JP2011024157A - Electric energy-monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a simple system which can be inexpensively introduced as a system for intensively monitoring information about power to be supplied from a distribution panel to a load system. <P>SOLUTION: A load current supplied from a distribution panel 10 provided within an electric energy-monitoring system to a load system is measured by a measuring terminal device, and information of the load current (or electric energy) is transmitted to a measuring modem 9. The measuring modem 9 acquires the information of the electric energy, communicates with a communication modem 4M of a master unit via a telephone line according to a multiplexing system and provides the information of the electric energy to a personal computer connected to a communication modem 4S of another slave unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a system for monitoring the amount of power used on the premises of a business office such as a factory or a building.

  In the current situation where global environmental protection has become one of the social responsibilities of companies, for example, it is desired to realize energy saving by closely monitoring the power usage in factories and buildings. For example, in a large-scale factory, a slave unit of a programmable logic controller that receives a pulse output from a watt hour meter provided for each sub-substation (a pulse generated at every constant power amount) is provided. A master unit will be installed in the monitoring room of the extra high voltage substation. Then, the master unit and a plurality of slave units are connected by an optical network, and the power information for each feeder sent from the slave unit of each sub-substation is monitored by a management PC connected to the master unit. (For example, refer nonpatent literature 1).

“Establishment of Electricity Monitoring System at Sakai Factory”, Sumitomo Electric Engineering Technical Technical Review No. 17, Vol. 28, 2008

In the conventional system as described above, it is necessary to newly deploy an optical network system in the factory for the system, and it is difficult to realize this simply and inexpensively. Further, when power monitoring is performed at a lower distribution board level, it becomes more difficult to install an optical fiber or the like. In addition, a large number of watt-hour meters are required. Further, if the scale of the system is increased, a high communication speed is required, which is a problem in terms of cost.
In view of such conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to realize a simple system that can collect and monitor information on power supplied from a distribution board to a load system and can be introduced at a low cost. To do.

  (1) The present invention is an electric energy monitoring system that uses communication between a parent device and a child device, and measures a load current supplied to a load system from a distribution board provided on the premises, and measures the measured load current. A measurement terminal device having a function of transmitting information on the amount of power or information on the amount of electric power obtained based on the load current, a measurement slave unit that receives the information from the measurement terminal device and acquires information on the amount of electric power, A master unit capable of communicating with a plurality of slave units including the measurement slave unit in a multiplexed manner via a transmission line using a telephone line or a control line provided in the premises, and a slave excluding the measurement slave unit And an information processing device for power amount monitoring that is connected to at least one of the device and the parent device, and that can receive information on the amount of power acquired by the measuring slave device.

  In the power amount monitoring system configured as described above, the measurement slave unit that has received the information acquires information on the power amount based on the information transmitted from the measurement terminal device. If there are multiple measurement terminal devices, the power information is transmitted to the other slave unit or master unit to which the information processing device is connected via the measurement slave unit and the transmission line, for monitoring the energy level. To the information processing apparatus. As a result, the power amount can be monitored by the information processing apparatus.

(2) Moreover, in the electric energy monitoring system of said (1), a measurement subunit | mobile_unit may be made to receive information from a measurement terminal device by a multiplexing system via a power line within a distribution board.
In this case, it is possible to easily and compactly realize a network configuration in which load current information is transmitted from the measurement terminal device to the measurement slave unit by power line communication using the power line in the distribution board.

(3) In the power monitoring system of (1), the measurement slave unit may have an input port and receive information from the measurement terminal device via the dedicated line at the input port. .
In this case, a dedicated line is required, but a multiplexing communication function such as power line communication is not required for the measurement terminal device or the measurement slave unit, so that the internal circuit is simplified.

(4) Also, in the electric energy monitoring system of (1), (2) or (3) above, when the transmission line is a telephone line, (a) the telephone line is provided at the terminal on the slave side, A splitter for the slave unit that separates or mixes information on the amount of electric power; and (b) provided on the base unit side of the telephone line, injects a common data signal for a plurality of telephone lines, and the data signal from the telephone line And (c) the slave unit is connected via the slave unit splitter, and the master unit is connected via the splitter for the master unit. It may be a configuration.
In this case, the telephone line is a line for each individual telephone, and the telephone lines are not connected to each other. However, by extracting and injecting data signals from the master unit via the master unit splitter, Network can be configured to perform communication by multiplexing.

