DE102019122352A1 - Supply unit for an infrastructure element, infrastructure element, system and method for operating a supply unit - Google Patents

Abstract

Supply unit for an infrastructure element, in particular a street lamp, comprising an electrical energy store with a connection for an energy supply network, an electrical feed device with at least one electrical connection for at least one load arranged on the infrastructure element, characterized in that the feed device has a plurality of electrical connections with one another different voltage and / or power classes.

Description

The subject matter relates to a supply unit for an infrastructure element, an infrastructure element, a system with a supply unit and an infrastructure element and a method for operating a supply unit.

An infrastructure element in the sense of the object can be, for example, a street lamp, a mast, a street sign, street lighting, an information board, a warning beacon, an information beacon or the like. Such infrastructure elements are increasingly being equipped with "intelligence" and have extensive sensors, information technology, communication technology or the like.

The areas of application of such “intelligent” infrastructure elements are manifold. Depending on the various possible uses, the use of the most varied of sensors, indication techniques, communication techniques or the like is also conceivable. This results in innumerable variants of equipping an infrastructure element with a wide variety of combinations of sensors, information technology and communication technologies.

The infrastructure elements are usually operated in public or semi-public areas and are connected to an electrical supply network. In the case of such infrastructure elements, however, the electrical supply network is not permanently fed, but it does happen that such an electrical supply network is only in operation at times. In particular, a street lighting network is usually only supplied with electrical power at night and the supply network is voltage-free during the day. In this context it should be mentioned that a supply network can in particular also be a single supply line of a plurality of infrastructure elements. If necessary, such a string can be de-energized or energized. In the case of street lights, for example, this is possible either per street or per section of a street. It is thus possible to switch a plurality of infrastructure elements on and off at the same time by disconnecting or energizing the entire string, that is to say the energy supply network assigned to this infrastructure element.

However, the non-permanent supply of electrical energy to the infrastructure element leads to a need for energy storage devices within the infrastructure element in order to be able to operate the loads such as sensors, information technology, display technology and / or communication technology even at times when the energy supply network has no electrical power provides. Such infrastructure elements, for example street lights with integrated energy stores, are known per se.

The problem, however, is that due to the large number of possible uses, the number and diversity of the various sensors, communication technologies and display technologies with the most varied of demands on the energy store is high. Due to the high number of different requirements, a correspondingly high number of combinations of sensors, communication technologies and display technologies is necessary, which makes the construction of infrastructure elements considerably more difficult. The energy storage device must be converted accordingly for each configuration variant in order to meet the individual requirements of the loads of a configuration variant.

The object was thus based on the object of providing a universally applicable supply unit for an infrastructure element which can be industrially produced in large numbers for a large number of equipment variants.

This object is achieved by a supply unit according to claim 1.

Objectively, it has been recognized that the most diverse assembly variants with their different requirements for connection to the energy store can be supported by the supply device comprising a plurality of electrical connections with mutually different voltage and / or power classes. In particular, the number of electrical connections is in excess compared to the number of consumers actually connected in operation of the infrastructure element.

An electrical energy store with a connection for an energy supply network can be, for example, a battery-electric store. An energy store based on capacitors is also possible. The connection for the energy supply network in particular also includes a rectifier in order to convert the alternating voltage made available by the energy supply network into a direct voltage required for the energy store. In addition, the connection can contain a charge controller that takes over the charge management of the energy store and thus enables damage-free operation of the energy store on the energy supply network.

An electrical feed device is provided on the output side of the energy store. The electrical feed device comprises at least one electrical connection for at least one load arranged on the infrastructure element. The load can in particular include sensor technology, communication technology and / or display technology.

The subject matter proposes that a plurality of electrical connections with mutually different voltage and / or power classes are provided on the feed device. For example, voltages of 3V, 5V, 10V, 12V, 24V, 48V, 110V can be provided at different connections. The connections can also differ in their performance class, for example the connections can have 5W, 10W, 15W, 20W, 50W, 100W, 200W, 500W etc. at maximum output. The connections can be designed accordingly. The connections can also be provided as alternating voltage or direct voltage connections with the voltage and / or power classes mentioned above.

