JP2022070881A - Power source system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power source system, hardware of which does not need to be altered even in a case where the system configuration of an IoT system that is formed of a plurality of load devices to which power is supplied from the power source system is changed, and the number of output terminals, voltages of the output terminals, power ON/OFF control timings, and power sources need to be changed.

SOLUTION: On the basis of information stored in information storage units 122 to 124 in which information about voltages to be allocated to external output terminals 111 to 114, information about ON/OFF of the external output terminals 111 to 114, the switching timings thereof, and a method for the switching are stored, a power source system control unit 130 switches the voltages and the ON/OFF of the external output terminals 111 to 114. Further, even in a case where power sources 141 to 143 having different voltages are used, the residual quantities and the deterioration states can be measured without hardware alternation of the power source system since voltage information about the power sources is stored in a power source information storage unit 121.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a power supply system for a wireless sensor network composed of communication devices, sensors, etc., and in particular, a plurality of voltages can be output to a plurality of external output terminals, and ON / OFF control at a plurality of timings can be performed. Possible, related to power supply systems powered by solar cells, secondary batteries, and primary batteries.

In recent years, LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) communication has been attracting attention as a standard communication method for IoT (Internet of Things) terminals in which all things are connected to the Internet. Specifically, the LoRa method, the SIGFOX (registered trademark) method, the NB-IoT method and the like are known. The feature of these communication methods is that they can communicate over a wide range of several kilometers to several tens of kilometers while using the power consumption that is one to two orders of magnitude lower than that of the conventional method. As a result, not only the power consumption of the IoT terminal can be reduced, but also the power consumption of the base station can be reduced. Furthermore, as a result of the significantly reduced size of this base station, it can be attached to telephone poles, outer walls of buildings, and walls.

In LPWA communication, the transmission rate is tens of bytes / second to several hundred kilobytes / second, which is slower than other communication methods, so mass production of communication chips at low cost without using advanced semiconductor technology is possible. Can be done. As a result, the cost of the communication module can be reduced. Further, in LPWA communication, not only the cost of the base station is low, but also the cost for installing one base station is significantly reduced because of its small size. Furthermore, since the area that can be covered by one base station is wide, it is possible to reduce the number of base stations, and as a result, it is possible to significantly reduce communication costs.

With the spread of LPWA communication as described above, IoT systems including IoT communication terminals that can be driven by a power supply system that combines a solar cell and a secondary battery or a power supply system that uses a primary battery as a power source will become widespread. Is expected. What is important for such an IoT system is to secure not only the power consumption of the IoT communication terminal but also the power sources of various voltage and current consumption sensors, cameras, electronic displays and the like constituting the IoT system. In this specification, a unit consisting of one or more wireless communication terminals and one or more sensors is defined as an IoT system. Usually, one IoT communication terminal and one to three sensors are generally connected to one IoT communication terminal.

As a system for supplying power to such various devices, for example, the power supply device described in Patent Document 1 can be used. This power supply system can supply power from a plurality of power sources having different voltages to a plurality of electric circuits having different voltages and current consumption.

In the IoT system, it is also important to suppress the power consumption of the entire system. For that purpose, it is possible to reduce the standby power by supplying power to the devices constituting the IoT system at the required timing for the necessary devices. For example, Patent Document 2 describes an example in which a power is turned on to a transmission circuit and a reception circuit of a wireless communication device by a start pattern registered in advance. This makes it possible to minimize standby power other than the time when the wireless communication device needs to be driven.

In Patent Document 2, the system is such that power is supplied to the wireless communication device by a predetermined activation pattern, but this alone may cause inconvenience in the operation of the IoT system. For example, in the case of an application in which the measured value of a water level sensor for flood monitoring of a river is transmitted by a wireless communication device, it is necessary to measure the water level sensor when the water level rises. In this case, it is not necessary to turn on the power to the wireless communication device in normal times, and the sensor is always activated, and frequent sensing and communication are performed only when the measured value of the sensor exceeds a certain value. It is rational.

Patent Document 3 can be mentioned as a publicly known example for realizing such a system. In Patent Document 3, a plurality of power supply paths are provided between a battery that supplies power, a sensor that consumes power, and a wireless communication device, and only when the power consumption of the entire system is large, via a DC converter, It is a system that supplies power to sensors and wireless communication devices. By doing so, the power of the battery can be effectively used. Further, according to Patent Document 3, it is possible to switch the power supply path based on the information from the wireless communication device.