(5) In the electric energy monitoring system according to (1), (2), or (3), the transmission line may be a spare telephone line that is not used as a telephone line.
In this case, it is possible to transmit information on the amount of power using a spare telephone line without using a splitter.

(6) Moreover, in the electric energy monitoring system of the above (1), (2) or (3), the control line is a pair line for device control, a broadcast cable, an intercom cable, a fire alarm cable, a coaxial cable. Any one of these may be sufficient.
In this case, information on the amount of power can be transmitted using any of the electric wires in the premises such as factories and buildings.

  According to the power amount monitoring system of the present invention, the power amount information can be transmitted from the measurement slave unit using an existing transmission line (telephone line or control line). Moreover, since the amount of electric power is an integrated value, it is suitable for sporadic information transmission, and since the amount of information is small, a high communication speed is not required between the parent device and the child device. That is, it is possible to employ a relatively low-speed and inexpensive base unit / slave unit. In this way, a simple power amount monitoring system that can be introduced at low cost can be provided.

It is a block diagram which mainly shows the structure of the high-order part of the electric energy monitoring system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is an internal block circuit diagram of the splitter for base units. It is a block diagram of the function mounted in a communication modem. It is a figure which shows the case where the uplink / downlink signal and communication with each subunit | mobile_unit were time-division multiplexed as an example of multiplexing. It is a connection diagram which shows only the wiring in the office in FIG. It is a connection diagram which shows the detail of the wiring in the factory in FIG. It is a block diagram of the function mounted in a measurement terminal device. It is a block diagram of the function mounted in the modem for measurement. FIG. 7 is a connection diagram in a distribution board having a configuration different from that in FIG. 6.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram mainly showing a configuration of an upper part of an electric energy monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, there is an MDF room R in a premises such as a factory or a building, in which an MDF (main wiring board) 2 is provided via a PBX (private branch exchange) 1 from a telephone general public line. . Inside the MDF 2 (may be outside), a base unit splitter 3 is provided and connected to a communication modem 4M serving as the base unit. The communication modem 4M can communicate with other areas other than the premises from the router 5 via the Internet.

  From the MDF 2, telephone lines are developed throughout the premises and connected to an IDF (intermediate wiring board). In this example, for example, a plurality of telephone lines are connected to IDFs 6 in factories FA1 and FA2, respectively. Within each factory FA 1, FA 2, a large number of telephones 7 (only one is shown) are directly connected to the IDF 6 or connected via a splitter 8. Further, a measuring modem 9 (measuring slave unit) used for power amount monitoring is connected via the splitter 8.

  The measurement modem 9 is a slave unit when the communication modem 4M in the MDF room R is a master unit, and is also a sub-master unit of a measurement terminal device (described later in detail) belonging to a lower level. The measurement modem 9 is provided in the distribution board 10 (or in the vicinity thereof). Usually, the IDF 6 and the distribution board 10 are provided close to each other for the convenience of construction. Therefore, the wiring from the IDF 6 to the measurement modem 9 is short and installation work is easy.

On the other hand, an IDF 6, a telephone set 7, a splitter 8, and a communication modem 4S are similarly provided in the office OF. The communication modem 4S is a slave unit when the communication modem 4M in the MDF room R is a master unit.
A telephone line network on the premises is configured by the configuration of the communication circuit as described above. In addition, it is possible to configure a LAN system that superimposes a data signal (digital) using a telephone line as a transmission medium, and this becomes a part of the power amount monitoring system.

The communication modem 4M as a master unit is a device that performs communication by converting a digital signal so that it can be transmitted over a wired line (in this case, a telephone line). Also, a multiplexing technique (time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, A function of performing 1: n bidirectional communication by code division multiplexing or the like. There is a PLC (Power Line Communication) modem as an apparatus having a similar communication mechanism, and the modem uses an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) system or an SS (Spread Spectrum) system and the like, and 1: n bidirectional. Communication is realized through the power line. The communication modem 4M injects a data signal into the telephone line via the base unit splitter 3 and extracts a data signal from the telephone line.
The measurement modem 9 has a function as a PLC modem for the lower level in addition to the communication function with the communication modem 4M.

