JP7484500B2 - Power Measuring Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a power measurement device that measures the power supplied through a power line.

In recent years, the importance of reducing power consumption has become widely recognized from the perspective of reducing environmental impact and improving productivity, and there is a need to curb power consumption. As a prerequisite for reducing power consumption, power measurement devices have traditionally been installed on distribution boards in buildings such as various facilities and homes to clarify power consumption.

In addition to such power measurement devices, power measurement systems are known that include information processing terminals (hereinafter also referred to as higher-level devices) that collect information from the devices and control and manage the devices, and various devices (hereinafter also referred to as lower-level devices) that expand the functions of the power measurement devices (for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 discloses a power measurement system consisting of a basic unit (power measurement device) to which wiring for detecting the current flowing through the first power system (power lines) to be measured is connected by a connector, as well as wiring for detecting the power supply voltage and wiring for supplying the driving power supply that drives the device, an add-on unit (lower device) that measures the power of the second power system, and a personal computer (higher device) that can be connected and communicated with the basic unit.

In this power measurement system, the basic unit and the expansion units are housed in a distribution board while being connected by a so-called building block structure. Specifically, a connector that can be connected to the expansion unit is provided on the side of the housing of the basic unit, and a connector for connecting to the basic unit is provided on one side of the housing of the expansion unit, and a connector that can be connected to another expansion unit is provided on the other side, making it possible to connect further expansion units having similar connectors.

According to the invention described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to add units for expanding functions, each of which is a compact unit that consolidates only the necessary functions, assuming that it will be used in combination with a basic unit.

JP 2012-112763 A

In power measurement devices with the above structure, each unit is made single-function to make them smaller so that they can be placed in a narrow distribution board, and these are combined to accommodate multiple external IFs (Interfaces) (i.e., multi-functionality). This means that in order to increase functionality, more units must be added, which requires more space in the distribution board and increases the effort required to add units. On the other hand, if you try to increase functionality by installing multiple boards in a single device, the device will become larger and distant boards will have to be connected with harnesses or tall (expensive) connectors, resulting in high costs.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide a technique that enables aggregating a plurality of external IFs into one unit while miniaturizing a power measuring device.

In order to solve the above problems, a power measuring device according to the present invention comprises:
A power measurement device that measures power supplied through a power line,
a main body housing having a hexahedral structure with a front surface having at least a display unit, a rear surface, a left side surface, a right side surface, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
The device has a plurality of electronic boards housed in the main body housing and each of the electronic boards has a different function,
The plurality of electronic boards include:
A first electronic board disposed along the back surface;
a second electronic board disposed perpendicular to the first electronic board along the left side surface;
a third electronic board disposed perpendicular to the first electronic board along the right side surface;
and a fourth electronic substrate disposed parallel to and facing the first electronic substrate.
It is characterized by:

According to the above configuration, the first to fourth boards, each with a different function, can be accommodated along the inner wall of a box-shaped hexahedral housing. By arranging the boards in this way, the boards can be efficiently installed inside the housing, and the width of the housing can be reduced. In other words, the device can be made smaller, and various external IFs can be provided on surfaces that are easily accessible depending on where the device is installed (e.g., inside a distribution board). This allows the user to easily install a multi-function power measurement device without having to build equipment by connecting multiple single-function units together.

In addition, because the functions are separated for each board, it is easy to add or change functions, allowing for greater freedom in design. Furthermore, because boards are separated into high-voltage boards that process relatively high-voltage power and low-voltage boards that process relatively low-voltage power according to differences in function, design to ensure insulation is made easier.

The second electronic board and/or the third electronic board may be arranged so that at least a portion of its end face abuts the first electronic board and/or the fourth electronic board. In this way, when a load is applied in a direction perpendicular to the end face of a board by the end face abutting another board, the load can be distributed to the abutting board, and the load can be prevented from concentrating on a component (e.g., a connector) on a specific board. In other words, the strength of the device can be improved.

