JP7163518B2 - power system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a power supply system for a wireless sensor network composed of communication devices, sensors, etc., and in particular, it can output a plurality of voltages to a plurality of external output terminals, and can perform ON/OFF control at a plurality of timings. The present invention relates to a power supply system that is capable of using a solar battery, a secondary battery, or a primary battery as a power supply.

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

In addition, since LPWA communication has a transmission rate of several tens of bytes/second to several hundred kilobytes/second, which is slower than other communication methods, it is difficult to mass-produce communication chips at low cost without using advanced semiconductor technology. can be done. As a result, it is possible to reduce the cost of the communication module. Furthermore, in LPWA communication, not only is the cost of a base station low, but also the size of the base station is small, which greatly reduces the cost of installing one base station. Furthermore, since one base station can cover a wide area, it is possible to reduce the number of base stations, resulting in a significant reduction in communication costs.

As described above, 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 uses a combination of a solar cell and a secondary battery or a power supply system that uses a primary battery as a power source will spread. is expected. What is important for such an IoT system is not only the power consumption of IoT communication terminals, but also the power supply of various voltage and current consumption sensors, cameras, electronic displays, etc. that make up the IoT system. In this specification, an IoT system is defined as a unit composed of one or more wireless communication terminals and one or more sensors. Generally, one IoT communication terminal and one to three sensors are 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 Literature 1 can be used. This power supply system can supply power from a plurality of power sources with different voltages to a plurality of electric circuits with different voltages and current consumptions.

Also, in an IoT system, it is important to suppress the power consumption of the entire system. For this purpose, standby power can be reduced by supplying power to the devices constituting the IoT system at the necessary timing. For example, Patent Document 2 describes an example in which power is turned on to a transmission circuit and a reception circuit of a wireless communication device according to a pre-registered activation pattern. This makes it possible to minimize standby power consumption during times other than the time when the wireless communication device needs to be driven.

In Patent Literature 2, power is supplied to the wireless communication device according to a predetermined startup pattern, but this alone may cause problems in terms of the operation of the IoT system. For example, in the case of an application in which the measurement value of a water level sensor for monitoring flooding in a river is transmitted by a wireless communication device, the measurement of the water level sensor becomes necessary when the water level rises. In this case, there is no need 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. Be reasonable.

Patent document 3 can be cited as a known example of realizing such a system. In Patent Document 3, there are multiple power supply paths 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, it is possible to effectively utilize the power of the battery. Furthermore, according to Patent Document 3, the power supply path can be switched based on information from the wireless communication device.

In addition, in IoT systems, it is necessary to consider the power consumption of the devices that make up the system and the possibility that various power sources such as commercial AC power, solar cells, and primary batteries will be used depending on the installation location. . As an example of a power supply circuit compatible with various batteries, there is a well-known example of a power supply circuit as described in Patent Document 4. This power supply circuit allows different types of batteries with different output voltages to be used as power supplies.

JP 2010-178455 A JP-A-8-139635 JP 2012-98809 A JP-A-5-184136

All of the above prior arts are excellent, but various problems occur when realizing the functions required as a power supply system for IoT systems used for various purposes.
(A) As a power supply system for an IoT system, the most important function among the functions required is to supply power to devices of various voltages that constitute the IoT system. In addition, even when the specifications of the IoT system are changed, the change in the specifications of the power supply system should be 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 to solve this problem, and this power supply system is located upstream of the power supply, and includes a power supply board that can flexibly change the voltage and current, and a power supply board that is located downstream of the power supply. It is composed of a functional board for supplying predetermined power adjusted by the power supply board to the load equipment, and a connector for connecting the power supply board and the functional board. Furthermore, the functional board is provided with voltage and current information storage means, which stores voltage and current information required by load devices connected to the functional board. By transmitting this information to the power supply board, the power supply board can appropriately adjust the voltage and current.

