WO2014045152A2 - Système de distribution de courant continu - Google Patents

Système de distribution de courant continu Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2014045152A2
WO2014045152A2 PCT/IB2013/058304 IB2013058304W WO2014045152A2 WO 2014045152 A2 WO2014045152 A2 WO 2014045152A2 IB 2013058304 W IB2013058304 W IB 2013058304W WO 2014045152 A2 WO2014045152 A2 WO 2014045152A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
signal
power
distribution system
count value
electrical device
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2013/058304
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2014045152A3 (fr
Inventor
Marcellinus Petrus Carolus Michael Krijn
Jochen Renaat Van Gheluwe
Fetze Pijlman
Original Assignee
Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Koninklijke Philips N.V. filed Critical Koninklijke Philips N.V.
Publication of WO2014045152A2 publication Critical patent/WO2014045152A2/fr
Publication of WO2014045152A3 publication Critical patent/WO2014045152A3/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J1/00—Circuit arrangements for dc mains or dc distribution networks
    • H02J1/08—Three-wire systems; Systems having more than three wires
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J1/00—Circuit arrangements for dc mains or dc distribution networks
    • H02J1/10—Parallel operation of dc sources
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J13/00—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network
    • H02J13/00006—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment
    • H02J13/00022—Circuit arrangements for providing remote indication of network conditions, e.g. an instantaneous record of the open or closed condition of each circuitbreaker in the network; Circuit arrangements for providing remote control of switching means in a power distribution network, e.g. switching in and out of current consumers by using a pulse code signal carried by the network characterised by information or instructions transport means between the monitoring, controlling or managing units and monitored, controlled or operated power network element or electrical equipment using wireless data transmission
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B45/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H05B47/175—Controlling the light source by remote control
    • H05B47/185—Controlling the light source by remote control via power line carrier transmission
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B47/00—Circuit arrangements for operating light sources in general, i.e. where the type of light source is not relevant
    • H05B47/10—Controlling the light source
    • H05B47/175—Controlling the light source by remote control
    • H05B47/198—Grouping of control procedures or address assignation to light sources
    • H05B47/199—Commissioning of light sources
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60L—PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL; MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES
    • B60L2210/00—Converter types
    • B60L2210/30—AC to DC converters
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02J—CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
    • H02J2310/00—The network for supplying or distributing electric power characterised by its spatial reach or by the load
    • H02J2310/40—The network being an on-board power network, i.e. within a vehicle
    • H02J2310/48—The network being an on-board power network, i.e. within a vehicle for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/60—Other road transportation technologies with climate change mitigation effect
    • Y02T10/72—Electric energy management in electromobility

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a DC power distribution system.
  • the invention relates further to an electrical device, a coupling device and a localization device for being used in the DC power distribution system.
  • the invention relates to a localization method and to a localization computer program for localizing an electrical device in the DC power distribution system.
  • a DC power distribution system is defined by, for instance, the EMerge
  • EMerge standard Alliance Occupied Space standard (EMerge standard).
  • EMerge standard in accordance with version 1.0 of the EMerge standard, in a DC power distribution system a power supply device is electrically connected to several power bars for providing DC power to the power bars.
  • Several electrical consumers like luminaires are electrically connected to the power bars for supplying the DC power to the electrical consumers.
  • the locations of the electrical consumers within the DC power distribution system are not known to the system. However, such location information can be important for, for instance, commissioning purposes.
  • the invention relates further to an electrical device, a coupling device and a localization device for being used in the DC power distribution system such that it can provide the desired location information.
  • the invention relates also to a localization method and a localization computer program for localizing the electrical device in the DC power distribution system.
  • a DC power distribution system comprising:
  • a localization device attached to a power providing element of the multitude of power providing elements, wherein at least one of the electrical device and the localization device is adapted to transmit a signal via the power providing element, to which it is attached, wherein the signal is indicative of at least one initial count value
  • coupling devices for connecting power providing elements of the multitude of power providing elements, wherein a coupling device is adapted to:
  • another of the electrical device and the localization device is adapted to receive the signal and to determine the location of the electrical device depending on the at least one count value indicated by the signal.
  • the coupling devices which connect power providing elements, receive the signal from one of the power providing elements connected by the respective coupling device, update the signal by updating the at least one count value, wherein at least one predefined value is added to the at least one count value, and since the updated signal is then sent to the other of the power providing elements connected by the coupling device, the at least one count value is increased each time the signal passes a coupling device.
  • the at least one count value of the signal received by the localization device or the electrical device, respectively is indicative of the number of coupling devices, which have been passed by the signal.
  • this number of coupling devices is indicative of the location of the electrical device relative to the localization device, the localization device or the electrical device, respectively, can determine the location of the electrical device based on the at least one count value.
  • the DC power distribution system can comprise one or several electrical devices.
  • the one or several electrical devices are preferentially electrical consumers like luminaires, sensors, loudspeakers or another peripheral.
  • the coupling devices preferentially comprise a processor, an embedded memory and embedded software for performing the desired functions.
  • the coupling devices contain therefore preferentially active electronics.
  • the coupling devices are preferentially powered by the DC power provided by the power providing elements which are connected by the respective coupling device.
