JP6570713B1 - Signal generating apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a signal generator and a method for generating a sensor signal detected by a power feeding system according to an output fluctuation of the power feeding system. In a power supply system test, a signal generator that generates a simulation signal for controlling output power of the power supply system, the voltage monitor unit acquiring a voltage of an AC power source connected to a power system of the power supply system 130, a phase detection unit 142 that detects the phase of the voltage acquired by the voltage monitor unit 130, a CT 110 that detects an alternating current corresponding to the output power, and a load amount of a simulated load in an environment in which the power feeding system is operated A LOAD value setting unit 120 to be set, and a signal generation processing unit 140 that generates a simulation signal based on the voltage, the phase, the alternating current, and the load amount are included. [Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a signal generation apparatus and method.

  In recent years, systems for supplying electric power such as power supply systems and fuel cell systems (hereinafter simply referred to as “power supply systems”) have become widespread from the standpoint of disaster preparedness and environmental load reduction. For example, in a general home, by installing a power feeding system separately from a commercial power source, the amount of commercial power used can be reduced by supplying power from the power feeding system.

  By the way, the output of the various power supply systems described above is controlled according to the amount of power used by the connected devices. Therefore, the manufacturer of the power supply system performs tests and adjustments to determine whether the control is appropriate in an environment that simulates the usage situation. However, if an actual operating environment is simulated, the same amount of power as that of the usage state must be consumed even during a test, leading to an increase in cost.

  In this regard, Japanese Patent No. 6159474 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique for generating a simulation signal suitable for the operating environment of the storage battery system. According to Patent Document 1, it is possible to generate a simulation signal that is a charge / discharge command signal given to a storage battery system.

  However, Patent Document 1 is not configured to output a simulation signal in response to the output of the power feeding system in real time. Therefore, in patent document 1, when the electric power which an electric power feeding system outputs changes like an actual operational environment, the simulation signal according to the change was not able to be output. For this reason, there has been a demand for further technology corresponding to the output fluctuation of the power feeding system.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a signal generator and a method for generating a sensor signal detected by the power supply system according to output fluctuation of the power supply system. To do.

That is, according to the present invention, in the test of the power feeding system, a signal generator that generates a simulation signal for controlling the output power of the power feeding system,
Monitoring means for acquiring the voltage of the AC power source connected to the power system of the power feeding system;
Phase detection means for detecting the phase of the voltage acquired by the monitoring means;
Current detection means for detecting an alternating current corresponding to the output power;
Setting means for setting a load amount of a simulated load in an environment in which the power feeding system is operated;
A signal generating device is provided that includes: a generating unit that generates the simulation signal based on the voltage, the phase, the alternating current, and the load amount.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a signal generation apparatus and method for generating a sensor signal detected by the power supply system in accordance with the output fluctuation of the power supply system.

The figure which shows the example of the environment of the consumer who uses an electric power feeding system. The figure explaining the relationship between output electric power, supply electric power, and electric power consumption. The figure which shows the apparatus structure which tests an electric power feeding system in a prior art. The figure which shows the apparatus structure which tests an electric power feeding system using the signal generator of this embodiment. The figure which shows the signal processing in the signal generator of this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In the drawings referred to below, the same reference numerals are used for common elements, and descriptions thereof are omitted as appropriate.

  Moreover, the basic premise for describing this embodiment is demonstrated using FIGS. 1-3. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an environment of a consumer who uses a power supply system 500. FIG. 1 illustrates a home provided with a power supply system 500, and the home is supplied with electric power from a commercial power source by an electric power supplier. In the consumer environment shown in FIG. 1, in addition to the power supply system 500, for example, devices such as an air conditioner and a television, a distribution board 600, a power meter 700, and the like are included.

  As an example, the power supply system 500 includes a battery 510, a conversion device 520, and a control device 530. The battery 510 can store or output electrical energy. Conversion device 520 converts the DC power output from battery 510 into AC power, and supplies the power to each device in the home via distribution board 600. Control device 530 receives a signal output from CT 610, which will be described later, and controls the amount of power output from conversion device 520.