This prior art is an excellent technique that can cope with a system composed of load devices with a wide variety of current capacities and voltage types by changing the hardware configuration of the function board and the voltage and current information of the function board. However, recent IoT systems are composed of LPWA communication devices and sensors with extremely low power consumption, and current capacity is not greatly limited. Therefore, as in the 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 IoT systems, the next required function is to reduce the power consumption of the entire IoT system. As described above, recent IoT systems are composed of LPWA communication devices and sensors that consume very little power, and batteries are usually used as power sources. Therefore, when the communication frequency is high, when the power consumption of sensors is large, when the number of connected devices is large, or when the battery cannot be replaced for a long period of time, the size of the battery required is small. There is the problem of getting bigger. (There are some IoT systems that supply power from solar batteries, but in many cases, they are configured to consume power charged from solar batteries to secondary batteries such as lead batteries and lithium ion batteries. Therefore, for the sake of simplicity, an IoT system powered by a solar battery is also referred to as a battery-powered IoT system.)
Patent Documents 2 and 3 are inventions made to solve this problem. Patent Literature 2 relates to a wireless communication device, in which power supply from a battery is turned on/off according to a predetermined "pattern" in order to reduce power consumption of the system. Moreover, Patent Document 3 relates to a system in which a sensor and a wireless communication device are driven by a battery. This system is capable of selecting a power-saving power supply route according to the operating state of the sensor, and by sensing the installation environment, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the entire system.

These prior arts are excellent because they provide a power supply system capable of reducing unnecessary standby power by turning on/off the power under certain conditions. However, as a general-purpose power supply system required for the IoT system, even when various load devices are connected from the outside, it is necessary to individually turn ON/OFF each device. In particular, when there are a plurality of voltage types and power supply destinations, it is important to be able to control the ON/OFF of these individually, but this method is not disclosed in these prior arts.
(C) In an IoT system, it is necessary to consider the possibility of using various power sources, such as commercial AC power, solar cells, and primary batteries, depending on the power consumption of the devices that make up the system and the installation location. be. For example, it is easy to use a commercial power supply for an IoT system in a factory, but it is generally difficult to use a commercial power supply for an IoT system for agricultural use. However, since the installation location is a paddy field or field and the batteries can be easily replaced, inexpensive alkaline batteries can be used. For the same agricultural applications, a lead-acid battery powered by a solar battery is used for a power supply system that supplies power to an IoT system that consumes a large amount of power. Lead-acid batteries are inexpensive secondary batteries, but they are vulnerable to high temperatures and require battery replacement every 2-3 years. On the other hand, for IoT systems installed in places where it is difficult to replace batteries, such as bridges and cliffs, and for 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 time. Batteries are used. Lithium-ion batteries, which do not require battery replacement for a long period of time compared to lead-acid batteries, are used in places where frequent battery replacement is not possible and in applications that consume a large amount of power. These batteries generally have different voltages: about 1.5V for alkaline dry batteries, 6V to 24V depending on the number of lead batteries connected in series, about 3V for manganese dioxide lithium batteries, and 3.5V for lithium ion batteries. 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 the electronic device, and detection means for detecting the type of the battery set in the battery compartment is provided. The power supply is switched to switch the power supply to the output of the DC/DC converter or the output of the battery. This allows different types of batteries with different output voltages to be used as power sources.

This prior art is an excellent technology that can use various types of batteries as a power supply. , the remaining battery level cannot be measured before the remaining battery level runs out and the battery cannot be replaced as 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 their voltages are changed.
(B) To provide a power supply system capable of individually controlling ON/OFF 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 supply for the power supply system.

In order to solve the above problems, the inventors conducted extensive studies, and as a result, came up with the following power supply system. A detailed description will be given below.

Normally, an IoT system consists of one communication device, one to three connected devices consisting of sensors, and a power supply system. Also, the voltage of these devices is generally 3.3V, 5V, or 12V. For example, in the case of such an IoT system, in order to avoid the need to change the hardware of the power supply system even if the system configuration changes, at least four connected devices can support three types of voltages. Thus, 12 external output terminals are required. Normally, the number of external output terminals has a great influence on both cost and space occupied on the circuit board, so it is necessary to reduce it as much as possible. Therefore, after limiting the number of external output terminals to the necessary minimum, selection control means such as FETs (Field Effect Transistors) are provided in front of the external output terminals. devised a method to change the i.e.
(1) a battery, a plurality of voltage step-up/step-down means for stepping up 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/step-down means, and the external output means selection control means disposed between and associated with said external output means; output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information consisting of voltage information to be output to said external output means; and said selection control The boosted voltage output from the plurality of voltage booster/boost means is different from each other, and the power supply system control means controls the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information. A power supply system according to claim 1, wherein said external output means selects one output voltage from said rising and rising voltages, and said external output means associated with said selection control means supplies said output voltage to an external device.