Further, in the IoT system, it is necessary to consider the possibility that various power sources such as commercial AC power sources, solar cells, primary batteries, etc. are used depending on the power consumption of the devices constituting the system and the installation location. .. As an example of a power supply circuit compatible with various batteries, there is a known example of a power supply circuit as described in Patent Document 4. This power supply circuit makes it possible to use different types of batteries with different output voltages as a power source.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-178455 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-139635 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-98809 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-184136

All of the above prior arts are excellent, but various problems arise when the functions required as a power supply system for an IoT system used for various purposes are realized.
(A) As a power supply system for an IoT system, the most important function required is to supply electric power to devices having various voltages constituting the IoT system. Further, even when the specifications of the IoT system are changed, the changes in the specifications of the power supply system are suppressed as much as possible. This is because the IoT system is composed of various types of sensors and communication devices, and it is inefficient to redesign the power supply system for each system.

Patent Document 1 is an invention mainly made for this subject, and this power supply system is located in the upstream part of a power supply, a power supply board capable of flexibly changing voltage and current, and a downstream part of the power supply. It is composed of a functional board for supplying a predetermined power adjusted by the power supply board to the load device, and a connector for connecting the power supply board and the functional board. Further, the functional board is provided with voltage / current information storage means, and stores the voltage / current information required by the load device connected to the functional board. By transmitting this information to the power supply board, it is possible to appropriately adjust the voltage and current in the power supply board.

This prior art is an excellent technique that can be applied to a system consisting of load devices having various current capacities and voltage types by changing the hardware configuration of the functional board and the voltage / current information of the functional board. However, recent IoT systems are composed of LPWA communication devices and sensors having extremely low power consumption, and the current capacity is not greatly limited. Therefore, as in the present prior art, changing the hardware configuration of the power supply system according to the system configuration is a cost burden.
(B) As a power supply system for the IoT system, the next required function is to reduce the power consumption of the entire IoT system. As described above, the IoT system these days is composed of an LPWA communication device having extremely low power consumption and a sensor, and a battery is usually used as a power source. Therefore, the size of the battery required is large when the communication frequency is high, the power consumption of the sensors is large, the number of connected devices is large, or the battery cannot be replaced for a long period of time. There is a problem that it becomes large. (There is also an IoT system in which power is supplied from a solar cell, but in many cases, the configuration is such that the power charged from the solar cell to a secondary battery such as a lead battery or a lithium ion battery is consumed. Therefore, for the sake of simplicity, the IoT system powered by a solar cell is also referred to as a battery-powered IoT system.)
Patent Documents 2 and 3 are inventions made for this subject. Patent Document 2 relates to a wireless communication device, and in order to reduce the power consumption of the system, the power supply from the battery is turned on / off according to a predetermined "pattern". Further, Patent Document 3 relates to a system in which a sensor and a wireless communication device are driven by a battery. This system is a system that can select a power-saving power supply path according to the operating state of the sensor, and can reduce the power consumption of the entire system by sensing the installation environment.

These prior arts are excellent techniques for providing a power supply system capable of reducing unnecessary standby power by turning the power on and off under certain conditions. However, as a general-purpose power supply system required for an IoT system, it is necessary to individually control ON / OFF of each device even when various load devices are connected from the outside. In particular, when there are a plurality of voltage types and power supply destinations, it is important to be able to individually turn them on and off, but these prior arts do not show this method.
(C) In the IoT system, it is necessary to consider the possibility that various power sources such as commercial AC power sources, solar cells, primary batteries, etc. may be used depending on the power consumption of the devices constituting the system and the installation location. be. For example, it is easy to use a commercial power source in an IoT system in a factory, but it is generally difficult to use a commercial power source in an IoT system for agricultural use. However, since the installation location is in paddy fields or fields and the batteries can be easily replaced, inexpensive alkaline batteries can be used. Even in the same agricultural application, in the case of a power supply system that supplies power to an IoT system that consumes a large amount of power, a lead battery that is supplied with power from a solar cell is used. Lead-acid batteries are inexpensive secondary batteries, but they are vulnerable to high temperatures and need to be replaced once every 2-3 years. On the other hand, for IoT systems installed in places where battery replacement is difficult, such as bridges and cliffs, and applications that require a wide temperature range from low to high temperatures, lithium manganese dioxide has excellent environmental resistance and can be used for a long period of time. Batteries are used. Further, in such a place where the battery cannot be replaced frequently, a lithium ion battery that does not require battery replacement is used for a long period of time as compared with a lead battery in an application that consumes a large amount of power. These batteries generally have different voltages, such as alkaline dry batteries around 1.5V, lead batteries depending on the number of connected series, generally 6V to 24V, manganese dioxide lithium batteries around 3V, and lithium ion batteries 3. It is around 7V.

As an example of a power supply system compatible with various batteries, there is a prior art of a power supply circuit as described in Patent Document 4. In this prior art, a DC / DC converter is connected to the electrodes of the battery compartment of an electronic device, and a detection means for detecting the type of battery set in the battery compartment is provided, and the battery is supplied based on the detection result. The power supply is switched so that the power supply is switched to the output of the DC / DC converter or the output of the battery. This makes it possible to use different types of batteries with different output voltages as a power source.

