KR20120016766A - Communication device for smart grid and air conditioning system having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A communication unit for a smart grid and air conditioning system including the same are provided to reduce maintain management costs of a communication unit by communicating an energy management unit with a home appliance. CONSTITUTION: A base module(280) is detached from the main body of a home appliance(103). The base module receives voltages from the main body of the home appliance. The base module communicates data with the main body of the home appliance. The base module is connected with the control unit of the home appliance. A communication module(290) is arranged at the base module. The communication module is mutually communicated with an energy management system(30).

Description

Air conditioning system with communication unit for smart grid and communication unit for smart grid {COMMUNICATION DEVICE FOR SMART GRID AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM HAVING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a communication unit for a smart grid, and more particularly, to a communication unit for a smart grid that can be easily replaced and installed regardless of the type of existing home appliances. The present invention also relates to an air conditioning system including the communication unit for the smart grid.

Electric power for the operation of electrical appliances such as home appliances used in homes or office equipment used in offices is generally supplied in the order of power plants operated by KEPCO, transmission lines, and wiring lines. to be.

It has the characteristics of a central power source, not a distributed power source, a radial structure that spreads from the center to the periphery, and is characterized by a unidirectional supplier center rather than a consumer center.

In addition, the technology base is analog or electromechanical, there is a problem that must be restored manually in case of an accident, and the equipment must also be restored manually.

The price information of electricity was not only known in real time, but was limitedly known through the power exchange, and the price system also included electricity price peak time zone, which is a time-varying time and the most expensive time period. Although some peak hours are being implemented in each sector, there is a problem that incentives such as incentives to consumers through price changes cannot be used.

In order to solve these problems and improve energy efficiency, research on smart grids (intelligent power grids) has been actively conducted recently.

The smart grid refers to the next generation power system and its management system that are realized through the convergence and complex of modern power technology and information communication technology.

As mentioned above, the current grid is a centralized, producer-controlled, vertical, centralized network, whereas the smart grid is less focused on suppliers and horizontal, collaborative to enable interaction between consumers and suppliers. It is an enemy, decentralized network.

The smart grid is sometimes called the "energy internet" because all electrical devices, power storage devices and distributed power supplies are networked to enable interaction between consumers and suppliers.

On the other hand, in order to implement the smart grid, a power management network in which individual electric appliances and a plurality of electric appliances are connected to a power consumer such as a home or a building is not only unilaterally receiving power. There has been a need for bidirectional communication and for the power management network to communicate bidirectionally with respect to the operation and control information of individual electrical appliances and a plurality of electrical appliances and the need for new devices for such bidirectional communication.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication unit for a smart grid that enables two-way communication between an energy management device and a home appliance, and an air conditioning system having the same.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a smart grid communication unit and an air conditioning system having the same easy to replace in a home appliance.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication unit for a general-purpose smart grid that can be mounted regardless of the type of existing home appliances, and an air conditioning system having the same.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the communication unit for the smart grid according to the present invention, is detachably disposed on the main body of the home appliance, receives power from the main body of the home appliance and bidirectional data with the main body of the home appliance A base module connected to the main body control unit of the home appliance to communicate; And a communication module disposed in the base module and bidirectionally communicating with the energy management device.

In addition, in order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the air conditioning system according to the present invention, the air conditioning system that can communicate with the energy management device for generating a control signal based on the information on the electricity bill, the main body; A main body control unit built in the main body and having a general-purpose input / output unit; And a communication unit receiving a control signal generated by the energy management device and connected to the main body control unit to transmit the control signal to the main body control unit, wherein the communication unit receives power from the main body control unit and receives the main body control unit. A base module connected to the control unit for bi-directional data communication and detachably disposed on the main body; And a communication module connected to the base module and bidirectionally communicating with the energy management device.

According to the above-mentioned problem solving means, the present invention enables the two-way communication between the energy management device and the home appliance, the replacement of the communication unit in the home appliance is easy to reduce the maintenance cost of the communication unit. In addition, since the present invention only needs to secure a space accommodating the communication unit by using the production line of the existing home appliance as it is, it is possible to utilize the existing production equipment as it is, and at the same time the effect of smart grid of the home appliance with the existing equipment There is. In addition, the smart grid communication unit according to the present invention can be mounted regardless of the operating characteristics of the home appliance, that is, regardless of the type of home appliances, there is an effect that can be used for general purpose (汎 用).

