JP2013158208A - Power tap - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power tap which reduces power consumption of the power tap itself.SOLUTION: A power tap 50 of the present invention has: a plug socket 1 having a plug insertion opening 1a which supplies power to a load through a plug connected to the plug insertion opening 1a; a current detection part 22 consisting of a current sensor 3 for detecting a current value which flows into a cable 2 of the plug socket 1 and a current amplification part 5 for performing A/D conversion; a detection part SW 6 for turning on/off power supply for driving the current detection part 22; a socket SW 4 for turning on/off power supply to the plug socket 1; a control device 17 for controlling the detection part SW 6 on the basis of the current value detected by the current detection part 22; a communication part 13 for performing communication with a server (not illustrated) which gives an instruction to the control device 17; a DC power supply part 18 for supplying DC power to each part; and a plug 21 for supplying AC power to the plug socket 1 and the DC power supply part 18.

Description

  The present invention relates to a power strip, and more particularly to an energy saving technique related to an intelligent type power strip.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a power strip that performs power control by monitoring an electrical device that is remotely connected to a plug socket via a wireless LAN or the like. For example, Patent Document 1 includes a relay for turning on / off a power supply to each plug socket of a power tap and a current sensor for measuring a current flowing from each plug socket to an electrical device. In addition, the control unit receives a command from a measurement unit that accepts a measurement value from each current sensor, a communication unit that communicates with the LAN, and a server connected via the LAN, and turns on / off the relay. A means for switching between is provided.
Even if the power supply of the personal computer connected to the plug socket is turned off, this power strip continues to be supplied with standby power, so when the current corresponding to this standby power is detected by the current sensor, this information is When transmitted to the server, a command is issued to turn off the relay, and the relay is turned off to save energy. In this way, by making the power tap intelligent, it is possible to expect an energy saving effect such as reduction in standby power at night in an office or the like.

JP 2006-114997 A

However, the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that the power consumption of the power strip itself cannot be ignored due to the intelligent power strip. In particular, in offices and the like, since many power strips are used, how to reduce the power consumed by the power strips is a problem.
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a power strip that reduces the power consumption of the power strip itself by conserving the power of the circuit unit constituting the power strip as much as possible. .

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a plug socket that includes a plug insertion port and supplies power to a load via a plug connected to the plug insertion port, and the plug. A current detection unit for detecting a current value flowing through the socket, a detection unit power switch for turning on / off power supply for driving the current detection unit, a supply time of power to the current detection unit, and a supply stop A timer for measuring time, a control unit for controlling the power switch of the detection unit based on a current value detected by the current detection unit, and a communication unit for communicating with a server for giving a command to the control unit, And the control means detects that the current detection unit detects a state where the current value flowing through the plug socket is zero, and the timer measures that the state where the current value is zero continues for a predetermined time. If, and controlling the detection unit power switch to stop the power supply to the current detector.
An object of the power tap according to the present invention is to suppress power consumption of a current detection unit that detects a current flowing through a load. For this purpose, a switch for turning the circuit ON / OFF in series with the power supply path of the current detection unit is provided. This switch may be a relay or an electronic switch, but an element that consumes as little power as possible is preferable. In the present invention, when the current flowing through the plug socket detected by the current detection unit (equivalent to load current) becomes zero and this state continues for a predetermined time, no load is connected to the plug socket. Therefore, the control unit stops the supply of the DC power driving the current detection unit in order to further save energy. As a result, unnecessary circuit power can be reduced in a no-load state.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the control unit measures that a predetermined time has elapsed after stopping the supply of power to the current detection unit by the detection unit power switch, the control unit supplies power to the current detection unit. The detection unit power switch is controlled so as to be supplied.
When the steady state is restored from the no-load state cannot be predicted. Therefore, in the present invention, in order to intermittently drive the current detection unit and periodically detect the state of the load, the power to the current detection unit is stopped, and after a predetermined time has passed, Restart the power supply. Thereby, the state of the load can be detected while reducing power consumption.
Claim 3 includes a communication power switch for turning on and off the power supply for driving the communication means, and the control means is configured to keep on and off the power supply to the current detection unit. Is characterized in that the communication power switch is controlled to stop the supply of power to the communication means.
The communication means controls the power tap based on a command from the server. Among them, when the current detection unit periodically starts ON / OFF operation, it is judged that the state where almost no current is flowing through the load continues for a long time, and communication with the server is interrupted. Even if there is no problem, the power to the communication means is stopped. Thereby, further energy saving can be realized.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means controls the communication power switch to supply power to the communication means when the power supply to the current detection unit is repeatedly turned on and off a predetermined number of times. Features.
When the steady state is restored from the no-load state cannot be predicted. Therefore, in the present invention, when the ON / OFF operation of the current detection unit continues for a predetermined number of times, power is again supplied to the communication means to enable communication with the server. Thereby, it is possible to execute communication with the server while further reducing power consumption.
A fifth aspect of the present invention includes a plug socket switch for turning on / off the power supply to the plug socket, and the control means instructs to stop the power supply from the server to the plug socket via the communication means. Is received, the plug socket switch is controlled to stop supplying power to the plug socket.
For example, during the night when business is completed or on holidays, when a load is connected to the plug socket, power is often consumed in a standby state. In particular, when the number of loads is large, even if the standby power is used, the power consumption is large. When such a state is detected by the server, the power to the plug socket is stopped and the standby power is stopped, which leads to significant energy saving. Therefore, in the present invention, when such a state is detected, a command to stop power to the plug socket is transmitted from the server via the communication means, and standby power is stopped. Thereby, unnecessary standby power can be reduced.

