  40  to send data of the object sub-platforms  50  to the management platform  30 , or receive a signal sent by the management platform  30 . Each of the object sub-platforms  50  includes a gas meter. A plurality of gas meters may be gas meters in a residence community or an apartment building. The management platform  30  is communicatively connected with the plurality of service sub-platforms  20 . In this embodiment, the service sub-platforms  20  include at least one of a gas company service platform, a government service platform or a social operator service platform. The service sub-platforms  20  are communicatively connected with the user platform  10 , and are configured to push information sent by the management platform  30  to the user platform  10 . In this embodiment, the user platform  10  may be a server of a property management center of the residence community or a server of a property management center of the apartment building. The management platform  30  and the service sub-platforms  20  each may be a server. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the gas fee notification method based on the compound IoT includes the following steps: 
     Step S 1 , a management platform captures a latest tiered pricing policy from a plurality of service sub-platforms at a preset time interval. 
     As a tiered pricing policy may change, in this embodiment of the present invention, the management platform  30  captures the latest tiered pricing policy from the service sub-platforms  20  at intervals, such as from an official website of a government service platform, or from a portal website of a gas company service platform, or from a public webpage of a social operator service platform. The capture frequency can be set based on an actual situation, e.g., the management platform  30  may be set to capture the latest tiered pricing policy from the service sub-platforms  20  every other day. 
     Step S 2 , the management platform obtains a pricing rule according to the captured tiered pricing policy. 
     The tiered pricing policy obtained by the management platform  30  is usually described in words and cannot be recognized by a computer. Therefore, the management platform  30  needs to “translate” the tiered pricing policy into a computer-identifiable pricing rule, such as a formula. 
     Step S 3 , the management platform sends the pricing rule to each of the gas meters via the sensor network platform. 
     In this embodiment, the sensor network platform  40  may be a gateway, and a plurality of gas meters communicate with the management platform  30  via one gateway to complete data interaction. 
     Step S 4 , each of the gas meters judges whether or not a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes according to the read gas data and received pricing rule. 
     Each of the gas meters reads gas data used by a user in real time, and judges, upon the reception of the pricing rule sent by the management platform  30 , according to the current gas data, whether or not a tier where a gas consumption amount used by the user at present is located changes compared with a previous judgment result. For example, when the previous gas data of a gas meter is 100 m 3  and the pricing tier is a first tier; however, in this time of judgment, the gas data is 150 m 3  and the pricing tier changes to a second tier. It may be determined by the gas meter that the tier where the gas consumption amount of the user is located has changed. 
     Step S 5 , when a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes, a gas meter sends a change signal to the management platform via the sensor network platform, where the change signal includes gas data read by the gas meter. 
     Upon the judgment of that a gas consumption amount of a user changes, a gas meter needs to instruct the management platform  30  to facilitate the processing of the management platform  30 . 
     Step S 6 , the management platform sends, in response to the change signal, tiered pricing change information to the user platform via at least one of the plurality of service sub-platforms. 
     After the management platform  30  knows that a tier for a gas consumption amount of a user changes, it may push tiered pricing change information to the user platform  10  via the gas company service platform or the government service platform. 
     The user platform  10  is a user terminal. In this embodiment, the user terminal may be a general electronic device such as a Personal Computer (PC), a smartphone, a tablet computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Mobile Internet Device (MID), and the like. 
     It is easily understood that the owner of the plurality of gas meters is a same user. Each of the gas meters is provided with a unique identifier, such as a number, an ID and a two-dimensional code. A user terminal of a user is associated with a gas meter and a corresponding table therebetween may be stored in the management platform  30 , so that an identifier of the gas meter is associated with identifiable information, such as a telephone number and a software account number, of the user terminal. It is easily understood that after the management platform  30  sends the tiered pricing change information to the user platform  10 , the user may know that the pricing tier for the gas consumption amount at present changes and then the user adjusts a gas consumption strategy in time to save the gas. 
