JP2018044538A - Wind power generator and wireless sensor network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wind power generator having a wireless sensor network capable of always monitoring malfunction of a sensor node.SOLUTION: A wind power generator includes: a plurality of sets of a first communication part and a second communication part in a rotary part which actuates with wind power; and a third communication for wirelessly communicating with the second communication part, at a stationary part. Each of the plurality of second communication parts is configured to transmit data on a state of the first communication part, and at least one of the plurality of second communication parts is configured to relay, to the third communication part, data received from the other second communication parts out of the plurality of second communication parts.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a wind turbine generator and a wireless sensor network system thereof.

  As background art of this technical field, Patent Literature 1 discloses that “the wireless transmission means 101 of the master station device 1100 transmits a test frame for measuring the state of the radio link with the slave station device to the slave station device a plurality of times. Then, the wireless reception unit 102 notifies the RSSI value measured when the slave station apparatus receives each test frame, the number of times the slave station apparatus has received the test frame, and the remaining battery level of the slave station apparatus. The failure determination means 108 determines the state of the radio link using the RSSI value notified by the measurement result collection response and the number of receptions of the test frame, and determines the state of the slave station device using the remaining battery level. In this way, the cause of the deterioration of the communication state can be identified ”(see summary).

JP 2013-12890 A

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for identifying the cause of deterioration of a wireless communication state. However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose a technique that can be applied to a wind power generator having a wireless sensor network. In a wireless sensor network for measuring the strain of a blade of a wind turbine generator, the sensor node is installed on the blade and the sink node is installed in the nacelle. Behind the floor, the communication path between the sensor node and the sink node is obstructed, and a communication impossible state occurs.

  In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, a communication path is blocked by a metal structure such as the main shaft and the floor in the nacelle, and communication cannot be performed. Therefore, the sink node cannot be notified.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wind turbine generator having a wireless sensor network that can constantly monitor malfunctions of sensor nodes.

  In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted.

  The present application includes a plurality of means for solving the above-mentioned problem. To give an example, the rotating unit operated by wind power includes a plurality of first communication units and second communication units, and the second A wind turbine generator provided with a third communication unit for wireless communication with a communication unit in a fixed unit, wherein each of the plurality of second communication units transmits data relating to the state of the first communication unit And at least one of the plurality of second communication units relays data received from another second communication unit among the plurality of second communication units to the third communication unit. Features.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the wind power generator which has a wireless sensor network which can always monitor the malfunction of a sensor node can be provided.

  Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of embodiments.

It is a figure which shows the example of the wind power generator of Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a sensor node. It is a figure which shows the example of a wireless sensor network system. It is a figure which shows the example of the wind power generator of Example 2. FIG.

  Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In this embodiment, the operation of one sensor node installed on each blade is behind a metal structure such as a floor or a main shaft in the nacelle of the wind power generator, even while the communication path is blocked and communication is not possible. An example of a wireless sensor network system and a wind turbine generator that can constantly monitor for defects will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wind turbine generator according to the present embodiment. In the wind turbine generator, a nacelle 103 is installed on a tower 107 serving as a base, and a generator and a speed increaser (not shown) fixed to an iron floor 105 are housed in the nacelle 103. Three blades, that is, a blade 102a, a blade 102b, and a blade 102c, are attached to the iron main shaft 104 of the generator.

  The blades 102 (hereinafter collectively referred to as the blades 102, and other symbols are the same) when the blades 102 a, 102 b, 102 c do not need to be distinguished from each other by the wind force. Then, the main shaft 104 is rotated to cause the generator to generate power.

  Since the material of the nacelle 103 and the blade 102 is FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) or the like and there is a possibility that distortion occurs in each of the blades 102, the strain is measured at the approximate center of each of the blades 102a, 102b, and 102c. Sensor node 101a, sensor node 101b, and sensor node 101c are installed, and the sensor node 101 rotates together with the blade 102.

  Since each sensor node 101 transmits the measured strain data to the nacelle 103, the sensor node 101 will be described here. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the sensor node 101. As will be described later, the sensor node 101a, the sensor node 101b, and the sensor node 101c have different structures depending on the rotational position, but have the same structure.