According to the present invention, when the current flowing through the plug socket detected by the current detection unit becomes zero and this state continues for a predetermined time, it is determined that the load is not connected to the plug socket. The control means stops the supply of DC power driving the current detection unit in order to perform further energy saving, so that it is possible to reduce unnecessary circuit power in a no-load state. .
In addition, in order to detect the state of the load periodically by driving the current detection unit intermittently, after the power to the current detection unit is stopped, the supply of power to the current detection unit after a predetermined time has elapsed. Therefore, it is possible to detect the load state while reducing power consumption.
In addition, when the current detection unit periodically starts ON / OFF operation, it is determined that a state in which almost no current flows through the load continues for a long time, and communication with the server is interrupted. Since it is determined that there is no problem, the power to the communication means is stopped, so that further energy saving can be realized.
In addition, when the ON / OFF operation of the current detection unit continues for a predetermined number of times, power is supplied again to the communication means to enable communication with the server, so communication with the server while further reducing power consumption. Can be executed.
In addition, when power consumption is detected in the standby state, a command to stop power to the plug socket is sent from the server via the communication means to stop the standby power, thus reducing unnecessary standby power. can do.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the power strip which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the power strip which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the power strip which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the power strip which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the power strip which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. (A) is a timing chart which shows the relationship between the current sensor in the power strip which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and detection part SW, (b) is detection part SW in the power strip which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. 6 is a timing chart showing the relationship between the communication unit SW and the communication unit SW.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the components, types, combinations, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like described in this embodiment are merely illustrative examples and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only unless otherwise specified. .

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a power strip according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The power tap 50 of the present invention includes a plug socket 1a, and a plug socket 1 for supplying power to a load via a plug connected to the plug socket 1a, and a cable 2 of the plug socket 1 A current detection unit 22 including a current sensor 3 that detects a flowing current value, a current amplification unit 5 that performs A / D conversion, and a detection unit SW that performs ON / OFF of power supply for driving the current detection unit 22 (detection) Power switch) 6, socket SW (plug socket switch) 4 for turning on / off the power supply to the plug socket 1, and control for controlling the detection unit SW 6 based on the current value detected by the current detection unit 22. A device (control means) 17, a communication unit (communication means) 13 that communicates with a server (not shown) that gives a command to the control device 17, and DC power that supplies DC power to each unit A unit (18), and a, a plug 21 for supplying AC power to the plug socket 1 and a DC power unit 18.
The control device 17 inputs the current value amplified by the timer 16 that measures the supply time and supply stop time of the power to the current detection unit 22 and the current amplification unit 5, and the detection unit SW6 and the socket SW4. An I / O port 14 that outputs an operation signal and a control unit 15 that controls transmission and reception of signals with the server via the communication unit 13 and the whole are provided. In the figure, three circuits are controlled, and each circuit is composed of the same components. That is, 100 V AC is supplied from the plug 21 via the cable 11 to each socket SW4, and the output of the socket SW4 is connected to each plug socket 1 via the cable 2. An output signal from each current amplifying unit 5 is input to the I / O port 14 via the cable 8, and a control signal from the I / O port 14 is connected to each detection unit SW6 via the cable 9. And connected to each socket SW4 via a cable 10. In addition, DC power is supplied from the DC power supply unit 18 to each detection unit SW6 via the cable 7. Further, power is supplied to the control device 17 through a cable 19. The communication unit 13 is connected to a server (not shown) via the network 12.

