JP2006262593A - Feed controller, feeder, and feeder system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a feed controller, a feeder, and a feeder system, capable of leveling the operating states in the plurality of feeders, and dispersedly disposing the feeders. <P>SOLUTION: This feed controller includes a receiver 21 for receiving operational information indicating current outputs by the respective feeders from the respective feeders connected with a conductor wire by means of communication via the conductor wire; a feed-current amount calculator 261 for calculating a total of the current output from the plurality of feeders, based on the operational information; an assignment part 262 which assigns the total of the current calculated by the feed current amount calculator 261 to the respective feeders, in order to distribute the current to the respective feeders; and a transmitter 24, which transmits an output current designation for outputting the current, assigned to the respective feeders by the assignment part to the respective conductor wires from the respective feeders to the respective feeders by means of communication via the conductor wire. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply control device that controls operations of a plurality of power supply devices that supply a power supply current to a load via a conductor line shared for power supply and communication, and the power supply device. And it is related with the electric power feeding system using such an electric power feeding control apparatus and an electric power feeding apparatus.

  In recent years, a plurality of power line carrier communication devices configured to be able to communicate with each other by superimposing a communication signal on a power supply voltage via a conductor wire shared with power supply and communication, and the conductor wire A power supply system in which a power supply device that supplies power to the power line carrier communication device is connected to the power line carrier communication device is used. In such a power supply system, when power is supplied by a single power supply device, the current capacity required for the power supply device, that is, the output power amount that can be output from the power supply device needs to be increased, and the cost increases. If the power supply device stops power supply due to some abnormality, all the power line carrier communication devices connected to the conductor lines stop operating, and thus there is a disadvantage that reliability is impaired. Therefore, a power feeding device is known in which a plurality of inexpensive DC-DC converters having a small current capacity are connected in parallel to constitute a power feeding device (for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, when a plurality of DC-DC converters are connected in parallel, the output currents of the DC-DC converters are not equal due to variations in characteristics of the DC-DC converters, and the output currents of some DC-DC converters increase. As a result, the circuit life is shortened, and the efficiency, which is the ratio of the power output from the power supply device to the power input to the power supply device, is reduced.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a power feeding system according to the background art. A power feeding system 101 illustrated in FIG. 17 includes a conductor wire 102, a plurality of terminal devices 103 that are power line carrier communication devices, and a power feeding device 104 that supplies a power supply voltage for operation to the plurality of terminal devices 103 via the conductor wires 102. It has.

  The power supply device 104 receives a DC voltage from an externally connected commercial AC or a DC voltage E output from an externally connected DC power source such as a battery, and the power supply voltage Vo for operating the terminal device 103. This is a DC power supply circuit that converts the current into the conductor wire 102 and supplies it to the conductor wire 102. The power supply apparatus 104 detects the currents output from the DC-DC converters 105 and 106 and the DC-DC converters 105 and 106, respectively, for converting the DC voltage E into the power supply voltage Vo in order to solve the above-described problems. Current detection units 107 and 108 and a control unit 109 that controls the operation of the DC-DC converters 105 and 106 to equalize the output current based on the current values detected by the current detection units 107 and 108 are provided.

As a result, while a plurality of DC-DC converters are connected in parallel to ensure current capacity, the output current of some DC-DC converters increases to shorten circuit life and reduce efficiency. It is intended to suppress.
JP 2001-95232 A

  In the power supply system 101 illustrated in FIG. 17, for example, when the terminal device 103 is added, if the current consumption increases and the current capacity of the power supply device 104 is insufficient, a DC-DC converter is added later to the power supply device 104. Even if the current capacity is increased, the controller 109 cannot control the operation of the added DC-DC converter, so that it is difficult to increase the current capacity by adding the DC-DC converter. .

  Further, in order to improve the reliability of the power supply system 101, it is desirable to disperse and arrange a plurality of DC-DC converters in order to prevent an abnormality occurring in a part of the power supply system 101 from spreading to the entire power supply system 101. However, in the power feeding device 104, since a control signal is exchanged between the control unit 109 and the DC-DC converters 105 and 106 through a signal line different from the conductor line 102, a plurality of DC-DC converters are distributed. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that the number of work steps and wiring cost for wiring signal wiring for control signals different from the conductor wire 102 are increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides a power feeding control device and a power feeding device that can easily dispose power feeding devices while balancing operating states in a plurality of power feeding devices. With the goal. And it aims at providing the electric power feeding system using such an electric power feeding control apparatus and an electric power feeding apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the power supply control device according to the first means of the present invention performs the operations of a plurality of power supply devices that supply a power supply current to a load via a conductor line shared for power supply and communication. A power supply control device that controls the operation information indicating the current that each power supply device outputs to the conductor wire from each power supply device connected to the conductor wire through communication via the conductor wire. A receiving unit; a supply current amount calculating unit that calculates a sum of currents output from the plurality of power supply devices to the conductor wire based on the operation information received by the receiving unit; and the supply current amount calculation A first allocating unit that allocates the sum of the currents calculated by the unit to each of the power feeding devices to be distributed to the plurality of power feeding devices, and a current allocated to each of the power feeding devices by the first allocating unit. Before each power feeder An output current instruction for output to the conductor wire, is characterized in that it comprises a transmission unit for transmitting to each of the power supply apparatus by communication through the conductor lines.

