Patent Application
20120239959
The present invention relates to a power consumption measurement system, an outlet device, a control device, a measuring device, and a power consumption measuring method for measuring the amount of power consumption.
Due to an increase in the awareness of global environment problems, the introduction of renewable forms of energy such as photovoltaic cell (PV) is progressing. There is a problem that when PV, in which power generation varies depending on meteorological conditions, is interconnected with an electric power system in large quantities, it adversely affects the stable supply of the electric power system. In order to resolve this problem, the “Smart grid technologies” that make use of the information and communications technology and incorporate consumer to effectively control the electric power draw attention.
According to the smart grid technologies, in order to effectively control the electric power, it is important to measure the amount of power consumption associated with a consumer of electric power (hereinafter, simply referred to as a consumer). As a power consumption measurement system for measuring the amount of power consumption, there is known a configuration in which a current sensor is provided in the distribution board of the consumer, and the amount of power consumption of the consumer is measured by using the current sensor is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The distribution board is provided at the branch point of the main line from the electric power system and the branching line in the wiring network of the consumer.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H11-313441
However, according to the conventional power consumption measurement system, the electric current supplied to a plurality of loads (devices) is detected collectively by the current sensor, and it is difficult to determine that the electric current flowing across the distribution board is supplied to which load in a consumer.
Therefore, the conventional power consumption measurement system has a problem that although the amount of power consumption of each consumer can be measured, it is difficult to measure the amount of power consumption of each load in a consumer.
Therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a power consumption measurement system, an outlet device, a control device, a measuring device, and a power consumption measuring method, by which it is possible to easily measure the amount of power consumption of each load.
To solve the above problem, the present invention has following features. A first feature of the present invention is summarized as a power consumption measurement system, comprising: an outlet device (outlet device 100) provided in a consumer (consumer 1); and a measurement unit (power consumption amount measurement unit 122) configured to measure the amount of power consumption associated with the consumer, wherein the outlet device comprises: a feeding unit (feeding unit 101), connected to a load (load 50) within the consumer, configured to supply power to the connected load; and a detection unit (sensor circuit 110) configured to detect the amount of electric current flowing from the feeding unit to the load, wherein the measurement unit measures the amount of power consumption of each load depending on the amount of electric current detected by the detection unit.
According to the feature above, because the amount of electric current flowing from an outlet device to a load is detected directly, and the amount of power consumption is measured according to the amount of electric current, rather than the amount of power consumption of each consumer, the amount of power consumption of each load can be measured easily.
A second feature of the present invention according to the first feature is summarized as the power consumption measurement system, comprising: an analyzing unit (frequency analyzing unit 122) configured to acquire a frequency pattern by converting the time waveform of the amount of electric current detected by the detection unit to a frequency domain; a first storage unit (identification information storage unit 241) configured to store the frequency pattern of each load associating with the load identification information for identifying the load; and a search unit (identification information search unit 231) configured to search the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern acquired by the analyzing unit from the first storage unit.
A third feature of the present invention according to the second feature is summarized as the power consumption measurement system, comprising: a second storage unit (power consumption amount storage unit 242) configured to store the amount of power consumption measured by the measurement unit, associating with the load identification information searched by the search unit and the time information indicating the current time.
A fourth feature of the present invention according to the third feature is summarized as the power consumption measurement system, comprising: a display control unit (display control unit 233) configured to control so as to display the amount of power consumption, the load identification information, and the time information stored by the second storage unit associated each other.
A fifth feature of the present invention according to the second feature is summarized as that the first storage unit and the search unit are provided in a control device (control device 200) within the consumer, and the search unit requests a device outside the control device to search the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern acquired in the analyzing unit, when the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern acquired by the analyzing unit cannot be searched from the first storage unit.
A sixth feature of the present invention is summarized as an outlet device provided in a consumer, comprising: a feeding unit, connected to a load within the consumer, configured to supply power to the connected load; and a detection unit configured to detect the amount of electric current flowing from the feeding unit to the load; and a measurement unit configured to measure the amount of power consumption of each load depending on the amount of electric current detected by the detection unit.
A seventh feature of the present invention is summarized as the outlet device, comprising: an analyzing unit configured to acquire a frequency pattern by converting the time waveform of the amount of electric current detected by the detection unit to a frequency domain.
An eighth feature of the present invention is summarized as a control device, comprising: an analyzing unit configured to convert the time waveform of the amount of electric current flowing from the outlet device to the load to a frequency domain to acquire a frequency pattern; a first storage unit configured to store the frequency pattern of each load associated with the load identification information for identifying the load; and a search unit configured to search the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern acquired by the analyzing unit from the first storage unit.