This prior art is an excellent technique that can use various batteries as a power source, but since it does not describe how to measure the remaining battery level or how to diagnose the deterioration of the battery when the type of battery is different, it is possible to use a communication device. However, there is a problem that it is not possible to measure the remaining battery level before the remaining battery level is exhausted and replace the battery if necessary.

In summary, the problems of the present invention are as follows.
(A) To provide a power supply system that does not require hardware changes even when the system configuration is changed and the number of output power supplies and these voltages are changed.
(B) To provide a power supply system capable of individually ON / OFF control when there are a plurality of voltage types and power supply destinations.
(C) To provide a power supply system capable of measuring the remaining battery level, diagnosing deterioration of the battery, etc. even when different types of batteries are used as the power source of the power supply system.

As a result of diligent studies in order to solve the above problems, the inventors have come up with the following power supply system. Hereinafter, it will be described in detail.

Normally, an IoT system is composed of a connecting device consisting of one communication device, one to three sensors, and a power supply system. Further, the voltage of these devices is generally any one of 3.3V, 5V and 12V. For example, in the case of such an IoT system, at least four connected devices can handle three types of voltages so that the hardware of the power supply system does not need to be changed even if the system configuration changes. Twelve external output terminals are required. Normally, the number of external output terminals has a large effect on both cost and space occupied on the circuit board, so it is necessary to reduce it as much as possible. Therefore, after suppressing the external output terminal to the minimum necessary, a selection control means such as FET (Field Effect Transistor) is provided in front of the external output terminal, and the voltage assigned to each external output terminal by changing the setting of the DIP switch or the like. I devised a way to change. That is,
(1) A battery, a plurality of voltage step-up / down means for boosting or stepping down the voltage of the battery, a plurality of external output means for supplying power to an external device, the voltage step-up / down means and the external output means. A selection control means arranged between the two, and an output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information including voltage information to be output to the external output means, and the selection control. The power supply system control means for controlling the means is provided, and the buck-boosts output from the plurality of voltage buck-boost means are different from each other, and the power supply system control means is provided by the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information. A power supply system characterized in that one output voltage is selected from the step-up voltage, and the external output means associated with the selection control means supplies the output voltage to an external device.

By doing so, it becomes possible to significantly reduce the number of external output terminals. However, when a limited number of external output terminals are used for various voltages as in the present invention, the following problems occur.

Normally, if the power supply system has multiple output terminals with different voltages, use output terminals and connectors with different appearances to prevent erroneous insertion, and in some cases print the output voltage value on the external output terminal. It is common to display. However, in the present invention, since the user determines the voltage applied to each output terminal, the voltage cannot be discriminated by the shape of the output terminal. In other words, with output terminals of the same shape or in which multiple external outputs are packaged (for example, multiple port terminals that can be connected to multiple terminals), it is not possible to clearly determine which device should be connected to which terminal.

Even if the voltage applied to the external output terminal is set using a visible switch such as a DIP switch, if the DIP switch is not switched sufficiently or if the setting is incorrect due to a human error, In the worst case, there is a risk of damaging the connected equipment.

Therefore, it is extremely important to display the information stored in the output voltage allocation information storage means such as the DIP switch or the semiconductor memory by the output voltage allocation information display means such as the multicolor LED as described below. That is,
(2) The power supply system according to (1), wherein the external output means having the same shape among the external output means is provided with an output voltage display means for displaying voltage information corresponding to the output voltage.

Furthermore, the inventors have decided to introduce the concept of an output state in order to cope with the case where the outputs of a plurality of external output terminals are ON / OFF controlled for each external output terminal without modification of the power supply system. The output state is a combination of ON / OFF states of each external output terminal. For example, when there are four external output terminals, the output states are terminal 1: ON, terminal 2: ON, terminal 3: ON, terminal 4: ON to terminal 1: OFF, terminal 2: OFF, terminal 3: OFF. , Terminal 4: There are 16 combinations up to OFF. By setting each of these 16 combinations as an output state and setting the method by the user, it is possible to register one output state with, for example, a 4-bit DIP switch.

By registering a plurality of these output states and selectively controlling them by the selection control means, ON / OFF control according to various situations becomes possible. That is,
(3) The power supply system control means is provided with output state information storage means for storing a plurality of output state information by designating a combination of ON or OFF of outputs from the plurality of external output means, and the power supply system control means is the output state. The power supply system according to (1) or (2), which controls the selection control means based on information.

Further, as a method of determining the timing for switching a plurality of output states, the condition for validating each output state is stored in the output state switching timing information storage means such as a DIP switch or a semiconductor memory. As a condition for enabling each output state, it is sufficient to be able to set whether to switch by a timer for each output state or by an external trigger by contact input from a sensor or data input from a communication device. Also, when switching with a timer, it is sufficient to be able to set the corresponding time. That is,
(4) The output state switching timing information storage means for storing the output state switching timing information is provided, and the power supply system control means controls the selection control means based on the output state switching timing information according to (3). Power system.
(5) The power supply system according to (4), wherein the output state switching timing information includes information on whether an external trigger mode or a timer mode is selected and time information of the timer mode.