  In the above power supply control device, the first assigning unit assigns the sum of the currents calculated by the supply current amount calculating unit to each power supply device so that the supply currents of the power supply devices are equal. It is characterized by.

  The power supply control device may further include a characteristic information storage unit that stores efficiency characteristic information indicating a relationship between an output current and efficiency in each of the power supply devices, and the first allocation unit includes the characteristic information storage unit. On the basis of the efficiency characteristic information stored in the unit, the sum of the currents calculated by the supply current amount calculation unit is allocated to each power feeding device so that the efficiency of each power feeding device is equal. .

  Further, in the above-described power supply control device, the power supply information storage unit that stores in advance information on the current capacity in the plurality of power supply devices, and the information on the current capacity stored in the power supply information storage unit, Obtaining a sum of current capacities, and further increasing the sum within the current capacities of the plurality of power feeding devices based on a difference between the sum of the obtained current capacities and the sum of currents calculated by the sum calculator. A current margin calculation unit that calculates an output current amount that can be output as a current margin amount, and a notification unit that notifies the current margin amount calculated by the current margin calculation unit.

  The power supply control device may further include a removal processing unit that acquires removal information indicating that each power supply device connected to the conductor wire is removed from the conductor wire by communication via the conductor wire, When the detachment information is acquired by the detachment processing unit, the allocating unit 1 uses the detachment information as the current indicated by the operation information received by the receiving unit from the power supply apparatus that has transmitted the detachment information. It is characterized in that it is assigned to another power supply device excluding the transmitted power supply device.

  The power supply apparatus according to the second means of the present invention is a power supply apparatus that supplies a power supply current to a load through a conductor line shared for power supply and communication, and the power supply apparatus connected to the conductor line An operation information transmitting unit for transmitting operation information indicating a current output from the power supply device to the conductor wire to a power supply control device for controlling operation of the device by communication via the conductor wire; and the power supply control device. An instruction receiving unit that receives an output current instruction for instructing a current to be supplied to the conductor line by communication via the conductor line, and the conductor line according to the output current instruction received by the instruction receiving unit. A power supply unit that outputs current to the power supply unit, wherein the power supply control device is any one of the power supply control devices described above.

  The power supply apparatus according to the third means of the present invention is a power supply apparatus that supplies a power supply current to a load through a conductor line shared for power supply and communication, and is connected to the other conductor line. From the operation information transmitting unit that transmits the operation information indicating the current output to the conductor wire to the power supply device by communication via the conductor wire, and the other power supply device connected to the conductor wire, the operation Based on the operation information received by the operation information receiving unit and the operation information receiving unit that receives information through communication via the conductor wire, the current supplied from the plurality of power feeding devices to the conductor wire A supply current amount calculation unit that calculates a sum; a second allocation unit that determines an output current of the own device so as to distribute the sum of the currents calculated by the supply current amount calculation unit to the plurality of power supply devices; Determined by the second allocation unit The output current is characterized in that it comprises a power supply unit for output to the conductor line.

  And the electric power feeding system which concerns on the 4th means of this invention is the electric power feeding which controls the operation | movement of the several electric power feeder which supplies power supply current to a load through the conductor wire shared for power supply and communication, and the said electric power feeder A power supply device, and the power supply control device is any one of the power supply control devices described above.

  Furthermore, a power supply system according to a fifth means of the present invention includes a plurality of power supply devices that supply a power supply current to a load via a conductor wire shared for power supply and communication, and the power supply device includes the power supply device described above. It is characterized by being.

  In the power supply control device, the power supply device, and the power supply system using the power supply device configured as described above, the operation information indicating the current output to the conductor wire by the operation information transmission unit in the power supply device is transmitted through the conductor wire. It is transmitted to the power supply control device. Then, the reception unit in the power supply control device receives operation information indicating the current output from each power supply device connected to the conductor wire to the conductor wire by communication via the conductor wire, and the amount of supplied current The calculation unit calculates the sum of the currents output from the plurality of power supply apparatuses to the conductor lines based on the operation information, and the first assignment unit distributes the total of the currents to the plurality of power supply apparatuses. Assigned to the device. Further, an output current instruction for outputting the current assigned to each power supply device by the first assigning unit from each power supply device to each conductor line is transmitted to each power supply device by communication via the conductor wire. Then, this output current instruction is received by the instruction receiving unit in the power supply apparatus, and current is output from the power supply unit to the conductor wire in accordance with this output current instruction. The output current of the device can be controlled by communication via a conductor wire, and it becomes easy to disperse and arrange the power feeding devices while balancing the operation states of the plurality of power feeding devices.