  The sensor node 101 includes a sensor node unit 211 that transmits measured strain data, and a state monitoring control unit 201 that monitors and controls the sensor node unit 211.

  The sensor node unit 211 controls the strain sensor 212 that measures strain, the power source A 213 that supplies power to each unit of the sensor node unit 211, RFIC_A 214 that is a radio circuit for communicating with the nacelle 103 side, and the entire sensor node unit 211. The microcomputer 215 transmits data measured by the strain sensor 212 using the RFIC_A 214, the memory A 216 stores data and programs used by the microcomputer 215, and the antenna 217 of the RFIC_A 214.

  Since distortion measurement data has a relatively large amount of data, RFIC_A 214 is preferably a 2.4 GHz band wireless circuit having a high frequency. For this reason, the antenna 217 is preferably an antenna corresponding to a wavelength in the 2.4 GHz band. Further, the RFIC_A 214 may perform reception necessary on a communication protocol for transmitting strain data, or may receive other information. The power source A 213 may be a battery, and the microcomputer 215 may acquire the battery consumption of the power source A 213.

  The state monitoring control unit 201 is connected to the sensor node unit 211 to monitor and control the sensor node unit 211, RFIC_B 203 which is a radio circuit for communicating with the nacelle 103 side or another sensor node 101, The memory B 204 stores data obtained by monitoring of the state monitoring control circuit 202, the power source B 205 that supplies power to each unit of the state monitoring control unit 201, and the antenna 206 of the RFIC_B 203.

  The state monitoring control circuit 202 is connected by RFIC_A 214 and JTAG_A 221, and acquires and monitors an operating state such as radio reception power of RFIC_A 214. In addition, the state monitoring control circuit 202 is connected to the microcomputer 215 by the JTAG_B 222, and acquires and monitors an operating state as to whether or not the microcomputer 215 is out of control, a battery consumption amount of the power source A 213, and the like.

  Further, the state monitoring control circuit 202 may include a timer 207 for controlling monitoring timing and transmission timing. The timer 207 may be a clock synchronized with the sensor node 101a, the sensor node 101b, and the sensor node 101c.

  Data obtained by monitoring (monitoring data) is stored in the memory B204 and transmitted by the RFIC_B203. Since the monitoring data has a relatively small data amount, the RFIC_B 203 is preferably a 920 MHz band wireless circuit that has a small amount of spatial attenuation and a long communication distance. For this reason, the antenna 206 is preferably an antenna corresponding to a wavelength in the 920 MHz band. The RFIC_B 203 may be received from another sensor node 101 and transmitted to another sensor node 101 under the control of the state monitoring control circuit 202, whereby communication can be relayed.

  The RFIC_B 203 receives the transmissions of the monitoring control device 106 and the other sensor nodes 101 in the nacelle 103 by identifying where the transmission source is, and sends either the monitoring control device 106 or the other sensor nodes 101 to the transmission destination. Specify (destination) and send. For this reason, a general address in communication may be assigned to each of the monitoring control device 106 and the sensor node 101 and included in the transmission.

  The power supply B205 of the state monitoring control unit 201 and the power supply A213 of the sensor node unit 211 are independent, and the power supply B205 is longer than the power supply A213 with respect to the power consumption of the state monitoring control unit 201 and the sensor node unit 211. It is preferable that the power source can supply power continuously for a period of time. In addition, it is preferable that the circuit includes the state monitoring control unit 201 and the sensor node unit 211 so that the current output from the power supply B205 does not flow around the voltage drop of the power supply A213.

  Returning to FIG. 1, when the monitoring control device 106 in the nacelle 103 communicates with the sensor node 101 installed on the blade 102, that is, the state monitoring control unit 201 and the sensor node unit 211, the iron main shaft 104 and the floor 105 transmit radio waves. In order to block, the communication impossible area 108 is generated. Since the sensor node 101 rotates together with the blade 102, when there is wind power that rotates the blade 102, the sensor node 101 that enters the incommunicable area 108 changes with time. In addition, when there is no wind force that rotates the blade 102, one of the sensor nodes 101 enters the incommunicable area 108.