Another feature of the power supply system of the present invention is that various batteries can be connected as a power source, and in particular, even if the types of batteries are different, it is possible to measure the remaining battery level and diagnose the deterioration of the batteries. In order to do these, the usable upper limit voltage and lower limit voltage of the connected battery are required. This is because, in general, the upper limit voltage and the lower limit voltage of the battery differ depending on the type of the battery, and the remaining battery level can be estimated by measuring the voltage between the upper limit voltage and the lower limit voltage. Further, when the battery deteriorates, in many cases, the deterioration diagnosis can be performed by preventing the battery voltage after charging from rising to the upper limit voltage. That is, the following power supply system may be used.
(6) A plurality of types of batteries can be selected, and a power supply information storage means for storing power supply information including upper limit voltage information and lower limit voltage information of the selected battery, and a power supply information storage means for transmitting power supply information to the power supply information storage means. The power supply system according to any one of (1) to (5), comprising a power supply information transmission means.

Further, in such a system, various system control information can be set by setting a dip switch or transferring data to a semiconductor memory, but if there is a system control information reset switch for validating the setting data, , It will be a system with higher usability. That is,
(7) The system control reset means for issuing an information acquisition command is provided, and the power supply system control means that has obtained the information acquisition command obtains the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means (1) or (. The power supply system according to 2).
(8) The system control reset means for issuing an information acquisition command is provided, and the power supply system control means that has obtained the information acquisition command obtains the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means, and obtains the output voltage allocation information, and the output state information. The power supply system according to (3), which obtains the output status information from the storage means.
(9) The system control reset means for issuing an information acquisition command is provided, and the power supply system control means that has obtained the information acquisition command obtains the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means, and obtains the output voltage allocation information, and the output state information. The power supply system according to (4), wherein the output state switching information is obtained from the storage means, and the output state switching timing information is obtained from the output state switching timing information storage means.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power supply system that does not require hardware changes even when the system configuration is changed and the number of output power supplies and these voltages are changed. Further, when there are a plurality of voltage types and power supply destinations, it is possible to provide a power supply system capable of individually ON / OFF control of these. Further, even when different types of batteries are used as the power source of the power supply system, it is possible to provide a power supply system capable of measuring the remaining battery level, diagnosing deterioration of the battery, and the like.

It is a block diagram of the power supply system of this invention. It is a table which shows the information about the battery used in the power supply system of this invention. It is a block diagram of the photovoltaic power generation power generation system of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation of the output control switch of the power supply system of this invention. It is a block diagram of the power supply system of this invention.

A mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, the outline of the power supply system 100 will be described, and then the details will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the power supply system of the present invention. The power output from the battery 142 used as a power source is converted into three types of voltages by a plurality of DC / DC converters, and the three types of voltages are output to the external output terminals 111 to 114 via the output control switch group 136. It is composed. Further, the power supply system control unit 130 mainly plays two roles. It is the control of the output control switch group 136 and the display of the system information on the system information display unit 150.

In order to control the output control switch group 136, the information of the output state switching timing information storage unit 122, the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123, and the output state information storage unit 124 is used as the basis. Further, the timing for updating the information of these information storage units 122 to 124 is the timing at which the system control information reset button 131 is pressed.

Further, the system information display unit 150 displays voltage information output to each of the external output terminals 111 to 114, battery remaining amount information of the battery 142, and battery deterioration information. The voltage information output to each of the external output terminals 111 to 114 is performed based on the information of the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123, and the battery remaining amount information and the battery deterioration information of the battery 142 are the voltage of the battery 142. This is performed by measuring with the power supply system control unit 130 via the measurement switch 138 and the voltage dividing circuit unit 132. The timing at which information is displayed on the system information display unit 150 is the timing at which the system control information reset button 131 is pressed. At this time, the power supply system control unit 130 controls the voltage measurement switch 138 to control the battery 142. The voltage is measured and the battery remaining amount information and the battery deterioration information are calculated.

Next, the details of the power supply system of the present invention will be described.

<Power supply>
One of the features of this power supply system is that batteries of various voltages can be used as a power source. For example, it can be used for batteries such as lead storage batteries, lithium ion batteries, manganese dioxide lithium batteries, alkaline batteries, and nickel hydrogen batteries. However, in this system, the lower limit of the allowable input voltage is 2V, which is the lower limit voltage of the lithium manganese dioxide battery. Therefore, when using an alkaline battery and a nickel hydrogen battery, it is necessary to connect them in series. Further, it is necessary to set the lower limit voltage after series connection to 2 V or more. For example, the lower limit voltage of alkaline batteries is 0.8V, so when using alkaline batteries, it is necessary to have three or more series. Further, since the lower limit voltage of the nickel-metal hydride battery is 1V, when using the nickel-metal hydride battery, it is necessary to make two or more in series. Further, since the upper limit input voltage that can be tolerated in this power supply system is 15V, the number of series may be changed within this range.