  In the power supply device having such a configuration and the power supply system using the power supply device, the operation information indicating the current output to the conductor wire to the other power supply device connected to the conductor wire is transmitted by the operation information transmission unit. The operation information is transmitted by communication via a wire, and the operation information is received by the operation information receiving unit from another power supply device connected to the conductor wire via communication via the conductor wire. The total sum of currents supplied to the conductor wires from the plurality of power feeding devices is calculated based on the operation information received by the second power supply unit, and the total number of currents calculated by the supply current amount calculation unit is calculated by the second allocation unit. The output current of the own device is determined to be distributed to the power supply device, and the power supply unit outputs the output current determined by the second assigning unit to the conductor wire. By transmitting and receiving the operation information of its own to one another through the body line, the power feeding device while balancing the operating state of the plurality of power feeding device without using a power supply control device can be easily distributed.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the structure which attached | subjected the same code | symbol in each figure shows that it is the same structure, The description is abbreviate | omitted.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a power feeding system using the power feeding control device and the power feeding device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A power supply system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a power supply control device 2 and a plurality of power supply devices 3-1, 3-2,... -N and a plurality of terminal devices 4 (loads) are connected. In this specification, when referring collectively to the plurality of power feeding devices 3-1, 3-2,..., 3-n, they are indicated by reference numerals with subscripts omitted, and when referring to individual configurations. It is indicated by a reference sign with a suffix.

  For example, the terminal device 4 is configured to be able to communicate with another terminal device 4 by superimposing a communication signal on the DC power supply voltage Vo applied to the conductor line LN by the plurality of power supply devices 3. A device that performs power line carrier communication, for example, a home appliance such as a lighting device or an air conditioner, or a power line carrier communication device such as a sensor. And the terminal device 4 is operate | moved by the DC power supply current supplied via the conductor line LN from the some electric power feeder 3. FIG. In addition, the terminal device 4 should just be a load apparatus which operate | moves with the electric power supplied via the conductor line LN from the several electric power feeder 3, and does not necessarily need to be a power line carrier communication apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the power feeding device 3 illustrated in FIG. 1. The power feeding device 3 shown in FIG. 2 receives a DC voltage from an externally connected commercial AC or a DC voltage E output from an externally connected DC power source such as a battery, and operates the terminal device 4. This is a direct current constant voltage power supply device that converts the power supply voltage Vo to a conductor line LN after being converted to the power supply voltage Vo. The power feeding device 3 adjusts the amount of power supplied to the terminal device 4 by adjusting the output current output to the terminal device 4 via the conductor line LN while keeping the output voltage constant at the power supply voltage Vo. It has become.

  The power supply device 3 includes, for example, a reception unit 31 (instruction reception unit), a control unit 32 (current control unit), a power supply unit 33, an output current detection unit 34, a storage unit 35, and a transmission unit 36 (operation information). Transmitter). The power feeding device 3 is not limited to the one that receives the DC voltage E and converts it into the power supply voltage Vo, but may be one that receives an AC voltage and converts it into the power supply voltage Vo.

  The receiving unit 31 is a receiving circuit that receives a communication signal indicating an output current instruction superimposed on the power supply voltage of the conductor line LN by the power supply control device 2, converts the signal into a signal format that can be processed by the control unit 32, and outputs the signal. is there. The control unit 32 is a control circuit unit configured with, for example, a microcomputer, and adjusts the output current of the power supply unit 33 based on the communication signal received by the reception unit 31 or is detected by the output current detection unit 34. The operation information indicating the output current of the power supply unit 33 is transmitted to the power feeding control device 2 by the transmission unit 36 via the conductor line LN.

  The power supply unit 33 is a DC-DC converter that converts a DC voltage E supplied from the outside into a power supply voltage Vo and outputs it to the conductor line LN, and is configured using a switching power supply circuit such as a step-down chopper circuit, for example. The output current is adjusted according to the control signal from the control unit 32. The output current detection unit 34 detects the current output from the power supply unit 33 according to the control signal from the control unit 32 and outputs operation information indicating the current value to the transmission unit 36.

  The storage unit 35 is a storage unit that stores a communication address assigned to the own device, ID (identification) information of the own device, a communication address of the power supply control device 2, and the like. For example, a ROM (Read Only memory (ERAM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory) which is an example of volatile memory, etc. are comprised.

  The transmission unit 36 uses the operation information output from the output current detection unit 34 and the communication address and ID information of the own device stored in the storage unit 35 as the communication signal by power line carrier communication to the power supply voltage of the conductor line LN. Superimposed and transmitted to the communication address of the power supply control device 2 stored in the storage unit 35 via the conductor line LN.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the power supply control device 2 illustrated in FIG. 1. The power supply control device 2 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes a reception unit 21, a power information storage unit 22, a characteristic information storage unit 23, a transmission unit 24, a display unit 25 (notification unit), and a control information generation unit 26. I have.

  The receiving unit 21 is a receiving circuit that receives a communication signal indicating operation information superimposed on the power supply voltage of the conductor line LN by the power feeding device 3, converts the communication signal into a signal format that can be processed by the control information generating unit 26, and outputs the signal. . The power supply information storage unit 22 is a storage unit that stores in advance power supply information in which ID information of each power supply device 3 is associated with a current capacity that is an upper limit value of a current that each power supply device 3 can normally output. is there.

  The characteristic information storage unit 23 is a storage unit that stores efficiency characteristic information indicating the relationship between the output current of each power supply device 3 and the efficiency. The efficiency is the ratio of the power output from the power supply device 3 to the conductor line LN with respect to the power input from the outside to the power supply device 3. For example, (power output from the power supply device 3 to the conductor line LN) / (power supply) It is expressed as a percentage as (power input from the outside to the apparatus 3) × 100. The power source information storage unit 22 and the characteristic information storage unit 23 are configured using, for example, a ROM or EEPROM that is an example of a nonvolatile memory, a RAM that is an example of a volatile memory, or the like.

