JPH07193969A - Power interruption system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To protect an electric appliance over-loading due to abrupt interruption of power thereto by interrupting power to preselected electric appliances when the total current exceeds a contact current limit. CONSTITUTION:Adapters 2 are provided for an air-conditioner 6c, a hair dryer 6d and a microwave oven 6e which do not cause serious trouble upon abrupt power interruption. When the total current exceeds a contact current limit, an interrupting mechanism built in the adapter 2 functions to interrupt power to the electric appliance connected with the adapter 2. If the total current does not drop below the contract current limit, a breaker 1 functions to interrupt power to all the systems. This system realizes efficient use of power without increasing the contract current limit while taking account of temporary increase of power.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power cutoff system for cutting off power supply when the amount of current used exceeds a contracted current capacity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a general household or the like, a pole transformer is 100V.
Alternatively, the voltage stepped down to 200 V is drawn from a drop line attachment point at the eaves of each household, etc., to a distribution board in the room by a drop line, and power is supplied to a light, a refrigerator, an air conditioner and the like.

This distribution board divides the incoming line from the outside into two or more branch circuits, and is equipped with a circuit breaker, an earth leakage breaker, a current limiter and the like.
Of these, the current limiter (S breaker, ampere breaker,
(It is called a limiter, etc.) is installed by the electric power company based on the charge regulation established by the electric power company, and it is automatically activated when an electric appliance fails and shorts out or when a large number of electric appliances are used and a current exceeding the contract amperage flows It has a function to cut off the circuit and stop the power supply. In the following, this current limiter will be simply referred to as a breaker.

[0004]

By the way, in general, electric power consumers rarely use the electric power consumption, that is, the wattage, for each electric appliance or the like. In addition, since the family often uses electric appliances separately in each room at home, it is the current situation that it is left to the breaker to judge whether the total amount of current used exceeds the contract current capacity. Therefore, when the used current amount exceeds the contracted current capacity, power supply to all electric appliances is instantly stopped. However, some electric appliances do not want to stop the power supply, for example, a refrigerator or the like wants to always supply power, but a conventional breaker selectively cuts off the power supply to an electric load. There is no function to do.

Therefore, in order to avoid stopping even the electric appliances which do not want to cut off the power supply as much as possible, the contract current capacity with the electric power company may be set to a large value. The higher the price, the higher the basic electricity rate, so it is desirable to contract with a current capacity as small as possible. It is not a good idea to set a large contract current capacity to temporarily increase the amount of power used, and we would like to avoid it if possible.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to avoid increasing the contract current capacity of a breaker for the purpose of temporarily increasing the amount of electric power used, and to minimize the current capacity. By contracting and cutting off the power supply to the preselected electric appliances when the total current consumption exceeds the contract current capacity, the total current consumption is kept below the contract current capacity and the power is used efficiently. (EN) Provided is a power cutoff system composed of a breaker and an adapter attached to an electric appliance, which can prevent the load on the electric appliance from being suddenly stopped when the power supply to the electric appliance is suddenly stopped. .

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a first circuit breaker for cutting off a power supply circuit, a current capacity detector for detecting a current value of the power supply circuit, and a cutoff signal are provided. A transmitting device for outputting, a first storage means for storing contract current capacity and information for outputting the cutoff signal, a current value detected by the current capacity detector and the first storage means. A breaker having a first control means for controlling the operation of the transmitter and the first circuit breaker based on the stored contract current capacity and the information for outputting the cutoff signal, and to the electric load. Receiving a signal from the breaker, a second breaker for cutting off the power supply of the device, a second storage means for storing information for identifying the cutoff signal, and a receiving device for receiving the signal. Signal is a cutoff signal And a second control means for controlling the operation of the second circuit breaker when it is identified that the power cutoff system is constituted by the adapter, and the receiver of the adapter is transmitted from the transmitter of the breaker. The second circuit breaker is activated when an interruption signal is received, and as a result, the first circuit breaker is activated when the current value of the power supply circuit does not fall below the contract current capacity.

Further, the cutoff signal is transmitted through the indoor wiring by changing the power supply voltage level at regular intervals.