1 is a schematic diagram of a smart grid associated with the present invention.
2 is a schematic diagram of a power supply network system according to the present invention.
3 is a schematic block diagram of a home appliance for bidirectional communication with a communication unit for a smart grid and a communication unit for a smart grid according to the present invention.
4 is a block diagram of a base module of a communication unit for a smart grid according to the present invention.
5 is a block diagram of a communication module of a communication unit for a smart grid according to the present invention.
6 is a perspective view of a communication unit for a smart grid according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a perspective view of an air conditioning system equipped with a communication unit for a smart grid according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the air conditioning system of FIG. 7.
9 is a perspective view of a washing machine equipped with a communication unit for a smart grid according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a perspective view of a refrigerator equipped with a communication unit for a smart grid according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For reference, in describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may make the gist of the present invention unclear, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a schematic diagram of a smart grid, a smart grid includes a power plant that generates power through thermal power, nuclear power or hydropower, and a solar power plant and a wind power plant using solar or wind power as renewable energy. .

In addition, the thermal power plant or nuclear power plant or hydroelectric power plant (that is, the energy supply source or power supply source) sends power to the power station through a transmission line, and the power station sends electricity to the substation so that the electricity is distributed to demand such as home or office.

The electricity produced by the renewable energy is also sent to substations to be distributed to each customer. Then, the electricity transmitted from the substation is distributed to the office or each home via the power storage device.

Even in homes that use the Home Area Network (HAN), it is possible to supply electricity by producing electricity by itself through fuel cells mounted on solar power or PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle). The remaining electricity can also be sold outside.

In addition, the smart measuring device is installed in the office or home to identify the real-time power and electricity bills used at each demand source. Through this, the user recognizes the amount of electricity and the electricity bill currently used, and according to the situation, the power consumption or the electricity bill according to the situation. Measures to reduce the

On the other hand, since the power plant, power station, storage device and the source of demand are bidirectional communication, only the unilaterally receive electricity from the source of demand, and notify the storage, power station, and power plant of the demand source to produce electricity according to the situation of the source of demand. Electric distribution can be performed.

Meanwhile, in the smart grid, an energy management system (EMS), which is responsible for real-time power management and real-time prediction of power consumption, and a metering device (AMI) that measures power consumption in real time are pivotal. Play the role of person.

Here, the measuring device under the smart grid is a basic technology for integrating consumers on the basis of open architecture, and provides consumers with the ability to efficiently use electricity, and provides power providers with the ability to operate the system efficiently by detecting problems in the system. do.

Here, the open architecture, unlike a general communication network, refers to a standard that allows all electric devices to be connected to each other regardless of which manufacturer the electric device is manufactured in a smart grid system.

Thus, the instrumentation used in the smart grid enables a consumer friendly efficiency concept such as "Prices to Devices."

That is, the real-time price signal of the power market is relayed through the energy management device (EMS) installed in each home, and the energy management device (EMS) communicates with and controls each electric device so that the user can control the energy management device (EMS). By recognizing the power information of each electric device and performing the power information processing such as the amount of power consumption or the electric charge limit setting based on the power information, energy and cost can be saved.

The energy management device (EMS) is a local energy management device (EMS) used in the office or home, and the two-way communication with the local energy management device (EMS) to process the information collected by the local energy management device (EMS) It is preferably composed of a central energy management device (EMS).

Real-time communication of power information between suppliers and consumers can be realized in the smart grid, realizing “real-time grid response”, thereby reducing the high cost of meeting peak demand.

2 illustrates a power supply network system 10 in a home, which is a major consumer of a smart grid.

The power supply network system 10 is a measuring device (smart meter) 20 that can measure in real time the power and electricity bills, power consumption peak time intervals or electricity rate peak time periods supplied to each home, and the measurement device It is provided with an energy management device (EMS) 30 connected to the (smart meter) 20 and connected to a plurality of electric devices such as home appliances and controlling their operation.

Here, the energy management device (EMS) 30 has a screen 31 for displaying the current state of electricity consumption and the external environment (temperature, humidity), and provides an input button 32 or the like which can be operated by a user. It is preferably provided in the form of a terminal provided.

The energy management device (EMS) 30 is again connected to a home network such as a refrigerator 101, a washing machine and a dryer 102, an air conditioning system 103, a TV 105, or a cooking appliance 104. It is connected to electrical appliances and makes bidirectional communication with them.

