JP2011234051A - Power line communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a novel power line communication system capable of easily and appropriately exchanging power energy with no contact while performing predetermined power line communication with no contact via an air gap.SOLUTION: A power line communication system has: a non-contact power feeding section 1 for performing bidirectional power feeding with no contact under electromagnetic induction or magnetic resonance; power converting devices 2, 3 connected to the non-contact power feeding section 1, respectively, and operated as an inverter or a converter, respectively; a power source/load connected to the power converting devices 2, 3, respectively, to be DC power sources 4, 6 or loads 5, 7; plate electrodes (11A, 11C), (11B, 11D) disposed while facing each other via an air gap so as to perform non-contact power line communication via an electric field; PLC adapters 14, 15 connected to the plate electrodes (11A, 11C), (11B, 11D) via power lines 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B; and personal computers 17, 18 which are control means for controlling opposite-side equipment via the plate electrodes (11A, 11C), (11B, 11D).

Description

  The present invention relates to a power line communication system, and is particularly useful when applied to predetermined communication and energy transfer in a contactless manner through an air gap.

  When power line communication (PLC) is applied to a power line, communication and energy transmission can be performed simultaneously with two conductors. Therefore, the power line communication (PLC) is attracting attention as one of the interfaces for realizing a smart grid. This is also a technique that has been known for a long time as wired communication used for AC transmission and distribution networks.

  A wired LAN using an RJ-45 connector is a typical communication means, but from the viewpoint of a general household, it is considered to be one of indoor wiring that is not required as much as a power line at present. For this reason, wireless LAN, which does not require wiring work, is the most popular communication means in ordinary homes. However, since energy transmission is not possible in a wireless LAN, a power line is eventually required, and it can be said that the PLC is an essential communication means as long as an AC power distribution network exists.

  However, in recent years, contactless power supply technology has been actively developed in connection with DC power supply, plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV), and electric vehicle (EV). There have been recognized cases in which the essence of PLC is lost.

  Until now, only the load is connected to the indoor wiring of ordinary households, and AC has been used as it is or forward-converted (rectified) as necessary. However, in recent years, cases in which power electronics devices other than loads such as solar cells, fuel cells, and EVs are connected are increasing, and attempts have been made to fundamentally review the AC distribution network itself.

  Since solar cells, fuel cells, and EVs are all essentially direct current power supplies and there are fewer home appliances that use alternating current such as incandescent bulbs and induction motors, forward conversion circuits (rectifier circuits) are eliminated. If the DC power supply that has been used becomes mainstream, the nature of the PLC may be lost.

  Furthermore, since non-contact power feeding that can safely and easily transmit energy to an outdoor EV does not involve a conductor in the first place, there is a possibility that the system is originally incompatible with PLC that is wired communication.

JP 2008-236355 A

  If wired, energy transmission and communication are possible, but power line communication could not be performed when the conductor was not in contact as in the case of contactless power feeding.

  Therefore, the concept of power line communication has been expanded, and the emergence of a new power line communication system that can perform predetermined communication and energy transfer through an air gap in a non-contact manner is awaited.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a new power line communication system capable of easily and appropriately transferring power energy in a non-contact manner while performing predetermined power line communication through an air gap in a non-contact manner in view of the above-described conventional technology. And

  The first aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object is that the one side and the other side are arranged so as to be separated from each other so as to transfer and receive bidirectional electrical energy in a non-contact manner between the one side and the other side. A non-contact power feeding unit having coils, a power converter on one side and the other connected to each coil and operating as an inverter or a converter, and a power source or a load connected to each power converter, respectively. A power source / load, a flat plate electrode opposed to each other through an air gap so as to perform non-contact power line communication between the one side and the other side via an electric field, and the flat plate electrode via a power line The connected power line communication adapter, and at least the control of the counterpart device by performing communication with the counterpart side through the adapter and the flat plate electrode. On the other hand in the power line communication system characterized by having a disposed control means.

  According to this aspect, electric power energy can be transmitted between the one side and the other side by magnetic field coupling between the one side coil and the other side coil. At the same time, one of the power conversion devices can be controlled by performing power line communication with the other party via the air gap, which is a relatively limited short-distance space via the adapter and the plate electrode. Can function as an inverter, and the other power device can function as a converter.