In addition, the first electronic board, the second electronic board, and the third electronic board are coupled to each other by directly connecting electronic components on each board with pin headers and/or connectors on the boards,
The fourth electronic board, the second electronic board and the third electronic board may be coupled together by directly connecting electronic components on each board with pin headers and/or connectors on the boards.

With this configuration, the connection between two opposing boards can be relayed by a board arranged in a direction perpendicular to the two opposing boards. This eliminates the need to implement tall connectors or use a harness to connect the two opposing boards, which helps to keep costs down. In addition, the distance between the opposing boards can be determined by the size of the board arranged in a direction perpendicular to the two opposing boards, which improves design freedom.

The plurality of electronic boards further includes a fifth electronic board arranged along the front surface, parallel to the first electronic board, and closer to an inner wall of the main body housing than the fourth electronic board,
The fifth electronic board and the fourth electronic board may be coupled by directly connecting electronic components on each board with pin headers and/or connectors on the boards.

This configuration allows a board with user interface functions, such as a display and operation buttons, to be placed on the front side of the housing, and boards with other functions to be placed on the front side of the housing without taking up a large amount of storage space.

The first electronic board is a power supply board on which a terminal for receiving a voltage from the power line is mounted,
the second electronic board is a measurement board on which a terminal for receiving a current flowing through the power line and a circuit for measuring the current value are mounted,
The fifth electronic board may be a user interface board on which at least a display circuit is mounted.

With this configuration, the external IFs required for the power measurement device can be placed in easily accessible locations within the distribution board, while allowing greater freedom in the placement of other functions.

The third electronic board may also be a recording medium connection board on which a terminal for connecting a non-volatile recording medium is mounted. With this configuration, data collected by the power measurement device can be stored and taken out. Also, the terminal (slot) for the recording medium can be positioned on the front side of the device so that a force is generated when attaching or detaching the recording medium in a direction horizontal to the board, thereby increasing strength.

The third electronic board may be a wireless communication board on which a circuit for wireless communication is mounted. The fourth electronic board may be equipped with at least a terminal for wired communication with another device.

With this configuration, it becomes possible to expand the functionality of the device by combining it with other higher-level devices (e.g., a server, a PC, etc.) or lower-level devices (e.g., a child device of the device, a ground fault monitoring device, an alarm device, etc.).

The above configurations can be combined with each other to form the present invention as long as no technical contradictions arise.

The present invention provides technology that can consolidate multiple external IFs into a single unit while miniaturizing the power measurement device.

1A and 1B are perspective views illustrating the external appearance and internal structure of a power measurement device according to an embodiment; Fig. 2 is a six-sided view showing the appearance of the power measuring device according to the embodiment. Fig. 2A is a front view showing the appearance of the power measuring device according to the embodiment. Fig. 2B is a rear view showing the appearance of the power measuring device according to the embodiment. Fig. 2C is a left side view showing the appearance of the power measuring device according to the embodiment. Fig. 2D is a right side view showing the appearance of the power measuring device according to the embodiment. Fig. 2E is a right side view showing the appearance of the power measuring device according to the embodiment. Fig. 2F is a bottom view showing the appearance of the power measuring device according to the embodiment. Fig. 3 is a six-sided view showing the internal structure of the power measurement device according to the embodiment. Fig. 3A is a front view showing the internal structure of the power measurement device according to the embodiment. Fig. 3B is a rear view showing the internal structure of the power measurement device according to the embodiment. Fig. 3C is a left side view showing the internal structure of the power measurement device according to the embodiment. Fig. 3D is a right side view showing the internal structure of the power measurement device according to the embodiment. Fig. 3E is a right side view showing the internal structure of the power measurement device according to the embodiment. Fig. 3F is a bottom view showing the internal structure of the power measurement device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of a power measurement system including a power measurement device according to an embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the layout of electronic boards in a power measuring device according to an embodiment, respectively;

Below, an embodiment of one aspect of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. However, unless otherwise specified, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions, etc. of the components described in the following embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to those alone.