  The distribution board 600 distributes and cuts off the electric power supplied from the power supply system 500 and the commercial power supply in the home. The distribution board 600 includes a CT (Current Transformer) 610. CT610 is attached to the electric wire which supplies electric power, and detects the alternating current which flows into the said electric wire by electromagnetic induction. The power meter 700 measures the amount of power used from a commercial power source.

In the following, as shown in FIG. 1, power output from the power feeding system 500 (hereinafter referred to as “output power”) is referred to as P _OUT , power supplied from a commercial power source (hereinafter referred to as “supply power”). ) Is P _IN , and power consumed on the load side (hereinafter referred to as “power consumption”) is P _LOAD . Further, the sum of P _OUT and P _IN is P _LOAD (see the following formula (1)) from the input / output relationship of the contacts of each power system shown in FIG. Therefore, CT 610 detects a current corresponding to _PIN and outputs it as a CT signal to power supply system 500. The control device 530 of the power feeding system 500 controls the conversion device 520 based on the CT signal, and controls P _OUT .

  By the way, as an example of the battery 510, a general storage battery capable of mutually converting chemical energy and electric energy can be cited, but the embodiment is not limited and other batteries may be used. Good. For example, a so-called fuel cell that generates power by an electrochemical reaction, a solar cell using solar power generation, or the like may be used.

  In addition, in certain power supply systems such as using solar power generation, so-called “sale of electricity” is possible, which provides surplus power out of the generated power to the power supply company, which provides economic benefits. Can be obtained. On the other hand, in a power supply system 500 including a storage battery charged using supplied power, the output power discharged by the power supply system 500 is sold to a power supply company in order to prevent being sold back at a high price. Is restricted. Therefore, in such a power feeding system 500, it is necessary to control so that the output power does not flow backward to the commercial power source side.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between output power, supply power, and power consumption. FIG. 2 exemplifies the temporal variation of each power. A region indicated by a dark color indicates output power, a region indicated by hatching with hatching indicates supply power, and a thick line indicates power consumption. In addition, the power feeding system 500 has a performance capable of outputting power corresponding to P _OUTmax at the maximum.

It is assumed that the power consumption changes as shown in FIG. That power consumption during a period from time T ₀ to time T ₁ is zero, from time T ₁ of the time T _3, constant power is consumed. Then, it is assumed that the power consumption is further increased at the time T ₃ and later.

Consider output power and supply power when the power consumption fluctuates as described above. From time T ₀ to time T ₁ , power consumption is zero, so output power and supply power are also zero. Thereafter, when the power consumption of the starts at time T _1, the power amount of power corresponding to the power consumption is supplied from the commercial power source. At time t _1, since the output power is zero, CT610 detects the supply power of the same amount of power consumption, and sends to the controller 530 as a CT signal.

The control device 530 receives the CT signal, and the power supply system 500 outputs power from the battery 510. At this time, the control device 530 controls the conversion device 520 so that the supplied power becomes zero. More specifically, the control device 530 performs control to increase the output power so that the power consumption and the output power are balanced, that is, the received CT signal is zero. This is because when the supply power becomes negative, the output power becomes larger than the power consumption, and the excess output power flows back to the commercial power source side. In the example of FIG. 2, the control device 530 performs control to increase output power from time T ₁ to time T ₂ , and performs control to keep output power constant after T ₂ when supply power and power consumption become equal. I do.

Thereafter, at time T _3, the power consumption increases, based on the above equation (1), shortage of power is compensated by the supply power. At this time, the CT 610 detects the supply of power from the commercial power source and outputs a CT signal corresponding to the supplied power to the control device 530. The control device 530 performs control to increase the output power of the power feeding system 500 by receiving the CT signal.

On the other hand, the power consumption at the time T ₃ after from greater than P _OUTmax, only the output power from the power supply system 500 will no longer be covered power consumption. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the output power at time T ₄ after reaching the maximum output power P _OUTmax, receives supply power from constantly commercial power, covering the shortage of power. That is, the supply power _{P IN} of the time _{T 4} and later, a power consumption _{P LOAD,} a difference between the maximum output power _{P OUTmax,} is calculated as the following equation (2).