[0009]

[Function] When the current value detected by the current capacity detector exceeds the contract current capacity, the power supply to the electric appliance to which the adapter is attached is cut off first, so that if the current value falls below the contract current capacity, The power supply to the electric load is not stopped. If the current value does not fall below the contracted current capacity even if the power supply is cut off by the adapter, the breaker cuts off the power supply to all distribution systems.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the entire power interruption system according to the present invention. Electric power supplied from the outside by the service line 5 is first led to the breaker 1 and then divided into a plurality of branch circuits, and the indoor wiring 4 is used to connect the electric appliances 6a, 6b, 6 through the outlet 3 of each room.
c, 6d, 6e. In FIG. 1, the refrigerator 6a and the water purifier 6b that the consumer wants to be constantly energized
Is directly supplied from the outlet 3, but the air conditioner 6c, the hair dryer 6d and the microwave oven 6e
With regard to the above, the adapter 2 is attached to the outlet 3 and power is supplied through both.

The outline of the power cutoff system according to the present invention will now be described. A consumer installs the adapter 2 on the air conditioner 6c, the hair dryer 6d, and the microwave oven 6e, which will not cause any trouble even if the power supply is suddenly cut off. , When the total current consumption of the whole household exceeds the contract current capacity, the power supply to the electric appliance which is being fed through the adapter 2 is first interrupted by the interruption mechanism built into the adapter 2, and the total current consumption is still. The circuit breaker 1 cuts off the power supply to all distribution systems only when the current does not fall below the contract current capacity.

Next, the configurations of the breaker 1 and the adapter 2 which constitute the power supply interruption system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the breaker 1, in which electric power supplied from the service wire of the outside is connected from the power receiving terminal 11 of the breaker 1 to the breaker 12, the current capacity detector 13, and the transmitter 1.
5, the power is supplied from the power transmission terminal 14 to each room through the indoor wiring 4. The CPU 16 controls the operations of the circuit breaker 12 and the transmitter 15 via the controller 17, based on the current value detected by the current capacity detector 13 and the information on the contract current capacity stored in the ROM 18. The transmitter 15 is the adapter 2
A signal for operating the circuit breaker 22 (see FIG. 3) provided in the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “blocking signal”) is transmitted to the adapter 2 through the indoor wiring 4. The clock 19 is the CPU
It is used to synchronize the operation timings of 16 and gives the CPU 16 the function of a clock when necessary.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the adapter 2, and the electric power supplied from the indoor wiring 4 is an outlet (not shown).
To the power receiving terminal 21 of the adapter 2, and the receiving device 23,
It is supplied from the power supply terminal 24 to the electric appliance 6 via the circuit breaker 22. The CPU 26 receives the signal received by the receiving device 23 and RO
Based on the information for identifying the interruption signal stored in M28,
The operation of the circuit breaker 22 is controlled via the controller 27. The return switch 29 is provided when the circuit breaker 22 operates.
It is provided to manually return the adapter 2 to the original power-supplyable state.

Next, communication means between the breaker 1 and the adapter 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

As a method of transmitting the cutoff signal from the breaker 1 to the adapter 2, a method of separately providing wiring may be considered, but the cost and new construction are required. Therefore, in this embodiment, the method of transmitting and receiving the cutoff signal by changing the voltage level by using the indoor wiring is adopted. That is, it is a method in which the voltage level is changed within a range where there is no problem in using the electric appliance, and the change pattern is transmitted and received as a signal.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a signal pattern created by changing the voltage level, and 100 V to 90 V is adopted as an example of the voltage level changing width. This is because it is known that current electric appliances have no problem with a short-time voltage drop of up to about 90V.

In FIG. 4, the receiving device 23 of the adapter 2
Based on the change in the voltage level received by the CPU 26 (see FIG.
4) recognizes 100V as 1 and 90V as 0, the signal pattern shown in FIG. 4 becomes (10110100).
1) is recognized. Therefore, in the CPU 26, the first 6 bits (101101) in the signal flow of (101101001) are set as the start bit,
If this signal is recognized, if the last bit of the following (001) is 0, it is set to be recognized as a cutoff signal, and if the last bit is 1, the data is ignored. Good.