  The power supply information in the power supply information storage unit 22 and the efficiency characteristic information in the characteristic information storage unit 23 are connected to the power supply control device 2 by a user using a personal computer or a dedicated setting terminal, for example, using an interface circuit (not shown). In addition, the power source information storage unit 22 and the characteristic information storage unit 23 may be stored in advance using these setting terminals and the like.

  The transmission unit 24 superimposes the output current instruction output from the control information generation unit 26 on the power supply voltage of the conductor line LN as a communication signal by power line carrier communication, and transmits it to each power supply apparatus 3 via the conductor line LN. . The display unit 25 is a display device using, for example, a liquid crystal display.

  The control information generation unit 26 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes predetermined arithmetic processing, a ROM that stores a predetermined control program, and a RAM that temporarily stores data. Are executed as a supply current amount calculation unit 261, an allocation unit 262 (first allocation unit), a current margin calculation unit 263, and a removal processing unit 264.

  Next, the operation of the power feeding system 1 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the power feeding system 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power supply control device 2. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power feeding device 3. First, referring to FIG. 5, an operation information request signal from the control information generation unit 26 in the power supply control device 2 is transmitted to each power supply device 3 by the transmission unit 24 via the conductor line LN (step S11). Then, the operation information request transmitted from the power supply control device 2 is transmitted to each power supply device 3 as shown in FIG. 4, and the operation information request signal from the power supply control device 2 is transmitted to each power supply device 3 as shown in FIG. And is output to the control unit 32 (step S21).

  Next, the output current detection unit 34 detects the supply current of the power feeding device 3 according to the control signal from the control unit 32, and the supply current is output to the transmission unit 36 as operation information. Then, the transmission unit 36 transmits the operation information from the output current detection unit 34 to the power supply control device 2 through the conductor line LN (step S22). Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation information transmitted from each power supply device 3 is transmitted to the power supply control device 2, and the operation information from each power supply device 3 is received in the power supply control device 2 as shown in FIG. 5. 21 and output to the control information generator 26 (step S12).

  Next, the supply current amount calculation unit 261 calculates the sum Isum1 of the current supplied from each power supply device 3 to the conductor line LN (step S13), and the current sum Isum1 calculated by the supply current amount calculation unit 261. Is allocated to each power supply apparatus 3 by the assigning unit 262, and the average value Iave of the supply current is calculated as the operation target value (step S14).

  Next, the assigning unit 262 compares the supply current indicated by the operation information obtained from each power supply device 3 with the average value Iave (step S15), and the supply current for all the power supply devices 3 is equal to the average value Iave. If so (YES in step S15), it is assumed that the efficiency is the same for all the power supply devices 3, and the process is terminated. That is, if the efficiency characteristic information indicating the relationship between the output current and the efficiency in each power supply apparatus 3 is the same for all the power supply apparatuses 3 as in the efficiency characteristic information 231 shown in FIG. If the current is equal to the average value Iave, that is, if the supply current is the same for all the power feeding devices 3, the efficiency is the same for all the power feeding devices 3.

  On the other hand, in step S15, if the supply current does not match the average value Iave for all of the power supply devices 3 (NO in step S15), the efficiency is not equal for all of the power supply devices 3, so Is output from the assigning unit 262 to the transmitting unit 24, and the transmitting unit 24 causes the conductor line LN to be connected to the power supply device 3 that does not match the average value Iave. Then, the supply current is transmitted to the power feeding device 3 that does not match the average value Iave (step S16).

  Then, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the output current instruction transmitted from the power supply control device 2 is transmitted to each power supply device 3, and the output current instruction from the power supply control device 2 is transmitted to each power supply device 3 as illustrated in FIG. 6. The signal is received by the receiving unit 31 and output to the control unit 32 (step S23). Then, the control unit 32 adjusts the output current of the power supply unit 33 in accordance with the output current instruction (step S24).

  Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, in the power feeding system 1, there are three power feeding devices 3 indicated by symbols A, B, and C. In the initial state, the power feeding device A is 1000 mA, and the power feeding device B is 100 mA and the electric power feeding apparatus C are outputting the electric current of 400 mA. In this case, the average value Iave of the output current values of the power feeding devices is 500 mA, and this value is the target value (step S14). At this time, the output currents of the power feeding devices A, B, and C are changed so that the amount of change in the output current changes more as the output current value is farther from the target value.

  Here, the current change amount of the power feeding apparatus A is set to the largest value, and is reduced by, for example, 150 mA. In addition, the power supply apparatus B generates 100 mA, and the power supply apparatus C generates an output current instruction so as to increase 50 mA. This output current instruction is transmitted to the power feeding devices A, B, and C (step S16), the output current of the power feeding device A is 850 mA, the output current of the power feeding device B is 200 mA, and the output current of the power feeding device C is 450 mA. (Step S24).