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

Normally, when there are multiple output terminals with different voltages in a power supply system, output terminals and connectors with different appearances are used to prevent incorrect insertion, and in some cases the output voltage value is printed 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 determined by the shape of the output terminal. In other words, it is not possible to clearly determine which device should be connected to which terminal for output terminals of the same shape or packaged with a plurality of external outputs (for example, a multi-port terminal capable of connecting a plurality of terminals).

Also, even if the voltage applied to the external output terminal is set using visible switches such as DIP switches, if the DIP switches are not switched sufficiently, or if an incorrect setting is made due to human error, In the worst case, it may damage the connected device.

Therefore, it is extremely important to display the information stored in the output voltage allocation information storage means such as DIP switches and semiconductor memory by means of the output voltage allocation information display means such as multicolor LEDs, as described below. i.e.
(2) The power supply system according to (1), further comprising output voltage display means for displaying voltage information corresponding to the output voltage for the external output means having the same shape among the external output means.

Furthermore, the inventors have introduced the concept of the output state in order to control the ON/OFF of the outputs of a plurality of external output terminals for each external output terminal without modifying the power supply system. An 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 as follows: terminal 1: ON, terminal 2: ON, terminal 3: ON, terminal 4: ON, terminal 1: OFF, terminal 2: OFF, terminal 3: OFF. , terminal 4: OFF, there are 16 combinations. By setting each of these 16 combinations as an output state by a user, it becomes possible to register one output state with a 4-bit DIP switch, for example.

By registering a plurality of these output states and selectively controlling them by the selection control means, it is possible to perform ON/OFF control according to various situations. i.e.
(3) output state information storage means for storing a plurality of output state information specifying ON or OFF combinations of outputs from the plurality of external output means; The power supply system according to (1) or (2), which controls the selection control means based on information.

Also, as a method of determining the timing of switching between a plurality of output states, conditions for enabling each output state are stored in an 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 possible to set whether switching is performed by a timer for each output state, or switching is performed by an external trigger based on contact input from a sensor or data input from a communication device. Moreover, when switching by a timer, it is sufficient to set the corresponding time. i.e.
(4) An output state switching timing information storage unit for storing output state switching timing information is provided, and the power supply system control unit controls the selection control unit based on the output state switching timing information. power system.
(5) The power supply system according to (4), wherein the output state switching timing information includes information indicating which of the external trigger mode and the 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 power supplies, and in particular, even if the types of batteries are different, it is possible to measure the remaining battery level and diagnose deterioration of the battery. In order to do these things, the usable upper limit voltage and lower limit voltage of the connected battery are required. This is because the upper limit voltage and lower limit voltage of a battery generally differ depending on the type of battery, and the remaining battery capacity can be estimated by measuring the voltage between the upper limit voltage and the lower limit voltage. Also, when the battery deteriorates, in many cases, the deterioration can be diagnosed by checking that the battery voltage after charging does not rise to the upper limit voltage. That is, the following power supply system may be used.
(6) A power supply information storage means for storing power supply information consisting of upper limit voltage information and lower limit voltage information of the selected battery, and a power supply information storage means for transmitting the power supply information to the power supply information storage means. The power supply system according to any one of (1) to (5), further comprising power supply information transmission means.

In such a system, various system control information can be set by setting DIP switches or transferring data to semiconductor memory. , resulting in a system with higher usability. i.e.
(7) A system control reset means for issuing an information acquisition command is provided, and the power supply system control means having received the information acquisition command acquires the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means (1) or ( 2) The power supply system described in 2).
(8) A system control reset means for issuing an information acquisition command is provided, and the power supply system control means having received the information acquisition command acquires the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means and outputs the output state information. The power supply system according to (3), wherein the output state information is obtained from storage means.
(9) A system control reset means for issuing an information acquisition command is provided, and the power supply system control means having received the information acquisition command acquires the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means and outputs the output state information. The power supply system according to (4), wherein the output state information is obtained from a 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 their voltages are changed. Furthermore, when there are a plurality of voltage types and power supply destinations, it is possible to provide a power supply system capable of individually controlling ON/OFF of these. In addition, it is possible to provide a power supply system capable of measuring the remaining amount of the battery, diagnosing deterioration of the battery, etc., even when different types of batteries are used as the power supply of the power supply system.