Time _{T 4,} as later, when the power consumption is greater than the maximum output power _{P OUTmax} is supplied with electric power corresponding to the _{P IN} of the formula (2), cover the power consumption.

  As described above, the output power of the power feeding system 500 is controlled by the CT signal that detects the supplied power. On the other hand, the example shown in FIG. 2 is simplified, and more complicated control is required for the actual power supply system 500. For example, supply power, output power, and power consumption can fluctuate constantly, and in practice, the power feeding system 500 needs to perform output control in real time with respect to fluctuations in each power. Therefore, the manufacturer of the power supply system 500 performs tests and adjustments to determine whether the output control of the power supply system 500 is appropriate. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an apparatus configuration for testing the power feeding system 500 in the prior art.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the test of the power supply system 500, an AC power supply 200 corresponding to a commercial power supply and a simulated load 300 that simulates the operating environment of the power supply system 500 are used. Moreover, CT210 which detects the electric current which flows through the said electric wire is attached to the electric wire which supplies AC power supply 200. FIG. The CT 210 is connected to the control device 530 of the power feeding system 500, and the control device 530 controls the output power based on the CT current output from the CT 210. In the test environment, a measurement device (not shown) for evaluating the power supply system 500 is used to measure _PIN or _POUT, thereby evaluating whether the control is appropriate.

  As an example of a test of the power supply system 500, the power consumption at the simulated load 300 is changed, and the output power is also changed. At this time, it is confirmed whether the output power is controlled so as not to flow backward to the AC power supply 200 side. The simulated load 300 can use an electronic load as an example, and can select various load modes such as a constant current mode, a constant resistance mode, and a constant power mode.

  The constant current mode is a mode for controlling the simulated load so that a predetermined current (AC effective value) flows to the load regardless of the voltage. The constant resistance mode is a mode in which the simulated load is controlled so that a current proportional to the voltage flows to the load. The constant power mode is a mode for controlling the simulated load so that constant power flows to the load. For example, the constant power mode is controlled so that the current value increases when the voltage value decreases.

  By the way, since the simulated load 300 simulates an environment in which electric power is used in a general home, in such a test, output power and supply power are consumed by the simulated load 300. Therefore, when the test is performed in the conventional method shown in FIG. 3, a power loss occurs and the cost increases. Further, since the simulated load 300 is generally expensive, performing a test using this simulates an increase in cost.

  Therefore, the test can be performed without using the simulated load 300 by using the signal generating apparatus 100 that generates the simulated signal corresponding to the CT signal. Specifically, the output of the power feeding system 500 is controlled by a simulation signal output from the signal generator 100 of the present embodiment, and it is evaluated whether the power supply system 500 is appropriately controlled. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a device configuration for testing the power feeding system 500 using the signal generation device 100 of the present embodiment. FIG. 4 shows functional means included in the signal generator 100 of the present embodiment.

  The signal generator 100 includes a CT 110, a LOAD value setting unit 120, a voltage monitor unit 130, and a signal generation processing unit 140. Details of each functional means will be described below.

The CT 110 is a unit that is attached to a wiring that transmits output power and detects a current corresponding to P _OUT by electromagnetic induction. The CT 110 outputs the detected current as a CT signal.

  The LOAD value setting unit 120 is means for setting the power consumption on the LOAD side in the actual operating environment as a LOAD value. The LOAD value is a value corresponding to the power used by various electric devices, and can be set to an arbitrary value such as 150 W, 3 kW, and the like. The LOAD value setting unit 120 outputs the set LOAD value to the signal generation processing unit 140. The LOAD value setting unit 120 can select and set various load modes such as a simulated load. Examples of load modes that can be set include, but are not limited to, a constant current mode, a constant resistance mode, and a constant power mode. Moreover, you may operate | move combining each load mode mentioned above.

  The voltage monitor unit 130 is means for monitoring the voltage of the AC power supply 200. Power is determined by the product of voltage and current. Moreover, in AC power, the direction of power is also determined by the phase relationship between voltage and current. Therefore, in order to calculate the current corresponding to the desired power, it is necessary to acquire the voltage of the power system. Therefore, the voltage monitor unit 130 monitors the voltage and phase of the AC power supply 200 connected to the same power system as the power feeding system 500. In addition, arrangement | positioning of CT110 and the voltage monitor part 130 is not limited to what is shown in FIG. 4, For example, you may arrange | position the voltage monitor part 130 between CT110 and the electric power feeding system 500. FIG.