  • the signal is preferentially a signal on an alternating current (AC) carrier wave.
  • the coupling devices are therefore preferentially adapted to detect the signal on the AC carrier wave and to update the at least one count value indicated by the signal, thereby giving the signal an additional code which represents the number of jumps from one power providing element to a next power providing element the signal has made.
  • the signal with the updated at least one count value i.e. the updated signal, is then passed to a side of the respective coupling device being opposite to the side of the respective coupling device the signal is received from. In this way the signal is transferred from the electrical device, which is preferentially a luminaire, to the localization device or vice versa, whereby the signal is coded by the coupling devices.
  • the signal transmitted by the electrical device or the localization device can have a zero value as the initial at least one count value, wherein each time the signal passes a coupling device the predefined value being preferentially one is added to the at least one count value.
  • the at least one count value directly represents therefore preferentially the number of jumps between power providing elements.
  • the localization device is preferentially attached to one of the power providing elements, for instance, at a corner of a power grid formed by the power providing elements.
  • the localization device and/or the electrical device is preferentially adapted to decode the received signal, wherein the decoded signal represents the location of the electrical device, i.e. the localization device and/or the electrical device is preferentially adapted to determine the at least one count value from the signal and to determine the location of the electrical device from the determined at least one count value.
  • the DC power distribution system is preferentially a ceiling grid system being a low-voltage DC grid providing a voltage of, for instance, 24 V or 48 V.
  • the power providing elements are preferentially longish elements to which an electrical device is attachable for providing DC power to the electrical device.
  • the power providing elements can be regarded as being power bars in accordance with the EMerge standard, in particular, the power bars can be regarded as being bus bar components, wherein the electrical device can be attached to the respective power bar for powering the electrical device.
  • the power providing elements are preferentially arranged in a regularly spaced array. In an embodiment the power providing elements are arranged in parallel rows, wherein a row comprises several power providing elements, wherein in a row neighboring power providing elements are connected by a coupling device, wherein a power providing element of a row is connected to a power providing element of a neighboring row by a coupling device.
  • the connected power providing elements form a power grid, in particular a powered ceiling grid if the power providing elements are installed at a ceiling of a room, such that the power providing elements can also be regarded as being powered grid elements.
  • the powered grid elements are arranged in parallel rows and therefore in rows and columns, wherein the coupling devices connect neighboring powered grid elements in a row direction or a column direction.
  • the signal can be indicative of a single count value only or it can be indicative of several count values.
  • the signal transmitted by at least one of the electrical device and the localization device can be indicative of an initial first count value and an initial second count value, wherein the coupling devices can be adapted to update the signal by updating the first count value by adding a predefined first value to the first count value, if the respective coupling device connects neighboring power providing elements in a same row, and update the signal by updating the second count value by adding a predefined second value to the second count value, if the respective coupling device connects power providing elements of neighboring rows, and wherein the other of the electrical device and the localization device can be adapted to determine the location of the electrical device indicated by the signal depending on the first and second count values.
  • the first count value counts preferentially the jumps between power providing elements in the row direction and the second count value preferentially counts the jumps between power providing elements in the column direction. Based on the jumps in the row direction and the column direction the localization device or the electrical device,
  • the coupling devices are preferentially adapted such that the DC power is not transferable between power providing elements connected by a respective coupling device and that the signal is transmittable between the power providing elements.
  • a power carrying electrical conductor of a power providing element can be galvanically insulated from a power carrying electrical conductor of a neighboring power providing element, in order to provide a DC insulation.
  • the signal may comprise a carrier wave with a carrier frequency, wherein the coupling device coupling these two power providing elements can be adapted such that this AC signal can pass the coupling device, for instance, by providing a capacitive coupling between these two power providing elements.
  • the coupling devices may be adapted such that power providing elements connected by a respective coupling device are electrically coupled for a first bandwidth of higher frequencies including the carrier frequency and electrically decoupled for a second bandwidth of lower frequencies.
  • the second bandwidth of lower frequencies includes preferentially DC.
  • the coupling devices can comprise
  • the coupling devices are adapted to amplify the updated signal before sending the updated signal. This leads to a stronger signal finally received by the localization device, which allows for an improved quality of determining the location of the electrical device within the DC power distribution system based on the received signal.
  • the localization device and/or the electrical device can be adapted to determine the location of the electrical device within the DC power distribution system by determining the power providing element, to which the electrical device is attached, depending on the at least one count value indicated by the signal.
  • the localization device and/or the electrical device can also be adapted to provide assignments between count values and locations, wherein the localization device and/or the electrical device can be adapted to determine the location of the electrical device depending on the at least one count value indicated by the signal and the assignments.
  • the assignments between count values and locations can be assignments between count values and the different power providing elements such that a count value is indicative of the respective power providing element to which the electrical device is attached.
  • the assignments can also be direct assignments between count values and locations. For instance, the assignments can be assignments between count values and certain areas at a ceiling of a room. These assignments can be predefined, after the DC power distribution system has been installed, i.e. after it is known which power providing element is placed in which region, particularly at a ceiling of a room.
