IMST iOKE868 Smart Meter Reader User Manual

IMST iOKE868 Smart Meter Reader

History

General User Information

The content must not be published, duplicated or passed to third parties without our express permission. Read this documentation carefully before initial operation or use of the kit iOKE868 with integrated LoRaWAN technology. ®
Observe the safety instructions and warnings in this documentation.
Keep the user manual for future reference.

General Notes

The iO881A and the antenna contain magnets.

Be careful when you remove the antenna connector from the iO881A. Avoid tilting the connector when you remove it.

The iO881A is also designed for battery operation. Therefore, the USB chip is always about 30s after a power cycle in order to save electricity. Please refer to the chapter Automatic Power Saving for further details.

Product Information

Kit name: iOKE868 LoRaWAN®

Kit content:

• iO881A for LoRaWAN®
• Antenna
• Micro-USB cable

Order Number: 404620
Manufacturer:
IMST GmbH
Carl-Friedrich-Gauss-Str. 2-4, 47475 Kamp-Lintfort, Germany

Disposal of the Device

| Do not dispose this product at the end of its life in the household waste, but in the designated places for recycling old electrical equipment.
Do not dispose the battery cell in the household waste, but in the designated areas for recycling old batteries.

Disclaimer

IMST GmbH points out that all information in this document are given on an “as is” basis. No guarantee, neither explicit nor implicit is given for the correctness at the time of publication.
IMST GmbH reserves all rights to make corrections, modifications, enhancements, and other changes to its products and services at any time and to discontinue any product or service without prior notice. It is recommended for customers to refer to the latest relevant information before placing orders and to verify that such information is current and complete. All products are sold and delivered subject to “General Terms and Conditions” of IMST GmbH, supplied at the time of order acknowledgment.
IMST GmbH assumes no liability for the use of its products and does not grant any licenses for its patent rights or for any other of its intellectual property rights or third-party rights. It is the customer’s duty to bear responsibility for compliance of systems or units in which products from IMST GmbH are integrated with applicable legal regulations. Customers should provide adequate design and operating safeguards to minimize the risks associated with customer products and applications.
The product is not approved for use in life supporting systems or other systems whose malfunction could result in personal injury to the user.
Customers using the product within such applications do so at their own risk.
Any resale of IMST GmbH products or services with statements different from or beyond the parameters stated by IMST GmbH for that product/solution or service is not allowed and voids all express and any implied warranties. The limitations on liability in favor of IMST GmbH shall also affect its employees, executive personnel and bodies in the same way. IMST GmbH is not responsible or liable for any such wrong statements.

Hardware Overview

This chapter provides an overview about the hardware of iOKE868. iOKE868 LoRaWAN consist of:

• iO881A for LoRaWAN
• antenna
• micro USB cable

Figure: iO881A for LoRaWAN®, antenna and USB cable

Features of iO881A

• USB-interface for generic power supply (power plug or battery pack)
• USB-interface for configuration and direct mode
• Additional data memory
• LED and push button as user interface
• External antenna connector offers maximum installation flexibility and enables installations in difficult RF environments

Power Supply

The iO881A is supplied via the Micro-USB interface. The configured iO881A can be supplied by an additional USB power supply or battery pack.

Interfaces of iO881A

Push button for status request and initial configuration.
LED for signalling.
Micro USB connector for configuration, optional direct mode and power supply.
MMCX antenna connector for connecting the provided external antenna.

iO881A Startup

After a power cycle or reset the iO881A performs a startup procedure which includes the following steps:

• Step 1: System Startup & Module Configuration
  After successful system startup the iO881A reads and validates the required configuration settings. In case of valid settings the following hardware and firmware modules will be configured:

  • RTC with time-stamp from NVM, stored during last synchronization via PC or LoRaWAN network ®
  • LoRaWAN Stack ®
  • OBIS-ID Filter
  • Event Calendar
    In case of missing LoRaWAN settings the iO881A enters a sleep mode and waits for further configuration ( ). ® Step 2 Every LoRaWAN® device must be activated at least once before usage. If not already activated, the iO881A enters sleep mode and waits for a HCI message from a PC-Tool to start the LoRaWAN® activation procedure (Step 3).