Next, the schematic operation of the power strip 50 of the present invention will be described. In the normal use state, for example, a PC or the like is connected to each plug socket 1. Further, the control unit 15 turns on each socket SW4 and supplies AC power to each plug socket 1. Moreover, each detection part SW6 is turned ON and DC electric power is supplied to each current detection 22. When the PC is activated, a current corresponding to the load flows through the cable 2, and the current value is detected by the current sensor 3. The current value is A / D converted by the current amplifying unit 5 and input to the I / O port 14. . The control unit 15 monitors the current of each current detection unit 22 and looks at changes in the current flowing through the plug socket 1. Here, when the control unit 15 detects that the current flowing through the cable 2 is zero and the state continues for a predetermined time, it is assumed that the plug is removed from the plug socket 1 and is supplied to the current detection unit 22. In order to stop the power, a signal for turning off the detection unit SW6 is output from the I / O port 14 via the cable 9. As a result, the DC power supplied from the DC power supply unit 18 is not supplied to the current detection unit 22, and energy is saved accordingly.
Further, when the PC enters the standby mode at night or the like, the standby current is detected by the current sensor 3 and the value is input to the control unit 15. Then, the state is transmitted to the server via the communication unit 13. When the server detects the standby mode from the current value of each plug socket, the server transmits a command to the control device 17 to turn off the socket SW4 of the corresponding plug socket 1. As a result, the standby power of the PC connected to the plug socket 1 is stopped. Naturally, at that time, the power of the current detection unit 22 is also stopped.

As described above, the control device 17 according to the present embodiment detects a state where the current value flowing through the plug socket 1 is zero by the current detection unit 22 (in this specification, “the current value is zero” When the timer 16 measures that the current value is zero for a predetermined time, the power is supplied to the current detection unit 22. The detection unit SW6 is controlled so as to stop.
The purpose of the power tap 50 according to the present embodiment is to suppress the power consumption of the current detector 22 that detects the current flowing through the load. For this purpose, a detection unit SW6 for turning the circuit on and off in series with the power supply path 2 of the current detection unit 22 is provided. The detection unit SW6 may be a relay or an electronic switch, but is preferably an element that consumes as little power as possible. In this embodiment, when the current (equivalent to load current) flowing through the plug socket 1 detected by the current detector 22 becomes zero and this state continues for a predetermined time, a load is connected to the plug socket 1. The controller 17 determines that there is no state, and stops the supply of DC power driving the current detector 22 in order to further save energy. As a result, unnecessary circuit power can be reduced in a no-load state.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a power strip according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 2 is different from FIG. 1 in that a communication unit SW (communication power switch) 23 that performs ON / OFF of power supply for driving the communication unit 13 is provided. And the control apparatus 17 controls communication part SW23 so that supply of the electric power to the communication part 13 may be stopped, while ON / OFF of the electric power supply to all the current detection parts 22 is continuing. That is, the communication unit 13 receives a command from the server and transmits it to the control device 17, and the control device 17 controls the power tap 51 based on the command. Among them, the control device 17 determines that a state in which almost no current flows through the load continues for a long time when all of the current detection units 22 periodically start ON / OFF operations. Thus, it is determined that there is no problem even if the communication with the server is interrupted, and the power to the communication unit 13 is stopped. Thereby, further energy saving can be realized (at this time, it is desirable to notify the server in advance that the communication stop is not a failure but a shift to the energy saving mode).
In addition, the control device 17 controls the communication unit SW23 to supply power to the communication unit 13 when ON / OFF of power supply to the current detection unit 22 is repeated a predetermined number of times. That is, it is impossible to predict when the steady state is restored from the no-load state. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the ON / OFF operation of the current detection unit 22 continues for a predetermined number of times, power is supplied again to the communication unit 13 to enable communication with the server. Thereby, communication with the server can be executed while further reducing power consumption (details will be described later).