  The signal generation processing unit 140 executes processing for generating a simulation signal based on the CT signal output from the CT 110, the set load value (LOAD value), and the voltage value monitored by the voltage monitoring unit 130. Means. The simulated signal is a control signal for controlling the output power of the power feeding system 500, and corresponds to a signal output from the CT 210 in FIG.

  In the apparatus configuration to which the present embodiment is applied as shown in FIG. 4, the AC power supply 200 outputs only a voltage that serves as a reference for the operation of the power feeding system 500 and the signal generator 100. Therefore, the AC power supply 200 does not require a current to flow when the power feeding system 500 does not consume power, and power is not supplied from the AC power supply 200. Therefore, the power consumed during the test of the power feeding system 500 is only the power output from the power feeding system 500, and the cost associated with power consumption can be reduced. In addition, since the power supply system 500 can be tested without using the simulated load 300 as shown in FIG. 3, it leads to further cost reduction.

In the apparatus configuration illustrated in FIG. 4, the power output from the power feeding system 500 flows back to the AC power supply 200 side. However, some AC power supplies 200 have a function corresponding to the backflowed power. In addition, when using the AC power supply 200 that cannot cope with backflow power, for example, by using a fixed load that absorbs power corresponding to P _OUTmax , power is consumed in advance to such an extent that backflow does not occur. It is possible to cope with backflowing power. In this case, the power of P _OUTmax needs to be supplied from the AC power supply 200. However, since P _OUTmax is generally smaller than the maximum value of P _LOAD , even when a fixed load is used, the maximum value of P _LOAD is supplied as compared with the conventional case where the maximum value of P _LOAD is supplied from the AC power source 200. Cost can be reduced.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating signal processing in the signal generation device 100 of the present embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a detailed configuration of the signal generation processing unit 140. The signal generation processing unit 140 includes a phase detection unit 141, a LOAD current generation unit 142, a subtractor 143, and an output amplifier 144.

  The signal generation processing unit 140 receives AC voltage data output from the voltage monitoring unit 130. The AC voltage data is input to the phase detector 141 and the LOAD current generator 142. Phase detector 141 detects the phase of AC power supply 200 based on AC voltage data from voltage monitor 130. The LOAD current generator 142 generates a current corresponding to the LOAD current based on the AC voltage data, the load setting value, and the phase. The LOAD current generation unit 142 selects a LOAD current value calculation method according to the load mode. For example, in the constant resistance mode, the LOAD current generation unit 142 generates a LOAD current value that satisfies “LOAD current value = monitored voltage value / set value of load” in real time.

  The subtractor 143 calculates the difference between the LOAD current and the CT signal of the OUT current detected by the CT 110. The difference between the LOAD current and the OUT current is output as a signal corresponding to the IN current because the input / output relationship shown in Expression (1) is satisfied. In addition, although Formula (1) is a formula regarding electric power, based on the premise that the voltage of each system | strain is the same, the same input / output relationship is materialized also about an electric current.

  This is means for adjusting the magnification according to the detection sensitivity of the CT that uses the signal corresponding to the IN current in the power supply system 500. Since CT outputs a current proportional to the detected current as a signal, it is output as a current value adjusted to a gain that matches the desired CT. The signal amplified by the output amplifier 144 is fed back to the power supply system 500 as a simulation signal, and the output power of the power supply system 500 is controlled.

  Note that the circuit shown in FIG. 5 can be configured to match the specifications of the power feeding system 500 to be tested. For example, since general household power distribution is generally a single-phase three-wire system, when testing a household power supply system 500, a signal generator having a configuration including two circuits 100 can be used. In addition, in the test of the power supply system 500 for business establishments distributed in a three-phase system, the signal generator 100 having a configuration including three circuits can be used. Note that the number of circuits of the circuit included in the signal generation device 100 described above is an example, and the embodiment is not limited, and an arbitrary configuration may be used according to the specifications of the power supply system 500.