  As a result, predetermined communication can be performed without using radio waves, and power line communication can be applied to non-contact communication in a spatially separated state and combined with non-contact power feeding to achieve substantially non-contact power transmission. A power line communication system can be constructed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the power line communication system described in the first aspect, the control means is arranged on the other side, and the other side device is controlled from the other side. The power line communication system is characterized by the following.

  According to this aspect, since the control means is provided on one side and the other side, it is possible to easily and appropriately control the device from one side to the other side and the device from the other side to the one side.

  As a result, the one side and the other side have the same configuration, and a system with redundancy can be realized.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the power line communication system according to any one of the first aspect or the second aspect, each of the power conversion devices includes a similar switching element and a current direction of the switching element. One of the power supplies / loads in which four similar switching units having similar diodes connected in parallel to the switching elements are combined so that the reverse direction to the forward direction is the forward direction, and the DC voltage is stabilized by an electrolytic capacitor The power line communication system is configured to function as an inverter circuit that converts the DC power supplied by the AC to AC power or a full-wave rectifier circuit that supplies DC power to the other of the power source / load.

  According to this aspect, a good alternating voltage and a good direct voltage can be obtained appropriately.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the power line communication system according to any one of the first to third aspects, a capacitor that cuts off the supply of AC power from the power line is connected in series to each plate electrode. The power line communication system is characterized by being connected to each other.

  According to this aspect, the alternating current of the commercial frequency of a power line can be interrupted | blocked favorably.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the power line communication system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a capacitor is connected in series between the coils and the power converters. The power line communication system is characterized in that the capacitance by the capacitor and the leakage inductance of each coil are equal to each other.

  According to this aspect, since the resonance condition can be satisfied by the combination of the capacitance and the leakage inductance, the power energy transmission efficiency is the best.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the power line communication system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, each of the plate electrodes is disposed on an inner peripheral side or an outer peripheral side of each of the coils. The power line communication system is characterized by comprising parallel plates.

  According to this aspect, since the plate electrode and the coil can be disposed in substantially the same plane, the space factor can be improved.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the power line communication system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, each plate electrode is configured to also serve as a conductor of each coil. The power line communication system is characterized.

  According to this aspect, since the coil can function as a flat plate electrode, the structure of the non-contact portion can be simplified most.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the power line communication system according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the flat plate electrode includes a pair of flat plate electrodes that form part of a forward path in the power line communication. The power line communication system is characterized by comprising a pair of other plate electrodes forming part of the return path.

  According to this aspect, since the non-contact part of the forward path and the non-contact part of the return path in the power line communication can be configured by the plate electrodes facing each other, the closed transmission path can be easily and accurately configured. Can do. In addition, since leakage of information in the non-contact portion can be reduced as much as possible, erroneous control due to interference between systems can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, power line communication, which is originally wired communication, can be made non-contact, and energy and communication can be exchanged even if an air gap exists. Furthermore, since the communication range is an air gap, which is a relatively limited short-distance space, predetermined communication can be performed without using radio waves.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since predetermined communication can be performed without using radio waves, 1) exposure to leaked radio waves can be minimized, 2) security can be strengthened, and 3) adjacent. There is an effect that the possibility of causing interference with a similar system can be reduced as much as possible. Incidentally, 2) and 3) are pointed out as problems of the wireless LAN.

  As a result, according to the present invention, power line communication, which is expected to be applied in various fields, can be applied to non-contact communication in a spatially separated state, and substantially non-contact by combining with non-contact power feeding. It is possible to construct a power line communication system. That is, the concept of power line communication in which power transmission and communication are performed via two conductors can be extended to a non-contact mode.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole power line communication system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which extracts and shows the specific structural example of a power converter device with a non-contact electric power feeding part. It is a block diagram which extracts the A section (non-contact electric power feeding part and non-contact communication part) of FIG. 1, and shows the outline more concretely.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an entire power line communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the non-contact power feeding unit 1 is arranged on one side and the other side so as to be separated from each other so as to perform two-way electric energy transfer in a non-contact manner by a magnetic field on one side and the other side. Coil 1A, 1B.

