JP6344188B2 - Electric power meter and self-management method of electric power meter - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power meter having a communication function.

In recent years, an electric power meter (electric energy meter) having a communication function, called a smart meter, has attracted attention. Such a power meter can automatically transmit meter-reading data on the amount of power used to a power company.
On the other hand, a plan for disseminating an energy management system (HEMS: Home Energy Management System) which is self-managed by consumers such as ordinary households is being promoted based on the government policy. According to this HEMS, a management device (HEMS gateway) installed in the home monitors the power consumption and time zone of the electrical equipment in the home, and for example, saves power and shifts the usage time zone as necessary. Control can be performed.

  In addition, the power meter can provide meter reading data not only to the power company but also to the management device in the house. Thereby, the management apparatus can grasp | ascertain correctly the power consumption of the whole consumer, and can control power saving as needed. Furthermore, it is possible to prompt the power management by giving an instruction to the management device of the customer from the electric power company.

  The communication unit responsible for the communication function of the power meter is a so-called “A route” communication unit that communicates with an electric power company and a so-called “B route” communication unit that communicates with a management device in the house. (For example, Patent Document 1 (paragraphs [0018] and [0021])). That is, the power meter is not only a communication device for the A route but also a communication device for the B route, and can relay both communication routes.

JP 2013-171453 A

  The power meter as described above is a property owned by the power company, and when it is deployed to a consumer, the power company can use the A route regardless of the consumer's intention. On the other hand, the use of the B route depends on whether or not the customer makes a contract for using the HEMS. In anticipation of the spread of HEMS in the future, both A-route and B-route communication modules are uniformly mounted on the power meter. A single power meter consumes less power, but when installed in each house, the overall power is appropriate. The power company that bears this power wants to reduce power consumption as much as possible.

  In view of this problem, an object of the present invention is to save power in a power meter compatible with HEMS.

  The power meter of the present invention is a power meter for measuring power consumption of a consumer, and is provided in the consumer, a first communication module having a function of communicating with a management system on the power supply side through a first communication route. Provision of information regarding the actual use of the second communication route from the management system, and a second communication module having a stop mode for reducing power consumption with respect to the function of performing wireless communication with the management device via the second communication route And a control unit that sets the second communication module to the stop mode when not used, and sets the second communication module to the operation mode when used.

  Moreover, the power meter self-management method of the present invention includes a first communication module having a function of communicating with a power supply side management system through a first communication route, and a management device provided in a consumer and a second communication route. A method for self-management of a power meter having a second communication module having an operation mode and a stop mode for reducing power consumption with respect to a function of wireless communication, which relates to actual use of the second communication route from the management system The power meter self-management method receives information provision and sets the second communication module in the stop mode when not used, and sets the second communication module as the operation mode when used.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the power saving of the electric power meter corresponding to HEMS can be implement | achieved reliably.

It is an example of the connection diagram regarding one power meter. It is an example of the block diagram inside an electric power meter, and a consumer. It is another example of the block diagram inside an electric power meter, and a consumer. It is a flowchart of B route processing at the time of meter starting performed by a control part. It is a flowchart of B route processing after meter starting performed by a control part.

[Summary of Embodiment]
The gist of the embodiment of the present invention includes at least the following.

  (1) That is, this is a power meter for measuring power consumption of a consumer, and is provided in the consumer with a first communication module having a function of communicating with a management system on the power supply side through a first communication route. Information regarding the actual use of the second communication route from the management system, and a second communication module having an operation mode and a stop mode for reducing power consumption. And a control unit that sets the second communication module in the stop mode when not used and sets the second communication module in the operation mode when used.

  In the power meter of (1) above, for example, in the case of a customer who does not have a contract for using the second communication route with the power company, the control unit stops the second communication module in a stop mode (for example, sleep state or power off). To reduce power consumption. Therefore, it is possible to prevent wasteful power from being consumed by the second communication module when the second communication route is not contracted. In addition, when the second communication route contract is made, information for use is provided from the management system to the control unit, so that the second communication module is operated by remote operation and communication of the second communication route is opened. Can be made.

(2) Moreover, in the electric power meter of (1), it is preferable to have a non-volatile memory | storage part which memorize | stores the information received regarding use of the said 2nd communication route.
In this case, even if a power failure occurs after the start of use of the power meter, it is possible to return to the state before the power failure without receiving again information regarding the use of the second communication route.

(3) In the power meter of (1) or (2), the control unit may request the management system to provide the information at the time of initial startup.
Thereby, when not using a 2nd communication route, the power consumption of a 2nd communication module can be suppressed immediately from the time of initial starting.

  (4) On the other hand, from the viewpoint of the method, the first communication module having the function of communicating with the management system on the power supply side through the first communication route, and the wireless communication with the management device provided in the consumer through the second communication route. A function self-management method of a power meter having a second communication module having an operation mode and a stop mode for reducing power consumption, and providing information on actual use of the second communication route from the management system Is received when it is not used, the second communication module is set in the stop mode, and when it is used, the second communication module is set in the operation mode.

