TWI706141B - Power failure detection system - Google Patents

Abstract

A power failure detection system of the present invention includes a plurality of electricity meters being installed at respective power consumers and forming a first communication network through wireless connection, and a plurality of battery-driven gas meters being installed at the respective power consumers and forming a second communication network through wireless connection. The gas meters are associated with the respective electricity meters in a one-to-one manner, regularly transmit a wireless signal to a corresponding electricity meter, and determine a power failure condition of the power consumers each installed with the corresponding electricity meter based on a response condition of the corresponding electricity meter to the wireless signal.

Description

Power failure detection system

The present invention relates to a system for detecting power outages of power users supplied by power distribution lines.

In recent years, the smart grid or AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) system includes a power failure detection function. The power outage detection methods in these systems generally operate at a fixed time after the power outage is detected by the configured wireless device to wirelessly notify the occurrence of the outage. However, in this method, a battery or capacitor that operates for a fixed time after a power failure must be loaded into the wireless device in the smart meter, which has a problem that the cost of the smart meter becomes higher.

[Advanced Technical Document] [Patent Document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2013-146115

Patent Document 1 discloses a power failure detection system that cannot obtain information using meter reading data. According to the power failure detection system of Patent Document 1, there is no need to install a battery or capacitor that operates even after a power failure to a wireless device of a smart meter Inside. However, if the meter reading interval is generally 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour, etc., because it is very long, there is a problem that it takes time to detect a power outage. In addition, when the meter reading data of plural smart meters is collected by Multi-hop communication, it is impossible to relay the smart meter that stopped due to power failure and collect the data from other smart meters that should collect the meter reading data. Reading the meter data, there is a problem that it is impossible to grasp whether the power users who set up the other smart meters have power outages.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to accurately and quickly detect power outages of each power user.

The power outage detection system of the present invention is a power outage detection system that detects power outages of a plurality of power users, and includes a plurality of electric meters installed in each power user and wirelessly connected to form the first communication network, and installed in each power user and connected wirelessly. Connect the battery-driven plural battery-driven meters that constitute the second communication network, the first upper-layer network existing on the upper layer of the first communication network, and the second upper-layer network existing on the upper layer of the second communication network. Each battery-driven meter, and Each meter has a one-to-one correspondence. For the corresponding meter, that is, the corresponding meter periodically transmits wireless signals. According to the response status of the corresponding meter to the wireless signal, determine the power outage status of the power user who sets the corresponding meter. Each battery-driven meter determines the setting of the corresponding meter. When a power user has a power outage, the main information of the power outage detection notice is transmitted from the second communication network to the first upper network via the second upper network.

The power failure detection system of the present invention detects a power failure through wireless signal transmission and reception between the electric meter and the battery-driven meter, and can perform high-speed power failure detection based on the transmission period of the wireless signal. In addition, the power failure detection system of the present invention, because the root According to the battery-driven meters corresponding to each electric meter one-to-one, the power outage detection for each power user can be performed accurately.

N: The critical value of the number of power outages measured

T: beacon period

1, 2, 3: Power users

11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e: distribution lines

21: High voltage line

31: Transformer

100: Hub

101, 102, 103: electric meter

101A, 102A, 103A: electric meter

104: Power Network

200: Hub

201, 202, 203: Gas meter

204: Gas Network

301, 302, 303: HEMS machines

304: HEMS network

401: Setter

1010: wireless device

1010A: wireless device

1011: body

1012: Communication Department

1013: Watch control unit

1014: table memory

1015: Control unit for health check

1016: capacitor

1101: Protocol stack

1201: Protocol stack

2010: wireless device

2011: Ontology

2012: Communication Department

2013: Watch control department

2014: Watch memory department

2015: Communication Department for Health Check

2016: Health Check Control Department

2017: Memory Department for Health Checkup

[Figure 1] is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the power failure detection system of the first embodiment; [Figure 2] is a diagram showing the connection relationship among the components of the power failure detection system of the first embodiment; [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing the composition of an electricity meter and a gas meter; [Figure 4] is a diagram showing the connection relationship among the components of the power failure detection system of the first embodiment when a power failure occurs; [Figure 5] is a diagram showing the power failure detection processing Sequence diagram; [Picture 6] is a conceptual diagram of pairing settings; [Picture 7] is a diagram showing the contents of pairing settings; [Picture 8] is a diagram showing the protocol stack loaded in the electricity meter and the gas meter [Figure 9] is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the power failure detection system of the second embodiment; [Figure 10] is a diagram showing the connection relationship between the components of the power failure detection system of the second embodiment; [Figure 11 ] Is a diagram showing the connection relationship among the components of the power failure detection system of the second embodiment when a power failure occurs; [Figure 12] is a sequence diagram showing the gas meter when a power failure occurs; [Figure 13] is a diagram showing that a power failure did not occur Sequence diagram of the hour gas meter; [Figure 14] is a conceptual diagram of pairing setting; [Figure 15] is a diagram showing the content of pairing settings; [Figure 16] is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the power failure detection system of the third embodiment; [Figure 17] is a diagram showing the configuration of an electricity meter in the third embodiment; and [Figure 18] is a diagram showing the procedure of power failure detection processing Figure.