  • the provided assignments can also be assignments between groups of count values and locations, if the signal is indicative of several count values.
  • the signal can be indicative of a first count value and of a second count value, which represent the jumps between power providing elements in the row direction and in the column direction, respectively, wherein the localization device and/or the electrical device can provide assignments between pairs of first and second count values and locations.
  • the signal is transmitted by the electrical device, the signal is also indicative of the electrical device, wherein the localization device is adapted to determine the location of the electrical device indicated by the signal.
  • the localization device is adapted to determine the location of the electrical device indicated by the signal. This allows the localization device to distinguish between different electrical devices.
  • several electrical devices are present in the DC power distribution system, they may send their signals simultaneously, wherein the simultaneously sent signals can be distinguished by the localization device for separately determining the locations of the electrical devices within the DC power distribution system.
  • the electrical devices may be adapted to send their signals temporarily sequentially and not simultaneously, in order to allow the localization device to distinguish the signals from the different electrical devices.
  • the signal can be indicative of an address like a MAC address of the electrical device for identifying the electrical device in the DC power distribution system.
  • the signal can be regarded as being a digital homing signal on a carrier wave transmitted by the electrical device, which gets updated each time it passes a coupling device.
  • the DC power distribution system preferentially comprises a DC power supply device, which may also be regarded as being a power supply module, electrically connected to the power providing elements for providing the DC power.
  • the DC power distribution system is installed at a ceiling of a room and comprises several electrical devices, wherein at least one electrical device is a luminaire, such that the DC power distribution system forms a ceiling lighting system.
  • an electrical device for being used in a DC power distribution system as defined in claim 1 wherein the electrical device is attachable to a power providing element of the DC power distribution system such that it receives DC power from the power providing element, wherein the electrical device is adapted to perform at least one of a) transmitting a signal via the power providing element, to which it is attached, wherein the signal is indicative of at least one initial count value, and b) receiving a signal from the power providing element, to which the electrical device is attached, wherein the signal is indicative of at least one count value, and determining the location of the electrical device depending on the at least one count value indicated by the signal.
  • a coupling device for being used in a DC power distribution system as defined in claim 1 is presented, wherein the coupling device is adapted to connect power providing elements of the multitude of power providing elements of the DC power distribution system and to:
  • a localization device for being used in a DC power distribution system as defined in claim 1 is presented, wherein the localization device is attachable to a power providing element of the multitude of power providing elements, wherein the localization device is adapted to perform at least one of a) receiving a signal from the power providing element, to which the localization device is attached, wherein the signal has been transmitted by an electrical device in the DC power distribution system and is indicative of at least one count value, and determining the location of the electrical device depending on the at least one count value indicated by the signal and b) transmitting a signal via the power providing element, to which it is attached, wherein the signal is indicative of at least one initial count value.
  • a localization method for localizing an electrical device in a DC power distribution system as defined in claim 1 wherein the localizing method comprises:
  • a localization computer program for localizing an electrical device in a DC power distribution system as defined in claim 1 is presented, wherein the localization computer program comprises program code means for causing the DC power distribution system to carry out the steps of the localization method as defined in claim 14, when the computer program is run on a computer controlling the DC power distribution system.
  • DC power distribution system of claim 1 electrical device of claim 11, the coupling device of claim 12, the localization device of claim 13, the localization method of claim 14 and the computer program of claim 15 have similar and/or identical preferred embodiments, in particular, as defined in the dependent claims.
  • Fig. 1 shows schematically and exemplarily an embodiment of a DC power distribution system
  • Fig. 2 shows schematically and exemplarily an embodiment of a power
  • Fig. 3 shows schematically and exemplarily an embodiment of a coupling device of the DC power distribution system
  • Fig. 4 shows a flowchart exemplarily illustrating an embodiment of a
  • Fig. 1 shows schematically and exemplarily an embodiment of a DC power distribution system.
  • the DC power distribution system 1 comprises a multitude of power providing elements 4 for providing DC power to electrical devices 6, 12 attached to the power providing elements 4.
  • the power providing elements 4 provide a low DC voltage of 24 V.
  • the power providing elements 4 are preferentially arranged at a ceiling of a room like a ceiling of an office, in order to distribute the low DC voltage across the ceiling.
  • a first electrical device 6 is a luminaire and a second electrical device 12 is a sensor like an occupancy or daylight sensor.
  • the DC power distribution system can of course comprise also only a single electrical device or more than two electrical devices attached to the power providing elements 4.
  • the power providing elements 4 are longish elements to which an electrical device is attachable for providing the DC power to the respective electrical device 6, 12.
  • the power providing elements 4 can be regarded as being power bars in accordance with the EMerge standard.
  • Fig. 2 shows schematically and exemplarily a cross-sectional view of such a power providing element.
  • the power providing element 4 comprises a carrying element 13, wherein an upper part of the carrying element 13 includes outer electrical conductors 14 and a lower part of the carrying element 13 includes inner electrical conductors 15.
  • the lower part of the carrying element 13 is substantially formed as a hollow rail with a lower opening.
  • the electrical devices are connected to the power providing elements 4 by means of connectors, which may be standardized in accordance with the EMerge standard.
