JP2013192283A - Maintenance support device for uninterruptible power supply - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a maintenance support device which reduces a risk that power supply to a load is stopped during accumulator battery renewal work in an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) thereby supporting the economical renewal work and has versatility that deals with various kinds of UPSs.SOLUTION: A maintenance support device 10 includes: a portable housing 12: an accumulator battery 21 provided in the housing 12; a charger 22 which may receive power from a commercial power source and charges the accumulator battery 21; and a conversion part 23 converting direct current power from the accumulator battery 21 into direct current power of a setting voltage and outputting the direct current power. The setting voltage may be varied, and the direct current power output from the conversion part 23 may be supplied to a UPS with which an operating load connects.

Description

  The present invention relates to the technical field of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and more particularly, to a maintenance support device that supports renewal work of a storage battery of a UPS.

  In order to prevent the influence of a power failure or momentary power failure on a commercial power source from affecting the load equipment connected to the commercial power source, a UPS has been introduced. In general, a UPS includes a storage battery, a charging circuit that rectifies AC power from a commercial power source and charges the storage battery, an inverter that converts DC power from the storage battery to AC power, and power from the commercial power source when the commercial power source is normal. And a change-over switch that immediately switches to a load to supply power from the inverter to the load when a power failure or a momentary power failure at the commercial power source is detected. In the UPS, the storage battery may be provided so as to be replaceable in the UPS main body, or may be an external battery provided separately from the UPS main body.

  In general, in UPS, the expected life of a storage battery is shorter than the design life of its main body, that is, a charging circuit, an inverter and a changeover switch. Therefore, renewal work of the storage battery is required before the UPS itself is renewed. Renewal work of a storage battery in UPS is, for example, removing an old storage battery (existing storage battery) from the UPS and supplying a new storage battery (new storage battery) to the UPS while supplying AC power from the commercial power source to the load via the UPS. Also connect. Since the storage battery is not connected to the UPS during the renewal of the storage battery, the power supply to the load is interrupted and the load is stopped if a power failure or momentary power failure occurs during this work. Need to be implemented quickly.

  If there is enough space for the new storage battery at the UPS installation location, etc., the renewal of the storage battery can be completed by installing the new storage battery in the installation space and replacing the wiring. In such a case, the time when the storage battery is not connected to the UPS can be suppressed to about several minutes. However, when there is not enough space for installation, it is necessary to install the new storage battery after removing the existing storage battery, and therefore the time when the storage battery is not connected to the UPS may be several hours.

  In addition, a temporary storage battery that is separate from the newly installed storage battery may be installed and renewal work may be performed, but it is necessary to install the temporary storage battery before the renewal work and remove it after the work, which increases man-hours and costs. This causes a problem. It is also necessary to secure a space for installing the temporary storage battery. In addition, since the rated voltage of the storage battery differs depending on the type of UPS, a temporary storage battery corresponding to the UPS to be renewed must be prepared, and the types of UPS subject to renewal work are diverse. The work itself for preparing a temporary storage battery is enormous.

  As a method of replacing a storage battery in a UPS having a large number of storage batteries, Patent Document 1 describes that the existing storage batteries are divided into groups, the existing storage batteries are connected to the temporary storage batteries, the existing storage batteries are replaced with new storage batteries, and the temporary storage batteries are removed. A method of sequentially executing in units is described. The method of Patent Document 1 replaces several existing storage batteries, so that the number of temporary storage batteries can be reduced, and renewal work can be performed even in a small space, but the number of work steps increases, which is not economical.

JP-A-8-331775

  When renewing a storage battery in UPS, it is necessary to reduce the risk that the commercial power supply will experience a power outage or a momentary power interruption during the renewal work, and a new storage battery or temporary battery will be installed. It is necessary to carry out the work economically including the place for installation.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to support the economical renewal work by reducing the risk of stopping the power supply to the load during the battery renewal work in the UPS, and can be used for various types of UPS. A maintenance support apparatus having the capability is provided.

