WO2013066068A1 - Integrated terminal and method for controlling an ami system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an integrated terminal for a home network-based AMI system for a smart grid, the terminal comprising: an inter-suprasystem communication module connected between a suprasystem (10) of an AMI system and a plurality of household appliances (36) from among electricity consumers, via communication means, respectively, and performs the function of an interface for communication with the suprasystem (10); an inter-electronic device communication module performing the function of an interface for communication between a plurality of electronic devices; and display means for simultaneously displaying information received from the suprasystem by means of the inter-suprasystem communication module, and displaying information received from an electronic device by means of the inter-electronic device communication module.

Description

Integrated terminal and control method of AMI system

The present invention relates to an integrated terminal for a home network-based AMI system (Advanced Metering Infrastructure System) for a smart grid and a control method thereof. Specifically, ZigBee SEP (Smart Energy Profile), which is a wireless communication standard for interworking with an AMI and a home network. Compliant with DLMS (Device Language Message Specification), which is a communication standard of electronic watt-hour meters, and provides energy consumption and billing information for energy use through a single device that combines conventional ESI (Energy Service Interface) and IHD (In Home Display). It relates to a device for providing various information.

Smart grid literally means intelligent power grid, which is an intelligent power grid that combines energy network and communication network by integrating information and communication technology into existing power grid, and uses energy as electricity providers and power consumers exchange electricity related information in real time. Next-generation power grid that can be optimized. The smart grid-based power grid is developing in response to changes in production and consumption in real time, and effective monitoring of power consumption is essential for the implementation of the smart grid.

AMI is a system that enables bi-directional information exchange between power consumers and power producers based on smart meters, and AMI-based smart meters provide two-way information provision, home network interworking, and power control. By providing a foundation for optimizing power supply and demand.

1 is a view showing the structure of the power monitoring system in the consumer of the AMI system proposed in the standard system of ZigBee SEP.

As shown in FIG. 1, the AMI system includes an AMI-related high-level system 10 of a power company centering on a MDMS (Meter Data Management System), a power company that is a power producer and / or supplier, and a consumer who is a power consumer (30). Communication system for connecting the smart meters of the) and the smart meter 20 that serves as a gateway between the outside and the consumer.

The upper system collects and stores power consumption information for each consumer from each consumer's smart meter 20 or transmits the information to the ADCS 12 in real time (DCU: Data Concentration Unit 11) and DCU (11). Automatic data collection system (ADCS: Automated Data Collection System, 12) to collect the various power consumption information collected through the), and various power consumption information and power for each customer collected through the DCU (11) and ADCS (12) Power information for processing power calculations for each customer by executing various processes based on various plan information such as power generation and supply information of producers and tariff information by type of industry and progressive plan information by unit of electricity usage. It consists of a processing system (MDMS: Meter data management system 13).

The home appliance (HA) 33 is a normal household electric appliance such as a TV, a refrigerator, a washing machine, an air conditioner, etc. The smart home appliance 33 needs to be a home appliance having a smart function.

The smart meter 20 is a device capable of bidirectional communication between a power provider and a user, with a real-time check of power consumption.

Internet network (TPC / IP), power line communication (PLC) and the like are used for communication between higher-level systems, and communication between the smart meter 20 and the ESI 31 is usually ZigBee, which is one of short-range communication methods. Communication can be used. In addition, the smart meter 20 and the DCU 11 communicate using a DLMS (Device Language Message Specification), which is a communication standard of the smart meter and a protocol for communication between the smart meter and the DCU.

Zigbee is a protocol for building low-power, low-scale wireless networks. Zigbee establishes MAC (Mesia Access Control) and PHY (Physical layer) as standard in IEEE 802.15.4. The standard for is set by the ZigBee Alliance.

In addition, the communication between the AMI and the consumer (Home) can be made through the energy service interface (ESI) 31, IHD (32) that displays the power consumption information, charges, carbon emissions information, etc. of various home appliances 33 in the consumer ) Is installed.

The communication between the ESI 31 and the smart meter is by the ZigBee Smart Energy Profile (SEP).