FIG. 5 shows a transmitter 1 provided on the breaker 1.
5 is shown, and the generation of the above-mentioned cutoff signal will be described with reference to FIG.

The wiring connected from the power source side is the transmitter 15.
It is divided into 2 circuits A and B, and the circuit A is CMOS15a
Circuit B is connected to the CMOS 15b. C
A buffer IC 15 is provided in the MOS 15a and the CMOS 15b.
A voltage of about 5 V is applied to the circuit A or circuit B via d via a control signal from the CPU 16 to switch the flow of current into the circuit A or the circuit B. That is, 1 from the power supply
If a voltage of 00V is supplied, the CMOS
When a voltage of 5V is applied to 15a to make it conductive and a current flows in the circuit A, a voltage of 100V is taken out to the terminal-. On the other hand, when a voltage of 5V is applied to the CMOS 15b to make it conductive and a current flows in the circuit B, the transformer 15c
By this, the voltage is lowered and a voltage of 90V is taken out to the terminal-. The voltage extracted at the terminal − is the power transmission terminal 14
(See FIG. 2) and supplied to the adapter 2.

As described above, by switching the circuit A and the circuit B by the CPU 16 at a constant timing, it is possible to change only the voltage level without changing the frequency and create a cutoff signal pattern. In this case, the signal switching timing is about 100 msec to 200 msec, and the clock 19 has a function of synchronizing the operation timing of the CPU 16.

The method of changing the voltage level by using indoor wiring within a range where there is no problem in using the electric appliance and transmitting the change pattern as a signal is not limited to the above method or apparatus.

As another method of transmitting the cutoff signal,
A method in which a harmonic signal is placed on indoor wiring and a waveform analysis calculation function is provided on the receiving side and the transmitting side, or a method by radio can be implemented.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of receiving a cutoff signal in the adapter 2.

In the receiving device 23 provided in the adapter 2, the voltage value is measured at a constant timing, for example, at intervals of 25 msec by the voltage determining IC 23a used in the AC tester, and the data is transmitted to the CPU 26. CPU2
6, the voltage value is 100 V based on the data.
If so, the flag is set to 1, and if the voltage value is 90V, the flag is set to 0, and the result is sequentially assigned to, for example, 32 bits, and the change in voltage is calculated every 100 msec based on the data. Further, the calculation result is compared with the information for identifying the cutoff signal stored in the ROM 28,
If they match, it is determined that the signal is a cutoff signal, and the breaker 22 (see FIG. 3) is activated. The clock 30 has a function of synchronizing the operation timing of the CPU 26.

The method of receiving the voltage level change pattern as a signal is not limited to the above method or apparatus.

Next, the operation of the power supply interruption system according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The current capacity detector 13 of the breaker 1 always detects the value of the current flowing through the indoor wiring, and the detected data is C
It is transmitted to the PU 16 (F-1). CPU16 is ROM
The contract current capacity stored in 18 and the current value detected by the current capacity detector 13 are compared (F-2), and when the current value exceeds the current value corresponding to the contract current capacity, The transmission device 15 transmits a cutoff signal to the adapter 2 (F-3). When the cutoff signal is transmitted, the receiving device 23 of the adapter 2 receives the cutoff signal, and this information is transmitted to the CPU 26. The CPU 26 compares this signal with the information for identifying the interruption signal stored in the ROM 28, and if it judges that it is the interruption signal, the controller 2
Activating the circuit breaker 22 via 7. When the electric appliance to which the adapter 2 is attached is in use, the total current value is reduced by the operation of the circuit breaker 22 of the adapter 2. So CP
U16 again determines whether the current value detected by the current capacity detector 13 exceeds the current value corresponding to the contract current capacity (F-5). If not exceeded, the power supply is continued as it is, and the current capacity detector 13 continues to monitor the current value.

On the other hand, if the current value still exceeds the current value corresponding to the contracted current capacity even if the circuit breaker 22 of the adapter 2 is activated, the CPU 16 activates the circuit breaker 12 via the controller 17 and The power supply to the system is cut off (F-6).