  Next, the power feeding devices A, B, and C transmit the current output current as operation information to the power feeding control device 2 (step S22). Then, the allocating unit 262 in the power supply control device 2 compares the supply current indicated by the operation information obtained from each power supply device 3 with the average value Iave (step S15), and the power supply devices A, B, and C are still in use. Since the output current does not match the average value Iave (NO in step S15), the assignment unit 262 again causes the control direction to increase or decrease the output current of the power feeding devices A, B, and C with respect to the target value. , The amount of change in current is set.

  For example, since the output current of the power supply device A is 850 mA, the output current of the power supply device B is 200 mA, and the output current of the power supply device C is 450 mA, the difference with respect to the target value is the power supply device A, the power supply device B, Since the power supply device C is larger in order, the assignment unit 262 generates an output current instruction to reduce the output current of the power supply device A by 150 mA, increase the output current of the power supply device B by 100 mA, and increase the output current of the power supply device C by 50 mA. The

  Then, this output current instruction is transmitted to the power feeding devices A, B and C (step S16), the output current of the power feeding device A is 700 mA, the output current of the power feeding device B is 300 mA, and the output current of the power feeding device C is 500 mA. (Step S24).

  Next, the power feeding devices A, B, and C transmit the current output current as operation information to the power feeding control device 2 (step S22). Then, the allocation unit 262 in the power supply control device 2 compares the supply current indicated by the operation information obtained from each power supply device 3 with the average value Iave (step S15), and the output current of the power supply device C is the average value. Since the output current does not match the average value Iave for the other power supply devices A and B (NO in step S15), the assignment unit 262 again supplies the power supply devices A and B to the target value. A control direction for increasing or decreasing the output current of B and a current change amount are set.

  Then, since the output current of the power feeding device A is 700 mA and the output current of the power feeding device B is 300 mA, the difference from the target value is equal to 200 mA. Therefore, the allocating unit 262 reduces the output current of the power feeding device A to 100 mA. An output current indication is generated to decrease and increase the output current of power supply B by 100 mA. This output current instruction is transmitted to the power feeding devices A and B (step S16), and the output currents of the power feeding devices A, B, and C are all set to 500 mA. As a result, the efficiency of all the power feeding devices A, B, and C is improved. Be made equal.

  As a result, the power supply control device 2 can control the output current of the power supply device 3 disposed remotely by power line carrier communication via the conductor line LN. In addition, the power feeding device 3 can be easily distributed in the power feeding system 1 while balancing the efficiency.

  In step S <b> 16, the assigning unit 262 reads the current capacity of the power supply device 3 from the power supply information storage unit 22 when assigning the output current to the power supply device 3 whose output current does not match the average value Iave. It is desirable to assign the output current within a range that does not exceed the current capacity of each power supply device 3. Thereby, it is suppressed that the electric power feeder 3 exceeds a current capacity and operate | moves in an overcurrent output state.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, in the power supply control device 2, in step S <b> 17, the current margin calculation unit 263 calculates the sum Isum <b> 2 of the current capacities of the power supply devices 3 stored in the power supply information storage unit 22 ( In step S17), a value obtained by subtracting the sum Isum1 of the supply current from the sum Isum2 of the current capacity is calculated as the power supply margin amount Ix, and data indicating the power supply margin amount Ix is output to the display unit 25 (step S18). Thus, the power margin Ix may be displayed (step S19).

  Accordingly, when the user adds the terminal device 4 to the power supply system 1, for example, the display unit 25 supplies a power supply margin that can increase the current supply amount within the range of the total current capacity in the power supply system 1. Since it can be known as the amount Ix, the user can add the terminal device 4 to the power feeding system 1 after confirming that the current consumption of the terminal device 4 to be added does not exceed the power supply margin amount Ix. The power source information storage unit 22 may be configured to store the total current capacity Isum2 in advance.

  Further, in the power feeding system 1, when the numbers of the power feeding devices 3 and the terminal devices 4 are increased or decreased, the power supply voltage Vo supplied to the conductor line LN is output to the conductor line LN of each power feeding device 3 in order to keep constant. The current changes. Therefore, when the current value detected by the output current detection unit 34 changes, the control unit 32 in each power supply device 3 uses the current value as operation information to the power supply control device 2 via the conductor line LN using the transmission unit 36. You may make it transmit. And even if it is a case where the number of the electric power feeder 3 and the terminal device 4 is increased / decreased by repeating the process of steps S12-S16 and steps S22-S24 by the electric power feeding control apparatus 2 and the electric power feeder 3 again, It is possible to balance the output current and the efficiency of the plurality of power feeding devices 3.

  In addition, the power supply device 3 includes, for example, an unillustrated operation switch for instructing the user to remove the power supply device 3, and when the operation input by the user is received by the operation switch, the power supply device 3 is connected to the conductor line LN. The removal information indicating that it is removed from the power supply and the operation information indicating the output current detected by the output current detection unit 34 may be transmitted to the power supply control device 2 by the transmission unit 36 via the conductor line LN.