<A. First Embodiment>

<A-1. Composition>

Figure 1 is a diagram of the overall configuration of the power failure detection system of the first embodiment. The power outage detection system of the first embodiment is a power outage detection system for power users 1, 2, and 3. The electric power of the high-voltage line 21 is transmitted, and the voltage is reduced by the transformer 31, and thereafter, it is supplied to the electric power users 1, 2, and 3 via the power distribution lines 11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, and 11e. The number of power users here is three, but it is just an example.

The power failure detection system of the first embodiment includes electric meters 101, 102, 103, gas meters 201, 202, 203, hubs 100, 200, power network 104, and gas network 204. Figure 2 shows the connection between these components.

The electric meters 101, 102, and 103 are respectively installed at power users 1, 2, and 3. The electric meters 101, 102, 103 are smart meters equipped with wireless communication functions. As shown in Figure 2, the electric meters 101, 102, and 103 are wirelessly connected to each other in a linear topology. That is, the electric meters 102 and 103 can communicate wirelessly with the electric meters 101 and 102, but the electric meters 101 and 103 cannot communicate wirelessly. The electric meter 101 is wirelessly connected to the hub 100. In this way, the electric meters 101, 102, and 103 are wirelessly connected to form a first communication network. The electric meters 101, 102, and 103 are driven by electric power supplied to the electric power users 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Therefore, when a power outage occurs in the power users 1, 2, and 3, the power meters 101, 102, and 103 installed in the power users 1, 2, and 3 stop operating.

The hub 100 collects meter reading data of the electric meters 101, 102, and 103 through multi-point hop communication based on the wireless communication with the electric meter 101. That is, the meter reading data of the electric meter 101 is directly transmitted from the electric meter 101 to the hub 100. The meter reading data of the power meter 102 is transmitted from the power meter 102 to the hub 100 via the power meter 101. The meter reading data of the electric meter 103 is transmitted from the electric meter 103 to the hub 100 via the electric meters 102 and 101 in sequence.

The hub 100 is wirelessly connected to the power network 104. Generally, optical lines or mobile phone lines are used for this connection, but it is not limited to these. The electric power network 104 is an upper network of electric meters connected to an upper system of electric meters such as a meter reading server or a database.

The gas meters 201, 202, and 203 are set at the power users 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Gas meters 201, 202, and 203 are smart meters equipped with wireless communication functions. The gas meters 201, 202, and 203 are wirelessly connected to each other in a linear topology. That is, the gas meters 202 and 203 and the gas meters 201 and 202 can communicate wirelessly, but the gas meters 201 and 203 cannot communicate wirelessly. The gas meter 201 is connected to the hub 200 wirelessly. In this way, the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 are connected wirelessly to form a second communication network. The gas meters 201, 202, and 203 are battery-driven meters different from the electric meters 101, 102, and 103. Therefore, even if a power outage occurs in the power users 1, 2, and 3, the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 installed in the power users 1, 2, and 3 can operate.

The hub 200 collects meter reading data of the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 through multi-point hop communication based on the wireless communication with the gas meter 201. That is, the meter reading data of the gas meter 201 is directly transmitted from the gas meter 201 to the hub 200. The meter reading data of the gas meter 202 is transmitted from the gas meter 202 to the hub 200 via the gas meter 201. The meter reading data of the gas meter 203 is transmitted from the gas meter 203 to the hub 200 via the gas meters 202 and 201 in sequence.

The hub 200 is wirelessly connected to the gas network 204. Generally, this connection uses optical lines or mobile phone lines, but it is not limited to these. The gas network 204 is an upper network of the gas meter connected to the upper system of the gas meter such as a meter reading server or a database.

Furthermore, in the power failure detection system of the first embodiment, the gas meter is an example of a battery-driven watch that can operate even during a power failure, and other battery-driven watches may be used.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the electricity meter 101 and the gas meter 201 installed in the power user 1. The electric meter 101 includes a wireless device 1010 and a main body 1011. The main body 1011 performs power meter reading in the power user 1. The wireless device 1010 performs wireless communication with the hub 100 and the gas meter 201, and includes a meter communication unit 1012, a meter control unit 1013, a meter memory unit 1014, and a health check control unit 1015.