  The power converters 2 and 3 on one side and the other side are connected to the coils 1A and 1B, respectively, and when one side is operated as an inverter, the other side is operated as a converter.

  Here, capacitors C1 and C2 are connected in series between the coils 1A and 1B and the power converters 2 and 3, and the capacitances of the capacitors C1 and C2 and the leakage of the coils 1A and 1B. The inductance is adjusted to be equal to each other. As described above, it is not essential in the present invention to provide the capacitors C1 and C2, but by providing the capacitors C1 and C2 having appropriate capacitance, the resonance condition is satisfied by a combination of the capacitance and the leakage inductance. Therefore, the transmission efficiency of power energy in the non-contact power feeding in this case can be made as good as possible.

  In this embodiment, the DC power sources 4 and 6 are constituted by a DC power source such as a storage battery. In this embodiment, the loads 5 and 7 are constituted by DC loads such as resistors. Here, either the DC power supply 4 or the load 5 is operated. In other words, one of the relays 8 and 9 that is ON / OFF controlled by the relay switch 19 is controlled to be selectively operated. Similarly, the DC power source 6 and the load 7 are controlled so that either one is selectively operated by the relays 10 and 11 that are ON / OFF controlled by the relay switch 21 so that either one is operated. .

  The pulse generators 20 and 22 supply switching pulses for causing the power converters 2 and 3 to perform an inverter operation. One of the pulse generators 20 and 22 is turned on to supply a switching pulse to the power converters 2 and 3 to perform an inverter operation. The remaining pulse generators 22 and 20 are turned off. As a result, since no signal is supplied to the power converters 3 and 2, the power converters 3 and 2 are operated as converters. That is, when either one is operated as an inverter by a switching pulse, the other is operated as a converter.

  The plate electrodes (11A, 11B) and (11C, 11D) in the present embodiment are arranged on the one side and the other side through two air gaps, and the power lines (12A, 12B), ( 13A, 13B) to the PLC adapters 14 and 15, respectively. As a result, even if there is an air gap between the plate electrodes (11A, 11B) and (11C, 11D), these function as parallel plate capacitors in the high frequency band used for power line communication, via the electric field. Non-contact power line communication can be performed. That is, a part of the forward transmission line in the power line communication is formed through the air gap with the plate electrodes (11A, 11B), and a part of the transmission line in the return path is formed with the air gap in the flat line electrode (11C, 11D). Is formed through.

  In this embodiment, since the two flat plate electrodes (11A, 11C) and (11B, 11D) are provided on each side, a closed transmission line can be configured easily and appropriately. However, it is not essential to form the non-contact portion of the transmission line with two flat-plate electrodes (11A, 11C) and (11B, 11D) on each side as in this embodiment. Predetermined power line communication via the air gap is possible only by making the plate electrodes 11A and 11B arranged on one side and the other side face each other. In this case, since the power lines 12B and 13B are floating with respect to the ground, the stray capacitance formed between the power lines 12B and 13B and the ground serves as a capacitor for the return path. However, in this case, since the region of the electric field formed is widened, some information leakage occurs.

  That is, according to the present embodiment having two flat electrodes (11A, 11C) and (11B, 11D) on each side, not only can a closed transmission line be configured easily and accurately, but also a non-contact portion. Since the information leakage can be reduced as much as possible, it is possible to prevent erroneous control due to interference between systems.

  In this embodiment, capacitors C3 and C4 are connected to the power lines 12A and 13A, and capacitors C5 and C6 are connected in series to the power lines 12B and 13B, respectively, and the commercial frequencies of the power lines 12A, 12B, 13A and 13B are connected. Are interrupted satisfactorily from the plate electrodes 11A to 11D. That is, even if the plate electrodes (11A, 11B) and (11C, 11D) come into contact with each other, the power line short circuit between the plate electrodes (11A, 11B) and (11C, 11D) is not generated. . Instead of connecting the capacitors C3 to C6, an insulating paint is applied to the surface of the plate electrodes (11A, 11B), (11C, 11D), or the plate electrodes (11A, 11B), (11C, 11D). A similar effect can be obtained by taking measures such as covering each surface with an insulating member.