• Step 2: iO881A Configuration
  The initial configuration must be handled via serial connection and PC-Tool. During configuration phase several parameters for LoRaWAN activation, Calender Events and OBIS-ID Filter have to be set to change the iO881A behavior. ®
  Note : the LoRaWAN Stack can be deactivated and reactivated again. ®

• Step 3: LoRaWAN Stack Activation (OTAA or ABP) ®
  In case of Over The Air Activation (OTAA) the iO881A initates the LoRaWAN join procedure. On success the device continues with ® the next step. The join procedure and its final result will be signalized via LED. If Activation By Personalization (ABP) is selected the LoRaWAN Stack will be activated and the next step is directly initiated. ®

• Step 4: Real Time Clock Synchronization
  For proper calendar operation the iO881A requests the LoRaWAN network time and synchronizes the internal real time clock ® (RTC). At first the time will be requested by means of a LoRaWAN MAC command. In case of no MAC response, a defined application command is used to retrieve the current date and time from the application server ( refer also to Real Time Clock Synchronization ).

• Step 5: Time Correction of Calendar
  In this final step the calendar unit is updated to handle the configured events which control the subsequent application behavior.

The following flow chart outlines the iO881A startup procedure and it’s single steps.

Figure : iO881A startup with invalid & valid configuration

Reader Functions

The iO881A includes a smart meter reader firmware which provides the following functions for meter reading via optical infrared interface:

• Direct Output Mode (Local output: set to ‘1 to 1 output’)
  In this mode of operation the incoming meter data on the infrared interface is simply repeated on the wired local serial interface with a baud rate of 115200 bps (8/N/1 for SML protocol or 7/E/1 for IEC protocol). This mode can be used to forward the original meter data stream to a PC-Tool for further processing.
  While Direct Output Mode is selected the LoRaWAN® Radio Stack and all further reader functionalities are disabled and the internal FTDI USB to UART converter remains enabled.

• HCI Output Mode (Local output: set to ‘Via HCI message’)
  In this mode the incoming meter data is filtered and forwarded as HCI (Host Controller Interface) message in the same application protocol format which is used on the LoRaWAN radio link. This is the default setting.
  While HCI Output Mode is selected the internal FTDI USB to UART converter remains enabled. In case the LoRaWAN Stack is activated, the meter data is also send to a LoRaWAN Server.

• Meter Pairing Mode
  This mode allows to pair the iO881A with the current connected meter. The pairing is done by reading the unique Meter ID which will afterwards be stored in the internal non-volatile memory. After successful pairing the iO881A will only accept meter data which include the saved Meter ID. The pairing state can be reseted by command at any time.

• OBIS-ID Scan Mode (Detect OBIS IDs)
  Meter data is always transmitted by means of files which consist of multiple data records. Every data record includes a unique OBIS-ID which identifies the kind of measurement value within this record. The OBIS-ID Scan Mode can be activated to read and forward only the published OBIS-IDs of the connected meter. The captured OBIS-IDs will be sent as a list via wired local serial interface to the connected PC. This list of OBIS-IDs is helpful to configure the supported OBIS-ID Filter (see below).

• Single Capture Mode (Calender Event: Read out a single block of values)
  The Single Capture Mode performs a single meter readout. The readout results will finally be forwarded via local serial interface or LoRaWAN® depending on the initiating command source (e.g. PC-Tool, Calendar Event) and iO881A configuration. The desired OBIS-ID can be selected from the list of all recognized OBIS-IDs.

• Continuous Capture Mode
  In contrast to the Single Capture Mode the reader and interface will remain active after end of file or error detection. The readout results will be forwarded as soon as possible. The Continuous Capture Mode can be deactivated by a Stop command, or by activating the Single Capture Mode. Again the OBIS-ID Filter will be used to focus on the wanted specific data.

Real Time Clock Synchronization

The iO881A features an embedded Real Time Clock ( RTC ) which is used to schedule several Calendar Events for meter reading and other functionalities. For proper operation it is highly recommended to synchronize the RTC. The initial synchronization can be done by means of the WS-Configurator PC-Tool. On every synchronization the current time stamp is stored in the none volatile memory of the iO881A. After a power-cycle or system reset this stored value is used to inititalize the RTC. If the value is invalid or less than 01.01.2000 00:00:00 the RTC will start at 01.01.2000 00:00:00.
After startup the device starts with a LoRaWAN activation procedure ( OTAA or ABP ) and initiates a LoRaWAN uplink MAC command to ® ® get the current data and time from the LoRaWAN operator. On success the received value is used to configure the RTC and is finally stored ® in the NVM for later usage after a system reset.
Due to the fact that some LoRaWAN server do not support the “Get Time MAC Command” a fall back mechanism is implemented. In case of no MAC command response the firmware transmits a “Get Date Time Request” application command via LoRaWAN to the connected ® Application Server which might be able to answer this request. This request is repeated 5 times.