  In the power supply control device 2, when the removal information and the operation information are received by the receiving unit 21, the removal processing unit 264 should distribute the output current indicated by the received operation information to the other power supply devices 3. The allocating unit 262 is activated, and the allocating unit 262 recalculates the average value Iave in step S14 for the other power feeding devices 3 excluding the power feeding device 3 that has transmitted the removal information, and the processes in and after step S15 are repeated. Thus, the current supply to the terminal device 4 via the conductor line LN by the other power supply device 3 excluding the power supply device 3 that has transmitted the removal information is performed while balancing the efficiency. When the assignment of the output current to the other power supply apparatuses 3 excluding the power supply apparatus 3 that transmitted the removal information is completed, the power supply apparatus 3 that transmitted the removal information can be removed by the removal processing unit 264. Is displayed by the display unit 25.

  Thereby, the user can confirm the display that the power feeding device 3 displayed on the display unit 25 can be removed, and can maintain the current supply to the terminal device 4 even if the power feeding device 3 is removed from the power feeding system 1. Since the power supply device 3 can be removed after the power supply device is turned on, the current supply state when the power supply device 3 is removed from the power supply system 1 can be stabilized.

  Note that the efficiency characteristic information indicating the relationship between the output current and the efficiency in each power supply device 3 is the same for all the power supply devices 3, and the efficiency of all the power supply devices 3 is improved by matching the supply currents for all the power supply devices 3. However, the efficiency characteristic information of each power supply device 3 may be different.

  For example, when the efficiency characteristic information of each power supply apparatus 3 is different, for example, the efficiency characteristic information of each power supply apparatus 3 is stored in the characteristic information storage unit 23 in advance, and the assigning unit 262 3 and the efficiency characteristic information stored in the characteristic information storage unit 23, the efficiency of each power supply apparatus 3 is obtained, and the efficiency of each power supply apparatus 3 that is relatively low in efficiency is determined. The output current is changed so as to improve, and the output current is changed so as to reduce the efficiency of each of the power supply devices 3 that is relatively high in efficiency, and this is repeated until the efficiency of all the power supply devices 3 matches. Thus, the efficiency may be balanced for all the power feeding devices 3.

  Moreover, although the example in which the operation information of the power supply device 3 is transmitted to the power supply control device 2 after the power supply control device 2 transmits the operation information request in step S11 is shown, for example, the power supply device 3 is a power supply control device. The operation information may be periodically transmitted to the power supply control device 2 at predetermined time intervals without waiting for the operation information request 2.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a power feeding control apparatus and a power feeding system using the power feeding apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a power supply system using the power supply apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. A power feeding system 1 a illustrated in FIG. 9 is different from the power feeding system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 in that the power feeding control device 2 is not provided and a power feeding device 3 a is provided instead of the power feeding device 3. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the power feeding device 3a. The power feeding device 3a shown in FIG. 10 is different from the power feeding device 3 shown in FIG. 2 in that it further includes a power information storage unit 22, a characteristic information storage unit 23, a display unit 25, and a control information generation unit 26a. In addition to the ID information and current capacity of each power supply device 3a, the power information storage unit 22 stores the priority of each power supply device 3a in association with each other. Similarly to the control information generation unit 26, the control information generation unit 26a includes a supply current amount calculation unit 261, an unillustrated allocation unit 262a (second allocation unit), a current margin calculation unit 263, and a removal processing unit 264. I have.

  Since the other configuration is the same as that of the power supply device 3 shown in FIG. 2, the description thereof is omitted, and the characteristic operation of the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the power feeding system 1a. In FIG. 11, the priority order of the power feeding device 3 a-1 is the highest, and thereafter, the priority order is set lower as the suffix of the reference symbol increases. In the following description, for the sake of simplicity, the power supply device 3a having the highest priority is referred to as a power supply device 3a-C, which is referred to as a reference power supply. In addition, the power supply device 3a having the lowest priority is referred to as a power supply device 3a-B, and the remaining power supply device 3a is referred to as a power supply device 3a-A.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power feeding device 3a-C. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power feeding device 3a-A. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power feeding device 3a-B. In addition, the same step number is attached | subjected to the same operation | movement, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  First, referring to FIGS. 12, 13, and 14, in the power feeding devices 3 a -C, 3 a -A, and 3 a -B, the output current of the power supply unit 33 is changed according to the control signal from the supply current amount calculation unit 261. The output current detection unit 34 detects the output current, and the output current is output to the transmission unit 36 as operation information. Then, the transmission unit 36 transmits the operation information from the output current detection unit 34 to all the other power supply apparatuses 3a via the conductor line LN (step S101).

  Next, the operation information transmitted from all the other power supply devices 3a is received by the reception unit 31 (operation information reception unit) in the power supply devices 3a-C, 3a-A, 3a-B, and the supply current amount calculation unit Is output to H.261 (step S102). Then, the supply current amount calculation unit 261 calculates the sum Isum1 of the supply currents of all the power supply apparatuses 3a including the own device based on the acquired operation information (step S103).

  Next, in the power feeding device 3a-C, the allocation unit 262a determines the output current of the own device based on the sum Isum1. Specifically, for example, the allocating unit 262a calculates an average current Iave obtained by dividing the total sum Isum1 by the number of power supply devices 3a and outputs the average current Iave to the control unit 32. The control unit 32 averages the output current of the power supply unit 33. The current Iave is set (step S104).

  Next, the output current of the power supply unit 33 is detected by the output current detection unit 34 in accordance with the control signal from the allocation unit 262a, and the output current is output to the transmission unit 36 as change operation information. Then, the changing operation information is transmitted to all the other power supply apparatuses 3a through the conductor line LN by the transmission unit 36 (step S105).