A ninth feature of the present invention is summarized as a measuring device (measuring device 500) that can be connected to an outlet device, comprising: a feeding unit, connected to a load within the consumer, configured to supply power to the connected load; a detection unit configured to detect the amount of electric current flowing from the feeding unit to the load; a measurement unit configured to measure the amount of power consumption of each load depending on the amount of electric current detected by the detection unit; and an analyzing unit configured to convert the time waveform of the amount of electric current detected by the detection unit to a frequency domain to acquire a frequency pattern.
A tenth feature of the present invention is summarized as a power consumption measuring method, comprising: a step of supplying power to a load connected to an outlet device provided in a consumer by the outlet device; a step of detecting the amount of electric current flowing from the outlet device to the load by the outlet device; and a step of measuring the amount of power consumption of each load depending on the amount of electric current detected by the step of detecting.
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power consumption measurement system, an outlet device, a control device, a measuring device, and a power consumption measuring method, by which it is possible to easily measure the amount of power consumption of each load.
Next, an embodiment of the power consumption measurement system of the present invention is explained with reference to drawings. Specifically, (1) Schematic configuration of power consumption measurement system, (2) Detailed configuration of power consumption measurement system, (3) Operation of power consumption measurement system, (4) Effect of embodiment, (5) First modification, (6) Second modification, and (7) Other embodiments are explained.
In all drawings for explaining the following embodiments, the same or similar reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar elements.
First of all, the schematic configuration of the power consumption measurement system according to the present embodiment is explained with reference to
As shown in
The photovoltaic cell 51 receives solar light, and generates DC power in accordance with the received solar light. The battery 52 stores the electric power generated by the photovoltaic cell 51 and the electric power supplied from the power system 2.
The system interconnection device 53 performs conversion between AC and DC power. Specifically, the system interconnection device 53 converts the DC power from the photovoltaic cell 51 and the battery 52 to AC power, and interconnects with the power system 2.
The distribution board 54 distributes the AC power from the system interconnection device 53 and the power system 2 to loads 50a, 50b, . . . via the outlet devices 100a, 100b, . . . .
Loads 50a, 50b, . . . are devices consuming electric power, for example, household electrical appliances. The outlet devices 100a, 100b, . . . are connected to loads 50a, 50b, . . . and supply power to loads 50a, 50b, . . . . Hereinafter, any one of loads 50a, 50b, . . . is appropriately called “load 50”. Furthermore, any one of the outlet devices 100a, 100b, . . . is appropriately called “outlet device 100”.
The control device 200 performs power control in the consumer 1. The control device 200 communicates with the outlet device 100 and the system interconnection device 53. The communications can be radio communications or wire communications. In the case of radio communications, for example, Zigbee, which is one of the short-range radio communications standards for household electric appliances, can be used. In the case of wire communications, for example, PLC (Power Line Communications), which is a technique in which a power line is used as a communication line, can be used.
The control device 200 can communicate with a server device 300 via a wide area communication network 3 (for example, the Internet). The server device 300, for example, provides information for power control to the control device 200.
The outlet device 100 is provided on the wall surface in the consumer 1, for example. As shown in
Next, the detailed configuration of the power consumption measurement system is explained with reference to
As shown in
The power receiving unit 102 receives AC power from the distribution board 54. Filters 104 and 105 remove the noise components included in the power received by the power receiving unit 102.
Different loads 50 are connected to each of the feeding units 101a and 101b. Each of the feeding units 101a and 101b supplies power to loads 50.
The coil 111 detects the amount of electric current flowing to load 50 connected to the feeding unit 101a. Specifically, the coil 111 outputs the electric current proportional to the amount of electric current flowing to load 50 connected to the feeding unit 101a. Similarly, the coil 112 detects the amount of electric current flowing to load 50 connected to the feeding unit 101b.
In the sensor circuit 110, electric current is input from coils 111 and 112. The sensor circuit 110 generates a sensor signal indicating the amount of electric current flowing to loads 50 connected to each of the feeding units 101a and 101b, and inputs the sensor signal to the control unit 120. Furthermore, the sensor circuit 110 operates depending on the power from the power supply circuit 150 provided between the feeding units 101a and 101b and the power receiving unit 102.
The control unit 120 is configured using a microcomputer, for example, and performs control associated with the outlet device 100. The control unit 120 includes a power consumption amount measurement unit 121 and a frequency analyzing unit 122.
The power consumption amount measurement unit 121 measures the amount of power consumption of each of the loads 50 connected to each of the feeding units 101a and 101b depending on the sensor signal from the sensor circuit 110. The power consumption amount measurement unit 121 can measure (calculate) the amount of power consumption based on the amount of electric current indicated by the sensor signal and the electric voltage in the power supply circuit 150.