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power strip according to the first embodiment. In this flowchart, the state in which the plug is removed from the plug socket 1 will be described, and since all the circuits have the same configuration, only the operation of one circuit will be described. When the plug is removed from the plug socket 1, no current flows through the cable 2, and the current sensor 3 detects zero current (Y in S1). As a result, the current amplifying unit 5 inputs the current zero state to the I / O port 14. Since the control unit 15 searches the status of each input port of the I / O port 14 in a time division manner, when a specific input port detects zero, the timer 16 is started from that point and the time (t1) is measured. To do. If the current zero continues even after the preset time has elapsed (Y in S2), the control unit 15 turns off the detection unit SW6 of the current detection unit 22 that has detected the current zero. An OFF signal is output to the corresponding output port of the / O port 14 (S3). As a result, the corresponding detection unit SW6 is turned OFF (S4), the path of the DC power supplied from the DC power supply unit 18 is cut off, and the supply of power to the current detection unit 22 is stopped.
The control unit 15 measures a predetermined time (t2) after turning off the detection unit SW6 (Y in S5), and turns on the corresponding output port of the I / O port 14 to turn on the detection unit SW6 again. Is output (S6). After that, it returns to step S1 and repeats the above operation. In step S1 of this flowchart, when the current sensor 3 detects that some current is flowing (N in S1), the process proceeds to step S6 to indicate that a load is connected to the plug socket 1. Then, the detection unit SW6 is turned on, and the operation of the current detection unit 22 is continued.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power strip according to the second embodiment. In this flowchart, the state in which the plug is removed from the plug socket 1 will be described, and since all the circuits have the same configuration, only the operation of one circuit will be described. Moreover, the same step number is attached | subjected to the same step as FIG. 3, and description is abbreviate | omitted.
Since FIG. 4 is the same as FIG. 3 up to step S6, the subsequent operation will be described. When the detection unit SW6 starts to repeat ON / OFF, the control unit 15 regards that the load is not connected to the plug socket 1 and performs the corresponding output of the I / O port 14 in order to perform further energy saving. An OFF signal is output to the port to turn off the communication unit SW23 (S7). Then, an internal counter is incremented to store the state (S8). The control unit 15 checks whether the counter value has reached a predetermined number (N) (S9), and returns to step S1 and repeats until the counter value reaches N. This operation is for turning off the power of the communication unit 13 while the detection unit SW6 repeats ON / OFF a predetermined number of times (N). However, since it is not known when the load is connected to the plug socket 1, an ON signal is output to the corresponding output port of the I / O port 14 when the predetermined period (counter value is N) (Y in S 9). (S10), the communication unit SW23 is turned on (S11), the counter is reset (S12), and the process returns to step S1 to repeat the operation.
On the other hand, if any current is flowing through the current sensor 3 in step S1 of this flowchart (N in S1), the process proceeds to step S10 to indicate that a load is connected to the plug socket 1, and the I / O is performed. An ON signal is output to the corresponding output port of the port 14, the communication unit SW 23 is turned on, and DC power is supplied to the communication unit 13.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the power strip according to the third embodiment. The same steps as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same step numbers, and description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 5, the process up to step S6 is the same as that in FIG. 4, and the subsequent operation will be described. An internal counter is incremented to store the state of step S6 (S8). The control unit 15 checks whether the counter value has reached a predetermined number (N) (S9), and returns to step S1 and repeats until the counter value reaches N. When the predetermined period (counter value is N) (Y in S9), the state of the communication unit SW23 is checked. If the communication unit SW23 is ON (Y in S13), the communication unit SW23 is turned off (S7). The counter is reset (S12), and the process returns to step S1 to repeat the operation.
On the other hand, in step S1 of this flowchart, if any current is flowing through the current sensor 3 (N in S1), to indicate that a load is connected to the plug socket 1, look at the state of the communication unit SW23, If the communication unit SW23 is OFF (Y in S14), an ON signal is output to the corresponding output port of the I / O port 14 (S10), the communication unit SW23 is turned ON (S11), and the communication unit 13 is connected to the DC. Power is supplied and the process proceeds to step S12. If the communication unit SW23 is ON in step S14 (N in S14), the process proceeds to step S12.