Communication inside the house may be via wireless or wired such as PLC (Power Line Communication).

In addition, it is preferable that the electrical appliances are arranged to be connected to other electrical appliances so that communication is possible.

3 is a schematic block diagram of a home appliance 200 in two-way communication with the communication unit 270 for the smart grid and the communication unit for the smart grid according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the home appliance 200 includes an input unit 210 that receives a user input signal, and a main body controller 230 that processes the input signal received from the input unit 210 to control the main body of the home appliance. And an output unit 250 that directly operates the home appliance main body according to the control signal processed by the main body control unit 230 or provides the user with information about the result processed by the main body control unit. In addition, the home appliance 200 is connected to the measurement device (smart meter) 20 and the plurality of home appliances in a bidirectional communication method, and power supply information received from the measurement device (for example, real-time electricity bills and electricity bills). And a smart grid communication unit 270 that enables two-way communication with the energy management device 30 that controls the plurality of home appliances based on the peak time zone.

As shown in FIG. 3, the smart grid communication unit 270 according to the present invention is disposed detachably on a main body of a home appliance, receives power from the main body of the home appliance, and bidirectional data communication with the main body of the home appliance. A base module 280 connected to the main body control unit 230 of the home appliance; And a communication module 290 disposed in the base module 280 and bidirectionally communicating with the energy management device 30.

That is, the smart grid communication unit 270 according to the present invention, the electrical charge peak in which the household electrical appliance 200 is the maximum value based on the power supply information of the power supply source received through the measuring device (smart meter) Receives a control signal from the energy management device 30 that controls the home appliance 200 to be stopped or operated at low power during the time zone, and transmits a control signal from the energy management device 30 to the home appliance 200. Transmission to the main body control unit 230. In addition, the smart grid communication unit 270, the main body control unit of the home appliance 200, the operation state of the home appliance 200, or information about the amount of electricity or electricity bill consumed by the home appliance due to such an operation state Received from the 230 to transmit the information to the energy management device 30 so that the manager of the energy management device 30 can establish a new power usage strategy based on the information.

In addition, since the smart grid communication unit 270 according to the present invention is disposed to be detachably attached to the main body of the home appliance 200, only the smart grid communication unit 270 even when the smart grid communication unit 270 is broken. By replacing the bar can normally use the home appliance 200, the maintenance cost of the home appliance 200 can be reduced. In addition, as will be described in detail below, the smart grid communication unit 270 according to the present invention can be used for general purpose (汎 用) and detachable from the main body of the home appliance, so if you need to discard the home appliance main body due to aging or failure Only the grid communication unit can be separated and reused in other home appliances.

4 is a block diagram of the base module 280 of the communication unit 270 for the smart grid according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the base module 280 includes a main body connecting unit 281 having a general-purpose input / output unit connected to the general-purpose input / output unit 231 of the main body control unit 230 of the home appliance 200, and the general-purpose input / output unit. It includes a voltage adjusting unit 282 for adjusting the voltage supplied from the home appliance, the communication input and output unit 282, the communication module 290 is connected to the voltage adjusting unit 282, the communication module 290 is connected.

The general purpose input / output unit (GPIO) of the main unit connection unit 281 is connected to the general purpose input / output unit (GPIO) 231 of the main unit control unit 230 to receive power required for the smart grid communication unit 270 from the main unit. It is supplied, and the two-way data communication with the main body control unit 230 transmits a control signal from the energy management device 30 to the main body control unit 230. For example, the main body connection unit 281 receives power of 5 V voltage from the main body of the home appliance 200 and supplies it to the smart grid communication unit 270 according to the present invention as an operating energy source.

In addition, the main body connection unit 281 of the base module 280 is supplied with power from the main body of the home appliance 200 and at the same time the main body control unit of the home appliance through a cable for bidirectional data communication with the main body of the home appliance 200 It is connected to the general-purpose input and output unit 231 of (230). That is, one end of the cable has a pin part connected to the general-purpose input / output unit provided in the main body control unit of the home appliance, and the other end of the cable is a general-purpose input / output unit provided in the main body connection unit 281 of the base module 280. It has a pin part to be connected. At this time, the general-purpose input and output unit provided in the main body connecting portion 281 of the base module 280 is provided with a port portion having a shape corresponding to the shape of the pin portion to be fastened to the pin portion provided on the other end of the cable.