  Hereinafter, the operations in steps S106 to S108 are the same as those in steps S17 to S19 in FIG.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 13, in the power feeding device 3a-A, the changing unit information received from the other power feeding device 3a is received by the receiving unit 31 and output to the assigning unit 262a (step S201). The assignment unit 262a refers to the priority order stored in the power supply information storage unit 22, and confirms whether or not all the change operation information of the power supply apparatus 3a having a higher priority order than the own device has been received (step). S202) When all the changing operation information of the power feeding device 3a having higher priority than the own device is received (YES in step S202), it is determined that the output current of the own device has been changed and the output of the own device is determined. While the process proceeds to step S203 to adjust the current, when all the change operation information of the power supply apparatus 3a having a higher priority than the own apparatus has not been received yet (NO in step S202), the priority is higher than the own apparatus. In order to confirm that the changing operation of the output current is completed in the power supply apparatus 3a and the changing operation information is received, the process proceeds to step S201 again.

  Next, in step S203, the allocating unit 262a adjusts the output current so that the efficiency is equal to that of the reference power source, and the current value is fixed (step S203). Specifically, for example, the allocation unit 262a refers to the efficiency characteristic information stored in the characteristic information storage unit 23, for example, the efficiency characteristic information 231 shown in FIG. 15, and receives it from the power supply apparatus 3a-C as the reference power source. The efficiency corresponding to the current value indicated by the changed operation information is acquired. In FIG. 15, the power feeding devices 3a-C, 3a-A, and 3a-B are represented by symbols A, B, and C, respectively.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 15, if the current value indicated by the change operation information received from the power supply apparatus 3a-C as the reference power supply is 500 mA and the output current of the power supply apparatus 3a-A is currently 900 mA, the allocation unit 262a Thus, the efficiency corresponding to the output current 500 mA of the reference power supply is read from the efficiency characteristic information 231 as the target efficiency, and the output current corresponding to the target efficiency is acquired as 500 mA. Then, the allocating unit 262a outputs a control signal for causing the output current to become an output current of 500 mA corresponding to the target efficiency, and the control unit 32 sets the output current of the power supply unit 33 to 500 mA and the current value is fixed. (Step S203).

  As described above, the efficiency of the power feeding device 3a-C and that of the power feeding device 3a-A can be matched by the processing in steps S201 to S203. Hereinafter, the operations in steps S105 to S108 are the same as the operations of the power feeding device 3a-C in FIG.

  Next, referring to FIG. 14, in power supply device 3a-B having the lowest priority, change operation information transmitted from other power supply device 3a is received by receiving unit 31 and output to allocating unit 262a. (Step S301). Whether the allocation unit 262a refers to the ID information of the other power supply apparatus 3a stored in the power supply information storage unit 22 and receives the change operation information of all the other power supply apparatuses 3a in the power supply system 1a. Is confirmed (step S302), and all the changing operation information of the other power supply apparatus 3a is received (YES in step S302), it is determined that the output current of the own device has been changed and the output current of the own device is determined. If the change operation information of all the other power supply devices 3a has not been received (NO in step 302), the operation of changing the output current is completed in all other power supply devices 3a. Then, the process proceeds to step S301 again to confirm that the changed operation information is received.

  Next, in step S303, the assigning unit 262a calculates the sum Isum3 of the supply currents of the other power supply devices 3a after the output current adjustment based on the change operation information received from all the other power supply devices 3a (step S303). S303), the output current Iout of the own device is determined as Isum1-Isum3, an output current instruction for outputting the output current Iout is output to the control unit 32, and the output current of the power supply unit 33 is set to Iout by the control unit 32. (Step S304).

  Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, the sum Isum1 of output currents of the power feeding devices 3a-C, 3a-A, 3a-B in the initial state is 1500 mA, and the other power feeding devices 3a-C, If the sum Isum3 of the output currents indicated by the change operation information received from 3a-A is 1000 mA, the output current Iout of the power feeding device 3a-B is 500 mA, and the power feeding devices 3a-C, 3a-A, 3a-B. The output current and efficiency of the same.

  When the output current is determined in order from the power supply apparatus 3a with the highest priority, as shown in FIG. 16, the power supply apparatus 3a-B whose output current is finally determined operates at an efficiency different from that of the other power supply apparatuses 3a. However, since the other power supply apparatuses 3a excluding the power supply apparatuses 3a-B can be operated with the same efficiency, the power supply system 1a as a whole can balance the efficiency of the power supply apparatus 3a.

  In addition, in steps S301 to S304, the power supply device 3a-B with the lowest priority calculates the output current Iout of the own device after calculating the sum of the supply currents after the output adjustment in the other power supply devices 3a, and outputs Instead of this, for example, it operates as a constant voltage power supply that keeps the power supply voltage Vo supplied to the conductor line LN constant, and absorbs changes in the power supply voltage Vo due to changes in the output current of the other power supply devices 3a. You may make it change the output current Iout of an own machine.