The meter control unit 1013 performs various controls for wirelessly transmitting the meter reading data of the main body 1011 to the hub 100. The meter communication unit 1012 wirelessly transmits the meter reading data of the main body 1011 to the hub 100. The meter storage unit 1014 stores various data necessary for wirelessly transmitting the meter reading data of the main body 1011 to the hub 100. The health check control unit 1015 receives a health check request (Health Check Request) from the gas meter 201, and transmits a health check response (Health Check Response) to the gas meter 201.

The gas meter 201 includes a wireless device 2010 and a body 2011. Ontology 2011, read the gas meter in the power user 1. The wireless device 2010 performs wireless communication with the hub 200 and the electric meter 101, including the meter communication unit 2012, the meter control unit 2013, the meter memory unit 2014, the health check communication unit 2015, the health check control unit 2016, and the health check Use memory department 2017.

The meter control unit 2013 performs various controls for wirelessly transmitting the meter reading data of the main body 2011 to the hub 200. The meter communication unit 1012 wirelessly transmits the meter reading data of the main body 2011 to the hub 200. The meter memory unit 2014 stores various data necessary for wirelessly transmitting the meter reading data of the main body 2011 to the hub 200.

The health check control unit 2016 performs various controls for performing the health check of the electric meter 101. The health check communication unit 2015 transmits a health check request (Health Check Request) to the power meter 101, and receives a health check response (Health Check Response) from the power meter 101. The health check-up memory unit 2017 memorizes various data necessary for performing health check-ups.

<A-2. Action>

When the power distribution line 11d is cut off, the power user 2 loses power. When the power user 2 fails, the non-battery-driven electric meter 102 cannot operate, but the battery-driven electric meter 202 can operate. Therefore, the power outage detection system of the first embodiment uses the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 installed in the power users 1, 2, and 3 to detect the power outages of the power users 1, 2, and 3. Therefore, in the power outage detection system of the first embodiment, the gas meter and the electricity meter of each power user are paired.

In Figure 2, the electric meter 101 and the gas meter 201 are surrounded by a dotted frame, showing that these are paired. The same applies to the electric meter 102 and the gas meter 202, and the electric meter 103 and the gas meter 203. In this way, each gas meter 201, 202, and 203 corresponds to each electric meter 101, 102, and 103 one-to-one. In this specification, the electric meters 101, 102, and 103 corresponding to the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 are also referred to as "corresponding meters" of the gas meters 201, 202, and 203, respectively. Basically, each household implements such matching.

As shown in Figure 4, when power user 2 loses power, meter 102 and meter Communication becomes impossible between 101. Therefore, the hub 100 cannot collect the measured data of the electric meter 102 and the electric meter 103. Therefore, the conventional technology of using the meter reading data of the electric meter to perform power outage detection, in this case, it can only be estimated whether the power user 3 has a power outage. In contrast, the power failure detection system of the first embodiment accurately determines whether the power user 3 has a power failure based on the method described below using the health check function of the gas meter.

Figure 5 shows the processing sequence of power outage detection in the power user 2. The electric meter 102 is paired with the gas meter 202. The gas meter 202 transmits a wireless signal health check request to the electric meter 102 corresponding to the electric meter (step S101). When the electric meter 102 receives the health check request, it transmits a health check response to the gas meter 202 (step S102). As soon as the gas meter 202 receives the health check response from the power meter 102, it confirms that the power meter 102 is in the energized state, that is, the power user 2 has not powered off. In this way, the gas meter 202 determines the power outage status of the power user 2 who installed the power meter 102 based on the response status of the health check request.

Next, it is assumed that a power outage occurs in the power user 2 (step S103). After that, the gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the power meter 102 (step S104). The gas meter 202 transmits the health check request to the electric meter 102 in the beacon period T[s]. That is, the time interval from step S101 to step S104 is T[s]. Because the power user 2 is out of power, the power meter 102 that has been activated by the power from the power system is in an inoperable state. Therefore, the health check response from the electric meter 102 to the gas meter 202 is not performed (step S105).

Even so, the gas meter 202 transmits the health check request to the power meter 102 in the beacon period T[s], but during the power outage of the power user 2, there is no health check response from the power meter 102 to the gas meter 202. The gas meter 202 calculates the health check request for the Nth time (N is an integer greater than 2) according to the health check request in step S104 and transmits it to The power meter 102 (step S106), assuming that there is no response to the health check from the power meter 102 (step S107). The gas meter 202 has no health check response from the electric meter 102 for N consecutive times, so it is determined that the electric power user 2 is out of power. Here, N is called the critical value of the number of power outages detected. In this way, the gas meter 202 determines the power outage status of the power user 2 who installed the power meter 102 based on the response status of the health check request. Then, the gas meter 202 transmits the power outage detection notification of the main information of the power outage of the power user 2 to the gas meter 201 (step S108). The power failure detection notification is sent from the gas meter 201 to the gas network 204 via the hub 200, and then sent from the gas network 204 to the power network 104. Thereby, the power network 104 recognizes that the power user 2 is out of power.