     In this embodiment, with adoption of the technical solutions, when the pricing tier for the gas consumption amount of the user changes, the pricing tier change information is sent to the user platform  10 . It is to be noted that, in other embodiments, when the gas consumption amount of the user is close to a gas consumption amount at which a pricing tier changes, prompt information may be sent to the user platform  10  to prompt that the pricing tier is to change, which is not limited by the present invention. 
     Through the above steps, the gas fee notification method based on the compound IoT provided by this embodiment of the present invention may remind the user in time when the pricing tier for the gas consumption amount of the user changes, and help the user know a gas consumption condition in time and plan the gas usage, thereby advocating the social spirit of energy conservation and environmental protection. 
     In addition, the gas fee notification method based on the compound IoT provided by this embodiment of the present invention may further push a gas consumption condition of a residence community or an area where the user is located to the user, which may be implemented via the following steps. 
     Step S 7 , each of the object sub-platforms sends gas data of a gas meter to the management platform via the sensor network platform according to predetermined time. 
     The predetermined time described herein may be set freely and may be, for example, set at 7:00 pm every day. 
     Step S 8 , the management platform collates gas data of a plurality of gas meters to obtain a gas consumption chart. 
     The content of the gas consumption chart may be collated based on an actual demand. For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the gas consumption chart may include a gas data average value, a gas data maximum value and a gas data minimum value for the plurality of data meters in a unit time. 
     Step S 9 , the management platform respectively labels gas data of each gas meter in the gas consumption chart to generate a customized gas consumption chart of each gas meter. 
     After the gas consumption chart is generated, it is possible that the gas consumption chart is not intuitive to the user and thus a gas consumption data situation of the user may be labeled in the gas consumption chart. It is easily understood that only gas data of a corresponding gas meter is labeled on each customized gas consumption chart, as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     Step S 10 , the management platform sends each of the customized gas consumption charts to the user platform via at least one of the plurality of service sub-platforms. 
     By sending each of the customized gas consumption charts to a user terminal of a user, the user may conveniently know a gas consumption level in a residence community or an area where he/she is located and know a position where the own gas consumption amount is located in the residence community or the area, thereby adjusting a gas consumption strategy and promoting the user to develop a gas saving habit. 
     In conclusion, the embodiment of the present invention provides a gas fee notification method based on a compound IoT and an IoT system. The IoT system includes a user platform, a plurality of service sub-platforms, a management platform, a sensor network platform and a plurality of object sub-platforms; each of the object sub-platforms includes a gas meter; and each of the gas meters is associated with a user terminal. The method includes: a management platform captures a latest tiered pricing policy from a plurality of service sub-platforms at a preset time interval; the management platform obtains a pricing rule according to the captured tiered pricing policy; the management platform sends the pricing rule to each of the gas meters via the sensor network platform; each of the gas meters judges whether or not a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes according to the read gas data and received pricing rule; when a tier where a gas consumption amount of a user is located changes, a gas meter sends a change signal to the management platform via the sensor network platform, where the change signal includes gas data read by the gas meter; and the management platform sends, in response to the change signal, tiered pricing change information to the user platform via at least one of the plurality of service sub-platforms. By obtaining the latest tiered pricing policy and in combination with a gas consumption amount of a user to judge whether or not a pricing tier for the gas consumption amount of the user at present changes, and to remind the user when the pricing tier changes, the present invention helps the user know a gas consumption condition in time. 
     In addition, in this embodiment of the present invention, a customized gas consumption chart may further be pushed to the user, so that the user conveniently knows a position where the gas consumption amount is located in a residence community or an area, thereby planning the gas usage, adjusting a gas consumption strategy, promoting the user to develop a gas saving habit and advocating the social spirit of energy conservation and environmental protection. 
     The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. A person skilled in the art may make various modifications and changes to the present invention. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present invention all shall be included in a scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters refer to similar items in the following drawings, and thus once an item is defined in one drawing, it does not need to be further defined and explained in the subsequent drawings.