1 is a block diagram of a power supply system of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a table showing information about batteries used in the power supply system of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram of a photovoltaic power supply system of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the output control switch of the power supply system of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram of a power supply system of the present invention; FIG.

A mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, an outline of the power supply system 100 will be described, and then 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 configured. Also, the power 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 section 150 .

Information in 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 to control the output control switch group 136. FIG. Also, the timing of updating the information in these information storage units 122 to 124 is the timing when the system control information reset button 131 is pressed.

Further, the system information display section 150 displays voltage information output to each of the external output terminals 111 to 114, remaining battery level information and battery deterioration information of the battery 142. FIG. The voltage information output to each of the external output terminals 111 to 114 is based on the information in the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123. Measurement is performed by the power supply system control section 130 via the measurement switch 138 and the voltage dividing circuit section 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. Voltage is measured to calculate remaining battery level information and battery deterioration information.

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 the power supply. For example, batteries such as lead-acid batteries, lithium ion batteries, lithium manganese dioxide batteries, alkaline batteries, and nickel-metal hydride batteries can be used. However, since the lower limit of the allowable input voltage in this system is 2 V, which is the lower limit voltage of manganese dioxide lithium batteries, when using alkaline batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries, they must be connected in series. Also, the lower limit voltage after series connection must be 2 V or higher. For example, since the lower limit voltage of alkaline dry batteries is 0.8 V, it is necessary to use three or more series when using alkaline batteries. In addition, since the lower limit voltage of the nickel-metal hydride battery is 1 V, when using the nickel-metal hydride battery, it is necessary to connect two or more in series. Also, since the upper limit of the input voltage that can be tolerated by this power supply system is 15 V, the number of series connections may be changed within this range.

FIG. 2 shows the nominal voltage per cell, the lower limit voltage, the upper limit voltage, and the series connection range that can be used as a power supply for the system of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing; As shown in this figure, the feature is that it can handle various series-connected batteries with various voltages. Increasing the battery voltage by increasing the number of batteries connected in series reduces the amount of current required to output the same amount of power, which has the advantage of increasing the output power. In addition, in the case of batteries that use flammable liquids with high energy density, increasing the number of series connections increases the danger, so there is a problem that the cost of battery monitoring circuits, etc., to ensure battery safety increases. There is

Furthermore, in the case of secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries, lead batteries, and nickel-hydrogen batteries, they are used by being connected to power generators such as solar batteries. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a photovoltaic power supply system in which solar cells and the power supply system of the present invention are connected. The photovoltaic power generation power system 300 comprises a solar cell 301, a solar charger 302, and the power system 100 of the present invention. The output power of the power generated by the solar cell 301 is maximized in the solar charger 302 by maximum power follow-up control. Also, 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 .

The upper limit voltage shown in FIG. 2 approximately corresponds to the voltage of the power generated by the solar charger 302 in the case of a secondary battery. The power transmitted from the solar charger 302 is preferentially used over the battery power, and is finally supplied to the load devices 101-104. 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 power is controlled to be used for charging the secondary battery. 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 for measuring remaining battery capacity 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 battery deterioration will be described with reference to FIG. In order to measure the battery voltage, the voltage measuring switch 138 is controlled to divide the battery voltage by about 1/5 by the voltage dividing circuit section 132, thereby reducing the voltage to about 20% of the actual voltage. This is because the power supply system control unit normally uses a low power consumption microcomputer, and in order for the microcomputer to measure the voltage, it is necessary to set the voltage that the microcomputer can process (usually 5 V or less). Normally, a system using such a low power consumption microcomputer uses a battery of 5V or less, so such a problem does not occur. However, since it is necessary to measure the voltage of the battery up to 15 V, 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 stored in advance in the power supply information storage unit 121 . If it is not within this period, the voltage has already fallen below the lower limit voltage, and it is assumed that the battery needs to be replaced, or the wrong battery has been connected, so take measures such as stopping the power supply system. Although a semiconductor memory is used as the power supply information storage unit 121, external communication is required to transmit data to the semiconductor memory. It is also possible to employ it as the information storage unit 121 .