In addition, the gas meter 202, because the communication between the electric meters 102 is wireless communication, loses packets with a certain probability. As a result, even if a power failure does not occur, the gas meter 202 sometimes fails to receive a health check response from the electric meter 102. However, the gas meter 202 is as described above, because the power failure is detected only after the health check fails for N consecutive times, which can prevent the packet loss from being detected as a power failure by mistake. The time required for power failure detection is determined by the transmission period of the health check response and the critical value N of the number of power failure detections. The transmission period of the health check response is equal to the beacon period T[s] required by the health check. In addition, the beacon period T[s] and the critical value N of the number of power failure detections are determined according to the use of each system. For example, when T=5[s] and N=5, the time required for power failure detection is T ×N=about 25[s].

According to the conventional technology of power failure detection using meter reading data, the time required for power failure detection is determined by the meter reading interval. The meter reading interval is generally 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour. According to the power failure detection system of the first embodiment, a power failure can be detected significantly and quickly compared with such conventional technology.

Above, the power outage detection processing in power user 2 has been described, but the same The power outage detection processing is also carried out by other power users 1 and 3. That is, if the power user 3 loses power, because the gas meter 203 has not received the health check response from the power meter 103 for N consecutive times, the power meter 103 is detected to be power off, and the gas meter 202 is notified of the power failure detection notification. The power outage information of the power user 3 is notified to the gas network 204 from the gas meter 202 via the gas meter 201 and the hub 200, and then to the power network 104 from the gas network 204. Thereby, the gas network 204 knows that the power user 3 is out of power. On the other hand, if the power user 3 does not have a power failure, the gas meter 203 receives the health check response from the power meter 103 and does not issue a power failure detection notification. Therefore, the power network 104 can know whether each power user has a power outage.

Next, explain the pairing of the electric meter and the gas meter. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the setting device 401 performs pairing settings for the gas meter 201 based on the wireless communication with the gas meter 201. Such a setting is performed when the electric power user 1 installs the gas meter 201, for example.

Figure 7 shows the content of pairing settings. The setting content includes the wireless connection frequency with the electric meter 101, the beacon period of the health check request transmitted to the electric meter 101, the threshold value of the number of power outages detected on the electric meter 101, and the MAC (Media Access Control (Media Access Control) of the matched electric meter 101). Take control)) address. These setting contents are memorized in the non-volatile memory of the health check memory unit 2017 constituting the gas meter 201. Here, the pairing in the power user 1 will be described, but the pairing in the power users 2 and 3 is also the same.

Figure 8 shows the protocol stack 1101 loaded in the electricity meter 101 and the protocol stack 1201 loaded in the gas meter 201. In the protocol stacks 1101 and 1201, RF-PHY (Physical), which becomes the physical layer, is a common specification. Become the upper-level MAC (Media Access Control) Take control)) layer, NET (Network (network)) layer, SM (System Management (system management)) layer, APL (Application (application)) layer, the difference between the protocol stacks 1101 and 1201 is general, assuming The former are MAC-B, NET-B, SM-B, and APL-B, and the latter are MAC-A, NET-A, SM-A, and APL-A. However, because the gas meter 201 is in wireless communication with the electricity meter 101, the MAC layer of the protocol stack 1201 is loaded with MAC-A plus the MAC-B common to the protocol stack 1101.

When the number of consecutive non-responses from the health check from the electric meter 101 to the gas meter 201 exceeds the threshold N of the number of power outages detected, the MAC-B in the gas meter 201 notifies SM-A, and informs the hub 200 of a power outage according to the communication protocol of the gas meter 201.

In the above description, the power outage detection using the health check packet is described. However, the health check packet is an example of the packet periodically transmitted from the gas meter to the electricity meter. It is also possible to use other regularly transmitted packets instead of health check packets.

<A-3. Effect>

The power failure detection system of the first embodiment is a power failure detection system that detects power failures of multiple power users 1, 2, and 3. This power failure detection system includes a plurality of electric meters 101, 102, 103 installed in each power user 1, 2, 3 and wirelessly connected to form the first communication network, and installed in each power user 1, 2, 3 and connected by wireless A plurality of battery-driven meters that constitute the second communication network, namely gas meters 201, 202, and 203, the first upper network that is present on the upper layer of the first communication network, the power network 104, and the upper layer of the second communication network The second upper layer network is the gas network 204. Therefore, each gas meter 201, 202, 203 has a one-to-one correspondence with each electric meter 101, 102, 103, and periodically transmits wireless signals to the corresponding electric meters 101, 102, 103, that is, the corresponding electric meters, and according to the response of the corresponding electric meters to the wireless signals shape In this case, determine the power outage status of power users 1, 2, and 3 who set up corresponding meters. Therefore, as soon as each gas meter 201, 202, 203 determines that the power user setting the corresponding meter has a power failure, the power failure detection notification of the main information is transmitted from the second communication network through the gas network 204 to the power network 104. Therefore, according to the power failure detection system of the first embodiment, the power failure status of each power user can be accurately grasped by using the network constituting the battery-driven meter.