  In these states, since the state monitoring control unit 201 constantly monitors the operation failure of the sensor node 101, particularly the sensor node unit 211, and notifies the monitoring data in the example of FIG. 1, in the example of FIG. Is received by the sensor node 101 c and relayed to the monitoring control device 106.

  For this relay, the monitoring control device 106 transmits to the sensor node 101a according to the communication route 110a, the sensor node 101a transmits to the sensor node 101b according to the communication route 110b, and the sensor node 101b transmits to the sensor node 101c. The sensor node 101c transmits to the monitoring control device 106 according to the communication route 110d, and will be further described below.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless sensor network system according to the present embodiment. In addition to the sensor node 101 and the monitoring control device 106 described above, the wireless sensor network system processes strain data and determines a communication route 110 for relay to control the wireless sensor network system. A data server 303 that stores strain data and a gateway 304 that serves as a strain data reception path are included. Further, the wireless sensor network system shown in FIG. 3 may be included in the wind power generator.

  Each of the sensor node unit 211a, the sensor node unit 211b, and the sensor node unit 211c transmits the measured strain data to the gateway 304a, the gateway 304b, and the gateway 304c installed in the nacelle 103. Each of the gateways 304 sends the received distortion data to the control PC 301 via a LAN (local area network).

  The control PC 301 performs necessary calculation processing on the transmitted strain data, arranges the data format, and stores it in the data server. The processing of the strain data is conventionally performed, and the processing content is not directly related to the configuration for monitoring the operation failure of the sensor node 101, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  An example of the operation related to the monitoring data of this embodiment will be described below.

  First, the control PC 301 obtains the operation status 302 such as the azimuth (position, rotation angle) and rotation speed of the blade 102 from the power generation control part of the wind turbine generator, and calculates the predicted position of each blade 102. This predicted position is the position of each blade 102 at the time when the monitoring control device 106 transmits a command requesting transmission of monitoring data. For this reason, even if a command is transmitted, a time that is the difference between the set time and the time when the driving situation 302 is acquired is calculated, and the predicted position is calculated based on the calculated time, rotation speed, and azimuth. Good.

  The control PC 301 specifies the sensor node 101b and the sensor node 101c whose calculated predicted positions do not enter the communication disabled area 108 and the sensor nodes 101a and 101c that do not enter the communication disabled area 108. The communication route 110 is determined on the basis of the sensor node 101 a that enters, and a relay order table including information on the communication route 110 is created and sent to the monitoring control device 106. The information of the communication route 110 may be, for example, a source address and a destination address.

  Since the communication route 110 may continue to rotate even during communication, the predicted position relayed by the sensor node 101 from the time until the monitoring control device 106 transmits a command until the monitoring data is received and the rotation speed. May be further corrected (calculated) to optimize the predicted position.

  On the other hand, the state monitoring control circuit 202 transmits a beacon request from the antenna 206 by RFIC_B 203 according to the value of the timer 207. The destination of this beacon request is the monitoring control device 106. What value of the timer 207 is used to transmit the beacon request is preset.

  The timers 207 of the sensor node 101a, the sensor node 101b, and the sensor node 101c are synchronized. In this setting, the timers 207 of the sensor node 101a, the sensor node 101b, and the sensor node 101c transmit beacon requests with different values. Thus, collision of radio signals of beacon requests can be avoided. However, it is preferable that the value set in the timer 207 is close within a range where no collision occurs.

  When receiving the beacon request, the monitoring control device 106 transmits a beacon including a relay order table as a response. Here, in the example of FIG. 1, since the sensor node 101b is in the incommunicable area 108, the beacon request transmitted by the sensor node 101b does not reach the monitoring control device 106, and the monitoring control device 106 goes to the sensor node 101b. Do not send beacons. Even if the monitoring control device 106 transmits a beacon to the sensor node 101b, it does not reach the sensor node 101b in the incommunicable area 108.