If the current value is exceeded again after transmitting the interruption signal once to the adapter 2 (F-2), even if the interruption signal is transmitted (F-3), the circuit breaker 22 is already in the adapter 2. If it is operating, it is possible to perform useless operation, but the breaker 1 side cannot judge whether the adapter 2 is returning or not, so in consideration of the possibility that the return is being performed, In the invention, when the current value exceeds, the cutoff signal is always transmitted.

When the power supply to the adapter 2 is cut off, the consumer must restore the adapter 2. Therefore, the circuit breaker 22 is provided with a return switch 29. When the consumer 2 is shut off by the adapter 2, the consumer turns on the return switch of the adapter to return the adapter to a state in which power can be supplied. In this case, a means may be provided to notify the consumer of the interrupted adapter by means of an LED or the like.

If the number of electric appliances to which the adapters are attached is large, it is troublesome to go around the installation places of the adapters and return. Therefore, by providing a return switch to the breaker 1 and turning on the return switch of the breaker 1,
An adapter return signal is transmitted from the transmitter 15 of the breaker 1 and the adapter 2 that receives the adapter return signal is a CPU
The circuit breaker 22 may be returned via 26.

Although the adapter 2 has been described as an independent device attached to the outlet of the electric appliance in the present embodiment, the electric appliance itself may have the function of the adapter.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the total power consumption exceeds the contract current capacity, it is possible to cut off the power supply to the preselected electric appliances, so do not increase the contract current capacity in preparation for a temporary increase in the power consumption. , Can use electricity efficiently,
Electricity costs are low.

Further, it is possible to prevent in advance the burden on the electric device due to sudden interruption of the power supply to the electric device which is desired to be always energized.

Further, since the signal transmission / reception for cutting off the power supply is performed by using the indoor wiring, it is not necessary to provide additional wiring for introducing the present system, and the device can be easily mounted, It does not cost a lot of money.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an entire power cutoff system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a breaker included in the power supply cutoff system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an adapter that constitutes the power supply interruption system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a signal pattern generated by a change in voltage.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a transmission device that constitutes the power supply interruption system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a receiving device that constitutes the power supply cutoff system according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the power supply cutoff system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Breaker 2 Adapter 3 Outlet 4 Indoor wiring 5 Service wire 6 Electric equipment 12, 22 Breaker 13 Current capacity detector 15 Transmitter 16, 26 CPU 17, 27 Controller 18, 28 ROM 19, 30 Clock 23 Receiver

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tokushige Masuko 2174 C-608, Koyo-cho, Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture (72) Inventor Mitsunori Komaki 2-4-17-705 Sarue, Koto-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Nakayama Kanako 7-39-10 Koganehara, Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first circuit breaker for cutting off a power supply circuit, a current capacity detector for detecting a current value of the power supply circuit, a transmitter for outputting a cutoff signal, a contract current capacity and the cutoff signal. First storage means for storing information for
The current value detected by the current capacity detector and the first value
A breaker having first control means for controlling the operation of the transmitter and the first circuit breaker based on the contract current capacity and information for outputting the cutoff signal stored in the storage means of A second circuit breaker that cuts off power supply to the electric load, a receiving device that receives a signal from the breaker, and a second storage unit that stores information for identifying the cutoff signal.
An adapter having second control means for controlling the operation of the second circuit breaker when the signal received by the receiving device is identified as a cutoff signal, and the receiving device of the adapter is the breaker. The second circuit breaker is activated when the interruption signal transmitted from the transmitting device is received, and as a result, the first circuit breaker is activated when the current value of the power supply circuit does not fall below the contract current capacity. A power cutoff system characterized by the above. 2. The power cutoff system according to claim 1, wherein the cutoff signal comprises a signal in which a power supply voltage level is changed at regular intervals, and is transmitted through an indoor wiring. 3. A breaker that cuts off a power supply circuit when a current value determined by a contracted current capacity is exceeded, and an adapter that cuts off power supply to an electric load by a cutoff signal from the breaker are connected via indoor wiring. In the power supply cutoff system, a method of transmitting a signal from the breaker to the adapter, which transmits the cutoff signal through indoor wiring by changing a power supply voltage level at regular intervals.