Objectively, a large number of different types of connections can be made available by the supply device, with which, if possible, any configuration variant of the infrastructure element can be electrically supplied. Thus, the supply unit in question ensures that the infrastructure element guarantees an electrical supply for the equipment in all conceivable equipment variants.

As already mentioned, according to an exemplary embodiment it is proposed that the plurality of electrical connections be in excess of the number of loads with mutually different voltage and / or power classes. This means that some connections usually remain free when the infrastructure element is in operation. The number of electrical connections is preferably selected so that it is greater than the maximum number of equipment units, be it sensors, display technology or communication technology, so that at least one connection remains free even with a maximum expansion of the infrastructure element. It is also possible for a plurality of connections to be provided for at least one voltage and / or power class. For voltage variants that are used particularly frequently, it is conceivable that this is supported by at least two connections. In particular, a 5V connection in a power class of 10W, for example, is supported by a large number of sensors, so that it can make sense to provide at least two connections at least one voltage class / power class.

The energy storage device is continuously charged and discharged so that it is exposed to natural aging. This can lead to the storage capacity of the energy store or the power of the energy store falling below a limit value and thus the uninterrupted operation of the infrastructure element is no longer possible. In order to be able to intervene quickly from a distance in such a case, it is proposed according to an exemplary embodiment that at least one parameter of the energy store is monitored with a monitoring device.

According to an exemplary embodiment, it is proposed that the energy store is formed from a plurality of storage cells and that the monitoring device monitors the parameters of at least one of the storage cells. Lithium-ion batteries in particular, but also other batteries, are formed by a plurality of storage cells that are initially independent of one another. A failure of an individual memory cell can, however, make a string of series-connected memory cells inoperable, so that it can be useful to monitor each individual cell and, if necessary, to bypass it. It is therefore proposed that the monitoring device monitors one memory cell in each case.

According to one exemplary embodiment, it is proposed that the parameter be at least one operating state, a functional state, a voltage, a current intensity, a temperature, a charging state and / or an operating time.

An operating state can be, for example, charging, discharging or idle. A functional state can be on or off, for example. A voltage can be the voltage between the poles of the cell. A current strength can be the current strength currently flowing through the cell. A temperature can be a temperature measured at a pole. A state of charge can be a so-called “State Of Charge” (SOC), which indicates which amount of charge is currently charged in relation to the total amount of charge in the memory. An operating time can, for example, indicate the number of hours, minutes and / or seconds that the energy store was operated in a charging or discharging state in an operating state. These parameters can be used to determine the state of the energy store, in particular each individual cell, and, if necessary, a preemptive maintenance can be carried out.

According to one exemplary embodiment, it is proposed that the load be a sensor and / or a light source. A sensor is described below. A light source can be, for example, an LED light source, a gas discharge light source, a fluorescent tube, a halogen lamp or the like. A lamp can on the one hand be used as lighting for a street lamp, for example can be used or, on the other hand, can be used as background lighting for display technology.

A sensor can be, for example, a temperature sensor, a gas sensor, a light sensor, an image sensor, a sound sensor, a motion sensor, an air humidity sensor, a voltage sensor and / or a current sensor or the like. The large number of sensors shows that the number of equipment variants for the supply unit can be large. The assembly variants place a wide variety of electrical requirements on the electrical connections of the supply device. Due to the factual plurality of electrical connections, the most varied of assembly variants can be supported.

As already explained, the energy supply network is only in operation at times. In particular, the power supply network is activated as a function of time and switched off for at least 1/3 of the time. This requires that the supply unit includes an energy store, via which the sensors, the lighting means, the display technology, the communication technology and other consumers can be operated permanently.

An electrical generator, e.g. a wind turbine and / or a photovoltaic system, which is coupled to the energy store via a charge controller, can also be arranged on the infrastructure element, in particular the housing, e.g. the mast of a street lamp. This means that the energy store can also be charged and / or relieved of load during times when the energy supply network is de-energized.

A particularly elegant way of supplying consumers with electrical power is the so-called "Power-over-Ethernet" technology (PoE). Consumers can be supplied with electrical energy via the communication technology that is already available. For this reason, it is proposed that the supply device comprises at least two LAN injector connections with different voltage and / or power classes. Power over Ethernet connections are known in different classes, for example PoE, PoE +, PoE ++, which can differ from one another in terms of both voltage and maximum power.