  The maintenance support device of the present invention is a maintenance support device that supports the work of renewing a storage battery of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and receives power from a portable housing, a storage battery provided in the housing, and a commercial power source. A charger that charges the storage battery, and a converter that converts the DC power from the storage battery into a set voltage DC power and outputs the set voltage, the set voltage is variable, and a working load is connected. DC power output from the conversion unit can be supplied to the uninterruptible power supply.

  According to the present invention, a charger, a storage battery, and a converter that converts a direct current voltage from the storage battery into an arbitrary direct current voltage and outputs it are integrated into a portable housing, so that various types of UPS can be used. In the renewal work of the storage battery, there is an effect that the risk of stopping the supply of power to the load is reduced, and the renewal work of power storage can be performed economically.

It is a schematic perspective view which shows the maintenance assistance apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of the maintenance assistance apparatus shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the usage pattern of the maintenance assistance apparatus shown in FIG.

  Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of an external appearance of a maintenance support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention and an internal unit structure thereof, and FIG. 2 shows a circuit configuration of the maintenance support apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the maintenance support device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a caster 11 and a portable housing 12 that can be easily moved. The housing 12 can be charged. A storage battery 21, a charger 22 for charging the storage battery 21, a conversion unit 23 that converts DC power from the storage battery 21 into DC power of a set voltage, and outputs the maintenance support device 10. The operation unit 24 is provided. In FIG. 1, the storage battery 21 and the charger 22 are provided as independent units, the conversion unit 23 and the operation unit 24 are combined into one unit, and these three units are stored in the housing 12. ing. Although not shown in the drawing, a suspension bolt may be provided on the upper surface of the housing 12 when the maintenance support device 10 is large. As the storage battery 21, a lithium ion secondary battery etc. can be used, for example. Although not shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the maintenance support device 10 is further supplied with AC power from a display unit 25 that displays an operation state in the operation unit 24 and a commercial power supply 50. An AC input terminal 26 and a DC output terminal 27 for outputting DC power from the converter 23 to the outside are provided. The display unit 25 may be attached to the surface of the housing 12, for example, or may be provided as a display device connected to the housing 12 with a cable.

  The charger 22 includes a rectifier circuit 31 that rectifies AC power from the commercial power supply 50 connected to the AC input terminal 26, a charging circuit 32 that charges the storage battery 21 with DC power obtained by the rectifier circuit 31, and an operation unit. And a charging control circuit 33 that controls the operating state of the charging circuit 32 based on an instruction from 24. The conversion unit 23 controls the operation state of the DC / DC converter 34 based on an instruction from the DC / DC converter 34 to which the output DC voltage of the storage battery 21 is input and the operation unit 24, and in particular, the output voltage of the DC / DC converter 34. An output voltage control circuit 35 for controlling the output current, and a backflow prevention diode 36 provided between the DC / DC converter 34 and the DC output terminal 27.

  The maintenance support device 10 of this embodiment is equipped with a DC / DC converter 34 for setting the output voltage from the storage battery 21 to a variable set voltage, and the operation unit 24 switches between charging and discharging operation of the storage battery 21. In addition, the output of the conversion unit 23 (that is, the DC / DC converter 34) can be arbitrarily set, and the setting can be confirmed by the display unit 25. In addition, when charging the storage battery 21, by providing a sequence for prohibiting the operation of the DC / DC converter 34, it is possible to prevent power from being directly supplied from the charger 22 to the load via the converter 23. The power supply capacity of 22 chargers is suppressed to a size necessary only for charging the storage battery 21. As a result, the charger 22 can be downsized. When the storage battery 21 is discharged, the maintenance support device 10 is disconnected from the commercial power supply 50, and the output voltage of the storage battery 21 is set by setting the output of the DC / DC converter 34 via the output voltage control circuit 35 by the operation unit 24. The converted voltage is converted by the DC / DC converter 34 and output from the DC output terminal 27.