  In the power meter self-management method of (4) above, for example, in the case of a customer who does not have a usage contract for the second communication route with the power company, the second communication module is stopped (for example, in a sleep state or powered off). Thus, power consumption can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to prevent wasteful power from being consumed by the second communication module when the second communication route is not contracted. In addition, when the second communication route contract is made, by providing information for use from the management system to the power meter, the second communication module is brought into an operating state by remote operation, and communication of the second communication route is opened. Can be made.

[Details of the embodiment]
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

"overall structure"
FIG. 1 is an example of a connection diagram relating to one power meter. In the figure, the power meter 1 is provided near the consumer 2. For example, the transformer 3 transforms a high voltage of 6.6 kV into a low voltage of 200/100 V (single-phase three-wire). The low-voltage distribution line 4 is connected to the power meter 1, and the distribution line 4 a via the power meter 1 is drawn into the customer 2.

  The power meter 1 has a communication function for two routes. That is, a function of communicating with the management system 10 on the power supply side through a first communication route (hereinafter referred to as A route) Ra, and a management device installed in the consumer 2 (however, installation is arbitrary). (Not shown) and a second communication route (hereinafter referred to as B route) Rb. Regarding the A route, the power meter 1 is connected to a concentrator 6 via, for example, a FAN (Field Area Network) 5. Another power meter (not shown) is also connected to the concentrator 6 via the FAN 5.

  The concentrator 6 is connected to a head end system 8 via a WAN (Wide Area Network) 7. A server 9 is connected to the head end system 8. The server 9 and the head end system 8 constitute a management system 10 on the power supply side. The head end system 8 performs data collection and communication control. The server 9 manages data related to all the power meters 1 under the umbrella.

  The FAN 5 is, for example, a wireless multi-hop network or a PLC (Power Line Communication) network using the distribution line 4. In some cases, the FAN 5 and the concentrator 6 may be omitted, and the power meter 1 may be directly connected to the headend system 8 via the WAN 7 (dotted line in the figure). This is the case, for example, when the WAN 7 is a portable wireless network such as 3G, LTE (Long Term Evolution).

<Details of power meter>
FIG. 2 is an example of a block diagram inside the power meter 1 and inside the customer 2.
In the figure, voltage lines L1 and L2 and a neutral line N of the distribution line 4 are connected to the measuring unit 1m. The voltage lines L1 and L2 and the neutral line N pass through the measuring unit 1m and become the distribution line 4a. The measuring unit 1m measures the amount of electric power based on the current and voltage that pass through.

  The control unit 1c receives the measured power information from the weighing unit 1m and temporarily stores it in the nonvolatile storage unit 1f. A first communication module (hereinafter referred to as an A route communication module) 1a performs A route communication and also provides information on A route communication to the control unit 1c. A second communication module (hereinafter referred to as a B route communication module) 1b can perform B route communication by wireless communication, and provides information on the B route communication to the control unit 1c.

In addition, the B route communication module 1b has an operation mode (power-on state) and a stop mode (power-off state or sleep state) for reducing power consumption for the wireless communication function. The control unit 1c can control the B route communication module 1b to the operation mode or the stop mode.
The weighing unit 1m, the control unit 1c, the storage unit 1f, the A route communication module 1a, and the B route communication module 1b only need to exist as functional units, and need not be physically separated in this way. No. For example, they may be arbitrarily integrated with each other.

  In the customer 2, a distribution board 21 to which the distribution line 4 a is connected and an electric device 22 that receives power supply via the distribution board 21 are provided. Note that only one electrical device 22 is shown for simplicity of illustration, but in reality there may be more devices. If this customer 2 does not have a HEMS contract, there is no HEMS gateway (management device) and B route communication cannot be performed.

FIG. 3 is another example of a block diagram inside the power meter 1 and inside the customer 2.
The difference from FIG. 2 is that the customer 2 completes the HEMS contract and the HEMS gateway 23 is installed in the customer 2. The HEMS gateway 23 can control the electrical equipment 22 in the customer 2. The HEMS gateway 23 can communicate with the B route communication module 1b of the power meter 1 through the B route. This communication uses, for example, a radio wave of 920 MHz band using a low power radio.

<< Control on use of B route (self-management method) >>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the B route process when the meter is activated, which is executed by the control unit 1c.
In the figure, for example, at the time of initial startup immediately after the power meter 1 is attached, the processing of this flowchart can be executed with the operation of turning on the main body as a trigger. First, the control unit 1c communicates with the management system 10 through the A route and confirms whether there is a contract for the B route (steps S1 and S2).