In order to estimate the remaining battery capacity, the remaining capacity at the time of measurement is estimated by setting the upper limit voltage to 100% and the lower limit voltage to 0%. There are various methods for estimating this, but the method that can estimate at the lowest cost, although the accuracy is low, is a method of linearly interpolating between the upper limit voltage and the lower limit voltage and estimating the remaining battery capacity from the measured voltage value. is. If accurate measurement is required, battery type information is stored in the power supply information storage unit 121 together with the measured voltage value. By doing so, it is possible to refer to a different discharge curve for each type of battery and estimate the remaining battery capacity based on this. In addition, if the battery voltage is measured with a large discharge current, the error increases. Therefore, it is effective to take measures such as selecting a time when the load equipment is not in operation.

When judging the degree of deterioration of a secondary battery, the battery voltage is measured periodically during times when the battery is likely to be fully charged, for example, immediately after sunset when the battery is charged by solar power generation. You should record the value. Although the battery charge may not be sufficient on rainy days, by repeating this measurement for a certain period of time, the highest battery voltage during that period can be estimated as a fully charged state. This battery voltage is compared with the upper limit voltage previously stored in the power supply information storage unit 121, and the degree of deterioration of the battery is estimated from the difference. This method is effective for diagnosing the deterioration of lithium-ion batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries, but is effective for lead-acid batteries.

An effective method for lithium-ion batteries and nickel-metal hydride batteries is to measure the battery voltage periodically even before sunrise, when the remaining battery power is low, and record the value. . By doing so, it is possible to continuously measure the transition of the degree of deterioration of the secondary battery (the amount of voltage drop from the above-described 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 five days even if there is no photovoltaic power generation. At this time, considering deterioration of the battery, the capacity should be approximately doubled in advance. 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 level per hour from sunset to sunrise when power generation stops. This value may be managed as the degree of deterioration of the secondary battery. Based on this value, the point at which the secondary battery can no longer supply power for five days is managed as the battery replacement timing.

As described in detail above, even if several different types of batteries are connected, the upper limit voltage and lower limit voltage information of the battery, the type information of the battery, the discharge curve information, etc. By storing information that can identify the voltage, the remaining battery capacity can be estimated. By transferring the remaining battery level information thus obtained to the system management server via the connected communication device, it is possible to know when the battery needs to be replaced. In addition, by providing a means (for example, an LED element, etc.) for displaying the remaining battery level on the power supply system board, the remaining battery level can be known during regular inspections, and the battery can be replaced on the spot. .

<Buck-boost circuit>
As shown in FIG. 1, the power supply system of the present invention includes three types of DC/DC converters 133-135. A feature of the DC/DC converters 133 to 135 is that they are capable of both stepping up and stepping down. Furthermore, in order to support various battery voltages, the voltage range that can be input is wide and power input from 2V to 15V is possible. Also, the voltage after stepping up and stepping down is different for each DC/DC converter, and three types of voltages of 3.3V, 5V and 12V can be generated.

<Voltage control>
As shown in FIG. 1, the electric power stepped up and down by three types of DC/DC converters 133-135 is configured to be supplied to four external output terminals 111-114. The output control switch group 136 is responsible for allocating each voltage to the external output terminals. 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 for controlling the power supplied to the external output terminal 111 and the output control related parts related to the external output terminal 111 are shown. 4. The output control switch 1361 that controls the power supplied to the external output terminal 111 is composed of three FETs. They are a switch 401 for 3.3V, a switch 402 for 5V, and a switch 403 for 12V, respectively. These switches have two main roles. One role is to select the voltage of power to be supplied to the external output terminal 111 , and the other role is to control ON/OFF of the power to be supplied to the external output terminal 111 . These operations are described below.