FIG. 6A is a timing chart showing the relationship between the current sensor in the power tap and the detection unit SW according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 6B is the timing chart in the power tap according to the second embodiment. It is a timing chart which shows the relationship between this detection part SW and communication part SW.
In FIG. 6A, since electric power is supplied to the current sensor 3, the current value can be measured at the monitor point by the current sensor 3. When the current value is detected as zero, when it is detected that the state has elapsed for the time t1, the detection unit SW6 is turned off. After a time t2 from that time point, the detection unit SW6 is turned on again, and if the current value at the monitor point is still zero, the detection unit SW6 is turned off when it is detected that the state has elapsed for the time t1. Thus, while the current of the current sensor 3 is zero, the power can be saved more energy than the continuous operation by causing the detection unit SW6 to operate intermittently. Here, when the current sensor 3 detects a current when the detection unit SW6 is turned on, the detection unit SW6 is kept in the ON state from that point. The magnitude relationship between the times t1 and t2 is preferably t1 <t2.
In FIG. 6B, since the load is not connected to the plug socket 1 while the detection unit SW6 is intermittently operated, communication between the communication unit 13 and the server is unnecessary, and therefore, at intervals of time t4. The communication unit SW23 is turned off and the supply of DC power to the communication unit 13 is stopped. However, since it is not known when the load is connected to the plug socket, the communication unit SW23 is once turned on for the time t3 at the timing when the detection unit SW6 is turned on after the time t4 has elapsed. The magnitude relationship between the times t1 to t4 is preferably t1 <t2 <t3 <t4.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the current flowing through the plug socket 1 detected by the current detector 22 becomes zero and this state continues for a predetermined time (t1), a load is applied to the plug socket 1. When the controller 17 determines that it is not connected and stops the supply of DC power driving the current detector 22 in order to further save energy, the controller 17 is in a no-load state. In addition, unnecessary circuit power can be reduced.
Further, in order to intermittently drive the current detection unit 22 and periodically detect the state of the load, the current detection unit 22 is stopped after a predetermined time (t2) has elapsed after the power to the current detection unit 22 is stopped. Since the supply of power to 22 is resumed, the load state can be detected while reducing power consumption.
Further, when the current detection unit 22 periodically starts ON / OFF operation, it is determined that a state in which almost no current flows through the load continues for a long time, and communication with the server is interrupted. However, since it is determined that there is no problem, the power to the communication unit 13 is stopped, so that further energy saving can be realized.
In addition, when the ON / OFF operation of the current detection unit 22 continues for a predetermined number of times, power is supplied to the communication unit 13 again to enable communication with the server. Communication can be performed.
In addition, when detecting a state in which power is consumed in the standby state, a command to stop power to the plug socket 1 is transmitted from the server via the communication unit 13 to stop the standby power. Can be reduced.

Furthermore, the present invention can be modified as follows.
Even if the power plug of the electrical device is inserted into the plug socket 1 in the state where the socket SW4 is OFF, the control unit 15 cannot detect this and cannot notify a server (not shown).
Therefore, a switch for generating a signal for turning on the socket SW4 and supplying the signal to the control unit 15 is added, and the switch is operated when an electric device plug is inserted, so that management by a server (not shown) can be performed. Resumed.

1 plug socket, 2 cable, 3 current sensor, 4 socket SW, 5 current amplifier, 6 detector SW, 7 DC cable, 8 signal cable, 9 signal cable, 10 signal cable, 11 AC cable, 12 network, 13 communication Unit, 14 I / O port, 15 control unit, 16 timer, 17 control device, 18 DC power supply unit, 19 DC cable, 20 AC cable, 21 plug, 22 current detection unit, 23 communication unit SW, 24 DC cable, 50 , 51 Power strip

Claims (5)

A plug socket for providing power to a load through a plug connected to the plug insertion port;
A current detection unit for detecting a current value flowing through the plug socket;
A detector power switch for turning on and off power supply for driving the current detector;
A timer for measuring the supply time of power to the current detection unit and the supply stop time;
Control means for controlling the detection unit power switch based on the current value detected by the current detection unit;
Communication means for communicating with a server for giving a command to the control means,
The control means detects the current detection when the current detection unit detects that the current value flowing through the plug socket is zero and the timer measures that the current value has continued for a predetermined time. A power strip, wherein the detection unit power switch is controlled to stop the supply of power to the unit.   The control means is configured to supply power to the current detection unit when the timer measures that a predetermined time has elapsed after stopping the supply of power to the current detection unit by the detection unit power switch. The power strip according to claim 1, wherein the power tap is controlled. A communication power switch for turning on and off power supply for driving the communication means;
The control means controls the communication power switch so as to stop the supply of power to the communication means while the on / off of the power supply to the current detection unit is continued. The power strip according to claim 1 or 2.   The said control means controls the said communication power switch so that electric power may be supplied to the said communication means, when ON / OFF of the electric power supply to the said current detection part is repeated predetermined times. 3. The power strip according to 3. A plug socket switch for turning on and off power supply to the plug socket;
The control means controls the plug socket switch to stop the supply of power to the plug socket when receiving a command to stop the supply of power to the plug socket from the server via the communication means. The power strip according to claim 1.

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