<Application Examples>
First, an application example of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a power measurement device 100 according to an embodiment, and Fig. 1A is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the power measurement device 100. Fig. 1B is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the power measurement device 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the power measurement device 100 comprises a housing 10 in the shape of a six-sided, slightly elongated cube, and five electronic boards housed inside the housing 10. Each of the five electronic boards has a different function and is mounted along the inner wall that constitutes the surfaces of the housing 10 other than the top and bottom. In the following, the top side of the power measurement device 100 may be referred to as the top, the bottom side as the bottom, the left side as viewed from the front as the left, and the right side as viewed from the front as the right.

More specifically, the housing 10 contains a first electronic board 110 arranged along the rear surface of the housing 10, a second electronic board 120 arranged perpendicular to the first electronic board 110 along the left side surface of the housing 10, a third electronic board 130 arranged perpendicular to the first electronic board along the right side surface of the housing 10, a fourth electronic board 140 arranged parallel to and facing the first electronic board 110, and a fifth electronic board 150 arranged parallel to the first electronic board 110 along the front surface of the housing 10 and closer to the inner wall of the housing 10 than the fourth electronic board 140. The electronic components of the adjacent boards are directly connected to each other with pin headers and/or connectors mounted on the boards, and are combined and assembled.

With the power measurement device 100 configured as described above, multiple boards, each with different functions, are housed along the inner walls of the hexahedral box-shaped housing 10, allowing the boards to be efficiently incorporated into the housing 10 and reducing the width of the housing 10. In other words, the device can be made smaller, and various external IFs can be provided on surfaces that are easily accessible depending on where the device is installed.

In addition, because the functions are separate for each board, it is easy to add or change functions, allowing for greater freedom in design. Also, depending on the differences in the functions of each electronic board, they are divided into high-voltage boards that process relatively high-voltage power and low-voltage boards that process relatively low-voltage power, making it easier to design to ensure insulation.

<Embodiment 1>
Next, the power measurement device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the general configuration of a power measurement system 1 including a power measurement device 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the power measurement system 1 generally includes a measurement target electric circuit 200 consisting of three phases, R phase, S phase, and T phase, a power measurement device 100 that measures the power consumed by the measurement target electric circuit 200, an upper communication network 300 connected to the power measurement device 100, and a lower communication device 400.

Current transformers CT1 and CT2 are arranged in the R and T phases of the electric circuit 200 to be measured, respectively, and the secondary wiring of these is connected to the power measurement device 100. In addition, wiring for inputting voltages from the R, S, and T phases of the electric circuit 200 to be measured is connected to the power measurement device 100.

The power measuring device 100 has, as its functional units, a voltage input unit 20, a current input unit 30, a communication unit 40, a control unit 50, a recording unit 60, a display unit 70, and an operation unit 80.

The upper communication network 300 is configured to include an external network N, such as the Internet, and information processing devices, such as a server device 301 and a personal computer (PC) 302, connected to the external network. For example, the server device 301 can accumulate data transmitted from the power measurement device 100 and output the data in CSV format. In addition, the PC 302 can view information on the power measurement device 100 from a remote location and input operations from a user interface screen using a browser.

The lower-level communication device 400 includes devices that extend the functionality of the power measurement device 100, such as a slave device 401 of the power measurement device 100 (a device that further measures the power of other electrical circuits) and a ground fault monitoring device 402.

Next, the configuration of the power measurement device 100 will be described in more detail with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the general configuration of the power measurement device 100, Figure 2 is a six-sided view showing the external appearance of the power measurement device 100, and Figure 3 is a six-sided view showing the internal structure of the power measurement device 100.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the power measurement device 100 comprises a housing 10 in the shape of a slightly elongated cube having six sides, and five electronic boards housed inside the housing 10. Each of the five electronic boards has a different function and is mounted along the inner walls that make up the surfaces of the housing 10 other than the top and bottom surfaces.