Various information such as power consumption information and billing information of various home appliances 33 in the customer is displayed on the IHD 32 via the ESI 31, and the total power consumption information or billing information in the customer is the upper system. Is transmitted to the IHD 32 via the ESI 31 for display.

However, in the above-described conventional method, since communication between the smart meter and the ESI 31, which functions as a gateway, and the IHD 32 and the home appliance 33 are all performed via the ESI 31, the communication system is complicated. The definition of interworking functions and roles is not clear.

In particular, in the network configuration of the ZigBee SEP, the IHD 32 cannot query detailed information of the home appliances 33 participating in the network, and the control authority for the home appliances 33 is also in the ESI 31, thus consuming power. Only simple information such as information can be inquired. In addition, the ESI 31 of the ZigBee SEP is also unclear about the regulation of the interworking with the host system.

In addition, since ZigBee SEP does not provide a firmware upgrade, the implementation of this function cannot guarantee compatibility with standards. Remote firmware upgrades require high reliability, but ZigBee's RF characteristics and communication mechanisms meet these requirements. It has a problem that is difficult to make.

As described above, in the conventional system, there is a problem in that there is a lack of communication capacity due to the limitation of Zigbee communication, and furthermore, a limitation in reliability of communication.

In addition, smart devices of the makers of some home appliances (33) have recently emerged, for example, home appliances that perform WiFi-based communication, rather than ZigBee-based SEP, and in this case, it is impossible to cope with conventional systems. Problems also arise.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is in compliance with the international standard communication standard ZigBee SEP and DLMS, which is the communication standard of the smart meter, and the smart meter and the upper system and the home appliance by an integrated terminal integrating the ESI and IHD functions into one. It is an object to solve the above problems of the prior art by configuring a network between devices.

In addition, the present invention is to provide an integrated terminal that can cope with home appliances of other communication methods other than ZigBee SEP.

In order to solve the above problems, the integrated terminal of the present invention is an integrated terminal connected between a higher system of the AMI system and a plurality of home appliances in a power consumer by predetermined communication means, and serves as an interface for communication with the higher system. Information received from the upper system by the communication module between the upper system in charge of a function, the communication module between the home appliances in charge of a function as an interface for communication with the plurality of home appliances, and the communication module between the upper systems. And displaying means for displaying the information received from the respective home appliances by the communication module between the home appliances.

Moreover, the control method of this invention is a control method by the integrated terminal which is respectively connected by predetermined communication means between the upper system of an AMI system, and the some household appliances in a power consumer, The several household appliances and smart meter in an electric power customer are included. Configuring (a) a communication network and waiting (a) after the step (a), and whether there is a request for connection or withdrawal of the home appliance by adding or removing the home appliance during the waiting in the step (b). Judging, if there is a connection / exit request, returning to step (a) to reconfigure the communication network including the additionally connected or disconnected home appliance, and during the waiting at step (b), the home appliance control request If there is a request to control the home appliance, the data to be displayed on the display device is checked during the waiting at step (d) and step (b) of controlling the home appliance. Linked data is judged as to whether the valid data, and a step (e) to any valid data displays the data on a display device.

According to the above configuration, the present invention simplifies the communication system interconnecting the upper system and the lower system, enables the immediate processing of user requests, and facilitates the upgrade (firmware upgrade) of the integrated terminal within the customer from the upper system. There is an effect that the limitation of the communication capacity due to the limitation of the Zigbee communication, which is a system, and furthermore, the limitation on the reliability of the communication can be removed.

In addition to the conventional ZigBee SEP, for example, communication with home appliances is possible using WiFi-based communication, and thus, home appliances of various communication methods can be supported.

1 is a view showing the structure of a power monitoring system of the AMI system proposed in the standard system of the conventional ZigBee SEP.

2 is a view showing the structure of a power monitoring system of the AMI system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of an integrated terminal of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the integrated terminal of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiment of this invention is described in detail, referring drawings.