  • the connectors of the electrical devices 6, 12 may be adapted to be clicked into this lower opening, in order to attach the electrical devices 6, 12 to the respective power providing element 4.
  • the connectors for connecting the electrical devices 6, 12 to the lower part of the carrying element 13 can also be configured in another way such that the lower part of the carrying element 13 can serve as a mounting bracket for the electrical devices 6, 12.
  • the electrical conductors 15 of the power providing elements 4 are electrically connected to a DC power supply device 8 for providing the DC power.
  • each power providing element 4 is separately electrically connected to the DC power supply device 8, in order to provide the DC power independently to each power providing element 4. Since the DC power supply device 8 powers several power providing elements 4, it can be regarded as being a shared power supply. This shared power supply is preferentially adapted to deliver at most 100 W to each power providing element 4.
  • the power providing element schematically and exemplarily shown in Fig. 2 can be regarded as being a ceiling beam version, which has a set 14 of electrical conductors on top, which is accessible with a connector above the ceiling, and a set 15 of conductors in a rail, which is accessible from inside a room.
  • the power providing element can also have a different configuration.
  • the power providing element may not comprise the lower rail with the electrical conductors 15, but the power providing element may only comprise a single pair of electrical conductors in the upper part of the power providing element.
  • the different sets 14, 15 of electrical conductors can be linked together or they can be electrically separate sets.
  • the DC power can also be provided via the upper set 14 of electrical conductors, wherein in this case an electrical device may comprise a connector for being electrical connected to the upper set 14 of electrical conductors above the suspended ceiling.
  • the two sets 14, 15 of electrical conductors can also be separately connected to the DC power supply device 8, wherein in this case each set can be allowed to draw the same predefined DC power of preferentially 100 W. It is of course also possible that one of the sets 14, 15 of electrical conductors is not connected and thus not used.
  • the DC power supply device 8 is preferentially located somewhere above the power providing elements 4 and is electrically connected to an AC power supply unit 9, which is preferentially an AC power line running across the building in which the DC power distribution system 1 is preferentially installed.
  • the AC power supply 9 provides
  • the DC power supply device 8 is also electrically connected to a further DC power supply 10 like a solar energy device, which may be provided on the ceiling of the building in which the DC power distribution system 1 is preferentially installed.
  • the electrical devices 6, 12 are preferentially adapted to be operable independently of the polarity of the DC voltage received from the respective power providing element 4, to which the respective electrical device 6, 12 is attached. This can ensure that the electrical devices can be operated, independently of which electrical conductor of the respective power providing element 4 provides which polarity.
  • the power providing elements 4 are arranged in a regularly spaced array. In particular, the power providing elements 4 are arranged in parallel rows, wherein a row comprises several power providing elements 4. In a row neighboring power providing elements 4 are connected by a coupling device 2, wherein a power providing element of a row is connected to the power providing element of a neighboring row by a coupling device 3.
  • the coupling devices 2, 3 are adapted to receive a signal from one of the power providing elements 4 connected by the respective coupling device 2, 3, update the signal by updating at least one count value, of which the signal is indicative, wherein at least one predefined value is added to the at least one count value, and send the updated signal to the other of the power providing elements 4 connected by the respective coupling device 2, 3.
  • the electrical devices 6, 12 are adapted to initially transmit the signal via the power providing element 4, to which the respective electrical device 6, 12 is attached, wherein the initial signal is indicative of at least one initial count value.
  • the DC power distribution system 1 further comprises a localization device 7 attached to a power providing element 4 and being adapted to receive the signal and to determine the location of the electrical devices 6, 12 depending on the at least one count value indicated by the signal.
  • the connected power providing elements 4 form a power grid, i.e. in this embodiment a powered ceiling grid, such that the power providing elements 4 can also be regarded as being powered grid elements.
  • the powered grid elements 4 are arranged in parallel rows and form therefore rows and columns, wherein the coupling devices 2 connect neighboring powered grid elements 4 in a row direction and the coupling devices 3 connect powered grid elements in the column direction.
  • the powered grid elements 4 are spaced 1.2 m apart, i.e. the distance between the rows of powered grid elements 4 is preferentially about 1.2 m.
  • the powered grid elements 4 are preferentially held by a supporting structure 5 formed of non- powered grid elements 30 for providing mechanical support.
  • a non-powered grid element 30 of the support structure 5 is arranged.
  • the electrical devices attached to the powered grid elements 4 have therefore a width of preferentially maximally 0.6 m in between a powered grid element 4 and a neighboring non-powered grid element 30.
  • the powered grid elements 4 have preferentially a length of about 1.8 m. However, they can of course also have a shorter or a larger length.
  • the coupling device 2 which connects neighboring power providing elements 4 in a same row, is adapted to update the signal by updating a first count value by adding a predefined first value being preferentially one to the first count value.
  • the coupling device 2, which connects neighboring power providing elements 4 in a same row, and the coupling device 3, which connects power providing elements 4 of neighboring rows, can be similar except for the functionality that one coupling device updates the first count value and the other coupling device updates the second count value.