In order to select the voltage of the power supplied to the external output terminal 111, the present power supply system is provided with an output allocation information storage unit 123. FIG. 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 3.3 V 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 stores 5 V until the setting of the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123 is changed. The switch 402 for 12V and the switch 403 for 12V are controlled to always be in the OFF state. Also, the 3.3V switch 401 selected in the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123 is responsible for ON/OFF control described below. Although the output control switch for the external output terminal 111 has been described in detail above, the other external output terminals 112 to 114 operate similarly.

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

In addition, it is not necessary to provide output control switches corresponding to all the external output terminals. It may be something to do.

<ON/OFF control>
Next, a method of ON/OFF control will be described. This power supply system introduces the concept of an output state. An 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. There are 16 combinations of 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 by a user, it becomes possible to register one output state with a 4-bit DIP switch, for example. By registering a plurality of these output states and selectively controlling them with the output control switch group 136, it is possible to perform ON/OFF control according to various situations. In the power supply system of the present invention, two types of output states can be registered in the output state storage section 124 . Specifically, a 4-bit DIP switch is provided for each output state.

By switching between these two output states, ON/OFF of the external output terminals 111 to 114 can be individually controlled. For example, assume that a communication device is connected as the load device 101 and a sensor is connected as the load device 102 . Also, consider a case in which the sensor is always activated and the communication device transmits necessary information only when the sensor detects an object. In such a case, the external output terminal 111 is turned ON and the external output terminal 112 is turned ON as the output state 1, and the external output terminal 111 is turned OFF and the external output terminal 112 is turned ON as the output state 2. By doing so, the communication device of the external output terminal 111, which should be ON only when necessary, is switched ON only when necessary, and the external output terminal 112, which must be always ON, is always ON. controlled.

Next, a method for setting the timing for switching the output state will be described. In this power supply system, the output state can be switched in two ways. One is a switching mode by a timer, and the other is a switching mode by an external trigger. A 1-bit DIP switch is provided as the 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 is also possible in which the output state 1 selects the external trigger mode and the output state 2 selects the timer mode. 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 to automatically turn off the communication device after communication for a certain period of time corresponds to the hybrid control. There are two methods of external triggering: external triggering by communication and external triggering by voltage change of the 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. ing.

<System information display>
Next, system information display will be explained. Normally, when there are multiple output terminals with different voltages in a power supply system, output terminals and connectors with different appearances are used to prevent incorrect insertion, and in some cases the output voltage value is printed 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 determined by the shape of the output terminal. In other words, with output terminals of the same shape or packaged with a plurality of external outputs, 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, multi-port terminals capable of connecting eight wires including four ground wires are used. This is because manufacturing costs can be reduced by using one component. However, by combining the terminals outputting different voltages into one component, the risk of connecting the wrong voltage increases. In order to avoid this problem, in the power supply system of the present invention, four three-color LEDs of green, blue, and red corresponding to the four external output terminals are provided as the system information display section 150 . The colors of the LEDs correspond to the voltages applied to the respective external output terminals, green to 3.3V, blue to 5V, and red to 12V. By having such a system information display section, it is possible to greatly reduce erroneous insertion of the power line of the load device.

This LED also plays a role of displaying the remaining battery level. 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 flashes: 0 to 25% remaining battery, 2 flashes: 26 to 50% remaining battery, 3 flashes: 51 to 75% remaining battery, 4 flashes: 76 remaining battery. ~100%. Furthermore, this LED can also be used to display battery deterioration information and error information.

<System control information reset button>
In this power supply system, when the system control reset button is pressed 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 according to the information acquisition command. is set to
Acquisition of power supply information from the power supply information storage unit 121 Acquisition of output state switching timing information from the output state switching timing information storage unit Acquisition of output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage unit 123 Storage of output state information Acquisition of output state information from unit 124 Start of remaining battery measurement Display of remaining battery measurement result Display of output voltage allocation information Output of output state 1 By pressing the system control information reset button in this way, It is possible to reduce human error when registering settings to DIP switches, wiring work, and battery replacement work.