2 is a view showing the overall structure of a power monitoring system of the AMI system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, since the upper system of the AMI system is the same as in the related art, the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 1 are omitted, and detailed description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 2, although the IHD server 14 and the mobile server 15 are added to the upper system 10, the IHD server 14 holds data for displaying information of the integrated terminal 35 having an IHD function. As a server to perform the sub-function of the MDMD 13, the mobile server 15 is a server in charge of the service using a smartphone is not directly related to the present invention.

In the present specification, the term "higher system" refers to a system on the upper side of the smart meter and the integrated terminal, that is, the power provider side, centering on the smart meter and the integrated terminal described below, and the term "lower system" Refers to a system on the home appliance side within the consumer, which is a consumer of power, lower than the smart meter and the integrated terminal.

In the present embodiment, the improved part of the prior art is that the conventional ESI 31 and IHD 32 functions are integrated in the integrated terminal 35, and the integrated terminal 35 is connected to the ADCS 12 through the Internet network. And the DCU 11 by the power line communication (PLC) while being connected to the MDMS 13.

That is, the integrated terminal 35 incorporating the functions of the conventional ESI 31 and IHD 32 can communicate with the host system 10 by connecting to the DCU 11 by power line communication. It may also communicate with the host system 10 through, which is optional.

Here, the connection between the integrated terminal 35 and the host system 10 may be by a local area network such as WiFi in the customer 30, or may be directly connected to the Internet network in the customer 30.

In addition, among the home appliances in the consumer 30, the home appliance 36 having a smart function is directly connected to the integrated terminal 35 so as to be communicable, and the home appliance 37 having no smart function is connected to the integrated terminal through a smart plug. It is connected so that communication with 35 is possible.

The integrated terminal 35 in this embodiment functions as an interface for communication between the host system 10 and the IHD 32 and between the home appliance 36 (37) and the IHD 32, which are functions of the conventional ESI 31. Not only does it serve as an interface for communication, it also functions as a conventional IHD 32, and also functions as an ESI 31 that directly controls the home appliance 36 (37).

Next, the integrated terminal 35 of this embodiment is demonstrated using FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of an integrated terminal of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the integrated terminal 35 is communicatively connected with the upper system 10 of the AMI system by the Internet or power line communication, and the ZigBee SEP or WiFi with the home appliance 36 (37) which is the lower system. A data request unit 352 which is communicatively connected to and requests data required by the host system 10 periodically by a request of a user via the user interface 351 or according to a time set in an embedded program. And a data receiving unit 353 for receiving the data requested by the data requesting unit 352 from the upper system 10 and a request of a user via the user interface 351, or at a time set in the embedded program. Therefore, a command / data request periodically sends a command to control the home appliance 36 (37), which is a subsystem, or requests data necessary for the home appliance 36 (37). And a unit 354, and a command / data receiver 355 for receiving the data requested by the command / data request unit (354) from the appliance (36 37).

Examples of the request data requested by the data request unit 352 to the upper system 10 include power consumption information (LP) accumulated data 352-1, power usage statistics information data 352-2, and the like. Historical LP data (352-3), power consumption comparison data (352-4), tariff data (cumulative plan data) 352-5, and other data (352-6), etc., the data request unit ( Data received by the data receiving unit 353 from the upper system 10 by a request by the 352 is data corresponding to the request data, and is accumulated in the MDMS 13 or the ADCS 12 of the upper system 10. This is the data.

As a command for controlling the home appliance 36 (37) by the command / data request unit 354, for example, a command 354-1 for turning on or off each home appliance connected to the smart plug 37, respectively. Or an instruction 354-1 for turning on or off each home appliance 36 having a smart function, respectively.

As the request data requested by the command / data request unit 354 to the home appliance 36 (37), for example, the LP data 354-2 for each home appliance 36 (37), respectively. Current state data 354-3 including whether the household electrical appliance 36 (37) is currently operating or stopped, and other data indicating carbon emission information for each household appliance 36 (37). Other data 354-4, and the data received from the home appliance 36 (37) by the command / data receiving unit 355 corresponds to the request data requested by the command / data requesting unit 354. It is data received from each home appliance 36 (37) as data.