  • coupling devices of different types can be provided, i.e. coupling devices 2 of a first type updating the first count value and coupling devices 3 of a second type updating the second count value, or coupling devices of a single type can be provided, wherein the coupling devices can be configured, for instance, by an installer by using a user interface like a hardware or software switch to update the first count value or the second count value, if the corresponding signal passes the respective coupling device.
  • the localization device 7 is adapted to determine the location of the respective electrical device 6, 12 indicated by the signal depending on the first and second count values.
  • the different devices of the DC power distribution system can comprise a processor, an embedded memory and embedded software for performing the respective functions.
  • the coupling devices can contain active electronics for performing the described functions.
  • the coupling devices 2, 3 are adapted to receive DC power from one of the power providing elements 4, which are connected by the respective coupling device 2, 3, for powering the different components of the respective coupling device 2, 3.
  • the signal initially transmitted by the electrical device 6, 12 and processed by the coupling devices 2, 3 is a signal on an AC carrier wave.
  • the coupling devices 2, 3 are therefore adapted to detect the signal on the AC carrier wave and to update the first count value or the second count value, respectively, indicated by the signal, thereby giving the signal an additional code which represents the number of jumps the signal has made from one power providing element to a next power providing element.
  • the signal with the updated first count value or second count value, respectively, i.e. the updated signal is then passed to a side of the respective coupling device 2, 3 being opposite to the side of the respective coupling device 2, 3 the signal is received from. In this way the signal is transferred from the respective electrical device 6, 12 to the localization device 7, whereby the signal is coded by the coupling devices 2, 3.
  • the signal emitted by the electrical device 6 shown in Fig. 1 has to jump across two powered grid elements 4, i.e. across two power providing elements 4, along the row direction and has to jump across three rows of power providing elements 4 before reaching the localization device 7.
  • the first count value will be 2 and the second count value will be 3, if initially the count values are zero and if each coupling device 2, 3 adds one to the first count value or to the second count value.
  • the localization unit 7 can therefore determine that the electrical device 6 is at a position, which is three rows away from the row, in which the powered grid element 4 is located, to which the localization device 7 is attached, and two columns away from the column, in which the powered grid element 4 is located, to which the localization device 7 is attached.
  • the location of the electrical device 6 relative to the localization device 7 can therefore be determined by the localization device 7 based on the first and second count values indicated by the signal which has reached the localization device 7.
  • the localization device 7 can be adapted to firstly send an initial message to one or several of the electrical devices, in order to prompt the one or more electrical devices to transmit the signal, wherein then the localization device can determine the location of the one or more electrical devices, which have been prompted to send a signal, based on the received one or more signals.
  • the localization device sends a corresponding prompting message to a single electrical device only, the localization device knows that the then received signal has been sent from the prompted electrical device such that the localization device can determine the location of a certain electrical device, without requiring an electrical device being adapted to transmit a signal being indicative of the respective electrical device.
  • communication means like Ethernet, radio- frequency, infrared, power line communication, et cetera can be used.
  • the localization device 7 can be adapted to determine the location of the electrical device 6, 12 within the power distribution system 1 by determining the location of the power providing element 4, to which the electrical device 6, 12 is attached, depending on the first and second count values indicated by the signal.
  • the localization device 7 can comprise, for instance, a display for displaying an indication indicating the determined power providing element 4, to which the respective electrical device 6, 12 is attached, or the location of this power providing element 4 to a user.
  • the localization device 7 can also comprise a memory, in which the locations of the different power providing elements 4 are stored, such that, if a certain power providing element 4 has been determined as being the one, to which the respective electrical device 6, 12 is attached, the respective location can be provided by the localization device 7.
  • the localization device 7 can also be adapted to provide assignments between first and second count values and locations, for instance, a corresponding table can be stored in a memory of the localization device 7, wherein the localization device 7 can be adapted to determine the location of the respective electrical device 6, 12 depending on the first and second count values indicated by the signal and depending on the assignments.
  • the assignments can be provided by the installer, after the installer has installed the power providing elements 4 at the different locations.
  • the coupling devices 2, 3 are adapted such that the DC power is not transferable between the power providing elements 4 connected by the respective coupling device 2, 3 and that the signal is transmittable between the power providing elements 4.
  • the coupling devices 2, 3 are therefore preferentially adapted such that they ensure a galvanic insulation between the power providing elements, i.e. that they ensure that no current is flowing between the respective coupled power providing elements. This galvanic insulation is preferentially provided such that it complies with the EMerge standard.
  • the coupling device can comprise, for instance, a capacitor, which does not allow DC current to flow, but does allow AC signals, i.e. higher frequency signals, to pass via capacitive coupling.
  • the coupling devices can comprise electronic band-pass filters that specifically only let a signal carrier frequency pass.
  • the coupling devices can comprise corresponding high-pass, low-pass and/or band-pass filters, which are adapted such that higher frequencies including the carrier frequency can pass a respective coupling device and lower frequencies including DC cannot pass the respective coupling device.
  • capacitive coupling has been described for providing a galvanic insulation, i.e. a DC insulation, and for allowing an AC signal to pass through the respective coupling device, for providing these two functions
  • the coupling device can also be configured in another way.