Furthermore, in the power failure detection system of the first embodiment, the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 continue for a predetermined number of times, and when there is no response from the corresponding meter 101, 102, 103 to the wireless signal, the corresponding meter is detected and installed Power users 1, 2, and 3 of the meters 101, 102, and 103 are out of power. Therefore, according to the power failure detection system of the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent the packet loss from being erroneously detected as a power failure.

Also, in the power failure detection system of the first embodiment, the wireless signal may be a health check packet. The transmission period of the health check packet, for example, 5 seconds, is shorter than the meter reading interval of the electric meter. Therefore, according to the power failure detection system of the first embodiment, the power failure can be detected earlier than when the power failure is detected using the meter reading value of the electric meter.

<B. Second Embodiment>

<B-1. Composition>

Figure 9 is a diagram of the overall configuration of the power failure detection system of the second embodiment. The power failure detection system of the second embodiment includes the configuration of the power failure detection system of the first embodiment, plus HEMS (Home Energy Management System) installed in power users 1, 2, and 3 respectively Machines 301, 302, 303. Figure 10 shows the connection relationship among the components of the power failure detection system of the second embodiment. HEMS machines 301, 302, and 303 are respectively connected to the HEMS network Road 304 is connected.

In Figure 10, the electric meter 101, the gas meter 201, and the HEMS device 301 are surrounded by a dotted frame to show these pairs. More precisely, the gas meter 201 is paired with the electric meter 101 and the HEMS machine 301. Similarly, the gas meter 202 is paired with the electric meter 102 and the HEMS machine 302, and the gas meter 203 is paired with the electric meter 103 and the HEMS machine 303. In this way, the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 correspond to the electric meters 101, 102, and 103 and the HEMS devices 301, 302, and 303 one to one. In this specification, the HEMS devices 301, 302, and 303 corresponding to the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 are also referred to as "the corresponding HEMS devices" of the gas meters 201, 202, and 203, respectively. Basically, every power user performs such a pairing. In addition, the corresponding HEMS equipment of the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 must be set to the same power user as the corresponding electric meter.

<B-2. Action>

In the first embodiment, the gas meter 201 performs a health check on the electric meter 101 corresponding to the electric meter, but in the second embodiment, the health check is also performed on the electric meter 101 plus the HEMS device 301 corresponding to the HEMS device. Then, the gas meter 201 determines the power outage occurrence status of the power user 1 based on the health check response status of both the power meter 101 and the HEMS device 301. The gas meters 202 and 203 also perform the same operations as the gas meter 201. With this, it is possible to obtain power outage information with higher reliability than the first embodiment.

Fig. 11 shows the connection relationship between the components of the power outage detection system of the second embodiment when the power user 2 has a power outage. When the power user 2 loses power, the power meter 102 and the power meter 101 cannot communicate. Also, from the electric meter 102 and the HEMS device 302 to the gas meter 202, the health check response cannot be performed. another On the one hand, among the power users 3 that have not experienced a power outage, from the electric meter 103 and the HEMS device 303 to the gas meter 203, a health check response can be performed.

Figure 12 shows the sequence of the gas meter 202 when a power failure occurs. The electric meter 102 is paired with the HEMS machine 302 and the gas meter 202. The gas meter 202 sends a health check request for the wireless signal transmitted by the electric meter 102 (step S201). The electric meter 102, upon receiving the health check request from the gas meter 202, transmits a health check response to the gas meter (step S202).

Next, the gas meter 202 requests the HEMS device 302 to transmit a health check of the wireless signal (step S203). Upon receiving the health check request from the gas meter 202, the HEMS device 302 transmits a health check response to the gas meter 202 (step S204).

Next, suppose that a power outage occurs in the power user 2 (step S205). After that, the gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the electric meter 102 (step S206). The gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the electric meter 102 in a certain beacon period T[s]. That is, the time interval from step S201 to step S206 is T[s]. Because the power user 2 is out of power, the power meter 102 that has been activated by power from the power system is in an inoperable state. Therefore, the health check response from the electric meter 102 to the gas meter 202 is not performed (step S207).