The present invention relates to a power supply system used in places and applications where the power consumption of connected load devices and temperature fluctuate at specific intervals. In particular, if it can be applied to a power supply system that supplies power to load equipment that regularly consumes power, such as communication equipment, sensing, and digital signage equipment that uses electronic paper, or to a power supply system that supplies power to outdoor equipment. It has 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 Third external output terminal 114 Four external output terminals 121 Power supply information storage unit 122 Output state switching timing information storage unit 123 Output voltage allocation information storage unit 124 Output state information storage unit 130 Power supply system control unit 131 System control information reset button 132 Voltage dividing 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 Solar power generation power system 301 Solar battery 302 Solar charger 401 3.3V switch 402 5V switch 403 12V switch 500 Power supply system

Claims (7)

a power supply;
a plurality of voltage step-up/step-down means for stepping up or stepping down the voltage of the power supply;
a plurality of external output means for supplying power to external equipment;
selection control means arranged between the voltage step-up/down means and the external output means and associated with the external output means;
output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information consisting of voltage information to be output to the external output means;
output state information storage means for storing a plurality of pieces of output state information specifying ON or OFF combinations of outputs from the plurality of external output means;
output state switching timing information storage means for storing output state switching timing information;
A power supply system control means for controlling the selection control means,
The stepped-up voltages output from the plurality of voltage step-up/step-down means are different from each other,
The power system control means controls the selection control means based on the output state information,
The power 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 rising/lowering voltages by the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information,
A power supply system, wherein the external output means associated with the selection control means supplies the output voltage to an external device.
2. 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 power supply system control means is provided with system control reset means for issuing an information acquisition command, and upon receiving the information acquisition command, the power supply system control means acquires the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means and from the output state information storage means. 3. The power supply system according to claim 1, wherein said output state information is obtained, and said output state switching timing information is obtained from said output state switching timing information storage means.
a power supply;
a plurality of voltage step-up/step-down means for stepping up or stepping down the voltage of the power supply;
a plurality of external output means for supplying power to external equipment;
selection control means arranged between the voltage step-up/down means and the external output means and associated with the external output means;
output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information consisting of voltage information to be output to the external output means;
system controlled reset means for issuing an information acquisition command;
output state information storage means for storing a plurality of pieces of output state information specifying ON or OFF combinations of outputs from the plurality of external output means;
A power supply system control means for controlling the selection control means,
The stepped-up voltages output from the plurality of voltage step-up/step-down means are different from each other,
The power supply system control means having received the information acquisition command acquires the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means, acquires the output state information from the output state information storage means,
The power 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 rising/lowering voltages by the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information,
A power supply system, wherein the external output means associated with the selection control means supplies the output voltage to an external device.
a power supply;
a plurality of voltage step-up/step-down means for stepping up or stepping down the voltage of the power supply;
a plurality of external output means for supplying power to external equipment;
selection control means arranged between the voltage step-up/down means and the external output means and associated with the external output means;
output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information consisting of voltage information to be output to the external output means;
power source information storage means for storing power source information consisting of upper limit voltage information and lower limit voltage information of the selected power source, wherein a plurality of types of power sources can be selected;
power information transmission means for transmitting power information to the power information storage means;
A power supply system control means for controlling the selection control means,
The stepped-up voltages output from the plurality of voltage step-up/step-down means are different from each other,
The power supply system control means selects one output voltage from the rising/lowering voltages by the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information,
A power supply system, wherein the external output means associated with the selection control means supplies the output voltage to an external device.
a power supply;
a plurality of voltage step-up/step-down means for stepping up or stepping down the voltage of the power supply;
a plurality of external output means for supplying power to external equipment;
selection control means arranged between the voltage step-up/down means and the external output means and associated with the external output means;
output voltage allocation information storage means for storing output voltage allocation information consisting of voltage information to be output to the external output means;
system controlled reset means for issuing an information acquisition command;
A power supply system control means for controlling the selection control means,
The stepped-up voltages output from the plurality of voltage step-up/step-down means are different from each other,
The power supply system control means having received the information acquisition command acquires the output voltage allocation information from the output voltage allocation information storage means,
The power supply system control means selects one output voltage from the rising/lowering voltages by the selection control means based on the output voltage allocation information,
A power supply system, wherein the external output means associated with the selection control means supplies the output voltage to an external device.
7. The power supply system according to claim 1, further comprising output voltage display means for displaying voltage information corresponding to said output voltage for said external output means having the same shape.

Images