  • the AC signal can be transmitted from a first power providing element to a second power providing element via a coupling device by using other signal transmission techniques like techniques, which are based on inductive coupling or which optically transfer the signal by using, for instance, an opto-coupler.
  • the coupling devices 2, 3 further comprise electronic circuits for modifying, in particular, amplifying the signal and amending the count value, in order to send an amplified updated signal to a next power providing element.
  • Fig. 3 shows schematically and exemplarily a possible embodiment of the coupling device 2 for connecting power providing elements 4 within a same row.
  • the coupling device 3 for connecting power providing elements 4 of different rows can be similar.
  • the coupling device 2 comprises two rectifier bridges 16, 17 and a processor 18 like a microprocessor.
  • the bridge rectifiers 16, 17 are used for ensuring that the processor 18 receives the signal and its own power with the correct polarity.
  • the bridge rectifiers 16, 17 can be based on diodes or MOSFETs, in order to prevent voltage drops, or the rectifier bridges can be based on a combination of diodes and MOSFETs.
  • the coupling device 2 connects two neighboring powered grid elements, i.e. two neighboring power providing elements 4, while ensuring galvanic separation for low frequencies including DC. Capacitive coupling is used to receive and inject the signal with the high frequency carrier wave from and to the powered grid elements.
  • the carrier frequency may be, for instance, around 6 MHz.
  • the connections 40, 41 of the coupling device 2 are connected to plus and minus of a first power providing element and the connections 42, 43 of the coupling device 2 are connected to plus and minus of a second power providing element, wherein the first and second power providing elements are coupled by the coupling device 2.
  • the power from one of the first and second power providing elements is used to power the processor 18.
  • the coupling device 2 may comprise a DC/DC converter for transforming the voltage received from the respective power providing element to a voltage suitable for the processor 18. Since the coupling device 2 comprises the two bridge rectifiers 16, 17, it does not matter which connection of the respective pair 40, 41 and 42, 43 is connected to minus and plus, respectively.
  • the processor 18 has signal inputs 47, 48 connected via capacitors 44, 45 or, in other embodiments, via a more advanced DC insulating and AC pass-through circuit, to the plus conductor of the respective power providing element from which the processor 18 can receive or to which the processor 18 can send, respectively, a high-frequency AC signal, which is superimposed on the DC voltage of the coupled respective power providing element.
  • the processor 18 receives the signal from one of the first and second power providing elements, modifies the count value and amplifies the signal, and sends the amplified and updated signal to the other of the first and second power providing elements.
  • directionality can be regarded as being a uni-directionality, wherein a signal received from a first power providing element is modified and then sent to a second power providing element and a signal received from the second power providing element is sent to the first power providing element, after the signal has been modified.
  • the processor 18 is connected to the plus conductor of the power providing element electrically connected to the connections 40, 41 via the connection 46, in order to power the processor 18.
  • the uni-directionality can be hard wired, i.e. only one side of the coupling device can be adapted to receive the signal and only the other side of the coupling device can be adapted to send the modified signal such that the signal will only be sent in a single direction and the signal will only be received in an opposite single direction.
  • the DC power distribution system is installed such that the coupling devices are electrically connected in a way that the signals are transmittable from the electrical devices to the localization device.
  • the coupling device can also comprise a single in/out connection for receiving the signal and for sending the signal, wherein in this case the processor can be adapted such that, if a signal is received, which is indicative of a certain electrical device, of which a signal has already been received shortly before, in particular, a predefined time interval before, it ignores this signal and does not resend it.
  • a signal is transmitted by an electrical device 6, 12 via a power providing element 4, to which it is attached, wherein the signal is indicative of the electrical device and of a first initial count value and a second initial count value.
  • the initial count values are zero.
  • the transmitted signal passes one or several coupling devices of the DC power distribution system, before reaching a localization device of the DC power distribution system in step 103.
  • each time the signal passes a coupling device the signal is received from one of the power providing elements connected by the respective coupling device, the signal is updated by updating the first or second count value, wherein a predefined value being preferentially one is added to the first or second count value, and the updated signal is sent to the other of the power providing elements connected by the respective coupling device.
  • the localization device 7 receives the signal and determines the location of the electrical device indicated by the signal depending on the first and second count values indicated by the signal.
  • the DC power distribution system shown in Fig. 1 further comprises a control unit 11 for allowing a user to control the electrical device 6 being, in this example, a luminaire.
  • the control unit 11 can comprise a rotatable button, wherein the control unit 1 1 is adapted to send dimming signals via a central control unit 50 to the luminaire 6 depending on the rotational position of the rotatable button of the control unit 1 1.
  • the luminaire 6 and the control unit 11 can therefore be adapted to wirelessly communicate between each other via the central control unit 50 for allowing a user to modify the intensity of the luminaire 6.
  • the control unit 11 and the luminaire 6 can also be adapted to communicate directly wirelessly with each other for allowing a user to modify the light intensity via the control unit 11.
  • the units can also be adapted to communicate via a wired data connection.
  • the localization device may be adapted to transmit a signal via the power providing elements and the coupling devices to an electrical device, which may be regarded as being a peripheral, in particular, which may be a luminaire, wherein the electrical device can be adapted to receive the signal and to determine the location of the electrical device depending on the at least one count value indicated by the signal.