The new “Get Date Time Request” looks as follows;
LoRaWAN Port: 32
LoRaWAN Payload Syntax:
Request < Get > < Resource ID >
Example:

The corresponding Get Date Tiime response must look like this:
LoRaWAN Port: 32
LoRaWAN Payload Syntax:
Response < Get Response > < Resource ID > < data >
Example:

Due to the fact that the clock crystal frequency can drift over temperature it is recommended to synchronize the RTC via LoRaWAN from time to time ( e.g. once per week ).

Automatic Power Saving

The firmware features automatic power saving which let the system enter a low power mode whenever it is possible in order to achieve low current consumption and long battery live time.

FTDI USB to UART Converter Control

The iO881A features an internal FTDI USB to UART converter for connection with external host controller via USB.

For achieving the lowest current consumption this unit is automatically switched off 30 seconds after powering except for the following cases:

• Local Output Mode is set to either ‘1 to 1 outout’ or ‘Via HCI message’
• Pushbutton is pressed during powering
• A valid HCI message has been received within the USB-Off timeout of 30s
• An invalid or incomplete LoRaWAN configuration has been detected

Note : For lowest current consumption and longest battery lifetime select Local Output Mode to “No output”.

LED and Push Button Usage

The iO881A features a dual color led which is used to signalize multiple states and activities. Most of the time the device will stay in a power saving state in which the LED is switched off to save power.
Pressing the Push Button while connecting the iO881A to a PC activates the HCI interface independent from any firmware settings.
Pressing the Push Button later on will show the internal firmware state as a blinking pattern on the dual color LED.
The following table outlines the firmware states and corresponding LED signals:

Table : Firmware states and LED signals

LED Pattern| Infrared Interface State| LoRaWAN ® State| Recommended Action
---|---|---|---
Red 1 x| Not used| LoRaWAN® configuration invalid or not activated| Connect iO881A to PC and start configuration and LoRaWAN® activation
Green 1 x| Not used| LoRaWAN® stack activated| Nothing, iO881A is ready for meter data reading
Red 2 x| Read error or no data| LoRaWAN® configuration invalid or not activated| Connect iO881A to PC and start configuration and LoRaWAN® activation
Red 1 x, Green 1 x| Read error or no data| LoRaWAN® stack activated| Verify iO881A mechanical position
Green 1 x, Red 1 x| Reading ok| LoRaWAN® configuration invalid or not activated| Connect iO881A to PC and start configuration and LoRaWAN® activation
Green 2 x| Reading ok| LoRaWAN® stack activated| Nothing, last meter reading and LoRaWAN transmission were successful

The following table outlines additional LED usage during firmware startup:

Table : Firmware activities an LED signals

Initial Setup

The iO881A requires an initial configuration before usage. This configuration can be done by means of a PC-Tool called WS-Configurator which is connected via serial interface (USB) to the device.
For further information how to configure the iO881A please refer to the corresponding Quick Start Guide

Default Settings

The following table lists the default factory settings:

• Include Meter ID
• Include Status Field
• Include Reader Time Field
• Omit Unit Field

| no no no no
Special IEC Mode Options

• Try ASCII to integer number conversion

• Send fast wakeup sequence to battery powered meter device

| no no
Calendar Event List| empty
OBIS-ID Filter List| empty
|
LoRaWAN Settings|
64-bit Device EUI Application EUI / Join EUI 128-bit Device Key| pre- programmed valid IEEE Device EUI 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00h
00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00h

Technical Characteristics

All characteristics are applied for T = 25°C, Supply via USB. Typical values unless otherwise stated.

Electrical Characteristics

Power Supply (VDD)| 4.5 – 5.25V
Current Consumption (typ.)| Sleep mode: 4µA (RTC on) Infrared receive: 5mA

HCI active: 10mA Transmit mode:  30mA

|
RF Characteristics
Frequency range| 863 MHz to 870 MHz
RF output power| +13 dBm ERP with supplied antenna
Modulation| LoRa® Spread-Spectrum (G)FSK
Antenna| Via MMCX connector
|
LoRa ® Protocol Characteristics
LoRaWAN®| Certified and compliant to V1.0.4
Activation type| ABP (activation by personalization) OTAA (over the air activation)
Frequencies| Standard LoRaWAN frequencies
Additional frequencies depend on LoRaWAN® network server
|
Supported Energy Meter Protocols/Standards
SML| Smart Meter Language Protocol Version 1.04
IEC62056-21| IEC mode A, B, C and D
|
General Characteristics
Product| iO881A
Storage Temperature| -40°C to +85°C
Operating Temperature| Typical +5°C to +55°C
Mounting| Via integrated magnet
Housing| Material: ABS, black
Dimension: 47mm x 34mm x 22mm (without connectors)
Certification| RED (2014/53/EC)
RoHS Directive (2011/65/EC) LoRaWAN® 1.0.2

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