  On the other hand, based on the timer 207, the state monitoring control circuit 202 of the sensor node 101b determines that the beacon is not received by the RFIC_B 203 even if a preset time has elapsed after transmitting the beacon. The determination result is recorded in a predetermined area or the like in the memory B204.

  Since the relative positional relationship between the sensor nodes 101 is fixed, the relay source and the relay destination can be set in advance without receiving the relay order table included in the beacon. That is, it is set to relay so as to be written in one stroke in the same direction as the rotation direction 109. In the case of the sensor node 101b, the relay source is the sensor node 101a and the relay destination is the communication route 110b and the communication route 110c. The sensor node 101c is set. This setting may be stored in the memory B204.

  Each of the state monitoring control circuits 202 of the sensor node 101a and the sensor node 101c may receive a beacon and store the relay order table included in the beacon in each memory B204.

  1 and 3, first, the monitoring control device 106 transmits a monitoring data request command to the state monitoring control unit 201a of the sensor node 101a as in the communication route 110a according to the relay order table. The state monitoring control unit 201a that has received this request command transmits the monitoring data of the sensor node unit 211a to the state monitoring control unit 201b of the sensor node 101b as in the communication route 110b according to the relay order table.

  The state monitoring control unit 201b adds the monitoring data of the sensor node unit 211b to the received monitoring data, and transmits the monitoring data to the state monitoring control unit 201c of the sensor node 101c like the preset communication route 110c. The state monitoring control unit 201c adds the monitoring data of the sensor node unit 211c to the received monitoring data, and transmits the monitoring data to the monitoring control device 106 like the communication route 110d according to the relay order table.

  The monitoring control device 106 sends the received monitoring data to the control PC 301, and the control PC 301 stores the monitoring data in the data server 303. Further, the control PC 301 may display to the operator or control the wireless sensor network system according to the contents of the monitoring data.

  Instead of the relay order table and the beacon described above, a relay order table storing information on the communication route 110 corresponding to the rotation angle of each blade 102 and a calculated predicted position (predicted rotation angle) are included. A beacon may be used. As apparent from the example of FIG. 1, the sensor node 101 in the incommunicable area 108 and the sensor node 101 outside the incommunicable area 108 can be identified from the rotation angles of the blades 102, that is, the sensor nodes 101. The communication route 110 can be determined in advance.

  Then, the relay order table is stored in the memory B 204 of the state monitoring control unit 201 of each sensor node 101, and the state monitoring control circuit 202 that has received the beacon indicates the rotation angle included in the beacon and the relay order table stored in the memory B 204. The communication route 110 may be determined based on this. The operation of the state monitoring control circuit 202 that does not receive a beacon is as described above.

  According to the wireless sensor network system described above, even if the battery consumption of any of the power supplies A 213a to 213c progresses and the voltage drops and any of the sensor node units 211a to 211c becomes in a state of malfunction. Since the power supplies B 204a to 204c are independent of the power supplies A 213a to 213c, the state monitoring control units 201a to 201c can continue to operate and transmit monitoring data.

  Further, when the control PC 301 determines that the microcomputer 215 or the RFIC_A 214 of the sensor node unit 211 of the sensor node 101b in the incommunicable area 108 is out of control, the monitoring control device 106 passes the sensor node 101a, that is, the communication route 110a. The communication route 110b may transmit a reset request to the sensor node 101b to cause the state monitoring control unit 201b to reset the sensor node unit 211b or a part of the sensor node unit 211b.

  Further, similarly, the communication route 110a and the communication route 110b may be used to upgrade the software of the microcomputer 215 of the sensor node unit 211 of the sensor node 101b in the incommunicable area 108 or the stack of the RFIC_A 214.

  According to the wind power generator of the present embodiment described above, even when a plurality of blades 102 are included in the incommunicable area 108, the state where each blade 102 in the incommunicable area 108 is installed. The supervisory control circuit 202 cannot receive a beacon and can control to relay even between the blades 102 in the incommunicable area 108.