  Personal computers 17 and 18 as control devices are connected to one terminal of the PLC adapters 14 and 15. As a result, the personal computers 17 and 18 can send a predetermined control signal to the counterpart device by power line communication via the PLC adapters 14 and 15, and can appropriately control the counterpart device with the control signal. It can be done. LAN cables 23, 24, 25, 26 are connected to the remaining two terminals of the PLC adapters 14, 15. The LAN cables 23 to 26 are connected to the relay switch 19, the pulse generator 20, the relay switch 21, Each is connected to a pulse generator 22. Thus, the personal computers 17 and 18 also function as control devices that control the operations of the relay switches 19 and 21 and the pulse generators 20 and 22.

  Various modes of control of each device by the personal computers 17 and 18 functioning as such a control device can be considered. Specific examples are as follows.

  For example, when operating the power conversion device 2 as an inverter using only the personal computer 17 and controlling the power conversion device 3 as a converter, the relay switch 19 is controlled by the personal computer 17 to control the relay switch 19. Then, the relay 8 is operated to connect the DC power source 4 to the power converter 2 and turn on the pulse generator 20. As a result, the pulse generator 20 generates a predetermined switching pulse to turn on / off each element (described in detail later) of the power converter 2 at a predetermined timing. As a result, the power converter 2 is operated as an inverter.

  At the same time, the personal computer 17 is connected to the relay switch 21 by non-contact power line communication via the PLC adapter 14, the power line 12A, the plate electrodes 11A and 11B, the power line 13A, the PLC adapter 15, the power line 13B, the plate electrodes 11D and 11C, and the power line 12B. Send control signal. That is, the control signal sent from the personal computer 17 is sent to the relay switch 21 via the power line 12A, the plate electrodes 11A and 11B, the power line 13A, the PLC adapter 15, and the LAN cable 25. As a result, the load 7 or the DC power source 6 for charging is connected to the power converter 3 by operating the relay 11 via the relay switch 21.

  The control in this manner can be performed in the same way in the opposite manner if the personal computer 18 is used.

  On the other hand, when the power conversion device 2 is operated as an inverter and the power conversion device 3 is operated as a converter as in the case described above, the personal computer 18 is remotely operated by non-contact power line communication as described above. The personal computer 18 may control the relay switch 21 on its own side as prescribed.

  In any case, by using the personal computers 17 and 18 as control devices connected to the PLC adapters 14 and 15, the power conversion devices 2 and 3 are controlled by non-contact power line communication, and bidirectional via the coils 1A and 1B. The power energy can be transmitted satisfactorily.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration example of the power conversion device together with the non-contact power feeding unit. The power conversion devices 2 and 3 according to the present embodiment have the same switching element and the same diode connected in parallel to the switching element so that the reverse direction to the current direction of the switching element is the forward direction. An inverter circuit that converts DC power supplied from one of the DC power source 4 or the DC power source 6 into AC power by combining four switching units GU1, GV1, GX1, GY1, GU2, GV2, GX2, and GY2, or a load 7 or The load 5 is further configured to function as a full-wave rectifier circuit that supplies DC power to the DC power supply 4 or the DC power supply 6 for charging. Electrolytic capacitors C7 and C8 are smoothing capacitors, which stabilize the DC voltage.

  In this embodiment, when the power conversion device 2 is operated as an inverter, the switching units (GU1, GY1) and (GV1, GX1) are sequentially turned on in this order and converted into an alternating current. At this time, the converter The power converter 3 operated as a current flows sequentially in this order through the diodes of the switching units (GU2, GY2) and (GV2, GX2), so that the alternating current is full-wave rectified and converted into a direct current. The When the functions of the inverters and converters of the power conversion devices 2 and 3 are reversed, power conversion in the same manner is performed by the reverse operation. Therefore, according to the present Example, a favorable alternating current and a favorable direct current can be obtained appropriately.

  Various structures of the coils 1A and 1B and the plate electrodes 11A and 11B in the above embodiment can be considered, but three typical types will be described as Examples 1 to 3 based on FIG.