FIG. 2 shows the common nominal voltage per cell, lower limit voltage, upper limit voltage, and available series connection range when used as a power source for the system of the battery that the system of the present invention can use as a power source. It is a figure which shows. As shown in this figure, it is characterized by being able to support batteries with various voltages connected in series. When the number of batteries in series is increased to increase the battery voltage, the current for outputting the same power is reduced, so there is an advantage that the output power can be increased, but like lithium ion batteries and manganese dioxide lithium batteries. In addition, in the case of a battery that uses a flammable liquid with a high energy density, increasing the number of series increases the risk, so the problem is that the cost of the battery monitoring circuit, etc. for ensuring the safety of the battery increases. There is.

Further, in the case of a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, a lead battery, or a nickel hydrogen battery, it is used by connecting to a power generation device such as a solar cell. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a photovoltaic power generation system in which a solar cell and the power supply system of the present invention are connected. The photovoltaic power generation system 300 includes a solar cell 301, a solar charger 302, and a power supply system 100 of the present invention. The power generated by the solar cell 301 is maximized in the solar charger 302 by the maximum power point tracking control. Further, the solar charger 302 converts this electric power into a charging voltage suitable for the secondary battery, and then charges the secondary battery in the power supply system 100.

In the case of the secondary battery, the upper limit voltage shown in FIG. 2 substantially corresponds to the voltage of the electric power generated by the solar charger 302. The electric power transmitted from the solar charger 302 is used in preference to the electric power of the battery, and is finally supplied to the load devices 101 to 104. When the power generated by the solar cell 301 can cover the power consumed by the load devices 101 to 104, the power generated by the solar cell is controlled to be used for charging the secondary battery as well. There is. At night when there is no solar power generation, the power charged in the secondary battery is used during the day.

Next, a method of measuring the remaining battery level and diagnosing battery deterioration when a plurality of different types of batteries are attached will be described. A method of measuring the battery voltage for measuring the remaining battery level and diagnosing the deterioration of the battery will be described with reference to FIG. In order to measure the battery voltage, the voltage measuring switch 138 is controlled and the battery voltage is divided into about 1/5 by the voltage dividing circuit unit 132, and the voltage is reduced to about 20% of the actual voltage. This is because the power supply system control unit normally uses a low power consumption microcomputer, but in order for the microcomputer to measure the voltage, it needs to be a voltage that can be processed by the microcomputer (usually 5 V or less). Normally, a system using such a low power consumption microcomputer uses a battery of 5 V or less, so that such a problem does not occur. However, in the power supply system of the present invention, the voltage that can be processed by the microcomputer is 3.3 V or less. On the other hand, it is necessary to measure the voltage of the battery up to 15V, so such a device is necessary.

The battery voltage measured by the above method is a value between the upper limit voltage information and the lower limit voltage information of the battery previously stored in the power supply information storage unit 121. If this is not the case, it is assumed that the voltage has already fallen below the lower limit and the battery needs to be replaced, or that an incorrect battery is connected. Therefore, take measures such as stopping the power supply system. Although a semiconductor memory is used as the power supply information storage unit 121, since communication from the outside is required to transmit data to the semiconductor memory, a dip switch that does not require communication is used as a power source depending on the application. It can also be adopted as the information storage unit 121.

In order to estimate the remaining battery level, the upper limit voltage is set to 100% and the lower limit voltage is set to 0%, and the remaining amount at the time of measurement is estimated. There are various methods for this estimation, but the accuracy is low, but the method that can be estimated at the lowest cost is to estimate the remaining battery level from the measured voltage value by linearly interpolating between the upper limit voltage and the lower limit voltage. Is. When it is necessary to measure accurately, the battery type information is stored in the power supply information storage unit 121 at the same time as the value of the measured voltage. By doing so, it is possible to refer to a different discharge curve for each type of battery and estimate the remaining battery level based on this. Further, if the battery voltage is measured in a state where the discharge current is large, the error becomes large, so it is also effective to take measures such as selecting and measuring the time when the load device is not operating.

When determining the degree of deterioration of the secondary battery, the battery voltage is measured periodically at a time when it is highly likely that the battery is fully charged, for example, when charging by solar power generation, immediately after sunset. You just have to record the value. The charge may not be sufficient on a rainy day, but by repeating this measurement for a certain period of time, it can be estimated that the highest battery voltage during that period is fully charged. This battery voltage is compared with the upper limit voltage stored in the power supply information storage unit 121 in advance, and the degree of deterioration of the battery is estimated from this difference. This method has only a limited effect as a deterioration diagnosis of a lithium ion battery and a nickel hydrogen battery, but is effective for a lead battery.