  Further, even when a plurality of blades 102 come out of the incommunicable region 108 and the state monitoring control circuit 202 of the plurality of blades 102 can receive a beacon, the monitoring control device 106 is used by the relay order table included in the beacon. It can be divided into a state monitoring control circuit 202 that communicates with a state monitoring control circuit 202 that relays.

  Accordingly, it is possible to constantly monitor the malfunction of the sensor node 101 even in a wind power generator having a large number of blades 102, a wind power generator having a wide communication impossible area 108, a wind power generator having a narrow communication impossible area 108, or the like.

  In the first embodiment, an example in which one sensor node 101 is installed in each blade 102 has been described. In the second embodiment, an example in which a plurality of sensor nodes 101 are installed in each blade 102 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the wind turbine generator of the present embodiment. Those already described with reference to FIG.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the sensor node 101a (hereinafter, the sensor node 101a1, the sensor node 101a2, and the sensor node 101a3 are also collectively referred to as the sensor node 101a when the blade 102a does not need to be distinguished from each other. 3), three sensor nodes 101b are installed on the blade 102b, and three sensor nodes 101c are installed on the blade 102c.

  That is, the sensor node 101 (hereinafter, collectively referred to as the sensor node 101 when there is no need to particularly distinguish each of the sensor node 101a, the sensor node 101b, and the sensor node 101c) is installed in the blade 102. In this manner, by disposing the plurality of sensor nodes 101 in a distributed manner in the long side direction of the blade 102, it is easy to measure the distortion of the blade 102 without leakage.

  Each of the sensor nodes 101 is the sensor node 101 described with reference to FIG. 2, but information regarding relay stored in the memory B 204 is different from that in the first embodiment, and will be described later. Each sensor node 101 transmits monitoring data to the monitoring control device 106, but in the example of FIG. 4, three of the sensor nodes 101b are in the incommunicable area 108, and the monitoring control device 106 is connected to the sensor node 101b. Monitoring data cannot be received.

  On the other hand, as in the first embodiment, the monitoring control apparatus 106 acquires monitoring data of the sensor node 101b by relaying through the communication route 110. Here, since three sensor nodes 101 are installed in one blade 102, for example, the sensor node 101a1 closest to the nacelle 103 receives a monitoring data request command from the monitoring control device 106, and the sensor It transmits its own monitoring data to the node 101a2, adds its own monitoring data to the monitoring data received by the sensor node 101a2, and transmits it to the sensor node 101a3.

  The sensor node 101a3 farthest from the nacelle 103 adds its own monitoring data to the received monitoring data and transmits it to the sensor node 101b1 closest to the nacelle 103 of the blade 102b. Each of the sensor nodes 101b relays in the same manner as the sensor node 101a, and each of the sensor nodes 101c also relays in the same manner as the sensor node 101a, and the sensor node 101c3 farthest from the nacelle 103 of the blade 102c sends monitoring data to the monitoring control device 106. Send.

  As in the first embodiment, each of the sensor nodes 101 transmits a beacon request. Upon receiving the beacon request, the monitoring control apparatus 106 transmits a beacon including a relay order table as a response to the beacon request. The sensor node 101b cannot receive a beacon.

  On the other hand, since the relative positional relationship between the sensor nodes 101 is also fixed in the example of FIG. 4, the relay source and the relay destination are set in advance without receiving the relay order table included in the beacon. Can do. That is, in the case of the sensor node 101b1, it is set that the relay source is the sensor node 101a3 and the relay destination is the sensor node 101b2.

  In the case of the sensor node 101b2, it is set that the relay source is the sensor node 101b1 and the relay destination is the sensor node 101b3. In the case of the sensor node 101b3, the relay source is the sensor node 101b2, and the relay destination is the sensor node 101c1. Is set to be These settings may be stored in the memory B204, and information regarding the relay stored in the memory B204 is different from that in the first embodiment.

  The sensor node 101a2 and the sensor node 101c2 are also set so that the relay source is the sensor node 101 closer to the nacelle 103 and the relay destination is the sensor node 101 farther from the nacelle 103, as in the sensor node 101b2. Further, the sensor node 101a2, the sensor node 101b2, and the sensor node 101c2 may be configured not to transmit a beacon and acquire a relay order table.