  FIG. 2 is an internal block circuit diagram of the base unit splitter 3. The splitter 3 includes a plurality of high-pass filters 3H, the same number of low-pass filters 3L, and a balun 3B. The low-pass filter 3L is inserted for each telephone line T and passes only a telephone signal (4 kHz or less). The high-pass filter 3H is branch-connected for each telephone line T and allows only a data signal (2 MHz to 30 MHz) to pass therethrough. One end of each of the high-pass filters 3H is connected to the telephone line T, the other end is connected to each other by all the high-pass filters 3H to be unified, and is connected to the communication modem 4M through the balun 3B.

  Using such a base unit splitter 3, the communication modem 4M can simultaneously inject data signals into a plurality of telephone lines T, and can extract data signals from the respective telephone lines T. The balun 3B is an element that mutually converts a signal in the unbalanced state on the communication modem 4M side and a signal in the balanced state on the opposite side.

Actually, not all of the telephone lines going out from the MDF 2 (FIG. 1) pass through the base unit splitter 3. In other words, a dedicated telephone line that is not used for data communication and is used only for a telephone need not pass through the base unit splitter 3.
Further, the telephone line usually has a spare line Ts that is not used. When the spare line Ts is used for data communication, the communication modem 4M can be directly connected to the spare line Ts (two-dot chain line). That is, if the spare line Ts is used, a splitter is not required at either the base end or the end of the spare line Ts.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of functions installed in the communication modem 4M (the same applies to 4S). The communication modem 4M includes a LAN signal input / output unit (PHY) 41, a data exchange unit 42, a CPU 43, a signal processing unit 44, and a signal input / output unit 47. The signal processing unit 44 further includes a transmission / reception buffer 45 (transmission buffers TX1 to TXn, reception buffers RX1 to RXn), and a multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 46. In the upstream direction (from downstream to upstream), the LAN signal becomes a signal multiplexed by the data exchange unit 42 and the signal processing unit 44. In the downstream direction, the multiplexed signal is converted into a LAN signal by the signal processing unit 44 and the data exchange unit 42.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case in which uplink / downlink signals and communication with each slave unit are time-division multiplexed as an example of multiplexing. The communication modem 4M allocates a logical channel to the node n (slave unit or the like), transmits transmission data Tn (T1, T2,..., Tn) for the logical channel n and received data Rn (R1) from the logical channel n. , R2,..., Rn) are configured as shown on the time axis.

  FIG. 5 is a connection diagram showing only the wiring in the office OF in FIG. In the figure, the communication modem 4S is connected to a personal computer 11 as an information processing apparatus for monitoring the amount of power. Unlike the main unit splitter 3 (FIG. 2), the sub unit splitter 8 is a device that superimposes / separates a telephone signal and a data communication signal on a single telephone line. Further, as described above, if the spare line Ts can be used, a connection as shown by a two-dot chain line is possible. In this case, the slave unit splitter 8 is not necessary.

  In a network using a telephone line as a transmission line as described above, the base unit splitter 3 enables signal injection / extraction on the base end side with respect to a plurality of telephone lines, and a signal multiplexing method. Thus, one master unit (communication modem 4M) can perform 1: n communication with a plurality of (n units) slave units (communication modem 4S and measurement modem 9). For this reason, only one communication modem 4M, which is a parent device, is sufficient and the occupied space is small, so that it can be easily installed in the MDF room R. Moreover, since signals are transmitted by the multiplexing method, it is possible to prevent interference between the signals of each slave unit.

  In addition, the telephone lines used in the premises are originally independent lines for each telephone number (extension number) and are not connected to each other. Basically not. However, since the telephone line is not a shield structure like a coaxial line, transmission of a frequency signal (data signal) much higher than the voice signal may cause leakage or interference even if the telephone lines are not close to each other. is there. Therefore, by adopting the multiplexing method as described above, interference does not occur even if leaked.

  Next, FIG. 6 is a connection diagram showing details of wiring in the factory FA1 or FA2 in FIG. In the figure, the distribution board 10 is provided with breakers B1 to B10 for a plurality of (10 examples) load systems (feeders) via a copper bar 12 below a main breaker (breaker) B. It has been. Although this figure is a single-line diagram, the actual number of copper bars 12 (number of electrical circuits) is two for the single-phase two-wire system and three for the single-phase three-wire system or the three-phase three-wire system. The measurement modem 9 is mounted in the distribution board 10, and its power cord P (2-core wire) is connected to the breaker B. As a result, the measurement modem 9 is supplied with a commercial AC voltage, and can perform power line communication using the power line in the distribution board such as the copper bar 12 as a transmission line by the function as the PLC modem.