  • the electrical device For allowing an electrical device to determine its location within the DC power distribution system with respect to the localization device based on the at least one count value indicated by the signal, the electrical device is, regarding the localization functionality, preferentially adapted like the localization device described above with reference to Fig. 1. Moreover, in this case the localization device may be adapted to send the signal to the respective electrical device via the power providing elements and the coupling devices, without necessarily having the localization functionality described above with reference to Fig. 1.
  • the electrical device can be further adapted to send its determined location to a central control unit like the central control unit 50 described above with reference to Fig. 1.
  • the central control unit can be, for instance, a building management system, an in-room control panel, et cetera.
  • the communication can be performed via, for instance, Ethernet, radio- frequency, infrared, power line communication, et cetera.
  • single power providing elements 4 are interconnected by using the coupling devices 2, 3, in other embodiments two or more power providing elements, in particular, two or more power bars, can be directly electrically connected, thereby forming a longer power providing element, which can be connected with another power providing element via a coupling device.
  • the power supply device is preferentially adapted such that also such a longer power providing element being composed of several shorter power providing elements is not allowed to draw more than a predefined limited maximum power of preferentially 100 W.
  • commissioning is preferentially defined as a systematic process of ensuring that all elements of a lighting system perform interactively according to a documented design intent and the owner's operational needs.
  • Preferred elements of smart commissioning are: occupancy sensing, dimming, time-out periods and security level and if vacant timeout. Dimming as an element of smart commissioning can be used to make efficient use of daylight by controlling the light output of one or several luminaires of the DC power distribution system being, in this example, a lighting system, to a predefined illumination level.
  • a default setting of a certain time interval before the luminaires switch off may be suitable for many applications, but it may be adjustable to save energy.
  • the security level and if vacant time-out as element of smart commissioning in some applications like hospital corridors the luminaires are preferentially set to dim to a lower output level rather than switching off at an end of a time-out period, in order to offer a feeling of increased security for users and to still offer good energy savings.
  • Lighting controls are preferentially configured to the conditions on site and/or to specific user wishes to operate most effectively. Knowledge about the locations of the electrical devices, in particular, of the luminaires and optional further electrical devices like sensors within a building is a prerequisite for this.
  • the DC power distribution system 1 shown in Fig. 1 therefore preferentially comprises the central control system 50 for controlling the electrical devices 6, 12 of the DC power distribution system 1 depending on their locations within the DC power distribution system 1 as determined by the localization device 7.
  • the central control system 50 can preferentially wirelessly communicate with the localization device 7 and the electrical devices 6, 12.
  • the central control system 50 or another control system can also be adapted to use the determined locations of the electrical devices, i.e. of the peripherals like luminaires, light sensors and presence detectors, for commissioning purposes in another way.
  • the control system can be adapted such that, in case a presence detector does not detect any presence anymore, luminaires in the neighborhood of the presence detector are dimmed to a lower dimming level.
  • the locations of the luminaires relative to the presence detector and also the identities, i.e., for instance, the addresses, and optionally characteristics of the luminaires can be provided to the control system.
  • control system can be adapted to control luminaires having a distance to a presence detector being smaller than a predefined distance depending on whether the presence detector detects the presence of, for instance, a person or not.
  • the control system can comprise a user interface for allowing a user like a building manager to adapt the control of the electrical devices depending on the determined location information as desired.
  • control system can be adapted to allow a user to define certain actions to be performed by an electrical device and to define the predefined distance.
  • the DC power distribution system is preferentially adapted to be used in an office environment for providing DC power for luminaires and other electrical devices like sensors at a ceiling of an office.
  • the DC power distribution system uses preferentially infrastructure available for systems that comply with the EMerge Alliances proposition.
  • the DC power distribution system is preferentially adapted such that the respective signal travels along the respective powered grid element, i.e. along the respective power providing element, in both directions.
  • the signal is given an additional code, the signal is amplified and re-emitted.
  • the additional code represents the addition of an extra count to a counter, i.e. to the one or several counting values, counting the number of jumps the signal has made from one powered grid element to the next powered grid element or from one row of powered grid elements to the next row of powered grid elements.
  • the code is preferentially such that the localization device can distinct between the jumps along a row of powered grid elements and a jump from one row to the next.
  • the DC power distribution system only comprises a single localization device
  • the DC power distribution system can also comprise two or more localization devices, in order to improve reliability. For instance, using two or more localization devices can add redundancy to the system and can reduce the distance a signal has to travel to the DC power distribution system, which can lead to noise reduction. Moreover, using two or more localization devices can make the system more robust to errors made during installation. Two or more localization devices can also be used to detect, if one or several grid elements have become disconnected.