According to one exemplary embodiment, it is proposed that the feed device comprises at least one configurable electrical connection with a configurable voltage and / or power. It may happen that loads have connection requirements that are extremely rare. Such extraordinary loads can objectively be supported by at least one connection being configurable. It is thus possible to configure the connection to the desired equipment variant and load. This means that even an extraordinary load with voltage requirements that are outside of a standard can be supported.

According to one exemplary embodiment, it is proposed that the supply unit comprises a communication device set up to transmit the at least one parameter to a remote computer. The parameter can be sent to the energy store via the communication device, which is in particular also fed electrically via the energy store. It is also possible that settings, in particular for a charge regulator, are received from the remote computer via the communication device.

According to one exemplary embodiment, it is proposed that the communication device be set up for wireless and / or wired communication with the remote computer. Wired LAN or WAN connections as well as wireless communication via LORA, Zigbee, WLAN, GSM, LTE, UMTS, 5G or the like are ideal here.

According to one embodiment, it is proposed that the at least one load is connected to the energy store via a remotely switchable switch. This makes it possible to remotely switch the loads. This can be useful in the case of an emergency shutdown or a time-dependent switching. In addition, sensors or other technology of the infrastructure element can be activated and deactivated as required.

The switch is switched remotely in particular via the communication device which receives switching commands from the remote computer and transmits switching states to the remote computer.

Another aspect is an infrastructure element according to claim 15.

A further aspect is a system with a supply unit according to claim 16.

Finally, one aspect is a method according to claim 17.

The energy store can be arranged within a mast or in the ground so that it can be lowered. The energy store and / or the supply unit can be encapsulated in a housing, for example protected according to IP65.

The infrastructure element has, in particular, a ground foundation which is embedded in the ground and a mast set up on the ground foundation. The mast is designed as a hollow structure element, in particular tubular, and can accommodate the energy store and in particular also the supply unit in its interior. The ground foundation can also be used to accommodate the supply unit and / or the energy store. The connections can be arranged inside the mast or inside the ground foundation. The connections can be formed as screw and / or plug connections.

• 1 ein System mit einem Infrastrukturelement und einem entfernten Rechner gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel;
• 2 eine Versorgungseinheit gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel;
• 3 ein Infrastrukturelement gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel;
• 4 eine Anbindung von Infrastrukturelementen an einen entfernten Rechner gemäß einem Ausführungsbeispiel.

The subject matter is explained in more detail below on the basis of a drawing showing exemplary embodiments. In the drawing show:

• 1 a system with an infrastructure element and a remote computer according to an embodiment;
• 2 a supply unit according to an embodiment;
• 3 an infrastructure element according to an embodiment;
• 4th a connection of infrastructure elements to a remote computer according to an embodiment.

1 shows an infrastructure element 2 , for example a street lamp, a street sign or a beacon. The infrastructure element 2 is in particular with a mast 4th on a ground foundation 6th anchored. The mast 4th is in particular tubular with a cavity. Also the ground foundation 6th , which can be formed as a prefabricated concrete component, can have a cavity. In THE ground foundation 6th is an inlet for a cable 8th a power supply network provided. The cable 8th is with a supply unit 10 via a connection 12 connected. The connection 12 is shown single-phase for the sake of simplicity, but is usually three-phase with an additional neutral conductor and possibly a grounding conductor.

In the 1 it can be seen that the supply unit 10 either inside the ground foundation 6 or inside the mast 4th may be arranged as shown by the dashed lines. Output side of the supply unit 10 are connections 14th provided, which are present in a plurality and have different voltage and / or power classes. A communication device (not shown) can be provided within the supply unit or spatially separated from it, which, as part of the supply unit, enables radio communication with a remote computer 16 can accommodate. Communication takes place in particular via a wide area network 18th , for example via UMTS or 5G. The connection between the communication device and the remote computer 16 can be a direct IP or gateway-IP connection, as described below in 4th will be shown.