Next, a method of using the maintenance support device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the use of the maintenance support device 10 will be described as an example in the case where the renewal work of the storage battery 44 of the UPS 40 is performed while suppressing the risk of occurrence of a power failure or instantaneous power failure at the load 51. The storage battery 44 is detachably provided via the storage battery connection terminal 43. The battery charger 41 rectifies the AC power from the commercial power supply 50 and charges the storage battery 44. The DC power is converted from the storage battery 44 to the AC power. A storage battery connection terminal 43 is connected to a connection for connecting the output of the charger 41 and the input of the inverter 42. Further, the UPS 40 supplies power from the commercial power supply 50 to the load when the commercial power supply 50 is normal, and immediately switches to supply power from the inverter 42 to the load 51 when a power failure or instantaneous power failure is detected at the commercial power supply 50. And a changeover switch 45 for switching. When renewing the storage battery 44 in such a UPS 40, first, the storage battery 44 is removed from the storage battery connection terminal 43 as shown by the broken line in the figure, and instead of the storage battery 44, the storage battery connection terminal 43 of the UPS 40 is connected by the cable 52. The DC output terminal 27 of the maintenance support device 10 is connected. The output voltage of the DC / DC converter 34 is set to the same voltage as the rated voltage of the removed storage battery 44. Thereby, even if the storage battery 44 is removed, the inverter 42 can be operated by the DC power from the maintenance support device 10, and AC power is supplied to the load 51 even when the commercial power supply 50 is blacked out or momentarily stopped. It becomes possible to continue supplying. Thereafter, the existing storage battery 44 is removed, a new storage battery is prepared, the cable 52 is detached from the storage battery connection terminal 43, and the new storage battery is connected to the storage battery connection terminal 43, whereby the renewal work of the storage battery is completed.

  If a power failure or momentary power failure of the commercial power supply 50 occurs at the timing when neither the storage battery 44 nor the maintenance support device 10 is connected to the storage battery connection terminal 43 for reconnection, the load 51 is also affected. Since the time required for replacement can be suppressed to a few minutes at most, by using this maintenance support device 10, a power failure or a momentary power failure occurs in the commercial power source 50 during the renewal work of the storage battery, and the load 51 stops. The risk of being lost can be greatly reduced. Further, since the maintenance support device 10 is portable, it is easy to carry in and install the storage battery renewal at the work site. Therefore, the number of work steps can be reduced and the work cost can be reduced, which is economical. Further, since the output voltage can be changed by providing the DC / DC converter 34, the maintenance support device 10 has versatility that can support various types of UPS.

  Since the backflow prevention diode 36 is provided, even if the maintenance support device 10 is connected to the UPS 40 when the DC / DC converter 34 is not operating, the power from the UPS 40 flows into the maintenance support device 10 side. There is nothing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Maintenance support apparatus 11 Caster 12 Case 21,44 Storage battery 22,41 Charger 23 Conversion part 24 Operation part 25 Display part 26 AC input terminal 27 DC output terminal 31 Rectifier circuit 32 Charging circuit 33 Charge control circuit 34 DC / DC converter 35 Output Voltage Control Circuit 36 Backflow Prevention Diode 40 UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)
42 Inverter 43 Storage battery connection terminal 45 Changeover switch 50 Commercial power supply 51 Load 52 Cable

Claims (4)

A maintenance support device that supports the work of renewing the storage battery of the uninterruptible power supply, a portable housing,
A storage battery provided in the housing;
A charger capable of receiving power from a commercial power source and charging the storage battery;
A converter that converts the direct current power from the storage battery into direct current power of a set voltage and outputs the converted power;
With
The maintenance support device, wherein the set voltage is variable, and the DC power output from the conversion unit can be supplied to the uninterruptible power supply to which an operating load is connected. An operation unit for setting the set voltage;
The converter includes a DC / DC converter that converts direct-current power from the storage battery, and an output voltage control circuit that controls an output voltage of the DC / DC voltage to the set voltage set by the operation unit. The maintenance support apparatus according to claim 1.   The uninterruptible power supply device has a storage battery connection terminal to which a storage battery to be renewed is connected, and the renewal work is being performed by connecting the storage battery connection terminal and the output terminal of the conversion unit via a cable. The maintenance support device according to claim 1, wherein DC power output from the conversion unit can be supplied to the uninterruptible power supply.   The maintenance support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays a setting value set by the operation unit.

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