More specifically, the housing 10 contains a first electronic board 110 arranged along the rear surface of the housing 10, a second electronic board 120 arranged perpendicular to the first electronic board 110 along the left side surface of the housing 10, a third electronic board 130 arranged perpendicular to the first electronic board along the right side surface of the housing 10, a fourth electronic board 140 arranged parallel to and facing the first electronic board 110, and a fifth electronic board 150 arranged parallel to the first electronic board 110 along the front surface of the housing 10 and closer to the inner wall of the housing 10 than the fourth electronic board 140. The electronic components of the adjacent boards are directly connected to each other with pin headers and/or connectors mounted on the boards, and are combined and assembled.

The second electronic board 120 and the third electronic board 130 are arranged so that a portion of their end faces located on the rear side abuts against the first electronic board 110. Fig. 5A is a view of the second electronic board 120 from the left side, and Fig. 5B is a view of the third electronic board 130 from the right side. The circles in the figures indicate the locations where the end faces on the rear side of the second electronic board 120 and the third electronic board 130 abut against the first electronic board 110.

As shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the second electronic board 120 and the third electronic board 130 abut against the first electronic board 110 at the circled portions, which improves strength against loads in the directions of the arrows in the figures (i.e., forces applied from the front side).

In addition to the above, there are also locations where parts of the end faces of the second electronic board 120 and the third electronic board 130 abut against parts of the end face of the fourth electronic board 140, providing a structure that reinforces each other against loads in the direction perpendicular to the abutting end faces.

The voltage input unit 20 is a functional unit that inputs the voltage from the electric circuit 200 to be measured to the device, and includes as part of its configuration voltage acquisition wiring connected to the R phase, S phase, and T phase, a voltage wiring connection side connector 21 to which the wiring is connected, and a voltage receiving side connector 22 mounted on the first electronic board 110. The voltage wiring connection side connector 21 is formed so as to be detachable from the voltage receiving side connector 22, and by coupling these connectors, the voltage input unit 20 can input the voltage from the electric circuit 200 to be measured to the power measurement device 100. The power measurement device according to this embodiment is driven by the voltage input by the voltage input unit 20, so the voltage input unit 20 also serves as the power source for the device.

The current input unit 30 is a functional unit that inputs the current of the measurement target electric circuit 200 to the device, and includes as part of its configuration a current wiring connection side connector 31a to which the secondary wiring of the current transformer CT1 installed in the R phase is connected, a current wiring connection side connector 31b to which the secondary wiring of the current transformer CT2 installed in the T phase is connected, and current receiving side connectors 32a, 32b mounted on the second electronic board 120. The current wiring connection side connectors 31a, 31b are formed so as to be detachable from the current receiving side connectors 32a, 32b, respectively, and by coupling these connectors, the current input unit 30 can input the current from the measurement target electric circuit 200 to the power measurement device 100.

The communication unit 40 is a functional unit for communicating with other electronic devices, and in this embodiment, includes as part of its configuration a communication wiring connector 41 to which a wiring for wired communication according to the RS485 communication standard is connected, a communication wiring receiving connector 42 mounted on the fourth electronic board 140, and a LAN port 43. The communication wiring connector 41 is formed so as to be detachable from the communication wiring receiving connector 42, and by coupling these connectors, the communication unit 40 can communicate with the lower communication device 400. The LAN port 43 is also configured so that a male connector of a LAN cable (not shown) can be detachably coupled, and by coupling these, the communication unit 40 can connect to an external network N via, for example, a router device (not shown) and communicate with the upper communication network 300. That is, in this embodiment, the communication wiring receiving connector 42 corresponds to a lower communication connector, and the LAN port 43 corresponds to a higher communication connector.

The control unit 50 is a functional unit that controls the entire power measurement device 100, and includes as part of its configuration a central processing unit (CPU) and random access memory (RAM), both not shown, which are mounted on a fourth electronic board. The calculation of the power value is also performed by the control unit 50, but the method of calculating the power value using the input current and power is well known, so a description of this method is omitted.