An effective method for lithium-ion batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries is to measure the battery voltage regularly and record the value even before sunrise when the battery level is low. .. By doing so, it is possible to continuously measure the transition of the degree of deterioration of the secondary battery (the amount of decrease in voltage from the above-mentioned fully charged state). For example, in the photovoltaic power generation system shown in FIG. 3, the capacity of the battery is selected so that power can be supplied to the entire system for 5 days even if there is no power generation by solar power. At this time, the capacity is doubled in advance in consideration of deterioration of the battery. In a system that consumes power at a constant rate for 24 hours, it is possible to measure the amount of decrease in the remaining battery power per hour from the time from sunset to sunrise when power generation stops. This value may be managed as the degree of deterioration of the secondary battery. From this value, the time when the secondary battery cannot supply the power for 5 days is managed as the battery replacement time.

As described above in detail, even if several different types of batteries are connected, the upper limit voltage and lower limit of the battery, such as the upper limit voltage and lower limit voltage information of the battery, the battery type information, the discharge curve information, etc., are in advance. By storing information that can specify the voltage, the remaining battery level can be estimated. By transferring the battery level information obtained in this way to the system management server via the connected communication device, it is possible to know when the battery needs to be replaced. Further, by providing a means for displaying the remaining battery level (for example, an LED element, etc.) on the power supply system board, the remaining battery level can be known at the time of periodic inspection, and the battery can be replaced on the spot. ..

<Boiling pressure circuit>
As shown in FIG. 1, the power supply system of the present invention is equipped with three types of DC / DC converters 133 to 135. The feature of the DC / DC converters 133 to 135 is that both step-up and step-down are possible. Furthermore, in order to correspond to the voltage of various batteries, the voltage range that can be input is wide and it is possible to input power from 2V to 15V. Further, the voltage after the buck-boost is different for each DC / DC converter, and it is possible to generate three types of voltages of 3.3V, 5V, and 12V, respectively.

<Voltage control>
As shown in FIG. 1, the electric power boosted and lowered by the three types of DC / DC converters 133 to 135 can be supplied to the four external output terminals 111 to 114. The output control switch group 136 is responsible for allocating each voltage to the external output terminal. The output control switch group 136 includes an output control switch 1361 associated with the external output terminal 111, an output control switch 1362 associated with the external output terminal 112, and an output control switch 1363 associated with the external output terminal 113. And an output control switch 1364 associated with the external output terminal 114.

Here, in order to explain the operation of the output control switch group 136 in detail, only the output control switch 1361 of the portion that controls the power supplied to the external output terminal 111 and the output control related portion related to the external output terminal 111 are shown. Shown in 4. The output control switch 1361 that controls the power supplied to the external output terminal 111 is composed of three FETs. The 3.3V switch 401, the 5V switch 402, and the 12V switch 403, respectively. These switches play two main roles. One is the selection of the voltage of the power supply to the external output terminal 111, and the other role is the ON / OFF control of the power supply to the external output terminal 111. These operations will be described below.

An output allocation information storage unit 123 is provided in this power supply system so that the voltage of the power supplied to the external output terminal 111 can be selected. Specifically, a 2-bit DIP switch is provided for each external output terminal, and the user can set the voltage for each external output terminal by setting the DIP switch. For example, when 3.3V is selected as the voltage for the external output terminal 111 in the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123, the power supply system information unit 130 is 5V until the setting of the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123 is changed. The switch 402 and the 12V switch 403 are controlled to be always in the OFF state. Further, the 3.3V switch 401 selected in the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123 is responsible for the ON / OFF control described below. Although the output control switch for the external output terminal 111 has been described in detail above, the same operation is performed for the other external output terminals 112 to 114.

Note that FIG. 5 is a modification of FIG. 1. The output control switch group 137 is composed of an output control switch 1371 to 1373 composed of a 3.3V switch, a 5V switch, and a 12V switch, and an output control switch 1374 composed of only a 5V switch. Like the output control switch group 137, the output control switch group does not necessarily have to be composed of the same type of output control switch.

Further, the output control switch does not necessarily have to be provided corresponding to all the external output terminals. For example, some external output terminals always output any of the power boosted and lowered by the DC / DC converters 133 to 135. It may be something to do.