  In Example 1 shown in FIG. 3A, flat electrodes (11A, 11C), (11B, 11D) opposed to each other so as to be electric field coupled to coils 1A, 1B opposed to each other so as to be magnetically coupled. Are arranged separately and separately. Although the first embodiment is the most fundamental configuration, contactless power feeding and contactless power line communication can be reliably performed.

  Example 2 shown in FIG. 3 (b) is a pair of parallel flat plates in which the flat plate electrodes (11A, 11C) and (11B, 11D) are arranged on the inner and outer peripheral sides of the coils 1A and 1B, respectively. It is composed of a capacitor. According to the second embodiment, the plate electrodes (11A, 11C), (11B, 11D) and the coils 1A, 1B can be disposed in substantially the same plane, so that the space factor can be improved.

  In Example 3 shown in FIG. 3C, each of the plate electrodes 11A and 11B is configured to also serve as the conductors of the coils 1A and 1B. In the third embodiment, it can be considered that an equivalent parallel plate is formed by using the coils 1A and 1B as a lump of conductor. According to the third embodiment, since the coils 1A and 1B can function as the plate electrodes 11A and 11B, the structure of the non-contact portion can be simplified most.

  In the first and second embodiments, the plate electrodes 11C and 11D may be omitted, and the two plate electrodes facing each other may be configured. Example 3 has this configuration from the beginning.

  In the above embodiment, the personal computers 17 and 18 as control devices are provided on both sides of the one side and the other side so that the one side can be controlled from the other side and the other side can be controlled from the other side. This is true only on either side. This is because, according to the present invention, even if only one of the control devices is configured to appropriately control the counterpart device by non-contact power line communication.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the non-contact transmission / reception of electric energy is configured to be performed using electromagnetic induction, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration using magnetic resonance or the like may be used.

  The present invention can be applied to an electric utility that uses a power line communication system, for example, a distribution line system that constructs a smart grid or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Non-contact electric power feeding part 1A, 1B Coil 2,3 Power converter device 4,6 Power supply 5,7 Load 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D Flat plate electrode
12A, 12B, 13A, 13B Power line 14, 15 PLC adapter 17, 18 PC

Claims (8)

A non-contact power feeding unit having coils on the one side and the other side that are arranged apart from each other so as to exchange electric energy bidirectionally without contact between the one side and the other side;
Power converters on one side and the other side respectively connected to the coils and operating as inverters or converters,
A power source / load that is connected to each of the power converters and serves as a power source or a load;
Plate electrodes that are opposed to each other via an air gap so as to perform non-contact power line communication via an electric field between the one side and the other side;
An adapter for power line communication connected to the plate electrode via a power line;
A power line communication system comprising: control means disposed on the at least one side to control the counterpart device by performing communication with the counterpart side through the adapter and the flat plate electrode. In the power line communication system according to claim 1,
A power line communication system, characterized in that the control means is arranged also on the other side and the other side device is controlled from the other side. In the power line communication system according to claim 1 or 2,
Each of the power conversion devices includes four similar switching units each having a similar switching element and a similar diode connected in parallel to the switching element so that a reverse direction to the current direction of the switching element is a forward direction. An inverter circuit that converts DC power supplied from one of the power supplies / loads, which has been stabilized by an electrolytic capacitor, to DC power, into AC power, or a full-wave rectifier circuit that supplies DC power to the other power supply / load A power line communication system configured to function as: In the power line communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A power line communication system, wherein a capacitor for interrupting the supply of AC power from the power line is connected in series to each plate electrode. In the power line communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A power line communication system, wherein a capacitor is connected in series between each of the coils and each of the power converters, and a capacitance of each capacitor and a leakage inductance of each of the coils are equal to each other. . In the power line communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Each said flat electrode is comprised with the parallel plate arrange | positioned at the inner peripheral side or the outer peripheral side of each said coil, The power line communication system characterized by the above-mentioned. In the power line communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Each of the flat plate electrodes is configured to serve also as a conductor of each of the coils. In the power line communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
2. The power line communication system according to claim 1, wherein the flat plate electrode includes a pair of flat plate electrodes that form part of an outward path in the power line communication and another pair of flat plate electrodes that form a part of a return path.

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