The recording unit 60 is a functional unit for recording information to be stored for a long period of time using a non-volatile memory or the like, and is configured to include an SD card slot 61 (and an SD card inserted therein) mounted on the third electronic board 130.

The display unit 70 is a functional unit that displays data such as measured power values, various alarms, setting menu screens, etc., and is configured to include an LCD display 71 and the like that is arranged on the front of the housing 10. The operation unit 80 is a functional unit that accepts input operations for the power measurement device 100, and is configured to include various operation buttons 81 that are arranged on the front of the housing 10. The LCD display 71 and the operation buttons 81 are mounted on the fifth electronic board 150.

The power measuring device 100 can be installed and used, for example, in a distribution board of a factory, a house, etc. Specifically, for example, it can be attached to a DIN rail provided in the distribution board. When attaching, the power measuring device 100 can be locked to the DIN rail by engaging the rail groove 11 provided on the back of the power measuring device 100 with the DIN rail and sliding the locking member 12 upward.

As described above, in the power measurement device 100 according to this embodiment, all the wiring is not directly connected to the housing 10, but is connected to the voltage wiring connector 21, the current wiring connectors 31a and 31b, and the communication wiring connector 41, which are detachable from the power measurement device 100 body.

This makes it possible to carry out the wiring work for each wiring connection connector and the installation work for the device body separately, which means that each task can be carried out by different staff members or at different times, for example.

In addition, even if it becomes necessary to replace a power measuring device 100 that has been installed on a DIN rail, the wiring connection can be easily completed by simply removing each wiring connection side connector from the receiving connector of the previous device, installing the new device on the DIN rail, and inserting each wiring connection side connector that was removed directly into the receiving connector of the new device.

In addition, because the LAN port 43 and the communication wiring receiving connector 42 are provided on the bottom surface of the power measuring device 100, it is possible to connect to other devices when communicating with them without placing them adjacent to each other. This increases the degree of freedom when adding devices, and improves work efficiency.

As described above, multiple boards each with different functions are housed along the inner walls of the hexahedral box-shaped housing 10, so that the boards can be efficiently incorporated into the housing 10 and the width of the housing 10 can be reduced. In other words, the device can be made smaller and various external IFs can be provided on surfaces that are easily accessible depending on the location where the device is installed. For example, in the power measurement device 100 according to this embodiment, the wiring receiving connectors are disposed on the top and bottom surfaces of the housing 10, and it is also easy to configure the device so that the direction of the external force acting when inserting or removing these connectors is horizontal to the board on which these connectors are mounted.

In addition, because the functions are separate for each board, functions can be easily added or changed, increasing the degree of freedom in design. For example, in the power measurement device 100 of the above embodiment, the third electronic board 130 is equipped with an SD card slot 61, but it is also easy to make the board have a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. In addition, the third electronic board 130 can also be a board for Wi-Fi (registered trademark) wireless communication.

In addition, depending on the differences in the functions of each electronic board, they are divided into high-voltage boards (e.g., first electronic board 110) that process relatively high-voltage power and low-voltage boards (e.g., fourth electronic board 140) that process relatively low-voltage power, making it easier to design to ensure insulation.

<Modification>
The above embodiment merely exemplifies the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiment. Various modifications and combinations of the present invention are possible within the scope of the technical concept. For example, in the above embodiment, the measurement target electric circuit 200 is a three-phase three-wire AC electric circuit, but it is also possible to use the measurement target electric circuit 200 for a single-phase three-wire or single-phase two-wire power line.

In the above embodiment, the power measuring device 100 is installed on a DIN rail in a distribution board, but it may be installed on a bracket or the like. The third electronic board 130 may be configured to include a USB port in addition to the SD card slot 61. The third electronic board 130 may be configured to have a circuit board mounted with a wireless communication circuit and omit the LAN port 43. The devices included in the upper communication network 300 and the lower communication device 400 are not limited to the examples in the first embodiment, and may be used in combination with various devices.