As described above, the request of data to the upper system 10 or the home appliance 36 (37) by the data request unit 352 or the command / data request unit 354 of the integrated terminal 35 is performed by the user. In the case of a user's request through the interface 351 or by a built-in program, it may be made periodically, for example, in several minutes such as 15 minutes.

In addition, the integrated terminal 35 includes a display device 359, and each data received from the home appliance 36 (37) of the upper system 10 or the lower system is displayed on the display device 359. Provided for visual confirmation of the user.

The data requesting unit 352 and the data receiving unit 353 correspond to the inter-system communication module of the present invention, and the command / data requesting unit 354 and the command / data receiving unit 355 communicate between home appliances. Corresponding to the module, the display device 359 corresponds to the display means.

In addition to the above functions, the integrated terminal 35 may further include an Open Auto Demend Request (ADR) processing unit 356, a home appliance power consumption information collecting unit 357, and a smart meter power consumption information collecting unit 358. .

Open ADR can be used in the case of a shortage of backup power due to peak power demand, for example, through the integrated terminal 35 in the upper system 10 by prior agreement between the power supplier and the consumer. It is a system for preventing the occurrence of a power failure in the power transmission network or the entire distribution network by directly controlling the home appliances 36 (37) in the consumer to stop using.

When the necessity of such Open ADR occurs, the Open ADR processing unit 356 stops the operation of all or part of the home appliances 36 (37) by the control from the host system 10.

The home appliance power consumption information collecting unit 357 collects power consumption information for each predetermined period of each home appliance 36 (37) or the entire home appliance 36 (37) in the customer 30. Send to).

The smart meter power consumption information collecting unit 358 functions to collect power consumption information for each customer possessed by the smart meter 20 of each customer 30 through the DCU or the upper system 10.

In addition, the integrated terminal 35 includes a DB, and consumes power consumption information for each predetermined period and power consumption information for each customer collected by the home appliance power consumption information collection unit 357 and the smart meter power consumption information collection unit 358. It may be stored in the DB in the integrated terminal 35. In this case, the power consumption information for each period of the home appliance 36 (37) stored in the DB and the power consumption information for each customer held by the smart meter 20 may be displayed by a user's request.

The Open ADR processor 356, the home appliance power consumption information collector 357, and the smart meter power consumption information collector 358 are different from the data request unit 352 to the command / data receiver 355. Each home appliance 36 (37) is controlled by direct control of 10), or desired information is collected from each home appliance 36 (37) and the smart meter 20.

Next, the operation of the integrated terminal 35 of the present embodiment to perform the integration function of the ZigBee SEP-based ESI and IHD will be described with reference to FIG. 4. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the integrated terminal of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

First, when the network with the upper system 10 is configured with the initialization of the system, in step S1, the integrated terminal 35, for example, ZigBee SEP, the lower home appliance (36 (37)) and the smart meter 20, etc. After configuring the communication network, the process proceeds to step S2 to wait.

Next, during the waiting of step S2, it is judged whether there is a request for connection / withdrawal of the home appliance further by, for example, adding or removing the home appliance to the communication network configured in step S1 (step S3). As a result of the determination, if there is a request for connection / leave from the home appliance (step S3 = Yes), the process returns to step S1 to reconfigure the communication network including the home appliance that is additionally connected or withdrawn, and if there is no request for connection / leave (step S3 = No Return to step S2 to wait.

Further, during the waiting of step S2, it is determined whether there is a request from the user described above or a request for collecting home appliance control and power consumption information according to a predetermined cycle in the embedded program (step S4). If it is determined that the home appliance control and power consumption information collection request (step S4 = Yes) proceeds to step S4 to control the home appliance or collect power consumption information, and then proceeds to step S8 and the result is integrated terminal After display on the display device 359 at 35, the process returns to step S2 to wait. If there is no home appliance control and power consumption information collection request (step S4 = No), the process returns to step S2 and waits.