Next, the gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the HEMS machine 302 (step S208). The gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the HEMS machine 302 in a certain beacon period T[s]. That is, the time interval from step S203 to step S208 is T[s]. Because the power user 2 is out of power, the power meter 102 that has been activated by power from the power system is in an inoperable state. Therefore, the health check response from the electric meter 102 to the gas meter 202 is not performed (step S207).

Even so, the gas meter 202 also repeatedly transmits the health check request to the electric meter 102 and the HEMS machine 302 in the beacon period T[s]. However, during the power outage of the electric power user 2, there was no response to the health check of the gas meter 202 from the electric meter 102 and the HEMS device 302. The gas meter 202 transmits the health check request for calculating the Nth (the threshold value of the number of detected power outages of the N system) to the power meter 102 according to the health check request in step S206 (step S210), assuming that there is no health check response from the power meter 102 ( Step S211). After that, the gas meter 202 transmits and calculates the health check request for the Nth time (the threshold value of the number of detected power outages) to the HEMS machine 302 according to the health check request in step S208 (step S212), assuming that there is no data from the HEMS machine 302 Health check response (step S213).

At this time, since the gas meter 202 has no health check response from the electric meter 102 and the HEMS device 302 for N consecutive times, it is judged that the power user 2 is out of power, and the power outage detection notice of its subject information is transmitted to the gas meter 201 (step S214). The power failure detection notification is sent from the gas meter 201 to the gas network 204 via the hub 200, and sent from the gas network 204 to the power network 104. Thereby, the power network 104 recognizes that the power user 2 is out of power.

Figure 13 shows the sequence of the gas meter 202 when the power failure does not occur. Steps S301 to S304 are the same as steps S201 to S204 in FIG. 12, so the description is omitted here. In step S305, the gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the electric meter 102. Here, although the power user 2 does not have a power failure, the power meter 102 cannot transmit a health check response to the gas meter 202 due to packet loss or the like (step S306).

Next, the gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the HEMS machine 302 (step S307). HEMS machine 302, received a health check from gas meter 202 Upon request, a health check response is sent to the gas meter 202 (step S308).

The gas meter 202 repeatedly transmits a health check request to the power meter 102 in a beacon period T[s], but the power meter 102 cannot transmit a health check response to the gas meter 202 due to reasons other than power failure, such as packet loss. The gas meter 202 transmits the health check request for calculating the Nth (the critical value of the number of detected power outages) to the power meter 102 according to the health check request in step S305 (step S309), assuming that there is no health check response from the power meter 102 ( Step S310). After that, the gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the HEMS device 302 (step S311). The HEMS device 302, upon receiving the health check request from the gas meter 202, transmits a health check response to the gas meter 202 (step S312).

Here, the gas meter 202 has not received a health check response from the electric meter 102 for N consecutive times. On the other hand, the gas meter 202 receives a health check response from the HEMS device 302. Therefore, the gas meter 202 does not determine that the power user 2 has detected a power outage, and there is no need to transmit the power outage detection notice to the gas meter 201. In the first embodiment, even if the health check response cannot be received from the power meter 102 due to reasons other than the power failure due to packet loss or the like, the power failure detection is performed when N consecutive times. However, in the second embodiment, based on both the power meter 102 and the gas meter 202, the power failure detection is performed if the health check response cannot be received N consecutive times, and the power failure detection can be performed more accurately.

Next, explain the pairing of electricity meters and HEMS equipment with gas meters. Figure 14 shows the status of pairing setting of the gas meter 201 based on the wireless communication between the setting device 401 and the gas meter 201. Such a setting is performed when the power user 1 sets the gas meter 201, for example.

Figure 15 shows the content of pairing settings. In the setting content, there are The setting content for the power meter 101 and the setting content for the HEMS device 301 respectively include the wireless connection frequency, the beacon period required by the health check, the threshold of the number of power outage detections, and the MAC address of the pairing target. These setting contents are memorized in the non-volatile memory of the health check memory unit 2017 constituting the gas meter 201. Here, the pairing in the power user 1 is explained, but the pairing in the power users 2 and 3 is also the same.

<B-3. Effect>

The power failure detection system of the second embodiment includes a plurality of HEMS devices 301, 302, and 303 installed in each power user 1, 2, and 3, and each gas meter 201, 202, and 203 of a battery-driven meter is set in one-to-one correspondence. The HEMS devices 301, 302, and 303 in the same power users 1, 2, and 3 as the corresponding power meters 101, 102, 103, for the HEMS devices 301, 302, 303 corresponding to the HEMS devices and the corresponding power meters 101, 102, 103 periodically transmits wireless signals, and according to the response status of the corresponding electric meters to the wireless signals and the corresponding HEMS devices, it is detected that the power users 1, 2, and 3 who set the corresponding electric meters are out of power. Therefore, for example, even if the gas meter 202 does not receive a response from the power meter 102 due to reasons other than a power failure, when there is a response from the HEMS device 302, it can be recognized that the power user 2 does not have a power failure. As a result, when the power meter 102 cannot respond to the wireless signal due to reasons other than the power failure, it is possible to prevent the gas meter 202 from detecting a power failure by mistake.