In this way, the base module is detachably disposed on the main body, and the main module is detachably connected to the main body control unit of the home appliance through the main body connecting portion, thereby easily detaching the communication unit for the smart grid from the main body of the home appliance. As a result, when the smart grid communication unit has reached the end of its service life or has failed, it is easy to replace the communication unit for the smart grid, thereby reducing maintenance costs of the home appliance, and when the main body of the home appliance is aging or needs to be broken down or disposed of. Only the communication unit for the remaining smart grid can be separated and reused for other home appliances.

The voltage regulator 282 adjusts the voltage of the power supplied from the main body to a voltage suitable for the communication module 290 of the communication unit 270 for the smart grid, so that the power of the adjusted voltage will be described below. The communication module 290 is supplied to the communication module 290 through the accommodation unit 283. For example, when the communication module 290 is a Zigbee wireless communication module, the voltage adjusting unit 282 receives power of 5 V voltage from the main body of the home appliance 200 through the main body connecting unit 281. The power is converted into a 3.3 V voltage required for the jig cost wireless communication module 290 and supplied to the communication module 290.

The communication module accommodating part 283 is a connection part connecting the communication module 290 and the base module 280 as a part on which the communication module 290 is seated. That is, the communication module accommodating unit 283 transmits the power or data received from the main body of the home appliance 200 to the base module 280 and the data or signal received from the main body control unit 230 of the home appliance to the base module 280. While transmitting to 290, the control signal or power supply information transmitted from the energy management device 30 to the communication module 290 is a terminal for transmitting to the base module 280. The communication module accommodating portion 283 is preferably a port.

The base module 280 further includes a connection state display unit 284 indicating whether the main body controller 230 or the communication module 290 of the home appliance is normally connected to the base module. The connection state display unit 284 determines whether the general-purpose input / output unit of the base module 280 and the general-purpose input / output unit of the main body control unit 230 (or the other end of the cable connected to the general-purpose input / output unit of the main body control unit) are normally connected to each other. The user is informed whether or not 290 is normally connected to the communication module receiving unit 283 of the base module 280. For this reason, the user can easily grasp whether such a malfunction is a malfunction due to a bad connection when the smart grid communication unit malfunctions. In addition, according to the connection state display unit, when the above-described malfunction is a malfunction due to a poor connection, the user can also know where the connection failure occurred.

Preferably, the connection state display unit 284 is composed of a plurality of LEDs emitting light of the same color or different colors.

5 is a block diagram of a communication module of a communication unit for a smart grid according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the communication module 290 is connected to the base module 280 to transmit and receive the power and data or signals in both directions with the base module 280, the energy management device 30 ) And a control signal of the energy management device 30 transmitted through the antenna unit 292 and the antenna unit 292 to the control signal corresponding to the operation of the home appliance 200 A module control unit 293 is included.

The transceiver 291 is a terminal connected to the communication module accommodating unit 283 of the base module 280, and receives power from the main body and data or signals from the main body control unit, and supplies control signals or power from the energy management apparatus. The terminal transmits information and the like to the main body controller 230 through the communication module accommodating part 283 and the main body connecting part 281. Preferably, when the communication module accommodating part 283 of the base module 280 is configured as a port part, the transceiver 291 is configured as a pin part having a shape corresponding to the shape of the port part to be engaged with the port part. do. Naturally, the pin portion and the port portion are configured to transmit power as well as data or signals.

The antenna unit 292 is a device that bidirectionally communicates data or signals with the energy management apparatus 30. That is, the antenna unit 292 automatically operates in a low power manner all household appliances within the management range of the energy management device 30 is based on the power supply information provided from the power supply source or The control signal is received when generating the control signal to stop, and at the same time transmits the information on the operating state or power consumption of all the home appliances within the management range of the energy management device to the energy management device (30). Preferably, the antenna unit 292 may be configured as a Zigbee antenna. In addition, the antenna unit 292 is configured to receive not only the control signal of the energy management device 30, but also the control signal of the remote controller (remote controller) of each home appliance, the home appliance 200 can be a separate remote control There is no need to have a credit antenna.