As shown in
The amount of power consumption measured by the power consumption amount measurement unit 121 and the frequency pattern acquired by the frequency analyzing unit 122 is transmitted to the control device 200 from the consumer-premise communication unit 130 in a predetermined time interval (for example, in every 1 to 60 minutes). Note that the communication method of the consumer-premise communication unit 130 can be a unique method or a method conforming to ECHONET (Energy Conservation and Homecare Network).
As shown in
The consumer-premise communication unit 210 communicates with the outlet device 100 and the system interconnection device 53. As described above, the communication method of the consumer-premise communication unit 210 can be a unique communication method or a method conforming to ECHONET. The wide area communication unit 220 communicates with the server device 300 via the wide area communication network 3.
The control unit 230 is configured using a CPU, for example, and performs control associated with the control device 200. The storage unit 240 is configured using a semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive, for example, and stores the information associated with the control performed by the control device 230.
The display unit 250 displays images under the control of the control unit 230. The input unit 260 receives the input from the user. Note that the display unit 250 and the input unit 260 may be stored in a housing separate from the housing in which the control unit 230 and the storage unit 240 are stored. That is, the display unit 250 and the input unit 260 may be configured as remote controllers. Furthermore, the display unit 250 and the input unit 260 may be configured as a touch panel in the form of a single unit.
The control unit 230 includes an identification information search unit 231, a power consumption amount management unit 232, and a display control unit 233. The storage unit 240 includes an identification information storage unit 241 and a power consumption amount storage unit 242.
The identification information storage unit 241 stores the frequency pattern of each load 50 associated with the load identification information for identifying the load 50. The load identification information is information about the name, model, or type of loads (devices). For example, the configuration may be such that the user registers beforehand the typical frequency pattern of the load along with the load identification information in the identification information storage unit 241.
The identification information search unit 231 searches from the identification information storage unit 241 the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern received by the consumer-premise communication unit 210 from the outlet device 100. Specifically, the identification information search unit 231 performs pattern matching between the frequency pattern received from the outlet device 100 and each frequency pattern stored in the identification information storage unit 241, and acquires the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern having the highest match with the frequency pattern received from the outlet device 100 from the identification information storage unit 241. As a result of such process, even when a load is carried from one room to another, for example, the load can be determined by the control device 200.
The power consumption amount management unit 232 stores: the amount of power consumption received by the consumer-premise communication unit 210 from the outlet device 100, associated with the load identification information searched by the identification information search unit 231 and the time information indicating the current time, in the power consumption amount storage unit 242. That is, the power consumption amount management unit 232 creates a log of the amount of power consumption of each load.
The display control unit 233 performs a display corresponding to an instruction from the user in the display unit 250. The display control unit 233 adds up the logs stored by the power consumption amount storage unit 242 following which the display control unit 233 displays a graph in the display unit 250, and realizes the so-called “visibility” of the amount of power consumption.
For example, by graphing the amount of power consumption of each type of load in each time zone of a day, the user can easily comprehend the amount of power consumed in each time zone.
In the aforementioned example, it was explained on the assumption that the identification information search unit 231 can search from the identification information storage unit 241 the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern received by the consumer-premise communication unit 210 from the outlet device 100, however, this is not applicable when a new load (device) is connected to the outlet device 100.
When a new load is connected, and the identification information search unit 231 detects an unknown frequency pattern, the frequency pattern can be determined after the user inputs the load identification information in the input unit 260 of the control device 200. In such a case, the display control unit 233 may perform a display for prompting the user to input the load identification information in the display unit 250.
Alternatively, when a new load is connected and the identification information search unit 231 detects an unknown frequency pattern, the identification information search unit 231 may request the server device 300 to search the load identification information corresponding to the unknown frequency pattern. At that time, the identification information search unit 231 transmits the unknown frequency pattern or information equivalent to the frequency pattern (for example, a consumption current waveform) from the wide area communication unit 220 to the server device 300. The server device 300 includes the database of the frequency pattern, searches the load identification information depending on the request from the control device 200, and transmits the search results to the control device 200. The power consumption amount management unit 232 stores the load identification information received from the server device 300 in the storage unit 240. As a result of such process, the load identification information can be set automatically without user input.
Next, the operation of the power consumption measurement system is explained with reference to
In step S101, the power consumption amount measurement unit 121 measures the amount of power consumption of each of the loads 50 connected to the feeding unit 101 depending on the sensor signal from the sensor circuit 110.
In step S102, the frequency analyzing unit 122 acquires a frequency pattern by converting the time waveform of the amount of power consumption of each of the loads 50 connected to the feeding unit 101 to a frequency domain depending on the sensor signal from the sensor circuit 110.
In step S103, the consumer-premise communication unit 130 transmits the amount of power consumption measured by the power consumption amount measurement unit 121 and the frequency pattern acquired by the frequency analyzing unit 122 to the control device 200 in a predetermined time interval.
In step S201, the consumer-premise communication unit 210 receives the amount of power consumption and the frequency pattern from the outlet device 100.