<ON / OFF control>
Next, the method of ON / OFF control will be described. This power supply system introduces the concept of output state. The output state is a combination of ON / OFF states of each external output terminal. For example, the output states of the external output terminals 111 to 114 are as follows: external output terminal 111: ON, external output terminal 112: ON, external output terminal 113: ON, external output terminal 114: ON, and external output terminal 111: ON. There are 16 combinations such as OFF, external output terminal 112: OFF, external output terminal 113: OFF, and external output terminal 114: OFF. By setting each of these 16 combinations as an output state and setting the method by the user, it is possible to register one output state with, for example, a 4-bit DIP switch. By registering a plurality of these output states and selectively controlling them with the output control switch group 136, ON / OFF control according to various situations becomes possible. In the power supply system of the present invention, two types of output states can be registered in the output state storage unit 124. Specifically, a 4-bit DIP switch is provided for each output state.

By switching between these two output states, it is possible to individually control ON / OFF of the external output terminals 111 to 114. For example, assume that a communication device is connected as a load device 101 and a sensor is connected as a load device 102. Also, consider a case where the sensor is always activated and the communication device transmits necessary information only when the sensor detects the target. In such a case, the external output terminal 111 may be set to ON and the external output terminal 112 may be set to ON as the output state 1, the external output terminal 111 may be set to OFF and the external output terminal 112 may be set to ON as the output state 2. By doing so, the communication device of the external output terminal 111, which needs to be turned on only when necessary, is switched to ON only when necessary, and the external output terminal 112, which needs to be always ON, is always ON. Be controlled.

Next, a method of setting the timing for switching the output state will be described. In this power supply system, the output state can be switched by two methods. One is a switching mode using a timer, and the other is a switching mode using an external trigger. A 1-bit DIP switch is provided as an output state switching timing information storage unit 122 for each output state so that the switching mode can be selected. By doing so, hybrid control such as selecting an external trigger mode in the output state 1 and a timer mode in the output state 2 becomes possible. For example, in the example of the communication device and the sensor, the detection of the target by the sensor corresponds to the external trigger, and the control of automatically turning off the power of the communication device after communication for a certain period of time corresponds to the hybrid control. There are two methods of external trigger, one is external trigger by communication and the other is external trigger by voltage change of sensor output. The timer can be set for each output state, and a 4-bit DIP switch is provided as the output state switching timing information storage unit 122 so that 16 types of time can be selected from 1 second to 7 days each. ing.

<System information display>
Next, the system information display will be described. Normally, if the power supply system has multiple output terminals with different voltages, use output terminals and connectors with different appearances to prevent erroneous insertion, and in some cases print the output voltage value on the external output terminal. It is common to display. However, in the present invention, since the user determines the voltage applied to each output terminal, the voltage cannot be discriminated by the shape of the output terminal. In other words, with output terminals of the same shape or in which multiple external outputs are packaged, it is not possible to clearly determine which device should be connected to which terminal.

For example, in the power supply system of the present invention, as the external output terminals 111 to 114, a plurality of terminals capable of connecting eight electric wires including four grounding electric wires are used. This is because the manufacturing cost can be reduced by using one component in this way. However, by making the terminals that output different voltages into one component in this way, the risk of connecting the voltages by mistake increases. In order to avoid this problem, in the power supply system of the present invention, four green, blue, and red three-color LEDs corresponding to the four external output terminals are provided as the system information display unit 150. The color of the LED corresponds to the voltage applied to each external output terminal, green corresponds to 3.3V, blue corresponds to 5V, and red corresponds to 12V. By having such a system information display unit, it is possible to significantly reduce the erroneous insertion of the power line of the load device.

In addition, this LED also plays a role of displaying the remaining amount of the battery. After measuring the remaining amount of the battery by the method described above, the green LED corresponding to the remaining amount is blinked. Specifically, one LED blinks: battery level 0 to 25%, two flashes: battery level 26 to 50%, three flashes: battery level 51 to 75%, four flashes: battery level 76. It is set to ~ 100%. Further, this LED can also be used as a battery deterioration information display and an error information display.

<System control information reset button>
In this power supply system, by pressing the system control reset button once, an information acquisition command is issued from the system control reset button to the power supply system control unit 130, and the power supply system control unit 130 executes the following series of processes by the information acquisition command. Is set to.
-Obtaining power supply information from the power supply information storage unit 121-Obtaining output state switching timing information from the output status switching timing information storage unit-Obtaining output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123-Output output status information storage Obtaining output status information from unit 124 ・ Starting battery level measurement ・ Displaying battery level measurement results ・ Displaying output voltage allocation information ・ Outputting output status 1 By pressing the system control information reset button in this way, It is possible to reduce human error when registering settings for the dip switch, connecting wires, and replacing batteries.

The present invention relates to a power supply system used in a place and application where the power consumption of a connected load device and the temperature fluctuate at specific intervals. In particular, if it is applied to a power supply system that supplies power to load equipment that consumes power on a regular basis, such as communication equipment, sensing, and digital signage equipment that uses electronic paper, and a power supply system that supplies power to outdoor equipment. It has a great effect.