The module control unit 293 processes the control signal of the energy management device 30 transmitted through the antenna unit 292 into a control signal corresponding to the operation (or operating characteristics) of each home appliance, and treats the antenna unit 292. The power supply information of the power supply source received from the energy management device 30 is processed according to the characteristics of the display unit of each home appliance. The processing of the control signal of the energy management device by the module control unit 293 is that, when the type of each home appliance is different, each home appliance has its own operating characteristics and control signals required by these unique operating characteristics This is because they are different from each other. For example, the operating characteristics of the washing machine may be an operation control signal as a washing operation mode (quilt washing mode, normal washing mode, rinsing mode, dehydration mode, drying mode, etc.), control signal for reservation mode, control signal for washing time adjustment, The control signal for hot / cold water selection is required, and the operation characteristic of the refrigerator is a control signal as a control signal for selecting a freezing mode, a control signal for selecting a refrigerating mode, a control signal for selecting a cooling amount and a refrigeration amount, and the like. The operating characteristics of the air conditioner are control signals for operation modes (cooling / heating mode, dehumidification / humidification mode, ventilation mode, air cleaning mode), control signal for reservation mode, and control for air volume setting. This is because a signal is required.

Preferably, the module control unit 293 is composed of a Zigbee communication microcomputer. For example, the module controller may be Ember's EM35x system-on-chip as a Zigbee communication microcomputer.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the communication module 290 may convert the control signal received from the energy management device 30 into a control signal corresponding to an operating characteristic of the home appliance 200 by the module controller 293. The apparatus further includes a software input unit 294 for inputting software and a memory unit 295 for storing software input through the software input unit 294.

As described above, each home appliance has different operating characteristics and thus requires different control signals. The module control unit 293 converts the control signal from the energy management device 30 into a control signal corresponding to the operating characteristics of each home appliance (that is, capable of operating or controlling each home appliance substantially). To do this, you need conversion software. The software input unit 294 inputs the conversion software suitable for the operating characteristics of each home appliance in which the smart grid communication unit 270 according to the present invention is installed, or later inputs a patch of the control program of the home appliance. The input unit may update the main body controller 230 of the device.

Preferably, software input 294 includes a plug for a USB connector. Thus, the software input unit 294 can be easily connected to a computer or a personal computer of a manufacturer or a customer center of each home appliance.

According to the software input unit of the present invention, the manufacturer produces the same smart grid communication unit irrespective of the type of each home appliance, and then enters the software when the type of home appliance to which the manufactured smart grid communication unit is to be installed or later. Since the conversion software corresponding to the operation characteristics of the home appliance is input through the unit, the smart grid communication unit according to the present invention is a general-purpose communication unit that can be used regardless of the type of home appliance.

As shown in FIG. 5, the communication module 290 has a communication sensitivity between the communication module 290 and the energy management device 30 when the communication module is connected to the base module 280 or the main body controller 230 of the home appliance. It further includes a communication state display unit 296 for displaying.

The communication state display unit 296 is a position or installation position of the smart grid communication unit 270 in the home appliance main body according to the present invention is a position that can transmit or receive a signal from the energy management device 30 smoothly Visualize and inform the user of the strength of communication sensitivity. Therefore, the user installs the smart grid communication unit according to the present invention in a plurality of areas of the main body of the home appliance to check the communication sensitivity in each area, and then the smart grid communication unit is located in the area having the most optimal communication sensitivity. I can attach it.

Preferably, the connection state display unit 296 is composed of a plurality of LEDs emitting light of the same color or different colors.

The communication module 290 is disposed to be fixed to the base module 280 or to be detachable.

When the communication module 290 is detachably disposed on the base module 280 (that is, the communication module accommodating portion of the base module), it is easy to replace the communication module when the communication module has reached the end of its service life or has failed. The maintenance costs of the equipment can be reduced, and if the base module becomes obsolete or needs to be broken or discarded, only the communication module with the remaining service life can be removed and reused for another base module. In addition, when the control program of the home appliance is upgraded or when the software corresponding to the operating characteristics of the home appliance is input, only the communication module needs to be separated, so that the software can be easily updated or inputted.

When the communication module 290 is fixedly disposed on the base module 280 (that is, the communication module accommodating portion of the base module), the communication module is separated from the base module in a device in which vibrations such as a washing machine are continuously generated strongly. Can be prevented.

Since each component of the communication unit for the smart grid is formed of an electronic element or an electric element, the communication unit for the smart grid may be implemented as a single PCB on which the electronic element or the electric element is disposed, thereby miniaturizing the size of the communication unit. Can be.