In step S202, the identification information search unit 231 searches from the identification information storage unit 241 the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern received by the consumer-premise communication unit 210 from the outlet device 100. When the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern received from the outlet device 100 is searched (step S203; YES), the process proceeds to step S205, and when the load identification information is not searched (step S203; NO), the process proceeds to step S204.
In step S205, the power consumption amount management unit 232 stores: the amount of power consumption received by the consumer-premise communication unit 210 from the outlet device 100 associated with the load identification information searched by the identification information search unit 231 and the time information indicating the current time, in the power consumption amount storage unit 242.
In step S204, the display control unit 233 performs a display for prompting the user to input the load identification information corresponding to the unknown frequency pattern in the display unit 250. Alternatively, the identification information search unit 231 requests the server device 300 to search the load identification information corresponding to the unknown frequency pattern. The load identification information thus acquired is stored and associated with the unknown frequency pattern, in the identification information storage unit 241.
As explained above, according to the present embodiment, because the sensor circuit 110 directly detects the amount of electric current flowing from the outlet device 100 to the load 50, and measures the amount of power consumption according to the amount of electric current, rather than the amount of power consumption of each consumer, the amount of power consumption of each load can be measured easily.
According to the present embodiment, the identification information search unit 231 can automatically determine the attributes of load 50 (such as the name, model, and type) by searching the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern acquired by the frequency analyzing unit 122 from the identification information storage unit 241.
According to the present embodiment, the power consumption amount storage unit 242 stores: the amount of power consumption measured by the power consumption amount measurement unit 122 associated with the load identification information searched by the identification information search unit 231 and the time information indicating the current time. Thus, the transition in the amount of power consumption of each attribute of the load can be recorded.
According to the present embodiment, the display control unit 233 controls so as to display the amount of power consumption, the load identification information, and the time information stored in the second storage unit associated each other displayed. According to such display control, the transition in the amount of power consumption of each attribute of the load can be checked by the user.
According to the present embodiment, when the load identification information corresponding to the frequency pattern acquired by the frequency analyzing unit 122 is not searched from the identification information storage unit 241, the identification information search unit 231 requests the server device 300 to search the load identification corresponding to the frequency pattern acquired by the frequency analyzing unit 122. Thus, even when a load that is unknown to the control device 200 is connected to the outlet device 100, the attributes of the load can be determined.
According to the aforementioned embodiment, the frequency analysis process was performed in the outlet device 100, however, a sensor signal can be notified from the outlet device 100 to the control device 200, and the frequency analysis process can be performed in the control device 200. Specifically, the consumer-premise communication unit 130 of the outlet device 100 transmits the sensor signal after A/D conversion to the control device 200 only during the period of frequency analysis.
Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the amount of power consumption was measured in the outlet device 100, however, a sensor signal can be notified from the outlet device 100 to the control device 200, and the amount of power consumption can be measured in the control device 200.
In the aforementioned embodiment, the outlet device 100 performs the measurement of the amount of power consumption and the frequency analysis; however, as shown in
As described above, the present invention has been described with the embodiments. However, it should not be understood that those descriptions and drawings constituting a part of the present disclosure limit the present invention. From this disclosure, a variety of alternate embodiments, examples, and applicable techniques will become apparent to one skilled in the art.
For example, according to the aforementioned embodiment, a configuration displaying the measured amount of power consumption is illustrated, however, the measured amount of power consumption can be used not only for display purpose but in various existing power controls (for example, power consumption control of load 50 and discharge and charge control of the battery 52).
Furthermore, in addition to the above embodiments, the server device 300 can include the below functions. Specifically, the server device 300 can manage the information about the load (devices) that each of a plurality of consumers includes, and can use this information in services such as the advertising service and device maintenance.
Note that in the aforementioned embodiment, a photovoltaic cell 51 was illustrated as an example of a DC power source, however, not only a photovoltaic cell 51, but, for example, a fuel cell can also be used.
Thus, it must be understood that the present invention includes various embodiments that are not described herein. Therefore, the present invention is limited only by the specific features of the invention in the scope of the claims reasonably evident from the disclosure above.
The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-272987 (filed on Nov. 30, 2009) are incorporated in the present specification by reference.
As described above, according to the radio communication system, the network-side device, the small cell base station, and the transmission power control method of the present invention, even when the number of small cell base stations in a large cell changes, the present invention is useful in radio communications such as mobile communications because a decline in the communication speed of the radio terminal connected to a large cell base station can be prevented.
As described above, according to the power consumption measurement system, the outlet device, the control device, the measuring device, and the power consumption measuring method of the present invention, because the amount of power consumption of each load can be measured easily, the present invention is useful.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-272987 | Nov 2009 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2010/071152 | 11/26/2010 | WO | 00 | 5/29/2012 |