The structure of the supply unit 10 is in the 2 explained in more detail. The supply unit 10 can be a housing 20th have which the supply unit 10 encapsulated, in particular protected according to IP65. The facilities of the supply unit described below 10 can inside the case 20th or outside the case 20th be provided. The supply unit 10 is to be understood as a functional structure, which is composed of the various units, which do not necessarily have to be spatially arranged in a common housing.

The supply unit 10 includes in particular an energy store 22nd . The energy storage 22nd is in particular one in a housing 22a encapsulated energy storage 22nd formed from a plurality of memory cells 22b . The memory cells 22b are connected in series and parallel to each other. By connecting the memory cells in series 22b a required output voltage is set and the parallel connection increases the storage capacity of the energy store 22nd adapted as required.

On each of the cells 22b can be a sensor 22c for detecting a parameter of the cells 22b be arranged. The sensors 22c are with a monitoring device 24 connected. The monitoring device 24 is especially electrical via the output terminals 22d of the energy storage 22nd fed. The monitoring device 24 is coupled to a communication device 26th . Via the communication facility 26th takes place in 1 Communication shown with the remote computer 16 , especially the parameters of the memory cells 22b concerning.

The output terminals 22d of the energy storage 22nd are via a charge controller 28 with the connector 12 connected. Here, too, only a single-phase connection is shown, but it goes without saying that a multi-phase connection is provided. The charge controller 28 can also use the monitoring device 24 be connected. Depending on the state of the memory cells 22b the charge controller takes over 28 the loading of the energy storage 22nd with electrical energy. If necessary, the energy storage 22b controlled by the charge controller 28 discharged, especially to feed the connections described below 14th . Output side of the charge controller 22nd for example, a DC voltage can be applied that both the communication facility 26th as well as a dining facility 30th feeds.

The dining facility 30th has a number of converters and inverters for a plurality of connections 14th to be supplied with different voltages and / or services. Output side of the feed device 30th can each have groups of connections 14th be connected with the same voltage and the same power class. For example, it is possible to have two connections 14th operated with a DC voltage of 5V, another connection 14th is operated with an AC voltage of 24V and a third connection 14th is operated with a DC voltage of 48V. These and other voltage classes are possible, so that on the output side of the feed device 30th many different connections 14th can be provided. The respective number of connections 14th per power class and / or voltage class can be two or more.

With the help of the supply unit 10 it is possible to have consumers within the infrastructure element 2 to operate as required and in particular a wide variety of equipment options for the infrastructure element 2 to support, so that with a single variant of the supply unit, a wide variety of equipment variants of infrastructure elements 2 can be operated.

In the 3 is shown as an example that a plurality of connections 14th can be provided. Each line of connections 14th can, for example, represent a voltage class with a certain power.

In the 3 four different voltage classes are shown, each with 2 classes with three connections 14th and two classes with four connections 14th are provided. The connections 14th can be both two-pole direct current connections and two- or three-pole alternating current connections as well as LAN injectors, for example according to the PoE standard, in particular the PoE, PoE + and / or PoE ++ standard.

On the infrastructure element 2 , which according to the 3 for example a street lamp, at least a first consumer can act as a light source 32 be provided. This lamp 32 can be used as street lighting. The light source 32 can use one of the ports 14th with the energy storage 22nd be connected and / or directly via the connection 12 , for example via an appropriate converter or rectifier with the cable 8th of the energy supply network. The light source 32 can be self-sufficient independent of the energy storage 22nd operate.

In addition, the infrastructure element 2 for example a solar collector 34 or a wind turbine can be arranged, which via one of the connections 14th or directly via the charge controller 28 with the energy storage 22nd connected is.

The solar collector 34 serves for the self-sufficient charging of the energy storage 22nd independent of the energy supply network.

In addition, the infrastructure element 2 a plurality of sensors 36a-d as well as a plurality of display elements 38a-b be connected. The sensors 36a-e can be in different equipment variants of the infrastructure element 2 can be combined with each other in different combinations and each needs the infrastructure element 2 equip. The same applies to the display elements 38a-b .

Each of the sensors 36 is connected to one of the ports 14th connected. In addition, each of the display elements 38 is connected to one of the connections 14th connected. Which connection 14th is used is determined from the requirements for the voltage and the power consumption of the respective sensor 36 or display element 38.