If there is no contract, the control unit 1c turns off the flag indicating that there is a B route contract (step S6), and turns off the power of the B route communication module 1b (or keeps it off (step S7)). In this way, by requesting the management system 10 to provide information at the time of initial startup, when the B route is not used, the power consumption (for example, about 100 mW) of the B route communication module 1b is started immediately after the initial startup. ) Can be suppressed.
On the other hand, when there is a contract, the control unit 1c stores the B route contract information in the storage unit 1f (step S3), and turns on the flag with the B route contract (step S4). Then, the control unit 1c turns on the power of the B route communication module 1b (step S5).

  Next, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the B route processing after the meter is started, which is executed by the control unit 1c. That is, once activated, the B route processing is performed according to the flowchart of FIG. The process of FIG. 5 is performed periodically. For example, such processing can be performed using the transmission timing of meter reading data.

  In FIG. 5, the control unit 1c receives information from the headend system 8 (step S10), and determines whether there is information regarding the B route contract (step S11). If there is no such information, it is determined whether or not the flag indicating that the B route contract is present (step S12). If it is off, the power of the B route communication module 1b is kept off (step S19). Processing ends. If the customer does not make a B route contract, this state will continue.

  On the other hand, when the customer makes a B route contract, “YES” is determined in the step S11, and the control unit 1c determines whether the information content is opening or stopping of the B route (step S13). In the case of opening, the control unit 1c stores the B route contract information in the storage unit 1f (step S14), and turns on the flag indicating that there is a B route contract (step S15). Then, the control unit 1c turns on the power of the B route communication module 1b (step S16), and the process ends.

Once the B route is opened, at the next execution of the flowchart, “YES” is determined in the step S12, and the control unit 1c maintains the power on of the B route communication module 1b (step S16).
On the other hand, the B route contract may be canceled for the convenience of the customer. In such a case, since the information on cancellation of the B route contract can be received from the headend system 8, “YES” is determined in step S11 and “stop” is determined in step S13, and the control unit 1c stores the B route contract information in the storage unit. 1f is deleted (step S17), and the B route contract flag is turned off (step S18). Then, the control unit 1c turns off the power of the B route communication module 1b (step S19).

  Even when a power failure occurs, the state where the B route contract information and the B route contract flag are ON is stored in the nonvolatile storage unit 1f. Therefore, if the B route has been opened, “YES” is determined in the step S12, and the power supply of the B route communication module 1b is maintained (step S16). Conversely, if the B route is not open, “NO” is determined in the step S12, and the power supply of the B route communication module 1b is maintained (step S19). Thus, even if a power failure occurs after the use of the power meter 1 is started, it is possible to return to the state before the power failure without receiving information on the B route again.

<Summary>
In the electric power meter 1 configured as described above, in the case of a customer 2 who does not use a B route with an electric power company, the control unit 1c sets the B route communication module 1b to a stop mode (for example, a sleep state or a power source). Off) to reduce power consumption. Therefore, it is possible to prevent wasteful power consumption by the B route communication module 1b when the B route is not contracted. In this way, power saving of the power meter 1 compatible with HEMS can be reliably realized.

  In addition, when a B route contract is made, information for use is provided from the management system 10 to the control unit 1c, so that the B route communication module 1b is operated by remote operation and communication of the B route is opened. be able to.

<Others>
In addition, although FIGS. 1-3 is a figure which assumes the detached house as the consumer 2, such electric power meter 1 can be similarly used also about each house of an apartment house.

《Supplementary Note》
The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

1 Power meter 1a A route communication module (first communication module)
1b B route communication module (second communication module)
1c Control unit 1f Storage unit 1m Weighing unit 2 Customer 3 Transformer 4, 4a Distribution line 5 FAN
6 Concentrator 7 WAN
8 Headend system 9 Server 10 Management system 21 Distribution board 22 Electrical equipment 23 HEMS gateway (management equipment)
L1, L2 Voltage line N Neutral line Ra A route (first communication route)
Rb B route (second communication route)

Claims (4)

It is a power meter that measures the power consumption of consumers,
A first communication module having a function of communicating with a management system on the power supply side through a first communication route;
A second communication module having an operation mode and a stop mode for reducing power consumption for a function of performing wireless communication with a management device provided in the consumer through a second communication route;
In response to the provision of information regarding the actual use of the second communication route from the management system, the second communication module is set to the stop mode when not used, and the second communication module is set to the operation mode when used. A control unit,
Power meter equipped with.   The power meter according to claim 1, further comprising a non-volatile storage unit that stores information received regarding use of the second communication route.   The power meter according to claim 1, wherein the control unit requests the management system to provide the information at an initial startup. Regarding the first communication module having a function of communicating with the management system on the power supply side through the first communication route, and the function of performing wireless communication with the management device provided in the consumer through the second communication route, the operation mode and the power consumption are determined. A power meter self-management method comprising a second communication module having a reduced stop mode, comprising:
Receiving from the management system information regarding the actual use of the second communication route;
A power meter self-management method wherein the second communication module is set to the stop mode when not used, and the second communication module is set to the operation mode when used.

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