  On the other hand, when the breakers B1 to B5 are described as examples (the same applies to B6 to B10), the insulated wires C1 to C5 of the cables are connected to the secondary side (load side) of the breakers B1 to B5, respectively. ing. Measurement terminal devices S1 to S5 (referred to collectively as S) for measuring load current are attached to the insulated wires C1 to C5, respectively.

  The measurement terminal device S is, for example, one in which an electronic circuit as a PLC modem is integrally mounted on a clamp-type current sensor. Since it is a clamp type, it can be easily attached to an existing cable. In measurement terminal devices S1 to S5, power cords P1 to P5 (two-core wires) are connected to corresponding breakers B1 to B5, respectively. As a result, the measurement terminal device S receives supply of commercial AC voltage, and by the function as the PLC modem, power line communication using the power lines in the distribution board such as the insulated wires C1 to C6 to the copper bars 12 as transmission lines is performed. It is possible.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram of functions installed in the measurement terminal device S (S1 to S5). In the figure, the current sensor Sc detects a load current flowing through the insulated wires (C1 to C5). The output of the current sensor Sc is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion unit Sa and provided to the data exchange unit S92. Under the control of the CPU: S93, the data exchange unit S92 and the signal processing unit S98 convert the load current information into a multiplexed PLC signal and send it to the power line via the power line coupling unit S99.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram of functions installed in the measurement modem 9. In the measurement modem 9, the data exchange unit 92 and the CPU 93, and the signal processing unit 94 and the signal input / output unit 97 on the upper side (the right side in the figure) as viewed from these, are multiplexed data using a telephone line. It is a functional part of communication. The functions of the signal processing unit 94 and the signal input / output unit 97 are the same as those of the signal processing unit 44 and the signal input / output unit 47 in the communication modem 4M shown in FIG. Therefore, the measurement modem 9 can communicate with the communication modems 4M and 4S.

  On the other hand, in the measurement modem 9, the data exchange unit 92 and the CPU 93, and the signal processing unit 98 and the power line coupling unit 99 on the lower side (the left side in the figure) as viewed from these, perform data communication by multiplexing using the power line. It is a functional part. Therefore, the measurement modem 9 can perform power line communication with the measurement terminal device S. A memory 90 is connected to the data exchange unit 92.

  In the upstream direction, load current information is sent from the measurement terminal device S as a multiplexed signal superimposed on the power line. This signal is demodulated by the signal processing unit 98 via the power line coupling unit 99, and the signal processing unit 98 or the data exchange unit 92 obtains and integrates the electric energy [WH] from the voltage, load current, and time. The integrated value of the electric energy is temporarily stored in the memory 90. In this way, the measurement modem 9 integrates the amount of power for each load system based on the load current information transmitted from all the measurement terminal devices S (S1 to S5), and stores it in the memory 90. ing.

  The information on the amount of power stored in the memory 90 is transmitted as a multiplexed signal via a telephone line at each information provision timing, and is transmitted from the communication modem 4S of the slave unit to the personal computer via the communication modem 4M of the master unit. 11 (FIG. 5). In this way, the power amount information of each load system based on the measurement by the distribution board 10 can be easily obtained from the network using the power line as a medium through the network using the telephone line as a medium.

The “information provision timing” is, for example, when there is a regular inquiry from the personal computer 11.
Further, instead of the passive method of responding to the inquiry, the measuring modem 9 may notify the personal computer 11 of the amount of power used at regular time intervals (for example, 1 minute).
Alternatively, a method may be used in which the PC 11 is notified when the amount of power used reaches a certain value instead of time.

  It should be noted that the method of integrating the electric energy, the timing of providing information, the resetting method, etc. are not limited to any of the above, and there can be various variations. In short, it suffices to obtain the amount of power once by the measurement modem 9 and to provide the information (numerical value report) to the personal computer 11 sequentially and sporadically.

  In the power amount monitoring system configured as described above, information on the power amount can be transmitted from the measurement slave unit (measurement modem 9) using an existing telephone line. In addition, a watt-hour meter that emits a pulse is unnecessary. Since the amount of electric power is an integrated value, it is suitable for sporadic information transmission and the amount of information is small, so a high communication speed is not required between the parent device and the child device. That is, it is possible to adopt a relatively low-speed and inexpensive base unit / slave unit. In this way, a simple power amount monitoring system that can be introduced at low cost can be provided. Specifically, there is no particular hindrance to the transmission of the electric energy information even at a low speed such as 2 Mbps or 500 kbps.