  In addition to the load mode described above, the LOAD value setting unit 120 may be configured to be able to set various functions included in a simulated load having particularly high performance. In order to reproduce the situation closer to the actual operating environment, the simulated load of the host model can be controlled assuming that a phase shift occurs due to the inclusion of a capacitor or an inductor in the load. Furthermore, crest factor control assuming a device having a large crest factor can be performed. Therefore, the LOAD value setting unit 120 of the present embodiment can also perform tests under more severe conditions by implementing functions similar to these.

  For example, when the LOAD value setting unit 120 is set to cause a phase shift, the LOAD current generation unit 142 outputs a LOAD current signal having a shift with respect to the voltage phase. Also, for example, when the LOAD value setting unit 120 is set to include a device with a large crest factor, the LOAD current generation unit 142 outputs a LOAD current signal that causes a current to flow near the voltage peak. . As described above, by setting the control assuming various loads, it is possible to perform a test for controlling the output power under a situation close to the operating environment of the power feeding system 500.

  Note that the various functional means included in the signal generation device 100 described in FIGS. 4 and 5 are realized by causing the CPU of the signal generation device 100 to execute various programs to cause various hardware to function. It corresponds to a functional means. In addition, all of the functional means described above may be realized by software, or a part or all of them may be implemented as hardware that provides an equivalent function.

  In addition, the various signal processes described above may be processed by a digital circuit or an analog circuit.

  As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention described above, it is possible to provide a signal generation apparatus and method for generating a sensor signal detected by the power supply system in accordance with the output fluctuation of the power supply system.

  Each function of the above-described embodiment of the present invention can be realized by a device-executable program described in C, C ++, C #, Java (registered trademark) or the like. The program of this embodiment includes a hard disk device, a CD- It can be stored and distributed in a device-readable recording medium such as ROM, MO, DVD, flexible disk, EEPROM, EPROM, etc., and can be transmitted via a network in a format that other devices can.

  As described above, the present invention has been described with the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and as long as the operations and effects of the present invention are exhibited within the scope of embodiments that can be considered by those skilled in the art. It is included in the scope of the present invention.

100: Signal generator,
110 ... CT,
120... LOAD value setting unit,
130: Voltage monitor unit,
140 ... signal generation processing unit,
141... Phase detector,
142 ... LOAD current generator,
143 ... subtractor,
144: Output amplifier,
200 ... AC power supply,
210 ... CT,
300 ... Simulated load,
500 ... Power supply system,
510 ... Battery,
520 ... Conversion device,
530 ... Control device,
600 ... distribution board,
610 ... CT,
700 ... Wattmeter

Japanese Patent No. 6159474

Claims (5)

In a test of a power supply system, a signal generator that generates a simulation signal for controlling the output power of the power supply system,
Monitoring means for acquiring the voltage of the AC power source connected to the power system of the power feeding system;
Phase detection means for detecting the phase of the voltage acquired by the monitoring means;
Current detection means for detecting an alternating current corresponding to the output power;
Setting means for setting a load amount of a simulated load in an environment in which the power feeding system is operated;
A signal generating device, comprising: generating means for generating the simulation signal based on the voltage, the phase, the alternating current, and the load amount. The setting means can set a phase according to the simulated load,
The said generation means produces | generates the said simulation signal corresponding to the phase according to the said simulated load based on the phase of the said voltage, and the phase of the said alternating current. Signal generator.   The signal generator according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit is capable of selecting a load mode corresponding to a device used in an environment in which the power feeding system is operated.   The quantity of the said monitoring means, the said phase detection means, the said current detection means, and the said production | generation means is a quantity corresponding to the environment which operates the said electric power feeding system, The any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. A signal generator according to claim 1. A method for generating a simulation signal for controlling the output power of the power supply system in a test of the power supply system,
Obtaining a voltage of an AC power source connected to the power system of the power feeding system;
Detecting the phase of the voltage acquired in the acquiring step;
Detecting an alternating current corresponding to the output power;
Setting a simulated load amount of an environment for operating the power supply system;
Generating the simulation signal based on the voltage, the phase, the alternating current, and the load.