In addition, in the power outage detection system of the second embodiment, the gas meters 201, 202, and 203 are not received from the corresponding meter 101, 102, 103 and the HEMS device 301, 302, 303 corresponding to the HEMS device for a predetermined number of consecutive times. When the party responds to the wireless signal, it is determined that the power user who has installed the power meters 101, 102, and 103 corresponding to the power meters has a power failure. For example, even if the gas meter 202 is due to reasons other than power failure When there is no response from the power meter 102 for a plurality of times, and there is a response from the HEMS device 302, it can be recognized that the power user 2 does not have a power outage. As a result, when the power meter 102 cannot respond to the wireless signal due to reasons other than the power failure, it is possible to prevent the gas meter 202 from detecting a power failure by mistake.

<C. Third Embodiment>

<C-1. Composition>

Figure 16 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the power failure detection system of the third embodiment. The power failure detection system of the third embodiment includes the power meters 101A, 102A, and 103A in place of the power meters 101, 102, and 103 in the power failure detection system of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1. Figure 17 shows the composition of the electric meter 101A. The configuration of the electric meter 101A is shown in Fig. 17, but the configurations of the electric meters 102A and 103A are also the same. The electric meter 101A includes a wireless device 1010A and a main body 1011. The wireless device 1010A includes the wireless device 1010 having the electric meter 101 of the first and second embodiments plus a capacitor 1016.

The electric meter 101A of the third embodiment operates on the electric power supplied to the electric power system of the electric power user 1 in a normal time. However, when a power outage occurs in the power user 1, the electric meter 101A operates with the electric power stored in the capacitor 1016 for a fixed time. Assuming that the operating time of the capacitor 1016 according to the electric meter 101A is Tc[s], Tc>T. Therefore, after the power user 1 loses power, the electric meter 101A receives a health check request from the gas meter 201 at least once, and can perform a health check response relative to this.

<C-2. Action>

Figure 18 shows the sequence of the gas meter 202 and the electricity meter 102A in the power consumer 2. In Figure 18, the order in the power user 2 is represented, but the order in the other power users 1 and 3 is also the same.

The gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the electricity meter 102A in the beacon period T (step S401). When the electric meter 102A receives the health check request from the gas meter 202, it transmits a health check response to the gas meter 202 (step S402). Here, the power meter 102A includes information indicating whether there is a power outage in the power user 2 in the health check response. Information indicating whether there is a power outage in the power user 2, for example, can be included using a flag in the health check response. Because the power user 2 did not have a power outage at the time of step S402, the health check response in step S402 includes information that the power user 2 did not have a power outage. As soon as the gas meter 202 receives the health check response from the electric meter 102A, it recognizes that the power user 2 has no power failure based on its flag and the like. In this way, the gas meter 202 determines the power outage status of the power user 2 who installed the power meter 102 based on the response status of the health check request.

Next, it is assumed that a power outage occurs in the power user 2 (step S403). After that, at the timing when the beacon period T has elapsed from step S401, the gas meter 202 transmits a health check request to the electricity meter 102A (step S404). After the power outage occurs, the power meter 102A operates with the built-in capacitor in the wireless device at time Tc[s]. As soon as it receives the health check request from the gas meter 202, it sends a power outage indicating that the health check response includes the information that the power user 2 has a power outage. The information is given to the gas meter 202 (step S405).

When the gas meter 202 receives the health check response from the power meter 102A, it recognizes that the power user 2 is out of power based on its flag and the like. Then, to the gas meter 201, a power outage detection notification indicating information indicating that the power user 2 is out of power is transmitted (step S406). This power failure detection notification is sent from the gas meter 201 to the gas network 204 via the hub 200, and then sent from the gas network 204 to the power network 104. Thereby, the power network 104 recognizes that the power user 2 is out of power. In this way, the gas meter 202 determines the power outage status of the power user 2 who installed the power meter 102 based on the response status of the health check request.

Generally, the wireless communication of the electric meter uses multi-hop communication. In order to transmit the power failure notification to the power network 104 through multi-hop communication, the wireless device of each meter must operate about 1 minute after the power failure. Therefore, the wireless device of each electric meter must be equipped with a large-capacity battery or capacitor. However, in the power failure detection system of the third embodiment, since the wireless network of the battery-driven gas meter is used, each power meter only needs to operate longer than the beacon period T of the health check after the power failure. For example, if the beacon period T is 5 seconds, the electric meter can operate with a capacitor about 5 to 10 seconds after power failure. Therefore, the capacity of the capacitor can be reduced. As a result, the cost of the electric meter can be reduced, and the power outage notification to the power network 104 can be reliably implemented.