  • the localization device is not arranged at a corner position, but more in a middle position, i.e. if in Fig. 1 the localization device 7 is shifted to the right such that it is located between two coupling devices, if more electrical devices are connected to the power providing elements and if it cannot be discriminated between a jump to the left and a jump to the right from one power providing element to a
  • a further localization device For instance, the locations determined by the localization devices can be provided to a central control unit, which can be
  • the localization devices can exchange the determined locations for removing the ambiguity. Moreover, if
  • each sub grid of power providing elements is present, wherein each sub grid of power providing elements
  • the orientation of one sub grid with respect to a building, in which the sub grids may be installed, is known and if the sub grids are coupled, also the orientation of the other sub grids with respect to the building can be known. Thus, it may not be necessary to provide for each sub grid the orientation
  • each ceiling grid has its own localization device, wherein the location of each localization device can be known to a central control system like the central control system 50 shown in Fig. 1 or a central building management system. Since in this case the respective localization device is able to determine the location of an electrical device within the respective ceiling grid, it is possible to determine the location of each electrical device in each ceiling grid.
  • the spatial relation between, for instance, the orientation of the grid formed by the power providing elements and the room or building can be coded into the respective localization device, for instance, during installation by an installer or the corresponding spatial relation can be provided as an input to a building management system or the central control unit, which may receive the determined relative location from the respective localization device and which may use the determined relative location together with the input spatial relation for determining the absolute position of the respective electrical device in the room or building, respectively.
  • the DC power distribution system is installed at a ceiling, in particular, integrated in a suspended ceiling
  • the DC power distribution system may also be installed at other locations, for instance, in walls, floors, partition elements, tables, et cetera, wherein also in these cases the DC power distribution system preferentially comprises separate power providing elements, which are coupled by the coupling elements such that DC power is not transferable from one power providing element to another power providing element, but the above mentioned signal being indicative of a count value.
  • a single unit or device may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims.
  • the mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.
  • Determinations like the determination of the location of the respective electrical device performed by one or several units or devices can be performed by any other number of units or devices.
  • These determinations and/or the control of the DC power distribution system in accordance with the above mentioned localization method can be implemented as program code means of a computer program and/or as dedicated hardware.
  • a computer program may be stored/distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium, supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems.
  • a suitable medium such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium, supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless telecommunication systems.
  • the invention relates to a DC power distribution system with power providing elements like bus bar components, which are connected by coupling devices and to which an electrical device and a localization device are connected.
  • the electrical device or the localization device transmits a signal representing a count value via the power providing elements.
  • the coupling devices receive the signal from the power providing elements, update the signal by adding a value to the count value, and send the updated signal to the power providing elements.
  • Another of the electrical device and the localization device which has not sent the signal, receives the signal and determines the location of the electrical device depending on the count value indicated by the signal. This allows providing location information in a relatively simple way, which may be useful for, for instance, commissioning purposes.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Remote Monitoring And Control Of Power-Distribution Networks (AREA)

Abstract

Cette invention concerne un système de distribution (1) de courant continu, comprenant des éléments d'alimentation (4) tels que des éléments de barre omnibus, qui sont reliés par des dispositifs de couplage (2, 3) et auxquels sont raccordés un dispositif électrique (6) et un dispositif de localisation (7). Ledit dispositif électrique ou le dispositif de localisation émet un signal représentant une valeur de compteur par l'intermédiaire des éléments d'alimentation. Les dispositifs de coulage reçoivent le signal provenant des éléments d'alimentation, ils mettent le signal à jour en ajoutant une valeur à la valeur de compteur, et transmettent le signal mis à jour aux éléments d'alimentation. L'autre dispositif parmi le dispositif électrique et le dispositif de localisation qui n'a pas émis le signal, reçoit ledit signal et détermine l'emplacement du dispositif électrique en fonction de la valeur de compteur indiquée par le signal. Ceci permet de fournir des informations d'emplacement de manière relativement simple, chose utile, par exemple, à des fins de mise en service.
PCT/IB2013/058304 2012-09-21 2013-09-05 Système de distribution de courant continu WO2014045152A2 (fr)

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US201261704319P 2012-09-21 2012-09-21
US61/704,319 2012-09-21

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WO2016027095A3 (fr) * 2014-08-21 2016-05-06 Intelligent Growth Solutions Limited Agencement d'alimentation et d'éclairage contrôlable

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EP0656696A3 (fr) * 1993-12-03 1996-04-17 Siemens Ag Dispositif de couplage d'énergie en courant continu à un bus à deux fils pour la transmission d'énergie et de données.
US7446491B2 (en) * 2005-02-24 2008-11-04 Abb Ltd. Intelligent power management for actuators
EP2351464A4 (fr) * 2008-10-10 2013-10-09 Qualcomm Mems Technologies Inc Système de commande d éclairage décentralisé
BRPI1005921A2 (pt) * 2009-02-26 2019-09-24 Koninl Philips Electronics Nv comissionamento automático de dispositivos de um sistema de controle em rede, programa de computador, portador de registros, computador, sistema para o comissionamento automático de dispositivos de um sistema de controle em rede e dispositivo

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2016027095A3 (fr) * 2014-08-21 2016-05-06 Intelligent Growth Solutions Limited Agencement d'alimentation et d'éclairage contrôlable
US10405395B2 (en) 2014-08-21 2019-09-03 Intelligent Growth Solutions Limited c/o The James Hutton Institute Controllable power and lighting arrangement

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