6 is an external perspective view of the communication unit 270 for the smart grid according to an embodiment of the present invention. However, this is an exemplary shape, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 6, the communication unit 270 for a smart grid according to an embodiment of the present invention has an outer case 271 composed of two case members connected by a hinge (not shown) and separated from each other. Equipped.

One side of the case communicates with a main body controller 230 (or a cable connected to the main body controller) of the home appliance and a connection state display unit 284 indicating whether the communication module 290 is normally connected to the base module 280. A communication status display unit 296 for indicating a communication sensitivity between the module 290 and the energy management device 30 is provided, and an external antenna 273 connected to the antenna unit 292 of the communication unit for the smart grid is provided. have.

On one side of the case, an opening 275 for a port portion to which a plug for the USB connector 300 can be connected to the software input unit 294 of the communication unit 270 for the smart grid, and a general-purpose input / output unit of the main body control unit 230 ( 231 or an opening 277 is formed for the main body connecting portion 281 of the base module 280 connected to the other end of the cable connected to the general-purpose input and output of the main body control unit 230, the user has two case members ( A recess 279 is formed so that 271 can be easily separated.

The outer case 271 of the communication unit for the smart grid shown in FIG. 6 is easily inserted into the communication unit accommodating units 101a; 102a; 103a formed in a plurality of areas of the main body of the home appliance described below.

7 is a block diagram of an air conditioning system 103 equipped with a smart grid communication unit 270 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The air conditioning system 103 according to the present invention is capable of communicating with an energy management device 30 for generating a control signal based on information on an electric charge provided from a power supply to a measuring device (smart meter), and managing the energy. It includes a communication unit 270 for the smart grid according to the present invention described above to be controlled by the control signal generated from the device 30.

Referring to Figure 7, the air conditioning system 103 according to the present invention body; A main body control unit built in the main body and having a general-purpose input / output unit; And a communication unit 270 that receives the control signal generated by the energy management device 30 and is connected to the main body control unit to transmit the control signal to the main body control unit. In particular, the communication unit 270 is a smart grid communication unit as described above, the base module 280 is connected to the main body control unit receives power from the main body control unit and the data is connected to the main body control unit detachably disposed; And a communication module 290 connected to the base module and bidirectionally communicating with the energy management device.

The air conditioning system 103 according to the present invention may be controlled by a control signal of the energy management apparatus through the communication unit 270 for the smart grid. On the contrary, the energy management apparatus can control the air conditioning system to the smart grid through the communication unit for the smart grid according to the present invention. As described above, since the communication unit for the smart grid according to the present invention is easily detached from the air conditioning system and easily replaced, the maintenance cost of the communication unit and the maintenance cost of the air conditioning system can be reduced.

8 is a perspective view of an air conditioning system 103 equipped with a communication unit for a smart grid according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the main body of the air conditioning system 103 includes a plurality of communication unit accommodating units 103a accommodating the communication unit 270 in a plurality of areas. For example, the plurality of communication unit accommodating units 103a may be formed in upper left and right regions of the front surface of the main body of the air conditioning system 103, left and right regions of the middle portion, and left and right regions of the upper surface of the main body.

As shown in a partially enlarged view of FIG. 8, the communication unit accommodating part 103a includes an internal space 103b in which an external case 271 of the communication part is accommodated, and the communication part 270 is provided in the internal space 103b. The other end 103c of the cable provided with the pin part which has a shape corresponding to the shape of the port part provided in the main-body connection part 281 of FIG. In addition, the communication part accommodating part 103a includes a cover part 103d which is movable in a sliding manner in order to protect the communication part after receiving the communication part 270 and to improve the aesthetics of the air conditioning system. A predetermined cutout 103e is formed in a part of the cover part 103d so that the external antenna 273 of the communication part does not interfere with the movement of the cover part. Preferably, the cover 103d is made of a light transmissive material or a semi-transparent material so that the connection state display unit 284 and the communication state display unit 296 of the communication unit can be recognized from the outside.

9 and 10 are perspective views of a washing machine 102 and a refrigerator 101 equipped with a communication unit for a smart grid according to an embodiment of the present invention. The washing machine and the refrigerator shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are exemplary, and the electrical appliance to which the communication unit for the smart grid according to the present invention is mounted is not limited thereto.