  Moreover, since the power amount information can be acquired by the measurement modem 9 based on the load current information provided from the measurement terminal device S by power line communication in the distribution board 10, the information on the power amount can be obtained. The network configuration for acquisition can be easily and compactly realized.

  In the above-described embodiment, the load terminal information is provided from the measurement terminal device S to the measurement modem 9. However, when the IC chip mounted on the measurement terminal device S has a certain amount of computing power, It is also possible to obtain the amount of power in the measurement terminal device S and provide the information on the amount of power to the measurement modem 9. In this case, the measurement modem 9 may simply acquire the information on the provided electric energy and transfer it to the communication modems 4M and 4S. The information on the power amount can be an analog amount indicating [WH] or a count number (digital amount) of pulses generated for each unit power amount.

  In the above embodiment, a telephone line is used as the upper transmission line. However, in the factory, a pair line is widely laid as a control line for a control device such as a sequencer / programmable logic controller. Since there are many, it is possible to use such a control line instead of the telephone line. In addition, there are other broadcasting wires, intercom wires, fire alarm wires, coaxial wires, and the like that belong to the category of control lines, and any of them can be used.

  Moreover, although the power line was used as the transmission line in the distribution board 10 in the said embodiment, it does not necessarily need to depend on power line communication. For example, FIG. 9 is a connection diagram in the distribution board 10 having a configuration different from that in FIG. In FIG. 9, the measurement terminal devices (sensors) S11 to S15 for measuring load current respectively transmit output signals to the measurement modem 9 via dedicated lines L1 to L5 such as control lines. The measurement modem 9 has an analog or digital input port, and can acquire information on the electric energy based on signals (load current or electric energy) output from the measurement terminal devices S11 to S15. In this case, since the measurement terminal devices S11 to S15 and the measurement modem 9 do not need a multiplexed communication function such as power line communication, the internal circuit is simplified.

The personal computer 11 for monitoring the electric energy can be installed in the MDF room R or in the vicinity thereof by connecting to the communication modem 4M of the master unit.
It is also possible to connect two or more personal computers 11 for monitoring the amount of power to the communication modems 4M and 4S of the slave unit or the master unit.

  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.

3 Splitter 4M Communication Modem (Master Unit) for Master Unit
4S communication modem (slave unit)
8 Splitter for slave unit 9 Modem for measurement (Slave unit for measurement)
10 Distribution board 11 Personal computer (information processing equipment)
L1 to L5 Dedicated line S (S1 to S5, S11 to S15) Measuring terminal device T Telephone line Ts Backup line (spare telephone line)

Claims (6)

An electric energy monitoring system that uses communication between a parent device and a child device,
A measurement terminal device having a function of measuring load current supplied to a load system from a distribution board provided on the premises, and transmitting information on the measured load current or information on the amount of electric power obtained based on the load current;
A slave unit for measurement that receives the information from the measurement terminal device and acquires information on the amount of power;
A master unit that can communicate with a plurality of slave units including the measurement slave unit in a multiplexed manner via a transmission line using a telephone line or a control line provided on the premises;
An information processing device for power amount monitoring, connected to at least one of the slave unit excluding the measurement slave unit and the master unit, and capable of receiving information on the amount of power acquired by the measurement slave unit; An electric energy monitoring system characterized by that.   2. The power amount monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the measurement slave unit receives the information from the measurement terminal device in a multiplexed manner via a power line in the distribution board.   The power amount monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the measurement slave has an input port, and receives the information from the measurement terminal device via the dedicated line at the input port. The transmission line is a telephone line;
A splitter for a slave unit that is provided at a terminal on the slave unit side of the telephone line and separates or mixes the telephone signal and the information on the amount of power;
Provided on the base unit side of the telephone line, and provided with a splitter for the base unit capable of injecting a common data signal for a plurality of telephone lines and extracting the data signal from the telephone line. ,
The electric energy monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the slave unit is connected via the slave unit splitter, and the master unit is connected via the master unit splitter.   The power amount monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission line is a spare telephone line that is not used as a telephone line.   The electric power monitoring according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control line is any one of a pair wire for device control, a broadcasting wire, an intercom wire, a fire alarm wire, and a coaxial wire. system.

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