  As described above, even if a plurality of sensor nodes 101 are installed on one blade 102, it is possible to constantly monitor the malfunction of the sensor node 101. Further, the monitoring control device 106 only needs to transmit a command to one of the plurality of sensor nodes 101, and the relay between the blades 102 does not depend on the number of sensor nodes 101 installed in one blade 102. Even wind power generators with different numbers of sensor nodes 101 installed on one blade 102 can be easily shared.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Sensor node 102 Blade 103 Nacelle 106 Monitoring and control apparatus 108 Communication impossible area 110 Communication route

Claims (15)

A wind turbine generator including a plurality of sets of first communication units and second communication units in a rotating unit operated by wind power, and a third communication unit for wirelessly communicating with the second communication unit in a fixed unit Because
Each of the plurality of second communication units transmits data regarding the state of the first communication unit,
At least one of the plurality of second communication units relays data received from another second communication unit among the plurality of second communication units to the third communication unit. Wind power generator. The wind turbine generator according to claim 1,
Each of a plurality of said 1st communication parts and a plurality of said 2nd communication parts has an independent power supply, The wind power generator characterized by the above-mentioned. The wind turbine generator according to claim 1,
Each of a plurality of said 1st communication parts and a plurality of said 2nd communication parts has an independent antenna, The wind power generator characterized by the above-mentioned. The wind turbine generator according to claim 3,
A frequency of radio waves transmitted by the plurality of second communication units is lower than a frequency of radio waves transmitted by the plurality of first communication units. The wind power generator according to claim 4,
The plurality of first communication units transmit 2.4 GHz band radio waves,
The plurality of second communication units transmit a radio wave of 920 MHz band. The wind turbine generator according to claim 1,
When the third communication unit receives a request from the second communication unit, the third communication unit transmits a response,
Each of the plurality of second communication units includes:
Sending a request addressed to the third communication unit;
If no response is received from the third communication unit, data is transmitted to another second communication unit among the plurality of second communication units. The wind turbine generator according to claim 6,
Each of the plurality of second communication units includes:
Have a timer,
A wind turbine generator characterized by transmitting a request and not receiving a response according to a value of each timer. The wind power generator according to claim 7,
The third communication unit is
A wind turbine generator that transmits, as a response, a relay order table that includes destinations used for transmission in each of the plurality of second communication units according to the rotation angle of the rotation unit. The wind turbine generator according to claim 8,
Each of the plurality of second communication units includes:
If it is determined that the response from the third communication unit is not received, the data is transmitted to the destination stored in advance,
When receiving a response from the third communication unit, the wind turbine generator transmits data to a destination included in the response relay order table. The wind turbine generator according to claim 9,
The rotating part includes a plurality of blades for receiving wind,
Each of the plurality of blades includes the first communication unit and the second communication unit,
Each of the plurality of first communication units transmits the blade strain data measured by the sensor. It is a wind power generator according to claim 10,
Each of the plurality of blades includes a plurality of the first communication units and a plurality of the second communication units,
At least one of the plurality of second communication units transmits to another second communication unit included in the same blade. The wind turbine generator according to claim 11,
Each of the plurality of first communication units has a battery power source independent of each of the plurality of second communication units,
The data relating to the state of the first communication unit includes a battery consumption amount of the power source. A wireless sensor network system comprising a plurality of sets of first communication units and second communication units, and comprising a third communication unit for wirelessly communicating with the second communication unit,
Each of the plurality of first communication units transmits data measured by the sensor,
Each of the plurality of second communication units transmits data regarding the state of the first communication unit,
At least one of the plurality of second communication units relays data received from another second communication unit among the plurality of second communication units to the third communication unit. Wireless sensor network system. The wireless sensor network system according to claim 13,
Each of the plurality of first communication units and the plurality of second communication units has an independent power supply. The wireless sensor network system according to claim 14,
The plurality of first communication units transmit 2.4 GHz band radio waves,
The wireless sensor network system, wherein the plurality of second communication units transmit 920 MHz band radio waves.

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