<C-3. Effect>

In the power failure detection system of the third embodiment, each electric meter 101, 102, 103 has a built-in capacitor. When a power user who installs each electric meter 101, 102, 103 has a power failure, the capacitor operates longer than the wireless signal transmission cycle. At the same time, in the response to the wireless signal, the wireless signal includes the power outage information, which is the main information of the power outage of the power users 1, 2, and 3 who set up the power meters 101, 102, and 103. The gas meters 201, 202, and 203 are displayed in the corresponding power meters. When the response wireless signal of each meter 101, 102, 103 includes power outage information, it is determined that the power users 1, 2, and 3 who installed the corresponding meter have a power outage. Therefore, in the power failure detection system of the third embodiment, the power failure can be detected at high speed and accurately based on the transmission and reception of one wireless signal. In addition, the built-in capacitors of each electric meter 101, 102, 103 only need to store the electric power that operates longer than the transmission period of the wireless signal. Compared with the case where the power failure notification is transmitted to the power network 104 by multi-hop communication, it is smaller. Capacity is fine. Therefore, the cost of the electric meters 101, 102, and 103 can be reduced.

In addition, the present invention can be freely combined within the scope of the invention Each embodiment may be appropriately modified or omitted.

1, 2, 3‧‧‧Power users

11a, 11b, 11c, 11d, 11e‧‧‧distribution line

21‧‧‧High voltage line

31‧‧‧Transformer

100‧‧‧ Hub

101, 102, 103‧‧‧ electric meter

104‧‧‧Power Network

200‧‧‧ Hub

201, 202, 203‧‧‧Gas meter

204‧‧‧Gas network

Claims (6)

A power outage detection system, which is a power outage detection system that detects power outages of a plurality of power users, including: a plurality of electric meters arranged in each of the above-mentioned power users, and wirelessly connected to form a first communication network; a plurality of battery-driven meters driven by batteries , Set up at each of the above-mentioned power users to form a second communication network by wireless connection; the first upper-layer network exists on the upper layer of the first communication network; and the second upper-layer network exists on the upper layer of the second communication network; Wherein, each of the battery-driven meters has a one-to-one correspondence with each of the above-mentioned electric meters, and periodically transmits wireless signals to the corresponding above-mentioned electric meters, that is, the corresponding electric meters. According to the response status of the above-mentioned corresponding electric meters to the above-mentioned wireless signals, the above Power user’s power outage status; when each of the above battery-driven meters judges that the power user who installed the corresponding meter has a power outage, the power outage detection notification of the subject information is transmitted from the second communication network to the second communication network via the second upper layer network. 1 Upper network. The power failure detection system described in the first item of the scope of patent application, wherein each of the battery-driven meters continues for a predetermined number of times, and when there is no response from the corresponding meter to the wireless signal, the power user who sets the corresponding power is determined There is a power outage. For example, the power failure detection system described in item 1 of the scope of patent application further includes: a plurality of HEMS machines installed in each of the above-mentioned electric power users; wherein, each of the above-mentioned battery-driven meters is arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the same corresponding electric meters as the above For the above-mentioned HEMS equipment among the above-mentioned power users, for the corresponding The HEMS device, that is, the corresponding HEMS device and the corresponding electricity meter, periodically transmits the wireless signal, and the power outage status of the power user who installs the corresponding electricity meter is determined based on the response status of the corresponding electricity meter and the corresponding HEMS device to the wireless signal. For example, the power failure detection system described in item 3 of the scope of patent application, wherein each of the battery-driven meters does not respond to the wireless signal from the corresponding electricity meter and the corresponding HEMS device for a predetermined number of consecutive The above-mentioned power user corresponding to the meter has a power outage. The power failure detection system described in claim 1 of the patent application, wherein each of the above-mentioned meters has a built-in capacitor, and when the above-mentioned power user who installs each of the above-mentioned meters has a power failure, the above-mentioned capacitor operates longer than the transmission period of the above-mentioned wireless signal At the same time, the wireless signal in response to the wireless signal includes power outage information including the main information of the power outage of the power user who set each of the above-mentioned electric meters; each of the battery-driven meters, when the response wireless signal from the corresponding electric meter includes the above-mentioned power outage information Next, it is determined that the power user who installed the corresponding meter has a power outage. The power failure detection system described in any one of items 1 to 5 in the scope of the patent application, wherein the wireless signal is a health check packet.

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