  As a result, the plurality of power supply devices 3a arranged remotely transmit and receive the operation information of the own device to each other via the conductor line LN, so that the operation state in the plurality of power supply devices 3 without using the power supply control device 2, that is, The power feeding device 3a can be easily distributed in the power feeding system 1 while balancing the output current and efficiency.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the electric power feeding system using the electric power feeding control apparatus and electric power feeding apparatus which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the electric power feeder shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the electric power feeding control apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of the electric power feeding system shown in FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power supply control device shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power feeding apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a graph which shows an example of efficiency characteristic information. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power feeding apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the electric power feeding system using the electric power feeder which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the electric power feeder shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of the electric power feeding system shown in FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power feeding device shown in FIG. 9. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power feeding device shown in FIG. 9. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power feeding device shown in FIG. 9. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of the electric power feeder shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of the electric power feeder shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electric power feeding system which concerns on background art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a Power feeding system 2 Power feeding control device 3, 3a Power feeding device 4 Terminal device 21 Reception unit 22 Power supply information storage unit 23 Characteristic information storage unit 24 Transmission unit 25 Display unit 26, 26a Control information generation unit 31 Reception unit 32 Control unit 33 Power supply unit 34 Output current detection unit 35 Storage unit 36 Transmission unit 261 Supply current amount calculation unit 262 Allocation unit 263 Current margin calculation unit 264 Removal processing unit

Claims (9)

A power supply control device that controls operations of a plurality of power supply devices that supply a power supply current to a load via a conductor line shared for power supply and communication,
From each power supply apparatus connected to the conductor line, a receiving unit that receives operation information indicating the current that each power supply apparatus is outputting to the conductor line by communication via the conductor line;
Based on the operation information received by the receiving unit, a supply current amount calculating unit that calculates a sum of currents output from the plurality of power feeding devices to the conductor wire;
A first assigning unit that assigns the sum of the currents calculated by the supply current amount calculating unit to each of the power supply devices to be distributed to the plurality of power supply devices;
Transmission for transmitting an output current instruction for causing each of the power supply devices to output the current allocated to each power supply device by the first assigning unit to each of the conductor wires through communication via the conductor wire. And a power supply control device. The said 1st allocation part allocates the sum total of the electric current calculated by the said supply electric current amount calculation part to each said electric power feeder so that the supply current of each said electric power feeder may become equal. Power supply control device. A characteristic information storage unit that stores efficiency characteristic information indicating a relationship between output current and efficiency in each of the power supply devices;
The first allocating unit calculates the total sum of the currents calculated by the supply current amount calculating unit based on the efficiency characteristic information stored in the characteristic information storage unit so that the efficiency of the power feeding devices becomes equal. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the power supply device is assigned to each power supply device. A power information storage unit that stores in advance information on current capacity in the plurality of power supply devices;
Obtaining the sum of current capacities in the plurality of power supply devices based on the information on the current capacities stored in the power supply information storage unit, and the sum of the acquired current capacities and the sum of currents calculated by the sum calculation unit, A current margin calculation unit that calculates an output current amount that can be further increased within the range of the current capacity of the plurality of power feeding devices based on the difference of
The power supply control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a notification unit configured to notify a current margin amount calculated by the current margin calculation unit. A removal processing unit for acquiring removal information indicating that each power supply device connected to the conductor wire is removed from the conductor line by communication via the conductor wire;
When the removal information is acquired by the removal processing unit, the first assigning unit removes the current indicated by the operation information received by the receiving unit from the power supply apparatus that has transmitted the removal information. The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the power supply control device is assigned to another power supply device other than the power supply device that has transmitted the information. A power supply device that supplies a power supply current to a load via a conductor wire shared for power supply and communication,
Operation for transmitting operation information indicating the current output from the power supply device to the conductor wire by communication via the conductor wire to a power supply control device that controls the operation of the power supply device connected to the conductor wire. An information transmitter;
An instruction receiving unit that receives an output current instruction for instructing a current to be supplied to the conductor wire from the power supply control device by communication via the conductor wire;
A power supply unit that outputs a current to the conductor wire in response to an output current instruction received by the instruction receiving unit;
The power supply control device is the power supply control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A power supply device that supplies a power supply current to a load via a conductor wire shared for power supply and communication,
An operation information transmission unit that transmits operation information indicating the current output to the conductor line to another power supply apparatus connected to the conductor line by communication via the conductor line;
An operation information receiving unit that receives the operation information by communication via the conductor wire from another power supply device connected to the conductor wire;
Based on the operation information received by the operation information reception unit, a supply current amount calculation unit that calculates the sum of the currents supplied from the plurality of power feeding devices to the conductor wire;
A second allocating unit that determines an output current of the own device so as to distribute the sum of the currents calculated by the supply current amount calculating unit to the plurality of power feeding devices;
A power supply apparatus comprising: a power supply unit that outputs the output current determined by the second allocation unit to the conductor line. A plurality of power supply devices for supplying a power supply current to a load via a conductor line shared for power supply and communication;
A power supply control device for controlling the operation of the power supply device,
The power supply device is the power supply device according to claim 6,
The power supply control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the power supply control apparatus is the power supply control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Provided with a plurality of power supply devices for supplying power current to a load through a conductor line shared for power supply and communication,
The power supply system according to claim 7, wherein the power supply apparatus is the power supply apparatus according to claim 7.

Images