In addition, during the waiting of step S2, the integrated terminal 35 continuously checks the data to be displayed on the display device 359 (step S6), and determines whether the checked data is valid data in step S7. If the determination result is valid data (step S7 = Yes), the process proceeds to step S8 to display the corresponding data on the display device 359, returns to step S2 and waits, and if not valid data (step S7 = No), returns to step S2. Wait

The function of the integrated terminal 35 is achieved by the integrated terminal 35 performing such a routine.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 4, according to the integrated terminal of the present invention, a conventional ESI function indicated by a symbol a, a conventional IHD function indicated by a symbol b, and a function of integrating the conventional ESI and IHD indicated by a symbol c To be run on one device.

As described above, the present invention is to configure the network between the smart meter and the home appliance by an integrated terminal incorporating the conventional ESI and IHD functions into one, so that information and data can be collected or provided through communication with a higher system. At the same time, it is also possible to collect or provide information and data through communication with the home appliance, which is a sub-system, and also, through the integrated terminal of the present invention, the user controls the operation of the home appliance, or the host system via the integrated terminal. It is also possible to directly control home appliances within each power consumer.

Therefore, the communication system that interconnects the upper system and the lower system is simplified and the user's request can be immediately processed, and the smart function of the integrated terminal within the customer can be easily upgraded (firmware upgrade) from the upper system. There is an effect that the limitation of the communication capacity due to the limitation of communication, and furthermore, the limitation on the reliability of the communication can be removed.

In addition to the conventional ZigBee SEP, for example, communication with home appliances is possible using WiFi-based communication, and thus, home appliances of various communication methods can be supported.

[Description of the code]

10: Parent system

11: DCU

12: ADCS

13: MDMS

20: smart meter

35: integrated terminal

36: home appliances

37: smart plug

Claims (6)

An integrated terminal connected by a predetermined communication means, respectively, between an upper system of an AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) system and a plurality of home appliances in the power consumer, A communication module between the upper systems which functions as an interface for communicating with the upper system, A communication module between home appliances that functions as an interface for communicating with the plurality of home appliances; And display means for displaying the information received from the upper system by the communication system between the upper systems, and displaying the information received from each home appliance by the communication module between the home appliances. The method according to claim 1, The information obtained from the upper system by the communication module between the upper systems includes power consumption information accumulation data per unit time, power consumption statistics information data, power consumption information data per unit time in the past, power consumption comparison data, and rate data for each progressive stage. One or more integrated terminals. The method according to claim 1, The communication by the communication module between the home appliances includes instructions for turning on or off the plurality of home appliances, acquiring power consumption data per unit time for each home appliance, and whether each home appliance is currently operating or stopped. Integrated terminal which is one or more of acquiring the current state data and acquiring carbon emission data for each home appliance. The method according to claim 1, The integrated terminal includes an Open Auto Dement Request (ADR) processing unit for turning on or off the plurality of home appliances, a home appliance power consumption information collection unit for collecting power consumption information of a plurality of home appliances, and consumption from the smart meter of the consumer. Further comprising one or more of the smart meter power consumption information collection unit for collecting power information, And the open ADR processor, home appliance power consumption information collector, and smart meter power consumption information collector are controlled by direct control from the host system. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The communication with the upper system is internet communication or power line communication, The communication between the plurality of home appliances is a ZigBee SEP (ZigBee Smart Energy Profile) or WiFi communication integrated terminal. In a control method by an integrated terminal connected between a higher system of the AMI system and a plurality of home appliances in the power consumer by a predetermined communication means, (A) configuring a communication network with a plurality of home appliances and smart meters in the power receiver; Waiting after step (a) (b), During the waiting in the step (b), it is determined whether there is a request for connection or withdrawal of the home appliance due to the expansion or removal of the home appliance, and if there is a request for connection / withdrawal, the procedure returns to step (a) to further connect or leave the home appliance. (C) reconfiguring the communication network, including; (D) determining whether there is a home appliance control request during the waiting at step (b), and controlling the home appliance if there is a home appliance control request; During the waiting in step (b), checking the data to be displayed on the display device to determine whether the checked data is valid data, and if the data is valid, displaying the data on the display device (e). Control method by terminal.

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