100 Power supply system 101 First load device 102 Second load device 103 Third load device 104 Fourth load device 111 First external output terminal 112 Second external output terminal 113 Second external output terminal 114 Third external output terminal 114 Four external output terminals 121 Power supply information storage unit 122 Output status switching timing information storage unit 123 Output voltage allocation information storage unit 124 Output status information storage unit 130 Power supply system control unit 131 System control information reset button 132 Pressure division circuit unit 133 DC / DC converter (3.3V)
134 DC / DC converter (5V)
135 DC / DC converter (12V)
136 Output control switch group 1361, 1362, 1363, 1364 Output control switch 137 Output control switch group 1371, 1372, 1373, 1374 Output control switch 138 Voltage measurement switch 141 Battery (12V)
142 battery (3V)
143 battery (6V)
150 System information display unit 300 Photovoltaic power generation system 301 Solar cell 302 Solar charger 401 3.3V switch 402 5V switch 403 12V switch 500 Power system

Claims (7)

Power supply and
A plurality of voltage step-up / down means for boosting or stepping down the voltage of the power supply,
With multiple external output means to power external equipment,
A selection control means arranged between the voltage step-up / down means and the external output means and associated with the external output means.
An output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information consisting of voltage information to be output to the external output means, and an output voltage allocation information storage means.
An output status information storage means for storing a plurality of output status information, which specifies a combination of ON or OFF of outputs from the plurality of external output means,
Output status switching timing information storage means for storing output status switching timing information,
A power supply system control means for controlling the selection control means is provided.
The buck-boosts output from the plurality of voltage buck-boost means are different from each other.
The power supply system control means controls the selection control means based on the output state information.
The power supply system control means controls the selection control means based on the output state switching timing information.
The power supply system control means selects one output voltage from the step-up voltage by the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information.
The external output means to which the selection control means is associated is a power supply system characterized in that the output voltage is supplied to an external device.
The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the output state switching timing information includes mode information indicating whether the mode is an external trigger mode or a timer mode, and time information of the timer mode.
The system control reset means for issuing an information acquisition command is provided, and the power supply system control means that has obtained the information acquisition command obtains the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means and obtains the output voltage allocation information from the output state information storage means. The power supply system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the output state switching information is obtained and the output state switching timing information is obtained from the output state switching timing information storage means.
Power supply and
A plurality of voltage step-up / down means for boosting or stepping down the voltage of the power supply,
With multiple external output means to power external equipment,
A selection control means arranged between the voltage step-up / down means and the external output means and associated with the external output means.
An output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information consisting of voltage information to be output to the external output means, and an output voltage allocation information storage means.
A system control reset means that issues an information acquisition command,
An output status information storage means for storing a plurality of output status information, which specifies a combination of ON or OFF of outputs from the plurality of external output means,
A power supply system control means for controlling the selection control means is provided.
The buck-boosts output from the plurality of voltage buck-boost means are different from each other.
The power supply system control means that has obtained the information acquisition command obtains the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means, obtains the output state information from the output state information storage means, and obtains the output state information.
The power supply system control means controls the selection control means based on the output state information.
The power supply system control means selects one output voltage from the step-up voltage by the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information.
The external output means to which the selection control means is associated is a power supply system characterized in that the output voltage is supplied to an external device.
Power supply and
A plurality of voltage step-up / down means for boosting or stepping down the voltage of the power supply,
With multiple external output means to power external equipment,
A selection control means arranged between the voltage step-up / down means and the external output means and associated with the external output means.
An output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information consisting of voltage information to be output to the external output means, and an output voltage allocation information storage means.
Multiple types of power supplies can be selected, and a power supply information storage means that stores power supply information consisting of upper limit voltage information and lower limit voltage information of the selected power supply, and
A power supply information transmission means for transmitting power supply information to the power supply information storage means,
A power supply system control means for controlling the selection control means is provided.
The buck-boosts output from the plurality of voltage buck-boost means are different from each other.
The power supply system control means selects one output voltage from the step-up voltage by the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information.
The external output means to which the selection control means is associated is a power supply system characterized in that the output voltage is supplied to an external device.
Power supply and
A plurality of voltage step-up / down means for boosting or stepping down the voltage of the power supply,
With multiple external output means to power external equipment,
A selection control means arranged between the voltage step-up / down means and the external output means and associated with the external output means.
An output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information consisting of voltage information to be output to the external output means, and an output voltage allocation information storage means.
A system control reset means that issues an information acquisition command,
A power supply system control means for controlling the selection control means is provided.
The buck-boosts output from the plurality of voltage buck-boost means are different from each other.
The power supply system control means that has obtained the information acquisition command obtains the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means, and obtains the output voltage allocation information.
The power supply system control means selects one output voltage from the step-up voltage by the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information.
The external output means to which the selection control means is associated is a power supply system characterized in that the output voltage is supplied to an external device.
The power supply system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the external output means having the same shape among the external output means is provided with an output voltage display means for displaying voltage information corresponding to the output voltage.

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