Similar to the air conditioning system 103 according to the present invention described above, the main body of the washing machine 102 or the main body of the refrigerator 101 includes a plurality of communication unit accommodating units 102a; 101a accommodating the communication unit 270 in a plurality of areas. It is provided. In this case, the smart grid communication unit 270 according to the present invention receives software corresponding to the operating characteristics of the washing machine 102 or the refrigerator 101 through the software input unit 294, and then inputs the software to the main body of the washing machine or the main body of the refrigerator. Is installed. In this way, the energy management device 30 may control all home appliances in which the communication unit 270 for the smart grid according to the present invention is installed.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the general knowledge in the field of the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the following claims. Anyone with a variety of modifications are possible, of course, such modifications are within the scope of the claims.

20: smart meter 30: energy management device
200: home appliance 270: communication unit for smart grid
280: base module 290: communication module

Claims (17)

A base module detachably disposed on a main body of the home appliance, the base module being supplied with power from the main body of the home appliance and connected to a main body control unit of the home appliance to perform bidirectional data communication with the main body of the home appliance; And
And a communication module disposed in the base module and communicating in both directions with the energy management device. The method of claim 1,
The base module may include a general-purpose input / output unit connected to the general-purpose input / output unit of the main body control unit, a voltage adjusting unit for adjusting a voltage supplied from a home appliance through the general-purpose input / output unit, the general-purpose input / output unit and the voltage adjusting unit, and the communication module. Smart grid communication unit comprising a communication module receiving unit is connected. The method of claim 1,
The base module is a communication unit for a smart grid, characterized in that connected to the general-purpose input and output unit of the main body control unit of the home appliance via a cable so as to receive power from the main body of the home appliance and bidirectional data communication with the main body of the home appliance. The method of claim 2,
The base module further comprises a connection state display unit for indicating whether the main body control unit or the communication module is normally connected to the base module. The method of claim 1,
The communication module is connected to the base module, the transceiver for transmitting power and data in both directions and the base module, the antenna unit for bidirectional communication with the energy management device, the control of the energy management device transmitted through the antenna unit And a module controller for processing a signal into a control signal corresponding to the operation of the home appliance. The method of claim 5,
The communication module, the smart grid further comprises a communication status display unit for displaying the communication sensitivity between the communication module and the energy management device when the communication module is connected to the base unit or the main body control unit of the home appliance For communication. The method of claim 5,
The module control unit is a smart grid communication unit, characterized in that the Zigbee communication microcomputer. The method of claim 5,
The communication module is input through a software input unit and a software input unit into which software is input to enable the module control unit to convert a control signal received from the energy management device into a control signal corresponding to an operation characteristic of the home appliance. The communication unit for a smart grid further comprises a memory unit in which software is stored. The method of claim 8,
The software input unit is a smart grid communication unit comprising a plug for a USB connector. The method of claim 1,
The communication module is a smart grid communication unit, characterized in that arranged to be fixed to or detachable from the base module. An air conditioning system that can communicate with an energy management device that generates a control signal based on information about an electricity bill,
main body;
A main body control unit built in the main body and having a general-purpose input / output unit; And
And a communication unit receiving the control signal generated by the energy management device and connected to the main body control unit to transmit the control signal to the main body control unit.
The communication unit may include: a base module which receives power from the main body control unit and is connected to the main body control unit for bidirectional data communication and is detachably disposed on the main body; And a communication module connected to the base module and bidirectionally communicating with the energy management device. The method of claim 11,
The main body includes a plurality of communication unit accommodation units accommodating the communication unit in a plurality of areas of the main body. The method of claim 11,
The main body control unit and the base module, one end is connected in a removable manner to the general-purpose input and output unit of the main body control unit, the other end is connected by a connecting portion including a pin portion, the pin portion is disposed in the plurality of communication unit accommodation portion Air conditioning system characterized by. The method of claim 13,
The base module air conditioning system, characterized in that it comprises a port portion of a shape corresponding to the shape of the pin portion of the cable. The method of claim 11,
And the communication module is arranged to be detachable or fixed to the base module. The method of claim 11,
The communication module may include an antenna unit configured to bidirectionally communicate data with the energy management device, a module controller configured to process a control signal of the energy management device transmitted through the antenna unit into a control signal corresponding to an operation of the air conditioning system, and the module And a software input unit through which a control unit converts a control signal received from the energy management device into a control signal corresponding to an operating characteristic of the air conditioning system. The method of claim 16,
And the software input unit comprises a plug for a USB connector.

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