As can be seen, the number of connections 14th numerically in excess, that is, the number of connections 14th is greater than the number of sensors 36 plus the number of display elements 38. Thus, with the connections 14th any equipment variant of the infrastructure element 2 The sensors 36 and display elements 38 can be operated with support and as required.

The sensors can, for example, be a brightness sensor 36a , a microphone 36b , a temperature sensor 36c , a gas sensor 36d and / or a wind sensor 36e be.

A display element can, for example, be a display 38a be. Also a warning light 38b can be understood as a display element 38.

3 also shows that optional sensors 30a at one or more of the connections 14th can be arranged. These sensors 30a can in the dining facility 30th be arranged. The sensors 30a can be current sensors, voltage sensors, sensors for measuring the direction of current flow, power sensors, electricity meters, smart meters or the like. Depending on the sensor readings from the sensors 30a can connect to a respective sensor 30a assigned connection can be closed or opened.

4th shows two options for connecting infrastructure elements 10 to a remote computer. On the one hand, it is possible that a direct IP connection, as in 4th shown above, between an infrastructure element 10 and the remote computer 16 over the wide area network 18th is formed. On the other hand, it is also possible, as in 4th shown below that at least two infrastructure elements 14th via a common gateway 11 with the remote computer 16 over the wide area network 18th establish an IP connection. The IP connection can be between the gateway 11 and the remote computer 16 be constructed. Between the gateway 11 and the infrastructure elements 14th an IP connection, a fieldbus connection or a connection according to another protocol can be established.

List of reference symbols

2

Infrastructure element

4th

mast

6th

Ground foundation

8th

electric wire

10

Supply unit

11

Gateway

12

connection

14th

connections

16

computer

18th

Wide area network

20th

casing

22nd

Energy storage

22a

casing

22b

Storage cells

22c

sensor

22d

Output terminal

24

Monitoring device

26th

Communication facility

28

Charge controller

30th

Dining equipment

30a

Sensor / switch for connections ( 14th )

32

Bulbs

34

Solar collector

36a

Brightness sensor

36b

microphone

36c

Temperature sensor

36d

Gas sensor

36e

Wind sensor

38a

Display

38b

Warning light

Claims (17)

Supply unit for an infrastructure element, in particular a street lamp, comprising: - an electrical energy store with a connection for an energy supply network, and - an electrical feed device with at least one electrical connection for at least one load arranged on the infrastructure element, - characterized in that the feed device has a Comprises a plurality of electrical connections with different voltage and / or power classes. Supply unit according to Claim 1 , characterized in - that the plurality of electrical connections is in a numerical excess to the number of loads with mutually different voltage and / or power classes. Supply unit according to Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that a monitoring device is set up for monitoring at least one parameter of the energy store. Supply unit according to Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the energy store is formed from a plurality of storage cells and that the monitoring device monitors the parameter on at least one of the storage cells. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the parameter is at least one operating state, a functional state, a voltage, a current intensity, a temperature, a charging state and / or an operating time. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in - that the load is a sensor and / or a lighting means. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sensor is a temperature sensor, a gas sensor, a light sensor, an image sensor, a sound sensor, a motion sensor, a humidity sensor, a voltage sensor and / or a current sensor. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in - that the energy supply network is activated as a function of time and is switched off for at least 1/3 of the time. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in - that the supply device comprises at least two LAN injector connections with mutually different voltage and / or power. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the feed device comprises at least one configurable electrical connection with configurable voltage and / or power. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a communication device is set up to transmit the at least one parameter to a remote computer. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one load is connected to the energy store via a remotely switchable switch. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the remotely switchable switch can be switched via the communication device. Supply unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the communication device is set up for wireless and / or wired communication with the remote computer. Infrastructure element with a supply unit according to one of the preceding claims. System with at least one supply unit according to one of the Claims 1 to 12 and a central computer, wherein the central computer is set up for the individual monitoring of a supply unit and in particular for evaluating the parameters received from a supply unit. Method for operating a supply unit according to one of the Claims 1 to 12 - Charging an electrical energy store via a connection to an energy supply network, - Operating at least one load arranged on the infrastructure element via the energy store, characterized in , - That at least two loads on electrical connections in a numerical excess to the number of loads with different from one another Voltage and / or power classes are operated.

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