<Additional Notes>
One aspect of the present invention is a power measurement device (100) for measuring power supplied through a power line (200), comprising:
A main body housing (10) having a hexahedral structure including a front surface having at least a display unit (71), a rear surface, a left side surface, a right side surface, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
The device has a plurality of electronic boards (110; 120; 130; 140; 150) housed in the main body housing and each of which has a different function,
The plurality of electronic boards include:
a first electronic board (110) disposed along the back surface;
a second electronic board (120) disposed perpendicular to the first electronic board along the left side surface;
a third electronic board (130) disposed perpendicular to the first electronic board along the right side surface;
and a fourth electronic substrate (140) arranged parallel to and facing the first electronic substrate.
The present invention relates to a power measuring device.

1... Power measurement system 10... Housing 11... Rail groove 12... Locking member 12
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100...Power measuring device 110...First electronic board 120...Second electronic board 130...Third electronic board 140...Fourth electronic board 150...Fifth electronic board 200...Measurement target electric circuit 300...Upstream communication network 301...Server device 302...Personal computer 400...Lower communication device 401...Sub-unit 402...Ground fault monitoring device 20...Voltage input unit 21...Voltage wiring connection side connector 22...Voltage receiving side connector 30...Current input unit 31a, 31b...Current wiring connection side connector 32a, 31b...Current receiving side connector 40...Communication unit 41...Communication wiring connection side connector 42...Communication wiring receiving side connector 43...LAN port 50...Control unit 60...Recording unit 61...SD card slot 70...Display unit 71...Liquid crystal display 80...Operation unit 81...Operation buttons CT1, CT2...Current transformer N...External network

Claims (7)

A power measurement device that measures power supplied through a power line,
a main body housing having a hexahedral structure with a front surface having at least a display unit, a rear surface, a left side surface, a right side surface, a top surface, and a bottom surface;
The device has a plurality of electronic boards housed in the main body housing and each of the electronic boards has a different function,
The plurality of electronic boards include:
A first electronic board disposed along the back surface;
a second electronic board disposed perpendicular to the first electronic board along the left side surface;
a third electronic board disposed perpendicular to the first electronic board along the right side surface;
a fourth electronic substrate arranged parallel to and facing the first electronic substrate,
The first electronic board, the second electronic board, and the third electronic board are coupled to each other by directly connecting electronic components on each board with pin headers and/or connectors on the boards,
The fourth electronic board, the second electronic board, and the third electronic board are coupled to each other by directly connecting electronic components on each board with pin headers and/or connectors on the boards.
1. A power measuring device comprising: the second electronic board and/or the third electronic board are arranged such that at least a portion of an end surface thereof is in contact with the first electronic board and/or the fourth electronic board;
2. The power measurement device according to claim 1 . the plurality of electronic boards further includes a fifth electronic board arranged along the front surface, parallel to the first electronic board, and closer to an inner wall of the main body housing than the fourth electronic board;
The fifth electronic board and the fourth electronic board are coupled to each other by directly connecting electronic components on each board with pin headers and/or connectors on the boards.
3. The power measurement device according to claim 2 . the first electronic board is a power supply board on which a terminal to which a voltage is input from the power line is mounted,
the second electronic board is a measurement board on which a terminal for receiving a current flowing through the power line and a circuit for measuring the current are mounted,
The fifth electronic board is a user interface board on which at least a display circuit is mounted.
4. The power measuring device according to claim 3 . the third electronic board is a recording medium connection board on which a terminal for connecting a non-volatile recording medium is mounted;
5. The power measuring device according to claim 4 . The third electronic board is a wireless communication board on which a circuit for wireless communication is mounted.
5. The power measuring device according to claim 4 . At least a terminal for wired communication with other devices is mounted on the fourth electronic board.
7. The power measuring device according to claim 4 , wherein the power measuring device is a power measuring device having a power measuring function.

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